United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1993
Provides that any comprehensive health care reform legislation should be considered on the floor of the House of Representatives under an open rule that authorizes any Representative to offer one or more amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1993
Federal Court Settlements Sunshine Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal judicial code to require public disclosure of settlements of civil actions to which the United States is a party, with exceptions. Prohibits such civil actions from being dismissed except by order of court and requires public disclosure of any settlement made after such dismissal.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1993
Calls on the President to direct the U.S. Representative to the United Nations (UN) to: (1) urge the UN to begin formal investigations into violations of international law that have been committed in the former Yugoslavia since 1991; (2) encourage the UN Commission of Experts to begin using funds earmarked for such investigations by immediately sending teams of investigators to locations in Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, Croatia, Kosovo, and Serbia, where thousands of victims of war crimes are residing; and (3) urge the UN, by October 6, 1993, to appoint a prosecutor for the International Tribunal to continue and expand such investigations and to prosecute persons responsible for such violations. Encourages the President to provide, on temporary assignment to the Commission or to the prosecutor, Federal personnel who have experience working with victims of rape and other heinous crimes to interview such victims and to gather legal evidence relating to such crimes. Requests the President to work with the UN to establish a time schedule for aggressive prosecution of persons responsible. Calls on the UN Security Council to withhold consideration of lifting the economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) until all indictments against those persons ultimately responsible for such violations have been issued by the International Tribunal and such persons have surrendered for trial.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1993
Health Care Fraud Prosecution Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to set penalties for: (1) knowingly executing a scheme or artifice to defraud to obtain a health care payment; or (2) presenting a statement as part of, or in support of, a claim for health care payment, knowing that such statement contains false or misleading information concerning any material fact. Limits such penalties to a fine and ten years' imprisonment, unless the offender knowingly or recklessly caused: (1) serious bodily injury to, or endangered the life of, an individual (up to 15 years' imprisonment); or (2) caused the death of an individual (up to 25 years' imprisonment). Sets forth provisions regarding illegal remunerations. Permits: (1) persons injured by violations of such provisions to recover treble damages in a civil action; and (2) the court to award the prevailing party a reasonable attorney fee. Makes provisions regarding injunctions against fraud and criminal forfeiture of fraud proceeds applicable to health care fraud. Authorizes the Attorney General to pay specified rewards for information leading to the prosecution and conviction of persons engaging in health care fraud, with exceptions. Directs the Attorney General to establish: (1) regional health care fraud task forces and a data base for the reporting of final adverse actions against health care providers, suppliers, or practitioners; and (2) a national, toll-free health care fraud and abuse hotline. Authorizes appropriations: (1) for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Attorneys, and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services to hire, equip, and train personnel in connection with the investigation and prosecution of health care fraud cases; and (2) to establish, operate, and administer health care task forces and the national health care fraud and abuse data base and hotline, and to publicize the data base and hotline. Amends the Federal criminal code to make: (1) activity which, if engaged in by the U.S. Postal Service, would be a violation of mail fraud provisions, punishable to the same extent with respect to private or commercial interstate carriers (express company fraud); and (2) health care fraud and express company fraud predicates to violations of prohibitions against the laundering of monetary instruments.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improved Access to Affordable Health Care Subtitle A: Increased Availability and Continuity of Health Coverage for Employees and Their Families Subtitle B: Reform of Health Insurance Marketplace for Small Business Subtitle C: Preemption Subtitle D: Health Deduction Fairness Subtitle E: Improved Access to Community Health Services Subtitle F: Improved Access to Rural Health Services Subtitle G: State Flexibility in the Medicaid Program: The Medical Health Allowance Program Title II: Health Care Cost Containment and Quality Enhancement Subtitle A: Medical Malpractice Liability Reform Subtitle B: Administrative Cost Savings Subtitle C: Deduction for Cost of Catastrophic Health Plan; Medical Savings Accounts Subtitle D: Anti-Fraud Subtitle E: Medicare Payment Changes; Part B Premium Tax for High-Income Individuals Subtitle F: Removing Anti-Trust Impediments Subtitle G: Encouraging Enforcement Activities of Medical Self-Regulatory Entities Subtitle H: Prefunding Government Health Benefits for Certain Annuitants Subtitle I: Miscellaneous Provisions Title III: Long-Term Care Subtitle A: Tax Treatment of Long-Term Care Insurance Subtitle B: Protection of Assets Under Medicaid Through Use of Qualified Long-Term Care Insurance Subtitle C: Studies Subtitle D: Volunteer Service Credit Demonstration Projects Affordable Health Care Now Act of 1993 - Title I: Improved Access to Affordable Health Care - Subtitle A: Increased Availability and Continuity of Health Coverage for Employees and Their Families - Part 1: Required Coverage Options for Eligible Employees, Spouses, and Dependents - Requires each employer to make available to each eligible employee a group health plan under which: (1) coverage of each eligible individual with respect to such employee may be elected on an annual basis; (2) coverage is provided for at least the required coverage specified; and (3) employees may elect to have premiums collected through payroll deduction. Does not require employer contributions to the cost of coverage under such a plan. Provides for the exclusion of: (1) employers who have been employers for less than two years or who have no more than two eligible employees or no more than two eligible employees not covered under any group health plan; and (2) family members under specified circumstances. Specifies that a group health plan shall not be treated as failing to meet the requirements of this Act solely because a period of service by an eligible employee of not more than 60 days is required for coverage. Specifies that the required coverage is standard coverage, except that in the case of a small employer that has not contributed during the previous plan year to the cost of coverage for any eligible employee under any group health plan, the required coverage for the plan year is coverage under a MedAccess standard, MedAccess catastrophic, and MedAccess medisave plan. Provides for a five-year transition for existing group health plans. (Sec. 1002) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) compliance with applicable requirements through multiple employer health arrangements; and (2) coverage options under a State medical health allowance program. Part 2: Preexisting Conditions and Continuity of Coverage; Renewability - Prohibits a group health plan from imposing (and an insurer from requiring an employer from imposing through a waiting period for coverage under a plan or similar requirement) a limitation or exclusion of benefits relating to treatment of a preexisting condition if: (1) the condition relates to a condition that was not diagnosed or treated within three months before the date of coverage under the plan; or (2) the limitation or exclusion extends over more than six month after the date of coverage, applies to an individual who, as of the date of birth, was covered under the plan, or relates to pregnancy. Specifies that, in the case of an individual who is eligible for coverage under a plan but for a waiting period imposed by the employer, the individual shall be treated as having been covered under the plan as of the earliest date of the beginning of the waiting period. (Sec. 1012) Requires each group health plan to waive any period applicable to a preexisting condition for similar benefits with respect to an individual to the extent that the individual, prior to enrollment in such plan, was covered for the condition under any other health plan. (Sec. 1013) Prohibits: (1) a multiemployer plan and an exempted multiple employer health plan from canceling or denying renewal of coverage under such a plan for an employer other than for nonpayment of contributions, fraud or other misrepresentation, noncompliance with plan provisions, or misuse of a provider network provision, or because the plan is ceasing to provide any coverage in a geographic area; (2) an insurer from canceling a health insurance plan or denying renewal of coverage other than as prescribed above; and (3) an insurer who terminates the offering of health insurance plans in an area from offering such a plan to any employer in the area until five years after the date of the termination. Part 3: Enforcement; Effective Dates; Definitions - Makes provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 applicable with respect to enforcement of this Act (by the Department of Labor). Amends the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to impose a tax ($100 per day for each individual involved, subject to specified limitations) on the failure of an insurer to comply with the requirements under part 2 unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) determines that the State has in effect a regulatory enforcement mechanism that provides adequate sanctions. Subtitle B: Reform of Health Insurance Marketplace for Small Business - Requires each insurer that makes available a health insurance plan to a small employer in a State to make available to each small employer in the State a MedAccess standard, MedAccess catastrophic, and MedAccess medisave plan, with exceptions for health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and if a State provides for guaranteed availability (rather than guaranteed issue). Requires each insurer that offers a MedAccess plan to a small employer in a State to accept: (1) every small employer in the State that applies for coverage; and (2) every eligible individual who applies for enrollment on a timely basis. Sets forth provision regarding: (1) special rules for HMOs; (2) timely enrollment requirements; and (3) enrollment of spouses and dependents. Makes such requirements inapplicable in a State that has provided (in accordance with specified standards) a mechanism under which each insurer offering a health insurance plan to a small employer in the State must participate in a program for assigning high-risk small employer groups (or individuals within such a group) among some or all such insurers, if the insurers comply. (Sec. 1102) Defines "MedAccess plan" as a health insurance plan that: (1) is designed to provide standard coverage with substantial cost-sharing, only catastrophic coverage, or medisave coverage; (2) includes only essential and medically necessary services; (3) meets applicable requirements relating to guaranteed issue; and (4) meets specifies consumer protection standards. Defines "MedAccess standard plan," "MedAccess catastrophic plan," and "MedAccess medisave plan" to mean a MedAccess plan that provides for at least standard coverage, for only catastrophic coverage, or medisave coverage, respectively. Requests the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to submit to the Secretary a set of rules which NAIC determines is sufficient for determining, in the case of any health insurance plan and for purposes of this subtitle, the actuarial value of the coverage offered by the plan. Directs the Secretary to certify such set of rules for use under this subtitle if they meet such requirements or establish such a set of rules. Specifies that a health insurance plan is considered to provide: (1) standard coverage if the benefits are determined, in accordance with certified rules of actuarial equivalence, to have a value that is within five percentage points of an established target actuarial value for standard coverage; (2) catastrophic coverage if benefits are available under the plan for a year only to the extent that expenses for covered services in a year exceed a deductible amount that is consistent with a specified requirement for a catastrophic health plan under the Code, and are determined, in accordance with certified actuarial equivalence rules, to have a value that is within five percentage points of an established target actuarial value for catastrophic coverage; and (3) medisave coverage if such plan consists of a catastrophic health plan within the meaning of the Code and a medical savings account. Requests NAIC to submit to the Secretary target actuarial values for standard and catastrophic coverage. Permits NAIC to submit periodic revisions of, and permits the Secretary to revise, the set of rules of actuarial equivalence and target actuarial values where necessary to take into account changes in the relevant types of health benefits provisions, in deductible levels for catastrophic coverage, or in relevant demographic conditions. (Sec. 1103) Directs the Secretary to request NAIC to develop model regulations that specify standards with respect to requirements: (1) that insurers make available MedAccess plans; (2) of guaranteed availability of MedAccess plans to small employers; (3) relating to limits on premiums and certain consumer protections; and (4) relating to limitation of annual premium increases. Requires the Secretary to review such standards and, if NAIC fails to specify standards meeting such requirements, to promulgate standards. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the application of MedAccess standards and consumer protection standards by the States; and (2) the Federal role. (Sec. 1104) Sets forth provisions: (1) regarding limits on premiums and annual premium increases; and (2) requiring an insurer, at the time of offering a health insurance plan to a small employer, to fully disclose rating practices for health insurance plans, including rating practices for different populations and benefit designs. (Sec. 1106) Directs the Secretary to: (1) request NAIC to develop models for reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms for health insurance plans made available to small employers for whom an insurer is at risk of incurring high costs under the plan; and (2) review such models or specify models. Sets forth provisions regarding implementation of reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms by the States and the Federal role. Amends the Code to provide for the imposition of a tax on any health insurance plan which covers any employee in a Federal reinsurance State. (Sec. 1108) Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of Private Health Care Coverage. Requires the Office Director to submit to the Congress annual reports evaluating health care coverage reform. (Sec. 1109) Authorizes the Director to conduct: (1) research on the impact of this subtitle on the availability of affordable health coverage for employees and dependents in the small employers group health care coverage market and other specified topics; and (2) demonstration projects relating to such topics. Requires the Director to develop: (1) methods for measuring the relative health risks of eligible individuals in terms of the expected costs of providing benefits under health insurance plans and, in particular, MedAccess plans; and (2) a model for equitably distributing health risks among insurers in the small employer health care coverage market. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Preemption - Part 1: Scope of State Regulation - Prohibits: (1) State benefit mandates for group health plans; and (2) State or local law prohibitions against two or more employers obtaining coverage under an insured multiple employer health plan. (Sec. 1203) Preempts State restrictions concerning: (1) reimbursement rates or selective contracting; (2) differential financial incentives; and (3) utilization review methods. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the benefits and cost effectiveness of the use of managed care in the delivery of health services. Part 2: Multiple Employer Health Benefits Protections - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow a limited exemption under preemption rules for multiple employer plans providing health benefits subject to certain Federal standards. (Sec. 1212) Relieves exempted multiple employer plans providing medical care benefits of certain restrictions on preemption of State law. Treats such plans as employee welfare benefit plans. Allows commencement of new arrangements only if such exemption is in effect or an application is pending and the Secretary of Labor determines that provisional protection is appropriate. Sets forth exemption procedures, eligibility requirements, and additional requirements applicable to exempted arrangements. Requires certain disclosures to participating employers, maintenance of reserves, and corrective actions. Provides for expiration, suspension, and revocation of exemptions, and for review of actions by the Secretary. (Sec. 1213) Revises provisions relating to scope of preemption rules, and to treatment of single employer arrangements and of certain collectively bargained arrangements. (Sec. 1215) Establishes special rules for employee leasing healthcare arrangements. Treats such arrangements as multiple employer welfare arrangements except when they are multiple employer health plans. (Sec. 1216) Sets forth enforcement provisions relating to multiple employer welfare arrangements and employee leasing health care arrangements. (Sec. 1217) Sets forth filing requirements for multiple employer welfare arrangements. (Sec. 1218) Provides for cooperation between Federal and State authorities in enforcing ERISA requirements for multiple employer welfare arrangements with the limited exemption. Part 3: Encouragement of Multiple Employer Arrangements Providing Basic Health Benefits - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the commonality of interest or geographic location requirement for tax exempt trust status for multiple employer health plans and insured multiple employer health plans if they meet certain requirements under ERISA and this Act. Part 4: Simplifying Filing of Reports for Employers Covered under Insured Multiple Employer Health Plans - Amends ERISA to direct the Secretary of Labor to prescribe an alternative method providing for a single annual report with respect to all employers who are covered under the same insured multiple employer health plan. Part 5: Compliance with Coverage Option Requirements - Provides for compliance with applicable coverage requirements through multiemployer plans and other multiple employer health arrangements. Subtitle D: Health Deduction Fairness - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide: (1) for a permanent extension and increase in the health insurance tax deduction for self-employed individuals; and (2) that the deduction for certain health insurance costs be determined without regard to an adjusted gross income threshold. Disallows the deduction to individuals eligible for employer-subsidized coverage. Allows the deduction whether or not the individual itemizes other deductions. Subtitle E: Improved Access to Community Health Services - Part 1: Increased Authorization for Community and Migrant Health Centers - Directs the Secretary to provide for grants to migrant and community health centers to promote primary health care services for underserved individuals. Allows grants to be used to promote the provision of off-site services, to improve birth outcomes in areas with high infant mortality and morbidity, to establish primary care clinics in areas in need, and for recruitment and training costs of necessary providers and operating costs for unreimbursed services. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the impact of such grants on access to health care, birth outcomes, and the use of emergency room services. Part 2: Grants for Projects for Coordinating Delivery of Services - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities: (1) to carry out demonstration projects to increase access to outpatient primary health services in specified geographic areas (i.e., areas that are rational areas for the delivery of health services, have a population of not more than 500,000 individuals, and have been designated by the Secretary as areas with a shortage of personal health services or that have a significant number of individuals with low incomes or insufficient health care insurance through coordinating the delivery of such services under Federal, State, local, and private programs; and (2) for developing plans to carry out such projects. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Improved Access to Rural Health Services - Part 1: Establishment of Rural Emergency Access Care Hospitals Under Medicare - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) establishment of rural emergency access care hospitals under Medicare; and (2) coverage of and payment for rural emergency access care hospital services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Part 2: Rural Medical Emergencies Air Transport - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to make grants to States to assist in the creation or enhancement of air medical transport systems that provide victims of medical emergencies in rural areas with access to treatments. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) application and State plan requirements; (2) considerations in awarding grants; (3) State administration and use of grants; (4) the number of grants; and (5) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Part 3: Emergency Medical Services Amendments - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to: (1) establish an Office of Emergency Medical Services, headed by a Director; (2) engage in specified emergency medical services activities, including disseminating information obtained in carrying out specified activities to public and private entities, providing technical assistance to State and local agencies, coordinating Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) activities with those of other Federal agencies; and (3) ensure that such activities are carried out consistent with certain requirements regarding maintaining an adequate number of health professionals with expertise in the provision of services, developing, periodically reviewing, and revising as appropriate guidelines for the provision of such services, appropriately using available technologies, and serving the unique needs of underserved inner-city and rural areas. (Sec. 1522) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for the purpose of improving the availability and quality of emergency medical services through the operation of State offices of emergency medical services, subject to specified matching fund, budgetary, and other requirements. (Sec. 1523) Provides for demonstration projects to establish telecommunications between rural medical facilities and medical facilities with expertise or equipment. Directs the Secretary to ensure that the telecommunications technologies demonstrated include interactive video telecommunications, static video imaging transmitted through the telephone system, and facsimiles transmitted through such system. (Sec. 1524) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) emergency medical services (including for State offices of Emergency Medical Services and for telecommunications demonstrations); and (2) trauma care and certain other activities. Subtitle G: State Flexibility in the Medicaid Program: The Medical Health Allowance Program - Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to provide for the establishment of State health allowance programs under which the State makes payments to a group health plan which provides coverage to an eligible individual as an allowance towards the costs of providing the individual with benefits under the plan. Subtitle H: Medicaid Program Flexibility - Amends SSA title XIX Medicaid) to modify: (1) Federal requirements to allow States more flexibility in contracting for coordinated care services under Medicaid; and (2) provisions regarding the extension of certain waivers. Title II: Health Care Cost Containment and Quality Enhancement - Subtitle A: Medical Malpractice Liability Reform - Part 1: General Provisions - Makes this subtitle applicable with respect to any medical malpractice liability claim and to any medical malpractice liability action brought in State or Federal court, except a claim or action for damages arising from a vaccine-related injury or death to the extent that title XXI of the Public Health Service Act applies. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) preemption of State law; (2) effect on sovereign immunity and choice of law or venue; (3) jurisdiction; and (4) effective dates. Part 2: Medical Malpractice and Product Liability Reform - Prohibits a medical malpractice liability action from being brought in any State court during a calendar year unless the relevant claim has been initially resolved (i.e., a decision has been reached on whether the defendant is liable to the plaintiff for damages and on the amount of damages) under a certified alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system or an alternative Federal system. Prohibits a medical malpractice liability action from being brought in Federal court based on diversity of citizenship during a calendar year unless the relevant claim has been initially resolved under such a system in the State whose law applies. Directs the Attorney General to establish an ADR process for tort claims consisting of medical malpractice liability claims brought against the United States under chapter 171 of the Federal judicial code (U.S. Court of Federal Claims). Prohibits a medical malpractice liability action based on such a claim from being brought in any Federal court unless the claim has been initially resolved under such process. Sets forth procedures for filing actions. (Sec. 2012) Limits to $250,000 the amount of noneconomic damages that may be awarded to a claimant and family members in a medical malpractice liability action. Sets limits on punitive damages and on periodic payments for future losses. (Sec. 2013) Set forth provisions regarding: (1) limits on attorney fees and other costs; (2) joint and several liability (generally, liability may be found only for those damages directly attributable to the person's proportionate share of fault or responsibility for the injury); (3) a statute of limitations of seven years; and (4) a uniform standard for determining negligence (the defendant's conduct at the time of providing the health care services was not reasonable). (Sec. 2017) Specifies that in the case of a medical malpractice liability claim relating to services provided during labor or the delivery of a baby, if the health care professional did not previously treat the injured individual for the pregnancy, the trier of fact may not find that the defendant committed malpractice nor assess damages unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Part 3: Requirements for State Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems - Lists requirements for State ADR systems, including that such a system: (1) applies to all medical malpractice liability claims under the jurisdiction of the courts of that State; (2) requires that a written opinion resolving the dispute be issued within six months after each party against whom the claim is filed has received notice of the claim; (3) is approved by the State or local governments; (4) provides for the transmittal to the State agency responsible for monitoring or disciplining health care professionals and providers of any findings of malpractice; and (5) provides for the regular transmittal of information on disputes resolved under the system to the Administrator for Health Care Policy and Research in a manner that protects the identity of the parties involved. (Sec. 2032) Directs the Secretary, by October 1 of each year, to certify State ADR systems that meet such requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish an alternative Federal ADR system for the resolution of medical malpractice liability claims in States that do not have in effect a certified ADR system. (Sec. 2033) Directs the Secretary, within five years, to submit to the Congress a report describing and evaluating State ADR systems and the alternative Federal system, including: (1) information on the effect of the ADR systems on health care costs, access to health care, and quality of care provided within the State; and (2) to the extent that such report does not provide information on no-fault systems operated by States as ADR systems, an analysis of the feasibility and desirability of establishing a system for resolving medical malpractice liability claims on a no-fault basis. Part 4: Other Provisions Relating to Medical Malpractice Liability - Authorizes a State agency responsible for disciplinary actions for a type of health care practitioner to enter into agreements with State or county professional societies to permit their participation in the licensing of such practitioner and to review any health care malpractice action, claims, or allegation, or other information concerning the practice patterns of any such practitioner. Sets forth agreement requirements. (Sec. 2042) Directs the Secretary to study incentives adopted by State and local governments, insurers, medical societies, and other entities to encourage physicians to volunteer to provide health care services in medically underserved areas. (Sec. 2043) Directs each State to require: (1) each health care professional and health care provider to participate in a risk management program to prevent, and provide early warning of, practices which may result in injuries to patients or endanger patient safety; and (2) each provider of health care professional and provider liability insurance in the State to establish risk management programs or sanction programs of risk management for health care professionals and providers provided by other entities, and require each such professional or provider, as a condition of maintaining insurance, to participate in one such program at least once in each three-year period. (Sec. 2044) Directs the Secretary to make grants: (1) for basic research in the prevention of, and compensation for, injuries resulting from health care professional or provider malpractice and for research of the outcomes of health care procedures; (2) to the States to assist in improving their ability to license and discipline health care professionals; and (3) to States and local governments, private nonprofit organizations, and health professional schools for educating the general public about the appropriate use of health care, realistic expectations of medical intervention, and the resources and role of health care professional licensing and disciplinary boards in investigating claims of incompetence or health care malpractice, and for developing programs of faculty training and curricula for educating health care professionals in quality assurance, risk management, and medical injury prevention. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Administrative Cost Savings - Part 1: Standardization of Claims Processing - Directs the Secretary to adopt standards relating to: (1) data elements for use in paper and electronic claims processing under health benefit plans and in utilization review and management of care; (2) uniform claims forms; and (3) uniform electronic transmission of the data elements. (Sec. 2102) Authorizes the Secretary, two years after standards are adopted for classes of services upon determining that a significant number of claims for benefits for such services under health benefit plans are not being submitted in accordance with such standards, to require that all providers of such services submit claims to health benefit plans in accordance with such standards. (Sec. 2103) Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide for the ongoing receipt and review of comments and suggestions for changes in the standards adopted and promulgated; (2) establish a schedule for the periodic review of such standards; and (3) revise such standards. Part 2: Electronic Medical Data Standards - Directs the Secretary to promulgate standards for hospitals concerning electronic medical data, including standards for transmission of such data and confidentiality of patient-specific information. Authorizes the Secretary to periodically revise such standards. (Sec. 2112) Sets forth requirements with respect to: (1) the sharing of hospital information under Medicare; (2) waiver of such requirements; and (3) application of such requirements to hospitals of the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Sec. 2113) Authorizes the head of a Federal agency to require a provider to present and transmit a required data element electronically in accordance with applicable presentation or transmission standard. (Sec. 2114) Sets forth limitations on data requirements where standards with respect to data elements are in effect. (Sec. 2115) Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory commission on the standards established under this part and operational concerns about the implementation of such standards. Authorizes appropriations. Part 3: Development and Distribution of Comparative Value Information - Directs the Secretary to determine whether each State is developing and implementing a health care value information program that meets specified criteria and a specified schedule. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make grants to enable each State to plan development and initiate implementation of its health care value information program; and (2) recover the amount of such a grant by offset against any other amount payable to the State under the Social Security Act under specified circumstances. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 2122) Directs the Secretary to take actions necessary to implement a comparable program in a State that fails to develop or implement a health care value information program in accordance with such criteria and schedule. Authorizes the Secretary to charge fees for the information materials provided pursuant to such a program. (Sec. 2123) Directs the head of each Federal agency with responsibility for the provision of health insurance or health care services to individuals to develop health care value information relating to each program that such head administers and covering the same types of data that a State program meeting such criteria would provide. (Sec. 2124) Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop model systems to facilitate the gathering of data on health care cost, quality, and outcome and the analysis of such data in a manner that will permit the valid comparison of such data among providers and among health plans; (2) support experimentation with different approaches to achieve such objectives in the most cost effective manner; and (3) evaluate the various methods to determine their relative success. Authorizes the Secretary to establish standards for the collective and reporting of data on health care cost, quality, and outcomes. Authorizes appropriations. Part 4: Additional Standards and Requirements; Research and Demonstrations - Directs the Secretary to: (1) adopt standards relating to the design and use of magnetized Medicare identification cards to assist health care providers in determining whether individuals are eligible for benefits for provided services under the Medicare program and in billing the Medicare program for covered services; (2) take steps to encourage and assist States in the design and use of magnetized Medicaid identification cards under their Medicaid plans; and (3) establish a Medicare and Medicaid information system to provide information on group health and other health benefit plans that are primary payors to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 2132) Specifies that, effective January 1, 1994, no effect shall be given to any provision of State law that requires medical or health insurance records (including billing information) to be maintained in written, rather than electronic, form. (Sec. 2133) Requires, effective January 1, 1995, each health benefit plan: (1) to use a beneficiary's social security number as the personal identifier for claims processing and related purposes (authorizes the Secretary to impose a civil money penalty on any plan that fails to do so); and (2) to use the unique identifier under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (Medicare) for a provider that furnishes health care items or services to a beneficiary under the plan as the identifier of that provider for claims processing and related purposes. (Sec. 2134) Directs the Secretary to: (1) determine, where benefits are payable under two or more health benefit plans, whether problems relating to the rules for determining the liability of plans or the availability of information among plans causes significant administrative costs; and (2) promulgate standards, if the implementation of standards would significantly reduce such administrative costs. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a civil money penalty on plans that fail to comply with such standards. (Sec. 2135) Directs the Secretary to provide grants to qualified entities for research on the application of comprehensive information systems in continuously monitoring and improving patient care. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to: (1) two to five community organizations or coalitions of health care providers, health benefit plans, and purchasers to establish and document the efficacy of communication links between the information systems of health benefit plans and of health care providers; (2) two to five public or private nonprofit entities for the development of regional or community-based clinical information systems; and (3) public or private nonprofit entities to develop and test the definition of a comprehensive set of data elements and the specification and manner of presentation of the individual data elements of the set, for electronic medical data generated by physicians and other entities (other than hospitals) that provide health care services. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Deduction for Cost of Catastrophic Health Plan; Medical Savings Account - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include under the medical expense deduction the portion of such expense attributable to coverage under a catastrophic health plan. (Sec. 2202) Allows individuals a tax deduction for percentage of contributions made to a medical care savings account established for the benefit of an eligible individual. Allows such deduction whether or not an individual itemizes deductions. Disallows distributions from such accounts as medical expense deductions. Excludes employer contributions to such accounts from employment taxes. Establishes an excise tax for excess contributions to medical care savings accounts. Subtitle D: Anti-Fraud - Part 1: Criminal Prosecution of Health Care Fraud - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) set penalties for health care providers who knowingly engage in any scheme or artifice to defraud any person in connection with the provision of health care; and (2) make activity which, if engaged in by the U.S. Postal Service, would be a violation of mail fraud provisions punishable to the same extent with respect to private or commercial interstate carriers. (Sec. 2303) Authorizes appropriations to hire, equip, and train no fewer than: (1) 225 special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and support staff to investigate health care fraud cases; (2) 50 assistant United States Attorneys and support staff to prosecute such cases; and (3) 25 investigators in the Office of Inspector General, DHHS, to be devoted exclusively to health care fraud cases. (Sec. 2304) Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the Attorney General to make payments of up to $10,000 to a person who furnishes information unknown to the Government relating to a possible prosecution of health care fraud, subject to specified requirements and exceptions. Part 2: Coordination of Health Care Anti-Fraud and Abuse Activities - Directs the Secretary to establish in the Office of the Inspector General of DHHS a program (all-payer fraud and abuse control program) to: (1) coordinate Federal, State, and local law enforcement programs to control fraud and abuse with respect to the delivery of, and payment for, health care in the United States; (2) conduct investigations, audits, evaluations, and inspections relating to such delivery and payment; and (3) facilitate the enforcement of provisions of the Social Security Act and other statutes applicable to health care fraud and abuse. Directs the Secretary to establish standards to carry out such program, including standards relating to the furnishing of information by health insurers, providers, and other to enable the Secretary to carry out the program and procedures to assure that such information is provided and utilized in a manner that protects the confidentiality of the information and the privacy of individuals receiving health care services. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) qualified immunity for providing information; (2) ensuring access to documentation; and (3) failure to comply as grounds for exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. (Sec. 2312) Authorizes additional appropriations to enable the Secretary to conduct investigations of allegations of health care fraud and to carry out the all-payor fraud and abuse control program. (Sec. 2313) Establishes in the Treasury an Anti-Fraud and Abuse Trust Fund to be used to assist the Inspector General of DHHS in carrying out the all-payor fraud and abuse control program in the fiscal year involved. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the deposit into the Fund of Federal health anti-fraud and abuse penalties; and (2) the use of such penalties to repay beneficiaries for cost-sharing. (Sec. 2314) Amends SSA title XI to provide for the application of Federal health anti-fraud and abuse sanctions to all fraud and abuse against private health benefit plans. Subtitle E: Medicare Payment Changes; Part B Premium Tax for High-Income Individuals: Part 1 - Medicare Payment Changes - Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) eliminate the membership limitation for Medicare health maintenance organizations; and (2) revise the Medicare select policy program and provide for a civil money penalty for misrepresentations made in connection with a Medicare select policy. (Sec. 2402) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to: (1) make permanent the Medicare select policy program; and (2) allow access to Medicare select policies in all States. (Sec. 2403) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take such steps as may be necessary to consolidate the administration of Medicare parts A and B. Part 2: Part B Premium Tax for High-Income Individuals - (Sec. 2411) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the Medicare part B premiums of high income individuals. Subtitle F: Removing Anti-Trust Impediments - Directs the Attorney General to promulgate guidelines under which a health care joint venture may submit an application requesting that the Attorney General provide the entities participating in the venture with an exemption under which: (1) monetary recovery on an antitrust claim brought against the entity shall be limited to actual damages if specified conditions are met; and (2) the conduct of the entity in making or performing a contract to carry out the venture shall not be deemed illegal per se. Requires the Attorney General to approve or disapprove the application within a specified time frame and to provide a statement explaining the reasons for any disapproval. Directs the Attorney General to approve the application if an entity participating in the venture submits to the Attorney General an application that contains the identities of the parties to the venture; the nature, objectives, and planned activities of the venture; and specified assurances and information. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) revocation and renewal of exemptions and withdrawal of an application; (2) requirements relating to notice and publication of exemptions; and (3) issuance of health care certificates of public advantage to each eligible health care joint venture that complies with specified requirements. Establishes the Interagency Advisory Committee on Competition, Antitrust Policy, and Health Care to: (1) discuss and evaluate competition and antitrust policy and their implications regarding the performance of health care markets; (2) analyze the effectiveness of health care joint ventures receiving exemptions in reducing costs and expanding access; and (3) make recommendations to the Congress. Subtitle G: Encouraging Enforcement Activities of Medical Self-Regulatory Entities - Part 1: Application of the Clayton Act to Medical Self-Regulatory Entities - Provides that no damages, cost of suit, or attorney fee may be recovered under section 4, 4A, or 4C of the Clayton Act, or under any similar State law, except by a State or the United States, from any medical self-regulatory entity as a result of engaging in standard setting or enforcement activities that are: (1) designed to promote the quality of health care provided to patients; and (2) not conducted for purposes of financial gain. Directs the court to award the cost of such a suit, including a reasonable attorney fee, to a substantially prevailing defendant. Part 2: Consultation by Federal Agencies - Requires any Federal agency engaged in the establishment of medical profession standards to consult with appropriate medical societies or associations, specialty boards, or recognized accrediting agencies, if available, in carrying out medical professional standard setting and guidelines or standards relating to the practice of medicine. Subtitle H: Prefunding Government Health Benefit for Certain Annuitants - Requires that certain agencies prefund Government health benefits contributions for their annuitants. Subtitle I: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends Civil Service and Federal Employees' Retirement Systems law to increase the minimum age required to be eligible for an immediate retirement annuity. Provides for the conformance of other Federal retirement systems with the minimum age increase made above. Title III: Long-Term Care - Subtitle A: Tax Treatment of Long-Term Care Insurance - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the treatment of qualified long-term care insurance as accident and health insurance for purposes of insurance company taxation. (Sec. 3002) Excludes from gross income benefits provided under a long-term care insurance contract. Includes in gross income employer-provided coverage for long-term care services. (Sec. 3003) Includes amounts paid for qualified long-term care services as medical expenses for individual itemized deductions. Includes any parent or grandparent as a dependent for purposes of such expenses. (Sec. 3004) Provides for the nonrecognition of gain or loss on the exchange of any life insurance contract or an endowment or annuity contract for a long-term care insurance contract. (Sec. 3005) Excludes from gross income certain amounts withdrawn from individual retirement accounts and certain employer cash or deferred arrangement to pay long-term care premiums. (Sec. 3006) Allows insurance companies to issue accelerated death benefit riders on life insurance contracts. Subtitle B: Protection of Assets Under Medicaid Through Use of Qualified Long-Term Care Insurance - Amends SSA title XIX to require State Medicaid plans to disregard some or all of the individual's assets attributable to coverage under a qualified long-term care insurance contract in determining the individual's eligibility for long-term care services. Subtitle C: Studies - Requires the Comptroller General to study the feasibility of: (1) encouraging health care providers to donate their services to homebound patients; and (2) providing heads of households who care for elderly family members in their home with an income tax credit. (Sec. 3203) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of encouraging or requiring the use of a single designate public or nonprofit agency to coordinate, through case management, the provision of long-term care benefits under current Federal, State, and local programs in a geographic area. Subtitle D: Volunteer Service Credit Demonstration Projects - (Sec. 3301) Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to require the Commissioner of the Administration on Aging to establish and operate a volunteer service credit demonstration project in each State.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1993
General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to set forth a 15-year statute of limitations within which a person may bring a civil action against an aircraft manufacturer for damages for death or injury or damage to property arising from an aircraft accident.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1993
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United Nations Security Council should: (1) renew and strengthen the mandate of the United Nations Protection Force to bring about the immediate demilitarization of the Protected Areas in the former Yugoslavia; (2) require the Force to establish conditions for the safe return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes in the Areas; and (3) provide for the reopening of a safe land corridor connecting northern Croatia with Croatia's coastal regions and demand that water and electricity being denied to civilians in coastal Croatia be restored immediately.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that no person, under any law enacted by the Congress or any rule issued by a Federal entity, shall be liable for conduct occurring, or with respect to income accruing, before the date of enactment of the law or issuance of the rule.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1993
Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit a bill or joint resolution carrying any provision providing for a retroactive tax increase from being reported in the House. Provides that no amendment in the House or proposed by the Senate carrying a retroactive tax measure shall be in order during the consideration of a bill or joint resolution. Allows a question of order to be raised at any time under this clause.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Authorization of Appropriations Title II: Reducing the Burden of Federal Paperwork on the Public Title III: Enhancing Federal Agency Responsibility and Accountability for Reducing the Burden of Federal Paperwork Title IV: Enhancing Government Responsibility and Accountability for Reducing the Burden of Federal Paperwork Title V: Enhancing Agency Responsibility for Sharing and Disseminating Public Information Title VI: Additional Government Information Management Responsibility Title VII: Effective Dates Paperwork Reduction Act of 1993 - Title I: Authorization of Appropriations - Amends the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 to authorize appropriations to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Title II: Reducing the Burden of Federal Paperwork on the Public - Applies the Act to all federally sponsored paperwork. Requires a Government-wide paperwork reduction goal of at least five percent and individual agency goals that aggregate to the Government-wide goal. Title III: Enhancing Federal Agency Responsibility and Accountability for Reducing the Burden of Federal Paperwork - Makes the senior official charged with carrying out the responsibilities of a Federal agency under the Act the head of a separate office with qualified staff responsible for assuring agency compliance with requirements under the Act. Requires each agency to: (1) prepare estimates of the burden that will result from proposed collections of information; (2) develop a strategic Information Resources Management Plan; and (3) establish oversight procedures for agency information systems. Requires each agency head to establish a certification process for the review of each information collection request before it is submitted to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. Title IV: Enhancing Government Responsibility and Accountability for Reducing the Burden of Federal Paperwork - Makes the OMB Director responsible for ensuring that all information collection requests display an estimate of the paperwork burden for each response. Requires OMB procedures in order for agencies to estimate such burden. Requires OMB pilot projects to test approaches to improve information management practices and related activities. Reduces the time afforded the OMB Director for approving a routine agency request to collect information. Provides for greater participation by the public and Federal agencies in the review of proposed paperwork burdens generated by agency information requests. Requires the OMB Director to make publicly available any decision to disapprove a collection of information requirement contained in an agency rule, together with the reasons for such decision. Provides protection for whistleblowers of unauthorized Federal paperwork burdens. Provides for expedited OMB review of an agency information request with a reduced paperwork burden. Title V: Enhancing Agency Responsibility for Sharing and Disseminating Public Information - Provides for Government-wide standards for sharing and disseminating public information. Imposes certain responsibilities on Federal agencies for sharing and disseminating public information. Abolishes the Federal Information Locator System established in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and replaces it with a system in each agency for providing public access via electronic and other means to a comprehensive inventory of agency information dissemination products. Title VI: Additional Government Information Management Responsibility - Revises the statistical policy and coordination functions of the OMB Director. Requires the OMB Director to: (1) establish an interagency working group on statistical policy to coordinate agency statistical activities; and (2) provide training in the statistical policy functions of the chief statistician to Federal employees. Provides for the use of electronic information collection and dissemination techniques to reduce the Federal paperwork burden. Requires the OMB Director's annual report to the Congress to list any increased Federal paperwork burdens and describe each agency's plans to implement the applicable policies, standards, and guidelines under the Act. Requires the OMB Director to develop a plan for meeting the automatic data processing needs of the Federal Government in accordance with the Act and certain requirements of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949. Title VII: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1993
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reduce funds available under the drug control and system improvement grant program by 25 percent (for redistribution to other participating States) to any State which does not have in effect a law requiring that a sentence of death be imposed when a law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1993
Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Plant Variety Protection Act to revise definitions and establish rules of construction concerning: (1) the sale and disposition of harvesting material, varieties, and hybrid seeds; (2) the filing of applications for the protection or entering of a variety in an official register; and (3) the basis of determining the distinctness of a variety or whether a variety is publicly known. Entitles breeders of sexually reproduced plant varieties (other than fungi or bacteria) (currently, other that fungi, bacteria, or first generation hybrids) who have reproduced a variety to plant variety protection if the variety is new, distinct, uniform, and stable. Provides that if two or more applicants for plant variety protection submit applications on the same filing date for indistinguishable varieties that fulfill the conditions for protection established by this Act, the applicant who first complies with this Act's requirements shall be entitled to protection to the exclusion of any other applicant. Issues a single protection certificate jointly to two or more applicants who comply with requirements on the same date for varieties that are indistinguishable. Lengthens the term of plant variety protection from 18 to 20 years from the date of issuance of the protection certificate (25 years for trees or vines). Adds the following activities to the list of actions which constitute infringement of an owner's right to plant variety protection if performed without an owner's authorization: (1) conditioning the variety for purposes of propagation; and (2) stocking the variety for any existing purpose which constitutes infringement. Permits owners to authorize the use of a variety subject to their own limitations. Provides that it shall not be an infringement of an owner's rights to perform any act: (1) concerning propagating material of a protected variety that has been marketed in the United States unless the act involves further propagation of the variety or involves an export into a country that does not protect such varieties of the plant genus or species (unless the export is for final consumption); or (2) done privately and for noncommercial purposes. Removes a provision that declares that it is not an infringement for a person whose primary farming occupation is the growing of crops for sale other than reproductive purposes to sell saved seed for reproductive purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose Title II: Binding Budget Law Title III: Enforcement Mechanics Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law Subtitle B: Line Item Reduction Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited Subtitle D: "Pay As You Go" Requirement for New Spending Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism Title V: Protection of Social Security Title VI: Timetable Title VII: Conforming Amendments Title VIII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation Title IX: Effective Date Budget Process Reform Act - Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to facilitate rational, informed, and timely decisions by the Congress. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal budget process should focus the attention of policymakers and the public on the aggregate impact of Federal spending on the economy, and on the tradeoffs that must be made among priorities in order to control overall levels of spending. Declares that the budget process should contain safeguards against delay and inaction, so that temporary shut-downs of the Government may be avoided. Title II: Binding Budget Law - Requires the Congress to enact a binding budget law, in the form of a joint resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year before that in which the fiscal period commences. Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any spending bill affecting spending in a major functional category unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is enacted. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit baseline budgeting. Requires the President to submit to the Congress on or before the 15th day after a joint resolution on the budget is enacted a detailed budget for the fiscal period beginning on October 1 of the current calendar year. Title III: Enforcement Mechanics - Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law - Requires a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate to consider any spending bill prior to the enactment of the budget law. Requires the Congressional Budget Office to provide to the Congress an estimate of the costs in each major functional category of certain spending bills as soon as practicable after its introduction. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to consider over-budget spending bills. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive any provision of this Act. Subtitle B: Limited Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to limit the President's rescission authority to spending that is above the limits of the budget law. Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited - Declares the intent of the Congress to end open-ended, "blank check" appropriations which typically authorize spending "such sums as may be necessary." Requires fixed-dollar appropriations for every account except social security and interest on the debt. Prohibits open-ended appropriations. Requires Executive agencies to adjust benefit levels to ensure that appropriations for entitlement programs are not exceeded. Restricts budget authority and entitlement authority to one fiscal period. Subtitle D: "Pay As You Go" Requirement for New Spending - Prohibits the Congress from considering any legislation which exceeds the budget ceiling unless it offsets such increased spending with an equal amount of reductions. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive such prohibition. Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism - Makes appropriations to provide for an automatic continuing resolution if for any account an appropriation for a fiscal period does not become law before the beginning of such period. Restricts legislation providing funding to the Committees on Appropriations. Title V: Protection of Social Security - Provides that no reduction in benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) shall be made as a consequence of this Act. Title VI: Timetable - Revises the timetable for the congressional budget process. Title VII: Conforming Amendments - Makes various technical and conforming amendments, including changing references to a concurrent resolution on the budget to references to a joint resolution on the budget. Title VIII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation - Sets forth definitions for specified terms. Title IX: Effective Date - Declares the effective date of this Act to be January 1, 1995, applicable to fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1993
Prohibits the intentional creation of legislative districts based on race, color, or language minority status of voters within such districts. Provides a private right of action for a violation of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Death Penalty Title II: Habeas Corpus Reform Title III: Exclusionary Rule Title IV: Rural Crime and Drug Control Title V: Firearms and Related Amendments Title VI: Juveniles and Gangs Title VII: Terrorism and International Matters Title VIII: Sexual Violence, Child Abuse, and Victims' Rights Title IX: Equal Justice Act Title X: Funding, Grant Programs, and Studies Title XI: Illegal Drugs Title XII: Public Consumption Title XIII: General Provisions Title XIV: Technical Corrections Title XV: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Title XVI: Federal Prisons Title XVII: Pre-Trial Interrogation Title XVIII: Funding Crime Control Act of 1993 - Title I: Death Penalty - Federal Death Penalty Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. (Sec. 102) Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing (including victim impact statements), but permits evidence to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. Sets forth: (1) procedures for the implementation of, and appeal from, a sentence of death; and (2) provisions regarding the appointment of counsel, deadlines for collateral attacks on judgments imposing a death sentence, and stays of execution. (Sec. 110) Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for various offenses, including: (1) murder committed by prisoners in Federal prisons; (2) murder for hire; (3) murder in the aid of racketeering activity; (4) specified violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA); (5) murder of Federal witnesses; (6) rape and child molestation murders; and (7) murders in the District of Columbia. Title II: Habeas Corpus Reform - Subtitle A: General Habeas Corpus Reform - Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal judicial code to establish a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. (Sec. 204) Vests authority to issue certificates of probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Subtitle B: Death Penalty Litigation Procedures - Death Penalty Litigation Procedures Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Subtitle C: Equalization of Capital Habeas Corpus Litigation Funding - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Omnibus Act) to require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to provide grants to the States to support litigation pertaining to Federal habeas corpus petitions in capital cases. Title III: Exclusionary Rule - Amends the Federal criminal code to bar the exclusion of evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure carried out under circumstances justifying an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment. Title IV: Rural Crime and Drug Control - Subtitle A: Drug Trafficking in Rural Areas - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize appropriations for rural law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and increase the base allocation to nonrural States for rural drug enforcement assistance. (Sec. 402) Requires: (1) the Attorney General to establish a Rural Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force in each Federal judicial district which encompasses significant rural lands, and to cross-designate up to 100 law enforcement officers from specified Federal agencies to enforce provisions of the CSA on non-Federal lands and the Federal criminal code; and (2) the Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to develop specialized training for rural law enforcement officers. Subtitle B: Rural Drug Prevention and Treatment - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Office for Treatment Improvement to establish a program to provide grants to hospitals, community health centers, and other appropriate entities in developing and implementing projects that provide, or expand the availability of, substance abuse treatment services. Subtitle C: Rural Areas Enhancement - Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) forfeiture of assets seized as a result of investigations initiated by a Rural Drug Enforcement Task Force; and (2) the bringing of criminal charges (including counts involving illegal disposal of hazardous waste and knowing endangerment of the environment) and civil actions (including assessment of environmental and health-related damages) against the operators of clandestine methamphetamine and other dangerous drug laboratories. Title V: Firearms and Related Amendments - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking and for theft of firearms and explosives. (Sec. 503) Increases penalties for: (1) making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer; and (2) interstate gun trafficking. (Sec. 504) Authorizes the summary destruction of explosives subject to forfeiture under specified circumstances. Sets forth requirements for reimbursement of the value of destroyed property. (Sec. 506) Prohibits: (1) the receipt of firearms by non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides, unless such receipt is for lawful sporting purposes; (2) transactions involving stolen firearms which have moved in interstate or foreign commerce; and (3) the possession of explosives by felons and specified others. (Sec. 511) Amends: (1) the Internal Revenue Code regarding the disposition of forfeited firearms; and (2) the Federal criminal code regarding the definition of burglary under the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984. Subtitle B: Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act - Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for a five (business) day waiting period for the purchase of a handgun. Sets forth: (1) interim procedures (pending the establishment of a national instant criminal background check system) for checking with the chief law enforcement officer of the place of residence of the purchaser as to whether the purchaser has a criminal record or whether there is any other legal impediment to such individual's receiving a handgun; and (2) permanent procedures for conducting criminal background checks. Sets penalties for violations. (Sec. 502) Directs the Attorney General to establish a national instant criminal background check system that any licensee may contact for information on whether receipt of a firearm by a prospective purchaser would violated specified legal provisions. Provides for the correction of erroneous information in the system. (Sec. 503) Permits the use of formula grants under the Omnibus Act for improvements in State criminal records. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth provisions with respect to the withholding of State and Department of Justice funds for failure to meet set deadlines. Title VI: Juveniles and Gangs - Anti-Gang and Juvenile Offenders Act of 1993 - Subtitle A: Increased Penalties for Employing Children to Distribute Drugs Near Schools and Playgrounds - Amends the CSA to increase the penalty for employing, using, inducing, or coercing individuals under age 18 to violate provisions of such Act, or to assist in avoiding detection or apprehension for certain offenses under such Act by Federal, State, or local law enforcement officials. Subtitle B: Antigang Provisions - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to authorize the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to make grants to States and units of local government to assist them in planning, coordinating, and evaluating projects to reduce the formation or continuation of juvenile gangs and the use and sale of illegal drugs by juveniles. (Sec. 623) Sets penalties for the commission of a felony crime of violence, felony involving a controlled substance, and specified other offenses in, for, or in association with a criminal street gang. Subtitle C: Juvenile Penalties - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) add certain firearms offenses to those over which the United States has juvenile delinquency jurisdiction; and (2) provide for the treatment of violent juveniles who commit firearms offenses as adults under certain circumstances. (Sec. 632) Classifies as serious drug offenses for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act serious drug offenses committed by juveniles. (Sec. 633) Amends the Omnibus Act to require the Director of the BJA to make grants to States, for use by States and units of local governments, to develop alternatives to incarceration and probation for young offenders which promote reduced recidivism, crime prevention, and victim assistance. Subtitle D: Other Provisions - Includes among permissible uses of drug control and system improvement grants (under the Omnibus Act) programs that address the need for effective bindover systems for the prosecution of violent 16- and 17-year olds in courts with jurisdiction over adults for specified crimes. (Sec. 642) Directs: (1) the Attorney General to develop a national strategy to coordinate gang-related investigations by Federal LEAs, and prepare a report on national gang violence to be submitted to the President and the Congress; and (2) the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to acquire and collect information on incidents of gang violence for inclusion in an annual uniform crime report. (Sec. 643) Prohibits a juvenile from being transferred to adult prosecution or a hearing held under section 5037 (disposition after a finding of juvenile delinquency) until any prior juvenile court records have been received by the court or other specified conditions are met. Title VII: Terrorism and International Matters - Repeals the Antiterrorism Act of 1990. Establishes a civil remedy for U.S. nationals (and their survivors or estates) injured, in their person, property, or business, by acts of international terrorism. (Sec. 702) Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) make it a criminal offense to provide material support to terrorists; and (2) provide for forfeiture of assets used to support terrorists. (Sec. 704) Authorizes the Attorney General to waive immigration admission and other legal requirements and grant permanent resident status for alien witnesses who cooperate with the Government in Federal or State prosecutions. (Sec. 713) Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) establish penalties for removing a child from, or retaining a child outside, the United States with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights; (2) provide for the prosecution of individuals who murder U.S. nationals abroad; and (3) permit FBI access to telephone subscriber information under specified circumstances. Title VIII: Sexual Violence, Child Abuse, and Victims' Rights - Subtitle A: Sexual Violence and Child Abuse - Sexual Assault Prevention Act of 1993 - Chapter 1: Sexual Violence - Subchapter A: Penalties and Remedies - Provides for: (1) pretrial detention in sex offense cases; and (2) the imposition of the death penalty for murders committed by sex offenders. (Sec. 803) Increases penalties for: (1) recidivist sex offenders; and (2) sex offenses against victims below age 16. (Sec. 805) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) sentencing guideline increases for sex offenses; (2) human immunodeficiency virus testing, penalty enhancement, and cost of testing in sex offense cases; (3) restitution and suspension of Federal benefits; and (4) creation of a civil remedy for victims of sexual violence. Subchapter B: Rules of Evidence, Practice, and Procedure - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to allow evidence of similar offenses in criminal or civil sexual assault and child molestation cases. (Sec. 822) Revises the rape victim shield law, including making the past sexual behavior of an alleged victim inadmissible in civil as well as criminal cases. Makes inadmissible evidence to show provocation or invitation by the victim in a sex offense criminal case. (Sec. 824) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) review of proposed Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers in Federal Practice; (2) a victim's right to allocation (to be present, make a statement, and present information) at the sentencing hearing of a defendant convicted of a crime of violence or sexual abuse; and (3) a victim's right of privacy. Subchapter C: Safe Campuses - Directs the Attorney General to provide for a national baseline study on campus sexual assault. Subchapter D: Assistance to States and Localities - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to support projects and programs relating to sexual violence, and supplementary grants for States adopting effective laws relating to sexual violence. Chapter 2: Domestic Violence and Offenses Against the Family - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) set penalties for noncompliance with child support obligations in interstate cases; and (2) require full faith and credit for protective orders. (Sec. 853) Creates a presumption against child custody for spouse abusers. (Sec. 854) Directs the Attorney General to report to the Congress on: (1) the status of battered women's syndrome as a medical and psychological condition and its effect in criminal trials; (2) the means by which abusive spouses may obtain information concerning the addresses or locations of estranged or former spouses; and (3) problems of recordkeeping of criminal complaints involving domestic violence. (Sec. 857) Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to support projects and programs relating to domestic violence and other unlawful acts that particularly affect women. Chapter 3: National Task Force on Violence Against Women - Directs the Attorney General to establish a National Task Force on Violence Against Women. Subtitle B: Victims' Rights - Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) restitution and suspension of Federal benefits; and (2) the number of peremptory challenges under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Subtitle C: National Child Protection Act - National Child Protection Act of 1993 - Provides for: (1) State reporting of child abuse crime information to a national criminal background check system; (2) funding to improve such information; and (3) the withholding of a portion of such funding to States not in compliance with a timetable established under this Act. Subtitle D: Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act - Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act - Directs the Attorney General to establish guidelines for State programs requiring any person who is convicted of a criminal offense against a minor to register a current address with a designated State law enforcement agency for ten years after release from prison or being placed on parole or supervised release. Sets forth registration, State compliance, and related requirements. Title IX: Equal Justice Act - Equal Justice Act - Requires that the death penalty and all other penalties be administered by the United States and by every State without regard to the race or color of the defendant or victim. Bars the use of any racial quota or statistical test for the imposition or execution of any penalty. (Sec. 903) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) safeguards against racial prejudice or bias in criminal courts; and (2) jury instructions and certification, and racial motivation in killings as an aggravating factor, in Federal capital cases. (Sec. 905) Amends specified civil rights provisions to cover conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law, of any person in (currently, inhabitant of) a State, territory, or district. Title X: Funding, Grant Programs, and Studies - Subtitle A: Safer Streets and Neighborhoods - Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1993 - Amends the Omnibus Act to: (1) authorize grants to State and local agencies for the hiring of law enforcement personnel; (2) continue the Federal-State funding formula through 1994; and (3) revise the funding formula with respect to the allocation and distribution of funds under formula grants. Subtitle B: Retired Public Safety Officer Death Benefit - Includes retired public safety officers who have died or become permanently and totally disabled as a result of injuries sustained while responding to a fire, rescue, or police emergency among those eligible for death and disability benefits. Subtitle C: Study on Police Officers' Rights - Directs the Attorney General to conduct a study of the procedures followed in internal, noncriminal investigations of State and local law enforcement officers to determine if such investigations are conducted fairly and effectively. Subtitle D: Cop-on-the-Beat Grants - Cop-on-the-Beat Act of 1993 - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the Director of the BJA to make grants to units of local government and community groups to establish or expand cooperative efforts between police and a community for purposes of increasing the police presence in the community. Subtitle E: National Commission to Support Law Enforcement - National Commission to Support Law Enforcement Act - Establishes a National Commission to Support Law Enforcement to study and recommend changes regarding LEAs and law enforcement issues on the Federal, State, and local levels. Subtitle F: Other Provisions - Amends the Omnibus Act to: (1) require the Director of the BJA to establish guidelines and oversee the implementation of family-friendly policies within law enforcement-related offices and divisions in the Department of Justice, identify and evaluate model programs that provide support services to law enforcement personnel and families, and take other specified actions; and (2) authorize the Director to make grants to States and local LEAs to provide family support services to law enforcement personnel. (Sec. 1063) Requires the Bureau of Prisons to notify, in writing and within a specified time frame, the chief law enforcement officer of the State and local jurisdiction in which a prisoner released on supervised release will reside. Title XI: Illegal Drugs - Subtitle A: Drug Testing - Amends the Federal criminal code to require: (1) the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a program of drug testing of criminal defendants on post-conviction release; and (2) the chief probation officer in each district (where feasible) to arrange for the drug testing of such defendants. Requires, as an explicit condition of probation, parole, or supervised release of a defendant involving a felony or a specified violent or drug offense, that the defendant refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance and submit to periodic drug tests. Subtitle B: Precursor Chemicals - Chemical Control and Environmental Responsibility Act of 1993 - Amends the CSA to replace references to "listed precursor chemicals" with "list I chemicals" and "listed essential chemicals" with "list II chemicals." (Sec. 1123) Requires every person who manufacturers or distributes, or who proposes to engage in the manufacture or distribution of, a list I chemical to obtain annually a registration issued by the Attorney General. Makes provisions regarding the denial, revocation, and suspension of registration relating to the manufacture, distribution, or dispensation of controlled substances explicitly applicable to list I chemicals. (Sec. 1131) Makes it a felony for a person who possesses a listed chemical with intent that it be used in the illegal manufacture of a controlled substance to manage the listed chemical or waste from such manufacture other than as required under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. (Sec. 1132) Amends the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 to grant the Attorney General access to information in the National Practitioner Data Bank. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Sets forth miscellaneous provisions and amends various laws concerning controlled substances. Title XII: Public Corruption - Anti-Corruption Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prescribe criminal penalties to be imposed against anyone who uses any facility of, or affects, interstate or foreign commerce to deprive or defraud the inhabitants of a State or political subdivision of a State of the honest services of a government official or employee, or of a fair and impartially conducted election process. (Sec. 1202) Prescribes criminal penalties to be imposed upon any official, or person selected to be a public official, who, in order to carry out or conceal any scheme or artifice to defraud, discriminates, harasses, or takes adverse action against any employee or official of the United States, or any State or political subdivision. Authorizes such an adversely affected employee or official to obtain relief through a civil action, provided such person did not participate in the scheme or artifice. (Sec. 1203) Amends mail fraud provisions to prohibit the use of any facility of interstate or foreign commerce in the execution of a scheme or artifice to defraud. (Sec. 1204) Sets forth prohibitions regarding narcotics-related public corruption. Title XIII: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Violent Crimes - Sets penalties for attempted: (1) robbery; (2) kidnapping; (3) smuggling; and (4) malicious mischief. (Sec. 1320) Increases penalties for: (1) certain assaults; (2) manslaughter; (3) interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises; and (4) conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Subtitle B: Civil Rights Offenses - Increases maximum penalties for certain civil rights violations, including damage to religious property. Subtitle C: White Collar and Property Crimes - Establishes penalties for knowingly receiving the proceeds of: (1) a postal robbery; (2) extortion; and (3) a kidnapping. (Sec. 1330) Includes within mail fraud provisions depositing specified matter to be sent by any private or commercial interstate carrier. (Current law applies only to matter sent by the U.S. Postal Service.) (Sec. 1332) Increases penalties for trafficking in counterfeit goods and services. (Sec. 1333) Computer Abuse Amendments Act of 1993 - Amends the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to make it a felony to knowingly transmit an unauthorized program or code that alters the information stored in a computer with the intent to damage the system or information contained within the affected computer or computer system, or to withhold or deny the use of such system or information, if the transmission: (1) occurred without the authorization of the person responsible for the system receiving the program; and (2) causes damage exceeding $1,000 in any one-year period, or modifies or impairs the medical care of any individual. Creates a civil cause of action for persons suffering damage or loss by virtue of a violation of this Act. Subtitle D: Other Provisions - Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) venue for espionage and related offenses; (2) required reporting by criminal court clerks; and (3) audit requirements for State and local LEAs receiving Federal asset forfeiture funds. (Sec. 1364) Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the use of drug control and system improvement grants to develop or improve in a forensic laboratory a capability to analyze deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) for identification purposes. Authorizes the Director of the FBI to establish an index of DNA identification records of persons convicted of crimes, and of analyses of DNA samples recovered from crime scenes and from unidentified human remains. (Sec. 1365) Authorizes the Director of the BJA to make grants to local educational agencies for the purpose of providing assistance to such agencies most directly affected by crime and violence. Title XIV: Technical Corrections - Makes technical corrections to the Omnibus Act, the Federal criminal code, the CSA, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. Title XV: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies - Federal Law Enforcement Act of 1993 - Authorizes appropriations for the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. attorneys, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the U.S. courts. Title XVI: Federal Prisons - Authorizes appropriations for new prison construction. Title XVII: Pre-Trial Interrogation - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Attorney General shall instruct all U.S. attorneys, and implement policies consistent therewith, that confessions obtained in conformity with Federal provisions related to such admissibility will be offered into evidence. Title XVIII: Funding - Rescinds 16 percent of unobligated funds to specified Federal agencies, and for specified funds and purposes, for FY 1992 and 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1993
Condemns the Sudanese Government for its human rights abuses and calls upon such government to improve human rights conditions. Calls on the Sudanese People's Liberation Army to cease hostilities and resolve differences through peaceful means. Encourages the military government of Sudan to hand over political power to an elected civilian government as soon as possible. Recognizes the right of the people of southern Sudan to self-determination. Calls upon the President to: (1) appoint a special representative for mediation, reconciliation, peace, and humanitarian affairs in Sudan; (2) increase the levels of humanitarian assistance provided through nongovernmental organizations; (3) place Sudan on the list of states that support international terrorism; (4) oppose specified international financial institution assistance for Sudan; (5) explore other means necessary to force the Sudanese Government to halt its war should humanitarian conditions further deteriorate and such government continues to impede relief efforts; and (6) urge the United Nations to take certain steps to end the conflict in Sudan and to protect war and famine victims.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1993
Directs the President to: (1) investigate and report to the Congress on the whereabouts of U.S. citizens and others who have been missing from Cyprus since 1974; and (2) do everything possible to return such persons (including remains of those no longer alive) to their families.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1993
Urges the Government of Iran to extend to the Baha'i community the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international covenants on human rights. Calls upon the President to continue to: (1) urge such Government to emancipate the Baha'i community by granting such rights; (2) emphasize that the United States regards the human rights practices of such Government, particularly its treatment of the Baha'is and other religious minorities, as a significant factor in the development of U.S.-Iranian relations; and (3) encourage other governments to continue to appeal to the Government of Iran and to cooperate with other governments and international organizations in efforts to protect the religious rights of the Baha'is and other minorities in Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Smuggling and Fraud Title II: Asylum Title III: Inspections Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations for the Immigration and Naturalization Service Immigration Enforcement and Asylum Reform Act of 1993 - Title I: Smuggling and Fraud - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide expedited exclusion procedures for aliens who arrive without proper documentation or who are determined by a special asylum officer not to have a proper claim of asylum (based upon a credible fear of persecution). Limits judicial review to habeas corpus. Increases penalties for certain alien smuggling offenses. Extends penalties to persons who contract to bring in illegal labor. Treats smuggling as an aggravated felony. Title II: Asylum - Revises asylum procedures. Sets forth mandatory and discretionary conditions for granting provisional asylum. Establishes new application deadlines. States that asylum applications shall be determined by specially trained asylum officers. Terminates an alien's claim for failure to appear at the application hearing. Title III: Inspections - Directs the Attorney General to establish: (1) specified numbers of preinspection stations at foreign airports identified as last departure points for the greatest numbers of U.S.-arriving passengers and at those with the greatest numbers of U.S.-arriving undocumented aliens (and to assign additional immigration officers at such airports without preinspection stations); and (2) an expedited inspection process for U.S. citizens returning by air from abroad. Revises the pilot visa waiver program to: (1) make it permanent; (2) repeal certain paperwork requirements; (3) subject participants to exclusion or deportation without appeal (except for an asylum claim); and (4) require carriers to distribute program information to passengers. Provides for the training of airline personnel in detection of fraudulent documents. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations for the Immigration and Naturalization Service - Authorizes appropriations for the Border Patrol.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
Delayed Effective Date of Certain Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Act of 1993 - Specifies that the amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which were adopted by the Supreme Court and submitted to the Congress on April 22, 1993, shall not go into effect until July 1, 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1993
Equitable Escheatment Act of 1993 - Amends specified Federal law to prescribe guidelines under which unclaimed distributions of security interests shall be subject to the custodial taking (escheatment) by the State which contains the principal executive offices of either the issuer or the holder of those securities.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1993
Child Support Enforcement Act - Declares that nothing in this Act should be construed to affect the right of an individual or State to receive child support payments or the obligation of an individual to pay child support. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require any taxable unpaid child support payments of a taxpayer to be treated as amounts includible in gross income by reason of the discharge of indebtedness of the taxpayer. Allows a deduction for subsequently made payments. Allows a nonbusiness bad debt deduction for unpaid child support payments. Limits such deduction to $5,000 per child. Allows such deduction to taxpayers whose gross income does not exceed $5,000 and who are owed payments of at least $500. Requires payments to be delinquent during the entire taxable year. Provides a cost-of-living adjustment for amounts under this Act. Requires subsequent payments to be included in the gross income of the recipient. Requires net revenues from this Act to be applied to the retirement of outstanding public debt obligations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1993
Gaming Integrity and State Law Enforcement Act of 1993 - Amends the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to increase the membership of the National Indian Gaming Commission. Grants the Commission the authority to approve certain tribal gaming regulations. Revises conditions for regulation of Class II and Class III gaming activities on Indian lands. Limits gaming to the specific forms of, and methods of play for, those gaming activities expressly authorized by the law of the State. Revises provisions with respect to Class II licensing of persons other than Indian tribes. Places a moratorium on Tribal-State gaming compacts. Excludes video bingo from the definition of Class II gaming. Includes video bingo, and any other forms of electronic video games or devices, as well as slot machines, within the definition of Class III gaming. Shifts the burden of proof from a State to the United States in a compact negotiation action initiated by the United States on behalf of a tribe. Sets forth restrictions with respect to gaming on after-acquired lands (with a special provision for lands in Oklahoma). Subjects Indian gaming establishments to specified reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Requires the Attorney General to conduct specified background investigations of directors, financial backers, and key employees of Class III establishments. Amends Federal law to apply State gambling laws to Indian lands to the same extent that they apply to non-Indian lands. Grants the United States exclusive jurisdiction over related criminal prosecutions, with specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Authorization of Appropriations Title II: Advanced Space Technology Program Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Space Activities Title IV: Aeronautics Research and Technology National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 - Title I: Authorization of Appropriations - Subtitle A: Authorizations - Places an aggregate limit on FY 1994 authorization of appropriations under this subtitle, except for Space Station Freedom (appropriations authorized through FY 2000). Requires the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) to provide the Congress with a job loss transition plan as it restructures space station management. (Sec. 101 through 105) Authorizes NASA appropriations for: (1) research and development; (2) space flight, control, and data communications; (3) construction of facilities research and program management; and (4) the Inspector General. Subtitle B: Limitations and Special Authority - Sets forth funds uses, limitations, and special authorities, including: (1) expenditure prerequisites with respect to management transfer of the External Tank Program from the Marshall Space Flight Center; (2) authorizations available for disaster relief; and (3) a facility plan and analysis for NASA facilities in Yellow Creek, Mississippi. Title II: Advanced Space Technology Program - Directs the Administrator of NASA to establish an advanced space technology investment program to: (1) advance U.S. industrial competitiveness; (2) encourage industry-led consortia to develop critical technologies; and (3) encourage industrial participation from entities not part of the traditional Federal contracting base. (Sec. 206) Directs the Administrator to coordinate a technology procurement initiative. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Space Activities - Amends the Commercial Space Launch Act to authorize FY 1994 appropriations to carry out such Act. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make space transportation infrastructure matching grants. Authorizes FY 1995 appropriations. (Sec. 304) States that the Office of Space Commerce of the Department of Commerce shall be responsible for the development and coordination of all commercial space policy recommendations and activities, except for functions and activities statutorily authorized to other agencies. Authorizes appropriations for the Office. (Sec. 305) Provides for domestic procurement by NASA. (Sec. 306) Requires independent cost analysis of specified NASA projects. (Sec. 307) Amends the Global Change Research Act of 1990 to require NASA to develop a Global Change Data and Information System to process, archive, and distribute data generated by the Global Change Research Program. (Sec. 308) Directs the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences to develop an access plan for data from classified archives and systems for global change research. (Sec. 309) Directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a plan for control of orbital debris. (Sec. 310) Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to state that NASA activities should include support of private sector space technologies development. (Sec. 311 and 312) Directs NASA to study: (1) the differences between U.S. and foreign expendable space launch systems; and (2) the feasibility and potential implementation of a University Innovative Research Program. (Sec. 314) Requires NASA cost-type research and development contracts to incorporate contractor performance provisions. (Sec. 315) Authorizes NASA to accept certain land conveyances from the cities of Cleveland and Brook Park, Ohio, in order to establish a Visitor Center for the Lewis Research Center. (Sec. 316) Directs the Administrator to establish within the Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology an expedited technology procurement demonstration program. Obligates specified funds for the program, which shall terminate ten years after enactment of this Act. (Sec. 317) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Administrator to: (1) provide farmers and other interested parties with agricultural information available through remote sensing; (2) evaluate the need for, and develop a proposal as necessary for, a radar imaging platform that could enhance agricultural resource remote sensing capability; and (3) develop a proposal to inform farmers and other users about remote sensing data. Terminates such provisions five years after enactment of this Act. (Sec. 318) Directs NASA to establish new programs or functions in depressed communities. (Sec. 319) Prohibits NASA contracts with a foreign company unless such company's country offers comparable opportunities to U.S. companies, or unless comparable U.S. products or services are not reasonably available. (Sec. 320) Authorizes NASA to purchase helium from private sector sources. (Sec. 321) Requires NASA to comply with specified diversity procurement factors. Title IV: Aeronautics Research and Technology - Requires independent reviews of NASA aeronautics programs of: (1) research and development; and (2) private sector technology transfer. (Sec. 405) Directs the Administrator to study and report on Federal-private cost sharing provisions concerning wind tunnels and? related test facilities. (Sec. 406) Requires NASA and other appropriate Federal agencies to establish a joint aeronautical research and development program. (Sec. 407) Directs the Administrator to conduct an assessment of the hypersonic research plane.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1993
Amends the Federal criminal code to require a minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment for the unlawful possession of a firearm by any person who: (1) has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year's imprisonment; (2) is a fugitive from justice; (3) is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance; (4) has transported in interstate commerce any stolen firearm; or (5) has received any stolen firearm. Prohibits: (1) the court from placing on probation or suspending the sentence of any person convicted under such provision; and (2) the term of imprisonment under such provision from running concurrently with any other term of imprisonment. Increases: (1) the fine and term of imprisonment for violation of Federal firearms laws; and (2) the penalties for possession of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence or drug trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1993
Small Business 503 Loan Refinancing Assistance Act of 1993 - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to permit a qualified State or local development company that issues a debenture purchased by the Federal Financing Bank (Bank) and guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA), at the election of the small business borrower whose loan secures such debenture, to: (1) continue to make payments under the original debenture terms; (2) make payments at an adjusted interest rate; or (3) prepay the debenture to the Bank by paying the unpaid principal balance and the amount of the repurchase premium (determined under this Act). Prohibits any fees or penalties other than those specified in this Act from being imposed against the issuer, borrower, or the SBA as a condition for adjusting the interest rate or prepayment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1993
Negotiated Rates Act of 1993 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize persons against whom a claim is made by a motor carrier of property (other than a household goods carrier), or by a nonhousehold goods freight forwarder for the collection of rates or charges in addition to the rates originally collected by such carrier or freight forwarder, to elect to satisfy such claim pursuant to a specified formula upon showing that the carrier or forwarder is no longer transporting property or is transporting property for the purpose of avoiding application of this Act. Requires that the claimant have been offered a rate other than the one legally on file with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), have tendered freight in reasonable reliance upon the offered rate, the carrier or forwarder did not properly or timely file a tariff for the rate or failed to execute a valid contract for transportation services, such rate was collected by the carrier or forwarder, and the carrier or forwarder demands additional payment of a higher rate filed in a tariff. Shortens the statute of limitations for the filing of claims: (1) by a motor common carrier or freight forwarder for recovery of transportation or service charges; and (2) by any person to recover overcharges by a motor carrier. Permits motor carriers and shippers to resolve by mutual consent, subject to ICC review and approval, any overcharge and undercharge claims resulting from billing errors or incorrect tariff provisions arising from the inadvertent failure to properly and timely file and maintain agreed upon rates, rules, or classifications. Prohibits a tariff filed with the ICC from being held invalid solely on the basis that it uses a numerical or alpha account code to designate customers or describe the applicability of rates. Requires a motor contract carrier to enter into a written agreement (separate from a bill of lading or receipt) for the provision of transportation services. Sets forth both civil and criminal penalties for violations of this requirement. Requires the ICC to issue regulations prohibiting any motor carrier from reducing a rate set forth in its tariff or contract for any person but the one paying for the transportation service. Sets forth civil penalties. Grants the ICC jurisdiction to resolve disputes arising with respect to certain motor carriers as to whether transportation is provided as a motor common carrier or as a motor contract carrier. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to arrange with the Transportation Research Board to study and report to specified congressional committees on: (1) the public benefits of tariff rate filings by motor carriers of property with the ICC; (2) the extent to which such filing system is used by shippers; (3) the difficulty and cost of determining rates for transportation services under such system; and (4) the number of actions brought before the ICC with respect to such rates.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1993
ESOP Promotion and Improvement Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow S corporations (certain small business corporations) to participate in employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Permits ESOP participants whose compensation does not exceed a certain amount to contribute up to 50 percent of it to the plan. Allows ESOP closely-held corporate sponsors to pay estate tax if an estate transferred the stock of the corporation to an ESOP. Allows the deductibility of ESOP dividends in computing alternative minimum tax. Excludes from gross income transfers of qualified securities in connection with the performance of services if such securities are sold to an ESOP within 60 days of the taxable event.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1993
Many Neighbors, One Earth Resolution - Urges the President to develop and implement a coordinated economic and development policy and program of action designed to promote broadbased, sustainable development that will reduce global hunger and poverty in environmentally sound ways. Specifies that such policy and program should have as its principal objectives: (1) expanding economic opportunities; (2) meeting basic human needs; (3) promoting environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources; and (4) promoting pluralism, democratic participation, and human rights. Specifies that such policy and program should involve all relevant international activities of the U.S. Government. Urges the President to take specific actions, including: (1) proposing the enactment of legislation providing for a post-Cold War foreign assistance program to promote sustainable development, especially the reduction of hunger and poverty in environmentally sound ways; (2) developing and implementing development cooperation programs and projects in pursuit of such objectives; (3) ensuring that development cooperation programs take into account relevant local perspectives of the rural and urban poor during the design, planning, and implementation process for project and program assistance; and (4) encouraging and supporting the efforts of countries to reduce their level of military spending when such spending is disproportionate to security needs and to spending on health, education, and environmental protection.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Davis-Bacon Reform Act - Amends the Davis-Bacon Act (the Act) to raise the threshold amount of contracts covered by such Act and related Acts. Requires computation of the prevailing wage for the particular urban or rural subdivision of the State in which the work is to be performed. Requires establishment as the prevailing wage the entire range of wages paid to the corresponding class of workers in an area. Excludes Federal or federally assisted projects from the determination of prevailing wage, unless there is insufficient wage data. Allows use of semi-skilled helpers, on projects covered by the Act, in areas where such use is an identifiable practice. Prohibits contract-splitting to avoid applications of the Act. Applies the Act to local projects only if at least 25 percent of the project costs are paid by Federal funds. Exempts volunteer labor from coverage under the Act. Provides for direct payment of any back pay due to workers under the Act. Amends the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act to revise payroll information reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary of Labor and the Comptroller General to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees on implementation and impact on local wages and on local and national economies of the Davis-Bacon Act and the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1993
Calls for the U.S. Trade Representative to insist that any trade agreement negotiated pursuant to the Uruguay Round must provide U.S. copyright-based industries with: (1) fair and equal access to the markets of the nations that are party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; (2) equal opportunities to obtain government funding; (3) adequate and effective copyright protection, including full national treatment and recognition of contractual rights; and (4) a mechanism to resolve expeditiously disputes concerning market access, national treatment, and copyright protection.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Tax Relief for Families Title II: Family Savings Incentives Subtitle A: Increase in Income Limitations for Deductible IRA Contributions; Increase in IRA Contribution Limits; Penalty-Free Withdrawals for Home Ownership, Education, and Medical Expenses Subtitle B: Exclusion for Employer-Provided Educational Assistance to Include Educational Assistance for Spouse and Dependents of Employee Title III: Medical Care Savings Accounts; Health Care Cost Controls; Deduction for Health Insurance Costs of Self-Employed Individuals Title IV: Educational Choice Programs Title V: Grants to Encourage Employers to Adopt Flexible Work and Family Policies Title VI: Reducing the Cost of Capital by Reducing Capital Gains Tax Rates, Indexing the Basis of Certain Assets, and Excluding Gain from Sales of Principal Residences Title VII: Enterprise Zones Subtitle A: Designation of Enterprise Zones Subtitle B: Federal Income Tax Incentives Subtitle C: Regulatory Flexibility Subtitle D: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones Family and Economic Recovery Act - Title I: Tax Relief for Families - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers a credit for each child who has not attained the age of 19. Allows a credit for qualified adoption expenses. Disallows the use of such credits together with other credits or deductions. Title II: Family Savings Incentives - Subtitle A: Increase in Income Limitations for Deductible IRA Contributions; Increase in IRA Contribution Limits; Penalty-Free Withdrawals for Home Ownership, Education, and Medical Expenses - Increases the income limitations on retirement savings deductions and provides a cost-of-living adjustment after 1994 for such limitations. Provides a cost-of-living adjustment for deductible retirement amounts after 1993. Allows distributions from certain retirement plans without penalty to purchase first homes, pay higher education expenses and financially devastating medical expenses, and assist certain unemployed individuals. Treats certain disaster victims as first-time homebuyers. Subtitle B: Exclusion for Employer-Provided Educational Assistance to Include Educational Assistance for Spouse and Dependents of Employee - Excludes from gross income employer-provided educational assistance to spouses and dependents of employees. Makes such exclusion permanent. Title III: Medical Care Savings Accounts; Health Care Cost Controls; Deduction for Health Insurance Costs of Self-Employed Individuals - Excludes from gross income medical care savings benefits. Describes such benefits as a health plan which provides that all or part of the premium differential realized by instituting a qualified higher deductible health plan is credited to participating employees to pay for medical care for a plan year. Requires amounts remaining at the end of such plan year to be deposited into a tax exempt medical care savings account (subject to rules similar to those for retirement plans) for use by the participant for medical expenses. Increases the deduction for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to 100 percent (50 percent for 1995 and 1996) and makes such deduction permanent. Preempts State laws: (1) requiring the offering of health plans providing certain services; and (2) prohibiting employer groups from purchasing health insurance. Title IV: Educational Choice Programs - Educational Choice Programs Act - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 2000 for grants and scholarship awards to parents of elementary or secondary school children that may be redeemed at a variety of public and private schools, including religious schools. Sets forth administrative details for such program. Title V: Grants to Encourage Employers to Adopt Flexible Work and Family Policies - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 to provide start-up grants to businesses to explore, initiate, or expand flexible work policies in an effort to ease work and family demands on employees. Includes as examples flexitime, part-time, job sharing, telecommuting, flexiplace, or compressed work weeks. Title VI: Reducing the Cost of Capital by Reducing Capital Gains Tax Rates, Indexing the Basis of Certain Assets, and Excluding Gain from Sales of Principal Residences - 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 of capital losses of noncorporate taxpayers. Excludes from gross income the sale or exchange of property that has been owned and used by the taxpayer as the taxpayer's principal residence. Terminates provisions relating to the rollover of gain on the sale of a principal residence. Title VII: Enterprise Zones - Subtitle A: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every two years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Subtitle B: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of any qualified wages earned as do not exceed a specified amount. Phases out such credit as total wages increase over $20,000. Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property. Allows a taxpayer a deduction on the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Excludes enterprise zone capital gains from income computation of alternative minimum taxes. Subtitle C: Regulatory Flexibility - Amends Federal law to revise the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economical revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety. Subtitle D: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis, and to expedite the processing of, applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1993
PAC Limitation Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to: (1) reduce the ceiling on multicandidate political committee (PAC) contributions to candidates in Federal elections; and (2) limit PAC contribution amounts to House of Representatives candidates.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1993
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from OASDI coverage all service performed during the calendar year by State and local election officials and workers if it is performed only on an election day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Reducing the Cost of Capital By Reducing Capital Gains Tax Rates and Indexing the Basis of Certain Assets Title II: Adjusting Depreciation Rates to Reflect Inflation Title III: Expansion of Individual Retirement Accounts Title IV: Two Percent Cap on Increases in All Federal Spending Through 1998 Title V: Reduction in Unnecessary and Burdensome Regulations Private Sector Job Creation and Economic Growth Act - Title I: Reducing the Cost of Capital by Reducing Capital Gains Tax Rates and Indexing the Basis of Certain Assets - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the individual and corporate capital gains rate 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 II: Adjusting Depreciation Rates to Reflect Inflation - Provides a depreciation deduction adjustment for tangible property (other than residential rental property and nonresidential real property) placed in service after 1993. Allows phase-in deductions for such property placed in service after 1999. Title III: Expansion of Individual Retirement Accounts - Removes limitations on the deductibility of contributions to individual retirement plans (IRAs) by active participants in employer-maintained plans, thereby restoring the IRA deduction. Increases the maximum IRA deduction and provides an inflation adjustment. 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. Title IV: Two Percent Cap on Increases in All Federal Spending Through 1998 - Establishes the budget for FY 1994 and sets forth appropriate budgetary levels for FY 1995 through 1998. Sets forth recommended budgetary levels of Federal revenues, new budget authority, budget outlays, deficits, public debt, and credit activity, including funding for each major functional category. Requires the House Budget Committee to report a reconciliation bill or resolution or both carrying out all recommendations of House committees concerning changes in laws to provide spending sufficient to reduce outlays and reduce the deficit. Title V: Reduction in Unnecessary and Burdensome Regulations - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should extend for one year the 90-day moratorium on new unnecessary Federal regulations ordered in the President's Memorandum on Reducing the Burden of Government Regulations, dated January 28, 1992. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to include an estimate of the economic costs to the Government and private sector within analyses of public bills and resolutions. Amends the Government Organization and Employees Act to require the preparation of an economic impact statement in conjunction with the general notice of any proposed rulemaking or where a proposed rule is likely to have exceptional fiscal consequences for a particular region or level of government.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1993
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement that the amount of monthly benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent be reduced by the amount such individual receives in monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1993
Social Security Notch Adjustment Act of 1993 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to establish a new alternative formula for computing the primary insurance amount (used in calculating the amount of OASDI benefits to which an individual is entitled) of workers born after 1916 and before 1927.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration as an Independent Agency Title II: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction Social Security Integrity Act of 1993 - Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration as an Independent Agency - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish as an independent executive agency the Social Security Administration, headed by an Administrator, to administer the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income program under SSA titles II and XVI. Transfers to the Administrator all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pertaining to such programs. Title II: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction - Makes conforming amendments to SSA titles II and XVI. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs. Sets forth rules of construction.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1993
Family Education Assistance Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual income tax deduction for contributions to a savings account established to pay the educational expenses (tuition, supplies, meals, and lodging) of the taxpayer's child or certain other relatives at an institution of higher education or a vocational school. Limits the deduction to $1,500 annually (adjusted for inflation) for each account. Disallows the deduction for contributions to an account maintained for any individual aged 19 or older. Requires any account balance to be distributed after the beneficiary attains age 30. Permits an exclusion from the gross income of the contributor or the beneficiary of account distributions used to pay educational expenses of the latter. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization), unless a contributor or the beneficiary engages in specified prohibited transactions in connection with it. Imposes a ten percent surtax on distributions not used for educational purposes. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Imposes a penalty for failure to report. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize deductions to deduct for contributions to an education savings account. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account.
![Official portrait of Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000244_200.jpg)