United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1992 - Urges the President to seek an agreement with governments that trade with the United States to secure an international ban on trade in products of child labor. Requires the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to identify foreign countries that: (1) utilize child labor in the export of products; and (2) have on a continuing basis exported such products to the United States. Authorizes any person to file a petition with the Secretary requesting that a particular foreign industry and its host country be identified. Requires the Secretary, before making such identification, to: (1) consult with the U.S. Trade Representative, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Treasury; and (2) publish notice in the Federal Register that such identification is being considered and invite public comment. Prohibits the importation of products which have been produced by child labor. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Trade Worker Adjustment Assistance Act of 1992 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to revise petition and eligibility requirements for trade adjustment assistance benefits for workers adversely affected by import competition or the relocation of U.S. production facilities abroad. Revises provisions with respect to: (1) the training of such workers; (2) employment services; (3) relocation allowances; and (4) job search allowances. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie in recognition of his accomplishments as a musician. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that effective follow-up to achieve the goals of the agreements reached at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) will depend on the following actions by the President and the U.S. Government: (1) adoption of a national strategy for environmentally sustainable development, based on an extensive process of nationwide consultations with all interested organizations and individuals; (2) the Government encouraging and facilitating means for adopting individual Agenda 21 plans of action, including the establishment of local, county, State, business, and other boards and commissions for achieving sustainable development; (3) the President establishing an effective mechanism to plan, initiate, and coordinate U.S. policy for implementing Agenda 21; and (4) policies being formulated for foreign policy and assistance to help developing countries, and for domestic actions to assure appropriate action to implement Agenda 21. Supports: (1) pursuing the research and policy initiatives urged in Agenda 21, including research on sustainable consumption and production patterns, creation of a policy framework for sustainable consumption patterns, identification of a strategy to eliminate or reduce subsidies for unsustainable natural resource exploitation, and improving pricing policies; (2) the Congress adopting a plan to reallocate an appropriate amount of savings from reduced defense spending to achieve its goals of global environmental protection and sustainable development over the next decade; and (3) the effective establishment of a high-level United Nations (UN) Commission on Sustainable Development. Urges the United States to call for periodic international meetings to continue the process toward developing and advancing international agreement to facilitate sustainable economic development. Calls on the President to: (1) urge and actively participate in multilateral efforts aimed at creating a more favorable international economic climate for developing countries to practice sustainable development; (2) affirm strong U.S. commitment to the Commission by appointing a high-level representative to the Commission and by encouraging the UN Secretary General to appoint an Under Secretary General for Sustainable Development; (3) submit and encourage all UN members to submit a national report to the Commission on activities the United States has undertaken to implement Agenda 21 both domestically and internationally, on progress made toward fulfilling other commitments undertaken at UNCED, and on other relevant environmental and developmental issues; and (4) submit an annual report to the Congress on the steps taken by the United States to implement Agenda 21 and the recommendations made by this Act and make information regarding such steps available to Members of the Congress upon request.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1992
Balanced Budget Enforcement Act of 1992 - Title I: Balancing the Budget - Part A: Purposes - Repeals provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) with respect to: (1) emergency powers to eliminate deficits in excess of the maximum deficit amount; (2) budgetary treatment of social security trust funds; and (3) miscellaneous and related provisions. Declares the purpose of this Act to balance the budget by FY 1998 and each year thereafter. Part B: The Deficit Elimination Act of 1992 - The Deficit Elimination Act of 1992 - Establishes deficit reduction targets for direct spending and receipts legislation for FY 1993 through 1998. Establishes discretionary funding limits in terms of new budget authority for FY 1994 through 1998. Requires, whenever appropriate, that adjustments to such limits be made to reflect: (1) changes in budget accounting concepts; (2) changes in inflation for each year and outyear (any of the four fiscal years that follow the budget year); (3) renewal/replacement multiyear subsidized housing contracts; (4) emergency requirements; (5) new limits for 1998 and thereafter; and (6) any law that raises excise taxes dedicated to a transportation trust fund. Provides that if at the start of the 1998 budget-year session the baseline assuming deficit reduction projects a deficit (or surplus) for that year, then the direct spending and receipts deficit reduction requirement for that year and the discretionary funding limit for that year shall each be changed by amounts that, when debt service effects are added, will produce a balanced budget. Requires these changes to be made through enactment of a spin-off law or, if a spin-off law is not enacted, an adjustment to the direct spending and receipts deficit reduction requirement by two-thirds of the required change (excluding debt service effects) and a one-third adjustment of the required change (excluding debt service effects) to the discretionary funding limit. Provides for preventing deficits starting with FY 1999. Provides for the enactment of a spin-off law through congressional budget procedures or other means to balance the budget in 1998 or prevent deficits after 1998. Establishes a scorecard for the recording of the estimated increase or decrease in deficit reduction for the current year, the budget year, and each fiscal year through 1998 due to enactment (after August 15, 1992) of any law, or the imposition of any sequestration, or the change in the baseline which relates to certain expiring provisions of law and to veterans' compensation, affecting the level of direct spending or the level of receipts. Requires the creation of a new scorecard for FY 1999 and thereafter for the estimated increase or decrease in the deficit or surplus for the budget year. Sets forth deficit reduction requirements for the scorecard. Provides for scoring any law that affects current-year direct spending or receipts. Divides the scorecard between changes in outlays for direct spending and changes in receipts. Excludes certain emergency legislation from the scorecard. Includes certain receipts resulting from an increase in an excise tax dedicated to a transportation fund. Establishes a scorecard for each fiscal year starting with 1994 for discretionary appropriations amounts due to: (1) the enactment of any law in the budget-year session; (2) the enactent of any law in any previous session of Congress; or (3) the imposition of any across-the-board reduction of discretionary programs. Sets forth the method of enforcing deficit reduction targets in direct spending programs through a targeted sequestration procedure. Requires enactment of a spin-off law to initiate such procedure. Establishes a comprehensive sequestration procedure if such spin-off bill is not enacted. Requires under such procedure a freeze of entitlement spending and some revenue provisions in the amount needed to meet deficit targets. Sets forth the method of sequestering discretionary programs through uniform across-the-board reductions, unless the excess of new budget authority is less than $250 million. Lists the budget accounts or activities exempted from sequestration. Authorizes the President to exempt some or all of the budgetary resources of any military personnel account from sequestration, pending notification of the Congress. Subjects Federal administrative expenses to sequestration orders, with specified exceptions. Provides for the permanent sequestration of direct spending and receipts and for determining applicable uniform percentages for reductions. Sets forth the method of making reductions for: (1) the non-JOBS and JOBS portion of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program (AFDC) under the Social Security Act; (2) the child support enforcement program; (3) the Commodity Credit Corporation; (4) the conservation reserve program; (5) extended unemployment compensation; (6) the Federal Employees Health Benefits Fund; (7) the Federal Housing Finance Board; (8) Federal pay; (9) the guaranteed student loan program; (10) Federal insurance program; (11) the Medicaid program; (12) the Medicare program; (13) the Postal Service Fund; (14) the Department of Energy power marketing administration funds or the Tennessee Valley Authority fund; (15) the uranium enrichment program; and (16) veterans' housing loans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the method of sequestration through tax changes. Requires an increase in the top marginal rates and modifies the indexing provision under a sequestration order. Imposes a tax surcharge on individuals and corporations. Sets forth the timetable for estimating assumptions and filing reports and orders by the President, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Board of Estimates (established by this Act). Requires the making of sequestration reports, sequestration preview reports, and low-growth reports by CBO and OMB. Establishes the administrative procedures relative to such reports. Sets forth assumptions to be used in calculating the baseline for the budget year and each outyear with respect to direct spending and receipts and discretionary programs. Declares that a baseline assuming deficit reduction refers to a projection of current policy baseline surpluses or deficits into the budget year and the outlays that is adjusted in aggregate by: (1) assuming compliance with basic deficit reduction targets; (2) assuming compliance with the discretionary funding limits; and (3) excluding amounts resulting from legislation designated as an emergency requirement. Establishes as a deposit fund in the Treasury a Stabilization Reserve Fund to accumulate balances during years of comparative prosperity, which may later be used to cover the loss of receipts and the increase in outlays that occur during comparative economic distress. Requires annual surpluses to be paid into the Fund. Requires starting with FY 1999 that an additional $10 billion be paid to the Fund. Requires in each year starting with 2000 that an additional $20 billion be paid to such Fund. Prohibits Fund balances from receiving interest. Requires the enactment of a law to transfer balances to the General Fund of the Treasury. Establishes congressional procedures in the event of a low-growth report or a declaration of war. Establishes a Board of Estimates to choose the applicable sequestration report from OMB or CBO to submit to the President. Provides judicial review procedures for provisions of this title. Title II: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Makes technical and conforming amendments to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Standing Rules of Senate, and specified other laws. Establishes the public debt limit.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Prohibits a State or political subdivision from being eligible to receive any grant for economic development purposes under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 or under the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 if such State, political subdivision, or other State instrumentality offers, permits, or grants a tax incentive that relieves a taxpayer from paying any State or local tax which would otherwise be payable for the direct or indirect support of primary and secondary education.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should seek the consent of the Senate to the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations on November 20, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1992
Great Lakes Wildlife Tissue Bank Act - Provides for the storage, preparation, examination, and archiving of tissues from Great Lakes wildlife, to be known as the Great Lakes Wildlife Tissue Bank. Mandates: (1) a central data base to track and assess data on Great Lakes wildlife, including Bank data; and (2) criteria for tissue access by scientific researchers. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1992
Great Lakes Regional Marine Center Act - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to include the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes in the definition of "marine and coastal waters." Adds the Great Lakes region, comprised of such Great Lakes waters, to the list of regions for which a Regional Marine Research Board must be established. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to modify the required contents of an annual report to the Congress on Great Lakes water quality. Requires the Great Lakes Research Council (currently, the Great Lakes National Program Office and the Great Lakes Research Office jointly) to prepare a research plan for all Federal Great Lakes environmental research activities. Removes provisions establishing the Great Lakes Research Office.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1992
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Great Lakes Improvements Act - Establishes in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a Great Lakes Office in the District of Columbia area to promote and coordinate Administration research, monitoring, and assessment work in the Great Lakes region consistent with Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement goals.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1992
United States - China Act of 1992 - Prohibits the President from recommending for a 12-month period in 1993 continuation of a waiver of human rights and emigration requirements for nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) for China under the Trade Act of 1974 unless a specified report is submitted to the Congress stating that China has accounted for and released prisoners who dissented in Tiananmen Square and in other parts of China on June 3 and 4, 1989, and made progress in: (1) preventing gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, including workers' rights, in China and Tibet; (2) preventing exports of products made by prison labor, and allowing U.S. officials and international organizations to inspect such places of detention; (3) terminating religious persecution in China and Tibet and releasing religious leaders incarcerated as a result of the expression of their religious beliefs; (4) removing restrictions in China and Tibet on freedom of the press and on broadcasts by the Voice of America; (5) terminating harassment of Chinese citizens in the United States (including refusal to return or renew passports as retribution for prodemocracy activities); (6) ensuring access to prisoners of international human rights monitoring groups; (7) ensuring freedom from torture and in humane prison conditions; (8) terminating prohibitions on peaceful assembly imposed after June 3, 1989; (9) committing to engage in high-level discussions on human rights issues; (10) adhering to the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong; (11) providing adequate protection of U.S. patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights, and implementing the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America on the Protection of Intellectual Property; (12) providing U.S. exporters access to Chinese markets, including lowering tariffs, removing nontariff barriers, and increasing the purchase of U.S. goods and services; (13) ceasing unfair trade practices which burden or restrict U.S. Commerce; (14) adopting a national policy which adheres to the Missile Technology Control Regime and the controls of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Australia Group on chemical and biological arms proliferation; and (15) assuring that it is not assisting any nonnuclear weapons state in acquiring nuclear explosive devices. Requires the President, if he recommends such extension, to include in a specified document submitted to the Congress a report on China's progress in meeting the above-mentioned objectives. Requires such report also to include, but not be limited to, progress made by China and Tibet with regard to specified human rights. Grants nondiscriminatory treatment to products of nonstate-owned enterprises in China.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1992
Entitles Federal employees to: (1) family leave in certain cases involving a birth, an adoption, or an employee's parent's or child's serious health condition; and (2) temporary medical leave in certain cases involving a serious health condition of the employee. Provides protection for an employee's employment and health benefit rights. Limits such leave to leave without pay.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Trade Expansion Act of 1992 - Title I: Market Access Provisions - Subtitle A: Enforcement of United States Rights Under Trade Agreements and Response to Certain Foreign Trade Practices - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend through calendar year 1997 the requirement that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) identify U.S. trade liberalization priorities. Expresses the sense of the Congress that foreign countries that have substantial trade surpluses with the United States, and maintain acts, policies, or practices that are major barriers to, or distortions of, potential U.S. export trade, should be identified (for purposes of "Super 301" under the Trade Act of 1974) as priority foreign countries, and such acts, policies, or practices identified as priority practices. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize any interested person to request the USTR to review to determine whether a foreign country is in material compliance with the terms of a trade agreement. Defines an "interested person" as any person with a significant economic interest that is being or has been adversely affected by a foreign country's failure to comply materially with terms of a trade agreement. Requires the USTR to determine what action to take if a foreign country is found not in material compliance with such agreement. Directs the USTR to initiate an investigation of all acts, policies, and practices of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan that affect the access of U.S. rice to their markets. Requires the USTR to negotiate the elimination of such acts, policies, and practices, and report to the Congress on the progress of such negotiations. Subtitle B: International Trade in Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Parts - Directs the USTR to initiate an investigation of all acts, policies, and practices of Japan that affect the access of U.S. motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts to its market, including but not limited to: (1) acts, policies, and practices utilized in the Japanese automotive distribution system; (2) toleration of anticompetitive activities by private Japanese firms (including "Keiretsu"); (3) exclusionary business practices; and (4) testing requirements and other government regulations. Requires the USTR to negotiate with Japan for a trade agreement that: (1) eliminates such acts, policies, and practices; (2) provides enforcement of Japan's commitments under the Structural Impediments Initiative, the Market -Oriented Sector Specific agreements, and the Action Plan announced at the Tokyo Summit in January 1992 with respect to trade in, and purchase of, motor vehicles and motor vehicles parts; (3) establishes long term goals for the purchase by Japanese motor vehicle manufacturers of high value-added motor vehicle parts and accessories; and (4) establishes procedures for the exchange of information between the United States and Japan that will permit the accurate assessment of the bilateral trade in motor vehicle parts. Requires the USTR to report to the Congress if such negotiations prove unsuccessful. Directs the President to negotiate with Japan for a voluntary restraint agreement that will provide for the imposition of limitations on the aggregate number of Japanese passenger automobiles and light trucks that may be exported to the United States between 1992 and 2000. Authorizes the President to enforce such agreements. Requires specified reports with respect to such negotiations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the USTR should refer to the U.S. Government all information pertaining to Japanese acts, policies, and practices that adversely affect access to the purchasing by Japanese motor vehicle manufacturers in the United States of U.S. motor vehicle parts by Japanese-owned or-controlled producers. Requires the Board established by the Foreign-Trade Zones Act to: (1) review the operations of U.S. and foreign motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts producers to determine any positive economic effect on the United States of such Act; and (2) take appropriate action, including revocation or modification of a foreign-trade zone or subzone grant, with respect to any producer whose operations in such zone are determined not to have a net positive effect on the U.S. economy. Title II: Customs Modernization - Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act - Subtitle A: Improvements in Customs Enforcement - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise customs procedures with respect to: (1) electronic transmission of forged, altered, or false data to the United States Customs Service with regard to the entry of imported merchandise; (2) penalties for failure to declare imported controlled substances; (3) examination and detention of imported merchandise; (4) certain recordkeeping requirements; (5) examination of books and witnesses; (6) review of protests by the Customs Service; (7) a repeal of a provision relating to the reliquidation on account of fraud; (8) penalties relating to manifests, false drawback or refund claims, and for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence; (9) unlawful unlading or transshipment; (10) public access to Customs Service interpretative rulings and decisions; and (11) seizure of imported merchandise. Subtitle B: National Customs Automation Program - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to establish the National Customs Automation Program which shall be an automated and electronic system for the processing of commercial imports. Provides for electronic data transmission relating to: (1) remote location filing; (2) effective date of rates of duty on imported merchandise; (3) merchandise manifests; (4) imported merchandise invoices; (5) entry and release of imported merchandise; (6) admissibility in administrative and judicial proceedings of electronically transmitted information; (7) appraisement and liquidations of imported merchandise; (8) the payment of duties; (9) abandonment and damage to imported merchandise; (10) protests of Customs Service decisions; (11) refunds and errors; (12) bonds and other security; and (13) customs house brokers. Requires a refund (drawback) of duties (less one per cent of such duties) on articles produced in the United States with imported merchandise that have been destroyed under Customs Service supervision, provided such articles have not been used prior to such destruction. Sets forth provisions with respect to customs officer's immunity in regard to the appraisement of or collection of duties on imported merchandise. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize the Secretary to disregard the difference, but not less than $20 (currently ten dollars), between the total estimated duties deposited with respect to imported merchandise and the total amount actually due on such merchandise. Authorizes the Secretary to admit duty-free: (1) gifts from persons in foreign countries to persons in the United States whose value does not exceed $100 (currently, $50), or $200 (currently, $100) in the case of gifts from persons in the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa; (2) articles accompanying persons for personal or household use whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, $25); or (3) articles whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, five dollars) in other cases. Authorizes the Secretary to waive collection of duties due on merchandise that are worth less than $20, or such greater amount as prescribed by him or her. Requires masters of vessels that have visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise while outside the U.S. territorial sea to report their arrival to the nearest customs facility. Provides for the electronic transmission of vessel documentation to the Customs Service. Requires the following vessels to report to the nearest Customs Service facility within 24 hours (or other period of time) as provided after arrival to a U.S. port: (1) vessels from a foreign port; (2) foreign vessels from a domestic port; (3) U.S. vessels having bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (4) vessels which visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise outside the U.S. territorial sea. Authorizes the Secretary to permit masters of vessels to make preliminary entry of their vessel with the Customs Service in lieu of or before formal entry is made. Requires U.S. and foreign vessels to obtain clearance from the Customs Service before proceeding from a U.S. port for: (1) a foreign port; (2) another U.S. port (for foreign vessels only), or (for U.S. vessels only) another U.S. port if the vessel has bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (3) outside the U.S. territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or to receive merchandise. Exempts from entry and clearance requirements certain passenger vessels on excursion from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the British Virgin Islands and returning, U.S. documented vessels with recreational endorsement, or (as under current law) undocumented U.S. pleasure vessels not engaged in trade, except such vessels must comply upon arrival with specified customs reporting requirements and navigation laws and must not have visited any hovering vessel. Prohibits merchandise, passengers, or baggage from being unladen from any vessel required to make entry or vehicle required to report its arrival until such entry or report of arrival is made and a permit for unlading has been issued by the Customs Service. Authorizes the issuance of such permits through electronic data transmission. Requires every importer of record of merchandise to make and file electronically or otherwise a declaration stating whether such merchandise is imported pursuant to a purchase or purchase agreement and that all other required documents are true and correct. Requires persons who gained any benefit from, or met any obligation to the United States as the result of the prior exportation of merchandise that has returned as undeliverable to inform the Customs Service of the return of such merchandise within a reasonable time. Provides for electronic data transmission of entry information to complete any incomplete entry of imported merchandise. Declares entered or unentered merchandise that remains in customs custody for six months, with an extension at the importer's request of up to a year (currently, for merchandise that remains in custody for one year), and in which duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges have not been paid, to be unclaimed merchandise which shall be appraised and sold by the Customs Service at public auction. Authorizes the sale of imported gunpowder and other explosive merchandise that if permitted to remain in a bonded warehouse for six months (currently, one year) would depreciate in value to the extent that its sale would be insufficient to pay such duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges. Authorizes the Customs Service, in lieu of sale, to provide notice to interested parties that, unless, within 30 days of such notice, the subject merchandise is entered or withdrawn for consumption and payment made of all duties, taxes, and fees, transfer and storage charges and other expenses that title to such merchandise shall be deemed to vest in the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to pay to a party that has lost a substantial interest in merchandise by virtue of title vesting in the United States, and can establish that it did not receive a vesting notice, an amount from the Customs Forfeiture Fund equal to what such party would have received if such merchandise had been sold and a proper claim filed. Requires any surplus of the proceeds from the sale of such merchandise to be deposited into the Fund if a claim for such surplus is not filed with the Customs Service. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the declaration and entry of merchandise whose value does not exceed a certain amount, not more than $2,500 (currently not greater than $1,250), and/or when different commercial facilitation and risk considerations that may vary for different classes or kinds of merchandise or different classes of transactions may dictate. Requires the Secretary upon seizure and forfeiture of imported merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark to dispose of such merchandise more than 90 days (currently, one year) after such forfeiture. Authorizes withdrawal of imported merchandise from a warehouse for transfer to a foreign trade zone. Authorizes the Customs Service to order the destruction or other appropriate disposition of vessels, vehicles, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage that has been seized under the customs laws if it determines that the expense of keeping such items is disportionate to their value (currently applies only to items of less than $1,000 in value). Authorizes the use of funds from the Customs Forfeiture Fund for the payment of: (1) certain transfer and storage charges and expenses; and (2) claims against Customs Service employees. Requires actions for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence, false drawback or refund claims, and restoration of lawful duties with respect to imported merchandise to be instituted within five years after the alleged violation or discovery of such fraud. Requires the Customs Service to be reimbursed the administrative cost and expense incurred in collecting fees on behalf of other Federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to settle, for no more than $50,000 in each case, claims for personal injury, death, or damage to, or loss of, privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer of the Customs Service. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with persons for collection services to recover indebtedness arising under the customs laws, provided the Customs Service has exhausted all administrative efforts to collect such indebtedness. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions and Consequential and Conforming Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to exempt from such Schedule articles which are returned within 45 days after being exported from the United States as undeliverable and which have not left the custody of the carrier or foreign customs service. Prohibits such exportations from satisfying any requirement for exportation in order to receive a benefit from, or meet an obligation, to the United States as a result of such exportation. Declares that certain railway locomotives and railway freight cars on which no duty is owed are not subject to the entry or release requirements for imported merchandise under the Tariff Act of 1930. Exempts instruments of international trade, such as containers, lift vans, rail cars and locomotives, truck cabs and trailers, etc., from formal entry procedures. Requires them to be accounted for however, when imported to and exported from the United States through the manifesting procedures required for international carriers by the U.S. Customs Service. Amends the Internal Revenue Code and other specified Federal law with respect to: (1) certain expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund; and (2) coastwise trade vessels and U.S. vessels visiting foreign ports. Amends Federal law to grant the Court of International Trade exclusive jurisdiction of any civil action for review decisions of the Customs Service that deny, suspend, or revoke accreditation of private customs laboratories. Bars the commencement of such actions unless brought before such Court within 60 days of such decisions. Repeals specified provisions of Federal law. Requires the Commissioner of Customs to report to the Congress each fiscal year after FY 1992 on the collection of duties imposed under the antidumping and countervailing duty laws. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to authorize the Commissioner of Customs to obtain from the operators of centralized cargo examination stations information on fees paid for the provision of services at such stations. Requires the Commissioner to report to specified congressional committees on the payment of such fees. Amends the Customs and Trade Act of 1990 to require the Commissioner of Customs to: (1) devise a methodology for estimating the level of compliance with the U.S. customs laws; and (2) evaluate the extent to which such compliance was obtained during the 12-month period preceeding the 60th day before each fiscal year 1993 through 1995. Directs the Commissioner to initiate, and submit to the Congress, a compliance review of certain carrier services. Title III: Customs and Trade Agency Authorizations for Fiscal Years 1993 and 1994 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize appropriations to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) for FY 1993 and 1994. Earmarks a specified amount for reception and entertainment expenses. Prohibits use of such funds for any special study, investigation, or report requested by an agency of the executive branch unless such agency reimburses the ITC for its costs. Amends the Customs Procedural Reform and Simplification Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations to the United States Customs Service for FY 1993 and 1994 for: (1) noncommercial operations; (2) commercial operations; and (3) the air interdiction program. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriaitons to the Office of the United States Trade Representative for FY 1993 and 1994. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize apropriations for FY 1993 and 1994 for certain expenditures from the Customs Forfeiture Fund relating to purchases by the Customs Service of evidence of smuggling of controlled substances. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to eliminate the East-West Trade Statistics Monitoring System. Title IV: Miscellaneous Trade Provisions - Subtitle A: Nontariff Provisions - Directs the President to negotiate trade agreements that eliminate the adverse effects of anticompetitive practices on international trade. Requires the President to report to the Congress on the status of such negotiations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President, with respect to ensuring the effectiveness of the U.S. embargo of Cuba, should seek negotiations with countries that trade with Cuba to seek their agreement to restrict trade relations with it. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to require the Secretary of the Treasury, at the request of the Secretary of Commerce (currently, authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury): (1) to take necessary action to ensure the attainment of the objectives of the machine tool decision of the President on May 20, 1986, and on December 27, 1991; and (2) to enforce any imported machine tool quantitative limitations, restrictions, or other terms contained in related bilateral arrangements. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce the quantitative limitations and other provisions of bilateral arrangements negotiated with Taiwan on December 31, 1991, pursuant to the President's machine tool decision of May 20, 1986, until bilateral agreements are negotiated with such country pursuant to the President's December 27, 1991, decision. Directs the ITC to report to the Congress propsals for consolidating and simplifying U.S. international trade laws. Requires the Director of the Congressional Research Service to make recommendations to the Congress about establishment of a special unit that would: (1) integrate the resources of the Service, the ITC, and other appropriate agencies; and (2) serve as a central and objective source of information for the Congress on data and trends in trade between the United States and foreign countries. Subtitle B: Foreign Subsidies and Countervailing and Antidumping Duty Amendments - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require completion of reviews by the administering authority of the amount of duty with respect to countervailing and antidumping duty orders by the 270th day after the day on which a request for review was received. (Currently, there is no such deadline for completion of such a review.) Requires the ITC to consider contracts with long lead time as a factor when making material injury determinations with respect to an affected domestic industry in countervailing and antidumping duty investigations. Declares that the presence or absence of any factor the ITC is required to consider shall not give decisive guidance with respect to any threat of material injury determinations. Provides that, with respect to the determination of foreign market value of imported merchandise under investigation, no allowance shall be made to account for differences in input costs that are based on whether the end product made from the input is sold in the home market or exported. Requires the United States Customs Service to report annually to the administering authority on the amount of duties collected during each year under each countervailing and antidumping duty order. Requires the administering authority to make such data available to interested parties. Requires the administering authority, when determining whether imported parts or components are circumventing an antidumping or countervailing duty order or finding, and whether to include such parts or components in such order or finding, to consider: (1) the pattern of trade; (2) the value and sources of supply of parts or components historically used in completion or assembly of the merchandise subject to such order; (3) whether the manufacturer or exporter of such parts or components is related to the person who assembles or completes the merchandise sold in the United States from the parts or components produced in the foreign country with respect to which the order or finding applies; and (4) whether imports into the United States of the parts or components produced in such foreign country have increased after the issuance of such order or finding. Authorizes the administering authority to include within the scope of such order or finding imported parts or components that are used in the completion or assembly of certain merchandise sold in the United States and subject to such order or finding, provided: (1) such merchandise is completed or assembled in the United States from parts or components supplied by the exporter or producer with respect to which such order or finding applies, from suppliers that have historically supplied the parts or components to that exporter or producer, or from any party in the exporting country supplying parts or components on behalf of such exporter or producer; (2) the value of such imported parts and components is significant in relation to the total value of all parts and components used in the assembly or completion operation, excluding packing, of the imported merchandise covered by such order or finding; or (3) consideration of specified factors establishes a pattern of circumvention of a countervailing and antidumping duty order or finding. Enables the administering authority to base such a decision on any of such factors by itself, rather than on all of them together. Sets forth similar provisions for merchandise completed or assembled in other foreign countries. Directs the Secretary of Commerce and the ITC to study and report to the Congress on modification of standards applicable to the initiation of countervailing and antidumping duty actions in order to make petitioning for such initiations less costly and more accessible for domestic petitioners. Requires the USTR to report to the Congress on the operation of the Agreement Concerning the Application of the GATT Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft between the United States and the European Community. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should not enter into any international trade agreement on antidumping requiring changes in U.S. antidumping laws that would reduce the effectiveness of such laws as a remedy against injurious dumped imports. Urges the President to review antidumping provisions contained in the Draft Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations dated December 21, 1991 and seek changes to strengthen the effectiveness of U.S. antidumping laws, including, but not limited to, changes in provisions dealing with cumulation of injury and dispute settlement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. Government should not condone the use by foreign governments of trade distorting subsidies, including development subsidies, that cause material injury to U.S. industries. Subtitle C: Other Tariff Provisions - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to remove the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from the list of countries ineligible for designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to create a new tariff classification to cover imports of motor fuel blending stocks. Imposes a duty on such stocks. Revises the classification of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates and linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acids. Revises a specified subheading relating to nonalloy iron and steel pipes and tubes to include non-galvanized forms of such products. Increases the duty on certain other iron and steel pipes and tubes. Imposes a duty on galvanized nonalloy iron and steel pipes and tubes having a specified thickness. Increases the duty on certain stainless steel pipes and tubes. Authorizes the USTR to negotiate compensation for claims made pursuant to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or any other trade agreement to which the United States is a party, as a result of the amendments made by this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to producers of watches in the insular possessions of the United States who are wage certificate holders, to pay to such a holder, at the holder's election, the face value of such certificates less the value of: (1) any duty refunds claimed by the holder under the certificate; and (2) any duty refunds under such certificate that are sold by such holder. Grants duty-free treatment of articles (not over $600 in value) acquired in Bermuda. Grants duty-free treatment to sweaters in which the number of U.S. citizens, nationals, or resident aliens who perform the assembly operations (in Guam) comprise at least 50 percent of the total number of assembly production workers. Sets forth specified exceptions. Provides that stuffed dolls and doll skins that are imported into the United States on or after December 31, 1985, and before October 1, 1988, shall be liquidated as duty free as of October 1, 1988. Declares that a specified production incentive certificate shall be deemed to have been reissued on the 15th day after the enactment of this Act, and shall expire one year after such day. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to exempt semiconductors from the country of origin marking requirements under such Act. Amends the Foreign Trade Zones Act to extend until December 31, 1994, the exclusion of bicycle component parts from the exemption from customs laws provided by such Act. Treats certain entries of fabric wholly of polyamide as having been exported from the United States in accordance with and in satisfaction of the temporary importation bond and obligations of The Umbrellas: Joint Project for Japan and U.S.A. Corporation if specified conditions are met. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to authorize the extension of time (not to exceed five years) for the exportation of articles to be repaired, altered, or processed, including processes which result in articles manufactured or produced in the United States, that are imported duty-free under bond, provided that any extension beyond the third year must be accompanied by the importer's certification that such articles are to be incorporated into a communications satellite. Subjects to liquidated damages any such articles imported after January 1, 1983, and before the effective date of this Act, that are certified by the importer as having been dedicated for incorporation into a communications satellite, and as not having been exported within the time required because of launch schedule delays. Limits such liquidated damages to a maximum one percent of the liquidated damages established under the bond.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Federal Facilities Toxics Release Act - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act to require Federal facilities that are subject to safety or chemical inventory reporting requirements under such Act or that manufacture or use a toxic chemical listed under such Act in excess of threshold amounts to comply with all Federal, State, and local requirements respecting emergency planning, notification, and reporting on substances covered by such Act. Waives sovereign immunity and the immunity of Federal employees for purposes of enforcement and injunctive relief. Authorizes the President to exempt a facility from requirements for one year if it is in the U.S. interest. Prohibits such an exemption due to lack of appropriations unless the President has specifically requested the appropriation as part of the budgetary process and the Congress failed to make it available. Authorizes additional exemptions for periods of up to one year. Permits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to commence administrative enforcement actions against Federal agencies pursuant to this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on making chemicals used by Federal facilities subject to toxic chemical release form requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Ozone Protection and Clean Technology Competitive Enhancement Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit: (1) the production of class I or II ozone depleting substances (defined under the Clean Air Act) after 1992; (2) the production and use, within 30 and 90 days of this Act's enactment, respectively, of methyl bromide; and (3) the production of methyl chloroform after 1992. Makes exemptions to such prohibition for pharmaceutical applications and, in the case of class I or II substances, for critical fire protection. Prohibits: (1) the use of chlorine or other chlorinated oxidizing agents in the pulp and paper industry within five years of this Act's enactment; (2) the use of mercury as a biocide and in batteries after 1994; and (3) the sale or promotion of any packaging or product in packaging which includes additives containing lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium after 1994. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress on: (1) sunset candidates (toxic substances with a capacity for bioaccumulation or persistence in the environment), along with a list of alternatives to such substances and recommendations for their phaseout; (2) organochlorines and organobromines produced in quantities of more than 25,000 pounds per year, uses of such substances, and recommendations for eliminating their use; and (3) uses of elemental chlorine and chlorinated oxidizing agents of more than 1,000 tons per year, alternatives for such substances, and recommendations for eliminating their use. Prohibits any facility from replacing the manufacture, import, processing, use, or sale of any sunset candidate with any substitute toxic substance with a known or probable carcinogen, teratogen, or mutagen or with any alternative product or process that creates new public health or environmental risks. Directs the Administrator to establish a fee on the manufacture, import, or sale of sunset candidates. Requires fee proceeds to be used solely for worker retraining, adjustment, and education, and for jobs development programs for workers displaced by the phaseout of sunset candidates.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Western Hemisphere Environmental, Labor, and Agricultural Standards Act of 1992 - Declares that any free-trade area agreement negotiated under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (OTCA) in furtherance of the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative with any country in the Western Hemisphere outside North America must include the achievement of certain environmental, labor, and agricultural standards as principal negotiating objectives in addition to any other OTCA mandates. Sets forth worker rights and standards, including among others: (1) freedom of association and the right to organize free and independent unions, bargain collectively, and strike; (2) certain minimum ages for the employment of children in specified circumstances; (3) the right to a healthy working environment; (4) equal protection; and (5) humane standards of wages and hours of work. Sets forth principal negotiating objectives for environmental quality and protection, including among others: (1) protection of the integrity of ecosystems; (2) a process for full public disclosures of kinds, quantities, and risks of toxic chemical and hazardous substance discharges; and (3) prevention of the export of toxic and hazardous substances and products, and of products manufactured, extracted, or grown under environmental or workplace safety and health conditions that undermine comparable standards in the importing country. Requires adoption, in any such agreement, of the principle that systematic denial or practical negation of such labor and environmental standards constitutes an actionable unfair trade practice. Requires any such agreement to establish a comprehensive dispute resolution process with specified provisions, including one for a multilateral commission with authority to investigate, adjudicate, and issue timely binding judgments. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology to establish, through the Federal Coordinating Council on Science, Engineering, and Technology, an interagency committee to provide technical assistance to U.S. experts on the multilateral dispute resolution commission.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
North American Environmental, Labor, and Agricultural Standards Act of 1992 - Declares that any free-trade area trade agreement negotiated under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (OTCA) with Canada and Mexico (NAFTA) must include the achievement of certain environmental, labor, and agricultural standards as principal negotiating objectives in addition to any other OTCA mandates. Sets forth worker rights and standards, including among others: (1) freedom of association and the right to organize free and independent unions, bargain collectively, and strike; (2) certain minimum ages for the employment of children in specified circumstances; (3) the right to a healthy working environment; (4) equal protection; and (5) humane standards of wages and hours of work. Sets forth principal negotiating objectives for environmental quality and protection, including among others: (1) protection of the integrity of ecosystems; (2) a process for full public disclosure of kinds, quantities, and risks of toxic chemical and hazardous substance discharges; and (3) prevention of the export of toxic and hazardous substances and products, and of products manufactured, extracted, or grown under environmental or workplace safety and health conditions that undermine comparable standards in the importing country. Requires adoption, in any such agreement, of the principle that systematic denial or practical negation of such labor and environmental standards constitutes an actionable unfair trade practice. Requires any such agreement to establish a comprehensive dispute resolution process with specified provisions, including one for a trinational commission with authority to investigate, adjudicate, and issue timely binding judgments. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology to establish, through the Federal Coordinating Council on Science, Engineering, and Technology, an interagency committee to provide technical assistance to U.S. experts on the trinational dispute resolution commission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1992
Minor Crop Protection Assistance Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to define "minor use" as the use of a pesticide on a commercial agricultural crop or site where: (1) the total U.S. acreage for the crop is less than 300,000 acres; (2) the acreage expected to be treated as a result of that use is less than 300,000 acres annually or the agricultural crop represents production from less than 300,000 acres annually; (3) the use does not provide sufficient economic incentive to support initial or continuing registration; and (4) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not determined that the use presents an unreasonable adverse environmental effect. Permits the Administrator, in handling the registration of a pesticide for a minor use, to waive applicable data requirements if it is determined that the absence of data will not prevent the Administrator from determining the incremental risk presented by the minor use and that such risk would have an unreasonable adverse environmental effect. Prohibits data that relates solely to a minor use, without the permission of the original data submitter, from being considered by the Administrator to support a minor use application by another person for ten years following the submission of the data. Terminates the exclusive use of such data if the registration is voluntarily cancelled, or if the data are used to support a nonminor use. Provides for expedited review (within six months of submission) of applications to support minor use pesticide registrations. Grants registrants who make good faith requests for minor use waivers regarding required data, and whose requests are denied, a full time period for providing such data. Requires the Administrator, upon the request of a registrant, to extend the deadline for the production of data required solely to support a minor use pesticide up to four years if the registrant provides data to support other uses of the pesticide and a schedule to assure that the data production will be completed before the expiration of the extension. Applies the same extension conditions to data for reregistrations. Requires the Administrator to conditionally amend a registration to permit additional minor uses even if data is insufficient if the applicant has submitted satisfactory data pertaining to the proposed minor use and amending such registration would not increase environmental risks. Prohibits amendments if the pesticide meets or exceeds risk criteria associated with human dietary exposure and other specified conditions. Provides for extensions of minor use registration and data submission deadlines in cases where a registrant is not providing data to support a minor use but is providing data in a timely fashion to support other uses. Requires the Administrator, when a minor use registration application is filed no later than two years after another registrant voluntarily cancels registration for a similar use, to evaluate such application as if the voluntary cancellation had not yet taken place for purposes of data use, subject to environmental risk considerations. Directs EPA to assure coordination of minor use issues through the establishment of a minor use program within the Office of Pesticide Programs. Establishes and authorizes funding for a Department of Agriculture matching fund minor use program. Requires the program to be utilized to ensure the continued availability of minor use crop protection chemicals, including the data to support minor use pesticide registrations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1992
Global Climate Protection Act - Directs the President to promulgate final regulations that will achieve stabilization of carbon dioxide emissions by January 1, 2000. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate and report biennially to the Congress on the progress made pursuant to such regulations. Directs the President to promulgate additional regulations to achieve stabilization if the Administrator finds that the regulations will not achieve stabilization. Permits citizen suits against officers of the United States for failures to perform duties in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1992
Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992 - Title I: Extension of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program - Amends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-164, as amended) to extend the emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) program. Changes the EUC program termination date (currently July 4, 1992) to the earliest of: (1) April 1, 1993; (2) the first day of the third month after the first month (after June 1992) for which the applicable unemployment rate is less than six and one-half percent; or (3) the first day of the first month (after June 1992) for which the applicable unemployment rate is less than six percent. Makes the applicable unemployment rate for any month, for such purposes, the average rate (seasonally adjusted) of total unemployment in all States for the most recent three calendar months for which data are published before the beginning of such month. Provides for reduction of benefits during periods after December 31, 1992. Modifies EUC eligibility requirements to: (1) make a 20-week work requirement inapplicable; (2) provide that an individual is not ineligible by reason of subsequent entitlement to regular benefits; and (3) provide certain transition rules, including a waiver of recovery of certain overpayments and an option to defer rights to certain regular benefits. Title II: Modifications to Extended Benefits Program - Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 to modify trigger provisions for the extended benefits (EB) program. Provides for an EB State "on" indicator for a month if the average rate of total unemployment (seasonally adjusted) for the most recent three months for which data are published before the close of such month is: (1) six percent or more; and (2) 110 percent or more of such average rate for either (or both) of the corresponding three-month periods ending in the two preceding calendar years. (Current law uses the State insured unemployment rate, rather than the State total unemployment rate, in the trigger formula.) Provides for additional weeks of EB program benefits during high unemployment periods (when the trigger period average rate of total unemployment is eight percent or more). Repeals certain special eligibility requirements under the EB program. Increases the amount of Federal reimbursement under the EB program. Makes these amendments to the EB program effective on October 1, 1993, with certain exceptions. Title III: Modifications to Federal Unemployment Tax - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the Federal unemployment tax rate. Allows elective withholding of Federal, State, or local income taxes from unemployment compensation (under the Internal Revenue Code and the Social Security Act). Title IV: Reemployment Assistance Programs - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional credit against the Federal unemployment tax for taxpayers in States with reemployment assistance programs. Title V: Modification to Regular State Unemployment Compensation Programs - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the base period under regular State unemployment compensation programs. Provides for treatment of short-time compensation programs which provide partial unemployment benefits to individuals whose workweeks have been reduced by at least ten percent. Allows State laws to provide for unemployment compensation funds to be withdrawn for the payment of such short-time compensation under a plan approved by the Secretary of Labor. Directs the Secretary of Labor to assist States in establishing and implementing short-time compensation programs by: (1) developing model legislative language and proposing appropriate revisions; and (2) providing technical assistance and guidance. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on implementation of these short-time compensation program provisions. Prohibits State laws from denying unemployment compensation to any individual by reason of the circumstances under which such individual separated from employment by any employer unless it was the individual's most recent separation from employment. Requires each employer covered under a State unemployment compensation law to: (1) post statements (prescribed by the State agency) regarding benefit rights and other matters in places readily accessible to employees; and (2) furnish to each terminated employee written statements (provided by the State agency) regarding claims for compensation. Title VI: Financing Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend by two years, through December 31, 1997, the following income tax provisions affecting high income taxpayers: (1) an overall limitation on itemized deductions; and (2) a phaseout of personal exemptions. Amends the Social Security Act to provide for transfer of revenues from income taxes on unemployment benefits to the Unemployment Trust Fund. Bases such transfers on estimates of benefit payments. Sets forth a transition rule requiring the Secretary of the Treasury, by the end of FY 1992, to transfer from the general fund of the Treasury to the Unemployment Trust Fund, for credit to the extended unemployment compensation account, an amount equal to that which would have been appropriated to the Unemployment Trust Fund for months beginning on or before enactment of this Act if such transfer amendments had been in effect for all months after December 31, 1990. Revises provisions for Federal unemployment accounts. Modifies provisions for the extended unemployment compensation account with respect to transfers, and increases the ceiling on such account. Reduces the ceiling on the Federal unemployment account. Provides for borrowing among the employment security administration account, the Federal unemployment account, and the extended unemployment compensation account. Amends specified Federal law relating to civil service employment to provide that if any Federal agency does not deposit a required amount in the Federal Employees Compensation Account for unemployment benefits within 30 days after notification by the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Labor shall notify the Secretary of the Treasury of such failure and that Secretary shall transfer such amount to such Account from amounts otherwise appropriated to such Federal agency. Title VII: Budgetary Treatment - Amends the Social Security Act to exclude the Unemployment Trust Fund (the Fund) from the unified budget, thus giving the Fund "off-budget" status (except amounts required to be deposited in the Federal Employees Compensation Account). Reduces certain discretionary spending limits for FY 1993 through 1995. Modifies certain maximum deficit amounts to provide for a decrease in FY 1993 and an increase in FY 1994 and 1995. Makes conforming amendments to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA) (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Provides that any amount of new budget authority, outlays, or receipts resulting from this Act shall not be considered for any purpose under BBEDCA.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1992
Amends the Rail Passenger Service Act to establish as one of Amtrak's goals the achievement, by October 1, 2000, of a positive ratio of annual revenue to annual operating costs. Amends the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 to establish in the Treasury an Intercity Rail Passenger Capital Improvement Trust Fund to provide moneys to improve the safety of intercity rail passenger operations. Requires amounts from a one cent tax imposed on each gallon of diesel and gasoline to be deposited into the Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1992
Amends Federal law to prohibit a Member of the House of Representatives from sending any franked mass mailing outside the Member's congressional district. Authorizes a Member of Congress to mail franked mail with a simplified form of address for delivery within his or her congressional district only. (Current law permits such mailings throughout the Member's State.) Prohibits the Committee on House Administration from approving any payment for, and a Member from making any expenditure from, any allowance of the House or any other official funds if any portion is for any cost related to a mass mailing by a Member of the House outside his or her congressional district.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
United States Commercial Center Pilot Program Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish, as a pilot program, a United States Commercial Center in one country each in the Baltics, including one of the former Soviet republics, Asia, and Latin America to provide additional resources for the promotion of exports of U.S. goods and services to such countries. Requires the Secretary to use the Market Development Cooperator Program to assist the Centers in providing such resources. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1992 - Title I: Recovery Plans - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary (either the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as program responsibilities are vested) to: (1) develop and implement recovery plans by December 31, 1996, for listed endangered and threatened species for which such plans have not been developed as of December 31, 1992; and (2) do the same for such non-listed species as of December 31, 1992, within two years after the species is listed. Title II: Penalties and Enforcement - Waives the 60-day notice requirement with respect to the filing of a civil suit by an individual in the case of an action against any person respecting an emergency posing a significant risk to the well-being of any listed species of fish or wildlife. Authorizes the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating to promulgate regulations to carry out the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the resolutions of its parties as well as to enforce this Act. Title III: Habitat Conservation Plans - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with any State, municipality, county, or local government to assist in the development of a plan for the conservation of any threatened or endangered species. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans, under specified conditions, to any such entities: (1) in the development of such plans; (2) to carry out biological and other studies in connection with it; and (3) related tasks. Establishes the Habitat Conservation Planning Fund for the deposit of all appropriated sums to assist in the development of conservation plans. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act - Title I: Improvements in Customs Enforcement - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise customs procedures with respect to: (1) electronic transmission of forged, altered, or false data to the United States Customs Service with regard to the entry of imported merchandise; (2) penalties for failure to declare imported controlled substances; (3) examination and detention of imported merchandise; (4) certain recordkeeping requirements; (5) examination of books and witnesses; (6) review of protests by the Customs Service; (7) a repeal of a provision relating to reliquidation on account of fraud; (8) penalties relating to manifests and for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence; (9) unlawful unlading or transshipment; (10) public access to Customs Service interpretative rulings and decisions; and (11) seizure of imported merchandise. Title II: National Customs Automation Program - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to establish the National Customs Automation Program which shall be an automated and electronic system for the processing of commercial imports. Provides for electronic data transmission relating to: (1) drawback claim records; (2) effective date of rates of duty on imported merchandise; (3) merchandise manifests; (4) imported merchandise invoices; (5) entry and release of imported merchandise; (6) admissibility in administrative and judicial proceedings of electronically transmitted information; (7) appraisement and liquidations of imported merchandise; (8) the payment of duties; (9) abandonment and damage to imported merchandise; (10) protests of Customs Service decisions; (11) refunds and errors; (12) bonds and other security; and (13) customs house brokers. Sets forth provisions with respect to customs officer's immunity in regard to the appraisement of or collection of duties on imported merchandise. Title III: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 - Amends the Act to authorize the Secretary to disregard the difference, but not less than $20 (currently ten dollars), between the total estimated duties deposited with respect to imported merchandise and the total amount actually due on such merchandise. Authorizes the Secretary to admit duty-free: (1) gifts from persons in foreign countries to persons in the United States whose value does not exceed $100 (currently, $50), or $200 (currently, $100) in the case of gifts from persons in the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa; (2) articles accompanying persons for personal or household use whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, $25); or (3) articles whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, five dollars) in other cases. Authorizes the Secretary to waive collection of duties due on merchandise that are worth less than $20, or such greater amount as prescribed by him or her. Requires masters of vessels that have visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise while outside the U.S. territorial sea to report their arrival to the nearest customs facility. Provides for the electronic transmission of vessel documentation to the Customs Service. Requires the following vessels to report to the nearest Customs Service facility within 24 hours (or other period of time) as provided after arrival to a U.S. port: (1) vessels from a foreign port; (2) foreign vessels from a domestic port; (3) U.S. vessels having bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (4) vessels which visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise outside the U.S. territorial sea. Permits masters of vessels to make preliminary entry of their vessel with the Customs Service in lieu of or before formal entry is made. Requires U.S. and foreign vessels to obtain clearance from the Customs Service before proceeding from a U.S. port for: (1) a foreign port; (2) another U.S. port (for foreign vessels only), or (for U.S. vessels only) another U.S. port if the vessel has bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (3) outside the U.S. territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or to receive merchandise. Exempts from entry and clearance requirements certain passenger vessels on excursion from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the British Virgin Islands and returning, U.S. documented vessels with recreational endorsement, or (as under current law) undocumented U.S. pleasure vessels not engaged in trade, except such vessels must comply upon arrival with specified customs reporting requirements and navigation laws and must not have visited any hovering vessel. Prohibits merchandise, passengers, or baggage from being unladen from any vessel required to make entry or vehicle required to report its arrival until such entry or report of arrival is made and a permit for unlading has been issued by the Customs Service. Authorizes the issuance of such permits through electronic data transmission. Requires every importer of record of merchandise to make and file electronically or otherwise a declaration stating whether such merchandise is imported pursuant to a purchase or purchase agreement and that all other required documents are true and correct. Provides for electronic data transmission of entry information to complete any incomplete entry of imported merchandise. Declares entered or unentered merchandise that remains in customs custody for six months, with an extension at the importer's request of up to a year (currently, for merchandise that remains in custody for one year), and in which duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges have not been paid, to be unclaimed merchandise which shall be appraised and sold by the Customs Service at public auction. Authorizes the sale of imported gunpowder and other explosive merchandise that if permitted to remain in a bonded warehouse for six months (currently, one year) would depreciate in value to the extent that its sale would be insufficient to pay such duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges. Authorizes the Customs Service, in lieu of sale, to provide notice to interested parties that, unless, within 30 days of such notice, the subject merchandise is entered or withdrawn for consumption and payment made of all duties, taxes, and fees, transfer and storage charges and other expenses that title to such merchandise shall be deemed to vest in the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to pay to a party that has lost a substantial interest in merchandise by virtue of title vesting in the United States, and can establish that it did not receive a vesting notice, an amount from the Customs Forfeiture Fund equal to what such party would have received if such merchandise had been sold and a proper claim filed. Requires any surplus of the proceeds from the sale of such merchandise to be deposited into the Fund if a claim for such surplus is not filed with the Customs Service. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the declaration and entry of merchandise whose value does not exceed a certain amount, not more than $2,500 (currently not greater than $1,250), and/or when different commercial facilitation and risk considerations that may vary for different classes or kinds of merchandise or different classes of transactions may dictate. Requires the Secretary upon seizure and forfeiture of imported merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark to dispose of such merchandise more than 90 days (currently, one year) after such forfeiture. Authorizes withdrawal of imported merchandise from a warehouse for transfer to a foreign trade zone. Authorizes the Customs Service to order the destruction or other appropriate disposition of vessels, vehicles, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage that has been seized under the customs laws if it determines that the expense of keeping such items is disportionate to their value (currently applies only to items of less than $1,000 in value). Requires actions for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence with respect to imported merchandise to be instituted within five years after entry of such merchandise or discovery of such fraud. Requires the Customs Service to be reimbursed the administrative cost and expense incurred in collecting fees on behalf of other Federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to settle, for no more than $50,000 in each case, claims for personal injury, death, or damage to, or loss of, privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer of the Customs Service. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with persons for collection services to recover indebtedness arising under the customs laws, provided the Customs Service has exhausted all administrative efforts to collect such indebtedness. Title IV: Miscellaneous, Consequential and Conforming Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to increase the dollar amount of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes and cigars that can be entered duty-free by persons returning to the United States. Increases the amount on such items where a duty is provided. Amends the Internal Revenue Code and other specified Federal law with respect to: (1) certain expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund; and (2) coastwise trade vessels and U.S. vessels visiting foreign ports. Repeals specified provisions of Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Requests the United State Trade Representative to refuse to agree to countervailing and antidumping duties, trade remedies, and certain other provisions proposed to be included in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
United States · United States Congress · 23 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should not enter into any international agreement, or approve a certain international report to be submitted to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Council and relating to marine mammal protection that would impair its authority with respect to environmental, labor, agricultural, and public health and safety standards.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Urges the President to renew the voluntary restraint agreements with Taiwan and Japan for an additional five years in order to protect national security and ensure U.S. industrial competitiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1991
Earned Income Credit Simplification Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the calculation of the earned income credit by: (1) repealing the supplemental young child credit and the health insurance credit; and (2) increasing the credit percentage of the taxpayer's earned income.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1991
Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1991 - Urges the President to propose to the United Nations Economic and Social Rights Committee that the Convention for the Rights of the Child include a worldwide ban on trade in products of child labor. Requires the Secretary of Labor to identify foreign countries that: (1) have not adopted, or enforced, prohibitions against the use of child labor in the manufacture of products; and (2) have exported products of child labor to the United States. Authorizes any person to file a petition with the Secretary requesting that a particular country be identified. Requires the Secretary, before making such identification, to: (1) consult with the U.S. Trade Representative, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Treasury; and (2) publish notice in the Federal Register that such identification is being considered and invite public comment. Directs the Secretary of Labor to transmit to the Congress a report with respect to the national laws and practices of foreign countries pertaining to the commercial exploitation of children. Prohibits the importation of products which have been produced by child labor. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1991
Justice for Wards Cove Workers Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to remove a provision excluding from application of the Act any disparate impact case filed before March 1, 1975, and decided after October 30, 1983. (Wards Cove Packing Co. Inc. v. Atonio, 1989, held that, in cases brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove an employer had no business necessity for a practice with discriminatory effects.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1991
Middle Class Tax Relief and Fairness Act of 1992 - Title I: Credit for Portion of Social Security Taxes - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit for 20 percent of a taxpayer's social security taxes, limited to $200 ($400 in the case of a joint return) and applicable to years beginning after December 31, 1991, and before January 1, 1994. Title II: Revenue Increases - Subtitle A: Increase in Top Marginal Individual Income Tax Rates - Lowers the tax rates for certain taxpayers and increases the tax rate for certain higher incomes. Increases the tentative minimum tax for taxpayers other than corporations. Subtitle B: Surtax on Individuals With Incomes Over $1,000,000 - Imposes a surtax on incomes in excess of $1,000,000, including estates and trusts. Title III: Budget Provisions - Provides that any change in outlays or receipts resulting from this Act shall not be considered for any purpose under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1991
Designates December 4, 1991, as Federal Civilian Employee Remembrance Day to recognize contributions provided by Federal civilian employees during the attack on Pearl Harbor and during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1991
Health Insurance Reform and Cost Control Act of 1991 - Title I: Increase in Deduction for Health Insurance For Self-Employed Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the current 25 percent tax deduction for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals through 1992, and to increase the deduction to 50 percent in 1993, 75 percent in 1994, and 100 percent in 1995 and thereafter. Title II: Improvements In Health Insurance For Small Employers - Subtitle A: Standards And Requirements of Small Employer Health Insurance Reform - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXI (Health Insurance Standards) under part A (Small Employer Health Insurance Standards) of which the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to develop specific standards to implement the requirements outlined in the three successive paragraphs below and in part B (Prohibition of Discrimination Based on Health Status for Certain Services) of such new title as added below which health insurance plans provided by entities employing from two to 50 employees (small employer plans) must be certified as meeting in order to be issued. Requires each insurer to register with the Secretary and any applicable regulatory authority for each State in which it issues or offers a small employer plan. Specifies that no issuer may exclude from coverage any eligible employee or such employee's spouse or any dependent child to whom coverage is made available by a small employer. Requires, with respect to small employer plans, that insurers offering such plans guarantee that: (1) the same plans are available throughout the insurer's service area on a continuous, year-round basis; and (2) such plans are renewable, with specified exceptions. Requires a notice prior to expiration of the terms for renewal of the plan. Provides that except with respect to rates and administrative changes, such terms (including benefits) shall be the same as the terms of issuance. Requires that the period of renewal of each small employer plan be for a period of not less than 12 months. Details requirements with respect to the treatment of health maintenance organizations. Provides that an insurer may not offer to, or issue with respect to, a small employer a small employer plan with a term of less than 12 months. Provides that the premium index rate for any block of business of an insurer may not exceed the index rate for any other block of business by more than 20 percent, with specified exceptions. Requires small employer plan premiums within a block of business to be community-rated for a given geographical area, with limited adjustments for age and sex permitted under specified guidelines. Specifies that, in defining communities for rating purposes, no insurer may use a geographic area that is smaller than a metropolitan statistical area. Requires small employer plans to permit enrollment of (and compute premiums separately for) individuals based on specified beneficiary classes. Places restrictions on transfers of small employers among blocks of business. Requires that any variation in annual small employer plan premium increases be limited to five percent. Requires full disclosure of rating practices and other premium rate information when a small employer plan is offered to the employer. Requires annual actuarial certification of an insurer's compliance with the premium rate requirements of this paragraph for filing with the Secretary and any applicable regulatory authority. Requires small employer plans offered to contain a benefit package similar to the benefit package under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act), plus unlimited inpatient hospital services for children and specified pregnancy-related services, as well as the new preventive benefits added to the Medicare program by title V of this Act. Sets a single annual deductible of $250 per individual and $500 per family, indexed to annual increases in the contribution and benefit base. Makes deductibles inapplicable for preventive services provided consistent with any applicable periodicity schedules. Makes co-payments inapplicable for: (1) preventive services provided consistent with any applicable periodicity schedules; and (2) inpatient hospital services furnished to children. Sets an overall annual limit on deductibles and co-payments of $2,500 per individual and $3,000 per family, indexed in the manner described above. Preempts State mandates prohibiting the offering of the benefit package required to be contained in small employer plans. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a toll-free telephone information and complaint system which provides for: (1) a system for the receipt and disposition of consumer complaints or inquiries regarding compliance of small employer plans with the requirements outlined above; and (2) information to small employers about insurers in the local area that offer those plans that meet such requirements. Subtitle B: Tax Penalty on Noncomplying Insurers - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on: (1) insurers which issue small employer plans that do not comply with the requirements outlined above; and (2) small employers who self-insure for employee health benefits. Sets the amount of such excise tax for: (1) insurers at 25 percent of the gross premiums received from small employers in a year; and (2) small employers at 25 percent of the expenditures made for employee health benefits in a year. Subtitle C: Studies and Reports - Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to study and report to the Congress on the impact of the rating requirements for small employer plans outlined above on the availability and price of insurance offered to small employers along with recommendations for adjusting such requirements to eliminate variation in premiums associated with demographic factors. Title III: Improvements In Portability Of Private Health Insurance - Amends new title XXI (Health Insurance Standards) of the Social Security Act to add a part B (Prohibition of Discrimination Based on Health Status for Certain Services) under which all employer health plans (including self-insured plans) are barred from denying, limiting, or conditioning the coverage under (or benefits of) the plan with respect to standard health services based on the health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, or lack of evidence of insurability, of an individual. Provides that group health plan exclusions for pre-existing conditions shall be limited to six months, except with respect to newborns. Reduces such six-month period by up to three months of a period of continuous coverage of an individual for services with respect to a pre-existing condition. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose the same excise tax as imposed above on insurers who violate a requirement of part A (Small Employer Health Insurance Standards) on insurers who violate a requirement of part B (Prohibition of Discrimination Based on Health Status for Certain Services). Title IV: Health Care Cost Containment - Establishes in HHS the National Health Care Cost Containment Commission to: (1) review and make recommendations to the Secretary on the optional payments required below; and (2) report annually to the President and the Congress on increases in health care costs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish maximum payment rates based upon existing Medicare payment methodologies, including the extra billing limits for physician services, that purchasers may elect to pay for health care services. Requires service providers to accept the rates as payment in full, subject to civil monetary penalty. Directs the Secretary to develop uniform claims forms for use by beneficiaries and providers and uniform reporting standards to be employed by providers. Title V: Medicare Prevention Benefits - Amends the Medicare program to add annual screenings for colon cancer for individuals over age 50 and for breast cancer for women over age 64, vaccinations for influenza and tetanus-diphtheria, and well-child care services as program benefits. Directs the Secretary to establish and provide for ongoing demonstration projects providing for the coverage of other specified preventive services under Medicare to determine whether to include the coverage of such services for all individuals enrolled under Mediare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Requires reports to specified congressional committees describing the findings made under such demonstration projects and the Secretary's plans for future such demonstration projects. Authorizes appropriations. Requires an Office of Technology Assessment study to develop a process for the regular review of Medicare coverage of preventive services. Requires a report to the Congress on such study.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1991
Nuclear Testing Moratorium Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from conducting any explosive nuclear weapons test during the one-year period following the enactment of this Act unless the President certifies to the Congress that the Soviet Union has conducted such a test during such period.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1991
Carryover Basis Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (relating to the gain or loss on disposition of property) to provide for determining the carryover basis for property acquired from a decedent dying after December 31, 1991, and valued at $600,000 or more. Describes carryover basis property as that which is acquired from or passed from a decedent who died after December 31, 1991, and which is not excluded under this Act. Permits the limited recognition of gain when the executor of an estate uses certain appreciated carryover basis property to satisfy the right of a person to receive a pecuniary bequest. Establishes a procedure for the binding determination of the initial basis of carryover basis property. Requires estate executors to: (1) file information returns in connection with carryover basis property; and (2) provide written notice to recipients of such property. Prescribes penalties for failure to report.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1991
Clean Water Enforcement and Compliance Improvement Amendments Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require any person subject to the requirements of such Act (currently, owners or operators of point sources) to maintain records, make reports, and allow access to information to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with respect to carrying out such Act. Provides for the issuance of compliance orders, the bringing of civil actions, and the imposition of civil, criminal, or administrative penalties for violations of requirements of pretreatment programs. Repeals a provision that treats a single operational upset that leads to simultaneous violations of more than one pollution parameter as a single violation. Authorizes courts to order civil penalties to be used for mitigation projects. Raises the ceiling on the amount of administrative penalties allowed to be assessed for violations. Removes provisions that permit State enforcement actions to serve as a bar to Federal enforcement actions. States that civil penalties must be in an amount that is no less than the amount of the economic benefit or savings resulting from the violation plus interest accruing from the date of violation. Sets forth minimum civil penalties for discharges of pollutants (including hazardous pollutants) from point sources exceeding effluent limitations and from persons determined to be significant noncompliers. Requires the EPA Administrator to: (1) conduct inspections of facilities operated by significant noncompliers at which violations occurred; and (2) report annually to the Congress and to State Governors on persons classified as significant noncompliers. Prohibits the amount of civil penalties for discharges from sources exceeding effluent limitations from being compromised. Adds to the list of requirements for State pollutant discharge permit programs that such programs ensure that: (1) permits for discharges from major industrial or municipal facilities contain annual State inspection requirements; (2) permits for discharges from publicly owned treatment works require significant industrial users of the treatment works to submit monthly discharge monitoring reports as a condition to using the treatment works; (3) significant industrial users or other sources designated by the Administrator that introduce pollutants into such treatment works operate in accordance with a permit issued by the treatment works or the State; and (4) the State will grant publicly owned treatment works the authority and responsibility to conduct inspections and to assess and collect civil and administrative penalties. Sets forth inspection and discharge reporting requirements. Authorizes the Administrator to renew expired State discharge permits under certain conditions. Makes the issuance of permits modifying certain effluent limitations for toxic pollutants subject to certain public hearing requirements. Makes persons who fail to comply with orders concerning public endangerment from discharges subject to civil penalties. Authorizes citizen suits for past violations of effluent standards or limitations. Establishes the Clean Water Trust Fund. Requires the Administrator to use Fund moneys to carry out inspections and enforcement activities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1991
Extends nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to the products of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should take prompt action to provide preferential tariff treatment to such products under the Generalized System of Preferences.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Trade Equity Act of 1991 - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to classify certain light trucks or light-duty trucks as motor vehicles for the transport of goods for purposes of tariff treatment under the Schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Countervailing and Antidumping Duty Amendment Act of 1991 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise petition requirements with respect to the initiation of countervailing duty and antidumping duty investigations by repealing the requirement that such petitions be accompanied by certain supporting information available to the petitioner. Requires the administering authority to complete a review of countervailing duty or antidumping duty orders by the 180th day after the day on which a request for the review is received. Authorizes the administering authority to suspend the application of an antidumping duty order (except an order based on a determination that the establishment of an industry has been materially retarded) to merchandise if it determines that: (1) merchandise of that class or kind is not produced in the United States; (2) the need for such merchandise is real and reasonable; (3) the specifications are reasonable; and (4) no U.S. producer is capable of producing or willing to produce, such merchandise. Requires the administering authority to establish procedures for such determinations. Requires the International Trade Commission (ITC), when making material injury determinations with respect to countervailing duty and antidumping duty investigations, to evaluate all economic factors, including contracts with long lead time, that are distinctive to an affected domestic industry. Declares that the presence or absence of such factors shall not necessarily give decisive guidance to the ITC with respect to threat of material injury determinations. Prohibits the administering authority, when determining the foreign market value of imported merchandise, from making any allowance to account for differences in import costs that are based on whether the end product made from the import is sold in the home market or exported. Requires the administering authority to report annually the amount of duties collected pursuant to countervailing duty and antidumping duty orders. Requires the administering authority to make such information available to interested parties. Requires the ITC to prescribe procedures governing the manner in which affected domestic producers may apply for compensation pursuant to a countervailing duty or antidumping duty order. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a special compensation account on the date that an antidumping order takes effect.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) with respect to occupational safety and health programs, committees, employee representatives, coverage, standards, enforcement, antidiscrimination, training and education, hazard and illness evaluation, State plans, and victims' rights. Title I: Safety and Health Programs - Amends OSHA to establish requirements for each employer to set up and carry out a written occupational safety and health program that includes methods and procedures for: (1) identifying, evaluating, and documenting hazards; (2) correcting them; (3) investigating work-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths; (4) providing occupational safety and health services, including emergency response and first aid procedures; (5) employee participation in implementing such program, including, where applicable, a safety and health committee; (6) responding to such committee's recommendations; (7) providing safety and health training and education to employees and committee members; (8) designating an employer representative qualified to and responsible for identifying hazards and initiating corrective action; and (9) at a worksite where employees of two or more employers work, protecting employees from hazards under the other employers' control. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to modify the application of such requirements to classes of employers where, in light of the risks faced by the employer's employees, such a modification would not reduce their safety and health protection. Directs the Secretary to issue final regulations on the required employer occupational safety and health programs, covering employee training and education as well, including annual refresher courses. Title II: Safety and Health Committees and Employee Safety and Health Representatives - Amends OSHA to require each employer of 11 or more employees to provide for: (1) safety and health committees; and (2) employee safety and health representatives. Requires, in general, such employers to establish such a committee at each worksite, but authorizes the Secretary to modify application of this requirement to: (1) an employer whose employees do not primarily report to or work at a fixed location; (2) covered employers at worksites where less than 11 of their employees are employed; and (3) worksites where employees of more than one employer are employed. Requires committee membership to consist of elected or appointed employee representatives and up to an equal number of employer representatives. Requires the committee to be cochaired by an employer representative and an employee representative. Grants each committee the reasonable right to: (1) review occupational safety and health related employer programs, incidents of death, injury, or illness, complaints of hazards, the employer's work injury and illness records (other than personally identifiable medical information), and other related reports and documents; (2) conduct worksite inspections (and related employee interviews) at least once every three months and in response to complaints; (3) conduct meetings at least once every three months; (4) observe the measurement of employee exposure to toxic materials and harmful physical agents; (5) establish procedures for exercising committee rights; (6) make advisory recommendations for improvements and corrections; and (7) accompany the Secretary's representative during certain physical inspections of the worksite. Requires the employer to permit committee members to take such time from work as is reasonably necessary to exercise committee rights, without any loss of pay or benefits for such time. Directs the Secretary to issue final regulations for the establishment and functioning of such committees. Sets forth procedures for selection of employee representatives by and from nonmanagerial employees. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations on safety and health representatives, including specified numbers and selection procedures. Title III: Coverage - Revises the OSHA definition of employer to include the Federal Government (except certain congressional employees) and State and local governments, thus extending OSHA coverage to public employees. (Includes under such OSHA coverage the executive and judicial branches and the following agencies of the legislative branch: the Botanic Garden, the General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Copyright Royalty Tribunal.) Authorizes the Secretary to cede OSHA jurisdiction to a Federal agency with respect to specified standards or regulations affecting occupational safety and health of some or all employees within that agency's regulatory jurisdiction, if the agency has promulgated and is enforcing standards and regulations so that its employees are being protected at least as effectively as they would be by the Secretary. Declares that nothing in OSHA shall apply to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. Applies OSHA to employment performed in the Federal nuclear facilities under the control or jurisdiction of the Department of Energy. Extends an employer's duties under OSHA to all employees working at the place of employment (even if they are not the employer's employees). Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Standards - Revises provisions for OSHA standards. Requires specified timeframes for setting such standards after the Secretary has received: (1) a recommendation of an advisory committee, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; or (2) a petition from an interested person setting forth with reasonable particularity the facts claimed to establish that a standard should be promulgated, modified, or revoked. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days after such receipt, to publish a response stating whether the Secretary intends to publish a proposed rule with respect to such standard, or if not, the reasons for the decision not to publish such a rule. Directs the Secretary, if such rule is intended to be published, to do so within 12 months after the receipt of the recommendation or petition. Directs the Secretary to: (1) afford interested persons a period of at least 30 days to submit written data or comments after publication of a proposed rule promulgating, modifying, or revoking an OSHA standard; and (2) issue a final rule within 180 days after the public comment period (or within 180 days after a required public hearing on objections to such rule). Allows any adversely affected person to petition for judicial review, in the U.S. court of appeals for the appropriate circuit, of the Secretary's refusal or failure to issue such rules or standards. Requires that such a petition to appeal the Secretary's determination not to propose a rule with respect to a standard be filed within 60 days after publication of such determination. Requires set-aside of the Secretary's determination if it is found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law. Allows a petition to appeal the Secretary's failure to publish a proposed rule within the required 12-month time frame to be filed at any time after such time period has elapsed. Directs the reviewing court to compel the Secretary to take any such action that is found to have been unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed. Provides that the withholding or delaying of action shall not be justified by the Secretary's desire to consult with, or receive approval from any other Federal agency or executive official, except where this is required by applicable law and pursued in timely fashion. Revises the definition of "occupational safety and health standard" to mean a standard which addresses a significant risk to the safety or health of employees by requiring conditions, or the adoption or use of one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes that most adequately assure, to the extent feasible, safe and healthful employment and places of employment. Requires each OSHA standard also to prescribe requirements for recording or reporting a work-related illness determined as a result of a medical examination or test conducted under the standard. Directs the Secretary to place in the public record all written comments and communications and a summary of all verbal communications with parties outside the Department of Labor (DOL) (including communications with executive branch officials) regarding promulgation, modification, or revocation of an OSHA standard. Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of HHS and in addition to other OSHA standards, to modify and establish exposure limits for toxic materials and harmful physical agents on a regular basis in a specified manner. Directs the Secretary of HHS, acting through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to: (1) regularly evaluate available scientific evidence, data, and information to determine if such exposure limits should be modified or be established to protect exposed employees from material impairment of health or functional capacity; and (2) at least every three years, on the basis of such evaluation, develop and transmit to the Secretary recommendations identifying materials and agents for which exposure limits should be modified or established to protect employees from such impairment. Directs the Secretary: (1) within 30 days of receipt of such recommendations, to publish them and provide a 30-day public comment period; (2) within six months of their receipt evaluate them and the public comments and publish a proposed rule for the exposure limits of each material and agent for which the Secretary of HHS has made a recommendation (explaining why any proposed limit is not the same as a recommended limit); (3) within one year of publication of the proposed limits, issue a final standard (explaining why any final limit is not the same as the recommended limit); and (4) establish or modify such limits whenever warranted, in addition to a periodic review. Directs the Secretary, within two years after the effective date of this Act, to promulgate final standards on exposure monitoring and medical surveillance programs, including specified requirements. Directs the Secretary to issue a final standard on ergonomic hazards to protect employees from work-related musculoskeletal disorders, including specified requirements. Sets forth timetables for the Secretary to issue various OSHA final standards. Title V: Enforcement - Revises OSHA enforcement provisions. Provides that time spent by an employee in accompanying the Secretary's representative on an OSHA inspection shall be deemed to be hours worked, with no loss of pay, benefits, or seniority. Requires the Secretary to notify employees or their representative within 30 days after receipt of their request for inspection that there are no reasonable grounds to believe a violation or danger exists. Directs the Secretary also to make a special inspection after determining that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an imminent danger or serious violation exists in a place of employment, upon notification from any other source (as well as upon notification by an employee or employee representative as in current law). Directs the Secretary to establish and carry out a special emphasis inspection program for conducting inspections of industries or operations where existing hazards or newly recognized or new hazards introduced into work sites warrant more intensive than normal inspections. Requires annual designation of the industries and operations for such program and the number of inspections planned and number of enforcement personnel required. Requires that special emphasis inspections be in addition to other programmed and complaint inspections conducted under OSHA before the effective date of this Act. Requires a report on such program in the Secretary's annual OSHA report to the Congress. Requires the Secretary to investigate any work-related death or serious incident (i.e. one resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees). Requires the employer to: (1) notify the Secretary of any death or serious incident occurring in a place of employment covered by OSHA; and (2) prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence that would assist in investigating such death or incident. Requires OSHA citations to state if the Secretary or the Secretary's representative believes that an alleged violation is serious and presents such a substantial risk to the safety or health of employees that initiation of review proceedings should not suspend the running of the period for correction of the violation. Revises the correction period to make it begin to run from the date of receipt of the citation, with specified exceptions. Requires employers to verify the abatement of a serious, willful, or repeated violation in writing to the Secretary within 30 days after the correction period has expired. Requires employers, within ten days after verification of abatement, to prominently post notice of such abatement at or near each place the violation occurred and to make a copy of the verification available to employers and employee representatives. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations implementing such abatement verification and notice requirements. Grants employees the right to contest: (1) citations' designations of the character of the violation or of the OSHA provision, standard, rule, regulation, or order violated (in addition to contesting the abatement period, as in current law); and (2) proposed penalties as inadequate. Grants employee representatives the right to participate in other proceedings (as well as hearings) conducted under specified OSHA enforcement procedures. Requires, if the Secretary intends to withdraw or modify a citation as a result of any agreement with the employer, the Commission's rules of procedure to provide for prompt notice to affected employees or their representatives. Grants employees or their representative, regardless of whether they have previously elected to participate in the proceedings, the right to file a notice alleging that the proposed agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of OSHA within 15 days after receipt of notice of the agreement. Directs the Secretary to consider the matter and, upon determination to proceed with the agreement, respond with particularity to the objections. Grants employees or their representative, within 15 days after the Secretary's response, the right to a hearing upon request to the Commission. Provides that if the Commission determines the proposed agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of OSHA, the proposed agreement shall not be entered as a Commission order and the citation shall not be withdrawn or modified in accordance with the proposed agreement. Revises OSHA provisions for restraining imminent dangers. Directs the Secretary to inform the employer and the affected employees and request that a condition or practice that poses an imminent danger be corrected immediately or that employees be immediately removed from exposure to such danger. Requires such actions if the Secretary determines, on the basis of an inspection or investigation, that a condition or practice in the place of employment is such that an imminent danger to safety or health exists which could reasonably be expected to cause death, serious physical harm, or permanent impairment of health or functional capacity of employees if not corrected immediately. Directs the Secretary to determine whether to post a notice in the workplace if the employer refuses to comply with the Secretary's request. Requires that such notice identify the source of the imminent danger. Grants employees the right to refuse to perform a duty that has been identified as the source of an imminent danger by such a notice, and prohibits discrimination against them for such refusal. Subjects an employer to a civil penalty of from $10,000 to $50,000 for each day during which an employee continues to be exposed if the employer does not immediately correct the hazard referred to in the posted notice or remove all employees from exposure to it, unless the Commission determines that the condition or practice is not covered by such imminent danger provisions. Revises OSHA criminal penalties to increase the maximum amount of fines and the length of prison terms for specified violations, including those for a willful violation causing death, an improper advance notice of an inspection, or a false statement. Establishes criminal penalties for a willful violation that causes serious bodily injury. Prohibits a penalty or fine which is imposed on a director, officer, or agent of an employer from being paid out of the employer's assets on behalf of that individual. Provides that nothing in OSHA shall preclude State and local law enforcement agencies from conducting criminal prosecutions in accordance with State or local laws. Title VI: Protection of Employees from Discrimination - Revises OSHA antidiscrimination provisions to extend coverage to an employee's: (1) reporting any injury, illness, or unsafe condition to the employer, employer's agent, safety and health committee, or employee safety and health representative; and (2) refusing to perform duties when reasonably apprehensive that doing so would result in serious injury to himself/herself or other employees, after having sought and been unable to obtain from the employer corrections of the circumstances causing such refusal. Revises procedures for consideration of complaints of discrimination. Increases the period for filing such complaints from 30 to 180 days after the alleged discrimination. Requires the Secretary, within 60 days after receipt of the complaint, to investigate and notify the complainant and the alleged violator of the findings. Requires such findings to be accompanied by a preliminary order providing relief, if the Secretary has concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe a violation has occurred. Allows the alleged violator or the complainant to file, within 30 days, objections to the findings and/or the preliminary order, and to request a hearing on the record. Provides that such filing of objections shall not operate to stay any reinstatement remedy in the preliminary order. Requires such hearings to be conducted expeditiously. Deems the preliminary order a final order not subject to judicial review if a hearing is not timely requested. Directs the Secretary to issue a final order within 120 days after the conclusion of such hearing. Allows such proceedings to be terminated at any time in the interim on the basis of a settlement agreement by the Secretary, the complainant, and the alleged violator. Requires the Secretary, upon determination that a violation of antidiscrimination provisions has occurred, to order: (1) correction of the violation; (2) reinstatement to the former position with all compensation (including back pay), terms, conditions, and privileges of such employment; and (3) compensatory damages. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request of the complainant, to assess against the person against whom such order is issued all costs and expenses (including attorney's fees) incurred by the complainant in connection with bringing the complaint. Allows adversely affected or aggrieved persons to petition within 60 days to obtain review of such orders in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit. Directs the Secretary to file a civil action in the appropriate U.S. district court to enforce such orders against persons who fail to comply. Authorizes such court to grant appropriate relief. Provides that the legal burdens of proof that prevail under the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 shall govern adjudication of protected activities under OSHA antidiscrimination provisions. Title VII: OSHA and NIOSH Training and Education - Revises OSHA provisions for training and education. Includes education programs for employees and members of safety and health committees, as appropriate, among those programs which the Secretary of HHS is to conduct through NIOSH. Requires the Secretary (of Labor) to develop training materials, model curricula, and programs to assist employers in: (1) providing the training and education required under the new provisions for employer occupational safety and health programs; and (2) complying with OSHA standards. Title VIII: Recordkeeping and Reporting - Revises OSHA provisions relating to statistics to require the Secretary to collect information and conduct analyses that identify: (1) industries, employers, processes, operations, and occupations that have a high rate of injury or illness; (2) factors that cause or contribute to injuries and illnesses; and (3) workers' compensation costs associated with the injuries and illnesses. Requires such data to be publicly available in a form suitable for further statistical analysis, and to be used in setting safety and health standards, targeting inspections of individual establishments, and evaluating standard setting and enforcement programs. Directs the Secretary to require each employer covered by OSHA to report: (1) each work-related death of an employee immediately upon knowledge; and (2) each serious incident resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees within 24 hours of the incident. Revises OSHA requirements for employer records and reports to include (in addition to work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses) suspected work-related illnesses, including a work-related illness reported by an employee or an employee's physician, unless the employer makes a reasonable determination that the illness is not work-related. Provides that all such employer records and reports shall be made available to the Secretary, the Secretary of HHS, employees, and employee representatives. Title IX: NIOSH - Revises OSHA provisions relating to duties of the Secretary of HHS acting through NIOSH. Includes under hazard evaluation reports an evaluation of whether any hazardous condition or harmful physical agent found in the place of employment poses a risk to exposed employees. Directs the Secretary of HHS, if a final determination of hazard is not made within six months of a request, to provide to the employer and employees an interim report on the known or suspected hazards, a recommendation for control, and an estimate of the time in which a final determination will be made. Directs the Secretary of HHS to identify major factors contributing to occupational injuries and deaths through accident investigations and epidemiological research. Directs the Secretary of HHS to carry out a program to identify and notify employees at increased risk of occupational illnesses, injuries, and deaths, including public information and education programs, and recommendations for appropriate medical surveillance. Requires notification, if they are found to be at increased risk, of subjects of studies funded or conducted by the Secretary of HHS under such program. Specifies that the authority of the Secretary of HHS, and of NIOSH, to inspect records extends to the Secretary's designees and contractors. Directs the Secretary of HHS, through NIOSH (and in cooperation with other HHS agencies and the Secretary of Labor), to establish a national surveillance program to identify cases of occupational illnesses, deaths, and serious injuries. Requires coordination with State health agencies and Federal and State workers' compensation agencies under such program. Directs the Secretary of HHS to collect data each year on the number and characteristics of all occupational deaths and selected occupational illnesses and injuries. Requires, in making such selections, consideration of known frequency and severity of the disorder and of the size of the population at risk. Directs the Secretary of HHS to report on and analyze the occupational deaths, illnesses, and injuries collected under such program, and transmit such information to the Secretary of Labor, State health agencies, employers, employees, and other interested parties. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to require an employer, through a physician or health professional employed by or under contract to the employer, to report information on occupational deaths, illnesses, and injuries. Establishes NIOSH as a separate agency within the U.S. Public Health Service in the Department of HHS. Title X: State Plans - Revises OSHA requirements for State plans to provide for: (1) development of safety and health programs and safety and health committees and training programs that are at least as effective as those under the new OSHA requirements; and (2) reporting requirements, protection of employee rights, and access to information that are at least as effective as those under OSHA or other Federal laws governing access to information related to OSHA. Requires a State to enforce a Federal OSHA standard until a State standard at least as effective is in effect, if a State fails to adopt or promulgate such a standard within six months after the Federal standard is promulgated. Requires the Secretary (of Labor) to: (1) promptly investigate complaints against a State plan if there are reasonable grounds to believe a deficiency exists; (2) investigate complaints alleging a deficiency in a State enforcement action within 30 days of receipt; and (3) within 30 days of completion of the investigation, transmit findings and recommendations for correction to the State and complainant (or notify the complainant if there are no reasonable grounds to believe a deficiency exists). Requires a State to respond as to what action it has taken on the Secretary's findings and recommendations within 30 days of their receipt. Directs the Secretary to issue a citation with reasonable promptness if, after receipt of the State's response, the Secretary believes a serious violation of OSHA exists for which the State has failed to issue a citation. Requires the Secretary, upon determination that there are reasonable grounds to conclude there is a failure to comply substantially with any provision or assurance of the State plan, to: (1) notify the State and allow six months for correction of deficiencies; (2) institute proceedings for withdrawal of approval of the State plan, if the State has not corrected the deficiencies within six months (unless there are exceptional circumstances); and (3) during the pendency of such proceedings, exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the State over the safety and health issues that are subject to the State plan. Requires States which are operating State safety and health plans to modify them to conform to this Act. Title XI: Victim's Rights - Sets forth provisions for victims' rights under OSHA. Defines a victim as: (1) an employee who has sustained a work-related injury or illness which is the subject of an OSHA inspection or investigation; or (2) the family member of an employee who either is killed or cannot reasonably exercise victim's rights as a result of such an injury or illness. Grants victims the right, on request, to: (1) meet with the Secretary or a representative respecting the inspection or investigation before the Secretary's decision to issue a citation or to take no action; (2) receive a free copy of any citation or report issued as a result of the inspection or investigation; (3) be informed of any notice of contest filed; (4) be provided an explanation of the rights of employees and employee representatives to participate in OSHA enforcement proceedings; and (5) be provided an opportunity to appear and make a statement before the parties conducting any settlement negotiations, before the Secretary agrees to withdraw or modify the citation. Provides that a victim shall have the same rights as an employee under OSHA enforcement procedures. Entitles a victim, if such victims' rights are violated, to declaratory relief, injunctive relief, recovery of costs of securing specified documents, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Directs the Secretary to take reasonable actions to inform victims of these rights. Title XII: Worker's Compensation Study - Establishes the Federal Worker's Compensation Commission. Directs the Commission to study worker's compensation laws and system with respect to: (1) the recommendations of the National Commission on State Workmen's Compensation Laws; (2) the feasibility of using workers' compensation data to target loss prevention activities on high risk occupations; (3) the laws' adequacy in providing for needs of injured workers, occupational illnesses and diseases, quality control and medical and rehabilitation costs with cost control, and time for recuperation and counseling before return to full-time work; (4) the administrative system's adequacy and the appropriateness of such laws as the exclusive remedy; (5) the relationship between workers' compensation, safety and health programs, and insurance rates and services; (6) the feasibility and appropriateness of transferring the branch of the Department of Labor involved in workers' compensation studies from the Employment Standards Administration to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; and (7) the feasibility of preempting State workers' compensation laws with a national program. Requires such Commission to report the results of such study to the President and the Congress. Title XIII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Medicare Physician Payment Reform Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the transition rules for phasing in the resource-based relative value scale (RB RVS) method of payment for physician services to prohibit adjustments for asymmetry in the transition and for behavioral responses. Declares spending under this Act to be an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and exempt from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Unemployment Insurance Reform Act of 1991 - Title I: Federal Supplemental Compensation Program - Subtitle A: Establishment of Program - Establishes a Federal supplemental unemployment compensation program. Allows any State to enter into and participate in an agreement with the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) under which the State agency which administers the State unemployment compensation law will make payments of Federal supplemental compensation: (1) to individuals who have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under State law, have no rights to such regular compensation or any additional State or Federal compensation, and are not receiving Canadian compensation; and (2) for any week of unemployment beginning in the individual's eligibility period. Sets forth provisions relating to exhaustion of regular benefits and weekly amount of supplemental benefits equal to regular benefits. Requires a State, under such an agreement, to establish a Federal supplemental compensation account with respect to the benefit year of each eligible individual who files an application. Limits benefit payments to not more than the amount in the individual's account. Sets forth formulas for determining the amount in such account. Provides that such amount shall be equal to the lesser of: (1) 100 percent of the total amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to the individual with respect to the most recent regular benefit year; or (2) the applicable limit times the average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year. Sets the applicable limit at: (1) 20 for an eight-percent period, i.e. one triggered by a total unemployment rate (TUR) of eight percent or more in the State, seasonally adjusted, for the most recent three months with available data; (2) 15 for a seven-percent period; and (3) ten for a six-percent period. Sets forth special rules relating to such applicable limits. Coordinates the Federal supplemental compensation program with the trade readjustment allowance program under the Trade Act of 1974. Sets forth general, special, and transitional rules for supplemental benefit periods, individual eligibility periods, State on and off indicators, and a temporary national trigger. Sets forth provisions for payments to States having such agreements for Federal supplemental compensation. Sets forth reachback provisions for certain individuals' eligibility for such benefits. Sets forth provisions relating to fraud and overpayments. Subtitle B: Repeal of Extended Program - Repeals the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Act of 1970, and references to the extended unemployment compensation program (established by such Act) in the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and in the Social Security Act (SSA). Title II: Modifications to Eligibility Provisions - Amends FUTA to limit the circumstances under which individuals may be disqualified for unemployment compensation under State law. Amends specified Federal law to repeal certain limitations on payment of unemployment compensation to former members of the Armed Forces. Reduces the length of the period of required active duty reserves to qualify for such payments. Amends FUTA to allow optional unemployment benefits for certain school employees, by making denial of such benefits discretionary rather than mandatory. Amends FUTA with respect to the treatment of certain determinations with respect to claims for unemployment compensation benefits under State law. Amends FUTA to require State agencies administering unemployment compensation to approve any training program involving classroom training, occupational skill training, basic or remedial education, or literacy or remedial English training, in the case of any individual who has received compensation under State law for ten weeks or more during the benefit year (thus allowing such individual to receive such compensation while participating in such training). Title III: Demonstration Program to Provide Job Search Assistance - Directs the Secretary to carry out a demonstration program to determine the feasibility of implementing job search assistance programs. Requires selection of three States to participate in such program, based on specified criteria. Requires that at least one of these States will replicate a prior successful demonstration project for job search assistance. Sets forth requirements for the program agreement with these States. Requires a job search assistance program, for purposes of this title, to: (1) require certain unemployment compensation recipients to participate in a qualified intensive job search program (the program) after receiving such compensation for ten weeks during any benefit year; (2) entitle such individuals to an intensive job search program voucher; and (3) disqualify those who do not satisfactorily participate in such program from receiving such compensation for a specified period. Makes such program requirements applicable to such recipients if, during a specified three-year period, they had at least 126 weeks of employment at wages of $30 or more a week with their last employer (or an equivalent amount computed under prescribed regulations). Sets forth exceptions to such program requirements and program qualifications. Provides that such vouchers entitle the organization (including the State employment service) providing the program to a payment from the State agency equal to the lesser of: (1) the reasonable costs of providing the program; or (2) the average weekly benefit amount in the State. Requires Federal payments from the supplemental compensation account to each participating State's account in the Unemployment Trust Fund in an amount equal to the payments made by the State agency for such program vouchers. Provides for payments on a calendar month basis, and for certification by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to submit two interim reports and a final report to the Congress on the demonstraton program under this title. Title IV: Financing Reforms - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for transfers of income taxes on unemployment benefits to the Unemployment Trust Fund. Modifies provisions for Federal unemployment accounts. Provides for an increase in quarterly credits for States with adequate balances. Provides for appropriate adjustments in transfers to the Federal unemployment account. Raises a ceiling on the supplemental compensation account. Provides for borrowing between Federal accounts, under specified circumstances, with respect to: (1) the employment security administration account; (2) the Federal unemployment account; or (3) supplemental compensation and reemployment assistance account. Directs the Secretary, within 12 months, to report to the Congress a proposal for revising the method of allocating grants among the States for administration of the unemployment insurance program. Prohibits the Secretary from revising such method until 12 months after such report is submitted to the Congress. Amends the SSA to establish an Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation. Directs the Secretary to establish such a council by December 31, 1991, and every fifth year thereafter. Requires each such council to evaluate the unemployment compensation program. Sets forth membership and staff provisions. Requires each council to report to the Congress by October 1 of the year following the year in which is required to be established. Terminates each council after it submits its report. Title V: Budget Compliance Provisions - Subtitle A: Congressional Designation of Emergency - Designates the provisions of (and amendments made by) this Act as emergency requirements, pursuant to specified provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Subtitle B: Effect of Failure of President to Designate Emergency - Declares that specified provisions of this subtitle shall take effect only if the President does not, on the date of enactment, designate the provisions of (and amendments made by) this Act as emergency requirements under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1965. Amends Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to the rate of the Federal unemployment tax. Modifies the formula for determining such rate to make such FUTA excise tax on employers equal to: (1) five and four-tenths percent of the total wages paid during the calendar year with respect to employment; and (2) a specified percentage of the total Federal taxable wages paid during the calendar year with respect to employment. (Provides that such percentage shall be lowered as it is phased-in, from 0.4 percent in 1993 to 0.2 percent in 1997 and thereafter.) Makes conforming modifications to credit provisions and tax computation provisions. Sets forth the applicable cost estimate of this Act for FY 1991 through 1995 for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Provides, notwithstanding such cost estimate, for budgetary treatment under pay-as-you-go procedures. Sets forth findings relating to such treatment. Subtitle C: Additional Provisions - Exempts Federal supplemental compensation program payments under title I of this Act from any sequestration order issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 for FY 1992 or any succeeding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Fairness in Product Liability Act of 1991 - Governs any product liability action brought in either State or Federal court against a manufacturer or product seller on any theory for harm caused by a product, superseding State law in specified ways and degrees. Makes a product seller liable only if the seller: (1) failed to exercise reasonable care regarding the product, and the failure was the proximate cause of the harm; (2) made an express warranty, independent of any express warranty by the manufacturer, the product failed to conform to the warranty and the failure caused the harm; or (3) engaged in international wrongdoing which was a proximate cause of the harm. Makes a product seller liable as if the seller were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process under State laws; or (2) a court determines the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows, in certain circumstances, a complete defense of alcohol or controlled substance use. Reduces damages by the percentage of harm attributable to misuse or alteration of a product by any person, subject to exception involving misuse or alteration by the claimant's employer or coemployees. Allows punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller for conscious, flagrant indifference to user safety. Prohibits, in certain circumstances, punitive damages regarding a drug or device, as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, unless packaging of a drug is substantially out of compliance with tamper-resistant packaging regulations. Declares manufacturer or seller liability to be several and not joint for noneconomic damages. Requires a product liability action to be brought within two years after the harm and its cause is, or with reasonable diligence should have been, discovered. Sets the time limit at 25 years for products which are capital goods. Requires offset of workers' compensation benefits. Sets forth rules regarding subrogation, contribution, indemnity, and liens. Provides for tort actions against employers. Prohibits U.S. district courts from having jurisdiction under specified provisions of Federal law over any civil action arising under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1991
Petroleum Marketing Competition Enhancement Act - Amends the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act to prohibit a refiner from: (1) selling motor fuel to a customer for resale (customer) at a price higher than the refiner's adjusted retail price for the same or a similar grade or quality of motor fuel sold from a direct operated outlet in the same geographic area (sale of fuel at higher prices); and (2) entering into a scheme or agreement to set, change, or maintain maximum retail prices of motor fuel, except with respect to a refiner's retail sales at its direct operated outlets. Requires that: (1) in comparing a refiner's adjusted retail price to a refiner's price to other customers, adjustments be made to account for differences in freight, taxes, and inspection fees, whether or not the items are separately listed as part of the price; and (2) if a refiner includes consumer credit as part of its price, an adjustment for the cost of such credit be made in comparing the prices. Sets forth enforcement provisions, including: (1) proceedings by the Attorney General (establishes fines ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for each violation, and authorizes civil actions and equitable relief); (2) private civil actions, including class actions, (and establishes a right to jury trial); and (3) proceedings by State attorneys general. Allows a person bringing an action to enforce provisions concerning the sale of fuel at higher prices to establish a prima facie case by showing that the refiner has sold motor fuel to a customer at a price that is higher than: (1) 94 percent of its consumer retail price per gallon (or, in the event of a sale to a branded wholesaler, 90 percent); or (2) the refiner's consumer retail price per gallon less the most recently available average retail operating expenses per gallon (and, in the event of a sale by a refiner to a branded wholesaler, also less the most recently available average wholesale operating expenses per gallon for the State in which the consumer retail price was charged). Specifies that: (1) in the event that the relevant State has not conducted an annual survey (pursuant to this Act) to determine the average retail or average wholesale operating expenses, the average operating expenses for the retail and wholesale petroleum industry, as determined by the Secretary of Energy, shall be used; and (2) such prima facie case may be overcome by a preponderance of evidence that the refiner's actual retail and average wholesale operating expenses, if applicable, are less than the evidence presented by the plaintiff to establish such prima facie case. Directs the Secretary to conduct an annual survey to determine the average retail and average wholesale operating expenses per gallon for the petroleum industry. Permits a State or State agency to authorize an annual State survey to reflect local conditions with respect to motor fuels sold to the public in that State. Directs that any such survey regarding: (1) retail operating expenses and actual wholesale operating expenses be based upon all direct and indirect expenses attributable to the sale of a gallon of motor fuel to the public by direct and nondirect operated outlets; and (2) wholesale operating expenses be based on all direct and indirect expenses attributable to the wholesale sale of a gallon of motor fuel by a refiner or a branded wholesaler to a branded dealer.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
California Desert Protection Act of 1991 - Title I: Wilderness Additions - Designates as additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System 77 wilderness areas within the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA), the Yuma District, and the Bakerfield District of the Bureau of Land Management. Permits grazing in such areas. Prohibits the approval of any plan of operation prior to determining the validity of unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites affected by plans in such areas. States that non-designated areas within the CDCA have been adequately studied for inclusion in the System and releases them from otherwise applicable restrictions. Designates certain lands within the CDCA as the White Mountains Wilderness Study Area. Title II: Death Valley National Park - Establishes the Death Valley National Historic Park which subsumes the Death Valley National Monument. Withdraws the additional lands from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites within such additional lands and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Preserves grazing privileges on such lands for persons holding permits as of July 1, 1991. Terminates all grazing on July 1, 2016. Title III: Joshua Tree National Park - Establishes the Joshua Tree National Park which subsumes the Joshua Tree National Monument. Withdraws the additional lands from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites within such additional lands and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Continues the validity of certain rights-of-way of the Metropolitan Water District. Title IV: Mojave National Park - Establishes the Mojave National Monument which subsumes the East Mojave National Scenic Area. Withdraws Federal lands within the Monument from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites within the Monument and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Authorizes the Secretary to regulate mining in such Monument. Preserves grazing privileges on such lands for persons holding permits as of July 1, 1991. Terminates all grazing on July 1, 2016. Continues the validity of existing rights-of-way for specified activities. Directs the Secretary to submit a management plan for the Monument to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Designates the Granite Mountains Natural Reserve within the Monument. Authorizes the Secretary to construct a visitors' center and acquire lands. Title V: National Park Wilderness - Designates as wilderness the Death Valley National Park Wilderness, the Joshua Tree National Park Wilderness Additions, and the Mojave National Monument Wilderness. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to transfer Red Rock Canyon State Park Additions in the CDCA to California. Establishes the Desert Lily Sanctuary within the CDCA. Prohibits the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture from: (1) disposing of lands within the boundaries of any wilderness, park, or monument designated by this Act; (2) granting rights-of-way in lands within designated wilderness; and (3) making lands within such boundaries available for use by the Metropolitan Water District. Requires the Secretary to transfer certain Federal lands selected by the California State Lands Commission upon transfer to the United States of State school lands of equivalent value that are included in areas designated as wilderness and national parks under titles I through IV of this Act. Sets forth procedures for establishing fair market value. Creates the California Desert State Lands Credit Account in the event that the value of selected Federal lands is less than that of transferred State lands. Authorizes the Secretary to exchange Federal mineral interests in lands in California for private mineral interests in wilderness areas and national parks designated by this Act. Directs the Secretary to insure nonexclusive access to the wilderness areas, parks, and monument designated by this Act for traditional Indian cultural and religious purposes. Reserves Federal water rights for wilderness areas designated by this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Definitions - Sets forth specified definitions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
Urges the United States Trade Representative to initiate negotiations with South Africa in order to enter into a bilateral arrangement governing the importation of South African steel that is consistent with the steel trade liberalization program announced by the President on July 25, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Community Right-To-Know More Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise congressional findings, objectives, and national policy provisions. Title I: Expansion of Toxics Release Inventory - Requires owners or operators of facilities subject to toxic chemical release requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 that meet threshold requirements under this Act to include supplemental information comparable to that required in toxic chemical release forms for transfers or releases of chemicals that are: (1) priority pollutants relating to steam electric power point source pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (2) specified hazardous wastes listed under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (3) specified chemicals listed under the Clean Air Act; (4) pesticides with respect to which the registration has been denied, cancelled, or is under suspension or pesticides undergoing administrative review or that are classified for restricted use; (5) chemicals listed under the Safe Drinking Water Act for which maximum contaminant levels have been proposed; (6) chemicals identified as carcinogens by the Carcinogen Assessment Group of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or the National Toxicology Program; (7) extremely hazardous substances listed pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986; (8) chemicals listed in 90 California Regulatory Notice Register 990 as reproductive toxins; or (9) listed under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 that are not used at a level that meets threshold requirements for reporting but are released to the environment or transferred to an offsite waste management facility in amounts meeting the threshold under this Act. Provides that a facility meets the threshold requirements with respect to a chemical listed under this Act if the facility: (1) uses the chemical at a level that meets the threshold requirement for reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986; or (2) releases to the environment or transfers to an offsite waste management facility a chemical in an amount greater than or equal to 100 pounds annually in the case of metals or metal compounds or 2,000 pounds annually for any other chemical. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to establish lower thresholds for any chemical, user segment, or facility. Permits authorized States to establish lower thresholds for facilities in their jurisdictions. Authorizes the Administrator to delete a carcinogen or reproductive toxin from the list under this Act if it is not otherwise listed under this Act or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Applies toxic chemical release reporting requirements to facilities employing at least ten full-time employees that are not currently subject to such requirements, but meet threshold reporting requirements under this Act or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Title II: Toxics Use Reduction - Requires owners or operators of covered facilities to submit: (1) annual toxics use reduction reports for each covered chemical for which such facilities are required to file toxic chemical release forms or supplemental information pursuant to title I; and (2) annual plans for reducing the use of covered chemicals. Sets forth report and plan requirements and submission deadlines. Authorizes the Administrator to modify such plans. Requires the Administrator to establish an advisory board to determine a professional code of practice for toxics use reduction materials accounting and planning. Directs owners or operators of facilities in violation of standards, permit conditions, or regulations pertaining to the management or release of covered chemicals, upon the request of 50 citizens or employees, to establish a workplace toxic use reduction committee to provide ongoing dialogue and appraisal of the progress toward pollution prevention. Requires the committee to meet at least quarterly to review a facility's progress on toxics use reduction. Directs the Administrator to implement a strategy to promote toxics use reduction. Requires the Administrator, Federal agencies, and States or political subdivisions, in issuing or approving regulatory action under specified environmental, consumer protection, occupational health and safety, and energy Acts, to make toxics use reduction an integral part of the planning, decisionmaking, and rulemaking process. Authorizes the Administrator to require owners or operators of facilities to provide records and information and grants the Administrator access to records, products, or raw materials. Requires the Administrator to establish a technical assistance and research program to promote and study toxics use reduction. Directs the Administrator to analyze information on production units reported by facilities for purposes of classifying such units into groups that use similar production processes and covered chemicals. Authorizes the Administrator to classify such units into groups on the basis of industrial categories according to Standard Industrial Classification codes. Requires the Administrator to: (1) classify ten groups, to be referred to as user segments; (2) evaluate the reduction in the use and generation of covered chemicals by each production unit in each user segment; and (3) prepare and make available to the public an annual percentile ranking of each unit according to use and generation as byproduct. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate regulations to establish minimum toxics use reduction performance requirements for production units in user segments. Sets forth regulation requirements. Applies provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 concerning trade secrets, the provision of information to health professionals, and public availability of information to toxics information under this Act. Waives Federal facility compliance with toxics use reduction and reporting requirements upon the request of the Secretary of Defense and the President's determination that such waiver is in the interest of national security. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on methods of encouraging the reporting of toxics information through the use of computer telecommunication and other means. Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to study and report to the Administrator and the Congress on the provision to the public of toxic release inventory information and related information required to be submitted to the Administrator. Prescribes civil and administrative penalties for violations of toxics use reduction and reporting requirements. Sets forth provisions concering civil actions with respect to such violations. Requires the Administrator to establish a grant program to assist States and local governments in establishing innovative toxics use reduction programs. Directs States to make 75 percent of a grant available to local governments for carrying out toxics use reduction. Bases the awarding of grants on the extent to which chemical substances are manufactured, processed, used, and disposed of in a State, the extent of exposure to such substances in a State, and the population density of a State. Authorizes appropriations for such grants and for toxics use reduction under this Act. Requires the Administrator to: (1) implement a procurement policy that reduces, avoids, or eliminates the acquisition of agency procurement items made with or containing covered chemicals and hazardous secondary materials; and (2) make recommendations to the Congress for a national toxics use reduction procurement policy covering all procuring agencies, Federal facilities, and government contractors. Amends the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 to increase the amounts authorized to be appropriated for functions under such Act and to increase and extend the authorization of appropriations for technical assistance grants to States. Title III: Waste Stream Reporting - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise recordkeeping and reporting requirements for hazardous waste generators. Directs hazardous waste generators to report annually to the Administrator and authorized State agencies on the quantity of hazardous waste generated from each catastrophic event, remedial action, or one-time event not associated with production processes. Sets forth reporting requirements for generators of solid waste in amounts in excess of 11,000 pounds a month and for facilities managing solid and certain special wastes generated by fossil fuels combustion, mining, and activities involving cement kilns. Reqiures the Administrator to: (1) maintain publicly accessible databases for hazardous, solid, and special waste stream data reported under this Act; (2) make the data accessible on a cost reimbursable basis; and (3) report to the Congress on links between EPA databases and changes that would facilitate links between all major EPA operations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Affirms the U.S. commitment to implement the recommendations contained in the Amsterdam Declaration adopted by the International Forum on Population in the Twenty-First Century, in particular the recommendations that countries and donors: (1) increase their political commitment to population programs and policies and take into account the principles of the World Population Plan of Action of 1974; (2) contribute to the development of comprehensive population goals and objectives and take into account the review of population experience conducted by the United Nations Population Fund; (3) adopt integrated population, environmental, and natural resource management policies; (4) provide the financial resources to reach the medium variant population projection by the year 2000; (5) improve the role and status of women and ensure that women participate in and benefit from population and development activities; (6) ensure that population programs provide education and counseling for young people and promote their participation in development activities; (7) guarantee all individuals the right to decide the number and spacing of their children and ensure that they have the information and means to do so; (8) take into account the results of the Forum in the formulation of international development strategies for specified United Nations conferences; (9) support research for family planning and expedite distribution of existing methods; (10) respond positively to requests for population assistance and increase the proportion of development assistance going to population activities; (11) observe the priorities of, and harmonize, donor financial inputs and program procedures; and (12) coordinate population assistance with other donors. Urges all entities referred to in the Declaration to implement applicable recommendations. Sets forth the text of the Declaration.
![Official portrait of Rep. Pease, Donald J. [D-OH-13]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000170_200.jpg)