United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1992
Taxpayer Debt Buy-Down Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals with adjusted income tax liability to designate on their tax returns that a portion of such liability (not to exceed ten percent) be used to reduce the public debt. Establishes a Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund for the deposit of designated amounts. Makes amounts in such Trust Fund available only to pay at maturity, or to redeem or buy before maturity, any obligation of the Federal Government included in the public debt. Prohibits the reissuance of any obligation which is paid, redeemed, or bought with amounts from the Trust Fund. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide for the sequestration of amounts designated to the Trust Fund. Specifies accounts exempt from such sequestration. Includes aggregated amounts designated to the Trust Fund and amounts sequestered to reduce the public debt in sequestration preview and final reports.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that if Saudi Arabia acquires F-15 aircraft from the United States it should demonstrate its peaceful intentions by lifting its economic boycott against Israel and against U.S. companies that trade with Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1992
Amends the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 to prohibit the Federal Highway Administration from expending Federal funds for highway signs expressed solely in metric system measurements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a three-year depreciable life for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and equipment used to manufacture advanced materials or to develop advanced technologies. Reduces the individual and corporate capital gains rates and the minimum tax rate on capital gains. Imposes a minimum tax on domestic corporations which are 25-percent foreign-owned and foreign corporations engaged in a trade or business within the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie in recognition of his accomplishments as a musician. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1992
Repeals provisions of the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992 which require 20 percent income tax withholding on eligible rollover distributions of pension plans which are not rolled over into eligible retirement plans. Requires the Internal Revenue Code to be applied as if such provisions had never been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow all individuals with adjusted income tax liability to designate on their tax returns that a portion of such liability (not to exceed ten percent) be used to reduce the public debt. Establishes a Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund for the deposit of designated amounts. Makes amounts in such Trust Fund available only to pay at maturity, or to redeem or buy before maturity, any obligation of the Federal Government included in the public debt. Prohibits the reissuance of any obligation which is paid, redeemed, or bought with amounts from the Trust Fund. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide for the sequestration of amounts designated to the Trust Fund. Specifies accounts exempt from such sequestration. Includes aggregated amounts designated to the Trust Fund and amounts sequestered to reduce the public debt in sequestration preview and final reports.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Small Business Regulatory Cost Relief Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the small business tax credit for expenditures to provide access to disabled individuals with the small business tax credit for regulatory costs. Makes such credit 50 percent of qualified regulatory costs for a taxable year as exceed $250. Declares that such costs include eligible access expenditures for the disabled.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Regulatory Accountability Act of 1992 - Sets forth specific requirements Federal agencies must adhere to in taking any regulatory action. Provides an exemption from certain requirements for regulatory actions for which the President publishes in the Federal Register a statement of waiver that: (1) outlines the reasons for waiving such requirements because of emergency need for such specific regulatory action; and (2) includes a timetable for satisfying remaining requirements as early as possible. Requires the President to provide for independent evaluation of the regulatory process and the effect of regulations on different areas of the economy. Provides funding for such evaluation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1992
Comprehensive Child Welfare Services Amendments of 1992 - Amends title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a new comprehensive child welfare services program under part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance). Authorizes appropriations. Amends SSA title IV part B (Child-Welfare Services) to provide for coordination with other programs providing services to children and families. Amends SSA title IV part E to eliminate certain provisions under such part that provide for the transfer of funds to SSA title IV part B. Amends SSA title XI to revise demonstration waiver provisions. Amends SSA title IV parts B and E to provide for recovery of training costs. Amends SSA title IV part E to make permanent the independent living program and to maintain basic and additional ceiling amounts at the latter amounts authorized under current law. Provides that in determining the eligibility of an individual aged 16 for foster care maintenance payments under such part, the State agency shall disregard from the resources of the individual an amount of funds not exceeding an amount the agency determines to be reasonable for the purpose of achieving self-sufficiency. Amends the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 to repeal provisions respecting the annual report on voluntary placement.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1992
Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise State plan provisions to mandate State programs that provide AFDC recipients with education, training, and work experience needed to prepare them to do without AFDC assistance after four years of program participation. Outlines the administrative framework for such programs, along with conditions for program participation and penalties for violations of such conditions. Requires parental initiatives in ensuring that children of families on AFDC receive proper immunizations and well-child care and attend school in order for such families to continue receiving AFDC assistance. Provides for mitigation of the marriage penalty in certain cases where the parent of a family receiving AFDC assistance (original parent) marries an individual who, at the time of the marriage, is not the biological parent of any child of the original parent. Revises SSA title IV part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program), with changes that allow States to reserve food stamp benefit funds and use them instead to provide subsidized jobs under work supplementation programs (work programs). Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 with respect to employment cashout of food stamp benefits under part F work programs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1992
Prohibits the approval by the Congress of any bill providing for the extension of the term of a patent unless the following requirements are met: (1) any delay in the approval process constituting the basis for the extension must have been beyond the control of the patentee and directly caused by governmental misconduct established by presentation of adequate proof of dishonest or deceitful conduct, vindictive or retaliatory action, arbitrary, capricious, or grossly negligent performance of governmental duties, or serious failure to perform such duties (unusual or expected delay alone does not constitute governmental misconduct); (2) governmental misconduct must have caused a substantial inequity to the patentee who, without the extension of the patent, will suffer material harm directly attributable to the delay in the approval process or the Government's action or inaction (requires such harm if relief is not granted to outweigh any harm to the public such as through higher prices or to competitors that will result from extension of the patent); (3) expired patents shall not be revived or extended except under the most extraordinary and compelling circumstances (prohibits such extension if the patentee fails to exercise due diligence to prevent the invention from entering the public domain); (4) if a patent is revised or extended, extension of intervening rights shall be provided to persons using the subject matter of the patent after its expiration, except that such rights shall not be provided in the case of statutory extension of unexpired patents with specified exception; or (5) action or inaction by the Federal Government must be of such a nature as to create a moral or ethical obligation on the part of the Government to provide relief to a patentee whose rights have been substantially injured by such action or inaction; and (6) any delay in the patent was not attributable to a lack of due diligence by the patentee. Extends the terms of certain patents for: (1) nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; (2) olestra; (3) the insignia of the United Daughters of the Confederacy; and (4) badges of the American Legion, the American Legion Women's Auxiliary, and the Sons of the American Legion. Limits the rights derived from the extension of any patent by this Act to use for which the subject matter of the patent was approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the General Accounting Office should study and report to the Congress on the economic impacts Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order No. 636 on the various classes and regions of natural gas end-users; and (2) FERC should refrain from processing restructuring proceedings pursuant to such Order until a certain period after such report is due.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Workplace Leave Fairness Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide that the length of an employee's leave of absence (even if its only part of one day) shall not disqualify that employee from a specified exempt status.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1992
Calls upon the President to urge the United Nations Security Council to direct the Secretary General of the United Nations to provide a plan and budget for intervention as may be necessary to enforce the Security Council resolutions seeking cessation of hostilities in the former republics of Yugoslavia.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1992
National Cancer Institute Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require expansion, intensification, and coordination of research conducted or supported by the National Cancer Institute on: (1) breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other cancers of the reproductive system of women, including operating at least six research and demonstration centers on breast cancer; and (2) prostate cancer, including operating at least six research and demonstration centers on prostate cancer. Authorizes appropriations to carry out provisions relating to the Institute, including the provisions enacted by this Act. Removes provisions authorizing appropriations for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Mandates a study to determine the factors contributing to the elevated breast cancer rates in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1992
Action Now Health Care Reform Act of 1992 - Title I: Improved Access to Affordable Health Care Coverage - Subtitle A: Increased Affordability and Availability for Employees - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to request the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (the NAIC) to develop model regulations requiring each carrier that makes available in a State any small employer health benefit plan to make available to each small employer in the State a MedAccess basic plan and a MedAccess standard. Directs the Secretary to develop such regulations, if the NAIC does not. Defines MedAccess plan as a health benefits plan that: (1) provides benefits typical of the benefits offered in the small employer health coverage market or provides only benefits for essential preventive and medical services and has an average actuarial value not exceeding 60 percent of the average actuarial value of the typical benefits offered in the small employer health coverage market; (2) accepts every small employer in the State applying for coverage and accepts for enrollment every eligible individual (defined as an individual who is a full-time employee and, if family coverage is offered, covers the employee's spouse and dependents under age 19 or under age 25 for students); and (3) meets consumer protection standards established by this Act relating to limitation of pre-existing condition clauses, continuity of coverage, renewability, and premium limitations. Prohibits the imposition, by a carrier, of a limitation of benefits based on the fact a condition pre-existed the effectiveness of the policy if: (1) the condition relates to a condition not diagnosed within three months before coverage under the plan; (2) the limitation extends beyond six months after coverage under the plan; (3) the limitation applies to an individual who, as of date of birth, was covered under the plan; and (4) the limitation relates to pregnancy. Requires continuous coverage. Prohibits cancellation of a plan or denial of coverage unless there is: (1) nonpayment of premiums; (2) fraud; (3) noncompliance with plan provisions; (4) failure to maintain the required number of enrollees; (5) misuse of a provider network provision; or (6) a cessation by the carrier of the provision of any plan in a State. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax which shall be paid by the carrier on the failure of a carrier or an employer health benefit plan to comply with the provisions of the Act. Directs the Secretary to request the NAIC to develop models for reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms for individuals and small employers who are enrolled under a small employer health benefit plan that meets the consumer protection standards and for whom a carrier is at risk of incurring high costs under the plan. Requires each State to establish and fund one or more reinsurance or allocation or allocation of risk mechanisms that are consistent with a model. Directs the Secretary to develop models, if the NAIC does not. Permits a State, in order to insure the financial solvency of the mechanism, to impose charges on any entity providing employee-related health benefits, so long as such charges do not discriminate with respect to entities that would not be subject to such charges. Directs the Secretary to establish a reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanism, if a State does not. Imposes an excise tax which shall be paid by the carrier on the providing of any health benefit plan which covers any employee in a Federal reinsurance State. Permits either a State or the Secretary (in a Federal reinsurance State) to require each employer health benefit plan to: (1) be registered; and (2) provide such information as is necessary for the reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish an Office of Private Health Coverage to be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary; and (2) provide for the appointment of an advisory committee to advise the Director. Permits the Director to research the impact of this subtitle and conduct related demonstration projects. Requires the Director to develop: (1) methods of measuring, in terms of the expected costs of providing benefits under small employer health benefit plans and, in particular, MedAccess plans, the relative health risks of eligible individuals; and (2) a model for equitably distributing health risks among carriers in the small employer health care coverage market. Authorizes appropriations for the purposes of this paragraph. Subtitle B: Improved Small Employer Purchasing Power of Affordable Health Insurance - Preempts from insurance mandates a qualified small employer purchasing group, if the group consists of employers with not more than 100 employees, the group consists of not fewer than 100 employers, and the health benefit plans with respect to the employer members are in compliance with applicable State laws relating to health benefit plans. Subtitle C: Health Deduction Fairness - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent and increase from 25 to 100 percent the health insurance tax deduction for the self-employed. Subtitle D: Improved Access to Community Health Services - Directs the Secretary to provide for a program of grants to migrant and community health centers receiving grants or contracts under provisions of the Public Health Service Act in order to promote the provision of primary health care services for underserved individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem as an employee of the Public Health Service, for purposes of civil actions against commissioned officers or employees, any officer, employee, or contractor who is a physician or other licensed health care practitioner while performing functions for an entity receiving Federal funds under provisions of the Public Health Service Act. Requires an entity, in order to receive a grant under such provisions, to implement certain policies to assure against malpractice. Requires: (1) the Attorney General to estimate the amount of all claims expected, during each year, to arise against such an entity from acts of officers or employees; (2) the Secretary to withhold from grants to such entities the amount estimated; and (3) the withheld amount to be transferred to the Treasury to pay judgments against the United States arising from such claims. Directs the Secretary to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities to carry out demonstration projects for the purpose of increasing access to outpatient primary health services in geographic areas with a: (1) population of not more than 500,000 individuals; (2) shortage of personal health services; and (3) significant number of low-income or underinsured individuals. Sets forth requirements for receiving such grants. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Improved Access to Rural Health Services - Retitles title XII of the Public Health Service Act "Emergency Medical Services" (formerly, "Trauma Care") and directs the Secretary to establish the Office of Emergency Medical Services which shall, with respect to emergency medical services (including trauma care): (1) conduct research; (2) sponsor workshops; (3) assist States; and (4) coordinate activities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for the purposes of improving the availability and quality of emergency medical services through the operation of State offices of emergency medical services. Sets forth matching fund requirements. Provides for demonstration projects to establish telecommunications between rural medical facilities and other medical facilities that have equipment that can be utilized through telecommunications. Authorizes appropriations for purposes of the programs of this paragraph. Directs 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 access to treatments for the injuries or other conditions arising from such emergencies. Sets forth requirements for grant applications. Authorizes appropriations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend for one year special treatment rules for Medicare-dependent small rural hospitals. Title II: Health Care Cost Containment and Quality Enhancement - Subtitle A: Medical Malpractice Liability Reform - Prohibits bringing a medical malpractice claim: (1) more than two years after the alleged injury should reasonably have been discovered and in no event more than four years after the alleged injury occurred; and (2) in any State court unless there has been an initial resolution through a certified alternative dispute resolution system (ADR). Requires the use of ADR in a Federal medical malpractice liability claim. Requires a pre-trial settlement conference in any medical malpractice liability action. Sets limits on: (1) noneconomic damages; (2) punitive damages; and (3) attorney's fees. Requires offsets for damages paid by a collateral source. Requires liability in a medical malpractice action to be several and not joint. Provides a complete defense to any allegation of negligence in a medical malpractice liability action to any defendant who followed the appropriate practice guideline. Prohibits finding a defendant guilty in a medical malpractice liability action relating to services provided during labor or delivery of a baby if the defendant did not previously treat the plaintiff during the pregnancy, unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Directs the Secretary to determine whether a States' ADR meets ADR system requirements established by this Act. Establishes such requirements. Amends title XI (General Provisions and Professional Standards Review) of the Social Security Act to earmark funds for sanctioning practice guidelines for purposes of an affirmative defense in medical malpractice liability actions. Permits a State agency responsible for the conduct of disciplinary actions for a type of health care practitioner to enter into agreements with State or county professional societies for such type of health care practitioner to permit such societies to participate in the licensing of such health care practitioner and to review health care malpractice allegations. Requires each State to require each health care professional and provider to participate in a risk management program to prevent and provide early warning of practices which may result in injuries to patients or which otherwise endanger patient safety. Directs the Secretary to make grants for the conduct of basic research in the prevention of and compensation for injuries resulting from health care professional or health care provider malpractice, and research of the outcomes of health care procedures. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to study the factors discouraging physicians from volunteering to provide health care services in medically underserved areas. Subtitle B: Administrative Cost Savings - Directs the Secretary to adopt standards relating to each of the following: (1) data elements for use in claims processing under health benefits plans; (2) uniform claim forms; and (3) uniform electronic transmission of the data elements. Authorizes the Secretary to require providers to submit claims to health benefit plans in accordance with such standards. Provides for periodic review of the standards. States that the term "health benefit plan," in this subtitle, includes the Medicare and Medicaid programs (titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act). Requires the Secretary to promulgate standards for hospitals concerning electronic medical data. Permits the Secretary to promulgate standards concerning electronic medical data for providers that are not hospitals. Requires hospitals, in order to participate in Medicare, to: (1) maintain clinical data in a set of comprehensive data elements in electronic form on all patients; and (2) upon the Secretary's request, transmit electronically the data set and any data from such set. Provides for electronic transmission to Federal agencies. Prohibits a health benefit plan, if standards with respect to data elements are promulgated with respect to a class of provider, from requiring for the purpose of utilization review or as a condition of providing benefits under the plan that a provider in the class: (1) provide any data element not in the set of comprehensive data elements; or (2) transmit or present any such data element in a manner inconsistent with applicable standards. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory commission of hospital executive and data base managers, physicians, health services researchers, and technical experts in the collection and use of data and operation of data systems. Authorizes appropriations for such commission. Requires the Secretary, in order to assure the availability of comparative value information to purchasers of health care in each State, to determine whether each State is developing and implementing a health care value information program that meets stated criteria. Permits grants to a State for the development of its health care value information program. Authorizes appropriations for such grants. Requires the head of each Federal agency with responsibility for the provision of health insurance or health care services to individuals to promptly develop health care value information relating to each program that such head administers. Directs the Secretary to develop model systems to facilitate: (1) the gathering of data on health care cost, quality, and outcome; and (2) analyzing such data to permit the valid comparison of such data. Authorizes appropriations for the development of such model systems. Directs the Secretary to adopt standards relating to the design and use of magnetized Medicare identification cards for the purpose of assisting health care providers in determining eligibility and billing. Authorizes appropriations. Nullifies any State law requiring that medical or health insurance records be maintained in written rather than electronic form. Requires each health benefit plan: (1) for each of its beneficiaries that has a social security number, to use that number as an identification number for claims processing; and (2) for each provider that has a unique identifier for Medicare purposes, to use that identifier for claims processing. Requires the Secretary to determine whether problems relating to the rules for determining liability when benefits are payable under two or more plans or the availability of information among such plans causes significant administrative problems, and if so, directs the Secretary to promulgate standards concerning liability and the transfer of information among plans. Directs the Secretary to provide grants to qualified entities to demonstrate the application of comprehensive information systems in continuously monitoring patient care and in improving patient care. Authorizes appropriations from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts (Medisave) - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee any amount contributed by the employer to a medical savings account pursuant to a qualified medical savings account plan. Sets contribution limits. Defines a "medical savings account" as a trust created exclusively for purpose of paying an individual's medical expenses. Permits expenses from such account only to the extent such amounts are not compensated for by insurance. Subjects the employee to taxation as owner of the account. Subtitle D: Medicaid Program Flexibility - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to modify Medicaid contracting requirements for coordinated care services. Authorizes the Secretary to waive specified Medicaid requirements with respect to nursing facilities located in a State if the State provides assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that the waiver of such requirements will not adversely affect the quality of life of the residents in such facilities. Subtitle E: Limitations on Physician Self-Referrals - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend physician self-referral limitations to all payors as well as to certain additional services. Revises exceptions. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study in order to estimate the changes in aggregate costs for designated health services, under the Medicare program and other health plans, which will result from the implementation of the amendments made by this subtitle. Subtitle F: Removing Restrictions on Managed Care - Preempts managed care restrictions under State law. Requires 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. Subtitle G: Medicare Payment Changes - Amends the Medicare program to make revisions in the methodology for determining updates to Medicare hospital payments. Provides for a reduction in Medicare payment for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. Subtitle H: Modification of the Operation of the Antitrust Laws to Hospitals - Permits two or more hospitals, without violating the antitrust laws, to share expensive medical services or high technology equipment. Directs the Secretary to grant waivers to exempt hospitals from the antitrust laws in order to carry out agreements permitting such sharing. Sets forth reporting requirements. Subtitle I: Encouraging Enforcement Activities of Medical Self-Regulatory Entities - Prohibits damages, interest on damages, costs, or attorney's fees from being recovered under the Clayton Act or any similar State law from any medical self-regulatory entity as a result of engaging in standard setting or enforcement activities designed to promote the quality of health care provided to patients.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Prohibits, unless a certification under this Act is in effect: (1) U.S. economic assistance to the Government of Russia; and (2) the U.S. Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from consenting to an increase in the U.S. quota in the IMF. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, unless such certification is in effect, to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of the IMF and other international financial institution to oppose any loan to the Government of Russia. Describes such certification as a certification by the President to the Congress that: (1) progress has been achieved toward removal of Russian armed forces from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; (2) additional Russian armed forces have not been brought into such countries for any purpose without their permission; (3) artillery exercises or training operations are not being conducted by Russian armed forces on the territory of such countries without their permission; (4) Russian military installations in such countries are open to inspection by the governments of such countries; (5) Russian air and naval forces are not interfering with traffic in the air space or territorial waters of such countries; and (6) the Russian Government is keeping such governments informed regarding the number and location of Russian armed forces in such countries. Makes such certifications effective for six months and authorizes the President to make recertifications for additional six-month periods. Terminates the restrictions under this Act if the President certifies that all Russian armed forces have been withdrawn from such countries.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to add rule LIV, providing that whenever the right of choice devolves upon the House, any vote of a Member from a State in determining the vote of that State to choose a President shall be recorded by the Clerk of the House in open session.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Withdraws most favored nation status from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Authorizes the President to restore such status after he certifies to the Congress that: (1) such treatment would promote compliance with the provisions of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and (2) Yugoslavia has ceased its armed conflict with the other ethnic peoples of the region, and has agreed to respect the borders of the six republics, that formerly comprised the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Fundamental Competitiveness Act of 1992 - Title I: Public Debt Reduction - Allows individual taxpayers to designate a portion of tax liability (not to exceed ten percent) on their tax returns to reduce the public debt. Establishes the Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund consisting of amounts so designated. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide for a sequestration of revenues equivalent to the estimated aggregate amount so designated. Specifies accounts exempted from such sequestration and establishes reporting requirements with respect to budget procedures. Title II: Capital Formation - Establishes a method of computing the credit for increasing research activities based on aggregate research expenses, as an alternative to the method based on qualified research expenses. Establishes a variable capital gains deduction whose formulas on a sliding scale range from ten percent for assets held for one year up to 100 percent for assets held for ten years. Allows a deduction of 50 percent of the capital gain from stock investments by non-corporate taxpayers in start-up companies where initial stock offerings are held for two years. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangle property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other disposition, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Permits an income tax deduction in the amount of dividends paid by domestic corporations, except S corporations, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, and personal holding companies. Repeals the income tax deductions currently permitted in connection with: (1) dividends received by a corporation; (2) dividends received by a corporation on the preferred stock of a public utility; and (3) dividends paid by a public utility on its preferred stock. Increases the deductible percentage of amounts received by a corporation from a qualified ten-percent owned foreign corporation. Allows a charitable deduction for corporate contributions of employee volunteer services to an educational organization. Establishes an investment tax credit for manufacturing and other productive equipment. Provides for determining the applicable percentage of such credit, which includes an efficiency improvement percentage. Increases the limitation based on the amount of tax for purposes of the general business credit. Provides for the treatment of losses on stock in manufacturing companies as ordinary (as opposed to capital) losses. Allows a partial exclusion of dividends or interest received by an individual. Provides for ordinary-loss treatment for losses on investments in a qualified startup company. Describes such company as one which: (1) manufacture tangible personal property in the United States; (2) does not involve a business acquired from another person; and (3) has not been in existence for more than one taxable year at the time it issued stock. Title III: Antitrust - Amends the Clayton Act to bar the acquisition by one corporation of stock of another, subject to specified conditions, where there is a significant probability that such acquisition will substantially increase the ability to exercise market power (currently, where the effect of such acquisition may be to substantially lessen competition or to tend to create a monopoly). Defines the ability to exercise market power for purposes of such provision as the ability of one or more firms profitably to maintain prices above competitive levels for a significant period of time. Directs the court, in determining whether there is a significant probability that any acquisition will substantially increase the ability to exercise market power, to consider all economic factors relevant to the effect of the acquisition in the affected markets, including: (1) the number and size distribution of firms and the effect of the acquisition thereon; (2) the ease or difficulty of entry by foreign or domestic firms; (3) the ability of smaller firms in the market to increase production in response to an attempt to exercise market power; (4) the nature of the product and terms of sale; (5) conduct of firms in the market; (6) efficiencies deriving from the acquisition; and (7) any other evidence indicating whether the acquisition will or will not substantially increase the ability, unilaterally or collectively, to exercise market power. Amends the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 to include a joint production venture within the scope of such Act as an activity that shall not be deemed illegal per se under the antitrust laws. Changes the short title of such Act to the National Cooperative Research, Development, and Production Act. Title IV: Business Liability - Subtitle A: Findings - Makes findings with respect to the increasing amount of litigation in our society and the desirability of encouraging alternative dispute mechanisms and providing uniform legal standards in the areas of professional and product liability. Subtitle B: Professionals' Liability Reform - Professionals' Liability Reform Act of 1992 - Establishes certain limitations and procedures regarding professional liability actions. Preempts certain State laws. Provides that nothing in this Act shall prohibit any State from developing or implementing alternative procedures for: (1) expediting the adjudication of professional liability claims; (2) resolving professional liability disputes; or (3) compensating for harm caused by professional services. Requires professional liability actions to be brought within three years after the claimant discovered, or should have discovered, the harm. Requires the claimant, in any professional liability action, to establish: (1) that the professional negligently rendered professional services and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the harm; or (2) in a claim for economic injury, that the professional negligently rendered professional services to and for the direct and intended benefit of the claimant, and such services were the proximate cause of the harm. Requires the claimant to establish that, at the time such services were provided, knowledge of the circumstances that caused the harm and a practical means to eliminate such circumstances were reasonably available. States that a professional shall not be liable in a professional liability action in which: (1) the professional's services were rendered to an agency of the Federal or State government; (2) Federal or State contract specifications existed which were material to the claim; and (3) the services rendered conformed to such specifications. Permits future damage awards exceeding $100,000 to be made by periodic payments. Requires that damage awards be offset by any amount received as compensation for the same injury. Establishes a contingency fee schedule for plaintiffs' attorneys. States that the principles of comparative liability shall apply unless persons engaged in concerted action which proximately caused the harm. Permits the awarding of punitive damages only where the conduct of the defendant: (1) manifested a malicious and reckless disregard for safety; and (2) constituted an extreme departure from accepted standards of safety. States that punitive damages may not be awarded in the absence of a compensatory award, or for the negligent provision of professional services. Requires the trier of fact, at the request of the professional, to consider in a separate proceeding whether punitive damages are to be awarded. Limits the claimant's actual recovery of punitive damages to three times the amount of compensatory damages. States that excess punitive damages shall be paid to the State or Federal government. Makes any attorney who files a frivolous claim subject to pecuniary sanctions by the court. Requires each State to encourage professional organizations to form risk management programs. Subtitle C: Product Liability Fairness - Part I: General Provisions - Product Liability Fairness Act - Declares that this Act governs any product liability action brought against a manufacturer or product seller, on any theory, for harm caused by a product. States that a civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for loss or damage to a product itself or commercial loss shall be governed by applicable commercial or contract law. Supersedes any inconsistent State law regarding recovery in such actions. Lists specific laws not superseded, including: (1) defense of sovereign immunity asserted by any State or by the United States; (2) any Federal law (except the Federal Employees Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act); (3) the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976; (4) State choice-of-law rules; (5) the right of any court to transfer venue or to apply the law of a foreign nation or to dismiss a claim of a foreign nation or citizen on the ground of inconvenient forum; and (6) any statutory or common law cause of action, including an action to abate a nuisance, that authorizes a State or person to institute an action for civil damages or civil penalties, clean up costs, injunctions, restitution, cost recovery, punitive damages, or any other form of relief from contamination or pollution of the environment or the threat of it. Declares that U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over any civil action under this Act, based on specified provisions of Federal law relating to district court jurisdiction. Declares that, if any provision of this Act would shorten the period during which a manufacturer or seller would otherwise be exposed to liability, the claimant may, notwithstanding that period, bring any civil action under this Act within one year after the effective date of this Act. Part II: Out of Court Procedures - Allows any claimant to bring a civil action for damages against a person for harm caused by a product under applicable State law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Sets forth expedited settlement measures, including: (1) an option to include an offer of settlement, for a specific dollar amount, by the plaintiff in the complaint and by the defendant in a responsive pleading; and (2) awarding attorney's fees and costs, in certain circumstances, to the prevailing party if the other party does not accept the settlement offer. Sets forth alternative dispute resolution procedures, including: (1) an option, in lieu of or in addition to a settlement offer, for a claimant or a defendant to offer to proceed under any voluntary alternative dispute resolution procedure established or recognized under the law of the State in which the action is brought or maintained; and (2) awarding of attorney's fees and costs to the offering party if the court determines that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable or not in good faith. Creates a rebuttable presumption that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable, or not in good faith, if a verdict is rendered in favor of the offeror. Part III: Court Procedures - Allows a person seeking to recover for harm caused by a product to bring a civil action against the manufacturer or seller under applicable State or Federal law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this Act. Establishes a standard of product seller liability for proximate causes of harm, established by a preponderance of the evidence, which fall under the categories of negligence or express warranty. Allows the trier of fact, in a negligence action, to consider the conduct of the seller with respect to: (1) the construction, inspection, or condition of the product; and (2) failure to pass on warnings or instructions from the manufacturer. Deems the seller not liable for failure to provide warnings or instructions unless the claimant establishes that the seller failed to: (1) provide warnings or instructions received while the product was in the seller's possession and control; or (2) make reasonable efforts to provide users with warnings and instructions which it received after the product left its possession and control. Deems a seller not liable except for breach of warranty where there was no opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which would or should, in the exercise of reasonable care, have revealed the aspect which allegedly caused the harm. Declares that the seller shall be treated as the manufacturer and be liable for harm caused by a product as if it were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process in any State in which the action might have been brought; or (2) the court determines that the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows punitive damages, if otherwise permitted by applicable law, to be awarded in any civil action under this title to any claimant who establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the result of conduct manifesting a manufacturer's or product seller's conscious, flagrant indifference to the safety of those persons who might be harmed by a product. Declares that a failure to exercise reasonable care in choosing among alternative product designs, formulations, instructions, or warnings is not of itself such conduct. Prohibits awarding punitive damages in the absence of a compensatory award, subject to exception. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller of a drug or medical device where: (1) the drug or device was subject to pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (2) the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective under conditions established by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer of an aircraft where: (1) the aircraft was subject to pre-market certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and (2) the manufacturer complied, after delivery, with FAA requirements and obligations with respect to continuing airworthiness. Provides for separate proceedings, if requested by the manufacturer or seller, with regard to punitive damages. Lists factors the trier of fact is allowed to consider in determining the amount of punitive damages. Bars any civil action under this title: (1) unless filed within two years after the claimant discovered or should have discovered the harm and its cause, subject to exception; and (2) if the product involved is a capital good that is alleged to have caused harm which is not a toxic harm unless filed within twenty-five years after delivery of the product, provided the claimant has received or would be eligible for State or Federal workers' compensation. Excludes a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or railroad used primarily to transport passengers for hire from these time limitations. States that nothing in these provisions affects the right of any person who is subject to liability under this Act to obtain contribution or indemnity from any other person who is responsible for the harm. Requires reduction in the damages awarded by the sum of all State or Federal workers' compensation benefits to which the employee is or would be entitled. Requires a claimant in a civil action under this title who is or may be eligible to receive State or Federal workers' compensation to notify the claimant's employer of the civil action. Requires an action to be stayed, at the sole discretion of the claimant, until a final determination is made on the amount payable as workers' compensation benefits. Declares that, unless the manufacturer or seller has expressly agreed to indemnify or hold an employer harmless, neither the employer nor the workers' compensation insurance carrier shall have a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery, except if the claimant's harm was not in any way caused by the fault of the claimant's employer or co-employees. Allows the employer or workers' compensation insurer to intervene in the action to prove that fact. Prohibits a third party tortfeasor, where workers' compensation is involved, from maintaining any action for implied indemnity or contribution against the employer, any coemployee, or the exclusive representative of the injured person. Prohibits, for a person who is or would have been entitled to receive workers' compensation, any other action, unless a State or Federal workers' compensation law permits recovery based on a claim of an intentional tort. Makes these provisions inapplicable and declares that applicable State law shall control if the employer or the workers' compensation insurer asserts a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Declares that, in any product liability action, the liability of each defendant for noneconomic damages shall be several and not joint. Requires the trier of fact to determine the proportion of responsibility of each party for the claimant's harm. Establishes a complete defense, in any civil action under this Act in which all defendants are manufacturers or sellers, that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol or any drug and that, as a result, the claimant was more than 50 percent responsible for the event which resulted in the harm. Defines "drug" to mean any non-over-the-counter drug which has not been prescribed by a physician. Title V: Long-Term Investment - Long-Term Investment Promotion Act of 1992 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to eliminate the requirement that publicly-held corporations report their financial status on a quarterly basis. Title VI: Competitiveness Risk Assessment - Declares that no agency shall propose or promulgate a regulation without first analyzing its direct and indirect effects on the health and safety of consumers and workers, including effects due to wage and job losses, price increases, product restrictions, technological delays, and substitution effects. Title VII: Department of Manufacturing And Commerce - Department of Manufacturing and Commerce Act of 1992 - Renames the Department of Commerce as the Department of Manufacturing and Commerce. Requires the President to establish a Manufacturing Advisory Commission to examine Federal agencies, programs, and offices responsible for manufacturing-related research and development, technology transfer, education, and trade in order to prepare a report for the Congress on the feasibility of consolidating such agencies, programs, and offices into a single Office of Manufacturing within the Department of Manufacturing and Commerce. Title VIII: Amendments to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to change from discretionary to mandatory a Federal agency's authority to permit the director of any of its laboratories to enter into cooperative research and development agreements on its behalf. Authorizes each Federal agency to copyright on behalf of the United States any computer software prepared in whole or in part by Government employees involved in cooperative research and development agreements. Includes software royalties in the current distribution format (agency, laboratory, author, and Treasury) under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Justice in India Act - Terminates all development assistance for India under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (except assistance for specified health projects) if the President reports to the Congress that India has not repealed certain special and preventive detention laws. Provides for the resumption of such assistance if India repeals such laws.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1992
National Triad Program Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Justice to conduct a national assessment of: (1) the nature and extent of crimes against the elderly; (2) the needs of law enforcement, health, and social service organziations, in working to prevent, identify, investigate, and provide assistance to victims of such crimes; and (3) promising strategies to respond effectively to those challenges. Specifies that such assessment shall address: (1) the analysis and synthesis of data from a range of sources; (2) the problems of elderly who are living alone or in high crime areas and who are abused and neglected, and the fear of victimization; (3) the identification of strategies and techniques tht have been shown to be effective or which show promise; (4) the analysis of the factors that enhance or inhibit development of a coordinated response by law enforcement, health care, and social service providers; and (5) the research agenda needed to develop a comprehensive understanding of the problems of crimes against the elderly. Requires the Director to disseminate the results of such assessment. Authorizes the Director to make awards to coalitions of local law enforcement agencies, victim service providers, and organizations representing the elderly for pilot programs and field tests of promising strategies and models for forging partnerships for crime prevention and service provision. Specifies that pilot programs funded under this Act may include existing general service coalitions of law enforcement, victim service, and elder advocate organizations that wish to use additional funds to work at a particular problem in their community or to target a particular geographic area in need of intensive services. Authorizes the Director to make awards to: (1) coalitions of national law enforcement, victim service, and elder advocate organizations for training and technical assistance in implementing pilot programs; (2) research organizations to investigate the types of elder victimization shown by the assessment to present particularly critical problems or to be emerging crimes about which little is known, to evaluate the effectiveness of selected pilot programs, and to conduct research and development identified as being critical; and (3) public service advertising coalitions to increase public awareness of, and promote ideas or programs to prevent, crimes against the elderly. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1992
Small Business Equity Enhancement Act of 1992 - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to revise provisions with respect to debentures issued by small business investment companies (SBICs) to specify that: (1) the total amount of debentures and participating securities that may be guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and outstanding from an SBIC licensed under the Act shall not exceed 300 percent of the private capital of such SBIC; and (2) in no event shall the aggregate amount of outstanding debentures and participating securities purchased or guaranteed by the SBA of any such SBIC which are commonly controlled (as determined by the SBA) exceed $90,000,000. Provides that: (1) nothing under such provisions shall require any such SBIC that on March 31, 1993, has outstanding debentures in excess of 300 percent of its private capital to repay such excess; and (2) any such SBIC may apply for additional debenture guarantee or participating security with the proceeds to be used solely to pay the amount due on such maturing debenture, but the maturity date of the new debenture or security shall not be later than September 30, 2002. Sets forth a formula for determining the maximum amount of outstanding guaranteed debentures and participating securities made available to an SBIC licensed under the Act, to be effective after March 31, 1993. Directs the SBA, not later than December 15, 1994, and in each subsequent calendar year, to apply an inflationary adjustment to the dollar amounts specified in the leverage formula which shall be the percentage (if any) by which the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the preceding calendar year exceeds the CPI for calendar year 1993. Authorizes the SBA to guarantee the payment of the redemption price and dividends or interest on participating securities issued by SBICs licensed pursuant to the Act, and of a trust or pool acting on behalf of the SBA to purchase such securities. Sets forth: (1) restrictions with respect to redemption of, dividend and interest payments on, and other issues regarding, such securities; and (2) terms and conditions regarding the computation of amounts due the SBA under such securities. Revises provisions of the Act related to the issuance and guarantee of trust certificates to provide for the redemption, whether voluntary or involuntary, of all participating securities residing in the pool, as well as debentures. Bars any Federal, State, or local law from precluding or limiting the exercise by the SBA of its ownership rights in participating securities residing in a trust or pool against which trust certificates are issued. Directs the SBA to contract with an agent or agents to carry out on behalf of the SBA pooling and central registration functions (currently, with an agent to carry out central registration functions), including maintenance on behalf of and under the direction of the SBA of such commercial bank accounts as necessary to facilitate trusts or pools backed by debentures or securities guaranteed or purchased under the Act and the issuance of trust certificates to facilitate such pooling. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the SBA, prior to licensing and approving any request for financing, to determine the ability of an SBIC to make periodic payments on any debt of the SBIC which is interest bearing, taking into consideration the income which the SBIC anticipates on its contemplated investments, the experience of its owners and managers, its history as an entity, and its financial resources. Requires each SBIC to adopt written guidelines for determination of the value of its investments. Makes the board of directors of corporations, the general partners of partnerships, and the owners of proprietorships solely responsible for making a good faith determination of the fair market value of the investments made by such SBIC. Requires that such determinations be made and reported to the SBA at least semiannually or at more frequent intervals as the SBA determines appropriate (but any SBIC which does not have outstanding financial assistance under the Act shall be required to make such determinations and reports annually, unless the SBA determines otherwise). Subjects each SBIC to examinations made by the Investment Division of the SBA (currently, by SBA examiners). Transfers resources related to the examination function under the Act from the Inspector General of the SBA to the SBA's Investment Division. Specifies that if any SBIC has obtained SBA financing which remains outstanding, the aggregate amount of obligations and securities acquired and for which commitments may be issued by such SBIC under the provisions of the Act for any single enterprise shall not exceed 20 percent of the private capital of such SBIC without SBA approval. Permits SBICs with outstanding financings (currently, SBICs) to invest funds, subject to specified conditions. Directs the SBA to: (1) complete a review of regulations intended to provide for the safety and soundness of those SBICs which obtain SBA financing under the Act; and (2) exempt from such regulations, or separately regulate, those SBICs which do not obtain such financing. Sets forth reporting requirements. Increases minimum capital requirements for SBICs licensed on or after October 1, 1992 (currently, 1979). Defines "private capital" to mean the private paid-in capital and paid-in surplus of a corporate licensee, or the private partnership capital of an unincorporated licensee, inclusive of any funds invested in the licensee by a public or private pension fund, and commitments from institutional investors that meet SBA criteria which are funded by such investors prior to the licensee obtaining financing from the SBA based on such commitments, but exclusive of any funds borrowed by the licensee from any source, obtained from the SBA through the sale of preferred securities, or derived directly or indirectly from any Federal source. Directs the SBA to permit those SBICs which have obtained financings pursuant to the Act to charge a maximum rate of interest based upon the cost of such financings determined on an annual basis. Amends the Small Business Act to provide that, subject to approval in appropriations Acts, amounts authorized for preferred stock, debentures, or participating securities under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 may be obligated in one fiscal year and disbursed or guaranteed in the following fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to include conference reports in cost estimate analyses by the Congressional Budget Office of legislative impact on State and local governments. Requires concurrent resolutions on the budget to direct committees to include cost estimates with reconciliation legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Urges the United States to: (1) hold the Government of Serbia accountable for the attacks on and occupation of the Republics of Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia, and for human rights abuses in Kosovo; (2) withhold diplomatic recognition of Serbia and Montenegro until Serbia ceases its aggression against such republics and halts the brutal repression of the Albanian people in Kosovo and the denial of the right to self-determination; and (3) actively encourage its allies to follow the same course.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1992
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend, through December 31, 1994, the duty treatment of time-recorders that are battery or AC powered with opto-electronic display only. Provides for retroactive application of this Act, upon request filed by a certain deadline, for liquidation or relinquishment of any entry or withdrawal after December 31, 1988, and the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Federal Facilities Toxics Release Act - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act to require Federal facilities that are subject to safety or chemical inventory reporting requirements under such Act or that manufacture or use a toxic chemical listed under such Act in excess of threshold amounts to comply with all Federal, State, and local requirements respecting emergency planning, notification, and reporting on substances covered by such Act. Waives sovereign immunity and the immunity of Federal employees for purposes of enforcement and injunctive relief. Authorizes the President to exempt a facility from requirements for one year if it is in the U.S. interest. Prohibits such an exemption due to lack of appropriations unless the President has specifically requested the appropriation as part of the budgetary process and the Congress failed to make it available. Authorizes additional exemptions for periods of up to one year. Permits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to commence administrative enforcement actions against Federal agencies pursuant to this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on making chemicals used by Federal facilities subject to toxic chemical release form requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
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 prepay the debenture by payment to the Bank of the unpaid principal balance, accrued interest, and any prepayment penalties. Provides that in the case of prepayment of a debenture under this Act in which a new debenture is issued by a qualified State or local development company and guaranteed by the SBA, the guarantee of the original debenture shall transfer to the new debenture, but shall not be treated as new credit authority. Requires the full faith and credit of the United States to be pledged to the payment of all guaranteed debenture amounts. Permits the issuer to require the borrower to pay certain optional fees with respect to such prepayment. Provides that if a borrower defaults on a loan securing a debenture guaranteed by the SBA, the SBA's guarantee shall be extinguished by payment to the Bank of the remaining principal balance plus accrued interest at the coupon rate on the debenture.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Provides that a veteran who is a former prisoner of war shall be deemed to have a total service-connected disability rating for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a first-time homebuyer who purchases a principal residence a tax credit of ten percent of the purchase price of such residence. Limits the credit to $5,000. Requires married individuals filing jointly to both be first-time homebuyers. Allows the use of 50 percent of the credit in the first taxable year in which the residence is purchased and the remaining 50 percent in the succeeding taxable year. Makes this credit applicable to residences acquired after February 1, 1992, and before January 1, 1993, or for which a binding contract is entered into during such period.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
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.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1992
Title I: Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, and Certain Other Reforms - Subtitle A: Chief Financial Officer Amendments to the Rules of the House and Related Provisions - Amends rule II of the Rules of the House of Representatives to eliminate the election of a Doorkeeper or Postmaster in the House. Requires the individual chosen for election as the Sergeant-at-Arms to be a nationally-respected law enforcement professional. Amends rules III and IV to revise the duties of the Clerk of the House and the Sergeant-at-Arms. Amends rules V and VI to: (1) eliminate the positions of Doorkeeper and Postmaster; and (2) create a position of Chief Financial Officer. Sets forth qualifications for the elected Chief Financial Officer. Outlines his or her duties. Prohibits the Chief Financial Officer from disclosing the identity of a complaining employee without the employee's consent unless such disclosure is unavoidable. Makes any intimidation of, or reprisal against, an employee of the House by an employing authority because of a complaint made by the employee a violation of rule LI. Transfers the duties of the Postmaster of the House to the Chief Financial Officer. Amends rule XIV to eliminate the duties of the Doorkeeper with respect to decorum and debate in the House. Amends rule XI to require each committee, by March 1 of the first session of any Congress, to adopt an oversight plan for that Congress and to submit it to the Committee on House Administration. Prohibits the consideration in the House of a primary expense resolution for a committee unless and until such committee has adopted and submitted the plan. Requires the Committee on House Administration to report such plan to the House. Authorizes the Speaker to appoint ad hoc oversight committees for specific tasks from the membership of committees with shared legislative jurisdictions. Requires each committee to include an oversight section in its final activity report at the end of a Congress. Amends rule X to require one-half of the members of the Committee on House Administration to be from the majority party and one-half to be from the minority. Allows the chairman or ranking minority party member of the Committee on House Administration to authorize and issue subpoenas. Requires the membership of the Subcommittee on Legislative Appropriations of the Committee on Appropriations to be divided equally between the majority and minority parties. Divides the staff positions for the subcommittee in the same manner. Directs the Speaker to appoint a task force to: (1) recommend institutional reforms necessary to restore public confidence in the House; and (2) report on its recommendations to the House by the end of the 102d Congress. Requires the written approval of the Speaker and the minority leader of the House before funds may be reprogrammed or transferred between House appropriation accounts. Makes it out of order to consider any measure in the House, in the second session of the 102d Congress, containing an appropriation for any period after March 31, 1993. Directs the Speaker, upon the recommendation of the majority and minority leader, acting jointly, to appoint an Inspector General for the House. Subtitle B: Office of the General Counsel - Establishes the Office of the General Counsel (Office) in the House to: (1) be accountable to a specified Leadership Group; and (2) provide legal assistance to Members, officers, and employees of the House on matters directly related to their duties, with specified exceptions. Lists certain actions of the Office that must be approved either by a resolution of the House or the Leadership Group. Requires such Office, in the case of any matter that affects an area of responsibility committed to another office, officer, or employee under this Act, to consult the party involved and coordinate such action with them. Vests management, supervision, and administration of the Office in the General Counsel to be appointed by the Speaker, upon the recommendation of the majority and minority leaders of the House, acting jointly, without regard for political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the position. Requires the General Counsel to serve at the pleasure of the Leadership Group. Authorizes the General Counsel to make appropriate expenditures for the functioning of the Office. Requires the attorneys and professional staff in the Office to maintain regular, written records of the time expended on legal matters, consistent with generally accepted practices in private law firms. Makes such time records reviewable by the Leadership Group. Prohibits public disclosure of them unless by direction of the Leadership Group or resolution of the House. Title II: Legislative Process Reforms - Amends rule I of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require the Speaker to announce a specified legislative program at the beginning of each session of the Congress. Requires the Speaker to ensure that the minority leader is fully consulted in developing the legislative program for the House each week. Directs the Speaker to state the question on reconsideration of a bill, immediately after its return from the President, without an intervening motion. Requires the House to proceed to vote on the reconsideration of such measure. Amends rule X to require the Speaker to refer legislation initially to one committee as the committee of principal jurisdiction (currently, such legislation may initially be referred simultaneously to two or more committees for concurrent consideration). Requires a bill originating in the House to be presented to the President by the tenth calendar day after it has passed the House and the Senate in identical form. Requires the membership of each committee (except the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct), subcommittee, task force, or other subunit, to reflect the ratio of majority to minority party Members of the House at the beginning of the Congress. Exempts the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and the Delegates to the House from the count in determining such party ratio. Requires the membership of each select committee, subcommittee, task force, subunit, or conference committee to reflect the ratio of the majority to minority party Members of the House at the time of its appointment. Prohibits any standing committee of the House (except the Committee on Appropriations) from establishing more than six subcommittees. Prevents any member from serving on more than four House subcommittees at any one time. Amends rule XI to repeal the general permission, subject to certain conditions, for proxy voting by a member of any committee or subcommittee with respect to any measure or matter. Allows committees and subcommittees to close their meetings in circumstances where disclosure of matters to be considered would: (1) endanger national security; (2) tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person; (3) violate any law or rule of the House; or (4) involve committee personnel matters. Provides that a majority of the members of each committee or subcommittee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, including the markup of legislation (currently, all committees but the Committees on Appropriations, Budget, and Ways and Means are permitted to fix the number establishing quorum). Requires the names of those Members voting for and against any motion to report a public bill or resolution to be included in the committee report of such measure (currently, only the number of votes cast for or against reporting such measure is included). Requires the names of those members of the committees actually present at the time the bill or resolution is ordered reported to be included in the committee report relating to each nonrecord vote on a motion to report such public bill or resolution. Requires that a committee or subcommittee print, document, or other material, except under certain circumstances, prepared for public distribution, shall either: (1) be approved by the committee or subcommittee prior to such public distribution, with opportunity afforded for the inclusion of supplemental, minority, or additional views; or (2) contain a specified disclaimer on its cover. Prohibits any such print, document, or other material not approved by the committee or subcommittee from including the names of its members, other than the name of the chairman releasing such document. Lists material excepted from such requirements. Prohibits a measure reported from the Committee on Rules from being considered on the same calendar day it is presented to the House, nor on the subsequent calendar day of the same legislative day, except in certain circumstances. (Currently it can not be considered on the same day.) Prohibits the Committee on Rules from reporting any rule or order that would prevent a motion to recommit that has amendatory instructions (except in the case of a Senate measure for which the language of a House passed measure has been substituted). Prohibits the consideration of any rule providing for the consideration of a bill or resolution otherwise subject to amendment under House rules if such resolution limits the right of Members to offer germane amendments to such measure, unless the chairman of the Rules Committee has announced, within a specified period of time, that less than an open amendment process might be recommended by the Committee for the consideration of such measure. Makes it out of order to consider any order of business resolution which provides that, upon adoption, the House shall be considered to have automatically adopted a motion, amendment, or resolution, or to have passed a bill, joint resolution, or conference report, unless consideration of such resolution is agreed to by at least two-thirds of the Members voting. Requires any report accompanying a resolution for consideration of a budget waiver measure to include: (1) an explanation and justification for the waiver; (2) an estimated cost of the provisions to which the waiver applies; and (3) a summary or text of any written comments on the waiver received by the committee from the Committee on the Budget. Sets forth procedures for the consideration of such resolution. Prohibits the consideration of a resolution that waives all House rules, except by a two-thirds vote of the Members voting. Makes it out of order to consider any primary expense resolution unless the Committee on House Administration has reported and the House has adopted a resolution establishing an overall ceiling for House committee staff personnel for that year. Makes such a resolution privileged. Establishes guidelines for developing and considering primary and supplemental expense resolutions. Provides that the overall ceiling for committee staff in a resolution reported by the committee or contained in any amendment for the 103d Congress shall not exceed 50 percent of the total committee staff personnel employed at the end of the 102d Congress. Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives to establish a Commemorative Calendar comprised of unreported bills and resolutions respecting commemorative holidays and celebrations that have been: (1) referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service; and (2) requested by the chairman and ranking minority member of such committee to be placed on such calendar. Outlines procedures for the consideration of such measures. Amends rules XV of the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide for an automatic roll call vote when the Speaker puts the question upon final passage of: (1) any bill, joint resolution, or conference report making general appropriations, providing revenue, or adjusting the statutory congressional pay rate; or (2) any budgetary concurrent resolution or conference report that provides an increase in the statutory debt limit. Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to repeal the declaration that no amendment shall be in order during consideration of a general appropriation bill if it proposes a limitation not specifically contained or authorized in existing law for the period of such limitations. Defines a "general appropriation bill" to include any bill or joint resolution making continuing appropriations in a fiscal year for a period in excess of 30 days. Describes the contents of such bill. Reserves all points of order against any general appropriation bill at the time it is reported. Prohibits the consideration of any bill or joint resolution making appropriations for a period of 30 days or less unless it only provides appropriations in the lesser amount and under the more restrictive authority of each pertinent appropriations measure: (1) as passed by the House; (2) as passed by the Senate; (3) as agreed to by a committee of conference; or (4) as enacted for the preceding fiscal year. Requires a report from the Committee on Appropriations accompanying any appropriation bill to list all appropriations contained in the bill for any expenditure not previously authorized by law. Requires a three-fifths vote of the Members of the whole House to consider any rule or order from the Rules Committee that waives certain rules governing consideration of any short- or long-term continuing appropriations measures. Amends rule XXI to establish certain guidelines for reporting and considering reconciliation measures in the House. Exempts Senate amendments and conference reports from such guidelines. Reserves all points of order against a reconciliation bill at the time it is reported. Prohibits the consideration in the House of any bill or joint resolution which directly or indirectly authorizes enactment of new budget authority for a fiscal year unless such measure is reported in the House on or before May 15 preceding the beginning of such fiscal year. Amends rule XXIV of the rules of the House of Representatives to revise the daily order of business for the House to include the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Amends rule XXVII to establish additional criteria for entertaining motions to suspend the rules and pass a measure in the House. Requires the Clerk of the House, after 100 Members have signed a motion to discharge a committee from the consideration of a measure, to: (1) cause the name of each Member who has signed or withdrawn a signature to such motion to be printed in the Congressional Record; and (2) publish an updated list in the Record at the end of each succeeding week the House is in session. Amends rule XXVIII to require inclusion of supplemental, minority, or additional views of a House conferee in the same published volume of the conference committee's report, if specified conditions are met. Amends rule XLVIII to require a specified oath to be administered to: (1) a newly appointed Member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; (2) each committee's employee; and (3) any person engaged by contract or to perform services for or at the request of the committee who is required to subscribe to the agreement in writing. Requires the Clerk of the House to provide for the printing of such oaths for: (1) filing in the records of the House; and (2) recording in the House Journal and in the Congressional Record. Directs the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to investigate and report to the House on any violation of such oath. Authorizes the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to refer cases of unauthorized disclosure and violations of the required oaths to such committee for investigation. Authorizes the committee by a majority vote to deny a member access to classified information if he or she is subject to a pending investigation. Directs the House Committees on Rules and on Government Operations by a certain date to report legislation granting the President enhanced rescission authority with respect to any budget authority not authorized by law. Sets forth procedures for considering such legislation if it is not reported out of such committees by the stated deadline. Directs the Committee on Rules to study and report to the House on the feasibility of converting to a biennial budget-appropriations process and corresponding multiyear authorizations. Declares that it is the policy of the House of Representatives that the following Federal laws should be amended to apply them to the House in the same or similar manner as they apply to the Executive Branch: (1) the National Labor Relations Act; (2) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; (3) the Equal Pay Act of 1963; (4) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; (5) the Freedom of Information Act; (6) the Privacy Act of 1974; (7) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and (8) specified provisions of the Federal judicial code relating to an independent counsel. Directs the standing committees of the House with subject jurisdiction over such Federal laws to report legislation to the House to implement such policy. Provides for consideration of such legislation. Requires the ratio of majority party to minority party staff positions, consultants, details, and funding for House committees to be the same ratio as that of Members of the House. Eliminates the following Select Committees in the House: (1) Aging; (2) Hunger; (3) Children, Youth, and Families; and (4) Narcotics Abuse and Control. Transfers the records, files, and materials of such select committees to the Clerk of the House. Applies the Freedom of Information Act to the Congress. Exempts information related to casework or constituent correspondence from such Act with respect to Members of the Congress. Provides that the period for which expenses of the former Speakers of the House may be paid shall end three years after the expiration date of such term of office, except that in the case of a former Speaker who is receiving such expenses on the date of the enactment of this Act, the period shall end three years after such date. Amends Federal law to prohibit a Member of the House from sending any franked mass mailing outside the Member's congressional district. Authorizes a Member of Congress to mail franked mail with a simplified form of address for delivery within his or her congressional district or State only. (Current law permits such mailings in areas proposed to become a part of such Member's congressional district by legislative or judicial proceedings but not in effect.) Prohibits the Committee on House Administration from approving any payment for, and a Member from making any expenditure from, any allowance of the House or any other official funds if any portion is for any cost related to a mass mailing by a Member of the House outside his or her congressional district. Amends the Federal Salary Act of 1967 to make it out of order to consider any bill or resolution that would adjust, or have the effect of adjusting, the salaries of Members of Congress if such measure contains any item which does not relate to adjusting Members' salaries. Prohibits consideration of any measure in the House appropriating amounts for the legislative branch of the Government if it permits such amount to remain available for obligation beyond the end of the fiscal year for which the amount is appropriated. Requires at least one attorney in the Office of the Parliamentarian in the House to be appointed upon the recommendation of the minority leader. Permits the chairman of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to serve for the first session of a Congress only. Requires the House to elect a member of such committee to serve as chairman from nominations submitted by the minority party caucus or conference, at the beginning of a second session of a Congress. Provides that in adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives in the 103d Congress and any subsequent Congress, each rule shall be agreed to by separate resolution of the House.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1992
Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992 - Title I: Tougher Law Enforcement Against Auto Theft - Subtitle A: Enhanced Penalties for Auto Theft - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for a fine, up to 20 years imprisonment, or both, for taking (or attempting to take) a motor vehicle from the person or presence of another by force, violence, or intimidation. Increases penalties for: (1) the importation and exportation of stolen motor vehicles, off-highway mobile equipment, vessels, or aircraft (stolen vehicles); and (2) the transportation, sale, or receipt of stolen vehicles. Makes altering or removing motor vehicle identification numbers, exporting or importing stolen vehicles, and dealing in counterfeit obligations or securities predicate offenses to a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Subtitle B: Targeted Law Enforcement - Requires the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to Anti-Car Theft Committees submitting applications in compliance with the requirements of this subtitle. Sets forth application requirements, including a statement from a chief executive of such committee that the applicant committee: (1) is either a State agency, an agency of a unit of local government, or a nonprofit entity organized pursuant to specific authorizing legislation by a State or such unit; (2) is or will be financed in part by a tax or fee on motor vehicles registered by or possessed within the State of not less than one dollar per vehicle; and (3) will devote its resources entirely to combating motor vehicle theft. Establishes formulas for the allocation of grant funds. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Automobile Title Fraud - Directs the Attorney General: (1) by March 1, 1993, to conduct a review of information systems pertaining to the titling of motor vehicles utilized by one or more States or by a third party which represents the interests of States, and promulgate such regulations as the Attorney General deems necessary to the establishment of an information system to serve as a clearinghouse for information pertaining to the titling of motor vehicles; and (2) within six months of the promulgation of regulations, and by no later than September 1, 1993, to establish such a system. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to: (1) system operation; (2) user fees; (3) minimum capabilities of the system (such as enabling the user to determine the validity and status of a document purporting to be a certificate of title); and (4) information availability. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes a State, by written notice to the operator, to elect to participate in the system. Grants the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation authority to deny access to the National Crime Information Center system to any State failing to participate in the information system pursuant to this Act. Sets forth: (1) title verification requirements (by participating States); (2) reporting requirements (by operators of junk or salvage yards and by insurance carriers); and (3) enforcement provisions (providing for the assessment and collection by the Attorney General of a civil penalty, which sum may be deducted from any sums owed by the United States to the person charged, subject to specified requirements). Title III: Illicit Trafficking in Stolen Auto Parts - Directs the Attorney General to promulgate a vehicle theft prevention standard which conforms to the requirements of this Act and which applies with respect to major automobile parts and replacement parts. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) deadlines for promulgation of a proposed and final standard, extensions, and the effective date of such standard; and (2) application of such standard (to major parts installed by the motor vehicle manufacturer in automobiles with a model year designation later than the calendar year in which such standard takes effect and major replacement parts manufactured after such standard takes effect). Requires that engines and transmissions installed by the motor vehicle manufacturer be permanently stamped with the vehicle identification number and that other major parts have labels affixed meeting certain specifications. Prohibits the standard, in the case of major replacement parts, from requiring identification of any part which is not designed as a replacement for a major part required to be identified under such standard and the inscribing or affixing of any identification other than a symbol identifying the manufacturer and a common symbol identifying the part as a major replacement part. Prohibits such standards from imposing costs, to comply with such standard, upon any manufacturer of: (1) motor vehicles in excess of $15 per vehicle; or (2) major replacement parts in excess of such reasonable lesser amount per major replacement part as the Attorney General specifies in such standard. Specifies that the cost of identifying engines and transmissions shall not be taken into account in calculating a manufacturer's costs under such provision. Directs the Secretary of Labor, at the beginning of each calendar year commencing on or after January 1, 1993, as data becomes available, to certify to the Attorney General and publish in the Federal Register the percentage difference between the average of the Consumer Price Index for the 12 months preceding the beginning of such calendar year and such average for the base period. Specifies that, effective for model years beginning in such calendar year, the amounts specified in the previous paragraph shall be adjusted by such percentage difference. Requires every manufacturer of a motor vehicle part which is subject to the standard and any manufacturer of major replacement parts subject to such standards: (1) to establish and maintain such records, make such reports, and provide such items and information as the Attorney General may reasonably require to enable the Attorney General to determine whether such manufacturer has acted or is acting in compliance with this Act and such standard; and (2) upon request of an officer or employee (officer) designated by the Attorney General, to permit such officer to inspect vehicles and major parts subject to the standard and appropriate documents relevant to determining whether such manufacturer has acted or is acting in compliance with this Act and such standard. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to inspections, certification of compliance with such standard, notification of errors to the Attorney General, and inapplicability of certification requirements (to motor vehicles or major replacement parts intended solely for export, which are so labeled or tagged on the vehicle or replacement part itself and on the outside of the container, if any, until exported, and which are exported). Directs the Attorney General to enter into an agreement for the operation of an information system containing the identification numbers of stolen motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts and to designate an individual or entity as the operator of such system. Requires such system to include, at a minimum, the following information pertaining to each motor vehicle reported to a law enforcement authority as stolen and not recovered: (1) the vehicle identification number; (2) the make and model year; (3) the date on which the vehicle was reported as stolen; (4) the location of the law enforcement authority that received the reports of the vehicle's theft; and (5) if the vehicle at the time of its theft contained parts bearing identification numbers different from the vehicle identification number of the stolen vehicle, such identification numbers. Sets forth additional provisions regarding availability of information, recordkeeping, and user fees. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits (with exceptions) any person from: (1) manufacturing for sale, selling, offering for sale, or introducing or delivering for introduction in interstate commerce or import into the United States any motor vehicle subject to the theft prevention standard under this Act or any major replacement part subject to such standard which is manufactured on or after the date the standard takes effect unless it is in conformity with such standard; (2) failing to comply with any rule prescribed by the Attorney General under this Act; (3) failing to keep specified records (or refusing access to or copying of records), make reports or provide items or information, or permit (or refusing to permit) entry or inspection as required by this Act; or (4) failing to furnish certification, or issuing a certification if such person knows that such certification is materially false or misleading, pursuant to this Act. Prohibits (with exceptions) any person from selling, transferring, or installing a major part marked with an identification number without: (1) first making a request of the operator of the system and determining that such major part has not been reported as stolen; and (2) providing the transferee with a written certificate bearing a description of such major part and the identification number affixed to such major part. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for violation of this Act, including injunctions (upon petition by the Attorney General) to restrain specified violations of, and criminal contempt for violation of an injunction or restraining order issued pursuant to, this Act. Sets forth provisions with respect to venue and subpoenas. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the confidentiality of information reported to, or otherwise obtained by, the Attorney General pursuant to this Act, with exceptions; (2) judicial review; and (3) coordination of State and local law with the Federal vehicle theft prevention standard. Directs the Attorney General to conduct three- and five-year studies regarding motor vehicle theft and make recommendations to the Congress. Title IV: Export of Stolen Vehicles - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the Commissioner of Customs to direct customs officers to conduct random inspections of motor vehicles and shipping containers that contain motor vehicles being exported for purposes of determining whether such vehicles were stolen. Directs the Commissioner to require all persons or entities exporting used self-propelled vehicles by air or ship to provide to the U.S. Customs Service, at least 72 hours before the export, the vehicle identification number of each such vehicle and proof of ownership of such vehicle. Makes such requirement applicable to vehicles exported for personal use. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a pilot study of the utility of a nondestructive examination system for inspection of containers that contain motor vehicles leaving the country for the purpose of determining whether such vehicles are stolen.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1992
AmeRus Foundation for Research and Development Act of 1992 - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish the AmeRus Foundation for Research and Development as an endowed, nongovernmental, nonprofit foundation to: (1) promote and support joint research for peaceful purposes between scientists and engineers in the United States and former Soviet states; (2) establish joint nondefense industrial research and development through private sector linkages which may involve the academic sectors and shall include some contribution from industrial participants; and (3) ensure equal distribution of Foundation funding. Authorizes the Foundation to accept funding from governmental appropriations, private donations, debt conversions, and local foreign currencies generated by U.S. assistance programs as available. Requires a specified percentage of royalty revenues on patents resulting from Foundation projects to be returned to the Foundation. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1992
Designates the U.S. Postal Service general mail facility located on Highway 49 in Gulfport, Mississippi, as the Larkin I. Smith General Mail Facility, and the one on Main Street in Poplarville, Mississippi, as the Larkin I. Smith Post Office.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1992
Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit consideration of any measure appropriating amounts for the Office Mail Allowance of the House unless it: (1) prohibits availability of any such amount for obligation after the end of the fiscal year for which the amount is appropriated; and (2) requires any amount not obligated before the end of the fiscal year to revert to the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1992
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the budget deficit for the fiscal year in which this Act is ratified to be reduced in the succeeding fiscal years such that the deficit, if any, in the succeeding fiscal years may not exceed the indicated amount of the deficit for the fiscal year (FY) in which this Act is ratified, as follows: (1) for the first FY after ratification, 80 percent; (2) for the second FY, 60 percent; (3) for the third FY, 40 percent; and (4) for the fourth FY, 20 percent. Prohibits, after the fourth FY after ratification, expenditures from exceeding receipts unless such expenditures are authorized by a law approved by three-fifths of each House of the Congress. Prohibits, beginning with the first FY after ratification, the total amount of revenues from exceeding 20 percent of the gross national product for the preceding FY unless authorized by a law approved by three-fifths of each House of the Congress. Requires, beginning with the sixth FY beginning after ratification and continuing until the national debt is extinguished, each fiscal budget to include a debt reduction payment equal to at least four percent of the total receipts. Allows the Congress to waive the provisions of this Act for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. Requires reducing any deficit that occurs as a result of such war within five fiscal years after the war following procedures set forth in this Act. Grants the President item veto authority over any appropriation in a bill or joint resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1992
Nuclear Reactor Licensing Act of 1992 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to prescribe guidelines for: (1) issuance by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of nuclear reactor combined construction and operating licenses; and (2) post-construction hearings on such licenses. Provides for judicial review of final Commission orders affecting such licenses.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1992
Energy Technology Growth Act - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 for the following Department of Energy (DOE) programs: (1) Fossil Energy Research and Development; (2) Nuclear Energy Research and Development; (3) Uranium Supply and Enrichment Activities; (4) the Nuclear Waste Fund; (5) Fusion Energy Research and Development; (6) Renewable Energy Research and Development; (7) Energy Conservation Research and Development; (8) Supporting Research and Technical Analysis; (9) Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program; (10) Biological and Environmental Research; (11) Environment, Safety and Health; and (12) Steel and Aluminum Research. Makes conforming amendments to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 and the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1990. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to transfer specified funds from DOE civilian accounts during FY 1992 through 2001 for research and development projects advancing new energy supply, production, distribution, and consumption technologies, and for highly innovative technologies, including those based on yet unproven scientific theory. Directs DOE to continue the first-of-a-kind engineering design program in cooperation with the U.S. utility industry in order to begin the construction of standardized nuclear powerplants by 1995. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish the Research Reactor User Complex (RRC), a research, development, and production center. Sets forth implementation guidelines, including the requirement that a contractor retained by DOE to operate the RRC shall maintain and operate the Fast Flux Test Facility for research and development on isotopes and energy. Establishes the RRC Fund to be funded by related user chargers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish investment tax credits for advanced energy use property and for increased product efficiency.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1992
Authorizes the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to publicly disclose the name and pertinent account information of any Member or former Member who it finds, pursuant to H. Res. 236, has abused banking privileges between July 1, 1988, to October 3, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
Unemployment-Based Immigration Adjustment Act of 1992 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to adjust annual immigration levels in relation to U.S. unemployment levels.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
Freedom from Government Competition Act of 1992 - Requires Federal agencies to obtain all goods and services necessary for or beneficial to the accomplishment of their authorized functions by procurement from private sources unless: (1) the goods or services are required by law to be produced or performed, respectively, by the agency; (2) or the head of the agency determines and certifies to the Congress that Government production, manufacture, or provision of a good or service is necessary for national defense, that a good or service is so inherently governmental in nature that it is in the public interest to require production or performance by a Government employee, or that there is no private source capable of providing the good or service. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to study and report to the Congress on: (1) agency activities which are inconsistent with such requirements; and (2) a schedule for transferring such activities to the private sector.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
Requires that representatives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) negotiate with the Governments of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, or the Commonwealth of Independent States regarding acquisition by the United States of civil space hardware and related technology for integration into U.S. civil space projects authorized by the Congress, with emphasis on the acquisition of prototypes and technology so that the actual hardware can be manufactured in the United States. Allows limited exemption, during the negotiations, from laws regarding the exporting of technical data. Provides for NASA approval of NASA contractors as NASA representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
Improvement of Housing for the Elderly and Disabled Act - Title I: Authority to Provide Housing Under United States Housing Act of 1937 for Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to authorize public housing authorities to provide designated (such as only elderly or only handicapped) low-income housing, and make units available only to families so designated. Requires that current waiting lists be observed before initiating designated housing options. Prohibits forced tenant moves based upon amendments made by this title. Considers central dining facility expenditures made in connection with congregate housing as an operating cost. Title II: Standards and Obligations of Residency and Coordination of Services in Federally Assisted Housing - Requires federally assisted housing owners and public housing authorities to select only tenants who comply with specified occupancy criteria. Permits refusal of occupancy because of: (1) criminal activity; (2) prior evictions; (3) a history of disturbing other neighbors or destroying property; (4) intentional misrepresentations; or (5) failure to meet financial obligations. Requires leases to enumerate such criteria and state that their violation shall be sufficient grounds for eviction. Requires the appointment of service coordinators in federally assisted housing to coordinate services for older or disabled residents, which may include safety, social, health, and nutritional services. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to direct public housing agencies to assist elderly or disabled families in funding nonpublic housing.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1992
Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to repeal the provision taxing scholarships and fellowships, and to exclude them from gross income, beginning with the 1987 tax year. Waives the statute of limitations for related refund or credit claims filed within one year of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992
District of Columbia Omnibus Anti-Crime Act of 1992 - Title I: Expanded Penalties for Crimes of Violence - Amends the District of Columbia Code (DC Code) to provide for mandatory life imprisonment (as under current law) without parole for first degree murder. Subjects persons convicted of assault with intent to commit bodily injury to up to ten years' imprisonment. Provides that whoever in the commission of specified acts of assault on a member of a police force or fire department does not employ force likely to cause serious bodily harm or death or does not use a deadly or dangerous weapon shall be fined up to $500, imprisoned for up to 90 days, or both. Title II: Penalties for Activities Relating to Criminal Drug Enterprises and Distributing Drugs in Vicinity of Schools - Amends the District of Columbia Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1981 (Uniform Act), to provide for an enhanced penalty (imprisonment, fine, or both, up to twice that authorized) for distribution or manufacturing controlled substances in or near schools, colleges, youth centers, public swimming pools, or video arcades. Sets a mandatory minimum sentence, except with respect to offenses involving five grams or less of marijuana. Provides for an enhanced penalty and a mandatory minimum sentence for distribution of a controlled substance to a pregnant woman. Amends: (1) the Dangerous Weapons Act to provide for an enhanced penalty for crimes involving dangerous weapons committed in or near schools and colleges; (2) the Firearms Control Regulation Act to provide for a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of up to ten years, or both, for persons over age 21 who illegally sell, transfer, or distribute a firearm, destructive device, or ammunition to anyone under age 18; and (3) the Uniform Act to subject those who attempt or conspire to commit serious drug-related crimes to the same penalties as those who commit the crimes which were the objects of such attempt or conspiracy (currently, punishable by imprisonment, fine, or both, which may not exceed the maximum authorized for the underlying offense). Revises DC Code provisions concerning victim impact statements and the rights of crime victims. Specifies that each victim of a crime of violence shall have the right to: (1) be present at the defendant's trial, sentencing, and parole hearings; (2) submit, prior to the imposition of sentence, a written victim impact statement (as under current law); (3) offer at the time of sentencing an oral or written statement of the victim's opinion of the sentence that should be imposed on the defendant and have such statement entered into the record; and (4) offer, at the defendant's parole hearings, an oral or written statement of the victim's opinion of whether or not the defendant should be granted parole. Sets forth additional provisions, including notification to the victim of the right to submit and offer statements and any changes in the defendant's status. Permits individuals 14 years of age or older (currently, 16) to be tried as adults for certain serious crimes. Title III: Revision of Standards for Bail and Pretrial Detention - Revises DC Code provisions with respect to release prior to trial and pretrial detention. Provides that, upon the appearance before a judicial officer (officer) of a person charged with an offense (other than first-degree murder), the officer shall issue an order that, pending trial, the person be: (1) released on personal recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured bond; (2) released on a condition or combination of specified conditions (condition); (3) temporarily detained to permit revocation of conditional release, deportation, or exclusion; or (4) detained. Requires the officer to order the pretrial release of the person on personal recognizance, or upon execution of an unsecured appearance bond in an amount specified by the court, subject to the condition that the person not commit a crime during the period of release, unless the officer determines that such release will not reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required or will endanger the safety of another person or the community (in which case such officer shall order the person's pretrial release, subject to such condition, and subject to the least restrictive further condition that the officer determines will reasonably assure such person's appearance and the safety of any other person and the community). Authorizes the officer to conduct an inquiry into the source of the property to be designated for potential forfeiture or offered as collateral to secure a bond and requires such officer to decline to accept the designation or the use as collateral of property that, because of its source, will not reasonably assure the person's appearance. Bars the officer from imposing a financial condition that results in the pretrial detention of the person. Entitles a person for whom conditions of release are imposed and who, after 24 hours from the time of the release hearing, continues to be detained as a result of inability to meet the conditions of release, upon application, to have the conditions reviewed by the officer who imposed them. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to such review. Authorizes the officer to impose additional or different conditions of release. Requires the officer, in determining whether there are conditions of release that will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community, to take into account available information concerning the nature and circumstances of the offense charged, the weight of the evidence against the person, the history and characteristics of such person, and the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community that would be posed by such person's release. Directs the officer, when ordering the pretrial release of the person on personal recognizance or upon execution of an unsecured appearance bond, to: (1) include a written statement that sets forth all the conditions to which the release is subject in a manner sufficiently clear and specific to serve as a guide for the person's conduct; and (2) advise the person of the penalties for, and consequences of, violating a condition of release, and of provisions of the District of Columbia Theft and White Collar Crimes Act of 1982 (relating to intimidation of witnesses, jurors, and officers of the court, obstruction of criminal investigations, and retaliation against a witness, victim, or informant). Requires the officer, upon a determination that a person charged with an offense (other than first-degree murder) is, and was at the time the offense was committed, on release pending trial for a felony or pending imposition or execution of sentence, appeal of sentence or conviction, or completion of sentence, or on probation or parole, or not a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and may flee or pose a danger to any person or the community, to: (1) order the detention of the person for a period of not more than ten days (excluding weekends and holidays); and (2) direct the attorney for the Government to notify the appropriate court, probation, or parole official, local or State law enforcement official, or official of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Specifies that, if the official fails or declines to take the person into custody during that period, the person shall be treated in accordance with this title, notwithstanding the applicability of other provisions of law governing release pending trial or deportation or exclusion proceedings. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to: (1) burdens of proof and presumptions; (2) the holding of a hearing to determine whether any conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community; (3) the initiation by the attorney for the Government of a pretrial detention hearing by ex parte motion and the holding of such hearing; (4) detention of the person pending completion of the hearing; and (5) review and appeal of a release or detention order. Title IV: Superior Court of the District of Columbia - Increases the number of associate judges of the D.C. Superior Court from 58 to 60, effective October 1, 1992, and to 62, effective October 1, 1993. Authorizes appropriations for the operation of such Court during FY 1993. Revises DC Code provisions to expand the authority of hearing commissioners to make findings and enter final orders or judgments with respect to specified proceedings, including certain landlord-tenant disputes, small claims proceedings, criminal misdemeanors, and uncontested probate and fiduciary proceedings. Increases the maximum amount in controversy permitted for cases under the jurisdiction of the Small Claims and Conciliation Branch of the D.C. Superior Court. Title V: Dealth Penalty for Murders - Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for murders (where a person intentionally, knowingly, or through recklessness manifesting extreme indifference to human life, or through the intentional infliction of serious bodily injury, caused the death of a person) in the District of Columbia, with respect to offenses committed after the expiration of the six-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, unless during such period the registered electors of the District of Columbia vote to reject such amendment by referendum. Title VI: Repeal of Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act of 1985 - Repeals the Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act of 1985.
![Official portrait of Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000244_200.jpg)