United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Comprehensive Wetlands Conservation and Management Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to revise provisions concerning permits for dredged or fill material. Prohibits, unless such activity is undertaken pursuant to a permit issued by the Secretary of the Army: (1) the discharge of dredged or fill material into U.S. waters; or (2) the draining, channelization, or excavation of wetlands. Authorizes the Secretary to issue permits for such activities. Sets forth permit application procedures. Requires the Secretary, upon receiving applications, to: (1) classify as Type A wetlands wetlands that are of critical significance to the long-term conservation of the ecosystem of which they are a part and which meet specified requirements; (2) classify as Type B wetlands wetlands that provide habitat for a significant population of avian, aquatic, or wetland dependent wildlife or provide other significant wetlands functions; and (3) classify as Type C wetlands wetlands that serve marginal functions but exist in such abundance that regulation of activities is not necessary to conserve wetlands values and functions, or are prior converted cropland, fastlands, or wetlands within intensely developed areas that do not serve significant wetlands functions. Directs the Secretary to notify a permit applicant of the classification. Permits owners of interests in Type A wetlands to seek compensation for the fair market value of such lands. Provides that title for such lands shall pass to the United States upon acceptance of an offer for compensation. Deems such takings to be takings of surface interests in lands only or water rights allocated under State law unless the Secretary determines that the exploration for, or development of, oil and gas or mineral interests is not compatible with conservation of the surface interests in lands that have been classified as Type A wetlands. Authorizes the Secretary to classify such interests as Type A wetlands and to notify the owner that he may receive compensation. Sets forth provisions concerning court jurisdiction and remedies for taking of interests. Requires the Secretary to deny a permit authorizing activities in Type A wetlands unless: (1) such activities can be undertaken with minimal alteration or surface disturbance; (2) there are overriding public interest concerns that require use of the lands for purposes other than conservation; or (3) the proposed use of the land will result in overall environmental benefits. Authorizes the Secretary to issue a permit for activities in Type B wetlands subject to conditions that ensure that the watershed or aquatic ecosystem of which such wetlands are a part does not suffer loss or degradation of wetlands values or functions. Imposes requirements for mitigation when such activities result in the permanent loss or degradation of Type B wetlands where such loss or degradation is not a temporary or incidental impact. Directs the Secretary to establish a mitigation banking program in each State to ensure compensation for loss and degradation of wetlands. Requires the primary objective of such programs to be to provide for the restoration, enhancement, or creation of ecologically significant wetlands on an ecosystem basis. Sets forth requirements of such programs. Permits activities in Type C wetlands to be undertaken without specified authorization. Authorizes the Secretary to issue general permits on a State, regional, or nationwide basis for activities in wetlands if such activities are similar in nature and will not result in the significant loss of ecologically significant wetlands values and functions. Exempts specified activities from this Act's requirements. Permits States or political subdivisions to submit land management plans for identified wetlands for the Secretary's approval. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to establish standards that govern the delineation of lands as wetlands. Prohibits more than 20 percent of any county, parish, or borough from being classified as Type A wetlands. Requires the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to undertake a project to identify and classify U.S. wetlands. Provides for public participation in such project and makes information concerning identification and classification available to the public. Authorizes the Secretary to commence civil actions for permit violations. Prescribes civil penalties for such violations. Authorizes States to administer permit programs for activities covered by this Act, subject to the Secretary's approval.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
World Cup USA 1994 Commemorative Coin Act - 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 in commemoration of the 1994 World Cup and the unique appeal of soccer. 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 Organizing Committee to organize and stage the 1994 World Cup. Requires that ten percent of such funds shall be made available through the U.S. Soccer Federation Foundation, Inc., for distribution to institutions for scholastic scholarships to qualified students.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1991
Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act of 1991 - Title I: Emergency Livestock Assistance - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to prohibit a person from receiving emergency feed assistance under this title and disaster assistance for the same 1991 weather damaged crops. Subjects eligible recipients to specified combined payments and benefits limitations. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement an emergency forage program to reseed 1991 weather damaged forage crops. Limits: (1) Federal cost-sharing to 50 percent; and (2) individual payments to $3,500. Funds such program through the Commodity Credit Corporation (with a $50,000,000 limit). Directs the Secretary to implement an emergency freshwater aquaculture assistance program to restore 1991 weather damaged structures. Limits: (1) Federal cost sharing to 50 percent; and (2) program costs to $5,000,000. Title II: Emergency Crop Loss Assistance - Subtitle A: Annual Crops - Directs the Secretary to make 1991 disaster payments to producers of wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, extra long staple cotton, rice, peanuts, sugar, tobacco, oilseeds, and other nonprogram crops. Extends crop quality reduction disaster assistance through the 1991 crop year. Reduces disaster assistance payments in relation to Federal crop insurance payments. Requires producers to obtain Federal crop insurance for 1992 in order to be eligible for disaster payments and other specified assistance for 1991 crop losses. Sets forth exempted circumstances. Requires the Secretary to announce within a specified time the conditions for establishing a 1991 farm yield for forage-use-crops. Limits assistance under this subtitle to $100,000. Prohibits double payments on replanted acreage. Authorizes: (1) the substitution of crop insurance program yields for 1991 disaster assistance eligibility purposes; and (2) the Secretary to determine a de minimis yield for each crop eligible for reduced yield disaster payments. Subtitle B: Administrative Provisions - Directs the Secretary to make full disaster assistance available as soon as possible. Subtitle C: Sense of Congress - Expresses the sense of the Congress regarding disaster payments' purposes of preserving farm livelihoods and the financial health of rural communities. Title III: Other Emergency Provisions - Directs the Secretary to provide loan guarantees through the Rural Development Insurance Fund to rural businesses (including Indian tribes) who have suffered 1991 disaster damage. Limits: (1) individual guarantees to 90 percent of $500,000; and (2) aggregate guarantees to $200,000,000. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to authorize temporary crop acreage base shifting.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1991
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, during the five-year period beginning on October 1, 1991, to conduct a rural mobile health care clinic program in States in which significant numbers of veterans reside in rural areas. Makes eligible for such mobile health care veterans otherwise eligible for veterans' health care who reside at least 100 miles from the nearest Department of Veterans Affairs health-care facility. Requires the Secretary to begin operation of at least three mobile health care clinics in each fiscal year of the program. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress an evaluation of the program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1991
Limited Partnership Rollup Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to revise proxy solicitation rules with respect to partnership rollup transactions (in which general partners combine several limited partnerships into one unit that trades on a stock exchange). Requires any proxy rules prescribed by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to: (1) permit dissenting shareholders in a proposed rollup to contact other limited partners before the transaction date without first having to file a written proxy statement with the SEC; (2) prohibit any general partner from paying directly or indirectly any person providing solicitation services (a broker-dealer) on the basis of whether the solicitations either approve or disapprove the proposed transaction, or the compensation is contingent on the transaction's approval or completion; (3) require the issuer to provide to a shareholder (limited partner) a list of all limited and general partners involved in the proposed rollup; (4) require the rollup prospectus to be clear, concise, and understandable and summarize all effects of the proposed transaction, conflicts of interest, changes in voting rights and ownership interests, dissenters' rights, and other pertinent information; (5) provide that the soliciting material describe in reasonable detail any opinion, appraisal, or report that is prepared by a person, unaffiliated with the general partner or sponsor and received by the entity subject to the transaction or its affiliates and that is related to the proposed transition; (6) require that each prospectus be accompanied by an independent opinion on the rollup's fairness; and (7) give each shareholder at least 60 days to review the prospectus; and (8) contain such other provisions as the SEC determines necessary. Requires the rules of a national securities association to prevent association members from participating in any rollup transaction unless it protects the rights of dissenting limited partners, including: (1) the right to an appraisal and compensation, or to retain a security under the same terms as the original issue; (2) the right not to have dissenters' voting power unfairly reduced or abridged; (3) the right not to bear the costs of a rejected rollup; and (4) restrictions on the conversion of management profit-sharing interests and incentive fees into asset-based management fees. Requires a national securities exchange to prohibit the listing of any security resulting from a rollup transaction unless it provided for such dissenters' rights. Requires SEC rules to prohibit any national market system from trading any security resulting from a rollup transaction unless it provided for such dissenters' rights.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Tax Simplification Act of 1991 - Title I: Provisions Relating to Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow gain to be rolled over from one residence to another residence in the order the residences are purchased and used. Allows more than one rollover within a two-year period. Changes the due date for the second required installment for individuals who pay estimated tax. Permits the payment of taxes by credit cards to the extent provided by regulations. Provides for inflation adjustment of the dollar amounts involved in the election to claim a child's unearned income on the parent's return. Establishes a foreign tax credit limitation for individuals whose gross income is from sources outside the United States, consists entirely of qualified passive income, and the amount of creditable foreign taxes does not exceed $200. Excludes certain personal transactions from foreign currency rules. Establishes a different due date for large partnerships to file information returns. Limits the exclusion of combat pay from withholding to the amount excludable from gross income. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees on expanded access to simplified individual income tax returns and other actions taken to simplify them. Provides that the amount allowed as a deduction to rural mail carriers for the business expense of a vehicle shall be equal to qualified reimbursements. Amends the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 to repeal the rule on the business use of automobiles by rural mail carriers. Exempts from the luxury excise tax parts or accessories installed for use of passenger vehicles by disabled individuals. Title II: Treatment of Large Partnerships - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Establishes special rules for large partnerships (250 or more partners) with respect to: (1) determining the income tax of a partner; (2) computing the taxable income of a large partnership; and (3) treatment of contributed property. Provides that a large partnership does not include one where: (1) substantially all of the activities involve the performance of personal services by individuals owning interests in such partnership; or (2) 50 percent or more of partnership assets consist of oil or gas properties. Establishes simplified audit procedures for large partnerships. Requires a partner's return to be consistent with the partnership return. Allows partnerships to take adjustments into account through an imputed underpayment procedure or a flow-through-to-partners procedure. Authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make adjustments at the partnership level in any partnership item to the extent necessary to have such item treated in the manner required, after notifying the partnership of such adjustment through certified or registered mail. Specifies certain restrictions on such adjustments. Provides for judicial review of such adjustment with the Tax Court, the appropriate district court, or the Claims Court. Prohibits any adjustments from being made three years after the later of the date on which the return was filed, or the last day for filing such return was filed, or the last day for filing such return, except in specified cases. Allows a partnership to file a request for an administrative adjustment of partnership items during such time periods and provides for judicial review where such request is not allowed in full. Authorizes the Secretary to require large partnerships, or any other partnership with 250 or more partners, to file their returns on magnetic media. Subtitle B: Provisions Related to TEFRA Partnership Proceedings - Revises and sets forth new provisions relating to TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982) partnership proceedings. Provides for a declaratory judgment procedure in the Tax Court for treatment of non-partnership items with respect to an oversheltered return. Describes an oversheltered return as one which shows no taxable income and a net loss from partnership items. Provides for the partnership return to be determinative of the audit procedure to be followed. Suspends the period of limitations for making assessments for a partner who is named in a bankruptcy petition. Permits a small partnership to have a C corporation as a partner. Excludes a partial settlement agreement from the one-year limitation on assessment. Provides that if a TEFRA statute extension agreement is entered into, that agreement also extends the statute of limitations for filing refund claims until six months after the expiration of the limitations period for assessments. Provides a prepayment forum and a refund forum for raising the innocent spouse defense in TEFRA cases. Provides that partnership level proceedings include a determination of the applicability of penalties at the partnership level. Allows partners to raise any partner-level defenses in a refund forum. Specifies that an action to enjoin premature assessments of deficiencies attributable to partnership items may be brought in the Tax Court. Permits a party to appear before a court for the sole purpose of asserting that the period of limitations for assessing any tax attributable to partnership items has expired for that person. Provides for the treatment of premature petitions filed by notice partners or five-percent groups. Provides that the amount of the bond to stay assessment and collection should be based on the Tax Court's estimate of the aggregate liability of the parties to the action (and not all of the partners in the partnership). Suspends interest where there is a delay in computational adjustment resulting from TEFRA settlements. Title III: Foreign Provisions - Subtitle A: Simplification of Treatment of Passive Foreign Corporations - Repeals foreign personal holding company rules and foreign investment company rules. Exempts foreign corporations from the accumulated earnings tax and personal holding company rules. Provides for the treatment of personal service contracts under controlled foreign corporation rules. Replaces repealed provisions with revised rules for passive foreign corporations. Provides for taxing U.S. income on stock in passive foreign corporations through three alternative methods: (1) mark-to-market; (2) current inclusion; and (3) interest charge on excess distributions. Subjects less-than-25-percent shareholders of passive foreign corporations that are not U.S.-controlled, and who do not elect current inclusion, to the mark-to-market methods or the interest-charge method for taxing income. Provides that if a passive foreign corporation is U.S.-controlled then every U.S. person owning stock in such corporation is subject to income inclusions under a modified version of controlled foreign corporation rules. Declares with regard to the mark-to-market method that: (1) if the fair market value of stock exceeds its adjusted basis, then the U.S. person shall include in gross income an amount equal to the amount of the excess; and (2) if the adjusted basis of stock exceeds the fair market value then the person shall be allowed a deduction equal to the lesser of the amount of such excess, or the unreversed inclusions. Describes a passive foreign corporation as any foreign corporation if: (1) 60 percent or more of its gross income is passive income; (2) the average percentage of assets which produce passive income or which are held for the production of passive income is at least 50 percent; or (3) such corporation is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, either as a management company or as a unit investment trust. Subtitle B: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations - Provides that if a controlled foreign corporation sells or exchanges stock in other foreign corporations, then gain recognized on such sale or exchange shall be included in the gross income of such corporation as a dividend to the same extent that it would have been included if such corporation were a U.S. person. Repeals the special rules for foreign tax credits applicable to the receipt of previously taxed earnings. Revises provisions concerning: (1) determining pro rata share of gain from certain sales or exchanges of stock in certain foreign corporations; (2) basis adjustments in stock held by lower-tier foreign corporations; (3) determination of previously taxed income in redemptions through use of related corporations were a U.S. person. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Allows the use of the average exchange rate for the period during which the taxes or adjustment is paid instead of the exchange rate as of the time of such payment. Permits the use of the simplified limitation on the foreign tax credit in determining the alternative minimum tax foreign tax credit. Title IV: Other Income Tax Provisions - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Subchapter S Corporations - Provides for determining whether a corporation has one class of stock, thus qualifying as an S corporation. Allows the Secretary of the Treasury to validate an invalid S corporation election by a small business corporation where the failure to properly elect S status was inadvertent or untimely. Provides that adjustments for distributions by an S corporation during a taxable year are taken into account before applying the loss for a year in determining the amount in the accumulated adjustment account. Repeals the rule that treats an S corporation in its capacity as a shareholder of another corporation as an individual. Repeals the rule that an S corporation as an individual. Repeals the rule that an S corporation may not be a member of an affiliated group of corporations. Eliminates the need to keep records of certain generally small amounts of earnings arising before 1983. Allows selling shareholders to be certain that their share of income will not be affected by income earned after the sale. Provides for the treatment of inherited stock. Subtitle B: Account Provisions - Revises the look-back method for long-term contracts and provides that for purposes of such method, only one rate of interest is to apply for each accrual period. Provides a method for capitalizing certain indirect costs. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Minimum Tax - Revises the corporation minimum tax depreciation preference. Repeals the special treatment of ownership changes in determining adjusted current earnings. Subtitle D: Tax-Exempt Bond Provisions - Repeals the $100,000 limitation on unspent proceeds under the one-year exception from arbitrage rebate. Provides an exception from rebate for earnings on bona fide debt service funds under the construction bond rules. Provides an automatic extension of the initial temporary period for construction issues. Provides an automatic extension of the initial temporary period for construction issues. Provides that discrete issues of governmental bonds issued simultaneously will not be treated as a single issue in cases where one of the issues is a tax and revenue anticipation note reasonably expected to satisfy the arbitrage rebate safe harbor. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide exceptions from the requirement that taxpayers report interest on State and local government bonds on income tax returns in cases where it is determined that such information is not useful to the administration of tax laws. Repeals certain expired provisions. Subtitle E: Other Provisions - Provides for treating certain revocable trusts as estates. Defers the deduction of guaranteed payments by a partnership until the year in which they are includible in the partner's income. Provides that the taxable year of a partnership closes closes with respect to a partner whose entire interest in the partnership terminates, whether by death, liquidation or otherwise. Conforms the rules for determining gain where securities are exchanged in a corporate reorganization with other rules allocating amounts in a debt instrument between principal and interest. Title V: Estate and Gift Tax Provisions - Allows the right of recovery with respect to qualified terminable interest property (for which a marital deduction is allowed) to be waived in a will only by specific reference. Provides that a transfer from a revocable trust within three years of death does not result in the inclusion of the transfer in the gross estate. Revises the qualified terminable interest rules with respect to a trust and the marital deduction. Provides that a trust created before the enactment of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990 is treated as satisfying the withholding requirement if its trust instrument require that all trustees be U.S. citizens or domestic corporations. Directs the Secretary to prescribed procedures which provide that executors will have the opportunity to submit subsequent information on a recapture agreement in the filing of an estate tax return. Title VI: Excise Tax Simplification - Subtitle A: Fuel Tax Provisions - Consolidates diesel and aviation fuel tax provisions. Consolidates the user credit and refund provisions for the fuels excise taxes. Combines the three refund procedures for fuels taxes into a uniform refund procedure. Eliminates the waiver requirement for fuels tax refunds for cropdusters and other fertilizer applicators. Provides exceptions to the mandatory information return requirement for certain sales of diesel and aviation fuels. Subtitle B: Provisions Related to Distilled Spirits, Wines, and Beer - Makes refunds available for imported bottled distilled spirits returned to distilled spirits plants. Permits records of exportation to be maintained by the exporter for purposes of canceling or crediting bonds furnished when distilled spirits are removed from bonded premises. Permits distilled spirits plants to maintain records of their activities at locations other than the premises where the operations covered by the records are performed. Allows beer to be transferred without payment of tax from a brewery to a distilled spirits plant to be used in the production of distilled spirits regardless of whether the brewery is contiguous to the distilled spirits plant. Repeals the requirement that wholesale liquor dealers post a sign outside their place of business indicating that they are wholesale liquor dealers. Repeals the requirement that wine returned to bonded premises be unmerchantable in order for tax to be refunded to be proprietor of the bonded wine cellar to which the wine is delivered. Allows the use of ameliorating material in certain wines made exclusively from a fruit or berry. Allows domestically-produced beer to be withdrawn from the place of production without payment of tax for the official or family use of representatives of foreign governments or public international organizations. Allows beer to be removed from a brewery without payment of tax for purposes of destruction. Allows drawback on exported beer without submission of records. Provides for imported beer to be withdrawn from customs custody for transfer to a brewery without payment of tax. Subtitle C: Other Excise Tax Provisions - Authorizes the exemption from registration requirements of certain tax-free sales. Repeals expired provisions concerning piggy-back trailers and deep seabed mining. Title VII: Administrative Provisions - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Changes the threshold for withholding and paying social security taxes from $50 a quarter to $300 a year for domestic service in a private home. Requires employers of household employees to report any social security or Federal unemployment tax obligation for wages paid to such employees on their income tax returns. Includes a household employer's social security and employment taxes in the estimated tax provisions. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into agreements with States to collect State unemployment taxes in the same manner. Incorporates into the general penalty structure the penalties for failure to provide information reports relating to pension payments. Allows reproductions of returns in digital image format by the Internal Revenue Service. Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study of available digital image technology and report to specified congressional committees. Repeals: (1) the requirement to register tax shelters; (2) the authority to disclose whether a prospective juror has been audited; and (3) special audit provisions regarding the tax treatment of subchapter S corporations. Provides an explanation of the statute of limitations with respect to the return of a taxpayer. Subtitle B: Tax Court Procedures - Provides that an order to refund an overpayment is appealable in the same manner as a decision of the Tax Court. Declares that the Tax Court shall not have jurisdiction over the validity or merits of the credits or offsets that reduce or eliminate the refund to which the taxpayer was otherwise entitled. Provides that a taxpayer who seeks an award of administrative costs must apply for such costs with 90 days of the date on which the taxpayer was determined to be a prevailing party. Provides that a taxpayer who appeals a denial of administrative costs must petition the Tax Court within 90 days after the date that the IRS mails the denial notice. Provides that a taxpayer must file a motion (rather than a petition) to seek a redetermination of interest in the Tax Court. Provides that the net worth limitations applicable to individuals also apply to estates and trusts. Provides that individuals for purposes of computing the net worth limitations. Subtitle C: Authority for Certain Cooperative Agreements - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with State tax authorities for purposes of enhancing joint tax administration.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to construct and test the Lake Meredith Salinity Control Project, New Mexico and Texas, to improve the quality of water to the Canadian River downstream of Ute Reservoir, New Mexico, and entering Lake Meredith, Texas. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a contract with the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority of Texas (Authority) for the design and construction management of project facilities by the Bureau of Reclamation and for the payment of construction costs by the Authority. Makes it the responsibility of the Authority to operate and maintain the facilities upon completion of construction and testing. Requires the Authority to advance all costs of construction of project facilities as the non-Federal contribution. Declares the Federal share to be all project costs for verification, design preparation, and construction management. Provides for transferring control of the project works to the Authority or to a bona fide entity agreeable to New Mexico and Texas upon completion of construction and testing, or upon termination of activities at the request of the Authority. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1991
Employee Benefits Simplification and Expansion Act of 1991 - Title I: Nondiscrimination Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to employee benefit plans. Redefines the term "highly compensated employee" for pension, profit sharing, and stock bonus plans, etc., purposes. Makes such employee one who is a five-percent owner or who has compensation from the employer in excess of $50,000. Provides a special rule where no employees are treated as highly compensated. Provides that the cost of living adjustment with respect to any calendar year is based on the increase in the applicable index as of the close of the calendar quarter ending September 30 of the preceding calendar year. Requires the rounding of such amounts to the nearest $1,000, except that elective deferrals and elective contributions to simplified employee pensions are to be rounded to the nearest $100. Allows an employer to determine an employee's compensation solely by reference to such employee's base pay. Provides that the minimum participation rule applies only to defined benefit pension plans. Requires such plans to benefit not less than 25 employees, or the greater of 40 percent of all employees or two employees (or if there is only one employee, such employee). Sets forth alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination requirements for cash or deferred arrangements, including specified contribution and notice requirements. Sets forth alternative methods of satisfying the nondiscrimination test for matching contributions. Revises the method for distributing excess contributions to highly compensated employees. Title II: Distributions - Allows distributions from qualified pension plans to be rolled over tax-free to an individual retirement account or another qualified plan or annuity. Eliminates five-year forward averaging for lump-sum distributions from qualified plans. Requires certain tax-free distributions to be made in the form of a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to an eligible individual retirement plan. Sets forth administrative requirements in making such distributions. Requires distributions to be made from qualified plans by April 1 of the calendar year following the later of: (1) the calendar year in which the employee attains age 70; or (2) the calendar year in which the employee retires. (Present law requires such distributions no later than April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the employee attains age 70 1/2.) Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Revises the definition of a leased employee to include one whose services are performed under the control of a service recipient, instead of one whose services are historically performed by employees. Replaces the 59 1/2- and 70 1/2-year age requirement with 59- and 70-year age requirements for specified pension plans. Eliminates the special aggregation rules that apply to plans maintained by owner-employees that do not apply to other qualified plans. Makes the 150 percent current liability limitation on the deduction allowed for employer contributions to qualified pension plans inapplicable to multi-employer plans. Repeals the present law annual valuation requirement for such plans and applies the prior law requirement that valuations be performed at least every three years. Sets forth affiliation requirements for employers jointly maintaining a voluntary employees' beneficiary association. Provides that compensation, in the case of a governmental plan, includes any amount which is contributed by the employer pursuant to a salary reduction agreement and which is not includible in the gross income of an employee under cafeteria plans, cash or deferred arrangements, tax-exempt organization or public school annuities, State or local government plans, or deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Makes the following limitations inapplicable to plans maintained by State and local governments and certain tax-exempt organizations: (1) excess benefit limitations; (2) compensation limitation on benefits; and (3) limitations on disability and survivor benefits. Allows government plan employers to revoke the grandfather election on the limitation to equal accrued benefits. Modifies provisions relating to simplified employee pensions. Increases the number of allowable participants for salary reduction arrangements from 25 to 100. Allows participation after one year of service (currently, three years of service is required). Repeals the requirement that at least 50 percent of eligible employees participate in a salary reduction arrangement. Eliminates certain requirements regarding contributions on behalf of disabled employees. Allows rural cooperative plans which include cash or deferred arrangements to make distributions to participants after attainment of age 59. Includes reports of pension and annuity payments in information returns and payee statements. Eliminates reports of designated distributions from the scope of the $25 per day penalty. Provides a $10 reporting threshold for designated distributions. Makes tax-exempt organizations eligible for cash or deferred arrangement pension plans.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1991
United States-China Act of 1991 - Prohibits the extension for a 12-month period beginning July 3, 1992, of nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to China under the Trade Act of 1974, unless the President submits to the Congress a specified report stating that China has: (1) accounted for and released prisoners who have been detained and imprisoned as a result of the nonviolent expression of their political beliefs; (2) ceased exporting to the United States products manufactured by convict or forced labor; (3) ceased the supply of military arms to the Khmer Rouge; and (4) adhered to the Joint Declaration with the United Kingdom on Hong Kong. Requires such report to state whether China has made significant progress in: (1) engaging in high-level discussions on human rights issues; (2) preventing gross violations of such rights (including in Tibet); (3) terminating harassment of Chinese citizens in the United States; (4) ensuring access of international human rights monitoring groups to prisoners; (5) providing protection of U.S. intellectual property rights; (6) providing U.S. exporters access to Chinese markets by lowering tariffs, removing nontariff barriers, and increasing the purchase of U.S. goods and services; and (7) adopting a national policy consistent with specified missile, nuclear, and chemical and biological control agreements. Terminates most-favored-nation trade status for China unless the President certifies to the Congress that it has not transferred ballistic missiles or missile launchers for the M-9 or M-11 weapon systems to Syria, Iran, or Pakistan. Requires the President, if he determines such transfers to have occurrred, to: (1) notify the Congress; and (2) terminate most-favored-nation treatment for Chinese products.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1991
Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site Act of 1991 - Establishes the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site, Texas, to preserve the site of the first battle of the Mexican-American War. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to develop and transmit to specified congressional committees a general management plan for such site. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Manufacturing Strategy Act of 1991 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act to direct the Department of Commerce to be the lead civilian agency for working with U.S. industry to: (1) develop new generic advanced manufacturing technologies; and (2) encourage and assist the deployment and use of advanced manufacturing equipment and techniques throughout the United States. Requires the Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary) to establish an Advanced Manufacturing Systems and Networking Project to create a collaborative multi-year technology development program in the Institute, U.S. industry, and, as appropriate, the States, to develop, refine, test, and transfer advanced computer-integrated electronically-networked manufacturing technologies and associated applications. Authorizes appropriations for such Project. States that it shall be a mission of all Federal research and development agencies to support the national technology base. Sets forth specifics of the required support. Provides for the establishment of programs to provide fellowships to: (1) graduate students at institutions of higher education who choose to pursue masters or doctoral degrees in manufacturing engineering; and (2) industrial executives to serve as instructors in manufacturing at two-year community and technical colleges. Authorizes appropriations for such fellowships. Establishes a National Quality Laboratory to disseminate information and materials and promote education and research activities regarding ways in which companies and organizations can improve their quality management programs and productivity. Authorizes appropriations for such Laboratory. Amends provisions of Federal law to require the Secretary, under provisions which require the Secretary to provide assistance for the creation and support of Regional Centers (Centers) for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology, to provide assistance for the creation and support of National Centers for Manufacturing and Process Technology (National Centers). Provides that if a Center receives a positive evaluation after its third year of operation the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (the Institute) may contract with the Center to provide additional technology extension or transfer services above and beyond the baseline activities of the Center. Specifies what such additional services may include. States that the objective of the National Centers program is to enhance manufacturing productivity and quality. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes within the Institute a State Technology Extension Program and sets forth its authorities. Establishes a National Commission on Industrial Modernization for the purpose of examining what steps must be taken by industry and government to ensure that within a decade the U.S. has a modern industrial infrastructure second to no other nation. Authorizes appropriations for the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Federal Used Property for Humanitarian Relief Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to authorize the Administrator of the General Services Administration to make available to foreign governments or international relief agencies for humanitarian relief purposes nonlethal surplus personal property not needed for State disaster relief or by the American Red Cross or by States or territories for educational or public health purposes. Requires transfer of such property to the Secretary of State for distribution. Makes the Secretary responsible for the reacquisition of such property from the donee government or agency upon determining that its need for such property ceases to exist. Requires the Secretary to retransfer such property to the Administrator for further disposition. Authorizes executive agencies having any such property in a foreign country that has not been returned to the United States to make such a transfer. Repeals provisions authorizing the Secretary of Defense to make available for humanitarian relief purposes any nonlethal excess supplies of the Department of Defense.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Federal Technology Strategy Act of 1991 - Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to direct the President to develop Federal technology development plans for specified areas of technology and identify national needs in those areas. Requires that the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy serve as the lead Federal official for preparation of the plans. Designates the Department of Commerce as the lead civilian agency and the Department of Defense as the lead defense agency. Requires that the Director review the budget of each department and agency, in the context of the plans, before submission. Requires that the Director summarize Federal funding proposed for each of the critical technologies or groups of technologies identified in the most recent biennial critical technologies report. Requires Federal agencies, as appropriate, to support: (1) industry-led projects to develop new generic enabling technologies; and (2) collaboration with State and industry to accelerate commercialization and use of new advanced technologies. Requires each Federal research and development agency to provide funds to support activities under the Advanced Technology Program. Prohibits Federal departments and agencies and any organization in the United States which receives Federal research and development funding from participating in or assisting any technology development project that is operated by or receives funds from a foreign government with which the U.S. Government has a science and technology agreement unless the participation is approved in advance by the Director or the Secretary of Commerce. Authorizes banning violators from receiving Federal research assistance for two years. Requires, when such approval has been obtained, that any Federal department or agency channel funding through U.S.-based joint research and development ventures. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress on actions that can be taken by private industry, the States, and the Federal Government to increase private investment in: (1) the development and production of new commercial technologies; and (2) the use and application of advanced manufacturing and process technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
National Critical Technologies Act of 1991 - Title I: Federal Management of National Critical Technologies - Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to direct the President, through the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, to develop and submit to the Congress, at least once every two years, a strategic road map, covering at least four years after the year in which it is issued, for each national critical technology. Specifies the required contents of each map, including: (1) assessing current U.S. strengths and weaknesses in developing and applying the covered technologies; (2) specifying goals and priorities in enhancing development or application; (3) increasing access to foreign technology; and (4) identifying feasible joint actions of Federal departments and agencies. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish one or more critical technologies advisory committees to advise the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology (Coordinating Council) and review each map. Requires that the Coordinating Council: (1) serve as the lead Federal agency for development of the maps and interagency coordination of map-related activities; (2) review the Federal budget prior to submission and submit review results to the Executive Office of the President. Title II: Federal Support for Development of Critical Technologies - Part A: Department of Defense - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into cooperative arrangements, each known as a Defense Dual-Use Technology Partnership, to encourage and provide for research and development of dual-use critical technologies identified in the annual defense critical technologies plan mandated by current law. Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of Defense, in carrying out advanced research projects through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) or a military department (currently, through DARPA), to enter into cooperative agreements and other transactions with any entity. Allows the Secretary to authorize the Secretary of the military department concerned to enter into such transactions. Repeals provisions terminating, on a specified date, the Secretary's authority to enter into such agreements. Sets forth special rules for applying existing provisions (relating to payments by the Department of Defense of independent research development costs) to a specified portion of costs attributable to participation in critical technology research and development consortia meeting certain requirements. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Partnership provisions. Part B: Other Departments and Agencies - Directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology acting under the Advanced Technology Program, to continue to support the activities of U.S. industry and joint ventures associated with applications of national critical technologies. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Energy to enter into cooperative arrangements, each known as a Department of Energy Critical Technology Partnership, for research and development of critical technologies selected by the Secretary, with each Partnership required to be composed of at least two eligible firms and at least one Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory. Allows other participants. Mandates similar Critical Technology Partnerships within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Authorizes appropriations separately for DOE, NASA, and HHS. Part C: Administrative Provisions Relating to Critical Technology Partnerships - Requires that the participants in each Partnership designate a lead institution to direct Partnership activities. Requires: (1) non-Federal participants to contribute at least half of the total Partnership cost; and (2) Partnership selection to be made through a competitive process using specified criteria. Allows an agreement establishing a Partnership to include a requirement that a participant make payments to the department or agency establishing the Partnership. Protects trade secrets and information that is privileged or confidential. Part D: Additional Definitions - Sets forth definitions applicable to this title. Title III: Critical Technology Application Centers - Amends Federal law to direct the Secretary of Defense to conduct the Critical Technology Application Centers Assistance Program, to assist regional critical technology application centers. Requires a center to: (1) include eligible firms conducting business in the region; and (2) be sponsored by an agency connected in one of specified ways to State or local governments. Declares the purpose of a center to be to facilitate the use of national critical technologies for commercial purposes to enhance the development and economic sustainability of the capability of an industry of the region to compete internationally and, in the case of military applications, thereby to maintain industrial capabilities vital to national security. Allows center activities to include: (1) joint research and development; (2) proprietary research and development (limited to a specified percentage of center costs); and (3) sharing of information, equipment, personnel, and expertise. Authorizes the Secretary to provide to a center financial assistance (limited to 30 percent of costs) and technical assistance for up to six years. Prohibits financial assistance for construction. Requires the sponsoring agency to pay at least 30 percent and participating firms to pay at least 40 percent of center costs. Requires that non-Federal participants pay the total costs for proprietary research and development. Requires assistance to be awarded under a competitive process according to specified criteria. Directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint a panel to evaluate the activities of each center receiving financial assistance. Prohibits further assistance to a center if the panel determines that the center's activities are not consistent with center purposes as specified in this Act. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Defense and Commerce to carry out the Program. Title IV: Foreign Technology Monitoring and Assessment - Requires the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology to: (1) coordinate Federal monitoring of foreign technology developments; (2) facilitate joint foreign science and technology monitoring and assessment efforts of Federal departments and agencies; and (3) establish strategic goals and priorities for the clearinghouses established by this title. Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to establish in the Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology the Clearinghouse of Foreign Commercial Technology Monitoring and Assessment (Commerce Clearinghouse) to serve as the lead Federal agency for the compilation and dissemination of unclassified information and assessments on foreign research, development, and application of commercial critical technologies. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a merit-based foreign critical technology monitoring and assessment grant program for the establishment of foreign critical technology monitoring and assessment offices in Europe and on the Pacific Rim Area. Limits support for an office to six years and 50 percent of operating and capital costs. Requires each office to disseminate its assessments to the Commerce Clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations. Amends Federal law to declare that there is, in the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, the Clearinghouse of Foreign Defense Technology Monitoring and Assessment (Defense Clearinghouse). Includes among Defense Clearinghouse responsibilities: (1) creating unclassified and classified data bases; and (2) ensuring maximum public availability of information in those data bases through limiting restrictive classification and through disseminating information to the Commerce Clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes making available to the National Science Foundation, for support of the assessment of foreign capabilities in critical technologies, specified sums from the amounts authorized by this Act for the Commerce and Defense Clearinghouses.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991
Medicare Preventive Benefits Act of 1991 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of fecal-occult blood tests (FOBTs) and screening flexible sigmoidoscopies for the early detection of colorectal cancer. Covers FOBTs on an annual basis for individuals aged 50 or over. Covers screening sigmoidoscopies provided every five years for individuals aged 50 or over. Provides payment for FOBTs under the laboratory fee schedule, subject to a five dollar limit in 1992. Provides payment for screening sigmoidoscopies under the relative value scale in 1992. Permits the Secretary to modify the frequency criteria after 1994. Provides for Medicare coverage of annual influenza vaccinations and for tetanus-diptheria vaccinations administered every ten years. Provides for Medicare coverage up to age seven according to a frequency schedule to be established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in consultation with appropriate entities. Provides for Medicare coverage of annual screening mammography for the early detection of breast cancer for women over age 64. (Currently, such women are covered for such screening performed every other year.) Requires HHS demonstration projects for the coverage of additional specified preventive care services and reports to specified congressional committees on such projects. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes an Office of Technology Assessment study and report to the Congress on the development of a process evaluating possible Medicare coverage of other preventive care services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991
Modifies the flood control project for Clear Creek, Texas, to direct the Secretary of the Army to remove, at Federal expense, the Southern Pacific Railroad swing bridge which crosses the primary channel of Clear Creek at the entrance to Galveston Bay, Texas, including the pivot pier and timber approach bridge. Specifies that removal of such bridges and pier shall be in full satisfaction of Federal responsibility to provide substitute facilities for, or to replace, relocate, or alter any part of, the railroad line owned by the Southern Pacific Transportation Company and affected by such Project.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991
Family Planning Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require family planning projects under existing provisions to offer adoption referral services. Removes provisions authorizing a reduction in grant amounts by the value of supplies or equipment furnished. Authorizes appropriations for the projects. Repeals provisions authorizing formula grants to States for family planning services. Replaces provisions authorizing grants and contracts for training personnel to carry out the family planning projects with provisions authorizing grants and contracts for technical assistance, clinical training for personnel, training for educators and counselors, and training of other personnel to carry out the family planning projects and information and education programs. Authorizes appropriations. Allows grants and contracts for research on contraceptive development to be used: (1) for contraceptive evaluation; and (2) to improve the clinical management and direct delivery of family planning services. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct, and make grants and contracts for the conduct of: (1) applied research into the development of new or improved contraceptive devices, drugs, and methods; and (2) evaluations of the acceptance, convenience, safety, efficacy, and cost of contraceptive devices, drugs, and methods. Authorizes appropriations. Replaces provisions authorizing grants and contracts for developing and making available family planning and population growth information to all persons desiring such information with provisions authorizing grants or contracts to establish community-based information and education programs to assist individuals in making responsible choices concerning human sexuality, pregnancy, and parenthood, and to enable individuals to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct, or make grants and contracts for the conduct of, training and technical assistance activities to assist in carrying out the information and education programs; and (2) make grants and contracts for the development, evaluation, and dissemination of educational and informational materials. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to annually collect data on: (1) the numbers of low- and moderate-income individuals and adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancies; (2) the sources of funding for family planning services; and (3) the number of individuals who receive family planning services from grantees and contractees under certain provisions amended by this Act and the types of services chosen by those individuals. Authorizes grants and contracts for the collection of the data. Requires the data to be: (1) made public; and (2) included in an annual report to the Congress, mandated by current law, on family planning and population research. Requires that all grantees under the title of the Public Health Service Act relating to population research and family planning provide education to patients concerning self breast examinations. Requires that projects receiving assistance under such title offer pregnant women information and counseling concerning all legal and medical options regarding their pregnancies. Requires that women requesting such information be provided with nondirective counseling, and referral on request, concerning alternative courses of action, including: (1) prenatal care and delivery; (2) infant care, foster care, or adoption services; and (3) pregnancy termination.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the American public should observe the 100th anniversary of filmmaking in 1993 and recognize the American Film Institute's leadership role in preserving the art of film.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1991
Relieves a named individual of all liability for repayment to the United States of a specified sum plus accrued interest representing an amount such individual owed the Department of Defense for certain travel and relocation expenses erroneously stated to be reimbursable by an agent of the Department.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991
Geologic Mapping Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish and maintain a comprehensive nationwide geologic mapping program, with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the lead Federal agency. Sets forth program objectives. Mandates: (1) participation by the USGS, the individual State Geological Surveys, and scientists from the academic community; and (2) appointment of a geologic mapping advisory group. Requires that the program include Federal, support, State, and education geologic mapping components. Sets forth objectives for each component, including the support component contributing to national paleontologic, geochronologic, geophysical-map, and geochemical-map data bases. Requires that the USGS prepare an implementation plan covering specified matters. Requires the USGS to establish a national geologic-map data base to be a national archive that includes all maps and data bases developed under this Act. Declares that geologic maps contributed to the National Archives should be standardized so that information can be assimilated, exchanged, and compared efficiently and accurately. Authorizes appropriations for each component.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991
Federal Lands and Families Protection Act - Title I: Establishing Long Term Program - Provides for the establishment of a long-term Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) program to protect old growth forest, the Northern Spotted Owl, and other old growth associated species on areas of ecologically-significant old growth forest on State and Federal lands in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California selected for the Old Growth Forest Reserve to be established by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior under this Act. Requires the Secretaries to: (1) submit the applicable land management plans for implementing such program for appropriate consultation required under the Endangered Species Act; and (2) review previously applied administrative constraints on resource uses on lands under their jurisdiction to minimize the impact on pre-existing land uses resulting from the establishment of the Reserve. Bars further acquisition of mineral and mining rights in the Reserve. Permits roads, structures, and motorized and nonmotorized recreation and access, and hunting and fishing in the Reserve where consistent with the requirements of this Act and other applicable law. Permits timber harvesting in certain limited circumstances and only if not proscribed for any Reserve area in the applicable land management plan. Title II: Ensuring the Effectiveness of Federal Land Planning - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to provide additional guidance on the implementation, amendment, and revision of plans for Federal lands necessary to ensure the effectiveness of Federal land planning and that the applicable land management plans under title I of this Act and the protections which they afford the Old Growth Forest Reserve and associated species are implemented effectively. Title III: Providing An Interim Program - Provides for an interim program until the Reserve is established and applicable land management plans are adopted under title I of this Act with the same purposes as the long-term program, and for the provision of an adequate supply of timber on FS and BLM lands. Directs the Secretaries to establish an Old Growth Research Program (OGRP) to better understand and manage old growth forest ecosystems. Restricts timber sales on road construction, and mineral leasing on certain FS and BLM lands, including those within a certain radius of a Northern Spotted Owl nest site. Requires environmental impact statements on, and appropriate consultation for, the timber harvested from FS and BLM lands to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. Provides for judicial review of agency decisions or actions under this title. Directs the Secretaries to publish in the Federal Register timber harvesting guidelines for Reserve areas based on OGRP work. Title IV: Economic Adjustment - Establishes the Timber Economic Adjustment Commission to provide Federal economic adjustment grants and benefit payments to the communities economically dependent on the timber on FS and BLM lands and the dislocated workers adversely affected by enactment of this Act. Outlines specific eligibility criteria that such communities and workers must meet in order to receive such assistance. Requires the Secretaries to notify the Commission of any Federal action likely to have a substantial impact on employment. Requires a final Commission report to the Congress and applicable State Governors on economic conditions and employment in affected areas. Title V: Miscellaneous - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1991
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1991 - Title I: Authorization of Appropriations - Amends the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 to authorize appropriations to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for 1992 through 1996. Title II: Reducing the Burden of Federal Paperwork on the Public - Makes Federal agencies accountable for reducing the burden of Federal paperwork on the public. Makes the Act applicable to all federally sponsored paperwork. Requires a Government-wide paperwork reduction goal of at least five percent and individual agency goals that aggregate to the Government-wide goal. Title III: Enhancing Federal Agency Responsibility and Accountability for Reducing the Burden of Federal Paperwork - Makes the senior official charged with carrying out the responsibilities of the agency under the Act the head of a separate office with qualified staff responsible for assuring agency compliance with requirements under the Act. Requires each agency to prepare estimates of burden that will result from proposed collections of information. Establishes a certification process for the review of each information collection request before it is submitted to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. Title IV: Enhancing Government Responsibility and Accountability for Reducing the Burden of Federal Paperwork - Makes the OMB Director responsible for ensuring that all information collection requests display an estimate of the paperwork burden for each response. Requires OMB procedures in order for agencies to estimate the burden to comply with proposed collections of information. Require coordination with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to eliminate paperwork burdens associated with procurement and acquisition. Requires OMB pilot projects to test approaches to improve information management practices and related activities. Reduces the time afforded the OMB Director for approving a routine agency request to collect information. Provides for greater participation by the public and Federal agencies in the review of proposed paperwork burdens generated by agency information requests. Requires the OMB Director to make publicly available any decision to disapprove a collection of information requirement contained in an agency rule, together with the reasons for such decision. Provides protection for whistleblowers of unauthorized Federal paperwork burdens. Provides for expedited OMB review of an agency information request with a reduced paperwork burden. Title V: Additional Government Information Management Responsibility - Revises the statistical policy and coordination functions of the OMB Director. Requires the OMB Director to: (1) establish an interagency working group on statistical policy, consisting of the heads of the agencies with major statistical programs, to coordinate agency statistical activities; and (2) provide training in the statistical policy functions of the chief statistician to Federal employees. Provides for Government-wide standards for sharing public information. Requires the OMB Director to develop a plan for meeting the automatic data processing needs of the Federal Government in accordance with the Act and certain requirements of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949. Requires the OMB Director to make the Federal Information Locator System available on electronic media to Federal agencies and the public. Requires the OMB Director's annual report to the Congress to list any increased Federal paperwork burdens and describe each agency's plans to implement the applicable policies, standards, and guidelines under the Act. Title VI: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Southwest Stars and Stripes Salute scheduled to be held from July 19 through 21, 1991, be recognized as a national event.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1991
Condemns the murder of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and others in the bomb explosion on May 21, 1991. Expresses regret over the deaths of Gandhi and other victims of election violence in India. Offers condolences to Gandhi's widow and children and to the people of India. Stands in solidarity with the Indian people in their effort to sustain the most successful democratic tradition in the developing world.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1991
Big Thicket National Preserve Addition Act of 1991 - Expands the boundaries of the Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas, through the addition of specified lands in Hardin, Polk, Tyler, Orange, and Jasper Counties, Texas. Requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to exchange commercial timberlands within and in the vicinity of the Preserve. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) from acquiring a specified area owned by the Louisiana-Pacific Corporation or its subsidiary, Kirby Forest Industries, Inc., without the owner's consent as long as the area is used exclusively as a youth camp. Requires the Secretary to study and report to specified congressional committees, with recommendations of: (1) alternate means of preserving the scenic integrity of the Village Creek and Big Sandy Corridor units; and (2) the costs associated with implementing such alternatives. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1991
American Technology Preeminence Act of 1991 - Title I: Department of Commerce Research and Technology - Technology Administration Authorization Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce, to carry out the activities of the Under Secretary for Technology and the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, for the following line items: (1) Office of Under Secretary; (2) Technology Policy; (3) Japanese Technical Literature; (4) Clearinghouse on State and Local Initiatives on Productivity, Technology, and Innovation; and (5) National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Prohibits: (1) transferring funds among such line items; and (2) using funds except for the purpose stated in each item. Requires operating costs for certain NTIS activities to be recovered primarily through fees. Mandates a report by the Secretary to the Congress responding to a specified Inspector General's Report and containing certain information and certifications. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for: (1) Electronics and Electrical Engineering; (2) Manufacturing Engineering; (3) Chemical Science and Technology; (4) Physics; (5) Materials Science and Engineering; (6) Building and Fire Research; (7) Computer Systems; (8) Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computing; (9) Technology Assistance; and (10) Research Support Activities. Earmarks certain amounts. Limits funds transfers among the line items. Declares that, subject to specified exceptions, this Act contains the complete authorizations of appropriations for NIST for a specified fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary to pay the Federal share of a pilot program under existing provisions to assist nations that have requested U.S. assistance in developing their standards. Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (NIST Act) to remove provisions limiting the amount NIST may, without specific appropriations, spend for construction or improvement of buildings or facilities. Requires: (1) NIST fire research and building technology programs to be combined for administrative purposes only, and separate budget accounts to be maintained; and (2) a report to the Congress on the combination and matters related to the two programs. Makes the NIST personnel system, established as a demonstration project, the permanent personnel system for NIST. Amends the NIST Act to authorize financial assistance to U.S. citizens for research and technical activities on Institute programs. Authorizes, where shortages exist, recruitment and employment at NIST of foreign nationals admitted to the United States for permanent residence who intend to become U.S. citizens. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to carry out the extramural industrial technology services programs of NIST under specified provisions, to be available for: (1) Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology; (2) State Technology Extension Program; and (3) Advanced Technology Program. Requires competitive merit review of extramural programs. Authorizes: (1) exemption of specific technology extension or transfer services from provisions of Federal law relating to patent rights in inventions made with Federal assistance; and (2) acceptance of funds from other Federal departments and agencies to support Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to remove provisions requiring cooperative agreements between NIST and State technology extension services to expire on September 30, 1991. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the National Advisory Committee on Semiconductor Research and Development Act of 1988. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to make any adjustments in salary, pay, retirement, and other employee benefits which may be provided for by law. Prohibits awarding a contract or subcontract with funds authorized under this title for an article or material produced or manufactured in a foreign country whose government unfairly maintains in government procurement a significant and persistent pattern or practice of discrimination against U.S. products or services which results in identifiable harm to U.S. businesses. Makes ineligible to receive a contract or subcontract from the Department of Commerce any person who fraudulently affixes a "Made in America" label to a product. Authorizes the Secretary, in certain circumstances, to award to a domestic firm a contract that, under competitive procedures, would be awarded to a foreign firm. Title II: Advanced Technology Program Amendments - Emerging Technologies and Advanced Technology Program Amendments Act of 1991 - Amends the NIST Act to require the Secretary and the NIST Director, in operating the Advanced Technology Program, to be guided by the findings and recommendations of the Biennial National Critical Technology Reports. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Director, to make grants and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements under the Program, including as a method for participating in U.S. joint research and development ventures. Empowers the Secretary to determine the appropriate share of licensing fees and royalty payments, up to the amounts with reasonable interest, of any monetary grants provided. Sets forth eligibility requirements for company participation in the Program. Requires assistance under the Program to be designed to support high risk projects with potential for eventual substantial widespread commercial application. Requires title to any intellectual property arising from assistance under the Program to vest in a company or companies incorporated in the United States. Allows the United States to retain a license in connection with such property. Allows a limited percentage of the funds appropriated for the Program to be used for standards development and technical activities by NIST in support of the purposes of the Program. Authorizes acceptance of funds from other Federal departments and agencies to support Program awards. Authorizes the Secretary, in carrying out NIST extramural funding programs, to retain amounts to pay for NIST's management of the programs. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1988 and 1989 and the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to change references to the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs to references to the Under Secretary for Technology in provisions relating to: (1) membership on the Advisory Council on Federal Participation in Sematech; and (2) the conduct of a study on Federal participation in Sematech. Title III: Amendments to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to remove fiscal year limitations from provisions requiring that each Federal agency transfer an amount to NIST for the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer. Adds references to intellectual property to provisions defining "cooperative research and development agreement." Amends the definition of "Federal agency" to include any agency of the legislative branch. Authorizes the use of appropriated funds to carry out the Act. Adds to the duties of the Secretary, through the Under Secretary for Technology, that of serving as a focal point for discussions among U.S. companies, trade associations, and labor unions on topics of interest to industry and labor. Title IV: Studies and Reports - Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish the High-Resolution Information Systems Advisory Board to monitor and foster the development of U.S.-based high-resolution information systems industries (defined as the equipment and techniques to create, store, recover, and play back high-resolution images and accompanying sound). Authorizes appropriations. Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to mandate an annual report to the Congress on each major science and technology project in which more than one country is participating and which has a total estimated cost over one billion dollars. Modifies the required contents of the biennial national critical technologies report to the President. Allows a product or process to be considered a national critical technology if it is essential for U.S. long-term national security or economic prosperity (currently, national security and economic prosperity). Establishes the Commission on Technology and Procurement to analyze the effect of Federal Government procurement laws, procedures, and policies on the development of advanced technologies in the United States and to make recommendations on changing Federal policy to promote the development of advanced technologies. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the feasibility of establishing and operating a Federal Online Information Product Catalog (FEDLINE) at the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) to serve as a comprehensive inventory of information products and services disseminated by the Federal Government and assist agencies and the public in locating Federal Government information. Authorizes the NTIS Director to retain and use all monies received to fund obligations and expenses through the end of a specified fiscal year. Amends the National Technical Information Act of 1988 to add producing and disseminating information products in electronic format to the duties of the NTIS. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the feasibility and advisability of establishing, in affiliation with NIST, a Quality Institute and a privately funded foundation to support the Quality Institute. Requires the report to consider whether that Institute should: (1) conduct workshops and company tours; and (2) help develop and disseminate model curricula. Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to replace provisions establishing and setting forth the membership and functions of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology with provisions relating to the membership and functions of the Council and assistance to the Council by other Federal agencies. Directs the Secretary to contract with the National Research Council for a thorough review of international product testing and certification issues. Mandates a report to the Secretary, the President, and the Congress. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to report to the Congress: (1) proposing a strategy for improving the university research capabilities of States which historically have received relatively little Federal research and development funding; and (2) on the feasibility and advisability of using the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research as a model for similar programs in other Federal departments and agencies which fund research and development. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees regarding a plan for coordination of Commerce Department efforts with other Federal agencies concerning high-resolution information systems.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Government of Kuwait, Kuwaiti firms, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and any other U.S. agency or entity should: (1) award contracts for the rebuilding of Kuwait with a preference given to supplies or goods mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States and engineering, consulting, and construction services of firms established and doing business in the United States; and (2) encourage the participation of U.S. small and disadvantaged businesses, including minority- and women-owned businesses, in such contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Amends Federal provisions relating to the National Guard to add a new chapter concerning the formation of State defense forces. Defines a "State defense force" as a military force organized by a State to become operational when the State National Guard forces are federalized or otherwise unavailable or inadequate for the defense needs of such State. Provides that, as general policy, State defense forces are in the national interest as a military reserve force ready to supplement National Guard forces and State and local government agencies for the performance of specified functions. Provides that membership in a State defense force shall be determined by the individual States, but that a member of the U.S. armed forces shall not also be a member of a State defense force, unless specifically authorized to do so. Provides further that membership in a State defense force does not exempt a person from any required duty under the Military Selective Service Act, nor does such membership limit a person from enlistment or appointment in an armed force. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to issue or loan military equipment, supplies, or uniforms to a State for use in connection with its State defense force. Directs the Secretary of Defense to prescribe policies and procedures to be followed in the issuing and loaning of such equipment. Authorizes the sale (by the Secretary of the military department concerned) and the wearing of military uniforms by members of a State defense force, as long as such uniforms have been approved by such Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to provide a member of a State defense force and States with defense forces training and training assistance for such forces. Authorizes such training, in the alternative, to be provided by an executive department and an independent agency of the Federal Government in the interest of national security and when not detrimental to the primary operational requirements of the department or agency concerned. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to require reimbursement from a State for the cost of providing training or training assistance to the State defense force of such State. Declares that reimbursement normally should be required in the case of training provided a member of a State defense force for a period exceeding 14 days. Directs that the chief executive officer of a State sponsoring a State defense force is the responsible official for that force. Provides that the Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall serve as the means of communication between a State and the Federal Government on matters involving the State defense forces. Provides that a member of a State defense force is not to be considered a member of the U.S. armed forces for any reason, including eligibility for federally-sponsored health care or disability benefits. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to conduct such background investigations for potential members of State defense forces as considered necessary and appropriate by such Secretary for the granting of appropriate security clearances for such personnel. Encourages a State sponsoring a State defense force to make available to officials of the State defense force all appropriate criminal history information, and to maintain a record of criminal history information pertaining to a member in order that security clearances may be expedited in time of mobilization or national emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Designates May 22, 1991, as National Desert Storm Reservists Day to commemorate the accomplishments of the men and women of the reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces who proudly served the United States during Operation Desert Storm.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Administration should: (1) act as expeditiously as possible to extend agricultural export credit guarantees to the Soviet Union if they assure an equitable and humanitarian distribution of such credits to their people; (2) provide for the extension of equivalent credit tranches which may be extended contingent upon the acceptable distribution and/or repayment of previous credits; and (3) use such programs to aid the export of agricultural commodities experiencing serious price depression, such as wheat, corn, soybeans, and dairy products.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1991 - Declares that a Federal employee may take an active part in political management or in political campaigns, except that an employee may not: (1) use official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election; (2) knowingly solicit, accept, or receive a political contribution from any person, unless such person is a member of the same Federal labor organization or a Federal employee organization with a multicandidate political committee (PAC), such person is not a subordinate employee, and the solicitation is for a contribution to the organization's PAC; (3) run for nomination or election to a partisan political office; or (4) knowingly solicit or discourage the participation in any political activity of any person who has an application for any compensation, grant, contract, ruling, license, permit, or certificate pending before the employing office of such employee or who is the subject of, or a participant in, an ongoing audit, investigation, or enforcement action carried out by the employing office of such employee. Prohibits the employees of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from: (1) giving a political contribution to another FEC employee, Member of Congress, or an officer of a uniformed service; (2) requesting or receiving such a contribution from any such individuals; or (3) taking an active part in political management or political campaigns. Excludes presidential appointees employed by the FEC from such prohibition. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Authorizes the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to prescribe regulations permitting employees residing in the immediate vicinity of the District of Columbia in Maryland or Virginia, or in a municipality where the majority of voters are Federal employees, to participate in political management and political campaigns involving their area of residence, if OPM determines that such political participation is in their domestic interest. Requires any employee who has been determined by the Merit Systems Protection Board to have twice violated political activity prohibitions to be removed from his or her position. Prohibits such an employee from holding any position of Federal employment other than an elected position. Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for any person to coerce or attempt to coerce any Federal employee to engage or not engage in any political activity, including: (1) voting; (2) making any political contribution; or (3) working on behalf of any candidate. Includes U.S. Postal Service, Postal Rate Commission, and District of Columbia employees within the coverage of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1991
Declares that the Senate expresses its: (1) regret that Senator Pryor's illness will require his absence from the Senate Chamber; and (2) heartfelt wishes to him for a speedy and complete recovery, and that he return to his duties, serving the people of Arkansas, in the near future.
![Official portrait of Sen. Bentsen, Lloyd M. [D-TX]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000401_200.jpg)