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United States · Official source
2,748 records where Rep. Torres, Esteban Edward [D-CA-34] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1991
Repeals a Federal provision prohibiting the payment of veterans' disability compensation to an incompetent veteran having no spouse, child, or dependent when such veteran's estate value exceeds $25,000, until such estate value is reduced to less than $10,000.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1991
Designates May 12, 1991, as Infant Mortality Awareness Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1991
Horn of Africa Recovery and Food Security Act of 1991 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to provide assistance for civil strife relief and rehabilitation in the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan). Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to authorize the President to provide supplemental emergency food assistance for civilian victims of civil strife in the Horn of Africa. Permits the President to transfer funds from unobligated amounts in the economic support fund (ESF) and military assistance to carry out this Act. Makes available a percentage of assistance for management support activities of the Agency for International Development. Requires the President to consult with other nations, armed and unarmed parties in the Horn of Africa, and the United Nations Secretary General to bring about negotiated settlements of the wars in the region. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations to take specified steps with respect to peace and the implementation of an arms embargo in the region; (2) play an active role in other fora in pressing for settlements to such wars; and (3) participate in regional and international peace consultations. Declares that development assistance in the Horn of Africa should be targeted to aid the poor. States that U.S. Government aid institutions should seek to: (1) build upon the capabilities and experiences of organizations active in local grassroots relief, rehabilitation, and development efforts; (2) consult with such organizations and incorporate their views into the policymaking process; and (3) support the expansion of their activities without compromising their private nature. Declares that current legislative provisions that restrict assistance to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan should be retained until concrete steps toward peace, democracy, and human rights are achieved. States that development assistance should be: (1) targeted to the voluntary relocation and repatriation of displaced persons and refugees; and (2) carried out in coordination with strategies for debt relief of countries in the region and with efforts to establish an International Fund for Reconstruction of developing nations which settle civil wars. Prohibits assistance appropriated under this Act from being available for involuntary or forced resettlement of persons. Prohibits development assistance to Ethiopia, Somalia, or Sudan unless the President certifies that the government of the country has: (1) begun to implement peace or national reconciliation agreements; (2) demonstrated a commitment to human rights; (3) manifested a commitment to democracy and has held or scheduled free and fair elections; and (4) agreed to distribute development assistance without discrimination. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of the multilateral development banks to oppose any loan or other funds, except to meet basic human needs, to or for Ethiopia, Somalia, or Sudan until the President makes such certification. Prohibits ESF assistance, grant military assistance, or international military education and training assistance to Ethiopia, Somalia, or Sudan unless the President certifies that the government of the country has: (1) begun to implement peace or national reconciliation agreements; (2) demonstrated a commitment to human rights; and (3) held or scheduled free and fair elections.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1991
Civil Rights Amendments Act of 1991 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of affectional or sexual orientation. Provides that this Act shall not be construed to permit a finding of discrimination based on statistical differences or the fashioning of any remedy requiring a quota.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1991
Silicone Safety and Information Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require a physician performing a silicone gel implant to provide the patient in advance with a summary prepared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services respecting the associated advantages, disadvantages, and risks. Directs the Secretary to provide such a summary to physicians. Sets forth a civil monetary penalty for violations by physicians.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1991
Environmental Marketing Claims Act of 1991 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an environmental marketing claims regulatory program and an Independent Advisory Board to advise and make recommendations on the regulation of such claims. Requires the Administrator, in promulgating such regulations, to ensure that such claims are related to a specific environmental impact or attribute to ensure that the claims are not false or deceptive. Provides that such claims shall be substantiated on the basis of the best available scientific information. Requires the Administrator to assign products to categories based on the composition and packaging of the product. Sets forth requirements with respect to claims of recycled content, recyclability, reusability, compostability, or degradability of a product. Directs the Administrator to determine whether it is appropriate to promulgate additional regulations to: (1) reflect the best available technology to encourage higher performance levels in products and packaging; and (2) reflect the most recent scientific and practical knowledge of technological advances and improvements in manufacturing techniques and waste management. Provides for the triennial review of regulations. Authorizes interested individuals to petition the Administrator to promulgate additional regulations. Provides that an environmental marketing claim: (1) may be made two years after this Act's enactment if the environmental characteristic in the claim uses terms defined by the Administrator; (2) may not state the absence of an environmental attribute unless the attribute is a usual characteristic of the product or package or the Administrator permits such a statement because the statement would assist consumers making value comparisons with respect to environmental claims among products and packages; and (3) may not be made because the claim is misleading in light of another environmental characteristic of the product or package. Requires persons who intend to use environmental marketing claims for which the Administrator has promulgated a regulation to certify to the Administrator that the claims meet this Act's requirements. Directs persons using claims to resubmit a certification to the Administrator that the claims meet this Act's requirements if: (1) changes have been made in the product or the package that would affect its ability to meet previous regulatory requirements of the claim; or (2) new regulations have been promulgated under this Act relating to the claim being used. Makes it unlawful to fail to comply with regulation or certification requirements. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Sets forth provisions concerning citizen suits. Directs the Administrator to conduct a public information and education campaign to enable consumers to: (1) recognize environmental marketing claims regulated under this Act and be able to distinguish them from other claims; (2) have information about the criteria used by the Administrator in establishing standards and definitions for such claims; and (3) have a better understanding about the environmental effects of products and packages. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1991
Used Oil Recycling Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from listing or identifying as a hazardous waste any: (1) recycled oil; (2) used oil transferred to a person who certifies that such oil will be rerefined, processed, or reclaimed for a beneficial purpose or stored less than 12 months prior to such transfer; and (3) used oil which has been removed from the engine of a light duty motor vehicle or household appliance by the owner, transferred to a service station dealer, and stored by the dealer for less than 12 months. Requires the Administrator to determine whether to list as a hazardous waste used oil which is a solid waste and does not satisfy the above-listed criteria. Directs the Administrator to establish management standards for the storage, testing, transportation, treatment, exportation and importation, and processing of used oil. Requires such standards to be designed to protect human health and the environment by encouraging and expanding reliance on recycling of used oil. Exempts generators of used oil from recordkeeping or reporting requirements if such generators: (1) enter into an agreement for delivery of such oil to a recycling facility whose owner or operator certifies compliance with such standards or recycles such oil; (2) do not mix the oil with any hazardous wastes; and (3) maintain necessary records relating to the oil. Prohibits mixing used oil with any hazardous waste identified under such Act except where: (1) such mixing involves an identified hazardous waste and the resulting mixture does not exhibit a characteristic identified in such Act; and (2) the used oil mixture is burned to recover useful energy such that protection of human health and the environment is assured. Deems owners or operators of facilities which process used oil for fuel to have permits for recycling activities if in compliance with management standards. Directs the Administrator to conduct inspections of such facilities to determine compliance with such standards. Requires the Administrator to implement educational programs to inform the public about the environmental and safety hazards associated with improper handling of used oil and the benefits of used oil recycling. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations concerning the procurement of used oil fuel by Federal agencies subject to the requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the extent of their involvement in the Kuwaiti reconstruction program, the President, the Secretary of Commerce, and other specified officials should: (1) solicit and provide information and assistance to small and disadvantaged, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses interested in participating in the Kuwaiti reconstruction program; (2) encourage private business concerns of the United States who are awarded contracts; and (3) encourage the Kuwaiti Government to award a significant number of contracts to such businesses of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude State and local governmental plans from the limitation on benefits exceeding 100 percent of the participant's average compensation for the high three years. Provides that qualified governmental excess benefit arrangements shall not be taken into account in determining whether pension plans meet the limitations on benefits and contributions of qualified plans. Requires taxation of such benefits as if they were provided under a deferred compensation plan maintained by a corporation not exempt from tax which does not meet the requirements of qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans. Exempts disability income received as a pension, annuity, or similar allowance as a result of personal injuries or sickness from the reduced dollar limitation for defined benefit plans where the employee has less than ten years participation or the retirement benefit begins before the social security retirement age. Revises the special rule for State and local government plans which requires such limitation to equal the accrued benefit to allow the election of such rule to be revoked under certain circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Prohibits the shipment in interstate or foreign commerce of steel jaw leghold traps and of articles of fur derived from animals trapped in such traps. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to reward nongovernment informers for information leading to a conviction under this Act. Empowers enforcement officials to detain, search, and seize suspected merchandise or documents and to make arrests with and without warrants. Subjects seized merchandise to forfeiture.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Jobs Corps Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (the Act) to revise provisions for the Job Corps. Raises the maximum age limit for Job Corps enrollees from 22 to 25, and repeals authority to waive the age limitation for handicapped individuals. Declares that nothing in the Act prohibits participation of Job Corps participants in Training Services programs for the disadvantaged. Increases from ten to 20 percent the maximum percentage of Job Corps enrollees who may be nonresident participants in any year. Gives priority as such nonresidential participants to single parents with dependent children. Prohibits any Department of Labor funds from being used to carry out any contract with a nongovernmental entity to administer or manage a Civilian Conservation Center of the Job Corps on public land. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to provide child care at or near Job Corps centers for the children of Job Corps participants. Requires each Job Corps Center to provide alcohol or drug abuse counseling and referral to related prevention services for enrollees. Directs the Secretary to provide all nonprofit Job Corps contractors with an equitable and negotiated management fee of not less than one percent of the contract amount.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Peace, Democracy and Development in El Salvador Act of 1991 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States shall use diplomacy to encourage the Government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) to: (1) participate in good-faith negotiations to achieve a cease-fire and permanent settlement of the conflict in El Salvador; (2) adhere to the terms of agreements signed in Geneva, Switzerland, Caracas, Venezuela, and San Jose, Costa Rica; and (3) support the role of the Secretary General of the United Nations in advancing proposals on the outstanding issues defined in the Caracas accords to resolve the conflict. Withholds from El Salvador unobligated military assistance for FY 1991 and prior fiscal years and military assistance allocated for FY 1992 and 1993 until the Congress enacts a joint resolution authorizing the provision of such assistance and the President reports to the Congress that: (1) those responsible for ordering and carrying out, or obstructing the investigation into, the November 1989 murders of certain priests and civilians have been apprehended and brought to justice; (2) internationally recognized workers' rights have been extended to Salvadoran workers; (3) the El Salvadoran Government has pursued legal avenues to bring to trial and obtain verdicts for those responsible for the murders of Archbishop Romero and certain land reformers and for the bombings of the FENASTRAS headquarters; (4) the El Salvadoran Government is complying with international standards of respect for humanitarian and medical workers; (5) steps have been taken to place the El Salvadoran military under the control of the civilian government; (6) the El Salvadoran Government is negotiating to achieve a cease-fire and a settlement of the conflict and has not rejected a plan for the settlement of the conflict put forth by the United Nations Secretary General; and (7) the El Salvadoran Government, through its military and security forces, has not engaged in assassinations of, or acts of violence against, civilians and has not failed to control such activities by elements subject to the control of such forces. Prohibits funding for: (1) the stationing of U.S. military personnel in El Salvador as trainers or advisors to the El Salvadoran armed forces; and (2) the financing of covert operations in El Salvador or for covert military assistance to the El Salvadoran Government. Establishes the Demobilization, Transition, and Reconstruction Fund to assist with the cost of monitoring a permanent settlement of the conflict, the demobilization of combatants in the conflict and their transition to peaceful pursuits, and the reconstruction of El Salvador. Makes the Fund available only upon the President's notification to the Congress that the El Salvadoran Government and the FMLN have reached a permanent settlement to the conflict. Requires the President, upon notification of a permanent settlement or on September 30, 1992, if no notification has occurred prior to such date, to transfer withheld military assistance to the Fund. Prohibits economic support fund (ESF) assistance from being obligated as balance-of-payments or cash assistance for El Salvador. Makes ESF assistance for El Salvador available only for projects for child nutrition, health, clean water, basic education, agrarian reform, and other human needs of the people of El Salvador. Requires such assistance to be used only for programs implemented solely by civilian agencies. Subjects ESF assistance for El Salvador to reprogramming notifications under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit the late enrollment penalty to a ten percent increase in the monthly part B premium due over a period equal to twice the number of years that the part B beneficiary could have been but was not enrolled under part B.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Women in Development Act of 1991 - Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to ensure actions are taken to strengthen the AID's women in development policy, including: (1) incorporating the active participation of local women and local women's organizations in its development activities; (2) instructing AID staff to collect and analyze sex-disaggregated data and to insure that country strategies, projects, and programs are designed to reflect the impact on women in proportion to the higher of their traditional participation in the targeted activities or their proportion of the population; (3) insuring that project and program evaluations include an assessment of the extent to which the project integrates women in the development process and of the project's impact on women; (4) increasing the number and responsibility of women in positions within AID; and (5) establishing within AID a task force on women in development. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that specified amounts be made available for programs to integrate women into the agency responsible for integrating women into the development process and for administrative expenses of such agency. Authorizes appropriations for the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. Requires the Director of the Peace Corps to take specified actions to strengthen the Peace Corps' women in development policy. Earmarks funding for the Peace Corps Office of Coordinator of Women in Development.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Designates November as National American Indian Heritage Month, beginning in 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Calls on the President to instruct the Department of State to strongly request of Kuwait that contracts for the rebuilding of Kuwait be structured and compensated for in a manner that will encourage the maximum feasible usage of American workers, firms, and products. Encourages American firms to employ American workers at every level of the Kuwait reconstruction projects.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should be commended for his commitment to peace in the Middle East and should seek negotiations to achieve: (1) a regional arms control agreement; (2) a regional security agreement; (3) a regional economic development program; (4) the creation of a Palestinian homeland; and (5) a treaty or other understanding between the United States and Israel that would guarantee the security of Israel and its borders.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President, the Secretary of Commerce, and specified other officials should cooperate in providing assistance to U.S. small businesses seeking to become involved in the rebuilding of Kuwait; (2) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration should conduct a public information campaign to advise U.S. small and minority businesses about becoming involved in such rebuilding; (3) U.S. companies that have been awarded contracts pertaining to such rebuilding should seek to subcontract with U.S. small and minority businesses; and (4) all businesses that have been awarded such contracts should seek to hire veterans of the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1991
California Fish and Wildlife Protection Act of 1991 - Title I: Upper Sacramento River - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a ten-year program to restore salmon and steel head trout populations, reestablish a continuous riparian ecosystem, and meet specified goals for anadromous fisheries along the Sacramento River, and its California tributaries, and its drainage basin above the confluence with the Feather River. Establishes the Upper Sacramento River Fisheries Task Force to assist the Secretary and coordinate activities with governmental and private anadromous fish restoration projects within the basin. Terminates the Task Force on September 30, 2000. Title II: Central Valley of California - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to implement a program to restore the population and habitat of migratory birds and anadromous fisheries in the Central Valley, California. Requires that the Secretary, every three years, review and make such adjustments to assure that fish, wildlife, and habitat restoration goals are met and provide a copy of such review to specified congressional committees. Requires the Secretary to deliver dependable water supplies of suitable quality to certain Central Valley refuges, including additions to refuges or refuges in the Central Valley not included in the Refuge Water Supply Report. Requires the Secretary to complete plans for the recovery of endangered species in the Central Valley. Authorizes the Secretary to provide water to other Federal, State, and private wetlands and other fish and wildlife habitats in the Central Valley. Title III: Commission on Central Valley Fish and Wildlife Restoration - Establishes the Commission on Central Valley Fish and Wildlife Restoration to examine and make recommendations on Federal and State actions to restore fish and wildlife in the Central Valley to meet the goals of this Act. Terminates the Commission on January 1, 2000, or earlier if the Secretary determines the goals of this Act have been substantially completed. Requires, on termination, that all records and materials of the Commission be transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration. Title IV: General Provisions - Declares the national interest with regard to water conservation in the Central Valley. Requires a report on administrative inhibitions on water conservation by Central Valley Project contractors, and actions which could remove barriers to conservation. Authorizes the Secretary to encourage water conservation by contractors through incentives, pricing, and other measures. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration, to utilize power from the Central Valley Project power generation facilities to meet the requirements of this Act. Reserves a minimum portion of the transmission capacity of the Harold T. (Bizz) Johnson California-Pacific Northwest Intertie line to serve the needs of Department of Energy laboratories and wildlife refuges in California. Provides for citizen suits to enforce this Act. Requires fish and wildlife habitat lost as a result of construction or operation of the Project to be replaced with ecologically equivalent habitat before or at the same time as it is lost. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to study and implement cost allocations of the Project, including the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1991
Prostate Cancer Public Awareness Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program of public and patient information on prostate cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1991
Immunization Now Act of 1991 - Entitles each infant in the United States under two years old, who does not have other health insurance and who meets other requirements, to receive immunizations without charge. Requires any licensed health care professional to provide immunizations in exchange for vouchers issued through hospitals or community health centers or on direct application by the parent, with quarterly reimbursements to health care providers in amounts set by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Directs the Secretary to carry out activities to inform the public and health care providers regarding the program. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a national immunization registry system to provide for national surveillance of childhood immunization status through age six. Mandates grants for research and demonstration projects to identify mechanisms and structures to develop the registry. Authorizes appropriations. Requires certain measures in expanding the registry from the projects to cover the Nation, including developing: (1) the capacity to link and process all birth certificate records through a central registry; and (2) mechanisms to collect information on all doses of vaccine administered to pre-school age children. Authorizes appropriations. Requires full implementation of the registry by FY 1995, including registration of all infants born in the United States and collection of information on all doses of vaccines administered to children under six. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1991
Authorizes the President to present a gold medal to General H. Norman Schwarzkopf in recognition of his exemplary performance in coordinating the planning, strategy, and execution of U.S. combat action and his invaluable contributions to the United States and to the liberation of Kuwait. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1991
Designates October 6, 1991 and 1992, as German-American Day.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1991
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 certification system for operators of powered industrial trucks.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Illegal Dumping Prevention Act of 1991 - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to authorize the seizure and forfeiture of vessels illegally dumping wastes into ocean waters.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Women's Health and Mental Health Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish in the Office of the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) the Office of Research on Women's Health and Mental Health (Office) to ensure that women's health and mental health research is identified and addressed by ADAMHA. Establishes in the Office the Coordinating Committee for Research on Women's Health and the Advisory Committee for Research on Women's Health. Requires that the Administrator establish: (1) a single data system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information regarding women's health and mental health research, including a registry of clinical trials of experimental treatments; and (2) a program to provide information on women's health and mental health research. Provides for grants or contracts for the development and operation of Centers of Excellence in Women's Health and Mental Health Research using a single institution or a consortium for each Center. Provides, subject to appropriations, for three centers, with support covering five years. Allows extension of support if recommended by a technical and scientific peer review group. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Women's Health Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the Office of Research on Women's Health (Office) to ensure that women's health research is identified and addressed by NIH. Establishes in the Office the Coordinating Committee for Research on Women's Health and the Advisory Committee for Research on Women's Health. Mandates that the Director of the Office prepare and annually review a plan for establishing a program for clinical research on obstetrics and gynecology to be conducted by the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD). Requires the NICHHD Director to establish a program of contracts with individuals who agree to conduct obstetrics and gynecology research in return for the Federal Government paying, to a specified maximum, the educational loans of the individuals. Requires the NIH Director to establish a single data system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information regarding women's health research conducted or supported by NIH, including a registry of clinical trials of experimental treatments. Requires the NIH Director to establish and operate a program to provide information on research and prevention activities relating to women's health research. Provides for grants or contracts for the development and operation of Centers of Excellence in Women's Health Research using a single institution or a consortium for each Center. Provides, subject to appropriations, for three centers, with support covering five years. Allows extension of support if recommended by a technical and scientific peer review group. Authorizes appropriations for specified provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Provides that former air traffic controllers shall not, as a class, be considered unsuitable or ineligible for: (1) positions as air traffic controllers in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Department of Defense; or (2) positions in the FAA other than air traffic controller positions. Requires the Secretary of Transportation and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to take action to ensure that in each of FY 1992 and 1993, at least 500 former controllers are appointed to permanent, full-time positions as air traffic controllers in the FAA. Provides for a waiver of the maximum-age limitation applicable to such appointments. Prescribes procedural guidelines for competitive and non-competitive appointments of such controllers. Precludes an applicant's role in the 1981 strike from being considered when making a determination of suitability for an air traffic controller position. Requires the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Defense to prescribe regulations under which the appointment of a former controller to an air traffic controller position within their respective departments shall not become final unless a probationary period has been successfully completed. Sets forth guidelines for the computation of creditability of service for retirement purposes. Expresses the sense of the Congress that such reinstatements should not: (1) cause the separation or reduction in grade of any other air traffic controller; or (2) interfere with training opportunities which would otherwise be afforded to air traffic controllers seeking to become fully qualified.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the personal exemption for a dependent child who has not attained age 18 from $2,000 to $3,500. Provides for rounding inflation adjustments to tax tables to the nearest multiple of $10 (currently rounded to the next lowest multiple of $50).
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Designates May 1991 and May 1992 as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Privacy for Consumers and Workers Act - Requires employers who engage in electronic monitoring to provide each affected employee with prior written notice describing specified aspects of the electronic monitoring directly affecting the employee. Requires employers to notify prospective employees at personal interviews or meetings of existing forms of electronic monitoring which may directly affect them and, upon request, provide them with the written notice provided to employees. Requires employers to provide affected employees with some form of visual or aural notice that indicates that electronic monitoring is taking place, at periodic intervals unless the monitoring is continuous during each of the employee's shifts. Requires employers to provide affected customers with some form of visual or aural notice, at periodic intervals, indicating that telephone service observation is taking place. Requires employers to permit employees or their authorized agents to have access to all personal data obtained by electronic monitoring of their work. Prohibits employers from collecting personal data on an employee which is not relevant to the employee's work performance. Prohibits employers from disclosing personal data obtained by electronic monitoring to any person or business except to the individual employee to whom that data pertains or without the employee's prior written consent, unless disclosure would be: (1) to the employer's officers and employees who need it to perform their duties; (2) to a law enforcement agency for a criminal investigation or prosecution; or (3) pursuant to a proper court order. Prohibits employers from using personal data obtained by electronic monitoring as the exclusive basis for individual employee performance evaluation or disciplinary action, unless the employee is given an opportunity to review the data within a reasonable time after it is obtained. Prohibits employers from using personal data or collective data obtained by electronic monitoring as the sole basis for setting production quotas or work performance expectations. Prohibits employers from maintaining, collecting, using, or disseminating personal data obtained by electronic monitoring which describes how an employee exercises First Amendment rights, unless such use is: (1) expressly authorized by statute or by the employee; or (2) pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity. Sets forth the following enforcement provisions: (1) civil penalties; (2) injunctive actions by the Secretary of Labor; and (3) private civil actions. Prohibits waiver of rights and procedures provided by this Act, unless such waiver is part of a written settlement by the parties to a pending action or complaint. Directs the Secretary of Labor to issue rules and regulations to carry out this Act within six months. Makes this Act inapplicable to otherwise permissible electronic monitoring by law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act - Title I: Ensuring Adequate Food Assistance - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to remove the excess shelter deduction cap for purposes of food stamp program (program) eligibility. (Sets forth transitional caps through FY 1995.) Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to adjust the basic benefit level upwards by specified increments at the beginning of each fiscal year until it reaches 105 percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan. Eliminates food stamp reductions for households reapplying for program reinstatement within 30 days. Excludes third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless from consideration as program income. Increases funding for the nutrition assistance program in Puerto Rico. Excludes general assistance vendor payments from consideration as program income. Title II: Promoting Self-Sufficiency - Excludes from consideration as program income: (1) the first $50 a month received as child support; and (2) child support payments to non-household members. Increases annually the fair market value limit of vehicles that program recipients may own. Excludes from financial resources the value of a vehicle a household depends upon to carry heating fuel or water for home use where it has no other access to fuel or water. Increases dependent care deductions and participant and State agency reimbursements in connection with employment and training activities. Title III: Simplifying the Provision of Food Assistance - Permits related adults living in the same household to apply for separate program benefits under specified conditions. Permits a participating family made up of, or including, an elderly or disabled member to own $3,000 in allowable financial resources. (Current law refers to a family member 60 years of age or older.) Makes program authorization of appropriations permanent. Title IV: Implementation and Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
High Risk Occupational Disease Notification and Prevention Act - Establishes a Risk Assessment Board (the Board), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to: (1) review pertinent medical and scientific reports on the incidence of disease associated with exposure to occupational health hazards; (2) identify and designate populations at risk that should receive notification; (3) develop a form and method of notification that will be used by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary); and (4) determine the appropriate type of medical monitoring or beneficial health counseling. Sets forth factors for Board consideration and priorities in designating populations at risk of disease for notification. Directs the Secretary to make every reasonable effort to ensure that each individual within a population at risk of disease is notified of the risk. Requires the Secretary, through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to conduct the required notification, with specified exceptions. Allows an employer to apply to NIOSH for an exemption from such employee notification because that employer's employees are not at risk of disease because of significant mitigating factors. Provides for telephone "hot lines" and other dissemination of information. Authorizes the Secretary to certify a private employer or a State or local government to conduct notification. Provides for judicial review of Board determinations. Requires the Secretary to establish and certify ten occupational and environmental health centers to: (1) provide education, training, and technical assistance to personal physicians and health and social service professionals who serve employees notified that they are at risk under this Act; and (2) provide diagnosis, treatment, and medical monitoring and family services for such employees. Directs the Secretary to make grants to conduct research, training, and education aimed at improving the means of identifying employees exposed to occupational health hazards and improving medical assistance to such employees. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and contracts for training and curriculum development in occupational medicine or health to schools of medicine and of nursing. Provides that such assistance shall be for projects: (1) at schools with occupational medicine or health programs, for faculty continuing education, curricula and training materials for undergraduate medical or nursing training, and clinical training for residents in graduate medical programs; and (2) at schools without such programs, for faculty training. Directs the Secretary, during FY 1991 through 1993, to make such grants and contracts to at least ten schools of medicine or nursing. Requires that the medical monitoring recommended by the Board be provided by the current employer: (1) at no additional cost to the employee (above any existing employee health care contribution), if any part of the exposure occurred in the course of employment by that employer; or (2) at a charge to the employee not exceeding the additional cost to the employer (above any existing employer health care contribution), or at no charge, if no part of such exposure occurred in the course of employment by that employer. Sets forth special rules for medical monitoring by small businesses and of seasonal agricultural workers. Prohibits discharging or discriminating against employees, or applicants for employment, on the basis that they are or have been members of a population at risk. Makes an exception to such prohibition if the position which the applicant seeks requires exposure to the occupational health hazard which is the subject of the notice. Allows an employer with 50 or fewer employees to transfer an employee who is or has been a member of a population at risk to another job if earnings, seniority, and other employment rights and benefits are as comparable as possible to the old job and if the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement are not violated. Grants the option of being transferred to a less hazardous or nonexposed job to any employee member of a population at risk who is determined by a physician to show evidence of developing the disease described in the notice or other symptoms or conditions increasing the likelihood or incidence of such disease. Requires that the employee maintain earnings, seniority, and other employment rights and benefits of the former job. Sets forth procedures for independent reconsideration of the initial medical determination. Sets forth special rules for medical removal. Makes such protection inapplicable to seasonal agricultural workers with less than six months continuous employment with an employer. Exempts from the requirement of medical removal protection any employer who has 50 or fewer employees and who has made or is making a reasonable good faith effort to eliminate the occupational health hazard that is the basis for the medical removal decision. Provides for confidentiality of employee records unless disclosure is authorized by and is necessary to carry out a provision of this Act, or is authorized by the employee. Permits employees aggrieved by violations of provisions involving medical monitoring, medical removal, discrimination, and confidentiality to apply, within six months after the violation occurs, to the Secretary of Labor for a review of the alleged violation. Sets forth provisions for investigations, actions, defenses, determinations, and appeals in such cases. Provides for reinstatement and other relief for employees injured by such violations. Sets forth civil penalties for such violations. Authorizes the Secretary (of HHS) to bring an action in U.S. district court to enjoin an employer from violating this Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor to report annually to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of the hazard communication standard. Directs the Secretary of HHS to report annually to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of notification under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
International Family Planning Protection Act - Prohibits international population assistance funds from being denied to nongovernmental or multilateral organizations on the basis of any criterion that is not applicable to foreign governments that receive such funds.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Incarcerated Veterans Rehabilitation and Readjustment Act of 1991 - Title I: Incarcerated Veteran Assessment and Assistance - Directs the Attorney General to identify those individuals who may be veterans among those: (1) entering Federal prisons; and (2) who are incarcerated in such prisons and who are to remain incarcerated for more than 30 days. Requires the Attorney General to transmit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the names and locations of such prisoners. Directs the Secretary to inform such prisoners of their ability to have their veteran status determined and to inform those prisoners of their rights to veterans' benefits and services as affected by their incarceration. Outlines other information to be provided. Requires the Secretary to suspend all debt collection activities being undertaken against any such prisoner for the entire period of incarceration and six months thereafter. Requires such debt collection suspension for Federal, State, or local inmates. Title II: Incarcerated Veteran Rehabilitation Counseling - Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide readjustment counseling services to those incarcerated veterans suffering from mental and psychological disorders stemming from their military service; (2) safeguard such veterans' possibility of being adjudicated as having service-connected disabilities to the same extent as non-incarcerated veterans; (3) designate an employee from a regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs to act as a liaison between each Federal prison and the Department for such veterans; (4) review physical examinations of such veterans to determine whether they are eligible for benefits under the Veterans' Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act; and (5) ensure that the designated Department liaison provides liaison services between families of incarcerated veterans and Federal prisons. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) conduct physical examinations, with the incarcerated veterans' consent, for the purpose of aiding in the determination of eligibility for exposure benefits under such Act; (2) transmit such examination results to the Secretary; (3) inform the Secretary of an incarcerated veteran's impending release; and (4) encourage the organization of self-help groups and other similar programs that may contribute to the rehabilitation of incarcerated veterans. Title III: Readjustment Counseling Education - Directs the Secretary to develop a training curriculum, to be available to individuals, organizations, agencies, and health facilities, for assisting relevant professionals employed by the Bureau of Prisons in acquiring the expertise necessary to diagnose and treat psychiatric disabilities peculiar to veterans. Title IV: Post-Incarceration Readjustment Services - Requires the Secretary, upon receiving the names of those veterans about to be released from incarceration, to inform them of readjustment benefits and services available to them. Requires the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate a disabled veterans' outreach program specialist in each State where a Federal prison is located to serve as liaison with such prison. Directs the Chairman of the United States Parole Commission to: (1) integrate the services available from the readjustment counseling program of the Department into the Federal parole program for released veterans; and (2) encourage Federal parole officers to encourage paroled veterans to make use of vet centers and maintain contact with vet center personnel. Title V: State and Local Outreach Assistance - Directs the Secretary and Assistant Secretary, within six months after enactment of this Act, to implement a program to extend the benefits of this Act to State and local penal institutions with respect to veterans incarcerated in such institutions. Title VI: Miscellaneous - Directs the Attorney General, the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, and the Chairman of the U.S. Parole Commission to: (1) report annually to the Congress on their activities in implementing this Act; and (2) sign a memorandum of understanding detailing how the organizations and operations controlled by each shall interact to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
OSHA Criminal Penalty Reform Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to increase criminal penalties (fines and prison sentences) for specified violations. Makes criminal offenses, with specified penalties under OSHA, willful violations of OSHA standards, rules, or regulations if they: (1) result in serious bodily injury to an employee; or (2) recklessly endanger an employee. Makes corporate directors, officers, or agents of employers liable for the same penalties as employers directly involved in OSHA violations, if such individuals are found to have willfully authorized, ordered, or acquiesced in such violations. Prohibits penalties or fines from being paid for such individuals from corporate funds. Provides that nothing in OSHA shall preclude State and local law enforcement agencies from conducting criminal prosecutions under State or local laws.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility and Home Health Benefit Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate the requirement that extended care services be provided within a certain period following hospitalization in order to be covered under the Hospital Insurance Program; and (2) cover nursing care and home health aide services provided or needed on an intermittent basis.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Recycled Paper Procurement Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide that a requirement that federally-procured items over $10,000 be composed of the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable shall not apply (with respect to the $10,000 amount) to paper procured by the Congress. Requires, by FY 1993, at least 50 percent of the paper purchased by procuring agencies to be recycled paper. Provides that a decision not to procure recycled paper may be made only if such paper: (1) is not available within a reasonable period of time; (2) fails to meet specified performance standards; or (3) is available only at an unreasonable price.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Children's and Communities' Mental Health Systems Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace a subpart relating to State comprehensive mental health services plans with a subpart relating to comprehensive mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbance. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to make grants to States for comprehensive community mental health services to children with serious emotional disturbance. Prohibits the Secretary from making a grant to a State unless the State is receiving payments under alcohol and drug abuse and mental health services block grant provisions. Requires non-Federal contributions in a specified ratio. Requires State grantees to: (1) establish and operate one or more systems, through grants or contracts, to provide specified types of mental health services to children under 22 years of age; (2) enter into a memorandum of understanding with providers of medical, educational, vocational counseling and vocational rehabilitation, and protection and advocacy services to facilitate the provision of such services without use of grant funds or non-Federal contributions made with respect to the grant; (3) provide case management services; (4) provide services in the language and cultural context that is most appropriate for the child involved; and (5) develop and implement an individualized plan of services for each child admitted to the system. Describes additional services for which a State system may provide. Prohibits the Secretary from making a grant to a State unless the State has a plan, approved by the Secretary, for the development of a State-wide system of care for community-based services for children with serious emotional disturbance. Requires that parents of children with serious emotional disturbances be included as members of the mental health planning council established under existing provisions. Requires that, if a charge is imposed for services under a grant, the charge be made according to a public schedule, adjusted to reflect the income of the family of the child, and not imposed on any child whose family has income and resources at or below the poverty line. Limits grants to States to five years. Allows a State system established under a grant to receive grant funds for three years. Directs the Secretary to provide to a State, on request: (1) technical assistance regarding grant applications; and (2) training and technical assistance on the planning, development, and operation of the systems under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to provide the technical assistance directly or through grants or contracts. Authorizes appropriations, earmarking a specified sum for the technical assistance and training. Limits the number of grants to ten in FY 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Medicaid Substance Abuse Treatment Act of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide federally reimbursed Medicaid coverage of alcoholism and drug dependency residential treatment services for pregnant women whose family income is below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level and for their Medicaid-eligible children and spouses. Lists the required services included in such coverage as: (1) individual, group, and family counseling and addiction education and treatment provided pursuant to individualized treatment plans; (2) room and board in a structured environment with on-site supervision 24 hours a day; (3) therapeutic child care or counseling for children of individuals in treatment; (4) parental assistance in obtaining developmental assistance for their preschool children and public education for themselves and their school-age children; (5) easier access to prenatal, postpartum, pediatric, and other appropriate health, social, and child care services; (6) planning and assistance in reentering society; and (7) continuing specialized training of residential treatment facility staff members in the most recent and effective treatment techniques. Requires that such coverage continue for at least 12 months, except that the coverage of pregnant women must continue for one year following the end of pregnancy. Limits the size of a residential treatment facility to no more than 40 beds unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the request of a State, waives such limitation under prescribed conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Extends coverage under the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to certain foreign flagships and other vessels. Establishes the Commission on Compliance and Enforcement to study and report to the Congress on specified effects of this Act and problems with compliance and enforcement. Terminates the Commission 30 days after its report.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transmit to the Congress a National Historic Landmark Theme Study on American Labor History which identifies key sites in American labor history for nomination as National Historic Landmarks. Requires the Secretary to prepare a list discussing the feasibility of including such sites in the National Park System. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Directs the heads of Federal departments or agencies which hold or receive records and information which have or could possibly have been correlated to U.S. personnel listed as prisoners of war or missing in action after 1940, including from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, to publicly disclose such records and information, except where such disclosure would compromise national security. Requires the Department of Defense to publicly disclose a complete list of such personnel including those killed in action (body not returned) with each service member's current classification as well as any changes in such classification occurring during or after such hostilities.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual the following qualified employer-provided transportation benefits: (1) the value of transportation in a commuter highway vehicle between the employee's residence and workplace; and (2) up to $60 per month of the value of any transit pass entitling the employee to transportation on mass transit facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
International Voluntary Family Planning Assistance Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations for international population planning assistance. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds for the United Nations Population Fund if: (1) the Fund maintains such funds in a separate account, without commingling; (2) none of the funds are made available for China; and (3) any agreement to obligate such funds expressly states that the full amount granted by the agreement will be refunded to the United States if U.S. funds are used for family planning in China or abortions in any country. Requires a specified amount of population planning assistance to be used to increase family planning service delivery in countries with large population growth. Prohibits any funds appropriated under this Act from being used for abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
Anti-Apartheid Act Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Sanctions Against Investment in, and Exports to, South Africa and Other Measures (Except Import Restrictions) to End Apartheid - Part A: Amendments to the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and Other Laws - Amends the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to prohibit any investments in South Africa by U.S. persons. Makes exceptions to such prohibition for: (1) investments in a business enterprise 90 percent owned and controlled by South Africans economically and politically disadvantaged by apartheid; and (2) investments made by certain individuals during any period and to the extent that such investments are considered South African emigrant non-resident assets and subject to transfer or disposition restrictions. Authorizes a person to apply for, and the President to grant for good cause, a waiver of such prohibition for up to 180 days. Requires U.S. controlled South African entities that are subject to the investment prohibition and that employ more than 24 South Africans economically and politically disadvantaged by apartheid to: (1) notify employees and employee organizations not less than 90 days prior to termination of the U.S. investment in such entity; and (2) enter into good faith negotiations with representative trade unions regarding the terms of such termination. Prohibits the exportation or reexportation to South Africa of any goods or technology subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Prohibits any such exportation or reexportation by any person subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Exempts from such prohibition publications, donations of food, clothing, and medical supplies, commercial sales of agricultural commodities and products, and goods and technology for use in the gathering or dissemination of information by news media organizations subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Makes such prohibitions inapplicable to: (1) any goods that are the direct product of technology of U.S. origin under a written agreement entered into on or before April 20, 1988, and that are exported within one year of the enactment of this Act; (2) economic assistance or human rights programs for disadvantaged South Africans, South African blacks or other nonwhite South Africans, or victims of apartheid in South Africa; and (3) contributions to charitable organizations engaged in social welfare, public health, religious, educational, or emergency relief activities in South Africa. Repeals specified provisions of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 that: (1) prohibit certain exports to, imports from, and investments in South Africa; (2) set forth U.S. policy toward the recruitment and training of black South Africans; and (3) prohibit U.S. intercession with any foreign government regarding export activities of certain U.S. nationals in South Africa who are not implementing the Code of Conduct. Revises the definition of "loans" for purposes of such Act to prohibit short-term trade financing, sales on open account, and rescheduling of existing loans. Adds other definitions for purposes of such Act. Prohibits any U.S. agency or entity involved in intelligence activities from engaging in any form of cooperation with the Government of South Africa (specifically including the authorities administering Namibia so long as Namibia is illegally occupied). Prohibits any U.S. agency or entity from engaging in any form of cooperation with the armed forces of South Africa. Prohibits funds made available by the Congress from being obligated or expended for any expense related to any prohibited cooperation. States that the President should not: (1) assign or detail any member of the U.S. armed forces to serve as a defense or military attache in South Africa; or (2) accredit any individual to serve as a defense or military attache at a South African diplomatic mission in the United States. Repeals provisions of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 concerning restrictions on intelligence agency cooperation with South Africa. Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from authorizing any person to engage, directly or indirectly, in the production of special nuclear materials in South Africa. Revises penalty provisions of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. Establishes within the Department of State a Coordinator of South Africa Sanctions who shall be responsible to the Secretary of State for matters pertaining to the implementation of sanctions against South Africa. Directs the Coordinator to place emphasis on activities related to strategically important trade in oil, coal, computers, specialized machinery and arms, and to financial credits. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Secretary of State in leading and coordinating the activities of other agencies in implementing and enforcing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and in monitoring other nations' economic relations with South Africa. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on actions to monitor and enforce such Act and on economic relations between South Africa and each of its trading partners. Establishes an Interagency Coordinating Committee on South Africa to coordinate and monitor the implementation of such Act. Revises provisions of such Act regarding the Code of Conduct and expanded participation in the South African economy. Requires Federal agencies to make efforts to assist businesses more than 90 percent (currently, 50 percent) owned by black or nonwhite South Africans. Amends the Export Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Bank to insure or participate in the extension of credit to businesses more than 90 percent owned (currently, majority owned) and controlled by black or nonwhite South Africans. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to permit the use of a specified amount of funds authorized for economic development assistance for assistance to disadvantaged South Africans. Specifies that such assistance may include scholarships, the promotion of the participation of disadvantaged South Africans in trade unions and private enterprise, alternative education and community development programs, and training and other assistance (including legal aid) for South African journalists. Lists major trade union federations in South Africa as examples of recipients of U.S. assistance to the labor movement. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds for refugee education and assistance for South Africans. Prohibits any U.S. person from providing transport to South Africa of a commercial quantity of crude oil or refined petroleum products. Includes in such prohibition transport on a vessel of U.S. registry or on a vessel owned by a U.S. person. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from issuing any mineral lease to any national of the United States which is controlled by any foreign person who purchases, acquires, owns, or holds any investment in South Africa or who exports crude oil or refined petroleum products to South Africa. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibitions under specified conditions. Part B: Policy Statements; Reports; Studies; and Other Miscellaneous Provisions - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) direct the Attorney General to conduct an antitrust investigation of the South African controlled international diamond cartel; (2) direct the Secretary of Commerce and the Commissioner of Customs to study the feasibility of identifying at the port of entry the national origin of diamonds entering the United States; and (3) ensure effective and rigorous enforcement of a prohibition on the importation into the United States of uncut South African diamonds by taking specified measures. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should eliminate all honorary consuls of South Africa in the United States and forbid expansion of South Africa's embassy staff; and (2) approval of temporary U.S. visas should be granted on a case-by-case basis after considering South Africa's record of allowing its citizens, including apartheid opponents, to travel to the United States. Requires the President to study and report to the Congress on measures to reduce South Africa's foreign exchange earnings from gold. Directs the Secretary of State to report to the Congress on South Africa's involvement in international terrorism. Title II: Sanctions Against South African Imports Into the United States - Prohibits the importation into the United States of any article from South Africa, except: (1) strategic minerals which the President certifies to the Congress are essential for military or economic purposes and are not available from alternative reliable suppliers or through improved manufacturing processes, conservation, recycling, and economical substitution; and (2) publications. Specifies that such prohibition includes: (1) krugerrands or any gold coin minted in South Africa or offered for sale by the Government of South Africa; (2) uranium hexafluoride that has been manufactured from South African uranium or uranium oxide; and (3) fish or seafood which are products of South Africa. Exempts from such prohibition any imports from business enterprises in South Africa that are wholly-owned by persons economically or politically disadvantaged by apartheid. Requires the President to confer with other industrialized democracies in order to reach cooperative agreements to impose sanctions against South Africa to bring about the dismantling of apartheid. Requires the President to report to the Congress concerning such efforts. Requires (currently, encourages) the President to seek United Nations Security Council adoption of the same sanctions against South Africa as are imposed by the United States. Requires (currently, authorizes) the President to impose penalties against foreign persons taking significant commercial advantage of U.S. sanctions against South Africa or comparable sanctions of other industrialized democracies. Includes as such a penalty the restriction of such a person from contracting with U.S. Government entities. Allows the President to waive such penalties for foreign persons of an industrialized democracy that is a party to a cooperative agreement to impose sanctions against South Africa. Requires the President to revoke such waiver if the industrialized democracy is not adequately enforcing the measures provided for under the agreement. Requires that information concerning the extent to which import restrictions are being enforced by other industrialized democracies be included in the Secretary of State's annual report to the Congress. Sets forth provisions pertaining to committee referral in the House of Representatives of joint resolutions pertaining to import restrictions. Requires the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, to submit periodic reports to the Congress setting forth the average amounts of imports of coal or any strategic and critical material entering the United States from each member and observer country of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the program to reduce U.S. dependence on strategic minerals from South Africa. Requires the President to confer with the governments of the African "frontline" states on measures to prevent the circumvention of the import restrictions on South African products imposed under the authority of this Act. Title III: General Provisions - Makes conforming amendments and sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1991
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design and strike a silver commemorative medal for members of the U.S. armed forces who serve in a combat zone in connection with the Persian Gulf conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Construction Safety, Health, and Education Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act) to establish in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) an Office of Construction Safety, Health, and Education (the Office) to ensure safe and healthy working conditions in the performance of construction work. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to: (1) develop mandatory standards for construction safety and health plans and programs established under this Act; (2) assume control of a construction site to both prevent the destruction of any evidence that would assist in the investigation of a fatality, serious injury, or incident, (unless it must be moved or destroyed as a part of rescue operations) and monitor the rescue operations conducted in response to the incident; (3) assist the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health in developing training courses and curriculum for the training of OSHA inspectors and other OSHA employees with duties related to construction safety; (4) advise and consult with construction employer associations, construction employers, construction employees, and labor organizations as to effective means of preventing fatalities and serious injuries in construction work; (5) increase awareness of construction site safety through education, training, and outreach programs; (6) identify construction employers who have high frequency rates of fatalities or serious injuries or patterns of noncompliance with health and safety standards; and (7) carry out specified duties for construction worksite inspections, investigations, reporting, and recordkeeping and for construction safety and health plans and programs. Establishes within OSHA the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Construction who is to: (1) be appointed by the Secretary; (2) coordinate Office activities with those of other offices and directorates within OSHA as they relate to safety, health, and education in the construction industry; and (3) coordinate the activities and advice of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health with all OSHA activities relating to such matters, ensuring that the Advisory Committee performs its functions under the Act and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. Directs the Secretary, with the advice of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health, to determine the necessary qualifications and training for OSHA inspectors, including: (1) full understanding of the Act and the Secretary's standards and regulations for the construction industry; and (2) at least five years' experience working in the construction industry. Establishes requirements for construction safety and health plans and programs. Requires designation of a project constructor (the constructor) in construction project documents by the construction owner for every construction project covered by the Act. Gives the constructor: (1) responsibility for supervising and controlling all construction work on the worksite; and (2) overall responsibility for the safety and health of all construction employees at the construction worksite, and for performing constructor duties set out in the Act and regulations issued under it. Considers the construction owner as the project constructor if such owner does not designate a constructor. Directs the constructor for a worksite to establish and implement: (1) written safety and health plans by constructors, including the project safety and health programs of construction employers involved in the project; (2) hazard analyses that identify the potential for and provide instructions to prevent hazards in the construction process; and (3) construction process plans that include means to ensure worksite structural stability and worksite inspections. Requires that: (1) constructors designate project safety coordinators (coordinators) for construction projects and notify construction employers of their identity (although such coordinators may not be assigned overall responsibility for project safety); and (2) coordinators, on behalf of constructors, adequately monitor safety at construction sites, prepare project safety and health plans before construction commencement, and ensure construction employers' compliance with reporting requirements. Requires safety and health plans to provide for permit systems under which constructors authorize employers to engage in operations determined to pose a risk of death or serious injury (covered operations). Requires covered operations to include: (1) construction of trenches and excavations; (2) erection and dismantling of scaffolding; (3) demolition of any building or structure; (4) operation of cranes and derricks; (5) operations requiring employees to enter confined or enclosed spaces; (6) operations involving exposure to asbestos and other toxic materials; and (7) other operations designated by the Secretary. Requires constructors, in issuing such permits, to ensure that employers: (1) know of and show intent to comply with requirements of the Act and standards and regulations issued by the Secretary; and (2) have developed safety and health programs that adequately address the hazards of the covered operation. Requires construction employers (employers) involved in construction project worksites to develop and implement project safety programs commensurate with the scope of the work. Requires such programs to require: (1) employers to appoint one competent person for each project to be responsible for general program administration; (2) a competent person to be at each worksite at all times that employers are engaged in construction work; (3) competent persons to inspect worksites frequently and take all necessary actions to eliminate hazards, including work stoppage or removal of affected employees if necessary; (4) provision of prescribed general health and safety training for construction employees; (5) adequate worksite instruction in the recognition of unsafe and unhealthy conditions, applicable standards and regulations, use of construction worksite equipment, and the handling of toxic and harmful substances; (6) emergency evacuation plans, inspection procedures, reporting of incidents, regular safety meetings, and monitoring procedures; (7) a procedure for employees and employee representatives to obtain an immediate inspection or a written evaluation, or both, of a perceived hazardous condition or harmful substance by a qualified person at any time in the construction process; (8) upon determination that such condition or substance presents an imminent danger, for the project constructor to stop work at, or remove affected employees from, the area in which such danger exists; and (9) other requirements, including procedures for monitoring, notification, and safety meetings. Sets forth procedures for emergency waivers of such requirements under specified conditions. Exempts any construction worksite with only one employer and ten or fewer employees from requirements for construction safety and health plans and programs, unless the construction worksite is one at which one of the specified covered operations (under the permit system) occurs. Provides for inspections, investigations, reporting, and recordkeeping. Requires project constructors to submit, before construction work commences, specified types of information necessary for the Secretary to develop and conduct a system of prioritized inspections. Directs the Secretary to establish an effective system for construction worksite inspections. Requires such system to give priority to concentration of enforcement resources on construction worksites and operations with a high potential for fatalities or serious injuries, giving due weight to: (1) employers' and owners' worksite compliance records; and (2) frequency and severity rates of fatalities, serious injuries, and incidents attributable to particular owners and employers and particular types of construction projects, worksites, and operations. Prohibits such priority system from limiting: (1) inspections based on complaints by construction employees on their representatives or complaints of imminent dangers; or (2) inspections following up prior enforcement actions or proceedings. Prohibits the Secretary from excluding from construction worksite inspections any construction owner or employer. Requires project constructors to make and maintain accurate records concerning fatalities, serious injuries, and incidents at a worksite. Requires project constructors to report to the Secretary by telephone or telegraph, within four hours after its occurrence, any incident involving construction work that results in: (1) a serious injury; (2) a fatality; or (3) a structural failure. Requires such reports to specify certain information. Directs the Secretary to conduct site inspections to investigate all such reports of incidents, as the Secretary prescribes. Requires such inspections as soon as practicable or at least within 24 hours after receipt of the telephone or telegraph report, unless site conditions would make inspection dangerous. Requires the project constructor to prevent destruction of evidence. Directs the Secretary to make public a narrative description of the occurrence. Requires the project constructor, at project completion or at one-year intervals during the project, to report to the Secretary all fatalities and serious injuries and all structural failures. Requires such report to provide specified information. Grants the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health specified powers to carry out its functions under the Act and under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. Limits the terms of members of such Committee. Directs the Secretary to respond in writing within 60 days to any recommendation made by a majority of members of such Committee. Requires any State construction safety and health plan to comply with specified requirements for State plans under the Act and to provide for development and enforcement of requirements at least as effective as those imposed by the Act and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for administering and enforcing this Act. Sets forth formulas for determining the Federal share of such grants. Directs the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress: (1) annually on certain general subjects as these relate to the construction industry, including the operation of the Office; and (2) within 120 days after three years of Office operation, on whether specified relevant information supports the continued existence of the Office within OSHA or supports enactment of legislation to establish in the Department of Labor a Construction Industry Safety and Health Administration to be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Construction Safety and Health.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Indoor Air Quality Act of 1991 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a national research, development, and demonstration program to ensure the quality of indoor air and to coordinate and accelerate efforts related to the causes, detection, and correction of contaminated air. Authorizes the Administrator to assist technology demonstration projects which reduce exposure to indoor air contaminants, provided certain conditions are met. Limits Federal funding for such projects to 75 percent of the total costs. Directs the Administrator to consider indoor human exposure to contaminants when developing air quality standards and emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Requires the Administrator to: (1) conduct a national assessment to survey the seriousness and extent of indoor air contamination in buildings owned by local educational agencies and child care facilities; and (2) establish an advisory group of interested parties to provide guidance and direction in developing such assessment. Directs the Administrator to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology to study and report to the Congress on chemical sensitivity disorders. Requires the Administrator to enter into an agreement with the NAS for the Institute of Medicine to study indoor allergens. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the sources of lead exposure for children with blood lead levels greater than 10 micrograms per deciliter. Requires the Administrator and the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to conduct research on indoor air quality in nonresidential, nonindustrial buildings that comply with generally accepted principles of design, maintenance, and operation of ventilation, filtration, and other building systems. Directs the Administrator to publish bulletins providing an assessment of technologies and management practices for the control and measurement of indoor air contaminants. Requires the Director to develop a model indoor air quality training course to provide training in ventilation system operation and maintenance and in identifying and reducing indoor air contaminant exposures. Authorizes the Director to establish a fee for such training. Requires the Administrator to publish health advisories on indoor air contaminants that are known to occur at concentrations which may have adverse human health effects. Provides for the revision of advisories at least every five years. Requires a technology and management practice bulletin to be published concurrently with each advisory addressing a specific contaminant. Directs the Administrator to publish a strategy for a national response to indoor air quality problems. Requires the Administrator to conduct research on radon and radon progeny measurement methods and protocols. Directs the Administrator to issue guidance documents that: (1) provide information on the results of such research; and (2) describe model State radon measurement and mitigation. Requires the Administrator to establish a mandatory program that requires: (1) products offered for sale, or devices used in connection with public services, for radon measurement to meet minimum performance criteria; and (2) operators of devices, or persons employing techniques, used in connection with public services for radon measurement to meet minimum proficiency levels. Directs the Administrator to establish user fees for persons seeking certification under such program. Provides for the deposit of such fees into a Radon Service Account. Requires the national indoor air quality response strategy to evaluate: (1) the range and reliability of indoor air quality diagnostic and mitigation services; and (2) the range of knowledge and mastery of indoor air quality and energy efficiency techniques of ventilation system operators. Provides for the biennial update of such strategy. Requires the Director to: (1) develop a program to evaluate indoor air contamination in Federal buildings; and (2) develop and disseminate to all Federal agencies a model indoor air quality remediation program. Directs Federal agencies responsible for Federal buildings to submit to the Director a specific remediation program for each building, with priority given to buildings based on the health threat and numbers of persons exposed. Requires the Director to review at least five percent of such programs and assess their ability to improve indoor air quality. Directs such agencies to implement systematic programs for the assessment of indoor air quality and the correction of conditions resulting in inadequate air quality. Requires Federal agencies responsible for the design and construction of buildings for Federal occupancy to employ up-to-date design, commissioning, and operating practices for optimal indoor air quality and energy efficiency. Directs persons entering into new leases or lease renewal contracts for Federal buildings to require building owners to demonstrate and guarantee that the building is operating at design specifications for the existing ventilation system and that all portions of the building are accessible for indoor air quality monitoring and evaluation. Provides that buildings that operate at current ventilation rate standards shall be given priority for leasing when available at competitive cost. Requires Federal agencies to designate an Indoor Air Quality Coordinator for each Federal building. Directs Coordinators and their assistants to complete an indoor air training course. Authorizes grants to: (1) States for the development and implementation of indoor air quality management strategies; and (2) States and local air pollution control agencies for air quality response programs. Sets forth grant limitations and selection criteria. Directs the Administrator to establish the Office of Indoor Air Quality within the EPA Office of Air and Radiation. Establishes a Council on Indoor Air Quality to coordinate Federal indoor air quality activities and review and comment on the national indoor air response strategy. Requires the Indoor Air Panel of the EPA Science Advisory Board to be expanded to include technical advisors with expertise in technologies and management practices for the control and measurement of indoor air contaminants. Directs the Administrator to establish a national indoor air quality clearinghouse which shall operate a toll-free hotline on indoor air quality. Requires the Director to implement a Building Assessment Demonstration Program to support the development of methods, techniques, and protocols for assessing indoor air contamination in non-residential, non-industrial buildings and to provide contamination reduction assistance and guidance to building owners and occupants. Sets forth building assessment report requirements. Requires public or commercial buildings receiving permits for construction or renovation to maintain and operate a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system designed to provide a minimum of: (1) 20 cubic feet per minute of outdoor air per occupant to all occupied space in such building; and (2) 60 cubic feet per minute of outdoor air per smoking occupant to rooms where smoking is permitted. Prohibits exhaust air from a room where smoking is permitted from being returned to the general ventilation system. Sets forth recordkeeping requirements with respect to such systems. Directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to enforce compliance with such requirements. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of such requirements. Requires the Administrator to evaluate the need for additional standards related to the level of specific indoor air contaminants present in such buildings to supplement such requirements. Directs the Administrator to issue regulations which: (1) establish standard methods for the measurement and description of indoor air contaminant emissions; (2) identify products that pose significant human health threats through such emissions; and (3) require products that do pose such a threat to be labeled or accompanied by written material informing consumers and commercial purchasers of the indoor air contaminant emissions rate of such products. Makes it unlawful to sell or import into the United States any product which: (1) does not have such a label or written material; or (2) has a label or material containing false information. Requires the Administrator to educate consumers and commercial purchasers about the labeling of such products. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) determine whether standards on workplace indoor air quality are necessary to protect the health and safety of employees; and (2) issue a final standard, as necessary. Repeals the Radon Gas and Indoor Air Quality Research Act of 1986. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Women and AIDS Outreach and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants regarding prevention of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases in women, including preventive health services, screening, providing treatment (for such diseases other than AIDS), referrals, and follow-up services. Requires that a grantee be an entity that provides health or voluntary family planning services: (1) to a significant number of low-income women; and (2) in an area with a significant number of AIDS cases in women and in newborn infants. Requires that grantees maintain the confidentiality of information on individuals, subject to complying with applicable law. Authorizes appropriations.