The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Sen. Jeffords, James M. [I-VT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/j000072_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
5,991 records where Sen. Jeffords, James M. [I-VT] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1992
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the last Friday of April 1992 as National Arbor Day.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1992
Every Fifth Child Act - Makes appropriations for FY 1993, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, in specified amounts to begin a phase-in toward full funding of: (1) the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; (2) Head Start programs under the Head Start Act; and (3) the Job Corps program under the Job Training Partnership Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that such programs should receive specified minimum levels of funding to allow: (1) the WIC program to be fully funded through FY 1996; (2) Head Start programs to be fully funded through FY 1998; and (3) the Job Corps to establish at least 50 additional centers and serve at least 50 percent more of low-income disadvantaged youth by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1992
Designates the week beginning June 21, 1992, as National Sheriffs' Week.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1992
Designates March 20, 1992, as National Agriculture Day.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
National Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the sale of beer, mineral water, soda water, wine coolers, or carbonated soft drinks in beverage containers by retailers and distributors unless such containers carry a refund value of ten cents. Requires distributors to collect from retailers the refund value for each beverage sold to such retailers. Directs retailers to collect from consumers the refund value for each beverage sold to such consumers. Requires retailers and distributors to pay the refund on returned containers of brands (in the same kind and size of container) sold by such retailers or distributors. Directs distributors to pay annually to a State unclaimed refund amounts (the amount by which the total refund value of all containers sold by such distributors exceeds the amount paid by distributors to persons in that State). Makes unclaimed refunds available to a State for carrying out pollution prevention and recycling programs. Prohibits distributors and retailers from: (1) selling beverages in metal beverage containers with detachable openings; and (2) disposing of containers subject to this Act or any metal, glass, or plastic from such containers (other than the top or seal) in landfills or solid waste disposal facilities. Makes this Act inapplicable to States that have adopted requirements identical to those under this Act or that have demonstrated achievement of a recycling or reuse rate for beverage containers of at least 70 percent. Makes States that fail to maintain such rate for a consecutive 12-month period subject to this Act's requirements. Prohibits States or political subdivisions that impose taxes on the sale of beverage containers from imposing any tax on the amount attributable to the refund value of such containers. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to provide for the adjustment for inflation of the ten-cent refund amount at ten-year intervals. Prescribes civil penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
Designates May 1992 as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1992
Amends the National School Lunch Act to suspend specified compliance and accountability rules issued by the Secretary of Agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992
Increases the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents of certain disabled veterans, the clothing allowance for certain service-disabled veterans, dependency and indemnity compensation, and supplemental dependency and indemnity compensation for children. Increases each such rate by the same percentage as the increase in benefit amounts under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death. Requires the Secretary to publish such increases in the Federal Register at the same time that percentage increases under title II of the Social Security Act are required to be published.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow a person to sell or issue to an individual entitled to benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) or enrolled under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of Medicare a Medicare supplemental insurance (Medigap) policy providing for benefits which duplicate health benefits to which such individual is otherwise entitled, provided such benefits are payable to or on behalf of an individual without regard to other health benefit coverage of such individual. Makes it unlawful for a person to issue or sell a Medigap policy to an individual entitled to benefits under Medicare part A or enrolled under Medicare part B with knowledge that such policy duplicates health benefits to which such individual is otherwise entitled under another Medigap policy. Provides criminal penalties for violations of this paragraph. Provides that the amendments made by this Act shall take effect as if included in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the President, the member countries of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the participants of the Middle East Peace Conference, and the international community in general should use the international sanction of condemnation to prevent the delivery of SCUD missiles and missile-related technology to Syria by the North Korean merchant ship Dae Hung Ho; and (2) Syria should demonstrate its desire for peace and acceptance of Israel's right to exist by terminating its agreement with North Korea for such delivery.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1992
Annual Report to the American Taxpayer Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require inclusion of a report on the financial status of the Federal Government on the front inside cover of the booklet of instructions for filing individual income tax returns, together with a graphic presentation of Federal outlays and income. Specifies the required contents of the financial report.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1992
Designates April 26 through May 2, 1992, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992
RU-486 Regulatory Fairness Act - Declares that a specified import alert issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with respect to the drug RU-486 shall not have any legal effect and shall be withdrawn by the FDA. (RU-486 has been used outside the United States to abort pregnancies.) Prohibits the FDA from taking any action to bar the import of that drug unless the FDA finds that it is being imported for an illegal use. Requires the FDA to give consideration in accordance with provisions relating to new drug approval when an application is submitted under such provisions for RU-486.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1992
Designates April 9, 1992 (the 50th anniversary of the fall of Bataan), as the Day of Recognition of Filipino War Veterans. Authorizes and urges the President to present a copy of this resolution to Filipino veterans and the Filipino people in Manila on April 9, 1992, during the observance of such anniversary, as an expression of good will and reaffirmation of the continuing regard of the United States and the American people for a lasting Filipino-American friendship.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1992
Directs the National World War II Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to: (1) honor members of the armed forces who served in World War II; and (2) commemorate U.S. participation in that conflict. Directs the fund to plan, design, and oversee the construction of the Memorial. Establishes the World War II Memorial Advisory Board to: (1) promote and encourage the donation of private funds for the construction of the Memorial; and (2) recommend the site for and assist in the selection of the design of the Memorial. Terminates the Board within 30 days after completion of the Memorial or on the lapse of the authority provided by this Act. Authorizes the Fund to solicit and accept private contributions for construction of the Memorial. States that the requirements and authority of this Act shall lapse if: (1) construction of the Memorial is not commenced within five years of its enactment; or (2) before such construction, the Secretary of the Interior certifies that funds are not available in an amount sufficient to ensure its completion.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1992
Designates the week beginning May 3, 1992, as National Correctional Officers Week.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1992
Designates June 1992 as National Scleroderma Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1992
Commends the New York Stock Exchange on the occasion of its bicentennial.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1992
Expresses the sense of the Senate that dairy products, including nonfat dry milk, from U.S. stocks should be used as part of the humanitarian assistance provided to the republics of the former Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1992
Cancer Registries Amendment Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants or contracts to operate population-based, statewide cancer registries in order to collect certain data for each form of in-situ and invasive cancer except basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Authorizes grants for planning the registries. Mandates a study on factors contributing to elevated rates of breast cancer mortality in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, directly or through grants and contracts, or both, to provide technical assistance to the States in the establishment and operation of statewide registries. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1992
Repeals penalties for noncompliance by States with a program requiring the use of safety belts and motorcycle helmets.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1992
Designates April 19 through 25, 1992, as National Credit Education Week.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Title I: Accelerated Growth - Economic Growth Acceleration Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Capital Gains - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a capital gains deduction for noncorporate taxpayers for assets held from one to three years. Provides special rules for the gain or loss from the sale or exchange of collectibles and sales of interest in partnerships. Disallows such deduction in computing the alternative minimum tax. Revises the formula for determining gain from the dispositions of certain depreciable realty to take into account depreciation adjustments (adjustments allowed or allowable for exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence, or certain amortization). Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Passive Losses and Depreciation - Treats the real estate development activity of a taxpayer as a single trade or business activity that is not a rental activity. Allows an additional depreciation allowance for the purchase of new equipment as investment property on or after February 1, 1992, which is placed in service before July 1, 1993. Reduces the basis of adjustment of such property by the amount of the additional allowance. Requires application of such allowance in determining the alternative minimum tax. Restricts the determination of adjusted current earnings for purposes of computing alternative minimum taxable income to property placed in service after 1989 and before February 1, 1992. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Real Estate Investments by Pension Funds - Modifies exceptions to the exclusion of real property acquired by a qualified organization from the meaning of acquisition indebtedness. Makes certain exceptions inapplicable to sales out of foreclosure by a financial institution. Applies the meaning of acquisition indebtedness investments in certain large partnerships where the principal purpose of partnership allocations is not tax avoidance. Repeals the special rule for publicly traded partnerships with respect to the treatment of unrelated business taxable income. Subtitle D: Provisions Affecting Homebuyers - Allows a first-time homebuyer who purchases a principal residence a tax credit of ten percent of the purchase price, not to exceed $5,000. Limits such credit to one residence and requires acquisition between February 1, 1992, and January 1, 1993. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans for a first-home purchase. Limits such distribution to $10,000, or other applicable amount if previous distributions have been made.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1992
Suspends the nonvoluntary repatriation of Haitian nationals until a specified date or until certain conditions are met and so certified by the President (international monitoring, reduction of violence in Haiti, danger to repatriated Haitians, and a specific U.S. refugee and asylum administrative system).
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1992
Designates June 11, 1992, as National Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Day.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1992
Designates April 15, 1992, as National Recycling Day.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) play a strong and active role in cooperating with other governments to prepare for a successful United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (set to convene in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992); (2) seek to develop specific and effective international agreements to enhance global environmental protection and encourage the use of sustainable development practices for signature at the Conference; and (3) support specified global environmental conservation efforts, including an international convention to reduce the threat of global climatic change, acceleration of international efforts to reduce (and ultimately phase out) the emission of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer, and development of a schedule for the adoption of a reform system of national accounting that reflects full environmental costs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1992
Restrictions on Azerbaijan Act - Requires the United States to continue to deny the following trade and economic benefits to the Republic of Azerbaijan: (1) most-favored-nation status (nondiscriminatory treatment); (2) loans, guarantees, or insurance with respect to U.S. exports to it; (3) beneficiary status under the Generalized System of Preferences; (4) treatment as a country subject to provisions of the Trade Act of 1974 relating to market disruption; (5) treatment as a member of Country Group Y (countries with which the United States has diplomatic or trading relations); (6) any benefit bestowed under the Agreement on Trade Relations Between the United States and the Soviet Union, signed on June 1, 1990; and (7) U.S. assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Requires the United States to impose as a condition to making contributions to any international organizations providing activities in the former Soviet Union that none of the funds be available for such activities in Azerbaijan. Authorizes the President to waive such restrictions. Terminates such restrictions if the President determines and reports to the Congress that Azerbaijan: (1) has ceased all blockades and uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh; (2) improves the human rights of Armenians, Russians, Jews, and other minorities; and (3) has committed to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1992
Recognizes and commemorates the centennial of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Requests the President to issue a proclamation observing the centennial from January 1 through December 31, 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1992
Designates September 13 through 19, 1992, as National Rehabilitation Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1992
Designates March 25, 1992, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1992
Expresses the sense of the Senate: (1) acknowledging the cooperation of the Soviet and now Russian authorities in providing records and personal effects of Raoul Wallenberg to his family; (2) requesting that the President, through diplomatic discussions with the Government of the Russian Federation, pursue an investigation into the whereabouts and fate of Raoul Wallenberg; and (3) requesting that the results of such investigation be made public.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1992
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to include within the definition of "hazardous waste" any solid waste that: (1) is a mixture of a solid waste and a hazardous waste listed under the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR); (2) is a mixture of solid waste and a hazardous waste that exhibits one or more of the characteristics identified under a specified subpart of the CFR unless the resultant mixture no longer exhibits such characteristics; or (3) is generated from the treatment, storage, or disposal of a hazardous waste. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to exclude from such definition solid wastes that would otherwise be deemed hazardous wastes as a result of being generated from the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous wastes.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1992
Long-Term Care Insurance Improvement and Accountability Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the Long-Term Care Insurance Standards Commission to establish and modify minimum Federal standards for long-term care insurance. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits the offering of a long-term care insurance policy in a State unless the State has a regulatory program meeting the requirements of this Act or the policy has been certified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Directs the Secretary to periodically review State regulatory programs. Provides for enforcement of the prohibition. Authorizes grants to States for demonstration programs to improve enforcement of the standards. Imposes on agents selling long-term policies a duty of good faith and fair dealing. Prohibits: (1) twisting, high pressure tactics, and cold lead advertising; and (2) the agent from completing the medical history portion of the application. Mandates minimum financial standards, including income and asset criteria, for the purchase of a long-term policy. Prohibits sales: (1) to an individual eligible for assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; and (2) of duplicate service policies. Provides for penalties. Mandates agent training and certification. Sets forth additional carrier responsibilities relating to refunding of premiums, mailing of policies, providing information on denials of claims, reporting of information, and limiting compensation to agents for the sale or renewal of policies. Prohibits cancellation or nonrenewal of a long-term care policy except for nonpayment of premium or material misrepresentation. Sets forth continuation and conversion rights for group policies. Requires guaranteed issuance to an individual if the individual meets the minimum medical requirements of the policy. Limits cancellation for nonpayment by an incapacitated individual. Requires: (1) standard definitions and terminology, a uniform format, and standard benefits; and (2) disclosure of certain matters, including an outline of benefits. Limits certain conditions on benefits, including those based on preexisting conditions. Requires: (1) that eligibility for, and the level of, benefits be based on a functional assessment; (2) inflation protection; (3) limits on premium increases; and (4) nonforfeiture benefits. Limits the period during which the issuer may cancel the policy or deny a claim based on fraud or misrepresentation. Establishes: (1) the right of a purchaser to return a policy within a specified period; and (2) civil money penalties for failure to comply with specified provisions of this Act. Defines "long-term care insurance policy," excluding: (1) any Medicare supplemental policies; (2) other insurance offered primarily to provide specified types of coverage; and (3) certain life insurance policies. Requires the Commission to issue guidelines applicable to organizations that endorse long-term policies or permit such policies to be offered through their organization. Authorizes appropriations to provide information, counseling, and assistance regarding the procurement of long-term insurance. Mandates reports to the Congress on: (1) standards to assure the solvency of insurers regarding long-term care policies; and (2) a standard measure of value for long-term care policies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1992
Designates February 6, 1992, as National Women and Girls in Sports Day.
United States · United States Congress · 27 November 1991
Right to Know More Act of 1991 - Requires owners or operators of facilities subject to toxic chemical release requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 that meet threshold requirements under such Act or threshold quantities established under this Act for releases or transfers to offsite facilities to include comparable supplemental information for transfers or releases of chemicals that are: (1) priority pollutants relating to steam electric power point source pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (2) specified hazardous wastes listed under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (3) specified chemicals listed under the Clean Air Act; (4) pesticides with respect to which the registration has been denied, cancelled, or is under suspension or pesticides undergoing administrative review or that are classified for restricted use; (5) chemicals listed under the Safe Drinking Water Act for which maximum contaminant levels have been proposed; (6) chemicals identified as carcinogens by the Carcinogen Assessment Group of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or the National Toxicology Program; (7) extremely hazardous substances listed pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986; and (8) chemicals listed in 90 California Regulatory Notice Register 990 as reproductive toxins. Directs the EPA Administrator to establish a threshold quantity for releases to the environment or transfers to offsite facilities for such chemicals. Sets specified thresholds for such chemicals if the Administrator fails to establish thresholds. Applies toxic chemical release reporting requirements to facilities employing at least ten full-time employees that are currently exempt from such requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, but meet threshold reporting requirements. Requires facilities subject to reporting requirements to submit additional information that includes maximum hourly release rates for chemicals, compilations of annual input, accumulation, and output quantities of chemicals, targeted production processes, and goals for reduction in the use and generation of such chemicals. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish criteria to aid such facilities in focusing pollution prevention strategies on targeted production processes; and (2) identify environmental and health hazards resulting from such chemicals. Applies provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 concerning trade secrets, public availability of information, and the provision of information to health professionals to toxics information under this Act. Prescribes civil and administrative penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on methods of encouraging the reporting of toxics information through the use of computer telecommunication and other means. Waives compliance with this Act if the President determines a waiver to be necessary in the paramount interest of the United States. Authorizes petitions for rescission of waivers. Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to study and report to the Administrator and the appropriate congressional committees on the provision to the public of toxic release inventory information and reports required by this Act. Directs the Administrator to establish a grant program to assist States, local governments, local emergency planning commissions, and State emergency response commissions in carrying out specified provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 and this Act. Requires States to make 75 percent of a grant available to local governments and emergency planning commissions. Bases the awarding of grants on the extent to which chemical substances are manufactured, processed, used, and disposed of in a State, the extent of exposure to such substances in a State, and the population density of a State. Authorizes appropriations. Makes owners or operators of facilities subject to reporting requirements of this Act subject to source reduction and recycling reporting requirements under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain business entities to elect to use a fiscal year for tax purposes other than the required taxable year. Modifies provisions concerning required payments for such entitites.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Marsh-Billings National Historical Park Establishment Act - Establishes the: (1) Marsh-Billings National Historical Park, Vermont, as a unit of the National Park System; and (2) Marsh-Billings National Historical Park Scenic Zone. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) from expending appropriated funds in direct support of commercial enterprises other than a concession contract entered into in accordance with Federal law and with specified exceptions. Directs the Secretary to receive and expend funds from an endowment established with the Woodstock Foundation or its successors and assigns for the preservation and maintenance of the Marsh-Billings Mansion and the immediately surrounding property. Allows the grantor of such land acquired by this Act to retain use and occupancy rights for noncommercial purposes for a specified term. Directs the Secretary to develop and report to specified congressional committees on a general management plan for the park. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Nuclear Testing Moratorium Act - Prohibits any funds made available under any law from being used to conduct any explosive nuclear weapons test during the one-year period following the enactment of this Act unless the President certifies to the Congress that the Soviet Union or a successor state has conducted such a test during such period.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Title I: General Provisions - Judicial Space and Facilities Management Act of 1991 - Sets forth definitions for purposes of this Act. Title II: Congressional Approval of Public Buildings for Federal Judiciary - Requires approval by specified congressional committees before an appropriation can be made to construct, alter, exchange, condemn, purchase, dispose of, or acquire any space or facility to be used as a court accommodation which involves a total expenditure that exceeds $1,650,000 (which may be adjusted annually by the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts) (Director). Requires the Director to: (1) transmit a prospectus to the Congress of the proposed judicial space or facility to secure consideration for such approval; and (2) report to the Congress, within a 15-day period of the convening of each new Congress, a program for the two succeeding fiscal years of projects and actions which the Director determines necessary to carry out his duties. Requires the Director to: (1) certify in such program that a public hearing has been held or an opportunity for such hearing has been afforded in the locality or proposed locality of each major construction, renovation, or acquisition project included in the program; and (2) provide, along with each certification, the final environmental impact statement, a report indicating the consideration given to facts and issues concerning the project, and various alternatives which were raised during the hearing or which were otherwise considered. Authorizes the Director to contract for the acquisition, construction, alteration, purchase, exchange, condemnation, or disposition of any space or facility with the Administrator of the General Services Administration (Administrator) (GSA), the Secretary of the Army, the U.S. Postmaster General, or other officer of the executive branch of the Federal Government with similar expertise. Provides that title to space or facility approved pursuant to this Act shall be held by the Administrator. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to require the Administrator of GSA to charge the Judiciary at rates to approximate the applicable cost incurred by GSA for providing space and services to the Judiciary. Title III: Judicial Buildings Fund - Establishes the Federal Judicial Building Fund in the Treasury. Authorizes the Director, subject to the approval of the U.S. Judicial Conference, to impose and collect such user charges and fees necessary for the purpose of financing the construction, purchase, acquisition, or alteration of facilities or space for the judicial branch of the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to authorize the President to establish a program of surplus agricultural commodity credit sales to the Soviet Union to promote local food distribution and production.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Physician Assistant Incentive Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide increased Medicare reimbursement for physician assistants at 97 percent of the physician fee schedule amount for services performed without regard to location or practice setting. Provides for bonus payments for services provided by physician assistants in health professional shortage areas.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Act of 1991 - Title I: Renewable Energy Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Generation of Electricity From Renewable Sources - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the energy investment tax credit until December 31, 2001 (currently, such credit expires December 31, 1991). Increases such credit from ten percent to 20 percent. Makes public utility property eligible for such credit. Allows the energy credit against all regular and minimum taxes. Allows a tax credit for the production of electricity with qualified technologies property. Describes such property to include the use of solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, biomass, and other renewable energy technologies. Subtitle B: Alternative Transportation Fuels Tax Incentives - Allows a tax deduction for the costs of qualified clean-burning (natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, or alcohol) motor vehicle fuel property or refueling property. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make equivalent payments to States and local governments in connection with qualified property. Allows a deduction for 25 percent of the costs incurred in purchasing a qualified electric-powered automobile. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend the duty on fuel-use methanols until October 1, 2000. Title II: Energy Conservation Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Alternatives to Single-Passenger Automobiles - Excludes from gross income parking provided to an employee at a qualified parking facility and qualified employer-provided commuter services between an employee's residence and workplace. Includes as qualified services: (1) transportation furnished in a commuter highway vehicle (such as a van); and (2) transportation on public buses, trains, or subways that is paid for or reimbursed by the employer. Limits the exclusion from gross income for parking to parking on (not "on or near," as under current law) the employer's premises, with further specified qualifications. Subtitle B: Other Conservation Incentives - Excludes from gross income the amount or value of any subsidy provided by a public utility to a customer in connection with the purchase, installation, use, or maintenance of any energy or water conservation measure or for energy savings delivered by such measures. Denies the use of any tax credit or deduction to the extent such subsidy is excluded from gross income. Subtitle C: Fuel Efficient and Safe Automobiles - Safe and Efficient Vehicles Incentives Act of 1991 - Amends Federal law to establish: (1) taxes on the sale of any new motor vehicle (light- and medium-duty vehicles and trucks) whose fuel economy is less than the sales-weighted average fuel economy or whose composite safety factor is greater (sic) than the sales-weighted average composite safety factor of all new motor vehicles within the same class; and (2) rebates for the purchase of any new motor vehicle whose fuel economy is greater than the sales-weighted average fuel economy or whose composite safety factor is greater than the sales-weighted average composite safety factor of all new motor vehicles within the same class. Sets forth formulae for determining the fuel economy tax (or rebate) and the safety tax (or rebate). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to publish in the Federal Register and send to each manufacturer or importer of motor vehicles the applicable formulae for each class of vehicle in the next model year. Requires each manufacturer or importer of new light- or medium-duty motor vehicles to calculate according to the applicable formulae the fuel economy and safety taxes and rebates for each vehicle. Requires them to include such information on labels affixed to such vehicles. Provides for the collection of such taxes and the disbursement of such rebates. Authorizes appropriations. Requires, not later than July 1, 1992, and each July 1, thereafter, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to calculate the sales-weighted average fuel consumption and the Secretary of Transportation to calculate the composite safety factor and the sales-weighted average composite safety factor for all light- and medium-duty vehicles and trucks with respect to the determination of fuel economy and safety taxes and rebates. Requires each manufacturer or importer of such vehicles to conduct crash tests necessary to determine the composite safety factor of such vehicle whenever such crash test data does not result from the Secretary of Transportation's crash tests.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Primary Care Health Practitioner Incentive Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide increased Medicare reimbursement for nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse midwives (practitioners) at 97 percent of the physician fee schedule amount for services performed without regard to location or practice setting. Provides for bonus payments for services provided by such practitioners in health professional shortage areas. Defines "clinical nurse specialist" as an individual who is a registered nurse and is licensed to practice nursing in the State in which the clinical nurse specialist services are performed and holds a master's degree in a defined clinical area of nursing from an accredited educational institution.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress regarding: (1) visionary art as a national treasure; and (2) the American Visionary Art Museum as a national repository and educational center for such art.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Calls on President Mobutu of Zaire to step down and permit the transitional government to return the country to democratic rule. Condemns all violations of human rights in Zaire. Supports: (1) the aspirations of the Zairean people for democratic change; and (2) the sovereign national conference to form the transitional government as soon as possible to organize free and democratic elections. Invites the international community of nations to express concern with respect to the repression and corruption of the Mobutu regime and to support the Zairean democratic forces' desire for peaceful change. Calls upon the President of the United States to: (1) urge that an appropriate peacekeeping force be brought into Zaire to ensure stability during the political transition process; and (2) express his willingness to offer appropriate assistance to implement any future international peacekeeping arrangement.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Women Veterans' Health Equity Act of 1991 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish well-women care services to women veterans who: (1) have a service-connected disability; or (2) are eligible for veterans' hospital care and whose annual income does not exceed the maximum rate of pension that would be applicable if such a veteran were eligible for pension. Defines "well-women care services" as health care services provided outside the maternity cycle. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish such services, subject to certain conditions, to a woman veteran who is not eligible for services under the criteria of this Act, but who is otherwise eligible for hospital care. Sets forth requirements concerning personnel to provide such services. Directs the Secretary to initiate research and expand ongoing research into the health consequences for women veterans of the following matters: (1) breast cancer and cancer of the reproductive organs; (2) gynecological and hormonal matters; (3) Alzheimer's disease; (4) osteoporosis; and (5) post-traumatic stress disorder. Requires the Secretary to carry out a research study to determine: (1) the frequency of the diagnosis of psychotic illness as the basis for the admittance of female and male veterans to Department facilities; and (2) an explanation for the difference, if any, in such frequencies. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct a ten-year study to determine the health-care needs of women veterans and, as part of such study, examine the medical, biopsychosocial, and demographic histories of women veterans and women members of the armed forces serving on active duty. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, in carrying out any medical research based on population analyses, to ensure that: (1) the research reflects matters that are significant for the general population of women in the United States; and (2) the population analyzed in such research is representative of the incidence of the condition or illness in the general population of women in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Urges the President to renew the Voluntary Restraint Agreement with Japan and Taiwan for an additional five years in order to continue to protect national security and ensure industrial competitiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Satellite Home Viewer Act Amendments of 1991 - Amends Federal copyright law to grant satellite distributors standing to sue satellite carriers for price discrimination practiced against home dish distributors for superstation and network station programming. Sets forth unlawful discrimination standards.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Pension Protection in Bankruptcy Act of 1991 - Title I: Employer Liability, Lien, and Portability - Subtitle A: Amendments to Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends title IV (Plan Termination Insurance) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to revise limitations on employer liability liens and priority amounts. Provides that, in the case of plan terminations initiated on or after January 1, 1992, the lien of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for employer liability shall be determined according to a specified formula. Makes similar revisions relating to the amount of liability to the PBGC which is entitled to priority treatment in insolvency and bankruptcy cases. Amends the Pension Protection Act with respect to bankruptcy and insolvency claims. Provides that specified amendments under this Act shall be effective as if included under the Single-Employer Pension Plan Amendments of 1986 and the Pension Protection Act. Amends ERISA to provide for liability upon liquidation of a contributing sponsor of a single-employer plan. Makes such sponsor liable as though the plan had terminated in a distress termination, even if the sponsor's controlled group remains a contributing sponsor of the plan or is liable for payment of specified contributions or installments. Directs the PBGC to transfer such liability payments to the ongoing plans. Subtitle B: Amendments to Title II, United States Code - Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to permit the PBGC to be a member of an unsecured creditors' committee. Revises priority payment provisions with respect to: (1) unpaid contributions to pension plans under ERISA; and (2) certain liability arising from pension plan terminations under ERISA. (Classifies these priorities as expenses arising before, or administrative expenses arising after, the commencement of the case, depending on whether such unpaid contributions are attributable, or such plan termination occurs, before or after the filing of the petition for bankruptcy.) Amends one of specified Bankruptcy Rules to require the bankruptcy court to give the PBGC notice of a bankruptcy petition filed (and all other notices required to be served on creditors and interested parties), in any case in which the debtor or an affiliate maintains a pension plan to which title IV of ERISA applies. Title II: Miscellaneous ERISA Title IV Amendments - Amends ERISA title IV to revise provisions relating to: (1) enforcement of minimum funding requirements; (2) definition of contributing sponsor; (3) recovery ratio payable under PBGC guaranty; (4) distress termination criteria for banking institutions; and (5) variable rate premium exemption. Eliminates a specified seventh revolving fund and transfers its assets and liabilities to the first revolving fund (i.e. the single-employer basic benefits guaranty fund).