United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Insurance Reform Subtitle A: Increased Availability and Continuity of Health Coverage for Employees and Their Families Subtitle B: Reform of Health Insurance Marketplace for Small Business Subtitle C: Preemption Subtitle D: Health Deduction Fairness Title II: Preventing Fraud and Abuse Subtitle A: Establishment of All-Payer Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program Subtitle B: Revisions to Current Sanctions for Fraud and Abuse Subtitle C: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions Subtitle D: Amendments to Criminal Law Title III: Malpractice Reform Subtitle A: Findings; Purpose; Definitions Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims Subtitle C: Requirements for State Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems (ADE) Title IV: Paperwork Reduction and Administrative Simplification Title V: Expanding Access/Preventive Care Subtitle A: Expanding Access Through Community Health Authorities Subtitle B: Expansion of Public Health Programs on Preventive Health Title VI: Antitrust Provisions Title VII: Prefunding Government Health Benefits for Certain Annuitants Health Reform Consensus Act of 1994 - Title I: Insurance Reform - Subtitle A: Increased Availability and Continuity of Health Coverage for Employees and Their Families - Requires each employer to make available to each eligible employee a group health plan under which: (1) coverage of each eligible individual with respect to such employee may be elected on an annual basis; (2) coverage is provided for at least the required coverage specified; and (3) employees may elect to have premiums collected through payroll deduction. Does not require employer contributions to the cost of coverage under such a plan. Provides for the exclusion of: (1) employers who have been employers for less than two years or who have no more than two eligible employees or no more than two eligible employees not covered under any group health plan; and (2) family members under specified circumstances. Specifies that a group health plan shall not be treated as failing to meet the requirements of this Act solely because a period of service by an eligible employee of not more than 60 days is required for coverage. Specifies that the required coverage is standard coverage, except that in the case of a small employer that has not contributed during the previous plan year to the cost of coverage for any eligible employee under any group health plan, the required coverage for the plan year is coverage under a standard plan and a catastrophic plan. Provides for a five-year transition for existing group health plans. (Sec. 1002) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) compliance with applicable requirements through multiple employer health arrangements; and (2) coverage options under a State medical health allowance program. (Sec. 1011) Prohibits a group health plan from imposing (and an insurer from requiring an employer from imposing through a waiting period for coverage under a plan or similar requirement) a limitation or exclusion of benefits relating to treatment of a preexisting condition if: (1) the condition relates to a condition that was not diagnosed or treated within three months before the date of coverage under the plan; or (2) the limitation or exclusion extends over more than six month after the date of coverage, applies to an individual who, as of the date of birth, was covered under the plan, or relates to pregnancy. Specifies that, in the case of an individual who is eligible for coverage under a plan but for a waiting period imposed by the employer, the individual shall be treated as having been covered under the plan as of the earliest date of the beginning of the waiting period. (Sec. 1012) Requires each group health plan to waive any period applicable to a preexisting condition for similar benefits with respect to an individual to the extent that the individual, prior to enrollment in such plan, was covered for the condition under any other health plan. (Sec. 1013) Prohibits: (1) a multiemployer plan and an exempted multiple employer health plan from canceling or denying renewal of coverage under such a plan for an employer other than for nonpayment of contributions, fraud or other misrepresentation, noncompliance with plan provisions, failure to maintain minimum participation rates (in the case of a small employer) misuse of a provider network provision, or because the plan is ceasing to provide any coverage in a geographic area; (2) an insurer from canceling a health insurance plan or denying renewal of coverage other than as prescribed above; and (3) an insurer who terminates the offering of health insurance plans in an area from offering such a plan to any employer in the area until five years after the date of the termination. (Sec. 1021) Makes provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 applicable with respect to enforcement of this Act (by the Department of Labor). Imposes a civil penalty ($100 per day for each individual involved, subject to specified limitations) on the failure of an insurer to comply with the requirements of sections 1011 through 1013, unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) determines that the State has in effect a regulatory enforcement mechanism that provides adequate sanctions. Subtitle B: Reform of Health Insurance Marketplace for Small Business - Requires each insurer that makes available a health insurance plan to a small employer in a State to make available to each small employer in the State a standard plan and a catastrophic plan, with exceptions for health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and if a State provides for guaranteed availability (rather than guaranteed issue). Requires each insurer that offers a standard or catastrophic plan to a small employer in a State to accept: (1) every small employer in the State that applies for coverage; and (2) every eligible individual who applies for enrollment on a timely basis. Sets forth provision regarding: (1) special rules for HMOs; (2) timely enrollment requirements; and (3) enrollment of spouses and dependents. Makes such requirements inapplicable in a State that has provided (in accordance with specified standards) a mechanism under which each insurer offering a health insurance plan to a small employer in the State must participate in a program for assigning high-risk small employer groups (or individuals within such a group) among some or all such insurers, if the insurers comply. (Sec. 1102) Defines "health plan" as a health insurance plan that: (1) is designed to provide standard coverage with substantial cost-sharing or only catastrophic coverage; (2) meets applicable requirements relating to guaranteed issue; (3) meets specified consumer protection standards; and (4) meets any participation requirements with respect to an applicable reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanism. States that standard coverage includes: (1) inpatient and outpatient hospital care; (2) inpatient and outpatient physicians' services; (3) diagnostic tests; (4) specified preventive services; and (5) specified inpatient hospital care for mental disorders. Sets forth coverage scope, including that there be no limits on the amount, scope, or duration of items number one, two, and three in the preceding sentence. Sets forth exceptions. Sets forth limitations on deductibles, copayments and coinsurance, and out-of-pocket expenses. Defines a catastrophic benefits package. Provides for the determination of target actuarial values for standard and catastrophic coverage. (Sec. 1103) Directs the Secretary to request NAIC to develop model regulations that specify standards with respect to requirements: (1) that insurers make available health plans; (2) of guaranteed availability of health plans to small employers; (3) relating to limits on premiums and certain consumer protections; (4) relating to limitation of annual premium increases; and (5) for standard and catastrophic coverage. Requires the Secretary to review such standards and, if NAIC fails to specify standards meeting such requirements, to promulgate standards. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the application of health plan standards and consumer protection standards by the States; (2) the Federal role; and (3) consumer protection standards. (Sec. 1104) Sets forth provisions: (1) regarding limits on premiums and annual premium increases; and (2) requiring an insurer, at the time of offering a health insurance plan to a small employer, to fully disclose rating practices for health insurance plans, including rating practices for different populations and benefit designs. (Sec. 1106) Directs the Secretary to: (1) request NAIC to develop models for reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms for health insurance plans made available to small employers for whom an insurer is at risk of incurring high costs under the plan; and (2) review such models or specify models. Sets forth provisions regarding implementation of reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms by the States and the Federal role. (Sec. 1108) Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of Private Health Care Coverage. Requires the Office Director to submit to the Congress annual reports evaluating health care coverage reform. (Sec. 1109) Authorizes the Director to conduct: (1) research on the impact of this subtitle on the availability of affordable health coverage for employees and dependents in the small employers group health care coverage market and other specified topics; and (2) demonstration projects relating to such topics. Requires the Director to develop: (1) methods for measuring the relative health risks of eligible individuals in terms of the expected costs of providing benefits under health insurance plans and, in particular, health plans; (2) a model for equitably distributing health risks among insurers in the small employer health care coverage market. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Preemption - Prohibits: (1) State benefit mandates for group health plans; and (2) State or local law prohibitions against two or more employers obtaining coverage under an insured multiple employer health plan. (Sec. 1203) Preempts State restrictions concerning: (1) reimbursement rates or selective contracting; (2) differential financial incentives; and (3) utilization review methods. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the benefits and cost effectiveness of the use of managed care in the delivery of health services. (Sec. 1211) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow a limited exemption under preemption rules for multiple employer plans providing health benefits subject to certain Federal standards. Relieves exempted multiple employer plans providing medical care benefits of certain restrictions on preemption of State law. Treats such plans as employee welfare benefit plans. Allows commencement of new arrangements only if such exemption is in effect or an application is pending and the Secretary of Labor determines that provisional protection is appropriate. Sets forth exemption procedures, eligibility requirements, and additional requirements applicable to exempted arrangements. Requires certain disclosures to participating employers, maintenance of reserves, and corrective actions. Provides for expiration, suspension, and revocation of exemptions, and for review of actions by the Secretary. (Sec. 1213) Revises provisions relating to scope of preemption rules, and to treatment of single employer arrangements and of certain collectively bargained arrangements. (Sec. 1215) Establishes special rules for employee leasing healthcare arrangements. Treats such arrangements as multiple employer welfare arrangements except when they are multiple employer health plans. (Sec. 1216) Sets forth enforcement provisions relating to multiple employer welfare arrangements and employee leasing health care arrangements. (Sec. 1217) Sets forth filing requirements for multiple employer welfare arrangements. (Sec. 1218) Provides for cooperation between Federal and State authorities in enforcing ERISA requirements for multiple employer welfare arrangements with the limited exemption. (Sec. 1221) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the commonality of interest or geographic location requirement for tax exempt trust status for multiple employer health plans and insured multiple employer health plans if they meet certain requirements under ERISA and this Act. (Sec. 1231) Amends ERISA to direct the Secretary of Labor to prescribe an alternative method providing for a single annual report with respect to all employers who are covered under the same insured multiple employer health plan. (Sec. 1241) Provides for compliance with applicable coverage requirements through multiemployer plans and other multiple employer health arrangements. Subtitle D: Health Deduction Fairness - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a permanent extension and increase in the health insurance tax deduction for self-employed individuals. Title II: Preventing Fraud and Abuse - Subtitle A: Establishment of All-Payer Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program - Directs the Attorney General to establish a program to: (1) coordinate Federal, State, and local law enforcement programs to control health care fraud and abuse; (2) conduct investigations, audits, and inspections relating to the delivery of payment for health care; and (3) facilitate enforcement of provisions of the Social Security and other Acts applicable to health care fraud and abuse. Authorizes additional appropriations as necessary. (Sec. 2003) Establishes the Anti-Fraud and Abuse Trust Fund. Subtitle B: Revisions to Current Sanctions for Fraud and Abuse - Excludes from participation in Medicare and State health care programs any individual or entity convicted of: (1) fraud in connection the delivery of a health care item or service; or (2) a felony related to a controlled substance. (Sec. 2103) Subjects to a civil monetary penalty any individual or entity offering inducements to individuals to receive any service or supply from a particular provider. (Sec. 2104) Permits the imposition of intermediate sanctions in addition to the current option of termination, for Medicare health maintenance organizations. Subtitle C: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to establish a national health care fraud and abuse data collection program for the reporting of final adverse actions against health care providers, suppliers, or practitioners. Requires each government agency and health care plan to report to the Secretary any final adverse action taken against a health care provider, supplier, or practitioner. Subtitle D: Amendments to Criminal Law - Establishes a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment for knowingly: (1) defrauding any health care plan; or (2) fraudulently obtaining money or property in connection with the delivery of health care items, benefits, or services. Permits a payment of up to $10,000 to any person furnishing information relating to any such crime. Title III: Malpractice Reform - Subtitle A: Findings; Purpose; Definitions - Sets forth, for this title, findings, purposes, and definitions. Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims - Makes this subtitle applicable to any medical malpractice liability action brought in a Federal or State court and to any medical malpractice claim subject to an alternative dispute resolution system. (Sec. 3102) Prohibits bringing a medical malpractice liability action in either a State or Federal court unless there has been an initial resolution of the action under an alternative dispute resolution system. Directs the Attorney General to establish an alternative dispute resolution process for medical malpractice liability claims brought against the United States. (Sec. 3104) Sets limits on both noneconomic damages and punitive damages. (Sec. 3105) Provides for the periodic payment of future losses. (Sec. 3106) Limits attorney's fees. (Sec. 3108) Sets forth special provisions for certain obstetric services. Subtitle C: Requirements for State Alternative Dispute Resolution System (ADR) -Requires a State's alternative dispute resolution system, among other things to: (1) apply to all medical malpractice liability claims within the jurisdiction of the State's courts; (2) issue a written opinion resolving the dispute within six months of a defendant receiving notice; (3) qualify individuals who hear and resolve claims under the system; and (4) notify the appropriate State agency if there is a finding of malpractice, unless the provider contests the ADR decision. (Sec. 3202) Directs the Secretary to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Board in order to advise the Secretary regarding the establishment of State and Federal ADR systems. Provides for the certification of State ADR systems by the Board. Title IV: Paperwork Reduction and Administrative Simplification - Preempts State quill pen laws. (Sec. 4102) Provides for the confidentiality of electronic health care information. (Sec. 4003) Directs the Secretary to establish national goals for the health care industry concerning: (1) standardization for the electronic receipt and transmission of health plan information; (2) use of uniform health claims forms and identification numbers; (3) priority of insurers when benefits are payable under two or more health plans; and (4) availability of information among health plans when benefits are payable under two more plans. Requires the Secretary to promulgate requirements if the industry does not meet the goals. Provides for monetary penalties on any health plan that does not meet the Secretary's requirements. Title V: Expanding Access/Preventive Care - Subtitle A: Expanding Access Through Community Health Authorities - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary to operate a program under which States establish projects to demonstrate the effectiveness of various innovative health care delivery approaches through the operation of community health authorities. Requires a community health authority to be a nonprofit entity that: (1) serves a geographic area that includes those designated by the Public Health Service Act as medically underserved or as being in a health professions shortage area; (2) enrolls the Medicaid eligible; and (3) provides for the provision of at least preventive services, primary care services, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, and other services. (Sec. 5002) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to migrant and community health centers for the development of health service networks to serve high impact areas, medically underserved areas, or medically underserved populations. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1999. Subtitle B: Expansion of Public Health Programs on Preventive Health - Authorizes appropriations, under the Public Health Service Act, for the following: (1) immunizations against vaccine-preventable diseases; (2) prevention, control, and elimination of tuberculosis; (3) lead poisoning prevention; (4) preventive health measures with respect to breast and cervical cancers; (5) the Office of Minority Health Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; and (6) the Office of Minority Health; and (7) the preventive health and health services block grant. Title VI: Antitrust Provisions - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) provide for the development and publication of explicit guidelines on the application of antitrust laws to the activities of health plans; and (2) establish a review process under which the administrator or sponsor of a health plan may submit a request to the Attorney General to obtain a prompt opinion from the Department of Justice on the plan's conformity with Federal antitrust laws. (Sec. 6002) Authorizes the issuance of a certificate of public advantage by the Attorney General to each eligible health care collaborative activity if there is a finding that the benefits that are likely to result from carrying out the activity outweigh any reduction in competition that is likely to result and such reduction is reasonably necessary. Title VII: Prefunding Government Health Benefits for Certain Annuitants - Requires certain executive branch agencies to prefund government health benefits contributors for their annuitants.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1994
Designates March 23, 1994, the 92d birthday of the Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (leader of the worldwide Lubavitch movement), as Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1994
Honors James Norman Hall for his outstanding contributions to the United States, France, Tahiti, and the South Pacific. Requests the President to provide for the presentation of a copy of this concurrent resolution to the President of Tahiti Nui (French Polynesia) to be publicly displayed at the James Norman Hall Museum in Tahiti.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1994
1995 Special Olympics World Games Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the 1995 Special Olympics World Games. Mandates that the surcharges collected from the sale of such coins be paid to the 1995 Special Olympics World Games Organizing Committee, Inc.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: General Provisions Title II: Policy Coordination and Technology Programs Subtitle A: Policy Coordination and Program Planning Subtitle B: Environmental Technology Innovation Initiative Subtitle C: Other Research Activities Title III: Performance Measurements Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations Title I: General Provisions - Environmental Technologies Act of 1994 - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes. Title II: Policy Coordination and Technology Programs - Subtitle A: Policy Coordination and Program Planning - Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to: (1) ensure the coordinated, interagency promotion of the research, development, integration, and deployment of environmental technologies; and (2) develop priorities for Federal environmental technology efforts. (Sec. 202) Requires the Director to coordinate Federal activities and resources that are applied to life-cycle assessment in order to maximize the contribution of such assessments to the efficient design, development, and use of such technologies and to sustainable economic development. (Sec. 203) Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to include goals for sustainable economic development within technology innovation programs. Includes such goals in other existing programs under specified Acts. Subtitle B: Environmental Technology Innovation Initiative - Establishes an Environmental Innovation Initiative, to be administered by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to promote the research, development, integration, and deployment of technologies that will contribute to sustainable economic development. Includes programs established under this Act in the Initiative. Provides assistance to eligible entities. (Sec. 211) Requires the Administrator to encourage the participation of socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and entities located in economically depressed areas in carrying out the Initiative. (Sec. 212) Directs the Administrator to conduct an interagency innovative environmental technology program to develop or demonstrate advanced precommercial environmental technologies. Makes U.S. companies and partnerships eligible for financial assistance for projects subject to certain conditions. (Sec. 213) Establishes the President's Total Environmental Quality Award to be awarded periodically to companies and other organizations which have benefited the United States through environmental technologies. Establishes a National Environmentally Sound Technology Award for individuals who have pioneered the development and use of a highly innovative environmental technology. (Sec. 214) Directs the Administrator to use existing information network capabilities to provide access to data on environmental technologies developed, tested, or verified by programs under this Act and by other appropriate sources. (Sec. 215) Requires the Administrator to establish a program to demonstrate the performance of environmental technologies at Federal laboratories and facilities. (Sec. 216) Directs the Administrator to enter into an agreement with the National Research Council to study the influences on technological innovation in environmental technologies of economic, governmental, and other incentives and barriers. Subtitle C: Other Research Activities - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support research activities that will advance the integration of engineering practices and environmental protection in the development of advanced technologies. (Sec. 222) Directs the Administrator to submit a strategic plan for interagency coordination of Federal programs related to innovative environmental control and remediation technologies. Title III: Performance Measurements - Requires the Secretary of Commerce, through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to establish a program that provides for performance measurements for environmental technology products. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the Administrator to designate entities to perform environmental technology verification. (Sec. 303) Requires the President to establish a program for evaluating and approving the purchase by the Federal Government of environmental technology products. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1994
Amends the Interstate Commerce Act to direct the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to require a fair and equitable arrangement for protection of the interests of railroad employees who may be affected by an ICC order approving an application for construction or acquisition and operation of a railroad line. Requires such arrangement to be no less fair and beneficial to the interests of such employees than those established under specified provisions for employee protective arrangements in transactions involving rail carriers.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1994
Immigration Moratorium Act of 1994 - Title I: Immigration Moratorium - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to restrict U.S. immigration levels to specified numbers of family-sponsored immigrants, employment-based immigrants, and refugees. Title II: Prohibition of Federal Benefits for Certain Aliens - Prohibits direct Federal financial assistance and unemployment benefits to aliens who are not lawful permanent residents. Title III: Asylum Reform - Amends the Act to revise and expedite asylum procedures. Title IV: Citizenship - Restricts the basis for automatic U.S. citizenship for certain persons born in the United States to a mother who is neither a U.S. citizen nor a lawful permanent resident. Title V: Border Security - Increases the number of Border Patrol personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1994
World War II Peace Accords Commemorative Coin Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the 50th anniversary of the signing of the World War II peace accords on the U.S.S. Missouri should not go unrecognized at the national level; and (2) the United States should recognize such anniversary by minting and issuing a commemorative coin. Sets forth specifications for half dollar clad coins. Mandates that the surcharges received from the sale of such coins be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to the Admiral Nimitz Foundation for the purpose of preserving the Pacific War heritage of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS Title I: General Provisions Title II: Policy Coordination and Technology Programs Subtitle A: Policy Coordination and Program Planning Subtitle B: Environmental Technology Title III: Education Title IV: Standards Title V: International Programs Title VI: Financial and Regulatory Incentives Title VII: Authorization of Appropriations Title I: General Provisions - Environmental Technologies Act of 1993 - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes. Title II: Policy Coordination and Technology Programs - Subtitle A: Policy Coordination and Program Planning - Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to: (1) ensure the coordinated, interagency promotion of the research, development, and adoption of environmental technologies; and (2) develop priorities for Federal environmental technology research, development, and adoption efforts. (Sec. 202) Requires the Director to coordinate Federal activities and resources that are applied to life-cycle assessment in order to maximize the contribution of such assessments to sustainable economic development. (Sec. 203) Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to include goals for sustainable economic development within technology innovation programs. Includes such goals in other existing programs under specified Acts. Subtitle B: Environmental Technology - Establishes an Environmental Technologies Development and Integration Program, to be administered by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to promote the research, development, and integration of technologies that will contribute to sustainable economic development. Makes eligible for assistance projects that: (1) develop advanced, precommercial environmental technologies, with emphasis on technologies that will contribute to sustainable economic development; and (2) develop the integration of multiple steps in the conversion of materials that are involved in the manufacture, reuse, or recycling of a product, the recycling of process wastes, or the provision of a service. (Sec. 211) Prohibits intellectual property owned and developed by a business receiving financial assistance from being disclosed by the Federal Government except in accordance with an agreement. Provides that title to such property arising from assistance shall vest in a company incorporated in the United States or an institution of higher education in the United States. (Sec. 212) Directs the Administrator and the Secretaries of Energy and Defense to submit a strategic plan for interagency coordination of programs for the development, demonstration, and deployment of innovative environmental control and remediation technologies. (Sec. 213) Establishes the President's Total Environmental Quality Award to be awarded periodically to companies and other organizations which have benefited the United States through the development and deployment of environmental technologies. Establishes a National Environmentally Sound Technology Award for individuals who have pioneered the development and use of a highly innovative environmental technology. (Sec. 214) Directs the Administrator, acting through the EPA Office of Research and Development, to use existing information network capabilities to provide access to data on environmental technologies developed, tested, or verified by programs under this Act and by other appropriate sources. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into partnership agreements ("alliances") with State or local government agencies and other specified entities to: (1) facilitate access to information incorporated in the networks; and (2) transfer to such entities other information that would enhance the development and adoption of environmental technologies. Encourages alliances to disseminate information, and provide technical assistance, to U.S. companies on opportunities for the more efficient use of materials and energy and for waste minimization, materials conversion, and recycling. Authorizes the Administrator to provide financial assistance to alliances under certain conditions. (Sec. 215) Directs the Administrator to establish a program to demonstrate the performance of environmental technologies at Federal laboratories and other Federal facilities. Makes U.S. companies and small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education eligible to carry out demonstration projects. (Sec. 216) Directs the Administrator to establish a three-year pilot program to promote research on, and development of, environmentally efficient building materials through use of such materials in new and existing Federal facilities and buildings. Directs the Administrator to promulgate guidelines for Federal agencies on minimizing the creation of solid waste and maximizing the use of environmentally efficient building materials. Title III: Education - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to support undergraduate and graduate activities in the development of coursework materials and curricula in all scientific, engineering, and technical disciplines to incorporate environmental soundness and total cost accounting into the corresponding curricula. (Sec. 302) Requires the Director of the EPA Office of Research and Development to develop and support programs to improve understanding of the relationships between technology and the environment. Title IV: Standards - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish: (1) a program to support the clarification of standards of performance for environmental technologies to clarify quality, performance, and substitutability for conventional products; and (2) a mechanism for recognizing non-Federal organizations engaged in environmental standards setting and associated product performance verification activities for purposes of ensuring quality and enhancing consumer confidence and international recognition. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the Administrator to enter into joint agreements with State and local governments and private sector representatives to support Environmental Technology Verification Centers that verify, evaluate, and disseminate information on the performance and cost of environmental technologies. Authorizes financial assistance to such Centers. Authorizes the Administrator to engage directly with private sector organizations through verification partnerships if the Centers cannot verify the performance of technologies because of scale or complexity. (Sec. 403) Directs the Federal Trade Commission to: (1) conduct a study of scientific and technological information needed for the fair evaluation of commercial performance claims regarding environmental technologies; and (2) develop a plan for collaboration with Federal agencies that have expertise in such technologies to ensure the use of the best available scientific and technological information in evaluating such claims. Title V: International Programs - Encourages the Administrator to support programs in other nations for purposes of enhancing U.S. exports of environmental technologies and promoting the contribution of such technologies to international sustainable economic development. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to support activities to promote the export of U.S. environmental technologies. (Sec. 504) Establishes the Environmental Technologies Export Revolving Fund for purposes of providing financial assistance for the adaption and demonstration of U.S. environmental technologies to enhance exports to major international markets. Authorizes the Secretary to use the Fund for financial assistance to U.S. companies, research centers, institutions of higher education, and other appropriate organizations. Sets forth priority projects and conditions for financial assistance. Title VI: Financial and Regulatory Incentives - Directs the President to establish a program for evaluating and approving Federal purchases of environmental technology products. (Sec. 602) Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on current environmental regulations and their effect upon innovation in environmental technologies and the introduction of new environmental products. (Sec. 603) Requires the President to study the potential for efficiently encouraging the development and use of environmental technologies through tax incentives. Title VII: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1993
Propane Education and Research Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to conduct a referendum among producers and retail marketers to authorize the creation of the Propane Education and Research Council and the levying of an assessment on odorized propane. Makes it the Council's mission to develop programs and enter into contracts for: (1) propane research and development; (2) consumer education; (3) propane market development; and (4) payment for program costs with funds collected under this Act. Prescribes guidelines under which the Council shall set annual assessments to cover program costs. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program to coordinate Council operations with any State propane education and research council. Proscribes the use of Council funds for lobbying activities. Directs the Secretary to issue implementation regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Consolidation of Information on Technologies Title II: Technology Transfer and Commercialization Financing Corporation Title III: Commercialization Financing Title IV: Alternative Minimum Tax on Corporations Importing Products Into the United States Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions Federal Technology Commercialization and Credit Enhancement Act of 1993 - Title I: Consolidation of Information on Technologies - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a standardized, accessible data base describing all patents, licenses, technologies, and processes owned in whole or in part by the Federal Government. Provides for data base access by: (1) the Technology Transfer and Commercialization Financing Corporation (established by this Act); and (2) the public. Directs the Secretary to review current Federal technology transfer efforts. Title II: Technology Transfer and Commercialization Financing Corporation - Establishes a public/private Technology Transfer and Commercialization Financing Corporation (Corporation) to foster U.S. economic growth by providing credit for businesses and facilitating the transfer and commercialization of federally owned or developed patents, licenses, processes, and technologies. Title III: Commercialization Financing - Establishes in the Treasury the Technology Transfer Investment Fund. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Corporation to provide outreach activities to areas that: (1) have a depressed economy or chronically high unemployment; (2) have been adversely affected by the North American Free Trade Agreement; or (3) are designated as Federal empowerment zones or enterprise communities. Title IV: Alternative Minimum Tax on Corporation's Importing Products into the United States - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an alternative minimum tax on certain corporations importing products into the United States. Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth effective date and separability provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1993
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 · 16 November 1993
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 1995, the duty on 1-(acetyloxy) ethyl ester of (6R, 7R)-3-carbamoyl-oxymethyl- 7-(Z-2-methoxyimino-2-(fur-2-yl) acetamido) ceph-3-em-4-carboxylate (cefuroxime axetil in bulk and dosage forms).
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1993
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 1995, the duty on 1,2,3,9-tetrahydro-9-methyl-3-((2-methyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl) methyl)-4H-carbazol-4-one hydrochloride dihydrate (ondansetron hydrochloride in bulk and dosage forms).
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1993
Presidential FEMA Reform Act of 1993 - Directs the President to establish a commission to review the Federal emergency management system and to report to him and the Congress on recommendations for improving the system.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1993
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in the case of specified contaminants listed in the Federal Register for which national primary drinking water regulations have not been promulgated, to: (1) publish maximum contaminant level goals and promulgate such regulations for those contaminants that occur in drinking water and are of public health concern; and (2) eliminate monitoring, compliance, and enforcement requirements for those contaminants that do not occur in drinking water at levels of public health concern. (Current law requires the promulgation of such goals and regulations for specified numbers of such contaminants by certain dates.) Directs the Administrator to promulgate such goals and regulations for new contaminants every five years. Requires the Administrator to establish in each national primary drinking water regulation best technology treatment techniques for public water systems serving fewer than 1,000, between 1,000 and 10,000, and more than 10,000 people, respectively. Directs the Administrator to promulgate national primary drinking water regulations for radionuclides, disinfection and corrosion byproducts, and sulfate. Revises provisions concerning variances from national drinking water regulations to permit the issuance of a variance by a State only if the water system cannot afford to install the best available technology to meet the maximum contaminant level and it is not feasible for the system to connect with another source of water that will meet the standards. Requires variances to be reviewed by the State at least every three years. Repeals provisions that authorize States to exempt public water systems from requirements respecting maximum contaminant levels or treatment techniques. Prohibits treated drinking water from being removed from a public water system or routed through any device or pipes outside the system and returned to the system. Includes such action in the definition of "tampering," a violation for which criminal penalties are imposed. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to pipes and devices totally within the control of one or more public water systems or to connections between water mains. Requires (currently, authorizes) the Administrator to conduct research relating to diseases and other impairments resulting from contaminants in drinking water or to the provision of a safe supply of drinking water. Authorizes appropriations. Extends the authorization of appropriations for grants for State public water system supervision programs. Requires the Administrator to promulgate revised regulations every five years that list up to 30 unregulated contaminants to be monitored by public water systems. Directs the Administrator to assemble a national drinking water occurrence data base to include information on the occurrence of regulated and unregulated contaminants.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1993
Guam and the Northern Marianas Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue one-dollar coins emblematic of the American forces that liberated Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in World War II. Requires payment of surcharges received from the coin sales to the Secretary of the Interior to construct a visitors center and museum at: (1) the War in the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam; and (2) the American Memorial Park on Saipan.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Smuggling and Fraud Title II: Asylum Title III: Inspections Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations for the Immigration and Naturalization Service Immigration Enforcement and Asylum Reform Act of 1993 - Title I: Smuggling and Fraud - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide procedures for expedited exclusion of aliens who arrive without proper documentation or who are determined by a special asylum officer not to have a proper claim of asylum (based upon a credible fear of prosecution). Limits judicial review to habeas corpus. Creates a separate offense and penalty for an alien smuggler who seriously injures or jeopardizes the life of an alien. Extends penalties to persons who contract to bring illegal labor. Treats smuggling as an aggravated felony. Expands Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) forfeiture authority to include any real or personal property used or intended to be used to smuggle aliens, or that constitutes, is derived from, or traceable to such activities. Exempts property used without the owner's consent or knowledge, or not to his or her benefit. Amends Federal law to authorize INS wiretaps for alien smuggling investigations. Brings alien smuggling operations under the purview of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) provisions. Title II: Asylum - Revises asylum procedures. Sets forth mandatory and discretionary conditions for granting provisional asylum. States that asylum applications shall be determined by specially trained asylum officers. Terminates an alien's claim for failure to appear at the application provisional asylum hearing. Title III: Inspections - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish specified numbers of preinspection stations at foreign airports identified as last departure points for the greatest numbers of U.S.-arriving passengers and at those with the greatest numbers of U.S.-arriving undocumented aliens (and to assign additional immigration officers at such airports without preinspection stations); and (2) establish an expedited inspection process for U.S. citizens returning by air from abroad. Revises the pilot visa waiver program to: (1) make it permanent; (2) repeal certain paperwork requirements; (3) subject participants to exclusion or deportation without appeal (except for an asylum claim); and (4) require carriers to distribute program information to passengers. Provides for the training of airline personnel in detection of fraudulent documents. Authorizes the Attorney General to reduce, refund, or waive the fine for bringing illegal aliens into the United States if: (1) a carrier followed prescribed screening procedures; or (2) other justifiable circumstances exist. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations for the Immigration and Naturalization Service - Authorizes appropriations for the Border Patrol.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1993
Establishes a toll-free number to inform consumers regarding: (1) whether a product is made in America; (2) where products may be purchased; and (3) the purchase of products. Allows registration of American-made products.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1993
Prohibits the U.S. Postal Service from expending, in any year, any amounts in connection with instituting a new logo if its total obligations and expenditures incurred in the previous year exceeded its total revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1993
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Justice should repudiate its reinterpretation of Federal child pornography laws, defend the conviction won in lower courts in Knox v. United States, and vigorously prosecute sexual exploitation of children.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1993
1995 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue commemorative one-dollar silver coins bearing a likeness of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Requires the Secretary to distribute proceeds from surcharges ($10 per coin) in equal allocations to: (1) the National Park Foundation Restricted Account for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial; and (2) the National Park Service Restricted Construction Account for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1993
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 1995, the duty on 4-hydroxy-a-(((6-(4-phenylbutoxy)hexyl)amino)-methyl)-1, 3-benzenedimethol, 1-hydroxy-2-naphthalenecarboxylate (salmeterol xinafoate bulk and dosage forms).
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1993
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 1995, the duty on n(2-(((5-((dimethylamino)methyl)-2-furanyl)methyl)thio)ethyl)-n-methyl-2 -nitro-1,1-ethenediamine, hydrochloride (ranitidine hydrochloride in bulk and dosage forms).
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1993
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 1995, the duty on (3-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)-N-methyl-1H-indole-5-methanesulphonamide, (1:1) succinate (sumatriptan succinate in bulk and dosage forms).
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1993
Amends the Truth in Lending Act of 1968, Truth in Savings Act of 1991, and Consumer Leasing Act of 1976 to declare that radio broadcast advertisements satisfy statutory consumer disclosure requirements if they include toll-free telephone numbers providing consumers with disclosure information prior to engaging in the transactions specified.
![Official portrait of Rep. Valentine, Tim [D-NC-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/v000006_200.jpg)