United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1991
Amends the National School Lunch Act to make a private organization providing nonresidential day care services eligible for aid under the child care food program if at least 25 percent of the individuals it serves are eligible for free or reduced price lunches under specified provisions of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1991
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should immediately review all economic benefits provided by the U.S. Government to the Soviet Union, report to the Congress on whether such benefits should be suspended in light of Soviet actions in the Baltic States, suspend all ongoing technical exchanges, consider withdrawing U.S. support for Soviet membership in the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, or General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and withhold Most Favored Nation trade treatment until: (1) Soviet troops refrain from obstructing the functioning of the democratic governments of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia; (2) the troops that were deployed following the January 7 announcement by the Soviet Defense Ministry, (of the deployment of additional troops to specified republics) are withdrawn; (3) Soviet authorities cease their interference with the media in such States; (4) good-faith negotiations between the governments of such States and the Soviet Union on the restoration of sovereignty to such States have begun; and (5) concrete assurances are received from President Gorbachev that grain purchased with U.S. credits will not be used to coerce such States or any Soviet republic to sign the Union Treaty. States that the United States should consult with and encourage its allies to follow a similar policy.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Older Americans' Freedom to Work Act of 1991 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from broker reporting requirements property or services which involve any metal or coin other than any gold, silver, platinum, or palladium coin or bar which is the proper subject of a regulated futures contract. Provides that a person shall not be treated as a broker with respect to activities consisting of managing a farm on behalf of another person. Provides that except for stocks, bonds, and other intangible personal property, broker reporting requirements shall apply only to transactions the gross proceeds of which are more than $5,000.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Retiree Health Protection and Long-Term Care Insurance Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to add provisions relating to voluntary retiree health plans. Permits an income tax deduction for employer contributions to a qualified retiree health care trust. Limits the deduction to the difference between plan assets and 110 percent of the plan's liability at the end of a plan year. Excludes from the gross income of an individual or spouse, except under specified conditions: (1) any employer contribution under a qualified voluntary retiree health plan; or (2) receipts of any post-retirement long-term health benefit under the plan. Applies a 20 percent penalty tax to benefits that exceed a specified maximum. Prescribes plan qualification criteria. Limits plan holdings of employer securities and employer real property. Describes conditions to be met by any qualified retiree health care trust that is part of a qualified voluntary retiree health plan. Identifies criteria applicable to tax-exempt voluntary retiree health accounts established exclusively for the benefit of an individual or spouse. Excludes account distributions from the gross income of an individual as long as they are used exclusively to pay post-retirement long-term health care benefits of the eligible beneficiary. Retains the tax-exempt status of the accounts themselves unless the beneficiary-taxpayer either engages in prohibited transactions or pledges the account as security. Imposes a 20 percent surtax when benefits exceed a specified level. Sets forth minimum account distribution requirements. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Preempts all State laws relating to health plans for former employees and their spouses. Imposes a 50 percent excise tax, with limited exceptions, on an employer who maintains a qualified plan if any distribution that is not a post-retirement long-term health care benefit is made. Exempts qualified retiree health care trusts from taxation. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with prohibited transactions associated with an account and for failure to file required reports.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Designates the Arctic Coastal Plain Wilderness within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends Federal law to increase the Federal payments in lieu of taxes to units of local government for entitlement land. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to adjust such payments by the rate of inflation according to the Consumer Price Index.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Violence Against Women Act of 1991 - Title I: Safe Streets for Women - Safe Streets for Women Act of 1991 - Subtitle A: Federal Penalties for Sex Crimes - Amends Federal law to require the U.S. Sentencing Commission to create or amend guidelines to provide for: (1) up to twice the term of imprisonment or fine for violation, after the first conviction, of Federal laws relating to sexual abuse or similar laws of any State or foreign country; and (2) minimum or increased maximum sentences for rape, aggravated rape, or statutory rape. Requires that a court order restitution for violations of such Federal sexual abuse laws. Subtitle B: Law Enforcement and Prosecution Grants to Reduce Violent Crime Against Women - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to areas of high intensity crime against women. Requires that the grants be used for personnel, training, technical assistance, data collection, and other equipment for the more widespread apprehension, prosecution, and adjudication of persons committing violent crimes against women. Authorizes the Director to make grants to States, for use by States and their subdivisions, to be used for the same purposes as the high intensity area grants and to reduce the the rate of violent crimes against women. Authorizes the Director to make general grants to: (1) States to reduce violent crimes against women; and (2) Indian tribes to reduce violent crimes against women in Indian country. Authorizes the Director, in addition to the grants under this subtitle, to direct any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement, to use its authorities and resources in support of State and local assistance efforts. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Safety for Women in Public Transit and Public Parks - Directs the Secretary of Transportation, from funds authorized under existing provisions, to make capital grants for the prevention of crime and to increase security in existing and future public transportation systems. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans to States and local public bodies to increase the safety of public transportation through lighting, camera surveillance, security phones, or other projects. Sets the Federal share of each project at 90 percent of the net cost. Directs the Secretary to provide grants and loans to study ways to reduce violent crimes against women in public transit through better design or operation of public transit systems. Amends the National Park System Improvements in Administration Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to reduce violent crime in the National Park System (NPS). Provides for compilation of a list of areas within the NPS with the highest rates of violent crime. Allows funds to be used, around public parks and recreation areas, for increasing lighting, providing emergency phone lines, increasing security or law enforcement personnel, and any other project to increase security and safety. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide grants for capital improvements and other measures to increase safety in public parks and recreation areas. Subtitle D: National Commission on Violent Crime Against Women - Establishes the National Commission on Violent Crime Against Women to promote a national policy on violent crime against women and to make recommendations on reducing such crime. Authorizes appropriations. Terminates the Commission after submission of its final report, subject to extension by the President for up to one more year. Subtitle E: New Evidentiary Rules - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to exclude, notwithstanding any other provision of law and in criminal cases other than a sex offense case, reputation or opinion evidence of the past sexual behavior of a victim from admission into evidence. Allows other types of evidence of a victim's past sexual behavior in accordance with specified procedures if its probative value outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice. Makes reputation or opinion evidence of the plaintiff's past sexual behavior, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, inadmissable in a civil action involving allegations of actionable sexual misconduct. Makes other types of evidence of a plaintiff's past sexual behavior admissible in accordance with specified procedures if its probative value outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice. Defines actionable sexual misconduct to include sex harassment or discrimination claims under title VII (Equal Employment Opportunity) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and gender bias claims under title III of this Act. Makes evidentiary rulings made under specified Federal Rules of Evidence relating to sex offense cases and the relevance of a victim's past behavior subject to interlocutory appeal by the Government or by the alleged victim. Allows the alleged victim to waive those rules if the prosecution seeks to offer evidence of prior sexual history. Makes evidence of an alleged victim's clothing, notwithstanding any other provision of law and in a criminal case under Federal laws relating to sexual abuse, inadmissable to show the victim incited or invited the offense. Subtitle F: Assistance to Victims of Sexual Assault - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to allow States to use amounts transferred by the State under block grant provisions for rape prevention and education programs conducted by rape crisis centers or similar nongovernmental nonprofit entities. Authorizes appropriations. Removes a requirement that a minimum amount from the block grants under the PHSA be allotted to States on the basis of population. Removes provisions allowing a State to use amounts paid to the State under block grant provisions and amounts transferred by the State to provide services to rape victims and for rape prevention. Requires grant recipients under this title to incur the full cost of forensic medical exams for victims of sexual assault. Title II: Safe Homes for Women - Safe Homes for Women Act of 1990 - Subtitle A: Interstate Enforcement - Provides for a Federal term of imprisonment or fine, in addition to any State penalties, for any person who travels or causes another (including the intended victim) to travel across State lines or in interstate commerce with intent to injure a spouse or intimate partner and who, during the travel or thereafter, injures his or her spouse or intimate partner in violation of a criminal law of the State where the injury occurs, or in violation of a State protection order. Provides for temporary protection orders while a case under these provisions is pending. Mandates that a court order restitution to the victim of an offense under this Act. Requires, provided certain conditions are met, that a protection order issued by the court of one State be accorded full faith and credit by the court of another State. Makes a protection order issued against a person who filed a written pleading for protection not entitled to full faith and credit if no cross or counter petition, complaint, or other written pleading was filed seeking such a protection order or, if a cross or counter petition was filed, the court did not specifically find each party entitled to such an order. Subtitle B: Arrest in Spousal Abuse Cases - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants, with regard to spousal abuse, to: (1) implement pro-arrest programs and policies in police departments and improve case tracking; (2) centralize and coordinate police enforcement, prosecution, or judicial responsibility for cases in one group of officers, prosecutors, or judges; and (3) educate judges to improve judicial handling of cases. Directs the Secretary to delegate to the Attorney General responsibility to carry out these provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Funding for Shelters - Amends the FVPSA to authorize appropriations to carry out that Act, earmarking at least 85 percent of funds appropriated for State demonstration grants to prevent family violence and provide immediate shelter and related assistance. Limits the percentage which may be used to carry out public information campaigns under provisions of subtitle D of this title. Subtitle D: Family Violence Prevention and Services Act Amendments - Allows demonstration grants to be used to increase public awareness about, as well as to prevent, family violence. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for public information campaigns regarding domestic violence. Requires each State, in order to be eligible for the grants, to establish a Commission on Domestic Violence to examine matters such as arrest, prosecution, sentencing, restitution, and reporting. Directs (currently, authorizes) the Secretary to make a specified percentage (currently, no specified percentage) available for demonstration grants to Indian tribes. Removes the limit on the aggregate amount of grants to any single entity. Revises requirements regarding the local share of program costs for grants to entities other than States or Indian tribes. Increases the percentage of funds required to be used for shelter and related assistance for victims of family violence and their dependents. Allows law enforcement training grants to be made under existing provisions only to private nonprofit organizations with experience in providing training and technical assistance to law enforcement personnel on a national or regional basis. Directs the Secretary to make grants to at least ten States to assist in becoming model demonstration States and in improving State leadership concerning: (1) increasing prosecutions for domestic crimes; (2) encouraging reporting of domestic violence; and (3) facilitating arrests and aggressive prosecution policies. Sets forth requirements for being designated a model State. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to delegate responsibilities under these provisions to the Attorney General. Directs the Secretary to make grants or contracts for the establishment and maintenance of six national resource centers to provide training and technical assistance to State, Indian tribal, and local domestic violence programs and to other professionals who provide services to domestic violence victims. Subtitle E: Youth Education and Domestic Violence - Directs the Secretary of Education to develop three separate model programs for education of young people about domestic violence and violence among intimate partners, with one program for each of primary and middle schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Confidentiality for Abused Persons - Requires the Postmaster General to promulgate regulations to secure the confidentiality of abused persons' addresses. Title III: Civil Rights - Declares that all persons within the United States shall have the same rights, privileges, and immunities in every State as are enjoyed by all other persons to be free from crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender (defined as any crime of violence, including rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, or any other crime of violence committed because of or on the basis of gender). Makes any person, including a person who acts under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State, who deprives another of the rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the Constitution and laws as enumerated by this Act liable to the injured party in an action for compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, or other relief as the court deems appropriate. Amends the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976 to allow the awarding of attorney's fees in actions to enforce this title. Title IV: Safe Campuses for Women - Safe Campuses for Women Act of 1990 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to make, on a competitive basis, grants to and contracts with institutions of higher education for rape education and prevention programs. Requires that the grants be used to educate and provide support services to student victims of rape or sexual assault, with 25 percent of the funds available for model demonstration programs for rape prevention and education curricula and for local programs to provide services to student rape victims. Authorizes appropriations to carry out title X (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) of the Act. Amends the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 to add sexual assault to the list of criminal offenses about which statistics must be disclosed by institutions participating in certain programs. Title V: Equal Justice for Women in the Courts Act of 1990 - Equal Justice for Women in the Courts Act of 1991 - Subtitle A: Education and Training for Judges and Court Personnel in State Courts - Authorizes the State Justice Institute to make grants for model programs to be used by States in training judges and court personnel in State laws on rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the State Justice Institute to expend at least: (1) 40 percent of appropriated funds on programs regarding domestic violence; and (2) 40 percent on programs regarding rape and assault. Subtitle B: Education and Training for Judges and Court Personnel in Federal Courts - Directs the Federal Judicial Center to study and report on the nature and extent of gender bias in the Federal courts. Requires the Center to develop and disseminate model programs to be used in training Federal judges and court personnel in the laws on rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender. Authorizes appropriations. Requires between 25 and 40 percent of such funds to be used for the study required by this subtitle.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income the value of any subsidy provided by a public utility to a customer for the purchase or installation of energy or water conservation measures.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Central American Democracy and Development Act - Declares that it is U.S. policy to: (1) encourage and support the Central American countries in efforts to build democracy, restore peace, establish respect for human rights, expand economic opportunities, and improve living conditions; (2) support and encourage dialogue as the proper means of resolving armed conflicts in Central America; (3) assist in, and secure greater international support for, the recommendations of the International Commission on Central American Recovery and Development; (4) participate in, and contribute to, the United Nations Development Programme for its Special Plan of Economic Cooperation for Central America; (5) help organize a partnership among donor countries and the Central American countries to provide a means of mobilizing resources and promoting a forum for dialogue about issues of development, democracy, social justice, and human rights; and (6) support and promote the President's proposed Enterprise for the Americas Initiative to assist Central American countries in opening their economies and managing their foreign debt. Requires the United States, if requested by the governments of Central America, to provide assistance for the development of the Central American Development Coordination Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to declare that any individual who performed Desert Shield services (and the individual's spouse) shall be entitled to an extension of time for performing certain tax-related acts by reason of service in a combat zone. Allows the payment of interest on any overpayments due such individuals starting April 15. (Generally, interest will be paid only on refunds made more than 45 days after a return is filed.) Applies the time extension granted by this Act to individuals during any period of continuous hospitalization.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the income tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to: (1) increase the allowable deduction from 25 percent to 100 percent; and (2) make the deduction permanent (under current law it will expire after tax year 1991).
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income up to $2,000, adjusted for inflation, of distributions from an individual retirement plan if: (1) the payee has attained age 59 1/2 on or before the date of distribution; and (2) the distribution is used during the taxable year to pay premiums for a long-term health care insurance policy covering necessary diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or personal care services for the payee or a spouse meeting the same 59 1/2 year age requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Veterans Compensation Rates Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1991 - Increases the rates of compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, and the clothing allowance payable to veterans with service-connected disabilities and their survivors. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to increase the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits. Removes such income limitation thereafter. Accelerates the effective dates of increases in the delayed retirement credit rate for individuals who work beyond retirement age.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a taxpayer a nonrefundable 15 percent income tax credit for long-term health insurance costs paid for the benefit of the taxpayer, spouse, or a parent of either. Limits the annual amount of the credit to $300 ($600 if the insurance covers two or more individuals). Phases out the credit percentage. Permits a taxpayer to include as tax-deductible medical expenses any amounts incurred for the long-term health care of a nondependent parent of either the taxpayer or spouse.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a nonrefundable income tax credit for contributions made to a long-term health care savings account established to pay the long-term health care expenses of an individual. Sets the amount of the credit at the lesser of ten percent of the contribution or $200. Includes as legitimate long-term health care expenses the costs of (or insurance premiums covering) diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, and personal care services that are: (1) required by a chronically ill or disabled individual; and (2) provided by a qualified provider (other than a family member) in a nursing facility, including hospitals and nursing homes, or in a home (if home care is a substitute for care in a nursing facility). Provides that no account may have more than one beneficiary and that no individual may be a beneficiary of more than one account. Limits annual contributions to $2,000 per account. Disallows the credit in the case of a beneficiary covered under an employee benefit plan that provides similar benefits. Identifies criteria and requirements applicable to a long-term health care savings account. Excludes from gross income any account payments and distributions used exclusively for the qualified health care expenses of the eligible beneficiary. Exempts an account from taxation unless the beneficiary or contributor engages in prohibited transactions or the beneficiary pledges the account as security. Imposes a surtax on distributions not used for long-term health care purposes. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with excess contributions, prohibited transactions associated with an account, and failure to comply with reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Increase and Agent Orange Act of 1991 - Title I: Compensation Rate Increases - Increases the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Title II: Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service - States that the following diseases will be presumed to be service-connected for purposes of eligibility for veterans' disability compensation, if they become manifest to a degree of disability of ten-percent or more in a veteran who served on active duty in Vietnam during the Vietnam era: (1) non-Hodgkins lymphoma; (2) each soft-tissue sarcoma, with specified exceptions; and (3) chloracne, if it becomes manifest to such degree within one year after the last date the veteran performed active duty in Vietnam. Provides that, in the case of a Vietnam veteran exposed to certain dioxins or other herbicide agents during service in Vietnam, specified diseases listed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and identified as having a positive association with the biological effects of exposure to such herbicide agent shall be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by such service, even though there is no record of such disease having occurred during such service. Presumes that Vietnam veterans having such disease were exposed to such dioxin or herbicide during their Vietnam service, unless there is affirmative evidence to the contrary. Authorizes the Secretary to extend the applicability of this section to those exposed to the same type of dioxins or herbicides outside of Vietnam while on active duty. Provides a presumption of service-connection in the case of a Vietnam veteran suffering from a disease associated with effects of exposure to certain dioxins or other herbicide agents during such service in Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations listing a positive association between any disease and the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent in Vietnam. Requires the Secretary, in prescribing and revising such list, to obtain by contract the determinations and estimates of a contract scientific organization. Requires such organization to: (1) determine which diseases have any degree of association with the biological effects of exposure to a herbicide agent; and (2) estimate the extent of association between each such disease and each such biological effect. Requires the organization to determine such association specifically with respect to lung cancer and each other cancer. Outlines contract provisions required in such agreements between the Secretary and the scientific organization, including surveys, evaluations, and periodic determinations. Requires such scientific organizations to provide reports to the Secretary and the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees regarding their determinations and evaluations. Requires such organization to determine, in the event of a positive association, whether there is a reasonable basis for concluding that a Vietnam veteran with the highest level of exposure to that herbicide agent in Vietnam was exposed to such agent under the circumstances necessary for such biological effects. Requires a report from the organization to the Secretary and the veterans' committees when there is no such reasonable basis found. Requires the Secretary to make certain determinations and follow-up reports after receiving such reports from the contract scientific organization, including the issuance of a report to the veterans' committees and the promulgation of positive association regulations, if necessary. Requires benefits to be continued even though a disease is removed from the regulations listing diseases having positive associations. Terminates such contracting authority ten years after the first day of the fiscal year in which a scientific organization transmits its first report to the Secretary. Provides interim regulations and special effective dates. Directs the Secretary to compile and analyze all clinical data that: (1) are obtained by the Department in connection with examinations and treatment of veterans for disabilities related to exposure to certain herbicides or to service in Vietnam; and (2) are likely to be scientifically useful in determining the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and their exposure to such herbicides and other toxic substances. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the veterans' committees concerning such analysis and its results. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) before compiling and analyzing such information. Requires the Director of OTA to review each annual report submitted by the Secretary and transmit to the Secretary an evaluation of the contents of each report. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a system for the collection and storage of voluntarily contributed samples of blood and tissue of veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Outlines provisions concerning the security and authorized uses of such specimens, as well as limitations on the acceptance of such samples. Requires the Secretary to consult with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to the extent that an agreement has been reached with the NAS serving as the contract scientific organization for the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Director of OTA in the event of no agreement with NAS. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide for the conduct of studies of the feasibility of conducting additional scientific research on health hazards resulting from: (1) exposure to dioxin; (2) exposure to other toxic agents in herbicides used in support of U.S. and allied military operations in Vietnam during the Vietnam era; and (3) active military, naval, or air service there. Requires the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the results of such studies. Requires the Secretary to consult with the NAS before undertaking such studies and requires the NAS to review such studies and report recommendations to the Secretary and the veterans' committees, to the extent provided under any agreement between the Secretary and the NAS. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to require the Secretary to annually furnish updated information listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs Agent Orange Registry on health risks resulting from exposure to dioxin or other toxic agents in herbicides as a result of service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the veterans' committees on the research being conducted to develop treatments for physiological absorption of dioxin and other toxic agents used in herbicides by the United States in Vietnam, including research relating to exposure to dioxin and other toxic agents outside Vietnam. Extends through December 31, 1993, the eligibility for hospital and nursing home care for veterans exposed to toxic substances in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 1991
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution - Authorizes the President to use U.S. armed forces against Iraq pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 to implement Resolutions 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, and 677 (summarized below) after making available to the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate his determination that: (1) the United States has used all appropriate diplomatic and other peaceful means to obtain compliance by Iraq with such resolutions; and (2) those means have not been and would not be successful. Declares that this Act constitutes specific statutory authorization for the use of U.S. armed forces required under the War Powers Resolution. Requires the President to report to the Congress every 60 days on the status of efforts to obtain compliance by Iraq with the U.N. resolutions. RESOLUTION 660-AUGUST 2, 1990: Condemns Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and demands immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi forces. RESOLUTION 661-AUGUST 6, 1990: Imposes trade embargo and financial sanctions against Iraq and Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. (Medical supplies and humanitarian foodstuffs are exempt from the trade embargo.) RESOLUTION 662-AUGUST 9, 1990: Declares Iraq's annexation of Kuwait null and void and demands that Iraq rescind the annexation. RESOLUTION 664-AUGUST 18, 1990: Demands that Iraq permit immediate safe departure of foreign nationals from Iraq and Kuwait. Demands rescindment of Iraq's orders to withdraw diplomatic immunity and close diplomatic missions in Kuwait. RESOLUTION 665-AUGUST 25, 1990: Calls upon states to enforce the trade embargo against Iraq and Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. RESOLUTION 666-SEPTEMBER 14, 1990: Provides for humanitarian provision of any necessary food and medical supplies to Iraq and Kuwait. RESOLUTION 667-SEPTEMBER 16, 1990: Demands that Iraq protect diplomatic personnel and premises and take no action that hinders the performance of their duties. RESOLUTION 669-SEPTEMBER 24, 1990: Authorizes Sanctions Committee to examine requests for assistance from states confronted with special economic problems related to the sanctions. RESOLUTION 670-SEPTEMBER 25, 1990: Requires states to cooperate with air embargo and to detain any ships that are being used to violate the sanctions. (Food and medical supplies being shipped for humanitarian reasons are exempt, but subject to authorization.) RESOLUTION 674-OCTOBER 29, 1990: Reminds Iraq that it is liable under international law for any loss, damage, or injury arising in regard to Kuwait and third states and their nationals as a result of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait. RESOLUTION 677-NOVEMBER 28, 1990: Condemns Iraqi attempts to alter Kuwait's demographic composition and destroy Kuwaiti civil records. Mandates steps to be taken by the U.N. to safeguard the demographic composition of Kuwait. RESOLUTION 678-NOVEMBER 29, 1990: Authorizes member states to use all means necessary to uphold the above resolutions and restore international peace and security in the region, unless Iraq fully complies with the above resolutions on or before January 15, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1990
Small Employer Health Benefit Reform Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on insurance companies which do not meet requirements concerning coverage, rating, or disclosure and recordkeeping with respect to accident and health insurance provided to small employers.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1990
Recognizes the important part the Alaska Highway played in the defense of our Nation and the settling of Alaska and the ever-important role it will inevitably play in our future. States that this highway should be maintained in a condition that encourages people throughout the Nation to travel it.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should declare November 2, 1990, a national day of prayer for: (1) members of American military forces and American citizens stationed or held hostage in the Middle East, and for their families; and (2) American and Iraqi authorities to bring about a just resolution of the Persian Gulf crisis.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1990
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to extend through September 30, 1996, the authorization of appropriations made from the Hazardous Substance Superfund. Extends through FY 1996 funding for: (1) reimbursements to local governments affected by releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances; (2) worker training education grants; (3) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; (4) hazardous substance research, development, demonstration, and training activities; (5) university hazardous substance research centers; and (6) the Hazardous Substance Superfund. Makes conforming amendments to the Internal Revenue Code with respect to: (1) the application of the Superfund financing rate; (2) the application of environmental taxes; (3) the amount of tax on xylene; and (4) advances made to Superfund. Amends the Superfund Revenue Act of 1986 to extend the authorization of appropriations for Superfund through FY 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1990
SSI Independence Act for Elderly and Disabled Americans - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to exclude from an SSI recipient's income in SSI eligibility and benefit determinations, contributions of clothing and other contributions, other than cash paid directly to the recipient, which are for the purchase of social services, vocational rehabilitation services, medical care, transportation, educational services, personal assistance or attendant care services, and certain services or equipment related to the quality and livability of his or her shelter. Excludes a trust created for an SSI recipient's benefit from such recipient's resources if such recipient does not have access to the trust's assets. Excludes funds or property placed in a trust for an SSI recipient's benefit from such recipient's income. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide notices and pamphlets to SSI applicants and recipients informing them of the consequences various actions affecting their income and resources will have on their SSI and Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) eligibility. Deems SSI applicants who lost disability benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act after their trial work period to have received SSI benefits while still eligible for OASDI disability benefits and therefore qualify for participation in the SSI work incentive program (providing Medicaid and special SSI cash benefits to disabled individuals whose earnings otherwise make them ineligible for SSI and Medicaid benefits) if they meet SSI income, resource, and disability tests. Provides that reviews to determine the continuing disability of participants in the SSI work incentive program need to be conducted no more frequently than once every 12 months. Excludes spousal income in determining a disabled and working individual's eligibility for participation in the SSI work incentive program. Precludes the attainment of age 65 from serving as a basis for the termination of Medicaid eligibility under the SSI work incentive program. Requires that State supplementary cash payments to the needy include participants in the SSI work incentive program. Excludes impairment-related work expenses from the income of an individual who is eligible for SSI and OASDI disability benefits but receives only State supplementary payments. Treats royalties from the publication of an individual's work and scholarships which have not been used for education expenses as earned income.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1990
Take Pride in America Act - Establishes within the Department of the Interior the Take Pride in America Office to: (1) establish a public awareness campaign to encourage responsibility toward, and promote participation in, caring for Federal, State, and local lands, facilities, and natural and cultural resources; and (2) conduct a national awards program to honor individuals and entities that have distinguished themselves in such activities. Sets forth administrative provisions concerning the Office. Authorizes the Office to use volunteers and to distribute pamphlets or other novelties to promote its purposes. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1990
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to State and local educational agencies and consortia of such agencies to plan for innovative demonstration projects. Authorizes the use of such funds to plan for the development of: (1) State or local policies and procedures for open enrollment among public schools or programs, and for assisting parents, particularly those of disadvantaged or minority children, to become more involved in their children's education; and (2) improved methods for advancing equity in State and local systems of financing public elementary and secondary education and for involving businesses and communities in public education. Gives priority in planning grants (other than those for open enrollment) to projects with the greatest potential to improve education of disadvantaged students and minority students. Gives equal priority in open enrollment planning grants to projects for such students and those for rural students. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, to: (1) conduct research on open enrollment systems, parental involvement, school finance equalization, and business involvement in public education; and (2) disseminate such research results. Directs the Secretary to coordinate identification and dissemination of exemplary projects through the National Diffusion Network.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1990
Central American Democracy and Development Act - Declares that it is U.S. policy to: (1) encourage and support the Central American countries in efforts to build democracy, restore peace, establish respect for human rights, expand economic opportunities, and improve living conditions; (2) support and encourage dialogue as the proper means of resolving armed conflicts in Central America; (3) assist in, and secure greater international support for, the recommendations of the International Commission on Central American Recovery and Development; (4) participate in, and contribute to, the United Nations Development Programme for its Special Plan of Economic Cooperation for Central America; (5) help organize a partnership among donor countries and the Central American countries to provide a means of mobilizing resources and promoting a forum for dialogue about issues of development, democracy, social justice, and human rights; and (6) support and promote the President's proposed Enterprise for the Americas Initiative to assist Central American countries in opening their economies and managing their foreign debt. Requires the United States, if requested by the governments of Central America, to provide assistance for the development of the Central American Development Coordination Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1990
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the gas guzzler tax for model years 1986 through 1994 and 1995 or later. Provides that the term automobile does not include any light truck, utility vehicle, or van sold for use and registered as a commercial vehicle. Removes the exception from such tax of certain manufacturers which modify automobiles into stretch limousines.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1990
Comprehensive Medical Device Improvement Act of 1990 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require a person who proposes to market a medical device that the person claims is substantially equivalent to a class III marketed device to review published and unpublished data concerning the safety and effectiveness of the marketed device and the device proposed to be marketed. Amends provisions establishing classes of devices to allow class II, which currently involves performance standards, to involve additional controls to provide assurance of safety and effectiveness including, but not limited to, performance standards. Specifies that it is the Secretary of Health and Human Services who determines whether a device is excepted from provisions requiring that devices be initially classified in class III. Allows the Secretary to initiate reclassification of a device initially classified in class III. Directs the Secretary to: (1) require manufacturers of class III devices introduced before enactment of this Act to submit to the Secretary a citation to and summary of published and unpublished data concerning the safety and effectiveness of the device; (2) on the basis of criteria set by current law, information available when the device was initially classified, and any new information, reclassify the device to class II or class I, or continue the device in class III; and (3) establish a schedule for issuance of a regulation regarding submission of a premarket approval application for each device continued in class III. Directs the Secretary, if the Secretary determines that a performance standard is necessary to provide assurance of the safety and effectiveness of a class II device, to establish such a standard. (Current law, making no reference to any determination, authorizes the Secretary to establish such a standard.) Revises the procedures for establishment of performance standards. Allows the Secretary to suspend the approval of an application for premarket approval if the Secretary determines that continued distribution of the device will result in an unreasonable risk of substantial harm to the public health. Directs the Secretary, if the Secretary finds that a device presents an unreasonable risk of substantial harm to the public health, to issue a recall order including, subject to exception, withdrawal of devices from health care institutions and individuals. Requires distributors who submit required reports regarding a device to the Secretary to submit a copy of the reports to the manufacturer. Requires each manufacturer, importer, and distributor to annually certify to the Secretary that it has reported all events required to be reported, or that no such events have occurred. Defines "medical device user facility" (facility) to mean a hospital, nursing home, or ambulatory surgical facility. Requires a facility to inform the Secretary and, when known, the manufacturer when the facility becomes aware of information that reasonably suggests that a device may have contributed to the death of a patient. Requires the facility to inform the manufacturer, if identified (if not, the Secretary), of information reasonably suggesting that a device may have contributed to a serious illness or serious injury to a patient. Provides, with exceptions, for the confidentiality of information relating to such reports. Prohibits, except in an action to enforce these provisions, the introduction into evidence or other use in an action of the report or of the fact that the report was made. Authorizes the Secretary, for one year after enactment of this Act, to award grants for public education programs for facilities concerning these reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to require a manufacturer, importer, or distributor to: (1) report to the Secretary any removal or field repair of a device, other than routine servicing, if undertaken to eliminate a risk to health or remedy a violation of this Act; and (2) keep a record of any field repair or removal, other than routine servicing, not required to be reported. Allows the Secretary, four years after premarket approval is granted, to use certain information in the premarket approval application to establish the safety and effectiveness of another device. Replaces provisions prohibiting traceability requirements unless necessary to protect the public health with provisions directing the Secretary to determine which devices should be subject to a requirement of labeling, coding, or other identification to ensure that the device may be traced from the place of manufacture or initial distribution to the ultimate user, from among devices that: (1) are for use in supporting life; (2) are for use in preventing impairment of health; or (3) present a potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury. Directs the Secretary to require the manufacturers, importers, and distributors of the devices to establish the means by which the devices will be traced to the ultimate user. Allows the Secretary to initiate a reclassification of certain new drugs classified as class III devices. Directs the Secretary to require the manufacturer to submit a description of and a citation to any adverse safety and effectiveness information not submitted under other provisions, and allows the Secretary to require the submission of the information itself. Prohibits the Secretary, notwithstanding any other portion of these provisions, from retaining any daily wear nonhydrophilic plastic contact lens in class III unless certain requirements are met. Prohibits a device from being found to be substantially equivalent to a device that has been removed from the market at the initiative of the Secretary or determined to be misbranded or adulterated by a judicial order. Directs the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations allowing a manufacturer to be required to prepare a summary of any clinical data required; and (2) make the summary available to the public after a determination of substantial equivalence. Directs the Secretary to require a manufacturer to conduct postmarket surveillance for specified types of devices, including those with respect to which the Secretary determines that surveillance is necessary to protect the public health or to evaluate the safety or effectiveness of the device. Allows the Secretary to determine the period of surveillance required. Prohibits imposing a surveillance period without a termination date. Requires the manufacturer of a device for which surveillance is required to contract with one or more academic medical centers to provide for any required monitoring of clinical experience. Allows the manufacturer to determine the number and identity of the centers, if any, that will perform surveillance, and the manner of surveillance. Adds references to design validation to provisions relating to adulterated devices, premarket approval, and control of devices. Directs the Secretary to require only one market clearance route for an article that constitutes a combination of a device, drug, or biological product.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1990
Family Planning Amendments of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that voluntary family planning projects receiving grants or contracts under provisions of that Act offer adoption referral services. Requires the services to be nondiscriminatory as to race, color, religion, and national origin. Removes provisions allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reduce the amount of the grant by the value of supplies or equipment furnished by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations. Repeals existing formula grant provisions. Authorizes appropriations for technical assistance and personnel training, including clinical training for obstetric-gynecologic nurse practitioners and training for educators and counselors. States that research grants and contracts may be made for evaluation as well as for development of contraceptives, and to improve clinical management and direct delivery of family planning services. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct, make grants, and enter into contracts for applied research into the development, evaluation, and bringing to the marketplace of contraceptive devices, drugs, and methods. Authorizes appropriations. Defines "contraceptive" to include methods which prevent fertilization or implantation in the uterus. Excludes from the definition any drug, device, or method which terminates the pregnancy after implantation, and prohibits the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development from supporting research on any such drug, device, or method. Directs the Secretary to collect data annually on: (1) the number of low-income and marginal-income individuals and adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancies; (2) the sources of funding available for family planning services in the United States; (3) the numbers and age, gender, race, and family income of persons who receive family planning services; and (4) the types of services chosen by individuals receiving services. Amends provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to population research and voluntary family planning programs to require that all grantees receiving assistance under those provisions provide education to patients concerning self breast examinations. Directs the Secretary to make available a specified sum during FY 1991 through 1993 for the selection of a single State in which to establish a research project to determine the impact of family planning services in a State that has in effect a law prohibiting the use of public funds for family planning services to an unmarried minor without the prior written consent of the parent or guardian of the minor. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to and enter into contracts with public agencies in such a State for the provision of family planning services, carried out in accordance with such State law. Requires a public agency applicant for a grant or contract to include in the application assurances that: (1) for the fiscal year for which the application is submitted, such State law will not be applied to family planning services provided by private agencies; and (2) if a public agency of the State makes a grant to, or enters into a contract with, a private agency for family planning services, and the grant or contract is funded in whole or in part under these provisions, the State shall ensure that the private agency meets the same requirements for eligibility for assistance under title X (Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs) of the Public Health Service Act as the Secretary may prescribe for all private agencies assisted under such title. Authorizes appropriations to carry out title XX (Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Projects) of the Public Health Service Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1990
Radiation Protection Act of 1990 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to declare that no Federal law may be construed to prohibit or otherwise restrict the authority of a State to regulate, on the basis of radiological hazard, the disposal of low-level radioactive waste designated a State responsibility for which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require disposal in a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility licensed by the Commission or by an Agreement State. Provides that no Federal law may be construed to preclude or otherwise restrict the authority of any State to impose standards for the protection from radiological hazards more stringent than the Commission's for such disposal. Revokes certain policy statements of the Commission relating to radioactive waste below regulatory concern.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1990
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax exclusion of amounts paid under employee educational assistance programs. (Under current law the exclusion expires for taxable years beginning after September 30, 1990.) Repeals provisions that deny assistance for graduate work.
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