United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1993
Health Care Information Modernization and Security Act of 1993 - Amends the Social Security Act to establish the Health Care Data Panel to: (1) develop and submit to the Office of Management and Budget for implementation proposed regulations for an integrated electronic health care data interchange system; (2) select and establish data and transaction standards, conventions, and requirements for the data interchange system; and (3) provide for appointment of a National Health Informatics Commission to advise the Panel on its activities. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1993
Rent-To-Own Reform Act of 1993 - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to designate a new title X as the Rent-To-Own Protection Act to prohibit a seller in a rent-to-own transaction from taking, receiving, or assessing any interest, finance charge, or other fee for the transaction in excess of that which may be charged under State law which establishes in connection with a credit or retail installment sale for the same or a similar item: (1) a maximum rate or amount of interest, finance charge, or time-price differential that may be charged; (2) the types and maximum amount of fees that a seller may charge; or (3) the types of credit insurance and the maximum amount of premiums that can be charged for credit insurance. Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) termination, recovery, and other fees; (2) the effect of termination; and (3) guarantees and warranties. Makes the following Federal laws applicable to rent-to-own transactions: (1) the Truth in Lending Act; (2) the Equal Credit Opportunity Act; (3) the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; and (4) the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Requires a seller to include the following information on each item in the seller's place of business that is available for purchase pursuant to a rent-to-own transaction: (1) the cash price; (2) an itemization of services offered and the price of each service; (3) the annual percentage rate; (4) any applicable periodic payment and the number of payments; (5) the total number of payments required to acquire ownership; and (6) whether the item is new or used. Requires a seller to provide such information to a consumer in writing at the time the parties enter into the contract. Prohibits a seller under a rent-to-own contract with a consumer from taking specified actions, such as using threats or coercion to collect amounts alleged due, or unreasonably disclosing information to third parties regarding amounts owed by the consumer. Makes compliance with the requirements of this Act enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission. Deems a violation of this Act to be an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Subjects sellers who violate the requirements of this Act to civil liability.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1993
General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to set forth a 15-year statute of limitations within which a person may bring a civil action against an aircraft manufacturer for damages for death or injury or damage to property arising from an aircraft accident.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1993
Expands the Point Reyes National Seashore in California. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) acquire certain lands within such area (including development rights and conservation easements) with the consent of the owner (unless the Secretary determines that the lands are subject to, or threatened with, uses which are having or would have an adverse impact on the area); and (2) negotiate for the acquisition of lands specifically for trail purposes. Authorizes appropriations. Adds specified lands to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Research on Women's Health Subtitle A: NIH Women Scientist Employment Opportunities Act Subtitle B: Women and AIDS Research Initiative Amendments of 1993 Subtitle C: Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act of 1993 Subtitle D: National Breast Cancer Strategy Act of 1993 Subtitle E: Lupus Research Amendments of 1993 Subtitle F: Women's Midlife Health Research Act Subtitle G: Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Research Education, and Health Services Act of 1993 Subtitle H: Ovarian Cancer Research and Information Amendments of 1993 Subtitle I: Antiprogestin Testing Act of 1993 Subtitle J: Women's Health Environmental Factors Research Act of 1993 Subtitle K: Federal Risk Assessment in Women's Health Act of 1993 Subtitle L: Pharmaceutical Interactions Safety Act Subtitle M: Pharmaceutical Testing Fairness Act Subtitle N: Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Studies Act of 1993 Title II: Services Regarding Women's Health Subtitle A: Equity in Health Professions Education Act Subtitle B: Women's Health Office Act of 1993 Subtitle C: Women's Health Information Act of 1993 Subtitle D: Breast and Cervical Cancer Amendments of 1993 Subtitle E: Women's Preventive Health Amendments of 1993 Subtitle F: Postreproductive Health Care Act Subtitle G: Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Act of 1993 Subtitle H: Mickey Leland Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenthood Act of 1993 Subtitle I: Adolescent Health Demonstrations Projects Act of 1993 Subtitle J: Eating Disorders Information and Education Act of 1993 Subtitle K: Women and HIV Outreach and Prevention Act Subtitle L: Standby Guardianship Act Subtitle M: Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1993 Subtitle N: Smoking Prevention and Cessation in WIC Clinics Act Subtitle O: Family and Medical Leave Health Care Reform Resolution of 1993 Subtitle P: Veteran Women's Health Improvement Act of 1993 Subtitle Q: Defense Women's Health Improvement Act of 1993 Subtitle R: International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health Act Women's Health Equity Act of 1993 - Title I: Research on Women's Health - Subtitle A: Women Scientists Employment Opportunities Act - NIH Women Scientists Employment Opportunity Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to: (1) establish policies for NIH on matters relating to the employment of women scientists by NIH; and (2) monitor compliance with such policies and take appropriate actions if the policies have been violated. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Women and AIDS Research Initiative Amendments of 1993 - Women and Aids Research Initiative Amendments of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with respect to cases of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, to establish a program, under the Public Health Service Act, for the purpose of conducting biomedical and behavioral research on such cases in women, especially on the prevention of such cases. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act of 1993 - Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act of 1993 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to obligate a specified amount to carry out research projects on alcohol abuse and alcoholism among women. Subtitle D: National Breast Cancer Strategy Act of 1993 - National Breast Cancer Strategy Act of 1993 - Establishes an Office of Breast Cancer within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health to coordinate activities of Federal agencies relating to breast cancer. (Sec. 118) Establishes the National Breast Cancer Commission to conduct a study on current efforts on both the public and private sectors relating to the prevention, early detection, treatment, education, and research relating to breast cancer. (Sec. 119) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1994 through 1996 for conducting and supporting research on breast cancer through the National Cancer Institute. (Sec. 120) Requires the Director of the National Cancer Institute to: (1) conduct and support biomedical and behavioral research and research training, the dissemination of health information, and other programs with respect to breast cancer; and (2) establish the Rose Kushner Scholarship Program for the purpose of entering into contracts with individuals under which the Institute provides scholarships to individuals for attending health professions schools and the individuals agree to study oncology and serve as employees of the National Institutes of Health for a specified period. (Sec. 121) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1994 through 1996 for at least ten research programs on breast cancer, lung cancer, or prostate cancer under designated programs. Subtitle E: Lupus Research Amendments of 1993 - Lupus Research Amendments of 1993 - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute with respect to lupus. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart F: Women's Midlife Health Research Act - Women's Midlife Health Research Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute on Aging to provide for the development or expansion of not less than five centers for research on: (1) the process by which the functioning of the ovaries diminishes or ceases completely; and (2) conditions arising from the diminished or complete cessation of the functioning of the ovaries. Subtitle G: Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Research Education, and Health Services Act of 1993 - Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Research, Education, and Health Services Act of 1993 - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the Director of the National Institute on Aging, and the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand and intensify research on osteoporosis and related bone disorders. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services an Interagency Council on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders. Sets forth the duties of such Council. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services an Advisory Panel on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to make grants or enter into contracts with eligible organizations to establish a Resource Center on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle H: Ovarian Cancer Research and Information Amendments of 1993 - Ovarian Cancer Research and Information Amendments of 1993 - Amends provisions of the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993 which added provisions to the Public Health Service Act to make revisions concerning ovarian cancer funding and public information education. Subtitle I: Antiprogestin Testing Act of 1993 - Antiprogestin Testing Act of 1993 - Provides for research on antiprogestin drugs for any potential use, including termination of pregnancy and contraception and when used therapeutically for cancer, endocrine disorders, and endometriosis. Subtitle J: Women's Health Environmental Factors Research Act of 1993 - Women's Health Environmental Factors Research Act of 1993 - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to carry out research on the effects that environmental factors have on women's health conditions. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle K: Federal Risk Assessment in Women's Health Act of 1993 - Federal Risk Assessment in Women's Health Act of 1993 - Directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy to conduct a review of all Federal programs that assess or mitigate the risks to women's health from environmental exposures. Subtitle L: Pharmaceutical Interactions Safety Act - Pharmaceutical Interactions Safety Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act to require clinical investigations to include investigations of the possible interaction of the drug or biological product with relevant female or male hormones, unless inappropriate. Subtitle M: Pharmaceutical Testing Fairness Act - Pharmaceutical Testing Fairness Act - Requires new drug clinical investigations, device clinical investigations, and biological products clinical investigations to include women and minority groups as subjects, unless inappropriate. Subtitle N: Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Studies Act of 1993 - Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Studies Act of 1993 - Directs the Federal Trade Commissions to conduct specified studies concerning tobacco advertising and its effect on women and minorities, as well as its targeting of women and girls concerning weight loss, and the demographics of such advertising. Title II: Services Regarding Women's Health - Subtitle A: Equity in Health Professions Education Act - Equity in Health Professions Education Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study to determine the extent to which health professions schools provide adequate education to students on women's health conditions. Subtitle B: Women's Health Office Act of 1993 - Women's Health Office Act of 1993 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health an Office of Women's Health. Sets forth the duties of such Office. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 208) Establishes within the Office of the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an Office of Women's Health. Sets forth the duties of such Office. Requires the Director of such Office to establish the Coordinating Committee on Research on Women's Health. Sets forth the duties of such Committee. (Sec. 209) Establishes within the Office of the Director of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research an Office of Women's Health. Sets forth the duties of such Office. Requires the Director of such Office to establish the Coordinating Committee on Research on the Women's Health. Sets forth the duties of such Committee. (Sec. 210) Amends title VII of the Social Security Act to provide for the establishment within the Office of the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration an Office of Women's Health. Sets forth the duties of such Office. Requires the Director of the Office to establish the Coordinating Committee on Research on Women's Health. Sets forth the duties of such Committee. (Sec. 210A) Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish within the Office of Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration an Office of Women's Health. Sets forth the duties of such Office. Requires the Director of such Office to establish the Coordinating Committee on Women's Health. Sets forth the duties of such Committee. Subtitle C: Women's Health Information Act of 1993 - Women's Health Information Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an Interagency Committee on Health Communications to provide advice to the Secretary on developing and coordinating Federal promotion and education activities, including activities within the Public Health Service. Requires the Committee to give priority to carrying out activities regarding women's health. (Sec. 214) Directs the Assistant Secretary for Health to establish the Clearinghouse on Women's Health to compile, archive and disseminate information concerning women's health and to publish a yearly summary of such materials to be made available upon request. Subtitle D: Breast and Cervical Cancer Amendments of 1993 - Breast and Cervical Cancer Amendments of 1993 - Amends provisions of the program under the Public Health Service Act which provides for breast cancer screenings to place certain limits on the amounts which may be paid to promote entities for such screenings. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1998 for the screening program. Subtitle E: Women's Preventive Health Amendments of 1993 - Women's Preventive Health Amendments of 1993 - Provides for grants for demonstration projects relating to preventive health care for women. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Postreproductive Health Care Act - Postreproductive Health Care Act - Provides for grants to provide specified health services to women who are of menopause age or older. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle G: Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Act of 1993 - Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Act of 1993 - Provides for Medicare coverage of bone mass measurements for qualified individuals. Subtitle H: Mickey Leland Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenthood Act of 1993 - Mickey Leland Adolescent Pregency Prevention and Parenthood Act of 1993 - Revises title XX of the Public Health Service Act. Renames such title as Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Care, and Research Grants. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide prevention and care services to pregnant adolescents and their male partners, adolescent parents, and nonpregnant adolescents. Sets forth provisions affecting: (1) how such grants are to be used; (2) priorities, amounts, and duration of such grants; (3) grant application requirements; (4) program coordination; and (5) research. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle I: Adolescent Health Demonstrations Projects Act of 1993 - Adolescent Health Demonstrations Projects Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary to make grants to establish or support adolescent health demonstration projects in secondary schools for the purpose of demonstrating how such projects may be established throughout the United States. Requires that priority be given to projects serving low-income or minority populations. Prohibits the use of any project funds to perform or pay for abortions. Subtitle J: Eating Disorders Information and Education Act of 1993 - Eating Disorders Information and Education Act of 1993 - Provides for a program of information and education to the public on the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle K: Women and HIV Outreach and Prevention Act - Women and HIV Outreach and Prevention Act - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for a program that provides to women preventive health services that are related to acquired immune deficiency. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 253) Authorizes the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to make grants for the treatment of women for substance abuse, including counseling to prevent infection with and transmission of AIDS. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 254) Authorizes appropriations for the AIDs early intervention program for women under the Public Health Service Act. Subtitle L: Standby Guardianship Act - Standby Guardianship Act - Amends part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to require a State, in order to be eligible for payments under such part, to have in effect standby guardianship laws and procedures. Subtitle M: Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1993 - Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for the imprisonment or fining of any individual who knowingly circumcises, excises, or infibulates the whole or any part of the labia majora or labia minora or clitoris of any person under the age of 18. Directs the Secretary to carry out outreach activities in communities that traditionally practice female circumcision. Subtitle N: Smoking Prevention and Cessation in WIC Clinics Act - Smoking Prevention and Cessation in WIC Clinics Act - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require the State agency responsible for nutrition education and drug abuse education to establish a smoking cessation demonstration program for pregnant participants. Subtitle O: Family and Medical Leave Health Care Reform Resolution of 1993 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that any bill to address the ongoing and unmet health insurance needs of this country that is enacted should require that paid or unpaid leave, as detailed in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, be incorporated as a basic or elective option in specified situations. Subtitle P: Veteran Women's Health Improvement Act of 1993 - Veteran Women's Health Improvement Act of 1993 - Includes women's health services within the definition of medical services authorized to be furnished to eligible veterans. Includes as women's health services pap smears, breast examinations, and reproductive health care. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to contract with non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities for outpatient women's health services when Department facilities are inadequate or inaccessible. Requires information on the provision of women's health services to be included in a report from the Secretary to the Congress concerning women veterans. (Sec. 278) Amends the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 to: (1) require consultation by the Secretary with various officials, advisory committees, and task forces with regard to appropriate women's health research; (2) expand the research related to women to include specified topics; (3) include certain appropriate personnel of the Department in conducting such research, including women veterans and veteran members of minority groups; and (4) direct that a women veterans population study report required under such Act include an examination of the medical and demographic histories of women veterans comprising the study sample. (Sec. 279) Makes applicable to Department medical facilities provisions of the Public Health Service Act regarding mammography quality standards. Requires all Department facilities to meet such standards within two years. Subtitle Q: Defense Women's Health Improvement Act of 1993 - Requires female members and former members of the armed forces who are entitled to medical care under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to be furnished primary and preventive health care services for women as part of such care. Provides the same coverage for female dependents of members and former members of the armed forces. (Sec. 283) Directs the Secretary of Defense to prepare and submit to the Congress a report evaluating the provision of health care services through military medical treatment facilities and CHAMPUS to female members of the armed forces and female covered beneficiaries. Requires the Secretary to include a study to determine the needs of female members and dependents for health care services, including primary and preventive health care services for women. (Sec. 284) Directs the Secretary to establish a Defense Women's Health Research Center within the Department of the Army to be the coordinating agent for multidisciplinary and multiinstitutional research within the Department of Defense on women's health issues related to service in the armed forces. (Sec. 285) Directs the Secretary of the Army, during FY 1994, to continue the breast cancer research program as established under prior law. (Sec. 286) Directs the Secretary of Defense, in conducting or supporting clinical research, to ensure that women and minority group members of the armed forces are included as research subjects. Provides a waiver of such requirement. (Sec. 287) Directs the Secretary to submit three annual reports on research relating to female members and dependents within the armed forces. (Sec. 288) Directs the Secretary to establish at the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences a women's health curriculum advisory committee to promote the comprehensive integration of women's health issues into the curriculum. Subtitle R: International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health Act - International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to set forth population assistance authorities and requirements. (Sec. 292) Makes such assistance available to a country that: (1) accounts for a significant portion of the world's annual population increment; (2) has significant unmet needs for methods of contraception, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and obstetric and gynecological care and requires foreign assistance to sustain quality reproductive health services; or (3) demonstrates a strong commitment to population stabilization and reproductive health strategies. Prohibits nongovernmental and multilateral organizations from being subjected to requirements which are more restrictive than those applicable to foreign governments for such assistance. Makes funds available for: (1) the United Nations Population Fund if it agrees to prohibit the use of funds for coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization; and (2) the Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training to further international cooperation in the development of contraceptive technology. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 294) Makes development assistance available on a priority basis for countries which have agreed to address specific education, literacy, and health issues. Authorizes the President to establish a grant program, to be known as the Safe Motherhood Initiative, to improve the access of girls and women to reproductive health care services. Earmarks amounts of development and economic assistance for programs in support of equalizing male and female levels of primary and secondary school enrollment. Authorizes appropriations for the Child Survival Fund, the Safe Motherhood Initiative, and for research on, and treatment and control of, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in developing countries. (Sec. 296) Requires the U.S. executive directors of specified international financial institutions to report annually to the Congress on allocations to population activities and, if such allocations total less than $1 million, to set forth actions to encourage increased allocations. (Sec. 297) Establishes the Commission on World Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health to coordinate U.S. participation in the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 298) Provides for certain actions to support the United Nations Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1993
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the start-up or continued operation of any plutonium separation plant presents serious environmental hazards and increases the risk of nuclear proliferation and should be suspended until specified proliferation and environmental concerns have been resolved. Urges the President to: (1) convey such opinion to the Governments of the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Russia; and (2) address the proliferation and environmental implications of the new Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) in the United Kingdom in high-level discussions with the Government of the United Kingdom before the conclusion of such Government's internal review of whether THORP will be allowed to start up.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1993
Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to revise provisions concerning limitations on cost of living adjustments for military retirees to set forth special rules concerning such adjustments for FY 1994 through 1996 (currently, special rules are set forth for FY 1994 through 1998).
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1993
Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue regulations which: (1) require domestic and foreign aircraft to have a ventilation system which provides not less than 20 cubic feet of fresh air per minute per person in the cabin; and (2) provide for monitoring recirculating air filters to ensure that they are changed when needed, maintaining a minimum standard of humidity in the aircraft's cabin, and monitoring the ozone levels in the cabin to assure compliance with current regulations. Requires the Administrator of the FAA to establish a toll-free telephone number system for receiving telephone calls to report illnesses relating to aircraft travel.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1993
Federal Employee Base Closure Retirement Act - Amends Federal law to modify the early-retirement reduction provisions with respect to certain Federal employees who are law enforcement officers or air traffic controllers and who are separated from service due to a closure or realignment of a military installation under the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1993
Chlorine Zero Discharge Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require pulp and paper manufacturing facilities to achieve zero discharge into water of organochlorine compounds, byproducts, or metabolites formulated as a result of the use of chlorine or any other chlorinated oxidizing agent in the pulp and paper manufacturing process. Requires permits for paper and pulp mills which use chlorine or chlorinated oxidizing agents to require compliance with the zero discharge requirement. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) evaluate alternatives to the use of organochlorines in pulp and paper manufacturing and to publish a report on the transfer to chlorine-free technology in the pulp and paper industry as a model for pollution prevention; and (2) provide technical information and support to assist permit applicants in the use of such alternatives.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1993
Adopt-A-School Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow businesses a tax credit for 70 percent of qualified contributions made to public elementary and secondary schools located in poverty areas.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1993
Natural Disaster Protection Act of 1993 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Act) to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop programs to carry out specified multihazard mitigation and emergency management initiatives, including the development of model building codes and other hazard mitigation measures for catastrophic natural disasters, training and research in such areas, hazard mitigation technology, and local emergency response operations. Allows local communities five years after the date of enactment of this Act to comply with multihazard building and safety codes outlined under this Act, after which public assistance funds will be withheld for noncompliance. Requires the Director to identify States which are prone to damages from hurricanes, windstorms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and flooding (natural disasters), and to designate each State appropriately as hurricane-, windstorm-, earthquake-, volcanic eruption-, or flood-prone. Requires each State so designated to either: (1) adopt the relevant natural disaster hazard mitigation portions of the newest building codes for such State for all new or substantially modified building construction in such State; or (2) certify that the local communities have adopted building codes which meet or exceed such requirements. Requires each State designated as disaster-prone to either: (1) develop a hazard mitigation plan with accompanying schedules for improving the State's ability to reduce the hazards of future natural disasters; or (2) designate an existing plan which meets such requirements. Requires a completed plan to be submitted to the Director within two years after designation. Outlines State compliance procedures, and imposes penalties for hazard mitigation plan noncompliance. Establishes the Self-Sustaining Mitigation Fund for Federal and State support of hazard mitigation and emergency management activities, with amounts provided by the Director to each disaster-prone State for appropriate purposes. Establishes the Natural Disaster Mitigation and Planning Advisory Committee as an independent advisory committee to advise the Director on hazard mitigation and disaster planning, and to review hazard mitigation regulations issued by the Director. Requires the Director to establish and carry out a national multihazard insurance program (the Primary Insurance Program) to provide insurance against real or personal property loss in any State resulting from an earthquake or volcanic eruption. Requires the Director to evaluate the feasibility of including flood as a covered peril under the Primary Insurance Program. Outlines specified procedures for increased participation in the Federal flood insurance program under the National Flood Insurance Act, with a required report. Outlines further provisions with respect to the Primary Insurance Program, including program scope (initially limited to residential housing), terms and limitations, covered hazards, and insurance actuarial rates. Establishes in the Treasury the Primary Insurance Program Fund to carry out such Program. Provides for Fund uses, investments, and disbursements, authorizing the Director, when necessary, to borrow from the Treasury for Fund purposes. Requires the Director, in carrying out the Program, to provide certain insurance mitigation incentives, including the charging of lower premiums for residential property located in disaster-prone States. Requires the Director to make available to eligible entities excess reinsurance coverage for any direct and indirect losses that arise from a hurricane, earthquake, volcanic eruption, or tsunami (tidal wave). Outlines provisions concerning eligible entities and reinsurance coverage terms, limitations, and obligations, including the covered lines of insurance. Requires the establishment of actuarially sound rates for such coverage. Establishes in the Treasury the Reinsurance Fund for implementation of such reinsurance coverage. Requires the Director to develop a plan of operation to ensure the fair, reasonable, and equitable administration of the Primary Insurance Program Fund, the Reinsurance Fund, and other activities outlined in this Act. Establishes the Federal Insurance and Reinsurance Advisory Committee as an independent committee and requires the plan to be submitted to such Committee for review and recommendations. Requires a Committee report.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1993
Headwaters Forest Act - Extends the boundaries of the Six Rivers National Forest, California, to include certain lands to be referred to as the Six Rivers National Forest Addition. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) acquire land within the boundaries of the Addition by donation, by purchase, or by exchange for other lands owned by any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States; and (2) develop and implement a land acquisition plan giving priority to the acquisition of lands within the boundaries of the Headwaters Forest Wilderness. Authorizes appropriations. Designates the Headwaters Forest Wilderness as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Requires the Secretary to develop a comprehensive management plan detailing measures for the preservation of the existing old growth redwood ecosystems in the Addition, including: (1) a prohibition on timber sales from lands within the old growth redwood groves; and (2) measures to restore lands affected by previous timber harvests to mitigate watershed degradation and impairment of habitat for the marbled murrelet, spotted owl, native salmon stocks, and other old-growth forest dependent species. Sets forth provisions regarding payments to local governments in lieu of taxes for lands acquired under this Act. Directs the Secretary to study specified lands in the Addition, analyzing the area's potential for addition to the Headwaters Forest and identifying the area's natural resources.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1993
Information on Financial Benefits Act of 1993 - Requires lobbyists to include in their semiannual reports or in separate reports on financial benefits specified information about individual financial benefits provided to a covered legislative branch official, an entity that is established, maintained, or financed by such an official, or any person on behalf of such official, including: (1) the name and position of the recipient, the nature and value of the benefit, and the date on which the benefit was provided; and (2) with respect to conferences affiliated with official congressional organizations, events hosted with or in honor of covered officials, or election campaign fundraising activities, the nature and date of, and expenses incurred by the lobbyist in connection with, the event. Exempts from disclosure any financial benefits having a value of $20 or less to the extent that the aggregate value of benefits provided to a covered official in the calendar year covered by the report has not exceeded $50.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1993
San Gabriel Basin Demonstration Project Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority to provide water treatment to remove volatile organic compounds from the groundwater in the San Gabriel Basin. Requires the Authority to provide treatment for water withdrawn from the Basin by qualified public water systems unless otherwise provided by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Prohibits water treatment under such agreements unless specified conditions are met, including that: (1) at least 65 percent of notified potentially responsible parties (PRPs) have entered into cost-sharing contracts that provide for payment of at least 50 percent of costs incurred by the Administrator; and (2) contracts with participating parties provide for environmental site assessments and for removal and remedial action with respect to hazardous substances in the soil above the water table on the property. Sets forth cost-sharing requirements. Sets the maximum obligation of a participating party at 200 percent of the party's share of estimated total Federal costs for water treatment. Requires water treatment to comply with the most stringent standards for drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act or any State law governing drinking water quality. Authorizes appropriations. Makes Federal costs under this Act recoverable under Superfund from PRPs not participating in contracts. Absolves participating parties of liability for removal or remediation costs with respect to hazardous substances in the Basin or for damages to natural resources to the extent that releases occurred before this Act's enactment and are identified in site assessments. Removes the exemption from liability if the party: (1) has failed to make the required contribution or to carry out required activities; or (2) has filed a suit against another person for contribution of costs. Prohibits participating parties from bringing actions against other persons for contributions of costs. Absolves public water systems of liability in suits brought by PRPs who are not participating parties. Requires participating parties to establish Comprehensive Environmental Compliance Programs and to conduct Environmental Site Assessments.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1993
Congressional Employees Fairness Act - Makes applicable to the Congress: (1) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (3) specified provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and (4) the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Makes applicable to the Congress any provision of Federal law to the extent that it relates to: (1) the terms and conditions of employment (including hiring, promotion, or demotion, salary and wages, overtime compensation, benefits, work assignments or reassignments, and termination) of employees; (2) protection from discrimination in personnel actions; (3) the health and safety of employees; (4) the availability of information to the public; or (5) other areas deemed appropriate by the Independent Office of Compliance (Office). Establishes the Office, in the legislative branch, to study and report to the Congress on the application of such laws. Sets forth provisions relating to congressional procedures for approval of the Board of Directors' recommendations relating to the application of future Federal laws to the Congress. Directs the Office to carry out an education program for Members of Congress and other employing authorities of the Congress respecting the laws applicable to them and a program to inform individuals of their rights under laws applicable to the Congress and under this Act. Requires the procedure for consideration of alleged violations of such laws to consist of the following steps: (1) counseling; (2) mediation; (3) formal complaint and hearing by a hearing board; and (4) judicial review of a hearing board's decision. Authorizes a congressional employee or any Member of Congress to petition the Personnel Appeals Board of the General Accounting Office to review a final decision if it is unconstitutional. Declares that any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee because of the exercise of a right under this Act constitutes an unlawful employment practice that may be remedied in the same manner under this Act as is a violation of a law made applicable to the Congress. Requires the records and decisions of hearing boards to be made public if required for judicial review. Limits a congressional employee to the judicial proceeding provided by this Act to redress prohibited practices.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1993
Directs the President to: (1) investigate and report to the Congress on the whereabouts of U.S. citizens and others who have been missing from Cyprus since 1974; and (2) do everything possible to return such persons (including remains of those no longer alive) to their families.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1993
Economic Conversion Clearinghouse Act - Establishes within the Department of Commerce the Office of Economic Conversion Information to: (1) serve as a central information clearinghouse on matters relating to economic adjustment and defense conversion programs and activities of the Federal and State governments; and (2) aid persons in applying for economic adjustment and defense conversion assistance under Federal, State, and local laws. Outlines further Office functions, including: (1) the development of information data bases for use in identifying and applying for such assistance; (2) the establishment of mechanisms to assure easy access to such information data bases, as well as their user-friendliness (including establishing a toll-free number); and (3) the conduct of a regular review of the various agencies and programs in the Federal system involving economic adjustment and defense conversion. Establishes the Interagency Economic Conversion Information Coordinating Committee to: (1) advise and make appropriate recommendations to the Office; (2) coordinate and facilitate the information gathering and monitoring activities of the Office among Federal departments and agencies; (3) aid the Office in preparing and presenting information in an accessible, user-friendly manner; and (4) assist the Office in making technical assistance personnel available as needed. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1993
Filipino Veterans' Equity Act of 1993 - Amends the Immigration Act of 1990 to: (1) accept Government of the Philippines military service records in lieu of absent U.S. service records with respect to U.S. naturalization of Filipino World War II veterans; and (2) extend related application deadline and waiver provisions. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to grant special immigrant status to spouses, children, and grandchildren of such veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1993
Veteran Women's Health Improvement Act of 1993 - Includes women's health services within the definition of medical services authorized to be furnished to eligible veterans. Includes as women's health services pap smears, breast examinations, and reproductive health care. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans to contract with non-Department of Veterans facilities for outpatient women's health services when Department facilities are inadequate or inaccessible. Requires information on the provision of women's health services to be included in a report from the Secretary to the Congress concerning women veterans. Amends the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 to: (1) require consultation by the Secretary with various officials, advisory committees, and task forces with regard to appropriate women's health research; (2) expand the research related to women to include specified topics; (3) include certain appropriate personnel of the Department in conducting such research, including women veterans and veteran members of minority groups; and (4) direct that a women veterans population study report required under such Act include an examination of the medical and demographic histories of women veterans comprising the study sample. Makes applicable to Department medical facilities provisions of the Public Health Service Act regarding mammography quality standards. Requires all Department facilities to meet such standards within two years.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1993
Ballona Wetlands Restoration Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of the Army to issue regulations for the expedited consideration of permit applications submitted under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters at the Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles, California. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a demonstration program to encourage the full restoration of such wetlands. Provides for mitigation credits to persons who conduct restoration activities. Permits credits to be used for obtaining permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material between Point Conception, California, and the Mexican border. Requires the Administrator to establish a mitigation banking system and authorizes the sale of credits to third parties with the Administrator's approval.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1993
Colonia Waste Water Treatment Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California for waste water treatment for a political subdivision acting on behalf of a colonia that meets this Act's requirements or a colonia that: (1) is determined to be a colonia on the basis of objective criteria; (2) is located in the United States within 100 kilometers of the international boundary between Mexico and the United States; and (3) was in existence as a colonia before November 27, 1990. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1993
Federal Employee Fairness Act of 1993 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to permit a Federal employee filing a discrimination complaint to file it with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Makes it an unlawful employment practice if the employee demonstrates that the filing of a complaint contributed to an adverse personnel action against such employee. Requires that any such complaint filed with an agency other than the EEOC be transmitted to the EEOC. Sets forth procedures for filing and processing such complaints. Permits a Federal employee to file a complaint up to 180 days following an alleged discrimination. Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to permit the filing of a complaint with the EEOC in accordance with the amendments made to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by this Act. Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to apply its remedies and attorney fee provisions to complaints by individuals with disabilities with respect to employment in the Library of Congress. Amends title 5 of the United States Code, concerning Government organization and employees, to permit an employee, under a negotiated grievance procedure, to raise matters dealing with actions involving discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1993
Clean Water Enforcement and Compliance Improvement Amendments Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require any person subject to the requirements of such Act (currently, owners or operators of point sources) to maintain records, make reports, and allow access to information to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with respect to carrying out such Act. Directs States to post signs containing information concerning water quality and environmental and health effects at each major point of public access to a body of navigable water that does not meet an applicable water quality standard or that is subject to a fishing ban or consumption restriction due to fish or shellfish contamination. Requires permits issued for discharges to navigable waters (except those issued to municipalities for discharges composed entirely of stormwater) to ensure compliance with public information requirements concerning the discharge and location of discharges of pollutants by the permittee. Provides for the issuance of compliance orders and the imposition of civil, criminal, or administrative penalties for violations of requirements of pretreatment programs. Repeals a provision that treats a single operational upset that leads to simultaneous violations of more than one pollution parameter as a single violation. Raises the ceiling on the amount of administrative penalties allowed to be assessed for violations. Removes provisions that permit State enforcement actions to serve as a bar to Federal enforcement actions. Directs the EPA Administrator to: (1) conduct inspections of facilities operated by significant noncompliers at which violations occurred; and (2) report annually to the Congress and to State Governors on persons classified as significant noncompliers. Requires State pollutant discharge permit programs to include specified inspection, monitoring, and reporting requirements. Prohibits the issuance of permits to significant noncompliers until conditions giving rise to violations have been corrected. Authorizes the Administrator to renew expired State discharge permits under certain conditions. Authorizes citizen suits for past violations of effluent standards or limitations. Establishes the Clean Water Trust Fund. Requires the Administrator to use Fund moneys to carry out inspections and enforcement activities. Makes specified provisions of this Act retroactively applicable.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1993
Wage and Hour Reform and Equity Act of 1993 - Amends the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 to suspend the running of the statute of limitations on violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 during the period of a complaint or investigation until final action is taken. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the Act) to require the Secretary of Labor to notify all affected employees if there is an investigation or proceeding involving actual or potential violations of the Act affecting at least 50 employees, inform them of their rights and protections, and disclose the terms of any settlement. Removes the exemption from minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Act for teachers in elementary or secondary schools. Prohibits: (1) discrimination or retaliation against an employee for asserting any right under the Act; or (2) interference with an employee's right to provide information in connection with an investigation or proceeding under the Act. Provides that certain rights to bring actions do not terminate upon the filing for injunction proceedings. Allows actions for injunction proceedings to be brought by the Secretary or by one or more employees for such employees and others similarly situated. Eliminates a consent requirement for plaintiffs in certain class action suits. Adds a civil penalty for violation of certain prohibitions. Requires publication of violations and violators.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1993
Urges the Government of Iran to extend to the Baha'i community the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international covenants on human rights. Calls upon the President to continue to: (1) urge such Government to emancipate the Baha'i community by granting such rights; (2) emphasize that the United States regards the human rights practices of such Government, particularly its treatment of the Baha'is and other religious minorities, as a significant factor in the development of U.S.-Iranian relations; and (3) encourage other governments to continue to appeal to the Government of Iran and to cooperate with other governments and international organizations in efforts to protect the religious rights of the Baha'is and other minorities in Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1993
Business Improvement Act of 1993 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the head of any participating Federal agency (other than the Department of Defense), in order to facilitate the attainment of such agency's goal regarding the participation in procurement contracts of small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, to enter into contracts using: (1) less than full and open competition; or (2) a price evaluation preference of up to ten percent for offers received from such qualifying small businesses. Terminates such authority at the end of FY 2000. Revises the authority of the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to continue to award Capital Ownership Development Program (Program) contracts to past Program participants. Eliminates the requirement restricting competition for such contracts to eligible Program participants. Restricts the competition for the award of a contract to furnish products or services to a participating agency to small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals if there exists a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from two or more of such small businesses. Requires such small business in turn to subcontract a specified percentage of such contract to small businesses in the development stage of the minority small business and capital development program. Directs the SBA Administrator to authorize a short-term study for determining the appropriate program participation term by industry sector for qualifying small businesses and to submit study results to specified congressional officers and committees. Suspends temporarily the termination of eligibility for qualified small businesses for participation in the Program until one year after the completion of such study. Requires compliance with the Buy Indian Act for Federal agencies contracting with the SBA for the acquisition of goods or services supplied by Indian tribes. Directs the Administrator to establish uniform procedures for contesting the status of a small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1993
Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 1993 - Designates the following lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System): (1) Greater Glacier/Continental Divide Ecosystem; (2) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem; (3) Greater Salmon/Selway Ecosystem; (4) Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk Ecosystem; (5) Islands in the Sky Wilderness; (6) Rattlesnake Wilderness; and (7) Rattlesnake Wilderness Area. Adds specified lands to the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area. Designates: (1) specified wild land areas as Biological Connecting Corridors (Corridors) to protect the life flow of the Northern Rockies Bioregion; and (2) the inventoried roadless areas identified as part of the Corridors as components of the System. Exempts specified roads and highways from the provisions of this Act. Requires that certain roadless lands within the national forests in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming shall be analyzed on an individual, case-by-case basis for inclusion in the System. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to study the feasibility of: (1) creating a Hells Canyon/Chief Joseph National Park and Preserve; (2) creating a Flathead National Park and Preserve; and (3) designating such areas as units of the National Park System (NPS). Requires the national park and preserve study areas to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate: (1) segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (NWSRS); and (2) segments of specified rivers and creeks in Montana and Wyoming for study as potential addition to the NWSRS. Prohibits new road construction or reconstruction, bridges, dams, timber harvesting, mining, oil and gas leasing, or other developments from being allowed within the one-half mile corridor along either side of rivers and streams under study. Establishes the National Wildland Restoration and Recovery System. Authorizes appropriations to establish the National Wildland Recovery Corps (a special unit of the U.S. Forest Service) to carry out land recovery responsibilities. Designates certain lands within the Lewis and Clark National Forest known as Badger-Two Medicine Area as the Blackfeet Wilderness Area. Declares that the Congress recognizes that the Blackfeet Nation retains treaty rights in this area provided for in the 1896 treaty with the Federal Government. Requires a review and other considerations with respect to such area. Withdraws the Badger-Two Medicine Wilderness Area from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the mining laws and disposition under the geothermal and mineral leasing laws. Requires the Secretaries to assure nonexclusive access by native people to Wilderness areas, National Park and Preserve Study areas, Wildland Recovery areas, and Biological Corridors designated by this Act by Native Americans for tranditional cultural and religious purposes. Requires the Forest Service to enter into cooperative management agreements with the appropriate Indian tribes to assure protection of religious, burial, and gathering sites, and to work cooperatively on the management of all uses in the protected areas that affect Indian lands and people. Requires the Secretaries to give particular emphasis to the preservation and protection of cultural resources located within the areas. Reserves, with respect to each wilderness area designated by this Act, a sufficient quantity of water to fulfill the area's designated purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1993
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing an air carrier to engage in air transportation to any applicant which is controlled by a person who has controlled one or more air carriers which have filed, in the aggregate, two or more petitions for bankruptcy.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1993
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States, Mexico, and Canada should establish a North American Development Bank to promote economic development projects that will assist workers displaced as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and improve the environment in such countries.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
Professional Boxing Corporation Act of 1993 - Establishes the Professional Boxing Corporation to work with State boxing authorities to establish uniform regulations for the protection of the health and safety of professional boxers. Requires the Corporation to be administered by an Executive Director appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Establishes a Professional Boxing Advisory Board. Sets forth the functions of the Corporation, which include: (1) providing a national computer source for certain boxing information; (2) licensing and certifying boxers, judges, referees, persons serving in a professional role in boxing, sanctioning organizations, promoters, matchmakers, managers, trainers, physicians, and cut men; and (3) charging licensing and registration fees. Requires States that regulate professional boxing to submit boxing plans that meet certain requirements to the Corporation. Establishes in the Treasury the Professional Boxing Corporation Trust Fund. Authorizes State boxing authorities to submit to specified congressional committees a petition: (1) stating that this Act is unnecessary because it has established a similar organization; and (2) requesting a delay of the effective date or repeal of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
California Ocean Protection Act of 1993 - Establishes a California Ocean Protection Zone consisting of: (1) the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone that are outside waters of California; and (2) that portion of the Outer Continental Shelf underlying the waters. Bars Federal agencies from issuing leases or permits for: (1) mineral exploration, development, or production in the Zone; and (2) ocean incineration or harmful ocean dumping or for any onshore facility that facilitates incineration or dumping within the Zone. Prohibits mineral exploration, development, or production activities after an existing lease or permit terminates or becomes inactive or operations associated with such activities under regulations implementing the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act are suspended.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
Federal Franchise Disclosure and Consumer Protection Act - Makes it unlawful for any person, partnership, or corporation, in connection with the advertising, offering, licensing, contracting, sale, or other promotion in or affecting commerce of any franchise, to: (1) employ a device or artifice to defraud; (2) engage in any act or practice which operates or is intended to defraud; (3) obtain money or property by means of untrue statements or intentional omissions of material facts; or (4) discriminate among prospective franchisees on the basis of race, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. Outlines similar provisions with respect to the acts or omissions of a franchisor in presenting false or misleading information with respect to the franchise to a prospective franchisee. Specifies information to be furnished within prescribed time periods to a prospective franchisee by a franchisor or franchise broker, as required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Franchise Rule. Requires the franchisor to keep and maintain adequate records for purposes of substantiation of all information required to be presented to a prospective franchisee. Authorizes the FTC to enforce the provisions of this Act. Authorizes any person injured by a violation of this Act to bring an action in Federal district court within prescribed time periods and for specified relief, including injunctive relief. Prohibits a franchisor from requiring franchisees to agree to provisions in franchise agreements which would: (1) violate prohibitions of, or rights granted under, this Act; or (2) relieve parties from appropriate liability. Provides for the use of arbitration to resolve disputes arising under a franchise agreement. Directs the FTC to conduct an ongoing study of the need for additional provisions to strengthen franchise disclosure requirements and protect prospective franchisees.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
Federal Franchise Data and Public Information Act - Requires all persons, partnerships, or corporations selling or offering for sale any franchise or any relationship represented either orally or in writing to be a franchise to file with the Department of Commerce a franchise disclosure document or circular which lists the most recent information with respect to the performance of the franchise. Requires the disclosure document to be filed annually with the Department, and requires the Department to make available to the Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and other Federal agencies, as requested, copies of such document, as well as provide for public viewing. Requires the Department to establish procedures for the compilation, analysis, and publication of statistical information on franchise ownership and national franchising practices, using as its principal source of information the disclosure documents required under this Act. Requires the Department to take specified actions to ensure that such statistical information is accurate and updated at least annually. Requires the Department to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the information and findings relating to franchise ownership and national franchising practices required to be compiled under this Act. Directs the Department's Bureau of the Census to include in each Business Census beginning with 1997 statistical information on the number, ownership, and operation of franchise businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
Federal Fair Franchise Practices Act - Prohibits a franchisor or subfranchisor, in connection with the promotion, sale, licensing, performance, enforcement, and termination of any franchise agreement, from: (1) engaging in an action which operates as a fraud or deceit upon any person; (2) employing unlawful or deceptive acts or practices; (3) discriminating among franchisees on the basis of race, sex, religion, disability, or national origin, with exceptions; (4) prohibiting a franchisee from obtaining equipment, supplies, or services from sources of the franchisee, with exceptions; (5) terminating a franchise prior to its normal expiration without good cause; (6) prohibiting a franchisee from engaging in another business after the expiration of the franchise; (7) prohibiting the free association of a franchisee for any lawful purpose; or (8) establishing a new outlet or point of sale of good or services similar to that offered by a franchisee and identified by the same trade name used by a franchisee in unreasonably close proximity to such franchisee. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) minimum standards of conduct (good faith, due care, and limited fiduciary duty) for each party to a franchise agreement; (2) a prohibition against requiring the inclusion of a franchise agreement term or condition which violates this Act or relieves a person from a duty or liability under this Act; (3) a prohibition against the waiver from compliance under this Act; (4) legal actions brought by persons injured or damaged by a violation of this Act; (5) the right to arbitration or mediation in lieu of a legal action; and (6) the obligation to comply with all applicable State franchising laws to the extent not inconsistent with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1993
Federal Facilities Community Oversight for Public Health Act of 1993 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to establish a citizens advisory board at each Department of Energy (DOE) defense nuclear facility to evaluate: (1) DOE environmental restoration and waste management activities at each facility; (2) the exercise of regulatory authority over such facilities by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State environmental agencies; and (3) Federal regulatory decisions on environmental restoration and waste managment activities. Sets forth the board's oversight functions for environmental and waste management activities. Prescribes guidelines under which Federal and State agencies shall provide the board with specified information regarding environmental restoration and waste management activities at the facilities. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to perform: (1) public health actions for each facility included in certain DOE programmatic environmental impact statements; and (2) an off-site preliminary exposure assessment for each facility in order to identify potential human exposure to contaminants released from hazardous substances at the facility. Permits any person to petition the ATSDR Administrator for public health assessments. Directs the Secretary of Energy and the ATSDR Administrator to develop a long-range strategy for ensuring the substantive involvement of affected States, Indian tribes, communities, and the public in implementing this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: National Shibuilding Initiative Title II: Guarantees of Obligations for Vessel Construction and United States Shipyard Modernization Title III: Series Construction Assistance Title IV: Double Hull Requirement for Tankers Chartered by Department of Defense National Shipbuilding and Conversion Act of 1993 - Title I: National Shipbuilding Initiative - Establishes a National Shipbuilding Initiative program to consist of: (1) a financial incentives program to provide loan guarantees to initiate commercial ship construction, encourage shipyard modernization, and support increased productivity; (2) a technology development program; and (3) enhanced support for specified Department of the Navy shipbuilding programs. Makes private U.S. shipyards eligible for program financial assistance or participation. Title II: Guarantees of Obligations for Vessel Construction and United States Shipyard Modernization - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to authorize guarantees of obligations for eligible export vessels (defined as vessels constructed, reconstructed, or reconditioned in the United States which will be placed under the laws of another country). Authorizes such guarantees only if the eligible export vessel: (1) will aid in the transition of U.S. shipyards to commercial activities or preserve shipbuilding assets essential in war or a national emergency; and (2) is not transferred to any country hostile to U.S. interests. Authorizes loan guarantees for advanced shipbuilding technology and modern shipbuilding technology of a general U.S. shipyard facility. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Series Construction Assistance - Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to pay assistance to a U.S. shipyard owner for the construction of any commercial vessel that is one of a series of vessels for which payment of assistance is approved under this title. Establishes conditions for assistance for series construction, including size and marketability of vessels, shipyard construction capability, applicant ability, and requirements for contracts and purchasers. Title IV: Double Hull Requirement for Tankers Chartered by Department of Defense - Prohibits the Secretary of Defense, after December 31, 1994, from entering into, renewing, or extending a contract for the charter of a tanker unless the tanker: (1) is built in a U.S. shipyard under a contract entered into after October 1, 1993; (2) is equipped with a double hull that satisfies specified tank vessel construction requirements; and (3) is chartered under the contract for at least ten years. Establishes further limitations on the entering into, renewal, or extension of contracts for charters of tankers that expire after December 31, 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1993
POW/MIA Full Accounting Act of 1993 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should not normalize diplomatic relations with the Government of Vietnam until he certifies to the Congress that the U.S. Government has received the fullest possible accounting of American POW/MIAs from the Vietnam conflict. Provides for the following actions until the President certifies to the Congress that the U.S. Government has received such accounting: (1) a continuation of the trade embargo in effect as of June 1, 1993, against Vietnam; (2) an instruction to the U.S. executive director of the International Monetary Fund to defer consideration of a resolution to allow Vietnam to pay off loans that are in arrears; and (3) an instruction to the U.S. executive directors of appropriate multilateral financial institutions to deny any new loans, grants, or credits to Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1993
Designates September 17, 1993, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Requires the display of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag at: (1) all national cemeteries and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 31, 1993 (Memorial Day), September 17, 1993 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day), and November 11, 1993 (Veterans Day); and (2) the White House and the buildings containing the primary offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Selective Service Commission (sic) on September 17, 1993 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day).
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1993
Pollution Prevention and Incineration Alternatives Act of 1993 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the issuance of permits for construction or expansion of municipal solid waste incinerators until 1997. Prohibits Federal agencies, State or local governments, or other waste management jurisdictions from issuing permits to such incinerators after December 31, 1996, unless the applicant demonstrates that: (1) an annual waste composition analysis of the solid waste generated within the area to be served by the facility is conducted; (2) specified percentages of certain waste categories are diverted to waste management methods other than incineration; (3) the facility will not interfere with diversion rates; (4) it is not feasible to manage the remaining solid waste through source reduction, reuse, or recycling; (5) the facility will not adversely affect the environment, human health, or the local economy and is not situated in a nonattainment area identified under the Clean Air Act; (6) the full cost of the facility over its entire life will be less costly than reducing, recycling, or composting waste; (7) the waste management jurisdiction conducts a public participation process; (8) the proposed construction or expansion is approved by the affected unit of local government; (9) firms operating the facility are in compliance with environmental and public health statutes, have paid outstanding fines for violations of such statutes, and make disclosure statements available; (10) an approved environmental impact statement is completed; (11) the facility is not located within one and a half miles of specified sites, including schools or churches, or of a drinking water source; (12) certain incinerator capacity studies have been completed; and (13) the facility will not have a disproportionate impact on minority or low-income communities. Requires ash from municipal solid waste incinerators to be managed in a monofill that contains only such ash and meets specified design requirements. Prohibits the use of such ash for any purpose. Prohibits the incineration of household hazardous waste, batteries, chlorinated plastics, consumer electronics, and yard waste in such incinerators. Prohibits the issuance of permits or prior approval for the construction or expansion of hazardous waste incinerators unless requirements similar to those for municipal solid waste incinerators have been met. Directs hazardous waste management permit applicants to demonstrate that the State in which the incinerator is located, and each State in which generators of hazardous waste to be incinerated at the facility are located, are implementing toxics use reduction programs. Applies this Act to any facility that burns hazardous waste.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1993
Community Security Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to assist members of the armed forces who are involuntarily separated from active duty after six or more years of continuous active duty to obtain training and employment as local government law enforcement officers. Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements under which a local government offers a member employment as a law enforcement officer and the Secretary pays the local government a specified portion of the officer's salary. Provides: (1) a priority for violent crime areas; (2) a training stipend to each participant; (3) reimbursement to the Secretary by a local government for nonperformance of duty; and (4) notification requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1993
Municipal Securities Reform Act of 1993 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission and the appropriate Federal banking agencies, respectively, to require persons and insured depository institutions (or affiliates) acting as underwriters, bond counsel, brokers, or dealers for the issuance of new municipal securities to file a disclosure of political contributions with the relevant regulatory agency before the sale of such securities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1993
Congressional Campaign and Election Reform Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to reduce maximum contribution amounts to candidates for Federal office from: (1) multicandidate political committees (PACs); and (2) persons other than PACs. (Sec. 4) Delineates circumstances in which a person's contribution shall be considered as being made through an intermediary or a conduit (and therefore treated as contributions from such person). (Sec. 5) Treats contributions by dependents not of voting age as contributions of the person or persons upon whom they are dependent. (Sec. 6) Aggregates, for contribution limit purposes, contributions from State and local party committees with all contributions from such political party. (Sec. 7) Makes it unlawful to secure or to use contributions secured by physical force or other intimidation. (Sec. 8) Prohibits a candidate from accepting cash contributions aggregating more than $100 from any one person. (Sec. 9) Defines "generic campaign activity" and "State Party Grassroots Fund." (Sec. 10) Establishes individual and PAC contribution limits to State Party Grassroots Funds and other State party committees. Allows individuals to contribute up to a specified amount of funds annually to State party committees in addition to current amounts contributed annually to all candidates and their authorized committees. Replaces the current individual contribution limits for any calendar year with aggregate contribution limits for an election cycle. Revises presidential campaign expenditure limits. (Sec. 11) Prohibits, with exceptions, a national committee and a congressional campaign committee from soliciting or accepting contributions not subject to certain limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements. Subjects to such requirements any amount ("soft money") solicited, received, or expended by a national, State, district, or local committee of a political party with respect to certain activities such as voter registration or get-out-the vote efforts. (Sec. 12) Sets forth fundraising limitations for Federal candidates and office holders and certain political committees. (Sec. 13 and 14) Sets forth reporting requirements for: (1) political committees; (2) exempt contributions; (3) State committees; and (4) certain independent expenditures. (Sec. 15) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require a licensee to provide equal broadcast time to qualified candidates for public office. (Sec. 16) Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit Federal candidates from establishing leadership committees. Restricts contributions between principal campaign committees. (Sec. 17) Prohibits fund transfers among noncandidate, nonparty political committees. (Sec. 18) Restricts certain connected political action committee activities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1993
Equitable Escheatment Act of 1993 - Amends specified Federal law to prescribe guidelines under which unclaimed distributions of security interests shall be subject to the custodial taking (escheatment) by the State which contains the principal executive offices of either the issuer or the holder of those securities.
![Official portrait of Rep. Torres, Esteban Edward [D-CA-34]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000316_200.jpg)