United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1996
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the People's Republic of China should: (1) reaffirm its commitment to conduct relations with Taiwan by peaceful means; (2) engage in diplomatic negotiations to discuss any disagreement with Taiwan without any threat of military or economic coercion against Taiwan; and (3) immediately live up to its commitment to work for a peaceful resolution of any disagreements with Taiwan and desist from military actions designed to intimidate Taiwan. Calls on Taiwan to adhere to its commitment to negotiate its future relations with the mainland by mutual, not unilateral, decision. Calls for the United States: (1) to maintain its commitment to resist any resort to force or use other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan, consistent with its undertakings in the Taiwan Relations Act; (2) to maintain a naval presence sufficient to keep open the sea lanes in and near the Taiwan Straits; (3) in the face of the several overt military threats by the People's Republic of China against Taiwan, and consistent with the commitment of the United States under the Taiwan Relations Act, to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons systems; and (4) to assist in defending the people of Taiwan against invasion, missile attack, or blockade by the People's Republic of China.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1996
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act (the Act) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make capitalization grants to States to establish State drinking water treatment revolving loan funds. Places the authority to establish assistance priorities for financial assistance provided with amounts deposited into the State loan fund in the State agency that has primary responsibility for the administration of the State program. Directs the Governor, in nonprimacy States, to determine which State agency will have the authority to establish priorities for such assistance. Authorizes State Governors to transfer amounts between such funds and water pollution control revolving funds established under the Clean Water Act. Requires the Administrator to reserve one and a half percent of drinking water funds for capitalization grants to Indian tribes for the improvement of public water systems. Specifies that such funds shall be used to address the most significant threats to public health associated with public water systems that serve Indian tribes, as determined by the Administrator in consultation with the Director of the Indian Health Service and Indian tribes. Directs the Administrator, in consultation with the Director and such tribes, to prepare surveys and assess the needs of drinking water treatment facilities to serve Indian tribes. Authorizes the Administrator to make such grants to the District of Columbia and specified U.S. territories. Authorizes: (1) States to reserve a certain amount of such grants for technical assistance for small public water systems; and (2) the Administrator to make grants to Alaska for the benefit of Alaska Native villages. Requires the Administrator, beginning in FY 1999, to withhold a specified percentage (five percent for FY 1999, ten percent for FY 2000, and 15 percent for each subsequent fiscal year) of each capitalization grant made to a State unless the State has met specified requirements under this Act regarding new system capacity. Sets forth provisions regarding projects eligible for assistance, including assistance for disadvantaged communities, and source water quality protection and capacity development (but limits the total amount of assistance provided and expenditures made by a State for each fiscal year, with respect to such protection and development, to 15 percent of the amount of the capitalization grant received by the State for that year, and not exceeding ten percent of that amount for: (1) acquiring land or conservation easements; (2) providing funding to implement recommendations of source water quality protection partnerships; (3) providing assistance through a capacity development strategy; or (4) making expenditures to delineate or assess source water protection areas). Sets forth provisions regarding State loan fund administration, technical assistance, and management. Requires: (1) States to prepare annual intended use plans for funds; (2) priority for the use of funds to be given to projects that address the most serious risk to human health, that are necessary to ensure compliance with filtration requirements and other specified requirements, and that assist those most in need on a per household basis according to State affordability criteria; and (3) each State, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to publish and periodically update a list of projects in the State that are eligible for assistance, including the priority assigned to each project and the expected funding schedule for each project. Directs the Administrator to: (1) conduct annual reviews and audits as the Administrator considers appropriate, or require each State to have the reviews and audits independently conducted, in accordance with specified single audit requirements; (2) submit to the Congress a periodic survey and assessment of the needs for facilities in each State eligible for assistance (including, in Alaska, the needs of Native villages); (3) conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the State loan funds through FY 1999; and (4) publish such regulations and guidance as necessary. Specifies that the failure or inability of any public water system to receive funds, or a delay in obtaining the funds, shall not alter the obligation of the system to comply in a timely manner with all applicable drinking water standards and requirements under the Act. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to reserve: (1) $10 million for health effects research on specified drinking water contaminants, giving priority to research concerning the health effects of cryptosporidium, disinfection byproducts, and arsenic, and for the implementation of a research plan for subpopulations at greater risk of adverse effects; (2) $2 million to pay the costs of monitoring for unregulated contaminants; and (3) specified sums for small system technical assistance. (Sec. 4) Repeals specified existing requirements for the Administrator to issue maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs) and national primary drinking water (NPDW) regulations. Requires the Administrator to publish an MCLG and promulgate an NPDW regulation for each contaminant (with exceptions) for which a NPDW regulation has been promulgated as of the date of this Act's enactment if the Administrator determines, based on adequate data and appropriate peer- reviewed scientific information and an assessment of health risks, that the contaminant may have an adverse effect on the health of persons and that the contaminant is known to occur, or there is a substantial likelihood that it will occur, in public water systems with a frequency and at levels of public health concern. Directs the Administrator: (1) not later than July 1, 1997, to publish and periodically update a list of contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in drinking water provided by public water systems that may warrant regulation; and (2) at such time as such list is published, to describe available and needed information and research regarding the health effects of the contaminants, their occurrence in drinking water, and treatment techniques and other feasible means to control the contaminants. Requires (with exceptions) the Administrator, by July 1, 2001, and every five years thereafter, to take one of the following actions for not fewer than five contaminants: (1) publish a determination that information available to the Administrator does not warrant the issuance of an NPDW regulation; (2) publish a determination that an NPDW regulation is warranted, and proceed to propose an MCLG and NPDW regulation not later than two years after the date of publication of the determination; and (3) propose an MCLG and NPDW regulation. Sets forth provisions regarding insufficient information to make, and the basis for, such determinations. Requires the Administrator to give priority to those contaminants not currently regulated that are associated with the most serious adverse health effects and that present the greatest potential risk to human health due to their presence in drinking water provided by public water systems. Sets forth provisions regarding public comment and judicial review. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate an interim NPDW regulation for a contaminant to address an urgent threat to public health. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) schedules for publication of MCLGs and NPDW regulations; (2) substitution of contaminants; and (3) promulgation, by December 31, 1995, of an information collection rule to facilitate further revisions to the NPDW regulation for disinfectants and disinfectant byproducts, including information on microbial contaminants such as cryptosporidium. (Sec. 5) Requires the Administrator, in carrying out the Act, to: (1) use the best available, peer-reviewed science and supporting studies conducted in accordance with sound and objective scientific practices, and data collected by accepted or best available methods; and (2) ensure that the presentation of information on public health effects is comprehensive, informative, and understandable. Directs the Administrator to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each NPDW regulation containing a maximum contaminant level (MCL) or treatment technique before it is proposed, including consideration of alternative MCLs or treatment requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Permits the MCLG for contaminants that are known or likely to cause cancer in humans to be set at a level other than zero if the Administrator determines, based on the best available, peer-reviewed science, that there is a threshold level below which there is unlikely to be any increase in cancer risk and the Administrator sets the MCLG at that level with an adequate margin of safety. Requires the Administrator, at the time he or she proposes an NPDW regulation, to publish a determination as to whether the benefits of the MCL justify the costs. Authorizes the Administrator to establish an MCL for a contaminant at a level other than the feasible level if the technology, treatment techniques, and other means used to determine the feasible level would result in an increase in the health risk from drinking water by: (1) increasing the concentration of other contaminants in drinking water; or (2) interfering with the efficacy of drinking water treatment techniques or processes that are used to comply with other NPDW regulations. Authorizes the Administrator, if he or she determines that the benefits of an MCL would not justify the cost of complying with the level, to promulgate an MCL for the contaminant that maximizes health risk reduction benefits at a cost that is justified by the benefits, with an exception. Prohibits the Administrator from establishing an MCL in a Stage I or Stage II NPDW regulation for contaminants that are disinfectants or disinfection byproducts, or to establish an MCL or treatment technique requirement for the control of cryptosporidium. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) disinfectants and disinfectant byproducts; and (3) review of standards. (Sec. 7) Sets forth requirements with respect to the promulgation of NPDW regulations for: (1) arsenic (requires the Administrator to follow a specified schedule, to develop and carry out a comprehensive plan for research in support of drinking water rulemaking, and to take other specified steps regarding assessment, proposed regulation, and final regulation of arsenic); (2) radon (provides for an MCL of 3,000 picocuries per liter but permits a revision to the regulation to include a different MCL under specified circumstances; e.g., if the Administrator determines, and the National Academy of Sciences and the Science Advisory Board concur, that revision is appropriate and supported by peer-reviewed scientific studies to address risks from ingestion of radon in drinking water); and (3) sulfate (prior to promulgating an NPDW regulation for sulfate, the Administrator and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control shall jointly conduct additional research to establish a reliable dose-response relationship for the adverse health effects that may result from exposure to sulfate in drinking water, including the health effects that may be experienced by groups within the general population that are potentially at greater risk of adverse health effects as the result of such exposure, conducted in consultation with interested States and based on the best available, peer-reviewed science and supporting studies, and subject to notice of proposed rulemaking and public comment). (Sec. 10) Directs the Administrator to: (1) amend filtration criteria to allow a State exercising primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems, on a case-by-case basis, to establish treatment requirements as an alternative to filtration for systems having uninhabited, undeveloped watersheds in consolidated ownership, and having control over access to, and activities in, those watersheds, if the State determines (and the Administrator concurs) that the quality of the source water and the alternative treatment requirements established by the State ensure significantly greater removal efficiencies of pathogenic organisms for which NPDW regulations have been promulgated or which are of public health concern than would be achieved by the combination of filtration and chlorine disinfection); and (2) propose a regulation that describes treatment techniques that meet the filtration requirements that are feasible for community water systems serving a population of 3,300 or for fewer and noncommunity water systems. Delays until at least three years after the enactment of this Act the deadline for issuing regulations to require disinfection at groundwater systems. (Sec. 11) Revises provisions regarding NPDW regulation effective dates to provide that such a regulation shall take effect three years after the date on which it is promulgated unless the Administrator determines that an earlier date is practicable, except that the Administrator, or a State in the case of an individual system, may allow up to two additional years to comply with an MCL or treatment technique if the Administrator or State determines that additional time is necessary for capital improvements. (Sec. 12) Directs the Administrator, simultaneously with promulgating NPDW regulations, to issue guidance or regulations regarding system treatment technologies. Requires the Administrator to include in the list of the technology, treatment techniques, and other means which the Administrator finds to be feasible for purposes of meeting NPDW MCLs any means that is feasible for small public water systems serving specified populations and that achieves compliance with the MCL or treatment technique, including packaged or modular systems and point-of-entry treatment units. Prohibits the Administrator from including in the list any point-of-use treatment technology, treatment technique, or other means to achieve compliance with an MCL or treatment technique requirement for a microbial contaminant. Specifies that if the American National Standards Institute has issued product standards applicable to a specific type of point-of-entry or point-of-use treatment device, individual units of that type shall not be accepted for compliance with an MCL or treatment technique requirement unless they are independently certified in accordance with such standards. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to institutions of higher learning to establish and operate not fewer than five small public water system technology assistance centers in the United States. (Sec. 13) Revises provisions of the Act authorizing variances and exemptions from NPDW regulations to: (1) allow public water systems to receive a variance on the condition that they install and operate best available treatment technology; and (2) authorize the Administrator (or a State with primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems) to grant to public water systems serving a population of 10,000 or fewer a variance for compliance with a requirement specifying an MCL or treatment technique contained in an NPDW regulation if a system cannot afford to comply with the regulation and adequate protection of public health is ensured. (Sec. 15) Requires each State to: (1) obtain the legal authority or other means to ensure that all new community water systems and new nontransient, noncommunity water systems commencing operation after October 1, 1996, demonstrate technical, managerial, and financial capacity with respect to each NPDW regulation in effect, or likely to be in effect, on the date of commencement of operations; (2) prepare, periodically update, and submit to the Administrator a list of community water systems and nontransient, noncommunity water systems that have a history of significant noncompliance; (3) report to the Administrator on the success of enforcement mechanisms and initial capacity development efforts in assisting such systems to improve technical, managerial, and financial capacity; and (4) develop and implement a strategy to assist public water systems in acquiring and maintaining such capacity. Directs the Administrator to support: (1) the States in developing capacity development strategies; and (2) the network of university-based Environmental Finance Centers in providing training and technical assistance to State and local officials in developing the capacity of public water systems, including the establishment of a national public water systems capacity development clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 16) Requires public water systems receiving assistance from a State Revolving Loan Fund to be operated by a trained and certified operator. Specifies that, in the case of a State with primary enforcement responsibility or any other State that has established a training program that is consistent with the guidance issued under the Act, the authority to prescribe the appropriate level of training for certification for all systems shall be solely the responsibility of the State. Authorizes the Administrator to withhold funds that would otherwise be allocated to the State, or require the repayment of an amount equal to the amount of any such assistance, for noncompliance. (Sec. 17) Directs each State to: (1) delineate the source water protection areas for community water systems in the State using hydrogeologic information considered to be reasonably available and appropriate by the State; and (2) conduct vulnerability assessments in source water areas determined to be a priority by the State. Authorizes States to establish source water quality partnership petition programs to assist in the local development of a voluntary, incentive-based partnership to reduce the presence in drinking water of contaminants and to obtain Federal and State financial or technical assistance. Sets forth requirements for State approval of petitions, including: (1) an identification of technical, financial, or other assistance that the State will provide to assist in addressing the drinking water contaminants that may be addressed by a petition based on specified factors; and (2) a description of technical or financial assistance pursuant to Federal and State programs that is available to assist in implementing recommendations of the partnership, including any voluntary agricultural resource management plan or voluntary whole farm or whole ranch management plan developed and implemented under a process established by the Secretary of Agriculture. Authorizes the Administrator to make a grant to each State that establishes an approved program in an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the cost of administering the program. Directs the Administrator to publish guidance to assist: (1) States in the development of a source water quality protection partnership program; and (2) municipal or local governments or political subdivisions and community water systems in the development of source water quality protection partnerships and in the assessment of source water quality. (Sec. 18) Grants: (1) a State primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems if the Administrator determines that such State has adopted drinking water regulations that are no less stringent than the NPDW regulations within two years after such regulations are promulgated. Authorizes the Administrator to provide an extension of not more than two years if, after submission and review of appropriate, adequate documentation from the State, the Administrator determines that the extension is necessary and justified. Grants a State that has primary enforcement authority for existing drinking water regulations interim primary enforcement authority for new regulations pending such determination. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 19) Requires the Administrator to review existing monitoring requirements for not fewer than 12 contaminants within two years. Authorizes: (1) States to establish alternative monitoring programs for any NPDW regulation, except for a regulation applicable to a microbial contaminant or an indicator of such a contaminant, subject to specified requirements; and (2) the Administrator or a State to suspend quarterly monitoring requirements applicable to small systems for any contaminant (other than a microbial contaminant or such an indicator, that causes an acute effect, or a contaminant formed in the treatment process or distribution system) that is not detected during the first quarterly sample in a monitoring cycle. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing the criteria for a monitoring program for unregulated contaminants, and to list up to 20 contaminants. Requires all systems serving more than 10,000 people to monitor for such contaminants. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to establish a national database containing information on the occurrence of regulated and unregulated contaminants. Provides that information requirements imposed by the Administrator that require monitoring, the establishment or maintenance of records, or reporting, by a substantial number of public water systems, shall be established by regulation. Directs the Administrator to review new analytical methods to screen for regulated contaminants. Authorizes the Administrator to approve such methods as are more accurate or cost-effective than established reference methods for use in compliance monitoring. (Sec. 20) Requires each owner or operator of a public water system to give notice to those served by the system: (1) of any failure of the system to comply with an applicable maximum contaminant level or treatment technique requirement of, or a testing procedure prescribed by, an NPDW regulation, or to perform required monitoring; (2) of the existence of a variance granted for an inability to meet a maximum contaminant level requirement or a granted exemption and of any failure to comply with the requirements of any schedule prescribed pursuant to the variance or exemption; and (3) of the concentration level of any unregulated contaminant for which the Administrator has required public notice. Directs the Administrator to prescribe the manner, frequency, form, and content of such notice to provide for different notice frequencies for violations that are intermittent or infrequent and violations that are continuous or frequent, and to take into account the seriousness of any potential adverse health effects that may be involved. Permits a State to establish alternative notification requirements. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 21) Revises enforcement provisions of the Act to permit enforcement actions to be taken by both EPA and a State with primary enforcement responsibility. Directs the Administrator to notify local elected officials before taking enforcement actions against public water systems in nonprimacy States. Authorizes the Administrator or a State to suspend enforcement action with respect to a violation for a two-year period if the violation is to be corrected through a consolidation or restructuring during that period. Requires States, to have primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems, to adopt administrative penalties of at least $1,000 per violation for large systems. Increases the maximum amount for an administrative penalty imposed by EPA from $5,000 to $25,000 per violation, but only after a hearing on the record. (Sec. 22) Revises current provisions governing the applicability of drinking water laws and regulations to the Federal Government. Waives the sovereign immunity of the United States with respect to any requirement, administrative authority, or process or sanction under such laws and regulations. Allows citizens and States to seek penalties for all violations of the Act at Federal facilities. (Sec. 23) Authorizes appropriations for research with respect to the safe supply of drinking water. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop, and periodically update, an integrated risk characterization strategy for drinking water quality; and (2) develop and carry out a research plan to support the development and implementation of rules regarding enhanced surface water treatment, disinfectant and disinfection byproducts, and groundwater disinfection. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 24) Revises the definition of "public water system" to include systems that provide water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances. Excludes from regulation connections to non-piped systems if the water is used exclusively for non-residential uses, the Administrator or the State determines that alternative water to achieve the equivalent level of public health protection provided by the applicable NPDW regulation is provided for residential or similar uses for drinking and cooking, or the Administrator or the State determines that the water provided for residential or similar uses for drinking and cooking is centrally treated or treated at the point of entry by the provider, a pass-through entity, or the user to achieve the equivalent level of protection provided by the applicable NPDW regulations. Sets forth transition provisions. (Sec. 25) Authorizes the Administrator to makes grants to States for the development and implementation of State programs for the protection of groundwater resources. Prohibits any such grant from being used for more than half of the cost of the program. Authorizes appropriations. Reauthorizes grants to support: (1) the critical aquifer protection program; (2) the wellhead protection program; and (3) State administration of the Underground Injection Control program. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the extent and seriousness of contamination of private sources of drinking water that are not regulated under this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to reestablish a partnership between the Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory and the National Center for Ground Water Research, a university consortium, to conduct research, training, and technology transfer for groundwater quality protection and restoration. Authorizes the Administrator to provide: (1) technical and financial assistance to units of State or local government for projects that demonstrate and assess innovative and enhanced methods and practices to develop and implement watershed protection programs, including methods and practices that protect both surface and groundwater; and (2) financial assistance to New York State for demonstration projects implemented as part of the watershed program for the protection and enhancement of the quality of source waters of the New York City water supply system. Sets forth matching and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 26) Amends prohibitions on lead plumbing and pipes to prohibit: (1) the use in the installation or repair of any public water system or in any plumbing in a facility providing water for human consumption of any plumbing fitting or fixture that is not lead free; (2) the sale (effective two years after this Act's enactment) of any pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture that is not lead free, with exceptions; or (3) the sale of any solder or flux that is not lead free that does not bear a label stating that it is illegal to use the solder or flux in plumbing providing water for human consumption. Directs the Administrator to: (1) provide accurate and timely technical information and assistance to qualified third-party certifiers in the development of voluntary standards and testing protocols for the leaching of lead from new plumbing fittings and fixtures that are intended by the manufacturer to dispense water for human ingestion; and (2) promulgate regulations setting a health effects-based performance standard establishing maximum leaching levels from new plumbing fittings and fixtures that are intended by the manufacturer to dispense water for human ingestion if a voluntary standard is not established within a year. Repeals Federal law encouraging the use of geothermal heat pumps that return water to the distribution lines of public water systems. (Sec. 27) Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a regulation establishing for bottled water a quality level for each contaminant of public water systems for which such a level is established or make a finding that a regulation is unnecessary because the contaminant is not contained in water used for bottled drinking water (requires the Secretary to issue the regulation or make the required finding for any contaminant for which a NPDW regulation was promulgated before this Act's enactment within one year). (Sec. 28) Authorizes the Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers to modernize the Washington Aqueduct. Authorizes appropriations. Modifies the membership of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council to include two members representing small, rural water systems. Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to: (1) require the designated chairpersons of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to invite representatives of the Lake Champlain Basin Program to participate as ex officio members of the Task Force; and (2) include Lake Champlain among the waters with respect to which the aquatic nuisance species and zebra mussel demonstration programs apply. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to establish the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy, consisting of a consortium of American and Mexican universities, to: (1) conduct research and development programs, projects, and activities, including training and community service, on U.S.-Mexico border environmental issues, with particular emphasis on water quality and safe drinking water; (2) provide objective, independent assistance to the EPA and other Federal, State, and local agencies involved in environmental policy, research, training, and enforcement; and (3) help to coordinate and facilitate the improvement of environmental policies and programs between the United States and Mexico. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to develop a screening program, using appropriate validated test systems, to determine whether certain substances may have an effect in humans that is similar to an effect produced by a naturally occurring estrogen, or such other endocrine effect as the Administrator may designate. Sets forth provisions regarding program implementation, substances to be tested, exemptions, information collection, penalties and procedures for failure to submit required information, action by the Administrator to protect public health, and reporting requirements. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to the State of Alaska for the benefit of rural and Native villages in Alaska to pay the Federal share (50 percent) of the cost of: (1) the development and construction of water and wastewater systems to improve the health and sanitation conditions in the villages; and (2) training, technical assistance, and educational programs relating to the operation and management of sanitation services in rural and Native villages. Requires the Administrator to consult with such State on a method of prioritizing grant allocation according to the needs of, and relative health and sanitation conditions in, each eligible village. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Administrator and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies to award grants to any appropriate entity or border State (i.e., Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas) to provide assistance to eligible communities (colonias lacking basic sanitation facilities) for: (1) the conservation, development, use, and control of water for the purpose of supplying drinking water; and (2) the construction, improvement, operation, and maintenance of sewers and treatment works for wastewater treatment. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1996
Helium Privatization Act of 1996 - Amends the Helium Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) enter into agreements with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium on Federal lands; (2) grant leasehold rights to such helium; (3) store and transport crude helium; and (4) maintain and operate existing crude helium storage at the Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field. Directs the Secretary to: (1) cease producing, refining, and marketing refined helium; and (2) dispose of all facilities, equipment, and Federal property interests relating to refined helium activities. Requires the Secretary to impose fees for helium storage, withdrawal, or transportation services. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) the purchase of helium by Federal agencies from certain private persons; and (2) the sale of crude helium by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to make crude helium sales in amounts that will cause minimum market disruption. Mandates that proceeds from helium sales be paid to the Treasury. (Sec. 5) Instructs the Secretary to eliminate helium stockpiles by a prescribed deadline. Repeals the Secretary's authority to borrow under the Helium Act. (Sec. 7) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Texas Plains Girl Scout Council for consideration of one dollar specified lands in Potter County, Texas, reserving easements to the United States for pipeline rights-of-way.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1996
Amends Federal provisions concerning the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to direct the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under which covered CHAMPUS beneficiaries who are also entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act will be permitted to enroll in a health benefits plan offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits program in lieu of receiving care under CHAMPUS or the TRICARE program. Outlines provisions concerning: (1) required contributions for such coverage; and (2) the management of participants in the plan. Requires the Secretary and the OPM Director to report annually to the Congress describing the provision of health care services to covered beneficiaries under the plan during the preceding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1996
Patient Right to Know Act of 1996 - Prohibits an entity offering a health plan from: (1) providing, in any contract or agreement with a health care provider, any restriction on or interference with any medical communication; or (2) taking retaliatory action against a provider on the basis of a medical communication. Defines "medical communication" as being between a provider and: (1) a current, former, or prospective patient; (2) any employee or representative of the entity; or (3) any representative of any State or Federal authority with responsibility for licensing or oversight regarding the entity or plan. Mandates civil money penalties. Allows State requirements more protective of medical communications than the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1996
Antitrust Health Care Advancement Act of 1996 - Provides that the following activities shall not be deemed illegal per se in any action under the Federal antitrust laws or similar State law, but shall be judged based on reasonableness: (1) the exchange of information relating to costs, sales, profitability, marketing, prices, or fees of any health care service health care providers solely for, and reasonably required for, establishing a health care provider network (HCPN); (2) the conduct of an HCPN in negotiating, making, or performing a contract for providing health care services to individuals under the terms of a health benefit plan; and (3) the conduct of any HCPN member for the purpose of providing such services under such contract. Directs the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission to jointly issue guidelines specifying the enforcement policies and analytical principles that will be applied by the Department of Justice and the Commission with respect to the operation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1996
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to reimburse former employees of the White House Travel Office whose employment in that Office was terminated on May 19, 1993, for any legal expenses and related fees they incurred with respect to that termination.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1996
Constitutional Amendment - Requires a two-thirds vote of each House of the Congress in order to pass any bill levying a new tax or increasing the rate or base of any tax. Allows the Congress to waive that requirement during war or certain military conflict. Requires all votes under this Amendment to be by yeas and nays and the names of persons voting for and against to be entered in the Journal of each House.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1996
Helium Privatization Act of 1996 - Amends the Helium Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) enter into agreements with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium on Federal lands; (2) grant leasehold rights to such helium; (3) store and transport crude helium; and (4) maintain and operate existing crude helium storage at the Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field. Directs the Secretary to: (1) cease producing, refining, and marketing refined helium; and (2) dispose of all facilities, equipment, and Federal property interests relating to refined helium activities. Requires the Secretary to impose fees for helium storage, withdrawal, or transportation services. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) the purchase of helium by Federal agencies from certain private persons; and (2) the sale of crude helium by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to make crude helium sales in amounts that will cause minimum market disruption. Mandates that proceeds from helium sales be paid to the Treasury. Instructs the Secretary to eliminate helium stockpiles by a prescribed deadline. Repeals the Secretary's authority to borrow under the Helium Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1996
National Center for Excellence in Research and Development Act of 1996 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Energy for FY 1995 and beyond to maintain the operational readiness of the underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastructure of the Nevada Test Site. Establishes within the Department of Energy a national Test and Demonstration Center of Excellence at the Nevada Test Site, Nevada, to implement testing and demonstration activities related to: (1) certain alternative and renewable energy sources, including solar and geothermal energy, as well as natural gas, electricity, and hydrogen as components of a National Alternative-Fueled Vehicles Program; (2) certain changes in the U.S. military as a result of the end of the Cold War, including demilitarization and disarmament activities and the nonmilitary application of military technologies and resources; (3) stewardship of the Federal nuclear stockpile; (4) non-proliferation and counter-proliferation of nuclear weapons; and (5) development of certain environmental technologies, including technologies for remediation of toxic and hazardous chemicals, and activities pertaining to emergency response to hazardous and toxic accidents.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1996
Expresses the disapproval of the House of Representatives of the standards proposed by the National Center for History in the Schools for the teaching of U.S. and world history.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 1995
Considers a specified medical device to aid in breast self-examination to be a device for which a report required under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prior to introduction into interstate commerce for commercial distribution has been accepted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and which has been approved under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 1995
Congressional Responsibility Act of 1995 - Prohibits a regulation from taking effect before the enactment of a bill comprised solely of the text of the regulation. Requires an agency, whenever it promulgates a regulation, to submit to each House of the Congress a report containing its text and an explanation. Sets forth expedited congressional procedures for consideration of agency regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 1995
Repeals a Federal provision limiting salary increases for Federal judges or Supreme Court Justices to those specifically authorized by Act of Congress. Amends the Federal judicial code to make the cost of living adjustments in judicial salaries effective in the first pay period beginning on or after January 1 each year (currently, such adjustments are triggered by General Schedule adjustments).
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 1995
Senior Citizens' Right to Work Act of 1995 - Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide, through adjustments in the monthly exempt amount, for increases in the amounts of allowable earnings under the Social Security earnings limit for individuals who have attained retirement age. Retains the current limit on substantial gainful activity earnings applicable to individuals under age 65 who are eligible for disability benefits based on blindness. (Sec. 3) Establishes a Continuing Disability Review Administration Revolving Account for OASDI disability benefits in the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Directs the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to estimate annually the present value of savings to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund which will accrue for all years as a result of cessation of benefit payments resulting from continuing disability reviews carried out pursuant to specified requirements during the fiscal year. Directs the Managing Trustee to: (1) transfer to the Account from amounts otherwise in the Trust Fund an amount equal to the estimated savings certified by the Chief Actuary; and (2) make available to the Commissioner of Social Security from funds in the Account an amount certified by the Chief Actuary as currently required to meet expenditures necessary to provide for required continuing disability reviews (including expenditures for the cost of staffing, training, purchase of medical and other evidence, and processing related to appeals and overpayments and related indirect costs). Includes under required information in a specified annual report a final accounting of amounts transferred to the Continuing Disability Review Administration Revolving Account in the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund during the year, the amount made available from such Account during such year pursuant to certifications made by the Chief Actuary of the SSA and expenditures made by the Commissioner of Social Security for the specified purposes during the year, including a comparison of the number of continuing disability reviews conducted during the year with the estimated number of continuing disability reviews upon which the estimate of such expenditures was made. Terminates the Continuing Disability Review Administration Revolving Account at the end of FY 2002, and provides that any balance in such Account shall revert to funds otherwise available in the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Provides for appointment by the Commissioner of a Chief Actuary in the SSA. (Sec. 4) Bases entitlement of stepchildren to child's insurance benefits solely on their actual dependency on stepparent support. Repeals the requirement that the stepchild actually be living with the stepparent. Requires termination of any child's insurance benefits based on the wages and self-employment income of the stepparent six months after the Commissioner is formally notified of the natural parent's divorce from the stepparent. (Sec. 5) Extends the length of time required for recomputation of benefits after normal retirement age. (Sec. 6) Eliminates the role of the SSA in processing attorney's fees. Prohibits any person, agent, or attorney from charging in excess of $4,000 (or, if the Commissioner approves, a higher fee) for services performed in connection with any claim before the Commissioner. Directs a court, in determining a reasonable fee, to take into consideration the amount of the fee, if any, that an attorney may charge the claimant for services (eliminating the current limitation of such fee to 25 percent of the total past-due benefits to which a judgment entitles the claimant). (Sec. 7) Provides that an individual shall not be considered to be disabled for OASDI purposes, or for supplemental security income (SSI) purposes under title XVI of the Act (thus denying them benefits), if alcoholism or drug addiction would be a contributing factor material to the determination of disability. (Continues disability benefits based on a separate disabling condition to individuals also disabled by drug addiction or alcoholism.) Requires the payment of OASDI or SSI benefits based on disability to a representative payee if such payment would serve the interest of an individual who also has an alcoholism or drug addiction condition that prevents the individual from managing such benefits. Requires the Commissioner to refer such individual to the appropriate State agency administering the approved State plan for substance abuse treatment services. Appropriates additional specified amounts to supplement State and Tribal alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs funded under the Public Health Service Act. Requires State or Tribal governments receiving such an allotment to consider as priorities activities relating to the treatment of the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. (Sec. 8) Permits members of the clergy to file to revoke their exemption from social security tax coverage under the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 1995
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that: (1) to secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to their conscience, nothing in the Constitution shall prohibit acknowledgement of the religious heritage, beliefs, or traditions of the people or prohibit student-sponsored prayer in public schools; and (2) neither the United States nor any State shall compose any official prayer, compel joining in prayer, or discriminate against religious expression or belief.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1995
Senior Citizens' Right to Work Act of 1995 - Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide, through adjustments in the monthly exempt amount, for increases in the amounts of allowable earnings under the Social Security earnings limit for individuals who have attained retirement age.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1995
Amends Federal armed forces provisions to provide that: (1) the special rule concerning annual cost-of-living adjustments to retired military pay for individuals who first became members of a uniformed service before August 1, 1986, shall apply only through FY 1996 (currently, FY 1998); and (2) the initial month that such increase is payable shall be March (currently, September) of the year following the effective date of such increase.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1995
Authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Billy and Ruth Graham in recognition of their outstanding and enduring contributions toward faith, morality, and charity. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such medal. Directs the Secretary to transfer from the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund to the Library of Congress the amount by which the sum of any gifts and donations received by the Secretary to carry out this Act and any proceeds from the sale of bronze duplicates exceeds the total amount of the costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1995
NAFTA Accountability Act - Requires assessment of the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), further negotiation of certain NAFTA provisions, and withdrawal from NAFTA unless specified conditions are met and certified to. Sets forth conditions for continuing U.S. participation in NAFTA, which must be met before the end of 1996. Requires the President to renegotiate the terms of NAFTA to correct trade deficits, currency distortions, and agricultural provisions in specified ways. Requires certifications by certain U.S. officials with respect to NAFTA, relating to: (1) gains in U.S. jobs and living standards (by the Secretary of Labor); (2) increased U.S. domestic manufacturing (by the Secretary of Commerce); (3) health and environmental standards, with respect to food imports and to U.S.-Mexico border areas (by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Food and Drug Administration, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency); (4) flow of illegal drugs from Mexico and Canada (by the Attorney General); and (5) Mexican democracy and human freedoms (by the President). Directs the President to consult regularly with the Congress regarding such negotiations. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative to consult with appropriate congressional committees in developing technical and conforming amendments that may be required to carry out this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that until the conditions set by this Act are met: (1) the President should not engage in negotiations to expand NAFTA to include other countries; and (2) fast-track authority should not be renewed with respect to the approval of any such NAFTA expansion.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1995
Smithsonian Institution Sesquicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the scientific, educational, and cultural significance of the Smithsonian Institution. Mandates that: (1) all but a certain portion of surcharges received from coin sales be paid by the Secretary to the Smithsonian Institution for such purposes as its Board of Regents determines to be appropriate; and (2) a certain portion of such surcharges be dedicated to supporting the operation and activities of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1995
Provides that in any case during FY 1996 in which appropriations are not otherwise available for the payment of veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall nevertheless ensure that such payments are made in accordance with regular procedures and schedules. Appropriates necessary amounts for such purpose. Requires applicable accounts to be charged for such payments when regular appropriations become available. Requires such payments to be made also in any case during such fiscal year in which certain functions of the Government are delayed, deferred, or canceled due to a limitation on the Government's ability to borrow funds.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1995
Amends rule XLIV (financial disclosure) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each report filed with the Clerk of the House under title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 for calendar year 1996 or any subsequent calendar year to disclose any gift (including a meal) with a fair market value in excess of $50 (other than personal hospitality of an individual or any gift received from a relative) as adjusted under such Act. Amends rule XLIII (Code of Official Conduct) to allow a House Member, officer, or employee to accept: (1) a gift with a fair market value of $50 (currently, $100) or less; and (2) an offer of free attendance for such individual and his or her spouse or dependent at a widely attended convention, conference, symposium, forum, panel discussion, dinner, viewing, reception, or similar event provided by the sponsor of the event if the individual participates in the event as a speaker or a panel participant by presenting information related to the Congress or matters before the Congress or by performing a ceremonial function appropriate to his or her official position, or if attendance at the event is appropriate to the performance of the official duties or representative function of the individual. Includes within the definition of "free attendance" waiver of all or part of a conference or other fee, the provision of lodging or transportation or the provision of food, refreshments, entertainment, and instructional materials furnished to all attendees as an integral part of the event. Excludes entertainment collateral to the event and food or refreshments taken other than in a group setting with substantially all other attendees. Permits such an individual, spouse, or dependent to accept a sponsor's unsolicited offer of free attendance at a charity event if: (1) the event is sponsored by a tax-exempt organization; (2) all expenses are paid by the sponsoring organization and not by another corporation or individual; (3) the proceeds to charity from the event exceed the costs of the event; and (4) the participation contributes in a tangible way to the success of the event.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1995
Travel and Tourism Partnership Act of 1995 - Establishes the National Tourism Board to develop a national travel and tourism strategy for increasing U.S. travel and tourism. Establishes the National Tourism Organization as a non-Federal non-profit organization to implement the national travel and tourism strategy. Directs the Secretary of State and the Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) to: (1) place priority on implementing recommendations by the National Tourism Board; and (2) cooperate with the National Tourism Organization. Authorizes the President to transfer up to 25 staff members of the United States Travel and Tourism Administration to the Foreign Service or the Commercial Service for two years to assist the Organization in its start-up activities. Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to require the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee's (TPCC) Federal trade promotion plan to reflect, among other things, recommendations by the National Tourism Board. Makes the President of the National Tourism Organization a member of the TPCC.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1995
Requires the Secretary of Energy to transfer, without compensation, the Tatum Dome Test Site to the State of Mississippi after certification from the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the State that any contamination of such property has been remedied in accordance with applicable Federal and State laws and regulations. Subjects such transfer to retention by the United States of the following: (1) the subsurface estate below the depth of 2700 feet below sea level unless a lesser depth is agreed upon by the Secretary; (2) rights of access for monitoring wells for sampling; and (3) the right to install wells additional to those identified in the remediation plan to the extent deemed necessary by the Secretary to monitor potential pathways of contaminant migration.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1995
Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide that an employer is not required to allow access to its business property to employees or nonemployees for purposes of union organizing, solicitation, distribution, picketing, or other union advocacy or activities, even if the employer allows such access to organizations for charitable, civic, or religious purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1995
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of certain additional oral anticancer drugs prescribed for use in an anticancer nonsteroidal antiestrogen and aromastase inhibitor regimen.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 1995
Prisoner Lawsuit Efficiency Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any action from being brought by a prisoner in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons concerning any aspect of such prisoner's incarceration until any administrative remedy procedures available are exhausted, regardless of the nominal party defendant. Specifies that the fact that the administrative remedies do not include all the possible procedures and forms of recovery that are available in the civil action does not render such remedies inadequate or excuse the failure to exhaust them.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1995
Congressional Award Act Amendments of 1995 - Amends the Congressional Award Act to extend through 1997 the requirement that the Comptroller General determine that the Director of the Congressional Award Program has ensured that appropriate procedures for fiscal control and fund accounting are established for the financial operations of the Program and that such operations are administered by personnel with expertise in accounting and financial management. Extends the Congressional Award Board until October 1, 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1995
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the requirement that doctors and hospitals receiving Medicare funds report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services upon the implementation, removal, or replacement of all cardiac pacemaker devices and pacemaker leads for which Medicare makes payment.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1995
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to exclude from the definition of "solid waste" any solid or dissolved materials contained, collected, and reused in an on-site production process that prevents releases to the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1995
Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to provide for payments to State and local prisons for monthly reports on the identities of inmates ineligible for benefits, especially those erroneously paid such a benefit. Denies SSI benefits for ten years to a person found to have fraudulently obtained such benefits while in prison.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Private Property Rights and Voluntary Incentives for Private Property Owners Title II: Improving Ability to Comply with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 Title III: Improving Scientific Integrity of Listing Decisions and Procedures Title IV: Recognizing Other Federal Action, Laws, and Missions Title V: Better Management and Conservation of Listed Species Title VI: Habitat Protections Title VII: State Authority to Protect Endangered and Threatened Species Title VIII: Funding of Conservation Measures Title IX: Miscellaneous Provisions Endangered Species Conservation and Management Act of 1995 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (the Act) to revise: (1) the findings and purposes of the Act to include consideration of economic impacts and property owners' rights while encouraging practices that protect species; and (2) the policy of the Act to prohibit the Federal Government from using or limiting the use of privately owned property when such action diminishes the value of such property without payment of fair market value to the owner of private property. Title I: Private Property Rights and Voluntary Incentives for Private Property Owners - Amends the Act to prohibit the Government from taking an agency action affecting privately or non-federally owned property under the Act which results in diminishment of value of any portion of that property by 20 percent or more unless compensation is offered in accordance with this title. Requires the Federal agency that takes an action that exceeds that amount to compensate the private property owner for the otherwise lawful use or limitation on such use in the amount of the diminution in value of the portion of that property resulting from such use or limitation. Specifies that, if the diminution in value of a portion of that property is greater than 50 percent, at the option of the owner, the agency shall buy that portion and pay fair market value based on the value of the property before the use or limitation was imposed. Directs that compensation paid reflect the duration of the use or limitation necessary to achieve the purposes of the Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) procedures for written requests for compensation by the owner; (2) agency negotiations with that owner to reach agreement; (3) choice of remedies; (4) arbitration; (5) civil actions (an owner who prevails in a civil action against the agency shall be entitled to the amount of compensation awarded plus reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs); (6) source of payments; (7) availability of appropriations (any U.S. obligation to make such a payment shall be subject to the availability of appropriations); and (8) duty of notice to owners of agency actions limiting the use of private property and of procedures for obtaining compensation. (Sec. 102) Requires the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), in carrying out the program authorized by the Act, to cooperate to the maximum extent practicable with the States and other non-Federal persons, including consultation before acquiring any land or water, or interest therein, for the purpose of conserving any endangered or threatened species. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative management agreement with any State or local government or non-Federal person for the management of a species listed as endangered or threatened, to be listed, or which is a candidate for listing, or for the management or acquisition of an area which provides habitat for a species, subject to specified limitations. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) environmental assessments; (2) the effect of listing a species; and (3) violations of such agreements. (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Secretary to provide grants to certain non-Federal persons for the purpose of conserving, preserving, or improving habitat for any species that is determined to be an endangered or threatened species upon determining that: (1) the property for which the grant is provided contains habitat that significantly contributes to the protection of the population of the species and has been managed for species protection for a sufficient period of time to significantly contribute to the protection of the species population; and (2) the management of the habitat advances the interest of species protection. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to initiate a program to provide technical advice and assistance to non-Federal persons who wish to participate in achieving the conservation objective for a species for which a conservation goal has been adopted. (Sec. 105) Specifies that nothing in the Act shall be construed to supersede, abrogate, or otherwise impair any right or authority of a State to allocate or administer quantities of water. Title II: Improving Ability to Comply With the Endangered Species Act of 1973 - Amends the Act to provide that an activity of a non-Federal person is not a taking of a species if the activity: (1) is consistent with the provisions of a final conservation plan or conservation objective; (2) complies with the terms and conditions of an incidental take permit or a cooperative management agreement; (3) addresses a critical, imminent threat to public health or safety or a catastrophic natural event, or is mandated by any Federal, State, or local government agency for public health or safety purposes; or (4) is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful activity that occurs in an area of the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone that is not designated as critical habitat and the affected species is not a species of fish. Makes enforcement provisions and provisions regarding rewards and incidental expenses paid by the Secretary or the Secretary of the Treasury applicable specifically to endangered or threatened species of fish and wildlife (current law doesn't specify endangered or threatened species). Specifies that no interpretation, policy, guideline, finding, or other informal determination may be relied upon by the Secretary in the implementation and enforcement of the Act unless such determination has been the subject of a proposed rule, subject to specified requirements. Places the burden on the Secretary to show that a specimen belongs to a species which is determined to be an endangered or threatened species. Authorizes civil suits by persons who have suffered or are threatened with economic or other injury resulting from actions by Federal officials with respect to enforcement of the Act under specified circumstances. (Sec. 202) Defines, for purposes of the Act: (1) "take" to mean to harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, collect, or attempt to engage in that conduct; and (2) "harm" to mean to take a direct action against any member of an endangered species of fish or wildlife that actually injures or kills a member of the species. (Sec. 203) Authorizes non-Federal persons to initiate consultation with the Secretary on any prospective activity: (1) to determine if the activity is consistent with a conservation plan or objective; or (2) if the person determines that the activity is inconsistent, to determine whether the activity is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of an endangered or threatened species or to destroy or adversely modify the designated critical habitat of the species in a manner that is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the species. (Sec. 204) Sets forth or revises provisions regarding: (1) incidental take permit requirements; (2) general, research, and educational permits; (3) maintenance of aquatic habitats for listed species; (4) compliance with international requirements and treaties; and (5) incentives for protection of marine species. Title III: Improving Scientific Integrity of Listing Decisions and Procedures - Revises provisions of the Act regarding determinations that a species is endangered or threatened to direct the Secretary to make such determinations based on specified factors, including: (1) the present or threatened loss of its habitat; and (2) the inadequacy of existing Federal, State, and local government regulatory mechanisms. Requires the Secretary to make such determinations solely on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available after conducting a review of the status of the species and after soliciting and fully considering the best scientific and commercial data available concerning the status of a species from any affected State or any interested non-Federal person, taking into account other specified factors. Sets forth or revises provisions regarding: (1) consideration of State recommendations; (2) listing of foreign species; (3) soliciting scientific information; (4) emergency listings; (5) use of the best scientific and commercial data; (6) identifying data used for decisions; (7) judicial review; (8) peer review; (9) making data public; (10) improving the petition and designation processes; (11) greater State involvement; (12) monitoring the status of species; and (13) petitions to delist species. Title IV: Recognizing Other Federal Action, Laws, and Missions - Amends the Act to direct: (1) the Secretary to review other programs administered by the Secretary and utilize such programs in furtherance of the purposes of the Act; and (2) each Federal agency to ensure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out by such agency is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or destroy or adversely modify any habitat that is designated by the Secretary as critical habitat of the species in a manner that is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the species. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) involvement of applicants for Federal approvals; (2) conferring on candidate species; (3) limitations on modifications to land management; (4) resolving conflicts between Federal agencies; (5) procedures for consultation; and (6) activities prior to completion of consultation. (Sec. 402) Sets forth provisions regarding exemptions from consultation and conferencing requirements. Specifies that an agency action shall not constitute a taking of a species prohibited by the Act or any regulation thereunder if the action is consistent with those provided for in a final conservation plan or a conservation objective under this Act, or a cooperative management agreement or an incidental take permit. (Sec. 403) Eliminates the Endangered Species Committee and related provisions. Title V: Better Management and Conservation of Listed Species - Amends the Act to direct the Secretary to publish a conservation objective and a conservation plan for each species determined to be an endangered or threatened species. Requires the Secretary: (1) within 30 days after the listing determination, to appoint an assessment and planning team (which shall report to the Secretary within 180 days the assessment of specified biological, economic, and intergovernmental factors with respect to the listed species); and (2) within 210 days, to review the report to establish a conservation objective for the species and publish in the Federal Register the conservation objective, along with a statement of findings on which the objective was established. (Sec. 502) Directs the Secretary, in the development and implementation of a conservation plan, to accord specified priorities, including to: (1) the development of an integrated plan for two or more endangered or threatened species that are likely to benefit from an integrated conservation plan; and (2) nonregulatory, incentive-based conservation measures and commercial activities that provide a net benefit to the conservation of the species. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) publication of a draft plans; (2) contents of such plan; (3) plan preparation procedures; (4) publication of a final plan; (5) participation by other persons; (6) plan revision or amendment; and (7) lack of further procedures or requirements for actions consistent with the conservation plan. (Sec. 503) Delineates procedures regarding: (1) management prior to publication of a conservation plan; (2) emergency rulemaking protections; (3) suspension of conservation plans or objectives; (4) non-delegation of duties; and (5) review of conservation plans. (Sec. 504) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) designate critical habitat of a species determined to be an endangered or threatened species that meets specified requirements utilizing the National Biodiversity Reserve (see Title VI) as a first priority; and (2) revise a critical habitat designation on determining that such habitat does not meet such requirements. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) deadlines for designation; (2) basis for designation (directs the Secretary to exclude any area from critical habitat which does not meet the definition as set forth in this Act, which is not necessary to achieve the conservation objective for the affected species, for which the Secretary determines that the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of designation (with exceptions), and in the case of property owned by a non-Federal person, where the owner has not given written consent to the designation or has not been compensated); (3) procedure for designation; and (4) judicial review of the critical habitat designation. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the standard for judicial review of decisions regarding conservation objectives or plans; (2) conservation plans for foreign species; and (3) the definition of critical habitat. (Sec. 505) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) utilize captive propagation as a means of protecting or conserving an endangered or threatened species; and (2) provide annual grants to non-Federal persons to fund captive propagation programs if the Secretary determines that such a program contributes to enhancement of the population of such a species. (Sec. 506) Revises provisions regarding experimental populations to require the Secretary, before authorizing the release of a population of endangered or threatened species outside the current range of such species, to identify the precise boundaries of the geographic area for the release and determine whether the release is in the public interest. Provides that: (1) any member of an experimental population found outside the geographic area in which the population is released shall not be treated as a threatened species if the member poses a threat to the welfare of the public; and (2) critical habitat shall not be designated under the Act for any experimental population determined to be not essential to the continued existence of a species. Sets forth requirements for releases of such populations, including that the Secretary require that: (1) to the maximum extent practicable, the release occurs only in a unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System; (2) the regulations authorizing the release identify precisely the geographic area for the release; and (3) a release on non-Federal land occurs only with the written consent of the owner of the land. (Sec. 507) Revises provisions regarding regulations to protect threatened species to direct the Secretary to issue, concurrently with the regulation that provides for the listing of the species, such regulations as the Secretary deems necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of such species. Specifies that prohibitions applied to the threatened species shall address the specific circumstances of such species and may not be as restrictive as such prohibition for endangered species. Requires conservation guidelines to include a system for developing and implementing, on a priority basis, conservation objectives and conservation plans. Directs the Secretary to provide to the public notice of, and opportunity to submit written comments on, any guideline proposed to be established. Title VI: Habitat Protections - Establishes a National Biological Diversity Reserve, composed of units of Federal and State lands designated and managed in accordance with this title. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to designate to the Reserve by regulation those units of the national conservation systems which are within the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned and which the Secretary determines would contribute to the protection, maintenance, and enhancement of biological diversity. Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate to the Reserve a unit of State-owned lands if such unit is nominated for designation by the Governor of the State and is managed under State law in accordance with this title; (2) designate to the Reserve privately owned land that is nominated for designation by the owner of the land, and remove such land from the Reserve if the owner requests removal; (3) remove from the Reserve a unit designated which the Secretary finds is not managed under State law in accordance with this title; and (4) remove from the Reserve any State-owned lands at the request of the Governor of that State. Requires: (1) each unit of the Reserve to have as an objective for the management thereof the preservation, maintenance, and enhancement of biological diversity; and (2) within one year of the designation of a unit to the Reserve, the manager of such unit to complete, and the Secretary concerned to make available to the public by notice in the Federal Register, an inventory of the species composing the biological diversity within such unit. (Sec. 602) Directs the Secretary, and the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to the National Forest System, to establish and implement a program to conserve fish, wildlife, and plants, including those which are determined to be endangered or threatened species. Provides that, to carry out such program, the appropriate Secretary: (1) shall utilize the land acquisition and other authority under the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, as appropriate; and (2) is authorized to acquire lands, waters, or interests therein (lands). (Sec. 603) Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage exchanges of lands within the jurisdiction of each Secretary (other than units of the National Park System and the National Wilderness Preservation System) for lands that are not in Federal ownership and that are affected by this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding the timing of exchanges, environmental assessment, expeditious exchange decisions, applicable law, and valuation of lands acquired. Title VII: State Authority to Protect Endangered and Threatened Species - Authorizes the Secretary to delegate to a State which establishes and maintains an adequate program for the conservation of endangered and threatened species the authority contained in this Act with respect to species of fish, wildlife, and plants that are residents in the State. Requires the Secretary, within 120 days after receiving a certified copy of a proposed State program, to determine whether such program will be adequate to provide protections to endangered and threatened species in such State, based on specified guidelines. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) Federal financial assistance to a State which has received such delegation; (2) contents of a delegation agreement; (3) State compliance with this Act; (4) review of State programs; and (5) conflicts between Federal and State laws. (Sec. 702) Directs the Secretary, in any instance in which a State has a program for management of a native species which is the subject of a request for an export permit under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, to act in accordance with the recommendation of the State unless the Secretary makes a finding and publishes a notice in the Federal Register that scientific evidence justifies a conclusion contrary to the advice of the State. Authorizes the State which is subject to such a finding, or any person in that State directly affected because of inability to obtain a permit, to appeal the finding to an administrative law judge or a court. Places the burden on the Secretary to show that the evidence supports a finding contrary to the recommendation of the State. Title VIII: Funding of Conservation Measures - Authorizes appropriations to the Departments of the Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture through FY 2001 to carry out the Act, including for cooperative management agreements, Convention implementation, non-Federal conservation planning, and habitat conservation grants. (Sec. 802) Directs the Secretary, for any non-Federal person or Federal power marketing administration, to pay half of any direct costs that result from the compliance by the person or administration mandated by a conservation plan or measure that provides protection to a listed species under a plan developed under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act, including a plan that provides protection to a larger population unit of the same listed species. Sets forth provisions regarding consultation requirements, incidental take permits, cooperative management agreements, method of cost-sharing, existing cost-sharing agreements, and adjustments to the cost-sharing percentage. (Sec. 803) Establishes in the Treasury an Endangered Species and Threatened Species Conservation Trust Fund. Title IX: Miscellaneous Provisions - Defines or redefines the terms: (1) "non-Federal person"; and (2) "commercial activity." (Sec. 902) Directs the Secretary to: (1) identify those species which are listed under the Act as a result of being determined to be a population segment; and (2) review and determine whether or not it is in the national interest to continue to list each such segment. Requires those segments which the Secretary recommends for continued listing to be submitted to the Congress for approval, and that any segment not determined to be in the national interest to be delisted. (Sec. 903) Requires the Secretary to publish a list of all species that were determined to be endangered or threatened species for which no final recovery plans were issued, divided equally into three tiers of priority for preparation of conservation objectives and plans (with any species listed as an endangered or threatened species in more than one State being placed in the first tier of priority). Directs the Secretary to publish a conservation objective, draft conservation plan, and final conservation plan for each species within each tier of priority according to a specified timetable. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) priority for revision of existing plans (for listed species with recovery plans); (2) a schedule for revision of plans; (3) species for which no conservation plan is required; (4) a prohibition on additional requirements; and (5) existing biological opinions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 1995
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President and the Congress should adopt a Peace Through Strength Strategy for the post-Cold War era, based on the following general principles and goals: (1) the United States must accept and maintain global leadership through a clear and consistent articulation of vital U.S. national interests and goals; (2) the United States must maintain highly trained, well-equipped, combat-ready military forces and the national will to prevail in any conflict; (3) U.S. interests are promoted through participation in global and regional political, military, and economic organizations, treaties, and alliances, but the United States must retain its sovereignty and reserve the right to act unilaterally; (4) national wealth and economic strength are the foundation of all forms of power; (5) the economic vitality of the United States rests not only on free market competitiveness but also on responsible financial management; (6) the United States must expand effective human and technical intelligence capabilities to anticipate, detect, and respond to emerging threats; (7) the United States will act to lessen, prevent, and eliminate security threats, including those posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and of high technology conventional arms, terrorism, drug trafficking, and disruption of access to vital resources; (8) national security policy must be explained to the public in the clear context of national interests and a realistic strategy for protecting those interests; (9) the United States must maintain a strong technological and industrial base with a skilled workforce to support superior U.S. global economic competitiveness and military preparedness; and (10) the United States must systematically and sharply reduce its dependence on imported oil.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Deterrence of Illegal Immigration Through Improved Border Enforcement, Pilot Programs, and Interior Enforcement Subtitle A: Improved Enforcement at Border Subtitle B: Pilot Programs Subtitle C: Interior Enforcement Title II: Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties Against Alien Smuggling; Document Fraud Subtitle A: Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties Against Alien Smuggling Subtitle B: Deterrence of Document Fraud Subtitle C: Asset Forfeiture for Passport and Visa Offenses Title III: Inspection, Apprehension, Detention, Adjudication, and Removal of Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens Subtitle A: Revision of Procedures for Removal of Aliens Subtitle B: Removal of Alien Terrorists Subtitle C: Deterring Transportation of Unlawful Aliens to the United States Subtitle D: Additional Provisions Title IV: Enforcement of Restrictions Against Employment Title V: Reform of Legal Immigration System Subtitle A: Worldwide Numerical Limits Subtitle B: Changes in Preference System Subtitle C: Refugees, Asylees, Parole, and Humanitarian Admissions Subtitle D: General Effective Date; Transition Provisions Title VI: Restrictions on Benefits for Aliens Subtitle A: Eligibility of Illegal Aliens for Public Benefits Subtitle B: Expansion of Disqualification from Immigration Benefits on the Basis of Public Charge Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support Title VII: Facilitation of Legal Entry Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions Immigration in the National Interest Act of 1995 - Title I: Deterrence of Illegal Immigration Through Improved Border Enforcement, Pilot Programs, and Interior Enforcement - Subtitle A: Improved Border Enforcement - Increases: (1) the Border Patrol; and (2) Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) border enforcement and related personnel. (Sec. 102) Provides for barrier and road improvements at U.S. border areas of high illegal entry, including San Diego, California. Authorizes appropriations for San Diego area improvements. (Sec. 103) Provides for improved border equipment and technology. (Sec. 104) Provides for biometric identifiers to be included in border crossing identification cards. (Sec. 105) Establishes civil penalties for illegal U.S. entry. (Sec. 106) Authorizes appropriations for detention and prosecution of aliens who have unlawfully entered the United States at least twice. (Sec. 107) Provides for inservice Border Patrol training. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Pilot Programs - Establishes pilot programs for: (1) deterrence of multiple unauthorized U.S. entries, which may include interior or third party repatriation; (2) use of closed military bases as INS detention centers; and (3) collection of alien departure records. Subtitle C: Interior Enforcement - Provides for increased INS interior investigative and enforcement personnel. Title II: Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties Against Alien Smuggling; Document Fraud - Subtitle A: Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties Against Alien Smuggling - Amends Federal criminal law to: (1) authorize wiretaps in alien smuggling investigations; and (2) include alien smuggling within racketeering offenses. (Sec. 203) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) to revise and increase criminal penalties for alien smuggling. (Sec. 204) Increases the number of Assistant United States Attorneys and provides for their assignment to criminal matters involving illegal aliens. (Sec. 205) Authorizes and provides for INS undercover investigations. Subtitle B: Deterrence of Document Fraud - Amends Federal criminal law and the Act to increase and establish criminal and civil penalties for specified immigration related document fraud offenses, including false citizenship claims. Subtitle C: Asset Forfeiture for Passport and Visa Offenses - Amends Federal criminal law to provide for asset forfeiture for passport and visa offenses. Title III: Inspection, Apprehension, Detention, Adjudication, and Removal of Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens - Subtitle A: Revision of Procedures for Removal of Aliens - Amends the Act to revise alien removal and penalty provisions. (Sec. 309) Sets forth transition provisions with respect to: (1) the Attorney General's option to apply current or revised procedures; (2) judicial review; (3) suspension of deportation; and (4) certain family unity aliens. Subtitle B: Removal of Alien Terrorists - Part 1: Removal Procedures for Alien Terrorists - Amends the Act to establish a special removal procedure for alien terrorists, including establishment of a special removal court and a panel of special attorneys with access to classified information. (Sec. 322) Authorizes additional appropriations for INS detention and removal of alien terrorists. Part 2: Inadmissibility and Denial of Relief for Alien Terrorists - Amends the Act to make membership in a terrorist organization grounds for U.S. exclusion. (Sec. 332) Denies alien terrorists status adjustment and deportation relief. Subtitle C: Deterring Transportation of Unlawful Aliens to the United States - Amends the Act with regard to vessel and aircraft transportation of illegal aliens into the United States. Subtitle D: Additional Provisions - Authorizes Federal retirees to be used in the Institutional Hearing Program. (Sec. 358) Authorizes additional appropriations to the Attorney General for removing inadmissible or deportable aliens. (Sec. 359) Establishes in the Treasury an Immigration Enforcement Account. (Sec. 360) Declares that Congress advises the President to negotiate prisoner transfer treaties, which may include compensation provisions. (Sec. 361) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to direct INS to operate a criminal alien identification system. (Sec 363) Authorizes special registration of aliens on criminal probation or parole. Title IV: Enforcement of Restrictions Against Employment - Increases full-time employee positions in: (1) the Investigations Division of INS; and (2) the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration of the Department of Labor. (Sec. 403) Amends the Act to revise the employer sanctions program. Provides for an employment eligibility confirmation mechanism. Title V: Reform of Legal Immigration System - Amends the Act to restructure current legal immigration categories and levels into the following: (1) family-sponsored immigrants; (2) employment-based immigrants; and (3) humanitarian immigrants. Subtitle A: Worldwide Numerical Limits - Amends the Act to establish fiscal year worldwide limits for such immigrant categories. (Sec. 504) Requires periodic congressional review and reauthorization of worldwide immigration levels. Subtitle B: Changes in Preference System - Amends the Act to limit immediate relatives to spouses and children of U.S. citizens. (Sec. 512) Limits preference allocation for family-sponsored immigrants to: (1) spouses and children of lawful permanent resident aliens; and (2) qualifying parents of U.S. citizens. Requires parents to have adequate health coverage. (Sec. 513) Revises preference allocations for employment-based immigrants. Establishes: (1) a pilot program for smaller alien job creation investors; and (2) conditional permanent resident status for certain foreign language teachers. (Sec. 515) Revises special immigrant status provisions, including: (1) inclusion of certain NATO civilian employees; and (2) extension of status for religious workers. (Sec. 517) Makes specified family and employment-based amendments. Subtitle C: Refugees, Asylees, Parole, and Humanitarian Admissions - Amends the Act to limit annual refugee admissions to 75,000 in FY 1997 or 50,000 in succeeding years unless the Congress provides for additional entries. (Sec. 523) Authorizes the temporary employment of certain retirees to help reduce asylum application backlogs. (Sec. 524) Limits parole entry to a case-by-case basis for humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons. (Sec. 525) Provides for the admission of humanitarian immigrants. (Sec. 526) Revises asylum provisions. Subtitle D: General Effective Date; Transition Provisions - Sets forth transition provisions for specified classification status petitions. Title VI: Restrictions on Benefits for Aliens - Subtitle A: Eligibility of Illegal Aliens for Public Benefits - Part 1: Public Benefits Generally - Makes illegal aliens ineligible for unemployment benefits and Federal and State assistance, contracts, and licenses, with exceptions for emergency medical services, public health immunizations, and short-term emergency disaster relief. Requires proof of identify for Federal contracts, grants, loans, licenses, and specified public assistance programs. Authorizes States to establish similar requirements. (Sec. 605) Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to report on the disqualification of illegal aliens from housing assistance programs. Part 2: Earned Income Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny the earned income tax credit to individuals not authorized to work in the United States. Subtitle B: Expansion of Disqualification from Immigration Benefits on the Basis of Public Charge - Amends the Act to revise public charge grounds for inadmissibility and deportability. Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support - Attributes a sponsor's income and resources to a family-sponsored immigrant for purposes of eligibility for Federal means-tested public benefits programs. (Sec. 632) Amends the Act to set forth sponsor affidavit of support requirements. Title VII: Facilitation of Legal Entry - Provides for: (1) increased numbers of land border inspectors; and (2) border infrastructure improvements. (Sec. 703) Amends the Act to provide for: (1) preinspection at specified foreign airports; and (2) training of airline personnel in fraudulent document detection. Establishes a carrier consultant program. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Act, as amended by the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 to revise the definition of "aggravated felony." Amends the Act with regard to: (1) definitions of "child" and "parent"; (2) visa processing procedure; (3) waiver authority concerning notice of visa application denial; (4) Canadian landed immigrants; (5) H-1B nonimmigrants; (6) visa extensions; (7) status adjustment; (8) access to certain confidential INS files; (9) nonimmigrant status for spouses and children of members of the armed forces; (10) fraudulent birth certificates; (11) visa "shopping"; and (12) specified miscellaneous and technical provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1995
National Foundation on Physical Fitness and Sports Establishment Act - Establishes the National Foundation on Physical Fitness and Sports as a charitable, nonprofit corporation to promote participation by private organizations in the activities of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (Council). Subjects to a civil action by the Foundation for the remedies provided in the Trademark Act of 1946 any person who, without the consent of the Foundation in conjunction with the Council, uses for the purpose of trade, to induce the sale of any goods or services, or to promote any theatrical exhibition, athletic performance, or competition: (1) the Council's or Foundation's official seal; or (2) any trademark, trade name, sign, symbol, or insignia falsely representing association with, or authorization by, the Council or Foundation. Allows the Foundation, in conjunction with the Council, to authorize contributors and suppliers of goods or services to use such trade name, trademark, seal, symbol, insignia, or emblem in advertising under specified conditions. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1995
Continues existing average fuel economy standards for passenger and non-passenger automobiles until such standards are specifically amended or changed by law.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1995
Congressional Pension Forfeiture Act - Prohibits an individual or his or her survivor or beneficiary from being paid annuity or retired pay on the basis of the individual's creditable service if the individual is convicted of committing, while an employee or Member of Congress, one of specified offenses relating to his or her duties of office which is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, including bribery of public officials, representing others in claims against the Government, and making or receiving expenditures to influence voting. Applies the same prohibition to such an individual who: (1) is under indictment after the enactment of this Act for one of the offenses; or (2) willfully remains outside the United States or its territories and possessions for more than one year with knowledge of the indictment or charge. Prohibits interest from being computed on an individual's refund of contributions and deposits paid toward annuity or retired pay if such individual was convicted of such an offense in this Act for the period after the conviction of the violation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1995
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to modify the formula for determining the amount of reduced monthly OASDI benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent receiving monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1995
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer without consideration all U.S. right, title, and interest to certain Federal real property in Clark County, Nevada, to claimants deprived by the United States of such title as a result of previous erroneous private surveys. Allows claimants to submit claims directly to the Secretary or through the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, acting on behalf of one or more of them.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1995
Megan's Law - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require (current law authorizes) the designated State law enforcement agency and any authorized local law enforcement agency to release relevant information that is necessary to protect the public concerning a specific person required to register under the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1995
Equal Opportunity Act of 1995 - Prohibits discrimination or preferences in Federal employment and contracting on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex, or entering into a consent decree requiring, authorizing, or permitting any such discrimination or preference. Prohibits construing this Act to prohibit or limit: (1) employment recruiting or encouraging contract bidding or requiring or encouraging Federal contractors to so recruit or encourage, if the recruiting or encouraging does not involve a numerical objective or otherwise granting a preference; (2) any act designed to benefit historically Black colleges or universities; (3) any action under a Federal law or treaty relating to the Indian tribes; or (4) classifications based on sex if sex is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the Government, contractor, or subcontractor, the classification is designed to protect privacy, a U.S. national security interest is involved, or the classification is applied regarding an armed forces member on active duty in a theatre of combat operations. Allows as remedies only injunctive or equitable relief (including back pay), attorney's fees, and costs.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1995
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to transfer all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to all lands and interests administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the State in which such lands and interests are located, with the exception of the mineral interests underlying a surface estate held by the United States in trust for an Indian tribe. Allows a State to only either accept the offer of all such lands or to reject such offer. Directs each State receiving lands under this Act to: (1) honor valid existing leases and permits; and (2) respect all rights-of-way granted by the United States on such lands. Requires the validity and existence of a transferred mining claim to be determined and administered under State law, with exceptions for the holders of specified patents. Requires: (1) transferred designated wilderness lands to continue to be managed as wilderness; and (2) transferred military purpose lands to continue to be military purpose lands. Transfers the administration of the mineral interests on Indian lands from the Bureau of Land Management. Sets forth provisions concerning the transfer of all water rights associated with the lands to the State receiving such lands. Caps BLM obligations and expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1995
Changes the initial month for which cost-of-living increases in military retired pay become payable to March of the following year for those increases which became effective on December 1 of 1993, 1994, or 1995. Expresses the sense of the Congress that any future changes concerning the determination of cost-of-living adjustments should be identical for Federal civilian and military retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1995
Independent Contractor Tax Simplification Act of 1995 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that, for purposes of determining the employment status of individuals as employees, a service provider shall not be treated as an employee, a service recipient shall not be treated as an employer, and a payor shall not be treated as an employer if: (1) a service provider has a significant investment in assets and training, incurs significant unreimbursed expenses, agrees to perform the service for a specified amount of time or to complete a specific result and is responsible for damages for early termination without cause, receives payment primarily on a commission basis, or has purchased resale products; (2) the service provider has a principal place of business, does not primarily provide service in the service recipient's place of business, or pays a fair market rent for use of the recipient's place of business or does not have to perform service only for the service recipient and, in the current year or in the proceeding or subsequent years, has performed or has offered to perform a significant amount of service for other persons; and (3) the services by an individual are performed according to a written contract between the service recipient or payor which provides that the individual will not be treated as an employee.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1995
Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act of 1995 - Prohibits any Federal, State, or local government or any official of such a government from interfering with or usurping the right of a parent to govern the upbringing of a child of the parent. Disallows any exception to this Act unless the government or official is able to demonstrate, by appropriate evidence, that such interference or usurpation is valid to accomplish a compelling government interest, in which case only the least amount of interference may be used.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Deterrence of Illegal Immigration Through Improved Border Enforcement and Pilot Programs Subtitle A: Improved Enforcement at Border Subtitle B: Pilot Programs Title II: Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties Against Alien Smuggling; Document Fraud Subtitle A: Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties Against Alien Smuggling Subtitle B: Deterrence of Document Fraud Subtitle C: Asset Forfeiture for Passport and Visa Offenses Title III: Inspection, Apprehension, Detention, Adjudication, and Removal of Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens Subtitle A: Revision of Procedures for Removal of Aliens Subtitle B: Removal of Alien Terrorists Subtitle C: Deterring Transportation of Unlawful Aliens to the United States Subtitle D: Additional Provisions Title IV: Enforcement of Restrictions Against Employment Title V: Reform of Legal Immigration System Subtitle A: Worldwide Numerical Limits Subtitle B: Changes in Family-Sponsored and Employment- Based Preference System Subtitle C: Refugees, Asylees, Parole, and Humanitarian Admissions Subtitle D: Effective Dates; Transition Provisions Title VI: Restrictions on Benefits for Illegal Aliens Subtitle A: Eligibility of Illegal Aliens for Public Benefits Subtitle B: Expansion of Disqualification from Immigration Benefits on the Basis of Public Charge Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affadavits of Support Title VII: Facilitation of Legal Entry Title VIII: Miscellaneous Immigration in the National Interest Act of 1995 - Title I: Deterrence of Illegal Immigration Through Improved Border Enforcement and Pilot Programs - Subtitle A: Improved Enforcement at Border - Increases: (1) the Border Patrol; and (2) Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) border enforcement and related personnel. (Sec. 102) Provides for improved border crossing cards, equipment, and crossing barriers, including authorization of appropriations for fencing and road improvements in the border area near San Diego, California. (Sec. 105) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act) to establish civil penalties for illegal U.S. entry. Subtitle B: Pilot Programs - Establishes pilot programs for: (1) interior repatriation of inadmissible or deportable aliens; (2) use of closed military bases to detain inadmissible or deportable aliens; and (3) collection of alien departure records. Title II: Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties Against Alien Smuggling; Document Fraud - Subtitle A: Enhanced Enforcement and Penalties Against Alien Smuggling - Amends Federal criminal law to: (1) authorize wiretaps in alien smuggling investigations; and (2) include alien smuggling offenses under the purview of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) provisions. (Sec. 203) Amends the Act to: (1) expand INS forfeiture authority for smuggling or harboring illegal aliens; and (2) increase criminal penalties for alien smuggling. (Sec. 205) Increases the number of Assistant United States Attorneys and provides for their assignment to criminal matters involving illegal aliens. Subtitle B: Deterrence of Document Fraud - Amends Federal criminal law and the Act to increase and establish criminal and civil penalties for specified immigration related document fraud offenses. Subtitle C: Asset Forfeiture for Passport and Visa Offenses - Amends Federal criminal law to provide for asset forfeiture for passport and visa offenses. Title III: Inspection, Apprehension, Detention, Adjudication, and Removal of Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens - Subtitle A: Revision of Procedures for Removal of Aliens - Amends the Act to revise alien removal provisions. Subtitle B: Removal of Alien Terrorists - Part 1: Removal Procedures for Alien Terrorists - Amends the Act to establish a special removal procedure for terrorists, including the designation by the Chief Justice of the United States of a special removal court. Part 2: Exclusion and Denial of Asylum for Alien Terrorists - Amends the Act to make membership in a terrorist organization a ground for U.S. exclusion. (Sec. 332) Denies asylum, status adjustment, and deportation relief to alien terrorists. Subtitle C: Deterring Transportation of Unlawful Aliens to the United States - Amends the Act with regard to vessel and aircraft transportation of illegal aliens into the United States. Subtitle D: Additional Provisions - Amends the Act to impose civil penalties upon an alien subject to an order of removal who fails to depart. (Sec. 358) Authorizes additional appropriations for removal of illegal aliens. (Sec. 359) Establishes in the Treasury an Immigration Enforcement Account. Title IV: Enforcement of Restrictions Against Employment - Increases full-time employee positions in: (1) the Investigations Division of INS; and (2) the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration of the Department of Labor. (Sec. 403) Amends the Act to revise the employer sanctions program. Title V: Reform of Legal Immigration System - Subtitle A: Worldwide Numerical Limits - Amends the Act to revise legal immigration categories and numerical limitations. (Sec. 504) Requires periodic congressional review and reauthorization of worldwide immigration levels. Subtitle B: Changes in Preference System - Amends the Act to revise the immigration preference system. Subtitle C: Refugees, Asylees, Parole, and Humanitarian Admissions - Amends the Act to revise annual refugee admissions and asylee adjustment provisions. (Sec. 523) Authorizes the temporary employment of certain retirees to help reduce asylum application backlogs. (Sec. 524) Limits parole entry to a case-by-case basis for humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons. Subtitle D: General Effective Date; Transition Provisions - Sets forth transition provisions for specified classification status petitions. Title VI: Restrictions on Benefits for Illegal Aliens - Subtitle A: Eligibility of Illegal Aliens for Public Benefits - Part 1: Public Benefits Generally - Makes illegal aliens ineligible (with specified exceptions) for public assistance, contracts, and licenses. (Sec. 602) Makes unauthorized aliens ineligible for unemployment benefits. Part 2: Earned Income Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny the earned income tax credit to individuals not authorized to work in the United States. Subtitle B: Expansion of Disqualification from Immigration Benefits on the Basis of Public Charge - Amends the Act to revise public charge grounds for inadmissibility and deportability. Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support - Attributes a sponsor's income and resources to a family-sponsored immigrant for purposes of eligibility for Federal means-tested public benefits programs. (Sec. 632) Amends the Act to set forth sponsor affidavit of support requirements. Title VII: Facilitation of Legal Entry - Provides for: (1) increased numbers of land border inspectors; and (2) border infrastructure improvements. (Sec. 703) Amends the Act to provide for: (1) preinspection at specified foreign airports; and (2) training of airline personnel in fraudulent document detection. Establishes a carrier consultant program. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Act, as amended by the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 to revise the definition of "aggravated felony." Amends the Act with regard to: (1) definitions of "child" and "parent"; (2) visa processing procedure; (3) waiver authority concerning notice of visa application denial; (4) Canadian landed immigrants; (5) H-1B nonimmigrants; (6) visa extensions; (7) status adjustment; (8) access to certain confidential INS files; (9) nonimmigrant status for spouses and children of members of the armed forces; (10) fraudulent birth certificates; and (11) specified miscellaneous and technical provisions.
![Official portrait of Rep. Vucanovich, Barbara F. [R-NV-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/v000124_200.jpg)