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 · 24 September 1991
Medicare EKG Payment Restoration Act of 1991 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) reestablish separate payment for the interpretation of electrocardiograms (EKGs) that are ordered or performed during an office visit or consultation with a physician; and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish separate fee schedule amounts for EKG interpretations and to adjust the relative values established for office visits to or consultations with a physician to reflect the establishment of such separate fee schedule amounts. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish practice guidelines for the use of EKGs for dissemination along with other educational information relating to the use of EKGs to physicians; (2) develop a profile of the use of EKGs by physicians; and (3) conduct a study and report to the Congress on the utilization and costs of EKGs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that it is inappropriate for the Federal Government to take actions that have the effect of preempting the tax decisions of State governments. Protests the decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to prohibit Federal payments under the Medicaid program (title XIX of the Social Security Act) relating to State Medicaid expenditures that are made from revenues derived from provider-specific taxes. Urges the Secretary to drop the proposed rule implementing his decision.
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 · 12 September 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should provide agricultural credit guarantees and technical assistance to the Soviet Union, the Soviet Republics, and the Baltic Nations to help meet their food needs.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Extends the presumption of service-connection, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits and medical care, in the case of exposure to ionizing radiation, to include reserve members exposed to such radiation during active and inactive duty training. Expands the list of diseases presumed to be service-connected in the case of exposure to ionizing radiation to include cancer of the salivary tract and cancer of the urinary tract. Terminates the current presumptive period (the maximum period allowed before manifestation of the illness or disease occurs in order to be presumed to be service-connected and, therefore, covered as a veterans' benefit) of 40 years after participation in the radiation-related activity (30 years in the case of leukemia). Amends the Veterans' Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish guidelines and standards for the resolution of claims for benefits where a claim is based on a veteran's exposure to ionizing radiation. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to identify not less than three activities in which individuals serving on active duty, or active or inactive duty training, have participated and which likely would have exposed such individuals to levels of ionizing radiation above background levels. Requires the Secretary to identify at least three additional activities no later than the beginning of FY 1993 through 1995. Requires the Secretary, immediately after identifying such an activity, to direct the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Environmental Hazards to evaluate and make a finding as to whether participation in such activity resulted in potentially harmful exposure to ionizing radiation. Requires reports from the Committee and the Secretary concerning such activities. Directs the Secretary to list each ionizing radiation exposure identified, unless the Secretary determines that the activity did not result in an opportunity for potentially harmful exposure to ionizing radiation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the annual cap on the amount of payment for outpatient physical therapy and occupational therapy services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance).
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Veterans' Hospice Services Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a pilot program to: (1) assess the feasibility and desirability of furnishing hospice care to terminally ill veterans; and (2) determine the most efficient and effective means of furnishing such care. Directs the Secretary to designate 15 to 30 Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities for such demonstration projects. Requires the Secretary to ensure that: (1) Department medical facilities conducting such projects include both urban and rural area facilities; (2) the full range of affilitation between medical facilities of the Department and medical schools is represented by the facilities selected to conduct such projects; and (3) such facilities vary in the number of beds they operate and maintain. Allows such hospice care to be accomplished by Department medical facilities and personnel by contract where inpatient services are provided by Department medical facilities, or by contract where inpatient services are provided by a non-Department medical facility. Allows such inpatient care to be provided at a facility not designated in the contract when the provision of such care at such other facility is necessary under the circumstances. Limits the amount paid for hospice care programs under this Act to the equivalent of hospice care payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Allows the Secretary to pay in excess of such amounts for hospice care when the Secretary determines, on a case-by-case basis, that: (1) the furnishing of such care is necessary and appropriate; and (2) the amount paid under Medicare would not compensate the program for the cost of furnishing such care. Directs the Secretary, during the pilot program period, to designate not less than five Department medical facilities at which palliative care is being furnished to terminally ill veterans either by Department personnel and facilities providing such care or by Department personnel monitoring care provided by non-Department facilities. Directs the Secretary to ensure that terminally ill veterans who have been informed of their medical prognosis receive information relating to their eligibility for hospice care and services under Medicare. Directs the Secretary to submit annual reports to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees relating to the conduct of the pilot program and the furnishing of hospice care to terminally ill veterans under the demonstration projects. Requires the Secretary to also report to such committees an evaluation and assessment of the hospice care program, including information enabling the committees to fully evaluate the feasibility of furnishing palliative care to terminally ill veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Audio Home Recording Act of 1991 - Amends Federal copyright law to: (1) set forth definitions relating to digital audio recording devices and media; and (2) prohibit certain copyright infringement actions based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital or analog audio recording device or medium, or the use of such device or medium for making phonorecords, except when done for commercial advantage. Sets forth a mandatory recordation and filing procedure for the importation, manufacture, or distribution in the United States of digital audio recording devices or media. Requires importers and manufacturers to file quarterly and annual statements of account with the Register of Copyrights (the Register). Mandates Register verification of such statements. Sets forth verification guidelines. States that verification audit costs shall be borne by interested copyright parties. Sets forth confidentiality guidelines with respect to such mandatory statements of accounts. Prescribes royalty payment guidelines for digital audio recording devices and media imported, manufactured, or distributed in the United States. Requires that royalty payments be deposited into the Treasury. Identifies interested copyright parties entitled to royalty payments. Prescribes royalty payment allocation and distribution procedures. Permits alternative royalty collection and distribution arrangements to be negotiated among interested copyright and manufacturing parties. Maintains the Copyright Tribunal jurisdiction over such negotiated arrangements insofar as nonparticipant interests are affected. Prohibits: (1) the importation, manufacture, and distribution of any digital audio recording device or audio interface device that does not conform to certain standards and specifications to implement the Serial Copy Management System; and (2) the circumvention of such System. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to publish in the Federal Register a certain Technical Reference Document which sets forth the standards and specifications pertinent to the Serial Copy Management System. Authorizes the Secretary to implement such System according to the prescribed guidelines. Sets forth civil remedies for violations of this Act, including impoundment, remedial modification and destruction of non-complying devices, and binding arbitration.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Provides that each party to a sales and service contract that provides for the use of arbitration to resolve controversies shall have the option to reject arbitration as the means of settling a controversy. Requires the arbitrator, in making an award in any controversy arising out of or relating to such a contract, to provide the parties with a written explanation of the reasons for the award. Allows any such award to be vacated by a court order whenever the court finds that the arbitrator disregarded, misapplied, or misinterpreted State law.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Medicare Physician Payment Reform Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the transition rules for phasing in the resource-based relative value scale (RB RVS) method of payment for physician services to prohibit adjustments for asymmetry in the transition and for behavioral responses. Declares spending under this Act to be an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and exempt from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Recognizes and grants a Federal charter to the Military Order of the World Wars, a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Condemns the use of force to resolve political differences in Yugoslavia. Calls on the Yugoslav army to cease using force to address the current crisis and urges the Federal Yugoslav Government and the government of the Republic of Serbia to respond immediately to calls for negotiations leading to a peaceful settlement of differences. Urges the holding of free and democratic elections in the Republics of Serbia and Montenegro and in the provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. Declares that the President should immediately suspend assistance to Yugoslavia and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. representatives to international financial institutions to oppose assistance from such institutions to Yugoslavia. Urges that U.S. policy toward Yugoslavia be based on support for democracy, peaceful resolution of disputes, respect for human rights, and establishment of a market economy.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1991
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a five-year pilot program to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and advantages of furnishing care to elderly veterans in nursing homes in order to treat and reactivate or maintain day-to-day living functions in those veterans. Authorizes the Secretary to set a daily rate of reimbursement for such care. Authorizes appropriations for five fiscal years for increased costs of reimbursement of non-Department of Veterans Affairs nursing homes under such program. Requires the Secretary to submit interim and final reports to the Congress concerning the effectiveness of the pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Postmaster General should issue a postage stamp commemorating the service of veterans of the U.S. armed forces who served during a period of armed conflict. Provides that such stamp should be issued for a one-year period at one-cent above the denomination that applies to first class mail weighing up to one ounce. Requires the one-cent profit from the sale of such stamp to be: (1) used for improvements in pension, compensation, and life insurance programs in the Department of Veterans Affairs; and (2) considered as funding in addition to funds already appropriated for such programs in the Department.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Access to Life-Saving Therapies Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Food and Drug Administration, to approve, at the request of the sponsor and on an expedited basis, a drug or biologic needed to treat or prevent a life threatening disease or seriously debilitating illness if the drug or biologic meets certain conditions, including some indications of effectiveness and safety and a lack of alternative satisfactory therapy. Deems an application under the amendments made by this Act approved unless other action is taken within 120 days. Prohibits any health insurance policy or plan from distinguishing, for the purpose of determining whether a drug is eligible for coverage or reimbursement, between a drug approved under the amendments made by this Act and one approved under specified other provisions of the Public Health Service Act. Mandates suspension of approval under the amendments made by this Act if at least two subsequent studies fail to confirm the initial safety and efficacy conclusions. Requires written informed consent for administration of a drug approved under amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Community Right-To-Know More Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise congressional findings, objectives, and national policy provisions. Title I: Expansion of Toxics Release Inventory - Requires owners or operators of facilities subject to toxic chemical release requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 that meet threshold requirements under this Act to include supplemental information comparable to that required in toxic chemical release forms for transfers or releases of chemicals that are: (1) priority pollutants relating to steam electric power point source pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (2) specified hazardous wastes listed under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (3) specified chemicals listed under the Clean Air Act; (4) pesticides with respect to which the registration has been denied, cancelled, or is under suspension or pesticides undergoing administrative review or that are classified for restricted use; (5) chemicals listed under the Safe Drinking Water Act for which maximum contaminant levels have been proposed; (6) chemicals identified as carcinogens by the Carcinogen Assessment Group of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or the National Toxicology Program; (7) extremely hazardous substances listed pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986; (8) chemicals listed in 90 California Regulatory Notice Register 990 as reproductive toxins; or (9) listed under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 that are not used at a level that meets threshold requirements for reporting but are released to the environment or transferred to an offsite waste management facility in amounts meeting the threshold under this Act. Provides that a facility meets the threshold requirements with respect to a chemical listed under this Act if the facility: (1) uses the chemical at a level that meets the threshold requirement for reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986; or (2) releases to the environment or transfers to an offsite waste management facility a chemical in an amount greater than or equal to 100 pounds annually in the case of metals or metal compounds or 2,000 pounds annually for any other chemical. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to establish lower thresholds for any chemical, user segment, or facility. Permits authorized States to establish lower thresholds for facilities in their jurisdictions. Authorizes the Administrator to delete a carcinogen or reproductive toxin from the list under this Act if it is not otherwise listed under this Act or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Applies toxic chemical release reporting requirements to facilities employing at least ten full-time employees that are not currently subject to such requirements, but meet threshold reporting requirements under this Act or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Title II: Toxics Use Reduction - Requires owners or operators of covered facilities to submit: (1) annual toxics use reduction reports for each covered chemical for which such facilities are required to file toxic chemical release forms or supplemental information pursuant to title I; and (2) annual plans for reducing the use of covered chemicals. Sets forth report and plan requirements and submission deadlines. Authorizes the Administrator to modify such plans. Requires the Administrator to establish an advisory board to determine a professional code of practice for toxics use reduction materials accounting and planning. Directs owners or operators of facilities in violation of standards, permit conditions, or regulations pertaining to the management or release of covered chemicals, upon the request of 50 citizens or employees, to establish a workplace toxic use reduction committee to provide ongoing dialogue and appraisal of the progress toward pollution prevention. Requires the committee to meet at least quarterly to review a facility's progress on toxics use reduction. Directs the Administrator to implement a strategy to promote toxics use reduction. Requires the Administrator, Federal agencies, and States or political subdivisions, in issuing or approving regulatory action under specified environmental, consumer protection, occupational health and safety, and energy Acts, to make toxics use reduction an integral part of the planning, decisionmaking, and rulemaking process. Authorizes the Administrator to require owners or operators of facilities to provide records and information and grants the Administrator access to records, products, or raw materials. Requires the Administrator to establish a technical assistance and research program to promote and study toxics use reduction. Directs the Administrator to analyze information on production units reported by facilities for purposes of classifying such units into groups that use similar production processes and covered chemicals. Authorizes the Administrator to classify such units into groups on the basis of industrial categories according to Standard Industrial Classification codes. Requires the Administrator to: (1) classify ten groups, to be referred to as user segments; (2) evaluate the reduction in the use and generation of covered chemicals by each production unit in each user segment; and (3) prepare and make available to the public an annual percentile ranking of each unit according to use and generation as byproduct. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate regulations to establish minimum toxics use reduction performance requirements for production units in user segments. Sets forth regulation requirements. Applies provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 concerning trade secrets, the provision of information to health professionals, and public availability of information to toxics information under this Act. Waives Federal facility compliance with toxics use reduction and reporting requirements upon the request of the Secretary of Defense and the President's determination that such waiver is in the interest of national security. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on methods of encouraging the reporting of toxics information through the use of computer telecommunication and other means. Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to study and report to the Administrator and the Congress on the provision to the public of toxic release inventory information and related information required to be submitted to the Administrator. Prescribes civil and administrative penalties for violations of toxics use reduction and reporting requirements. Sets forth provisions concering civil actions with respect to such violations. Requires the Administrator to establish a grant program to assist States and local governments in establishing innovative toxics use reduction programs. Directs States to make 75 percent of a grant available to local governments for carrying out toxics use reduction. Bases the awarding of grants on the extent to which chemical substances are manufactured, processed, used, and disposed of in a State, the extent of exposure to such substances in a State, and the population density of a State. Authorizes appropriations for such grants and for toxics use reduction under this Act. Requires the Administrator to: (1) implement a procurement policy that reduces, avoids, or eliminates the acquisition of agency procurement items made with or containing covered chemicals and hazardous secondary materials; and (2) make recommendations to the Congress for a national toxics use reduction procurement policy covering all procuring agencies, Federal facilities, and government contractors. Amends the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 to increase the amounts authorized to be appropriated for functions under such Act and to increase and extend the authorization of appropriations for technical assistance grants to States. Title III: Waste Stream Reporting - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise recordkeeping and reporting requirements for hazardous waste generators. Directs hazardous waste generators to report annually to the Administrator and authorized State agencies on the quantity of hazardous waste generated from each catastrophic event, remedial action, or one-time event not associated with production processes. Sets forth reporting requirements for generators of solid waste in amounts in excess of 11,000 pounds a month and for facilities managing solid and certain special wastes generated by fossil fuels combustion, mining, and activities involving cement kilns. Reqiures the Administrator to: (1) maintain publicly accessible databases for hazardous, solid, and special waste stream data reported under this Act; (2) make the data accessible on a cost reimbursable basis; and (3) report to the Congress on links between EPA databases and changes that would facilitate links between all major EPA operations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the nonrecognition of gain on property held for at least ten years which is involuntarily converted as the result of the exercise of eminent domain, without regard to whether the replacement property is similar or of like kind.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1991 - Prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State (the government) from burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except that the government may burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person: (1) is essential to further a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. Sets forth provisions pertaining to judicial relief, attorney's fees, and applicability.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Cigarette Export Labeling Act - Requires cigarettes being exported to bear the Surgeon General's warnings required by the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act. Makes it unlawful to advertise abroad any cigarette without the Surgeon General's warnings required by the Act. Repeals provisions of the Act exempting from the warning requirements cigarettes for: (1) export; or (2) delivery to a vessel or aircraft for consumption beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. internal revenue laws.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Cigarette Export Reform Act - Prohibits appropriated funds from being used by any Federal employee or agency to seek through negotiation the removal or reduction of any restrictions imposed by a foreign country on the marketing of its tobacco products. Requires the inclusion, with regard to any cases that involve unfair trade practices by foreign countries with respect to tobacco products, of representatives of the Department of Health and Human Services in the Trade Policy Staff Committee, the Trade Policy Review Group, and the Economic Policy Council as members of the Section 301 Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress and the President, prior to each fiscal year, to agree on an estimate of total receipts (except those derived from borrowing) for that fiscal year by enactment of a law devoted solely to that subject. Prohibits outlays for that year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding this amount unless the Congress, by a three-fifths roll call vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each House to increase the public debt. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress. Requires the approval of a majority of the total membership of each House by roll call vote before any bill to increase revenue may become law. Waives these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect. Makes this article effective beginning with FY 1995 or with the second fiscal year after its ratification, whichever is later.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Social Security Act to exclude from the social security tax on self-employment income amounts received by a former insurance salesman after retirement if: (1) such amounts are deferred or renewal commissions on policies sold before retirement; and (2) such salesman was not an employee for tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1991
Provides for the printing of a revised edition of the booklet entitled "Our American Government" as a House document. Requires additional printing of such document for the use of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Joint Committee on Printing.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Medicare Physician Regulatory Relief Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) prohibit the denial of physician claims because of patient failure to complete Medicare secondary payer questionnaires; (2) prohibit carriers from using extrapolation to recover the amounts they reimbursed physicians for claims for which Medicare disallows payment, if the physician requests that each such claim be individually identified; (3) prohibit the imposition of specified user fees on physicians; (4) require consideration of physician comments in annual carrier performance reviews; (5) allow individuals (including physicians) to file administrative appeals when they have suffered damages as a result of the failure of a carrier to carry out Medicare policies; and (6) require review of medical necessity denials by physicians in the same medical specialty as the physician providing the service. Amends the Medicare and Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) programs to permit the reimbursement of a patient's regular physician for services provided by another physician who covers for the regular physician under contractual arrangements. Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to repeal the peer review requirement for certain surgical procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1991
James Madison-Bill of Rights Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (the Secretary) to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins emblematic of the Bill of Rights, and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of James Madison. Sets forth guidelines for their sale and issuance, and for financial assurances. Mandates that the surcharges received by the Secretary shall be transmitted to the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund. Authorizes audits by the Comptroller General. Provides a general waiver of procurement regulations when implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1991
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present to the Secretary of Defense, Richard B. Cheney, a gold medal in recognition of his exemplary performance as a leader in coordinating the planning, strategy, and execution of combat action by U.S. armed forces which led to the liberation of Kuwait. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1991
Comprehensive Service Programs for Homeless Veterans Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide, either directly or by contract, for the establishment of not less than 25 outreach service centers for homeless veterans in areas where there is a significant number of such veterans. Prohibits the Secretary from contracting for the provision of such centers unless: (1) the contractor agrees to pay at least 25 percent of the amounts necessary to provide materials and services under the contract; and (2) the Secretary has determined that the contractor has the capacity to carry out such an agreement. Requires at least seven full-time employees to be assigned to each center, in addition to individuals currently employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Requires assigned employees to include medical and psychiatric care professionals and case managers. Outlines services to be provided at such centers, including case management, health care, mental health and employment counseling, social services, hygiene facilities, benefits assistance, legal assistance, transportation assistance, meals, and other appropriate services. Requires at least 35 percent of the centers to be established through contracts with private nonprofit providers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Secretary to provide, either directly or by contract, not less than 20 mobile support teams to provide services through medically equipped vans in areas with a high percentage of homeless veterans and in rural areas without adequate access to medical services of the Department. Requires such services to include clinical care, case management, monitoring, meals, benefits assistance, and transportation services. Requires at least 35 percent of such mobile support teams to be provided through contracts with private nonprofit providers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Secretary to provide for not less than 50 transitional group homes whose only residents shall be homeless veterans. Requires such homes to be established primarily in residential areas. Requires the following with respect to such transitional housing: (1) that the manager of the housing is a veteran who resides there; (2) that such residents have access to job training, substance abuse rehabilitation, health care, mental health services, case management, benefits assistance, and transportation; (3) that such residents are either employed part-time or involved in job training; (4) that appropriate veterans participate in a substance abuse counseling or rehabilitation program; (5) that alcohol or drug use in such housing will be prohibited and violators expelled; (6) that veterans residing in the housing pay rent to the extent of their ability to pay; and (7) that such housing is in compliance with State and local housing codes and regulations. Requires at least 35 percent of the group housing to be provided through contracts with private nonprofit providers. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct evaluations and report to the Congress on the outreach service centers program, the mobile support teams program, and the transitional group homes program. Authorizes the Secretary to accept services and equipment donated for such programs. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with nonprofit organizations for services performed or utilized under the outreach service centers program or the transitional group housing program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1991
High Speed Rail and Highway Traffic Safety Program of 1991 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to establish a program to improve highway and rail traffic safety through the making of grants to States for projects for the construction, improvement, and elimination of rail-highway crossings. Directs the Secretary to select not less than eight nor more than ten rail corridors for assistance under such program. Sets forth criteria to be used in making such selections. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991
Medicare Preventive Benefits Act of 1991 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of fecal-occult blood tests (FOBTs) and screening flexible sigmoidoscopies for the early detection of colorectal cancer. Covers FOBTs on an annual basis for individuals aged 50 or over. Covers screening sigmoidoscopies provided every five years for individuals aged 50 or over. Provides payment for FOBTs under the laboratory fee schedule, subject to a five dollar limit in 1992. Provides payment for screening sigmoidoscopies under the relative value scale in 1992. Permits the Secretary to modify the frequency criteria after 1994. Provides for Medicare coverage of annual influenza vaccinations and for tetanus-diptheria vaccinations administered every ten years. Provides for Medicare coverage up to age seven according to a frequency schedule to be established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in consultation with appropriate entities. Provides for Medicare coverage of annual screening mammography for the early detection of breast cancer for women over age 64. (Currently, such women are covered for such screening performed every other year.) Requires HHS demonstration projects for the coverage of additional specified preventive care services and reports to specified congressional committees on such projects. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes an Office of Technology Assessment study and report to the Congress on the development of a process evaluating possible Medicare coverage of other preventive care services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) U.S. businesses engaged in the rebuilding of Kuwait should, to the maximum extent possible, use U.S. subcontractors and U.S. goods and services; and (2) the Department of Commerce should monitor and encourage the implementation of this policy.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991
Amends Federal highway provisions to allow longer combination vehicles (LCVs) to continue to operate only if the Secretary of Transportation determines that such vehicles were authorized by State statute or regulation conforming to Federal law and were in actual, continuing lawful operation on June 1, 1991. Specifies that: (1) all such operations shall continue to be subject to, at the minimum, all State statutes, regulations, limitations, and conditions, including routing-specific and configuration-specific designations and all other restrictions (statutes and restrictions), in force on June 1, 1991; and (2) nothing in this Act shall prevent any State from further restricting or prohibiting the operation of LCVs whose continued operation is authorized under such provisions, with exceptions. Directs the Secretary, within 60 days, to publish in the Federal Register a complete list of such State statutes and restrictions, which shall become final 60 days after publication. Bars LCVs from operating except as provided in such list. Sets forth analogous restrictions with respect to cargo carrying unit limitations under Federal transportation provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the American public should observe the 100th anniversary of filmmaking; and (2) the American Film Institute has a leadership role in preserving the art of film.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1991
Air Traffic Controller Incentive and Retention Act - Increases the premium pay differential for certain air traffic control system employees and other specified employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense from five to 15 percent of the applicable rate of basic pay. Entitles such employees to Sunday premium pay for work performed on Saturday. Eliminates the age limitation on annuity eligibility under the Civil Service and Federal Employees' Retirement Systems for air traffic controllers with 20 years of service as air traffic controllers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1991
Designates the week beginning July 21, 1991, as Korean War Veterans Remembrance Week. Requires the President to urge that the American flag be flown at half staff on July 27, 1991, in honor of those Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1991
Veterans' Health Care and Research Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Health-Care Benefits - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to contract with non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities for the treatment of any veteran who has a total and permanent service-connected disability. Authorizes the provision of dental care for a dental condition from which a veteran is suffering and when medically necessary in preparation for hospital admission or for a veteran otherwise receiving medical care and services. Increases from $500 to $1000 the annual per-person limitation on the provision of such dental care. Authorizes the Secretary to periodically review and adjust the yearly limit. Amends the Veterans' Health Care Amendments of 1986 to extend through FY 1992 an annual report requirement under such Act concerning the furnishing of non-service-connected health care to veterans. Increases certain authorized costs for home improvements and structural alterations furnished as part of necessary home health services available to disabled veterans. Extends through FY 1992 the authority for the operation of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in the Philippines. Authorizes the Secretary to expand the current program of outreach and community-based residential care for homeless chronically mentally ill veterans by: (1) increasing the number of Department employees providing services; and (2) providing such services in at least four cities in which there is a significant unmet need for such assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with public or nonprofit entities for the contractual provision of such services. Requires the agreeing entity to provide at least 25 percent of the cost of such services. Authorizes appropriations for both the current program and the program authorized by this provision. Allows such additional program to be carried out only if the amount appropriated for the FY 1992 medical care account of the Department is at least $100,000,000 greater than the amount requested in the President's budget for such account for such fiscal year. Title II: Health-Care Personnel - Provides the qualifications required for social workers employed by the Veterans Health Services and Research Administration of the Department. Requires a minimum two-year service requirement in the Department for graduates of the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professional Scholarship Program. Authorizes the Secretary to purchase promotional items of nominal value for recruitment purposes. Title III: Administrative Provisions - Prohibits funds from being appropriated for any fiscal year, and prohibits the Secretary from obligating or expending funds, for any major medical project or major medical facility lease unless funds have been specifically authorized by law. Defines a "major medical facility lease" as a lease having an average annual rental amount of more than $300,000 (currently $500,000). Requires the Geriatrics and Gerontology Advisory Committee to submit to the Secretary such reports as considered appropriate (currently, only one report is required) on all appropriate matters of geriatrics and gerontology. Adds certain assessments to such report requirements. Directs the Secretary, in order to improve the quality of clinical care at Department health-care facilities, to carry out a pilot program for the conduct of medical research at Department medical centers in the areas of: (1) mental illness; (2) alcohol and substance abuse; or (3) neurological, psychiatric, and geriatric rehabilitation. Allows research under such program to be conducted only at a medical center at which its director has entered into an agreement with a medical school or other institution under which such institution agrees to provide partial funding or in-kind support for the proposed research. Requires the Secretary to solicit from Department employees proposals for research projects to be carried out under the program. Requires the FY 1992 medical and prosthetic research account of the Department to be increased by a specified amount before such research program may be conducted. Provides similar limitations for FY 1993 and 1994 research projects under the program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to prescribe standards of performance by Department medical facility laboratories with respect to laboratory examinations and other procedures. Requires an implementation report. Authorizes the Secretary, in certain instances, to acquire and use real property: (1) before title to such property is approved under Federal statutes; and (2) even though the property will be held in other than a fee simple interest, as long as the Secretary determines that the interest acquired is sufficient for its intended purpose. Extends from three to four years the period allowed for a Department research corporation to establish itself as a tax-exempt entity under the Internal Revenue Code in order to avoid dissolution. Extends through FY 1994 the authority of the Department to establish such corporations. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for the operation of child care centers at Department facilities if the Secretary determines, based on employee demand, that such operation is in the best interests of the Department and that it is practicable to do so. Requires priority to be given to employees of: (1) the Department; (2) other Federal departments and agencies; and (3) affiliated schools and corporations, in that order. Authorizes the Secretary to provide such services to members of the public if necessary to ensure the financial success of the center. Directs the Secretary to establish reasonable charges for the provision of child care services at each center, in a sum at least sufficient to meet all operating expenses. Outlines specified actions authorized to be taken by the Secretary in connection with the establishment and operation of such centers. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements for the joint acquisition of medical equipment. Outlines conditions to such joint acquisition, including payment of no more than one half of the purchase price of such equipment by the Secretary, the exchange of use of such equipment between the joint holders, and provision by the institution involved of its share of the purchase price. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer to the other joint holder its interest in the equipment if the Secretary determines that such transfer would be justified by compelling clinical considerations or the economic interest of the Department. Authorizes the Secretary to purchase the interest of the joint holder of such equipment under similar conditions. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into escrow agreements with institutions to facilitate the procurement of medical equipment. Outlines escrow agreement requirements. Requires the Secretary to report on the implementation of such joint acquisition under these provisions. States that Department quality assurance activities shall be deemed to be part of the operation of hospitals, nursing homes, and domiciliary facilities of the Department, without regard to the location of the duty stations of employees carrying out such activities. Title IV: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary to implement the recommendations of the Chief Medical Director's Special Committee on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with respect to specialized inpatient and outpatient programs of the Department for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Requires the Secretary, during FY 1992, to establish and operate: (1) not less than five new specialized inpatient PTSD units; (2) not less than ten new PTSD clinical treatment teams; and (3) not less than five outpatient programs for the treatment of veterans suffering from both PTSD and substance abuse problems. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for such purposes. Directs the Secretary, in carrying out medical research and awarding grants, to designate a level of funding support for, and assign a priority to, the conduct of research on mental illness, including research regarding PTSD, PTSD in association with substance abuse, and the treatment of those disorders. Provides for the distribution of funds for such purposes. Requires the Secretary to provide an implementation report. Directs the Secretary to assess the needs for treatment and rehabilitative services of veterans believed to be suffering from PTSD. Requires the Secretary to develop a plan for providing such treatment and services, as well as for expanding and refining services available for the treatment of PTSD. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Special Committee in developing such plan and expansion and refining. Requires a report from the Secretary on the plan developed.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1991
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to limit the approval of highway projects to those providing for facilities for the use of pedestrians and bicyclists, with exceptions where there is an alternative safe, noncircuitous route available or where there will be no substantial transportation or recreation benefit. Defines "facilities for the use of pedestrians and bicyclists" to mean: (1) pedestrian walkways; (2) bicycle lanes, trails, paved shoulders, or wide curb lanes on which bicycles may be operated safely; (3) shelters and parking facilities; and (4) traffic control devices. Requires each State receiving an apportionment of Federal highway funds to fund in the State department of transportation a position of bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for promoting and facilitating the increased use of non-motorized modes of transportation, including developing facilities for the use of pedestrians and bicyclists and public education, promotional, and safety programs for using such facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1991
Expresses the gratitude of the Congress to this Nation's Federal civilian employees for their contributions to Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Commends and congratulates them on a job superbly done.
![Official portrait of Rep. Sangmeister, George E. [D-IL-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000056_200.jpg)