United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1994
Fairness in Musical Licensing Act of 1994 - Exempts from copyright infringement the communication of a performance or work by television or radio sets located in a business establishment, or the performance of a nondramatic musical work by a choral group of a nonprofit educational institution choral group, unless persons are charged to see or hear the performance. Provides that in any civil action for copyright infringement involving a nondramatic musical work that is licensed by a performing rights society or other organization authorized to license public performances of such works, if the defendant admits liability but contests the amount of the license fee charged by such society or organization, the dispute may, if requested by either party, be submitted to arbitration under the Federal judicial code. Requires such societies or organizations to make available, free of charge, to licensees or those negotiating licenses, on-line computer access to their entire repertoire, including information regarding the title of the work, the name, address, and telephone number of the author and the copyright owner (if different), and the names of any artists known to have performed the work.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President is: (1) required to obtain the prior approval of the Congress before U.S. armed forces may undertake offensive military action against the military leadership of Haiti in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 940; and (2) recognized as having the inherent authority to use such forces to protect or evacuate U.S. citizens from imminent danger or for humanitarian purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1994
Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal Assurance Act - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to declare that the obligation of the Secretary of Energy to accept high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel as of January 31, 1998, is absolute and is not dependent upon either commencement of repository operations or a monitored retrievable storage facility. Prohibits such obligation from being voided or delayed for any reason. Repeals: (1) the prohibition against selection of a monitored retrievable storage site until the Secretary has submitted recommendations for a spent nuclear fuel repository site; and (2) the licensing conditions for a monitored retrievable storage facility.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1994
Makes employees of small business concerns eligible to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) as provided in this Act. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to transmit to the Congress a plan providing for the transition of FEHBP to carry out this Act as well as recommendations for legislation to carry out the plan. Requires the plan to include provisions under which: (1) small business concerns with 50 or fewer employees are required to form groups of at least 50 employees as a condition of eligibility; and (2) additional administrative expenses resulting from implementation of the plan are borne by such businesses and their employees.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1994
Prohibits expenditures by the United States in a fiscal year for land or water acquisition for the National Wildlife Refuge System if the Secretary of the Interior has not made all payments required for the preceding fiscal year to appropriate counties in which any fee area is situated. Makes conforming amendments to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. Makes this Act inapplicable to any acquisition the Secretary is obligated to carry out under a contract entered into by the Secretary on or before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1994
Small Investors Tax Relief Act of 1994 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a partial exclusion of dividends or interest received by an individual. Requires indexing of certain assets (corporate stock, certain tangible property, and a principal residence) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Reduces the capital gains tax for individuals. Allows as a capital gains deduction an amount equal to the lesser of: (1) the net capital gain; or (2) $50,000 ($100,000 in the case of a joint return).
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1994
Bovine Growth Hormone Milk Labeling and Residue Test Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to impose labeling requirements on milk and milk products intended for human consumption produced from cows treated with synthetic bovine growth hormone (BGH). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to issue regulations for recordkeeping by persons who sell, purchase, distribute, or use synthetic BGH. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a detection test for synthetic BGH residues in milk.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1994
Tax Rebate to Fight Crime Act - Appropriates two percent of net Federal individual income tax revenues to the Trust Fund to Fight Crime established in each State. Allows expenditures from such trust funds for: (1) salaries and expenses of police officers; (2) building and operating prisons; and (3) salaries and expenses of judges of courts handling criminal cases, prosecutors, and public defenders. Requires rebates from such trust funds to taxpayers if amounts are not spent as required. Reduces discretionary spending limits set forth in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to reflect amounts appropriated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1994
Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize a State in which all or part of a Severe ozone nonattainment area is located to submit a plan revision requiring employers in such area to implement programs to reduce work-related vehicle trips and miles by employees. (Current law requires such States to submit such revision within two years of the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990). Authorizes such revision to require employers in such areas to increase average passenger occupancy per vehicle in commuting trips between home and workplace during peak travel periods. (Current law requires specified increases in average passenger occupancy.) Authorizes (currently, requires) the revision to require employers subject to a vehicle occupancy requirement to submit a compliance plan.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Work Requirements for Welfare Recipients Title II: Promotion of Marriage and Social Responsibility Subtitle A: Welfare Benefits Subtitle B: Grants for Assistance to Children Born Out-Of-Wedlock Subtitle C: Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption Subtitle D: Tax Credit for Certain Low-Income Families Title III: Child Support Enforcement Title IV: Specific Reforms in Welfare Spending Title V: State Options and Miscellaneous Provisions Title VI: Capping the Aggregate Growth of Welfare Spending Real Welfare Reform Act of 1994 - Title I: Work Requirements for Welfare Recipients - Amends Part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require each State, as a condition of participation in the AFDC program, to establish a workfare and dependency reduction program meeting specified requirements. (Sec. 101) Sets forth program participation requirements for parents in the AFDC unemployed parent program and certain noncustodial parents, including a specified mix of weekly community work service and job search activities or benefits to wages program participation. Specifies participation requirements for each adult AFDC recipient in a single-adult family. Requires States to establish: (1) a community work service program under which a participating individual shall work for a public or nonprofit private sector organization; and (2) a benefits to wages program under which an individual shall work for a qualified private employer whom the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall pay a wage subsidy on behalf of such individual equal to the amount of AFDC allotment and the cash value of food stamp benefits the individual would otherwise receive. Sets forth penalties (including allotment reductions and eligibility denials) for individuals, including noncustodial parents, who fail to meet participation requirements. Prohibits participating organizations or entities from replacing any employed workers with participating AFDC individuals. Specifies payments to States for welfare and dependency reduction programs. Requires State plans to require custodial parents under 19 years old who have not successfully completed a high-school education to participate in an educational activity, either a high-school diploma or equivalency degree program or other training or work activities. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for advance payments of the earned income tax credit to employees in a benefits to wages program. (Sec. 102) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to deny food stamp eligibility to any able-bodied individual belonging to a household otherwise eligible for food stamps if that individual has not performed at least 32 hours of work on behalf of a State, or local government, through a program established by that government, during the preceding month. (Sec. 103) Specifies job search requirements for AFDC applicants and recipients with children over five years old. Title II: Promotion of Marriage and Social Responsibility - Subtitle A: Welfare Benefits - Declares the sense of the Congress that: (1) marriage is the foundation of a successful society; and (2) in view of specified negative consequences of out-of-wedlock birth on the child, the mother, and society, the reduction of such births is an important government interest. (Sec. 201) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to require State plans and State food stamp agencies, respectively, with specified exceptions, to deny AFDC payments for a child born to any unmarried individual under 26 (or later age, if the State so determines). Allows such payments if the child is legally adopted or if the child's custodian marries an individual who assumes lawful paternity or permanent legal guardianship and financial responsibility for the child. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require public housing contracts to provide for denial of housing and rental assistance in the same circumstances. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to require similar denial of benefits with respect to any additional children born while the custodial parent was receiving assistance. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to require reductions in AFDC payments to a family where a child has been born for whom paternity has not been established. Provides for such payments, notwithstanding such denial policy, for a child of up to four months old if some identifying information on the putative father is provided. Subtitle B: Grants for Assistance to Children Born Out-Of-Wedlock - Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to provide for grants to States for programs to discourage out-of-wedlock births and to care for children born out-of-wedlock. Allows the use of such funds to: (1) establish or expand out-of-wedlock pregnancy reduction programs; (2) promote adoption; (3) establish and operate orphanages; and (4) establish and operate closely supervised residential group homes for unwed mothers. (Sec. 211) Prohibits payments to: (1) parents of out-of-wedlock children; or (2) such children if parent and child live in any conventional residential or community setting, including a relative's household or a household headed by the custodial parent. Subtitle C: Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption - Prohibits any agency or entity involved in adoption or foster care placements and receiving Federal assistance from: (1) categorically denying any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or a foster parent on the basis of the race, color, or national origin of such person or of the child involved; or (2) delaying or denying the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care, or otherwise discriminate in making a placement decision, on such basis with respect to the adoptive or foster parent or child. Permits an agency to consider the race, color, or national origin of a child as a factor in making a placement decision if such factor is relevant to the child's best interests and is considered in conjuction with other factors. Grants any aggrieved individual the right to seek relief in the U.S. district court. Subtitle D: Tax Credit for Certain Low-Income Families - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional earned income tax credit for a married individual who: (1) has lived together with his or her spouse at all times during the marriage during the taxable year; and (2) has earned at least $8,500 in income for such year. Title III: Child Support Enforcement - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a system for the reporting of information relating to child support obligations of employees, including mandatory reporting of such information on W-4 forms. (Sec. 302) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to require State agencies to: (1) maintain child support order registries; (2) make all pertinent State records accessible to any agency of any other State through the Interstate Locate Network; (3) give custodial parents access to State parent locator services to aid in establishment and enforcement of child support obligations against noncustodial parents; and (4) give noncustodial parents access to such services to aid in establishment of visitation rights. (Sec. 303) Provides for expansion of the Parent Locator Service. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish an Interstate Locate Network linking the Parent Locator Service and all State databases. Requires regulations governing information sharing among States, within States, and between the States and the Parent Locator Service. (Sec. 304) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to require States to have laws requiring employers to withhold child support pursuant to uniform income withholding orders. (Sec. 305) Requires the responsible unit within HHS to develop: (1) a uniform abstract of a child support order containing specified terms for use by all State courts; and (2) procedures providing for voluntary establishment or acknowledgement of paternity. (Sec. 306) Waives the application and genetic testing fees for any individual receiving child support collection or paternity determination services who has been denied AFDC, food stamp, and housing assistance under this Act. Title IV: Specific Reforms in Welfare Spending - Amends the National School Lunch Act to reduce the income eligibility guidelines for reduced price lunches from 185 to 130 percent of the applicable family-size nonfarm income levels. (Sec. 402) Repeals the Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act. Applies the Food Stamp Act of 1977 as if the Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act had not been enacted. (Sec. 403) Amends the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 to repeal the mandates and authorities for empowerment zones and enterprise communities. (Sec. 404) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to reduce by 25 percent monthly benefits to AFDC families who also receive public housing benefits. (Sec. 405) Reduces the authorization of appropriations for social services block grants for each fiscal year after FY 1994. (Sec. 406) Limits specified welfare benefits, currently available to aliens, to U.S. citizens only. Declares that it is the policy of the Congress that States and local educational agencies should not be required to provide a free public elementary or secondary education to any individual who is not a U.S. citizen, a lawful resident alien, or an alien permanently residing in the United States under color of law. Requires a State or local educational agency to notify the Attorney General whenever it learns of a public school child who does not belong to any such category. Requires immediate deportation proceedings against such child. (Sec. 407) Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) to direct the HHS Secretary to issue vouchers in lieu of cash benefits to each eligible child under 18 to cover the cost of certain medical expenses. (Sec. 408) Requires an eligibility review during the year after the 18th birthday of any individual receiving disability benefits. (Sec. 409) Requires a specified reduction of the authorization of appropriations for low-income home energy assistance for any fiscal year. Title V: State Options and Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC), the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and the United States Housing Act of 1937 to allow States the option to: (1) place a time limit on AFDC, food stamp, and housing assistance to any individual; and (2) apply that time limit to any household moving to a State from another State with such a time limit. (Sec. 502) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to give a State the option to treat interstate immigrants under the AFDC benefit rules of their former State. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary of Labor, in cooperation with the States, to conduct ongoing evaluations of Federal and State job training programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 504) Amends specified parts of the Social Security Act, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require safeguards and information exchange among law enforcement agencies to ensure that fugitive felons and probation and parole violators do not receive Medicaid, AFDC benefits, food stamps, SSI, or housing assistance. Requires public housing agencies to furnish Federal, State, or local law enforcement agencies, upon request, the current address of any assistance recipient identified as a fugitive felon or probation or parole violator. Title VI: Capping the Aggregate Growth of Welfare Spending - Specifies FY 1995 through 1996 and subsequent fiscal year caps on Federal spending on certain welfare programs. (Sec. 602) Directs the HHS Secretary to make welfare block grants to the States for aid to low-income households. Prohibits the use of such funds for abortions or for any counseling related to abortion. Sets forth general work, job search, and training requirements for aid recipients, as well as certain participation requirements for States. Denies cash or direct food assistance to young unwed parents as under title II of this Act, or to noncitizens, fugitive felons, or probation or parole violators. (Sec. 603) Terminates funding and State obligations under specified cash, medical, housing, energy, education, jobs and training, social services, and low-income community aid welfare programs as of the end of FY 1994. Repeals any entitlement to benefits established under such programs. (Sec. 604) Dedicates to deficit reduction all Federal savings under the spending cap mandated by this title. Requires the adjustment of the present discretionary spending caps for the net increase in discretionary spending that results from the creation of the welfare block grant as a replacement for current welfare entitlement programs. (Sec. 605) Sets forth special rules, upon termination of the AFDC program, with respect to grants for assistance to children born out-of-wedlock. (Sec. 606) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) with respect to Medicaid eligibility criteria after enactment of this Act. Authorizes States to request a waiver to simplify such criteria. Requires the HHS Secretary to review and approve such requests only if Federal Medicaid expenditures will not be increased as a result.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1994
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Department of Justice should repudiate its interpretation of a provision of the Federal criminal code pertaining to the destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities as extending the reach of such provision to law enforcement operations and actions taken by U.S. agencies; and (2) the Department of Defense and other U.S. departments and agencies should resume their former authorized practice of providing aid, information, and material support to locate, interdict, and prevent the operation of illegal drug producers and traffickers in the Andean nations and wherever else such operations have been impeded by such interpretation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1994
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that for purposes of issuing final guidelines under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relating to unlawful harassment in employment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should exclude harassment based on religion.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1994
Juvenile Criminal Act of 1994 - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to include among the Act's: (1) findings that emphasis should be placed on identifying hardcore youths who should be transferred from the juvenile justice system to the adult criminal justice system; and (2) purposes to assist State and local governments in improving the identification of hardcore juvenile offenders and the removal of such offenders from the juvenile justice system. Requires State plans under the Act to provide: (1) specified funding for the establishment and maintenance of an effective system that requires the prosecution of at least those juveniles who are 14 years of age and older as adults, rather than in juvenile proceedings, for listed offenses (murder or attempted murder; robbery, battery, or rape while armed with a firearm; any other crime the State deems appropriate; and the fourth or subsequent occasion on which such juveniles engage in an activity for which adults could be imprisoned for a term exceeding one year) unless, on a case-by-case basis, the transfer of such juveniles for disposition in the juvenile justice system is determined under State law to be in the interest of justice; and (2) that the State ensure that whenever a juvenile is adjudicated in a juvenile proceeding to have engaged in such offenses that a record be kept relating to that adjudication, the juvenile be fingerprinted and photographed (with such fingerprints and photograph sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), and the court in which the adjudication takes place transmit to the FBI information concerning the adjudication and disposition. Provides for a reduction of sums allotted to a State for a fiscal year by 16 2/3 percent for each of specified paragraphs of the Act with respect to which noncompliance occurs. (Current law provides for a reduction by 25 percent and doesn't include the requirements added by this Act in determining noncompliance.)
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Work Requirements for Welfare Recipients Title II: Promotion of Marriage and Social Responsibility Subtitle A: Welfare Benefits Subtitle B: Grants for Assistance to Children Born Out-of-Wedlock Subtitle C: Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption Subtitle D: Tax Credit for Certain Low-Income Families Title III: Child Support Enforcement Title IV: Specific Reforms in Welfare Spending Title V: State Options and Miscellaneous Provisions Title VI: Capping the Aggregate Growth of Welfare Spending Real Welfare Reform Act of 1994 - Title I: Work Requirements for Welfare Recipients - Amends Part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require each State, as a condition of participation in the AFDC program, to establish a workfare and dependency reduction program meeting specified requirements. (Sec. 101) Sets forth program participation requirements for parents in the AFDC unemployed parent program and certain noncustodial parents, including a specified mix of weekly community work service and job search activities or benefits to wages program participation. Specifies participation requirements for each adult AFDC recipient in a single-adult family. Requires States to establish: (1) a community work service program under which a participating individual shall work for a public or nonprofit private sector organization; and (2) a benefits to wages program under which an individual shall work for a qualified private employer whom the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall pay a wage subsidy on behalf of such individual equal to the amount of AFDC allotment and the cash value of food stamp benefits the individual would otherwise receive. Sets forth penalties (including allotment reductions and eligibility denials) for individuals, including noncustodial parents, who fail to meet participation requirements. Prohibits participating organizations or entities from replacing any employed workers with participating AFDC individuals. Specifies payments to States for welfare and dependency reduction programs. Requires State plans to require custodial parents under 19 years old who have not successfully completed a high-school education to participate in an educational activity, either a high-school diploma or equivalency degree program or other training or work activities. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for advance payments of the earned income tax credit to employees in a benefits to wages program. (Sec. 102) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to deny food stamp eligibility to any able-bodied individual belonging to a household otherwise eligible for food stamps if that individual has not performed at least 32 hours of work on behalf of a State, or local government, through a program established by that government, during the preceding month. (Sec. 103) Specifies job search requirements for AFDC applicants and recipients with children over five years old. Title II: Promotion of Marriage and Social Responsibility - Subtitle A: Welfare Benefits - Declares the sense of the Congress that: (1) marriage is the foundation of a successful society; and (2) in view of specified negative consequences of out-of-wedlock birth on the child, the mother, and society, the reduction of such births is an important government interest. (Sec. 201) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to require State plans and State food stamp agencies, respectively, with specified exceptions, to deny AFDC payments for a child born to any unmarried individual under 26 (or later age, if the State so determines). Allows such payments if the child is legally adopted or if the child's custodian marries an individual who assumes lawful paternity or permanent legal guardianship and financial responsibility for the child. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require public housing contracts to provide for denial of housing and rental assistance in the same circumstances. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to require similar denial of benefits with respect to any additional children born while the custodial parent was receiving assistance. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to require reductions in AFDC payments to a family where a child has been born for whom paternity has not been established. Provides for such payments, notwithstanding such denial policy, for a child of up to four months old if some identifying information on the putative father is provided. Subtitle B: Grants for Assistance to Children Born Out-Of-Wedlock - Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to provide for grants to States for programs to discourage out-of-wedlock births and to care for children born out-of-wedlock. Allows the use of such funds to: (1) establish or expand out-of-wedlock pregnancy reduction programs; (2) promote adoption; (3) establish and operate orphanages; and (4) establish and operate closely supervised residential group homes for unwed mothers. (Sec. 211) Prohibits payments to: (1) parents of out-of-wedlock children; or (2) such children if parent and child live in any conventional residential or community setting, including a relative's household or a household headed by the custodial parent. Subtitle C: Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption - Prohibits any agency or entity involved in adoption or foster care placements and receiving Federal assistance from: (1) categorically denying any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or a foster parent on the basis of the race, color, or national origin of such person or of the child involved; or (2) delaying or denying the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care, or otherwise discriminate in making a placement decision, on such basis with respect to the adoptive or foster parent or child. Permits an agency to consider the race, color, or national origin of a child as a factor in making a placement decision if such factor is relevant to the child's best interests and is considered in conjuction with other factors. Grants any aggrieved individual the right to seek relief in the U.S. district court. Subtitle D: Tax Credit for Certain Low-Income Families - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional earned income tax credit for a married individual who: (1) has lived together with his or her spouse at all times during the marriage during the taxable year; and (2) has earned at least $8,500 in income for such year. Title III: Child Support Enforcement - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a system for the reporting of information relating to child support obligations of employees, including mandatory reporting of such information on W-4 forms. (Sec. 302) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to require State agencies to: (1) maintain child support order registries; (2) make all pertinent State records accessible to any agency of any other State through the Interstate Locate Network; (3) give custodial parents access to State parent locator services to aid in establishment and enforcement of child support obligations against noncustodial parents; and (4) give noncustodial parents access to such services to aid in establishment of visitation rights. (Sec. 303) Provides for expansion of the Parent Locator Service. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish an Interstate Locate Network linking the Parent Locator Service and all State databases. Requires regulations governing information sharing among States, within States, and between the States and the Parent Locator Service. (Sec. 304) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to require States to have laws requiring employers to withhold child support pursuant to uniform income withholding orders. (Sec. 305) Requires the responsible unit within HHS to develop: (1) a uniform abstract of a child support order containing specified terms for use by all State courts; and (2) procedures providing for voluntary establishment or acknowledgement of paternity. (Sec. 306) Waives the application and genetic testing fees for any individual receiving child support collection or paternity determination services who has been denied AFDC, food stamp, and housing assistance under this Act. Title IV: Specific Reforms in Welfare Spending - Amends the National School Lunch Act to reduce the income eligibility guidelines for reduced price lunches from 185 to 130 percent of the applicable family-size nonfarm income levels. (Sec. 402) Repeals the Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act. Applies the Food Stamp Act of 1977 as if the Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act had not been enacted. (Sec. 403) Amends the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 to repeal the mandates and authorities for empowerment zones and enterprise communities. (Sec. 404) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to reduce by 25 percent monthly benefits to AFDC families who also receive public housing benefits. (Sec. 405) Reduces the authorization of appropriations for social services block grants for each fiscal year after FY 1994. (Sec. 406) Limits specified welfare benefits, currently available to aliens, to U.S. citizens only. Declares that it is the policy of the Congress that States and local educational agencies should not be required to provide a free public elementary or secondary education to any individual who is not a U.S. citizen, a lawful resident alien, or an alien permanently residing in the United States under color of law. Requires a State or local educational agency to notify the Attorney General whenever it learns of a public school child who does not belong to any such category. Requires immediate deportation proceedings against such child. (Sec. 407) Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) to direct the HHS Secretary to issue vouchers in lieu of cash benefits to each eligible child under 18 to cover the cost of certain medical expenses. (Sec. 408) Requires an eligibility review during the year after the 18th birthday of any individual receiving disability benefits. (Sec. 409) Requires a specified reduction of the authorization of appropriations for low-income home energy assistance for any fiscal year. Title V: State Options and Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC), the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and the United States Housing Act of 1937 to allow States the option to: (1) place a time limit on AFDC, food stamp, and housing assistance to any individual; and (2) apply that time limit to any household moving to a State from another State with such a time limit. (Sec. 502) Amends SSA title IV Part A (AFDC) to give a State the option to treat interstate immigrants under the AFDC benefit rules of their former State. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary of Labor, in cooperation with the States, to conduct ongoing evaluations of Federal and State job training programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 504) Amends specified parts of the Social Security Act, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require safeguards and information exchange among law enforcement agencies to ensure that fugitive felons and probation and parole violators do not receive Medicaid, AFDC benefits, food stamps, SSI, or housing assistance. Requires public housing agencies to furnish Federal, State or local law enforcement agencies, upon request, the current address of any assistance recipient identified as a fugitive felon or probation or parole violator. Title VI: Capping the Aggregate Growth of Welfare Spending - Specifies FY 1995 through 1996 and subsequent fiscal year caps on Federal spending on certain welfare programs. (Sec. 602) Directs the HHS Secretary to make welfare block grants to the States for aid to low-income households. Prohibits the use of such funds for abortions or for any counseling related to abortion. Sets forth general work, job search, and training requirements for aid recipients, as well as certain participation requirements for States. Denies cash or direct food assistance to young unwed parents as under title II of this Act, or to noncitizens, fugitive felons, or probation or parole violators. (Sec. 603) Terminates funding and State obligations under specified cash, medical, housing, energy, education, jobs and training, social services, and low-income community aid welfare programs as of the end of FY 1994. (Sec. 604) Dedicates to deficit reduction all Federal savings under the spending cap mandated by this title. Requires the adjustment of the present discretionary spending caps for the net increase in discretionary spending that results from the creation of the welfare block grant as a replacement for current welfare entitlement programs. (Sec. 605) Sets forth special rules, upon termination of the AFDC program, with respect to grants for assistance to children born out-of-wedlock. (Sec. 606) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) with respect to Medicaid eligibility criteria after enactment of this Act. Authorizes States to request a waiver to simplify such criteria. Requires the HHS Secretary to review and approve such requests only if Federal Medicaid expenditures will not be increased as a result.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1994
Entitles the prevailing party in a tort action to recover attorney's fees from the nonprevailing party, unless the court finds special circumstances that would render such an award unjust.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1994
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that any law enacted pertaining to the reform of our Nation's health care system should apply to Members of Congress and all Federal employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, including any individual who is appointed or elected to a position in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the requirement that tax-exempt interest be taken into account when determining the amount of social security and railroad retirement benefits that is subject to tax.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1994
Calls on: (1) the Republic of Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabagh to cease all hostilities and begin peace negotiations under the framework established by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (2) the parties to the conflict to simultaneously lift all blockades in the region; and (3) the President to take an active role in promoting peace and in monitoring the human rights situation in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1994
Charitable Contributions Encouragement Act of 1994 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers who do not itemize deductions to deduct a portion of their charitable contributions. Excludes the deduction for charitable contributions from the overall limitation on itemized deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1994
Considers as nonobvious a process using or resulting in a product that is novel and nonobvious under provisions of Federal patent law if: (1) claims to the process and the product are contained in either the same patent application or in separate application having the same effective filing date; and (2) the product, and the process at the time it was invented, were owned by the same person or subject to an obligation of assignment to the same person. Requires a patent issued on such process to: (1) contain the claims to the product used in or made by that process; or (2) if such product is claimed in another patent, be set to expire on the same date as such other patent.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1994
Abolishes the Medicare and Medicaid Coverage Data Bank established under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress on how to achieve the former objectives of such entity in the most cost-effective manner.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1994
Supplemental Appropriations Rescissions Act of 1994 - Rescinds FY 1994 funds made available to: (1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the automation of fingerprint identification services; (2) the Federal Railroad Administration for the conversion of a post office to a train station and commercial center; and (3) the Department of Housing and Urban Development for assistance to sugarcane mills on the Hilo-Hamakua Coast of Hawaii. Repeals the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to use specified funds to relocate, repair, and lay up the nuclear ship SAVANNAH.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1994
Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require a three-fifths majority vote to agree to any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that raises revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1994
Level of Effort Clean Water Bonus Fund Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to reserve 20 percent of the amounts made available for capitalization grants for State water pollution control revolving funds for making level of effort capitalization grants to eligible States. Requires States that receive level of effort grants to deposit an equal amount into the revolving funds. Makes eligible for such grants States that have deposited more than the required matching amount into the revolving fund or into a non-Federal revolving fund or grant program that is subject to requirements similar to those for the State revolving fund. Prohibits States from receiving a grant in an amount greater than 20 percent of the amount of funds reserved.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1994
Private Property Owners Bill of Rights - Requires Federal agency heads to: (1) comply with applicable State and tribal government laws in implementing and enforcing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) and the permitting program for dredged or filled material under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA); (2) administer and implement the Acts in a manner that least affects the private property owners' constitutional and other legal rights; (3) develop and implement rules and regulations for ensuring that such rights are protected when making any final decision that restricts the use of private property; (4) obtain the consent of the property owner and provide appropriate notice before entering privately-owned property in order to collect information on it; and (5) give the property owner an opportunity to review and dispute the data collected before using it to implement or enforce any of the Acts. Amends ESA and FWPCA to provide for administrative appeals of certain actions, including those related to the denial of permits and the imposition of administrative penalties. Entitles a private property owner deprived of 50 percent or more of the fair market value or the economically viable use of a portion of property as a consequence of a final qualified agency action to receive compensation upon request in accordance with specified guidelines. Amends ESA to require the Secretary of the Interior to notify all private property owners or lessees of property subject to a management agreement and provide an appropriate opportunity for their participation in such an agreement when the Secretary enters into it with any non-Federal person establishing restrictions on property use.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1994
Repeals the substantiation requirement for the deduction of certain charitable contributions as added to the Internal Revenue Code by the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 (title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993).
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1994
Immigration Moratorium Act of 1994 - Title I: Immigration Moratorium - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to restrict U.S. immigration levels to specified numbers of family-sponsored immigrants, employment-based immigrants, and refugees. Title II: Prohibition of Federal Benefits for Certain Aliens - Prohibits direct Federal financial assistance and unemployment benefits to aliens who are not lawful permanent residents. Title III: Asylum Reform - Amends the Act to revise and expedite asylum procedures. Title IV: Citizenship - Restricts the basis for automatic U.S. citizenship for certain persons born in the United States to a mother who is neither a U.S. citizen nor a lawful permanent resident. Title V: Border Security - Increases the number of Border Patrol personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1994
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain corporations and additional trusts to be shareholders of subchapter S corporations (small businesses).
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1994
Social Security Immigration Fraud Protection Act of 1994 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to create a mandatory minimum sentence of a fine or five years' imprisonment, or both, for illegal alien social security documentation fraud.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1994
Prohibits the Department of Transportation or any other Federal department, agency, or instrumentality from requiring any State or political subdivision to convert highway signs to metric units.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1994
Capital Formation and Jobs Creation Act of 1994 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a 50 percent income tax deduction for the net capital gain of both corporate and noncorporate taxpayers. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset or property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Allows an itemized deduction for losses arising from the sale or exchange of a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1994
Education Bureaucracy Reduction Act - Directs the Secretary of Education, for FY 1995 and 1996, to reduce personnel costs of the Department of Education by ten percent. Requires savings from such reduction to be used as follows: (1) 90 percent transferred to local educational agencies according to State distribution formulas; and (2) ten percent to reduce the Federal budget deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1993
Meat and Poultry Products Inspection Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to: (1) remove the intrastate distribution requirement for Federal-State cooperation; (2) authorize the use of State inspectors; and (3) expand State inspection authority.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Family Tax Credit Title II: Reducing the Cost of Capital by Reducing Capital Gains Tax Rates and Indexing the Basis of Certain Assets Title III: Neutral Cost Recovery Title IV: Increasing National Savings Through Individual Retirement Plus Accounts, Indexing for Inflation the Income Thresholds for Taxing Social Security Benefits, etc. Title V: Cap on Federal Spending and Establishment of Commission to Reduce Federal Spending Title VI: Elimination of Social Security Earnings Test Family, Investment, Retirement, Savings, and Tax Fairness Act of 1993 - Title I: Family Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a tax credit of $500 multiplied by the number of qualifying children who have not attained age 18. Places limitations on such credit and adjusts it for inflation. Title II: Reducing the Cost of Capital by Reducing Capital Gains Tax Rates and Indexing the Basis of Certain Assets - Reduces the individual and corporate capital gains rate from 34 percent to 15 percent. Reduces such tax to 7.5 percent for low- and middle-income taxpayers. Provides for the phaseout of personal exemptions and the overall limitation on itemized deductions to take into account adjusted gross income which has been reduced by net capital gain. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Provides for indexing the limitation on capital losses of noncorporate taxpayers. Title III: Neutral Cost Recovery - Allows the depreciation deduction to be computed based on a neutral recovery basis for property placed in service after December 31, 1993. Disallows the interest deduction for such property to ensure that equity financing receives the same treatment as debt financing. Provides special depreciation rules applicable under the adjusted current earnings provisions of the minimum tax for 1994. Title IV: Increasing National Savings Through Individual Retirement Plus Accounts, Indexing for Inflation the Income Thresholds for Taxing Social Security Benefits, etc. - Allows individuals to establish individual retirement plus accounts with tax treatment similar to that for individual retirement plans. Makes contributions to such account nondeductible. Provides for qualified distributions from such accounts. Other than for general retirement purposes, including special purpose distributions made for the purchase of a first home and for medical or educational purposes. Prohibits special purpose distributions from being made during the first five years of the account. Provides an inflation adjustment after 1996 for income thresholds in determining the taxation of social security benefits. Excludes income from individual retirement plans when determining modified adjusted gross income. Provides an inflation adjustment after 1996 for the maximum amount allowable as a deduction for retirement savings. Title V: Cap on Federal Spending and Establishment of Commission to Reduce Federal Spending - Establishes the Commission on Reduction of Federal Spending to: (1) recommend specific reductions in Federal activities to assure that spending does not grow at a rate in excess of two percent per year through FY 1998; and (2) report a bill to the Congress with changes necessary to achieve such reductions. Establishes an advisory council to assist the Commission. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to set forth sequestration procedures when the increase in annual Federal spending exceeds the amount resulting from an annual rate of inflation of two percent. Title VI: Elimination of Social Security Earnings Test - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) 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.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to recognize as a tax-exempt organization any legal entity created by a State or political subdivision to establish a risk pool to provide health insurance coverage for certain persons who are unable to obtain private health insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
Health Care Antitrust Improvements Act of 1993 - Exempts from the antitrust laws specified "safe harbor" activities listed in, or designated by the Attorney General pursuant to, this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding the award of attorney's fees and costs of suit to the prevailing party in an action based on a claim involving activity found to be exempt. Lists as safe harbors specified: (1) activities relating to health care services of combinations of health care providers with market share below a specified threshold; (2) activities of medical self-regulatory entities relating to standard setting or enforcement activities not conducted for purposes of financial gain; (3) participation of a health care provider in a written survey of the prices of services, reimbursement levels, or the compensation and benefits of employees and personnel; (4) activities relating to health care joint ventures for high technology and costly equipment and services; (5) activities relating to hospital mergers; (6) joint purchasing arrangements; and (7) negotiations. Directs the Attorney General to publish a notice in the Federal Register soliciting proposals for additional safe harbors. Sets forth criteria in establishing safe harbors, including: (1) the extent to which a competitive or collaborative activity will accomplish an increase in health care access and quality, the establishment of cost efficiencies, and increased ability of health care facilities to provide services in medically underserved areas or to underserved populations; and (2) whether designation as a safe harbor will result in specified desirable outcomes. Directs the Attorney General to issue certificates of review for providers of health care services and to assist persons in applying for such certificates. Sets forth procedures regarding applications for, revocation of, and review of determinations regarding, such certificates. Limits the disclosure of information. Sets forth provisions regarding notifications providing for a reduction in certain penalties under the antitrust laws for health care cooperative ventures. Directs the Attorney General to periodically review the safe harbors and certificates of review. Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services an Office of Health Care Competition Policy.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: AFDC Transition and Work Program Title II: Paternity Establishment Title III: Expansion of Statutory Flexibility of States Title IV: Expansion of State and Local Flexibility Title V: Child Support Enforcement Title VI: Welfare Restrictions for Aliens Title VII: Controlling Welfare Costs Title VIII: Consolidated Block Grant to States for Food Assistance Title IX: Miscellaneous Responsibility and Empowerment Support Program Providing Employment, Child Care, and Training Act - Title I: AFDC Transition and Work Program - Amends part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give the JOBS program the new purpose of assuring that needy families with children obtain not only the education and training needed to prepare them for a life without welfare, but the work experience as well. (Sec. 101) Requires State JOBS programs to include a transition component and a work supplementation component that: (1) are each allowed to include any State work experience program approved by the Secretary; and (2) with respect to the first component, must include the State's job search program, and, with respect to the second component, may include the State's work supplementation or community work experience program. Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of SSA title IV to revise State AFDC plan participation requirements to incorporate participation in the two JOBS program components above under specified guidelines as a requirement for qualified individuals to receive AFDC. Imposes sanctions for a qualified individual's failure to participate in the JOBS program as required under such guidelines, which include a reduction in AFDC benefits and eventual benefit termination for repeated failures. Revises the exemptions from JOBS program participation requirements. Extends to all States the option to limit AFDC-UP. Increases State JOBS program and work program participation rates with regard to, respectively, AFDC-eligible individuals and unemployed parents. Provides for additional payments to States for JOBS programs. (Sec. 102) Amends community work experience and work supplementation program provisions. Title II: Paternity Establishment - Amends SSA title IV part A to: (1) provide for denial or reduction of AFDC for children whose paternity is not established; and (2) require unmarried individuals under 19 who are eligible for AFDC and are pregnant or with dependent children under their care to reside at home in order to receive AFDC. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to require earlier specified paternity establishment efforts by States. Expresses the encouragement of the Congress for States to develop procedures in public hospitals and clinics to facilitate the acknowledgment of paternity. (Sec. 204) Increases the paternity establishment percentage. Title III: Expansion of Statutory Flexibility of States - Amends SSA title IV part A to give States the option to: (1) convert AFDC into a block grant program; (2) exempt themselves from otherwise mandatory denial of AFDC where either parent is a minor; (3) treat families moving interstate who apply for AFDC in their new State of residence (where they have resided for less than on year) under the AFDC rules of their former State of residence; (4) reduce AFDC for parents under 21 who have dropped out of school and dependent children who, without good cause, do not maintain minimum school attendance; (5) exempt themselves from otherwise mandatory denial of AFDC for additional children; (6) modify certain AFDC income disregard rules; (7) provide for a married couple transitional benefit in cases where an AFDC recipient marries an individual who is not a parent of the recipient's child, and the resulting family would become ineligible for AFDC by reason of the marriage; (8) disregard certain savings and income of a family on AFDC designated for education, training, employability, home purchase, or residence change in determining eligibility for AFDC; and (9) condition the receipt of AFDC on the recipient's attendance at parenting and money management classes and prior approval of any action requiring a change in the educational institution attended by the recipient's dependent child. Title IV: Expansion of State and Local Flexibility -Establishes an Interagency Waiver Request Board in order to provide a focal point within the Federal Government for the development and coordination of waiver requests to improve opportunities for low-income individuals and families. (Sec. 402) Prescribes contents of applications to implement Federal assistance plans, as well as the review, approval, implementation, and evaluation processes. (Sec. 405) Requires any entity applying for plan approval to establish a Public Private Partnership Committee to advise it on plan development and implementation. Title V: Child Support Enforcement - Provides for a national system for employee reporting of any child support owed, the obligee involved, and other specified related information on W-4 forms for employer withholding and distribution of support owed, and reporting of related information to the State involved for availability to other States through the Interstate Locate Network established under this title. (Sec. 502) Makes various changes with regard to State child support order registries, the Parent Locater Service, regulations for sharing child support information, withholding orders, and noncustodial parents with child support arrearages who are receiving certain public welfare assistance. Title VI: Welfare Restrictions for Aliens - Makes aliens (except refugees, permanent residents, and certain current residents) ineligible for various specified types of public welfare assistance, including non-emergency related assistance under Medicaid, food stamps, and job training assistance. (Sec. 602) Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require State AFDC agencies to provide information on illegal aliens to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Title VII: Controlling Welfare Costs - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), and other Federal law to establish various specified measures for controlling welfare costs, including Federal spending caps. Title VIII: Consolidated Block Grant to States for Food Assistance - Repeals the Food Stamp Act of 1977, National School Lunch Act, Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987, and other specified Federal laws and replaces them with a: (1) State food assistance block grant program to provide food assistance to economically disadvantaged individuals and families (eligible populations); and (2) new food coupon program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 803) Grants the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commodity Credit Corporation the authority to sell surplus commodities and foodstuffs to the States to provide food assistance to eligible populations. Title IX: Miscellaneous - Amends SSA title IV part A to require AFDC applicants and recipients to undergo any necessary substance abuse treatment as a condition of receiving AFDC. (Sec. 902) Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to: (1) make ineligible for SSI benefits individuals receiving SSI on the basis of a disability resulting from illegal drug addiction who continue to use illegal drugs or refuse to be tested for them; and (2) make representative payee changes. (Sec. 903) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct research projects to evaluate the impact of education and training programs on the ability of individuals to end participation in the AFDC program; (2) conduct demonstration projects and report to the Congress on whether providing benefits based on need through the use of electronic cards and automatic teller machines would reduce administrative costs and fraud; and (3) establish a commission to determine the cost and feasibility of creating an interstate system to compare the social security numbers of all AFDC recipients in order to identify those recipients receiving AFDC from multiple States. (Sec. 904) Amends SSA to require State AFDC applicants to participate in job search activities while the application is pending, unless a State by law exempts itself from this requirement. (Sec. 906) Public Housing Rent Reform and Empowerment Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 with regard to the determination of income and rent charges. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to allow, upon request, under certain circumstances, a public housing agency or resident management corporation to carry out a demonstration program to determine the feasibility and desirability of providing such entities with the authority to establish policies for agency-administered public housing projects, without regard to the public housing requirements of the United States Housing Act of 1937. (Sec. 907) Amends SSA title IV part A to deny AFDC for certain children who have not received appropriate medical examinations and immunizations. Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act with regard to childhood immunizations. Requires the Surgeon General to issue and periodically revise recommendations for the immunization of children under age six.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Medical Savings Accounts Title II: Development and Distribution of Comparative Value Information Health Care Savings Plan Act of 1993 - Title I: Medical Savings Account - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a tax deduction for contributions made to a medical care savings account established for the benefit of an eligible individual. Defines an eligible individual as: (1) one who is not covered by an employer-provided group health plan; or (2) one who is covered by such a plan which is a qualified catastrophic coverage health plan and is not covered by any other health plan. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from such accounts to the extent that amounts in such accounts exceed $15,000. Allows such deduction in arriving at adjusted gross income. Excludes employer contributions to such accounts from employment taxes. Establishes an excise tax for excess contributions to medical care savings accounts and makes such accounts subject to the tax on prohibited transactions. Allows the transfer of unused amounts in flexible spending accounts of cafeteria plans to medical savings accounts. Allows the full deduction for medical and dental expenses for amounts paid for qualified catastrophic coverage health plans. Title II: Development and Distribution of Comparative Value Information - Requires each State to develop and implement information programs regarding comparative health values for purchasers of health care. Makes grants available for the development of such programs. Requires Federal implementation of a program for any State that does not develop or continue to implement such a program. Requires the dissemination of comparative value information relative to Federal programs of health insurance and health care services. Requires the development of model systems to facilitate the gathering and analyzing of data on health care cost, quality, and outcome with respect to health insurance plans and hospitals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1993
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in the case of specified contaminants listed in the Federal Register for which national primary drinking water regulations have not been promulgated, to: (1) publish maximum contaminant level goals and promulgate such regulations for those contaminants that occur in drinking water and are of public health concern; and (2) eliminate monitoring, compliance, and enforcement requirements for those contaminants that do not occur in drinking water at levels of public health concern. (Current law requires the promulgation of such goals and regulations for specified numbers of such contaminants by certain dates.) Directs the Administrator to promulgate such goals and regulations for new contaminants every five years. Requires the Administrator to establish in each national primary drinking water regulation best technology treatment techniques for public water systems serving fewer than 1,000, between 1,000 and 10,000, and more than 10,000 people, respectively. Directs the Administrator to promulgate national primary drinking water regulations for radionuclides, disinfection and corrosion byproducts, and sulfate. Revises provisions concerning variances from national drinking water regulations to permit the issuance of a variance by a State only if the water system cannot afford to install the best available technology to meet the maximum contaminant level and it is not feasible for the system to connect with another source of water that will meet the standards. Requires variances to be reviewed by the State at least every three years. Repeals provisions that authorize States to exempt public water systems from requirements respecting maximum contaminant levels or treatment techniques. Prohibits treated drinking water from being removed from a public water system or routed through any device or pipes outside the system and returned to the system. Includes such action in the definition of "tampering," a violation for which criminal penalties are imposed. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to pipes and devices totally within the control of one or more public water systems or to connections between water mains. Requires (currently, authorizes) the Administrator to conduct research relating to diseases and other impairments resulting from contaminants in drinking water or to the provision of a safe supply of drinking water. Authorizes appropriations. Extends the authorization of appropriations for grants for State public water system supervision programs. Requires the Administrator to promulgate revised regulations every five years that list up to 30 unregulated contaminants to be monitored by public water systems. Directs the Administrator to assemble a national drinking water occurrence data base to include information on the occurrence of regulated and unregulated contaminants.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1993
Establishes a toll-free number to inform consumers regarding: (1) whether a product is made in America; (2) where products may be purchased; and (3) the purchase of products. Allows registration of American-made products.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Admission of Immigrants Title II: Admission of Refugees Title III: Asylum Reform Title IV: Criminal Aliens Title V: Financial Responsibility Title VI: Employer Sanctions Title VII: Border Security Title VIII: Alien Smuggling Title IX: Local Cooperation Title X: Citizenship Immigration Stabilization Act of 1993 - Title I: Admission of Immigrants - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) with respect to: (1) immigration levels; (2) visa allotment; and (3) petition approval. Title II: Admission of Refugees - Limits nonemergency refugee admissions in any fiscal year to 50,000. Title III: Asylum Reform - Amends provisions with respect to: (1) alien inspection and exclusion by immigration officers; (2) asylum; and (3) judicial review. Title IV: Criminal Aliens - Expands the definition of "aggravated felony." (Sec. 402) Provides for the expedited deportation of certain nonpermanent resident aliens convicted of an aggravated felony. (Sec. 403) Authorizes judicial deportation for an alien convicted of a felony. (Sec. 404) Increases penalties for reentry or failure to depart. (Sec. 406) Authorizes the deportation of an alien prisoner prior to sentence completion under specified circumstances. (Sec. 407) Amends Federal criminal law to require the issuance of a judicial order of deportation in the case of an alien being sentenced for an aggravated felony. (Sec. 408) Authorizes Federal incarceration and deportation of certain State-convicted aliens. (Sec. 409) Amends Federal criminal law to increase penalties for specified visa and passport related crimes. (Sec. 410) Requires State or local law enforcement agencies to notify the district Immigration and Naturalization Service Office upon the felony arrest of an alien. Title V: Financial Responsibility - Authorizes the admission of an alien otherwise excludable as a public charge (as defined by this Act) if such alien has a sponsor guarantee of financial responsibility. (Sec. 503) Limits benefits, including unemployment benefits, for illegal aliens Title VI: Employer Sanctions - Revises employer sanction provisions, including: (1) work eligibility documents; and (2) social security telephone verification. Title VII: Border Security - Increases Border Patrol personnel levels. Establishes: (1) a border crossing fee; and (2) a Border Control Trust Fund. (Sec. 704) Amends the Act to establish increased penalties or a required pilot program for international carriers that bring in more than specified numbers of undocumented aliens. Title VIII: Alien Smuggling - Directs the Secretary of State to enter into cooperative foreign arrangements to prevent the unlawful entry of aliens into the United States. (Sec. 802) Directs the Secretary of Defense to instruct the Coast Guard with respect to preventing the illegal entry of aliens into the United States by sea. (Sec. 803) Amends Federal criminal law to bring specified alien related activities under the purview of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) provisions. (Sec. 804) Increases alien smuggling penalties. (Sec. 805) Expands forfeiture provisions for smuggling or harboring aliens. (Sec. 806) Amends Federal criminal law to authorize wiretaps for alien smuggling investigations. Title IX: Local Cooperation - Prohibits specified Federal program assistance to States or local entities that do not use the SAVE system to verify an alien applicant's immigration status. Title X: Citizenship - Makes it unlawful (and establishes penalties) for a noncitizen to vote in a Federal or State election.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1993
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Justice should repudiate its reinterpretation of Federal child pornography laws, defend the conviction won in lower courts in Knox v. United States, and vigorously prosecute sexual exploitation of children.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1993
Amends Federal law with respect to the Civil Service and Federal Employees' Retirement Systems to provide that certain requirements relating to reemployed annuitants shall not apply with respect to postal retirees who are reemployed, on a temporary basis, as rural postmasters or rural letter carriers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1993
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise the limitation on payment of OASDI benefits to prisoners to prohibit the payment of such benefits to all individuals imprisoned throughout at least one month upon conviction of a criminal offense, regardless of the prisoner's participation in a rehabilitation program. Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to make the same changes with respect to the payment of SSI benefits to such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1993
Requires the withdrawal of all U.S. armed forces participating in the United Nations (UN) operation in Somalia within 30 days. Prohibits U.S. armed forces from participating in, or operating in support of, the UN-led force in Somalia after such withdrawal.