United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1993
Individual Investment Account Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for amounts contributed to individual investment accounts. Allows tax-free distributions, limited to $15,000 for all taxable years, from such accounts for use in the purchase of a principal residence by a first-time homebuyer. Makes such accounts tax-exempt unless the individual engages in prohibited transactions. Adjusts dollar limitations under this Act for inflation. Allows such deduction in determining adjusted gross income. Excludes from gross income gain from the sale or exchange of property if, during the five-year period ending on the date of the sale or exchange, such property has been owned and used by the taxpayer as a principal residence for periods aggregating three years or more. Limits such exclusion to the amount paid to an individual investment account during the one-year period beginning on the date of the sale or exchange. Provides for adjusting the basis of a residence acquired through the use of an individual investment account.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1993
Requires educational organizations that offer educational programs to minors for a fee to disclose certain information in written form to the minor or the minor's parent before accepting funds for the cost of the minor's participation in such a program. (Excludes from the definition of educational organization a local educational agency, an elementary or secondary school or organization sponsored by such a school, a recreational organization, or a social club.) Requires each such educational organization to include a verifiable statement of nondiscriminatory enrollment and employment policy on all enrollment or recruitment material. Directs the Secretary of Education to monitor compliance with this Act. Authorizes imposition of civil fines for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1993
Urges any health care reform legislation that is enacted to require a Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress and any individual holding a position in levels I through III of the Executive Schedule to enroll in a health plan offering the standard benefit package and to publicly disclose, on an annual basis, the health plan in which they are enrolled.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1993
Prohibits a label on a product stating that the product was made in America unless: (1) the product is registered with the Department of Commerce as required by this Act; (2) at least 60 percent of the product was manufactured in the United States; and (3) final assembly took place in this country. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require products to provide additional information to consumers regarding the foreign content of imported articles. Requires any product manufactured in this country and which is assembled with a part from a foreign country to state on its label: (1) the country of origin of such part; and (2) the proportion of the cost of such product which is accounted for by such part. Sets forth penalties for violating provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1993
Designates the visitor center at the Big Thicket National Preserve located off U.S. Route 69 on FM 420 north of Kountze, Texas, as the Ralph W. Yarborough Visitor Center.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Workplace Fairness Subtitle A: Equal Remedies Act Subtitle B: Federal Employees Fairness Act Subtitle C: Congressional Employees Fairness Act Subtitle D: Sexual Harassment Subtitle E: Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection Act Subtitle F: Unemployment Insurance Reform Subtitle G: Federal Temporary Workers Protection Act Subtitle H: Legislative Pay Equity Study Title II: Economic Opportunity Subtitle A: Women's Business Procurement Assistance Act Subtitle B: Microenterprise Opportunity Expansion Act Subtitle C: Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act Subtitle D: Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering Work Force Act Subtitle E: Job Training Self-Sufficiency Act Title III: Work and Family Subtitle A: Child Care Public-Private Partnership Act Subtitle B: After-School Child Care Subtitle C: Dependent Care Tax Credit Refundability Subtitle D: Tax Incentives for Family-Friendly Workplaces Subtitle E: Federal Parental Leave for Education Activities Title IV: Economic Self-Sufficiency Subtitle A: Child Support Subtitle B: Pension Reform Subtitle C: Social Security Reform Subtitle D: Former Military Spouses Protection Subtitle E: Unremunerated Work Act Economic Equity Act of 1993 - Title I: Workplace Fairness - Subtitle A: Equal Remedies Act - Equal Remedies Act of 1993 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to remove limitations on the amount of compensatory and punitive damages that may be awarded in cases of intentional discrimination in employment. Subtitle B: Federal Employees Fairness Act - Federal Employee Fairness Act of 1993 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to permit a Federal employee filing a discrimination complaint to file it with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Makes it an unlawful employment practice if the employee demonstrates that the filing of a complaint contributed to an adverse personnel action against such employee. Requires that any such complaint filed with an agency other than the EEOC be transmitted to the EEOC. Sets forth procedures for filing and processing such complaints. Permits a Federal employee to file a complaint up to 180 days following an alleged discrimination. (Sec. 113) Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to permit the filing of a complaint with the EEOC in accordance with the amendments made to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by this Act. Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to apply its remedies and attorney fee provisions to complaints by individuals with disabilities with respect to employment in the Library of Congress. (Sec. 114) Amends title V of the United States Code, concerning government organization and employees, to permit an employee, under a negotiated grievance procedure, to raise matters dealing with actions involving discrimination. Subtitle C: Congressional Employees Fairness Act - Congressional Employees Fairness Act - Makes applicable to the Congress: (1) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (3) specified provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and (4) the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. (Sec. 122) Makes applicable to the Congress any provision of Federal law to the extent that it relates to: (1) the terms and conditions of employment (including hiring, promotion, or demotion, salary and wages, overtime compensation, benefits, work assignments or reassignments, and termination) of employees; (2) protection from discrimination in personnel actions; (3) the health and safety of employees; (4) the availability of information to the public; or (5) other areas deemed appropriate by the Independent Office of Compliance (Office). (Sec. 123) Establishes the Office, in the legislative branch for the Congress, to study and report to the Congress on the application of such laws. (Sec. 124) Sets forth provisions relating to congressional procedures for approval of the Board of Directors' recommendations relating to the application of future Federal laws to the Congress. Directs the Office to carry out an education program for Members of Congress and other employing authorities of the Congress respecting the laws applicable to them and a program to inform individuals of their rights under laws applicable to the Congress and under this Act. (Sec. 125) Requires the procedure for consideration of alleged violations of such laws to consist of the following steps: (1) counseling; (2) mediation; (3) formal complaint and hearing by a hearing board; and (4) judicial review of a hearing board's decision. (Sec. 129A) Authorizes a congressional employee or any Member of the Congress to petition the Personnel Appeals Board of the General Accounting Office to review a final decision if it is unconstitutional. (Sec. 129D) Declares that any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee because of the exercise of a right under this Act constitutes an unlawful employment practice that may be remedied in the same manner under this Act as is a violation of a law made applicable to the Congress. (Sec. 129E) Requires the records and decisions of hearing boards to be made public if required for judicial review. (Sec. 129H) Limits a congressional employee to the judicial proceeding provided by this Act to redress prohibited practices. Subtitle D: Sexual Harassment - Sexual Harassment Prevention Act of 1993 - Directs employers (including Federal and congressional agencies) to keep posted in conspicuous places a notice prepared or approved by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that sets forth: (1) the definition of sexual harassment found in the Code of Federal Regulations; (2) the fact that sexual harassment is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (3) information describing how to file a complaint with the Commission alleging such harassment; (4) an address and toll-free number to be used to contact the Commission; and (5) other information required by the Commission. (Sec. 133) Provides for annual notices by employers to individual employees which provide such information and a description of the procedures used by the employers to resolve allegations of sexual harassment. Requires employers to provide to each supervisory employee information specifying the responsibility of, and the methods to be used by, such employee to ensure that immediate and corrective action is taken to address allegations of sexual harassment. (Sec. 134) Directs the Commission to make model notices and voluntary guidelines for procedures dealing with allegations of sexual harassment available to employers at no cost as well as a toll-free number for information regarding this Act. (Sec. 135) Prescribes civil penalties for willful violations of this Act. Subtitle E: Part-time and Temporary Workers Protection Act - Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the eligibility for unemployment compensation of certain individuals seeking part-time employment. (Sec. 143) Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to establish and carryout an annual survey relating to temporary workers. (Sec. 144) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to set forth special participation, vesting, and accrual rules applicable to part-time and temporary employees. Allows limited reductions in employer-provided group health plan premiums for part-time employees. Modifies, with respect to employee benefit rights, the definition of "employee" to include persons who have performed at least 500 hours of service per year. Subtitle F: Unemployment Insurance Reform - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for unemployment compensation eligibility for certain individuals who leave work or fail to return to work for certain qualified family-related reasons (for which they would be entitled to unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, or would be so entitled if the employer were subject to such Act). Subtitle G: Federal Temporary Workers Protection Act - (Sec. 161) Amends Federal civil service law to extend Federal Employees Health Benefits Program coverage to temporary employees with the equivalent of one year of service within the preceding two years. Subtitle H: Legislative Pay Equity Study - Establishes the Commission on Employment Discrimination in the Legislative Branch to: (1) employ a nongovernmental consultant with expertise in job evaluation to study and compare the compensation paid within and between job classifications in the Library of Congress and to analyze its personnel policies and practices; (2) evaluate the Library's personnel policies and practices for compliance with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and to make specific recommendations (other than any that would result in a pay reduction for any position) to the Congress for action necessary to achieve compliance; (3) develop a comprehensive plan for application of title VII principles throughout the legislative branch; and (4) make specific recommendations (other than any recommendation that, if implemented, would result in a reduction in the rate of pay payable for any position) to the Congress for improvement of personnel policies and practices in the legislative branch necessary to eliminate all forms of discrimination that adversely affect pay or working conditions of any employee. Title II: Economic Opportunity - Subtitle A: Women's Business Procurement Assistance Act - Women's Business Procurement Assistance Act of 1993 - Amends the Small Business Act to require the President and the head of each Federal agency to include small business concerns owned and controlled by women within the Federal procurement contract process. (Sec. 205) Requires the Director of the Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization section in each Federal agency to designate a "women-in-business" specialist responsible for the execution of programs designed to assist small business concerns owned and controlled by women. (Sec. 207) Establishes in the Small Business Administration the Office of Women's Business Ownership. (Sec. 208) Directs the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on the number of small businesses owned and controlled by women procuring Federal contracts. Expresses the sense of the Congress that if the number of such businesses procuring such contracts does not rise significantly, then further legislative steps should be taken. Subtitle B: Microenterprise Opportunity Expansion Act - Microenterprise Opportunity Expansion Act - Amends the Social Security Act to exclude certain small enterprise (microenterprise) business assets from accounting for public assistance purposes. (Sec. 213) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize unemployment compensation for individuals starting microenterprises. (Sec. 214) Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to treat microenterprise loans and grants as investments in a financial institution's community. (Sec. 215) Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to treat microenterprise loans made by savings associations as qualified thrift investments. (Sec. 216) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to permit the use of assistance provided under the Act for the administrative and operating costs of entities assisting microenterprises. (Sec. 217) Requires each Federal banking agency to establish a Microenterprise Technical and Operations Office to offer technical assistance, training, and support for microenterprise start-ups, or institutions providing microenterprise financial services. (Sec. 218) Directs the Financial Institutions Examination Council to study and report to the Congress on the best means to make credit available for small businesses unable to obtain microenterprise loans and in need of credit in smaller amounts than is generally available from financial institutions or the Small Business Administration. Subtitle C: Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act - Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act - Cites activities constituting illegal discrimination with respect to surety bond issuance transactions. Mandates that a surety bond applicant be notified in writing of the reasons for denial of a surety bond. Subjects a surety to civil liability to the aggrieved applicant for violations of this Act. (Sec. 224) Proscribes Federal approval of a surety company that is not in compliance with this Act. Subtitle D: Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering Work Force Act - Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering Work Force Act - Establishes the Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and Engineering Work Forces. Terminates the Commission one year following submission of its required report. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Job Training Self-Sufficiency Act - Self-Sufficiency Standard Act - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to establish economic self-sufficiency standards for disadvantaged adult training programs, according to a formula to be developed by the Secretary of Labor and local economic self-sufficiency tables to be developed by service delivery areas. (Sec. 245) Prohibits incentive grants to service delivery areas that do not have in effect, after two years, an approved local economic self-sufficiency standards table. (Sec. 246) Requires inclusion of such a table and related reports in the job training plan and in the Governor's coordination and special services plan. (Sec. 248) Directs the Secretary to make up to six grants in each of three fiscal years to States for demonstration and exemplary programs to increase the number of participants in disadvantaged adult training programs who are trained and placed in jobs that yield long-term economic self-sufficiency in accordance with the local economic self-sufficiency tables. Title III: Work and Family - Subtitle A: Child Care Public-Private Partnership Act - Child Care Public-Private Partnership Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a business-incentive grant program to provide child care through public-private partnerships. (Sec. 302) Provides program grants for: (1) businesses or consortia (two or more businesses acting jointly, which may also include a nonprofit private organization) to start up, or provide additional, employee child care services; and (2) nonprofit business organizations to provide technical information and assistance to enable businesses to provide employee child care services. (Sec. 305) Gives priority in grant selection to businesses with fewer than 100 full-time employees and to business and consortia applications. Requires equitable geographic distribution. (Sec. 307) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: After-School Child Care Act - After-School Child Care Act of 1993 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to State and local educational agencies for programs to provide affordable and quality after school care for students enrolled in kindergarten through grade six. Limits participation to public elementary school students who: (1) are children of a single working parent or guardian, or two working parents or guardians, or of those who work in the after-school program, or of those who attend school or job training for career development; or (2) are recommended by the school on the basis of educational need, subject to available resources. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Dependent Care Tax Credit Refundability - Repeals the Internal Revenue Code's nonrefundable income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses, replacing it with a corresponding refundable 50 percent credit, reduced (but not below 20 percent) as the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000 (adjusted for inflation). Includes within the scope of the new credit up to $1,200 ($2,400 in the case of more than one qualifying individual) of respite care expenses incurred in the care of: (1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is at least 13 years old; or (2) a spouse or other dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Subtitle D: Tax Incentives for Family-Friendly Workplaces - Tax Incentives for Family-Friendly Workplaces Act - Allows eligible small businesses a small business family and medical leave credit equal to 50 percent (up to $2,000) of family and medical leave costs paid or incurred in connection with complying with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. (Sec. 333) Allows a business credit for wages paid to an employee who is permitted to shift hours of employment or work at home in order to reduce dependent care needs. Subtitle E: Federal Parental Leave for Educational Activities - Amends Federal law relating to Federal employees to provide for parental leave for certain educational activities. Title IV: Economic Self-Sufficiency - Subtitle A: Child Support - Child Support Economic Security Act of 1993 - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the organizational unit for administering a State plan for child and spousal support to reside at the State level and administer such plan under rules that apply uniformly throughout the State. (Sec. 412) Requires: (1) State procedures to ensure that the administering agency has on-line access to all data base information maintained by the State or local government; (2) child support payments to continue until certain events occur; (3) all income (as well as lottery winnings, insurance payments, and cash settlements) to be subject to withholding to meet child support obligations; (4) property transaction recordings to be conditioned upon the party's payment of any overdue child support; (5) occupational and professional licenses to be denied to parents with overdue child support obligations in excess of $1,000; and (6) social security numbers to appear on marriage licenses and child support orders. (Sec. 416) Revises procedures for the reporting of overdue child support obligations to consumer credit reporting agencies. (Sec. 419) Requires State procedures providing for separate treatment of cases alleging nonsupport and cases alleging denial of visitation rights. Eliminates statutes of limitations in child support cases. (Sec. 420) Provides for timely response to interstate locate requests. (Sec. 421) Requires the Secretary to issue regulations establishing standards and procedures governing the processing of interstate child support cases. (Sec. 422) Amends SSA title IV part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) to subject child support enforcement funds instead of AFDC funds to reduction in cases of substantial noncompliance with part D requirements. Amends SSA title IV part D to increase payments to States for the operation of their part D plans. Repeals incentive payments to States under part D. (Sec. 423) Requires States to adopt a specified form of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in order to have their part D plans approved. (Sec. 424) Establishes the Commission on Child Support Guidelines to make recommendations to the Congress for national guidelines for child support award amounts. (Sec. 441) Amends Federal bankruptcy law to declare that the filing of a petition in bankruptcy does not operate as an automatic stay of actions for establishment of paternity or concerning certain debts for child and spousal support and maintenance. Includes among priority claims and expenses those for certain child and spousal support and maintenance. (Sec. 445) Precludes a trustee in bankruptcy from avoiding a transfer if it was a bona fide payment of a debt for child or spousal support, maintenance, or alimony. (Sec. 446) Amends the guidelines for what constitutes the property of the bankrupt estate of either a family farmer or an individual with regular annual income. Conditions the confirmation of a plan, for such debtors, upon payment of all allowable claims arising after the order for relief for debts for child and spousal support, maintenance, or alimony. (Sec. 448) Permits representatives of child support creditors to appear in court without charge and without meeting any special local court rule requirement for attorney appearances in any judicial bankruptcy proceeding if such representatives file information detailing the child support debt, status, and other characteristics. (Sec. 451) Amends SSA title IV part D to allow use of the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) along with appropriate safeguards for parentage establishment and child support and visitation enforcement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) denial of visitation rights under a child support order should be treated as irrelevant in any action to enforce its support provisions; and (2) failure to pay child support pursuant to such an order should be treated likewise in any action to enforce visitation rights. (Sec. 452) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement to provide the Secretary (Secretary) of Health and Human Services (HHS) with access to quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Requires that: (1) State agencies charged with child support enforcement maintain child support order registries and be allowed access to medical, financial, employment, and other specified data base information on absent parents; and (2) registry information from each State be sent to the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) within HHS for a national registry of all State child support orders. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should investigate accessing certain Federal data banks not linked with FPLS. (Sec. 453) Requires the Secretary to expand FPLS to provide State agencies and courts with a national locate and case tracking network. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the network should be used to access State records only through the agency administering the State's part D plan. (Sec. 454) Requires that private attorneys and pro se obligees be given access, in accordance with appropriate safeguards, to State locate resources and enforcement techniques with respect to child support, visitation, and parentage orders. (Sec. 455) Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to require employers to withhold from employee wages amounts owed for child support. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the W-4 form completed by new employees in order to enable employers to obtain employee child support and other information for the appropriate State employment security agency. (Sec. 456) Requires the heads of national and regional individual tracking systems to allow child support enforcement agencies access to their information for paternity or child support purposes. (Sec. 456) Requires that State: (1) broadcast warrants issued in child support proceedings over their crime information systems; (2) remit, in a criminal case, to any individual owed child support any security posted by or on behalf of the individual owing the support and then forfeited, to the extent of any arrearage in support owed; and (3) establish procedures to obtain access to financial records for purposes of child support establishment and enforcement. (Sec. 461) Amends the Federal judicial code to establish the jurisdictional basis for State court recognition, enforcement, and modification of parentage and child support orders of other States. (Sec. 462) Amends SSA title IV part D to provide for service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed forces in connection with parentage and child support proceedings. (Sec. 463) Requires that: (1) parents' identification and locate information be filed with the appropriate adjudicating entity in parentage and child support actions; (2) there be appropriate safeguards on such information where a court has ordered that the custodial parent or child receive physical protection against the noncustodial parent; (3) appropriate administrative agencies make reasonable attempts to timely notify any individual owed child support of any proceeding to establish, modify, or enforce the support obligation; (4) States allow parties seeking both parentage and child support establishment in a judicial proceeding to bring a joint action in a single cause of action; (5) States provide for continuation of parental child support obligations until they terminate as described; (6) States allow parties to participate in interstate parentage and child support proceedings by telephonic means; (7) marriage licenses, birth certificates, and divorce and parentage decrees contain social security numbers; and (8) appropriate State agencies be allowed subpoena power in connection with child support hearings. Sets forth guidelines for uniform State procedures regarding jurisdiction and venue in parentage and child support cases. (Sec. 469) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, if children receive child support while obtaining postsecondary education, they will attain higher levels of education affording them a greater chance to break the welfare cycle. (Sec. 466) Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) to allow appropriate State agencies to obtain from credit reporting agencies information for establishing and modifying child support awards. (Sec. 467) Creates a National Child Support Guidelines Commission to study and report to the President and the Congress on national child support guidelines, and to develop such guidelines for congressional consideration should it be advisable. (Sec. 468) Amends SSA title IV part D to specify certain principles to be used in accordance with the application of State child support guidelines. (Sec. 470) Requires the new OCSE Assistant Secretary to develop: (1) a national subpoena duces tecum for distribution to child support agencies and others to use to reach income information; and (2) a uniform abstract of a child support order for State court use. (Sec. 475) Requires the Legal Services Corporation to ensure the use of a specified amount of funding for child support cases. (Sec. 476) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to Indian child support and support orders outreach and demonstrations. Amends the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 to require Indian tribes to give full faith and credit to child support orders of other Indian tribes, to the extent such entities already give full faith and credit to the acts, records, and proceedings of the other entity. Amends SSA title IV part D to set forth specific measures designed to secure child support services in underserved areas and combat domestic violence. (Sec. 481) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) require State to provide for hospital-based paternity outreach programs and adopt various specified procedures for voluntary paternity acknowledgment; and (2) provide for 90 percent Federal matching for such programs. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in a proceeding to establish paternity, once paternity is alleged, the burden of proof should shift to the alleged father. (Sec. 491) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) require States to mandate that any individual or entity engaged in commerce, as a condition of doing business in the State, comply with wage withholding orders issued by any State court or administrative agency, and keep records of wages withheld for child support; (2) specify the priority for applying amounts withheld from income for child support and child health insurance; (3) subject to withholding for child support any income from workers' compensation and other specified Federal sources; (4) prohibit State court application of the election of remedies doctrine to prevent collection of child support; (5) deny State occupational, professional, and business licenses, and driver's licenses and vehicle registrations to delinquent noncustodial parents; (6) authorize liens on vehicle titles, seizure of bank accounts, and holds on lottery winnings, settlements, payouts, bequests, and proceeds from the sale of forefeited property to satisfy child support arrearages; (7) require States to make a rebuttable presumption that any transfer of property by an individual who owes a child support arrearage is made with the intent to avoid payment of the arrearage; (8) revise the mechanism for collection of past-due child support from Federal tax refunds to cover interests without a separate court order to satisfy child support arrearages; (9) mandate reporting monthly child support obligations to credit bureaus; (10) permit enforcement of any child support order until the child is at least 30; (11) require interest on all child support judgments; (12) require States to adopt the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Laws in August 1992; (13) allow State courts to order the assignment of life insurance benefits and interests in jointly held property to satisfy child support arrearages; and (14) require States to treat international child support cases in the same manner as interstate child support cases. (Sec. 494) Amends CCPA with respect to State laws and garnishments for securing child support. Gives Federal debts a lower priority than child support debts when the obligor's disposable income cannot satisfy both debts through withholding. Prohibits employers from discharging any employee whose earnings are subject to garnishment for additional indebtedness arising from a child support order. (Sec. 496) Denies Federal occupational, professional, and business licenses of delinquent individuals until the license hold is released. (Sec. 499C) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the IRS Commissioner should instruct IRS field officers to give a high priority to requests for the use of full collection in delinquent child support cases. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to simplify the full collection process and reduce the amount of child suport arrearage needed before an individual may apply for full collections. (Sec. 499I) Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to: (1) allow parentage and child support case establishment, modification, and enforcement to proceed uninterrupted after a bankruptcy petition is filed; (2) treat as outside chapter 11, 12, or 13 plans any debt owed to child support creditors, excpet as specified; and (3) allow a claim for payment of a debt for child support to be asserted in court. (Sec. 499J) Sets forth requirements pertaining to parentage establishment and child support payments in the armed forces. (Sec. 499L) Directs the Comptroller General and Secretary of the Treasury to study an annual reconciliation process for paying child support arrearages as part of the Federal income tax process. (Sec. 499M) Authorizes the Secretary of State to refuse, revoke, or restrict passports in cases where the applicant or holder is a noncustodial parent subject to a State arrest warrant for nonpayment of a substantial child support arrearage. (Sec. 499N) Prohibits Federal benefits, loans, guarantees, and employment for individuals owing certain child support rrearages. (Sec. 499Q) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention of 1956. (Sec. 499R) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) set priorities for State distribution of child support collections; (2) require States to limit claims against noncustodial parents for reimbursement of a child's portion of AFDC to the amount in the child support order; (3) revise part D plan provisions concerning fees; and (4) require States to provide for collection and disbursement points for child support cases. (Sec. 499R) Requires Comptroller General studies and pilot projects with respect to requiring State systems to pay the child support collected under a State plan to the individuals to whom the support is owed before making any payment to reimburse any State for AFDC provided with respect to the child in question. Amends IRC to revise the Federal income tax refund offset mechanism. (Sec. 499V) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should encourage parents to use the State child support agency to process and distribute child support payments. (Sec. 499W) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) designate the separate organizational unit currently charged with various parentage and child support responsibilities as the OCSE; (2) change OCSE's organizational structure. (Sec. 499X) Requires: (1) the new OCSE Assistant Secretary to provide training assistance to the States; (2) States to provide training of child support personnel; and (3) the Secretary to study staffing at State child support enforcement programs and reduce payments to States that have not implemented recommended staffing levels. (Sec. 499Z) Requires the Secretary to: (1) authorize demonstration projects to test alternative approaches to incentive funding for State child support programs; and (2) reduce payments to States which have not reinvested incentive payments in their child support programs. Provides that "support" under SSA title IV part D with respect to incentive payments to States includes premiums paid for health insurance coverage pursuant to a support order. Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should not use amounts paid to them pursuant to SSA title IV part D, which are reinvested in child support activities, to supplant State funding of such activities. (Sec. 499BB) Requires the Secretary to: (1) contract for a study of OCSE's audit process to develop criteria and methodology for auditing activities of State child support enforcement agencies; and (2) provide for State demonstration projects for the purpose of ensuring tht custodial parents owned child support have a consistent source of income for the support of their children. (Sec. 499CC) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) children should have a consistent source of income to meet their education and medical needs; (2) the provision of public assistance to a custodial parent for the support of a child with respect to whom the noncustodial parent owes child support does not absolve the latter of the obligation to provide such support; (3) the States must continue to vigorously pursue efforts to establish parentage and establish and enforce child support obligations; and (4) OCSE should develop a mechanism to publicize the best State practices in child support. (Sec. 499DD) Amends the IRC to establish in the Treasury a Children's Trust Fund to hold the contributions designated by individuals on their tax returns for funding child support programs. (Sec. 499EE) Requires: (1) the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on delinquent child support payments and the effectiveness of administrative versus judicial adjudication of parentage and child support cases; and (2) OCSE to produce and update a certain compendium of State child support laws published by the National Conference of State Legislatures, and establish a permanent child support advisory committee. (Sec. 499II) Amends SSA title IV D to require States to: (1) promote the greatest economic security possible for children, within the obligor's ability to pay; (2) provide custodial parents with certain information on child support cases and the services available under their part D plans; and (3) require any changes in child support payees to be made only through administrative procedures. (Sec. 499KK) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should: (1) work closely with parents to improve the quality of child support services; (2) have offices in areas accessible to public transportation with convenient hours that allow parents to meet privately with attorneys and caseworkers; and (3) establish administrative procedures to process child support cases and a child support council to recommend improvements in State paternity and child support programs. (Sec. 49900) Expresses the sense of the Congress that any Federal program to provide jobs for noncustodial parents should be administered so as not to adversely affect any Federal program for custodial parents. Requires the Secretary to transmit evaluations of certain projects under the JOBS program under SSA title IV part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) to the Secretary of Labor for study and possible action, including authorizing States to provide services of greater scope and duration to unemployed noncustodial parents under such program. (Sec. 499QQ) Child Support Enforcement Improvements Act of 1993 - Absolves of liability under State or Federal law any person who discloses any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency attempting to establish, modify, or enforce a child support obligation of such individual. Requires such an agency to disclose such records only for child support purposes. Authorizes civil damages for unauthorized disclosures. (Sec. 499SS) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act with respect to access to and use of consumer reorts by State child support enforcement agencies in child support cases. (Sec. 499TT) Amends SSA title IV part D with regard to: (1) health care support; (2) reporting of State compliance with time limits for providing certain child support assistance; (3) employer wage withholding for child support obligations; (4) the national parents locator network; and (5) the reporting of delinquent parents to consumer credit agencies. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on incentives to encourage States to enforce health care support obligations of noncustodial parents. Subtitle B: Pension Reform - Pension Reform Act of 1993 - Amends ERISA and the IRC with respect to pension integration, participation, and vesting requirements. (Sec. 502) Extends applicability of new integration rules under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to all existing accrued benefits. Amends the IRC to disallow integration for simplified employee pensions, by repealing provisions relating to permitted disparity under rules limiting discrimination under simplified employee pensions. Repeals for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2002, IRC provisions relating to: (1) pension integration exceptions under nondiscrimination requirements for qualification; and (2) nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance. (Sec. 503) Revises IRC minimum coverage requirements with respect to separate lines of business. Sets forth a special rule where the employer operates a single line of business. Limits a line of business exception. (Sec. 504) Eliminates a special vesting rule for multiemployer plans under IRC and ERISA. (Sec. 505) Provides for division of pension benefits upon divorce unless otherwise provided in qualified domestic relations orders. (Sec. 507) Provides for studies and reports by the Comptroller General relating to cost-of-living adjustments and pension portability. (Sec. 509) Provides for the continued availability of remedies relating to rights of spouses to accrued benefits under pension plans under divorce case domestic relations orders entered before 1985. Subtitle C: Social Security Reform - Social Security Caregiver Act of 1993 - Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) to: (1) provide for an increase of up to five in the number of years of either zero or low earnings disregarded in determining average annual earnings on which benefits are based provided such year were used to provide care to a child under the age of 12 or to a chronically dependent spouse or relative; (2) repeal the seven-year restriction on eligibility for widow's and widower's insurance benefits based on disability; and (3) provide full widow's or widower's insurance benefits to disabled widows or widowers without regard to age. Subtitle D: Former Military Spouses Protection - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 to make certain amendments regarding military retired pay to former spouses applicable to divorces, dissolutions of marriage, annulments, and legal separations that became effective before such Act's enactment (currently, such amendments apply only to those events that become effective 90 days after such Act's enactment). Permits any change in payments of military retired or retainer pay due to such amendment to apply only to payments for months beginning 90 days after this Act's enactment. Subtitle E: Unremunerated Work Act - Unremunerated Work Act of 1993 - Directs the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics to: (1) conduct time use surveys of unremunerated work performed in the United States (including household, agricultural, and volunteer work and work related to child care and other care services, food production, and family businesses); and (2) calculate the monetary value of such unremunerated work, separately for men and women, and include such value in statistics used to determine the gross national product.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1993
Free and Independent Cuba Assistance Act of 1993 - Requires the President, at such time as a transition government is in power in Cuba, to develop a plan for providing economic assistance to the Cuban people while such government and a democratic government are in power. Limits such assistance to humanitarian assistance while a transition government is in power. Expands such assistance to include development and agricultural assistance and export financing (as well as other specified assistance) when a democratic government is in power. Requires the President to take steps to obtain the agreement of other countries and international financial institutions to provide comparable assistance to Cuba. Directs the President to determine whether to designate Cuba as a beneficiary country pursuant to the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act. Requires the President, upon enactment of legislation implementing a free trade agreement between the United States and another country in the Western Hemisphere, to: (1) take steps to enter into a framework agreement with the transition government in Cuba providing for trade and investment in Cuba; and (2) enter into negotiations with a democratic government in Cuba to conclude a free trade agreement. Directs the President to communicate the plan for assistance to the Cuban people. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the President to terminate the trade embargo on Cuba upon submitting a determination that a democratic government is in power in Cuba to the Congress. Sets forth conditions under which a government in Cuba will be considered transitional or democratic.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1993
Colonia Waste Water Treatment Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California for waste water treatment for a political subdivision acting on behalf of a colonia that meets this Act's requirements or a colonia that: (1) is determined to be a colonia on the basis of objective criteria; (2) is located in the United States within 100 kilometers of the international boundary between Mexico and the United States; and (3) was in existence as a colonia before November 27, 1990. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1993
Authorizes the National Captive Nations Committee, Inc., to construct in the District of Columbia an appropriate international memorial to honor victims of Communism. Makes the Corporation solely responsible for expenses for the construction of the memorial. Requires excess funds for the memorial to be remitted to the Secretary of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1993
Urges the Government of Iran to extend to the Baha'i community the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international covenants on human rights. Calls upon the President to continue to: (1) urge such Government to emancipate the Baha'i community by granting such rights; (2) emphasize that the United States regards the human rights practices of such Government, particularly its treatment of the Baha'is and other religious minorities, as a significant factor in the development of U.S.-Iranian relations; and (3) encourage other governments to continue to appeal to the Government of Iran and to cooperate with other governments and international organizations in efforts to protect the religious rights of the Baha'is and other minorities in Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1993
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to exempt from specified groundwater monitoring requirements any facility: (1) at which fewer than 20 tons of municipal solid waste is disposed of daily; (2) at which there is no evidence of existing groundwater contamination; and (3) which serves a community that experiences an annual interruption of at least three consecutive months of surface transportation that prevents access to a regional waste management facility or that has no waste management alternative and is in an area that receives 25 inches or fewer of precipitation annually.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1993
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing an air carrier to engage in air transportation to any applicant which is controlled by a person who has controlled one or more air carriers which have filed, in the aggregate, two or more petitions for bankruptcy.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1993
Amateur Radio Volunteer Services Act of 1993 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that an individual licensee in the Amateur Radio Service who provides volunteer services to the Federal Communications Commission in programs benefiting the Service shall not incur personal financial responsibility for any alleged damage, loss, or injury from any act or omission of the volunteer from the provision of such services if such: (1) individual was acting in good faith and within the scope of such individual's official function and duties; and (2) damage was not caused by willful and wanton misconduct by such individual.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
Presidential Commission on TV Violence and Children Act - Establishes a Presidential Commission on TV Violence and Children. Directs the Commission to: (1) review and report on findings linking television (TV) violence and violence in children and society; (2) solicit opinions from children and their parents on their views concerning TV violence and their suggestions for lessening its negative effects; (3) solicit opinions from public health, crime, and education experts, and the broadcast, cable, film, and advertising industries of TV violence and their recommendations for lessening its negative effects; and (4) present a final report and recommendations for comprehensive strategies and solutions to alleviate harmful effects of TV violence that continue to preserve our tradition of free expression. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
Urges the President to ensure that the current North American free trade area labor negotiations address the issue of improved bilateral Mexico-United States cooperation in controlling illegal immigration.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1993
Designates September 17, 1993, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Requires the display of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag at: (1) all national cemeteries and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 31, 1993 (Memorial Day), September 17, 1993 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day), and November 11, 1993 (Veterans Day); and (2) the White House and the buildings containing the primary offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Selective Service Commission (sic) on September 17, 1993 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day).
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1993
Vietnam Women's Memorial Coin Act of 1994 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue silver coins emblematic of the Vietnam Women's Memorial sculpture. Requires all surcharges received from the sale of such coins to be used for: (1) an endowment for the Memorial; (2) education and research concerning veterans and their families; and (3) the identification and documentation of women who served in the armed forces during the Vietnam era. Expresses the sense of the Congress that this coin program shall be self-sustaining and administered to result in no net cost to the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1993
Equitable Escheatment Act of 1993 - Amends specified Federal law to prescribe guidelines under which unclaimed distributions of security interests shall be subject to the custodial taking (escheatment) by the State which contains the principal executive offices of either the issuer or the holder of those securities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1993
International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to set forth population assistance authorities and requirements. Makes such assistance available to a country that: (1) accounts for a significant portion of the world's annual population increment; (2) has significant unmet needs for methods of contraception, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and obstetric and gynecological care and requires foreign assistance to sustain quality reproductive health services; or (3) demonstrates a strong commitment to population stabilization and reproductive health strategies. Prohibits nongovernmental and multilateral organizations from being subjected to requirements which are more restrictive than those applicable to foreign governments for such assistance. Makes funds available for: (1) the United Nations Population Fund if it agrees to prohibit the use of funds for coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization; and (2) the Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training to further international cooperation in the development of contraceptive technology. Authorizes appropriations. Makes development assistance available on a priority basis for countries which have agreed to address specific education, literacy, and health issues. Authorizes the President to establish a grant program, to be known as the Safe Motherhood Initiative, to improve the access of girls and women to reproductive health care services. Earmarks amounts of development and economic assistance for programs in support of equalizing male and female levels of primary and secondary school enrollment. Authorizes appropriations for the Child Survival Fund, the Safe Motherhood Initiative, and for research on, and treatment and control of, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in developing countries. Requires the U.S. executive directors of specified international financial institutions to report anually to the Congress on allocations to population activities and, if such allocations total less than $1 million, to set forth actions to encourage increased allocations. Establishes the Commission on World Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health to coordinate U.S. participation in the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for certain actions to support the United Nations Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1993
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend preferential admissions treatment to certain children born in the Philippines and fathered by U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1993
Diesel Fuel Tax Enforcement Act of 1993 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that outlays for Internal Revenue Service criminal investigation and other enforcement activities should be increased and such increase shall be funded with offsetting spending reductions in other program areas. Makes permanent the authority for the Internal Revenue Service to conduct undercover operations. Requires additional information in reports to the Congress concerning such operations. Requires the Attorney General to report to the Congress on: (1) the feasibility of additional Federal task forces dealing with organized crime's involvement in diesel fuel tax evasion; and (2) other steps that could be taken to reduce criminal evasion of such taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1993
Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from approving certain highway-related projects in any State which has a maximum speed limit in excess of 65 miles per hour (mph) on any highway which is located outside an urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more and is constructed to interstate standards. (Eliminates the further condition under existing law that the highway is connected to the Interstate System.) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the effects on highway safety of increasing (under this Act) the maximum speed limit above 55 mph on highways with four lanes or more open to traffic.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1993
American Jobs Protection Act - Requires employers to provide specified notice and employee benefits (including severance pay, continuation of health care benefits, reimbursement for retraining, training incentive payments, and accelerated eligibility for early retirement) to employees who are subject to a plant closing or mass layoff because their work is transferred to (or similar products are imported from) another country which has specified levels of lower wages or less effective employment standards for overtime compensation, child labor, and employee safety. Prohibits employers who do not provide such notice and benefits from entering into a contract with the United States for provision of products or services involved in the work transfer or substantially similar to such products or services. Provides for enforcement of this Act by: (1) investigative and administrative actions and actions for injunctions by the Secretary of Labor; and (2) civil actions by employees, local governments, States, and the Secretary. Requires employers to post notice concerning this Act and the filing of a charge. Authorizes civil fines for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1993
Revises provisions with respect to the loan default procedure for veterans' housing loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse the holder of the loan obligation for such advances, costs, and attorney's fees properly and reasonably incurrred in connection with the default and to receive an assignment of the loan and security. Directs the Secretary to notify the mortgagor, within ten days after receiving a notice of default from the veteran, that the Secretary may purchase the loan from the holder. Outlines notification and loan purchase requirements. Directs the Secretary to obtain and hold a quitclaim deed from the mortgagor to the Secretary for the real property securing the loan after the loan is purchased from the loan holder and before the Secretary makes any modifications to the loan instruments or grants any forbearance. Allows such unrecorded quitclaim deed to be returned to the mortgagor if the mortgagor brings the loan current and keeps it current for 12 consecutive months. Makes permanent all such loan default procedures (currently terminated as of December 31, 1992).
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1993
Authorizes the President to conclude an agreement with Mexico to establish a binational commission to be known as the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission. Declares that it should be the duty of the Commission to: (1) conduct a needs assessment in the U.S.-Mexican border area to identify and resolve health problems that affect the general population of the area; (2) coordinate public and private persons to educate the population about, and resolve, such health problems and develop programs to meet needs that are not being met by such persons; and (3) formulate recommendations for a fair method by which the government of one country would reimburse a public or private person in the other country for the cost of a health care service furnished to a citizen or resident alien of the first country who is unable to pay for the service.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1993
Bosnia-Hercegovina Self-Defense Act of 1993 - Directs the President to terminate the U.S. arms embargo of the Government of Bosnia-Hercegovina upon receipt of a request from such government for assistance in exercising its right of self-defense under the United Nations Charter. Authorizes the President to direct the drawdown of defense articles and services and military education and training to provide assistance to Bosnia-Hercegovina if it makes such request. Limits the amount of such assistance. Bars members of the U.S. armed forces who provide such assistance from performing combatant duties outside of the United States. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1993
Declares that it is the Congress' intent that the Secretary of Transportation, in negotiating under the auspices of the Land Transportation Standards Committee established under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), shall not weaken U.S. truck safety standards by increasing truck sizes and weights or by compromising such standards as truck driver hours of service, front brake and other safety equipment requirements, and the truck driver record system.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1993
Comprehensive Recycling Act of 1993 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to provide technical assistance and guidance to States on recycling methods and opportunities. Directs States to develop and implement comprehensive multimaterial recycling programs. Requires such programs to be designed to provide at least 20 percent of a State's population with an opportunity to participate in such programs within two years of this Act's enactment. Provides that such programs must be available to an additional 20 percent of a State's population every two years, until the entire population is provided with such opportunity. Requires States to include recycling programs in the solid waste plan required by the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Makes States with approved plans eligible for Federal grants for recycling programs. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Administrator to make grants to States for implementing recycling programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Establishes a four-year term of office for the House of Representatives (with a two-year first term for a portion of the Members elected under the first four-year election). Limits a person to: (1) two terms as a Senator; and (2) four terms, or three four-year terms, as a Member of the House. Prohibits a Member of the House from qualifying as a Senate candidate unless he or she: (1) is in the final year of House office; or (2) has resigned from the House.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1993
Designates July 25 through 31, 1993, as National Week of Recognition and Remembrance for Those Who Served in the Korean War. Authorizes the President to urge U.S. departments and agencies, interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the American flag at half-staff on July 27, 1993, in honor of the Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1993
Amends the Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990 to extend certain unprocessed timber export restrictions to the entire State of Texas.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1993
Commends radio amateurs for their contributions to technical progress in electronics and for their emergency radio communications in times of disaster. Urges the Federal Communications Commission to continue and enhance the development of the amateur radio service as a public benefit by adopting rules and regulations which encourage the use of new technologies within the amateur radio service. Declares that reasonable accommodation should be made for effective operation of amateur radio from residences, private vehicles, and public areas and that regulation at all levels of government should facilitate and encourage amateur radio operation as a public benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1993
El Camino Real Para Los Texas Study Act of 1993 - Amends the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the El Camino Real Para Los Texas for designation as a national scenic trail. Requires the study to be done in cooperation with the Mexican government and to provide for necessary technical assistance with the possible objective of establishing an international historic trail.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1993
Giant Sequoia Preservation Act of 1993 - Designate certain federally owned lands within the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests, California, as the Giant Sequoia National Forest Preserve. Prohibits activities within the Preserve that are inconsistent with the following: (1) resource protection and restoration; (2) protection of the Giant Sequoia groves and contiguous forests and restoration of the forest ecosystem to a natural state; (3) providing the optimum habitat for all naturally occurring species; (4) providing opportunities for recreation, interpretation, and scientific study; and (5) providing optimum water, air, and scenic quality. Establishes the Giant Sequoia Scientific Advisory Board. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) administer the Preserve as a separate unit within the National Forest System; (2) make yearly recommendations on other areas to be designated National Forest Preserves; and (3) publish a comprehensive management plan for the Preserve. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) recreation and interpretation; (2) regeneration of cut-over giant Sequoia Groves; (3) scientific study and research; (4) fire management; (5) hunting and fishing; (6) timber cutting; (7) mineral and geothermal leasing; (8) water rights; (9) grazing rights; and (10) public safety. Directs the Secretary to make annual payments in lieu of taxes to the local government of each political subdivision within the boundaries of which are lands indicated under this Act for inclusion in the Preserve. Requires the Secretary to establish a community assistance task force. Permits any local community in the region that is affected by loss of Federal timber sales and any worker who is displaced from a job in the timber industry as a result of this Act to request assistance from the task force. Directs the task force to encourage and develop employment opportunities in forest ecosystem restoration, recreation, and other forms of employment compatible with the purposes and provisions of this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1993
Maritime Security and Competitiveness Act of 1993 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to modify the Act's purposes, including ensuring the existence of a U.S.-documented fleet of the best-equipped, safest, and most modern vessels (currently, the best-equipped, safest, and most suitable type of vessels, constructed in the United States). Establishes the Maritime Security Fleet of active commercial vessels to enhance sea lift capabilities and maintain a presence in international commercial shipping of U.S.-documented vessels. Conditions Fleet enrollment on the vessel owner or operator having an operating agreement with the Secretary of Transportation. Regulates agreements with regard to vessels covered by an operating differential subsidy (ODS) contract. Regulates terms, including requiring annual payments by the Secretary to each contractor and that the vessel be made available in time of war or national emergency or as needed for national security, to be compensated at commercial rates. Restricts noncontiguous trade. Authorizes appropriations. Makes amounts available but unneeded for ODSs available for operating agreement payments. Prohibits new ODS contracts. Exempts bulk cargo vessels for which construction-differential subsidies (CDSs) have been paid from certain CDS operating restrictions when ODS contracts terminate. Relieves a contractor, under specified circumstances, from the application of provisions relating to: (1) ODS operating restrictions; (2) operation of competing foreign-flag vessels; (3) practices regarding coastwise service, salaries, officers, and employees; and (4) ODS essential service requirements. Prohibits formal orders continuing ODS payments for vessels over 25 years old. Revises definitions of: (1) "foreign commerce," "foreign trade," and "citizen of the United States" as they apply to the Act; and (2) "privately owned United States-flag commercial vessel" as it applies to provisions regarding transportation in American vessels of Government personnel and certain cargoes. Removes restrictions regarding: (1) mortgagees from provisions setting forth requirements for a vessel mortgage to qualify as a preferred mortgage; and (2) parties serving as trustees of mortgaged vessel interests. Amends the Shipping Act, 1916 to remove restrictions on mortgaging of a documented vessel to a non-U.S. citizen. Requires allowing a documented vessel to be placed under foreign registry if its owner documents at least one replacement vessel. Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to declare that the collective bargaining representative for officers or crew is an interested party in, and has standing to challenge, any proposed or final order, action, or rule of the Secretary under the Act. Mandates a study on the international competitiveness of U.S.-documented vessels.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1993
Merchant Marine Investment Act of 1993 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (MMA) to restrict capital construction fund (CCF) agreements to vessels documented for operation in the foreign or domestic commerce of the United States (currently, for operation in the United States foreign, Great Lakes, or noncontiguous domestic trade) or in the fisheries of the United States. Amends the MMA and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide for the income tax treatment of CCF earnings, including regarding capital gains and tax rates. Modifies the ceiling on CCF deposits. Prohibits taking into account amounts included in taxable earnings of the fund for provisions regulating the consistency of the CCF ordinary income account. Allows: (1) payments that reduce the principal amount of a qualified lease to be considered qualified withdrawals and includes the payments in provisions relating to reductions in basis; and (2) CCF deposits exceeding the ceiling for prior years because of an audit adjustment. Modifies requirements regarding: (1) the content of CCF capital gains and ordinary income accounts; (2) the tax rate and interest on nonqualified withdrawals; and (3) investment of CCF amounts. Amends the IRC to require that terms defined in the provisions of the MMA amended by this Act have the same meaning for the provisions of the IRC amended by this Act as the definitional provisions of the MMA that were in effect on the date of the enactment of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (currently, on the date of the enactment of the IRC provisions amended by this Act). Removes provisions providing for the treatment of CCFs regarding the alternative minimum taxable income of a corporation. Classifies vessels (other than fishing vessels) that are eligible vessels under CCF provisions as three-year property for IRC provisions regarding accelerated cost recovery. Sets forth a special rule for determining the amount of depreciation or amortization allowable in connection with adjustments based on adjusted current earnings for provisions relating to adjustments in computing alternative minimum taxable income.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1993
National Senior Citizens Pet Ownership Protection Act - Amends the Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 to prohibit owners and managers of federally assisted rental housing from preventing elderly and disabled tenants from owning or having household pets.
![Official portrait of Rep. Wilson, Charles [D-TX-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000570_200.jpg)