United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Emergency Community Development Act of 1991 - Title I: Temporary Assistance for Community Development Activities - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to States, local governments, and Indian tribes for community development assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Housing Programs - Authorizes funds, in addition to other specified authorizations, for: (1) public housing vacancy reduction; (2) the National Homeownership Trust; and (3) the Flexible Subsidy Fund. Title III: Single Family Mortgage Insurance - Amends the National Housing Act with regard to single family mortgage insurance to prohibit a limitation on financed closing costs. Directs the Secretary to establish single premium payments for refinanced mortgages. Title IV: Rural Housing - Authorizes and increases funding for: (1) insured or guaranteed rural housing loans; (2) supplemental grants for remote rural housing; (3) housing improvement loans; (4) rural housing loans for elderly, handicapped, or low-income persons; (5) housing for rural homeless and migrant farmworkers; and (6) rental assistance payment contracts. Title V: Homeless Assistance - Authorizes and increases funding for: (1) Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency food and shelter grants; (2) emergency shelter grants; (3) the supportive housing demonstration program; (4) supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless; and (5) section 8 assistance for single room occupancy dwellings. Title VI: Department of Housing and Urban Development Administration - Exempts multifamily project assistance from certain certification of limitation provisions under specified circumstances. Authorizes appropriations for multifamily housing mortgage insurance regional, field, or zone staff. Title VII: Financial Institutions Housing Provisions - Authorizes appropriations for the Federal Home Loan Banks' affordable housing program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should: (1) continue discussions with the other permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council and other arms sellers on setting strict limits and guidelines on all international arms transfers; (2) reduce military assistance programs by 25 percent by 1995 and direct the savings to UN and international peacekeeping operations, economic conversion assistance programs in regions of the United States adversely affected by defense budget cuts, and bilateral development assistance to foreign countries which suffer from widespread hunger and poverty; (3) eliminate the self-financing three percent administrative fee that the Defense Security Assistance Agency adds to the costs of weapons it transfers to foreign countries; (4) seek to expand the number of signatories to the 1987 Missile Technology Control Regime beyond the original seven countries; (5) encourage the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to discontinue loans to countries which devote more than three percent of their gross national product (GNP) to military expenditures; (6) prohibit sales of offensive arms to countries which devote more than six percent of their GNP to military purposes and phase out sales of offensive arms by 1996 to countries which devote between three and six percent of their GNP to military purposes; (7) prohibit the Export-Import Bank from extending credit for the sale of military articles and services to any country; (8) reduce all foreign aid, except emergency humanitarian assistance, by 25 percent each year to countries which devote more than three percent of their GNP to military purposes; and (9) encourage the UN Security Council to assist in the negotiation of peaceful solutions to territorial and other disputes in the world and to guarantee the security of countries threatened by other countries.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) place the highest priority on the success of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), particularly through the personal participation of the President of the United States; (2) negotiate international agreements that effectively reduce the threat of climate change and biological diversity loss; (3) propose an initiative on financing Agenda 21 (the plan of action to be approved by UNCED when it meets) and other global cooperation efforts that takes into account the concerns of developing countries regarding additional costs of international environmental protection and the basic development goals of those countries and that increases accountability for the use of funds provided for environmental purposes; (4) seek to advance the development of a stronger international legal framework, and the creation of appropriate institutional mechanisms, for protecting the global environment; (5) promote public participation in environmental and development decisions at all levels; (6) pursue with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean a cooperative strategy to address environmental concerns in the Western Hemisphere; and (7) evaluate U.S. assistance programs in Latin America and the Caribbean to determine if they address U.S. national security interests in the region by apportioning sufficient funding to environmental concerns. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should support: (1) international and national programs aimed at encouraging a global transition to environmentally sustainable energy systems; (2) new programs and institutions to help developing countries become more energy efficient and otherwise increase their capacity for acquiring and using technology to make their economies more environmentally sustainable; (3) global goals of slowing deforestation of primary forests, increasing worldwide forest cover, and preserving a specified amount of mature forests; (4) improved national forests strategies that integrate all policy issues related to the loss of forests and eliminate economic incentives for deforestation; (5) the development of a new international agreement to eliminate land-based sources of marine pollution and cooperative efforts to address these sources of pollution at the regional level; (6) a process of international consultations aimed at identifying ways that poverty can be alleviated and natural resources better conserved through reduction of developing country debt burdens; and (7) the development of a timetable for industrialized nations and the United Nations to adopt a reformed system of national accounting that would reflect full environmental and social costs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Medicaid Prostate Screening Act of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to mandate coverage of prostate cancer screening tests under State Medicaid plans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Medicare Prostate Screening Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage of prostate cancer screening tests under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1992 - Title I: Recovery Plans - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary (either the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as program responsibilities are vested) to: (1) develop and implement recovery plans by December 31, 1996, for listed endangered and threatened species for which such plans have not been developed as of December 31, 1992; and (2) do the same for such non-listed species as of December 31, 1992, within two years after the species is listed. Title II: Penalties and Enforcement - Waives the 60-day notice requirement with respect to the filing of a civil suit by an individual in the case of an action against any person respecting an emergency posing a significant risk to the well-being of any listed species of fish or wildlife. Authorizes the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating to promulgate regulations to carry out the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the resolutions of its parties as well as to enforce this Act. Title III: Habitat Conservation Plans - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with any State, municipality, county, or local government to assist in the development of a plan for the conservation of any threatened or endangered species. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans, under specified conditions, to any such entities: (1) in the development of such plans; (2) to carry out biological and other studies in connection with it; and (3) related tasks. Establishes the Habitat Conservation Planning Fund for the deposit of all appropriated sums to assist in the development of conservation plans. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the United States Trade Representative to include in the National Trade Estimate information with respect to the Arab boycott of U.S. persons who do business with or invest in Israel, or who do business with a person who does business with or invests there.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Oil Recycling and Safe Handling Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise provisions concerning the management of used oil. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to list as a hazardous waste any used oil and any product derived from such oil that fails to meet certain specifications for flashpoint, lead, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, halogens, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Prohibits compliance with such specifications by blending used oil with virgin oil or other materials. Permits fuel containing used oil that meets specifications without treatment to be marketed as containing ingredients that are not hazardous wastes if the oil and fuel are analyzed to demonstrate compliance. Exempts used oil generated by petroleum refining or production facilities which is to be refined along with normal process streams from requirements for hazardous waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act if it is inserted into the refining process or production pipeline. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations for the management of used oil classified as a hazardous waste. Exempts from such regulation generators of used oil which is household waste or State or local government curbside collection programs collecting such oil. Exempts certain used oil generators and collectors from hazardous waste regulations under the Solid Waste Disposal Act (other than those under this Act) if they have: (1) recycled or burned used oil at a permitted hazardous waste management facility or have arranged for the periodic transport of such oil by a licensed transporter to a permitted facility; (2) not disposed of such oil except as provided under this Act or mixed the oil with other hazardous wastes; and (3) maintained specified records with respect to the volume of such oil. Applies standards for hazardous waste transporters and facilities to hazardous used oil transporters and facilities. Permits the modification of transporter requirements for used oil that contains less than a specified concentration of halogens. Requires hazardous used oil facilities to obtain hazardous waste management permits. Directs the Administrator to require producers and importers of lubricating base stock to guarantee the reuse of an annually increasing percentage of used lubricating oil. Requires States to encourage used oil collection by providing incentives to retailers and others who accept and collect used oil. Imposes fees on lubricating base stock sold at retail and provides for the use of such fees for State and local used oil collection efforts. Requires agencies procuring recycled goods to report on the effectiveness of the re-refined oil procurement program. Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to prohibit any person from bringing an action against (currently, recovering response costs or damages from) service station dealers for response costs or damages resulting from releases of used (currently, recycled) oil, subject to certain conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle for America Act - Title I: State Recycling Requirements and Related Provisions - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations containing a standard methodology for States and municipalities to measure: (1) the composition of waste generated in their jurisdictions, by type and amount; and (2) the waste management capacity of landfills, recycling facilities, and incinerators. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations for States, municipalities, and regional solid waste management authorities to identify the life-cycle costs of waste management or recycling options. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations containing a standard methodology to measure the amount of material annually diverted from a municipal solid waste stream and to calculate the diversion rates for materials. Requires a diversion rate for a particular material to be calculated by comparing the amount of the material generated within a municipality or regional authority with the annual amount of that material diverted from an incinerator or landfill for recycling purposes. Directs such municipalities or regional authorities to conduct waste composition analyses at least once every five years to indicate: (1) the percentage of solid waste managed in the jurisdiction that consists of materials required to be analyzed; and (2) the percentage of such waste that consists of noncombustible materials. Includes within the list of materials to be analyzed: (1) paper; (2) glass; (3) metal; (4) plastics; (5) food and yard waste; (6) wood; (7) construction and demolition debris; (8) household hazardous waste and lead-acid and household batteries; (9) medical waste; (10) incinerator ash; and (11) miscellaneous combustibles and noncombustibles. Prohibits States, municipalities, or other local solid waste management authorities from issuing permits for the construction, expansion, or operation of a landfill, incinerator, or composting unit unless a waste composition analysis has been conducted in the jurisdiction where the facility is or will be located. Requires States or regional authorities to carry out programs to divert annually from incineration and landfilling those materials that otherwise would be destined for disposal by such methods. Sets forth required diversion percentages for glass, paper, metals, plastics, and yard and food waste. Provides that the delivery of plastics, metals, or glass for composting purposes shall not be considered diversion. Requires the Administrator to increase diversion rates by July 1, 2002, to assure decreasing reliance on incineration and landfilling. Authorizes States to petition for alternative diversion rates if economic conditions preclude an entity from achieving such rates, subject to specified requirements. Directs entities to which diversion requirements apply to certify to the State that the applicable percentage of materials has been diverted from the waste stream. Prohibits the issuance of permits by States, municipalities, or other regional authorities for the construction, expansion, or operation of a landfill or incinerator unless the entity from which the facility plans to accept waste: (1) is achieving the required diversion rates; and (2) demonstrates that the facility will not interfere with maintaining such rates. Declares that States must demonstrate achievement of diversion rates in order to receive approval for solid waste management plans. Prohibits the incineration of the following materials in municipal incineration units: (1) glass; (2) ferrous and nonferrous metals; (3) lead-acid and household batteries; (4) recyclable plastics; (5) yard waste; and (6) other materials that are noncombustible or recyclable, as appropriate. Requires owners or operators of such units to inspect wastes to ensure that such materials are removed before incineration and to certify to the State that they are in compliance with such prohibition. Excludes from the inspection requirement waste delivered after prohibited materials have been: (1) removed at a materials recovery facility; or (2) collected pursuant to a curbside collection or deposit program under which material is diverted from solid waste at a rate of at least 90 percent. Prohibits the disposal of lead-acid and household batteries in municipal landfills. Makes such prohibition inapplicable under certain circumstances. Provides for the incorporation of requirements under this title into State solid waste management plans. Title II: Other Recycling Provisions - Requires manufacturers or importers of covered items to ensure that such items contain a minimum percentage of post-consumer materials. Defines a "covered item" as a product, packaging or a container for a product, or materials made of aluminum, glass, steel, plastic, or paper. Authorizes manufacturers or importers to comply with such requirements by: (1) recycling a covered item for purposes of producing such item; or (2) purchasing recycling credits under a system established by the Administrator. Sets forth minimum content standards and deadlines for compliance for aluminum, glass, steel, plastics, and paper. Provides for exemptions to such requirements in cases where meeting such requirements would result in a potential hazard to human health or the environment. Prescribes penalties for violations of such requirements. Sets forth recordkeeping requirements for importers and manufacturers of covered items. Prohibits manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or importers from offering a consumer item for sale or promotional purposes if such item contains less than 90 percent product (by volume) or more than ten percent package and packing material (by volume). Exempts specified items from such requirement. Requires manufacturers or importers of products, packages, or packing material to furnish to the Administrator, a retailer, or a consumer, upon request, a certification of compliance with respect to such requirement. Prescribes penalties for violations of such requirement. Requires manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or importers of motorized vehicles (other than automobiles) or large appliances to: (1) accept any vehicle or appliance of the type sold by such persons from purchasers; or (2) assure the diversion of such items away from incinerators or landfills. Permits the disposal of household batteries only by delivery to retailers, wholesalers, or manufacturers of batteries of the same general type, regulated collection or recycling facilities, or governmental curbside collection programs. Sets forth disposal requirements for retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Prohibits battery retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers from refusing to accept batteries of the same type as the batteries sold. Requires wholesalers to remove used batteries from the place of business of the retailer. Sets forth refund requirements with respect to such batteries. Requires notices to be posted in household battery retail establishments that: (1) state that is illegal to throw away such batteries and that Federal law requires acceptance of batteries for recycling and the return of batteries to authorized recyclers or collectors; and (2) encourage the recycling of used batteries. Prohibits the sale of household batteries unless such batteries bear a label that identifies the chemical in the battery and that states the refund value and requirements for recycling and acceptance. Requires the Administrator to promulgate labeling requirements for small, button-shaped batteries. Prohibits States or local governments from enforcing labeling requirements unless identical with this Act's requirements. Prohibits the sale of a rechargeable consumer product unless: (1) the battery can be easily removed by the consumer or is contained in a battery pack separate from the product and can be easily removed; and (2) the product and the battery are both labeled in a manner that is clearly visible, that indicates that the battery must be collected separately, and that identifies the electrode used in the battery. Revises provisions concerning Federal procurement of recycled goods. Applies procurement requirements to the purchase or acquisition of items during a fiscal year if, during any of the preceding five fiscal years, the price of such items exceeded $10,000 in the aggregate. Includes the Congress within the definition of "procuring agency." Requires procuring agencies to procure only items which are composed of the highest percentage of post-consumer materials (currently, recovered materials) practicable or, in the case of items for which minimum content standards have been set, which contain no less than the required minimum content. Revises conditions under which a procuring agency may determine not to procure such items. Directs the Administrator to: (1) revise existing standards for the procurement of paper containing post-consumer materials so that the standards are at least as stringent as the minimum content requirements of title II; (2) promulgate standards for the procurement and use of containers and packaging and other goods made from aluminum, ferrous, and plastic scrap and waste glass that are as stringent as such requirements; (3) promulgate standards for the procurement and use of waste glass in the construction of paved surfaces, rubber scrap in the construction of paved surfaces, roofing, and other nonroadway applications, and compost, fertilizers, and other soil amendments made from yard and food waste; and (4) promulgate standards for at least three additional categories of items and other items, as appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Equal Remedies Act of 1991 - Amends Federal law relating to damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination to remove provisions limiting the dollar amount of damages awarded for pecuniary and nonpecuniary losses and punitive damages.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the changes made to the Federal single family housing mortgage insurance program should be reexamined to determine their effects upon housing affordability, the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, and the Federal Housing Administration loan portfolio.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should continue to support the full protection of the African elephant through the unqualified listing of all populations of the African elephant on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
United States · United States Congress · 25 November 1991
Consumer Products Safe Testing Act - Declares the policy that Federal departments and agencies shall encourage the development and use of product testing procedures that accurately reflect the acute health effects on humans of certain products, including consumer products and products containing hazardous or toxic substances, but which do not rely upon animals. Directs each Federal department or agency head (head), within one year, to: (1) review and evaluate any regulation, guideline, or recommendation issued by such department or agency which requires, recommends, or encourages the use of the Draize or other animal acute toxicity test for the purpose of evaluation of the safety of a regulated product; (2) review and evaluate nonanimal alternatives with the potential for partial or full replacement of the products regulated; and (3) promulgate regulations, guidelines, or recommendations that specify that a nonanimal acute toxicity test or battery of tests (NATT) should be used instead of an animal acute toxicity test unless that head determines that the NATT is less likely to predict the acute health effects on humans of a product than the animal acute toxicity test. Requires the appropriate head, if a determination is made that no NATT is as likely to predict the human reaction to the regulated product as the Draize or other animal acute toxicity test, to publish in the Federal Register an explanation of all options considered and the justification for continuing the animal acute toxicity test, which shall be subject to public comment. Provides for periodic review of animal acute toxicity testing regulations. Makes this Act inapplicable to regulations, guidelines, or recommendations related to medical research.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
American Jobs Protection Act - Requires employers to provide specified notice and employee benefits (including severance pay, continuation of health care benefits, reimbursement for retraining, and accelerated eligibility for early retirement) to employees who are subject to a plant closing or mass layoff because their work is transferred to another country which has specified levels of lower wages or less effective employment standards for overtime compensation, child labor, and employee safety. Provides for enforcement of this Act by investigative and administrative actions by the Secretary of Labor, civil actions by employees and the Secretary, and actions for injunctions. Provides for application under this Act of definitions under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, with exceptions for the terms employer, plant closing, mass layoff, and employment loss.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Commends: (1) the people of Guam for their patriotism, bravery, loyalty to the United States, and many sacrifices during World War II, particularly during the invasion and occupation of the Guam territory; (2) the members of the Navy Insular Force and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps for the efforts and sacrifices they made in defense of the U.S.; (3) the Hawaiians for their sacrifices and contributions to the U.S. war effort during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; and (4) the Hawaii Territorial Guard members, Varsity Victory Volunteers, the civilian workers at the Pearl Harbor Naval Ship Yard and other Hawaiian military installations, 100th Infantry Battalion, Military Intelligence Service, and 442nd Regimental Combat Team for their sacrifices and contributions to the U.S. war effort during such attack.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Directs the Secretary of Education to provide demonstration grants to secondary schools to extend the length of the academic year for three consecutive years at such schools to not fewer than 200 academic days, with each such day consisting of not fewer than seven hours of actual instruction. Allows such grants to extend over a period of not more than three fiscal years. Makes grant payments subject to annual approval by the Secretary and availability of fiscal year appropriations. Sets forth application requirements, including a 20 percent non-Federal match with good-faith exceptions. Sets forth selection requirements, including, to the extent practicable, schools that: (1) have a high percentage of students from single-parent homes or homes where both parents work; (2) are located in economically depressed communities with high percentages of individuals with alcohol and other drug abuse problems and individuals involved in gang activities; and (3) are equitably distributed among various regions and among rural and urban areas. Provides for selection of replacement schools in cases of noncompliance. Requires notification of the participating secondary schools' State and local education agencies. Directs the Secretary to study the effects of such academic year extension under such program, including: (1) a test to measure learning retention; (2) effects on the learning process in general, including increased daily attendance, parental involvement, postsecondary attendance, positive behavorial and social skills, and reduced alcohol and other drug abuse, gang-related activities, and drop-out rate; and (3) the extent the program is believed to be successful by the participating students, teachers, parents, and State and local educational agencies. Requires the Secretary to submit a preliminary and a final report to the Present, the Congress, and each State educational agency of secondary schools receiving such grants. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Calls upon the President, as part of the Uruguay Round General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks, to initiate negotiations to make GATT compatible with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other U.S. health, safety, labor, and environmental laws, including laws to protect the environment outside of the United States. Declares that the Congress will not approve legislation to implement any trade agreement (including the Uruguay Round of the GATT and the U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement) that jeopardizes such laws, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Clean Air Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1991
Pacific Yew Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior (Secretaries) to pursue a policy to provide for: (1) the long-term conservation of the pacific yew on lands under their jurisdiction; and (2) a sustainable supply of it for medicinal purposes. Requires the Secretary concerned to ensure that timber sales awarded after the enactment of this Act and such sales completed prior to such enactment but still unharvested be conducted in a specified manner. Directs the Secretaries to establish a special task force in each of their respective Departments to ensure that the purposes of this Act are achieved through the: (1) implementation of the policy required by it; and (2) guidelines and plan developed by the Interagency Pacific Yew Committee (established later on in this Act). Requires the Secretaries to inventory pacific yew on lands under their jurisdiction. Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish an interdisciplinary Interagency Pacific Yew Committee to submit interim guidelines for the harvest, management, and conservation of the pacific yew until the Committee develops a proposed conservation and management plan for it. Requires the Secretaries to submit such plan to specified congressional committees. Sets forth requirements for the interim guidelines and the management and conservation plan. Establishes procedures for implementation of them. Directs the Secretaries to encourage and assist in research regarding the: (1) ecology of the Pacific Yew; (2) development of alternative methods of procuring taxol (a cancer-treating drug made from the pacific yew), including use of other yew parts in addition to bark, the sustainable harvest of yew needles, and the use of other yew species; and (3) propagation of Pacific Yew and other yew species in agricultural or commercial settings. Directs the Secretary concerned to ensure: (1) development, implementation, and enforcement of processes for the collection and sale of Pacific Yew resources to minimize the illegal harvest and sale of them; and (2) timely access to Pacific Yew resources so that collection of Pacific Yew parts can occur before the taxol properties of such parts are degraded. States that nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as modifying the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Directs the Secretaries concerned to report with recommendations to specified congressional committees on ways to increase the harvest of Pacific Yew if sufficient amounts of it cannot be harvested in compliance with this Act and other Federal law to supply the necessary amounts of taxol required for medicinal purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1991
Medicare Cancer Coverage Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover: (1) any use of a drug in an anticancer chemotherapeutic regimen if such use has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, published in peer-review medical literature, or included in one or more of three specified medical compendia; and (2) an oral form of a drug prescribed for such a use in an anticancer chemotherapeutic regimen if the drug contains the same active ingredients as a drug that would be covered if administered as incident to a physician's service. Requires a study and report to specified congressional committees on Medicare coverage of patient care costs associated with clinical trials of new cancer therapies.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1991
Educators' and Drug-Exposed Children's Assistance Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to establish a program authorizing the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make supplemental grants to States for demonstration programs regarding certain drug-exposed infants, toddlers and children. Sets conditions for such grant assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require certain national clearinghouse activities relating to drug-exposed children. Directs the Secretary, in conjunction with such clearinghouse activities to provide consultation and technical assistance to educational personnel regarding educational needs of drug-exposed children and recommend effective strategies for assisting such children. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to schools of education at institutions of higher education for development, and instruction in the use of curricula and instructional materials that provide teachers and other personnel with effective strategies for educating drug-exposed children. Gives priority to schools located in or near communities with large numbers or rates with respect to drug abuse problems or drug-exposed infants or preschool or school children. Sets conditions for such grant assistance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1991
Resolution Trust Corporation Refinancing, Restructuring, and Improvement Act of 1991 - Title I: Resolution Trust Corporation Refinancing - Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to provide additional interim funding for the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to modify the terms under which the RTC shall be appointed receiver of a failed depository institution by the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to extend the receivership duties of the RTC. Title II: Restructuring and Improvement of the Resolution Trust Corporation - Modifies the guidelines for staffing the RTC. Establishes the office of chief executive officer of the RTC to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Directs the Oversight Board to review overall strategies, policies, and goals established by the RTC for its activities. (Currently the Oversight Board establishes such strategies and goals.) Declares that the RTC shall be managed by its Board of Directors. Outlines the powers of the chief executive officer of the RTC. Title III: Minorities, Women, and Small Business Provisions - Sets forth guidelines for increased participation of minorities and women in the contracting process applied by the RTC. Authorizes the RTC to make available to any minority or women's depository institution the operation of a failed savings institution located in a predominantly minority neighborhood. Amends the Community Reinvestment Act to extend community investment credit to any depository institution which makes one of its branches in a predominantly minority neighborhood available to a minority or women's depository institution under certain circumstances. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to authorize the RTC, under certain circumstances, to provide assistance for minority-owned depository institutions and minority investors for the acquisition of any savings association for which it has been appointed conservator or receiver. Declares that a certain minority interim capital assistance program established by the Oversight Board is hereby established by law. Directs the RTC to provide assistance under such program for minority-owned depository institutions and minority investors for the acquisition of any savings association for which the RTC has been appointed conservator or receiver, and which before such appointment was not a minority-owned association. Extends the period for repayment of capital assistance under such program. Mandates an annual goal for the RTC that presents the maximum practicable opportunity for small business concerns (and those operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals) to participate in the performance of RTC contract awards. Title IV: Miscellaneous Housing Provisions - Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to empower the RTC to develop risk sharing structures and other credit enhancements with respect to eligible residential properties in order to assist in the provision of property ownership, rental, and cooperative housing opportunities for lower- and moderate-income families. Requires the RTC to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility and efficacy of providing credit enhancements with respect to tax-exempt bonds issued on behalf of nonprofit organizations with respect to the disposition of eligible residential properties. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to consider and accept a specified final statement of community development objectives and projected use of funds which the city of Petersburg, Virginia, is authorized to submit in connection with a grant under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Title V: Resolution Trust Corporation Affordable Housing Program - Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to prescribe guidelines for the disposition of eligible residential property (including condominiums) acquired by the RTC in its capacity as conservator or receiver and earmarked for lower-income occupancy. Authorizes the RTC to transfer such properties to qualifying households and for-profit entities for lower-income use, as well as to certain nonprofit organizations and public agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1991
Nuclear Weapons Material Production Termination Act - Prohibits after August 1, 1992, the expenditure of funds by any Federal department or agency for: (1) the production of tritium, plutonium, or highly-enriched uranium for weapons; or (2) the procurement or construction of equipment or facilities for such production, other than for research purposes. Directs that savings achieved as the result of such prohibition shall be used for FY 1993 and thereafter for environmental restoration activities at Department of Energy nuclear weapons facilities. Directs the President to conduct five-year studies on the quantity of tritium needed by the United States and on the costs and environmental impacts of alternative methods of obtaining it. Requires the President to report study results to the Congress. States that the prohibition will no longer be in effect if the Congress, after receiving a report from the President, adopts a joint resolution which finds an overriding need to produce tritium.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) there is a need for the development of a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to encourage investment in human and material resources, to harness our inventive genius to the marketplace, to secure the education and training of a competitive citizenry and workforce, and to stimulate cooperative efforts between the private and public sectors at all levels of business, education, and government; and (2) such a strategy will help the United States achieve its goal of being the strongest Nation on Earth economically and militarily, so that it remains the greatest Nation in support of human dignity, freedom, and democratic ideals.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1991
National Commission on the Environment and National Security Act - Establishes a National Commission on the Environment and National Security to study the changing nature of U.S. national security and new environmental threats to natural and ocean resources and the atmosphere. Directs the Commission to report on such study and make specific recommendations with respect to: (1) new national security priorities in light of new environmental threats and global political changes; (2) additional Federal funding required to respond to such threats; and (3) possible institutional changes in the executive and legislative branches to ensure that environmental threats receive adequate priority in the national security policies and budgetary allocations of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1991
House of Representatives Campaign Spending Limit and Election Reform Act of 1991 - Title I: Expenditure Limitations, Contribution Limitations, Matching Funds, and Reduced Third-Class Mail Rate for Eligible House of Representatives Candidates - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to set forth limitations regarding House of Representatives election expenditures, contributions, and matching funds. Limits aggregate contributions received and expenditures made by an eligible House of Representatives candidate in an election cycle to $600,000, with specified additional limitations in general, special, and runoff elections. Establishes the Make Democracy Work Fund (the Fund) for payment of funds and initial expenditures incurred by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in the administration of this Act. Outlines FEC examination, audit, and repayment procedures to determine candidate compliance with this Act. Subjects FEC actions to judicial review. Directs the FEC to report to the House of Representatives regarding: (1) candidate expenditures made and balances remaining in the Fund after each election; and (2) a detailed explanation and justification of rules, regulations, and forms it has issued under this Act. Precludes a House of Representatives candidate from receiving funds from the Make Democracy Work Fund without prior certification that any television commercial was prepared or distributed by the candidate in a manner that readily permits closed captioning of the commercial's oral content by way of specified broadcast technology. Amends Federal Postal Service law to provide reduced third-class mailing rates to eligible House of Representatives candidates during a general election period. Title II: Limitations on Political Committee and Large Donor Contributions That May Be Accepted By House of Representatives Candidates; Miscellaneous Provisions Relating To Contributions Under The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 - Sets forth limitations on political committee and large donor contributions (and contributions by dependents not of voting age) that may be accepted by House of Representatives candidates. Mandates that contributions to candidates from State and local political party committees be aggregated. Increases the amount that multicandidate political committees may contribute to national political party committees. Deems corporate or labor union expenditures for candidate appearances, debates, or voter guides to be contributions if the corporate or labor organization expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate or favors one candidate over another. Title III: Requirement of Budget Neutrality - Provides that the net costs of providing certain benefits under this Act must be fully offset by specified measures that either raise revenues or reduce spending by a specified deadline (thus achieving budget neutrality). Title IV: Independent Expenditures - Modifies definitions relating to independent expenditures. Sets forth reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures. Title V: Bundling and Soft Money - Prohibits any person from acting as conduit or intermediary for any contribution to any candidate, except in specified circumstances. States that such persons are likewise prohibited from conducting or participating in joint fundraising activities with or on behalf of any candidate. Sets forth limitations upon the combined political activities of political committees of political parties. Prohibits incumbents and candidates for Federal office from soliciting contributions to certain organizations substantially engaged in voter registration or get-out-the-vote campaigns. Mandates that political committees established and maintained by a national political party shall report all receipts and disbursements during the reporting period, whether or not in connection with an election for Federal office. Title VI: Prohibitions Relating to Political Committees and Foreign Nationals - Prohibits a candidate for Federal office from establishing, maintaining, or controlling any political committee other than a principal campaign committee, or certain authorized committees (thereby prohibiting the use of leadership committees). Allows such leadership committees to continue making contributions until one year after January 1, 1993, after which time all funds must be disbursed in one or more specified manners. Prohibits an unauthorized political committee from using the name of any candidate in any fundraising activity on its behalf in a context which suggests that the committee is the candidate's authorized committee. Prohibits a foreign national from controlling, influencing, or participating in election-related activities, including making contributions or expenditures relating to any political election or the administration of a political committee. Title VII: Campaign Surplus - Mandates that the funds exceeding $600,000 of incumbents who are House of Representatives candidates be deposited in a separate account subject to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. Title VIII: Campaign Advertising - Prescribes guidelines for campaign advertising related to: (1) printed communication; and (2) broadcast or cablecast communication. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to entitle House of Representatives candidates to the lowest unit rate charged by a licensee for the same amount of time (currently, the same class and amount of time for the same period on the same date, during the 30 (currently 45) days prior to the primary election and the 45 (currently 60) days prior to the general election). Prohibits the licensee from pre-empting such a candidate's use of the station except in an emergency. Title IX: Contribution Solicitation - Proscribes the solicitation of contributions by false representation by any person as a candidate or as a representative of a candidate or of a political party or committee. Title X: Reporting Requirements - Requires certain reports to identify any person (other than a committee) who contributes more than $50 (currently, more than $200). Directs the FEC to: (1) require with respect to specified reports that operating expenditures be reported on an election cycle basis, by category, as specified by the FEC; and (2) maintain computerized indices of contributions of $50.00 or more. Title XI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1991
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. Inc. 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 · 7 November 1991
Budget Process Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to: (1) eliminate the division of discretionary appropriations into three categories (defense, international, and domestic) for purposes of discretionary spending limits for FY 1993; and (2) consolidate them into a single limit for budget authority and outlay. Directs the Office of Management and Budget to recalculate any adjustments made to such spending limits before enactment of this Act under the sequestration provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Requires the President to report revised discretionary spending limits for FY 1993 to the Congress by the fifth day after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1991
Calls upon the President not to proceed toward the normalization of diplomatic and economic relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam until the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs has reported its findings on the accounting of missing American servicemen in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1991
Designates December 4, 1991, as Federal Civilian Employee Remembrance Day to recognize contributions provided by Federal civilian employees during the attack on Pearl Harbor and during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1991
Makes the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in each even numbered year a legal public holiday known as Democracy Day (exept for purposes of statutes relating to pay and leave of Federal employees).
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1991
1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games Commemorative Coin Act - Provides for the minting and sale of commemorative gold and silver coins to support the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games and the programs of the United States Olympic Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1991
Nuclear Testing Moratorium Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from conducting any explosive nuclear weapons test during the one-year period following the enactment of this Act unless the President certifies to the Congress that the Soviet Union has conducted such a test during such period.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Federal Employee Fairness Act of 1991 - Amends title VII (Equal Employment Opportunities) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide for coverage and administrative determination by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) of Federal employee discrimination claims under title VII. Requires Federal agencies to make voluntary counseling and a voluntary alternative dispute process available to Federal employees to resolve complaints. Prohibits such agencies from: (1) requiring Federal employees to participate in such counseling or dispute process; or (2) discouraging them from filing title VII discrimination complaints. Entitles the Federal employee, if a settlement agreement has not been reached with the respondent, to either: (1) file with the EEOC a request for determination of the title VII claim by an EEOC administrative judge or, under certain conditions, by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), or under certain administrative and judicial procedures under Federal law relating to Federal employees; or (2) commence a civil action in an appropriate U.S. district court for de novo review of such title VII claim. Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) with respect to nondiscrimination on account of age in Federal Government employment and EEOC enforcement of the prohibition. Allows aggrieved individuals to either: (1) file a complaint with the Commission in accordance with, and in the same manner as claims under, title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; or (2) commence a civil action, within a specified period, in an appropriate U.S. district court for de novo review of the violation. Requires the EEOC to: (1) notify promptly all persons named in the notice as prospective defendants in such action; and (2) take any appropriate action to eliminate any unlawful practice. Allows individuals with a complaint pending before the EEOC during a specified period the opportunity to commence a civil action within a specified period. Amends Federal law relating to Federal employees with respect to grievance procedures and actions involving discrimination. Allows a Federal employee to commence, within 120 days after a final decision in a grievance procedure, a civil action in an appropriate U.S. district court for de novo review of a complaint of discrimination prohibited by any law administered by the EEOC. Allows a Federal employee or applicant for Federal employment to file a complaint with the EEOC in accordance with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and select specified administrative and judicial procedures under title VII or other Federal law relating to Federal employees for grievance procedures or actions involving discrimination. Directs the agency (including the EEOC and the MSPB) that carries out such selected procedures to apply the appropriate substantive law. Allows a Federal employee who elected specified procedures, if the EEOC dismisses the claim under title VII, to raise the action within a certain time period under other specified procedures relating to Federal employees, except that no allegation of a kind involving specified Federal laws against discrimination cited in the dismissed complaint may be thus raised. Entitles a Federal employee to file within a specified period a civil action in the appropriate U.S. district court for de novo review of the action raised under specified procedures if there is no judicially reviewable action at the end of a specified period. Directs the EEOC, within one year after enactment of this Act, to issue rules to: (1) assist Federal Government entities to comply with this Act; and (2) establish a uniform written notice and requirements applicable to collecting and preserving documents and information.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Management Corps Act of 1991 - Requires the President to designate a private nonprofit organization which has demonstrated expertise in providing assistance to business enterprises in the Republics of the Soviet Union and the Baltic States through United States citizens with expertise in the management of business enterprises who voluntarily donate their time and services to such enterprises in those countries. Designates such organization as the Management Corps. Sets forth administrative provisions for such Corps. Provides for grants to the Corps to be made by the Secretary of State through the Agency for International Development. Requires the Corps to publish an annual report which shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) condemn the use of force in Yugoslavia; (2) recognize the independence of the Republics of Croatia and Slovenia; and (3) work for the cessation of hostilities leading to a negotiated settlement and peace in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) U.S. policy toward the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should be guided by a conviction that the interests of international security must take precedence over any conflicting interests in promoting nuclear commerce; and (2) the United States should encourage the IAEA to introduce reforms to strengthen its ability to pursue its safeguards objectives. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should undertake bilateral and multilateral initiatives to maintain and enhance international confidence in the effectiveness of IAEA safeguards and in other multilateral undertakings to halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons, including initiatives for: (1) building international support for the principle that nuclear supply relationships must require purchasing nations to agree to full-scope international safeguards; (2) encouraging each nuclear weapon state to undertake a comprehensive review of its own procedures for declassifying information relating to the design or production of nuclear explosive devices and to investigate any measures that would reduce the risk of such information contributing to nuclear weapons proliferation; (3) arranging for timely payment of annual financial contributions by all IAEA members; and (4) seeking agreement among the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to apply IAEA safeguards in perpetuity and to establish new limits on the right to withdraw from that Treaty. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should direct the U.S. representatives to the IAEA to work toward the early adoption of reforms in the implementation of the safeguards responsibilities of the IAEA, including: (1) making public the IAEA's annual safeguards implementation report, establishing a public registry of commodities in international nuclear commerce, and creating a public repository of current nuclear trade control laws, agreements, regulations, and enforcement and judicial actions by IAEA member nations; (2) enabling the IAEA to issue fines for violations of safeguards procedures, pay rewards for information on possible safeguards violations, and establish a hotline for reporting such violations and other illicit uses of weapons-grade nuclear material; (3) implement special inspections of undeclared nuclear facilities and seeking authority for the IAEA to conduct challenge inspections on demand at suspected nuclear sites; and (4) developing with other IAEA member states an agreement on procedures to expedite approvals of visa applications by IAEA inspectors. Directs the President, within six months, to submit to specified congressional committees a report describing the bilateral and multilateral initiatives which the President has taken during the period since the enactment of this Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Vento, Bruce F. [D-MN-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/v000087_200.jpg)