Bill· SS. 2531 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Provisions Relating to Employees' Pension Rights Subtitle A: Right of Inclusion in Pension Plan Subtitle B: Right to Fair Treatment in Earning Benefits Subtitle C: Right to Adequate Funding Subtitle D: Pension Portability Subtitle E: Spousal Rights Title II: Protection of Employees' Pension Rights Subtitle A: Benefit Information Subtitle B: Investment Information and Advice Subtitle C: Assistance of Department of Labor in Enforcing Rights Subtitle D: Court Enforcement Subtitle E: Protection Against Fraud and Abuse Title III: Effective Dates Pension Bill of Rights Act of 1994 - Sets forth, and provides for the implementation of, a Pension Bill of Rights. Title I: Provisions Relating to Employees' Pension Rights - Subtitle A: Right of Inclusion in Pension Plan - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to set forth minimum coverage requirements. Requires each pension plan maintained by an employer to benefit all employees of the employer. Excludes certain employees who are: (1) in a unit covered by a collective bargaining agreement, if retirement benefits were the subject of bargaining; (2) airline pilots covered by a trust pursuant to certain collective bargaining; or (3) nonresident aliens who receive no income from the employer which constitutes income from sources within the United States. Excludes other employees who do not meet certain age and service requirements. Allows employers to apply such requirements separately with respect to each separate line of business, if the plan is not discriminatory in favor of highly compensated employees. (Sec. 102) Revises minimum participation requirements. Lowers the number of hours required for a year of service from 1,000 to 750. Provides for credit for part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees. Provides for treatment of leased employees. Prohibits an employer from requesting an employee to waive any right of coverage under, or participation in, any pension plan which is granted under ERISA. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe one or more model simplified pension plans. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a task force to study problems of coverage and adequacy of benefits and needs of employees under pension plans; and (2) report study results and recommendations to the Congress. Subtitle B: Right to Fair Treatment in Earning Benefits - Revises vesting rights. Eliminates a special vesting rule for multiemployer plans. Provides for immediate vesting of employer contributions to a defined contribution plan. (Sec. 112) Revises benefit accrual. Provides for integration with Social Security and similar benefits. Limits conditioning of employer contributions on employee contributions, by prohibiting mandatory contributions for employees below the Social Security wage base. Requires all years of service to be taken account of in computing subsidized early retirement benefits. Provides for a uniform rate of accrual. Directs the Secretary to issue guidelines for rates of accrual. Subtitle C: Right to Adequate Funding - Revises funding requirements. Provides for a 15-year amortization of benefit increases (currently 30, or 20 for multiemployer plans). Revises provisions relating to actuarial assumptions. Directs the Secretary to establish a range of recommended actuarial assumptions for plans for each calendar quarter. (Sec. 122) Provides safeguards for annuities purchased upon plan termination. Requires fiduciaries to ensure that benefits of participants and beneficiaries are fully protected under Federal or State law upon the purchase of any irrevocable insurance annuity contract. Provides for prior certification of insurers. Places premium payment requirements on annuity insurers. Authorizes the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to establish a separate premium system to fund the guaranteed payment of retirement benefits to participants and beneficiaries covered by annuity contracts. (Sec. 123) Prohibits retroactive termination of plans. (Sec. 124) Revises provisions relating to investment of plan assets. Subtitle D: Pension Portability - Establishes portability requirements for defined contribution plans. (Sec. 132) Directs the Secretary to establish guidelines for plans maintained pursuant to collective bargaining agreements, in order to assist two or more plans to enter into reciprocity agreements under which the plans would: (1) maintain portable pension accounts for employees who terminate employment covered by one plan and begin employment covered by another; or (2) make arrangements for employees to transfer accrued benefits and vesting rights from one plan to another. (Sec. 133) Provides for inflation adjustment of deferred nonforfeitable benefits and of accrued benefit. Subtitle E: Spousal Rights - Provides for division of pension benefits upon divorce. (Sec. 142) Extends the application of joint and survivor annuity rules. (Sec. 143) Modifies joint and survivor and preretirement survivor annuity requirements with respect to: (1) consent forms; (2) making preretirement annuities available to former spouses; and (3) amount of annuity. Title II: Protection of Employees' Pension Rights - Subtitle A: Benefit Information - Establishes requirements for plan or employer representations, including: (1) prohibition of misrepresentation; (2) right of participant or beneficiary to reasonably rely on such representations; and (3) correction of mistakes within a reasonable period of time. (Sec. 202) Revises provisions relating to notice of rights. Shortens the time period for filing an annual report. Requires plan administrators to give participants and beneficiaries advance notice of material changes. Directs the Secretary to develop a model benefit statement to be used by multiemployer plan administrators which includes specified information with respect to retirement benefit earnings. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to assist participants and beneficiaries in receiving in a timely manner any information they are entitled to receive under ERISA. Authorizes civil penalties for failure to file required reports or make required disclosures. Subtitle B: Investment Information and Advice - Revises audit provisions with respect to full scope audits and material irregularities. (Sec. 212) Requires disclosure of specific information on plan assets and transactions, including: (1) administrative expenses and rates of return on assets; (2) participant right to confidentially vote any pension assets within his or her discretionary control, and to information on plan investment and proxy voting policies; and (3) transactions involving parties in interest. (Sec. 213) Allows participants and beneficiaries to request that a plan establish a pension advisory committee to provide participant advice and involvement in plan investment decisions. Requires such committees to be open to all interested participants and beneficiaries. Sets forth committee rights to information and meetings. (Sec. 214) Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the feasibility of requiring representation of employees, independent trustees, or both, on the boards of trustees of pension plans. Subtitle C: Assistance of Department of Labor in Enforcing Rights - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a program to assist participants and beneficiaries in understanding their rights to benefits under employee benefit plans; and (2) assist participants in obtaining such benefits, including through civil actions under ERISA. (Sec. 221) Directs the Secretary, together with the Secretary of the Treasury and heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, to establish a program, under the coordination and supervision of a designated ombuds officer, to: (1) coordinate assistance to participants and beneficiaries in obtaining documents and pursuing benefit claims; (2) issue opinions and advice on applicable Federal law and regulations; and (3) refer benefit claims to appropriate Internal Revenue Service district offices to determine legal compliance and to Department of Labor regional offices to protect individual benefit rights. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a voluntary assistance fund, consisting of voluntary contributions from employers, employee benefit plans, and other individuals, to supplement departmental assistance to participants, beneficiaries, and plans. Requires annual reports to the Congress on such fund. (Sec. 222) Adds claims review requirements for employee benefit plans, including time limits for consideration of claims, de novo review of denials, and emergency requests for preauthorization with expedited review. Directs the Secretary to establish a nonbinding alternative dispute resolution procedure for appeals of claims denials. Subtitle D: Court Enforcement - Revises ERISA provisions relating to attorneys' fees and court costs, awards of damages, review of benefit claim denials, standing, exhaustion of administrative remedies with respect to benefit claims denials, construction of ambiguous terms in plans, and actions under State law. Subtitle E: Protection Against Fraud and Abuse - Establishes criminal penalties for specified ERISA violations which involve embezzlement, theft, or mail fraud. (Sec. 242) Revises fiduciary requirements to add a minimum bond requirement, an insurance requirement, and a prohibition of certain waivers. (Sec. 243) Authorizes the Secretary to pay an award to persons providing information leading to certain collections of certain civil penalties under ERISA. Directs the Secretary to establish a toll-free telephone number for persons to provide such information. (Sec. 244) Directs the Secretary to audit annually a representative sample of plans with fewer than 100 participants. Title III: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective date of this Act, with special rules for collectively bargained plans and for plan amendments.
Bill· SS. 2504 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Worker Protections Title II: Employee Benefits Title III: Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors Title IV: Federal Temporary Employees Contingent Workforce Equity Act - Title I: Worker Protections - Provides protections for part-time, temporary, or other contingent workers. (Sec. 101) Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for specified annual increases in the minimum wage. (Sec. 102) Requires that contingent (part-time or temporary) workers receive the same wages as full-time workers for the same work (with exceptions for differential payments pursuant to seniority, merit, or production quantity-or-quality systems or based on factors other than employment status). (Sec. 103) Amends specified Federal law relating to civil rights to protect all persons (including independent contractors) in their right to make and enforce contracts, sue, be parties, give evidence, and be subject to certain requirements free from discrimination based on religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability (race and color discrimination are already prohibited). (Sec. 104) Amends the National Labor Relations Act to include in the collective bargaining units part-time or temporary workers with reasonable expectations of continued employment. Revises joint employer status rules to consider individuals employed by a contractor of an employer as that employer's employees if they are assigned on a regular basis to perform work on the employer's premises and their tasks are functionally integrated with the employer's operations. (Sec. 105) Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to require employers to protect all workers (not only their own employees) from hazards within the employers' control. (Sec. 106) Amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to extend to part-time employees the right to advance notice of layoffs and plant closings and other rights under such Act. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary of Labor, through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to carry out an annual survey identifying the characteristics of temporary workers and their relationships with the establishments at which they are temporarily employed and, where appropriate, with their permanent employers. (Sec. 108) Amends the Service Contract Act of 1965 to require Federal service contract successors to offer a right of first refusal of employment to employees employed under the predecessor contract. Exempts cases where the successor contractor: (1) reasonably believes, based on past performance, the employee is unable to perform the work suitably; or (2) would have to layoff or discharge its own employee. Provides, where a lesser number of jobs are available under the successor contract, that the right of first refusal be offered on a seniority basis. Provides for remedial orders. Exempts contracts under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (relating to blind-made products) and under which services are provided on an intermittent basis. Title II: Employee Benefits - Extends certain employee benefits to contingent workers. (Sec. 201) Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act to lower the threshold for employee coverage to 125 hours of service with an employer during the previous three-month period. (Sec. 202) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1970 (ERISA) to provide for: (1) treatment of employees working at less than full-time (500 or more hours but less than 1,000 hours service per year) under participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans; (2) treatment of part-time workers (less than 30 hours service per week) under group health plans; and (3) inclusion of certain individuals whose services are leased or contracted for under the definition of employee. (Sec. 203) Amends ERISA to require portable pension accounts for defined contribution plans. Directs the Secretary of Labor to set standards for reciprocity agreements between industry and labor funds for portable pension accounts and employee transfer of accrued benefits and vesting rights from one plan to another. Provides for inflation adjustment for deferred vested benefits. (Sec. 204) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require States to provide unemployment compensation to part-time workers unavailable for full-time work. Title III: Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors - Deals with certain misclassifications of employees as independent contractors. (Sec. 301) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to waive employment tax liability for such a misclassification based on a reasonable good faith misapplication of common law rules, where the employer did not treat individuals in substantially similar positions differently and agrees to treat all such individuals as employees in the future. Modifies provisions on safe harbor for classifications of individuals as nonemployees and provisions for authority for regulations and rulings on employment status. (Sec. 302) Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to make ineligible for Federal contracts employers who willfully misclassify employees as independent contractors. Requires certification that a bid or proposal for a Federal contract is adequate to pay all related employment taxes. Requires Federal contractors to notify independent contractors of their rights and responsibilities. Gives Federal contract bidders a right of action against bidders who misclassify employees as independent contractors. (Sec. 303) Amends Federal law relating to the armed forces to apply to Federal defense contractors provisions, similar to those for other Federal contractors, relating to: (1) ineligibility for contracts for willful misclassification of employees as independent contractors; (2) certification of bid adequacy to pay employment taxes; (3) notification of rights of independent contractors; and (4) right of action against bidders who misclassify employees as independent contractors. Title IV: Federal Temporary Employees - Sets forth provisions relating to Federal temporary employees. (Sec. 401) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Government should limit the temporary designation to only those positions lasting no more than one year. (Sec. 402) Amends Federal civil service law to direct the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations to provide for offering health benefits plans to temporary Federal employees. (Sec. 403) Allows Federal employees in temporary assignments to participate in the Federal Employees' Retirement System after five years of service. (Sec. 404) Allows temporary Federal employees to receive life insurance benefits after completing six months of continuous employment.
Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 77 (103rd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. delegation to the Spring 1995 meeting of the Facilitation Division of the International Civil Aviation Organization: (1) seek to amend the Convention on International Civil Aviation, done on December 7, 1944, at Chicago, to end aircraft disinsection practices that threaten the health of aircraft passengers and crew; and (2) make every effort to gain the support of other member nations of the organization in that amendment.
Bill· SS. 2489 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1994
Ryan White CARE Reauthorization Act of 1994 - Amends the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act) to limit the grant program for emergency relief for areas with substantial need for services to eligible areas with a population of at least 500,000 individuals. Requires an HIV health services planning council (which advises on the distribution of such grants) to be reflective of the demographics of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic in an eligible area, with particular consideration given to disproportionately affected and historically underserved groups. Revises the method of distributing such grants and extends authorized appropriations for them until FY 2000. Revises the care grant program that makes funds available for individuals and families with the HIV disease. Authorizes the award of supplemental grants to eligible entities to enhance community-based care, treatment, and supportive services through the development and operation of consortia and innovative approaches. Extends authorized appropriations for such grant program through FY 2000. Requires the establishment of grievance procedures to address allegations of egregious violations of title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate the planning and implementation of Federal HIV programs to facilitate the development of a complete continuum of HIV-related services for individuals with HIV disease and those at risk of such disease. Extends authorized appropriations for early intervention services until FY 2000. Extends authorized appropriations until FY 2000 for grants for coordinated services and access to research for children, youth, women, and families (formerly known as demonstration grants for research and services for pediatric patients regarding acquired immune deficiency syndrome). Makes appropriations available for special projects of national significance program to award direct grants to public and nonprofit private entities to fund special programs for the care and treatment of individuals with HIV disease.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 223 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1994
Designates March 1995 and March 1996 as Irish-American Heritage Month.
Law· SJRESS.J.Res. 220 (103rd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1994
Designates October 19, 1994, as National Mammography Day.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 253 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 1994
Expresses the sense of the Senate that in the immediate future it would be a mistake to raise interest rates further, and that the Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Bill· SS. 2423 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 1994
Arts Endowing the Arts Act of 1994 - Amends copyright law to provide for the auction of certain copyrights to financially support the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Applies such provisions to copyrights in literary works, sound recordings, visual arts works, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, and motion pictures. Establishes the Arts and Humanities Copyright Board within the Library of Congress. Sets forth auction procedures, including selection of copyrights for auction, copyright for auction selected upon bidder's initiative, copyrights excluded from auction, notification, and auction copyright bids. Provides for registration and issuance of a certificate for auction copyright in a work for 20 years after the expiration of the term of copyright in the work last held under copyright law other than auction copyright provisions. Prohibits renewal or extension of such auction copyright. Limits U.S. liability. Provides that such auction shall have no effect on the original copyright. Establishes the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities Copyright Trust Fund in the Treasury.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 218 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 August 1994
Designates January 16, 1995, as Religious Freedom Day.
Bill· SS. 2391 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 1994
Amends Federal law pertaining to the Federal civil service (Hatch Act) to repeal the prohibition against oral or written recommendations by Members of Congress on behalf of job applicants. Requires such recommendations to: (1) be based on personal knowledge or applicant records; and (2) consist of an evaluation of work performance, ability, aptitude, or general qualifications, as well as of character, loyalty, or suitability.
Bill· SS. 2380 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1994
Baseball Fans Protection Act of 1994 - Amends the Clayton Act to apply the antitrust laws of the United States to any unilateral term or condition (excluding a strike or a lockout) that is imposed by a party that is subject to the agreement between the major league baseball owners and the players' union.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 247 (103rd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1994
Condemns the: (1) worldwide targeting of Jewish communities by terrorists determined to disrupt the Middle East peace process; and (2) continued use of violence to pursue political objectives. Commends the people of Argentina, Panama, and Great Britain for the outrage they expressed in response to terrorist acts in July of 1994 against targets in such countries. Recognizes the efforts of such countries to investigate such incidents. Urges their governments to commit any resources necessary to apprehend the perpetrators and to adopt measures to prevent a recurrence of such acts.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 212 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1994
Designates August 2, 1994, as National Neighborhood Crime Watch Day.
Bill· SS. 2306 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1994
Securities Fraud Fairness Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to declare that it is unlawful in connection with a securities transaction on a national securities exchange for any person to aid and abet the use of any manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance in contravention of the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 211 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1994
Designates the second Sunday in October 1994 as National Children's Day.
Bill· SS. 2297 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1994
International Antitrust Enforcement Assistance Act of 1994 - Authorizes the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to provide, in accordance with an antitrust mutual assistance agreement in effect with a foreign antitrust authority, antitrust evidence to assist such authority to: (1) determine whether a person has violated, or is about to violate, any of the foreign antitrust laws administered or enforced by the authority; and (2) enforce any of such laws. Authorizes the Attorney General to conduct investigations to obtain evidence relating to a violation of such foreign antitrust laws and provide such evidence to the authority, regardless of whether the conduct investigated violates any of the Federal antitrust laws. Authorizes the U.S. district court for the district in which a person resides, is found, or transacts business, upon application of the Attorney General made in accordance with such an agreement, to order such person to give testimony or a statement to, or to produce a document or other thing for, the Attorney General to assist the authority to make its determination or enforce any of such laws. Sets forth provisions regarding the contents of the order, the preservation of rights and privileges, and voluntary conduct. Makes this Act inapplicable with respect to antitrust evidence that is: (1) received by the Attorney General or the FTC under provisions of the Clayton Act regarding a premerger notification and waiting period; (2) a matter occurring before a grand jury with respect to which disclosure is prevented by Federal law, with exceptions; (3) specifically authorized to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy under criteria established by executive order; and (4) classified under specified provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Permits disclosure of antitrust evidence obtained under the Antitrust Civil Process Act in accordance with such an agreement under, and the other requirements of, this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) publication requirements; (2) implementation of such agreements; (3) limitations on judicial review; (4) supplementation and preservation of authority; and (5) reporting requirements. Authorizes the Attorney General and the FTC to receive from a foreign state or a regional economic integration organization reimbursement for costs incurred to conduct investigations or provide evidence.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 209 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1994
Designates November 21, 1994, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 240 (103rd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1994
Commends the United States 1994 World Cup soccer team for its outstanding efforts in the 1994 World Cup soccer tournament.
Bill· SS. 2268 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1994
Worker Rights and Labor Standards Trade Act of 1994 - Directs the President to seek the establishment of: (1) a working party within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to examine the relationship of fundamental internationally recognized worker rights to the articles of the GATT; and (2) a standing committee on worker rights within the World Trade Organization to which the functions of the working group shall be transferred.
Bill· SS. 2264 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1994
Amends Federal transportation law to provide that the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), in approving an application of a rail carrier for the construction and operation of railroad lines, shall require that a fair and equitable arrangement for the protection of the affected railroad employees' interests be no less protective of and beneficial to their interests than those established under other specified Federal provisions. Prohibits the ICC from approving the sale or the offer of financial assistance to a rail carrier to avoid the abandonment and discontinuance of railroad line transportation unless it certifies that such employees' interests will be protected.
Bill· SS. 2260 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1994
United States-China Act of 1994 - Declares that if nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) is not granted to China by reason of the enactment of a congressional disapproval resolution, such treatment shall continue to apply to goods that are produced by a person that is not a state-owned Chinese enterprise, but not apply to any goods that are produced by a state-owned Chinese enterprise. Provides that if nondiscriminatory treatment is granted to China for a 12-month period on July 3, 1994, such treatment shall not apply to: (1) any good that is produced by the People's Liberation Army or Chinese defense industrial trading company; or (2) any nonqualified good that is produced by a state-owned Chinese enterprise. Urges the Secretary of the Treasury to consult with American businesses that have significant trade with or investment in China, to encourage them to adopt a voluntary code of conduct that: (1) follows internationally recognized human rights principles; (2) ensures the employment of Chinese citizens is not discriminatory in terms of sex, ethnic origin, or political belief; (3) ensures that no convict, forced, or indentured labor is knowingly used; (4) recognizes the rights of workers to freely organize and bargain collectively; and (5) discourages mandatory political indoctrination on business premises. Requires the Secretary to determine, and publish in the Federal Register, which persons are state-owned Chinese enterprises and Chinese defense industrial trading companies. Authorizes the President to waive any condition or prohibition imposed under this Act if he determines and reports to the Congress that its continued imposition would have a serious adverse effect on the vital U.S. national security. Declares that if the President recommends in 1995 that the waiver of human rights and emigration requirements for nondiscriminatory treatment for China be continued, he shall state in a specified report to the Congress the extent to which China has made progress with respect to: (1) adhering to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (2) ceasing the exportation to the United States of products made with convict, forced, or indentured labor; (3) ceasing unfair and discriminatory trade practices which restrict and unreasonably burden American businesses; and (4) adhering to the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime and the controls adopted by the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Australia Group.
Bill· SS. 2258 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
Establishes a commission on the roles and capabilities of the United States intelligence community. Requires the Commission to: (1) review the efficacy and appropriateness of U.S. intelligence activities in the post-Cold War global environment; and (2) issue a report containing recommendations with respect to U.S. intelligence roles and capabilities for the foreseeable future.
Bill· SS. 2242 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1994
National Institute for the Environment Act - Establishes the National Institute for the Environment to: (1) increase scientific understanding of environmental issues by supporting scientific environmental research and other environmental programs; (2) assist decision-making on environmental issues by providing assessments of knowledge of such issues; (3) serve as the foremost provider of access to current scientific and technical information about the environment; (4) sponsor higher education and training in environmental fields; (5) support the development of methods and technologies that increase understanding of the environment and minimize adverse environmental impact; (6) evaluate the status and needs of the various environmental sciences and fields; (7) foster interchange of scientific information about the environment; (8) address emerging environmental issues and aspects of environmental problems; and (9) establish research priorities for environmental issues. Establishes a Governing Board for the Institute and an Interagency Advisory Committee to ensure that the environmental efforts of the Institute and Federal agencies are complementary. Makes scientists, engineers, and other researchers eligible to receive funding from the Institute. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 2238 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1994
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities, including employing authorities of the House of Representatives, employing offices of the Senate, and instrumentalities of the Congress. Declares that: (1) this Act does not apply to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's partner; and (2) a disparate impact does not establish a prima facie violation of this Act. Prohibits quotas and preferential treatment. Declares that this Act does not apply to: (1) religious organizations (except in their for-profit activities); (2) the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Provides for enforcement. Disallows State and Federal immunity. Allows recovery of attorney's fees. Prohibits retaliation and coercion. Requires posting notices for employees and applicants.
Showing the 24 most recent records of 2,594. Browse the full list
![Official portrait of Sen. Metzenbaum, Howard M. [D-OH]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000678_200.jpg)