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United States · Official source
1,270 records where Rep. Schiff, Steven [R-NM-1] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1993 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President legislative line item veto rescission authority. Makes such a rescission effective unless the Congress, during a review period of 20 calendar days, enacts a rescission disapproval bill.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1993 - Grants the President legislative line item veto rescission authority. Authorizes the President to rescind all or part of any budget authority if the President determines that such rescission: (1) would help balance the Federal budget, reduce the Federal budget deficit, or reduce the public debt; (2) will not impair any essential Government functions; (3) will not harm the national interest; and (4) will directly contribute to the purpose of this Act of limiting discretionary spending in FY 1994 or 1995. Requires the President to notify the Congress of such a rescission by special message after enactment of appropriations legislation for FY 1994 or 1995. Makes such a rescission effective unless the Congress enacts a rescission disapproval bill. Describes: (1) information to be included in the President's message; and (2) procedures to govern consideration of rescission disapproval legislation in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Freedom from Government Competition Act of 1992 (sic) - Requires Federal agencies to obtain all goods and services necessary for or beneficial to the accomplishment of their authorized functions by procurement from private sources unless: (1) the goods or services are required by law to be produced or performed, respectively, by the agency; or (2) the head of the agency determines and certifies to the Congress that Government production, manufacture, or provision of a good or service is necessary for national defense, that a good or service is so inherently governmental in nature that it is in the public interest to require production or performance by a Government employee, or that there is no private source capable of providing the good or service. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to study and report to the Congress on: (1) agency activities which are inconsistent with such requirements; and (2) a schedule for transferring such activities to the private sector.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Systematic Application of Value Engineering Act of 1993 - Requires Federal agencies to apply value engineering, at a minimum, to identify and implement opportunities to reduce capital and operation costs and improve and maintain optimum quality of construction, administrative, program, acquisition, and grant projects. Requires Inspector General audits of reported agency savings attributable to such value engineering.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1993 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to such retirement pay is based solely on age, length of service, or both. Reduces the retirement pay of individuals receiving both types of pay by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total. Declares that, once the Federal budget deficit has been reduced, the Congress should reexamine and eliminate any offset of retired pay by a veteran's disability compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Defense Nuclear Workers' Health Insurance Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a health insurance program for certain former employees of Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities exposed to ionizing radiation for certain cancer health care expenses incurred above $25,000.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Amends Federal law relating to veterans to provide that the remarriage of a veteran's spouse after age 55 shall not result in termination of dependency and indemnity compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Social Security Earnings Test Amendments of 1993 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits. Sets a monthly limit on the amount other OASDI beneficiaries may earn in a taxable year ending in 1994 before incurring a benefit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax exclusion of amounts paid under employee educational assistance programs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Repeals specified portions of the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992 (Public Law 102-318) which: (1) provide for optional trustee-to-trustee transfers of eligible rollover distributions; and (2) impose a withholding tax on distributions not so transferred. Requires the Internal Revenue Code to be applied and administered as if such provisions (and the amendments made by such provisions) had not been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Fair and Competitive Election Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to limit: (1) House of Representatives election contributions from persons other than local individual residents; (2) nonparty multicandidate political committee (PAC) candidate contributions; and (3) soft money contributions. Sets forth a transition rule relating to excess funds for House of Representatives candidates.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for interest on any indebtedness incurred to pay the educational expenses of the taxpayer, spouse, or dependent. Allows such deduction only for the first 48 months of loan repayment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Designates October 1993 as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Designates March 25, 1993, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Grants the President line item veto authority with respect to appropriations bills.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Designates April 9, 1993, and April 9, 1994, as National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Amends rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives to make it out of order to put the question upon final passage of any bill or resolution until printed copies of the measure have been available for all Members for at least one day. Provides for the suspension of this Act for a particular bill or resolution in a national emergency upon the joint request of the Speaker and Minority Leader and with an affirmative two-thirds vote.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Federal laws regarding the taxation of State and local government bonds should not be changed in order to increase Federal revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Declares that the Congress opposes any attempt to lower the estate tax exemption or raise the effective rate of taxes on estates because such measures contradict the fundamental goal of the United States Government of encouraging long-term private saving through which productive investment that promotes economic growth can be realized.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the current Federal income tax deduction for interest paid on debt secured by a first or second home should not be further restricted.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Tax Fairness Restoration and Economic Growth Act - Title I: Tax Reductions - Subtitle A: Capital Gains Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude capital gain from gross income and exempt capital gain from tax. Makes such exemption applicable to computing the alternative minimum tax. Subtitle B: Restoration of Income Averaging - Sets forth provisions to restore income averaging. Subtitle C: Elimination of Double Tax on Dividends - Allows a shareholder credit (for taxpayers other than corporations) for dividends from domestic corporations. Provides for determining such credit based on the corporation's post-1992 Federal income taxes and post-1992 undistributed earnings. Includes such credit in the determination of gross income. Allows corporations a 100 percent deduction for amounts received as dividends from domestic corporations. Revises computations on dividends received by corporations on the preferred stock of a public utility. Subtitle D: Permanent Extension of Research Credit - Makes permanent law the credit for increasing research activities. Subtitle E: Reduction of Individual Tax Rate - Reduces individual income tax rates by eliminating the highest tax bracket. Subtitle F: Retirement Savings Incentives - Part I Restoration of IRA Deduction - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove the limitations on deductions for individual retirement plans and provides a cost-of-living adjustment for deductible amounts. Part II: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs - Establishes special individual retirement accounts that are nondeductible. Makes such accounts nontaxable if earnings on contributions are held for at least five years. Applies the early withdrawal penalty to distributions made before the end of the five year-period. Part III: Penalty-Free Distributions - Provides exemptions from the ten-percent penalty on early withdrawals from individual retirement plans for: (1) first home purchases; (2) higher education expenses; and (3) financially devastating medical expenses. Subtitle G: Repeal of Excise Penalty Taxes on Autos - Repeals the excise tax on luxury items (passenger vehicles, boats, aircraft, jewelry, and furs). Subtitle H: Repeal of Limitation On Itemized Deductions - Repeals the overall limitation on itemized deductions. Subtitle I: Repeal of Passive Loss Limitations - Repeals passive loss limitations. Subtitle J: Restoration of 10-Percent Investment Credit - Restores the ten percent investment tax credit for property placed in service after enactment of this Act. Subtitle K: Restoration of Accelerated Cost Recovery System - Restores the accelerated cost recovery system as in effect on the day after the enactment of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. Subtitle L: Credit for First-Time Homebuyer - Allows a credit for a first-time homebuyer of ten percent of the price of the principal residence. Limits such credit to $2,500. Requires the residence to be acquired on or after February 1, 1992, and before January 1, 1993. Title II: Taxpayer Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Additional Safeguards to Protect Taxpayers' Rights - Part I: Taxpayers' Advocate - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the Office of Taxpayers' Advocate, headed by the Taxpayers' Advocate, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Office to: (1) assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS; (2) identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the IRS; (3) propose changes in the administrative practices of the IRS to mitigate such problems; and (4) identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems. Requires the Taxpayers' Advocate to annually report to specified congressional committees on Office activities. Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to establish procedures requiring a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the Commissioner by the Taxpayers' Advocate. Authorizes the terms of a Taxpayer Assistance Order to require the Secretary of the Treasury to take certain actions (currently, only to cease or refrain from taking such actions). Part II: Modifications to Installment Agreement Provisions - Requires prior notification to taxpayers under an installment agreement to pay tax liability before altering, modifying, or terminating such an agreement. Provides for administrative review of denials of requests for installment agreements. Suspends the failure to pay penalty during any period an installment agreement is in effect. Part III: Interest - Extends from ten days to 21 days the period for which interest will not be imposed after notice and demand for payment, if such payment is less than $100,000. Provides for the abatement of interest in the case of an assessment due to the error or delay of an IRS managerial act. Increases the interest rate for overpayment of tax from two percent to three percent (making such rate equal to the interest rate for underpayment of tax). Waives interest on all overpayments refunded within 45 days after a return is filed. Part IV: Joint Returns - Requires separate deficiency notices in the case of a joint income tax return if the most recent data available to the IRS shows that such spouses did not file a joint return with each other. Allows the disclosure of collection activities to an individual requesting such information in the case of a joint return where such individual is no longer married to or resides in the same household as the other joint filer. Removes limitations on filing a joint return after filing separate returns. Part V: Collection Activities - Authorizes the Secretary, if it is determined to be in the best interest of the taxpayer and the United States, to: (1) withdraw a notice of a lien; (2) return property that has been levied upon; and (3) offer compromises in civil or criminal cases. Requires the Secretary, at the request of the taxpayer, to make reasonable efforts to notify credit reporting agencies and financial institutions of such withdrawal notice. Part VI: Erroneous and Fraudulent Information Returns - Requires payee statements to provide the phone number of the person providing payment. Establishes civil damages for the fraudulent filing of information returns. Requires the Secretary to take reasonable steps to corroborate the accuracy of an information return when making a determination of a deficiency by a third party, when such return is disputed by the taxpayer. Part VII: Modifications to Penalty for Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax - Declares that a person shall not be liable for any penalty for failure to collect and pay over tax if such person: (1) is not a significant owner, or highly compensated employee of the trade or business; (2) notifies the Secretary within ten days after such failure; and (3) such notification was before any notice by the Secretary with respect to such failure. Requires the Secretary to disclose certain information where more than one person is liable for a penalty. Part VIII: Awarding of Costs and Certain Fees - Repeals the "substantially justified" test for determining whether a taxpayer may recover costs and fees incurred as part of an administrative or court proceeding. Provides for the awarding of reasonable litigation or administrative costs to a prevailing party who represents himself in an administrative or court proceeding. Makes IRS employees personally liable in certain cases. Provides that any failure to agree to an extension of time for the assessment of any tax shall not be taken into account in determining whether a prevailing party has exhausted all administrative remedies. Part IX: Other Provisions - Revises provisions on the required content of tax due, deficiency, and other notices. Provides for the treatment of returns prepared for or executed by the Secretary for purposes of certain tax penalties. Provides protection for taxpayers who rely on certain guidance published by the IRS. Subtitle B: Form Modifications - Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that taxpayers are aware of permission to pay tax in installments, extensions of time for payment of tax, and compromises of tax liability; (2) improve procedures for taxpayers to notify the Secretary of changes in names and addresses; (3) include in a specified publication a section on the rights and responsibilities of divorced individuals; (4) ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities under the Federal tax system and that the public is aware of penalties for failure to collect and pay over tax; and (5) notify taxpayers of any payments that cannot be associated with any outstanding tax liability. Subtitle C: Additional Improvements - Requires the Secretary to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a pilot program for appeals of certain enforcement actions (including lien, levy, and seizure actions); (2) a study on ways to assist the elderly, physically impaired, foreign-language speaking, and other taxpayers with special needs to comply with IRS laws; (3) the scope and content of the IRS taxpayer-rights education program for its officers and employees; and (4) cases involving complaints about misconduct of IRS employees and the disposition of such complaints. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a study of notices of deficiency; (2) the accuracy and clarity of 25 of the most commonly used IRS forms, notices, and publications; and (3) a study of IRS employee-suggestion programs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
American Jobs Retention Act of 1992 - Prohibits the use of funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to finance: (1) the establishment of an export processing zone in a foreign country in which the tariff, commercial, tax, labor, environmental, and safety laws of such country do not apply to such zone; (2) any activity carried on by any foreign business within the United States to encourage U.S. businesses to locate or relocate outside of the United States; or (3) activities of a foreign country that contribute to the violation of laws to protect internationally recognized worker rights, including activities within any export processing zone.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a three-year depreciable life for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and equipment used to manufacture advanced materials or to develop advanced technologies. Reduces the individual and corporate capital gains rates and the minimum tax rate on capital gains. Imposes a minimum tax on domestic corporations which are 25-percent foreign-owned and foreign corporations engaged in a trade or business within the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Defense Nuclear Workers' Health Insurance Act of 1992 - Mandates payment to certain former Department of Energy employees for health care services incurred (through insurance or out-of-pocket) above a specified dollar amount. Sets forth eligibility requirements, including that a former employee have had certain exposure to ionizing radiation or have worked in a facility in which radioactive materials were regularly stored, handled, or disposed of.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie in recognition of his accomplishments as a musician. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Women in the Armed Forces Commemorative Coins Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) mint and issue coins to commemorate the women who have served in the armed forces of the United States; and (2) transfer the surcharges received from coin sales to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation and endow and dedicate the Women in the Armed Forces Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing any national primary drinking water regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (the Act) or any similar regulation until this Act's requirements are met and legislation that extends the authorization of the Act is enacted. Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on: (1) each final regulation that has been promulgated under the Act and regulatory alternatives that reflect a range of levels of safety or direct health benefits; (2) any health effect an alternative would prevent and the system-level incremental cost of each alternative; (3) the contaminants listed pursuant to the Act for purposes of considering revisions to the list, taking into account anticipated adverse health effects of the contaminant, the risk or safety factors associated with the maximum contaminant level, and whether the contaminant may occur in public water systems; (4) compliance deadlines; (5) whether a regulation should apply exclusively to small public water systems; and (6) recommended alternatives to ensure that States and political subdivisions meet funding needs to carry out the Act. Directs the Administrator, if the implementation or promulgation of a primary drinking water regulation is justifiable to protect human health, to implement or promulgate such regulation without regard to the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1992
Health Freedom Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to define "dietary supplement" as an article that: (1) includes, and is intended to supplement the diet with, a vitamin, mineral, herb, or another similar nutritional substance; or (2) is intended for ingestion in tablet, capsule, or liquid form, or another similar form. Provides that a dietary supplement shall not be considered to be a drug solely because: (1) of the potency of a substance in such supplement; and (2) the labeling or advertising for the supplement contains a claim, or provides information, concerning the potency of a substance in the supplement, or contains a health claim of the type permitted under this Act. Specifies that: (1) a substance in a dietary supplement is not a food additive if the substance is identified in the labeling of the dietary supplement as a substance provided by the product to supplement the diet; and (2) an article that is a dietary supplement may be described as a dietary supplement in labeling or advertising. Permits labeling or advertising for such a supplement to include a claim or other information that characterizes the relationship of the supplement, or the presence or absence of one or more of the substances provided by the supplement, to a disease or health-related condition, if: (1) such claim or other information is truthful and not misleading; and (2) there is scientific evidence, whether published or unpublished, that provides a reasonable basis for such claim or other information. Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from establishing any requirement that such a claim or other information that meets the requirements of this Act be approved by or conform to a regulation issued by the Secretary before the claim or information may be used. Provides that, if the Secretary asserts that labeling or advertising for a dietary supplement includes a claim or other information that fails to comply with the Act, the manufacturer (or other specified parties) may bring an action to secure a declaratory judgment regarding the validity of the assertion and obtain any other means of judicial relief authorized by law.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Administrative Health Costs Reduction Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to adopt standards relating to uniform: (1) claims data elements; (2) claims forms; and (3) electronic transmission of billing information. Allows a health benefit plan to reject a nonelectronic claim not submitted on a form meeting the standards. Provides, a specified period after adoption of the standards, for direct electronic filing by providers of claims. Defines "health benefit plan" to include various employee benefit plans and the Medicare and Medicaid provisions (titles XVIII and XIX) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Department of Energy National Laboratory International Energy and Environmental Technology Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) establish the Assisting Deployment of Energy and Environmental Practices and Technologies Program (ADEPT) for the development and deployment of energy and environmental practices and technologies; (2) promote, in cooperation with the private sector, international technology cooperation through the participation of the multiprogram national laboratories of the Department of Energy (DOE); and (3) establish within DOE the ADEPT Management Panel to oversee implementation of the ADEPT Program according to prescribed guidelines. Provides that the Program shall be managed by the Secretary independently of other foreign assistance programs of the Federal Government but may have cooperative activities and cost-sharing arrangements with certain other Federal agencies. Prescribes guidelines for the establishment of an information clearinghouse under the Program to disseminate energy and environmental technology alternatives. Establishes the Interagency Working Group to assist and advise the Secretary about the priority of projects to be funded under the ADEPT Program and the integration of pertinent information. Requires the Secretary to take into consideration the advice of the ADEPT Management Panel and the Interagency Working Group when making any decision to approve or disapprove an ADEPT Program project proposal. Directs the ADEPT Management Panel, in consultation with the Interagency Working Group, to submit periodically for the Secretary's review and approval a consolidated plan for the ADEPT Program. Directs the Secretary to submit a copy of such plan to the Congress. Prohibits ADEPT Program implementation from affecting the activities and funding of certain DOE cooperative projects. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Mandate and Community Assistance Reform Act - Title I: Termination or Suspension of Unfunded Federal Mandates; Consolidation and Simplification of Planning and Reporting Requirements - Requires termination or suspension of an unfunded Federal mandate, or the consolidation or simplification of an associated planning or reporting requirement, upon a recommendation to the Congress to that effect by the Commission on Unfunded Federal Mandates (established by this Act). Provides that all such recommendations shall take effect automatically unless the Congress enacts a joint resolution disapproving such recommendations within 60 days of their submittal. Sets forth guidelines for congressional consideration of the Commission's recommendations. Title II: Commission on Unfunded Federal Mandates - Establishes the Commission on Unfunded Federal Mandates to: (1) investigate and review the role of unfunded Federal mandates in relations among local, State, and Federal governments; and (2) study and make recommendations to the Congress regarding the termination or suspension of a certain number of unfunded Federal mandates, or the consolidation or simplification of associated planning or reporting requirements. Requires the Commission to recommend to the Congress also: (1) a process by which State and local governments can participate in meeting national domestic objectives without the burden created by unfunded Federal mandates; and (2) those programs currently funded, operated, or administered by the Federal Government which the Commission determines would be operated or administered more effectively and efficiently by States and localities, without increases in State or local government obligations or outlays. Provides for termination of the Commission. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Integrated Federal Assistance - Community Assistance Improvement Act of 1992 - Enables local governments to integrate federally funded programs under community-based assistance plans tailored for their distinct needs and constituencies and structured to address problems affecting low-income citizens that cross existing Federal assistance categories. Provides for payments to local governments of amounts available under a covered Federal assistance program for use in accordance with an integrated assistance plan approved by the Interagency Review Council (establish by this Act). Provides that eligibility for benefits under a covered Federal assistance program under an approved integrated assistance plan shall be only in accordance with the plan. Details the process for applying for approval of an integrated assistance plan. Specifies application and plan contents. Provides for implementation of approved integration assistance plans. Requires a local government applying for approval of an integrated assistance plan to establish a Community Advisory Committee. Requires the Committee to advise a local government in the development and implementation of its integrated assistance plan. Authorizes the Interagency Review Council to provide for technical assistance to a local government in developing information necessary for the design or implementation of an integrated assistance plan for which approval is sought under this Act. Sets forth guidelines for local governments to request such assistance. Establishes the Interagency Review Council for the purposes described above. Title IV: Estimation of Legislative Impact on State and Local Governments - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to: (1) strike language stating that cost estimates are required only if submitted in a timely manner; (2) require that a cost estimate accompany the conference report of legislation; and (3) require budget reconciliation instructions to direct any committee receiving such instructions to include in any reconciliation legislation carrying them out a Congressional Budget Office estimate of the total cost of their provision. Title V: Regulatory Flexibility Analysis - Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act to modify provisions respecting judicial review of agency rules.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Regulatory Improvement and Accountability Act of 1992 - Amends the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 to add as purposes of such Act: (1) reducing regulatory burdens to promote national economic growth, productivity, competitiveness, and general welfare; (2) increasing agency regulatory accountability; (3) providing for presidential oversight of the regulatory process; (4) minimizing duplication and conflict of regulations; and (5) ensuring well-reasoned regulations. Revises the definition of "burden" to include the time, effort, or financial resources expended to comply with a regulation. Defines "major rule" as any regulation that is likely to result in: (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, Federal, State, or local government agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or on the ability of the United States-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic or export markets. Defines "regulation" and "rule" as an agency statement of general applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or describing the procedure or practice requirements of an agency, excluding: (1) certain administrative actions; (2) regulations issued with respect to a military or foreign affairs function of the United States; or (3) regulations related to agency organization, management, or personnel. Requires the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to serve as principal adviser to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on regulatory oversight. Provides that under the direction of the President, the OMB Director shall develop and implement Federal information policies, principles, standards, and guidelines and shall provide direction and oversee the review and approval of information collection requests and regulations and the reduction of the paperwork and regulatory burden. Specifies that the general regulatory oversight policy functions of the OMB Director shall include: (1) developing and implementing uniform and consistent regulatory policies and overseeing the development of regulatory principles, standards, and guidelines, and promoting their use; (2) initiating and reviewing proposals for changes in legislation, regulations, and agency proceedings to improve regulatory practices and informing the President and the Congress thereon; (3) coordinating agency regulatory practices; (4) evaluating such practices to determine their adequacy and efficiency, their impact on national economic competitiveness, and their compliance with the policies, principles, standards, and guidelines promulgated by the Director; (5) overseeing planning for, and research with respect to, Federal regulatory practices; and (6) reviewing any Regulatory Impact Analysis, notice of proposed rulemaking, or final rule based on the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. Specifies that the regulatory clearance and control functions of the Director shall include: (1) designating major rules; (2) promulgating uniform standards for the identification of major rules and the development of Regulatory Impact Analyses; (3) requiring an agency to obtain and evaluate, in connection with a regulation, any additional relevant data from any appropriate source; (4) waiving the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 with respect to any major rule; (5) identifying duplicative, overlapping, and conflicting rules and rules that are inconsistent with the policies underlying statutes governing agencies other than the issuing agency or with the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980; (6) requiring appropriate inter-agency consultation to minimize or eliminate such duplication, overlap, or conflict; (7) developing procedures for estimating the annual benefits and costs of agency regulations for purposes of compiling a regulatory budget and assessing the impact of such regulations on national economic competitiveness; (8) preparing for the President's recommendations for changes in agency statutes; (9) designating rules for review and establishing schedules for reviews and analyses under such Act; (10) establishing a regulatory planning process by which the President will develop and publish a regulatory program for each year; (11) considering the consistency of agency draft regulatory programs with the President's policies and priorities and the draft regulatory programs submitted by other agencies and identifying such regulatory or deregulatory actions as may be necessary to achieve such consistency; and (12) monitoring and advising the President with respect to agency compliance with the requirements of such Act. Makes each agency responsible for carrying out its regulatory review activities in an efficient, effective, and economical manner and for complying with the regulatory oversight standards prescribed by the OMB Director. Requires agencies, in promulgating new regulations, reviewing existing regulations, and developing legislative proposals concerning regulation: (1) not to undertake regulatory action unless the potential benefits outweigh the potential costs to society; (2) to choose regulatory objectives that maximize net benefits to society and avoid adverse effects on economic competitiveness; (3) to choose the regulatory alternative involving the least net cost to society; and (4) to set regulatory priorities to maximize the aggregate net benefits to society. Requires each agency, in connection with every major rule, to prepare and consider a Regulatory Impact Analysis. Requires each agency to initially determine whether a rule it intends to propose or to issue is a major rule. Authorizes the Director to prescribe criteria for making such determinations, to order a rule to be treated as a major rule, and to require any set of related rules to be considered together as a major rule. Prescribes procedures applicable to agency preparation and publication of Regulatory Impact Analyses of major rules. Requires such Analyses to be transmitted to the OMB Director. Specifies the information each preliminary and final Regulatory Impact Analysis must contain in order to permit each draft major rule to be analyzed. Requires agencies to make their preliminary and final Regulatory Impact Analyses available to the public. Requires agencies to initiate reviews of currently effective rules in accordance with the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 and to perform Regulatory Impact Analyses of currently effective major rules. Provides that before approving any final major rule, each agency shall make a determination that: (1) the regulation is clearly within the authority delegated by law and consistent with congressional intent; and (2) the factual conclusions upon which the rule is based have a substantial support in the agency record, viewed as a whole, with full attention to public comments in general and the comments of persons directly affected by the rule in particular. Requires each agency to publish, in October and April of each year, an agenda of proposed regulations that the agency has issued or expects to issue and currently effective rules that are under agency review pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. Specifies the cases in which the above prescribed procedures shall not be applicable. Requires the Director to determine whether regulations or the practice and procedure requirements of an agency relative to the administration of the Export Administration Act are exempted from review under this Act. Prohibits an agency from implementing or sponsoring the implementation of a regulation unless: (1) the agency has taken actions to adhere to specified requirements and comply with the above prescribed procedures applicable to agency preparation of Regulatory Impact Analyses and the regulatory clearance and control functions of the OMB Director; (2) the agency has submitted to the Director the draft regulation, copies of pertinent statutes and other related materials as the Director may specify, and an explanation of actions taken to carry out the regulatory analysis, clearance, and control procedures, and has prepared a notice stating that the agency has made such submission; and (3) the OMB Director has approved the draft regulation, or the period provided for review of regulations by the Director has elapsed. Makes certain provisions with respect to public information collection activities concerning information collection requests applicable to draft regulations. Revises public protection provisions to prohibit a person from being subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a regulation adopted or revised by an agency after December 31, 1993, that is not in compliance with specified requirements of such Act or that fails to disclose exemption from such Act. Provides that in reviewing draft regulations, the OMB Director shall provide interested agencies and persons early and meaningful opportunity to comment. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1997 for OIRA to carry out the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. Strikes language under appropriations provisions stating that the review of a rule or regulation is specifically authorized or required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 only to the extent that such review is for the sole purpose of reviewing an information collection request contained in, or derived from, such rule or regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1992
Designates May of each year as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Information Services Fair Competition Act of 1992 - Amends the Communication Act of 1934 to make it unlawful for any common carrier or its affiliate engaged in the provision of information services to include in its charges for telephone exchange service any operating expenses, costs, depreciation charges, or other expenses determined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to be properly associated with the provision of information services by such carrier or affiliate. Directs the FCC to adopt regulations to ensure that these provisions are not evaded by carriers subject to this Act. Directs a common carrier or its affiliate engaged in the provision of information services to meet requirements such as: (1) book maintenance in a specified manner; (2) interconnection to its network that is equal in price, quality, and type to the interconnection that the carrier provides to itself or to its affiliate; (3) information concerning the network interface specifications that allows such information service provider to connect to that carrier's network; (4) public disclosure of the specifications for any new or changed type of network interface for information services that the carrier or its affiliate provides or may provide; and (5) response, on a nondiscriminatory basis, to a bona fide request for a new type of basic service necessary to support an information service within 120 days after receipt of such request, and offer such service on an unbundled basis if it is technically feasible and if the marketing and economic demand forecast support such offering. Authorizes the FCC, upon application of a carrier which shows that it is technically unable to meet one or more of the requirements mentioned above, to grant a waiver to such carrier only if the public interest would be served thereby. Requires the FCC to adopt regulations that specify the form and manner in which the network disclosure information shall be made by common carriers. Requires common carriers, subject to this Act, to comply with any relevant regulations already in effect until such regulations are adopted and published in the Federal Register. Prescribes guidelines for the release of network disclosure information. Makes it unlawful for a common carrier or its affiliate to use, in connection with the provision of such carrier's information services, customer proprietary network information that the carrier has collected in the course of providing telephone exchange service unavailable to unaffiliated providers of information services unless prior consent of the customer has been obtained or in cases where the FCC has determined that the use of disclosure of such information serves the public interest. Prohibits: (1) any common carrier or affiliate from engaging in the provision of a burglar alarm service until ten years after the enactment of this Act unless such service was provided to a customer by the carrier or affiliate on July 1, 1992; and (2) a Federal agency or State from regulating the rates, terms, or conditions for the provision of information services. Authorizes the FCC to impose any remedy, without limitation, to ensure that the costs of providing information services are not borne by subscribers to telephone exchange service.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Designates October 8, 1992, as National Firefighters Day.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1992
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives to appoint a task force to restructure the committee system in the House by reducing the number of standing committees to a maximum of 15 and establishing their jurisdiction. Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit any standing committee of the House from establishing more than four subcommittees except: (1) the Committee on the Budget which shall have no subcommittees; (2) the Committee on Rules which shall have two; and (3) the Committee on Appropriations which may have the same number of subcommittees that it had in the 101st Congress. Amends rule XI to make it out of order to consider any primary expense resolution unless the Committee on House Administration has reported and the House has adopted a resolution establishing an overall ceiling for House committee staff personnel for that year. Makes such a resolution privileged. Establishes guidelines for developing and considering primary and supplemental expense resolutions. Provides that the overall ceiling for committee staff in a resolution reported by the committee or contained in any amendment for the 103d Congress shall not exceed 50 percent of the total committee staff personnel employed at the end of the 102d Congress. Repeals the general permission, subject to certain conditions, for proxy voting by a member of any committee or subcommittee with respect to any measure or matter. Amends rule X to require the membership of each committee (except the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Committee on House Administration), subcommittee, task force, or other subunit, to reflect the ratio of majority to minority party Members of the House at the beginning of the Congress. Exempts the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and the Delegates to the House from the count in determining such party ratio. Requires the membership of each select committee, subcommittee, task force, subunit, or conference committee to reflect the ratio of the majority to minority party Members of the House at the time of its appointment. Requires the ratio of majority party to minority party staff positions, consultants, details, and funding for House committees to be the same ratio as that to Members of the House. Directs the Speaker to refer legislation initially to one committee as the committee of principal jurisdiction (currently, such legislation may initially be referred simultaneously to two or more committees for concurrent consideration). Prohibits a member from serving on any particular committee for more than eight years or as committee chairman for more than four years. Disregards: (1) service performed as a member of such committee for less than a full session in any Congress; and (2) previous service on any committee before the beginning of the 103d Congress. Requires one-half of the members of the Committee on House Administration to be from the majority party and one-half to be from the minority. Allows the chairman or ranking minority party member of the Committee on House Administration to authorize and issue subpoenas. Amends rules XLVI to prohibit a Member of the House from sending any franked mass mailing outside the Member's Congressional district. Prohibits the Committee on House Administration from approving any payment for, and a Member from making any expenditure from, any allowance of the House or any other official funds if any portion is for any cost related to a mass mailing by a Member of the House outside his or her congressional district. Amends rule XI to prohibit the Committee on Rules from reporting any rule or order that would prevent a motion to recommit that has amendatory instructions (except in the case of a Senate measure for which the language of a House passed measure has been substituted). Makes it out of order to consider any resolution which waives any point of order, except by a two-thirds vote of the Members voting. Declares that it is the policy of the House of Representatives that the following Federal laws should be amended to apply them to the House in the same or similar manner as they apply to the executive branch: (1) the National Labor Relations Act; (2) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; (3) the Equal Pay Act of 1963; (4) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; (5) the Freedom of Information Act; (6) the Privacy Act of 1974; and (7) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Directs the standing committees of the House with subject jurisdiction over such Federal laws to report legislation to the House to implement such policy. Provides for consideration of such legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1992
Urban Entrepreneurial Opportunities Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for equity contributions made by a corporation to an urban entrepreneurial opportunity financing subsidiary of such corporation. Requires the subsidiary to use such contribution in making qualified enterprise zone business loans to qualified small business concerns. Establishes an overall program limitation among the contributing corporations to be allocated by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Directs the National World War II Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to: (1) honor members of the armed forces who served in World War II; and (2) commemorate U.S. participation in that conflict. Directs the fund to plan, design, and oversee the construction of the Memorial. Establishes the World War II Memorial Advisory Board to: (1) promote and encourage the donation of private funds for the construction of the Memorial; and (2) recommend the site for and assist in the selection of the design of the Memorial. Terminates the Board within 30 days after completion of the Memorial or on the lapse of the authority provided by this Act. Authorizes the Fund to solicit and accept private contributions for construction of the Memorial. States that the requirements and authority of this Act shall lapse if: (1) construction of the Memorial is not commenced within seven years of its enactment; or (2) before such construction, the Secretary of the Interior certifies that funds are not available in an amount sufficient to ensure its completion.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1992
Declares that for purposes of determining the net amount due a named individual with respect to accounts held at a specified bank placed in receivership by the Office of Thrift Supervision, such accounts shall be treated as if they were insured in the amount of $100,000 per account.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1992
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that a monthly benefit shall be paid to the recipient's surviving spouse for the month in which the recipient dies, subject to a reduction of 50 percent in the last monthly payment if the recipient dies during the first 15 days of such month.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1992
Health Professional Shortage Area Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add a certain percentage of the population being 65 years old or older to the indicators of need which must be taken into consideration in designating health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). Prohibits, for frontier areas, considering the travel time between population centers or to contiguous area resources. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to continue, for three months after withdrawal of the designation of an area as an HPSA, the additional payments mandated for services furnished in HPSAs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1992
National Cancer Institute Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require expansion, intensification, and coordination of research conducted or supported by the National Cancer Institute on: (1) breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other cancers of the reproductive system of women, including operating at least six research and demonstration centers on breast cancer; and (2) prostate cancer, including operating at least six research and demonstration centers on prostate cancer. Authorizes appropriations to carry out provisions relating to the Institute, including the provisions enacted by this Act. Removes provisions authorizing appropriations for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Mandates a study to determine the factors contributing to the elevated breast cancer rates in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1992
United States - China Act of 1992 - Prohibits the President from recommending for a 12-month period in 1993 continuation of a waiver of human rights and emigration requirements for nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) for China under the Trade Act of 1974 unless a specified report is submitted to the Congress stating that China has accounted for and released prisoners who dissented in Tiananmen Square and in other parts of China on June 3 and 4, 1989, and made progress in: (1) preventing gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, including workers' rights, in China and Tibet; (2) preventing exports of products made by prison labor, and allowing U.S. officials and international organizations to inspect such places of detention; (3) terminating religious persecution in China and Tibet and releasing religious leaders incarcerated as a result of the expression of their religious beliefs; (4) removing restrictions in China and Tibet on freedom of the press and on broadcasts by the Voice of America; (5) terminating harassment of Chinese citizens in the United States (including refusal to return or renew passports as retribution for prodemocracy activities); (6) ensuring access to prisoners of international human rights monitoring groups; (7) ensuring freedom from torture and in humane prison conditions; (8) terminating prohibitions on peaceful assembly imposed after June 3, 1989; (9) committing to engage in high-level discussions on human rights issues; (10) adhering to the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong; (11) providing adequate protection of U.S. patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights, and implementing the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America on the Protection of Intellectual Property; (12) providing U.S. exporters access to Chinese markets, including lowering tariffs, removing nontariff barriers, and increasing the purchase of U.S. goods and services; (13) ceasing unfair trade practices which burden or restrict U.S. Commerce; (14) adopting a national policy which adheres to the Missile Technology Control Regime and the controls of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Australia Group on chemical and biological arms proliferation; and (15) assuring that it is not assisting any nonnuclear weapons state in acquiring nuclear explosive devices. Requires the President, if he recommends such extension, to include in a specified document submitted to the Congress a report on China's progress in meeting the above-mentioned objectives. Requires such report also to include, but not be limited to, progress made by China and Tibet with regard to specified human rights. Grants nondiscriminatory treatment to products of nonstate-owned enterprises in China.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1992
Bankruptcy Amendments of 1992 - Amends Federal bankruptcy law to raise to $1 million the ceiling on debts for eligibility to file as a chapter 13 debtor (bankrupt consumer repayment of debt under court supervision). (Currently the ceiling is $100,000 for unsecured debts, or $350,000 for certain secured debts.) Modifies the guidelines for: (1) chapter 13 bankruptcies; (2) automatic stays; (3) exemptions; (4) discharges; and (5) preferences. Directs the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to compile and make available to the public statistical information regarding bankruptcy cases.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1992
Removes the annual and total limits on the number of Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) units that may be maintained at public and private secondary educational institutions. Includes, as a condition to establishing a JROTC unit at such institution, that the institution agrees to such establishment and maintenance for no less than five academic years.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Designates the week beginning November 8, 1992, as National Women Veterans Recognition Week.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Fundamental Competitiveness Act of 1992 - Title I: Public Debt Reduction - Allows individual taxpayers to designate a portion of tax liability (not to exceed ten percent) on their tax returns to reduce the public debt. Establishes the Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund consisting of amounts so designated. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide for a sequestration of revenues equivalent to the estimated aggregate amount so designated. Specifies accounts exempted from such sequestration and establishes reporting requirements with respect to budget procedures. Title II: Capital Formation - Establishes a method of computing the credit for increasing research activities based on aggregate research expenses, as an alternative to the method based on qualified research expenses. Establishes a variable capital gains deduction whose formulas on a sliding scale range from ten percent for assets held for one year up to 100 percent for assets held for ten years. Allows a deduction of 50 percent of the capital gain from stock investments by non-corporate taxpayers in start-up companies where initial stock offerings are held for two years. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangle 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 disposition, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Permits an income tax deduction in the amount of dividends paid by domestic corporations, except S corporations, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, and personal holding companies. Repeals the income tax deductions currently permitted in connection with: (1) dividends received by a corporation; (2) dividends received by a corporation on the preferred stock of a public utility; and (3) dividends paid by a public utility on its preferred stock. Increases the deductible percentage of amounts received by a corporation from a qualified ten-percent owned foreign corporation. Allows a charitable deduction for corporate contributions of employee volunteer services to an educational organization. Establishes an investment tax credit for manufacturing and other productive equipment. Provides for determining the applicable percentage of such credit, which includes an efficiency improvement percentage. Increases the limitation based on the amount of tax for purposes of the general business credit. Provides for the treatment of losses on stock in manufacturing companies as ordinary (as opposed to capital) losses. Allows a partial exclusion of dividends or interest received by an individual. Provides for ordinary-loss treatment for losses on investments in a qualified startup company. Describes such company as one which: (1) manufacture tangible personal property in the United States; (2) does not involve a business acquired from another person; and (3) has not been in existence for more than one taxable year at the time it issued stock. Title III: Antitrust - Amends the Clayton Act to bar the acquisition by one corporation of stock of another, subject to specified conditions, where there is a significant probability that such acquisition will substantially increase the ability to exercise market power (currently, where the effect of such acquisition may be to substantially lessen competition or to tend to create a monopoly). Defines the ability to exercise market power for purposes of such provision as the ability of one or more firms profitably to maintain prices above competitive levels for a significant period of time. Directs the court, in determining whether there is a significant probability that any acquisition will substantially increase the ability to exercise market power, to consider all economic factors relevant to the effect of the acquisition in the affected markets, including: (1) the number and size distribution of firms and the effect of the acquisition thereon; (2) the ease or difficulty of entry by foreign or domestic firms; (3) the ability of smaller firms in the market to increase production in response to an attempt to exercise market power; (4) the nature of the product and terms of sale; (5) conduct of firms in the market; (6) efficiencies deriving from the acquisition; and (7) any other evidence indicating whether the acquisition will or will not substantially increase the ability, unilaterally or collectively, to exercise market power. Amends the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 to include a joint production venture within the scope of such Act as an activity that shall not be deemed illegal per se under the antitrust laws. Changes the short title of such Act to the National Cooperative Research, Development, and Production Act. Title IV: Business Liability - Subtitle A: Findings - Makes findings with respect to the increasing amount of litigation in our society and the desirability of encouraging alternative dispute mechanisms and providing uniform legal standards in the areas of professional and product liability. Subtitle B: Professionals' Liability Reform - Professionals' Liability Reform Act of 1992 - Establishes certain limitations and procedures regarding professional liability actions. Preempts certain State laws. Provides that nothing in this Act shall prohibit any State from developing or implementing alternative procedures for: (1) expediting the adjudication of professional liability claims; (2) resolving professional liability disputes; or (3) compensating for harm caused by professional services. Requires professional liability actions to be brought within three years after the claimant discovered, or should have discovered, the harm. Requires the claimant, in any professional liability action, to establish: (1) that the professional negligently rendered professional services and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the harm; or (2) in a claim for economic injury, that the professional negligently rendered professional services to and for the direct and intended benefit of the claimant, and such services were the proximate cause of the harm. Requires the claimant to establish that, at the time such services were provided, knowledge of the circumstances that caused the harm and a practical means to eliminate such circumstances were reasonably available. States that a professional shall not be liable in a professional liability action in which: (1) the professional's services were rendered to an agency of the Federal or State government; (2) Federal or State contract specifications existed which were material to the claim; and (3) the services rendered conformed to such specifications. Permits future damage awards exceeding $100,000 to be made by periodic payments. Requires that damage awards be offset by any amount received as compensation for the same injury. Establishes a contingency fee schedule for plaintiffs' attorneys. States that the principles of comparative liability shall apply unless persons engaged in concerted action which proximately caused the harm. Permits the awarding of punitive damages only where the conduct of the defendant: (1) manifested a malicious and reckless disregard for safety; and (2) constituted an extreme departure from accepted standards of safety. States that punitive damages may not be awarded in the absence of a compensatory award, or for the negligent provision of professional services. Requires the trier of fact, at the request of the professional, to consider in a separate proceeding whether punitive damages are to be awarded. Limits the claimant's actual recovery of punitive damages to three times the amount of compensatory damages. States that excess punitive damages shall be paid to the State or Federal government. Makes any attorney who files a frivolous claim subject to pecuniary sanctions by the court. Requires each State to encourage professional organizations to form risk management programs. Subtitle C: Product Liability Fairness - Part I: General Provisions - Product Liability Fairness Act - Declares that this Act governs any product liability action brought against a manufacturer or product seller, on any theory, for harm caused by a product. States that a civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for loss or damage to a product itself or commercial loss shall be governed by applicable commercial or contract law. Supersedes any inconsistent State law regarding recovery in such actions. Lists specific laws not superseded, including: (1) defense of sovereign immunity asserted by any State or by the United States; (2) any Federal law (except the Federal Employees Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act); (3) the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976; (4) State choice-of-law rules; (5) the right of any court to transfer venue or to apply the law of a foreign nation or to dismiss a claim of a foreign nation or citizen on the ground of inconvenient forum; and (6) any statutory or common law cause of action, including an action to abate a nuisance, that authorizes a State or person to institute an action for civil damages or civil penalties, clean up costs, injunctions, restitution, cost recovery, punitive damages, or any other form of relief from contamination or pollution of the environment or the threat of it. Declares that U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over any civil action under this Act, based on specified provisions of Federal law relating to district court jurisdiction. Declares that, if any provision of this Act would shorten the period during which a manufacturer or seller would otherwise be exposed to liability, the claimant may, notwithstanding that period, bring any civil action under this Act within one year after the effective date of this Act. Part II: Out of Court Procedures - Allows any claimant to bring a civil action for damages against a person for harm caused by a product under applicable State law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Sets forth expedited settlement measures, including: (1) an option to include an offer of settlement, for a specific dollar amount, by the plaintiff in the complaint and by the defendant in a responsive pleading; and (2) awarding attorney's fees and costs, in certain circumstances, to the prevailing party if the other party does not accept the settlement offer. Sets forth alternative dispute resolution procedures, including: (1) an option, in lieu of or in addition to a settlement offer, for a claimant or a defendant to offer to proceed under any voluntary alternative dispute resolution procedure established or recognized under the law of the State in which the action is brought or maintained; and (2) awarding of attorney's fees and costs to the offering party if the court determines that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable or not in good faith. Creates a rebuttable presumption that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable, or not in good faith, if a verdict is rendered in favor of the offeror. Part III: Court Procedures - Allows a person seeking to recover for harm caused by a product to bring a civil action against the manufacturer or seller under applicable State or Federal law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this Act. Establishes a standard of product seller liability for proximate causes of harm, established by a preponderance of the evidence, which fall under the categories of negligence or express warranty. Allows the trier of fact, in a negligence action, to consider the conduct of the seller with respect to: (1) the construction, inspection, or condition of the product; and (2) failure to pass on warnings or instructions from the manufacturer. Deems the seller not liable for failure to provide warnings or instructions unless the claimant establishes that the seller failed to: (1) provide warnings or instructions received while the product was in the seller's possession and control; or (2) make reasonable efforts to provide users with warnings and instructions which it received after the product left its possession and control. Deems a seller not liable except for breach of warranty where there was no opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which would or should, in the exercise of reasonable care, have revealed the aspect which allegedly caused the harm. Declares that the seller shall be treated as the manufacturer and be liable for harm caused by a product as if it were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process in any State in which the action might have been brought; or (2) the court determines that the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows punitive damages, if otherwise permitted by applicable law, to be awarded in any civil action under this title to any claimant who establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the result of conduct manifesting a manufacturer's or product seller's conscious, flagrant indifference to the safety of those persons who might be harmed by a product. Declares that a failure to exercise reasonable care in choosing among alternative product designs, formulations, instructions, or warnings is not of itself such conduct. Prohibits awarding punitive damages in the absence of a compensatory award, subject to exception. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller of a drug or medical device where: (1) the drug or device was subject to pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (2) the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective under conditions established by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer of an aircraft where: (1) the aircraft was subject to pre-market certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and (2) the manufacturer complied, after delivery, with FAA requirements and obligations with respect to continuing airworthiness. Provides for separate proceedings, if requested by the manufacturer or seller, with regard to punitive damages. Lists factors the trier of fact is allowed to consider in determining the amount of punitive damages. Bars any civil action under this title: (1) unless filed within two years after the claimant discovered or should have discovered the harm and its cause, subject to exception; and (2) if the product involved is a capital good that is alleged to have caused harm which is not a toxic harm unless filed within twenty-five years after delivery of the product, provided the claimant has received or would be eligible for State or Federal workers' compensation. Excludes a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or railroad used primarily to transport passengers for hire from these time limitations. States that nothing in these provisions affects the right of any person who is subject to liability under this Act to obtain contribution or indemnity from any other person who is responsible for the harm. Requires reduction in the damages awarded by the sum of all State or Federal workers' compensation benefits to which the employee is or would be entitled. Requires a claimant in a civil action under this title who is or may be eligible to receive State or Federal workers' compensation to notify the claimant's employer of the civil action. Requires an action to be stayed, at the sole discretion of the claimant, until a final determination is made on the amount payable as workers' compensation benefits. Declares that, unless the manufacturer or seller has expressly agreed to indemnify or hold an employer harmless, neither the employer nor the workers' compensation insurance carrier shall have a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery, except if the claimant's harm was not in any way caused by the fault of the claimant's employer or co-employees. Allows the employer or workers' compensation insurer to intervene in the action to prove that fact. Prohibits a third party tortfeasor, where workers' compensation is involved, from maintaining any action for implied indemnity or contribution against the employer, any coemployee, or the exclusive representative of the injured person. Prohibits, for a person who is or would have been entitled to receive workers' compensation, any other action, unless a State or Federal workers' compensation law permits recovery based on a claim of an intentional tort. Makes these provisions inapplicable and declares that applicable State law shall control if the employer or the workers' compensation insurer asserts a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Declares that, in any product liability action, the liability of each defendant for noneconomic damages shall be several and not joint. Requires the trier of fact to determine the proportion of responsibility of each party for the claimant's harm. Establishes a complete defense, in any civil action under this Act in which all defendants are manufacturers or sellers, that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol or any drug and that, as a result, the claimant was more than 50 percent responsible for the event which resulted in the harm. Defines "drug" to mean any non-over-the-counter drug which has not been prescribed by a physician. Title V: Long-Term Investment - Long-Term Investment Promotion Act of 1992 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to eliminate the requirement that publicly-held corporations report their financial status on a quarterly basis. Title VI: Competitiveness Risk Assessment - Declares that no agency shall propose or promulgate a regulation without first analyzing its direct and indirect effects on the health and safety of consumers and workers, including effects due to wage and job losses, price increases, product restrictions, technological delays, and substitution effects. Title VII: Department of Manufacturing And Commerce - Department of Manufacturing and Commerce Act of 1992 - Renames the Department of Commerce as the Department of Manufacturing and Commerce. Requires the President to establish a Manufacturing Advisory Commission to examine Federal agencies, programs, and offices responsible for manufacturing-related research and development, technology transfer, education, and trade in order to prepare a report for the Congress on the feasibility of consolidating such agencies, programs, and offices into a single Office of Manufacturing within the Department of Manufacturing and Commerce. Title VIII: Amendments to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to change from discretionary to mandatory a Federal agency's authority to permit the director of any of its laboratories to enter into cooperative research and development agreements on its behalf. Authorizes each Federal agency to copyright on behalf of the United States any computer software prepared in whole or in part by Government employees involved in cooperative research and development agreements. Includes software royalties in the current distribution format (agency, laboratory, author, and Treasury) under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Designates September 1992 as Childhood Cancer Month.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1992
National Triad Program Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Justice to conduct a national assessment of: (1) the nature and extent of crimes against the elderly; (2) the needs of law enforcement, health, and social service organziations, in working to prevent, identify, investigate, and provide assistance to victims of such crimes; and (3) promising strategies to respond effectively to those challenges. Specifies that such assessment shall address: (1) the analysis and synthesis of data from a range of sources; (2) the problems of elderly who are living alone or in high crime areas and who are abused and neglected, and the fear of victimization; (3) the identification of strategies and techniques tht have been shown to be effective or which show promise; (4) the analysis of the factors that enhance or inhibit development of a coordinated response by law enforcement, health care, and social service providers; and (5) the research agenda needed to develop a comprehensive understanding of the problems of crimes against the elderly. Requires the Director to disseminate the results of such assessment. Authorizes the Director to make awards to coalitions of local law enforcement agencies, victim service providers, and organizations representing the elderly for pilot programs and field tests of promising strategies and models for forging partnerships for crime prevention and service provision. Specifies that pilot programs funded under this Act may include existing general service coalitions of law enforcement, victim service, and elder advocate organizations that wish to use additional funds to work at a particular problem in their community or to target a particular geographic area in need of intensive services. Authorizes the Director to make awards to: (1) coalitions of national law enforcement, victim service, and elder advocate organizations for training and technical assistance in implementing pilot programs; (2) research organizations to investigate the types of elder victimization shown by the assessment to present particularly critical problems or to be emerging crimes about which little is known, to evaluate the effectiveness of selected pilot programs, and to conduct research and development identified as being critical; and (3) public service advertising coalitions to increase public awareness of, and promote ideas or programs to prevent, crimes against the elderly. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1992
Designates September 10, 1992, as National DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Day.