United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1993
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit (until the Attorney General certifies that a national instant criminal background check system (System) is established pursuant to this Act) any licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from selling, delivering, or transferring a handgun to an unlicensed individual unless: (1) after the most recent proposal of such transfer by the individual, the transferor has received a statement of eligibility from the individual, verified the identity of such individual, provided notice of the contents, and transmitted a copy of the statement to the chief law enforcement officer (chief) of the place of residence of the individual within one day after the individual furnishes the statement; and five business days have elapsed from the date the transferor furnished notice of the contents of the statement to the chief, during which period the transferor has not received information from the chief that receipt or possession of the handgun by the individual would be in violation of Federal, State, or local law or has received notice from the chief that the chief has no information indicating that such receipt or possession would violate such law; (2) the individual has presented to the transferor a statement from the chief, issued in the past ten days, stating that the individual requires a handgun because of a threat to such individual or such individual's family; (3) the individual has presented to the transferor a permit to possess a handgun that has been issued in the past five years by the State in which the transfer is to take place under a State law which requires law enforcement verification of the individual's legal qualification to possess a handgun; (4) State law requires that an authorized government official verifies that the information available to such official does not indicate that possession of a handgun by the purchaser would be unlawful, with exceptions; (5) the Secretary of the Treasury has approved the transfer under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; or (6) the Secretary has certified, on application of the transferor, that compliance with the notice requirement is impracticable for specified reasons. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish the System; (2) expedite the upgrading and indexing of State criminal history records in the Federal criminal records system maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the development of hardware and software systems to link State criminal history check systems into the System, and the current revitalization initiatives by the FBI for technologically advanced fingerprint and criminal records identification; and (3) ensure the privacy and security of System information. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the use of justice system improvement formula grants for the improvement of State record systems and the sharing with the Attorney General of specified records for the purpose of implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a defense contractor conversion investment tax credit to be equal to 15 percent of: (1) the incremental nondefense qualified investment for a taxable year; plus (2) the qualified nondefense product expenses incurred during such year. Defines a "defense contractor" as any taxpayer if more than ten percent of its gross receipts are derived from defense contracts. Bars a deduction for that portion of the qualified nondefense product expenses otherwise allowable as a deduction that is equal to the amount of credit with respect to such expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to Fair Credit Reporting Act Title II: Credit Repair Organizations Title I: Amendments to Fair Credit Reporting Act - Consumer Reporting Reform Act of 1993 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the Act) to specify that the term "credit transaction which is not initiated by the consumer" does not include use of a consumer report (CR) by a person with which the consumer has an account for purposes of reviewing or collecting the account. Allows the furnishing of a CR for: (1) a legitimate business need in connection with a business transaction that is initiated by the consumer; and (2) employment purposes only if certain disclosures are made, the consumer consents, and the information will not be used in violation of any Federal or State equal employment opportunity law or regulation. Prohibits: (1) using or obtaining information from a CR unless it is obtained for an authorized purpose and the purpose is certified under certain provisions of the Act; (2) a consumer reporting agency (CRA) from prohibiting a CR user from disclosing the CR to the consumer if adverse action against the consumer is contemplated; and (3) the furnishing of a CR for use in direct marketing not initiated by the consumer. Requires CRAs to maintain a notification system, including a toll-free telephone number, which permits any consumer to elect to be excluded from lists provided in connection with solicitations of credit not initiated by the consumer. Removes exceptions to prohibitions on reporting obsolete information. (Current law prohibits reporting information which is over a specified number of years old, except for credit transactions, life insurance, or employment involving amounts over specified limits.) Regulates the beginning of the seven-year reporting period for certain types of information. Requires CRAs to: (1) include information received that an account was closed by a consumer in good standing when when closed by the consumer with no outstanding balance; and (2) notify regular information suppliers of the suppliers' responsibilities under the Act. Prohibits a person who procures a CR from reselling the information unless the identity of the end user and the purpose is disclosed to the CRA. Requires a CRA to: (1) disclose to a consumer all information in the consumer's file, certain information about the recipients of a CR, the permissible purpose for which each recipient procured a CR, a record of inquiries in the last six months that identified the consumer in connection with a credit transaction which was not initiated by the consumer, and, with any such disclosures, a summary of the consumer's rights under the Act; and (2) unless the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant to reinvestigate disputed information free of charge or delete the item from the file, to notify the information furnisher, to delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information, and to notify the consumer of the results of the reinvestigation. Regulates charges by CRAs for certain disclosures. Requires any person who takes an adverse action with respect to a consumer in connection with a transaction initiated by the consumer or an employment determination to notify the consumer, disclose the identity of the CRA furnishing the report, advise the consumer of certain rights, and give certain information on any credit scoring system or other predictor of credit wothiness used. Subjects any person (currently, any CRA or user of information) to civil liability for willful or negligent noncompliance with the Act. Sets forth: (1) duties of furnishers of information to CRAs, including a prohibition on furnishing information which the furnisher has reasonable cause to believe is incomplete or inaccurate; and (2) provisions regarding investigative consumer reports. Increases criminal penalties for obtaining information under false pretenses. Authorizes State civil actions to enforce the Act, subject to a specified limitation. Requires each CRA which compiles and maintains consumer reports nationwide to maintain a toll-free telephone number. Title II: Credit Repair Organizations - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to provide that specified provisions of that Act may be cited as the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Prohibits: (1) advising any consumer to make an untrue or misleading statement, or to alter the consumer's identification to prevent the display of the consumer's credit record; (2) other fraud or deception; and (3) a credit repair organization (CRO) from charging or receiving valuable consideration for any service before such service is fully performed. Specifies a statement which a CRO must provide to consumers before an agreement is executed regarding the consumer, the CRO, and related rights, powers, and obligations. Requires written, signed contracts covering specified matters in order for a CRO to provide services. Allows a consumer to cancel a contract with a CRO within three business days of making the contract. Declares void any consumer waiver of any protection under this title. Makes an attempt to obtain a waiver a violation of this title. Voids any contract not in compliance with this title. Provides for civil liability for failing to comply with this title, including allowing punitive damages and class actions. Requires enforcement of this title under the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Makes: (1) a violation of this title an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of specified provisions of the FTCA; and (2) all functions and powers of the FTC available for enforcement of this title. Allows State enforcement through Federal or State courts.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993
Gang Prevention and Youth Recreation Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to make grants to not more than ten selected cities to assist them to establish and operate teen resource and education centers to provide education, employment, recreation, social, and cultural awareness assistance to at-risk youth. Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants to a city if it applies and agrees to operate at least two such centers. Requires such centers to offer for at-risk youth: (1) educational assistance, including information on institutions of higher education, assistance with financial aid applications and scholarship search, and preparatory courses for high school equivalency and college entrance examinations; (2) employment and skills training, including hiring teen peer counselors to provide basic job skills training, job referral services, and job banks; (3) recreational opportunities, such as sports teams, neighborhood gardening and food distribution, creative activities and arts, and reading programs; (4) social skills development, including hiring adult counselors and providing support groups for counseling on social and personal issues; and (5) cultural awareness programs, such as classes in the history and culture of various cultural groups and productions of plays, stories, and artwork reflecting the cultural heritage of such youth. Requires such centers to provide financial assistance to college graduates who work full-time at the center to assist them to repay part of their student loan debt. Sets forth grant selection, allocation, and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993
Job and Life Skills Improvement Act of 1993 - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act to authorize the Secretary of Labor to establish a national program of Job and Life Skills Improvement grants to eligible entities to pay the Federal share of providing comprehensive services to youth and young adults in high poverty urban and rural areas. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: School-Based or School-Linked Health and Social Services Center Grants Title II: State and Local Coordinated Youth Services Grants Subtitle A: Local Consortia Grants Subtitle B: Statewide Youth Services Center Grants Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Both Local and Statewide Grant Programs Title III: Implementation Provisions Title IV: Federal Coordinated Youth Services Initiatives Comprehensive Services for Youth Act of 1993 - Title I: School-Based or School-Linked Health and Social Services Center Grants - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) (the Secretary), acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (the Administrator), to award grants to eligible local community partnerships to coordinate and deliver comprehensive education, health, and social services to children or youth in school-based, school-linked, or community-based locations. Requires partnership use of grant funds for coordination and delivery of specified core services at a school-based, school-linked, or community-based location or locations accessible to and used by at-risk children, youth, and their families. Gives priority to grant applicants whose comprehensive services plan demonstrates: (1) continuity of access to core services on a year-round basis or beyond traditional school or service hours, either on site or through a backup referral system of community-based providers; and (2) the offer of services beyond the in-school population, including core services to out-of-school youth, to the extent practicable. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administration, to award planning grants to eligible entities that agree to establish a local community partnership to deliver comprehensive services. Title II: State and Local Coordinated Youth Services Grants - Subtitle A: Local Consortia Grants - Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to award grants to eligible consortia to coordinate and deliver comprehensive core education, health, and social services to at-risk youth through an integrated service delivery network directed by a consortium. Requires such consortia membership to include specified types of local representatives. Requires specified financial or organizational commitments by consortium members. Subtitle B: Statewide Youth Services Center Grants - Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to award grants to eligible States to provide for coordination and delivery of comprehensive education, health, and social services to at-risk youth through the award of State grants to local community partnerships or consortia. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Both Local and Statewide Grant Programs - Sets forth requirements for applications and use of grant funds for a consortium or State entity awarded a grant under subtitle A or B. Requires coordination and delivery of the core services through a system of school-based, school-linked, or community-based youth centers to serve in-school and out-of-school youth and their families. Requires coordination and co-location of existing core services in a broader system of health and social services centers accessible to in-school or out-of-school youth (including adolescent parents and runaway and homeless youth), as well as coordination of core services with alternative education and job training and placement opportunities for them. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to award planning grants to consortia or States. Title III: Implementation Provisions - Makes ineligible for title I funds any community that: (1) is currently receiving State funds to deliver co-located education, health, and social services; or (2) will receive funding from a State funded under subtitle B of title II. Allows such a currently funded community partnership to form a consortium to seek funding for an expanded citywide or countywide youth services network under subtitle A of title II. Requires a local consortium operating in a locality receiving State funding for delivery of such co-located services to include participation from the entities receiving such State funding. Makes eligible for continued funding, at the completion of its five-year grant period under title I, a partnership that has expanded into a citywide or countywide consortium (as described under subtitle A of title II) or has become part of a statewide network (as described under subtitle B of title II). Directs the Secretary to: (1) disseminate information on programs under this Act as well as successful and model programs and to provide technical assistance; and (2) collaborate with the Departments of Education and Labor and the Commission on National and Community Service in such efforts. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Federal Coordinated Youth Services Initiatives - Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to establish and administer a special projects of national significance program to award direct grants to public and nonprofit private entities to fund model programs to integrate health and social services, including HIV prevention, provided to special populations of youth at risk. Allows such special projects to include projects targeting youth who are: (1) runaway, homeless, or street youth; (2) immigrants or migrants; (3) in the juvenile justice system; (4) in foster care; (5) in gangs; (6) with a history of substance abuse; (7) with HIV disease; (8) adolescent parents; and (9) Native American. Amends the Augustus F. Hawkins Human Resources Reauthorization Act of 1990 to direct the Federal Council on Children, Youth, and Families to: (1) identify program regulations or practices that impede coordination and collaboration; and (2) develop recommendations for creating jointly funded programs, unified assessments, application procedures, confidentiality regulations that facilitate information-sharing, and pertinent legislative action.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993
Neighborhood Infrastructure Improvement and Inner City Job Creation Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make grants to eligible administrative entities for programs to provide employment opportunities to unemployed individuals through payments for labor and related costs associated with repair and renovation of essential community facilities. Gives grant priority to administratve entities that assure giving priority to low-skilled workers as program participants. Requires that eligible participants have been unemployed for at least 15 weeks and have sought employment during that period. Makes secondary school-age individuals (16 to 20 years old) eligible only if they have not attended a secondary school at any time during the previous six months. Gives priority to individuals who have exhausted or are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, particularly those who have been unemployed for the longest periods. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1993
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should: (1) continue to send immediate fuel and humanitarian assistance to help Armenia and its economy and continue to withhold all U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan until Azerbaijan lifts its blockade and other uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh; (2) promote a lasting and equitable resolution to the conflict within the United Nations and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (3) promote the full participation of the representatives of Nagorno Karabagh in all negotiations concerning this conflict; (4) encourage Turkey to play a neutral role in helping to promote an equitable resolution to this crisis; and (5) condemn the continuing blockade of Armenia and Karabagh and demand the immediate lifting of the blockade and the opening of corridors to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian goods to Armenia.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1993
Small Business Lending Disclosure Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 to: (1) mandate that insured depository institutions include in their annual reports of condition their small business lending practices; and (2) prescribe additional guidelines for mandatory information disclosure, including information on minority-owned business.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1993
Volunteer Protection Act of 1993 - Prescribes circumstances under which volunteers working for nonprofit organizations or government entities shall be immune from personal financial liability for acts on behalf of the organization or entity. Sets forth exceptions and conditions that a State may impose on the granting of such immunity. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase by one percent the fiscal year allotment which would otherwise be made to a State to carry out the Social Services Block Grant Program under title XX of the Social Security Act if such State has, within two years, certified to the Secretary that it has enacted a State law which provides such immunity. Provides for the continuation of such increase based on an annual recertification.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1993
Fairness in Federal Purchases Act of 1993 - Amends the Buy American Act to require Federal agency heads, upon notification in the Federal Register that the unemployment rate was five percent or higher or that the gross national product (GNP) declined during the preceding fiscal quarter, to determine whether: (1) the amount the agency spent on foreign government goods and services exceeded the amount such foreign governments spent on similar domestic goods and services during the preceding fiscal year and, if so, adjust spending on procurement from domestic versus foreign sources to eliminate any imbalance; and (2) less than 35 percent of the agency procurement spending went to small businesses and, if so, increase small business procurement spending to equal or exceed that amount. Provides that the lowest acceptable domestic product prices shall be considered unreasonable if they exceed the lowest acceptable foreign prices by more than specified amounts. Terminates such spending requirements after: (1) three years; or (2) specified shorter periods following publication of an unemployment rate of less than five percent for the preceding quarter or of a stable or increasing GNP for two consecutive quarters.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993
National Wildlife Refuge System Management and Policy Act of 1993 - Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) from initiating or permitting a new use of a refuge or expanding, renewing, or extending an existing use unless it is determined that it is compatible with the purposes of the System and the refuge. Allows existing uses of such refuge system lands that have been determined compatible under this Act, or the Refuge Recreation Act, to continue under specified conditions. Terminates such use and revokes permits for it within five years after the enactment of this Act unless the Secretary determines that such use is compatible. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to establish a formal process for governing determinations of compatibility of an existing or proposed new use in a refuge with the purposes of the System and the refuge. Requires the head of each Federal agency that has, with respect to a refuge, an equivalent or secondary jurisdiction with the Department of the Interior, or conducts activities within any refuge, to ensure that any actions authorized, funded, or carried out will not impair the resources of the refuge or be incompatible with system or refuge purposes, unless the action is specifically authorized by law or necessary for national security. Directs the Secretary to: (1) prepare (and revise every ten years) a comprehensive plan for the System; and (2) prepare (and revise every 15 years) a comprehensive conservation plan for each refuge or ecologically related complex of refuges in the System, except those in Alaska. Authorizes appropriations. Grants the Secretary emergency power to suspend any activity in any range in the National Wildlife Refuge System that constitutes an imminent danger to the health and safety of any wildlife population, refuge, or to public health and safety.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993
Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1993 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to absolve municipalities or other persons of liability (other than to the President) for claims of contribution or other response costs for the generation, transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. Authorizes eligible persons (defined as persons against whom administrative or judicial actions are brought, or to whom notice is given of potential liability, for activities involving municipal solid waste or sewage sludge) to settle their liability with the President. Requires final settlements to: (1) allocate to all activities for the management of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge a combined maximum of four percent of total response costs for the facility; (2) require eligible persons to pay only equitable shares of the maximum percentage; (3) limit payments based on inability to pay, litigative risks, and other equitable factors; (4) permit in-kind services with regard to response actions in lieu of cash contributions; (5) limit a publicly owned treatment works' payments if it has promoted the reuse of sewage sludge through land application; and (6) be reached even if a person is liable under other CERCLA provisions. Authorizes the President to provide a covenant not to sue to persons who have entered into settlements. Absolves such persons of liability for contributions or other response costs for matters addressed in settlements. Reduces others' potential liability by the amount of a settlement, but bars discharging potentially responsible parties unless the settlement so provides. Applies settlement provisions to municipalities or treatment works who engage in municipal solid waste or sewage sludge management activities occurring 36 months after this Act's enactment date only if the eligible person is a: (1) municipality and a qualified household hazardous waste collection program has been operating while such waste was collected and disposed; or (2) treatment works in compliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Makes this Act retroactively effective to all actions commenced before this Act's effective date unless a final court judgment or approval of a settlement agreement has been granted.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993
Regulatory Flexibility Amendments Act of 1993 - Amends Federal law to eliminate provisions respecting judicial review of Federal agency compliance with regulatory flexibility analysis requirements. Requires an agency to consider the direct and indirect effects of a rule in determining whether or not it is likely to have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Sets forth guidelines governing agency transmittal of proposed rules to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. Authorizes such official to transmit to the agency a statement of opposition to the proposed rule. Requires publication of such statement and the agency's response in the Federal Register. Expresses the sense of the Congress that such official should be permitted to appear as amicus curiae in any action or case brought in a U.S. court for the purpose of reviewing a rule.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the corporate income tax exclusion of contributions to the capital of the taxpayer. Includes as a qualifying contribution any amount of money or property received by a regulated public utility which provides water or sewage disposal services that: (1) is a contribution in aid of construction; (2) meets certain expenditure requirements; and (3) is not included in the taxpayer's rate base. Excludes amounts paid as service charges for starting or stopping services. Determines the depreciation deduction for such property by using the straight line method and provides for a 25-year recovery period.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Worker and Military Personnel Assistance Programs Title II: Defense Economic Development Title III: National Technology and Industrial Base Initiatives Defense Economic Reinvestment Act of 1993 - Title I: Worker and Military Personnel Assistance Programs - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to assist displaced defense workers, at-risk defense workers, and military personnel involuntarily separated from active duty in obtaining reemployment in defense dependent areas. Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements to pay 25 percent of the first-year wages of such workers to public or private employers who hire them. Provides a similar incentive program with respect to defense facilities that have begun or announced the termination of employees before enactment of this Act due to completion or curtailment of a defense contract. Authorizes FY 1994 appropriations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an additional credit against Federal unemployment tax for employers who contribute to a reemployment assistance fund maintained under a State law certified by the Secretary of Labor; (2) lower the percentage rate of Federal unemployment tax paid by employers; (3) revise the definition of "Federal taxable wages"; and (4) revise the method of computing installment payments of Federal unemployment tax to take into account the additional credit allowed against such tax. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a program to establish cooperative arrangements between the Department of Defense and specified entities for providing retraining services and placement assistance for displaced and at-risk defense workers; and (2) establish a program under which retraining services (and fellowship assistance) are provided to such defense workers and involuntarily separated military personnel to obtain employment in environmental engineering. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Defense Economic Development - Directs the Secretary to make grants to communities located in defense dependent areas to assist in the economic transition necessary due to reductions in defense spending or the closure of defense facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: National Technology and Industrial Base Initiatives - Directs the Secretary to conduct a program to provide assistance for the establishment or continuation of cooperative arrangements between institutions of higher education and State government agencies and other entities to establish new, or enhance existing, programs of alternative technology development and application. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education in defense-dependent areas to assist in the establishment or operation of environmental and entrepreneurial technology centers that would focus on the transfer of technology and human resources from defense-related industries into growth sectors of the environmental field. Directs the National Defense Technology and Industrial Base Council to make a grant to each State to carry out a survey of eligible firms engaged in manufacturing activities to determine the manufacturing technology capabilities of that State's industrial base. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a loan guarantee program to assist a defense facility holding a major defense contract or subcontract to finance economic development projects related to conversion and diversification from defense-related production and operations to nondefense-related uses.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1993
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to impose civil or criminal penalties upon persons who intentionally prevent other individuals from entering or exiting a medical facility. Permits aggrieved individuals to obtain appropriate relief through civil actions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1993
Authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor World War II veterans and to commemorate U.S. participation in that war. Establishes the World War II Memorial Advisory Board to promote the establishment of the memorial, encourage the donation of private contributions for it, and advise the Commission on the site and design for the memorial. Establishes a fund in the Treasury which shall be made available to the Commission for the expenses of establishing the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improvements in Customs Enforcement Title II: National Customs Automation Program Title III: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions and Consequential and Conforming Amendments to Other Laws Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act - Title I: Improvements in Customs Enforcement - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act) to revise customs procedures with respect to: (1) electronic transmission of forged, altered, or false data to the United States Customs Service with regard to the entry of imported merchandise; (2) penalties for failure to declare imported controlled substances; (3) examination and detention of imported merchandise; (4) certain recordkeeping requirements; (5) examination of books and witnesses; (6) review of protests by the Customs Service; (7) a repeal of a provision relating to the reliquidation on account of fraud; (8) penalties relating to manifests, false drawback or refund claims, and for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence; (9) unlawful unlading or transshipment; (10) public access to Customs Service interpretive rulings and decisions; and (11) seizure of imported merchandise. Title II: National Customs Automation Program - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to establish the National Customs Automation Program which shall be an automated and electronic system for the processing of commercial imports. (Sec. 201) Provides for electronic data transmission relating to: (1) remote location filing; (2) effective date of rates of duty on imported merchandise; (3) merchandise manifests; (4) imported merchandise invoices; (5) entry and release of imported merchandise; (6) admissibility in administrative and judicial proceedings of electronically transmitted information; (7) appraisement and liquidations of imported merchandise; (8) the payment of duties; (9) abandonment and damage to imported merchandise; (10) protests of Customs Service decisions; (11) refunds and errors; (12) bonds and other security; and (13) customhouse brokers. (Sec. 202) Requires a refund (drawback) of duties (less one per cent of such duties) on articles produced in the United States with imported merchandise that have been destroyed under Customs Service supervision, provided such articles have not been used prior to such destruction. (Sec. 214) Sets forth provisions with respect to customs officers' immunity in regard to the appraisement of or collection of duties on imported merchandise. Title III: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 - Amends the Act to authorize the Secretary to disregard the difference, but not less than $20 (currently ten dollars), between the total estimated duties deposited with respect to imported merchandise and the total amount actually due on such merchandise. Increases specified ceiling amounts of duty-free gifts and articles. (Sec. 302) Requires masters of vessels that have visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise while outside the U.S. territorial sea to report their arrival to the nearest customs facility. Provides for the electronic transmission of vessel documentation to the Customs Service. (Sec. 303) Requires specified kinds of vessels to report to the nearest Customs Service facility within 24 hours (or other period of time as provided) after arrival to a U.S. port. (Sec. 305) Exempts from entry and clearance requirements certain passenger vessels on excursion from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the British Virgin Islands and returning, U.S. documented vessels with recreational endorsement, or (as under current law) undocumented U.S. pleasure vessels not engaged in trade, except such vessels must comply upon arrival with specified customs reporting requirements and navigation laws and must not have visited any hovering vessel. (Sec. 306) Prohibits merchandise, passengers, or baggage from being unladen from any vessel required to make entry or vehicle required to report its arrival until such entry or report of arrival is made and a permit for unlading has been issued by the Customs Service. Authorizes the issuance of such permits through electronic data transmission. (Sec. 309) Reduces from one year to six months the length of time merchandise may remain in customs custody with fees unpaid before it may be treated as unclaimed. (Sec. 312) Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the declaration and entry of merchandise whose value does not exceed a designated amount, but not more than $2,500 (currently not greater than $1,250), or when different commercial facilitation and risk considerations that may vary for different classes or kinds of merchandise or different classes of transactions may dictate. (Sec. 313) Reduces from one year to 90 days the minimum length of time after forfeiture the Secretary must wait before selling at public auction any seized imported merchandise with a counterfeit mark. (Sec.314) Authorizes the Customs Service to order the destruction or other appropriate disposition of vessels, vehicles, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage that has been seized under the customs laws if it determines that the expense of keeping such items is disportionate to their value (currently applies only to items of less than $1,000 in value). (Sec. 315) Authorizes the use of funds from the Customs Forfeiture Fund for the payment of: (1) certain transfer and storage charges and expenses; and (2) claims against Customs Service employees. (Sec. 316) Requires actions for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence, false drawback, or refund claims with respect to imported merchandise to be instituted within five years after the alleged violation or discovery of such fraud. (Sec. 318) Authorizes the Secretary to settle, for no more than $50,000 in each case, claims for personal injury, death, or damage to, or loss of, privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer of the Customs Service. (Sec. 319) Provides for the use of private collection agencies to recover money owed the United States under customs laws. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions and Consequential and Conforming Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to exempt from such Schedule articles which are returned within 45 days after being exported from the United States as undeliverable and which have not left the custody of the carrier or foreign customs service. (Sec. 401) Declares that certain railway locomotives and railway freight cars on which no duty is owed are not subject to the entry or release requirements for imported merchandise under the Tariff Act of 1930. States that instruments of international trade, such as containers, lift vans, rail cars and locomotives, truck cabs and trailers, etc., are exempt from formal entry procedures, but must be accounted for when imported to and exported from the United States through the manifesting procedures required for international carriers. (Sec. 402) Amends the Internal Revenue Code and other specified Federal law with respect to: (1) certain expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund; and (2) coastwise trade vessels and U.S. vessels visiting foreign ports. (Sec. 403) Amends Federal law to grant the Court of International Trade exclusive jurisdiction of any civil action for review of decisions of the Customs Service that deny, suspend, or revoke accreditation of private customs laboratories. Bars the commencement of such actions unless brought within 60 days of such decisions. (Sec. 404) Requires U.S. and foreign vessels to obtain clearance from the Customs Service before proceeding from a U.S. port for: (1) a foreign port; (2) another U.S. port (for foreign vessels only), or (for U.S. vessels only) another U.S. port if the vessel has bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (3) outside the U.S. territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or to receive merchandise. (Sec. 408) Repeals specified provisions of Federal law. (Sec. 409) Requires the Commissioner of Customs to report to the Congress each fiscal year after FY 1992 on the collection of duties imposed under the antidumping and countervailing duty laws. Amends the Customs and Trade Act of 1990 to require the Commissioner of Customs to: (1) devise a methodology for estimating the level of compliance with the U.S. customs laws; and (2) evaluate the extent to which such compliance was obtained during the 12-month period preceding the 60th day before each fiscal year 1993 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1993
Liveable Wage Act of 1993 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to: (1) increase the minimum wage to $5.50 an hour in 1994; and (2) provide that the minimum wage rate will be increased by indexing to the cost of living, in the same manner as benefits are indexed under specified provisions of the Social Security Act, for 1995 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1993
Small Business Credit Availability Act of 1993 - Establishes the Venture Enhancement and Loan Development Administration for Smaller Undercapitalized Enterprises (Velda Sue) as a Federal instrumentality to: (1) develop uniform underwriting, security appraisal, and repayment standards for qualified loans; (2) determine the eligibility of certified poolers to contract with Velda Sue for specific mortgage pool guarantees; and (3) provide timely repayment guarantees of the principal and interest on certain qualified obligations. Provides for a Board of Directors to manage Velda Sue. Authorizes Velda Sue to: (1) set conditions under which it will guarantee qualified obligations and securities; and (2) issue securities based on certain pooled interests in qualified obligations. Directs Velda Sue to issue certification and eligibility standards for secondary marketing for loan poolers. Directs Velda Sue to establish fees based upon the risk incurred in providing financial assistance or guarantees for: (1) qualified loans; and (2) securities issued by a qualified loan pooler. Declares that for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933, neither securities nor guarantees issued by Velda Sue shall be deemed to be a security issued by an agent of the Federal Government or a "government security." Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Treasury without fiscal year limitation. Provides Federal funding to the Corporation through purchases by the Secretary of Corporation obligations of up to $300 million. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for such purchases.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1993
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) hostilities, war crimes, and human rights violations in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Bosnia) should cease immediately; (2) in the event of continued Serbian attacks on Bosnian civilians, the United States and the European Community (EC) should persuade the United Nations (UN) Security Council to lift the arms embargo against Bosnian Muslims; (3) the UN should promptly authorize the enforcement of the "no-fly" zone over Bosnia; (4) the U.S. Government and EC members should propose and support decisive international efforts to achieve a prompt cessation of hostilities and alleviate the suffering of the Bosnian civilian population; (5) UN Security Council Resolution 770 (authorizing the use of all measures necessary to deliver humanitarian relief whenever it is needed to Bosnia) should be fully implemented; (6) the conclusions of the London Conference, including agreements between the parties of the conflict to collaborate in delivery of humanitarian relief in Bosnia, should be fully implemented; (7) the U.S. Government should implement the emergency provisions of the Refugee Act of 1980 to admit Bosnian refugees to the United States while encouraging EC members to initiate reciprocal action; (8) the UN and relevant international relief organizations should be given unrestricted access to all prisoners of war in the former Republic of Yugoslavia to monitor human rights conditions in the camps; and (9) the U.S. Government should support and encourage the formation and development of an international war crimes commission.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1993
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should: (1) release all humanitarian, development, and economic assistance that was authorized and appropriated by the Congress for Nicaragua in FY 1992 and 1993; (2) direct development-related assistance to small farmers and businesses, maternal and child health care programs, education programs for children, and programs that will assist Nicaragua in strengthening institutions that promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law; and (3) encourage the democratically elected Government of Nicaragua to make progress in resolving property disputes, investigating and prosecuting human rights violations, and reducing military expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1993
Amends Federal law to prohibit any State from imposing an income tax on the pension income of any individual who is not a resident or domiciliary of that State.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1993
California Desert Protection Act of 1993 - Title I: Wilderness Additions - Designates as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System specified lands in: (1) the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA), the Yuma District, and the Bakersfield District of the Bureau of Land Management; (2) the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, California; and (3) the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, California. Designates specified CDCA lands as the White Mountains Wilderness Study Area. Title II: Death Valley National Park - Establishes the Death Valley National Park which subsumes the Death Valley National Monument. Title III: Joshua Tree National Park - Establishes the Joshua Tree National Park which subsumes the Joshua Tree National Monument. Title IV: Mojave National Monument - Establishes the Mojave National Monument which subsumes the East Mojave National Scenic Area. Abolishes the East Mojave National Scenic Area. Designates the Granite Mountains Natural Reserve within the Monument. Title V: National Park Wilderness - Designates as wilderness the Death Valley National Park Wilderness, the Joshua Tree National Park Wilderness Additions, and the Mojave National Monument Wilderness. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to transfer specified Red Rock Canyon State Park Additions in the CDCA to California. Establishes the Desert Lily Sanctuary within the CDCA. Directs the Secretary to insure access to the wilderness areas, parks, and monument designated by this Act for traditional Indian cultural and religious purposes. Reserves Federal water rights for wilderness areas designated by this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, upon request, to enter into negotiations for an agreement to exchange certain Federal lands for California State School Lands and lands of the Catellus Development Corporation that are located within the boundaries of a wilderness area or park unit designated by this Act. Title VII: Definitions - Sets forth definitions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1993
Prisoner-of-War Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of one-dollar coins emblematic of the experience of American prisoners of war. Requires that all sales of such coins include a surcharge of $5 per coin. Requires specified proceeds from such surcharges to be paid to the: (1) Secretary of the Interior for construction of the Andersonville Prisoner-of-War Museum in Andersonville, Georgia; (2) endowment fund established by this Act for the maintenance of such Museum; and (3) Secretary of Veterans Affairs to maintain national cemeteries.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1993
National Writing Project Reauthorization Act of 1993 - Amends the Education Council Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-62) to extend the authorization of appropriations for the National Writing Project. Revises provisions relating to the National Writing Project, including provisions for Federal share, evaluation, and research and development activities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1993
Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to provide that the assessment base additions for Bank Insurance Fund members shall be deposits and obligations received in any office of the depository institution (thus including foreign as well as domestic deposits in the base).
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1993
Amends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-164) to increase the number of weeks for which emergency unemployment compensation is payable. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce a tax deduction for certain expenses for meals and entertainment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1993
Declares the sense of the House of Representatives that the full realization of the rights of women is vital and the President should complete the review of the Women's Human Rights Convention in order that the Senate may give its advice and consent to ratification.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1993
Entitles any individual who performs Operation Restore Hope services (relief efforts in Somalia) to certain tax benefits provided under the Internal Revenue Code in the same manner as if such services were performed in an area designated by the President as a combat zone.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1993
Microenterprise and Asset Development Act - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to exclude from AFDC eligibility determinations certain income and resources that are to be used for education, training, and employability purposes. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress on a revision of the AFDC limit on automobiles in order to increase the employability of AFDC recipients. Provides for State agency exclusion from AFDC eligibility determinations of certain resources related to microenterprise initiatives by AFDC recipients towards self-sufficiency. Requires State agencies to ensure that caseworkers advise AFDC recipients of the option for microenterprises. Provides for the inclusion of microenterprise training and activities in the JOBS program under SSA title IV part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program).
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1993
States that rape is an unacceptable means of warfare and condemns the systematic and widespread rape of women and girls in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Bosnia). Applauds: (1) Secretary of State Eagleburger for denouncing crimes against humanity in the conflict in Bosnia and for calling for an international crimes tribunal to prosecute such crimes; and (2) the adoption of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 798 and the declaration of the Council of Ministers of the European Community which denounced the systematic rape of Moslem women in such conflict. Urges the President to: (1) publicly condemn systematic rape in such conflict; (2) state that rape and forced pregnancy as tactics of war are crimes against humanity and war crimes; and (3) support the establishment by the UN of an international tribunal to prosecute such crimes. Urges that: (1) all countries participating in humanitarian relief efforts in the former Yugoslavia should allocate resources for the treatment of rape victims; and (2) all parties to the conflict should take steps to protect rights of women and girls.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1993
Requests the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to publish, within one year, proposed amended regulations that specify the components of an adequate operator training program and that provide that only trained employees be authorized to operate powered industrial trucks.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1993
Declares that the President should promptly seek the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly with the support of the United States on November 20, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Congressional Accountability Act - Makes applicable to the Congress the following Federal laws to the extent they relate to the terms and conditions of employment, the health and safety of employees, and the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees: (1) Social Security Act; (2) National Labor Relations Act; (3) Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (4) Civil Rights Act of 1964; (5) Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; (6) Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; (7) title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; (8) Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (9) Privacy Act of 1974; (10) Age Discrimination Act of 1975; (11) Ethics in Government Act of 1978; and (12) Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Makes applicable to the Congress the Freedom of Information Act and specified provisions of Federal law relating to the independent counsel.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Authorizes and requests the President to issue proclamations: (1) directing Government officials to display the U.S. flag at half-staff on all Government buildings on Peace Officers Memorial Day; and (2) inviting State and local governments and the people of the United States to display the flag in the same manner on such day.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Missing Service Personnel Act of 1993 - Requires the responsible armed forces commander, after receiving notice that a person under his command is missing, to conduct an informal investigation to determine such person's whereabouts and, if appropriate, to place such person in a missing status. Provides for the convening of boards of inquiry to: (1) investigate evidence relating to the disappearance of a person; (2) recommend whether to continue such person in a missing status or make a finding that such person has deserted, is absent without leave, or is dead; and (3) report its recommendations and findings. Provides for the convening of a board of further inquiry, if a board of initial inquiry recommends that such person be continued in a missing status. Directs the Secretary concerned, upon the written request of a member of the immediate family of a missing person who, before the date of the enactment of this Act, was determined by the Secretary to be dead, to: (1) convene a board of further inquiry to determine whether such finding of death should be upheld or such person should be placed in a missing status; and (2) report its findings. Requires the Secretary, within three years after a board of further inquiry recommends a missing status for any person, to reconvene such board to review such status. Directs the Secretary to invite each member of the immediate family of the missing person to board meetings unless attendance would place such member in danger. Prohibits any such board from declaring a missing person dead unless: (1) evidence other than the passage of a period of fewer than 50 years suggests that such person is dead; (2) no evidence which reasonably suggests that such person is alive is in the possession of the Government; (3) Government representatives have made a complete search of the area where such person was last seen (unless the United States is not granted access to such area); and (4) Government representatives have checked the records of the government or entity having control over the area where such person was last seen (unless the Government is not granted access to such records). Provides for judicial review of determinations of death. Sets forth penalties for knowingly withholding information pertaining to a missing person from that person's personnel file. Requires the Secretary concerned to make the contents of such file available to a member of the immediate family of such person upon written request.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Title II: Improved Wetlands Permitting; Revisions to Wetlands Delineation Procedures Title III: Wetlands Restoration Program Title IV: Tax Incentives for Wetlands Conservation Wetlands Reform Act of 1993 - Title I: Amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to make any pollutant discharge or alteration of navigable waters unlawful. Authorizes the issuance of permits for other alterations of navigable waters. Prohibits the issuance of permits if there is a practical alternative to the proposed activity that would have less adverse impact on navigable waters. Title II: Improved Wetlands Permitting; Revisions to Wetlands Delineation Procedures - Directs the Comptroller General to submit to the Congress an analysis of needs of the Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency for additional personnel, administrative resources, and funding to improve implementation of the wetlands permit program. Requires funds to be used for specified wetlands delineation and education programs. Requires the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service to use funds for wetlands mapping and for the delineation of wetlands in watersheds and ecosystems for which the need for delineation is particularly acute. Prohibits revisions to or clarifications of any Federal manual for identifying and delineating jurisdictional wetlands or regulations related to the definition, delineation, or identification of wetlands until a specified National Academy of Sciences study has been completed. Title III: Wetlands Restoration Program - Directs the Secretary of the Army to initiate a pilot program of wetlands restoration. Title IV: Tax Incentives for Wetlands Conservation - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to designate a nonprofit organization to be a Wetlands Stewardship Trust if such organization conforms to certain regulations, and includes among its primary purposes the acquisition of interests in wetlands, former wetlands, and associated real property for preservation purposes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth special rules for charitable contributions of wetlands to such trusts. Excludes from gross income amounts received by the owner of wetlands for allowing any person to use such lands in a compatible use (one that does not degrade the functions or values of such lands).
![Official portrait of Rep. Torres, Esteban Edward [D-CA-34]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000316_200.jpg)