United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1996
National Motor Vehicle Safety, Antitheft, Title Reform, and Consumer Protection Act of 1996 - Amends Federal transportation law to require States, in licensing a passenger motor vehicle whose ownership has been transferred, to disclose on the certificate of title whenever records indicate that such vehicle was previously issued a title that contained a term or symbol signifying that it was "salvage," "unrebuildable," "parts only," "scrap," "junk," "nonrepairable," "reconstructed," "rebuilt," or that it has been damaged by flood. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring each State in licensing such vehicles to apply specified uniform standards, procedures, and methods for the issuance and control of motor vehicle titles and for information to be contained on such titles. Makes it unlawful for any person knowingly and willfully to: (1) make false statements on an application for a motor vehicle title; (2) fail to apply for a salvage title when such application is required; (3) alter, forge, or counterfeit a certificate of title, a nonrepairable vehicle certificate, a certificate verifying an anti-theft inspection or an anti-theft and safety inspection, or a required decal affixed to a passenger motor vehicle; (4) falsify the results of an inspection; (5) offer to sell any salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle as a rebuilt salvage vehicle; or (6) conspire to commit any of these acts. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1996
Commends Operation Sail and encourages its continuation into the next millennium. Encourages all individuals to join in the celebration of the 224th birthday of the United States of America and the international camaraderie that Operation Sail and the International Naval Review will foster.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1996
Authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to construct the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum Dulles Center at Washington Dulles International Airport. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to pay construction expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1996
Alu-O'Hara Public Safety Officers Health Benefits Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require a ten percent reduction in Federal assistance to a State under the justice system improvement grant program unless public safety officers who are separated from service as a result of injuries sustained in the line of duty continue to receive at least the same level of health insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1996
Emergency Safeguard Act of 1996 - Declares that: (1) no more than 50 percent of the total square meter equivalents of wool apparel assembled in Canada and eligible for preferential duty treatment under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption during any year shall be tailored wool; and (2) no more than 50 percent of such sublimit shall be men's and boys' wool suits, wool sport coats, or wool slacks. Grants nondiscriminatory (most-favored-nation) treatment of Canadian tailored wool apparel that is eligible for preferential duty treatment under NAFTA.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1996
Customs Enforcement and Market Access Act of 1996 - Directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), whenever the United States negotiates a protocol for accession of a country to the World Trade Organization (WTO), to negotiate for inclusion in that protocol: (1) provisions for effective market access to that country's domestic markets for U.S. textile and apparel products; and (2) provisions allowing the suspension or revocation of paragraph 14 (relating to increasing import levels based on growth rates) of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, if the country has failed to enforce such market access provisions. Requires negotiation of bilateral agreements containing similar provisions with countries that are not WTO members. (Sec. 3) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to direct the USTR to identify annually, report to the Congress, and publish in the Federal Register the names of priority foreign countries that deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons producing or selling textile or apparel products. (Sec. 4) Establishes in the Treasury a Textile Global Competitiveness Research Fund, consisting in part of fines levied under this Act, and whose amounts shall be available: (1) for programs aimed at enhancing the international competitiveness of the United States textile and apparel manufacturers; and (2) to the Customs Service for the enforcement of laws governing trade in textile and apparel goods. (Sec. 5) Directs the USTR to take necessary steps to negotiate a quota agreement with any non-WTO country whose exports to the United States exceed $100 million annually, or are creating serious damage or the actual threat of it to the U.S. textile and apparel industry. Specifies: (1) a quota formula for new textile agreements with non-WTO countries which already have a textile agreement with the United States; and (2) provisions for inclusion in the accession protocol of countries acceding to the WTO. (Sec. 6) Requires the USTR to ensure that any protocol under negotiation for accession to the WTO of a non-WTO country with a textile import bilateral agreement with the United States, as well as any subsequent agreement, provides for a reduction in the quantity of that country's textile and apparel goods that may be imported into the United States if the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) determines that the bilateral agreement is being circumvented and that inadequate or no measures are being taken by that country to take action against such circumvention. (Sec. 7) Prescribes specified Customs Service enforcement actions and penalties (including fines, seizure, and forfeiture) for violations of customs laws involving textile and apparel goods. (Sec. 10) Directs the Commissioner of Customs to establish a Division on Textile Enforcement. (Sec. 11) Requires withdrawal of preferential tariff or quota treatment (unilateral trade concessions) from the textile and apparel goods of any country: (1) demonstrating a consistent pattern of circumventing textile agreements with United States; (2) refusing to cooperate in investigations; (3) failing to provide adequate enforcement of intellectual property rights with respect to textile and apparel goods; or (4) failing to provide fair and equitable market access for U.S. textile and apparel goods.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
Commends the organizers, coordinators, and volunteers of NetDay96 throughout the Nation. Calls for: (1) NetDay96's success in California to be used as a model in other States; (2) NetDay96 to be expanded nationwide to assist students, parents, and schools to obtain the full benefits of computer equipment and networks, strengthen their educations, and begin careers with more skills and opportunities in order to help them compete more successfully in the global economy; and (3) businesses, students, parents, educators, and unions throughout the country to consider organizing NetDay96 activities in their communities. Affirms support of NetDay96's commitment to have U.S. classrooms fitted with the needed technological infrastructure for the 21st century.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1996
Children's Privacy Protection and Parental Empowerment Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit specified activities relating to personal information about a child (defined as a person under age 16), including knowingly: (1) selling such information (by a list broker) without the consent of a parent of that child, knowing that such information pertains to a child; (2) using prison inmate labor for data processing of personal information about children; and (3) distributing or receiving any such information, knowing or having reason to believe that the information will be used to abuse or physically harm the child. Authorizes civil actions by children or their parents with respect to whom a violation of this Act occurs. Directs the court to award a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1996
National Transportation Safety Board Amendments of 1996 - Amends Federal transportation law to prohibit the National Transportation Safety Board and any agency receiving information from it from disclosing: (1) records or information relating to its participation in foreign aircraft accident investigations, except in certain circumstances; or (2) voluntarily provided safety-related information unrelated to the exercise of the Board's accident or incident investigation authority, if disclosure would inhibit the voluntary provision of that type of information. Declares that nothing in this Act shall restrict the Board from referring to foreign accident investigation information when making safety recommendations. Authorizes the Board to conduct training of its employees in subjects necessary for proper performance of accident investigation. Authorizes appropriations to the Board through FY 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Short Title; Table of Contents Title II: Revenue Provisions Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification Subtitle B: Expanded Individual Retirement Accounts to Increase Coverage and Portability Subtitle C: Other Expansions of Pension Portability Subtitle D: Conforming Amendments Title I: Short Title; Table of Contents - Retirement Savings and Security Act - Sets forth the table of contents of this Act. Title II: Revenue Provisions - Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification - Chapter 1: The NEST and Other Coverage Expansion - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish national employee savings trusts (NESTS) for employees of small employers. (Sec. 1102) Makes tax-exempt organizations and Indian governmental instrumentalities eligible section 401(k) pension plan employers. (Sec. 1103) Sets forth alternative methods for satisfying section 401(k) nondiscrimination tests. (Sec. 1104) Revises "highly compensated employee" provisions. (Sec. 1106) Repeals the limitation in the case of an employee with defined benefit and a defined contribution plans from the same employer. (Sec. 1107) Makes certain defined contribution plan provisions applicable to all permanently disabled employees. (Sec. 1108) Revises deferred payment provisions with respect to: (1) owner-employee contributions; and (2) State and local plan trust requirements. Chapter 2: Simplification and Cost Savings - Sets forth a special compensation limitation rule with respect to governmental and multiemployer deferred payment plans. States that a governmental plan's eligibility shall not be affected by its excess benefit arrangement. (Sec. 1204) Provides special rules for treatment of governmental and tax-exempt organization deferred compensation plans. (Sec. 1206) Establishes a simplified method for annuity distribution taxation for certain employer plans. (Sec. 1207) Eliminates five-year income averaging for lump-sum distributions. (Sec. 1208) Reduces from 59.5 years old to 59 years old the age at which a recipient may receive certain retirement and annuity distributions penalty-free. (Sec. 1209) Provides a special rule for certain rural cooperative plan distributions. (Sec. 1211) Treats the social security retirement age as the uniform retirement age for purposes of pension plan non-discrimination requirements. (Sec. 1214) Eliminates partial termination rules with respect to multiemployer plans. (Sec. 1217) Increases the tax on prohibited transactions. Subtitle B: Expanded Individual Retirement Accounts to Increase Coverage and Portability - Chapter 1: Retirement Savings Incentives - Subchapter A: IRA Deduction - Increases individual retirement account (IRA) income limitations. Provides inflation adjustments for deductible amounts and income limitations. Subchapter B: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs - Establishes nondeductible tax-free IRAs. Chapter 2: Distributions and Investments - Authorizes IRA distributions to be used without the additional ten-percent tax for first home purchases, higher education, financially devastating medical costs, and by the unemployed. (Sec. 1323) Sets forth provisions with respect to the use of IRA funds to purchase qualifying State prepaid tuition instruments. Chapter 3: Termination of Certain Provisions - Sets forth IRA-related termination provisions with respect to: (1) inflation adjustments; (2) contributions to special IRA accounts; (3) early withdrawal tax; and (4) increases in specified limitations. Subtitle C: Other Expansions of Pension Portability - Establishes alternative nondiscrimination rules for certain plans that provide for early participation. (Sec. 1402) Establishes special rules for certain veterans' reemployment rights, including provisions regarding: (1) contributions; (2) elective deferrals; (3) retroactive adjustments; (4) loan repayment suspensions; and (5) compensation. (Sec. 1403) Eliminates the special vesting rule for multiemployer plans. Subtitle D: Conforming Amendments - Makes specified conforming amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Short Title; Table of Contents Title II: Conforming Railroad Retirement Benefits with Social Security Title I: Short Title; Table of Contents - Retirement Savings and Security Act - Sets forth this Act's short title and table of contents. Title II: Conforming Railroad Retirement Benefits with Social Security - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (RRA) with respect to eligibility for and the amount of a child's annuity. Provides for entitlement to spousal annuities despite certain age requirements. Removes the age requirement for divorced spouses, and provides for entitlement of the divorced spouse where the worker's annuity is not payable. Provides for RRA benefits equivalent to those under the Social Security Act with respect to: (1) amounts of continued payment to survivors of waived lump sum benefits; (2) lump sum death benefits; and (3) benefits with respect to service for which certain railroad retirement annuities are not payable.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Short Title; Table of Contents Title II: Additional Retirement Participation and Payment Options for Federal Employees Retirement Savings and Security Act - Title I: Short Title; Table of Contents - Sets forth, for this Act: (1) the short title; and (2) the table of contents. Title II: Additional Retirement Participation and Payment Options for Federal Employees - Requires the Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to prescribe regulations to allow Federal employees to be afforded a reasonable opportunity to make an election to make contributions under the Thrift Savings Plan on the date of commencing service or beginning on the earliest date thereafter that such an election becomes administratively feasible. (Sec. 2002) Provides for a deferred annuity for a surviving former spouse of a deceased former Federal employee who separated from the service with title to a deferred annuity if such individuals were married to one another prior to the date of separation. Provides for a surviving spouse to elect to receive a certain deferred annuity if a former employee dies after having separated from the service with title to a deferred annuity but before having established a valid claim for annuity. (Sec. 2003) Revises provisions concerning the payment of a lump sum to a former spouse of a Federal employee.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Short Titles; Table of Contents Title II: ERISA Provisions Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification Subtitle B: Portability Subtitle C: Enhanced Security Title I: Short Title; Table of Contents - Retirement Savings and Security Act - Sets forth the table of contents. Title II: ERISA Provisions - Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish reporting and fiduciary requirements relating to NESTs (National Employee Savings Trusts, under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), which are 401(k)-type plans for small business, designed to ensure participation by low- and moderate-wage workers, who will be able to save up to $5,000 per year tax-deferred, plus receive employer contributions toward retirement). (Sec. 2002) Eliminates specified ERISA requirements relating to employee benefit plan descriptions and filing of summary plan descriptions and descriptions of material modifications to a plan. Requires filing of annual plan reports by plan administrators. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to request any documents relating to such plans. (Sec. 2003) Includes under ERISA purchases of qualified State prepaid tuition program instruments to which specified IRC provisions apply. Subtitle B: Portability - Directs the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to prescribe specified types of payment rules relating to missing participants for terminated multiemployer plans. (Sec. 2011) Allows the administrator of a plan not otherwise subject to ERISA plan termination insurance provisions to elect to transfer a missing participant's benefits to the PBGC upon plan termination. Requires such administrator to provide the PBGC with specified information. Directs the PBGC, if such a missing participant's benefits are transferred to it, to pay the appropriate amount to the participant or beneficiary. (Sec. 2012) Eliminates a special vesting rule for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 2013) Provides for treatment of certain loans during military service. Subtitle C: Enhanced Security - Increases the amounts of guarantees for multiemployer plan benefits. (Sec. 2022) Directs the Secretary of Labor, as chairman of the PBGC board, to transmit to the President and the Congress an annual reversion report providing information on plans from which residual assets were distributed to employers. (Sec. 2023) Sets forth a full funding limitation for multiemployer plans. Requires a valuation every three years in the case of multiemployer plans. (Sec. 2024) Increases the maximum civil penalty for certain prohibited transactions. (Sec. 2025) Revises provisions relating to substantial owner benefits to modify: (1) a phase-in of guarantee; and (2) allocation of assets. Pension Audit Improvement Act of 1996 - Amends ERISA to repeal certain provisions for limited scope audits. (Sec. 2033) Requires certain notifications by plan administrators and accountants regarding: (1) irregularities that may have occurred with respect to plans; and (2) termination of an accountant's engagement for auditing services. Sets forth civil penalties for failures to provide the Secretary of Labor with such notifications. (Sec. 2034) Prescribes additional requirements for qualified public accountants. (Sec. 2035) Revises certain fiduciary penalties. Modifies a prohibition of assignment or alienation. Changes from mandatory to discretionary: (1) the imposition and the amount of civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibility; and (2) certain provisions relating to an applicable recovery amount.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1996
United States Tourism Organization Act - Establishes: (1) the National Tourism Board to develop a national travel and tourism strategy for increasing U.S. tourism; and (2) the United States Tourism Organization as a non-Federal nonprofit organization to implement the national travel and tourism strategy developed by the Board. Requires the Secretary of State to cooperate with the Organization and place a high priority on implementing its recommendations. Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to require the Federal trade promotion plan of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to reflect Board recommendations. Makes the Chairman of the Organization a member of the TPCC. Terminates the Organization and the Board if a plan for the long-term financing of the Organization has not been implemented two years after its incorporation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1996
National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1996 - Amends the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 to establish a national cooperative geologic mapping program between the U.S. Geological Survey and State geological surveys. Establishes a geologic mapping advisory committee to advise the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey on planning and implementation of the geological mapping program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1996
Constitutional Amendment - Requires a balanced Federal budget, unless a three-fifths roll call vote of both Houses of the Congress provides for a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Prohibits an increase in the public debt limit except by a three-fifths roll call vote by both Houses of the Congress. Requires the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress. Prohibits any bill increasing revenue from becoming law unless approved by a majority roll call vote of both Houses. Provides for waiver during a declared war or when the United States is involved in a military conflict that causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security. Declares that the judicial power of the United States shall not extend to any case or controversy arising under this amendment, except as authorized by adopted legislation. Exempts from total receipts and outlays: (1) receipts from, and outlays to the principal of, borrowing; and (2) receipts and outlays regarding Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1996
Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit any person serving as an independent counsel from: (1) engaging in any other legal work; or (2) receiving any compensation for affiliating with or being employed by an entity that provides professional legal services.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1996
Provides for observation of a moment of silence at 9:02 a.m. central daylight time on April 19, 1996, in remembrance of the victims of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Commends the people of Oklahoma and the aid provided by rescuers, Federal agencies, countless volunteers, and Federal employees. Reaffirms trust in our system of justice to ensure that the perpetrators are convicted and punished.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1996
Provides early deferred annuities for certain former Department of Defense (DOD) employees separated from Federal service due to a reduction-in-force resulting from the conversion of the performance of a DOD function to that of a private contractor.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1996
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Jackson, Mississippi, as the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1996
Pays tribute to the remarkable life and career of Ronald H. Brown (the late Secretary of Commerce) and to the contributions of all those who perished in the airplane accident on April 3, 1996, while in service to their country on a mission to Bosnia. Extends condolences to the victims' families.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1996
Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 - Authorizes the qualified industry organizations (the National Propane Gas Association, the Gas Processors Association, or successor organizations, or a group of retail marketers or producers who collectively represent at least 25 percent of the volume of propane sold or produced in the United States) to conduct, at their own expense, a referendum among producers and retail marketers for the creation of a Propane Education and Research Council. Directs the Council, if established, to develop programs (including programs to enhance consumer and employee safety and training) and enter into contracts for: (1) propane research and development; (2) consumer education; and (3) payment for program costs with funds collected under this Act. Requires the Council to reimburse the Secretary of Energy annually for any costs incurred by the United States. Authorizes the Council to levy annual assessments on odorized propane, according to prescribed guidelines, to cover program costs. Directs the Council to establish a program to coordinate its operations with any State propane education and research council. Prohibits Council funds from being used for lobbying activities. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to prepare and make available to the Council, the Secretary of Energy (Secretary), and the public, annual analyses of changes in propane prices relative to other energy resources. Requires the Council to restrict its activities to research and development, training, and safety whenever in any year the five-year average rolling price index of consumer grade propane exceeds by more than 10.1 percent the five-year rolling average price composite index of residential electricity, residential natural gas, and refiner price to end users of Number 2 fuel oil. Requires the price of propane to be determined by market forces in all cases. Prohibits the Council from taking action to pass the cost of the annual assessments to consumers. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to report biennially to the Congress and the Secretary on whether: (1) operation of the Council, in conjunction with the cumulative effects of market changes and Federal programs, has had an effect on propane consumers, including residential, agriculture, process, and nonfuel users; and (2) there have been long-term and short-term effects on propane prices as a result of Council activities and Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1996
Requires the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS Secretary) to enter into an agreement to carry out a demonstration project under which the HHS Secretary reimburses the Secretary on a capitated basis, from the Medicare Program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act, for certain health care services provided by the Secretary to Medicare-eligible military beneficiaries through the TRICARE Program (a managed health care program of the Department of Defense). Outlines project requirements. Requires annual joint reports from the Secretaries to the Congress on the demonstration project. Directs the Comptroller General, at the end of each year in which the project is carried out, to determine and submit to the Congress a report on the extent, if any, to which the costs of the Secretary under the TRICARE Program and the HHS Secretary under the Medicare Program have increased as a result of the project.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1996
Authorizes use of the rotunda of the Capitol on January 20, 1997, by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies in connection with the proceedings and ceremonies conducted for the inauguration of the President-elect and the Vice-President elect.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1996
Provides for a Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies to make the necessary arrangements for the inauguration of the President-elect and Vice President-elect on January 20, 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1996
Expresses: (1) admiration of the legacy of the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and his contribution to the special relationship between the United States and Israel; and (2) the sense of the Congress that the American Promenade in Israel be named in memory of him.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1996
Deplores the missile tests that the People's Republic of China (PRC) will conduct from March 8 through 15, 1996, as a threat to the peace, security, and stability of Taiwan and as not being in the spirit of the three U.S.-China Joint Communiques. Calls for the Government of the PRC to cease its bellicose actions directed at Taiwan and enter into meaningful dialogue with the Government of Taiwan at the highest levels with an eye toward decreasing tensions and resolving the issue of the future of Taiwan. Urges the President to consult with the Congress on an appropriate U.S. response to the tests and to reexamine the nature and quantity of defense articles and services that may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability in light of the heightened threat.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: General Provisions Title II: Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities Title III: Systems Change Title IV: Research and Personnel Preparation Title V: Technical Assistance, Support, and Dissemination of Information Title VI: Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1996 - Revises the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and extends its authorization of appropriations through FY 2002. Title I: General Provisions - Revises IDEA to declare that the right to equal educational opportunities for all children with disabilities is guaranteed by the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. (Sec. 103) Allows the Office of Special Education Programs to accept voluntary and uncompensated services. (Sec. 104) Revises requirements for: (1) prescribing regulations; (2) eligibility for financial assistance; and (3) discretionary grant programs. Requires the Secretary of Education to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for activities under titles IV and V of this Act. Provides for specified enhanced services to children with disabilities. Lists entities eligible for awards. Authorizes the Secretary to limit, without rulemaking, competitions to projects that give priority to one or more targeted areas, if each project addresses the needs of children with disabilities and their families. Provides for application management, including a peer review process. Authorizes the Secretary to use certain funds for: (1) payments to nonfederal entities for administrative support; (2) Federal employees to monitor projects; and (3) evaluation of program activities carried out under these programs. (Sec. 107) Repeals IDEA provisions for: (1) acquisition of equipment and construction of necessary facilities; and (2) grants for the removal of architectural barriers. Title II: Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities - Revises entitlements and allocations for assistance for education of all children with disabilities. (Sec. 201) Authorizes States to determine whether to make subgrants smaller than a specified minimum amount to some local education agencies (LEAs). (Sec. 202) Revises and consolidates State eligibility and planning provisions. Provides that, if a child with a disability qualifies for special education, that child does not have to be classified by a specific impairment or condition. Requires the State educational agency (SEA) to: (1) examine data to determine if significant racial disproportionality is occurring in the identification or placement of children under IDEA; and (2) review and revise policies accordingly. Provides that, if a hearing officer agrees with the parents' unilateral placement of a child with a disability in a private school, the LEA may be required to reimburse the parents. Requires a non-educational agency, if it is responsible for services necessary to ensure a free appropriate public education for children with disabilities, to pay for or provide such services directly or by contract or other arrangements. Requires States to: (1) ensure that interagency agreements or other mechanisms are in effect between educational agencies and non-educational agencies for defining respective financial responsibilities, resolving interagency disputes, and interagency coordination; and (2) establish a mechanism by which LEAs may seek reimbursement from agencies for the costs of providing related services. Revises requirements for a comprehensive system of personnel development. Allows LEAs to use appropriately trained and supervised paraprofessionals. Requires States to: (1) establish performance goals and indicators for children with disabilities; (2) ensure that these children participate in general State and district-wide assessments, with appropriate accommodations, where necessary; and (3) develop guidelines for participation in alternative assessments for those children who cannot participate in such general State and district-wide assessments. Consolidates funding and public participation requirements. Revises requirements for State advisory panels and their duties. Repeals requirements for three-year State plans. (Sec. 203) Revises LEA and SEA eligibility and maintenance of effort requirements, with specified exceptions. Allows specified activities, regardless of certain excess cost and noncommingling of funds requirements, including: (1) incidental benefits to non-disabled students; (2) simultaneous services on a space-available basis to non-IDEA-eligible children with disabilities protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); (3) a coordinated services system that links education, health, and social welfare services, systems, and entities to improve educational and transitional results for all children and their families; and (4) a school-based improvement plan. Revises requirements for LEA involvement with a State's Comprehensive System of Personnel Development. (Sec. 204) Revises and consolidates specified requirements for State and local administration of evaluations, reevaluations, individualized education programs (IEPs), and educational placements. Revises IEP content to: (1) focus on measurable annual objectives; and (2) emphasize ensuring that each child, as appropriate, has the opportunity to progress in the general curriculum, and to participate with nondisabled children in various environments. Requires consideration of transition services needs: (1) for all students with disabilities beginning at age 14 (or younger, under specified circumstances); (2) under the applicable components of the IEP; and (3) in light of the student's participation in the general curriculum. Provides for transfer of rights at the age of majority. (Sec. 205) Repeals certain IDEA provisions relating to Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) State agencies. (Sec. 206) Revises procedural safeguards, including provisions for written notices to parents. Requires States to make mediation available to parents of children with disabilities in disputes with LEAs on any matter regarding the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a child or the provision of free appropriate public education. Permits the transfer of parental rights to a student with disabilities upon reaching the age of majority under State law. Requires the State to have procedures for appointing the parent or another person to represent the student's interests if, under State law, such a student is determined not to have the ability to provide informed consent. (Sec. 207) Revises requirements for: (1) withholding of payments to non-compliant States and judicial review of such determinations; (2) rulemaking on compliance and eligibility; (3) evaluation and program information; (4) preschool grants; and (5) payments. (Sec. 209) Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct studies and evaluations to assess the effectiveness of efforts to provide free appropriate public education and early intervention services, including assessing the placement of children with disabilities by disability category; and (2) conduct a longitudinal study that measure the educational and transitional services provided to and results achieved by children with disabilities under IDEA. Title III: Systems Change - Establishes a program to promote systems change to improve educational and transitional services and results for children with disabilities. Authorizes competitive grants to SEAs, in partnership with LEAs and other interested individuals, agencies, and organizations, to improve such services and results on a system-wide basis. Allows grant recipients to collaborate in systems change activities with those in other States, through joint arrangements with institutions of higher education and sharing of staff and consultants. Requires coordination with this program of activities under titles IV and V. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 302) Extends authorities and authorizations of appropriations relating to centers and services to meet special needs of individuals with disabilities, including regional centers for the deaf. Title IV: Research and Personnel Preparation - Establishes a new program (in part by consolidating certain current activities) for improving early intervention, educational, and transitional services and results for children with disabilities through coordinated research and personnel preparation. (Consolidates current part D personnel preparation provisions and current part E research provisions.) (Sec. 401) Authorizes research and innovation grants and contracts for: (1) new knowledge production in learning styles, instructional approaches, behavior management, assessment tools, assistive technology, program accountability and personnel preparation models; (2) integration of research and practice, through demonstration and dissemination of successful practice; and (3) improvement in the use of professional knowledge by teachers, parents, and others in their classrooms and other learning settings. Authorizes personnel preparation grants and contracts in the areas of: (1) high incidence disabilities, such as learning disabilities, mental retardation, and behavior disordered groups; (2) leadership preparation; (3) low-incidence disabilities, such as sensory impairment, multiple disabilities, and severe disabling conditions; and (4) projects of national significance. (Sec. 402) Makes conforming amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965, Goals 2000: Educate America Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. (Sec. 403) Extends the authorization of appropriations for training personnel for the education of individuals with disabilities. Title V: Technical Assistance, Support, and Dissemination of Information - Establishes a new program (in part by consolidating certain current activities) for improving early intervention, educational, and transitional services and results for children with disabilities through coordinated technical assistance, support, and dissemination of information. (Sec. 501) Authorizes grants and contracts for: (1) parent training and information centers and community programs; (2) coordinated technical assistance, support, and dissemination; and (3) technology and media activities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 502) Makes conforming amendments to IDEA and the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act. (Sec. 503) Extends various authorities and authorizations of appropriations. Title VI: Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities - Revises the program for infants and toddlers with disabilities, with respect to: (1) encouraging States to expand opportunities for infants and toddlers with disabilities who are at risk of having substantial developmental delays if early intervention services are not provided; (2) continuing eligibility; (3) statewide system requirements; (4) the individualized family service plan; (5) allocation and use of funds; (6) procedural safeguards; (7) State Interagency Coordinating Council duties; and (8) Federal Interagency Coordinating Council (FICC) membership and duties. (Sec. 615) Directs the FICC to convene a panel of experts to develop recommendations for a model definition of developmental delay. Allows the use of funds for referring at risk infants and toddlers, in those States not currently serving them, to other IDEA services. Permits planning for transition to preschool services to begin up to six months before the child's third birthday, if parents and agencies agree. (Sec. 616) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1996
Commends the men and women who have served or are presently serving in the American Foreign Service and honors those who have given their lives in the line of duty. Designates the first Friday in May 1996 as American Foreign Service Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1996
Establishes the Nicodemus National Historic Site in Nicodemus, Kansas. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) provide technical assistance for the preservation of historic structures, the maintenance of the cultural landscape, and local preservation planning; and (2) acquire certain real property in connection with the Site. Directs the Secretary to: (1) prepare a general management plan for the Site; and (2) submit a copy of the plan to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 December 1995
Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1995 - Amends Federal natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety transportation law to revise the exclusion from the meaning of the term "transporting gas" (thus from coverage by such law) of the gathering of gas in a rural area outside a populated, non-rural area to specified locations outside the limits of any incorporated or unincorporated city, town, or village. Extends coverage, however, to the movement of gas through regulated lines, regardless of location. (Sec. 4) Repeals the mandate that Federal minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities to include a requirement that all individuals responsible for the operation and maintenance of pipeline facilities be tested for their qualifications. Requires only that they be qualified. Requires such qualifications to address the ability to recognize and react to abnormal operating conditions that may indicate a dangerous situation or a condition exceeding design limits. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, in prescribing minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities, to: (1) consider compliance costs and any comments and recommendations received; (2) prepare a risk assessment document assessing costs and benefits under such standards; and (3) submit each such document to either the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee or the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, as appropriate. Requires such committees, serving as peer review panels, to evaluate and report to the Secretary on such documents. Directs the Secretary to review such evaluations and certify that the incremental benefits of a standard will likely justify its incremental costs. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend the application of a standard during an emergency. Requires a report from the Secretary to the Congress on the implementation of the risk assessment requirements of this section. Directs the Secretary, to the extent appropriate and practicable, to update incorporated industry standards that have been adopted as part of the Federal pipeline safety regulatory program. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to establish risk management demonstration projects under which owners and operators of gas pipeline and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities voluntarily demonstrate applications of risk management. Authorizes the Secretary, during a demonstration project, to waive the applicability of all or a portion of safety standards that would otherwise apply. Outlines demonstration project requirements. (Sec. 6) Eliminates the application of certain inspection and maintenance requirements to persons who transport gas or hazardous liquids. Repeals the requirement of biennial pipeline facility inspections (leaving their frequency to the Secretary's discretion). (Sec. 7) Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations that establish criteria by which operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities and gathering lines shall identify each such facility or line that crosses waters where a substantial likelihood of commercial navigation exists. (Currently, such requirement applies to all navigable waters, regardless of such likelihood.) Requires the Secretary, when identifying an area as unusually sensitive to environmental damage if there is a hazardous liquid pipeline accident, to consider including locations that are critical to drinking water, as well as critical wetlands, national parks, wilderness and wildlife preservation areas, wild and scenic rivers, and critical habitat areas for threatened or endangered species. Repeals the mandate to consider earthquake and landslide zones, freshwater lakes, rivers and waterways, and river deltas and other areas subject to soil erosion or subsidence from flooding. (Sec. 8) Authorizes the Secretary to adopt industry accepted performance standards for the performance of excess flow valves used to protect lines in a natural gas distribution system. (Sec. 9) Repeals the requirement that the Secretary promote the adoption of measures to improve the safety of customer-owned natural gas service lines. (Sec. 10) Redesignates the one-call notification system as the underground facility damage prevention program. Repeals the requirement for criminal penalties in regulations establishing a one-call notification system with respect to the safety of pipeline facilities. (Sec. 11) Requires the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee and the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee to serve as peer review committees. Deems such service to be in compliance with the requirements of other applicable Federal statutes. Requires committee members to be experienced in risk management. Requires at least one of the individuals selected for each committee from the natural gas or hazardous liquid industry and from the general public to have education, background, or experience in risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis. Requires the Secretary, when presenting each committee each standard proposed for transporting gas and hazardous liquid and for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities, to include a risk assessment document and other supporting analyses. Requires each committee to meet with the Secretary at least four times (currently, twice) annually. (Sec. 12) Requires each owner or operator of a natural gas pipeline facility to provide a program for educating the public on the use of an underground facility damage prevention program prior to excavation. Repeals the requirement that persons transporting gas conduct public education programs. (Sec. 13) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into grants and other cooperative agreements with any State, local government, or private entity to carry out pipeline safety programs, including the development, improvement, and promotion of "one-call" damage prevention programs, research, risk assessment, and mapping. (Sec. 14) Deems owners and operators of pipeline facilities who participate in risk management demonstration projects to be in compliance with safety standards or regulatory requirements prescribed under such project. (Sec. 15) Subjects to civil and criminal penalties any person who knowingly and willfully excavates and subsequently damages a pipeline facility and does not report such damage promptly to the operator of the pipeline facility and other appropriate authorities. (Sec. 16) Changes from annual to biennial certain required reports from the Secretary to the Congress concerning gas and hazardous liquid transportation safety requirements. (Sec. 17) Directs the Secretary to make available to the appropriate official of each State the land use recommendations contained in the special report entitled "Pipelines and Public Safety." Requires the evaluation and implementation of recommendations contained in such report. (Sec. 18) Directs the Secretary to analyze and report to the Congress on the assessment of pipeline safety user fees based solely on mileage and the Secretary's determinations with respect to such assessment. (Sec. 19) Prohibits any person from excavating for unauthorized disposal (dumping) of solid waste within the right-of-way of an interstate gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility. (Sec. 20) Authorizes the Secretary to conduct promotional activities relating to prevention of damage to gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. (Sec. 22) Extends and increases annually through FY 1999 the authorization of appropriations for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs and activities carried out through the Department of Transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 December 1995
Continues existing average fuel economy standards for passenger and non-passenger automobiles until such standards are specifically amended or changed by law.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1995
Antimicrobial Pesticide Registration Reform Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to exclude: (1) bacteria from the definition of "fungus"; and (2) liquid chemical sterilant products for use on a critical or semi-critical medical or dental device from the definition of "pesticide." Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) coordinate data requirements, test protocols, timetables, and standards of review and reduce burdens and redundancy caused to the registrant, whenever data in support of a pesticide registration is requested by one or more State or Federal agencies; and (2) develop a process to identify and assist in alleviating future disparities between Federal and State data requirements. Provides, with respect to the labeling of an antimicrobial pesticide product, that: (1) a registrant may modify the labeling to include relevant information on the product's efficacy, composition, or container or other characteristics unrelated to a pesticidal claim or activity; (2) such labeling shall not be false or misleading or in conflict with statements required as a condition of registration and be substantiated upon request; (3) modifications shall be subject to a notification and approval process; and (4) different cautionary statements for use dilutions may be included in the labeling upon approval of the Administrator. Directs the Administrator, to the maximum extent practicable, to identify and evaluate changes to the process for registration of antimicrobial pesticides that will reduce current time periods for review. Details rulemaking requirements regarding the review of such pesticides. Requires an annual report to the Congress on measures taken to effect such changes. Exempts from applicability of certain FIFRA storage, disposal, transportation, and container requirements household, industrial, or institutional antimicrobial products that are not subject to regulation under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, unless the Administrator determines that their application is necessary to prevent an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1995
Uniformed Services Medicare Subvention Demonstration Project Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly establish a demonstration project (project) to provide the Department of Defense (DOD) with reimbursement, under provisions of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, for health services provided through DOD to certain Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries. Requires the project to be conducted in one or more regions in which the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) has been implemented. Allows such project to be conducted for up to two years. Requires such Secretaries to jointly submit to the Congress a first annual report and a final report containing specified information concerning project participants and such project's effects on military medical care access, readiness, and training. Directs the HHS Secretary to make monthly payments to DOD from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund (HHS trust funds) representing appropriate reimbursement amounts. Provides for the determination of such amounts. Directs such Secretaries to jointly: (1) establish a base level of TRICARE coverage required in a geographic region for eligibility under the project; (2) determine baseline costs of such care and coverage; and (3) establish upper reimbursement limits. Directs the Secretary of Defense to waive the enrollment fee for individuals enrolled in a TRICARE program participating in the project. Establishes in the Treasury the Medicare Subvention Fund (Fund) for providing payments to the HHS Secretary for reimbursement of the HHS trust funds and for the payment of all expenses related to the participation of Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries in excess of the base level established under this Act, as well as administrative expenses. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 and 1998 for deposit into the Fund to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1995
Condemns the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Extends condolences to his family and to all the people of Israel. Expresses admiration for his historic contributions and support for the government of Acting Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Reaffirms a commitment to the process of building a just and lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors. Provides for the adjournment of the Senate as a further mark of respect for Rabin.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1995
Directs the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration to prepare a revised edition of the Senate Election Law Guidebook to be printed as a Senate document.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1995
American Jobs and Manufacturing Preservation Act of 1995 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include imported property income of a controlled foreign corporation or related person as foreign base company income. Defines imported property income as income from: (1) manufacturing, producing, growing, or extracting imported property; (2) the sale, exchange, or other disposition of imported property; or (3) the lease, rental, or licensing of imported property. Requires the separate application of the limitation on the foreign tax credit on imported property income. Applies the look-thru rules in the case of controlled foreign corporations to such income.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1995
Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Implementation Act of 1995 - Declares it to be U.S. policy that: (1) Jerusalem remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic religious group are protected; (2) Jerusalem be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and (3) the U.S. Embassy in Israel be relocated to Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. States that not more than 50 percent of the funds appropriated for FY 1999 to the Department of State for "Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad" may be obligated in the fiscal year until the Secretary of State determines, and reports to the Congress, that the Embassy has opened. Makes specified amounts of such funds available until expended in certain fiscal years only for construction and other costs associated with relocating the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on: (1) the Department of State's plan to implement this Act; and (2) progress made toward opening the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1995
Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Implementation Act of 1995 - Declares it to be U.S. policy that: (1) Jerusalem remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic religious group are protected; (2) Jerusalem be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and (3) the U.S. Embassy in Israel be relocated to Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. States that not more than 50 percent of the funds appropriated for FY 1999 to the Department of State for "Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad" may be obligated in the fiscal year until the Secretary of State determines, and reports to the Congress, that the Embassy has opened. Makes specified amounts of such funds available until expended in certain fiscal years only for construction and other costs associated with relocating the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on: (1) the Department of State's plan to implement this Act; and (2) progress made toward opening the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
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