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United States · Official source
3,650 records where Rep. Wolpe, Howard E. [D-MI-3] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1992
Designates October 4 through 10, 1992, as National Bone Marrow Donor Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie in recognition of his accomplishments as a musician. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Designates February 4, 1993, and February 3, 1994, as National Women and Girls in Sports Day.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Designates November 30 through December 6, 1992, as National Education First Week.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1992
Designates December 1, 1992, as World AIDS Day.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1992
Supports the President's statement of August 6, 1992, and commends him for taking decisive steps to put pressure on Serbia to stop the conflict in Bosnia-Hercegovina, including through: (1) the diplomatic and political isolation of Serbia; (2) the strict enforcement of sanctions provided for in United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 757; (3) the implementation of the Security Council-endorsed plan to place heavy weapons belonging to all factions in Bosnia-Hercegovina under UN supervision; (4) the resumption of peace talks among all parties to the conflict; and (5) urging the Security Council to authorize measures, including the use of military force, necessary to ensure the provision of humanitarian relief to the people of Bosnia-Hercegovina. Urges the Security Council to consider means by which: (1) UN and International Committee of the Red Cross personnel shall be granted immediate, unimpeded, and continuous access to all refugee camps, prisoners-of-war camps, internment camps, and other places of detention in all of the republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and (2) civilians in Bosnia-Hercegovina shall be protected from the use of force and violations of the laws of war. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that an international tribunal should be convened to: (1) investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed within the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and (2) accumulate evidence against, charge, and otherwise prepare the basis for trying any individual whom the tribunal has probable cause to believe is responsible for or committed such a crime.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1992
Congratulates the citizens of Israel on concluding fair and open democratic elections. Welcomes Prime Minister Rabin to the United States. Applauds his statements and actions encouraging active participation in the search for peace. Calls upon all parties in the region to actively and seriously engage in the peace process.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that effective follow-up to achieve the goals of the agreements reached at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) will depend on the following actions by the President and the U.S. Government: (1) adoption of a national strategy for environmentally sustainable development, based on an extensive process of nationwide consultations with all interested organizations and individuals; (2) the Government encouraging and facilitating means for adopting individual Agenda 21 plans of action, including the establishment of local, county, State, business, and other boards and commissions for achieving sustainable development; (3) the President establishing an effective mechanism to plan, initiate, and coordinate U.S. policy for implementing Agenda 21; and (4) policies being formulated for foreign policy and assistance to help developing countries, and for domestic actions to assure appropriate action to implement Agenda 21. Supports: (1) pursuing the research and policy initiatives urged in Agenda 21, including research on sustainable consumption and production patterns, creation of a policy framework for sustainable consumption patterns, identification of a strategy to eliminate or reduce subsidies for unsustainable natural resource exploitation, and improving pricing policies; (2) the Congress adopting a plan to reallocate an appropriate amount of savings from reduced defense spending to achieve its goals of global environmental protection and sustainable development over the next decade; and (3) the effective establishment of a high-level United Nations (UN) Commission on Sustainable Development. Urges the United States to call for periodic international meetings to continue the process toward developing and advancing international agreement to facilitate sustainable economic development. Calls on the President to: (1) urge and actively participate in multilateral efforts aimed at creating a more favorable international economic climate for developing countries to practice sustainable development; (2) affirm strong U.S. commitment to the Commission by appointing a high-level representative to the Commission and by encouraging the UN Secretary General to appoint an Under Secretary General for Sustainable Development; (3) submit and encourage all UN members to submit a national report to the Commission on activities the United States has undertaken to implement Agenda 21 both domestically and internationally, on progress made toward fulfilling other commitments undertaken at UNCED, and on other relevant environmental and developmental issues; and (4) submit an annual report to the Congress on the steps taken by the United States to implement Agenda 21 and the recommendations made by this Act and make information regarding such steps available to Members of the Congress upon request.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
American Jobs Fairness Act of 1992 - Prohibits expenditure of Federal funds to purchase components for the Superconducting Super Collider that are manufactured outside the United States, except under a contract that was open to competitive bidding (with specified exceptions for certain components).
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
Commends: (1) the many heroic individuals who acted at great risk to save Jews from death during the Holocaust; and (2) the Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers for its work in recognizing, honoring, and encouraging the people of the world to show the altruism and moral courage of such heroic individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
Condemns the killing and destruction by the political factions in Somalia. Urges such factions to abide by the United Nations (UN) ceasefire and to allow the deployment of security forces to protect humanitarian relief deliveries and workers. Commends the efforts of UN Secretary-General Boutrous Ghali and his Special Envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Sahnoun. Pays tribute to the actions of relief agencies working in Somalia. Recognizes the July 27, 1992, statement of the President urging the UN to deploy a sufficient number of security forces to permit relief supplies to move into and within Somalia, and committing funds for such an effort. Calls upon: (1) the international community to immediately expand its relief efforts in Somalia; and (2) the President to work with the UN Security Council to deploy security forces immediately to assure that humanitarian relief gets to those most in need.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1992
Designates October 30, 1992, as Refugee Day.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Children's Initiative - Family Preservation Act of 1992 - States that titles I through V of this Act may be cited as the Family Preservation Act of 1992 - Title I: Child Welfare Services - Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to create a capped entitlement program to provide child welfare services designed to strengthen and preserve families. Provides for allotments, reallotments, and payments to States of entitlement funds. Requires use of part of such funds to develop or expand specialized child welfare service programs for families in crisis due to substance abuse. Requires uses of remaining funds to develop or expand certain family and child service programs. Repeals provisions for incentive payments to States which maintain a foster care inventory, information system, and case review system; but requires States to provide such protections and other services designed to keep families together or reunify them, or to place children for adoption, with a legal guardian, or in some other planned, permanent living arrangement. Requires States to submit the following types of reports on child welfare services and expenditures: (1) pre-expenditure reports; (2) post-expenditure reports; and (3) comparative financial contributions reports. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transmit to specified congressional committees annual summaries of the information in such comparative financial contributions reports. Requires such information to be made available to the public. Reserves entitlement funds for grants to State court systems to assess and improve procedures in child welfare cases in carrying out parts B and E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of SSA title IV. Sets forth application requirements and formulas for determining the amount of such grants for FY 1994 through 1998. Directs the HHS Secretary to submit interim and final reports to the Congress on the information obtained from assessments conducted with such grants and the impact of such grant program on State court procedures and functions. Requires each State to compile periodically a detailed directory of programs designed to keep families together or reunify them or place children permanently, identifying which of such programs provides specialized child welfare services to families in crisis due to substance abuse. Requires States to report on measures taken to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act. Title II: Foster Care And Adoption Assistance - Amends SSA title IV to add a new part C, Comprehensive Service Projects to grant States flexibility and resources to develop comprehensive and coordinated services designed to: (1) preserve and strengthen families with children at risk of placement outside their homes; (2) reunite children with their families expeditiously if an out-of-home placement is found to be necessary; and (3) place children in adoptive homes or other permanent arrangements in a timely fashion if reunification with their families is not appropriate. Permits any State to apply to the HHS Secretary for permission to: (1) conduct a comprehensive service project in a selected area or areas; and (2) suspend certain child welfare services and foster care and adoption assistance requirements with respect to State activities in such area or areas during the project. Sets forth application requirements and administrative provisions for such projects. Prohibits the HHS Secretary from requiring as a condition of approval of a project application: (1) the State to select any area or areas in which to conduct the project; or (2) the project to comply with any requirements not specified in the project authorization. Sets forth those requirements with which such a project must comply. Provides for determining the expenses for which a State might properly seek reimbursement, for purposes of calculating such grant amount. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to increase such grant amount, to the extent appropriate, by taking specified factors into account. Sets forth requirements for notification to States of grant amounts, and for grant payments in equal quarterly installments. Prohibits a State from carrying out such a project in a manner that impairs the entitlement of any child to: (1) the foster care benefits he or she would have receive if the HHS Secretary had approved the State plan and had not authorized the State to conduct such a project; or (2) any other benefit to which the child is legally entitled. Deems a State to have in effect an approved foster care and adoption assistance plan during the period in which it conducts such a project for purposes of State plan requirements under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of SSA title IV. Requires States to report annually on project funds expended to the HHS Secretary and the Advisory Commission on Children and Families. Provides for administrative remedies for unsuccessful projects. Provides for project termination. Makes abandoned children entering foster care eligible for foster care maintenance payments. Makes the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made eligible for adoption assistance payments. Makes technical revisions to the foster care maintenance payments program and the adoption assistance program to expand the removal from home requirement to include removal from legal custody. Provides for retroactive application of such new requirement under the adoption assistance program. Makes children whose adoption has been set aside by a court eligible for foster care maintenance payments. Makes the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made eligible for adoption assistance payments. Establishes a respite care program for foster parents with children who have special needs. Limits the expenses eligible for reimbursement under such program. Expands the definition of children with special needs, for purposes of the adoption assistance program, to include: (1) those children for whom information is known and available about their genetic or social history indicating a high risk of medical conditions or physical, mental, or emotional handicaps which makes it reasonable to conclude that they cannot be placed for adoption without providing part E adoption assistance or Medicaid (SSA title XIX) medical assistance; and (2) those children that have been adopted, that were under the care and responsibility of the State agency responsible for administering the State's part E programs immediately before adoption, and that have a mental, physical, or emotional handicap that either existed before the adoption but was not diagnosed until afterwards, or first manifests itself after the adoption but is congenital or was caused beforehand. Extends to relatives (as well as foster parents) who are prospective adoptive parents, and with whom the child has significant emotional ties while in their care, the exception to the requirement that an effort be made to place special needs children with appropriate adoptive parents without providing adoption or Medicaid assistance. Requires each State to submit to the HHS Secretary the factors and conditions it uses to identify children with special needs for purposes of the adoption assistance program, and any modifications to such factors and conditions. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee on Foster Care Placement to study and report to the Secretary and the Congress on the implementation of specified requirements, under State plans for foster care and adoption assistance, that reasonable efforts be made: (1) before placement of a child in a foster home, to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child's home; and (2) to make it possible for the child to return to the child's home. Provides Federal coverage of 90 percent of State costs in developing and installing certain statewide mechanized data collection and information retrieval systems. Covers 50 percent of State costs for operation of such systems. Provides that all State expenditures for development, installation, and operation of such systems shall be treated as necessary for proper and efficient administration of the State plan, without regard to whether the systems may be used with respect to foster or adoptive children other than those on behalf of whom payments may be made for foster care maintenance or adoption assistance. Reduces, after three years, from 90 to 50 percent the Federal matching payment for development and installation of such systems. Defers a deadline for implementation of automated systems until one year after certain regulations are promulgated. Directs the Secretary to establish a work group to advise on planning and implementation of the system to be used for collection of data relating to adoption and foster care in the United States. Requires the State plan to provide for: (1) a triennial review of the amounts paid as foster care maintenance payments and adoption assistance to assure their continuing appropriateness; and (2) a report to the HHS Secretary on the results. Sets forth requirements concerning dispositional hearings to determine the final status of a foster child. Revises the time frame for judicial determinations on voluntary placements. Sets forth case plan requirements for placement of children in out-of-State foster care. Requires annual review, with the child present, of the status of children in out-of-State foster care placements. Requires States to collect data on the numbers of children in out-of-State foster care placements. Requires a State, in order to receive payments for expenditures after FY 1994 for foster care maintenance payments made with respect to children placed in foster care outside the State, to conduct and submit a study to the HHS Secretary, by the end of such fiscal year, identifying the number and common characteristics of such children and the reasons why they were not placed in foster care in the State. Provides for the treatment of assets of youth participating in the independent living program. Eliminates the ceilings on Federal foster care payments to States and the State's authority to transfer unused foster care funds to child welfare services programs. Directs the HHS Secretary to: (1) establish an advisory committee; and (2) issue final regulations for training of staff of agencies responsible for administering foster care and adoption assistance programs, and for training of foster care and adoptive parents. Directs the Secretary annually to publish information, on a State-by-State basis, on expenditures for, and the operation of, the Child Welfare Services program, the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program, and Comprehensive Service Projects. Amends SSA title IV to add a new part G, Child Welfare Review System. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish such system to: (1) review each State child welfare program to assess whether the requirements of the Act are being carried out; (2) impose financial penalties in cases of substantial failure to comply; and (3) provide technical assistance to any such program. Sets forth provisions relating to effects of noncompliance, suspension and rescission of financial penalties, and administrative and judicial review. Requires that all State child welfare programs be reviewed at least once by the end of FY 1997. Prohibits the Secretary from reducing or withholding any payment, or seeking any repayment from any State under part B or E, by reason of a determination made in connection with specified reviews or audits for certain periods. Prohibits suspension of payments with respect to any claim for reimbursement 30 days after the HHS Secretary receives the quarterly statement of expenditures that contains the report of the claim. Provides that within ten months after the Secretary takes any action to suspend payment with respect to such a claim, the Secretary shall: (1) determine the allowability of the claim; or (2) if unable to make such a determination, make payment with respect to the claim, subject to a later determination of allowability. Title III: Social Services Block Grant - Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to authorize increased appropriations for title XX programs. Provides for the allocation to tribal organizations of program funds otherwise allotted to the State in which the Indians represented by such an organization reside. Title IV: Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Activities - Amends part A (General Provisions) of SSA title XI to require the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to establish an Advisory Commission on Children and Families. Requires the Commission to collect and assess specified types of information in order to identify cost-effective approaches to protect and enhance the physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being of children and their families. Directs OTA to report annually to the Congress on the Commission and its assessment. Requires the Commission to conduct, through contracts with independent research organizations, the following research and evaluation projects: (1) the evaluation of child welfare service programs, including intensive family preservation programs; (2) foster care evaluations; (3) longitudinal child welfare data bases, and studies of child welfare population dynamics; and (4) comprehensive service projects evaluations. Requires the Commission to study child separation guidelines. Directs the HHS Secretary to conduct the following research and evaluations: (1) a study (under contract with an independent research organization) to assess the prevalence and nature of risks to the safety of employees of child welfare systems; and (2) a three-year study (under contract with an organization with demonstrated appropriate experience) to examine methodologies for measuring the workloads of providers of child welfare services and community mental health services. Directs the HHS Secretary to make grants to States or localities for child welfare demonstration projects concerning abandoned child permanent placement. Directs the HHS Secretary to authorize eligible institutions to conduct demonstration projects to train eligible individuals to deliver culturally sensitive and bilingual child welfare services in U.S. areas that border on Mexico. Directs the HHS Secretary to make grants to eligible institutions to conduct projects to train eligible institutions to deliver culturally sensitive and bilingual welfare services in urban centers which have a high proportion of historically unserved or underserved populations. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to make grants to State or local government agencies to conduct demonstration projects designed to: (1) develop and implement innovative recruitment or retention strategies for trained staff in public and private nonprofit agencies working with children and adolescents at risk of being placed in foster care; and (2) test the effect of joint training programs for the staff of child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice agencies, and for judicial personnel and judges. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to conduct demonstration projects designed to test the feasibility of eliminating income and resource requirements respecting foster care and adoption assistance payments. Directs the HHS Secretary to provide technical assistance to States for: (1) interpreting and implementing parts B, C, and E; (2) disseminating information on innovative child welfare agencies; (3) correcting problems identified through Federal audits and reviews and carrying out corrective action plans under part E; (4) implementing the foster care and adoption data collection system; and (5) addressing other matters identified by the HHS Secretary. Title V: Miscellaneous Human Resources Amendments - Amends the AFDC program to give States the option of using retrospective budgeting without monthly reporting under AFDC. Increases the amount of stepparent income disregarded under AFDC. Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to extend demonstration projects for evaluating model procedures for reviewing child support awards. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to make technical corrections relating to human resource and income security provisions. Title VI: Childhood Hunger Relief - Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act - Subtitle A: Ensuring Adequate Food Assistance - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to remove the excess shelter deduction cap for purposes of food stamp program eligibility. (Sets forth transitional caps through 1996.) Eliminates food stamp reductions for households reapplying for program reinstatement within 30 days. Excludes 100 percent (currently only a specified portion) of third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless from consideration as program income. Increases funding for the nutrition assistance program in Puerto Rico. Excludes general assistance vendor payments from consideration as program income. Excludes the income of high school students from consideration as program income. (Current law excludes income until a student's eighteenth birthday.) Subtitle B: Promoting Self-Sufficiency - Excludes from consideration as program income: (1) the first $50 a month received as child support; and (2) child support payments to non-household members. Increases annually the fair market value limit of vehicles that program recipients may own. Subtitle C: Simplifying the Provision of Food Assistance - Permits related adults living in the same household to apply for separate program benefits under specified conditions. Repeals provisions authorizing benefit reductions due to insufficient funding. Subtitle D: Commodity Distribution to Needy Families - Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to provide for increased allotments in FY 1993 for commodity purchases under the emergency food assistance program. Subtitle E: Implementation and Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this title. Title VII: Funding - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a surtax on individuals with incomes over $1,000,000.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Supports the planting of 500 redwood trees from California on the northwest coast of Spain in commemoration of the quincentenary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World. Designates such trees as a gift to the people of Spain made in the name of the people of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should seek the consent of the Senate to the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations on November 20, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1992
Designates May of each year as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Designates October 8, 1992, as National Firefighters Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Denounces the sexual misconduct that occurred at the annual Navy Tailhook Association symposium in September 1991. Calls on the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the ongoing Department of Defense investigation of such misconduct is full and uncompromising. Urges the Secretary of the Navy to recommend and initiate full disciplinary procedures against any culpable individuals. Recognizes the importance of equality of opportunity for women and men in the armed forces to achieving mutual respect between the sexes. Urges the Secretary of Defense to make available to female military personnel the same opportunities available to male personnel, to the extent consistent with the protection and security of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1992
National Biological Resources Research and Development Act - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution a National Center for Biological Resources (Research and Development) to facilitate the collection, synthesis, and dissemination of information relating to the sustainable use, research, development, and conservation of biological resources. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1992
Electronic Commerce Act of 1992 - Establishes in the National Institute of Standards and Technology a Program for Electronic Commerce to promote the use of electronic commerce technologies by U.S. manufacturing firms, particularly small- and medium-sized firms. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Institute, to establish related Centers for Electronic Commerce; and (2) Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology to disseminate information and expertise received from such Centers. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1992
International Refugee Protection Act of 1992 - States that: (1) the Congress affirms that U.S. obligations under certain international refugee agreements have applied to U.S. actions with respect to persons outside U.S. territorial boundaries; and (2) the United States shall refrain from the involuntary return of refugees to their home country from boundaries outside the United States or from the territorial waters of such home country, with specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1992
Provides for all Federal civilian and military retirees to receive the full cost-of-living adjustment in annuities payable under Federal retirement systems for 1993. (Includes benefits payable under the Civil Service Retirement and Disability System, military retirement and survivor benefit programs, the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System, the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and railroad retirement programs.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1992
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 23, 1992, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1992
Designates March 1993 as Irish-American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Every Fifth Child Appropriations Act - Appropriates funds to carry out the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC program) authorized in specified provisions of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Declares that, in order to achieve full funding for the program, there should be specified amounts appropriated in certain fiscal years. Appropriates funds to carry out the Head Start programs authorized in specified provisions of the Head Start Act. Declares that, in order to achieve full funding for the programs, there should be specified amounts appropriated in certain fiscal years. Appropriates funds to carry out the Job Corps program authorized in specified provisions of the Job Training Partnership Act. Declares that, in order to establish a minimum number of additional centers, serve a minimum additional number of youths, and achieve full funding for the program, there should be specified amounts appropriated in certain fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Designates July 2, 1992, as National Literacy Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Title I: General Provisions - National Competitiveness Act of 1992 - Sets forth the purposes and goals of this Act. Title II: Manufacturing - Manufacturing Technology and Extension Act of 1992 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to designate the Department of Commerce as the lead civilian Federal agency to work with U.S. industry, State and local governments, and private entities to enhance U.S. manufacturing capabilities. Establishes the Nationwide Network of Manufacturing Outreach Centers to assist U.S. manufacturers, especially small and medium-sized firms, to expand the use of technology and modern manufacturing processes. Provides for a related communications infrastructure and information clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes the Advanced Manufacturing Systems and Networking Projects program to create technology development programs to create advanced computer-integrated, electronically-networked manufacturing technologies and associated applications. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish local manufacturing offices. Eliminates the requirement that a Manufacturing Technology Center be financially self-supporting after six years of operation. Authorizes appropriations for existing and new centers. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to expand the Engineering Research Centers program with emphasis on advanced manufacturing. Authorizes the establishment of up to five new Centers for such purpose. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Critical Technologies - Subtitle A: Miscellaneous - Requires the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees regarding any executive branch international trade negotiations which might affect Federal research and development programs. Subtitle B: Council on Technology and Competitiveness - Establishes within the Executive Office of the President a Council on Technology and Competitiveness. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Advanced Technology Program - Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress an expansion plan for the Advanced Technology program. Requires the establishment of at least two new critical technologies consortia. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Technology Commercialization Loans - Authorizes the Secretary to make technology commercialization loans. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Critical Technologies Development-Part I: General Provisions - Critical Technologies Development Act of 1992 - Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology (Under Secretary) to establish a critical technologies development advisory committee. Part II: Program Structure and Operation - Establishes a program of financing qualified business concerns through federally assisted licensees. Part III: Enforcement - Provides for license enforcement. Part IV: Miscellaneous - Authorizes the Under Secretary to issue and guarantee trust certificates for licensee preferred securities. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: International Standardization - Amends the American Technology Preeminence Act of 1991 to expand the standards pilot program to promote the dissemination of U.S. technical standards abroad. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress with regard to the appropriate Federal role in developing and promulgating domestic and global product and quality standards. Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the Office of the Under Secretary; (2) technology policy; (3) Japanese technical literature; (4) National Technical Information Service modernization, including a facilities study; and (5) specified activities within the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Prohibits the fraudulent use of "Made in America" labels. Provides for compliance with the Buy American Act. Prohibits the making of a Malcolm Baldrige Award within a category or subcategory if there are no qualifying enterprises in that category or subcategory. Title VI: Competitiveness Research, Data Collection, and Evaluation - Directs the Secretary to conduct a competitiveness research program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Designates February 21 through 27, 1993, as American Wine Appreciation Week. Commends the winegrape and fruit growers and vintners of the United States for the production of high quality agricultural products.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1992
Prohibits a member of the armed forces or person seeking to become a member from being discriminated against by the armed forces on the basis of sexual orientation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1992
Designates September 10, 1992, as National DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Designates the week beginning February 14, 1993, as National Visiting Nurse Associations Week.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Civil War Battlefield Commemorative Coin Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Civil War battlefield preservation. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires that all sales include a surcharge of $35 per coin for the five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for the one-dollar coins, and $1 per coin for the half-dollar coins. Requires that all surcharges be paid to the Civil War Battlefield Foundation for the preservation of historically significant Civil War battlefields.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Trade Expansion Act of 1992 - Title I: Market Access Provisions - Subtitle A: Enforcement of United States Rights Under Trade Agreements and Response to Certain Foreign Trade Practices - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend through calendar year 1997 the requirement that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) identify U.S. trade liberalization priorities. Expresses the sense of the Congress that foreign countries that have substantial trade surpluses with the United States, and maintain acts, policies, or practices that are major barriers to, or distortions of, potential U.S. export trade, should be identified (for purposes of "Super 301" under the Trade Act of 1974) as priority foreign countries, and such acts, policies, or practices identified as priority practices. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize any interested person to request the USTR to review to determine whether a foreign country is in material compliance with the terms of a trade agreement. Defines an "interested person" as any person with a significant economic interest that is being or has been adversely affected by a foreign country's failure to comply materially with terms of a trade agreement. Requires the USTR to determine what action to take if a foreign country is found not in material compliance with such agreement. Directs the USTR to initiate an investigation of all acts, policies, and practices of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan that affect the access of U.S. rice to their markets. Requires the USTR to negotiate the elimination of such acts, policies, and practices, and report to the Congress on the progress of such negotiations. Subtitle B: International Trade in Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Parts - Directs the USTR to initiate an investigation of all acts, policies, and practices of Japan that affect the access of U.S. motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts to its market, including but not limited to: (1) acts, policies, and practices utilized in the Japanese automotive distribution system; (2) toleration of anticompetitive activities by private Japanese firms (including "Keiretsu"); (3) exclusionary business practices; and (4) testing requirements and other government regulations. Requires the USTR to negotiate with Japan for a trade agreement that: (1) eliminates such acts, policies, and practices; (2) provides enforcement of Japan's commitments under the Structural Impediments Initiative, the Market -Oriented Sector Specific agreements, and the Action Plan announced at the Tokyo Summit in January 1992 with respect to trade in, and purchase of, motor vehicles and motor vehicles parts; (3) establishes long term goals for the purchase by Japanese motor vehicle manufacturers of high value-added motor vehicle parts and accessories; and (4) establishes procedures for the exchange of information between the United States and Japan that will permit the accurate assessment of the bilateral trade in motor vehicle parts. Requires the USTR to report to the Congress if such negotiations prove unsuccessful. Directs the President to negotiate with Japan for a voluntary restraint agreement that will provide for the imposition of limitations on the aggregate number of Japanese passenger automobiles and light trucks that may be exported to the United States between 1992 and 2000. Authorizes the President to enforce such agreements. Requires specified reports with respect to such negotiations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the USTR should refer to the U.S. Government all information pertaining to Japanese acts, policies, and practices that adversely affect access to the purchasing by Japanese motor vehicle manufacturers in the United States of U.S. motor vehicle parts by Japanese-owned or-controlled producers. Requires the Board established by the Foreign-Trade Zones Act to: (1) review the operations of U.S. and foreign motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts producers to determine any positive economic effect on the United States of such Act; and (2) take appropriate action, including revocation or modification of a foreign-trade zone or subzone grant, with respect to any producer whose operations in such zone are determined not to have a net positive effect on the U.S. economy. Title II: Customs Modernization - Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act - Subtitle A: Improvements in Customs Enforcement - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise customs procedures with respect to: (1) electronic transmission of forged, altered, or false data to the United States Customs Service with regard to the entry of imported merchandise; (2) penalties for failure to declare imported controlled substances; (3) examination and detention of imported merchandise; (4) certain recordkeeping requirements; (5) examination of books and witnesses; (6) review of protests by the Customs Service; (7) a repeal of a provision relating to the reliquidation on account of fraud; (8) penalties relating to manifests, false drawback or refund claims, and for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence; (9) unlawful unlading or transshipment; (10) public access to Customs Service interpretative rulings and decisions; and (11) seizure of imported merchandise. Subtitle B: National Customs Automation Program - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to establish the National Customs Automation Program which shall be an automated and electronic system for the processing of commercial imports. Provides for electronic data transmission relating to: (1) remote location filing; (2) effective date of rates of duty on imported merchandise; (3) merchandise manifests; (4) imported merchandise invoices; (5) entry and release of imported merchandise; (6) admissibility in administrative and judicial proceedings of electronically transmitted information; (7) appraisement and liquidations of imported merchandise; (8) the payment of duties; (9) abandonment and damage to imported merchandise; (10) protests of Customs Service decisions; (11) refunds and errors; (12) bonds and other security; and (13) customs house brokers. Requires a refund (drawback) of duties (less one per cent of such duties) on articles produced in the United States with imported merchandise that have been destroyed under Customs Service supervision, provided such articles have not been used prior to such destruction. Sets forth provisions with respect to customs officer's immunity in regard to the appraisement of or collection of duties on imported merchandise. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize the Secretary to disregard the difference, but not less than $20 (currently ten dollars), between the total estimated duties deposited with respect to imported merchandise and the total amount actually due on such merchandise. Authorizes the Secretary to admit duty-free: (1) gifts from persons in foreign countries to persons in the United States whose value does not exceed $100 (currently, $50), or $200 (currently, $100) in the case of gifts from persons in the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa; (2) articles accompanying persons for personal or household use whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, $25); or (3) articles whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, five dollars) in other cases. Authorizes the Secretary to waive collection of duties due on merchandise that are worth less than $20, or such greater amount as prescribed by him or her. Requires masters of vessels that have visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise while outside the U.S. territorial sea to report their arrival to the nearest customs facility. Provides for the electronic transmission of vessel documentation to the Customs Service. Requires the following vessels to report to the nearest Customs Service facility within 24 hours (or other period of time) as provided after arrival to a U.S. port: (1) vessels from a foreign port; (2) foreign vessels from a domestic port; (3) U.S. vessels having bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (4) vessels which visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise outside the U.S. territorial sea. Authorizes the Secretary to permit masters of vessels to make preliminary entry of their vessel with the Customs Service in lieu of or before formal entry is made. Requires U.S. and foreign vessels to obtain clearance from the Customs Service before proceeding from a U.S. port for: (1) a foreign port; (2) another U.S. port (for foreign vessels only), or (for U.S. vessels only) another U.S. port if the vessel has bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (3) outside the U.S. territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or to receive merchandise. Exempts from entry and clearance requirements certain passenger vessels on excursion from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the British Virgin Islands and returning, U.S. documented vessels with recreational endorsement, or (as under current law) undocumented U.S. pleasure vessels not engaged in trade, except such vessels must comply upon arrival with specified customs reporting requirements and navigation laws and must not have visited any hovering vessel. Prohibits merchandise, passengers, or baggage from being unladen from any vessel required to make entry or vehicle required to report its arrival until such entry or report of arrival is made and a permit for unlading has been issued by the Customs Service. Authorizes the issuance of such permits through electronic data transmission. Requires every importer of record of merchandise to make and file electronically or otherwise a declaration stating whether such merchandise is imported pursuant to a purchase or purchase agreement and that all other required documents are true and correct. Requires persons who gained any benefit from, or met any obligation to the United States as the result of the prior exportation of merchandise that has returned as undeliverable to inform the Customs Service of the return of such merchandise within a reasonable time. Provides for electronic data transmission of entry information to complete any incomplete entry of imported merchandise. Declares entered or unentered merchandise that remains in customs custody for six months, with an extension at the importer's request of up to a year (currently, for merchandise that remains in custody for one year), and in which duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges have not been paid, to be unclaimed merchandise which shall be appraised and sold by the Customs Service at public auction. Authorizes the sale of imported gunpowder and other explosive merchandise that if permitted to remain in a bonded warehouse for six months (currently, one year) would depreciate in value to the extent that its sale would be insufficient to pay such duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges. Authorizes the Customs Service, in lieu of sale, to provide notice to interested parties that, unless, within 30 days of such notice, the subject merchandise is entered or withdrawn for consumption and payment made of all duties, taxes, and fees, transfer and storage charges and other expenses that title to such merchandise shall be deemed to vest in the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to pay to a party that has lost a substantial interest in merchandise by virtue of title vesting in the United States, and can establish that it did not receive a vesting notice, an amount from the Customs Forfeiture Fund equal to what such party would have received if such merchandise had been sold and a proper claim filed. Requires any surplus of the proceeds from the sale of such merchandise to be deposited into the Fund if a claim for such surplus is not filed with the Customs Service. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the declaration and entry of merchandise whose value does not exceed a certain amount, not more than $2,500 (currently not greater than $1,250), and/or when different commercial facilitation and risk considerations that may vary for different classes or kinds of merchandise or different classes of transactions may dictate. Requires the Secretary upon seizure and forfeiture of imported merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark to dispose of such merchandise more than 90 days (currently, one year) after such forfeiture. Authorizes withdrawal of imported merchandise from a warehouse for transfer to a foreign trade zone. Authorizes the Customs Service to order the destruction or other appropriate disposition of vessels, vehicles, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage that has been seized under the customs laws if it determines that the expense of keeping such items is disportionate to their value (currently applies only to items of less than $1,000 in value). Authorizes the use of funds from the Customs Forfeiture Fund for the payment of: (1) certain transfer and storage charges and expenses; and (2) claims against Customs Service employees. Requires actions for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence, false drawback or refund claims, and restoration of lawful duties with respect to imported merchandise to be instituted within five years after the alleged violation or discovery of such fraud. Requires the Customs Service to be reimbursed the administrative cost and expense incurred in collecting fees on behalf of other Federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to settle, for no more than $50,000 in each case, claims for personal injury, death, or damage to, or loss of, privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer of the Customs Service. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with persons for collection services to recover indebtedness arising under the customs laws, provided the Customs Service has exhausted all administrative efforts to collect such indebtedness. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions and Consequential and Conforming Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to exempt from such Schedule articles which are returned within 45 days after being exported from the United States as undeliverable and which have not left the custody of the carrier or foreign customs service. Prohibits such exportations from satisfying any requirement for exportation in order to receive a benefit from, or meet an obligation, to the United States as a result of such exportation. Declares that certain railway locomotives and railway freight cars on which no duty is owed are not subject to the entry or release requirements for imported merchandise under the Tariff Act of 1930. Exempts instruments of international trade, such as containers, lift vans, rail cars and locomotives, truck cabs and trailers, etc., from formal entry procedures. Requires them to be accounted for however, when imported to and exported from the United States through the manifesting procedures required for international carriers by the U.S. Customs Service. Amends the Internal Revenue Code and other specified Federal law with respect to: (1) certain expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund; and (2) coastwise trade vessels and U.S. vessels visiting foreign ports. Amends Federal law to grant the Court of International Trade exclusive jurisdiction of any civil action for review decisions of the Customs Service that deny, suspend, or revoke accreditation of private customs laboratories. Bars the commencement of such actions unless brought before such Court within 60 days of such decisions. Repeals specified provisions of Federal law. Requires the Commissioner of Customs to report to the Congress each fiscal year after FY 1992 on the collection of duties imposed under the antidumping and countervailing duty laws. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to authorize the Commissioner of Customs to obtain from the operators of centralized cargo examination stations information on fees paid for the provision of services at such stations. Requires the Commissioner to report to specified congressional committees on the payment of such fees. Amends the Customs and Trade Act of 1990 to require the Commissioner of Customs to: (1) devise a methodology for estimating the level of compliance with the U.S. customs laws; and (2) evaluate the extent to which such compliance was obtained during the 12-month period preceeding the 60th day before each fiscal year 1993 through 1995. Directs the Commissioner to initiate, and submit to the Congress, a compliance review of certain carrier services. Title III: Customs and Trade Agency Authorizations for Fiscal Years 1993 and 1994 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize appropriations to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) for FY 1993 and 1994. Earmarks a specified amount for reception and entertainment expenses. Prohibits use of such funds for any special study, investigation, or report requested by an agency of the executive branch unless such agency reimburses the ITC for its costs. Amends the Customs Procedural Reform and Simplification Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations to the United States Customs Service for FY 1993 and 1994 for: (1) noncommercial operations; (2) commercial operations; and (3) the air interdiction program. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriaitons to the Office of the United States Trade Representative for FY 1993 and 1994. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize apropriations for FY 1993 and 1994 for certain expenditures from the Customs Forfeiture Fund relating to purchases by the Customs Service of evidence of smuggling of controlled substances. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to eliminate the East-West Trade Statistics Monitoring System. Title IV: Miscellaneous Trade Provisions - Subtitle A: Nontariff Provisions - Directs the President to negotiate trade agreements that eliminate the adverse effects of anticompetitive practices on international trade. Requires the President to report to the Congress on the status of such negotiations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President, with respect to ensuring the effectiveness of the U.S. embargo of Cuba, should seek negotiations with countries that trade with Cuba to seek their agreement to restrict trade relations with it. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to require the Secretary of the Treasury, at the request of the Secretary of Commerce (currently, authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury): (1) to take necessary action to ensure the attainment of the objectives of the machine tool decision of the President on May 20, 1986, and on December 27, 1991; and (2) to enforce any imported machine tool quantitative limitations, restrictions, or other terms contained in related bilateral arrangements. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce the quantitative limitations and other provisions of bilateral arrangements negotiated with Taiwan on December 31, 1991, pursuant to the President's machine tool decision of May 20, 1986, until bilateral agreements are negotiated with such country pursuant to the President's December 27, 1991, decision. Directs the ITC to report to the Congress propsals for consolidating and simplifying U.S. international trade laws. Requires the Director of the Congressional Research Service to make recommendations to the Congress about establishment of a special unit that would: (1) integrate the resources of the Service, the ITC, and other appropriate agencies; and (2) serve as a central and objective source of information for the Congress on data and trends in trade between the United States and foreign countries. Subtitle B: Foreign Subsidies and Countervailing and Antidumping Duty Amendments - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require completion of reviews by the administering authority of the amount of duty with respect to countervailing and antidumping duty orders by the 270th day after the day on which a request for review was received. (Currently, there is no such deadline for completion of such a review.) Requires the ITC to consider contracts with long lead time as a factor when making material injury determinations with respect to an affected domestic industry in countervailing and antidumping duty investigations. Declares that the presence or absence of any factor the ITC is required to consider shall not give decisive guidance with respect to any threat of material injury determinations. Provides that, with respect to the determination of foreign market value of imported merchandise under investigation, no allowance shall be made to account for differences in input costs that are based on whether the end product made from the input is sold in the home market or exported. Requires the United States Customs Service to report annually to the administering authority on the amount of duties collected during each year under each countervailing and antidumping duty order. Requires the administering authority to make such data available to interested parties. Requires the administering authority, when determining whether imported parts or components are circumventing an antidumping or countervailing duty order or finding, and whether to include such parts or components in such order or finding, to consider: (1) the pattern of trade; (2) the value and sources of supply of parts or components historically used in completion or assembly of the merchandise subject to such order; (3) whether the manufacturer or exporter of such parts or components is related to the person who assembles or completes the merchandise sold in the United States from the parts or components produced in the foreign country with respect to which the order or finding applies; and (4) whether imports into the United States of the parts or components produced in such foreign country have increased after the issuance of such order or finding. Authorizes the administering authority to include within the scope of such order or finding imported parts or components that are used in the completion or assembly of certain merchandise sold in the United States and subject to such order or finding, provided: (1) such merchandise is completed or assembled in the United States from parts or components supplied by the exporter or producer with respect to which such order or finding applies, from suppliers that have historically supplied the parts or components to that exporter or producer, or from any party in the exporting country supplying parts or components on behalf of such exporter or producer; (2) the value of such imported parts and components is significant in relation to the total value of all parts and components used in the assembly or completion operation, excluding packing, of the imported merchandise covered by such order or finding; or (3) consideration of specified factors establishes a pattern of circumvention of a countervailing and antidumping duty order or finding. Enables the administering authority to base such a decision on any of such factors by itself, rather than on all of them together. Sets forth similar provisions for merchandise completed or assembled in other foreign countries. Directs the Secretary of Commerce and the ITC to study and report to the Congress on modification of standards applicable to the initiation of countervailing and antidumping duty actions in order to make petitioning for such initiations less costly and more accessible for domestic petitioners. Requires the USTR to report to the Congress on the operation of the Agreement Concerning the Application of the GATT Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft between the United States and the European Community. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should not enter into any international trade agreement on antidumping requiring changes in U.S. antidumping laws that would reduce the effectiveness of such laws as a remedy against injurious dumped imports. Urges the President to review antidumping provisions contained in the Draft Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations dated December 21, 1991 and seek changes to strengthen the effectiveness of U.S. antidumping laws, including, but not limited to, changes in provisions dealing with cumulation of injury and dispute settlement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. Government should not condone the use by foreign governments of trade distorting subsidies, including development subsidies, that cause material injury to U.S. industries. Subtitle C: Other Tariff Provisions - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to remove the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from the list of countries ineligible for designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to create a new tariff classification to cover imports of motor fuel blending stocks. Imposes a duty on such stocks. Revises the classification of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates and linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acids. Revises a specified subheading relating to nonalloy iron and steel pipes and tubes to include non-galvanized forms of such products. Increases the duty on certain other iron and steel pipes and tubes. Imposes a duty on galvanized nonalloy iron and steel pipes and tubes having a specified thickness. Increases the duty on certain stainless steel pipes and tubes. Authorizes the USTR to negotiate compensation for claims made pursuant to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or any other trade agreement to which the United States is a party, as a result of the amendments made by this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to producers of watches in the insular possessions of the United States who are wage certificate holders, to pay to such a holder, at the holder's election, the face value of such certificates less the value of: (1) any duty refunds claimed by the holder under the certificate; and (2) any duty refunds under such certificate that are sold by such holder. Grants duty-free treatment of articles (not over $600 in value) acquired in Bermuda. Grants duty-free treatment to sweaters in which the number of U.S. citizens, nationals, or resident aliens who perform the assembly operations (in Guam) comprise at least 50 percent of the total number of assembly production workers. Sets forth specified exceptions. Provides that stuffed dolls and doll skins that are imported into the United States on or after December 31, 1985, and before October 1, 1988, shall be liquidated as duty free as of October 1, 1988. Declares that a specified production incentive certificate shall be deemed to have been reissued on the 15th day after the enactment of this Act, and shall expire one year after such day. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to exempt semiconductors from the country of origin marking requirements under such Act. Amends the Foreign Trade Zones Act to extend until December 31, 1994, the exclusion of bicycle component parts from the exemption from customs laws provided by such Act. Treats certain entries of fabric wholly of polyamide as having been exported from the United States in accordance with and in satisfaction of the temporary importation bond and obligations of The Umbrellas: Joint Project for Japan and U.S.A. Corporation if specified conditions are met. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to authorize the extension of time (not to exceed five years) for the exportation of articles to be repaired, altered, or processed, including processes which result in articles manufactured or produced in the United States, that are imported duty-free under bond, provided that any extension beyond the third year must be accompanied by the importer's certification that such articles are to be incorporated into a communications satellite. Subjects to liquidated damages any such articles imported after January 1, 1983, and before the effective date of this Act, that are certified by the importer as having been dedicated for incorporation into a communications satellite, and as not having been exported within the time required because of launch schedule delays. Limits such liquidated damages to a maximum one percent of the liquidated damages established under the bond.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Congratulates the residents of Jerusalem and the peopole of Israel on the 25th anniversary of the reunification of that city. Urges that: (1) Jerusalem remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected; and (2) the President and Secretary of State issue an unequivocal statement in support of such principle.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1992
Designates September 18, 1992, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Requires the POW/MIA flag to be flown on a flagstaff of the White House, the Departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Selective Service Commission, each national cemetery, and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on such day. Requires the flag to be flown on a flagstaff of each national cemetery and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 30, 1992 (Memorial Day), and on November 11, 1992 (Veterans Day). States that the flag shall be displayed as a symbol of national concern and commitment to resolving the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing, and unaccounted for.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1992
Designates October 4 through 10, 1992, as Mental Illness Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1992
Designates August 7, 1992, as Battle of Guadalcanal Remembrance Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1992
Jobs Through Exports Act of 1992 - Title I: Overseas Private Investment Corporation - Overseas Private Investment Corporation Amendments Act of 1992 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise provisions concerning the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Provides that a country or areas within a country may be eligible for OPIC assistance if: (1) the country has established diplomatic relations with the United States; (2) the country or area is a developing country or area, or a country in transition from a nonmarket to market economy; and (3) the country respects human rights. Raises the ceiling on the per capita income levels of countries established for purposes of granting preferential consideration for, or restricting, OPIC investment projects. Authorizes OPIC, in any case in which a country no longer meets eligibility criteria, to continue its programs in the country but prohibits the extension of new assistance with respect to projects involving the country's government. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to hold OPIC's capital stock. Authorizes OPIC to establish an equity finance program (currently, a four-year pilot program to be conducted only in Subsaharan African countries and Caribbean countries designated as beneficiary countries under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Program). Prescribes monetary and criminal penalties for fraudulent activities involving OPIC. Raises the ceiling on the maximum contingent liability allowed for OPIC insurance and outstanding guarantees. Authorizes OPIC to transfer amounts from a noncredit account revolving fund to pay subsidy costs of program levels for the loan guarantee and direct loan programs. Permits OPIC to draw specified amounts for FY 1993 through 1995 from such fund for administrative costs of such programs. Eliminates OPIC's exemption from Federal taxation. Title II: Trade and Development Agency - Redesignates the Trade and Development Program as the Trade and Development Agency. Requires the Agency to disseminate information about its activities to the private sector. Sets forth Agency auditing requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993. Title III: Aid, Trade, and Competitiveness - Aid, Trade, and Competitiveness Act of 1992 - Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to establish a capital projects office to: (1) develop a program that would focus solely on developmentally sound capital projects; and (2) consider opportunities for U.S. high-technology firms in supporting capital projects for developing countries and countries making the transition from nonmarket to market economies. Sets forth the activities of the capital projects office. Directs the President to report annually to the Congress on the extent to which: (1) U.S. Government resources have been expended to support capital projects in such countries and the extent of interagency coordination; and (2) U.S. Government capital projects and tied-aid programs have affected U.S. exports. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, if negotiations for the implementation of the December 16, 1991, agreement within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have not been completed by August 1, 1992, to report to the Congress on: (1) the status of negotiations; (2) the causes for the failure to reach an agreement by that date; and (3) the reasons the U.S. Government believes that continued negotiations will result in achieving such objective. Urges the President to use specified types and amounts of assistance for grants for capital projects. Directs the President to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the feasibility of allowing AID to offer credit guarantees for the financing of capital projects. Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1993 for the Trade and Development Agency. Title IV: United States Commercial Centers - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish, as a five-year pilot program, a United States Commercial Center in one Baltic State (to serve Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States) and in one country in Asia and Latin America to provide additional resources for the promotion of exports of U.S. goods and services to such countries. Requires the Centers to make business facilities and services and commercial law information services available on a user fee basis. Directs the Secretary to use the Market Development Cooperator Program to assist in carrying out the purposes of the Centers. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Federal Facilities Toxics Release Act - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act to require Federal facilities that are subject to safety or chemical inventory reporting requirements under such Act or that manufacture or use a toxic chemical listed under such Act in excess of threshold amounts to comply with all Federal, State, and local requirements respecting emergency planning, notification, and reporting on substances covered by such Act. Waives sovereign immunity and the immunity of Federal employees for purposes of enforcement and injunctive relief. Authorizes the President to exempt a facility from requirements for one year if it is in the U.S. interest. Prohibits such an exemption due to lack of appropriations unless the President has specifically requested the appropriation as part of the budgetary process and the Congress failed to make it available. Authorizes additional exemptions for periods of up to one year. Permits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to commence administrative enforcement actions against Federal agencies pursuant to this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on making chemicals used by Federal facilities subject to toxic chemical release form requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Western Hemisphere Environmental, Labor, and Agricultural Standards Act of 1992 - Declares that any free-trade area agreement negotiated under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (OTCA) in furtherance of the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative with any country in the Western Hemisphere outside North America must include the achievement of certain environmental, labor, and agricultural standards as principal negotiating objectives in addition to any other OTCA mandates. Sets forth worker rights and standards, including among others: (1) freedom of association and the right to organize free and independent unions, bargain collectively, and strike; (2) certain minimum ages for the employment of children in specified circumstances; (3) the right to a healthy working environment; (4) equal protection; and (5) humane standards of wages and hours of work. Sets forth principal negotiating objectives for environmental quality and protection, including among others: (1) protection of the integrity of ecosystems; (2) a process for full public disclosures of kinds, quantities, and risks of toxic chemical and hazardous substance discharges; and (3) prevention of the export of toxic and hazardous substances and products, and of products manufactured, extracted, or grown under environmental or workplace safety and health conditions that undermine comparable standards in the importing country. Requires adoption, in any such agreement, of the principle that systematic denial or practical negation of such labor and environmental standards constitutes an actionable unfair trade practice. Requires any such agreement to establish a comprehensive dispute resolution process with specified provisions, including one for a multilateral commission with authority to investigate, adjudicate, and issue timely binding judgments. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology to establish, through the Federal Coordinating Council on Science, Engineering, and Technology, an interagency committee to provide technical assistance to U.S. experts on the multilateral dispute resolution commission.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
North American Environmental, Labor, and Agricultural Standards Act of 1992 - Declares that any free-trade area trade agreement negotiated under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (OTCA) with Canada and Mexico (NAFTA) must include the achievement of certain environmental, labor, and agricultural standards as principal negotiating objectives in addition to any other OTCA mandates. Sets forth worker rights and standards, including among others: (1) freedom of association and the right to organize free and independent unions, bargain collectively, and strike; (2) certain minimum ages for the employment of children in specified circumstances; (3) the right to a healthy working environment; (4) equal protection; and (5) humane standards of wages and hours of work. Sets forth principal negotiating objectives for environmental quality and protection, including among others: (1) protection of the integrity of ecosystems; (2) a process for full public disclosure of kinds, quantities, and risks of toxic chemical and hazardous substance discharges; and (3) prevention of the export of toxic and hazardous substances and products, and of products manufactured, extracted, or grown under environmental or workplace safety and health conditions that undermine comparable standards in the importing country. Requires adoption, in any such agreement, of the principle that systematic denial or practical negation of such labor and environmental standards constitutes an actionable unfair trade practice. Requires any such agreement to establish a comprehensive dispute resolution process with specified provisions, including one for a trinational commission with authority to investigate, adjudicate, and issue timely binding judgments. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology to establish, through the Federal Coordinating Council on Science, Engineering, and Technology, an interagency committee to provide technical assistance to U.S. experts on the trinational dispute resolution commission.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
American Products for International Consumption and Services Program Act of 1992 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President to establish an American Products for International Consumption and Services Program to be carried out with economic assistance funds. Declares that the purpose of the Program shall be to use the expertise of U.S. citizens to provide technical training and assistance to foreign countries that are developing free market economies and whose manufacturing sectors are outdated or unproductive to: (1) encourage such countries to modernize their manufacturing sector by acquiring equipment from the United States; and (2) assist such countries in acquiring and using such equipment. Requires the Program to assemble teams of U.S. citizens who are experienced professionals or technicians with expertise relevant to manufacturing to be sent to such countries on a short term basis to: (1) analyze individual companies and develop programs for the modernization of such companies using U.S. manufacturing equipment; and (2) assist such companies in the purchase, shipment, and installation of such equipment and provide training with respect to such equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Designates September 16, 1992, as National Occupational Therapy Day.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Designates September 1992 as National Spina Bifida Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Designates the second Sunday in October 1992 as National Children's Day.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Designates April 26 through May 2, 1992, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Designates January 16, 1993, as Religious Freedom Day.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Condemns the extraconstitutional and anti-democratic actions of President Fujimori in Peru. Commends President Bush for his condemnation of such actions and suspension of U.S. assistance. Calls on: (1) President Fujimori to immediately restore the democratically-elected Congress, the judiciary, civil liberties, and a free and independent news media, to release political detainees, and to ensure respect for human rights; (2) the President to continue the suspension of U.S. assistance and seek to delay approval of any international loans for Peru until civilian democratic government is restored and to consider further actions to encourage such restoration; and (3) the Organization of American States to adopt measures that will help restore democracy in Peru.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1992
Condemns the conduct since November 1991 of General Mohamed Farah Aideed, Interim President Ali Mahdi Mohamed, and other warring parties in Somalia (the parties) which has resulted in the destruction of Mogadishu and has placed the entire civilian population of the city at risk. Calls upon the parties to: (1) curb the violence and destruction by immediately suspending artillery shelling; (2) guarantee protection of relief commodities; and (3) participate in good faith in United Nations (UN) sponsored efforts to achieve a ceasefire and political reconciliation in Somalia. Commends: (1) the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance for its efforts to provide food and humanitarian relief to Somalia; and (2) UN Secretary General Boutros Ghali for his attention to Somalia and for promoting the adoption of resolutions on Somalia in the UN Security Council. Calls upon the U.S. representative to the UN to urge the UN to: (1) appoint a special UN envoy to Somalia; (2) take steps to assure the safety of UN and other relief personnel and to coordinate relief efforts and facilitate negotiations; and (3) allow the provisions of extensive food and humanitarian relief even in the absence of a ceasefire. Requests that the Secretary of State convey to the parties the U.S. condemnation of the practices employed by all parties which have contributed to the tragedy in Somalia.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1992
Global Climate Protection Act - Directs the President to promulgate final regulations that will achieve stabilization of carbon dioxide emissions by January 1, 2000. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate and report biennially to the Congress on the progress made pursuant to such regulations. Directs the President to promulgate additional regulations to achieve stabilization if the Administrator finds that the regulations will not achieve stabilization. Permits citizen suits against officers of the United States for failures to perform duties in accordance with this Act.