The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Rep. Ravenel, Arthur, Jr. [R-SC-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000072_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
1,931 records where Rep. Ravenel, Arthur, Jr. [R-SC-1] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Amends the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 to make permanent the transfer to the Railroad Retirement Account of income tax revenues attributable to the taxation of tier II railroad retirement benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Designates the month of May 1992 as National Foster Care Month.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly report to the President and the Congress on the differences in program rules under the food stamp program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (part A of title IV of the Social Security Act), and Medicaid program (title XIX of the Social Security Act) and how such rules could be made uniform. Requires coordination of such report with the report of the Advisory Committee on Welfare Simplification and Coordination.
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
Amends Federal law to require certain procedures for the imposition of a fee for a service or thing of value provided by an agency for a vessel used for the carriage of goods or passengers for hire.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle for America Act - Title I: State Recycling Requirements and Related Provisions - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations containing a standard methodology for States and municipalities to measure: (1) the composition of waste generated in their jurisdictions, by type and amount; and (2) the waste management capacity of landfills, recycling facilities, and incinerators. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations for States, municipalities, and regional solid waste management authorities to identify the life-cycle costs of waste management or recycling options. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations containing a standard methodology to measure the amount of material annually diverted from a municipal solid waste stream and to calculate the diversion rates for materials. Requires a diversion rate for a particular material to be calculated by comparing the amount of the material generated within a municipality or regional authority with the annual amount of that material diverted from an incinerator or landfill for recycling purposes. Directs such municipalities or regional authorities to conduct waste composition analyses at least once every five years to indicate: (1) the percentage of solid waste managed in the jurisdiction that consists of materials required to be analyzed; and (2) the percentage of such waste that consists of noncombustible materials. Includes within the list of materials to be analyzed: (1) paper; (2) glass; (3) metal; (4) plastics; (5) food and yard waste; (6) wood; (7) construction and demolition debris; (8) household hazardous waste and lead-acid and household batteries; (9) medical waste; (10) incinerator ash; and (11) miscellaneous combustibles and noncombustibles. Prohibits States, municipalities, or other local solid waste management authorities from issuing permits for the construction, expansion, or operation of a landfill, incinerator, or composting unit unless a waste composition analysis has been conducted in the jurisdiction where the facility is or will be located. Requires States or regional authorities to carry out programs to divert annually from incineration and landfilling those materials that otherwise would be destined for disposal by such methods. Sets forth required diversion percentages for glass, paper, metals, plastics, and yard and food waste. Provides that the delivery of plastics, metals, or glass for composting purposes shall not be considered diversion. Requires the Administrator to increase diversion rates by July 1, 2002, to assure decreasing reliance on incineration and landfilling. Authorizes States to petition for alternative diversion rates if economic conditions preclude an entity from achieving such rates, subject to specified requirements. Directs entities to which diversion requirements apply to certify to the State that the applicable percentage of materials has been diverted from the waste stream. Prohibits the issuance of permits by States, municipalities, or other regional authorities for the construction, expansion, or operation of a landfill or incinerator unless the entity from which the facility plans to accept waste: (1) is achieving the required diversion rates; and (2) demonstrates that the facility will not interfere with maintaining such rates. Declares that States must demonstrate achievement of diversion rates in order to receive approval for solid waste management plans. Prohibits the incineration of the following materials in municipal incineration units: (1) glass; (2) ferrous and nonferrous metals; (3) lead-acid and household batteries; (4) recyclable plastics; (5) yard waste; and (6) other materials that are noncombustible or recyclable, as appropriate. Requires owners or operators of such units to inspect wastes to ensure that such materials are removed before incineration and to certify to the State that they are in compliance with such prohibition. Excludes from the inspection requirement waste delivered after prohibited materials have been: (1) removed at a materials recovery facility; or (2) collected pursuant to a curbside collection or deposit program under which material is diverted from solid waste at a rate of at least 90 percent. Prohibits the disposal of lead-acid and household batteries in municipal landfills. Makes such prohibition inapplicable under certain circumstances. Provides for the incorporation of requirements under this title into State solid waste management plans. Title II: Other Recycling Provisions - Requires manufacturers or importers of covered items to ensure that such items contain a minimum percentage of post-consumer materials. Defines a "covered item" as a product, packaging or a container for a product, or materials made of aluminum, glass, steel, plastic, or paper. Authorizes manufacturers or importers to comply with such requirements by: (1) recycling a covered item for purposes of producing such item; or (2) purchasing recycling credits under a system established by the Administrator. Sets forth minimum content standards and deadlines for compliance for aluminum, glass, steel, plastics, and paper. Provides for exemptions to such requirements in cases where meeting such requirements would result in a potential hazard to human health or the environment. Prescribes penalties for violations of such requirements. Sets forth recordkeeping requirements for importers and manufacturers of covered items. Prohibits manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or importers from offering a consumer item for sale or promotional purposes if such item contains less than 90 percent product (by volume) or more than ten percent package and packing material (by volume). Exempts specified items from such requirement. Requires manufacturers or importers of products, packages, or packing material to furnish to the Administrator, a retailer, or a consumer, upon request, a certification of compliance with respect to such requirement. Prescribes penalties for violations of such requirement. Requires manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or importers of motorized vehicles (other than automobiles) or large appliances to: (1) accept any vehicle or appliance of the type sold by such persons from purchasers; or (2) assure the diversion of such items away from incinerators or landfills. Permits the disposal of household batteries only by delivery to retailers, wholesalers, or manufacturers of batteries of the same general type, regulated collection or recycling facilities, or governmental curbside collection programs. Sets forth disposal requirements for retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Prohibits battery retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers from refusing to accept batteries of the same type as the batteries sold. Requires wholesalers to remove used batteries from the place of business of the retailer. Sets forth refund requirements with respect to such batteries. Requires notices to be posted in household battery retail establishments that: (1) state that is illegal to throw away such batteries and that Federal law requires acceptance of batteries for recycling and the return of batteries to authorized recyclers or collectors; and (2) encourage the recycling of used batteries. Prohibits the sale of household batteries unless such batteries bear a label that identifies the chemical in the battery and that states the refund value and requirements for recycling and acceptance. Requires the Administrator to promulgate labeling requirements for small, button-shaped batteries. Prohibits States or local governments from enforcing labeling requirements unless identical with this Act's requirements. Prohibits the sale of a rechargeable consumer product unless: (1) the battery can be easily removed by the consumer or is contained in a battery pack separate from the product and can be easily removed; and (2) the product and the battery are both labeled in a manner that is clearly visible, that indicates that the battery must be collected separately, and that identifies the electrode used in the battery. Revises provisions concerning Federal procurement of recycled goods. Applies procurement requirements to the purchase or acquisition of items during a fiscal year if, during any of the preceding five fiscal years, the price of such items exceeded $10,000 in the aggregate. Includes the Congress within the definition of "procuring agency." Requires procuring agencies to procure only items which are composed of the highest percentage of post-consumer materials (currently, recovered materials) practicable or, in the case of items for which minimum content standards have been set, which contain no less than the required minimum content. Revises conditions under which a procuring agency may determine not to procure such items. Directs the Administrator to: (1) revise existing standards for the procurement of paper containing post-consumer materials so that the standards are at least as stringent as the minimum content requirements of title II; (2) promulgate standards for the procurement and use of containers and packaging and other goods made from aluminum, ferrous, and plastic scrap and waste glass that are as stringent as such requirements; (3) promulgate standards for the procurement and use of waste glass in the construction of paved surfaces, rubber scrap in the construction of paved surfaces, roofing, and other nonroadway applications, and compost, fertilizers, and other soil amendments made from yard and food waste; and (4) promulgate standards for at least three additional categories of items and other items, as appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain business entities to elect to use a fiscal year for tax purposes other than the required taxable year. Modifies provisions concerning required payments for such entities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to add a new rule LII that requires, before consideration, each reported bill or amendment that establishes or increases any tax, assessment, duty, tariff, user fee, or other charge imposed upon specified cargo, persons, or vessels to be accompanied by a report setting forth: (1) the economic impact on such persons and vessels; (2) the effect on international trade; (3) the amount of revenue that will be raised; and (4) an identification of the entities that will benefit from the revenue raised and those who will be adversely affected for the first five fiscal years that the bill applies. Requires the Congressional Budget Office to compile and report to the chairman and ranking minority member of certain standing committees an itemized list of all Federal taxes, assessments, duties, tariffs, user fees, and other charges currently imposed upon such cargo, persons, and vessels.
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 · 25 November 1991
Consumer Products Safe Testing Act - Declares the policy that Federal departments and agencies shall encourage the development and use of product testing procedures that accurately reflect the acute health effects on humans of certain products, including consumer products and products containing hazardous or toxic substances, but which do not rely upon animals. Directs each Federal department or agency head (head), within one year, to: (1) review and evaluate any regulation, guideline, or recommendation issued by such department or agency which requires, recommends, or encourages the use of the Draize or other animal acute toxicity test for the purpose of evaluation of the safety of a regulated product; (2) review and evaluate nonanimal alternatives with the potential for partial or full replacement of the products regulated; and (3) promulgate regulations, guidelines, or recommendations that specify that a nonanimal acute toxicity test or battery of tests (NATT) should be used instead of an animal acute toxicity test unless that head determines that the NATT is less likely to predict the acute health effects on humans of a product than the animal acute toxicity test. Requires the appropriate head, if a determination is made that no NATT is as likely to predict the human reaction to the regulated product as the Draize or other animal acute toxicity test, to publish in the Federal Register an explanation of all options considered and the justification for continuing the animal acute toxicity test, which shall be subject to public comment. Provides for periodic review of animal acute toxicity testing regulations. Makes this Act inapplicable to regulations, guidelines, or recommendations related to medical research.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Chinese Protection Act of 1991 - Provides for the adjustment to permanent resident status of certain nationals of the People's Republic of China.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that if the Croatian Government adheres in good faith to the terms of ceasefires negotiated by the European Community (EC) and if those parties conducting military operations against the Republic of Croatia refuse to comply, U.S. policy should be to: (1) consult promptly with the EC, other countries, and the United Nations (UN) on recognition requested by those republics (such as Slovenia and Croatia) that have declared their sovereignty and independence and have agreed to cooperate with EC efforts; (2) take steps to bring the United States into conformity with sanctions and other measures agreed to by the EC, and take positive compensatory measures towards parties cooperating with EC proposals; (3) offer other emergency humanitarian assistance to those republics in light of conflict taking place on their territories; (4) place the Republic of Serbia on notice that continued military action will cause the United States to support EC efforts to call for mandatory UN Security Council measures as a response to an act of aggression; (5) require a clear and binding commitment by authorities to protect the rights of minorities living within the borders mutually recognized by the republics and provinces of Yugoslavia in 1974 and seek their formal commitment to accept international inspection and, if necessary, arbitration to protect those rights; and (6) lend strong support to all EC and other international activities aimed at restoring peace.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Commends: (1) the people of Guam for their patriotism, bravery, loyalty to the United States, and many sacrifices during World War II, particularly during the invasion and occupation of the Guam territory; (2) the members of the Navy Insular Force and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps for the efforts and sacrifices they made in defense of the U.S.; (3) the Hawaiians for their sacrifices and contributions to the U.S. war effort during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; and (4) the Hawaii Territorial Guard members, Varsity Victory Volunteers, the civilian workers at the Pearl Harbor Naval Ship Yard and other Hawaiian military installations, 100th Infantry Battalion, Military Intelligence Service, and 442nd Regimental Combat Team for their sacrifices and contributions to the U.S. war effort during such attack.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Calls upon the President, as part of the Uruguay Round General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks, to initiate negotiations to make GATT compatible with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other U.S. health, safety, labor, and environmental laws, including laws to protect the environment outside of the United States. Declares that the Congress will not approve legislation to implement any trade agreement (including the Uruguay Round of the GATT and the U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement) that jeopardizes such laws, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Clean Air Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1991
Medicare Outpatient Diabetes Education Coverage Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage of outpatient education services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for individuals with diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1991
Second National Blue Ribbon Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government Act - Establishes the Second National Blue Ribbon Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government to: (1) conduct a private sector survey on management and cost control in the Federal Government; (2) review executive agency operations and existing General Accounting Office, Congressional Budget Office, Inspector General Reports, and other existing governmental and nongovernmental recommendations for reducing waste; and (3) submit to the President and the Congress a list of those recommendations with estimated savings that the Commission determines are most significant and recommendations for improving the budget process, management, and reducing waste and costs in the Government. Requires the Commission to identify, address, and to report to the President and the Congress on: (1) opportunities for increased efficiency and reduced costs in the Government that can be realized by executive action or legislation; (2) areas in the Government where managerial accountability can be enhanced and administrative control can be improved; (3) specific Federal programs that have accomplished their objectives and ought to be terminated; (4) specific Federal program services that could be provided at a lower cost by the private sector; (5) specific reforms of the budget process that would yield savings, increase accountability and efficiency, and enhance public confidence in the budget process; (6) specific areas in the Government where further study can be justified by potential savings; and (7) specific recommendations for legislative and administrative actions. Requires the Commission to be funded, staffed, and equipped, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, by the private sector without cost to the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income the qualified military benefits of retired military personnel employed as administrators or instructors in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1991
Sets forth U.S. policy on assistance to El Salvador. Permits funds made available for military assistance for El Salvador for FY 1992 in excess of $21,000,000 to be obligated only with the prior notification of specified congressional committees. Authorizes the transfer of such funds to the Demobilization and Transition Fund for El Salvador established under the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1991. Makes such funds available only for costs of the demobilization, retraining, relocation, and reemployment in civilian pursuits of former combatants in the conflict in El Salvador. Permits the obligation of amounts in the Fund only if the President, prior to obligation of funds, notifies: (1) specified congressional committees; and (2) the Congress that the El Salvadoran Government and representatives of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) have reached a permanent settlement of the conflict. Prohibits any U.S. assistance to El Salvador if the head of the El Salvadoran Government is deposed by military coup or decree. Resumes such assistance only pursuant to a law enacted by the Congress. Permits the delivery of military assistance to the armed forces of El Salvador only with the prior approval of the elected president of El Salvador.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1991
Provides veterans' preference eligibility with respect to individuals who served on active duty in the armed forces during the Persian Gulf War. Subjects benefits afforded to preference eligibles under civil service laws to the minimum active-duty service requirements under veterans' benefits laws.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1991
Buyer Encouragement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for personal interest paid or accrued on indebtedness which is incurred: (1) after the earlier of December 31, 1991, or the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) on or before the date which is 18 months after such enactment. Declares that such allowance does not apply to indebtedness which is incurred to refinance any indebtedness incurred on or before the applicable date.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1991
Economic Growth and Family Tax Freedom Act of 1991 - Title I: Nonrefundable Tax Credit for Children - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of $1,000 for each child under the age of six and $300 for each child between the age of six and 18. Makes the dependent care credit inapplicable to children under the age of six. Title II: Reducing the Cost of Capital by Reducing Capital Gains Tax Rates, Indexing the Basis of Certain Assets, and Excluding Gain From Sales of Principal Residences - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the individual and corporate capital gains rate from 34 percent to 15 percent. Reduces such tax to 7.5 percent for low- and middle-income taxpayers. Provides for the phaseout of personal exemptions and the overall limitation on itemized deductions to take into account adjusted gross income which has been reduced by net capital gain. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Provides for indexing the limitation on capital losses of noncorporate taxpayers. Excludes from gross income the sale or exchange of property that has been owned and used by the taxpayer as the taxpayer's principal residence. Terminates provisions relating to the rollover or gain on the sale of a principal residence. Title III: Adjusting Depreciation Rates to Reflect Inflation - Provides a depreciation deduction adjustment for tangible property (other than residential rental property and nonresidential real property) placed in service after 1991. Allows phase-in deductions for such property placed in service after 1996. Title IV: Savings Incentives - Allows individuals to establish individual retirement plus accounts with tax treatment similar to that for individual retirement plans. Makes contributions to such accounts nondeductible. Provides for qualified distributions from such accounts, other than for general retirement purposes, including special purpose distributions made for the purchase of a first home and for medical or educational purposes. Prohibits special purpose distributions from being made during the first five years of the account. Title V: Treatment of Passive Losses - Provides for the treatment of rental and nonrental real estate activities under the limitations on losses from passive activities. Title VI: Enterprise Zones - Subtitle A: Designation of Enterprises Zones - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every two years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Subtitle B: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of any wages earned as do not exceed a specified amount. Phases out such credit. Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property. Allows a taxpayer a deduction on the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Excludes enterprise zone capital gains from income computation of alternative minimum taxes. Subtitle C: Regulatory Flexibility - Amends Federal law to revise the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety. Subtitle D: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis, and to expedite the processing of, applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. Subtitle E: Repeals of Title VII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 - Repeals title VII (enterprise zone development) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1991
Designates December 21, 1991, as Basketball Centennial Day.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1991
Calls upon the President not to proceed toward the normalization of diplomatic and economic relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam until the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs has reported its findings on the accounting of missing American servicemen in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1991
Repeals the Assault Weapon Manufacturing Strict Liability Act of 1990, signed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia. Restores or revives any provisions of law amended or repealed by it.
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 · 4 November 1991
Urges and requests the President to require the Secretary of the appropriate military department to award the Bronze Star to each member of the Navy or Marine Corps who served under General Wainwright during the defense of Corregidor Island, the Philippines, during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1991
Family Tax Relief Act 1991 - Title I: Modification of Personal Income Tax - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit of $350 for each child under the age of 18. Title II: Modifications of the Congressional Budget Process - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to reduce the discretionary spending limits for the defense, international, and domestic categories for FY 1992 and 1993. Reduces overall discretionary spending limits for fiscal year 1994 and 1995. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to require the reductions in outlays for FY 1992 through 1995 resulting from the reductions in discretionary spending limits under this title to be treated as savings in direct spending for sequestration purposes. Title III: Nondefense Spending Savings - Subtitle A: Aid to Families With Dependent Children - Amends part A (Aid to Families With Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require State plans to reduce AFDC payments by reason of the tax credit for children. Provides that if any family becomes ineligible for AFDC payments because of such reduction, the family remains eligible for any other program, the qualification for which is eligibility to receive such aid, and will not be required to reapply if otherwise eligible. Prohibits the approval of any State plan for medical assistance if payment levels are less than the payment levels in effect under such plan on October 1, 1991 (currently, May 1, 1988). Revises the method of allocating child support payment received for AFDC recipients. Subtitle B: Termination of Specific Programs - Terminates the following: (1) the superconductor super collider project; (2) the Space Station Freedom Program or any other space station; (3) reduced rate mailings for qualified nonprofit organizations, except mailings by blind or other handicapped persons; (4) the Fossil Energy Research and Development program; (5) the Nuclear Energy Research and Development Program; and (6) the Clean Coal Technology program. Subtitle C: Termination of Certain Loan and Guarantee Programs - Provides for the termination of the Small Business Administration and the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Transfers certain authorities to other Federal agencies. Subtitle D: Education Provisions - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require certain institutions of higher education to pay a co-origination fee in order for a student to be eligible to receive certain loans to attend such institution. Bases such fee on the loan default rate of the institution. Requires the Secretary of Education to use such fees to make payments on defaulted loans. Lowers the rates on special allowances paid to lenders who make higher education loans. Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to make permanent provisions regarding the collection of non-tax debts owed to Federal agencies. Amends Federal law to revise the method of computing aid to local educational agencies in the case of children of persons who reside or work on Federal property by taking into account the number of children whose parents are employed on public housing property. Subtitle E: Agricultural Programs - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to make individuals with adjusted gross income in excess of $100,000 ineligible for deficiency payments. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to set forth the percentage of reduction in deficiency payments for wheat, feed grains, cotton, rice, and crops for crop years 1992 through 1995. Amend the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to repeal the export enhancement program and the market promotion program. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from using cash or commodities of, or owned by, the Commodity Credit Corporation or the Department of Agriculture to subsidize: (1) the export of an agricultural commodity or product; or (2) market and export promotion of an agricultural commodity or product by any person. Title IV: National Security Savings - Prohibits the Department of Defense from procuring the following weapon systems: (1) B-2 bomber aircraft; (2) MX missiles; and (3) small intercontinental ballistic missiles (SICBM). Suspends the following weapon system programs until the President certifies to the Congress the need for such programs and the Congress authorizes such programs to proceed: (1) the Air Force advanced tactical fighter; (2) the aerospace plan; (3) the MILSTAR satellite; (4) the A-12 aircraft; (5) the V-22 Osprey aircraft; and (6) the Army light helicopter. Limits the procurement of certain weapon systems that are procured for use in any fiscal year after FY 1991 to the minimum number of units necessary to maintain a defense industrial base sufficient for producing that weapon system as needed to meet existing and contingent threats to the national security as, determined by the President. Specifies such systems as: (1) the seawolf submarine (SSN-21); (2) the M-1 tank; (3) the F/A-18 aircraft; (4) helicopters; (5) the F-14 aircraft; and (6) the F-16 aircraft. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the modernization of weapon systems, including aircraft carriers, should continue; and (2) the Navy should continue to operate nonnuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the fleet while the environmental risks associated with the deployment of nuclear aircraft carriers into zones of armed conflict are unacceptable. Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1985 to reduce the strength level of members of the Armed Forces stationed in Europe. Specifies the Armed Forces end strengths for FY 1992 through 1996. Provides for the distribution of personnel reductions by: (1) removing two heavy divisions of the Army from active to reserve components; (2) deactivating two light infantry divisions of the Army; and (3) reducing the number of aircraft carrier groups in the Navy. Declares that the Congress urges the President to enter into negotiations with appropriate foreign countries in regions where there are serious threats to vital national security interests of the United States in order to provide for the establishment of facilities in such countries that are suitable for facilitating rapid deployment of appropriate elements of the Armed Forces to those regions in the event of an international crisis that threatens those national security interests. Directs the President to take action as necessary to increase significantly the sea lift capabilities of the Armed Forces in order to facilitate the rapid deployment of such regions. Authorizes the Department of Defense to use funds available for the Strategic Defense Initiative for the development and deployment of an antiballistic missile defense system that is the minimum system necessary to defend the United States against a limited ballistic missile attack, including accidentally launched ballistic missiles. Authorizes appropriations for the sea lift and the Strategic Defense Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1991
Urges the President to: (1) support and negotiate with the United Nations (UN) to earmark funds, in the range of 25 percent of the monies collected for the UN Commission Fund, towards the costs of oil spill cleanup and restoration in the Arabian Gulf and Kuwait, including the costs incurred by the U.S. Coast Guard; and (2) enhance U.S. cooperation and assistance in providing expertise to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in cleanup and restoration efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1991
1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games Commemorative Coin Act - Provides for the minting and sale of commemorative gold and silver coins to support the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games and the programs of the United States Olympic Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1991
Authorizes the Air Force Association to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor the men and women who have served in the U.S. Air Force.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1991
Designates November 24 through 30, 1991, and November 22 through 28, 1992, as National Adoption Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) encourage the Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to support the world environment and world wildlife by discouraging trade in goods and services harmful to them; and (2) oppose any GATT action which impinges on the ability of the United States to protect them.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Family Preservation Act of 1991 - Title I: Child Welfare Services - Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to convert the Child Welfare program from an authorization to a capped entitlement program. Requires maintenance of State effort under such program. Sets forth a new formula for allotments to States under such program. Repeals provisions for incentive payments to States which maintain a foster care inventory, information system, and case review system, but requires States to provide such protections and other services designed to keep families together or reunify them, or to place children for adoption, with a legal guardian, or in some other planned, permanent living arrangement. Requires States to submit the following types of reports on child welfare services and expenditures: (1) pre-expenditure reports; (2) post-expenditure reports; and (3) comparative financial contributions reports. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to annually transmit to specified congressional committees a summary of the information contained in such comparative financial contributions reports. Requires such information to be made available to the public. Reserves funds for entitlement grants to States to plan for and provide child welfare services designed to strengthen and preserve families. Requires use of part of such funds to develop or expand specialized child welfare services programs for families in crisis due to substance abuse that: (1) emphasize comprehensive services geared to the whole family; and (2) support or expand availability of programs for pregnant women and programs that allow mothers (and other caretaker relatives) to reside with their children while receiving services or treatment. Requires uses of the remaining part of such funds to develop or expand: (1) service programs to help children, where appropriate, return to families from which they have been removed, or be placed for adoption, with a legal guardian, or in some other planned, permanent living arrangement; (2) preplacement preventive services programs to help children at risk of foster care placement to remain with their families; or (3) service programs for follow-up care for families to whom a child has been returned after a foster care placement. Reserves funds for grants to State court systems to assess and improve procedures in child welfare cases, in carrying out the Child Welfare Services program and part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act. Sets forth application requirements and formulas for determining the amount of such grants for FY 1993 through 1997. Directs the Secretary of HHS to submit interim and final reports to the Congress on the information obtained from assessments conducted with such grants and the impact of such grant programs on State court procedures and functions. Requires each State to periodically compile a detailed directory of programs designed to keep families together or reunify them or place children permanently, identifying which of such programs provides specialized child welfare services to families in crisis due to substance abuse. Requires States to report on measures taken to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act. Title II: Foster Care and Adoption Assistance - Amends title IV (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child Welfare Services) of the Social Security Act to add a new part C, Comprehensive Service Projects, to grant States flexibility and resources to develop comprehensive and coordinated services designed to: (1) preserve and strengthen families with children at risk of placement outside their homes; (2) reunite children with their families expeditiously if an out-of-home placement is found to be necessary; and (3) place children in adoptive homes or other permanent arrangements in a timely fashion if reunification with their families is not appropriate. Permits any State to apply to the Secretary of HHS for permission to: (1) conduct a comprehensive service project in a selected area or areas; and (2) suspend certain child welfare services and foster care and adoption assistance requirements with respect to State activities in such area or areas during the project. Sets forth application requirements and administrative provisions for such projects. Prohibits the Secretary of HHS from requiring as a condition of approval of a project application: (1) the State to select any area or areas in which to conduct the project; or (2) the project to comply with any requirements not specified in the project authorization. Sets forth those requirements with which such a project must comply. Provides for determining the expenses for which a State might properly seek reimbursement, for purposes of calculating such grant amount. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to increase such grant amount, to the extent appropriate, by taking specified factors into account. Sets forth requirements for notification to States of grant amounts, and for grant payments in equal quarterly installments. Prohibits a State from carrying out such a project in a manner that impairs the entitlement of any child to: (1) the foster care benefits he or she would have received if the Secretary had approved the State plan for the fiscal year and had not authorized the State to conduct such a project; or (2) any other benefit to which the child is legally entitled. Deems a State to have in effect an approved foster care and adoption assistance plan during the period in which it conducts such a project for purposes of State plan requirements under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act. Requires States to report annually on funds expended under such projects to the Secretary of HHS and the Advisory Commission on Children and Families. Provides for administrative remedies for unsuccessful projects. Provides for project termination. Requires a State to discontinue the project at the end of a fiscal year: (1) if it has notified the Secretary that it intends to do so; or (2) if the Secretary has determined for the fiscal year that the State is not conducting the project in accordance with requirements and is not making satisfactory progress toward achieving the State plans, and the Secretary does not plan to pursue an administrative remedy with respect to the project. Makes abandoned children entering foster care eligible for foster care maintenance payments. Makes the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made eligible for adoption assistance payments. Makes technical revisions in the foster care maintenance payments program and the adoption assistance program to expand the removal from home requirement to include removal from legal custody. Provides for retroactive application of such new requirement under the adoption assistance program. Makes children whose adoption has been set aside by a court eligible for foster care maintenance payments. Makes the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made eligible for adoption assistance payments. Establishes a respite care program for foster parents with children who have special needs. Limits the expenses eligible for reimbursement under such program. Expands the definition of children with special needs, for purposes of the adoption assistance program, to include: (1) those children for whom information is known and available about their genetic or social history indicating a high risk of medical conditions or physical, mental or emotional handicaps (which makes it reasonable to conclude they cannot be placed for adoption without providing part E adoption assistance or Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) medical assistance; and (2) those children that have been adopted, that were under the care and responsibility of the State agency responsible for administering the State's part E programs prior to being adopted, and that have a mental, physical, or emotional handicap that either existed before the adoption but was not diagnosed until afterwards or first manifests itself after the adoption but is congenital or was caused beforehand. Includes relatives (as well as foster parents) who are prospective adoptive parents and with whom the child has significant emotional ties while in their care for purposes of an exception to the requirement that an effort be made to place special needs children with appropriate adoptive parents without providing adoption assistance or Medicaid assistance. Requires each State to submit to the Secretary of HHS the factors and conditions it uses to identify children with special needs, for purposes of the adoption assistance program, and any modifications to such factors and conditions. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish an Advisory Committee on Foster Care Placement to study and report to the Secretary and the Congress on the implementation of specified requirements, under State plans for foster care and adoption assistance, that reasonable efforts be made: (1) prior to placement of a child in a foster home, to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child's home; and (2) to make it possible for the child to return to the child's home. Provides Federal coverage of 90 percent of State costs in developing and installing statewide mechanized data collection and information retrieval systems which: (1) the Secretary determines are likely to enhance the administration of such programs; (2) are capable of interfacing with the State data collection system for information on child abuse and neglect; and (3) meet other specified requirements. Covers 50 percent of State costs for operation of such systems. Provides that all State expenditures for development, installation, and operation of such systems shall be treated as necessary for proper and efficient administration of the State plan, without regard to whether the systems may be used with respect to foster or adoptive children other than those on behalf of whom payments may be made for foster care maintenance or adoption assistance. Reduces, after three years, from 90 to 50 percent the Federal matching payment for development and installation of such systems. Defers a deadline for implementation of automated systems until one year after certain regulations are promulgated. Directs the Secretary to establish a work group, including representatives of specified organizations, to advise on planning and implementation of the system to be used for collection of data relating to adoption and foster care in the United States. Requires the State plan to provide for: (1) a triennial review of the amounts paid as foster care maintenance payments and adoption assistance to assure their continuing appropriateness; and (2) a report to the Secretary of HHS on the results. Requires that the dispositional hearing to determine the final status of a foster child: (1) occur within 12 months of his or her original placement, rather than the current 18 months; (2) determine and document the measures needed to enhance the likelihood of making the child legally eligible for adoption and of finding an adoptive home for the child, if the hearing determines that the child should be placed for adoption, and the specific measures which have been or need to be taken to make an adoptive placement or a finding that placement of the child in an adoptive family would be inappropriate, if the child is legally eligible for adoption. Revises the time frame for judicial determinations on voluntary placements. Sets forth case plan requirements for placement of children in out-of-State foster care, including a finding that the child needs services not available in the State. Requires annual review, with the child present, of the status of children in out-of-State foster care placements. Requires States to collect data on the numbers of children in out-of-State foster care placements. Requires a State, in order to receive payments for expenditures after FY 1994 for foster care maintenance payments made with respect to children placed in foster care outside the State, to conduct and submit a study to the Secretary of HHS, by the end of such fiscal year, identifying the number and common characteristics of such children and the reason why they were not placed in foster care in the State. Sets forth provisions with respect to the treatment of assets of youth participating in the independent living program. Eliminates the ceilings on Federal foster care payments to States and the States' authority to transfer unused foster care funds to the Child Welfare Services program. Directs the Secretary of HHS to: (1) establish an advisory committee; and (2) issue final regulations for training of staff of agencies responsible for administering foster care and adoption assistance programs and for training of foster and adoptive parents. Requires such committee to include representatives of public agencies and nonprofit organizations with an interest in child welfare. Directs the Secretary to annually publish information, on a State-by-State basis, on expenditures for, and the operation of, the Child Welfare Services program, the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program, and Comprehensive Service Projects. Amends title IV of the Social Security Act to add a new part G, Child Welfare Review System. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish such system to: (1) review each State child welfare program to assess whether the requirements of such Act are being carried out; (2) impose financial penalties in cases of substantial failure to comply; and (3) provide technical assistance to any such program. Requires the Secretary to complete such a review for each State program not less frequently than once every three years. Sets forth provisions relating to effects of noncompliance, suspension and recision of financial penalties, and administrative and judicial review. Requires that all State child welfare programs be reviewed at least once by the end of FY 1997. Prohibits the Secretary from reducing or withholding any payment or seeking any repayment from any State under part B or E by reason of a determination made in connection with specified reviews or audits for certain periods. Prohibits suspension of payments with respect to any claim for reimbursement 30 days after the Secretary of HHS receives the quarterly statement of expenditures that contains the report of the claim. Provides that within ten months after the Secretary takes any action to suspend payment with respect to such a claim, the Secretary shall: (1) determine the allowability of the claim; or (2) if unable to make such a determination, make payment with respect to the claim, subject to a later determination of allowability. Title III: Emergency Assistance - Amends the AFDC program to require States to provide emergency assistance to needy families with children, including services designed to prevent homelessness. Title IV: Social Services Block Grant - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to authorize increased appropriations at specified levels under such program for FY 1993 through 1996 and at levels indexed to increases in the Consumer Price Index thereafter. Provides for the allocation to tribal organizations of program funds otherwise allotted to the State in which the Indians represented by such organization reside. Title V: Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Activities - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI (General Provisions and Professional Standards Review) of the Social Security Act to require the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to establish an Advisory Commission on Children and Families (the Commission). Requires the Commission to collect and assess specified types of information in order to identify cost-effective approaches to protect and enhance the physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being of children and their families. Directs OTA to report annually to the Congress on the Commission and its assessment. Requires the Commission to conduct, through contracts with independent research organizations, the following research and evaluation projects: (1) an evaluation of child welfare service programs, including intensive family preservation programs; (2) foster care evaluations; (3) longitudinal child welfare data bases, and studies of child welfare population dynamics; and (4) comprehensive service projects evaluations. Requires the Commission to conduct a study concerning child separation guidelines. Directs the Secretary of HHS to conduct the following research and evaluations: (1) a study (under contract with an independent research organization) to assess the prevalence and nature of risks to the safety of employees of child welfare systems; and (2) a three-year study (under contract with an organization with demonstrated appropriate experience) to examine methodologies for measuring the workloads of providers of child welfare services and community mental health services. Directs the Secretary of HHS to authorize child welfare demonstration projects concerning each of the following: (1) abandoned infants' permanent placement; (2) termination of parental rights; (3) child welfare worker training in U.S. areas that border on Mexico; (4) staff recruitment and retention; and (5) joint training for staff of child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice agencies. Directs the Secretary of HHS to authorize demonstration projects to test the feasibility of eliminating income and resource requirements respecting foster care and adoption assistance payments. Directs the Secretary of HHS to provide technical assistance to States for: (1) interpreting and implementating parts B, C, and E; (2) disseminating information on innovative child welfare agencies; (3) correcting problems identified through Federal audits and reviews and carrying out corrective action plans under part E; (4) implementing the foster care and adoption data collection system; and (5) addressing other matters identified by such Secretary. Title VI: Miscellaneous Human Resources Amendments - Amends the AFDC program to give States the option of using retrospective budgeting without monthly reporting under AFDC. Increases the amount of stepparent income disregarded under AFDC. Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to extend demonstration projects for evaluating model procedures for reviewing child support awards. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to make technical corrections relating to human resource and income security provisions. Repeals the technical amendment made by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 with respect to the National Commission on Children. Title VII: Budget Compliance Provisions - Specifies the applicable cost estimate of this Act for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). States that the conversion by this Act of the Child Welfare program from an authorization to a capped entitlement program shall not be treated as a change in concept or definition under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Designates December 1991 as Bicentennial of the District of Columbia Month.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1991
Medicaid Moratorium Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenues Act of 1988 to: (1) delay until September 30, 1992, the issuance of regulations changing the treatment under the Medicaid program (title XIX of the Social Security Act) of voluntary contributions and provider-specific taxes; and (2) maintain current regulations that allow intergovernmental transfers as a source of a State's expenditures for which Federal matching funds are available under the Medicaid program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to specified congressional committees a report on: (1) regulations to limit the use of voluntary contributions and provider-specific taxes to obtain Federal financial participation; (2) specific types of voluntary contributions and provider-specific taxes that may be used as sources of State expenditures for which Federal financial participation is available; and (3) any legislation that the Secretary believes is appropriate. Sets forth budget compliance provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1991
American Trails Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the American Trails Trust Fund (Fund) in the U.S. Treasury. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer annually from the Highway Trust Fund into the Fund a certain percentage of total revenue received from non-highway recreational fuel taxes. Requires the Secretary to use such Fund to administer a program that allocates moneys to the States to provide and maintain recreational trails. Establishes the American Trails Advisory Committee. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1991
Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), acting through the Office of Research and Development, to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of the environmental research basis for wetlands delineation. Requires the Academy to report the findings of the study to the Congress, along with recommendations for legislative and administrative actions. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the EPA should not adopt proposed revisions to the Federal Manual for Delineating Wetlands until six months after the Academy submits such report.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1991
Designates January 4 through 10, 1992, as Braille Literacy Week.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1991
Designates March 1992 as Irish-American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1991
Designates 1992 as Year of the Wetlands.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1991
Provides that the period for which expenses of the former Speakers of the House of Representatives may be paid shall end three years after the expiration date of such term of office, except that in the case of a former Speaker who is receiving such expenses on the date of the enactment of this Act, the period shall end three years after such date.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1991
Commends and congratulates Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma for receiving the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. Calls on the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Majority Leader of the Senate to invite her to address a joint meeting of the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1991
Requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives to ensure that letterhead stationery used in the House is made from recycled paper that contains at least 50 percent recycled material.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1991
Medical Care Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1991 - Title I: Grants to States for Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the implementation and evaluation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems. Sets forth eligibility requirements for States seeking such grants. Directs the Secretary to award not less than ten such grants each fiscal year, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary to: (1) designate each State receiving such a grant as a model ADR State (making such State eligible for a two-year extension); and (2) disseminate information on the ADR systems implemented by such States to other States, health care professionals and providers, and other interested parties. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and promulgate standards and regulations necessary to carry out the grant program, including qualification standards that States must meet to receive grants and regulations establishing State data gathering requirements; (2) take into account, in developing qualification standards, specified factors such as the effectiveness of such systems in supporting access to health care, encouraging improvements in the quality of care, resolving claims promptly, and providing predictable outcomes; (3) provide States with technical assistance; and (4) report to the Congress, within four years of the first grant, describing and evaluating the ADR systems implemented. Title II: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims - Specifies that, with respect to any health care liability action brought in a Federal or State court and any medical malpractice claim or medical product liability claim subject to an ADR system: (1) no person may be required to pay more than $100,000 in a single payment in damages (whether for economic or non-economic losses) for expenses to be incurred in the future, but shall be permitted to make periodic payments (as determined by the court); (2) the total amount of damages that may be awarded to an individual and the family members of such individual for non-economic losses may not exceed $250,000; (3) the total amount of damages received by an individual shall be reduced by any other payment that has been or will be made to the individual to compensate such individual for the injury that was the subject of the action or claim; (4) a claimant's attorney's fees may not exceed 25 percent of the first $150,000 of any award or settlement, or 15 percent of any additional amounts, paid to the claimant; (5) the total amount of punitive damages that may be assessed may not exceed twice the total amount of the damages awarded to compensate the claimant for losses resulting from the injury; and (6) the liability of each defendant for non-economic losses shall be several only and not joint, and each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of non-economic losses allocated to the defendant in direct proportion to the defendant's percentage of responsibility. Establishes a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice and product liability claims, beginning on the earlier of the date on which the injury that is the subject of the action was discovered or the date it should reasonably have been discovered. Specifies that, in the case of a medical malpractice or product liability claim relating to services provided during labor or the delivery of a baby, if the claimant was not previously treated for the pregnancy by the defendant health care professional or provider a court may not find that the defendant committed malpractice and assess damages against the defendant unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Bars a defendant from being found to have committed malpractice unless the defendant's conduct at the time of providing the health care services was not reasonable, except where the claimant asserts that the defendant is liable under a strict liability theory. Bars the award of punitive damages with respect to any medical product liability claim alleged against a medical product producer if the drug or device that is the subject of the claim: (1) was subject to approval or premarket approval under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with respect to the safety or performance of the drug or device or the adequacy of the packaging or labeling; (2) was approved by FDA; or (3) is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to conditions established by FDA and applicable regulations. Makes an exception in the case of withheld information, misrepresentation, or illegal payment to an FDA official for purposes of securing approval of the drug or device. Provides for a separate proceeding to determine punitive damages. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the admissibility of evidence; and (2) criteria for determining the amount of punitive damages. Provides that the U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over health care liability actions based on Federal questions or based on specified provisions concerning commerce and antitrust regulations. Specifies that this title preempts State law only to the extent that State law: (1) permits the recovery by a claimant or the assessent against a defendant of a greater amount of damages; (2) permits the awarding of a greater amount of attorneys' fees; (3) establishes a longer period during which medical malpractice or product liability claims may be initiated; or (4) establishes a less strict standard of proof for determining whether a defendant has committed malpractice. Title III: Encouraging Establishment of Community and Migrant Health Center Risk Retention Group - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to encourage the establishment of a nationwide risk retention group (RRG) for community and migrant health centers receiving assistance under such Act. Defines an RRG for purposes of this title as an entity defined in the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 that: (1) provides professional liability insurance and other types of profitable insurance approved for issuance by the Secretary to community and migrant health centers; (2) provides insurance that applies to all claims filed against a community or migrant health center after the entity initiates insurance coverage and to claims arising from acts that occurred prior to the initiation of coverage if the claims are not covered by other insurance; and (3) meets such other requirements as the Secretary may establish.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1991
Designates October 15, 1991, as Up With People Day.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1991
Sets forth congressional findings with respect to China's: (1) exploiting the labor of Chinese prisoners to produce cheap products for export; (2) detaining many prisoners past the expiration of their sentences in violation of internationally recognized human rights; and (3) holding such prisoners in conditions that fall below international standards for the treatment of prisoners. Urges China to: (1) allow international inspections of detention places suspected of producing export goods; (2) release the texts of government policies regarding such exportation; (3) detail steps it will take to prohibit the export of Chinese prison-made products; and (4) reform the Chinese political, judicial, penal, and economic systems so that Chinese citizens are not jailed for their political and religious beliefs (and receive fair and open trails for any crimes of which they are accused), Chinese prisoners are compensated for their work, and workplace conditions in Chinese prisons are safe and humane. Urges Hong Kong and other nations through which Chinese products are transshipped to: (1) prohibit the importation of Chinese forced labor products; and (2) investigate trading companies suspected of dealing in prison-made goods.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1991
Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Act - Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program to examine marine mammal health and effectively coordinate responses to strandings and unusual mortality events. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) as part of the Program, a stranding response program; and (2) an emergency response group (ERG) of marine science and conservation experts which the Secretary shall utilize to respond to marine emergencies or unusual mortality events (emergencies). Requires the ERG to: (1) assist the Secretary in determining when an emergency is occurring; (2) develop contingency plans for responding to such emergencies; (3) assist the Secretary in formulating a response plan for particular emergencies; and (4) identify individuals or organizations at a regional or local level who could, in times of such emergencies, assist the Secretary in implementing a coordinated and effective response. Directs the ERG to develop, and the Secretary to issue, contingency plans for responding to such emergencies. Establishes in the Treasury the Marine Mammal Emergency Response Contingency Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to accept, solicit, and use the services of volunteers, and accept and use gifts, devises, and bequests to carry out the stranding response and emergency response programs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) coordinate facilities for the storage, preparation, examination, and archiving of marine mammal tissues, to be known as the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank; (2) establish criteria for access to such tissues; (3) issue guidance for marine mammal tissue collection, preparation, and archiving, tissue analysis, and quality assurance protocols to ensure uniformity in techniques and data reporting for such analysis; (4) monitor and determine the levels, and if possible the effects, of potentially harmful contaminants present in representative species and populations of marine mammals in U.S. coastal waters, using the most effective and advanced diagnostic technologies and tools practicable; and (5) develop and maintain a central data base for tracking and assessing data on marine mammals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1991
Designates 1992 as The Year of the American Indian.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1991
Women in Apprenticeship Occupations and Nontraditional Occupations Act - Directs the Department of Labor (the Department) to promote an outreach program to inform employers and labor unions of the availability of technical assistance for preparing the workplace to employ women in apprenticeable occupations and other nontraditional occupations. Requires the Department to: (1) promote such program to employers through, but not limited to, the private industry councils in each service delivery area; (2) provide outreach to labor unions through, but not limited to, the building trade councils, joint apprenticeable occupations councils, and individual unions; and (3) give priority to employers in areas that have nontraditional employment and training programs specifically targeted to women. Sets forth various activities which such technical assistance provided by community-based organizations to employers and labor unions. Directs the Department to select a total of 50 employers or labor unions to receive such technical assistance. Requires each eligible community-based organization desiring to receive a competitive grant to provide such technical assistance to employers and labor unions to submit an application to the Department. Requires the Department to give priority to applications to community-based organizations that demonstrate specified types of experience and that have tradeswomen or women in nontraditional occupations as active members. Sets forth application requirements, including specified descriptions, assurances, and commitments. Directs the Department to serve as a liaison among employers, labor, and community organizations. Directs the Department to: (1) conduct a study of the participation of women in apprenticeable occupations and nontraditional occupations, examining specified topics; and (2) report to the Congress within two years on such study, with recommendations. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1991
Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and Engineering Work Forces Act - Establishes the Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and Engineering Work Forces. Excludes the Commission from application of provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act relating to the termination of advisory committees.