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United States · Official source
2,765 records where Sen. Graham, Bob [D-FL] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1997
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for an increase in update for FY 1998 and 1999 for certain hospitals with a high proportion of Medicare patients.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Public Right to Know About Toxic Chemical Use Title II: Community Right to Know and Pollution Prevention Planning Right-To-Know-More and Pollution Prevention Act of 1997 - Title I: Public Right to Know About Toxic Chemical Use - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish thresholds for toxic chemicals that may present significant risks to children's health or the environment. Includes lead, mercury, dioxin, cadmium, chromium and other specified bioaccumulative chemicals as substances subject to such thresholds. Makes dioxin and specified bioaccumulative chemicals subject to toxic chemical release form reporting requirements under EPCRA. Authorizes citizen suits against the Administrator for failures to establish thresholds under this Act. Expands information to be included in toxic chemical release forms, including the number of employees and potential exposures at reporting facilities as well as materials accounting information. Requires the Administrator to take certain actions to: (1) standardize data and obtain and integrate information regarding toxic chemicals; (2) consolidate all annual reporting requirements of Federal environmental laws for small businesses and entities subject to toxic chemical release reporting; and (3) provide the public a single point of contact for access to information gathered by the Administrator. Requires disclosures on the uses of toxic chemicals by reporting facilities. Permits the withholding of portions of materials accounting information reported by covered facilities for purposes of protecting trade secrets. Title II: Community Right to Know and Pollution Prevention Planning - Removes a requirement that a facility be in a specified Standard Industrial Classification Code to be considered a "covered" facility subject to toxic chemical release reporting requirements, thus requiring all facilities with more than ten employees that exceed threshold amounts to report. Deletes provisions authorizing the Administrator to apply reporting requirements to certain additional facilities. Authorizes the Administrator to exempt a facility or category of facilities from such requirements if reporting is inconsistent with efficient operation of EPCRA. Requires covered facilities to prepare pollution prevention plans, summaries, and progress reports. Requires summaries and reports to be submitted to States and the Administrator and makes such documents publicly available. Authorizes technical assistance for pollution prevention planning. Establishes criteria for State programs to carry out pollution prevention requirements. Requires the Administrator to establish a small business pollution prevention compliance and technical assistance program. Authorizes the Administrator to publish a pollution prevention opportunity assessment manual and checklist for any commercial sector and allows small businesses in the relevant sector to complete the checklist in lieu of submitting a plan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Amends specified Federal trade laws to replace the term "most-favored-nation" status or treatment with the term "normal trade relations."
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1997
Medicare Hospice Benefit Amendments of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to hospice care to: (1) restructure the hospice care benefit period; (2) cover any other item or service which is specified in the plan and for which payment may otherwise be made under Medicare; (3) permit contracting with independent physicians or physician groups for hospice care services; (4) allow waiver of certain staffing requirements for hospice care programs in non-urbanized areas; (5) define coverage denial, with respect to the limitation on the liability of beneficiaries and providers, to mean a determination that an individual is not terminally ill; and (6) extend the period for physician certification of an individual's terminal illness.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1997
Breast-Cancer Research Stamp Act - Requires the U.S. Postal Service to establish a special rate of postage for first-class mail that is one cent higher than the regular rate as an alternative that patrons may use voluntarily to contribute to funding for breast-cancer research. Authorizes the Service to design and sell special stamps. Requires the Service to pay amounts attributable (additional revenues minus costs) to the one-cent differential to the Department of Health and Human Services at least twice a year.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1997
Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Coverage Act of 1997 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for the receipt of Medicare benefits through enrollment in a program of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE) program for certain eligible individuals; and (2) establish PACE as a Medicaid State option. Provides for demonstration projects under Medicare allowing PACE providers to be for-profit private entities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress on the quality and cost of providing PACE program services under Medicare and Medicaid under the amendments made by this Act. Directs the Physician Payment Review Commission and the Prospective Payment Review Commission to make annual recommendations on the methodology and level of payments made to PACE providers and on the treatment of private, for-profit entities as PACE providers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1997
Urges the Clinton Administration to: (1) enforce the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act of 1992 with respect to the acquisition by Iran of C-802 model cruise missiles; or (2) carry out an alternative policy that would address such acquisition in a similar manner.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1997
Federal Judgeship Act of 1997 - Directs the President to make appointments to specified additional permanent and temporary judgeships in various U.S. circuit courts of appeal and district courts. Includes the Northern Mariana Islands within the ninth judicial circuit. Establishes a judicial district for the Northern Mariana Islands, with court to be held at Saipan. Provides for the appointment of one district judge, who shall also serve as a bankruptcy judge, for the Northern Mariana Islands. Authorizes the Chief Judge of the ninth circuit to assign judges of courts of record of the Northern Mariana Islands or Guam, including a judge of the District Court of Guam who is appointed by the President or a recalled senior judge of such court, to serve temporarily as a judge in the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands when necessary. Grants such designated judges the powers of a magistrate judge. Repeals provisions: (1) authorizing the judges of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands to be summoned to judicial conferences; (2) directing that such a judge who retires from office after meeting specified age and service requirements receive an annuity equal to the salary received at the time of retirement during the remainder of the judge's lifetime; and (3) granting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit exclusive jurisdiction of an appeal from an interlocutory order of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands. Modifies the definition of: (1) "judicial official" under provisions concerning annuities for survivors of certain judicial officials of the United States to exclude a judge of the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands; (2) "States" to include the Northern Mariana Islands within such definition for purposes of diversity jurisdiction; and (3) "felony" to cover specified offenses (under provisions regarding civil commitment and rehabilitation of narcotics addicts) in violation of Northern Mariana Islands law. Permits any U.S. attorney appointed for the Northern Mariana Islands to serve at the same time as U.S. attorney in another judicial district. Allows individuals from the Northern Mariana Islands to serve as magistrates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1997
Designates the Federal building and U.S. courthouse located at 300 Northeast First Avenue, Miami, Florida, as the David W. Dyer Federal Courthouse.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Children's Health Insurance Provides Security (CHIPS) Act of 1997 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to offer an enhanced Federal match to States with Medicaid plans that provide for: (1) coverage of pregnant women, infants, and children under age six with family income between 133 and 150 percent of the poverty line, as well as older children with family income between 100 and 150 percent of the poverty line; and (2) continuous eligibility for a 12-month period for children under any age the State specifies (up to age 19). Gives States the option to: (1) expand Medicaid eligibility to 150 percent of the poverty line for children over one year of age; and (2) extend coverage to all children under age 19. Prohibits any employer which elects to make employer health insurance contributions on behalf of an employee (or dependent) from conditioning, or varying, such contributions with respect to any such individual by reason of his or her eligibility for Medicaid. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for grants to States, localities, and nonprofit entities to promote outreach efforts to enroll eligible children under Medicaid and related programs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Transportation Empowerment Act - Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for the interstate maintenance program, the interstate and Indian reservation bridge program, the Federal lands highways program, public lands highways, parkways and park roads, highway safety programs, and highway safety research and development, through FY 2002. Amends provisions regarding transferability of funds to authorize a State, upon determining that excess funds have been made available to the State for a purpose, to transfer the excess funds to, and use such funds for, any surface transportation purpose (including mass transit and rail) in the State. Specifies that if the Secretary determines that a State has transferred funds to a purpose that is not a surface transportation purpose, the amount of the improperly transferred funds shall be deducted from any amount the State would otherwise receive from HTF for the next fiscal year. Repeals provisions regarding the apportionment formula for resurfacing, restoring, rehabilitating, and reconstructing the Interstate System and sets forth provisions regarding the apportionment of funds to the States for interstate maintenance. Authorizes appropriations for motor carrier safety grants. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to: (1) extend until October 1, 2002, the availability of HTF funds for authorized expenditures; (2) set a core programs financing rate for gasoline, special motor fuels, and diesel fuel; (3) establish in HTF an Infrastructure Special Assistance Fund; and (4) provide for the return of excess tax receipts to States for transportation purposes. Terminates transfers to HTF's Mass Transit Account on and after October 1, 1997. (Sec. 6) Grants congressional consent to States to enter into interstate compacts to: (1) promote the continuity, quality, and safety of the Interstate System; (2) develop programs to promote and fund surface transportation safety initiatives and establish surface transportation safety standards; (3) conduct long-term planning for surface transportation infrastructure in, and develop design and construction standards for such infrastructure to be used by, participating States; and (4) establish surface transportation infrastructure banks. Sets forth provisions regarding financing and authority of infrastructure banks. (Sec. 7) Requires the head of each executive agency to: (1) assist State and local governments in efforts to privatize the transportation infrastructure assets of the State and local governments; and (2) approve requests from State and local governments to privatize transportation infrastructure assets and waive or modify any condition relating to the original Federal program that funded the asset. Sets forth provisions regarding criteria for approval of requests, the lack of a State or local obligation to repay Federal grant funds for assets that are privatized, the use of proceeds from the privatization of a transportation infrastructure asset, and cost recovery. (Sec. 8) Amends the IRC to reduce taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel, and special fuels funding HTF. (Sec. 9) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 10) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress describing necessary technical and conforming amendments. (Sec. 11) Makes this Act contingent upon certification by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget that this Act is deficit neutral and meets specified requirements regarding discretionary spending limits.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1997
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1997 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to such retirement pay is based solely on age, length of service, or both. Reduces the retirement pay of individuals receiving both types of pay by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Imported Meat Labeling Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require country of origin (where an animal is raised before slaughter) labeling: (1) of imported meat, or U.S.-prepared meat food products containing imported meat; or (2) originating from an animal imported into the United States for slaughter.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to qualified State tuition programs to, among other things: (1) provide for the exclusion from gross income of distributions used for qualified higher education expenses; (2) include room and board in the definition of qualified higher education expenses; and (3) permit income from redeemed U.S. savings bonds to be used to contribute, without including such income in gross income (subject to income limitations), to a qualified State tuition program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1997
Congratulates the residents of Jerusalem and the people of Israel on the 30th anniversary of the reunification of that city. Calls upon the President and the Secretary of State to publicly affirm as a matter of U.S. policy that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel. Urges U.S. officials to refrain from any actions that contradict U.S. law on this subject.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1997
Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to authorize appropriations to carry out this Act. Establishes a program to support communities in the development and implementation of comprehensive, long-term plans and programs to prevent and treat substance abuse among youth, including grants to coalitions including youth, parents, businesses, the media, schools, organizations serving youth, law enforcement, religious organizations, and other specified types of entities. Authorizes: (1) technical assistance and training; and (2) contracts and cooperative agreements with grant recipients. Establishes the Advisory Commission on Drug-Free Communities. Terminates the Commission five years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1997
Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate a program for the conduct and support of research and training regarding Parkinson's disease. Directs the Director of the National Institutes of Health to provide for coordination of the program among all the national research institutes conducting Parkinson's research. Requires coordination to include the convening of a research planning conference at least once every two years. Provides for each such conference to prepare and submit to certain congressional committees a report concerning the conference. Requires Core Center Grants to encourage the development of innovative multidisciplinary research and provide training concerning Parkinson's, designating each grant recipient as a Morris K. Udall Center for Research on Parkinson's Disease. Establishes a grant program to support investigators with a proven record of excellence and innovation in Parkinson's research and who demonstrate potential for significant breakthroughs in the understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of Parkinson's. Limits the availability of grants for a period not to exceed five years. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1997
Welcomes the efforts of many post-Communist countries to address the status of plundered properties. Urges: (1) countries to return plundered properties to their rightful owners or, as an alternative, to pay just compensation; and (2) post-Communist countries to pass and effectively implement laws that provide for restitution of, or compensation for, plundered property. Calls for: (1) the return of property formerly belonging to Jewish communities as a means of redressing the problems of aging and destitute survivors of the Holocaust; and (2) the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and other countries to remove restrictions which require those whose properties have been wrongfully plundered by Nazi or Communist regimes to reside in or have the citizenship of the country from which they seek restitution or compensation. Calls upon foreign financial institutions, and the states having legal authority over their operation, that possess wrongfully and illegally property confiscated from Holocaust victims, from residents of former Warsaw Pact states who were forbidden by Communist law from obtaining restitution of such property, and from states that were occupied by Nazi, Fascist, or Communist forces, to assist and to cooperate fully with efforts to restore this property to its rightful owners.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to revise the post-eligibility treatment of the income of certain individuals (veterans and related persons) who are institutionalized or receiving home or community-based services under a certain waiver. Requires that any and all payments received under a Department of Veterans Affairs pension or compensation program be taken into account as income, including payments attributable to the recipient's medical expenses or to the recipient's need for aid and attendance, but excluding that part of any augmented benefit attributable to a dependent.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Historic Homeownership Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to a certified historic home which has been substantially rehabilitated and which is owned by the taxpayer and used as his or her principal residence. Allows the credit for such expenditures to be taken by a purchaser of the rehabilitated home. Permits, in lieu of the credit, a historic rehabilitation mortgage credit certificate, which shall be transferred to a lender in exchange for a reduction in the rate of interest on the loan secured by the building.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Commends the University of Florida football team for winning the 1996 Division I collegiate national football championship and requests the President to invite the team to Washington, D.C. for the traditional White House ceremony held for national championship teams.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Declares that it is U.S. policy that the residents of Puerto Rico should be afforded periodically the opportunity freely to express a preference for preserving its current political status or choosing to seek U.S. statehood or separate sovereignty (independence or free association). Requires a referendum on these questions to be held by December 31, 1998. Sets forth specified requirements with respect to the referendum and implementation of its results. Makes funds derived from excise taxes collected on rum imported into the United States and deposited into the treasury of Puerto Rico available for grants to the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico for: (1) costs of conducting the referendum; and (2) voter education.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide penalties against any person who, while engaged in the business of betting or wagering, knowingly uses a communication facility for the transmission or receipt in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers, information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, or a communication that entitles the transmitter or receiver to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers. Provides a smaller penalty for those engaging in such activities who are not in the business of betting or wagering. Provides prohibition exceptions. Authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to enforce against interstate computer service providers regulations prohibiting the interstate or foreign transmission of gambling information. Authorizes injunctive relief against such carriers or providers. Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Federal Government should have extraterritorial jurisdiction over the transmission to or receipt from the United States of gambling information as well as any communication that entitles the transmitter or recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers. Requires a report from the Attorney General to the Congress concerning the enforcement of such gambling regulations and related recommendations and information.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: School Construction Assistance Program Title II: General Provisions Partnership to Rebuild America's Schools Act of 1997 - Title I: School Construction Assistance Program - Part 1: Program Authorized - Establishes a program to provide Federal funds to help States and local school districts finance the repair, renovation, modernization, and construction of their school facilities. (Sec. 104) Makes appropriations and specifies their allocation. Part 2: Grants to States - Provides for allocation of funds for formula grants to States by the Secretary of Education, on a proportional basis similar to that for Basic Grants for disadvantaged students under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) eligible State agencies; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) period for project initiation; (5) selection of localities and projects; (6) State applications; (7) amount of Federal subsidy; (8) separate funds or accounts; (9) prudent investment; and (10) State reports. Part 3: Direct Grants to Local Educational Agencies - Provides for direct grants both formula and competitive) to local educational agencies (LEAs) by the Secretary of Education. (Sec. 121) Makes eligible for grants the LEAs with the largest numbers of children aged five through 17 from families living below the poverty level. Makes LEAs for Hawaii and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ineligible for such grants. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) grantees; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) redistribution of funds; (5) local applications; (6) formula grants; (7) competitive grants; (8) amount of Federal subsidy; (9) separate funds or accounts; (10) prudent investment; and (11) local reports. Title II: General Provisions - Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) technical employees; (2) wage rates; (3) no liability of the Federal Government; and (4) consultation with Secretary of the Treasury by the Secretary of Education.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
Designates the week of May 4, 1997, as National Correctional Officers and Employees Week.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Provides for a specified increase in Federal judicial salaries. Amends the Federal judicial code to: (1) provide for annual judicial cost-of-living adjustments; and (2) base such adjustments upon the Federal General Schedule. Amends Federal law to repeal the requirement that the Congress must vote for judicial cost-of-living adjustments.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Highway Trust Fund Integrity Act of 1997 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to define "revenue constrained fund" (fund) as the budget authority, outlays, and receipts of the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund. States that such fund shall not be: (1) considered part of any discretionary funding category or part of direct spending; or (2) subject to sequestration. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit any House of Representatives or Senate measure that would increase fiscal year budget authority for a fund above an amount made available under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to reduce available fund amounts so as not to exceed the previous year's deposited fund amounts. States that any budgetary offset necessary because of additional spending provided by this Act should not come from surface transportation programs. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report on ensuring the deficit neutrality of the Highway Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1997
Commends the 3,600 students who have been selected to participate in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Senate Youth Program between 1962 and 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1997
Software Export Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify software, whether or not patented, for Foreign Sales Corporation treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Medicare Cancer Clinical Trial Coverage Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration project which provides for payment under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act of routine patient care costs for Medicare beneficiaries with cancer who are enrolled in an approved clinical trial program, while still applying the beneficiary cost sharing provisions of such program to project participants. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the impact on Medicare of covering such costs as well as the cost of extending routine patient care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis other than cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Amends title XI of the Social Security Act (SSA) to repeal the criminal penalty added by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 for the fraudulent disposition of assets in order to obtain Medicaid benefits under SSA title XIX.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1997 - Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund - Establishes in the Treasury the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Specifies that any individual who has a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection shall receive $125,000 from amounts available in the Fund if the individual meets one of the following conditions: (1) has a blood-clotting disorder and was treated with blood-clotting agents between July 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987; (2) is the lawful spouse of such individual or the former lawful spouse and was the lawful spouse of the individual at any time after a date within such period on which the individual was treated; or (3) acquired the HIV infection through perinatal transmission from a parent who is such an individual. Requires that the following conditions be met with respect to such individual: (1) the individual submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services written medical documentation that the individual has an HIV infection; (2) a petition for payment be filed with the Secretary by or on behalf of such individual; and (3) that the Secretary determine that the claim meets the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 105) Specifies that any right under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable. Sets limits regarding the number of claims per victim. (Sec. 106) Prohibits the Secretary from making any payment with respect to any petition filed under this Act unless the petition is filed within three years after the enactment of this Act. Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs - Prohibits a settlement payment from being considered income or resources in determining a class member's eligibility for, or the amount of: (1) medical assistance under the Medicaid program; or (2) benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program. Defines the terms: (1) "class member"; and (2) "settlement payment.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1997
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Public Health Service Act to require any group health plan which provides emergency health services to cover emergency services furnished to a plan participant: (1) without need for any prior authorization; (2) subject to stated exceptions, whether or not the physician or provider is plan participant; and (3) subject to stated exceptions, without regard to any other term or condition of the plan. Defines "emergency medical services" and related terms. Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) to provide for the provision of the same benefits to Medicare and Medicaid plan participants. Provides for the establishment of guidelines by the appropriate Secretaries in order carry out the provisions of this Act. Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish an advisory panel to assist in the development of such guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1997
Designates March of each year as Irish American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1997
ISTEA Integrity Restoration Act - Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for the: (1) National Highway System (NHS); (2) Surface Transportation Program (STP); and (3) Federal Lands Highway Program, including Indian reservation roads, public lands highways, and parkways and park highways. (Sec. 4) Defines "highway funds" as funds apportioned and allocations authorized under this Act for the fiscal year and funds allocated to a State for the preceding fiscal year for Federal-aid highways and highway safety construction. Revises the apportionment of NHS funds to allocate one third of one percent (previously, one percent) to U.S. territories and possessions, and the remaining 99 and two-thirds percent among the States according to a formula based on population density. Includes bridge construction and related activities among eligible NHS projects. (Sec. 5) Repeals provisions regarding: (1) apportionments for resurfacing, restoring, rehabilitating, and reconstructing the Interstate System (IS); and (2) the transfer of interstate construction apportionments, the transfer of funds for STP projects, and limits on new capacity. (Sec. 6) Includes bridge construction and related activities as an eligible activity within the streamlined STP. Makes eligible under the STP an area of a State that is a nonattainment area for ozone or carbon monoxide, or for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than or equal to ten micrometers resulting from transportation activities, or for any combination thereof, for congestion mitigation and air quality improvement projects without regard to any Department of Transportation limitation relating to the type of ambient air quality standard addressed by such project. Requires a State, for each fiscal year, to allocate an amount determined according to a specified formula (based on FY 1995 funds) for transportation enhancement activities. Revises State certification procedures. (Sec. 7) Directs that, for purposes of STP and IS provisions, population shall be determined based on the most recent estimate prepared by the Secretary of Commerce, while apportionment factors shall be determined on the basis of the most recent data certified by the Secretary. (Sec. 8) Repeals provisions regarding: (1) the highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation program; and (2) the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program. (Sec. 10) Replaces provisions regarding minimum allocations to States with an apportionment adjustment program under which the Secretary shall apportion among the States amounts sufficient to ensure that the ratio of the highway funds of a State to highway funds of all States for the fiscal year is not less than the adjustment percentage specified for that State under this Act. Requires each State to receive additional apportionments so that its percentage of highway funds is not less than 95 percent of the percentage of estimated tax payments attributable to highway users in the State paid into the Highway Trust Fund. Repeals: (1) existing apportionment adjustment programs; and (2) set-asides for interstate discretionary projects. (Sec. 12) Reduces from 3.75 to 2.0 the percentage of program funds authorized to be set aside for administrative costs. (Sec. 13) Sets forth provisions regarding permissible transfers of unobligated balances of funds apportioned to a State for: (1) congestion mitigation and air quality improvement; (2) interstate construction and maintenance; (3) bridge replacement and rehabilitation; and (4) the STP.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1997
Designates March 25, 1997, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1997
Waives, with respect to facilities of HealthCare USA, Inc. and Ultramedix Health Care Systems Inc., operating in Florida, for contract periods beginning on July 1, 1996, and ending on June 30, 1999, the (75-25) requirement under the Social Security Act that Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries under titles XVIII and XIX of that Act constitute less than 75 percent of the membership of a participating health maintenance organization.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the long term capital gains rate from 28 percent by two percent (but not below 14 percent) for each year the asset was held beyond two years. Reduces the net capital gain by the amount the taxpayer elects to take into account as investment income under specified provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1997
Medicare Preventive Benefit Improvement Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for expanded coverage of preventive benefits under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program. Makes all women over age 49 eligible for annual screening mammography benefit coverage. Waives the deductible co-payment on such benefit. Makes women of childbearing age (if they have not had a negative result in such a test in each of the preceding three years), or at high risk of developing cervical cancer, eligible for yearly pap smears, by suspending in their cases a specified three-year frequency limitation on benefit coverage for screening pap smears. Makes such women eligible also for yearly screening pelvic exams, including a clinical breast exam. Makes other women eligible for triennial screening pelvic exams. Waives the deductible co-payment for such exams. Adds coverage of screening procedures, with specified payment and frequency limitations, for early detection of colorectal cancer, including fecal occult blood test, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy for high risk individuals, as well as a barium enema. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the standards of medical practice with regard to colorectal cancer screening tests and, on the basis of such review if determined appropriate, issue and publish a determination that one or more colorectal cancer screening tests will no longer be covered under Medicare. Adds biennial coverage of certain prostate cancer screening procedures for men over 50 years of age, including a digital rectal examination and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. Adds coverage of the following diabetes screening benefits: (1) diabetes outpatient self-management training services; and (2) blood-testing strips (with payment based on inexpensive, routinely purchased durable medical equipment). Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish outcome measures to evaluate improvement of the health of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes mellitus; and (2) submit recommendations to the Congress regarding modifications to the Medicare coverage of services for such beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Bear Protection Act - Prohibits any person from: (1) importing bear viscera into, or exporting it from, the United States; or (2) selling bear viscera, bartering, offering it for sale or barter, purchasing, or possessing it with intent to sell or barter, transporting, acquiring, or receiving it in interstate or foreign commerce. Subjects persons who violate such prohibitions to specified penalties. Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the United States Trade Representative to discuss issues involving such trade with representatives of countries that are the leading importers, exporters, or consumers of such products. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the progress of efforts to end illegal trade in bear viscera.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Highway Infrastructure Privatization Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the treatment of a qualified highway infrastructure project bond as an exempt facility bond. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to select no more than 15 highway infrastructure projects as pilot projects eligible for tax-exempt financing.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Declares the sense of the Senate that all cost-of-living adjustments required by statute should accurately reflect the best available estimate of changes in the cost of living.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Expresses the sense of the Senate that studies are needed to further determine the benefits of screening women between the ages of 40 and 49 through mammography and other emerging technologies and that the Senate urges the Advisory Panel for the National Cancer Institute to consider reissuing a specified guideline rescinded in 1993 and, until there is more definitive data, direct the public to consider guidelines issued by other organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1997
Long-Term Investment Incentive Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow noncorporate taxpayers to deduct specified percentages of qualified two-year, three-year, or four-year capital gain. Provides for the treatment of trusts and estates. Reduces, for these provisions, the net capital gain by the amount a taxpayer takes into account as investment income under specified provisions. Provides for the treatment of collectibles and of certain sales of interests in partnerships, S corporations, or trusts. Sets forth special rules for pass-thru entities. Allows the deduction to be used in computing adjusted gross income. Revises requirements regarding the maximum capital gains rate. Provides for the treatment of regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, and common trust funds. Revises requirements regarding the maximum capital gains rate, including imposing a surcharge on net short-term capital gains.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Medicare Coverage of Certain Ambulance Services Title II: Ambulance Services Advisory Group for the Health Care Financing Administration Title III: Federal Advisory Council for Emergency Ambulance Services Title IV: Data Collection and Administration by Department of Transportation Emergency Medical Services Efficiency Act of 1997 - Title I: Medicare Coverage of Certain Ambulance Services - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to ensure Medicare reimbursement for ambulance services rendered as a result of the sudden onset of a medical condition manifested by symptoms believed to be serious but whose ultimate diagnosis results in the conclusion that the ambulance services were not necessary. Title II: Ambulance Services Advisory Group for the Health Care Financing Administration - Establishes the Health Care Financing Administration Advisory Group for Ambulance Services to study and report to the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration on all matters relating to the provision of ambulance services under the Medicare program. Title III: Federal Advisory Council for Emergency Ambulance Services - Establishes the Federal Advisory Council for Emergency Ambulance Services to study and report to the Secretaries of Labor and of Commerce and the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) on workplace conditions and safety requirements with regard to employees who provide emergency ambulance services, as well as related management planning and transportation functions of FEMA and the Department of Transportation. Title IV: Data Collection and Administration by Department of Transportation - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop and report to the Congress a proposal for transferring to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration any transportation-related functions of any other Federal agency concerning emergency medical services, with certain exceptions for the Department of Defense and those functions related to a Federal health care program. Establishes in the Department of Transportation the Office of Emergency Medical Services Data Collection to serve as a clearinghouse for data collected in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation for establishing a requirement for uniform collection, on a nationwide basis, of data relating to the provision of emergency medical services.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Commission on the Year 2000 Computer Problem Act - Establishes the National Commission to Address the Year 2000 Computer Problem to conduct a study of the history of the year 2000 computer problem, providing for the following: (1) a brief analysis of the history and background concerning the reasons for the occurrence of the year 2000 computer problem; (2) a determination of the costs of reviewing and rewriting computer codes for both the Federal Government and State governments for a specified period immediately following enactment; (3) an analysis of the implications of the year 2000 computer problem with respect to intergovernmental and integrated systems; (4) a determination of the period of time necessary (including testing) to remedy the computer problem; (5) the development of recommended balanced and sound contracts to be used in necessary Federal procurement with respect to using private contractors in the computer industry, including contracts to carry out compliance with measures to remedy the computer problem for computer programs and systems; and (6) an analysis of the effects and potential effects on the U.S. economy that would result if the computer problem is not resolved by June 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Employee Educational Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permanently extend the exclusion from gross income of employer-provided educational assistance; and (2) restore the exclusion for such assistance on the graduate level.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Private Security Officer Quality Assurance Act of 1997 - Authorizes an association of employers of private security officers to submit fingerprints or other methods of positive identification to the Attorney General on behalf of any applicant for a State license or certificate or registration as a private security officer or employer of such officers. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) exchange identification and criminal history records with State governmental agencies for licensing and employment purposes; and (2) prescribe regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act, including measures relating to the security, confidentiality, accuracy, use, and dissemination of information and audits and recordkeeping. Sets forth reporting requirements. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State should participate in the background check system established by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Medicare Diabetes Education and Supplies Amendments of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of diabetes outpatient self-management training services and blood-testing strips for individuals with diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Higher Education Bond Parity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the tax treatment of bonds of certain nonprofit tax-exempt organizations in a manner similar to governmental bonds.