United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1997
Paycheck Protection Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to make it unlawful, except with the separate, prior, written, voluntary authorization of each individual, for: (1) national banks or corporations to collect from or assess its stockholders or employees any dues, initiation fee, or other payment as a condition of employment if any part of such dues, fee, or payment will be used for political activities in which the national bank or corporation is engaged; and (2) labor organizations to collect from or assess its members or nonmembers any dues, fee, or other payment if any part of such dues, fee, or payment will be used for political activities in which the labor organization is engaged. States that an authorization shall remain in effect until revoked and may be revoked at any time. Requires each entity collecting from or assessing amounts from an individual with an authorization in effect to provide the individual with a statement that the individual may at any time revoke the authorization.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1997
Religious Fairness in Bankruptcy Act of 1997 - Amends Federal bankruptcy law, with respect to avoidance of fraudulent transfers and obligations by the bankruptcy trustee, to provide that a transfer of a donation to a religious unit made by a debtor from a sense of religious obligation such as tithes, shall be considered to have been made in exchange for a reasonably equivalent value.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1997
Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act of 1997 - Amends Federal bankruptcy law with respect to avoidance by the trustee in bankruptcy of fraudulent transfers and obligations to cite circumstances under which a transfer of a charitable contribution to a qualified religious or charitable unit shall not be considered to be fraudulent. Prohibits the trustee from avoiding such charitable contributions when acting as lien creditors and successor to certain creditor and purchasers. Excludes from "disposable income," for purposes of bankruptcy plan confirmation, up to 15 percent of the gross income of the debtor when it is expended for such charitable contributions. Prohibits the bankruptcy court, when it determines whether to dismiss a case, from taking into consideration whether a debtor makes charitable contributions to any qualified religious or charitable entity.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1997
Commends: (1) the Government of Guatemala and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) for carrying out the first phase of implementation of the peace accords signed by the parties on December 29, 1996; (2) such Government and President Alvaro Arzu for the steps taken to tackle corruption and to strengthen civilian control over the armed forces and for putting in place the joint action commissions that will play a critical role in the implementation of the peace accords; (3) the United Nations for its work in facilitating the peace agreement and verifying the accords; and (4) the Group of Friends (Colombia, Mexico, Norway, Spain, the United States, and Venezuela) for their support of the peace process in Guatemala. Notes the need for the greatest possible democratic participation in implementing the accords. Calls on such Government, the URNG, and the United Nations Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) to promote dialogue and consensus-building with the political parties, private sector, and civil society groups. Notes the continued involvement of military intelligence in operational police matters revealed in the Mincho case. Calls on the Government of Guatemala, with the cooperation of the URNG and MINUGUA, to conduct a full investigation into such case and to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the peace accords regarding the role of intelligence structures. Calls on such Government to: (1) provide financial, logistical, and other support to the Clarification Commission to carry out its work and to act upon the Commission's findings; (2) continue strengthening the climate of respect for human rights and interpreting the Law of National Reconciliation in such a manner that those who committed human rights violations during the armed conflict do not escape justice; (3) continue to facilitate the return of Guatemalan refugees currently living in Mexico pursuant to the October 8, 1992, agreement between such Government and the Guatemalan refugee groups; and (4) take prompt measures to increase its revenues in order to implement the socioeconomic commitments of the peace accords and to resolve the land disputes that have raised tensions in the countryside. Calls on the Clinton Administration to: (1) monitor closely the peace process in Guatemala, to support full implementation of the peace accords, and to provide adequate funds for reconstruction and development, with particular emphasis on strengthening the justice system, building a new civilian police force, alleviating extreme poverty, and ensuring the full integration of indigenous people and women into the political and economic system; (2) ensure that any U.S. assistance to the Guatemalan military be limited exclusively to aid that carries out the objectives of the peace accords of increasing civilian control over the military, limiting the role of the Guatemalan armed forces to defense of sovereignty and national security and fostering greater respect for human rights; and (3) support the work of the Commission by declassifying documents that may shed light on human rights violations committed during the Guatemalan conflict and making those documents available to the Commission and to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1997
Denounces and rejects the resolution adopted on September 21, 1997, by the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League in their conference in Cairo which invites Arab states to take action to ease United Nations (UN) sanctions against Libya. Reaffirms U.S. commitment to support the sanctions until the two individuals suspected in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and UTA flight 772 are turned over to appropriate judicial authorities in the United States or the United Kingdom and France as required by UN Security Council resolutions. Calls upon the President to suspend all U.S. assistance to all countries which violate the UN sanctions. Requests that the Secretary of State express to the government of each Arab League member country the profound concern of the United States about efforts to undermine the international fight against terrorism by weakening or violating the sanctions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1997
Medicare Beneficiary Freedom To Contract Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise provisions added by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 regarding the use of private contracts by Medicare beneficiaries for professional services. Outlines specific requirements for private contracts between Medicare beneficiaries and physicians or health care practitioners for services for which no Medicare claims may be submitted.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the termination dates of the alcohol fuels credit and of provisions setting tax rates for qualified methanol and ethanol fuel, fuels containing alcohol, certain taxable fuels mixed with alcohol, mixtures of aviation fuel and alcohol, and fuels used to produce certain alcohol fuels.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1997
Hamburger Safety Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to prohibit construing specified FDCA provisions to require on food labeling a separate radiation disclosure statement more prominent than the required declaration of ingredients. Requires approval of the Isomedix Corporation petition submitted on a specified date under FDCA provisions relating to regulations on food additive safety. Requires a commercial establishment serving prepared meat and poultry to make information available to patrons, in a manner deemed appropriate by the establishment, about whether the meat and poultry has been treated with low-dose radiation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1997
Marriage Tax Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a husband and wife to file a combined income tax return on which each spouse is taxed separately at the unmarried return rate.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1997
Landmine Elimination Act of 1997 - Prohibits Federal agencies from funding any new deployments of anti-personnel landmines as of January 1, 2000. Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on actions and proposals to substitute for new deployments of such landmines on the Korean Peninsula. Authorizes the President to delay implementation of the funding proscription with respect to the Korean Peninsula if he certifies annually to the Congress that new deployments of anti-personnel landmines on such Peninsula would be indispensable to the defense of the Republic of Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1997
Freedom From Religious Persecution Act of 1997 - Establishes in the Executive Office of the President the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring, whose Director, appointed by the President, with Senate consent, shall: (1) consider the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom presented in certain annual reports on human rights by the Department of State and by independent human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations; (2) make policy recommendations to the President regarding U.S. policies toward governments engaged in religious persecution; and (3) maintain lists of religious persecution facilitating goods and services, and the responsible entities within countries engaged in religious persecution. (Sec. 3) Distinguishes between category 1 religious persecution (conducted by government officials or agents) and category 2 religious persecution (conducted by non-government entities or persons, but which the government fails to undertake serious and sustained efforts to eliminate). (Sec. 5) Requires the Director to report to specified congressional committees on countries and entities engaged in religious persecution, identifying the category of persecution and listing persecution facilitating products, good, and services. (Sec. 7) Prohibits: (1) Federal agencies and U.S. persons from exporting goods, including religious persecution facilitating goods and services, to countries and responsible entities engaged in religious persecution; and (2) U.S. and multilateral assistance to such countries. Declares that no consular officer shall issue a visa to, and the Attorney General shall exclude from the United States, any alien responsible for carrying out acts of religious persecution. (Sec. 8) Provides for the waiver of such sanctions. (Sec. 9) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996), with respect to eligibility for asylum in the United States, to include under the term "credible fear of persecution" aliens who can claim membership in a community found to be subject to religious persecution. Directs the Attorney General to establish a program to provide training on religious persecution to immigration officers who inspect aliens for admission into the United States. Sets forth procedures for the denial of admission based on religious persecution claims. (Sec. 10) Sets forth requirements with respect to certain State Department human rights reports. Directs the Secretary of State to provide training on the right to religious freedom to chiefs of missions as well as certain Department officials. (Sec. 11) Provides for the termination of sanctions. (Sec. 12) Extends certain existing trade and economic sanctions against Sudan for supporting acts of international terrorism until the Director determines that Sudan has substantially eliminated religious persecution, or no longer supports acts of international terrorism, whichever occurs later. Imposes additional trade, economic, and cultural sanctions against Sudan. Sets forth penalties for violations of certain sanctions. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President, or, at his discretion, the Secretary of State should convene an international conference of the other industrialized democracies to reach an international agreement to bring about an end to religious persecution in Sudan. Prescribes congressional procedures for implementing such an agreement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should instruct the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations (UN) to propose that the UN Security Council impose measures against Sudan. Makes it U.S. policy to impose additional measures against Sudan if its policy of religious persecution has not ended on or before December 25, 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 1997
Expresses: (1) outrage over the terrorist bombing in Jerusalem on September 4, 1997; (2) condolences to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of Israel; and (3) the commitment of the American people to remain dedicated to Israel's security. Demands that Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority eliminate the terrorist infrastructure and combat terrorist activities of all terror groups operating in areas under its control and fulfill PLO commitments made to Israel, the United States, and the world. Informs Arafat and the leaders of the Palestinian Authority that either they do what they pledged to do as part of the Oslo process to fight terror and the terrorist infrastructure or the entire peace process, relations with America, and the hopes of the Palestinian people for a better future will be seriously jeopardized. Urges Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to underscore to the Palestinians that the Palestinian Authority must fulfill its obligation of fighting terrorism with all the means at its disposal. Calls for suspension of all U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority until such time as substantive compliance with its commitments under the Oslo agreements is achieved.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Bilingual Voting Requirements Repeal Act of 1995 (sic) - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to eliminate certain bilingual voting requirements and related provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Latin America Security Promotion Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should work with our Latin American allies to institute a two-year regional moratorium on their acquisition of attack, bomber, or fighter aircraft; (2) such moratorium will provide an opportunity for the Latin American governments to begin to negotiate a conventional arms restraint regime that would meet their security concerns without spending scarce economic resources or sparking an arms race; and (3) the President should urge aircraft supplier nations to comply with such moratorium. Prohibits the sale, lease, or other transfer of any attack, bomber, or fighter aircraft to a Latin American country, except during a presidentially determined emergency involving vital U.S. national interests.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Caddie Relief Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat golf caddies performing services for nonprofessional golfers as nonemployees for employment tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Deplores the Iraqi Government's pattern of gross violation of human rights, condemns its repeated use of force and weapons of mass destruction against its own citizens as well as neighboring states, and denounces its refusal to comply with international human rights instruments or cooperate with international monitoring bodies and compliance mechanisms. Calls upon the President and the Secretary of State to: (1) endorse the formation of an international criminal tribunal for the purpose of prosecuting Saddam Hussein and all other Iraqi officials who are responsible for crimes against humanity; and (2) work within the international community for the adoption of a United Nations Security Council resolution establishing an International Criminal Court for Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude all gain on the sale of a principal residence if owned and used as the principal residence for periods aggregating at least three years during the five-year period prior to sale or exchange. Sets forth special rules relating to: (1) jointly held property; (2) a deceased spouse; (3) a cooperative housing tenant-stockholder; (4) partial principal residence use; (5) determination of marital status; (6) acquisition after involuntary conversion; and (7) periods of out-of-residence health care.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1997
Authorizes use of the rotunda of the Capitol on October 21, 1997, for a ceremony to allow Members of Congress to greet and receive His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, the 270th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the ocean is important to the U.S. economy, environmental quality, and national security; (2) the United States has a responsibility to exercise and promote ocean stewardship; and (3) all public and private organizations are encouraged to strive for a better understanding of the ocean, communicate that understanding to the public, and thereby promote ocean exploration, sustainable ocean resource use, and ocean resource conservation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Labor Title II: Department of Health and Human Services Title III: Department of Education Title IV: Related Agencies Title V: General Provisions Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies. Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Labor for: (1) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration for salaries and expenses and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14) departmental management; and (15) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health, including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; (9) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (10) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (11) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (12) low income home energy assistance; (13) refugee and entrant assistance; (14) the child care and development block grant; (15) the social services block grant; (16) children and families services programs; (17) family preservation and support; (18) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (19) the Administration on Aging; (20) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (21) the Office of Inspector General; (22) the Office for Civil Rights; and (23) policy research. Rescinds FY 1998 funds for a sample study of child welfare. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 211) Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the relocation of the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center in Carville, Louisiana. Sets forth administrative provisions with respect to relocation of patients and separation of employees. (Sec. 212) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being made available under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of the Public Health Service Act unless the applicant for the award certifies to the Secretary that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and provides counseling to minors on resisting attempts to coerce minors into engaging in sexual activities. Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Education for: (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) literacy; (6) Indian education; (7) bilingual and immigrant education; (8) special education; (9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions for persons with disabilities; (11) vocational and adult education; (12) student financial assistance; (13) the Federal family education loan program account; (14) higher education; (15) Howard University; (16) college housing and academic facilities loans program; (17) the historically black college and university capital financing program account; (18) education research, statistics, and improvement; (19) libraries; (20) departmental management; (21) the Office for Civil Rights; and (22) the Office of the Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to: (1) transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. (Sec. 306) Requires the Secretary of Education, from funds appropriated under the Fund for the Improvement of Education, to make an award to the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate and report to specified congressional committees on certain items related to the Clinton Administration's proposed national tests in fourth grade reading and eighth grade math. Prohibits the Department of Education from administering any final version of such tests until such report is completed. Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the: (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (7) National Council on Disability; (8) National Education Goals Panel; (9) National Labor Relations Board; (10) National Mediation Board; (11) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (12) Physician Payment Review Commission; (13) Prospective Payment Assessment Commission; (14) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (15) Social Security Administration for payments to the social security trust funds, special benefits for disabled coal miners, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (16) U.S. Institute of Peace. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 508) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act for an abortion except when made known to the Federal entity to which funds are appropriated that such procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother or that the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 512) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage. (Sec. 514) Amends the Social Security Act to increase fees required from States for Federal administration of State supplementary payments under the SSI program. Provides for the deposit of a portion of such fees into a special fund and authorizes appropriations from the fund for administrative expenses of the SSI program. (Sec. 515) Amends the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend certain voluntary separation incentive payments to Federal employees who separate before December 31, 1997 (currently, September 30, 1997).
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Authorizes the President to present a gold medal to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to religious understanding and peace. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike duplicate medals in bronze. Authorizes appropriations from the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund, where sales proceeds shall be deposited.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act Amendments of 1997 - Exempts a physician clinical office laboratory from Public Health Service Act certification requirements, except when such laboratory performs a pap smear (Papanicolaou Smear) analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Calls for: (1) the President to demand that the Government of Russia take actions to stop governmental and nongovernmental entities in the Russian Federation from providing missile technology and technical advice to Iran in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime; (2) the United States, if Russia's response is inadequate, to impose sanctions on the responsible Russian entities in accordance with Executive Order 12938 on the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and to reassess cooperative activities with Russia; (3) raising the threshold under current law allowing for the waiver of the prohibition on the release of foreign assistance to Russia; and (4) encouragement of our European allies to take steps to stop such proliferation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Calls upon: (1) Chairman Yasir Arafat and other officials in the Palestinian authority to use their good offices with Syria, Lebanon, and the other governments in the region to secure the safe return of one American-Israeli soldier and three Israeli soldiers captured in Lebanon, consistent with Chairman Arafat's obligation as specified in the May 4, 1994, Gaza-Jericho agreement between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli Government to cooperate with Israel in locating and working for the return of Israeli soldiers missing in action; and (2) the President, the Secretary of State, and other U.S. Government officials to pursue the resolution of these cases through all appropriate officials and channels. Urges: (1) the Government of Syria to use its good offices with the various paramilitary groups in Syria and in areas in which it has influence to bring about a resolution of this issue and secure the safe return of such soldiers; and (2) the President and the Secretary of State, as they formulate U.S. policy toward each government or authority in the Middle East, to take into consideration the level of assistance provided by that government or authority in resolving these cases.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1997
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the forcible assault upon the democratically elected Government of Cambodia is illegal and constitutes a military coup. Calls for the Administration to immediately invoke provisions of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 prohibiting the use of funds provided by such Act to finance assistance to any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup. Calls for the authorities in Cambodia to take immediate steps to halt all extralegal violence and to restore civil, political, and personal liberties. Calls for the United States to: (1) release the report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning the March 30, 1997, grenade attack in Phnom Penh; (2) press Cambodian authorities to investigate all abuses and extralegal actions that have occurred in Cambodia since July 4, 1997, and bring those responsible to justice; (3) request an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to consider all options to restore peace in Cambodia; (4) encourage the Secretary General of the United Nations to expand the monitoring operations of the United Nations Special Representative on Human Rights in Cambodia; (5) coordinate efforts with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to restore democracy, stability, and the rule of law in Cambodia; (6) continue to suspend direct U.S. assistance to Cambodia until violence ends, a democratically elected government is reconstituted, necessary steps have been taken to ensure that the election scheduled for 1998 takes place in a free and fair manner, the military is depoliticized, and the judiciary is made independent; and (7) call for an emergency meeting of the Donors' Consultative Group for Cambodia to encourage the suspension of assistance as part of a multilateral effort to encourage respect for democratic processes, constitutionalism, and the rule of law.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
National Marrow Donor Program Reauthorization Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace provisions relating to the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry with provisions mandating establishment, by contract, of a program to assist patients needing a blood stem cell transplant in searching for biologically unrelated donor individuals. Sets forth program functions, including: (1) maintaining one or more donor and one or more recipient registries; (2) educational activities (including donor recruitment and professional and public information); and (3) establishing the Office of Patient Advocacy and Case Management. Mandates: (1) standards regarding quality, tissue typing, donor informed consent, and patient advocacy; (2) donor selection criteria; (3) stem cell collection and transportation procedures; (4) confidentiality standards; and (5) procedures for integrating participating donor registries and centers. Mandates criminal penalties for confidentiality violations. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates a plan to effectuate efficiencies in the relationship between the program and donor centers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
Laogai Slave Labor Products Act of 1997 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for monitoring by the U.S. Customs Service and the Department of State of the exportation of slave labor products by China. Directs the Commissioner of Customs and the Secretary of State each to report annually to the Congress on manufacturing and exportation of slave labor products in China. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, since China has substantially frustrated the purposes of the 1992 Memorandum of Understanding with the United States on Prison Labor, the President should immediately commence negotiations to replace the current Memorandum with one providing for effective monitoring of forced labor there, without restrictions on which prison labor camps international monitors may visit.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1997
Calls upon the U.S. Government: (1) in all official meetings with the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), to request the immediate and unconditional release of Ngodrup Phuntsog and other prisoners of conscience in Tibet, as well as in the PRC, and to call on that country to begin serious discussions with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, on the future of Tibet; and (2) to seek access for international humanitarian organizations to Drapchi prison and other prisons in Tibet, as well as in the PRC, to ensure that prisoners are not being mistreated and are receiving necessary medical treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1997
Authorizes the President to: (1) determine that title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 (denying nondiscriminatory treatment to the products of certain countries) should no longer apply to Mongolia; and (2) based upon such determination, extend nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to Mongolian products.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) trafficking in persons violates the fundamental principles of human dignity and that forced prostitution involving coercion or debt bondage constitutes a form of forced labor and a slavery-like practice; (2) the State Department or other appropriate Government agencies should investigate, combat, and report to the Congress annually on trafficking of women and girls and forced prostitution; (3) the international working group formed as a result of the World Congress on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children should continue its efforts; (4) the executive branch should take steps to assure that weapons and equipment provided or sold to the Thai police do not become available to members of forces involved in trafficking, forced prostitution, or abuse of women and girls who are apprehended; (5) the United States Agency for International Development should target a portion of its assistance to Thailand for AIDS prevention and control to the foreign population in Thailand, particularly Burmese women and girls in the Thai sex industry; and (6) the State Department should take specified steps, such as urging the Thai Government to strictly enforce the law criminalizing brothel operators, procurers, Thai police complicity in forced prostitution, and customers of women and children trafficked for the purpose of forced prostitution.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1997
War Crimes Prosecution Facilitation Act of 1997 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be achieved if indicted war criminals remain at large and refugees and displaced persons are unable to return to their homes; (2) the United States should ensure that multilateral and bilateral assistance is provided to the Dayton Agreement parties only if doing so would promote reconciliation as well as reconstruction, including the transfer of war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the return of refugees and displaced persons, and freedom of movement; and (3) the Tribunal should continue to investigate and bring indictments against persons who have violated international humanitarian law. Prohibits foreign assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or the Arms Export Control Act (except humanitarian or democratization assistance, or assistance for physical infrastructure projects) to: (1) any country whose government fails to apprehend and transfer to the Tribunal persons who have been indicted by the Tribunal and are in their territory; (2) any program or activity in such country in which an indicted war criminal has any financial interest or through any organization with which the indicted person is affiliated; and (3) any program or activity in any country (other than emergency food, medical, or demining assistance) in which local authorities are not complying with certain articles of the Dayton Agreement. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of the international financial institutions to oppose, and vote against, any extension of any financial assistance or grants to such a country. Provides for a waiver of such sanctions if a majority of indicted persons within the country's territory have been arrested and transferred to the Tribunal.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997
China Human Rights and Democracy Act of 1997 - Authorizes appropriations for International Broadcasting Activities only for broadcasting to China. Earmarks funds for: (1) capital expenditures for the purchase and construction of transmission facilities; and (2) Radio Free Asia. (Sec. 2) Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. international broadcasting through Radio Free Asia and Voice of America should be increased to provide continuous 24-hour broadcasting in multiple languages and dialects, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Tibetan, and Uighur. (Sec. 3) Authorizes appropriations to the National Endowment for Democracy, and directs the Secretary of State to use funds available in the East Asia-Pacific Regional Democracy Fund, to promote democracy, civil society, and the development of the rule of law in China. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to report annually to specified congressional committees on human rights in China, including religious persecution, the development of democratic institutions, and the rule of law. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Prisoner Information Registry for China; and (2) assign not less than six foreign service officers to the U.S. Embassy and consular offices in China to monitor and report on human rights matters in China. (Sec. 5) Requires specified reports to the Congress on Chinese intelligence activities against U.S. interests and on commercial enterprises affiliated with the Chinese military. (Sec. 6) Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. nationals conducting industrial cooperation projects in China should adhere to certain principles. Declares that such nationals should: (1) suspend the use of any merchandise that they have reason to believe was produced by convict or forced labor, and refuse to use forced labor in their projects; (2) seek to ensure that political or religious views, sex, ethnic or national background, or association with dissidents will not prohibit hiring, lead to harassment, demotion, or dismissal of an individual employed in the industrial cooperation project; (3) ensure that methods of production used in the projects do not pose unnecessary danger to workers and the surrounding neighborhoods and environment; (4) strive to establish a private business enterprise when involved in an industrial cooperation project with China or other state entity; (5) discourage any military presence on the premises of projects which involve dual-use technologies; (6) promote freedom of association and assembly among the U.S. national's employees; (7) provide the Department of State with information relevant to its efforts to collect information on prisoners for purposes of the Prisoner Information Registry; (8) discourage or prevent compulsory political indoctrination programs from taking place on project premises; (9) promote freedom of expression of all kinds; and (10) prevent harassment of workers who decide freely the number and spacing of their children, and prohibit compulsory population control activities on the premises of the project. Directs the Secretary to forward a copy of these principles to the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and encourage them to promote similar principles. Directs each U.S. national conducting an industrial cooperation project in China to register with the Secretary and indicate whether they agree to implement such principles. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to give preference to U.S. nationals that have adopted such principles when selecting participants for trade missions in China. (Sec. 7) Requires the promotion of cultural, educational, scientific, agricultural, military, legal, political, and artistic exchanges between the United States and China. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader of the Senate should establish a legislative exchange program with China; and (2) a federally chartered not-for-profit organization should be established to fund exchanges between the United States and China through private donations. (Sec. 8) Prohibits the Secretary from issuing any visa to, and the Attorney General from admitting to the United States, any Chinese national that has been materially involved in: (1) the commission of human rights violations; or (2) the proliferation of conventional or nuclear weapons technology, or other sensitive or dual-use technologies, in contravention of U.S. interests. Provides for waiver of such requirements in the U.S. national interest. (Sec. 9) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Congress, the President, and the Secretary should work with the governments of other countries to establish a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Asia which would be modeled after the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1997
Urges the United States to take all necessary steps to protect the Earth's climate and to take a leadership role in negotiating an international climate change agreement that: (1) contains legally binding targets and timetables beginning in 2005 for reducing greenhouse gas emissions substantially below 1990 level; (2) provides for participation by developing nations; and (3) is fair, enforceable, and provides options for nations to achieve necessary greenhouse gas reductions in a cost-effectiveness manner.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1997
Consumer Disclosure and Rental Purchase Agreement Act - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to create a new title on rental purchase agreements. Declares that the title does not apply to rental-purchase agreements primarily for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes or made with Government instrumentalities. Regulates: (1) the content and manner of disclosures by merchants in rental-purchase agreements; and (2) the contents of rental-purchase agreements. Prohibits a rental-purchase agreement from containing specified inclusions. Sets forth provisions for: (1) receipts and accounts of rental payments; (2) renegotiations and extensions of rental-purchase agreements; and (3) the content of rental-purchase advertising. Imposes individual and class action civil liability for violations. Establishes merchant defenses and provides for the liability of merchant assignees. Mandates model disclosure forms and clauses. Preempts inconsistent State laws providing lesser consumer protection.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Point Reyes National Seashore Farmland Protection Act of 1997 - Amends Federal law to include the Farmland Protection Area in the Point Reyes National Seashore, California, with the primary objective being to protect private agricultural land from nonagricultural development by conservation easements. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make farmland acquisitions within the Area. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Places a four-year moratorium on the promulgation of new or revised national ambient air quality standards for ozone or fine particulate matter under the Clean Air Act by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Requires the Administrator, within five years of this Act's enactment date, to: (1) complete a review of the air quality criteria and standards for ozone and particulate matter; and (2) determine whether to retain or revise such standards or promulgate new standards. Directs the Administrator, in reviewing such criteria for particulate matter, to: (1) evaluate any adverse health effects of exposure to airborne particulate matter; (2) determine the amount and size of particles inhaled and retained in the lungs; and (3) investigate the biological mechanisms by which particulate matter may induce adverse health effects. Authorizes the Administrator to require State implementation plans to require air quality monitoring for fine particulate matter and to make grants to States for such purposes. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1997
Declares that: (1) the transfer of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China does not alter the current and future status of Taiwan as a free and de facto independent country; and (2) the future of Taiwan should be determined by peaceful means through a democratic process in accordance with the principle of self-determination, as outlined in the Charter of the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1997
Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to: (1) reduce the loan rate for quota peanuts by specified amounts through crop year 2001; and (2) eliminate peanut price supports as of crop year 2002. Amends: (1) the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to eliminate peanut marketing quota provisions as of crop year 2002; and (2) the Agricultural Act of 1949 to make conforming amendments. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) from providing any subsequent peanut price supports. Directs the Secretary to make nonrecourse loans and loan deficiency payments available to peanut producers beginning with crop year 2002. Sets forth: (1) loan rate, term, and repayment provisions; and (2) deficiency computation provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1997
Requests the President to issue a proclamation commending the 82 American airmen held as political prisoners at the Buchenwald concentration camp during World War II for their service, bravery, and fortitude.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
Nigeria Democracy Act - Imposes certain economic sanctions on Nigeria to promote democracy and human rights there. Requires the President to direct the Secretary of Transportation to revoke the right of Nigerian air carriers to service, and prohibit U.S. air carriers from servicing, routes between the United States and such country. Authorizes waiver of such sanctions if the President certifies to the Congress that such waiver is important to the national interest. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should exclude Nigerian sporting teams from participating in any sporting event in the United States; and (2) the President should work with the Government of Australia before the 2000 Olympic Games to be held in Sydney to determine the appropriateness of issuing visas for Nigerian participants in such Games. Directs the President to report periodically to the Congress on the extent to which Nigeria has made progress toward democracy, civilian rule, and respect for internationally-recognized human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Medical Device Regulatory Modernization Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to set forth the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mission and to mandate annual FDA and Comptroller General reports to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, when there is a scientific controversy between a regulated person and the Secretary, to establish a procedure under which the regulated person may request a review of the disputed subject matter. (Sec. 4) Revises or imposes requirements regarding: (1) investigational device exemptions; (2) premarket approval requirements (mandating a device review priority); (3) humanitarian device exceptions; (4) safety and effectiveness performance standards (allowing recognition of self-certifiable consensus standards); (5) effectiveness determinations (as used in classifying devices); (6) reliance on postmarket controls to expedite classification; (7) substantial equivalence; (8) labeling (as affecting premarket approval); (9) supplemental applications; (10) promotional material representations; (11) premarket notification; (12) initial classification; (13) classification panels; and (14) premarket approval application review (allowing review by accredited persons). (Sec. 12) Mandates accreditation of persons to review and initially classify devices. (Sec. 13) Mandates publication of a list of types of class III devices that are not subject to regulation under specified provisions and for which the Secretary has determined that premarket approval is unnecessary, requiring each to be regulated as class III subject to general and appropriate special controls. (Sec. 14) Modifies requirements regarding: (1) device tracking; (2) postmarket surveillance; and (3) good manufacturing practice regulations (including foreign harmonization) and inspections (including adding references to accredited entities and post-inspection procedural requirements). (Sec. 17) Removes distributors from recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Removes reporting requirements regarding certain certification and removals and corrections. Mandates new user reporting regulations limiting user reporting to a user subset to create a representative profile of user reports. (Sec. 18) Prohibits subjecting a person to penalties if the person acted in good faith and had no reason to believe the acts violated the law. (Sec. 19) Mandates an information system to track the status of each submission requesting FDA action. (Sec. 20) Prohibits actions by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the FDCA from requiring the preparation of an environmental assessment or impact statement. (Sec. 22) Regulates communications to non-FDA persons regarding certain matters before completion of related investigations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Welfare Flexibility Act of 1997 - Permits State use of nongovernmental personnel to determine eligibility under the Medicaid, food stamp, and special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) programs.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
China Market Access and Export Opportunities Act of 1997 - Directs the President to increase the rate of duty with respect to one or more products of China if it is determined that China is not: (1) according adequate trade benefits to the United States; or (2) taking adequate steps or making significant proposals to become a World Trade Organization (WTO) member. Grants, upon China's accession to the WTO, nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation) treatment to Chinese products.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1997
Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1997 - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to proscribe bringing a private class action based upon State or municipal law in State or Federal court by any private party alleging: (1) an untrue statement or omission in connection with the purchase or sale of a covered security; or (2) that the defendant used any manipulative or deceptive device in connection with such a transaction. Declares that any class action brought in any State court involving a covered security shall be removable to the Federal district court for the district in which the action is pending.
![Official portrait of Rep. Porter, John Edward [R-IL-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000444_200.jpg)