United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1993
Federal Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for imposition of the death penalty for the murder of Federal law enforcement officials. Sets forth procedures for determining whether a death sentence is justified. Lists mitigating factors (which include impaired capacity, duress, minor participation, and lack of foreseeability) and aggravating factors (which include death during commission of another crime, involvement of a firearm or previous conviction of violent felony involving a firearm, previous conviction of specified serious offenses, and continuing criminal enterprise involving drug sales to minors). Provides for the conduct of a special hearing. Directs the court to instruct the jury that it shall not consider the race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, or sex of the defendant or any victim in making its determination. Sets forth provisions regarding review and implementation (including the use of State facilities) of a death sentence. Prohibits such sentence from being carried out upon a pregnant woman or a person who is mentally retarded or lacks the mental capacity to understand the death penalty and why it was imposed. Prohibits any employee of a State department of corrections, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or the U.S. Marshals Service from being required to attend or participate in any prosecution or execution if it is contrary to the employee's moral or religious convictions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1993
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise or add to the guaranteed student loan program (also known as the Stafford Loan or the Federal Family Education Loan Program) with respect to: (1) in-school and grace period interest rate limits; (2) loan transfer fees; (3) decrease of guaranty agency reinsurance percentage; (4) required risk sharing by the Student Loan Marketing Association; (5) shares of post-default collections; (6) decrease of administrative cost allowances; (7) reinsurance fees; (8) parent loan (PLUS) amount limits and multiple disbursement requirements; (8) reduction and limitation of consolidation loan interest rates; (9) limitation of interest subsidy during deferment; (10) insurance fees from lenders; (11) longer periods for default determinations; (12) special allowances on tax exempt funds and purchase premiums; (13) origination fees from lenders; (14) the lender-of-last-resort requirement; (15) Student Loan Marketing Association alternative status study; and (16) repayment options (including income sensitive) availability and information.
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
Amends rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to allow meetings of the standing committees and subcommittees to be closed to the public only if disclosure of matters to be considered would endanger national security or would tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person. Repeals provisions making the coverage of committee hearings and meetings by television broadcast, radio broadcast, or still photography a privilege made available by the House. Requires proceedings of open committee hearings or meetings to be open to television broadcast, radio broadcast, and still photography, or by any of such method of coverage. Prohibits a committee or subcommittee chairman from limiting the number of television or still cameras below two representatives from each medium.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1993
Amends the Federal criminal code to require a minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment for the unlawful possession of a firearm by any person who: (1) has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year's imprisonment; (2) is a fugitive from justice; (3) is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance; (4) has transported in interstate commerce any stolen firearm; or (5) has received any stolen firearm. Prohibits: (1) the court from placing on probation or suspending the sentence of any person convicted under such provision; and (2) the term of imprisonment under such provision from running concurrently with any other term of imprisonment. Increases: (1) the fine and term of imprisonment for violation of Federal firearms laws; and (2) the penalties for possession of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence or drug trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1993
General Accounting Office Reform and Reorganization Act of 1993 - Amends Federal law to provide for the establishment of the General Accounting Office Oversight Board (Board) to review any congressional request for a General Accounting Office (GAO) report and approve a methodology for preparing it. Prohibits outside contact with GAO by the requesting Member of Congress and congressional staff regarding the report once the request for it has been approved. Requires the Comptroller General, upon receiving a request from a congressional committee for a GAO report, to notify the ranking minority member of such committee that the request has been received. Prohibits the Comptroller General from issuing any GAO report until such report has cleared the oversight process established by this Act. Allows Members to submit to the Board comments challenging a GAO report. Permits the Board to refer such comments to the Comptroller General or an outside entity for further consideration. Sets forth requirements for congressional committee hearings regarding GAO reports. Prohibits the Comptroller General from: (1) detailing or assigning a GAO officer or employee to a congressional committee more than twice in any Congress or for a period longer than three months; or (2) making any investigation or report pursuant to a request from a congressional committee if such officer or employee was detailed or assigned to the committee in the three month period ending on the date of the request's submission.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1993
Negotiated Rates Act of 1993 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize persons against whom a claim is made by a motor carrier of property (other than a household goods carrier), or by a nonhousehold goods freight forwarder for the collection of rates or charges in addition to the rates originally collected by such carrier or freight forwarder, to elect to satisfy such claim pursuant to a specified formula upon showing that the carrier or forwarder is no longer transporting property or is transporting property for the purpose of avoiding application of this Act. Requires that the claimant have been offered a rate other than the one legally on file with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), have tendered freight in reasonable reliance upon the offered rate, the carrier or forwarder did not properly or timely file a tariff for the rate or failed to execute a valid contract for transportation services, such rate was collected by the carrier or forwarder, and the carrier or forwarder demands additional payment of a higher rate filed in a tariff. Shortens the statute of limitations for the filing of claims: (1) by a motor common carrier or freight forwarder for recovery of transportation or service charges; and (2) by any person to recover overcharges by a motor carrier. Permits motor carriers and shippers to resolve by mutual consent, subject to ICC review and approval, any overcharge and undercharge claims resulting from billing errors or incorrect tariff provisions arising from the inadvertent failure to properly and timely file and maintain agreed upon rates, rules, or classifications. Prohibits a tariff filed with the ICC from being held invalid solely on the basis that it uses a numerical or alpha account code to designate customers or describe the applicability of rates. Requires a motor contract carrier to enter into a written agreement (separate from a bill of lading or receipt) for the provision of transportation services. Sets forth both civil and criminal penalties for violations of this requirement. Requires the ICC to issue regulations prohibiting any motor carrier from reducing a rate set forth in its tariff or contract for any person but the one paying for the transportation service. Sets forth civil penalties. Grants the ICC jurisdiction to resolve disputes arising with respect to certain motor carriers as to whether transportation is provided as a motor common carrier or as a motor contract carrier. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to arrange with the Transportation Research Board to study and report to specified congressional committees on: (1) the public benefits of tariff rate filings by motor carriers of property with the ICC; (2) the extent to which such filing system is used by shippers; (3) the difficulty and cost of determining rates for transportation services under such system; and (4) the number of actions brought before the ICC with respect to such rates.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1993
Income-Dependent Education Assistance Act of 1993 - Establishes the income-dependent education assistance (IDEA) program of supplemental direct higher education student loans in which a borrower's annual repayment obligation is dependent upon both postschool income level and borrowing history. Title I: System for Making Income-Dependent Education Assistance Loans - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make IDEA loans to eligible students; (2) establish an account for each IDEA loan borrower; and (3) collect repayments on such loans using the income tax collection system added by title II of this Act. Provides for interest charges on such loans, based on an interest rate equal to the lesser of: (1) ten percent; or (2) the sum of the average bond equivalent rates of 91-day Treasury bills auctioned for the previous year, plus two percentage points. Provides for conversion and consolidation of certain other types of student loans as IDEA loans (Stafford loans under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and HEAL loans under the Public Health Service Act). Requires conversion of certain defaulted student loans to IDEA loans. Terminates the authority to make additional loans under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) programs of supplemental loans for students (SLS) and direct loans to students in institutions of higher education. Title II: Collection of Income-Dependent Education Assistance Loans - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the collection of IDEA loans. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to notify each IDEA loan borrower of his or her yearly repayment obligation. Sets forth formulas for computation of the annual IDEA loan repayment amount. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to assess and collect any unpaid amount in the same manner as for any delay in the payment of income tax. Provides for discharge, by the Secretary of Education, of the IDEA loan liability of any borrower who dies or becomes permanently and totally disabled. Provides that, in general, an IDEA loan shall not be dischargeable in bankruptcy, but authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to postpone certain portions of the loan liability in such cases.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1993
Terminates the Space Station Freedom and Advanced Solid Rocket Motor programs. Expresses the sense of the Congress that at least 50 percent of the amounts so saved should be used for: (1) Federal deficit reduction; and (2) civil aviation and other programs of space science, research, and education.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1993
Administrative Cost Inclusion Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 to include administrative costs (which, currently, are expressly excluded) in the estimated long-term costs to the Government of direct loans and loan guarantees. Amends Federal law to require the President's annual budget to contain specified information accounting for such administrative costs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Value Engineering Better Transportation Act of 1993 - Amends Federal transportation law and the Federal Transit Act to increase by five percent increments (up to 100 percent) the Federal share for transportation projects costing over $2 million for which "value engineering" results in certain minimum project cost savings. Prohibits the use of Federal funds for "value engineering" training. Defines "value engineering" as the process of review and analysis of a project during its design phase by a multidisciplined team of persons not originally involved in the project in order to provide suggestions for reducing total project costs and providing better quality.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from designing, constructing, or acquiring interests in land for any unit of a reclamation project for which funds have not been previously appropriated and obligated. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend design and construction activities of a project the continuance of which would result in a net loss to the United States. Directs the Secretary to: (1) transfer the operation, maintenance, and replacement of reclamation projects to the water districts which benefit from them; (2) contract for the management of any reclamation project not so transferred; and (3) study and report to the Congress on the true value of water provided from water reclamation projects.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish an independent peer review process with respect to listing and delisting of endangered and threatened species (species). Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) in cooperation with the affected State to develop species recovery plans. Gives priority to multispecies plans and sets forth plan deadlines. Requires each Federal land management agency to identify species and appropriate conservation measures on lands under its jurisdiction. Authorizes agency contracts with the Secretary for such purposes. Directs the Secretary to establish a Habitat Conservation Planning Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or interest-free advances from the Fund to State and local governments for conservation plan development. Provides financial and technical assistance to private landowners for species conservation measures. Provides for increased international cooperation and enforcement under the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Authorizes the President to present to Red Skelton, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal in recognition of his performance as an entertainer and humanitarian. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike a gold medal with suitable emblems and to strike and sell bronze duplicates of it. Declares such medals national medals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Directs the Secretary of Defense to cancel the F/A-18 aircraft upgrade program. Provides that funds programmed or appropriated for such upgrade for fiscal years after FY 1992 shall be used to procure additional such aircraft configured in the C/D model.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Terminates the independent research and development program of the Department of Defense. Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to provide grants to businesses, universities, and other appropriate entities for the support of basic research. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to continue to remove its troops from the independent Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania through a firm, expeditious, and conscientiously observed schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1993
Medical Injury Compensation Fairness Act of 1993 - Deems each individual or entity receiving health care services for which payment may be made in whole or in part with funds provided under a Federal program to have entered into an agreement to resolve any medical malpractice liability claim through a certified State or Federal dispute resolution system. Requires any such entity to bring any medical malpractice liability action that arises from a claim resolved through such system only in accordance with specified procedures. Denies a tax deduction for health insurance expenses to any employer not having in effect such an agreement with respect to the resolution of medical malpractice claims.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1993
International Whaling Moratorium Enforcement Act of 1993 - Directs the President to certify to the Congress each country that has not completely ceased whaling operations which are not authorized and specifically approved by the International Whaling Commission or which otherwise diminish the effectiveness of any conservation program under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. Deems that certification to be a certification under specified provisions of the Fishermen's Protective Act, requiring the application of related provisions, including those prohibiting the importation of fish and wildlife products from the offending country. Mandates such a ban on fish and fish products. Authorizes additional economic sanctions if the fish and fish products ban is insufficient to stop such whaling.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1993
Amends the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 and the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act to require the Secretary of Defense, before any action is taken with respect to the disposal or transfer of real property at a military facility being closed or realigned, to notify the State and each local government in which the facility is located, as well as other interested persons, of the suitability of the property or facility for conversion and use as a youthful offender boot camp. Requires the State, local government, or interested party to whom such real property is so transferred to certify that the property or facilities will be promptly converted and used for such purpose. Directs the Secretary to develop a model program intended to incorporate military basic training, instruction, and disciplinary procedures into the design and operation of youthful offender boot camps at the Federal, State, and local levels. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reallocate between public agencies and private nonprofit organizations the percentage of grant funds authorized under such Act for correctional options that provide alternatives to traditional modes of incarceration and offender release programs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1993
Calls for the U.S. Trade Representative to insist that any trade agreement negotiated pursuant to the Uruguay Round must provide U.S. copyright-based industries with: (1) fair and equal access to the markets of the nations that are party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; (2) equal opportunities to obtain government funding; (3) adequate and effective copyright protection, including full national treatment and recognition of contractual rights; and (4) a mechanism to resolve expeditiously disputes concerning market access, national treatment, and copyright protection.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1993
Urges the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service to recommend to the Postmaster General that a postage stamp be issued honoring Americans held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1993
Fairness in Product Liability Act of 1993 - Declares that this Act governs any product liability action brought in any State or Federal court against a manufacturer or product seller for harm caused by a product, but supersedes State law only to the extent that State law applies to an issue covered by this Act. Lists specific laws not superseded, including provisions regarding vaccine injury. Makes a product seller liable to a claimant for harm only if the claimant establishes that: (1) the product which allegedly caused the harm complained of was sold by the product seller who failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the product and such failure was a proximate cause of the claimant's harm; (2) the product seller made an express warranty applicable to the product which allegedly caused the harm complained of, the product failed to conform to the warranty, and such failure caused the claimant's harm; or (3) the seller engaged in international wrongdoing which was a proximate cause of the harm complained of by the claimant. Makes it a complete defense to a product liability action that the claimant was intoxicated or was under the influence of intoxicating alcohol or any drug and, as a result of such intoxication or influence, was more than 50 percent responsible for causing the accident or event which resulted in such claimant's harm. Directs that the damages for which a manufacturer or product seller is otherwise liable under State law be reduced by the percentage of responsibility for the claimant's harm attributable to misuse or alteration of a product if such percentage was proximately caused by a use or alteration of a product: (1) in violation of, or contrary to, the manufacturer's or product seller's express warnings or instructions if the warnings or instructions are adequate under State law; or (2) involving a risk of harm which was, or should have been, known by the ordinary person who uses the product, with an exception for workplace injuries. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) limitations on punitive damages; (2) several liability for noneconomic damages; (3) statutes of limitation; (4) workers' compensation offsets; and (5) lack of Federal jurisdiction over civil actions arising under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1993
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from OASDI coverage all service performed during the calendar year by State and local election officials and workers if it is performed only on an election day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1993
Social Security Notch Adjustment Act of 1993 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to establish a new alternative formula for computing the primary insurance amount (used in calculating the amount of OASDI benefits to which an individual is entitled) of workers born after 1916 and before 1927.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1993
Family Education Assistance Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual income tax deduction for contributions to a savings account established to pay the educational expenses (tuition, supplies, meals, and lodging) of the taxpayer's child or certain other relatives at an institution of higher education or a vocational school. Limits the deduction to $1,500 annually (adjusted for inflation) for each account. Disallows the deduction for contributions to an account maintained for any individual aged 19 or older. Requires any account balance to be distributed after the beneficiary attains age 30. Permits an exclusion from the gross income of the contributor or the beneficiary of account distributions used to pay educational expenses of the latter. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization), unless a contributor or the beneficiary engages in specified prohibited transactions in connection with it. Imposes a ten percent surtax on distributions not used for educational purposes. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Imposes a penalty for failure to report. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize deductions to deduct for contributions to an education savings account. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1993
Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from designing, constructing, or acquiring interests in land for any unit of a reclamation project for which funds have not been previously appropriated and obligated. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend design and construction activities of a project the continuance of which would result in a net loss to the United States. Directs the Secretary to: (1) transfer the operation, maintenance, and replacement of reclamation projects to the water districts which benefit from them; (2) contract for the management of any reclamation project not so transferred; and (3) study and report to the Congress on the true value of water provided from water reclamation projects.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1993
Combined Welfare Administration Act of 1993 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make a combined grant to States for administrative costs necessary to carry out the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act, and the Food Stamp program. Eliminates enhanced Federal payments for State administrative activities under such programs. Provides for allotment and payment of funds under such grant program, as well as State reports on the intended use of such allotments. Sets forth audit requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1993
Recreational Hunting Safety and Preservation Act of 1993 - Makes it unlawful to intentionally obstruct a lawful hunt (as defined by this Act) on Federal lands. Establishes: (1) civil penalties for such violations; (2) procedures for individual and government agent complaints; and (3) permitted uses of collected penalty money. Authorizes injunctive relief. Permits an affected individual or sportsman's organization to bring a civil action to recover actual and punitive damages and attorney's fees.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1993
Deficit Reduction Act of 1993 - Prohibits the annual travel budget for each non-defense executive branch agency (excluding the Postal Service) for FY 1994 from exceeding 90 percent of the budget level available to such agency for FY 1993. Abolishes the Interstate Commerce Commission. Transfers its functions, powers, and duties to the Department of Transportation. Limits the outlays for the legislative branch for FY 1994 to 85 percent of such outlays for FY 1993. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to sell to one or more joint ventures all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the helium reserves established pursuant to the Helium Act, including facilities and accessories. Limits the administrative and overhead budget (excluding travel expenses) for non-defense executive branch agencies (excluding the Postal Service) for FY 1995 to 99 percent of the budget level available for FY 1994. Repeals the Davis-Bacon Act (an Act which requires that the locally prevailing wage rate be paid to various classes of laborers and mechanics working under federally-financed or federally-assisted contracts for construction, alteration, and repair of public buildings or public works). Eliminates the honey price support and wool and mohair price support programs. Increases rental voucher authority and terminates loan authority for public housing construction. Prohibits the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from expending or obligating any budget authority for certain special projects. Rescinds such amounts remaining for FY 1993. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require competitive bidding for public housing modernization activities. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the disclosure of tenant income in information returns under housing assistance programs for income-based rent subsidies. Reduces Government contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require competitive bidding for the radio spectrum for awarding initial licenses or new construction permits, with exceptions. Authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to consider relative economic values and other public interest benefits in making spectrum allocation decisions among services that are subject to competitive bidding.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1993
Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to: (1) define the term "dietary supplement"; and (2) exclude a dietary supplement from the definition of "food additive." Deems a dietary supplement adulterated if it: (1) contains an unsafe dietary ingredient which presents a substantial and unreasonable risk of illness or injury; or (2) contains a dietary ingredient that has not been adequately substantiated for safety. Prohibits the establishment of maximum limits on the potency of any dietary supplement, except in the case of a supplement represented to be for the use of individuals with specific diseases or disorders. Allows a dietary supplement's label to characterize the relationship between the supplement and a disease under specified conditions. Deems food misbranded unless the label lists the daily value of specified nutrients which shall reflect the daily intake of each nutrient that will promote optimal health. Prohibits such value from being less than the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance. Establishes an Office of Dietary Supplements within the National Institutes of Health.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1993
Government Procurement Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 and Federal law pertaining to the armed forces to direct Federal agency heads, in evaluating an offeror's price contained in any bid or proposal for any procurement in excess of $100,000, to treat as containing the lowest price the bid or proposal which will yield the lowest net cost to the Government. Directs such Federal officials, in determining the net costs to the Government, to deduct from the offeror's price any receipts which are likely to accrue to the Government through the offeror's performance of the procurement contract.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1993
Investment Tax Credit Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reinstate the ten-percent investment tax credit for property used as an integral part of manufacturing, production, or extraction or of furnishing transportation, communications, electrical energy, gas, water, waste disposal, or pollution control services. Allows such tax to offset 100 percent of a C corporation's minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1993
Independence Hall Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue one-dollar coins emblematic of the shrines of liberty, showing the Liberty Bell on one side and the Independence Hall on the other. Mandates that surcharges from the sale of coins be distributed equally between the Treasury and the Independence Hall Preservation Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Locate and Case Tracking Title II: Establishment Title III: Parentage Title IV: Enforcement Title V: Collection and Distribution Title VI: Federal Role Title VII: State Role Title VIII: Effective Date Interstate Child Support Enforcement Act - Title I: Locate and Case Tracking - (Sec. 101) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow the Federal Parent Locator System (FPLS) to be used for parentage establishment and child support and visitation enforcement if there are appropriate safeguards. (Sec. 102) 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 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. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should investigate accessing certain Federal data banks not already linked with FPLS. (Sec. 103) Requires the Secretary to expand FPLS to provide State agencies and courts with a national locate and case tracking network. (Sec. 104) Requires that private attorneys and pro se obligees be allowed limited access to State locate information and enforcement techniques for purposes of establishing and enforcing child support and other orders if there are appropriate safeguards. (Sec. 105) Requires the heads of national and regional individual tracking systems to allow child support enforcement agencies access to their information. (Sec. 106) Requires that States: (1) broadcast failure-to-appear warrants, capiases, and bench warrants issued in parentage and child support proceedings over their crime information systems; and (2) remit any subsequent forfeiture to the child support obligee to the extent of any child support arrearage if a defendant posts security after being arrested. Title II: Establishment - (Sec. 201) Amends SSA title IV part D to set forth requirements for State laws on service of process and jurisdiction in child support and parentage actions. Declares that the Congress finds that due process is satisfied if State courts exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident who is the parent or presumed parent of a resident child in order to establish, enforce, or modify a child support order or to establish parentage. Requires States to recognize and enforce parentage and child support orders of other States where jurisdiction has been properly exercised. Specifies the conditions under which a State court may modify a parentage or child support order made by another State court. (Sec. 202) Provides for service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed forces relating to child support, alimony, and parentage obligations. (Sec. 203) Requires that parents' identification and locate information be filed with the State court adjudicating parentage and child support actions. Requires safeguards on such information where there is a court order for the physical protection of the child or one parent entered against the other parent. (Sec. 204) Requires State child support agencies to timely notify any individual owed child support of all hearings in which such support might be established, modified, or enforced, and promptly provide copies of any such orders. (Sec. 205) Requires States to allow parties seeking both parentage and child support establishment in a judicial proceeding to bring a joint action in a single cause of action. Sets forth guidelines for uniform State procedures regarding jurisdiction and venue and Federal employee residential status. (Sec. 206) Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) to allow appropriate State agencies to obtain from credit reporting agencies information relevant to the setting of a child support award without having to obtain a court order. (Sec. 207) 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. 208) Amends SSA title IV part D to specify certain principles to be included in State child support guidelines. (Sec. 209) Requires States to provide for continuation of a parental child support obligation until a child's marriage, emancipation by a court, or the later of a child's 18th birthday or graduation from high school, except in cases of disabilities arising during childhood or where a court (as allowed by this Act) has ordered support payable to an adult child in college. (Secs. 210 and 211) Requires the new Assistant Secretary of the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) (designated under title VI of this Act) to: (1) draft and distribute a national subpoena duces tecum for use by child support agencies and others to reach employee income information; and (2) develop a uniform abstract of a child support order for State court use. (Sec. 212) Requires States to: (1) list on marriage licenses the applicants' social security numbers; and (2) use procedures that require individuals who have been issued subpoenas to produce and deliver documents to or to appear at a court or administrative agency on a certain date. Title III: Parentage - (Sec. 301) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) require States to provide for hospital-based paternity outreach programs and adopt various specified procedures related to paternity establishment; and (2) provide for 90 percent Federal matching for such programs. Title IV: Enforcement - (Secs. 401 and 402) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) revise anti-assignment provisions to allow child support to be withheld from certain governmental sources; and (2) require procedures for State verification of W-4 form information on outstanding child support obligations and imposition of monetary penalties for failures involving W-4 form reporting and subsequent employer withholding of child support obligations. (Sec. 402) Requires: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the W-4 form completed by new employees to include information on outstanding child support obligations; and (2) employers to provide a copy of such form to the appropriate State child support enforcement agency. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to require employers to withhold from employee wages amounts owed for child support. (Sec. 403) Requires States to mandate that any individual or entity engaged in commerce, as a condition of doing business in that State, honor income withholding notices or orders issued by a court or agency of any other State, and maintain records of payroll deductions for child support obligations. (Sec. 404) Specifies the priority for applying proceeds withheld from income for current and past due child support obligations and health insurance for dependent children. (Sec. 405) Allows workers' compensation income to be subject to income withholding. (Sec. 406) 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. (Secs. 407 through 412, 414, 416 through 421, and 424) Requires States to: (1) provide that the election of remedies prohibition does not apply in child support cases; (2) refuse to issue or renew professional and business licenses of noncustodial parents subject to outstanding child support warrants; (3) prohibit motor vehicle departments from issuing or renewing the driver's licenses of any such parent; (4) authorize post-judgment bank account seizure without a separate court order to collect overdue child support payments; (5) impose liens against lottery or gambler's winnings, insurance settlements or policy payouts, court awards, judgments, or settlements, and property seized in forfeiture cases to collect such payments; (6) void fraudulent conveyances of property made to avoid paying child support; (7) allow the posting of a cash bond, security deposit, or personal undertaking to provide for timely child support payments in cases not involving absent parents; (8) authorize attachment of a child support obligor's retirement investment funds without a separate court order to collect overdue child support payments; (9) mandate reporting to credit bureaus of overdue child support equaling two month's child support payment; (10) enact laws that provide for criminal penalties for non-support; (11) permit enforcement of any child support order until at least the child's 30th birthday; (12) assess and collect interest on all child support judgments; (13) provide for health care insurance for the child; and (14) adopt without material change the officially approved version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. (Sec. 408) Prohibits States and the Federal Government from issuing or renewing professional and business licenses of individuals delinquent in making child support payments until the license hold is released. (Sec. 413) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the IRS Commissioner should instruct IRS field officers and agents to give a high priority to requests for the use of full collection in delinquent child support cases. Requires the Secretary of Treasury to simplify the full collection process and reduce the amount of child support arrearage needed before an individual may apply for full collection. (Sec. 415) Permits Federal and State tax refund procedures to be used by non-AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (SSA title IV part A) recipients to collect past-due child support regardless of the child's age. (Sec. 422) 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 debt owed to child support creditors, except as specified; and (3) allow a claim for payment of a debt for child support to be asserted in court. (Sec. 423) Sets forth requirements pertaining to parentage establishment and child support payments in the armed forces. Title V: Collection and Distribution - (Secs. 501 through 504) 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 specified under a child support order; (3) allow States to assess charges above the application fee for non-AFDC child support services against persons other than custodial parents; and (4) require States to provide for collection and disbursement points for child support cases. (Sec. 501) Authorizes the Comptroller General to analyze the existing child support distribution system and authorize, under certain circumstances, pilot projects for the distribution of arrearages in a specified manner. Amends the IRC to revise the Federal income tax refund offset mechanism. Title VI: Federal Role - (Sec. 601) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) designate the separate organizational unit charged under current law with various child support and parentage responsibilities as the OCSE; and (2) change OCSE's organizational structure. (Secs. 602 and 603) Requires the new OCSE Assistant Secretary to provide training assistance to the States and study staffing at State child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 602) Requires States to provide for training for child support personnel. (Sec. 604) Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the incentive formula operating with respect to State child support agencies. (Sec. 605) Defines "child support" to include periodic and lump sum payments for current and past-due economic support, payments of premiums for health insurance for children, payments for or provision of child care, and payments for educational services. (Secs. 606 and 607) Requires the Secretary to: (1) contract for a study of and report to the Congress on the OCSE audit process to improve the criteria and methodology for auditing State child support enforcement agencies; and (2) make grants to provide for demonstration projects for the purpose of establishing or improving a system of assured minimum child support payments. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: State Role - (Sec. 701) Amends SSA title IV part D to prohibit States from denying establishment, enforcement, or modification services to applicants because of nonresidency. (Secs. 702, 703, and 705) Requires 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; and (3) allow changes in child support payees without a court hearing or order. (Sec. 704) Expresses the sense of the Congress that State and local child support enforcement agencies should provide: (1) offices in easily accessible locations near public transportation; (2) office hours that allow parents to meet with attorneys and caseworkers without taking time off work; and (3) office environments suitable for discussion of matters related to privacy. Title VIII: Effective Date - (Sec. 801) Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Medical Malpractice Liability Reform Act of 1993 - Requires any medical malpractice liability claim to be brought within two years following the time when the alleged injury should have reasonably been discovered, but in no event may the action be brought later than four years after the alleged injury occurred. Prohibits any medical malpractice liability action from being brought in any State court unless there has been an initial resolution under an alternative dispute resolution system. Requires a pre-trial settlement conference, before the trial of any medical malpractice liability action, where each party must present a settlement offer. Sets limits on damages and attorney's fees. Provides a defendant charged with negligence a complete defense if the appropriate practice guideline was followed. Amends title XI (General Provisions) of the Social Security Act to set aside funds for practice guidelines. Sets forth requirements for alternative dispute resolution systems.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Revolving Door Sunshine Act of 1993 - Amends the Government in the Sunshine Act to require former senior members of the Federal Government to file, for a certain period after leaving Government, periodic reports with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which disclose certain communications made and other actions (generally related to advising or lobbying, especially, but not only, by foreign persons) taken by them during the reporting period. Requires OMB to make such reports public.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Declares that the President should enter into revised host-nation agreements with the European member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) under which such nations agree that, for FY 1995 and thereafter, these nations will: (1) pay at least 50 percent of the personnel costs, and 75 percent of the nonpersonnel costs, of maintaining U.S. military personnel and installations in Europe; (2) relieve the U.S. armed forces of all tax liability that is incurred under the laws of the NATO member nation and community where such forces are located; and (3) ensure that goods and services furnished in these nations to U.S. armed forces are provided at minimum cost and without the imposition of user fees. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to maintain U.S. military personnel and installations in such nations after FY 1995 unless the President certifies to the Congress that they have entered into revised agreements. Makes this Act inapplicable if the U.S. armed forces are actively engaged in armed conflict in Europe or the threat of imminent U.S. engagement in conflict in Europe exists.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Wool and Mohair Federal Support Program Elimination and Deficit Reduction Act of 1993 - Repeals the National Wool Act of 1954 (thus eliminating wool and mohair price supports).
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Prohibits after August 1, 1993, the expenditure of funds by any Federal department or agency for: (1) the production of tritium, plutonium, or highly enriched uranium for weapons; or (2) the procurement or construction of equipment or facilities for such production, other than for research.
![Official portrait of Rep. Zimmer, Dick [R-NJ-12]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/z000008_200.jpg)