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 · 19 November 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the limitation on the one-time exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence by an individual who has attained age 55 and provide a cost-of-living adjustment for such amount. Increases the unified credit against the estate tax and the unified credit against the gift tax and provides a cost-of-living adjustment for such credits. Reduces the capital gains tax for a taxpayer other than a corporation by allowing deduction of 50 percent of the net capital gain. Provides for computing such deduction for estates and trusts. Disallows such deduction against the minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1991
Fair Disbursement of Offshore Oil Revenue Act of 1992 - Establishes the Coastal Communities Outer Continental Shelf Receipt Fund in the Treasury. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to pay into the Fund two-thirds of certain revenue from Outer Continental Shelf leases. Prescribes guidelines for distribution of such Fund to coastal States and counties. Directs the Secretary to determine which counties, parishes, boroughs, tribal governments, or other unit of general government immediately below State government level shall be designated as coastal counties.
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
Congressional Accountability Act - Makes applicable to the Congress the following Federal laws, to the extent that they relate to the terms and conditions of employment, the health and safety of employees, and the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees: (1) Social Security Act; (2) National Labor Relations Act; (3) Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (4) Civil Rights Act of 1964; (5) Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; (6) Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; (7) title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; (8) Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (9) Privacy Act of 1974; (10) Age Discrimination Act of 1975; (11) Ethics in Government Act of 1978; and (12) Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Makes applicable also to the Congress specified provisions of Federal law: (1) commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act; and (2) relating to independent counsel.
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 · 30 October 1991
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to participate in the study, engineering, design, and construction of a regional water reclamation and reuse system for southern California. Bars the Secretary from providing funds for the operation and maintenance of the system. Authorizes the Secretary to study, engineer, design, and construct water reclamation and reuse demonstration facilities to develop advanced technology for economically and environmentally sound alternative water supplies for the San Diego metropolitan area. Directs the Secretary to: (1) carry out such provisions in cooperation with the State of California and appropriate local and regional entities; and (2) report to specified congressional committees within two years of the first appropriation of funds. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, subject to specified restrictions, to participate with: (1) the city of Santa Rosa, California, and other appropriate authorities in the design, planning, and construction of water reclamation and reuse projects to treat waste water and store reclaimed water for such city and surrounding areas; and (2) the county of Napa, California, and other appropriate authorities in the expansion of the Soscol Wastewater Treatment Plant. Limits the Federal share to 50 percent of the costs of projects authorized by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1991
Membrane Processes Research Act of 1992 - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish, through grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or direct research, a basic research program on the treatment of contaminated water through membranes and membrane processes. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1991
Urges the establishment of an International Memorial to the Victims of Communism in the District of Columbia on land owned by the United States. Calls for the appointment of an international commission to oversee the design, construction, and other pertinent details of the memorial.
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 · 29 October 1991
Urges: (1) the Government of the People's Republic of China to cancel all arms deals with the Government of Burma until all political prisoners are unconditionally released, martial law is lifted, and the results of the May 1990 elections are fully implemented; and (2) the President to instruct the Secretary of State to call for an end to China's military sales and economic support to Burma during any visit to Beijing or in other high-level contacts with Chinese representatives and to advise such Government that its continued support for the State Law and Order Restoration Council (the Burmese military government) will be a factor in the administration's consideration of extension of nondiscriminatory (most favored nation) trading status for China in 1992.
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 · 22 October 1991
Requires 60 days after enactment of this Act: (1) that the President terminate, withdraw, or suspend any portion of any trade agreement or treaty to the extent the agreement or treaty requires the provision of nondiscriminatory (most-favored-nation) trade treatment to Hong Kong; (2) that the denial of most-favored-nation treatment to Hong Kong and that its products be subjected to specified duty rates; and (3) that the generalized system of preferences be inapplicable to the products of Hong Kong. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, 60 days after enactment, to instruct the United States executive directors of the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Development Association to oppose any loan or other utilization of the funds of their respective institutions to or for Hong Kong. Allows the President to waive such restrictions if it is determined that: (1) Hong Kong has agreed to be a country of first asylum for asylum seekers fleeding Vietnam by boat or land; and (2) Hong Kong has terminated the practice of forced repatriation of asylum seekers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit citizenship at birth to persons born in the United States to a mother who is a U.S. legal resident.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) condemn the use of force in Yugoslavia; (2) recognize the independence of the Republics of Croatia and Slovenia; and (3) work for the cessation of hostilities leading to a negotiated settlement and peace in the region.
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 · 8 October 1991
Provides, unless specified conditions are met relating to Serbia's armed conflict with the other ethnic peoples of Yugoslavia, for the: (1) restriction of U.S. assistance to Serbia or any part of Yugoslavia controlled by it; (2) suspension of U.S. air travel to and from such locations; (3) suspension of multinational assistance; and (4) imposition of a U.S. trade embargo.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1991
American Industrial Quality and Training Act of 1991 - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, through the Technology Administration, to make competitive matching grants to establish and operate American workforce quality partnership programs for workforce training consortia of industry and higher education institutions. Requires such programs to establish partnerships between one or more technology-based or manufacturing sector firms and a local community or technical college to train and educate a significant portion of the industrial partners' employees at all organizational levels through workplace and classroom training programs. Requires each partnership to establish an advisory board. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish, in the Technology Administration, the American Industrial Quality Foundation to further the ability of U.S. industry to compete internationally. Sets forth the Foundation's functions, including identifying and disseminating information on best practices. Sets forth provisions for a Director and staff, an advisory committee, and user fees. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to make competitive grants to develop and operate youth technical apprenticeship programs. Gives special consideration to applications providing for non-Federal contributions. Provides planning grants for such programs. Requires each grant recipient to establish an advisory board. Directs the Secretary of Labor, together with other appropriate entities, to establish and maintain a clearinghouse of youth apprenticeship programs in the United States. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive matching grants to States for statewide technical education and training networks to develop plans or strategies to establish statewide systems to provide technical, technician, or technological skills and education by building upon Federal, State, and local programs through various methods. Requires State Governors to submit evaluation reports within three years of award of such grants. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in conjunction with the Small Business Administration and other relevant agencies, to compile information and statistics on the total annual expenditure of U.S. industry on formal worker training programs, quantity of training, and other relevant worker training information, by firm size, sector, industry, job classification, and purpose of training (as well as any other available and appropriate data such as international comparative data). Requires a biennial report to the Congress on such information in a useful format. Requires making such information available to U.S. industry. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the Secretary of Commerce, to report to the Congress on the feasibility of adopting principles of total quality management, as embodied in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, to improve the quality and relevance of secondary and postsecondary education.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1991
Illegal Alien Transportation Prevention Act of 1991 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit transportation of illegal aliens for employment purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1991
Urges the President to call upon the President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to begin negotiations with leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia for the prompt withdrawal of Soviet troops from the Baltic States.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) recognize Ukraine's independence and take steps toward the establishment of full diplomatic relations with Ukraine should the December 1, 1991, referendum confirm the Ukrainian parliament's independence declaration; and (2) use U.S. assistance, trade, and other programs to support the Government of Ukraine and encourage the further development of democracy and a free-market.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1991
Consumer Price Reduction Act - Requires, in product liability actions, application of the law of: (1) the State in which the product was first sold to a retail purchaser in actions against the manufacturer; and (2) the State in which the product was first sold to a retail purchaser in actions against the seller. Requires punitive damages awarded in product liability actions governed by those rules to be deposited in the Crime Victims Fund established by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984. Requires costs and attorney's fees to be awarded to the prevailing party.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1991
Federal Fire Safety Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to prohibit the use of Federal funds to: (1) construct, purchase, or lease a newly constructed Federal office building, other than housing, having more than 25 full-time Federal employees nor to renovate one with five or more stories unless the entire building includes automatic sprinkler systems or an equivalent level of safety, with specified exceptions; and (2) increase the number of employees in such building by more than 100 employees over that as of enactment of this Act without such system or level of safety. Prohibits the use of such funds after the enactment of this Act: (1) to construct, purchase, lease, rebuild, or operate Federal Government housing for Federal employees and their dependents; (2) multifamily housing for Federal employees subsidized by the Federal Government; and (3) rental assistance housing, without automatic sprinkler systems and smoke detectors (in some cases smoke detectors alone). Directs the: (1) Administrator of the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (Administrator) to promulgate regulations implementing this Act; and (2) head of any Federal agency that owns, leases, or operates a federally-funded building or housing unit, to invite the local agency or voluntary organization with fire protection responsibility in the jurisdiction of such building or housing unit to prepare, and biennially review, a prefire plan for it.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a complete tax exemption (currently a 75 percent tax exemption) for bonds used to finance high-speed intercity rail facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1991
Designates 1992 as the Year of the Gulf of Mexico. Directs all Federal and State agencies which have responsibility for matters affecting the Gulf to work to increase public awareness regarding the immeasurable value of this resource and current conditions which threaten its aesthetic and economic value.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1991
Condemns the ongoing use of force and violence in Yugoslavia. Calls upon all parties in Yugoslavia to comply with the previously agreed ceasefire. Supports the efforts of the European Community and other concerned countries to restore and maintain peace and to encourage negotiations leading to a peaceful resolution of differences. Urges: (1) Yugoslav political leaders to engage fully and in good faith in negotiations on the future of Yugoslavia; (2) the Yugoslav military leadership to desist from aiding either side in the armed conflict and to obey instruction from Federal authorities; and (3) religious leaders in the Republics of Serbia and Croatia and elsewhere in Yugoslavia to work together in pursuing peace and reconciliation between the various ethnic populations of that country.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United Nations (UN) Security Council should dispatch an armed force to end the fighting in Croatia; and (2) after quelling the fighting, the UN should hold a high-level conference on the future status of Yugoslav republics and put in place a peacekeeping force in Croatia.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1991
Commends the people of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and their democratically elected leaders for their continuing courage and commitment to freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to publish and update clearly defined arrival and departure routes leading to and from airports located within and in close proximity to terminal control areas and airport radar service areas for the optional use of pilots operating under visual flight rules.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Intermodal Carriers Competitiveness Act of 1991 - Prohibits a State, political subdivision, or interstate agency of two or more States from adopting or enforcing any law, rule, regulation, or standard relating to interstate or intrastate rates, routes, services, or terms of service of any national intermodal carrier with respect to the provision of surface transportation of property in the State.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Foreign Capital and Securities Markets Study Act of 1991 -Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to the Congress on the capital and securities markets of Japan and their implications for and economic effects on the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Denies Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) benefits for ten years to any person: (1) convicted of violating a Federal environmental law; or (2) found to have held a beneficial business interest in a business concern required to be listed on a disclosure statement under this Act and convicted of violating a Federal environmental law. Prohibits the EPA Administrator from denying benefits to any person who demonstrates that he has been rehabilitated. Requires the following persons to file disclosure statements with the Administrator: (1) Federal environmental permit applicants; (2) applicants for EPA loans, grants, or other benefits; or (3) persons submitting contract bids or competitive proposals to EPA. Provides for enforcement of this Act through EPA examination of disclosure statements and access to business sites and records. Grants persons declared to be ineligible for EPA benefits the opportunity for a hearing. Provides for public access to disclosure statements and business records, with the exception of confidential information.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to certain spinal manipulations and physical examinations and X-rays furnished to an individual to determine if spinal manipulations are appropriate therapy, conducted by State-licensed chiropractors who are legally authorized by the State to provide such services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Economic Growth Act of 1991 - Title I: Investment and Job Creation Incentives - Subtitle A: Reduction in Capital Gains Tax for Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a capital gains deduction for individuals for assets held from one to three years. Provides special rules for the gain or loss from the sale or exchange of collectibles and sales of interest in partnerships. Disallows such deduction in computing the alternative minimum tax. Revises the formula for determining gain from the dispositions of certain depreciable realty to take into account depreciation adjustments (adjustments allowed or allowable for exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence, or certain amortization). Subtitle B: Inflation Adjustment for Investments - Requires indexing, based on the consumer price index, 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 after April 15, 1991) 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 the inflation adjustment treatment of: (1) short sales; (2) regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts; and (3) partnerships, S corporations, and common trust funds. Prohibits gain from the sale or other disposition of an indexed asset from being taken into account under the limitation on investment interest. Subtitle C: Enterprise Zones - Part I: Designation - 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. Part II: 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. Part III: 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. Part IV: 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. Part V: Repeal 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. Subtitle D: Research and Experimentation Credit Made Permanent - Makes permanent the tax credit for increasing research activities and the tax credit for clinical testing expenses. Title II: 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. Allows existing individual retirement accounts (IRA) to be rolled over into individual retirement plus accounts with payment of tax on the amount rolled over for which a deduction was once allowable, but no tax when withdrawn. Title III: Homeownership Incentives - Subtitle A: First-Time Homebuyers - Allows a tax credit for the first-time purchase of a principal residence by individuals with incomes of $31,000 or less (phased-out to incomes of up to $41,000). Limits such credit to $1,000. Subtitle B: Penalty-Free IRA Plus Withdrawal for Home Purchase, Higher Education, and Health Costs - Allows penalty-free distributions from IRA Plus accounts of up to 25 percent of the account limit for: (1) first-time homebuyers; (2) medical expenses; and (3) higher education expenses. Title IV: Work Incentives - Subtitle A: Reduction in Social Security Penalty on Working Elderly - Amends title II of the Social Security Act (Federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits) to raise the earnings limit for retirees. Appropriates to each payor fund amounts equivalent to the aggregate increase in social security benefits payable from such fund which is attributable to such amendment. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study during 1997 whether further amendments relating to deductions on account of work and the exempt amount under the earnings limit are necessary or appropriate. Subtitle B: Economic Growth Dividend - Requires any economic growth dividend (as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury) to be used to increase the personal exemption amount. Requires, after 1995, all revenues resulting from real growth in the gross national product greater than three percent to fund an increased personal exemption. Requires, for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 1992, and before October 1, 1995, that 50 percent of such dividend be used to increase the personal exemption amount and the other 50 percent be used to make a downward adjustment in the maximum deficit amount.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Omnibus Space Commercialization Act of 1991 - Title I: Space Launch and Launch Support Facilities - Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a comprehensive inventory of all space launch and launch support facilities owned by the United States, identifying facilities that are surplus to public and national security needs, and report to the Congress. Requires all facilities identified as surplus to be referred to the General Services Administration for disposition. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish criteria for and designate launch facilities as Commercial Space Centers. Makes all Centers and associated property, services, and products, including such services and activities in space as are launched from a Center, and proceeds from insurance exempt from all Federal corporate income and other taxes and all Federal excises, imports, duties, and all other Federal tariffs. Requires the United States to make available to commercial providers on a fair rental basis, based on the cost to the United States, launch and support facilities not in use for public and national security needs. Title II: Purchase of Space Transportation Services - Space Transportation Services Purchase Act of 1991 - Amends the Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990 to require the Federal Government to purchase space transportation services from commercial providers, unless the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) or the Secretary of Defense, on a case-by-case basis, determines: (1) the payload requires the unique capabilities of the space shuttle; (2) commercial services are not or would not be available when required; or (3) the use of commercial services poses an unacceptable risk of loss of a unique scientific opportunity. Allows space transportation vehicles to be acquired or owned by the Government only in such circumstances or for research, development, and testing of space transportation technology. Requires the service contracts to be awarded by competitive bidding. Prohibits, subject to exception, requiring submission of cost or pricing data supporting a bid or proposal or for the fulfillment of a contract. Requires performance specifications rather than Federal civilian or military design or construction specifications. Mandates a program to award vouchers for the payment of space transportation services and payload integration services for conducting microgravity biomedical, materials, or other research. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Intellectual Property Disposition - Requires that a commercial provider making an invention under contract with the Government have the same rights as would a small business firm under specified provisions of Federal patent law. Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to require (current law permits) each Federal agency to permit the director of any of its Government-operated Federal laboratories and, in certain circumstances, the director of any of its Government-owned, contractor-operated laboratories to enter into cooperative research and development agreements and to negotiate licensing agreements. Prohibits disclosure of trade secrets or commercial or financial information, that is privileged or confidential under the meaning of specified Federal law, which is obtained by the Government in the conduct of research or as a result of activities under this Act. Title IV: Tax Incentives for Commercial Space Activities - Space Business Incentives Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for the amount of the purchase of Commercial Space Center stock. Excludes from gross income gain on the sale or exchange of common stock of a corporation that derived at least 75 percent of its gross receipts from providing space-related products or services. Adds space launch and launch support facilities to the list of exempt facility bonds. Provides for the treatment of space launch and launch support facilities bonds. Excludes from gross income: (1) income from the commercial sale of any product manufactured in space and returned to Earth; and (2) income from services performed in space in a commercial space activity. Excludes products manufactured in space and returned to Earth from all Federal excises, imposts, duties, and other Federal tariffs. Directs the President to encourage State and local governments to offer tax and other incentives for commercial space activities. Title V: Miscellaneous - Declares that, notwithstanding specified provisions of the Clayton Act and the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984, standing to conduct litigation arising from activities carried out under this Act is reserved to the Department of Justice under the direction of the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission. Makes injunctive relief the sole relief available to the United States in such litigation, notwithstanding specified provisions of such Acts. Amends the Commercial Space Launch Act to extend certain provisions relating to liability insurance. Mandates a study on the feasibility of the United States providing termination liability insurance for commercial providers of certain categories of products and services. Declares that, subject to exception, in any action against a commercial provider arising from activities under this Act, evidence of failure of the provider to follow military or NASA specifications shall not, in and of itself, constitute proof of negligence. Establishes a National Award for the Commercialization of Space to consist of a medal and, if funding is available, a cash prize, to be awarded to persons or organizations who have substantially advanced space transportation, manufacturing, or research and development. Authorizes the Chairman of the National Space Council to seek and accept gifts of money from public and private sources to fund the cash prize. Establishes in the Department of Commerce the Office of Space Commerce to be the principal unit for the coordination of space-related issues, programs, and initiatives within the Department. Requires each Federal agency or department with an annual research and development budget over a specified amount to report to the Congress: (1) regarding a plan for activities to support space-related research; and (2) biennially on implementation progress. Requires the United States to accommodate commercial advertising by concerns providing or recycling space-related products, facilities, or services. Requires that negotiations between NASA and a commercial provider on implementation of a joint endeavor agreement or procurement agreement under a specified dollar amount be conducted in a timely manner. Requires the United States, to the extent practicable, to procure its space infrastructure, launch and launch support facilities, and payloads: (1) from commercial providers; and (2) so as to encourage cost effectiveness and innovation and minimize detailed specifications. Mandates a report to the President and the Congress on using proof of concept methods and unsolicited proposals. Terminates specified provisions of this Act 15 years after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Tax Fairness and Accountability Act of 1991 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require any legislation that increases the tax rate, the tax base, or the amount of income subject to tax, or decreases a deduction, exclusion, or credit to be approved in the House of Representatives and the Senate by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of its Members.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
California Public Lands Wilderness Act - Designates as additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System certain public lands located in California within the Bakersfield District, the Susanville District, the Ukiah District, the California Desert District, the Yuma, Arizona District, and the Carson City, Nevada District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Incorporates certain public lands in the California Desert District into the Death Valley National Monument and the Joshua Tree National Monument and makes such lands part of the National Park System. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to prepare plans to manage designated wilderness areas. Withdraws such areas from exploitation under the public lands laws. Provides for the continuation of demilitarization activities and the overflight of military aircraft in such areas. Directs the Secretary to assure access to such areas for traditional Indian cultural and religious purposes. Permits the Secretary, upon the request of an Indian tribe or religious community, to temporarily close an area to protect the privacy of religious or cultural activities. States that lands administered by the BLM in California that have not been designated as wilderness areas have been adequately studied for wilderness designation and releases them from certain requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Fairness in Product Liability Act of 1991 - Governs any product liability action brought in either State or Federal court against a manufacturer or product seller on any theory for harm caused by a product, superseding State law in specified ways and degrees. Makes a product seller liable only if the seller: (1) failed to exercise reasonable care regarding the product, and the failure was the proximate cause of the harm; (2) made an express warranty, independent of any express warranty by the manufacturer, the product failed to conform to the warranty and the failure caused the harm; or (3) engaged in international wrongdoing which was a proximate cause of the harm. Makes a product seller liable as if the seller were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process under State laws; or (2) a court determines the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows, in certain circumstances, a complete defense of alcohol or controlled substance use. Reduces damages by the percentage of harm attributable to misuse or alteration of a product by any person, subject to exception involving misuse or alteration by the claimant's employer or coemployees. Allows punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller for conscious, flagrant indifference to user safety. Prohibits, in certain circumstances, punitive damages regarding a drug or device, as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, unless packaging of a drug is substantially out of compliance with tamper-resistant packaging regulations. Declares manufacturer or seller liability to be several and not joint for noneconomic damages. Requires a product liability action to be brought within two years after the harm and its cause is, or with reasonable diligence should have been, discovered. Sets the time limit at 25 years for products which are capital goods. Requires offset of workers' compensation benefits. Sets forth rules regarding subrogation, contribution, indemnity, and liens. Provides for tort actions against employers. Prohibits U.S. district courts from having jurisdiction under specified provisions of Federal law over any civil action arising under this Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Rohrabacher, Dana [R-CA-48]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000409_200.jpg)