United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1995
Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to revise and rename it the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1995. Instructs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) develop and operate a repository for the permanent geologic disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste; (2) accept spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste by no later than January 31, 1998, at facilities designated pursuant to certain interim storage facility contracts; (3) provide for the transportation of such wastes (including procuring all systems and components necessary to transport such fuel and waste among facilities comprising the Integrated Management System established by this Act); and (4) pursue expeditiously the development of each component of the integrated management system. Establishes an integrated management system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, including its storage, transportation, and disposal. Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary is charged with the development and operation of a rail spur originating in Lincoln County, Nevada, and terminating at the interim storage facility site. Provides for intermodal transfer pending direct rail access. Sets a deadline by which the Secretary must develop the capability to commence rail to truck intermodal transfer at Caliente, Nevada. Requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Caliente and Lincoln County, Nevada, to advise the Commission regarding intermodal transfer and to facilitate on-site representation. Prescribes procedural guidelines for the availability by January 31, 1998 of: (1) railroads; (2) transportation planning and requirements; (3) interim storage facilities; (4) permanent disposal; and (5) land withdrawal. Prescribes guidelines for consultation, financial, and technical assistance between the Secretary and the State of Nevada. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) offer the State of Nevada and the affected local governmental entity an opportunity to designate an on-site oversight representative; and (2) offer to enter into separate benefits agreements with the State of Nevada and certain affected Counties concerning the integrated management system. Establishes a Review Panel to advise the Secretary on the integrated management system. Prescribes a fee schedule for electricity generated by civilian nuclear power reactors and spent nuclear fuel used to generate electricity in a civilian nuclear power reactor. Provides that payment of a one-time fee on either spent nuclear fuel used to generate electricity in a civilian nuclear power reactor, or the high- level radioactive waste derived from it, relieves the responsible party from further financial obligation to the Federal Government for its long-term storage or permanent disposal. Sets forth advance contract prerequisites for utilization or production facility license renewals under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Continues the Nuclear Waste Fund and the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue a final rule establishing the appropriate portion of the costs of managing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel allocable to the interim storage or permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activities and spent nuclear fuel foreign research reactors; and (2) advise the Congress annually of the amount of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activities requiring management in the integrated spent nuclear fuel management system. Prescribes a prioritization scheme for the allocation of funds: (1) to components of the integrated management system; and (2) from the Nuclear Waste Fund. States that actions authorized by this Act shall be governed solely in accordance with the provisions of specified statutes. Grants the United States courts of appeals original and exclusive jurisdiction over civil actions under this Act. Prescribes guidelines for NRC licensing hearings. Prohibits the Secretary from conducting site-specific activities for a second repository unless the Congress has specifically authorized and appropriated funds therefor. Requires the NRC to promulgate regulatory guidelines for: (1) financial assurances for low-level radioactive waste site closures; and (2) training and qualification of civilian nuclear power plant personnel. Delineates an acceptance schedule for contract holders' spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Proscribes: (1) subseabed or ocean water disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste; and (2) any obligation of funds for any such related activity. Continues the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to take action as necessary to improve the management of the civilian radioactive waste management program to ensure that it is operated to the maximum extent like a private business. States that the program is not subject to civil service regulations. Abolishes the Interim Storage Fund, the Monitored Retrievable Storage Commission, the Office of Subseabed Disposal Research, and the Office of Nuclear Waste Negotiator. Requires the Secretary to present annual schedule and timeline status reports to the Congress. Directs the Secretary to: (1) create a value engineering function within the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management; (2) employ, on an on-going basis, integrated performance modeling regarding site characterization; and (3) report an action plan (and annual updates) to the Congress regarding implementation of this Act and development of the Integrated Waste Management System.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1995
Economic Growth and Price Stability Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act to repeal the mandate of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee to maintain long run growth of monetary and credit aggregates in order to promote maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. Replaces such mandate with a mandate to: (1) establish an explicit numerical definition of "price stability"; and (2) maintain a monetary policy that effectively promotes long-term price stability. Repeals the mandate of the Board and the Committee to report biannually to the Congress on national economic trends, taking into account unemployment, investment and productivity. Replaces such mandate with a mandate to consult semiannually with the Congress and report on their plans and the time required to achieve price stability. Repeals the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978 (Humphrey-Hawkins Act). Amends the Employment Act of 1946 and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to reflect the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Subtitle A: Registration of Pesticides Subtitle B: Minor Use Crop Protection Subtitle C: Conforming Amendments Title II: Data Collection and Improved Procedures to Ensure that Tolerances Safeguard the Health of Infants and Children Title III: Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Food Quality Protection Act of 1995 - Title I: Amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act - Subtitle A: Registration of Pesticides - Amends Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) reregistration provisions to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as soon as the Administrator has sufficient information with respect to the dietary risk of a particular active ingredient (but no later the date of a reregistration determination), to: (1) reassess each associated tolerance (or tolerance exemption) issued under Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) provisions regarding pesticide residues in raw agricultural commodities; (2) determine whether the tolerance or exemption meets FDCA requirements and whether additional such tolerances or exemptions should be issued; and (3) commence proceedings under both FIFRA and FDCA as are warranted. Establishes a science review board to assist the scientific advisory panel that comments on decisions of the Administrator to cancel a pesticide's registration or change its classification and on regulations issued under FIFRA. Revises the definition of "unreasonable adverse effects on the environment" to include among such effects a human dietary risk from residue that results from use of a pesticide inconsistent with the standard determined by the Administrator to be adequate to protect the public health under FDCA. Subtitle B: Minor Use Crop Protection - Amends FIFRA to define "minor use" as the use of a pesticide on an animal or commercial agricultural crop or site or for public health protection where: (1) the total U.S. acreage for the crop is fewer than 300,000 acres; or (2) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency determines that the use does not provide sufficient economic incentive to support the initial or continuing registration of a pesticide for such use and there are insufficient alternatives available for the use, any one of the alternatives poses greater environmental or health risks, or the pesticide plays or will play a significant part in managing pest resistance or in an integrated pest management program. Extends the period of exclusive data use for data submitted to support original registration applications for pesticides for an additional year for each three minor uses registered after this Act's enactment and before the expiration of the period of exclusive use, up to a total of three additional years for all minor uses registered by the Administrator if the Administrator determines that: (1) there are insufficient alternatives available for the use or any one of the alternatives poses greater environmental or health risks; or (2) the pesticide plays or will play a significant part in managing pest resistance or in an integrated pest management program. Requires the Administrator, upon the request of a registrant, to extend the deadline for the production of residue chemistry data required solely to support a minor use subject to specified conditions. Applies the same extension conditions to data for reregistrations. Authorizes the Administrator to modify or revoke such extensions if the use may cause unreasonable adverse environmental effects. Permits the Administrator, in handling the registration of a pesticide for a minor use, to waive applicable data requirements if the absence of data will not prevent the Administrator from determining the risk presented by the pesticide and that the risk would not have an adverse environmental effect. Provides for expedited review (within one year of submission) of applications to support minor use pesticide registrations. Provides a procedure for meeting data requirements where a registrant has voluntarily cancelled a registration and another application is pending for registration of a pesticide that is for a minor use and is identical or substantially similar to, or for an identical or substantially similar use as, the cancelled pesticide. Directs the Administrator to establish a minor use program. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Department of Agriculture minor use program and a separate matching fund program. Requires the matching fund program to be utilized to ensure the continued availability of minor use crop protection chemicals. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Conforming Amendments - Makes conforming amendments to FIFRA related to pesticide minor uses. Title II: Data Collection and Improved Procedures to Ensure That Tolerances Safeguard the Health of Infants and Children - Directs the Administrator and the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to establish procedures to ensure that pesticide tolerances adequately safeguard the health of infants and children based on the recommendations of a specified report prepared by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture: (1) to collect pesticide use data of statewide or regional significance for all the major crops and crops of dietary significance; and (2) in cooperation with the Administrator, to implement research, demonstration, and education programs to support adoption of integrated pest management. Requires Federal agencies to use and promote integrated pest management techniques. Title III: Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to redefine "pesticide chemical," subject to exception, as any substance that is a pesticide, or any active ingredient thereof, within the meaning of FIFRA. Defines "pesticide chemical residue," subject to exception, as a residue in or on a raw agricultural commodity or processed food of a pesticide chemical or any other added substance present as a result of a pesticide chemical's metabolism or other degradation. Deems a processed food not to be adulterated, within the meaning of FDCA, if there are present pesticide chemical residues at tolerance levels not considered unsafe. (Current law treats only raw agricultural commodities in this manner.) Sets forth requirements relating to tolerances and exemptions from tolerances for pesticide chemical residues in food, including residues of degradation products, which allow the presence in processed food at the tolerance applicable to the raw agricultural commodity from which the processed food is made. Prohibits establishment of a tolerance that is more stringent than a level the Administrator determines is adequate to protect the public health (i.e., if the dietary risk posed by such level of residues is negligible). Allows a greater than negligible dietary risk if: (1) use protects from greater adverse health effects to humans or the environment; (2) use avoids greater risks from another pesticide; or (3) the unavailability of the pesticide would reduce the availability of an adequate, wholesome, and economical domestic supply of the food. Prohibits issuance of a final rule that revokes, modifies, or suspends a tolerance or exemption until the Administrator has taken any necessary action under FIFRA with respect to the registration of the pesticide involved. Requires the Administrator, where a pesticide is labeled for use on a particular food, to: (1) revoke any tolerance or exemption that allows the presence of a particular chemical or its residue in or on such food if the Administrator cancels the registration of each pesticide that contains the chemical or modifies it to prohibit the pesticide's use in connection with such food; and (2) suspend any such tolerance or exemption upon the suspension of the use of each pesticide that contains the chemical. Provides for: (1) tolerances for unavoidable residues in the case of a residue of a canceled or suspended pesticide chemical that will unavoidably persist in the environment and be present in or on a food; and (2) residues resulting from an application which was lawful at the time of application but with respect to which the tolerance or exemption has since been revoked, suspended, or modified. Prohibits, subject to exception, a State from enforcing any limit on a qualifying pesticide chemical residue (as defined in this Act) in or on any food which is not identical to Federal requirements. Prohibits a State, absent an unreasonable dietary risk, from enforcing a limit on the level of residues in any food if the sale of such food containing such residue level was lawful at the time of application of the pesticide. Authorizes appropriations for increased monitoring of pesticide residues in imported and domestic food.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1995
Amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the city of McCall, Idaho, the State of Idaho, and other appropriate local entities, to participate in the planning, design, and construction of permanent facilities to reclaim and reuse wastewater from the McCall Wastewater Treatment Plant. Allows the Secretary to make grants up to 50 percent of the total costs for the design and construction of such facilities. Prohibits the funds from being used for facility operation and maintenance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1995
Establishes the National Land and Resources Management Commission to review and submit to the President and the Congress a report making recommendations for reforming management of the public land by the land management agencies. Includes among matters to be addressed: (1) reducing overall land management costs by 30 percent; (2) transferring ownership or jurisdiction between government entities to allow the most efficient and consistent management of the land and its resources; (3) establishment of a single land management agency for all public land; and (4) a draft implementing bill. Sets forth procedures for consideration of such report by the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Abolishment of Department of Housing and Urban Development and Disposition of Functions Subtitle A: Abolishment of Department of Housing and Urban Development Subtitle B: Disposition of Particular Programs, Functions, and Agencies of Department of Housing and Urban Development Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions Title II: Tenant-Based Vouchers for Rental and Homeownership Assistance Subtitle A: Block Grants for State Housing Voucher Assistance Subtitle B: Federal Housing Voucher Assistance Program Subtitle C: Determination of State Allocations and Election of Federal or State Voucher Program Subtitle D: Office of Federal Housing Voucher Assistance in Department of Health and Human Services Subtitle E: General Provisions Title III: Transition Provisions Relating to Replacement of Public Housing and Assisted Housing Programs Subtitle A: Replacement of Assisted Housing Programs Subtitle B: Interim Program for Public Housing Block Grants and Deregulation Subtitle C: General Provisions Title IV: Block Grants for Housing and Community Development Opportunities Subtitle A: Block Grants Program Subtitle B: Block Grants for Housing for Special Populations and Indian Housing Subtitle C: General Provisions Relating to Block Grants Subtitle D: Housing and Community Opportunities Agency Subtitle E: Effective Date Title V: Single Family Housing Mortgage Insurance Subtitle A: Federal Home Mortgage Insurance Program Subtitle B: Federal Home Mortgage Insurance Fund Administration Subtitle C: Transition Provisions Subtitle D: General and Miscellaneous Provisions Title VI: Office of Federalism in Office of Management and Budget Housing Opportunities and Empowerment Act - Title I: Abolishment of Department of Housing and Urban Development and Disposition of Functions - Subtitle A: Abolishment of Department of Housing and Urban Development - Reestablishes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as the Housing and Urban Development Programs Resolution Agency (Agency) which shall be an independent Executive agency headed by the Resolution Administrator. Terminates the Agency as of September 30, 2000. (Sec. 106) Directs the General Accounting Office to report on the most efficient manner of abolishing HUD and transferring its functions. Subtitle B: Disposition of Particular Programs, Functions, and Agencies of Department of Housing and Urban Development - Sets forth specified transfers of HUD functions. (Sec. 122) Reestablishes the (HUD) Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight as an office in the Department of the Treasury. (Sec. 123) Amends the National Housing Act to terminate the Government National Mortgage Association. Requires the Resolution Administrator to develop a phase-out plan. (Sec. 124) Abolishes the (HUD) Office of Public Affairs. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth transfer provisions, including authorizing the Office of Management and Budget to make any necessary transfer determinations. Title II: Tenant-Based Vouchers for Rental and Homeownership Assistance - Subtitle A: Block Grants for State Housing Voucher Assistance - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Housing Voucher Agency (established by this Act) to make State block grants for (low-income) housing voucher assistance. Sets forth program provisions, including waiver of voucher program requirements and alternate State grant uses. Subtitle B: Federal Housing Voucher Assistance Program - Establishes a Federal housing voucher assistance program of monthly payments on behalf of renting or first-time owning low-income families. Limits assistance to five years. Provides assistance portability within the same State or metropolitan area. Sets forth program provisions. Subtitle C: Determination of State Allocations and Election of Federal or State Voucher Program - Directs the Administrator (Voucher Administrator) of the Office of Federal Housing Voucher Assistance (established by this Act) to establish: (1) a State housing assistance need formula; and (2) a limit on assisted families per State and a maximum State allocation. (Sec. 252) Authorizes a State to elect State block grant voucher assistance (subtitle A) rather than Federal voucher assistance (subtitle B). Subtitle D: Office of Federal Voucher Assistance in Department of Health and Human Services - Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the Office of Federal Housing Voucher Assistance (to be headed by the Voucher Administrator) which shall carry out the housing assistance programs under this title and certain other transferred housing authorities. Subtitle E: General Provisions - Authorizes appropriations for specified provisions of this title. Title III: Transition Provisions Relating to Replacement of Public Housing and Assisted Programs - Subtitle A: Replacement of Assisted Housing - Replaces the following housing programs with a five-year interim public housing block grant program: (1) tenant-based section 8 assistance; (2) project-based section 8 assistance; (3) tenant-based rental assistance for disabled families; (4) rental assistance for persons with AIDS; (5) shelter plus care rental assistance for homeless persons; (6) tenant opportunity program; (7) flexible subsidies; (8) preservation programs; (9) service coordinators for assisted projects; and (10) Indian public housing, childhood development, and rental assistance. (Sec. 312) Provides for the transition of housing assistance from the interim block grant program to the voucher assistance programs. (Sec. 313) Provides for: (1) the transfer of specified remaining HUD authority to the Voucher Administrator; and (2) benefits to families assisted under terminated programs. Subtitle B: Interim Program for Public Housing Block Grants and Deregulation - Terminates the following housing programs: (1) public housing under title I or III of the United States Housing Act of 1937; (2) urban revitalization program; (3) public housing childhood development; (4) perinatal services demonstration; (5) youth sports demonstration; and (6) public and assisted housing drug elimination. (Sec. 322) Provides for the deregulation of public housing authorities (PHAs). Requires PHAs to develop a strategic plan as a condition of assistance eligibility. (Sec. 325) Establishes the Public Housing Block Grant Fund for grants to PHAs for public housing management and operations. Sets forth program provisions, including lead-based paint requirements. States that participation in the Family Self-Sufficiency program shall not be mandatory. (Sec. 330) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Defines specified terms. Title IV: Block Grants for Housing and Community Development Opportunities - Subtitle A: Block Grants Program - Requires the Director of the Housing and Community Opportunities Agency to make an housing assistance block grant to eligible States, entitlement areas, and Indian tribes. Sets forth program provisions, including at least 90 percent low-income use and one percent set-asides for Indian tribes. Subtitle B: Block Grants for Housing for Special Populations and Indian Housing - Obligates specified block grant funds for State housing programs for low-income special populations (elderly families, disabled families, or persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and their families). (Sec. 422) Obligates specified block grant funds for Indian housing authorities. Subtitle C: General Provisions Relating to Block Grants - Authorizes block grant appropriations. Repeals specified housing and related programs. Subtitle D: Housing and Community Opportunities Agency - Establishes the Housing and Community Opportunities Agency as an independent Executive agency. Subtitle E: Effective Date - Sets forth effective dates for provisions of this title. Title V: Single Family Housing Mortgage Insurance - Subtitle A: Federal Home Mortgage Insurance Program - Establishes in the Treasury the Federal Home Mortgage Insurance Fund (Fund). States that Fund amounts shall be for: (1) payment of losses to qualified mortgage insurers; (2) payment of certain claim notes; (3) investment; and (4) certain annual assessments. (Sec. 502) Authorizes the Fund Administrator to enter into risk-sharing agreements with qualified mortgage insurers for single family home mortgage insurance coverage. Sets forth program provisions. Subtitle B: Federal Home Mortgage Insurance Fund Administration - Establishes within the Department of the Treasury the Federal Home Mortgage Insurance Fund Administration which shall administer the Federal Home Mortgage Insurance Fund. Subtitle C: Transition Provisions - Prohibits new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan or mortgage activities. Repeals specified FHA insurance authorities. Provides for the sale of FHA mortgage insurance interests and transfer of remaining authority to the Federal Home Mortgage Insurance Fund. Subtitle D: General and Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth miscellaneous and administrative provisions. Title VI: Office of Federalism in Office of Management and Budget - Establishes in the Office of Management and Budget the Office of Federalism whose duties shall include: (1) review of policy and legislation's effect on the Federal-State relationship; and (2) federalism issues liaison services. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Wheat Title II: Feed Grains Title III: Cotton Title IV: Rice Title V: Oilseeds Title VI: Peanuts Title VII: Sugar Title VIII: General Commodity Provisions Subtitle A: Amendments to Agricultural Act of 1949 Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Commodity Provisions Subtitle C: Conforming Amendments Subtitle D: Application Agricultural Competitiveness Act of 1995 - Title I: Wheat - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 (Act) to extend and set forth wheat loan, payments, and acreage reduction programs. Establishes: (1) a minimum 85 percent loan and purchase level; (2) a $4.00 per bushel target price; and (3) a 75 percent non-paid base acreage. Title II: Feed Grains - Amends the Act to extend and set forth feed grain loan, payments, and acreage reduction programs. Establishes: (1) a minimum 85 percent loan and purchase level; (2) target prices for corn ($2.75 per bushel), oats ($1.45 per bushel), grain sorghums ($2.61 per bushel), and barley (85.8 percent of corn price); and (3) a 75 percent non-paid base acreage. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend the silage recourse loan program. Title III: Cotton - Amends the Act to extend and set forth upland cotton loan, payments, and acreage reduction programs. Establishes: (1) a $0.729 per pound target price; and (2) a 75 percent non-paid base acreage. Extends: (1) the extra long staple cotton program; and (2) cottonseed and cottonseed oil price supports. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to extend cotton skiprow practices. Amends the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act to extend cotton classification services. Title IV: Rice - Amends the Act to extend and set forth rice loan, payments, and acreage reduction programs. Establishes: (1) a minimum 85 percent loan and purchase level; (2) a $10.71 per hundredweight target price; and (3) a 75 percent non-paid base acreage. Title V: Oilseeds - Amends the Act to extend and set forth the oilseed loan program. Establishes target prices for: (1) soybeans at $5.50 per bushel; (2) sunflower seed, canola, rapeseed, and flaxseed at $9.75 per hundredweight; and (3) other oilseeds based upon soybean prices. Title VI: Peanuts - Amends the Act to extend and revise the peanut program. Suspends marketing quota and acreage allotment provisions. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish national poundage quotas based upon domestic edible uses. Repeals: (1) undermarketing poundage increases; and (2) the special poundage allocation for Texas. Revises poundage quota transfer provisions. Extends experimental and research programs. Limits: (1) price support increases or decreases to five percent annually; and (2) entry into the New Mexico area marketing association to New Mexico-produced peanuts. Requires imported and exported peanuts to comply with U.S. quality standards. Extends assessment provisions. Title VII: Sugar - Amends the Act to extend and set forth sugar price support provisions. Establishes: (1) the sugarcane target price at 18 cents per pound; and (2) a two-tiered assessment for marketings within and in excess of base amounts. Establishes a procedure to assure the supply of raw cane sugar. Requires the establishment of marketing assessment bases. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend the reporting requirement regarding third party nation exporting of Cuban sugar into the United States. Title VIII: General Commodity Provisions - Subtitle A: Amendments to Agricultural Act of 1949 - Amends the Act to extend: (1) deficiency and land diversion payments; and (2) support price and established price adjustments. Permits: (1) alternative crops to be planted on 100 percent (currently 25 percent) of crop acreage base without penalty; and (2) planting of crops on up to 25 percent of historical soybean acreage without loss of agricultural program eligibility. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Commodity Provisions - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend payment limitations. Amends the Options Pilot Program Act of 1990 to extend the options pilot program. Amends the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 to extend the National Agricultural Cost of Production Standards Review Board. Subtitle C: Conforming Amendments - Makes specified conforming amendments. Subtitle D: Application - Sets forth application dates for amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1995
Common Sense Amendments for All Endangered Species Act - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 with respect to: (1) wildlife management effects evaluation; (2) fish and wildlife conservation and management projects; (3) sport hunting; (4) foreign laws and fair notice; and (5) subspecies and population criteria, and discretionary adjudicative procedure and peer review. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a specified funding augmentation study.
United States · United States Congress · 9 August 1995
American Family Tax Relief Act of 1995 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of $500 for each dependent child under 18 years old. Mandates increases for inflation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 August 1995
Accounting Standardization Act of 1995 - Directs the President, beginning with FY 1997, to require the heads of agencies to implement and maintain a uniform Federal accounting system established in accordance with this Act and other applicable law. Requires: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Comptroller General to agree on proposed Federal accounting standards and interpretations recommended by the Federal Account Standards Advisory Board (FASAB), in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding dated October 10, 1990, between the Department of the Treasury, OMB, and the General Accounting Office (GAO); and (2) the Comptroller General and the Director to publish such standards. Mandates that the Federal accounting system satisfy existing and future Federal accounting standards as recommended by the FASAB and approved by the Department of the Treasury, OMB, and GAO. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) interim principles; (2) authority to modify or amend a standard; and (3) consistency of such system with the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger and with Federal management systems requirements. Authorizes: (1) the FASAB to recommend to the Secretary, Director, and Comptroller General the application of Federal accounting standards and Federal financial management systems requirements to specified corporations, agencies, or instrumentalities, or a federally chartered corporation or instrumentality (such entities); and (2) the Secretary, Director, and Comptroller General, upon FASAB recommendation, to require such entities to comply with all or part of such a standard or requirement. Requires each Federal agency to implement and maintain a uniform Federal accounting system in accordance with the requirements, and giving priority in funding and sufficient resources to implementation, of this Act. Permits each Federal agency to implement this Act by utilizing the assistance of private sector firms to develop basic systems, subject to the requirements specified in this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) audit compliance reporting; (2) penalties for violations; (3) enforcement; and (4) anti-deficiency violation penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1995
Taxpayer Debt Buy-Down Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals with adjusted income tax liability to designate on their tax returns that a portion of such liability (not to exceed ten percent) be used to reduce the public debt. Establishes a Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund for the deposit of designated amounts. Makes amounts in such Trust Fund available only to pay at maturity, or to redeem or buy before maturity, any obligation of the Federal Government included in the public debt (other than an obligation of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, or the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund). Prohibits the reissuance of any obligation which is paid, redeemed, or bought with amounts from the Trust Fund. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide for the sequestration of amounts designated to the Trust Fund. Specifies accounts exempt from such sequestration. Includes aggregated amounts designated to the Trust Fund and amounts sequestered to reduce the public debt in sequestration preview and final reports.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1995
Canola and Rapeseed Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to issue an order to finance and implement a program of canola and rapeseed research, promotion, market development, and consumer information. Requires: (1) such order to establish a National Canola and Rapeseed Board; and (2) producer referenda. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1995
American Family-Owned Business Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross estate specified portions of the adjusted value of the qualified family-owned business interests of the decedent.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1995
Amends the Federal criminal code to increase the penalties for using hazardous or injurious devices (e.g., tree spiking) on Federal lands. Increases the penalty for causing: (1) serious bodily harm to a maximum term of 40 years' imprisonment; and (2) bodily harm to a maximum of 20 years' imprisonment. Allows an individual: (1) who causes property damage or avoidance costs which exceeded $10,000 to be imprisoned for up to 20 years, fined, or both; and (2) punished after one or more previous violations to be imprisoned for 20 years. Authorizes an injured person to commence a civil action against the individual responsible. Grants jurisdiction to the district courts. Allows the court to award monetary damages, costs of litigation, and reasonable attorney's and expert witness fees to any prevailing or substantially prevailing party.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1995
Federal Advocacy Reform Act of 1995 - Prohibits from receiving Federal funding certain tax-exempt civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, or local associations of employees, the membership of which is limited to the employees of a designated person or persons in a particular municipality, and the net earnings of which are devoted exclusively to charitable, educational, or recreational purposes (501(c)(4) organizations under the Internal Revenue Code).
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Tax Reduction and Simplification; Supermajority Required for Tax Changes Subtitle A: Tax Reduction and Simplification Subtitle B: Supermajority Required for Tax Changes Title II: Spending Restraint and Budget Process Reform Subtitle A: Joint Budget Resolution Subtitle B: Zero Based Budgeting and Decennial Sunsetting Subtitle C: Spending Caps on the Growth of Entitlements for Fiscal Years 1996 Through 2002 Subtitle D: Balanced Budget by Fiscal Year 2002 Freedom and Fairness Restoration Act of 1995 - Title I: Tax Reduction and Simplification; Supermajority Required for Tax Changes - Subtitle A: Tax Reduction and Simplification - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 20 percent tax (17 percent after December 31, 1997) on the taxable income of every individual. Redefines "taxable income" to mean the amount by which wages, retirement distributions, and unemployment compensation exceed the standard deduction. Increases the basic standard deduction and includes an additional standard deduction for dependents. Includes in taxable income the taxable income of each dependent child under the age of 14. Provides for inflation adjustments. (Sec. 102) Replaces the current tax on corporations with a tax on every person engaged in a business activity equal to 20 percent (17 percent after December 31, 1997) of the business taxable income of such person. Makes the person engaged in the business activity liable for the tax. Imposes a tax of 20 percent (17 percent after December 31, 1997) on the value of excludable compensation provided during the year by an employer for the benefit of employees. Makes the employer liable for the tax. (Sec. 103) Repeals: (1) numerous provisions relating to pension plans; and (2) provisions imposing a tax on any employer reversion from a qualified plan. Revises requirements regarding transfers of excess pension assets. (Sec. 104) Repeals from the Internal Revenue Code: (1) the part relating to alternative minimum tax; (2) the part relating to credits against tax; (3) the subtitle relating to estate and gift taxes; and (4) subject to exception, the chapter relating to normal taxes and surtaxes. Subtitle B: Supermajority Required for Tax Changes - Makes it not in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate, unless waived or suspended in the House or the Senate by a three-fifths vote of the Members, to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment thereto, or conference report thereon that includes any provision that increases an income tax rate, creates an additional tax rate, reduces the standard deduction, or provides any exclusion, deduction, credit, or other benefit that results in a reduction in Federal revenues. Title II: Spending Restraint and Budget Process Reform - Subtitle A: Joint Budget Resolution - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to reform the budget process by requiring a joint resolution on the budget instead of the concurrent resolution on the budget. Subtitle B: Zero Based Budgeting and Decennial Sunsetting - Terminates spending authority for unearned entitlements and high-cost discretionary spending programs for FY 1996, and discretionary spending programs (not including high-cost programs) for FY 1997, unless such spending is reauthorized after the date of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 212) Makes it not in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate, unless waived or suspended in the House or the Senate by a three-fifths vote of the Members, to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that includes any provision appropriating funds unless the appropriation has been previously authorized by law. (Sec. 213) Requires the reauthorization of discretionary spending authority and unearned entitlements every ten years, beginning in the first decennial census year after 2001. Subtitle C: Spending Caps on the Growth of Entitlements for Fiscal Years 1996 Through 2002 - Declares that, for FY 1996 through 2002, the total level of entitlement and mandatory spending, excluding social security, shall not exceed the total level for the previous fiscal year increased by the consumer price index and growth in the eligible population. Requires sequestration as necessary to reduce spending. Provides for making uniform reductions with limitations. Lists programs and activities exempt from sequestration and provides exceptions, limitations, and special rules. Makes it not in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate, unless waived or suspended in the House or the Senate by a three-fifths vote of the Members, to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment thereto, or conference report thereon that includes any provision having the effect of modifying the application of this subtitle to any entitlement program subject to or exempt from sequestration under this subtitle. Subtitle D: Balanced Budget by Fiscal Year 2002 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act to revise the budget enforcement process. (Sec. 231) Establishes maximum spending amounts for FY 1996 through 2002 and revises sequestration procedures for enforcement. (Sec. 233) Makes it not in order in the House of Representatives or the Senate, unless waived or suspended in the House or the Senate by a three-fifths vote of the Members, to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment thereto, or conference report thereon that includes any provision that would result in total spending for a fiscal year exceeding the maximum permissible total spending amount for that fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1995
Health Centers Consolidation Act of 1995 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise provisions concerning health centers (currently, community health centers), definitions relating to such centers, and the services provided by such centers. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make planning, operating, and infant mortality grants for health centers that provide required primary health services and additional health services to medically underserved and special medically underserved populations (migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, the homeless, and public housing residents). Directs the Secretary to give priority in making grants to health centers in which there is a substantial incidence of infant mortality or a significant increase in the incidence of infant mortality. Specifies that grant amounts for any fiscal year may not exceed: (1) total State, local, and other operational funding for a center; and (2) fees, premiums, and third-party reimbursements received for operations by the center in such fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Office of Rural Health Policy of the Health Resources and Services Administration to administer the rural health services outreach demonstration grant program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1995
Requires a constitutional authority clause to follow the enacting clause of any Act of Congress or the resolving clause of any joint resolution. Requires a similar clause before each title, section, subsection, or paragraph which relies on a different constitutional provision.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1995
Access to Medical Treatment Act - Permits any individual to be treated by a health care practitioner with any medical treatment that the individual desires, or that is authorized by the legal representative of the individual, if: 1) the practitioner agrees to treat the individual; and 2) the administration of such treatment does not violate licensing laws. Authorizes health care practitioners to provide any method of treatment to such an individual: 1) if there is no evidence that the treatment is a danger to the individual; and 2) if the treatment has not been approved, the individual has been informed that the treatment has not been approved and the food, drug, or device contains a warning to that effect. Requires a practitioner, after administering such treatment and discovering it to be a danger to an individual, to submit a report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires the Secretary to properly disseminate information with respect to the danger of the medical treatment. Requires a practitioner to immediately report to the Office of Alternative Medicine the positive effects of an unconventional medical treatment for a life-threatening medical condition including: 1) the nature of such treatment; 2) the results of such treatment; and 3) the protocol of such treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1995
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to transfer all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to all lands and interests administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the State in which such lands and interests are located, with the exception of the mineral interests underlying a surface estate held by the United States in trust for an Indian tribe. Allows a State to only either accept the offer of all such lands or to reject such offer. Directs each State receiving lands under this Act to: (1) honor valid existing leases and permits; and (2) respect all rights-of-way granted by the United States on such lands. Requires the validity and existence of a transferred mining claim to be determined and administered under State law, with exceptions for the holders of specified patents. Requires: (1) transferred designated wilderness lands to continue to be managed as wilderness; and (2) transferred military purpose lands to continue to be military purpose lands. Transfers the administration of the mineral interests on Indian lands from the BLM. Sets forth provisions concerning the transfer of all water rights associated with the lands to the State receiving such lands. Caps BLM obligations and expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1995
Farm Credit System Regulatory Relief Act of 1995 - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to extend the length of time between required Farm Credit Administration examinations of Farm Credit System (FCS) institutions. (Sec. 5) Directs the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation (FCSIC) to allocate Farm Credit Insurance Fund excess interest earnings to FCS banks. (Sec. 6) Requires FCSIC to implement the least-cost alternative, including liquidation, in providing assistance to troubled FCS banks. (Sec. 8) States that FCSIC may not act as conservator or receiver of a FCS institution. (Sec. 9) Grants FCSIC exclusive authority to examine a FCS institution whose charter has been canceled. (Sec. 10) Sets forth specified FCSIC oversight and regulatory authority, including regulation of golden parachute and indemnification payments. (Sec. 11) Permits FCS associations to establish administrative service entities. (Sec. 12) Sets forth specified requirements for secondary market loan sales, including borrowers' rights. (Sec. 13) Revises certain paperwork, private sector certification, and operating provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1995
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the use of the regular depreciation rules for purposes of the alternative minimum tax. Revises provisions relating to credit for prior year minimum tax liability to set forth a special rule for taxpayers with long-term unused credits.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1995
Bear Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to prohibit: (1) the import into, or export from, the United States of bear viscera; and (2) the sale, barter, offer of sale or barter, purchase, or possession with intent to sell or barter, in interstate or foreign commerce, of bear viscera. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the bear viscera trade and any U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to monitor it. Requires the United States Trade Representative and the Secretary to discuss issues involving such trade with representatives of countries that are the leading importers, exporters, or consumers of such products.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1995
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1995 - Divides the current U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit into the following two circuits: (1) the Ninth Circuit composed of the States of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, consisting of 19 judges, and holding regular sessions in San Francisco and Los Angeles; and (2) the Twelfth Circuit which contains Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, consisting of seven judges, and holding regular sessions in Portland and Seattle.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Capital Gains Reform Subtitle A: Capital Gains Deduction for Taxpayers Other Than Corporations Subtitle B: Capital Gains Reduction for Corporations Subtitle C: Capital Loss Deduction Allowed With Respect to Sale or Exchange of Principal Residence Title II: Small Business Venture Capital Stock Capital Formation Act of 1995 - Title I: Capital Gains Reform - Subtitle A: Capital Gains Deduction for Taxpayers Other Than Corporations - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make, for noncorporate taxpayers, 50 percent of net capital gains deductible from gross income. Allows the deduction in computing adjusted gross income. Subtitle B: Capital Gains Reduction for Corporations - Revises requirements regarding alternative capital gains taxes for corporations. Subtitle C: Capital Loss Deduction Allowed With Respect to Sale or Exchange of Principal Residence - Allows an individual to deduct losses arising from the sale or exchange of the taxpayer's principal residence. Title II: Small Business Venture Capital Stock - Increases from 50 percent to 75 percent the exclusion of any gain from the sale or exchange of qualified small business stock held more than five years and applies the exclusion to corporate as well as noncorporate taxpayers. Removes provisions including, as an item of tax preference, a specified percentage of gains on the sale of certain small business stock. Increases the dollar gross asset limits domestic C corporations must not exceed in order to qualify for the exclusion as small businesses and institutes an inflation adjustment for those limits. Removes provisions relating to a per-issuer limitation on a taxpayer's eligible gain. Modifies: (1) working capital provisions and the definition of "qualified trade or business," both with regard to meeting the active business requirement; and (2) requirements regarding purchases by a corporation of its own stock. Recognizes, if the taxpayer so elects, eligible gain from the sale of qualified small business stock only to the extent that the amount realized exceeds specified factors.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1995
Black Revolutionary War Patriots Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation for the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial in Washington, D.C. Directs that coin sale surcharges be paid to the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation to establish an endowment to support construction of the Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1995
George Washington Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins emblematic of George Washington. Mandates that the design for the coins shall be: (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and the Commission of Fine Arts; and (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee. Provides for the distribution of coin sale surcharges to the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1995
Yellowstone National Park 125th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 one-dollar silver coins to commemorate the 125th Anniversary of Yellowstone National Park. Mandates that the design for the coins shall be: (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the United States Commission of Fine Arts; and (2) reviewed by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee. Mandates that 50 percent of coin sale surcharges be used for Yellowstone National Park and 50 percent for the National Park Service Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1995
Declares that it is the sense of the Senate that: (1) the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is incompatible with the God-given right and responsibility of parents to raise their children; (2) the Convention has the potential to severely restrict States and the Federal Government in their efforts to protect children and enhance family life; (3) the U.S. Constitution is the ultimate guarantor of rights and privileges to every American, including children; and (4) the President should not sign and transmit the Convention to the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1995
Middle East Peace Compliance Act of 1995 - Declares that the Congress has determined that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) continues to disregard the commitments it has made under specified agreements with Israel. Prohibits U.S. assistance to Palestinians living under the administrative control of the PLO or the Palestinian Authority until the President certifies to the Congress that: (1) the PLO and the Palestinian Authority have complied with the requirements of such agreements; (2) a financial audit has been made by the General Accounting Office (GAO) which provides a full accounting of all U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority; (3) the GAO has accounted for all U.S. and international assistance that it believes may have been misused by such entities; (4) the PLO has taken steps to provide information leading to the arrest and extradition to the United States for prosecution of PLO-connected individuals alleged to be responsible for terrorist attacks on specified American citizens or property since 1964; (5) full and fair compensation is provided by the PLO to U.S. victims of PLO terrorism; and (6) equipment and technology for security examination of cargo and vehicles have been made available to Israel. Directs the President to disclose in a classified manner to certain congressional committees the substance of any secret agreements, understandings, or promises, either formal or informal, between the United States and Israel, and the United States and the PLO, connected with the implementation of the Declaration of Principles, that commits the United States to certain courses of action or provisions of assistance. Authorizes the President to suspend specified provisions of Federal law until May 31, 1996, subject to prior approval of the Chairmen of certain congressional committees. Directs the President to request both the PLO and the Palestinian Authority to provide a financial statement of their assets and income for the year before enactment of this Act. Prohibits funds to the Palestinian Authority until the President reports such information to the relevant congressional committees. Prohibits the President from making any commitments or providing funds for any activity for the establishment of a U.S. diplomatic post in any area under the administrative control of the PLO or the Palestinian Authority.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1995
Amends the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to establish a National Forest System ski area permit fee formula. Withdraws ski areas from the operation of mining and mineral leasing laws.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1995
Makes certain technical corrections to title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, allowing, among other changes, for physician reimbursement for certified osteopathic physician services provided to children and pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid. Makes this Act effective as if included in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1995
Wetlands Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish a procedure whereby a person who holds an ownership interest in property, or who has written authorization from such a person, may request the Secretary of the Army to determine whether the property contains U.S. waters, and if so, whether any portion of the waters is wetland and its classification. Directs the Secretary to establish a program under which persons other than Federal employees may be certified to make such determinations. Prohibits the discharge of dredged or fill material into U.S. waters or the draining, channelization, and excavation of U.S. waters that would significantly degrade any U.S. waters unless such activity is undertaken pursuant to a permit issued by the Secretary. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) extensions; and (2) failure by the Secretary to issue a decision. Requires the Secretary to: (1) issue regulations which shall include standards for the issuance of permits for activities in U.S. waters that are wetland; and (2) consult with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency regarding whether such an activity would have an unacceptable adverse impact on water quality, municipal water supplies, shellfish beds or fishery areas, or wetland-dependent wildlife. Exempts an activity in U.S. waters from the permit requirement if the activity results from a normal farming, silviculture, aquaculture, or ranching activity, or an upland soil and water conservation practice, or is for the purpose of maintenance, and under other specified circumstances. Specifies that such an activity shall not be prohibited or otherwise subject to the permit requirement regarding an approved State permit program if: (1) information on the effects of the activity is included in an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project; and (2) such EIS has been submitted to the Congress before the activity is carried out in connection with project construction and prior to project authorization or appropriation of funds for the construction. Directs the Secretary, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to issue regulations for the delineation of "wetland." Requires such regulations to provide for such designation if specified conditions are met, including that, in the case of nontidal wetland, water is on or above the surface of the ground for at least 21 consecutive days during the growing season in a year of normal rainfall. Requires the Secretary to classify as: (1) Class A wetlands those that are of critical significance to the long-term conservation of the aquatic system and that meet other specified conditions; (2) Class B wetlands those that provide habitat for a significant population of wildlife or provide other significant wetland functions; and (3) Class C wetlands those that serve marginal functions but exist in such abundance that regulation is not necessary to conserve wetlands functions, are within an intensely developed area, or are located behind a legally constructed manmade structure or natural formation. Provides for the regulation of: (1) Class A wetland based on a sequential analysis that seeks to avoid adverse impacts on wetlands, to minimize the adverse impacts which cannot be avoided, and to mitigate any adverse impacts that cannot be avoided or minimized; (2) Class B wetland under a test that balances the reasonably foreseeable benefits and detriments resulting from the issuance of the permit; and (3) Class C wetland only by the State government at its discretion. Authorizes the Secretary to issue a general permit on a State, regional, or nationwide basis for any activities in U.S. waters for which a permit would otherwise be required upon determining that the activities will cause only minimal or temporary adverse environmental impacts when performed separately, and will cause only minimal cumulative adverse environmental impacts. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) Alaska native and State of Alaska lands; (2) interagency cooperation; (3) permit compliance; (4) cranberry production; (5) violations (including civil actions by the Secretary and civil and criminal penalties); and (6) administrative appeals. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue regulations for the establishment, use, maintenance, and oversight of mitigation banks; (2) provide appropriate regulatory relief regarding regulations issued for each activity in U.S. waters that has as the primary purpose to restore degraded wetland; and (3) establish a registry of wetland that has been created or restored voluntarily in an area that, prior to the creation or restoration, did not contain U.S. waters and therefore was not subject to regulation. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) State permit programs; (2) requirements that information be made available to the public regarding the designation of wetlands; (3) certification requirements; (4) State authority to control activities in U.S. waters; (5) balanced implementation of the Act to achieve specified objectives; and (6) transition provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1995
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1995 - Divides the current U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit into the following two circuits: (1) the Ninth Circuit composed of the States of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, consisting of 19 judges, and holding regular sessions in San Francisco and Los Angeles; and (2) the Twelfth Circuit which contains Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, consisting of seven judges, and holding regular sessions in Portland and Seattle.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Management of Grazing on Federal Land Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Qualifications and Grazing Preferences Subtitle C: Grazing Management Subtitle D: Authorization of Grazing Use Subtitle E: Civil Violations and Failures of Compliance Subtitle F: Unauthorized Grazing Use Subtitle G: Procedure Subtitle H: Advisory Committees Subtitle I: Reports Title II: Grassland Livestock Grazing Act - Title I: Management of Grazing on Federal Land - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Sets forth findings, objectives, and definitions. States that land use plans shall manage livestock grazing under the principle of multiple use and sustained yield. Subtitle B: Qualifications and Grazing Preferences - Sets forth: (1) mandatory qualifications for grazing use on Federal land; (2) grazing preferences (base property and specifying grazing preference); and (3) allocations resulting from changes in Federal land acreage. Subtitle C: Grazing Management - Requires the creation of allotment management plans and sets forth required plan contents. (Sec. 122) Authorizes Secretary of the Interior-lessees range improvement cooperative agreements. (Sec. 123) States that no water rights shall be acquired or transferred in connection with livestock grazing management unless authorized by State law. Subtitle D: Authorization of Grazing Use - Requires grazing applications to be filed at local Bureau of Land Management offices. Specifies permit and lease terms and conditions. (Sec. 135) Sets forth livestock ownership and identification provisions. (Sec. 137) Establishes a grazing fee based upon the gross value of livestock production. Subtitle E: Civil Violations and Failures of Compliance - Sets forth civil sanctions for specified acts of noncompliance. Subtitle F: Unauthorized Grazing Use - Specifies damages for unauthorized grazing use, including livestock impoundment and sale. Subtitle G: Procedure - Sets forth specified grazing permit or lease procedures. Subtitle H: Advisory Committees - Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) grazing use advisory committees; and (2) resource advisory councils and grazing advisory councils for each grazing district. Subtitle I: Reports - Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding grazing revenues, costs, and rangeland management. Title II: Grassland - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to remove National Grasslands and land utilization projects from National Forest System management. Amends the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act to provide for a program of land conservation and utilization to accomplish livestock grazing purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1995
Individual Accountability Act of 1995 - Amends title IV part A (Aid to Families With Dependent Children) (AFDC) of the Social Security Act to replace the AFDC program with a plan that consolidates and funnels funding directly to the States ("block grants"), provided that: (1) adult beneficiaries of the State assistance programs work; and (2) specified State child support and paternity establishment programs are in operation. Limits the amount of the block grants, prohibits the use of funds for medical services, and permits the redirection of a specified percentage of a State's funds for: (1) supplemental security income for the aged, blind, and disabled; (2) medical assistance programs; (3) food assistance; and (4) elementary and secondary education. Establishes specified accounting and reporting requirements, and requires that the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General alone supervise and regulate the administration of the block grants. Requires that State assistance be administered without discrimination on the basis of disability, sex, race, color, or national origin. Makes religious groups eligible to provide assistance to the needy using block grant funds so long as they do not deny assistance benefits on the basis of religion. Prohibits certain State and Federal requirements with respect to such religious organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1995
Supplemental Social Security Income Flexibility Act of 1995 - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to add a new part, Part C: Block Grants to States for Supplemental Security Income for the Disabled and Blind. States that the purpose of this part is to consolidate Federal SSI assistance to the States into a single grant, thereby giving States maximum flexibility to make State-specific requirements for individuals receiving benefits. Identifies certain requirements, including those relating to school attendance, immunizations, drug abuse, illegal aliens, and charitable, religious, and nonprofit organizations. Caps SSI spending levels. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to supervise the amounts received under Part C.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1995
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a tax credit not to exceed $500 (in lieu of a deduction) for cash contributions made by an individual to a tax-exempt private charitable organization primarily assisting the poor, for which the individual must also have worked at least 50 hours. Denies such credit if the donor or a family member is an officer or employee of such organization, or has another specified relationship with the organization that would involve self-dealing.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1995
Food Stamp Flexibility Act of 1995 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to restructure the existing food stamp program as a block grant program with a State mandate for work by beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1995
Medicaid Flexibility Act of 1995 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to replace the Medicaid program with a program of block grants to States for health care services to needy individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1995
James Madison Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue commemorative one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the 250th anniversary of the birth of James Madison and the life and achievements of the fourth President of the United States. Requires the Secretary to turn over proceeds from surcharges to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to be used to: (1) establish an endowment as a permanent source for Montpelier (home of James Madison and a museum); and (2) fund capital restoration projects at Montpelier.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1995
Semiconductor Investment Act of 1995 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the depreciable life of semiconductor manufacturing equipment three years for purposes of application of the accelerated cost recovery system.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Welfare Spending Cap and Block Grants Subtitle A: Capping the Aggregate Growth of Welfare Spending Subtitle B: Welfare Block Grant Program Title II: Work Program-Related Requirements on States in Expending Certain Block Grant Funds Subtitle A: Workfare and Dependency Reduction Program Subtitle B: Work Requirement for Food Stamp Equivalent Households Subtitle C: Evaluation of Training Programs Title III: Promoting Families Subtitle A: Eligibility for Certain Welfare Block Grant Funds Subtitle B: Additional Earned Income Tax Credit for Married Individuals Subtitle C: Expansion of Abstinence Education Title IV: Recommendations Title V: Child Support Enforcement Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions Title VII: Severability and Effective Date Real Welfare Reform Act of 1995 - Title I: Welfare Spending Cap and Block Grants - Subtitle A: Capping the Aggregate Growth of Welfare Spending - Places a cap on the growth of Federal spending on certain welfare programs, including the welfare block grant program established below and the head start program, starting in FY 1996, with the resulting savings used for deficit reduction. Subtitle B: Welfare Block Grant Program - Replaces various specified current welfare programs, including the cash aid component of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, child welfare and nutrition programs, the food stamp and supplemental security income programs, and housing, energy, and job training programs, with a single program of block grants to the States to provide: (1) aid to low-income households in the State, with food assistance provided, at the strong encouragement of the Congress, through food commodities directly purchased by the State, while providing for the Medicaid-eligibility of low-income individuals; (2) appropriate services and activities to discourage out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and (3) care for the children of such pregnancies. Sets forth special rules and reporting requirements regarding the use of program funds, including a prohibition on their use for abortion to plan families and aid to noncitizen and fugitive felons and probation or parole violators. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Work Program-Related Requirements on States in Expending Certain Block Grant Funds - Subtitle A: Workfare and Dependency Reduction Program - Requires that if a State uses grant funds received above to provide direct cash or food assistance to certain populations of AFDC families and dependent children, it must establish and operate a program to reduce welfare dependence and ensure that welfare recipients participate, according to specified guidelines and participation requirements, in State community work service or wage subsidy programs, nonsubsidized private sector employment, or supervised job search activities and, at the State's option, in educational or job skills training as well, with single- adult families with young children generally not required to participate in such program except under certain circumstances. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 215) Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide for a special rule with respect to certain employers under the wage subsidy program relating to employee earned income eligibility certificates. (Sec. 216) Provides for penalties for parents who fail to participate in State community work service programs. (Sec. 217) Eliminates work requirements above for groups which no longer receive benefits. Subtitle B: Work Requirement for Food Stamp Equivalent Households - Provides that if a State uses grant funds received above to provide direct food assistance to a population of food stamp equivalent households, the State shall require members of such a population to perform successfully at least 32 hours of work per month on behalf of a State or political subdivision through a program it establishes prior to the furnishing of direct food assistance for such month. Establishes certain exemptions from such requirement, such as in the case of a parent residing with a dependent child under age 18 or in the case of a member who is under age 18 or is mentally or physically unfit. (Sec. 222) Provides for similar elimination of work requirements for specified groups under this subtitle no longer receiving food benefits. Subtitle C: Evaluation of Training Programs - Requires States using grant funds to assist low-income households to conduct ongoing evaluations of job training programs to determine whether such programs raise the hourly wage rates of individuals receiving training through such programs. Title III: Promoting Families - Expresses the sense of the Congress with regard to the importance of marriage in society and the negative consequences of out-of-wedlock births, making the reduction of such births an important government interest. Subtitle A: Eligibility for Certain Welfare Block Grant Funds - Denies certain welfare assistance to certain young unwed parents and their children, including assistance to additional children of recipients. (Sec. 313) Ties a family's receipt of assistance to the establishment of paternity for each of their children born on or after January 1, 1995, with certain exceptions. Subtitle B: Additional Earned Income Tax Credit for Married Individuals - Amends the IRC to establish additional earned income tax credit for married individuals. Subtitle C: Expansion of Abstinence Education - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States and public and private entities for promoting sexual abstinence. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Recommendations - Recommends that a State providing direct cash assistance from welfare block grant funds to: (1) custodial parents under age 19 without a high school education who belong to an AFDC equivalent family must require them to participate in an educational activity and, at the State's option, may require them to participate in training or work activities in lieu of such educational activities under certain conditions; (2) an AFDC equivalent family without any children under age five with sufficient liquid assets to meet its basic needs for a one-month period beginning when it applies for such assistance must not provide it with such assistance until any member aged 18 has conducted appropriate job search activities for such period; (3) an AFDC equivalent family not described above without any children under age five must require a member aged 18 to conduct similar activities during the first one month period in which it receives aid; and (4) an AFDC equivalent family must reduce by a certain amount monthly assistance payments to any family in a subsidized housing unit in the State. (Sec. 403) Recommends that a State providing direct cash assistance from welfare block grant funds to an AFDC equivalent family, in determining eligibility for such assistance, consider as income of the applicant family, any rent or housing subsidy provided by the State, to the extent that the value of such subsidy is equivalent to the amount for housing included in the maximum amount payable to a family of the same composition with no other income. Title V: Child Support Enforcement - Establishes a national system for reporting information on employee child support obligations through modified W-4 form reporting. (Sec. 502) Provides for: (1) child support order registries maintained by designated State agencies of each child support order being enforced in the State; (2) accessibility of State locate information to other States and private parties; (3) expansion of the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS); (4) an Interstate Locate Network linking FPLS and all State databases relating to child support enforcement for State use in handling locate requests; (5) Federal regulations governing the sharing of locate information among States, within States, and between the States and FPLS; and (6) State systems for collecting child support through employer withholding of employee income owed for child support pursuant to a uniform withholding order for distribution to the individual or State to whom the withheld income is to be paid. (Sec. 506) Makes various specified changes with regard to paternity establishment, including allowing simple civil consent procedures for voluntary acknowledgement of parentage by unmarried parents. (Sec. 507) Prohibits the imposition of any fee for child support collection or paternity establishment services provided with respect to an individual denied low-income housing aid as a result of this Act. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Repeals the Davis-Bacon Act (which requires Federal contractors to pay prevailing wages). (Sec. 601) Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), upon enactment of this title, to make downward adjustments in discretionary spending limits under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) for FY 1996 through 2000 by the amount of discretionary savings attributable to each such fiscal year resulting from enactment. Reduces allocations in effect under CBA for FY 1996 for House and Senate appropriations committees by the amount of discretionary savings in outlays and budget authority determined above. Provides for appropriations committee suballocations for such fiscal year to reflect the lower allocations provided by this paragraph. (Sec. 602) Makes fugitive felons and probation and parole violators ineligible for Medicaid benefits and provides for the exchange of Medicaid locate information with Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers. (Sec. 603) Restricts judicial and administrative review of this Act and any laws or regulations enacted or promulgated thereunder as a result of challenges by certain legal services providers. (Sec. 604) Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to: (1) tie its definition of "poverty line" to OMB's official poverty line revised annually under the Community Services Block Grant Act that is applicable to a particular family; (2) authorize State agencies electing to provide supplemental foods to women, infants, and children (WIC) program participants in the form of commodities rather than vouchers to use any resulting savings for certain low-income assistance; and (3) require the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure that the amount of WIC funds allocated to a State agency is not reduced because it makes such an election. Title VII: Severability and Effective Date - Sets forth severability provisions and the effective date of this Act.
![Official portrait of Sen. Craig, Larry E. [R-ID]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000858_200.jpg)