United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Medicare Physician Regulatory Relief Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) prohibit the denial of physician claims because of patient failure to complete Medicare secondary payer questionnaires; (2) prohibit carriers from using extrapolation to recover the amounts they reimbursed physicians for claims for which Medicare disallows payment if the physician requests that each such claim be individually identified; (3) prohibit the imposition of specified user fees on physicians; (4) require consideration of physician comments in annual carrier performance reviews; (5) allow individuals (including physicians) to file administrative appeals when they have suffered damages as a result of the failure of a carrier to carry out Medicare policies; and (6) require review of medical necessity denials by physicians in the same medical specialty as the physician providing the service. Amends the Medicare and Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) programs to permit the reimbursement of a patient's regular physician for services provided by another physician who covers for the regular physician under contractual arrangements. Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to repeal the peer review requirement for certain surgical procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1991
Omnibus Adoption Act of 1991 - Title I: National Advisory Council on Adoption - Establishes the National Advisory Council on Adoption (the Council), to be appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Terminates such Council after four years. Title II: Adoption Data Collection System - Directs the Secretary of HHS to: (1) report to the Congress, within 30 days, on the status of the implementation of the adoption data collection system required under specified provisions of the Social Security Act, including specific assurances relating to such system; (2) report monthly to the Congress on the progress made in implementing such system; and (3) consult with the Council in developing regulations to carry out such reporting requirements and assurances. Title III: Adoption Education Programs - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish a program of fellowships for graduate study in social work, in innovative programs concerning the effects of adoption on the adopted children, their adoptive families, and their biological parents who make an adoption plan. Directs the Secretary of Education to award up to 50 such fellowships. Sets forth provisions for student selection procedures, stipends, payments to institutions, fellowship conditions, consultation with the Council, and an authorization of appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Secretary of Education, within one year after enactment of this Act, to make grants to States to carry out adoption education programs. Sets forth provisions for grants amounts, applications and agreements, program guidelines, consultation with the Council, and an authorization of appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Title IV: Adoption Benefits for Federal Employees and Military Personnel - Amends Federal law relating to Federal employees to allow their sick leave (including advance sick leave) to be used for purposes relating to the adoption of a child. Includes prenatal and maternal benefits (other than those relating to a surrogate parenting arrangement) for the biological mother of an adoptive child among the types of benefits which may be provided under Federal employee benefits plans. Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish minimum standards for this type of benefits, in accordance with specified guidelines. Amends Federal law relating to members of the uniformed services to require establishment of a program to reimburse them for expenses they incur for prenatal and maternal care provided to the biological mother of a child they legally adopt. Limits such reimbursement to care provided on or after the date on which the member notifies the appropriate administering Secretary. Prohibits such reimbursement for expenses incurred in carrying out a surrogate parenting arrangement. Includes prenatal care among types of authorized care for military dependents. Includes care for preexisting conditions among the types of authorized care for adopted children of uniformed service members. Defines adopted child, for purposes of Federal law relating to members of the uniformed services, as a child with respect to whom a written plan of adoption has been entered into pursuant to the laws of the State in which the child resides. Directs OPM and the Secretary of Defense to coordinate their development of regulations and guidelines to carry out their responsibilities under this title, and to consult with the Council in such development. Title V: Adoption Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to establish a refundable tax credit for certain amounts of adoption expenses, for taxpayers at certain income levels. Title VI: Maternal Health Certificates Program - Directs the Secretary of HHS, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, to establish a program to provide maternal health certificates for eligible pregnant women to use to cover expenses incurred in receiving services at a maternal and housing services facility. Bases eligibility on an individual's having an annual individual income of not greater than 175 percent of the applicable official poverty line income. Determines such income without taking account of: (1) the income of any parent or guardian of the individual; or (2) the income of an estranged spouse who has been living apart from the woman for at least six months. Prohibits finding an individual ineligible for such program solely on the grounds that they do not receive aid under the State plan for aid for families with dependent children (AFDC) under the Social Security Act. Sets limits on the amount of expenses which such program certificates may cover. Directs the Secretary of HHS to consult with the Council in developing regulations for such program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994 for such maternal health certificates program. Title VII: Rehabilitation Grants for Maternity Housing and Services Facilities - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out a program to make grants to eligible nonprofit entities for rehabilitation of existing structures for use as facilities to provide housing and services to pregnant women. Sets forth provisions for such grant program authority, applications, limitations on numbers and amounts of grants, and reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary of HUD to consult with the Council in issuing such program regulations. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1992 through 1994. Title VIII: Sense of Congress Regarding Changes in State Adoption Laws - Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State should adopt and enforce specified types of adoption laws, rules, or regulations, which include provisions for: (1) disclosure of all relevant information, including background information (except actual identification of the child or biological parents), to the prospective adoptive parent, with criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure, (2) pre-placement investigations of the prospective adoptive parent; (3) disclosure to the court of all costs incurred by or on behalf of each party to the adoption; (4) guaranteed adequate legal representation for the biological mother; (5) filing of a petition for adoption with the appropriate court within one year after placement; and (6) coverage by the health plan of the adoptive parent of pregnancy and childbirth expenses (excluding surrogate parenting arrangements) for the child and the biological mother, or for any dependent child of the plan enrollee, and plan coverage of pre-existing conditions of adopted children.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991
Rural Tourism Development Foundation Act of 1991 - Establishes the Rural Tourism Development Foundation to promote travel and tourism by foreign visitors to rural America. Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to assist the Foundation in the development and promotion of rural tourism. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991
Small Town Environmental Planning Act of 1991 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a small community environmental compliance planning program for facilities that are owned or operated by, or under contract with, a small community, or with respect to which an environmental compliance activity is dependent. Provides for voluntary participation in such program. Requires the Administrator to publish a list of requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Toxic Substances Control Act to be addressed in small community environmental compliance plans. Provides for the annual review of such list. Directs the Administrator to: (1) publish guidelines for small communities or States responsible for the development of such plans; and (2) promulgate regulations setting forth the requirements for submission of such plans. Sets forth plan format requirements. Requires regulations, at a minimum, to: (1) identify areas of environmental regulation where there are significant problems in achieving compliance or noncompliance with implementation schedules under such Acts; and (2) estimate the amount of user fees necessary for the financing of environmental compliance activities at treatment or disposal facilities owned, operated, or under contract with small communities and assess the ability of residents to pay such fees. Directs small communities participating in the program to prepare plans. Authorizes State agencies to prepare plans for small communities without sufficient resources to do so. Sets forth provisions concerning plan approvals and modifications. Requires the Administrator to provide for a mechanism under which a small community may apply for a waiver with respect to regulations issued under the Acts identified by this Act. Permits the Administrator to waive requirements where the small community demonstrates that compliance with regulations is not necessary to protect human health and the environment. Requires the Administrator, as part of the program, to: (1) notify small communities of the regulations through methods providing information to the greatest number of small communities; and (2) implement a technical assistance program to aid small communities in the preparation of plans. Provides for waivers to plan requirements, as necessary, and for the assessment of administrative penalties against facilities failing to meet requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1991
Chinese Student Protection Act of 1991 - Defers enforced departure for certain Chinese student and exchange visitor nationals until January 1, 1994, or July 1, 1994, if the President has not certified to the Congress that conditions in the People's Republic of China permit the safe return of such nationals. Waives the two-year home country residence requirement and authorizes such students to travel abroad and work in the United States. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the adjustment to temporary resident status of certain nationals of the People's Republic of China residing in the United States under student, vocational student, or exchange visitor visas. Waives the two-year home country residence requirement for such persons.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1991
Adoption Assistance and Maternal Certificates Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate grants to ten States to establish demonstration programs to provide maternal health certificates to low-income pregnant females residing or awaiting residence in, or receiving outpatient services from, a maternity home. Requires eligible maternity homes to provide a range of services in accordance with standards promulgated under this Act, including regarding room and board, medical care, and counseling and services concerning health, adoption, education, vocation, or employment. Limits the time period covered and the dollar amounts paid per day. Requires matching funds from a State agency, the home, or both. Prohibits requiring a woman, in order to be eligible for this program, to participate in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program under title IV of the Social Security Act. Authorizes appropriations. Requires that adoption data from private agencies that receive Federal assistance (and voluntarily-released data from private agencies that receive no Federal assistance) be included in an existing system of data collection, under the Social Security Act, relating to adoption and foster care Requires an adoption or foster care agency that receives Federal assistance to disclose, to prospective adoptive and foster parents, information about the history of the child, including: (1) medical history; (2) social background; (3) information about the placement of the child; and (4) any record of abuse or neglect. Makes it unlawful to discriminate against an individual in the making, performance, modification, or termination of an insurance contract (defined as a health or life insurance contract which provides family coverage) on the basis of the fact that a son or daughter of the individual is not a biological child of the individual. Declares it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an employee with respect to a term or condition of any leave benefit on the basis of the fact that a son or daughter is not a biological child of the employee. Defines "son or daughter," for both such insurance and such employment discrimination, to mean a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, a child placed for adoption, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is: (1) under 18 years old; or (2) 18 years old or older and incapable of self care. Allows any person to bring a civil action for equitable relief, damages and interest, and attorney's fees. Amends the Social Security Act to add to the formula, used for determining the amount of payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance, provisions relating to expenditures for recruitment of adoptive parents for a child with special needs. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 to remove provisions terminating, on a specified date, a program for reimbursement for adoption expenses incurred by a member of the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1991
Relinquishes all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the private lands identified by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture as having been conditionally relinquished to the United States under the Forest Reserve Act of 1897 (also known as the "Forest Management Act"), and for which the selection of other rights under that Act or under supplemental legislation was not realized or exercised. Excludes from such quitclaim those lands of national significance. Allows parties aggrieved by such exclusion to file claims against the United States seeking compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991
Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to revise and expand the list of precursor chemicals, including transferring to such list hydriodic acid from the list of essential chemicals. Revises the definition of "regulated transaction" to include transfers of any amount of an essential listed precursor chemical, with exceptions. Requires each regulated person to report to the Attorney General on any regulated transaction involving any quantity of a listed essential chemical. Directs the Attorney General to cooperate with State authorities by providing information regarding regulated transactions in such chemicals that might be useful in the administration of State laws relating to precursor chemicals, controlled substances, and other illegal drugs. Makes it unlawful for any person to engage in a regulated transaction involving a listed precursor chemical or to manufacture, distribute, import, or export such a chemical without a license required under such Act, with exceptions. Requires the Attorney General to establish a program requiring licenses for regulated persons and regulated transactions involving listed precursor chemicals where such requirement will contribute to the achievement of the purposes of such Act and to criminal drug law enforcement. Bars the Attorney General from requiring a regulated person who maintains a record of all regulated transactions or reports of such transactions in accordance with the CSA to be licensed under such Act. Provides for fines and imprisonment as a class D (or, in the case of a willful violation, as a class C) felony for violations of the licensing requirement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that guidelines issued by the Sentencing Commission regarding sentencing for such violations should not be less than five years, nor less than ten years in the case of a willful violation. Requires the Attorney General to provide for the audit and control of listed precursor chemical inventories of persons possessing a license under this Act. Prohibits a person possessing a listed chemical with the intent that it be used in the illegal manufacture of a controlled substance to manage the listed chemical or waste from such manufacture other than as required by regulations issued under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Provides for assessment of costs (of initial cleanup and disposal of the listed chemical and contaminated property and of restoring property damaged by exposure to a listed chemical) and imprisonment for violation of this requirement, in addition to a penalty imposed for the illegal manufacture, possession, or distribution of a listed chemical or toxic residue of a clandestine laboratory. Authorizes the Court to order that all or a portion of the earnings from work performed by a defendant in prison be withheld for payment of such costs. Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to provide that a discharge in bankruptcy does not discharge the debtor from any debt for such costs. Authorizes the Attorney General to direct that assets forfeited in connection with a prosecution under such Act be shared with State agencies that participated in the seizure or cleanup of a contaminated site.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991
AMERICA 2000 Excellence in Education Act - Title I: New American Schools - Authorizes financial assistance for creating New American Schools (NAS) in communities that have been designated AMERICA 2000 Communities (A2Cs). Provides that such NAS shall reflect the best thinking about teaching and learning, employ the highest-quality instructional materials and technologies, and be designed to meet the National Educational Goals as well as the particular needs of their students and communities. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to reserve certain funds for a national program evaluation. Directs the Secretary to allocate the remaining funds among the States (and specified territories) in proportion to their respective numbers of members of Congress. Directs the Governor to nominate A2Cs to create NAS, for at least as many communities as there are members in the State's congressional delegation and at least one community in each congressional district of the State. Requires the Governor's nominations to be based on criteria established by the Secretary on the basis of expert panel advice, including: (1) the community's level of commitment and activity in the A2C initiative; (2) the community's schools' need for new and innovative educational programs; and (3) the quality of their application to the Governor. Sets forth conditions for the Secretary's approval, and for alternative nominations. Directs the Secretary to make NAS grants to selected agencies, organizations, and institutions on behalf of the selected communities. Limits any award to $1,000,000. Encourages grantees to adapt and implement one or more NAS designs developed by research and development teams funded by the NAS Development Corporation. Restricts use of such grant funds to certain special start-up costs associated with the creation and establishment of a NAS. Prohibits the use of such funds for construction or for the grantee's general administrative expenses. Requires each NAS to have obtained necessary State recognition or accreditation and to be fully operating by the start of the 1996-97 school year. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days, to convene an expert panel of educators, representatives of private business, and public representatives to advise on NAS program administration, including criteria for nomination of communities. Directs the Secretary to use reserved funds to conduct a national evaluation of NAS program impact on schools and communities and on education generally. Requires reports to the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Merit Schools - Authorizes appropriations for Merit School awards to reward public and private elementary and secondary schools and faculties that make documented progress in attaining the National Education Goals, particularly the goal of increasing students' mastery of the core academic subjects. Directs the Secretary to allocate specified funds among the States on the same basis as allocations for education of disadvantaged children under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (the ESEA chapter 1 program). Requires Governors to submit State grant applications for a three-year period, which may be followed by an application for a two-year period. Makes specified provisions of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) inapplicable to this title. Specifies State use of funds for administrative costs (five percent) and Merit School awards (95 percent), with at least 20 percent of the latter earmarked for schools that demonstrate exceptional progress in improving students' performance in mathematics and science. Requires each Governor to: (1) establish a State review panel to assist in selection of Merit Schools; (2) submit annual program reports to the Secretary; and (3) apply specified national and State criteria in selecting schools. Requires each Merit School to use its award for activities to further its educational program, including staff bonus payments, college scholarships for secondary school students, special programs, equipment and materials, parental involvement, community outreach, and program replication. Prohibits State or local reduction of other assistance to the Merit School or its local educational agency. Title III: Teachers and School Leaders - Part A: Governor's Academies for Teachers - Directs the Secretary to make a one-time, five-year grant to each State to establish and operate Governor's Academies for Teachers and to recognize outstanding teachers. Requires a Governor to use the State's grant to make competitive awards to the State educational agency (SEA), local education agencies (LEAs), institutions of higher education, and other public and private organizations or consortia, to establish and operate such Academies. Allows such Academies to be operated in cooperation or consortium with those of other States. Requires each Academy to conduct a program of intensive instruction for current elementary and secondary school teachers, during the summer or the school year, focusing on the core academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, history, and geography. Directs the Governor to allocate to each Academy funds for a program of cash awards and recognition to outstanding teachers in the core academic subject or subjects covered by the Academy program. Requires Academies to select such teachers from nominations received from various groups. Limits any such award to $5,000, but allows the recipient to choose how to use it. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Governors' Academies for School Leaders - Directs the Secretary to make a one-time, five-year grant to each State to establish and operate a Governor's Academy for School Leaders. Requires the Governor to make competitive awards to the SEA, LEAs, institutions of higher education, and other public and private organizations or consortia, to establish and operate such an Academy. Allows such academies to be operated in cooperation or consortium with those of other States. Directs each Academy to carry out specified activities relating to school leadership training and development. Authorizes appropriations. Part C: Alternative Certification of Teachers and Principals - Authorizes appropriations to assist States to develop and implement alternative certification requirements to improve the supply of well-qualified elementary and secondary school teachers and principals. Makes certain GEPA provisions inapplicable to this part. Requires States to use such funds to support programs, projects, or activities that develop and implement new, or expand and improve existing, alternative teacher and principal certification requirements. Authorizes States to do so directly, through contracts, or through subgrants to LEAs, intermediate educational agencies, institutions of higher education, or consortia of such agencies. Title IV: Educational Reform and Flexibility - Part A: Educational Reform Through Flexibility and Accountability - Amends the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to establish a program for flexibility and accountability in education and related services. Directs the Secretary to assist projects for elementary and secondary schools and other service providers to improve achievement of all students and other participants, but particularly disadvantaged individuals, by authorizing waivers by which Governors, SEAs, LEAs, and other service providers can improve performance of schools and programs by increasing their flexibility in use of resources while holding them accountable for achieving educational gains. Authorizes the Secretary, in support of such projects, to waive, with specified exceptions, any statutory or regulatory requirement applicable to any program administered by the Department of Education that may impede a school or service provider from meeting the special needs of such students and other individuals. Authorizes other Federal agency heads, with the Secretary's agreement, to make similar waivers for their programs. Limits duration of projects and associated waivers to a maximum of three years; but authorizes the Secretary to extend a project and any associated waivers for an additional two years if it is making substantial progress in meeting its goals. Requires the Secretary to terminate a project and its associated waivers at any time if acceptable progress is not being made. Grants other Federal agency heads authority to determine extension or termination of their waivers. Grants the Secretary exclusive authority to extend or terminate a project. Requires each project that involves elementary or secondary schools to include participation of an SEA and at least one LEA and two schools. Requires, to the extent possible, project participation by each grade and academic program, including ESEA chapter 1 programs, in a participating school. Prohibits unreasonable concentration of available resources in participating schools, if fewer than all schools in an LEA participate. Requires each project that does not involve elementary or secondary schools to involve at least two programs, at least one of which is administered by the Secretary. Prohibits waiver of requirements: (1) in awarding new competitive grants to agencies participating in such projects; (2) relating to maintenance of effort, comparability, or equitable participation of private school students; and (3) under specified provisions of GEPA, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Sets forth requirements for reports and evaluations. Provides for the budget neutrality of such program. Part B: Amendments to Chapter 2 - Amends chapter 2 (Federal, State, and Local Partnership for Educational Improvement) of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA chapter 2) to provide that part A funding for educational reform and improvement shall be divided equally between State and local programs (50 percent to each, while the current allocation formula requires at least 80 percent to go to local programs and not more than 20 percent to State programs). Reduces the portions of such State-level funds which: (1) may be used for State administration (from 25 to ten percent); and (2) must be used for the effective schools programs (from 20 to eight percent). Revises State application requirements to require approval by the Governor before submission to the Secretary. Includes educational choice programs among local targeted assistance programs of SEAs and LEAs. Includes, among authorized activities of such programs, any activities or expenses directly related to planning, implementing, operating, evaluating, and disseminating information about the LEA's educational choice program, including expenses of parents and children resulting from their program participation. Title V: Parental Choice of Schools - Part A: Findings - Sets forth congressional findings relating to parental choice in education. Part B: Parental Choice and Chapter 1 - Amends chapter 1 Financal Assistance to Meet Special Educational Needs of Children) of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA chapter 1) to provide for chapter 1 services for children participating in educational choice programs. Requires the LEA to provide such services in the form of: (1) supplementary compensatory education services; or (2) if that is not feasible or efficient, payment to parents of a per-child share of the LEA's basic chapter 1 grant. Allows parents to use such funds only for: (1) purchase of supplementary compensatory education services that meet the child's special educational needs from any elementary or secondary school, or any other public or private agency, organization, or institution that the LEA designates; and/or (2) transportation costs related to the child's participation in the choice program. Excludes such payments from the gross income of parents for Federal income tax purposes. Allows an LEA to use chapter 1 funds for the additional transportation costs of children receiving chapter 1 services who are in an educational choice program. Requires that LEAs with educational choice programs explain to parents of chapter 1 participating children: (1) the availability of compensatory education services under various available options; and (2) options available under the educational choice program and the chapter 1 program. Part C: Assistance for Parental Choice Programs - Directs the Secretary to make one-year grants to LEAs that carry out educational choice programs. Authorizes appropriations. Makes an LEA eligible for such a grant if it: (1) will carry out an educational choice program during the year for which assistance is sought; and (2) carried out such a program during the preceding year. Defines an educational choice program, as one adopted by a State or an LEA under which: (1) parents select the school, including private schools, in which their children will be enrolled; and (2) sufficient financial support is provided to enable a significant number or percentage of parents to enroll their children in a variety of schools and educational programs, including private schools. Requires LEAs to use grant funds only for student educational services and parental involvement activities in addition to those that would otherwise be provided from State or local funds. Prohibits use of grant funds for LEA general administrative expenses. Part D: Parental Choice Programs of National Significance - Directs the Secretary to make five-year grants to SEAs, LEAs, and other agencies, institutions, and organizations to conduct and demonstrate nationally significant model programs of educational choice. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, in any fiscal year for which funds are available to make new awards, to announce the approaches to educational choice that will be considered in the competition for such funding. Requires grant recipients to use such funds only for activities directly related to planning, implementing, operating and evaluating, and disseminating information about, the educational choice demonstration program. Allows such funds to be used to meet expenses of parents and children resulting from their participation in such program. Title VI: National Assessment of Educational Progress - Amends the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to extend through FY 1996 the authorization of appropriations for the National Center for Educational Statistics and its programs, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Requires the NAEP to collect representative data on a national and State basis for those States that choose to participate. Repeals a requirement for data collection on a regional basis. Requires the NAEP to collect and report data: (1) at least once every four years in the core academic areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and (2) annually on students at specified ages and in specified grade levels. (Current law varies such deadlines for the different academic subjects and sets a biennial deadline for the age and grade levels.) Removes a confidentiality restriction on NAEP information with respect to individual schools. Removes a prohibition against use of NAEP test items and data to rank, compare, or otherwise evaluate individual students, schools, or school districts. Requires States which choose to enter NAEP agreements to conduct such Assessment at the school level for all schools in the State sample and coordinate within the State, subject to a minimum State contribution of $100,000. Directs the Secretary to pay the State a certain amount for the costs of conducting such Assessment in excess of the minimum State contribution. Title VII: National Commission on Time, Study, Learning, and Teaching - Establishes a National Education Commission on Time, Study, Learning, and Teaching (the Commission). Requires the Commission to examine the quality and adequacy of the study and learning time of U.S. elementary and secondary students in an era when World Class Standards of achievement need to be met, including issues regarding: (1) the length of the school day and year; (2) the extent and role of homework; (3) how time is currently being used for academic subjects (especially the five core subjects of English, mathematics, science, history, and geography); (4) year-round professional opportunities for teachers; and (5) the use of school facilities for extended learning programs. Directs the Commission, within one year after it concludes its first meeting, to subject a final report to the Congress and the President. Requires such report, in addition to the primary issues, to analyze and make recommendations about: (1) use of incentives for students to increase educational achievement in available instructional time; (2) how children spend time outside school; and (3) if appropriate, a model plan for adopting a longer academic day and year for U.S. elementary and secondary schools by the end of this decade, including mechanisms to assist in such transition. Terminates the Commission 90 days after it submits its final report. Authorizes appropriations. Title VIII: Regional Literacy Resource Centers - Amends the Adult Education Act to direct the Secretary to make grants or contracts for operation of regional literacy resource centers in appropriate regions. Makes eligible for such grants or contracts SEAs, LEAs, State literacy offices, volunteer-organizations, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, or other nonprofit entities. Provides that the Federal share of activity costs shall decline over a five-year period from a maximum of 80 percent to 60 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Title IX: General Provisions - Sets forth definitions for this Act. Makes specified provisions of Federal law permitting consolidation of grants to the Insular Areas inapplicable to funds received by such an area under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991
Federal Lands and Families Protection Act - Title I: Establishing Long Term Program - Provides for the establishment of a long-term Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) program to protect old growth forest, the Northern Spotted Owl, and other old growth associated species on areas of ecologically-significant old growth forest on State and Federal lands in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California selected for the Old Growth Forest Reserve to be established by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior under this Act. Requires the Secretaries to: (1) submit the applicable land management plans for implementing such program for appropriate consultation required under the Endangered Species Act; and (2) review previously applied administrative constraints on resource uses on lands under their jurisdiction to minimize the impact on pre-existing land uses resulting from the establishment of the Reserve. Bars further acquisition of mineral and mining rights in the Reserve. Permits roads, structures, and motorized and nonmotorized recreation and access, and hunting and fishing in the Reserve where consistent with the requirements of this Act and other applicable law. Permits timber harvesting in certain limited circumstances and only if not proscribed for any Reserve area in the applicable land management plan. Title II: Ensuring the Effectiveness of Federal Land Planning - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to provide additional guidance on the implementation, amendment, and revision of plans for Federal lands necessary to ensure the effectiveness of Federal land planning and that the applicable land management plans under title I of this Act and the protections which they afford the Old Growth Forest Reserve and associated species are implemented effectively. Title III: Providing An Interim Program - Provides for an interim program until the Reserve is established and applicable land management plans are adopted under title I of this Act with the same purposes as the long-term program, and for the provision of an adequate supply of timber on FS and BLM lands. Directs the Secretaries to establish an Old Growth Research Program (OGRP) to better understand and manage old growth forest ecosystems. Restricts timber sales on road construction, and mineral leasing on certain FS and BLM lands, including those within a certain radius of a Northern Spotted Owl nest site. Requires environmental impact statements on, and appropriate consultation for, the timber harvested from FS and BLM lands to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. Provides for judicial review of agency decisions or actions under this title. Directs the Secretaries to publish in the Federal Register timber harvesting guidelines for Reserve areas based on OGRP work. Title IV: Economic Adjustment - Establishes the Timber Economic Adjustment Commission to provide Federal economic adjustment grants and benefit payments to the communities economically dependent on the timber on FS and BLM lands and the dislocated workers adversely affected by enactment of this Act. Outlines specific eligibility criteria that such communities and workers must meet in order to receive such assistance. Requires the Secretaries to notify the Commission of any Federal action likely to have a substantial impact on employment. Requires a final Commission report to the Congress and applicable State Governors on economic conditions and employment in affected areas. Title V: Miscellaneous - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991
Tropical Forest Consumer Information and Protection Act of 1991 - Prohibits manufacturing or distributing any tropical wood or tropical wood product unless: (1) it bears a label or mark indicating the country in which the wood was grown and the name of the wood; or (2) that information is provided to the buyer at the point of sale. Requires sellers through a catalog or communications media to disclose the country of origin and the name of the wood. Mandates: (1) an annual report on tropical hardwood importation; (2) a program to assess the progress of tropical countries in managing and conserving their forests; and (3) an annual report on the status of forests in each tropical country. Declares that: (1) policies, incentives, and education encouraging the sustainable management of tropical forests and labeling of country of origin should be supported; and (2) it should be U.S. policy to pursue adoption of such measures pursuant to its activities within the International Tropical Timber Organization. Provides for civil monetary penalties for violation of the labeling requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1991
Rural Primary Care Act of 1991 - Title I: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable personal income tax credit for any physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who provides primary health services to residents of a rural health professional shortage area and who does not have certain connections with the National Health Service Corps loan repayment or scholarship programs. Excludes from gross income any payments made on behalf of a taxpayer by the National Health Service Corps loan repayment program. Amends provisions relating to election to expense certain depreciable business assets to specify a higher maximum aggregate cost to be taken into account for property used by a physician in providing primary health services in a rural health professional shortage area. Mandates a study to determine the present number of, and future need for, physician and nonphysician primary care providers in medically underserved urban areas. Requires that the determination form the basis for a study of the feasibility of extending the tax credit provided under this title. Title II: Public Health Service Provisions - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions relating to area health education centers. Requires set-aside of a minimum amount of funds currently authorized for preventive health and health services block grants for the county health department grants mandated by this title. Requires grants to county health departments for preventive health services in areas within the county that are not urbanized. Requires such grants to be used to: (1) provide immunization services; (2) improve maternal and infant health; (3) reduce adolescent pregnancy and improve reproductive health; and (4) provide other appropriate services. Title III: State Health Service Corps Demonstration Projects - State Health Service Corps Demonstration Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a State Health Service Corps Demonstration Project. Directs the Secretary to make grants under the Project to up to ten States for the Federal share of training and employment of physician and nonphysician providers serving health professional shortage areas. Requires a recipient State to enter into an agreement with an area health education center for the planning, development, and operation of a program of training and employing such providers. Sets forth the responsibilities of a center. Authorizes appropriations. Requires each State carrying out a Project to establish a State Health Service Corps Scholarship Program involving a period of service in the service area or on the clinical staff of an area health education center or a medical school in return for a scholarship. Authorizes the official heading the State agency administering the Program to contract with an educational institution for the payment of scholarship or loan amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1991
Urges the Government of Iran to extend to the Baha'i community the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements to which Iran is a party. Calls upon the President to continue to: (1) urge the Government of Iran to emancipate the Baha'i community by granting such rights; (2) emphasize that the United States regards the human rights practices of such Government, particularly its treatment of the Baha'is and other religious minorities, as a significant element in the development of U.S.-Iranian relations; and (3) cooperate with other governments and international organizations in efforts to protect the religious rights of the Baha'is and other minorities in Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1991
Condemns the murder of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and others in the bomb explosion on May 21, 1991. Expresses regret over the deaths of Gandhi and other victims of election violence in India. Offers condolences to Gandhi's widow and children and to the people of India. Stands in solidarity with the Indian people in their effort to sustain the most successful democratic tradition in the developing world.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1991
Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to enter into 30-year agreements with private contractors for the construction, ownership, and operation of specified waste cleanup and modernization facilities that are: (1) provided at the contractors' expense; and (2) near a Federal site under the Secretary's jurisdiction. Prescribes agreement guidelines. Precludes the Secretary from entering into an agreement without prior submission to the Congress of a needs justification with respect to the engagement of a private contractor, and a demonstration that the proposed agreement is in the best economic interests of the United States. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the benefits of the agreements entered into, and recommendations for possible extension of the agreement authority.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1991
Washington Outer Coast National Marine Sanctuary Act of 1991 - Designates a specified area adjacent to the coast of Washington (State) as the Washington Outer Coast National Marine Sanctuary, to be managed with regulations enforced under all applicable specified provisions of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. Requires the Secretary of Commerce, after providing for adequate public comment, to: (1) prepare a final designation document and comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary; and (2) implement regulations to achieve the policy and purposes of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972. Prohibits leasing, exploration, development, or production of minerals or hydrocarbons within the Sanctuary. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1991
Enterprise Zone Jobs-Creation Act of 1991 - Title I: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every four years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of any wages earned as do not exceed a specified amount. Phases out such credit. Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property. Allows a taxpayer a deduction on the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Amends Federal law to revise the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety. Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. Title V: Repeal of Title VII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 - Repeals title VII (enterprise zone development) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the personal exemption for a dependent child who has not attained age 18 from $2,000 to $4,000. Provides for rounding inflation adjustments to tax tables to the nearest multiple of $10 (currently rounded to the next lowest multiple of $50).
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1991
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Authorization Act of 1991 - Title I: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations to carry out the following Acts: (1) the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966; (2) the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act; and (3) the National Driver Register Act of 1982. Authorizes appropriations for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) highway safety programs and research and development. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to expend sums authorized as necessary to conduct research on intelligent vehicle highway systems. Directs the Secretary to develop a strategic plan for such research. Specifies that such research should place particular emphasis on aspects of those systems that will increase safety and should identify any aspects that might degrade safety. Title II: Requirements for Vehicles - Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue a final rule amending Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 214 to establish performance criteria for improved occupant head injury protection in side impacts; and (2) issue a final rule to extend the applicability of such Standard to multipurpose passenger vehicles. Directs the Secretary to enter into arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to study means of establishing a method for calculating a uniform numerical rating, or series of ratings, enabling consumers to compare meaningfully the crashworthiness data for passenger cars and multipurpose passenger vehicles. Prescribes the contents of such study. Requires that a report of such study be submitted to the Secretary and the Congress within 19 months after the date of enactment of this Act. Prescribes schedules for: (1) obtaining public comment on implementation of National Academy recommendations; (2) determining whether an objectively based system of comparative crashworthiness data can be established; (3) promulgating a rule to establish such a system, if the determination is positive; (4) submitting the proposed rule for review to specified congressional committees; (5) waiting 60 calendar days after such submission, unless both committees notify the Secretary that they have no objection to the rule; and (6) establishing (by rule) procedures requiring auto dealers to make comparative crashworthiness data available to prospective purchasers. Amends the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 to direct the Secretary to establish: (1) a schedule for use in ensuring compliance with each Federal motor vehicle safety standard established under such Act which the Secretary determines is capable of being tested; (2) written guidelines and procedures for conducting investigations regarding noncompliance with the regulations issued under such Act; and (3) criteria for the determination and imposition of civil penalties for such noncompliance. Directs the Secretary to complete a rulemaking to: (1) review the classification system for vehicles with a gross weight under 10,000 pounds to determine if such vehicles should be reclassified; and (2) consider the establishment of a standard to protect against unreasonable risk of rollover of passenger cars and multipurpose passenger vehicles. Mandates that a specified percentage of certain authorized appropriations be used to disseminate consumer information regarding retrofitting passenger cars with lap and shoulder rear seatbelts. Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to direct the Secretary to promulgate regulations establishing passenger motor vehicle bumper impact labeling requirements. Directs the Secretary to submit periodic reports to the Congress detailing efforts to ensure that State motor vehicle inspection programs are implemented in the most effective manner possible. Requires reports to: (1) specify Federal manpower allocations for support of State safety inspection efforts, and allocations and expenditures of Federal funds on such efforts; (2) describe the extent and effect of coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency regarding required safety and emissions inspections; (3) list the States that do not have periodic safety inspection programs meeting Federal requirements; and (4) include any data furnished by the States that operate such safety inspection programs concerning the relative effectiveness of their particular programs. Directs the Secretary to establish a program requiring airbags for: (1) Federal passenger vehicles, beginning with passenger cars acquired after September 30, 1991; and (2) all passenger cars and light trucks, buses, and multipurpose passenger vehicles, phased in according to a specified schedule, starting with passenger cars manufactured on and after September 1, 1995. Directs the Secretary to amend the bumper standard published in the Code of Federal Regulations to ensure that such standard is identical to that in effect on January 1, 1982. Requires the Secretary to conduct a rulemaking to increase the safety of child booster seats used in passenger cars. Amends the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 to authorize the Secretary to direct the manufacturer of a defective motor vehicle or motor vehicle part to send a second notification if the Secretary determines that the first notification sent by such manufacturer has not resulted in an adequate number of vehicles (or items of equipment) being returned for remedy. Requires any lessor who receives notification of a defective motor vehicle part pertaining to any leased motor vehicle to send a copy of such notice to the lessee. Provides that a dealer may sell or lease a motor vehicle (or motor vehicle item) for which a safety defect notice has been received only if: (1) the defect or failure to comply has been remedied before delivery under sale or lease; or (2) an enforcement order has been set aside or restrained. Directs the Secretary to conduct a rulemaking on the use of darkened windshields and window glass in passenger automobiles. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States which adopt and implement seatbelt and child restraint programs which include specified measures to foster the increased use of seatbelts and the correct use of child restraint systems. Sets conditions for the use of such grants by such States. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking to: (1) consider methods of reducing head injuries in passenger automobiles and multipurpose passenger vehicles from contact with vehicle interior components by revising the appropriate Federal motor vehicle safety standards; and (2) consider the establishment of a standard to minimize pedestrian death and injury attributable to vehicle components. Directs the Secretary to complete a rulemaking to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 to authorize passenger cars and multipurpose passenger vehicles to be equipped with daytime running lights. Directs the Secretary to conduct a rulemaking to consider: (1) whether to adopt a Federal motor vehicle safety standard requiring antilock brake systems for all passenger cars and multipurpose passenger vehicles manufactured after September 1, 1996; (2) the establishment of a standard requiring that such cars and vehicles be equipped with heads-up displays capable of projecting speed, fuel, and other instrument readings on the lower part of the windshield (enabling the driver to check such readings without looking down); and (3) whether to amend any existing standard applicable to seatbelts for modification of seatbelt design to take into account the needs of children and short adults. Requires that standards established under this Act be in accordance with applicable provisions of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, including provisions requiring that Federal motor vehicle safety standards be practicable, meet the need for motor vehicle safety, and be stated in objective terms. Title III: Highway Traffic Safety - Impaired Driving Prevention Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary to make basic and supplemental grants to States which adopt and implement impaired driving enforcement programs to prevent impaired driving. Sets forth: (1) eligibility requirements for basic and supplemental grants (such as State mandatory blood alcohol concentration testing programs and standards, programs for preventing drivers under age 21 from obtaining alcoholic beverages, drugged driving prevention laws, and unlawful open container and alcohol consumption programs); (2) a waiver provision of basic grant eligibility requirements for reduced alcohol-related fatalities within a State; and (3) the Federal share payable for such grants. Authorizes appropriations. Sets deadlines for the issuance of regulations by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Horn of Africa Recovery and Food Security Act of 1991 - Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan). Requires the President to consult with other nations, armed and unarmed parties in the Horn of Africa, and the United Nations Secretary General to bring about negotiated settlements of the wars in the region. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations to take specified steps with respect to peace and the implementation of an arms embargo in the region; (2) play an active role in other fora in pressing for settlements to such wars; and (3) participate in regional and international peace consultations. Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to the equitable distribution of relief and rehabilitation aid in the Horn of Africa. Declares that development assistance in the Horn of Africa should be targeted to aid the poor. States that U.S. Government aid institutions should seek to: (1) build upon the capabilities and experiences of organizations active in local grassroots relief, rehabilitation, and development efforts; (2) consult with such organizations and incorporate their views into the policymaking process; and (3) support the expansion of their activities without compromising their private nature. Declares that current legislative provisions that restrict assistance to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan should be retained until concrete steps toward peace, democracy, and human rights are achieved. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize emergency assistance for relief and rehabilitation in the Horn of Africa. Makes available a percentage of assistance for management support activities of the Agency for International Development. Authorizes the President to transfer funds from unobligated economic support fund and military assistance to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Pornography Victims' Compensation Act of 1991 - Creates a cause of action against a producer, distributor, exhibitor, or seller of sexually explicit material by a victim of a rape, sexual assault, or sexual crime or by the estate, guardian, or survivors of any such victim. Conditions the recovery of damages on proof by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) the victim was a victim of a rape, sexual assault, or a sexual crime; (2) the material is sexually explicit in nature and was a proximate cause of the offense; (3) the defendant is a producer or distributor of the material or exhibited or sold it to the sexual offender and should have known that the material was sexually explicit; and (4) the sale or transfer of the material affects interstate or foreign commerce. Sets forth criteria by which the finder of fact may reasonably infer that such material was a proximate cause of the offense, including unusual similarities between the acts described or depicted and the actual offense, testimony of the offender, and testimony by experts who have examined the offender that such material influenced or incited the commission of the offense. Authorizes the award of damages for economic loss, compensation for pain and suffering, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs to prevailing plaintiffs. Directs the finder of fact, in determining whether the sexually explicit material was a proximate cause of the offense by influencing or inciting the offender to commit the offense, to consider all relevant information, including: (1) possession by the sexual offender of the material produced, distributed, exhibited, or sold by the defendant; (2) whether such material depicts or describes violent behavior or acts, or children or child-like subjects participating in sexual activity; and (3) whether any language or matter contained in such material would tend to promote violent sexual acts or the sexual abuse of children or others. Sets a statute of limitations of six years from the date the right of action first accrued or, in the case of a legal disability, not later than three years after the termination of such disability.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Heinz Elder Life Program Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to modify the definition of "information and referral" to include services for older individuals that: (1) assess their problems and capacities; (2) link older individuals to available opportunities and needed services; and (3) benefit the entire older community. Elevates the status of the Commissioner on Aging to Assistant Secretary. Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish a Commission to study existing reporting requirements and related programs and make legislative and regulatory recommendations to achieve specified objectives. Includes as functions of the Assistant Secretary the: (1) establishment of information and assistance services as priority services for the aged and aging; and (2) development of guidelines for choosing legal assistance providers and developers. Requires area agencies on aging: (1) to establish an informal grievance procedure for older individuals who are dissatisfied with, or denied, services with further appeal to the appropriate area agency on aging; and (2) in providing legal assistance, to give priority to legal problems related to income, health care, long-term care, nutrition, housing and utilities, defense of guardianship, abuse and neglect, and age discrimination. Requires State plans to also provide priority legal assistance in such areas. Requires technical assistance and training to State long-term care ombudsman programs to include assistance in recruiting and retaining volunteers for ombudsman programs by establishing a national program for recruitment efforts. Requires State agencies on aging to encourage adoption of memoranda of understanding between legal assistance providers and long-term care ombudsman providers that will ensure that the providers will coordinate services to the greatest extent possible. Requires the program for the prevention of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older individuals to require that State agencies make all reasonable efforts to resolve any conflicts with other public agencies with respect to the confidentiality of information in complaints and other reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of older individuals by entering into memoranda of understanding that limit information disclosure according to current guidelines. Establishes a program to provide transportation services to older individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Makes legal assistance agencies eligible to participate in demonstration projects for developmental disabilities and mental illness established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act and under the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986. Reauthorizes and extends such demonstration projects through FY 1993. Adds a new section to provide for demonstration projects to determine the feasibility of using the aging network as the infrastructure for a comprehensive long-term care system. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish a program of grants to State agencies to support and assist older individuals by providing legal assistance in areas such as living wills, durable powers of attorney, and other life planning areas. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Microenterprise Development Act of 1991 - Authorizes the President, acting through the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID), to provide assistance for microenterprises in developing countries. Directs AID to establish specified criteria for determining the financial intermediaries that will receive such assistance. Requires a significant portion of such assistance to be used to support direct credit assistance by, and the institutional development of, financial intermediaries with a primary emphasis on assisting people living in absolute poverty, especially women. Outlines funding sources for such assistance. Permits the President, in order to generate local currencies for providing such assistance, to use development and economic support fund assistance to provide assistance to developing countries on a loan basis repayable in local currencies. Sets forth minimum levels of assistance to be provided under this Act. Requires the Administrator to develop a monitoring system to evaluate AID's microenterprise development activities.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Reaffirms the commitment of the Congress embodied in the National Cancer Act of 1971, specifically that: (1) cancer research should be a national priority to address the scope of the cancer epidemic; (2) the public and private sectors should join forces to provide the necessary fiscal and human resources to establish, maintain, and strengthen the National Cancer Program; and (3) this public-private partnership should strive to provide effective treatment to every American with cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Designates May 22, 1991, as National Desert Storm Reservists Day to commemorate the accomplishments of the men and women of the reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces who proudly served the United States during Operation Desert Storm.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Administration should: (1) act as expeditiously as possible to extend agricultural export credit guarantees to the Soviet Union if they assure an equitable and humanitarian distribution of such credits to their people; (2) provide for the extension of equivalent credit tranches which may be extended contingent upon the acceptable distribution and/or repayment of previous credits; and (3) use such programs to aid the export of agricultural commodities experiencing serious price depression, such as wheat, corn, soybeans, and dairy products.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the accession of Taiwan to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is in the best interest of the United States and of the world trading system and should be achieved in an expeditious manner; and (2) the United States should take the necessary steps to assure such country's membership in the GATT.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Amends the Federal criminal code to impose criminal sanctions for copyright violations involving the reproduction or distribution, during any 180-day period, of specified numbers of copies infringing the copyright in one or more computer programs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Amends the Star Schools Program Assistance Act (the Act, which provides for demonstration grants to eligible telecommunications partnerships for telecommunications facilities and equipment, instructional programming, and technical assistance, to improve instruction in mathematics, science, foreign languages, and other subjects such as vocational education) to broaden the program to include improvement of instruction in literacy skills and service to underserved populations including the disadvantaged, illiterate, limited English proficient, and disabled. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to award program grants for a two-year period, and allows such grants to be renewed for additional two-year periods in accordance with continuing eligibility provisions added by this Act. Extends through FY 1998 the authorization of appropriations for Star Schools Program Assistance. Eliminates certain limitations on the period and aggregate amount of program grants to any one eligible telecommunications partnership (while retaining a maximum limit on the amount of such a grant for any one fiscal year). Requires that, of the funds available to the Secretary in any fiscal year under this Act, at least: (1) 25 percent be used for the cost of instructional programming; and (2) 25 percent be used for telecommunications facilities and equipment. Makes 75 percent the maximum limit on the Federal share of program costs (rather than the exact amount of such share). Requires the Department of Education and any other Federal agency operating a Star Schools program to coordinate assisted activities under such programs. Adds to the list of eligible telecommunications partnerships under the Act private (as well as public) entities with experience and expertise in planning and operating a telecommunications network, including those involved in telecommunications through cable, telephone, or computer. Directs the Secretary to permit applicants for funds under the Act and applicants for funds under the Classrooms of the Future Act to submit a single application for such assistance. Revises application requirements to include provisions for: (1) training of instructors in using the facilities and equipment and in integrating programs into class curriculum; (2) assurances that instructional and training programming will be designed in consultation with professionals who are expert in the subject matter and grade level; (3) specific inclusion of students who are disadvantaged, limited English proficient, disabled, or illiterate among traditionally underserved students who will benefit; (4) use of existing telecommunications equipment, where available, in benefitting traditionally underserved students; (5) coordination of funds under the Act with those received under the Classrooms of the Future Act (if a single application is submitted for both); and (6) descriptions of activities and services. Includes as examples of activities or services to be assisted: (1) making programs accessible to individuals with disabilities through mechanisms such as closed captioning, as much as possible; (2) linking networks together around issues of national importance such as elections; (3) sharing curriculum materials between networks; (4) providing teacher and student support services; (5) incorporating community resources such as libraries and museums into instructional programs; and (6) providing teacher training to early childhood development and Head Start teachers and staff. Requires that a telecommunications company (such as a cable, telephone, computer, or public or private television network) will participate in the partnership and will donate in-kind equipment for telecommunications linkages (under grant application requirements). Provides that describing how traditionally underserved students will participate in the benefits of the assisted telecommunications facilities, equipment, technical assistance, and programming is required only of applicants who have not previously received funds under the Act. Sets forth provisions for continuing eligibility. Requires, for grant renewal, that an eligible telecommunications partnership demonstrate in their application that they will both continue to provide services in the subject areas and geographic areas previously assisted and use all such grant funds to provide expanded services by: (1) increasing the number of students, schools, or school districts served; (2) providing new courses of instruction; or (3) serving new populations of underserved individuals, including children or adults who are disadvantaged, limited English proficient, disabled, illiterate, lacking high school diplomas or equivalents, or incarcerated individuals, or older individuals. Requires renewed grant funds to supplement and not supplant services provided previously. Allows renewed grant funds to be used to provide programs for adults at times other than the school day, in order to maximize the use of telecommunications facilities and equipment. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to reduce the rights and protections provided to individuals with disabilities under the Americans With Disabilities Act or the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Driftnet Moratorium Enforcement Act of 1991 - Directs the President to certify to the Congress each country (defining "country" as the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Taiwan) that: (1) has not notified the United States that it will cease large-scale driftnet fishing by a certain date; and (2) has not, by that date, ceased such fishing. Deems certification that a country has failed to give notice of its intent to cease driftnet fishing to be a certification under the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (allowing banning importation of fish products). Directs the President, if a country fails to cease driftnet fishing by the deadline, to prohibit the bringing or importation of fish and fish products from the country. Authorizes the President to impose additional economic sanctions (including duties, import bans, or restrictions, and fees or restrictions on services) if: (1) the U.S. ban on fish imports is insufficient to stop large-scale driftnet fishing; (2) the country engages in such fishing after the deadline; or (3) a country retaliates as a result of a U.S. ban on fish imports. Continues the fish import ban or additional sanctions until the country completely ceases large-scale driftnet fishing.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Cancer Screening Incentive Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit for expenditures (not paid by insurance or otherwise) incurred by the taxpayer for qualified cancer screening tests.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1991
World Summit for Children Implementation Act of 1991 - Provides for assistance in implementing the plan of action adopted by the World Summit for Children. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the U.S. Government should commit to increasing participation in the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children under the Child Nutrition Act (the WIC program) by 20 percent per year in FY 1992 through 1996, to reach full participation by the end of FY 1996; and (2) specified amounts should be appropriated for the WIC program in FY 1992 and 1993 to reach such full participation goal. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the commitment to provide full funding for the Head Start Program, contained in the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1990, should be implemented in order that the goal of full participation of all eligible three- to five- year-old children can be reached by FY 1994; and (2) specified amounts should be authorized for such funding in FY 1992 through 1994. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to undertake a Children's Vaccine Initiative. Requires that the Director of the National Vaccine Program: (1) plan and coordinate the Initiative; and (2) ensure that the Public Health Service conducts vaccine research, production, and delivery activities under the Initiative in collaboration with non-governmental institutions and with other Federal agencies to ensure the full use of U.S. scientific and industrial capacity to prevent infectious disease. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for contributions to the United Nations Children's Fund for activities to promote child health and other assistance programs for children (to carry out specified provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961). Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (the Act) to authorize appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for special health needs of children and mothers under the Child Survival Fund. Requires that specified amounts of funds under various provisions for FY 1992 and 1993 be reserved only for such specified child survival activities. Expresses the sense of the Congress that authorization, in such amounts as may be required, should be granted to the President to exercise the (Public Law 480) debt authority with respect to least developed countries that are pursuing reforms to promote long-term economic development (as provided in specified provisions of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, as amended by the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990). Amends the Act to establish a Vitamin A Deficiency Program. Reserves for such Program specified amounts in FY 1992 and 1993 from funds for development assistance for agriculture, rural development, and nutrition. Requires that specified amounts from certain funds authorized for health-related activities under the Act in FY 1992 and 1993 be reserved for replicable community-based comprehensive reproductive health service programs that broaden other health programs by including strategies that specifically address women's reproductive health needs. Sets forth examples of such strategies, as well as congressional intent that such programs be planned and designed in consultation and participation with those whose needs they serve, and congressional encouragement for using international private voluntary organizations in building such programs. Amends the Act to direct the President, in carrying out provisions for development assistance for health-related activities to promote, encourage, and undertake activities relating to research on, and treatment and control of, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in developing countries. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993, for such purpose, to the International AIDS Prevention and Control Fund. Provides that such amounts shall be in addition to other amounts available for such purpose. Amends the Act to reserve specified amounts in FY 1992 and 1993, from funds for development assistance for education and under the provisions of the Act, for international basic education, including early childhood education, primary education, teacher training, other support activities, and adult literacy training. Expresses the sense of the Congress that at least specified minimum amounts should be appropriated for the Migration and Refugee Assistance account, and that at least specified minimum portions of such funds should be reserved for programs of refugee assistance overseas (in addition to amounts available for programs for Soviet, Eastern European, and other refugees resettling in Israel). Amends the Act to replace provisions for certain disadvantaged children in Asia with provisions for assistance to children in exceptionally difficult circumstances. Includes among such children street children, AIDS orphans, other orphaned and abandoned children, and children displaced by armed conflict, poverty, famine, or other disasters. Reserves specified minimum portions of certain funds under the Act in FY 1992 and 1993 for assistance for such children. Requires that such assistance be made available in accordance with policies and general authorities under certain disaster assistance provisions. Directs the President to report annually to the Congress on U.S. contributions to the achievement of the goals of the World Summit for Children, including U.S. efforts to achieve such goals in the United States and in other countries, with an analysis of past, current, and planned funding levels.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1991
Declares that the Senate expresses its: (1) regret that Senator Pryor's illness will require his absence from the Senate Chamber; and (2) heartfelt wishes to him for a speedy and complete recovery, and that he return to his duties, serving the people of Arkansas, in the near future.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1991
United States One-Dollar Coin Act of 1991 - Amends Federal currency law to prescribe the color and features (including features to aid the visually handicapped) of one-dollar coins. Mandates that the obverse side of the one-dollar coin have a design recognizing the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus. Requires such coins to be placed in circulation within 18 months of enactment of this Act. Mandates that the seigniorage of the new one-dollar coins be used to offset the reverse seigniorage resulting from the destruction of Susan B. Anthony dollar coins in Government storage.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1991
Day Care Provider Tax Simplification Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a revised allocation formula for determining deductions allowable to home day care providers for the business use of their homes.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1991
Recycled Paper National Market Enhancement Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study for purposes of: (1) determining in what manner and to what extent recycled paper can be better utilized by the United States; (2) determining the costs likely to be incurred in recycling and the most effective way of minimizing such costs; and (3) conducting a domestic market analysis of recycled paper. Requires the Secretary to establish a program requiring Federal departments to purchase and use a certain percentage of recycled paper and paper products in their operations. Directs Federal departments to assure that recycled paper is purchased under each contract for the procurement of 10,000 pounds or more of paper. Provides that any decision not to use recycled paper shall be based on a determination that such items: (1) are not reasonably available within a reasonable period of time; (2) fail to meet performance standards; or (3) are available only at an unreasonable price (one which exceeds by more than ten percent the price of nonrecycled paper). Phases in the recycled paper procurement requirement to require 50 percent of all paper procured by Federal departments to be recycled paper after FY 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1991
Transportation Improvement Act of 1991 - Title I: Completion of Interstate System and Interstate Substitute Highway Projects - Amends Federal-aid highway provisions to approve the Federal interstate highway cost estimate for 1991. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to apportion funds for FY 1993 through 1998 for expenditure on the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Interstate System through 1998. Makes States that have not completed construction of their portions of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways by the end of FY 1995 ineligible to receive or apply for Federal-aid highway funds until such construction is completed. Extends the authorization of appropriations for Interstate Substitute highway projects through FY 1995. Title II: Obligation Authority - Limits total obligations for Federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs during FY 1992 through 1996. Exempts specified obligations (including discretionary interstate 4-R and bridge projects) from such limits. Sets forth provisions concerning the distribution, limitation, and redistribution of obligation authorities. Title III: Authorization of Appropriations Out of the Highway Trust Fund - Authorizes and allocates appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund through FY 1996 for: (1) the Interstate 4R program; (2) the Federal-aid primary, secondary, and urban systems; (3) bridge replacement and rehabilitation; (4) space elimination of hazards; (5) railroad highway crossings; (6) forest, public lands, and park highways; (7) Indian reservation roads; (8) access highways to public recreation areas; (9) highway safety programs; (10) highway research projects; and (11) highway use tax evasion projects. Authorizes additional appropriations for Interstate 4R discretionary projects and for the discretionary bridge program. Subjects funds appropriated for FY 1991 through 1993 for off-system bridges to the existing limitation on expenditures for bridges on public roads. Authorizes appropriations for the following State apportionment bonuses: (1) the high level of effort bonus (based on a percentage of the amount by which State per capita highway spending exceeds the national average); (2) the adverse weather bonus (based on a percentage of the amount by which the number of days of temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit and non-frost free days exceeds the national average); (3) the Federal lands bonus (based on the amount of Federal lands within a State); and (4) the low density bonus (based on a State's population density). Limits total bonuses to a State to ten percent of the State's annual apportionment. Title IV: Program Flexibility - Authorizes States, upon notification of the Secretary, to transfer up to 30 percent of: (1) their apportionments for specified highway projects between project categories; and (2) their apportionments for Federal-aid urban systems to activities eligible for assistance under the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964. Subjects additional transfers to the Secretary's approval. Limits total transfers from a category to 50 percent of the apportionment. Permits States, subject to the Secretary's approval and under certain conditions, to transfer funds apportioned pursuant to this Act for the completion of the System of Interstate and Defense Highways to other specified categories. Title V: Additional Provisions - Continues the current Federal-aid primary apportionment formula through FY 1996. Revises provisions concerning Federal participation in toll facilities to remove limitations on the number and types of facilities in which the Federal Government may participate. Permits tolls on a facility to be continued indefinitely, without sanction imposed by the Secretary, if tolls are used for eligible purposes. Authorizes appropriations for the right-of-way revolving fund. Permits States, in any case where sufficient land exists within rights-of-way of a Federal-aid highway to accommodate rail or nonhighway public mass transit facilities and where such accommodation can be accomplished without impairing automotive safety or highway improvements, to make such lands available to a mass transit authority or company. Federal Rural Tourism and Recreational Development Act of 1991 - Declares it a national goal to provide and improve safe access to public lands to encourage the development of travel and tourism opportunities in support of rural area economic development. Authorizes the use of funds under the Federal lands highways program for purposes such as: (1) transportation planning for tourism and recreational travel; (2) interpretive signage and development of public road facilities for areas of historical, archeological, cultural, and scenic interests; (3) construction and reconstruction of roadside rest areas; and (4) other appropriate facilities as determined by the Secretary. Specifies that funds available for forest development roads and trails may be made available for such purposes, as well. Requires the Secretary to authorize Federal aid highway projects for pedestrian and bicycle facilities to encourage alternative modes of transportation for tourism and recreational purposes. Authorizes the motorized use of trails and walkways, subject to State and local regulations. (Under current law, motorized vehicles are prohibited except for maintenance purposes and, when snow conditions and State or local regulations permit, snowmobiles.) Directs the Secretary to: (1) annually allocate sums authorized to be appropriated for access highways to public recreation areas on certain lakes; and (2) establish and carry out a tourism and recreational travel technical assistance program in non-urbanized areas. Makes funds available from forest and public lands highways funds for recreational travel and tourism projects. Requires each State using funds provided in this Act to have a multipurpose land use statewide driving and recreation travel plan. Permits Federal participation in the construction, refurbishment, and operation (currently, construction) of ferry boats. Requires increases in the Federal share payable on highway projects if a State certifies to the Secretary that it has developed comprehensive plans with mandatory land use and transportation elements.
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