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United States · Official source
5,601 records where Rep. Vento, Bruce F. [D-MN-4] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1993
Disregards payments made to victims of Nazi persecution in determining eligibility for and the amount of need-based benefits and services under any Federal or federally assisted program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1993
Designates June 5, 1993, as National Trails Day.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1993
Tire Recycling Incentives Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require tire producers or importers to recycle an amount of scrap tires equal to at least the amount determined by multiplying the amount of tires produced or imported that year by the recycling percentage established by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Authorizes compliance by: (1) recycling scrap tires through reintroducing the recovered rubber into a manufacturing process to produce new tires or retread old tire casings; or (2) purchasing recycling credits. Directs the Administrator to establish a recycling percentage and provides for annual increases in such percentage. Requires the Administrator to allow recyclers to create credits for tire recycling and tire producers or importers to purchase such credits. Directs the Attorney General to report to the Congress on the effects of the credit system on competition within the tire and scrap tire recycling industries. Considers a scrap tire recycling or disposal facility to be a solid waste disposal facility for purposes of Internal Revenue Code provisions concerning exempt facility bonds. Directs the Administrator to: (1) publish minimum requirements for State scrap tire management and procedures to be incorporated into State solid waste management plans; (2) provide for expedited review of State plans which include scrap tire recycling measures; and (3) establish standards to minimize health and environmental damages from the improper disposal and storage of tires. Directs the Administrator to publish guidelines for States for the issuance of permits to scrap tire collection facilities and for facility emergency plans. Requires all regulated facilities to have appropriate financial responsibility or insurance. Exempts specified persons from permitting requirements. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to implement a plan to remediate tire piles. Directs the Administrator to develop a guideline for Federal procurement of items that make use of scrap or used tires. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to publish standards for Federal departments to determine the life-cycle costs and benefits of items that make use of rubber from scrap or used tires. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1993
Lead Battery Recycling Incentives Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate regulations for persons who generate, transport, store, recycle, or dispose of spent lead-acid batteries. Sets forth required elements of such regulations, including specific requirements for battery storage and transfers and recordkeeping and management practices. Directs battery retailers to accept from customers spent lead-acid batteries of the same type and quantity as the batteries sold. Requires the Administrator to implement education activities to inform the public about the environmental and safety hazards associated with improper handling and disposal of spent lead-acid batteries. Authorizes appropriations. Applies such requirements to batteries which are transported to or managed by a lead-acid battery recycling facility, a secondary lead smelter, or any facility that prepares batteries for recycling. Requires producers or importers of lead-acid batteries to recycle, for the ten-year period beginning 24 months after this Act's enactment, an amount of spent lead equal to at least the amount determined by multiplying the amount of lead in the batteries produced or imported by such persons by the recycling percentage established by the Administrator. Authorizes compliance with such requirement by: (1) reclaiming lead and using it in the production of new batteries; (2) purchasing reclaimed lead from secondary lead smelters to produce new batteries or shielding; or (3) purchasing recycling credits. Sets the recycling percentage at 80 percent. Increases such percentage by two points annually. Authorizes the Administrator to reduce or waive the two percent increase if the rate exceeds 95 percent. Directs the Administrator to allow: (1) producers of lead-acid batteries to create credits for recycling an amount of batteries greater than required; and (2) producers of new batteries to purchase such credits for purposes of complying with this Act. Applies battery recycling requirements to persons who produce or import more than 10,000 pounds of new lead-acid batteries annually. Sets the recycling percentage at 90 percent if the Administrator fails to promulgate recycling regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1993
Newsprint Recycling Incentives Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require producers or importers of newsprint to recycle an amount of newsprint equal to the amount determined by multiplying the amount of newsprint produced or imported annually by the recycling percentage established by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Authorizes compliance with this Act by: (1) recycling (through deinking) newsprint; (2) purchasing recycled newsprint to combine with shipments of virgin newsprint; or (3) purchasing recycling credits under this Act. Requires the recycling percentage to be at least 20 percent. Provides for increases in such percentage of two points annually for the next ten years. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations to allow newsprint producers or importers to create or purchase recycling credits. Applies recycling requirements to persons who produce or import more than ten tons of newsprint annually. Sets the recycling percentage at 20 percent if the Administrator fails to promulgate such regulations. Prescribes civil penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress and implement a plan for the recycling of post-consumer high grade paper. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Women's Educational Equity Title II: Gender Equity in Elementary and Secondary Education Title III: Gender Equity in Higher Education Gender Equity in Education Act of 1993 - Title I: Women's Educational Equity - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish an Office of Women's Equity as an organizational entity in the Department of Education. Requires the Director of such Office to report annually on the programs and activities assisted under the Women's Educational Equity Act. Women's Educational Equity Act of 1993 - Amends the Women's Educational Equity Act (part A of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) to reauthorize and revise grant programs to encourage gender equity throughout the educational system, including grants for model equity programs, local implementation, and research and development. Gives the Director of the Office of Women's Equity specified responsibilities under such Act. Extends the authorization of appropriations. Title II: Gender Equity in Elementary and Secondary Education - Subtitle A: Teacher Equity Training - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish gender equity requirements and training programs for teachers and other educational personnel (or parents) with respect to: (1) basic program requirements (under chapter 1 of title I for educationally disadvantaged children), innovative projects, schoolwide projects, parental involvement, and program improvement; (2) use of Even Start program funds; (3) secondary school programs (for basic skills improvement and dropout prevention and reentry); (4) local targeted assistance programs (under chapter 2 educational improvement partnership); (5) Eisenhower Mathematics and Science program school teacher training and national programs; (6) Women's Educational Equity personnel training and career education programs; (7) gifted and talented students personnel training; and (8) computer-based instruction personnel training under the Secretary's fund for innovation in education. Subtitle B: Gender Equity in Math and Science - Amends ESEA to revise the Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Education program with respect to: (1) grants to higher education institutions for elementary and secondary mathematics and science programs of school teacher training in gender-equitable instruction, targeted intervention and followup to encourage historically underserved students, and community-based informal education for historically underserved and underrepresented students; and (2) national model program grant priority for gender equity in computer use and teaching practices. Subtitle C: Dropout Prevention for Pregnant and Parenting Teens - Amends ESEA with respect to pregnant teenagers, teenage parents, and the children of such teenagers under various programs, including: (1) Even Start programs; (2) secondary school programs for basic skills improvement and dropout prevention and reentry; (3) local targeted assistance programs; (4) State and local drug abuse education and prevention programs; (5) assistance to address school dropout problems; and (6) assistance to provide basic skills improvement. Subtitle D: Schools Free from Sexual Harassment and Abuse - Amends ESEA to make an environment free from sexual harassment and abuse a distinguishing feature of effective schools. Adds programs to address sexual harassment and violence as part of efforts to ensure that educational institutions are free from threats to student and employee safety (among programs which may be receive Women's Educational Equity assistance). Includes the areas of sexual harassment and assault among those for which grants for comprehensive school health education may be used. Subtitle E: Link-up for Learning - Establishes a program of three-year grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) in partnership with other eligible entities for up to 80 percent of the costs of coordinated educational and other student support services for at-risk youth. Makes eligible for such a grant: (1) an LEA that seeks to plan and implement a coordinated services program for at-risk students with at least one other cooperating public agency; and (2) a consortium, including at least one LEA and one cooperating public service agency, formed to coordinate support services for at-risk students. Allows nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, and private enterprises with special experience or expertise to participate as cooperating agencies. Establishes a Federal Interagency Task Force to identify means to facilitate interagency collaboration at Federal, State, and local levels to improve support services for at-risk students. Directs the Secretary of Education to study and report to the Congress on regulatory and legislative obstacles to coordinated support services and innovative procedures and programs. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Child Abuse Education and Prevention - Amends ESEA to direct the Secretary of Education to use specified funds to carry out programs for child abuse education and prevention curriculum development and teacher training, including a demonstration program. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle G: Data Collection - Amends ESEA to revise various data collection provisions to require collection, cross-tabulation, and reporting by sex within race or ethnicity and socioeconomic status (with respect to schoolwide projects, program improvement, secondary school programs, National Diffusion Network, evaluations and reporting, Eisenhower Mathematics and Science programs, State reports, assistance to address school dropout problems, and evaluations by the Secretary). Title III: Gender Equity in Higher Education - Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to disclose gender participation rates and program support expenditures in college athletic programs to prospective students and, upon request, to the public. Directs the Secretary of Education to compile and publish annual reports of such data submitted by the institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1993
Single Room Occupancy Housing Fire Safety Enhancement Act - Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to reserve specified funds to provide fire safety devices in affordable single-room occupancy housing.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1993
DeLauro-Lowey Water Pollution Control and Estuary Restoration Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for the State water pollution control revolving fund program through FY 2000. Requires a specified percentage (increasing with each succeeding fiscal year) of such appropriations to be used for capitalization grants for estuary plans to qualified States. Makes States that fail to submit approved need estimates ineligible for assistance. Directs States to establish separate Estuary Accounts in their water pollution control revolving funds, to be used for implementing approved estuary plans. Permits loans made with Account funds to be for terms of up to 40 years or for the useful life of a facility constructed with the loan, whichever is less, if the borrower demonstrates financial hardship. Establishes a State matching requirement for deposits into Accounts. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants for the implementation of estuary conservation and management plans. Authorizes appropriations. Permits certain grants under the National Estuary Program to be used for interim actions adopted by management conferences to protect the water and sediment quality of estuaries. Extends the authorization of appropriations for management conferences, grants, conservation and management plans, and research under the National Estuary Program through FY 2000. Directs the Administrator to issue a guidance document establishing requirements for: (1) management conferences to follow in developing, implementing, and monitoring conservation and management plans; and (2) approving and implementing interim actions to protect water quality of estuaries for which plans are developed. Requires management conferences to be convened for periods of at least five years (currently, up to five years). Permits extensions for an additional five years if the affected Governors concur and the extension is necessary to meet requirements. Revises approval and implementation procedures for estuary conservation and management plans and establishes procedures for interim actions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1993
Designates October 1993 and October 1994 as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Single Agency for Conservator and Receivership Powers Title II: Funding Issues Title III: Reports Title IV: Regulatory Measures Title V: Court-Ordered Restitution in Cases of Financial Institution Fraud and Private Actions Revitalization of Depository Institution Liquidation Procedures Act of 1993 - Title I: Single Agency for Conservator and Receivership Powers - (Sec. 101) Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (FHLBA) to establish the Resolution, Asset Management, and Liquidation Agency (the Agency), under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. Makes it the duty of the Administrator of the Agency to manage and resolve all insured depository institutions for which the Administrator has been appointed conservator or receiver. Requires the Administrator to establish a Real Estate Asset Division to: (1) assist in the disposition of real property assets of institutions in conservatorship or receivership; and (2) publish an inventory of real property assets of institutions within the Administrator's jurisdiction (identifying those with natural, cultural, recreational, or scientific values of special significance). Requires the Administrator to have an annual goal that presents the maximum opportunity for small business concerns and those controlled and owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals to participate in the contracts awards process. (Sec. 102) Delineates the Administrator's conservatorship and receivership powers. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to direct the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to transfer to the Agency those amounts requested by the Administrator to resolve insured deposits at closed depository institutions. Mandates that payments made on behalf of a closed depository institution may only be drawn from the Insurance Fund of which that institution is a member. Transfers all FDIC conservatorship or receivership functions to the Agency. (Secs. 103 and 104) Abolishes: (1) the Thrift Depositor Protection Oversight Board; and (2) the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). Transfers to the Agency: (1) the functions of the RTC; (2) the assets and liabilities of the Oversight Board; (3) FDIC employees assigned to the RTC; and (4) employees of the Thrift Depositor Protection Oversight Board. States that unexpended RTC funds are available for deposit by the FDIC into the Savings Association Insurance Fund. (Sec. 105) Prohibits the assets and liabilities of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation Resolution Fund (FSLIC) from being consolidated with those of the Administrator. Transfers management of such Fund to the Administrator. Declares the Administrator the successor to the FSLIC's conservatorship or receivership functions. Title II: Funding Issues - (Sec. 201) Amends the FHLBA to reduce the maximum amount which the Administrator may borrow as successor to the RTC. Restricts the Administrator's borrowing authority to either the Treasury or the Federal Financing Bank. Title III: Reports - (Secs. 301 through 303) Lists specified reports to be submitted by the Administrator to certain congressional committees, including: (1) a study of private sector contracting; and (2) a nationwide uniform automated recordkeeping system. Title IV: Regulatory Measures - (Sec. 401) Amends the FDIC to eliminate regulatory agency discretion as to whether to place a critically undercapitalized insured depository institution under either conservatorship or receivership. Makes such action mandatory. (Sec. 402) Sets forth guidelines under which banking regulatory agencies must make available to the public the examination reports of each failed depository institution that received Federal banking regulatory agency funds during the five-year period preceding its failure. (Secs. 403 and 407) Mandates disclosure to the public of: (1) any agreement or settlement of claims between the Agency or the FDIC relating to a failed depository institution; (2) the loan balance of certain borrowers connected to the failed institution; and (3) the status of related pending litigation. Title V: Court-Ordered Restitution in Cases of Financial Institution Fraud and Private Actions - (Sec. 501) Amends the FDIA to prescribe guidelines for enforcement of court-ordered restitution for banking law violations, including: (1) prejudgment attachment of the proceeds of such violations; (2) restitution due in full as of the date of the restitution order; (3) restitution orders enforceable until paid; (4) enforcement of a restitution order as a lien against the defendant's property; (5) a proscription against the court taking into account the defendant's ability to pay when determining the amount of restitution; and (6) notice to unpaid restitution recipients that the end of the defendant's period of supervised release is approaching. (Sec. 502) Prescribes procedural guidelines for private actions to collect court-ordered restitution for banking law violations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1993
Expresses the sense of the Congress that an important factor in improving relations, including trade relations, with Romania should be actions by the Government of Romania to: (1) improve the welfare of institutionalized children; and (2) ease bureaucratic impediments to adoption not required by consideration of the welfare of the children concerned.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1993
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicaid coverage of services furnished by certified nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists which are authorized under State law to be performed by such a nurse, regardless of whether or not such services are performed under the supervision of a physician or other health care provider. Defines "clinical nurse specialist" as an individual who: (1) is a registered nurse licensed to practice nursing in the State in which the individual furnishes services; and (2) has a master's degree in a clinical area of nursing from an accredited institution.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1993
Poverty Data Improvement Act of 1993 - Requires the Secretary of Commerce to biennially produce and publish data (compiled from the most recent decennial census) relating to the incidence of poverty for each State, county, and local government and for each school district. Authorizes such data to be produced by means of sampling or any other method that the Secretary determines will produce current, comprehensive, and reliable data. Requires the Secretary, if unable to produce and publish such data for any area, to report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on each government or school district excluded and the reasons therefor.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
1994 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Mandates that surcharges from the sale of such coins be paid to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to help raise an endowment to be a permanent source of support for the Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Authorizes appropriations for the programs, functions, and activities of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the Department of the Interior for FY 1994 through 1997. Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (the Act) to add riparian areas as a priority for the Secretary of the Interior's inventory of all public lands and their resource and other values. Provides for congressional disapproval of the Secretary's decision to implement land use plans by the enactment of a joint (currently concurrent) resolution. Requires that land use plans be developed for all public lands outside Alaska no later than January 1, 1998, and for all public lands by January 1, 2000. Requires the Secretary to make certain evaluations and establish certain priorities with respect to the development and revision of land use plans. Changes the title of the Associate Director of BLM to Deputy Director and adds positions of BLM State Directors. Amends the Act to increase from $1,000 to $10,000 the maximum fine for violations of regulations with respect to public land management and use and for causing the death of free-roaming horses or burros on public lands. Requires the Secretary to minimize adverse environmental impacts on such lands. Adds certain environmental and outdoor recreation policies to the concerns to be represented through appointments to the Secretary's advisory councils. Changes the Secretary's submission date for a request of authorizations for programs, functions, and activities of BLM. Prohibits a regulation from imposing liability without fault with respect to a right-of-way granted, issued, or renewed under the Act to certain entities. Authorizes the sale of public lands in excess of 2,500 acres unless the Congress enacts a joint (currently concurrent) resolution disapproving such sale. Provides for judicial review of any agency actions or failure to implement the Act. Requires claimants to certain highway rights-of-way granted across public lands to file notice of their intent to maintain or abandon such claims with BLM. Provides for claim investigations and appeals for claims found to be invalid. Prohibits the Secretary from removing any wild free-roaming horses or burros from sanctuary public lands operated as such on May 22, 1991, or altering existing arrangements for the care and maintenance of such animals. Directs the Secretary to: (1) study and report to the Congress on the nature and extent of the salt loss at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, and on how best to preserve the resources threatened by such loss; (2) take no action to diminish the long-term sustainability of the biological resources and productive capacity of public lands; and (3) identify any portion of the public lands suitable for designation as one or more national conservation areas.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Public Rangeland Grazing Reform Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest lands in the 16 contiguous Western States, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public domain lands, where domestic livestock grazing is permitted under applicable law, to establish and implement an annual domestic livestock grazing fee equal to fair market value, based on a specified formula. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) alternative fees; (2) abolition of grazing advisory boards; and (3) the U.S. share of receipts. Amends the Taylor Grazing Act to revise provisions concerning the use of moneys received from grazing activities to provide for specified payments to local governments and to limit the uses of such moneys. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the term of grazing permits; and (2) non-grazing uses. Prohibits subleasing (i.e., the grazing, on public lands or on National Forest lands covered by a grazing permit, of domestic livestock which is not both owned and controlled by the holder of of the grazing permit).
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Designates October 1993 and October 1994 as Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1993
Directs the Secretary of Defense to terminate the Ground-Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) program. Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of funds for the GWEN program, except for program termination purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1993
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to require the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring the use of child safety restraint systems on commercial aircraft. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization should seek an international standard to require that airline passengers be restrained on takeoff and landing and when directed by the captain of such aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1993
Prevailing Wage Rate Adjustment Reform Act of 1993 - Requires that Federal prevailing rate employees receive full statutory wage adjustments based on annual local wage surveys of private industries in each wage grade area.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1993
Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act - Prohibits any surety from discriminating against any applicant based upon specified factors. Establishes: (1) civil liability for violation of this Act; and (2) administrative enforcement procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1993
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide outpatient medical services to any former prisoner of war for any disability.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1993
Voting Rights of Homeless Citizens Act of 1993 - Prohibits the imposition or application by any State or political subdivision or any standard, practice, procedure, or qualification or prerequisite to voting to deny or abridge the right of any U.S. citizen to vote because that citizen resides at or in a non-traditional abode. Authorizes the Attorney General to commence a civil action or an aggrieved citizen to institute a proceeding under this Act for injunctive relief against a violation of such provision.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1993
Directs the Attorney General to appoint a National Director of Bias Crime. Sets forth the duties of the Director, including to: (1) examine the needs of Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies in training officers for the investigation and reporting of bias crimes; (2) recommend to the Attorney General policy options for the enhancement of bias crime interdiction and prevention; (3) develop a national curriculum to be taught as a preventative measure at elementary and secondary schools throughout the country; (4) coordinate technical assistance provided to State and local law enforcement agencies related to bias crime; and (5) coordinate assistance to victims of bias crime. Requires training programs established by the Director to include: (1) recognition of basic elements of bias crimes and proper initial response procedures; (2) instruction on how to comply with Federal reporting requirements under the National Hate Crimes Statistics Act; (3) notification of law enforcement officials regarding the history and growth of organized bias groups in the United States; and (4) methods to develop preventative education curricula for local schools and community youth groups and methods to cope with the trauma experienced by victims of bias crime. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1993
Welcomes the Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (as association of reserve officers representing nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to the United States for its XLVI Congress at Washington, D.C., during August 1993. Urges and commends efforts of the Department of Defense, the U.S. Reserve Officers Association, and all Federal departments and agencies in hosting such Congress and carrying out appropriate activities and programs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the offset for rental real estate activities under passive activity rules to increase the rehabilitation credit under such rules.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1993
Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1993 - Urges the President to seek agreement with governments that trade with the United States to secure an international ban on trade in products of child labor. Requires the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to identify foreign countries that: (1) do not comply with national laws prohibiting child labor; (2) utilize child labor in the export of products; and (3) have on a continuing basis exported such products to the United States. Authorizes any person to file a petition with the Secretary requesting that a particular foreign industry and its host country be identified. Requires the Secretary, before making such identification, to: (1) consult with the U.S. Trade Representative, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Treasury; (2) hold at least one public hearing for public comment; (3) publish notice in the Federal Register that such identification is being considered and the time and place for public comment. Prohibits the importation of products which have been produced by child labor. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1993
Designates November 1993 and 1994 as National Hospice Month.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1993
Urges the Federal Communications Commission to consider domestic employment as a factor in its selection of a standard for high definition television, particularly in the event competing systems are technologically equivalent.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1993
Designates September 13, 1993, as Commodore John Barry Day.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1993
Designates October 6, 1993 and 1994, as German-American Day.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1993
Supports the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) right to conduct inspections of any site in a nonnuclear weapon state party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Condemns North Korea's decision to withdraw from the Treaty. Urges the United Nations Security Council to: (1) insist that North Korea provide the IAEA with full access before its official withdrawal from the Treaty; and (2) impose sanctions on North Korea should it continue to refuse to provide such access. Calls on the President and the international community to strengthen the international nuclear nonproliferation regime.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1993
United States One Dollar Coin Act of 1993 - Amends Federal currency law to prescribe the color and content of one-dollar coins. Mandates that the reverse side of the one-dollar coin have a design recognizing America's veterans. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to cease regular production of one-dollar Federal Reserve notes by a specified date (except for such quantities as are required to meet collectors' needs).
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1993
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 - Prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State (the government) from burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except that the government may burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person: (1) furthers a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. Sets forth provisions pertaining to judicial relief, attorney's fees, and applicability.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Safety and Health Programs Title II: Safety and Health Committees and Employee Safety and Health Representatives Title III: Coverage Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Standards Title V: Enforcement Title VI: Protection of Employees from Discrimination Title VII: Technical Assistance and Training Title VIII: Recordkeeping and Reporting Title IX: NIOSH Title X: State Plans Title XI: Victim's Rights Title XII: Construction Safety Title XIII: Worker's Compensation Study Title XIV: Administration Title XV: Effective Date Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) with respect to occupational safety and health programs, committees, employee representatives, coverage, standards, enforcement, antidiscrimination, training and education, hazard and illness evaluation, State plans, and victims' rights. Title I: Safety and Health Programs - (Sec. 101) Amends requirements for each employer to set up and carry out a written occupational safety and health program that includes specified methods and procedures. Title II: Safety and Health Committees and Employee Safety and Health Representatives - (Sec. 201) Amends OSHA to require each employer of 11 or more employees (each for 20 or more hours per week) to provide for: (1) health committees; and (2) employee safety and health representatives. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary), upon the employer's application, to approve establishment of an alternative method of employee participation in worksite health and safety activities in a manner at least as effective as committee participation, if such alternative mechanism meets specified conditions. Provides for employee participation in the Secretary's inspections of workplaces. Title III: Coverage - (Sec. 301) Revises the OSHA definition of employer to extend OSHA coverage to States and local government employees. (Sec. 302) Directs the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives to establish a comprehensive occupational safety and health program meeting specified OSHA and other requirements. (Sec. 303) Applies OSHA to employment performed in Federal nuclear facilities under the control or jurisdiction of the Department of Energy. (Sec. 304) Extends an employer's duties under OSHA to all employees working at the place of employment (even if they are not the employer's employees). Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Standards - (Sec. 401) Specifies timeframes and procedures for setting OSHA standards. (Sec. 403) Requires each OSHA standard to prescribe requirements for recording or reporting work-related adverse medical conditions determined as a result of medical examinations or test. (Sec. 404) Requires public disclosure of all communications on OSHA standards with parties outside the Department of Labor, including those with executive branch officials (except the President). (Sec. 405) Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) acting through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to modify and establish exposure limits for toxic materials and harmful physical agents on a regular basis in a specified manner. (Sec. 406 and 407) Directs the Secretary to promulgate final standards: (1) on exposure monitoring and medical surveillance programs; and (2) on ergonomic hazards to protect employees from work-related musculoskeletal disorders. (Sec. 408) Requires that emergency temporary standards: (1) be issued based on the best available evidence; and (2) remain in effect for no more than 18 months (currently six months). (Sec. 409) Directs the Secretary to issue, within 60 days, an interim final regulation reducing permissible exposure limits to toxic substances, including a specified final rule on air contaminants and a proposed rule on air contaminants for construction, agriculture, and maritime. Title V: Enforcement - (Sec. 501) Provides that time spent by an employee in accompanying the Secretary's representative on an OSHA inspection shall be deemed hours worked, with no loss of wages, benefits, or other terms and conditions of employent. (Sec. 502) Requires the Secretary to notify employees or their representatives, within 30 days after receipt of their request for inspection, of the Secretary's determination that there are no reasonable grounds to believe a violation or danger exists. (Sec. 503) Requires the Secretary to make a special inspection upon notification by any Federal or State agency of reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of OSHA or specified safety and health standards exists that threatens physical harm. (Sec. 504) Directs the Secretary to carry out a special emphasis inspection program for conducting inspections of industries or operations where existing hazards or newly recognized or new hazards introduced into work sites warrant more intensive than normal inspections. (Sec. 505) Requires the Secretary to investigate any work-related death or serious incident resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees. Requires the employer to: (1) notify the Secretary of any death or serious incident occurring in a place of employment covered by OSHA; and (2) prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence that would assist in an investigation. (Sec. 506) Revises provisions for abatement of serious hazards during employer contests to a citation. (Sec. 507) Grants employees the right to contest a citation's designation of the character of a violation or any proposed penalties as inadequate. (Sec. 508) Grants employee representatives the right to participate in other proceedings (as well as hearings) conducted under specified OSHA enforcement procedures. (Sec. 509) Requires the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission's rules of procedure to provide for prompt notice to affected employees or their representatives if the Secretary intends to withdraw or modify a citation as a result of any agreement with the employer. Grants employees or their representative, regardless of whether they have previously elected to participate in the proceedings, the right to object to modifications or withdrawals of citations. (Sec. 510) Revises OSHA provisions for restraining imminent dangers. Grants employees the right to refuse to perform a duty identified as the source of an imminent danger, and prohibits discrimination against them for such refusal. Specifies a civil penalty against an employer for each day during which an employee continues to be exposed. (Sec. 511) Authorizes the Secretary to issue citations and assess penalties for violations of specified OSHA provisions relating to: (1) inspections, investigations, and recordkeeping; (2) safety and health programs; (3) safety and health committees; and (4) construction plans and programs. (Sec. 512) Revises OSHA criminal penalties to subject to them not only the employer but also certain officers, management officials, and supervisiors. Increases the maximum amount of fines and length of prison terms for specified violations. Establishes criminal penalties for a willful violation that causes serious bodily injury (currently, death only). Prohibits a penalty or fine imposed on a director, officer, or agent of an employer from being paid out of the employer's assets. Provides that nothing in OSHA shall preclude State and local law enforcement agencies from conducting criminal prosecutions. (Sec. 514) Directs the Secretary to establish an effective system for targeting inspections of worksites, with priority given to those with a high potential for death, serious injury, or exposures to toxic materials or harmful physical agents. (Sec. 515) Provides for the vacating of specified citations for violations if the employer demonstrates that certain conditions involving adequate employee training and work rule enforcement have been met. (Sec. 516) Increases the minimum penalty for specified types of serious offenses. Title VI: Protection of Employees from Discrimination - (Sec. 601) Extends OSHA antidiscrimination coverage to employees: (1) reporting any injury, illness, or unsafe condition to the employer, employer's agent, safety and health committee, or employee safety and health representative; and (2) refusing to perform duties when reasonably apprehensive that doing so would result in serious injury to themselves or other employees, after having sought and been unable to obtain from the employer corrections of the circumstances causing such refusal. Revises procedures for consideration of discrimination complaints. Revises remedies. (Sec. 602) Requires the Secretary's regulations to include provisions requiring employers to post employee rights protections under such OSHA antidiscrimination provisions. Title VII: Technical Assistance and Training - (Section 701) Requires the Secretary to develop and disseminate curricula, model programs, and other information and materials to assist employers in complying with OSHA standards and requirements for safety and health programs, employee training and education, and safety and health committees. Directs the Secrtary to establish a program to provide technical assistance and consultative services concerning worksite safety and health to employers and employees. Requires targeting of such assistance and consultation at small employers, high hazard worksites, and high hazard industries. Establishes in the Treasury a revolving fund, the OSHA Assistance Fund, to pay for such programs. Directs the Secretary to impose fees to offset program costs. Title VIII: Recordkeeping and Reporting - (Sec. 801) Requires the Secretary to collect information and conduct analyses identifying: (1) industries, employers, processes, operations, and occupations, with a high rate of injury or illness; (2) factors that cause or contribute to injuries and illnesses; (3) workers' compensation costs associated with injuries and illnesses; and (4) employee exposure to toxic substances and harmful physical agents. Directs the Secretary to require each employer covered by OSHA to report: (1) each work-related death of an employee immediately upon knowledge; and (2) each serious incident resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees within 24 hours of the incident. (Sec. 802) Revises OSHA requirements for employer records and reports to include work-related illnesses reported by an employee or an employee's physician, unless the employer determines the illness is not work-related. (Sec. 803) Requires all such employer records and reports to be made available to the Secretary, the Secretary of HHS, employees, and employee representatives. Title IX: NIOSH - (Sec. 901) Requires NIOSH hazard to evaluation reports to evaluate whether any potentially hazardous condition or harmful physical agent found in the place of employment poses a risk to exposed employees. (Sec. 902) Directs the Secretary of HHS to identify major factors contributing to occupational injuries and deaths through accident investigations and epidemiological research. (Sec. 903) Extends the authority of the Secretary of HHS, and of NIOSH, to inspect records to the Secretary's designees and contractors. (Sec. 904) Directs the Secretary of HHS, to establish a national surveillance program to identify cases of occupational illnesses, deaths, and serious injuries. (Sec. 905) Establishes NIOSH as a separate agency within the U.S. Public Health Service in the Department of HHS. (Sec. 907) Includes education programs for employees and members of safety and health committees under NIOSH training provisions. Title X: State Plans - (Sec. 1001 and Sec. 1002) Revises OSHA requirements for State plans to provide for: (1) development of safety and health programs and safety and health committees and training programs that are at least as effective as those under the new OSHA requirements; and (2) reporting requirements, protection of employee rights, and access to information that are at least as effective as those under OSHA or other Federal laws governing access to information related to OSHA. (Sec. 1003) Requires a State to enforce a Federal OSHA standard until a State standard at least as effective is in effect, if a State fails to adopt or promulgate such a standard within six months after the Federal standard is promulgated. (Sec. 1004 and Sec. 1005) Sets forth requirements and procedures for the Secretary of Labor to: (1) investigate complaints against a State's compliance with and enforcement of the State plan; and (2) take corrective action against such State noncompliance. (Sec. 1006) Requires States operating State safety and health plans to conform them to this Act. Title XI: Victim's Rights - (Sec. 1101) Provides for victims' rights under OSHA, including family members as well as the injured employee. Title XII: Construction Safety - (Sec. 1202) Amends OSHA to establish in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (the Administration) an Office of Construction Safety, Health, and Education (the Office). Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to: (1) identify construction employers with high rates of fatalities or lost workday injuries or illnesses or with patterns of noncompliance with health and safety requirements; (2) develop a system for notifying such employers; (3) establish courses and curricula for training OSHA inspectors an other OSHA employees with construction safety and health duties; (4) establish model compliance programs and assist employers, employees, and their representative organizations in setting up their training programs; and (5) establish a toll-free line on which reports, complaints, and notifications required under OSHA may be made. Establishes within the Administration the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Construction. (Sec. 1203) Establishes requirements for construction safety and health plans and programs, involving construction employers and designated project constructors and coordinators. (Sec. 1204) Directs the Secretary to establish an effective targeting system for general schedule construction inspections. Directs the Secretary to require constructors to report promptly any incident involving construction work that results in a fatality, an injury or illness causing two or more hospitalizations, or a structural failure or fire or explosion which caused or could have caused serious bodily injury to employees. (Sec. 1205) Expands the advisory jurisdiction of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (the Committee). (Sec. 1206) Requires any State construction safety and health plan to contain requirements at least as effective as those imposed by the Act and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. (Sec. 1207) Establishes in OSHA a Construction Safety and Health Academy to train OSHA employees who conduct construction worksite inspections and others the Secretary considers appropriate. (Sec. 1208) Considers a project constructor an employer for specified OSHA enforcement purposes. (Sec. 1209) Directs the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress annually on the construction industry and after three years on whether the office should be continued or a Construction Industry Safety and Health Administration should be established in the Department of Labor. (Sec. 1210) Directs the Secretary to recommend to specified congressional committees any legislative changes required to make safety records (including records of compliance with Federal safety and health laws and regulations) one criterion considered in the awarding of Federal construction contracts. Title XIII: Worker's Compensation Study - (Sec. 1301) Establishes the Federal Workers' Compensation Commission. Directs the Commission to study and report on workers' compensation laws and system with respect to specified issues. Title XIV: Administration - Establishes an Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the Department of Labor, to be headed by an Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health. Title XV: Effective Date - (Sec. 1501) Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Minor Boundary Adjustments Title II: Miscellaneous Specific Park Amendments Title III: General Authorizations and Repealers Minor Boundary Adjustments and Miscellaneous Park Amendments Act of 1993 - Title I: Minor Boundary Adjustments - Makes boundary adjustments with respect to the: (1) Yucca House National Monument; (2) Zion National Park; (3) Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; (4) Independence National Historical Park; (5) Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho; (6) Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument; and (7) Wupatki National Monument, Arizona. Title II: Miscellaneous Specific Park Amendments - Amends the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 to extend the Na Hoa Pili O Kaloko-Honokohau (The Friends of Kolako-Honokohau) Advisory Commission through November 10, 1998. Extends the Women's Rights National Historical Park Advisory Commission through December 28, 2005. Repeals provisions that reserve portions of the Fort Pulaski National Monument on Cockspur Island, Georgia, for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, to deposit dredging materials and for other purposes and for the Treasury Department to use as a quarantine station. Title III: General Authorizations and Repealers - Repeals a limitation on the expenditure of funds for park buildings. Authorizes appropriations for the National Park Service to provide transportation for children in nearby communities to and from any unit of the National Park System used in connection with the Service's organized recreation and interpretive programs. Amends the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to allow the use of motor vehicles, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters in furtherance of the management of the National Park System. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to perform specified additional functions. Amends the Volunteers in the Parks Act of 1969 to increase the authorization of appropriations for the Volunteers in the Parks Program. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements with public or private educational institutions, States and their political subdivisions, or private conservation organizations for the purpose of developing adequate, coordinated, cooperative research and training programs concerning the resources of the National Park System.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1993
Urges the President to urge the: (1) United Kingdom to take prompt steps toward the realization of reconciliation in Northern Ireland by the initiation of a process for the declaration and constitutional incorporation of human rights and civil liberties, similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights and European Convention on Human Rights; and (2) European Community to take action to ensure that the Government of the United Kingdom is brought up to par with the rest of the Community's member nations in the oversight and protection of human rights and civil liberties in Northern Ireland.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1993
Designates the week beginning April 12, 1993, as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1993
Amends the Davis-Bacon Act to raise the threshold amount of contracts covered by such Act. Sets forth provisions relating to multiple contracts, apprentices, trainees, helpers, wage review, and administration of such Act. Amends the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act to revise payroll information reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to the Congress on electronic reporting of such information.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Federal Banking Commission Title II: Abolition of Federal Banking Agencies Regulatory Consolidation Act of 1993 - Title I: Federal Banking Commission - Establishes the Federal Banking Commission (the Commission). Transfers to the Commisssion all regulatory functions of: (1) the Comptroller of the Currency with respect to national banks; (2) the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (and any Federal Reserve Bank) with respect to member banks, bank holding companies and affiliates, and certain international banking entities; (3) the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision with respect to savings associations and savings and loan holding companies; and (4) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation with respect to State nonmember banks and certain savings and foreign banks. Establishes within the Commission a Consumer Division to: (1) conduct consumer examinations to determine the Compliance of each insured depository institution with respect to consumer protection and community reinvestment laws; and (2) implement prescribed consumer protection and information programs. Title II: Abolition of Federal Banking Agencies - Abolishes the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision. Authorizes the President to establish a transition commission to facilitate the transfer of functions with the least disruption to the regulatory environment. Declares that the individuals serving as Comptroller of the Currency and the Director of Thrift Supervision are eligible to be detailed to the transition commission.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1993
Designates May 1993 and May 1994 as National Trauma Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1993
Designates April 25 through May 1, 1993, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Establishment of a State-Based American Health Security Program; Universal Entitlement; Enrollment Title II: Comprehensive Benefits, Including Preventive Benefits and Benefits for Long Term Care Title III: Provider Participation Title IV: Administration Subtitle A: General Administrative Provisions Subtitle B: Control Over Fraud and Abuse Title V: Quality Assessment Title VI: National Health Security Budget; Payments; Cost Containment Measures Subtitle A: Budgeting and Payments to States Subtitle B: Payments by States to Providers Subtitle C: Mandatory Assignment and Administrative Provisions Title VII: Promotion of Primary Health Care; Development of Health Service Capacity; Programs to Assist the Medically Underserved Subtitle A: Promotion and Expansion of Primary Care Professional Training Subtitle B: Direct Health Care Delivery Subtitle C: Primary Care and Outcomes Research Title VIII: Financing Provisions, American Health Security Trust Fund Subtitle A: American Health Security Trust Fund Subtitle B: Increases in Corporate and Individual Income Tax Rates; Health Security Premium; and Surtax on Individuals with Incomes Over $1,000,000 Subtitle C: Employment Tax Changes Subtitle D: Other Revenue Increases Primarily Affecting Individuals Subtitle E: Other Revenue Increases Primary Affecting Businesses Subtitle F: Estimated Tax Provisions Subtitle G: Alternative Taxable Years Subtitle H: Deduction for Charitable Contribution of Appreciated Property Limited to Adjusted Basis Subtitle I: Minimum 5 Percent Rate of Tax on Interest Paid to Foreign Persons American Health Security Act of 1993 - Title I: Establishment of a State-Based American Health Security Program; Universal Entitlement; Enrollment - Establishes in the United States an American Health Security Program (AHSP) to be administered by the States (including the District of Columbia and, if they so choose, U.S. territories) in accordance with Federal standards established under this Act. Requires a State to establish a State health security program (program) in accordance with this Act to receive Federal health care funding. (Sec. 102) Entitles every individual who is a resident of the United States and is a U.S. citizen or national or a lawful resident alien to benefits for health care services under this Act under the appropriate State program. Sets forth provisions regarding the treatment of nonimmigrants and other individuals. (Sec. 103) Requires each State program to: (1) provide a mechanism for the enrollment of individuals entitled or eligible for benefits (which includes a process for the automatic enrollment of individuals at the time of birth, immigration, or other acquisition of lawful resident status in the United States and provides for the enrollment of all individuals who are eligible to be enrolled as of January 1, 1995); and (2) issue a health security card to enrolled individuals. (Sec. 104) Makes benefits portable when enrollees move or travel between States. Prohibits imposition of a minimum residence or waiting period in excess of three months for program benefit eligibility. Allows reciprocal arrangements between programs in adjacent States for coverage for enrollees residing in the border region. (Sec. 105) Makes benefits available under this Act for items and services furnished on or after January 1, 1995. (Sec. 106) Supersedes Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, and CHAMPUS, which must pay for completion of services they covered before January 1, 1995. Specifies that nothing in this Act affects the eligibility of veterans for Veterans Administration health benefits and services, or of Indians for benefits and services of the Indian Health Service. Title II: Comprehensive Benefits, Including Preventive Benefits and Benefits for Long Term Care - Entitles all eligible individuals to have payment made (if medically necessary and appropriate for the maintenance of health or for the diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitation of a health condition) for inpatient and outpatient hospital services, professional services of State-authorized practitioners, community-based primary health services, preventive services, long-term and chronic care services, prescription drugs, biologicals, insulin, and medical foods, dental services, mental health services, substance abuse treatment services, diagnostic tests, and other specified items and services, including outpatient therapy, durable medical equipment, home dialysis, ambulance, prosthetic devices, and other items and services specified by the American Health Security Standards Board (Board) (established by title IV of this Act). Specifies that: (1) no deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments may be charged for acute care benefits; (2) no provider may charge a patient for covered services; (3) no private insurance may duplicate program benefits; and (4) States and employers may provide additional benefits at their own expense. (Sec. 203) Covers home and community-based long-term care services for persons unable to perform at least two of five listed activities of daily living without assistance. Limits the cost of such services to 65 percent (or an alternative percentage determined by the Board) of the cost of nursing home care for an individual in the same area in which the services were provided. (Sec. 204) Makes mental health, substance abuse, nursing facility, and home health services subject to utilization review. Directs the Board to make national determinations on coverage of experimental services, with professional and public input. Specifies that where the Board has recognized practice guidelines, coverage is limited to services provided according to the guidelines or any established exception process. Allows the Board to limit quantities of eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and durable medical equipment that will be covered. Excludes from coverage cosmetic procedures, personal comfort items, and services furnished in non-participating facilities. (Sec. 205) Specifies that: (1) States may require providers to certify that covered services were provided according to program requirements; (2) quality review programs must meet Federal standards; and (3) States may require plans of care for coverage of certain services. Title III: Provider Participation - Requires providers, to receive payment, to agree: (1) not to discriminate based on race, national origin, income, religion, age, sex or sexual orientation, disability, handicapping condition, or (subject to the professional qualifications of the provider) illness; (2) not to charge patients for covered services; (3) to furnish necessary information to the Board or program; (4) not to employ other providers whose participation has been terminated for cause; and (5) to submit bills within a specified time frame. (Sec. 302) Considers a health care provider to be qualified if it is licensed or certified and meets State law requirements, applicable Federal requirements, and additional standards that the Board may specify. Requires: (1) the Board to establish, evaluate, and update national minimum standards to assure the quality of services provided and to monitor efforts by programs to assure such quality; (2) a reasonable transition period for any new standards; and (3) the Board to provide for an exchange of information among programs with respect to quality assurance and cost containment. (Sec. 303) Defines a "comprehensive health service organization" (CHSO) as a public or private organization which, in return for a capitated payment amount, furnishes or arranges a full range of health services and out-of-area coverage in the case of urgently needed services to an identified population in a specified service area which enrolls voluntarily in the organization. Sets forth various CHSO requirements regarding enrollment, withdrawal for cause, accessibility of services, continuity of care, consumer and provider representation on the board of directors, a patient grievance program, medical standards committees, premiums, utilization and bonus information, provision of services to enrollees at institutions operating under global budgets, marketing of services, and provision of emergency services to nonenrollees. (Sec. 304) Extends current Medicare prohibitions on physician self-referrals for clinical laboratory services to other services and applies such prohibitions to AHSP. Title IV: Administration - Subtitle A: General Administrative Provisions - Establishes the American Health Security Standards Board to develop policies and procedures for enrollment, benefits, provider participation, national and State funding levels, assisting programs with planning for capital expenditures and service delivery, and other functions and to establish uniform reporting standards for health services and programs. Authorizes the Board to make statistical and other studies, test alternative payment methods, and develop and test information and budget systems. Provides for the appointment of an Executive Director of the Board and an Inspector General. (Sec. 402) Directs the Board to provide for an American Health Security Advisory Council to advise the Board on matters of general policy, in the formulation of regulations, and in the performance of the Board's duties and to study the operation of, and utilization of health services under, this Act. (Sec. 403) Directs the Board to appoint advisory committees on benefits, cost containment, primary care and the medically underserved, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and prescription drugs. Authorizes the Board to appoint other temporary advisory committees. (Sec. 404) Establishes an American Health Security Quality Council which shall be responsible for quality review activities (under title V). Directs the Quality Council to report to the Board annually on activities and findings from outcomes research and development of practice guidelines that may affect the Board's determination of coverage of services. (Sec. 405) Requires: (1) each State to submit to the Board a plan for a program for providing health care services to residents of the State (but allows neighboring States to join in regional plans); (2) the Board to provide incentives for States to develop regional planning mechanisms to promote the rational distribution of, adequate access to, and efficient use of, tertiary care facilities, equipment, and services; (3) State programs to meet Federal standards, including single-agency administration, a State health security budget, provider payment and quality review methodologies consistent with Federal standards, freedom to choose providers, a consumer ombudsman, an annual report, and a fraud and abuse prevention and control unit; and (4) the Governor of each State to provide for appointment of a State Health Security Advisory Council to advise and make recommendations to the Governor and State regarding program implementation. Allows: (1) programs not meeting Federal requirements, after notice, to be placed in receivership under the Board's jurisdiction; and (2) States to use fiscal agents, after competitive bidding, to process claims. (Sec. 406) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to direct all activities of the Department of Health and Human Services toward contributions to health of the people in a manner complementary to this Act. Subtitle B: Control Over Fraud and Abuse - Authorizes the Board to exclude providers from participation, impose civil monetary penalties, and seek criminal prosecution for fraud or abuse, based on current Medicaid standards. Requires providers to disclose relevant information about their ownership interest in health facilities and services, based on current Medicaid standards. (Sec. 412) Requires the Board: (1) through the Inspector General, to establish a national health care fraud and abuse data base, including the identity of any provider who has been convicted, had a license revoked, has been excluded or suspended from participation, or has been subjected to a civil penalty with respect to a State program, Medicare, Medicaid, or any other federally funded health program; and (2) to establish rules to protect the confidentiality of information in the data base. Requires States to provide relevant information for this purpose and to periodically inquire of the data base to determine provider qualifications to participate in programs. Sets penalties for submitting false information. (Sec. 413) Requires each program to establish and maintain a health care fraud and abuse unit. (Sec. 414) Directs the Board to provide for the assignment of a unique identifier to each participating provider and to each individual eligible for services, which shall be used for claims and payment. Title V: Quality Assessment - Directs the Quality Council to: (1) collect data from outcomes research on an ongoing basis and develop practice guidelines on the basis of such data and existing clinical knowledge; (2) adopt methodologies for profiling the patterns of practice of health care professionals and for identifying outliers (i.e., health care providers whose patterns of practice suggest quality deficiencies); (3) develop standards for the development of centers of excellence for designated procedures and for education of and sanctions for outliers; and (4) disseminate all quality guidelines and standards to the States for implementation. (Sec. 502) Requires each participating State to establish an entity to conduct quality reviews of persons providing covered services under its program which meet Federal standards for the adoption of practice guidelines, identification of outliers, development of remedial programs and monitoring for outliers, and the application of sanctions. Allows the State to adopt alternative methodologies to those adopted by the Quality Council provided that the State can demonstrate that the efficacy of such review and education programs meets Federal standards. Mandates that the quality review entity be administratively independent of the individual or board that administers the program and not provide any financial incentive to reviewers to favor one pattern of practice over another. (Sec. 503) Expresses the intent to replace random utilization controls with a systematic review of patterns of practice that compromise the quality of care by January 1, 1998. Supercedes all existing Federal utilization review programs, including random case-by-case reviews and programs requiring pre-certification of medical procedures on a case-by-case basis, with exceptions. Specifies that nothing in this section shall preclude case management of catastrophic, mental health, or substance abuse cases where necessary to achieve appropriate, cost-effective, and beneficial comprehensive medical care. (Sec. 504) Requires: (1) each State program to develop and use a uniform electronic data base which uses software designated by the Board and which assures confidentiality for all patient records to enable systematic quality review and outcomes analysis; and (2) the Board to designate such software and establish standards designed to protect the privacy of patients. Limits access by government agencies to patient records. Title VI: Health Security Budget; Payments; Cost Containment Measures - Subtitle A: Budgeting and Payments to States - Directs the Board to establish a national health security budget which specifies the total expenditures to be made by the Federal Government and the States for covered health care services, and allocates those expenditures among the States. Prohibits such budget from exceeding the budget for the preceding year increased by the percentage increase in gross domestic product. Divides the budget into quality assessment, professional education, administrative, and operating components. (Sec. 602) Provides for the allocation of funds in the budget by the Board to the States, based on the national average per capita costs of covered services adjusted for differences among the States in costs and the health status of populations. Permits the use of statistical models to estimate State capitation amounts. Sets forth State adjustment factors to reflect differences in relative needs for funds and directs that such factors be applied in a budget-neutral manner resulting in no change in total Federal expenditures from the national per capita average. (Sec. 603) Requires each program to submit to the Board a proposed and final annual budget broken into quality assessment, professional training, administrative, and operating components, with the operating component broken into facility-based services, individual practitioner payments, payments to CHSOs, and payments for other items and services. Sets forth provisions regarding proposed and final budget deadlines, adjustments in allocations, and expenditure limits. Permits programs to provide for a process for the approval of capital expenditures based on information derived from regional planning agencies. (Sec. 604) Provides for programs to receive Federal funds equal to a weighted average of 86 percent of their population-based share of the budget, which the Board may adjust between 81 and 91 percent based on State economic conditions. (Sec. 605) Requires each program to establish a separate budget account for health professional education expenditures and to distribute funds consistent with the achievement of specified national and program goals, including the receipt by the Board of reports to monitor compliance, and taking into account the potentially higher costs of placing health professional students in clinical education programs in health professional shortage areas. Subtitle B: Payments by States to Providers - Directs that: (1) payment for operating expenses for institutional and facility-based care under State programs be made directly to each institution or facility under an annual prospective global budget approved under the program; (2) such budgets take into account discharges by diagnosis-related group, prior expenditures, the extent to which debt service for capital expenditures has been included in the proposed operating budget, change in the consumer price index and other price indices, compensation, occupancy levels, past financial and clinical performance, training, technological changes, and incentives to maintain costs without reducing care; and (3) facility budgets be adjusted to reflect payments made by CHSOs. Allows programs to permit institutions and facilities to raise funds from private sources to pay for newly constructed facilities, major renovations, and equipment. (Sec. 612) Requires: (1) State programs to pay individual practitioners on a fee-for-service basis, as negotiated between States and practitioner representatives; (2) the Board to establish models for such payment and for global fee payment methodologies to encourage payment for combinations of services; and (3) practitioners to bill State programs within 30 days of providing services. Permits States to require electronic billing. (Sec. 613) Authorizes programs to pay CHSOs based on annual budgets or risk-adjusted capitation payments, reduced by the costs of covered services not provided by the CHSO. (Sec. 614) Directs that programs pay for community-based primary health services based on global budgets, basic primary care capitation amounts for enrollees, or fee-for-service, taking into account costs of serving non-covered patients, providing case management, transportation, and translation, and providing health professional education programs. (Sec. 615) Requires: (1) the Board to establish a list of approved prescription drugs based on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Prescription Drugs and to negotiate maximum prices with manufacturers; and (2) each program to pay for such drugs based on such maximum prices and to pay separate dispensing fees to pharmacies. (Sec. 616) Directs the Board to establish a list of approved durable medical equipment and therapeutic devices and equipment and programs to pay for such items based on maximum prices determined by the Board. (Sec. 617) Requires State programs to pay for other items and services based on methodologies to be adopted by the Board, consistent with the State health security budget. (Sec. 618) Directs the Board to establish model payment methodologies and other incentives to promote the provision of services in medically underserved areas. Permits programs to adjust payments amounts within their budgets to encourage provision of appropriate services in underserved areas. (Sec. 619) Authorizes programs to utilize alternative payment methodologies, provided that such methodologies do not affect the entitlement of individuals to coverage, the weighting of fee schedules to encourage an increase in the number of primary care providers, the ability of individuals to choose among qualified providers, the benefits covered under the Program, or compliance with the State health security budget. Requires States to report on the operation and effectiveness of alternative methodologies to enable the Board to evaluate the appropriateness of applying such methodologies to other States. Subtitle C: Mandatory Assignment and Administrative Provisions - Specifies that participating providers: (1) must accept payment from a program as full payment for covered services; and (2) may not impose additional charges on patients. Permits the Board to exclude from participation and subject to civil penalties violators of such provision. (Sec. 632) Requires programs to establish: (1) procedures for reimbursing providers within 60 days of bill submission; and (2) an appeals process to handle grievances pertaining to provider payments. Title VII: Promotion of Primary Health Care; Development of Health Service Capacity; Programs to Assist the Medically Underserved - Subtitle A: Promotion and Expansion of Primary Care Professional Training - Makes the Board responsible for: (1) coordinating health professional education policies and goals to achieve national goals; (2) overseeing program health professional education expenditures; (3) developing and maintaining a system to monitor the number and specialties of individuals through their health professional education, any postgraduate training, and professional practice; and (4) developing, coordinating, and promoting other policies that expand the number of primary care practitioners. Sets as national goals that: (1) at least 50 percent of graduate medical residencies be in primary care within five years of this Act's enactment; and (2) there be a certain number, specified by the Board, of midlevel primary care practitioners employed in the health care system as of January 1, 2000. Directs the Board to: (1) establish a method of applying such goals to program goals for each medical residency program or consortium of programs and reducing payments for residency programs failing to meet their goals; (2) advise the Public Health Service on allocations of funding under specified programs to increase the supply of midlevel primary care practitioners; and (3) commission a study of the potential benefits and disadvantages of expanding the scope of practice authorized under State laws for any class of midlevel primary care practitioners. (Sec. 702) Requires the Board to establish an Advisory Committee on Health Professional Education to advise the Board concerning graduate medical education policies under this title. (Sec. 703) Directs the Board to transfer specified revenues from the American Health Security Trust Fund (Trust Fund) for specified existing programs supporting health professional education and nursing education and for the National Health Service Corps. Subtitle B: Direct Health Care Delivery - Requires the Board to transfer specified Trust Fund revenues to the Public Health Service for: (1) maternal and child health block grants, preventive health block grants, grants to States for community mental health services and prevention and treatment of substance abuse, and grants for HIV health care services; and (2) grants to nonprofit community health centers and similar facilities. (Sec. 713) Directs the Board to make grants to primary care centers (i.e., nonprofit community health centers, migrant health centers, and other federally qualified health centers) to serve medically underserved populations in urban and rural areas. Specifies that grant funds may be used to plan, develop, and deliver primary care in such areas. Subtitle C: Primary Care and Outcomes Research - Requires the Board to transfer specified Trust Fund revenues to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research for health outcomes research. (Sec. 722) Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) an Office of Primary Care and Prevention Research to be headed by a Director who shall identify and coordinate research activities relating to primary care and prevention, including care provided by multidisciplinary teams. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director of NIH to establish a national data system and clearinghouse on primary care and prevention research. Title VIII: Financing Provisions; American Health Security Trust Fund - Subtitle A: American Health Security Trust Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create the American Health Security Trust Fund. Appropriates to the trust fund the increase in tax liabilities attributable to the application of amendments made by this title and receipts from the following programs: Medicare, Medicaid, Federal employees health benefit program, and the CHAMPUS program. Transfers to such trust fund amounts in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Subtitle B: Increases in Corporate and Individual Income Tax Rates; Health Security Premium; Surtax on Individuals With Incomes Over $1,000,000 - Increases individual and corporate income tax rates, including the imposition of a health premium on such increased rates. Imposes a surtax on individuals with incomes over $1 million. Subtitle C: Employment Tax Changes - Increases the tax on employers for hospital insurance. Modifies self-employment and railroad retirement tax provisions. Makes State and local employees subject to the hospital insurance tax. Subtitle D: Other Revenue Increases Primarily Affecting Individuals - Makes permanent the overall limitation on itemized deductions for high-income taxpayers. Makes permanent the phaseout of the deduction for personal exemptions for such taxpayers. Removes residence sale, purchase, or lease expenses and meals while traveling from the deduction for moving expenses. Increases the overall dollar limitation for moving expenses in connection with the commencement of work. Makes the highest estate and gift tax rates permanent. Denies any deduction for club membership fees as an entertainment expense. Includes increased social security benefits in gross income. Provides for the collection of a monthly long-term health care premium for the elderly (other than the low-income elderly) for deposit into the American Health Security Trust Fund. Subtitle E: Other Revenue Increases Primarily Affecting Businesses - Applies mark-to-market accounting method rules for certain securities held by dealers in securities (with specified exceptions for certain types of securities such as those held for investment or as a hedge). Increases the applicable recovery period for depreciation of nonresidential real property under the accelerated cost recovery system. Includes imported property income of a controlled foreign corporation or related person as foreign base company income. Requires the separate application of the limitation on the foreign tax credit on imported property income. Applies the look-thru rules in the case of controlled foreign corporations to such income. Repeals: (1) the deduction for intangible drilling and development costs in the case of oil and gas wells and geothermal wells; (2) the percentage depletion for oil and gas wells; and (3) the application of like-kind exchange rules to real property. Disallows the capitalization of a percentage of advertising expenses. Allows the amortization of such disallowed amount. Subtitle F: Estimated Tax Provisions - Increases individual and corporate estimated tax payments. Repeals special rules which denied the use of a previous year's liability safe harbor for certain individuals with significant increases in tax liability from one year to the next. Modifies corporate annualized income installment provisions. Subtitle G: Alternative Taxable Years - Provides that the taxable year for an S corporation of partnership must be the same as an entity's reporting period if an entity has annual reports or statements which ascertain income profit or loss and are provided to shareholders or used for credit purposes. Revises computation of the amount of the required payment that must be made by a partnership or S corporation that elects a taxable year other than the required taxable year. Subtitle H: Deduction for Charitable Contribution of Appreciated Property Limited to Adjusted Basis - Limits the deduction for charitable contribution of appreciated property to the amount which would have been gained had the property been sold by the taxpayer at its fair market value. Subtitle I: Minimum 5 Percent Rate of Tax on Interest Paid to Foreign Persons - Sets a minimum rate of tax on interest paid to foreign persons notwithstanding any treaty obligations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1993
Designates December 7 of each year as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1993
Agricultural Worker Protection Reform Act of 1993 - Amends the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act to eliminate the family business and small business coverage exemptions. Requires a farm labor contractor to be bonded in order to receive a certificate of registration. Makes existing discretionary grounds for registration refusal mandatory. Establishes discretionary grounds for registration suspension and revocation. Sets forth certain employment disclosure requirements. Extends housing and vehicle safety protections to a worker's accompanying family members. Requires an agricultural employer who uses a farm labor contractor's services to take reasonable steps to determine whether the contractor has a certificate of registration. Increases administrative sanctions for violations of such Act. Establishes a private right of action on a bond. Authorizes an agricultural worker or his or her representative to file a complaint alleging a violation of such Act. Requires an agricultural employer to provide protection against heat stress, field sanitation, and child care (in the case of an employer of at least 25 employees).
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1993
Justice for Wards Cove Workers Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to remove a provision excluding from application of the Act any disparate impact case filed before March 1, 1975, and decided after October 30, 1983. (Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio, 1989, held that, in cases brought under title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove an employer had no business necessity for a practice with discriminatory effects.)
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1993
Authorizes the President to designate the last Friday of April 1993 as National Arbor Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1993
Designates the weeks of April 25 through May 2, 1993, and April 10 through 17, 1994, as Jewish Heritage Week.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1993
Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Act - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish a Division of Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Services within the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Requires the Director of the Division to award grants to States for acquisition of school library media resources for public elementary and secondary schools. Sets forth requirements for allocation to States, State plans, and State distribution of allocation to local educational agencies. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director to award grants for projects that: (1) encourage collaboration between public elementary and secondary library media specialists and teachers to develop instructional units that enable students to use a variety of information resources; and (2) expand students' information-gathering abilities and certain cognitive skills. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director to award grants to encourage collaborative elementary and secondary school library media specialist and teacher programs to: (1) expand use of computers and computer networks in the curriculum; and (2) enable elementary and secondary school library media centers to access information from computerized databases. Authorizes the Director to enter into cooperative agreements with the National Science Foundation and other appropriate nonprofit agencies and organizations in carrying out this grants program. Authorizes appropriations. Requires that funds under this Act supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, or local funds.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for the portion of employer social security taxes paid with respect to employee cash tips. Makes such credit part of the general business credit.