United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1993
Toxic Cleanup Equity Act of 1993 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to absolve municipalities or other persons of liability (other than to the President) for claims of contribution or other response costs for the generation, transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. Authorizes eligible persons or municipalities (defined as persons or municipalities against whom administrative or judicial actions are brought, or to whom notice is given of potential liability, for activities involving municipal solid waste or sewage sludge) to settle their liability with the President. Requires final settlements with eligible persons to: (1) allocate to all activities for the management of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge a combined maximum of four percent of the total response costs for the facility; (2) require eligible persons to pay only equitable shares of the maximum percentage; (3) limit payments based on inability to pay, litigative risks, and other equitable factors; (4) permit in-kind services with regard to response actions in lieu of cash contributions; (5) limit a publicly owned treatment works' payments if it has promoted the reuse of sewage sludge through land application; and (6) be reached even if a person is liable under other CERCLA provisions. Authorizes the President to provide a covenant not to sue to persons who have entered into settlements. Absolves such persons of liability for contributions or other response costs for matters addressed in settlements. Reduces others' potential liability by the amount of a settlement, but bars discharging potentially responsible parties unless the settlement so provides. Applies settlement provisions applicable to eligible persons to future disposal practices of municipalities or treatment works if specified conditions are met. Requires final settlements with eligible municipalities to conform to specified criteria, including: (1) public interest factors; (2) consideration of ability to pay; and (3) in-kind services in lieu of cash contributions. Makes this Act retroactively effective to all actions commenced before this Act's effective date unless a final court judgment or approval of a settlement agreement has been granted.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the excise tax on transportation of passengers by water a ferry voyage of less than 12 hours between a port in the United States and a port outside the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish an independent peer review process with respect to listing and delisting of endangered and threatened species (species). Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) in cooperation with the affected State to develop species recovery plans. Gives priority to multispecies plans and sets forth plan deadlines. Requires each Federal land management agency to identify species and appropriate conservation measures on lands under its jurisdiction. Authorizes agency contracts with the Secretary for such purposes. Directs the Secretary to establish a Habitat Conservation Planning Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or interest-free advances from the Fund to State and local governments for conservation plan development. Provides financial and technical assistance to private landowners for species conservation measures. Provides for increased international cooperation and enforcement under the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Authorizes Mary Jane Hatcher, David Hauck, Mary Beth Markey, Sandra Mason, Ursula McManus, and any other Senate employee who is subpoenaed to testify in the case of United States v. Thomas Weiss, except concerning matters for which a privilege should be asserted. Directs the Senate Legal Counsel to represent them and any Member, officer, or other Senate employee who is subpoenaed to testify in connection with such case.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1993
New Columbia Admission Act - Declares the State of New Columbia (presently, the District of Columbia) to be a State of the United States of America. Admits New Columbia into the Union on an equal footing with the other States in all respects. Reserves Federal title to certain lands and property in the National Capital Service Area. Directs the Governor to report to the Congress each fiscal year on the effects on the revenues and expenditures of the State because of the presence of the Federal Government's seat within or adjacent to it. Prohibits the State from changing any provision of its Constitution concerning height limitations on buildings without the consent of the Congress. Declares that nothing in this Act or the Constitution or laws of the State may be construed to permit it to refuse to allow an individual to serve as a qualified registered elector of the State solely because the individual resides in the National Capital Service Area. Sets forth election protocol for popular ratification of statehood. Provides for election of one member of the House of Representatives as well as two Senators. Maintains the laws that were territorially in effect. Continues any lawsuits already pending in District of Columbia courts. Establishes a Statehood Transition Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1993
Amends S. Res. 75, 103d Congress (extending the Jacob K. Javits Senate Fellowship Program), to increase the limitation on annual funding made available for participants in the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1993
United States-China Act of 1993 - Prohibits the President from recommending for a 12-month period in 1994 continuation of a waiver of human rights and emigration requirements for nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) for China under the Trade Act of 1974 unless the President reports to the Congress that China has: (1) taken steps to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in China and Tibet and allowed the unrestricted emigration of Chinese citizens who desire to leave for reasons of political or religious persecution; (2) accounted for and released prisoners who dissented in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, and other citizens detained for the nonviolent expression of their political beliefs or the exercise of internationally guaranteed rights of freedom of speech, association, and assembly; and (3) prevented the export to the United States of products manufactured by convict or forced labor. Requires such report to state whether China has made significant progress in: (1) ceasing religious persecution in China and Tibet and releasing religious leaders incarcerated as a result of the expression of their religious beliefs; (2) ceasing financial and other incentives to encourage non-Tibetans to relocate in Tibet; (3) ceasing unfair trade practices which restrict American business; (4) providing U.S. exporters fair access to Chinese markets, including lowering tariffs, removing nontariff barriers, and increasing the purchase of U.S. goods and services; (5) adhering to the Missile Control Technology Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group controls and the Australian Group on Chemical and Biological Arms controls; (6) adhering to the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong; (7) accounting for U.S. military personnel listed as prisoners of war or missing in action with respect to the Korean and Vietnam conflicts; (8) ceasing the jamming of Voice of America broadcasts; and (9) providing humanitarian groups access to prisoners and places of detention. Requires the President, if he recommends such extension, to report on the extent of China's compliance with the above-mentioned objectives. Grants nondiscriminatory treatment to products produced by nonstate-owned enterprises in China. Declares that despite China's entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) its most-favored-nation treatment status shall be governed by the Trade Act of 1974. Requires the President, if he decides not to seek such extension, to ensure that members of the GATT take similar action with respect to China.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1993
National Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 1993 - 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 retailers and retailers to collect from consumers the refund value for each beverage sold to consumers. Requires retailers and distributors to pay the refund on returned containers of brands (in the same kind and size of container) sold. Directs distributors to pay annually to a State unclaimed refund amounts (the amount by which the total refund value of all containers sold by 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 similar to those under this Act or that have demonstrated achievement of a recycling or reuse rate for beverage containers of at least 70 percent. 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. Provides 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 · 22 April 1993
Authorizes Lula Rodriguez, and any other Senate employee whose testimony is required, to testify in Pefaur v. Pefaur, except concerning matters for which a privilege should be asserted.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1993
Directs the Senate Legal Counsel to appear as amicus curiae on behalf of the Senate in United States ex rel. Taxpayers Against Fraud, et al. v. General Electric Company to defend the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Locate and Case Tracking Title II: Establishment Title III: Parentage Title IV: Enforcement Title V: Collection and Distribution Title VI: Federal Role Title VII: State Role Title VIII: Effective Date Interstate Child Support Enforcement Act - Title I: Locate and Case Tracking - (Sec. 101) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow the Federal Parent Locator System (FPLS) to be used for parentage establishment and child support and visitation enforcement if there are appropriate safeguards. (Sec. 102) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement to provide the Secretary (Secretary) of Health and Human Services (HHS) with access to quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Requires that State agencies charged with child support enforcement maintain child support order registries and be allowed access to medical, financial, employment, and other specified data base information on absent parents. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should investigate accessing certain Federal data banks not already linked with FPLS. (Sec. 103) Requires the Secretary to expand FPLS to provide State agencies and courts with a national locate and case tracking network. (Sec. 104) Requires that private attorneys and pro se obligees be allowed limited access to State locate information and enforcement techniques for purposes of establishing and enforcing child support and other orders if there are appropriate safeguards. (Sec. 105) Requires the heads of national and regional individual tracking systems to allow child support enforcement agencies access to their information. (Sec. 106) Requires that States: (1) broadcast failure-to-appear warrants, capiases, and bench warrants issued in parentage and child support proceedings over their crime information systems; and (2) remit any subsequent forfeiture to the child support obligee to the extent of any child support arrearage if a defendant posts security after being arrested. Title II: Establishment - (Sec. 201) Amends SSA title IV part D to set forth requirements for State laws on service of process and jurisdiction in child support and parentage actions. Declares that the Congress finds that due process is satisfied if State courts exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident who is the parent or presumed parent of a resident child in order to establish, enforce, or modify a child support order or to establish parentage. Requires States to recognize and enforce parentage and child support orders of other States where jurisdiction has been properly exercised. Specifies the conditions under which a State court may modify a parentage or child support order made by another State court. (Sec. 202) Provides for service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed forces relating to child support, alimony, and parentage obligations. (Sec. 203) Requires that parents' identification and locate information be filed with the State court adjudicating parentage and child support actions. Requires safeguards on such information where there is a court order for the physical protection of the child or one parent entered against the other parent. (Sec. 204) Requires State child support agencies to timely notify any individual owed child support of all hearings in which such support might be established, modified, or enforced, and promptly provide copies of any such orders. (Sec. 205) Requires States to allow parties seeking both parentage and child support establishment in a judicial proceeding to bring a joint action in a single cause of action. Sets forth guidelines for uniform State procedures regarding jurisdiction and venue, and Federal employee residential status. (Sec. 206) Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) to allow appropriate State agencies to obtain from credit reporting agencies information relevant to the setting of a child support award without having to obtain a court order. (Sec. 207) Creates a National Child Support Guidelines Commission to study and report to the President and the Congress on national child support guidelines, and to develop such guidelines for congressional consideration should it be advisable. (Sec. 208) Amends SSA title IV part D to specify certain principles to be included in State child support guidelines. (Sec. 209) Requires States to provide for continuation of a parental child support obligation until a child's marriage, emancipation by a court, or the later of a child's 18th birthday or graduation from high school, except in cases of disabilities arising during childhood or where a court (as allowed by this Act) has ordered support payable to an adult child in college. (Secs. 210 and 211) Requires the new Assistant Secretary of the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) (designated under title VI of this Act) to: (1) draft and distribute a national subpoena duces tecum for use by child support agencies and others to reach employee income information; and (2) develop a uniform abstract of a child support order for State court use. (Sec. 212) Requires States to: (1) list on marriage licenses the applicants' social security numbers; and (2) use procedures that require individuals who have been issued subpoenas to produce and deliver documents to or to appear at a court or administrative agency on a certain date. Title III: Parentage - (Sec. 301) Aments SSA title IV part D to: (1) require States to provide for hospital-based paternity outreach programs and adopt various specified procedures related to paternity establishment; and (2) provide for 90 percent Federal matching for such programs. Title IV: Enforcement - (Secs. 401 and 402) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) revise anti-assignment provisions to allow child support to be withheld from certain governmental sources; and (2) require procedures for State verification of W-4 form information on outstanding child support obligations and imposition of monetary penalties for failures involving W-4 form reporting and subsequent employer withholding of child support obligations. (Sec. 402) Requires: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the W-4 form completed by new employees to include information on outstanding child support obligations; and (2) employers to provide a copy of such form to the appropriate State child support enforcement agency. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to require employers to withhold from employee wages amounts owed for child support. (Sec. 403) Requires States to mandate that any individual or entity engaged in commerce, as a condition of doing business in that State, honor income withholding notices or orders issued by a court or agency of any other State, and maintain records of payroll deductions for child support obligations. (Sec. 404) Specifies the priority for applying proceeds withheld from income for current and past due child support obligations and health insurance for dependent children. (Sec. 405) Allows workers' compensation income to be subject to income withholding. (Sec. 406) Amends CCPA with respect to State laws and garnishments for securing child support. Gives Federal debts a lower priority than child support debts when the obligor's disposable income cannot satisfy both debts through withholding. Prohibits employers from discharging any employee whose earnings are subject to garnishment for additional indebtedness arising from a child support order. (Secs. 407 through 412, 414, 416 through 421, and 424) Requires States to: (1) provide that the election of remedies prohibition does not apply in child support cases; (2) refuse to issue or renew professional and business licenses of noncustodial parents subject to outstanding child support warrants; (3) prohibit motor vehicle departments from issuing or renewing the driver's licenses of any such parent; (4) authorize post-judgment bank account seizure without a separate court order to collect overdue child support payments; (5) impose liens against lottery or gambler's winnings, insurance settlements or policy payouts, court awards, judgments, or settlements, and property seized in forfeiture cases to collect such payments; (6) void fraudulent conveyances of property made to avoid paying child support; (7) allow the posting of a cash bond, security deposit, or personal undertaking to provide for timely child support payments in cases not involving absent parents; (8) authorize attachment of a child support obligor's retirement investment funds without a separate court order to collect overdue child support payments; (9) mandate reporting to credit bureaus of overdue child support equaling two month's child support payment; (10) enact laws that provide for criminal penalties for non-support; (11) permit enforcement of any child support order until at least the child's 30th birthday; (12) assess and collect interest on all child support judgments; (13) provide for health care insurance for the child; and (14) adopt without material change the officially approved version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. (Sec. 408) Prohibits States and the Federal Government from issuing or renewing professional and business licenses of individuals delinquent in making child support payments until the license hold is released. (Sec. 413) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the IRS Commissioner should instruct IRS field officers and agents to give a high priority to requests for the use of full collection in delinquent child support cases. Requires the Secretary of Treasury to simplify the full collection process and reduce the amount of child support arrearage needed before an individual may apply for full collection. (Sec. 415) Permits Federal and State tax refund procedures to be used by non-AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (SSA title IV part A) recipients to collect past-due child support regardless of the child's age. (Sec. 422) Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to: (1) allow parentage and child support case establishment, modification, and enforcement to proceed uninterrupted after a bankruptcy petition is filed; (2) treat as outside chapter 11, 12, or 13 plans debt owed to child support creditors, except as specified; and (3) allow a claim for payment of a debt for child support to be asserted in court. (Sec. 423) Sets forth requirements pertaining to parentage establishment and child support payments in the armed forces. Title V: Collection and Distribution - (Secs. 501 through 504) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) set priorities for State distribution of child support collections; (2) require States to limit claims against noncustodial parents for reimbursement of a child's portion of AFDC to the amount specified under a child support order; (3) allow States to assess charges above the application fee for non-AFDC child support services against persons other than custodial parents; and (4) require States to provide for collection and disbursement points for child support cases. (Sec. 501) Authorizes the Comptroller General to analyze the existing child support distribution system and authorize, under certain circumstances, pilot projects for the distribution of arrearages in a specified manner. Amends the IRC to revise the Federal income tax refund offset mechanism. Title VI: Federal Role - (Sec. 601) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) designate the separate organizational unit charged under current law with various child support and parentage responsibilities as the OCSE; and (2) change OCSE's organizational structure. (Secs. 602 and 603) Requires the new OCSE Assistant Secretary to provide training assistance to the States and study staffing at State child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 602) Requires States to provide for training for child support personnel. (Sec. 604) Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the incentive formula operating with respect to State child support agencies. (Sec. 605) Defines "child support" to include periodic and lump sum payments for current and past-due economic support, payments of premiums for health insurance for children, payments for or provision of child care, and payments for educational services. (Secs. 606 and 607) Requires the Secretary to: (1) contract for a study of and report to the Congress on the OCSE audit process to improve the criteria and methodology for auditing State child support enforcement agencies; and (2) make grants to provide for demonstration projects for the purpose of establishing or improving a system of assured minimum child support payments. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: State Role - (Sec. 701) Amends SSA title IV part D to prohibit States from denying establishment, enforcement, or modification services to applicants because of nonresidency. (Secs. 702, 703, and 705) Requires States to: (1) promote the greatest economic security possible for children, within the obligor's ability to pay; (2) provide custodial parents with certain information; and (3) allow changes in child support payees without a court hearing or order. (Sec. 704) Expresses the sense of the Congress that State and local child support enforcement agencies should provide: (1) offices in easily accessible locations near public transportation; (2) office hours that allow parents to meet with attorneys and caseworkers without taking time off work; and (3) office environments suitable for discussion of matters related to privacy. Title VIII: Effective Date - (Sec. 801) Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Authorizes Claudia Breggia and Shirley Tucker to testify in United States v. Armand D'Amato, and the Senate Legal Counsel to represent them in connection with such testimony.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1993
Indoor Air Quality Act of 1993 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a national research, development, and demonstration program to assure the quality of indoor air. Authorizes the Administrator to assist technology demonstration activities based on a technology's potential to cost effectively control sources of contaminants. Directs the Administrator to conduct a national assessment of indoor air pollution in buildings owned by local educational agencies and child care facilities. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on issues related to chemical sensitivity disorders. Repeals title IV of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 concerning radon and indoor air quality research. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to develop a course to provide training in: (1) ventilation system operation and maintenance; (2) maintenance of records concerning indoor air quality; and (3) the identification of health threats posed by indoor air pollutants and options for reducing exposure to contaminants. Directs the Administrator to publish and biennially revise a list of contaminants known to occur in indoor air at levels expected to cause adverse health effects. Directs the Administrator to develop and publish a national indoor air quality response plan to reduce human exposure to listed indoor air pollutants and attain contaminant levels protective of human health. Requires the Administrator and the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to develop and implement a program to respond to and reduce indoor air contamination in Federal buildings and to demonstrate methods of reducing indoor air contamination in new Federal buildings. Requires that any new EPA building be maintained as a model to demonstrate practices for protection of indoor air quality. Directs the GSA Administrator to provide a method to allow workers and the public to file complaints concerning indoor air quality in Federal buildings. Requires the GSA Administrator to designate an Indoor Air Quality Coordinator for each Federal building owned or leased by GSA. Provides that the GSA Administrator shall not reestablish leases for buildings in which the lessee has failed to designate and train a Coordinator. Authorizes grants to States for the development and implementation of management strategies and indoor air quality assessment and response programs similar to those of the Federal program. Directs the Administrator to establish the Office of Indoor Air Quality to implement agency responsibilities under this Act. Establishes a Council on Indoor Air Quality to coordinate Federal indoor air quality activities. Directs the Administrator to establish a national indoor air quality clearinghouse which shall operate a toll-free hotline on indoor air quality. Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to implement a Building Assessment Demonstration Program to support the development of methods for assessing indoor air contamination in non-residential, non-industrial buildings and to provide contamination reduction assistance and guidance to building owners and occupants. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1993
Indoor Radon Abatement Reauthorization Act of 1993 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate areas in which the average radon level is likely to exceed the national average by more than a de minimis amount as priority radon areas. Requires the Administrator to make available to the public final radon control standards and techniques for residential dwellings, multiunit residential structures, and schools. Directs the appropriate Federal official, before providing any direct Federal financial assistance, to require residential dwellings or multiunit residential structures constructed in a priority radon area later than two years after the establishment of new construction standards, the date of enactment of this Act, or the designation of such area as a priority radon area, whichever is later, to be constructed in accordance with radon control standards. Requires the Administrator to establish a radon design awards program to provide for awards for the best residential design incorporating radon control or mitigation standards. Makes specified activities eligible for grant assistance for radon programs. Requires local educational agencies located in priority radon areas to conduct radon tests in school buildings. Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress a plan describing activities to be undertaken by Federal agencies to assess and mitigate radon in Federal buildings. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promulgate regulations for the disclosure of radon hazards in housing offered for sale or lease. Directs the Administrator to develop a written document containing radon-related information. Requires housing contracts to contain radon warning statements and affords potential purchasers the right to conduct a test and access to radon-related information. Prohibits persons from offering radon measurement devices or measurement or mitigation services unless they have completed the EPA radon proficiency program. Requires the Administrator to implement an outreach program to provide information about radon to the medical community. Directs Federal agencies to assure that new Federal buildings or schools constructed with Federal funds in priority radon areas conform to model construction standards for controlling radon levels. Requires the Secretary to disseminate information on health threats posed by radon and radon testing and mitigation methods to federally assisted housing in priority radon areas. Provides for testing of federally owned housing in such areas prior to the signing of a sales contract. Directs the Secretary to undertake a radon research program. Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to study and report to the Congress on the extent of radon contamination in work places. Authorizes appropriations. Extends the authorization of appropriations for technical assistance, grants to States for radon programs, and regional radon training centers. Earmarks funds for radon remediation measures for local educational agencies and for grants to such agencies for reducing radon levels. Directs the Administrator to: (1) evaluate existing efforts to promote radon testing in homes and methods to increase such testing; and (2) report to the Congress on the effectiveness of alternative strategies to promote such testing. Requires the Administrator to conduct a program to reassess the human health risks associated with radon exposure.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1993
Radio Free Asia Act of 1993 - Amends the Board for International Broadcasting Act of 1973 to authorize the Board for International Broadcasting to designate one organization constituted on the model of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Incorporated, to carry out radio broadcasting to China, Tibet, Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. Designates such broadcasts as Radio Free China. Increases the number of Board members. Limits terms of Board members who are presidential appointees to three years. Sets forth additional provisions concerning membership terms.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1993
Authorizes the chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs to provide to the Department of Justice records of testimony and exhibits received by the Committee in its investigation of management problems at the National Archives and Records Administration, except for materials for which a privilege should be asserted.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improving Enrollment Title II: Application of Other Medicaid Eligibility Rules Title III: Report Medicare Enrollment Improvement and Protection Act of 1993 - Title I: Improving Enrollment - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services' annual notice to Medicare beneficiaries to inform certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries of the requirements to qualify for Medicaid (SSA title XIX) payment of their Medicare out-of-pocket expenses and how to apply for such cost-sharing benefit. Requires such notice to be suitable for posting and distributed to physicians, medical facilities, and others receiving grants to provide services to older individuals. Mandates direct enrollment of Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) eligibles by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to establish a toll-free telephone number for information about such cost-sharing benefit. Amends the Medicaid program to: (1) require the Secretary to develop a simplified form for applying for such cost-sharing benefit for processing at social security offices; and (2) provide for a period of presumptive eligibility for medical assistance for individuals who qualify for such cost-sharing benefit without regard to whether a final determination of eligibility for such assistance has been made. Directs the Secretary to make grants to State agencies and organizations for the provision of outreach assistance to older individuals who may be eligible for such cost-sharing benefit. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Application of Other Medicaid Eligibility Rules - Amends the Medicaid program to permit retroactive payments of medical costs incurred by certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries in or after the third month before the month in which such an individual applied for such cost-sharing benefit. Title III: Report - Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on Department activities to ensure enrollment in and full implementation of such cost-sharing program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1993
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as of December 1, 1993, to increase the rates of and limitations on: (1) veterans' disability compensation; (2) additional compensation for veterans' dependents; (3) the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans; (4) dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children; and (5) supplemental dependency and indemnity compensation for disabled adult children. Requires such increases to be the same percentage as the increase in benefit amounts payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to certain persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death. Requires the Secretary to publish such rate increases and limitations in the Federal Register at the same time that OASDI benefit increases are required to be published.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1993
Family Preservation and Child Protection Reform Act - (Sec. 3) Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to convert the Child Welfare program from an authorization to a capped innovative family services entitlement program. Requires maintenance of State effort under such program. Sets forth a new formula for allotments to States under such program. Requires States to use funds to provide respite care to any family operating a foster family home for one or more foster children with special needs. Requires the use of entitlement grants to develop or expand specialized child welfare services programs for families in crisis due to substance abuse. (Sec. 4) Reserves funds for grants to State court systems to assess and improve procedures in child welfare cases. (Sec. 5) Requires each State to periodically compile a detailed directory of programs designed to keep families together or reunify them or place children permanently, identifying which of such programs provides specialized child welfare services to families in crisis due to substance abuse. (Sec. 6) Requires States to inventory all children placed in foster care and determine the appropriate action in each case. Requires States to set up information and case review systems for each child receiving foster care, as well as specified service programs for all such children. (Sec. 7) Requires States to report on measures taken to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act. (Sec. 9) Allows the involvement of private parties in the development of State plans. (Sec. 10) Amends title IV of the Social Security Act to add a new part C, Comprehensive Service Projects to grant States flexibility and resources to develop comprehensive and coordinated services. Authorizes demonstration projects for the coordination of child and family services. (Sec. 11) Makes children whose adoption has been set aside by a court eligible for discretionary foster care maintenance payments. Makes eligible for adoption assistance payments the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made. (Sec. 12) Expands the definition of children with special needs, for purposes of the adoption assistance program. (Sec. 13) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish an Advisory Committee on Foster Care Placement to study and report to the Secretary and the Congress on reasonable State efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of children from their homes and to make it possible for foster children to return home. (Sec. 14) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a deduction for adoption expenses paid for a child with special needs. (Sec. 15) Requires the State plan to provide for a periodic reevaluation of foster care maintenance payments. (Sec. 16) Revises requirements for dispositional hearings to determine the final status of a foster child, in part to accelerate such hearings. (Sec. 18) Revises certain case plan requirements for placement of children in out-of-State foster care, including special State reports on such placements. (Sec. 19) Revises certain requirements for the treatment of assets of youth participating in the independent living program. (Sec. 20) Eliminates the ceilings on Federal foster care payments to States and the States' authority to transfer unused foster care funds to the Child Welfare Services program. (Sec. 21) Directs the Secretary of HHS to: (1) establish an advisory committee; and (2) issue final regulations for training of staff of agencies responsible for administering foster care and adoption assistance programs and for training of foster and adoptive parents. Requires the Secretary to publish a model staff recruitment, training, and staff retention program for State and local child welfare agencies. (Sec. 23) Provides for grants for child welfare traineeships. (Sec. 25) Amends title IV of the Social Security Act to add a new part G, Child Welfare Review System. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish such system to: (1) review each State child welfare program to assess whether the requirements of such Act are being carried out; (2) impose financial penalties in cases of substantial failure to comply; and (3) provide technical assistance to any such program. (Sec. 26) Requires the Secretary to establish a work group to advise on the planning and implementation of the system to be used for the collection of data relating to adoption and foster care. (Sec. 27) Requires the Secretary to conduct, through contracts with independent research organizations, the following research and evaluation projects; (1) foster care evaluations; (2) longitudinal child welfare data bases; and (3) studies of child welfare population dynamics. Requires the Secretary to study child separation practices in at least three States and develop appropriate separation guidelines. (Secs. 28-30) Directs the Secretary of HHS to conduct certain demonstration projects with respect to child welfare, independent living services for young adults, and home rebuilding for children released from foster care. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Commission on the Evaluation of Disability in Children. (Sec. 32) Amends part A of title XI of the Social Security Act to overturn certain limitations in Suter v. Artist M. on private enforceability of State plan requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1993
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to exclude certain footwear and leather-related products assembled in beneficiary countries from duty-free treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1993
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise procedures under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) with regard to extra-billing limits, with changes including imposition of sanctions against physicians who fail to refund charges collected in excess of the applicable limiting charge. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services' report to the Congress monitoring charges for physician services to include the extent to which actual charges exceed limiting charges. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Medicare Beneficiary Advisory Council to discuss proposed regulations, carrier manual instructions, and other issues with an impact on Medicare services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1993
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the use of claim sampling to deny claims or recover overpayments under Medicare except when fraud has been determined, in which case claim sampling may be used for the purpose of assessing civil monetary penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1993
Authorizes: (1) Suzanne Beede, a Senate employee, to testify in Kofoed v. Swanson-Nunn Electric Company, et al., except concerning matters for which a privilege should be asserted; and (2) the Senate Legal Counsel to represent her.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the low-income housing credit permanent. Modifies provisions concerning unused housing credit carryovers by States to allow States to carry over more unused credits from year to year. Provides that a unit shall not fail to be treated as low-income because it is occupied by students or persons enrolled in job training programs under the Job Training Partnership Act. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to waive: (1) any recapture of credit (required to be included in tax) in the case of any de minimis error in complying with tests for qualified low-income housing projects; or (2) any annual recertification of tenant income if the entire building is occupied by low-income tenants. Determines the adjusted basis of any building (for purposes of the low-income housing credit) by taking into account the adjusted basis of the property used in community activity facilities if: (1) such facilities are designed to serve individuals meeting income requirements for the housing project; and (2) not more than 20 percent of the aggregate eligible basis of all buildings in the project is attributable to the aggregate basis of such facilities. Applies at-risk rules to low-income housing credit property that also qualifies for the historic site rehabilitation credit and to qualified lenders. Adds conditions prohibiting discrimination against Section 8 tenants for purposes of meeting extended low-income housing commitments required to receive credits.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1993
Jacob K. Javits Senate Fellowship Program Extension Resolution - Extends the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program (Program) for five years. Directs the Jacob K. Javits Foundation, Inc., New York, New York, to select Program participants and set criteria for their completion of graduate study. Limits to ten the number of annual fellowship participants who may be employed in the Senate component of the Program. Authorizes the Secretary of the Senate to appoint them and set their compensation. Requires them to be placed in positions supportive of their academic programs, if practical. Terminates the Program on September 30, 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1993
Expresses the sense of the Senate that neither the President nor the Congress should impose fees, levies, or diversion requirements on imported crude oil and refined petroleum products.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1993
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit (until the Attorney General certifies that a national instant criminal background check system (System) is established pursuant to this Act) any licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from selling, delivering, or transferring a handgun to an unlicensed individual unless: (1) after the most recent proposal of such transfer by the individual, the transferor has received a statement of eligibility from the individual, verified the identity of such individual, provided notice of the contents, and transmitted a copy of the statement to the chief law enforcement officer (chief) of the place of residence of the individual within one day after the individual furnishes the statement; and five business days have elapsed from the date the transferor furnished notice of the contents of the statement to the chief, during which period the transferor has not received information from the chief that receipt or possession of the handgun by the individual would be in violation of Federal, State, or local law or has received notice from the chief that the chief has no information indicating that such receipt or possession would violate such law; (2) the individual has presented to the transferor a statement from the chief, issued in the past ten days, stating that the individual requires a handgun because of a threat to such individual or such individual's family; (3) the individual has presented to the transferor a permit to possess a handgun that has been issued in the past five years by the State in which the transfer is to take place under a State law which requires law enforcement verification of the individual's legal qualification to possess a handgun; (4) State law requires that an authorized government official verifies that the information available to such official does not indicate that possession of a handgun by the purchaser would be unlawful, with exceptions; (5) the Secretary of the Treasury has approved the transfer under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; or (6) the Secretary has certified, on application of the transferor, that compliance with the notice requirement is impracticable for specified reasons. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish the System; (2) expedite the upgrading and indexing of State criminal history records in the Federal criminal records system maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the development of hardware and software systems to link State criminal history check systems into the System, and the current revitalization initiatives by the FBI for technologically advanced fingerprint and criminal records identification; and (3) ensure the privacy and security of System information. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the use of justice system improvement formula grants for the improvement of State record systems and the sharing with the Attorney General of specified records for the purpose of implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit tax-exempt private foundations and community foundations to establish tax-exempt cooperative service organizations to operate exclusively for charitable purposes. Declares that the excise tax based on investment income applies to such organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993
Delays the effective date for imposition of penalties upon States that do not have in effect safety belt and motorcycle helmet traffic safety programs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1993
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-164, as amended) to extend the authorization for new claims for benefits under the emergency unemployment compensation (EUC program) to October 2, 1993 (currently March 6, 1993). Modifies the final phase-out period for continuation of claims to end on January 15, 1994 (currently June 19, 1993). Provides for a similar extension of the program of temporary extended railroad unemployment insurance benefits (and modification of the phase-out period). Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a program to encourage all States to adopt and implement a system (including automated data processing) for profiling all new claimants for regular unemployment compensation, to determine which claimants may be likely to exhaust such compensation and need reemployment assistance services. Requires provision of such technical assistance, advice, and funding to States for model profiling systems as the Secretary deems appropriate and necessary. Requires the Secretary to report, with recommendations, to the Congress on such systems within 30 months after enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act's extension of the EUC program. Designates all direct spending amounts provided and all appropriations authorized by this Act as emergency requirements for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1993
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue gold and silver coins emblematic of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Establishes the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Maintenance Fund to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior for Memorial-related purposes and to provide educational scholarships to the immediate family members of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty whose names appear on the Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1993
Declares that: (1) the issue of children's rights and well-being is important to the United States and the world; and (2) the President should promptly seek the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow, on order of a veterinarian: (1) a new animal drug approved for one use to be used for a different purpose; and (2) a new drug approved for human use to be used in non-food producing animals.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993
Authorization for Use of United States Armed Forces in Somalia - Authorizes the President to use U.S. armed forces to implement United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 794 which authorizes the use of all necessary means to establish a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in Somalia. Declares that this Act is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization under the War Powers Resolution. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) consult with the Secretary General of the UN and with the other member countries of the Security Council to ensure that peacekeeping forces from other UN countries continue to be deployed in Somalia to maintain a secure environment and to allow U.S. armed forces to transfer the mission to a UN-led force at the earliest possible date; (2) ensure that U.S. armed forces serving in Somalia are permitted to take all reasonable measures to protect themselves; and (3) submit a report to the Congress providing an assessment of the costs of Operation Restore Hope. Directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to jointly submit to the Congress a report on the introduction and commitment of U.S. armed forces into combat situations in Somalia and elsewhere.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993
Provides for a recess or adjournment of the Senate from February 4 or 5, 1993, until February 16, 1993, and an adjournment of the House of Representatives from February 4 or 5, 1993, until February 16, 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1993
Directs the Senate Legal Counsel to appear as amicus curiae on behalf of the Senate in Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., et al. v. Federal Communications Commission, et al., and consolidated cases in support of the constitutionality of specified sections of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 which require cable operators to carry the signals of certain local commercial and noncommercial educational television stations.
![Official portrait of Sen. Mitchell, George J. [D-ME]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000811_200.jpg)