United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1997
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to: (1) repeal a provision which prohibits a State or local government from regulating the placement, construction, or modification of personal wireless service facilities (communications towers) on the basis of the environmental effects of frequency emissions from such facilities when such facilities comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations; (2) require that, in any action in which a person seeking to place, construct, or modify such a facility is a party, such person bear the burden of proof of its necessity; and (3) prohibit the FCC from adopting as a final rule a certain proposed rule which would preempt State and local zoning and land use restrictions on the siting, placement, and construction of broadcast station transmission facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1997
Innovative Environmental Strategies Act of 1997 - Authorizes owners or operators of facilities subject to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules, requirements, policies, or practices to submit proposals for innovative environmental strategies for achieving better environmental results to the EPA Administrator. Excludes rules for emissions reductions under the Clean Air Act and certain reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 from the definition of "rule." Authorizes the Administrator to enter into an innovative environmental strategy agreement with a facility upon approval of the proposal and subject to other specified requirements. Permits such agreements to: (1) modify or waive otherwise applicable EPA rules, requirements, policies, or practices; (2) establish new environmental standards for a facility; or (3) establish new requirements not contained in existing rules or statutes. Bars such agreements from contravening the specific terms of a statute. Declares that such agreements should further the purposes of environmental statutes. Requires the Administrator to establish procedures under which a person other than the owner or operator may cosponsor a proposal. Gives priority to proposals cosponsored by stakeholder groups. Sets forth requirements for the stakeholder participation process. Permits the Administrator to limit the number of stakeholder participants if it is determined that such participants adequately represent the full range of interests (excluding competitive business interests) that may be affected by the innovative environmental strategy. Lists conditions for the approval of agreements, including that a strategy is expected to achieve better environmental results. Requires the Administrator to give great weight to stakeholders in determining whether to approve or disapprove a strategy. Sets forth conditions under which the Administrator shall deny a proposal if individual stakeholders object. Provides that if a proposed strategy involves waiving or modifying requirements under State, tribal, or local law, the Administrator shall not approve an agreement unless procedures required under such laws for waivers or modifications are followed. Requires agreements to include enforceable requirements and permits agreements to include voluntary commitments. Provides that failure to implement a voluntary commitment constitutes a ground for agreement termination. Sets forth conditions under which the Administrator may terminate agreements. Limits agreements to five-year terms, with exceptions. Provides for renewals. Provides for judicial review of a decision by the Administrator to enter into an agreement. Limits the number of agreements to 50 and authorizes the Administrator to limit the number to fewer than 50. Requires the Administrator to: (1) give priority consideration to proposals from small businesses; (2) ensure that agreements reflect proposals from a diversity of industrial sectors; and (3) establish a program to facilitate development of proposals from small businesses. Sets forth limits on the purposes and uses of agreements. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on whether approaches embodied in an innovative environmental strategy should be proposed for incorporation in a statute or regulation. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on the aggregate effect of agreements. Permits the Administrator to provide grants for technical assistance to stakeholder groups. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1997
Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to conduct a demonstration project under which covered members and beneficiaries under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) who are or become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act will be eligible to enroll in health benefits plans offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. Requires the demonstration project to be conducted in two geographic areas and to last at least two, but not more than three, contract years. Provides for: (1) management of participation in the project; (2) Government contributions for beneficiary coverage under the FEHB program; and (3) reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1997
Technology Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Commerce for the: (1) Scientific and Technical Research and Services laboratory activities of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; (2) construction and maintenance of Institute facilities; (3) activities of Under Secretary for Technology, the Office of Technology Policy, and the Office of Air and Space Commercialization; and (4) industrial technology services activities of the Institute. (Sec. 6) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act respecting the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) to, among other things: (1) require each applicant for a contract or award to certify that the applicant has made an effort to secure private market funding for the research project involved; (2) permit a large business to participate in a research project that is the subject of a contract or award only as a member of a joint venture that includes one or more small businesses as members; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Commerce to vest title to tangible personal property in any recipient of financial assistance under specified conditions. (Sec. 7) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to revise requirements for the extension of Federal financial assistance to Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology under the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program. (Sec. 8) Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 respecting the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to expand the list of categories for awards. (Sec. 9) Prohibits funds authorized by this Act or any other Act enacted before the date of enactment of this Act from being used for the Next Generation Internet, with the exception of funds that may be used for the continuation of the programs and activities related to Next Generation Internet that were funded and carried out during FY 1997. (Sec. 11) Expresses the sense of the Congress on the Year 2000 problem. (Sec. 12) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Director should donate educationally useful Federal equipment to schools to enhance the science and mathematic programs of those schools. Mandates annual reports to the President. (Sec. 13) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to establish within the Institute a teacher science and technology enhancement program to provide for the professional development of mathematics and science school teachers. (Sec. 14) Requires a joint study by the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering to review the effectiveness of the ATP. (Sec. 15) Establishes within the Department an Office of Air and Space Commercialization to be the principal unit for the coordination of space-related issues, programs, and initiatives within the Department. (Sec. 16) Establishes the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology (EPSCoT) to strengthen the technological competitiveness of States that have historically received less Federal research and development funds than those received by a majority of the States. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary, to: (1) enter into arrangements for the coordination of EPSCoT through the State committees established under the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) of the National Science Foundation; and (2) cooperate with any State science and technology council established under EPSCoR and representatives of small business firms and other technology-based businesses. Requires: (1) a specified report; and (2) an evaluation of the EPSCoT program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1997
Amends the Clean Water Act to require grants made under the National Estuary Program to be used for assisting activities necessary for the development and implementation of conservation and management plans (currently, for research and other technical work necessary for the development of such plans). Reauthorizes appropriations for the Program for FY 1999 through 2004.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1997
Persian Gulf War Veterans Act of 1997 - Presumes to be service-connected (and therefore compensable or treatable under Federal veterans' benefits provisions) any illness that: (1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines to warrant such a presumption based upon a positive association with exposure to a biological, chemical, or other toxic agent or environmental or wartime hazard (agent or hazard) associated with service in the southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; and (2) becomes manifest in a Gulf War veteran within a period to be prescribed by the Secretary. Requires such presumption even though there is no record of evidence of such illness in the veteran during the period of service. Requires the Secretary to make determinations under (1), above, based on sound medical and scientific evidence and to take into account reports submitted by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as required under this Act. Requires the Secretary to make appropriate determinations within 60 days after receipt of the NAS report. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the NAS under which NAS shall identify: (1) the agents or hazards to which Gulf War veterans may have been exposed; and (2) the illnesses that are manifest in such members. Directs NAS, after such identification, to determine whether a statistical association exists between exposure to such agent or hazard and the illness. Requires NAS to separately review potential treatment models for such illnesses, make recommendations for additional studies, and perform subsequent reviews of available evidence and data. Requires periodic reports from NAS to the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, and the veterans and defense committees (designated committees) concerning NAS activities under this Act. Terminates requirements and activities under this Act ten years after NAS submits its first report. Requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement with an alternative scientific organization if agreement cannot be reached with NAS. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a plan for the establishment and operation of a single computerized information data base for the collection, storage, and analysis of information on illnesses of, and treatment provided to, Gulf War veterans. Requires such plan to be submitted to the Secretary of Defense, NAS, and the designated committees. Directs NAS to evaluate and report on such plan. Requires the Secretary to: (1) continually compile and analyze all appropriate clinical data contained in the data base; and (2) report annually, along with the Secretary of Defense, to the designated committees with respect to the analysis of such data. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Health and Human Services to jointly carry out, and report to the designated committees on, a program of feasibility studies for conducting additional scientific research on health hazards resulting from exposure to agents or hazards associated with Gulf War service. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary to carry out an ongoing program to provide Gulf War veterans with information relating to any health risks determined to be associated with such service, together with services or benefits available.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1997
Repeals the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 and the amendments made by such Act. Applies the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 as if the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 had not been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Assistance for Young Children Title II: Child Care for Families Title III: Amendments to the Head Start Act Early Childhood Development Act of 1997 - Title I: Assistance for Young Children - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make allotments to eligible States to pay for the Federal share of the cost of enabling them to make competitive grants to local collaboratives for young child assistance activities. Requires the Governor of each State to establish or designate a State Early Learning Coordinating Board to make such grants. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Child Care for Families - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to establish a Zero-to-Six program of formula payments to States for child care assistance on behalf of children under six years of age. Makes appropriations for such grants. Title III: Amendments to the Head Start Act - Amends the Head Start Act to extend the authorization of appropriations and revise requirements for allotment of funds.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1997
National Research Investment Act of 1998 - States purposes of this Act, including to double the annual authorized amount of Federal funding for basic scientific, medical, and pre-competitive engineering research over the ten-year period following enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations for covered research and development for FY 1999 through 2008 to be used by the National Institutes of Health of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sets forth limitations on the use of such funds.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1997
Foreign Sovereign Immunity Technical Corrections Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the exemption from foreign sovereign immunity when money damages are sought against a foreign state for personal injury or death caused by a specified kind of violent act engaged in or materially supported by an official, employee, or agent of such foreign state. Extends the exemption from foreign sovereign immunity to foreign states which are not designated state sponsors of terrorism, but which have no treaty of extradition with the United States at the time the act occurred, and no adequate and available remedies conforming with fundamental fairness and due process. Sets forth a statute of limitations for actions against such a state, declaring that no action may be brought for a cause of action that arose more than 20 years before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1997
Declares the annual memorial service sponsored by the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Service Board of Directors to honor emergency medical services personnel who have died in the line of duty to be the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Service.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1997
Disapproves the President's cancellations (line item veto) of appropriations for 36 military construction projects in the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1997
Authorizes the President to present gold medals, on behalf of the Congress, to named individuals referred to collectively as the "Little Rock Nine," in recognition of the selfless heroism they exhibited and the pain they suffered in the cause of civil rights by integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates of such medals in bronze. States that these medals are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1997
50 States Commemorative Coin Program Act - Amends Federal law to mandate redesign of quarter-dollar coins issued during the ten-year period beginning 1999, with the reverse side emblematic of five of the 50 States each year during such period, selected in the order of their ratification of the U.S. Constitution or their admission to the Union.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1997
Instructs the Secretary of Energy to return to Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, in the original, unredacted form in which it was lent to the Department of Energy in 1983, the journal he prepared while serving as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1997
Estuary Habitat Restoration Partnership Act of 1997 - Establishes the Estuary Habitat Restoration Collaborative Council, to be composed of specified Federal officials. Directs the Council to develop an estuary habitat restoration strategy to ensure a comprehensive approach to the selection and prioritization of estuary habitat restoration projects and the full coordination of Federal and non-Federal activities related to such restoration. Requires, as part of such strategy, the development of: (1) a framework for coordinating and streamlining existing Federal plans and programs; and (2) proposals to maximize incentives for public-private partnerships and to leverage Federal resources to encourage increased private sector involvement in such restoration. Sets forth factors to be considered by the Council in determining project selection and assistance eligibility. Authorizes a restoration project to be designated as a priority project if it meets selection criteria and: (1) it addresses a restoration goal identified in the strategy; (2) it is part of an approved Federal estuary management or habitat restoration plan; (3) the non-Federal share of the project exceeds 50 percent; and (4) there is a nonpoint source program upstream of the project that addresses upstream sources that would otherwise re-impair the restored habitat. Gives such projects a higher priority for funding. Permits the Council to pay up to 25 percent of the cost of interim actions of restoration activity, pending completion of the strategy. Prohibits selection of a project until non-Federal interests have entered into specified written cooperation agreements pertaining to water resources projects in accordance with the Flood Control Act of 1970. Requires such agreements to provide for project maintenance and monitoring. Authorizes appropriations for the Council. Requires non-Federal applicants for assistance to demonstrate that a project meets this Act's requirements and selection criteria. Limits the Federal share of assistance to between 25 and 65 percent of a project's cost. Raises the maximum limit to 75 percent of the cost in cases of demonstrated need. Authorizes the Council to use funds made available under this Act to pay the share of costs of estuary habitat restoration activities eligible for funding under other laws if such activities would also be eligible for funding under this Act. Directs the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere to maintain a database of information on projects funded by the Council. Makes certain funds provided under the Water Resources Development Acts of 1986 and 1996 available to States and non-Federal persons in carrying out interim actions or projects under this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary of the Army to give estuary habitat restoration projects the same consideration as irrigation, navigation, or flood control projects and to establish such restoration as a primary mission of the Army Corps of Engineers. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out such projects. Directs the Comptroller General to report to the Congress and the Secretary on the extent to which the Council needs additional personnel and administrative resources to carry out this Act, including recommendations for necessary additional funding.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1997
Human Rights Information Act - Requires certain Federal agencies to identify and organize all human rights records regarding activities occurring in Guatemala and Honduras after 1944 for declassification and disclosure purposes, and to make them available to the public and other official entities, including Latin American or Caribbean countries. Instructs the President to report to the Congress regarding agency compliance. Prescribes guidelines under which the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (the Panel) shall review agency determinations to postpone public disclosure of any human rights record. Authorizes postponement of such public disclosures on specified grounds. Directs the Information Security Policy Advisory Council to report to the Congress on declassification of human rights records relating to other Latin American and Caribbean countries and to make such report available to the public. Creates two additional positions in the Panel in order to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1997
Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to exempt certain Canadian nationals or residents from the arrival-departure information required to be collected under the U.S. automated entry-exit control system.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1997
Declares that a primary objective of U.S. policy toward Cambodia should be the establishment of an international tribunal for the prosecution of those responsible for the Cambodia genocide. Calls upon: (1) the President, in compliance with the Cambodian Genocide Justice Act and the objectives stated above, to immediately deem it appropriate to encourage the establishment of an international criminal tribunal for the prosecution of members of the Khmer Rouge; (2) the United States, in further compliance with such Act, to support efforts to bring such members, including Pol Pot (former leader of the Khmer Rouge) to justice for their crimes against humanity before an international tribunal and to provide that tribunal with any information available on such members' involvement in the Cambodia genocide; and (3) the Secretary of State to encourage all Member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the People's Republic of China, Japan, and other interested countries to support such a tribunal.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Reasonable Efforts and Safety Requirements for Foster Care and Adoption Placements Title II: Incentives for Providing Permanent Families for Children Title III: Additional Improvements and Reforms Title IV: Miscellaneous Title V: Effective Date Promotion of Adoption, Safety, and Support for Abused and Neglected Children (PASS) Act - Title I: Reasonable Efforts and Safety Requirements for Foster Care and Adoption Placements - Amends title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to declare that, in meeting the "reasonable efforts" requirement of family preservation and reunification, the paramount concern of a State plan for foster care and adoption assistance shall be the health and safety of the child. States that reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify the family shall not be required on behalf of certain parents, including those who have murdered or committed felony assault against another child, or who would otherwise pose a serious risk to a child's health or safety. (Sec. 102) Includes the safety of the child in State case planning and review system requirements. (Sec. 103) Requires a State plan for foster care and adoption assistance to include certification by the State to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that it has established a State child death review team to investigate and prevent fatal child abuse and neglect. Requires the Secretary to establish a Federal child death review team to review child death reports on Federal lands, disseminate information to State and local jurisdictions, and develop policy and procedural recommendations for the Congress and the States. (Sec. 104) Delineates circumstances compelling a State to file a parental rights termination petition and concurrently initiate selection of a qualified family for an adoption for certain children in foster care or under State responsibility. Sets forth a one-year statute of limitations for appeals of orders terminating parental rights, or court-ordered removal of a child. (Sec. 106) Makes the Federal Parent Locator Service available to child welfare services for enforcement of child custody or visitation orders. (Sec. 107) Requires State plans for foster care and adoption assistance to provide: (1) procedures for criminal records checks for prospective foster and adoptive parents and group care staff; and (2) standards and guidelines ensuring quality services that protect the safety and health of children in foster care placements with agencies. (Sec. 109) Requires a case plan for a child for whom the State's goal is adoption or placement in another permanent home to document State agency efforts to accomplish that goal. Title II: Incentives for Providing Permanent Families for Children - Authorizes the Secretary to award an adoption incentive grant to an incentive-eligible State meeting specified criteria whose number of foster child or special needs adoptions for a fiscal year exceeds the number of such adoptions for the previous fiscal year. (Sec. 202) Modifies Adoption Assistance Program guidelines regarding a child with special needs to include a child who: (1) was in the care of a public or licensed private child care agency (or Indian tribal organization) prior to termination of parental rights or initiation of adoption proceedings; or (2) answers the same description but is not a U.S. citizen or resident. (Sec. 203) Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance to States and local communities to reach their targets for increased adoptions or alternative permanent placements for children in foster care. (Sec. 204) Requires a State plan for foster care and adoption assistance to proscribe geographic barriers to interstate adoption or foster care placement. Instructs the Secretary to appoint an advisory panel to report on interjurisdictional adoption issues and to recommend procedural improvements to facilitate such adoptions. (Sec. 205) Authorizes the Secretary to use Department of Health and Human Services facilities to facilitate the voluntary, mutually requested reunion of an adult adopted child age 21 with any birth parent, or adult adopted sibling age 21, if certain confidentiality criteria are met. (Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary to issue an annual report rating the performance of each State in protecting children placed in foster care, for adoption, or with a relative or guardian. Title III: Additional Improvements and Reforms - Expands from ten to 15 the number of States authorized to conduct child welfare demonstration projects. (Sec. 301) Changes the mandatory annual dispositional hearing for a child in foster care to a mandatory semiannual permanency planning hearing. (Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary to report to the interjurisdictional adoption advisory panel on the extent to which children in foster care are placed in kinship care, and subsequently to certain congressional committees, following advisory panel review and comment on the report. (Sec. 304) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the States should have procedures in effect for a chronically ill or near-death parent, without surrendering parental rights, to designate a standby guardian for the minor children, to take effect on the parent's death, mental incapacity, or physical debilitation (with consent). (Sec. 305) Requires that independent living programs be designed, among others, for children with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments are no longer being made because the child has accumulated assets of up to $5,000 which are otherwise regarded as resources in determining eligibility for Federal foster care benefits. (Sec. 306) Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on: (1) State and Federal programs that may fund substance abuse prevention and treatment services; (2) joint substance abuse prevention and treatment activities that are conducted by State agencies and State child welfare agencies; and (3) how those agencies address the needs of infants exposed to substance abuse. Provides guidelines for foster care maintenance payments to a child placed with a parent in a residential treatment program designed for specified purposes. (Sec. 307) Authorizes appropriations for family preservation and support services for FY 1999 through 2003. Mandates that State plans have a minimum spending requirement of 25 percent of certain funds for time-limited family reunification services. (Sec. 308) Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to the States to implement innovations to reduce backlogs of children awaiting adoption or foster care placement. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to report to certain congressional committees on State or local child welfare service agencies that act as representative payees on behalf of children under their care for purposes of receiving supplemental security income payments. (Sec. 404) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) and part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of SSA title IV to set forth guidelines for allocating the administrative costs of determining eligibility for such benefits. Title V: Effective Date - Sets forth effective dates for amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improvements in IRS Management and Oversight Title II: Improving the Efficiency of Tax Administration Title III: Providing Flexibility for IRS Management Internal Revenue Service Improvement Act of 1997 - Title I: Improvements in IRS Management and Oversight - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set a term of five years for the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. (Sec. 102) Establishes within the Department of the Treasury an Internal Revenue Service Management Board (with an Executive Committee) consisting of career and non-career employees. Directs such Board to support directly the Secretary of the Treasury in the oversight of the management and operation of the IRS. Directs the Secretary to establish the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Board, which shall be composed of individuals from the private sector, to advise the Secretary on the management and operation of the IRS. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 103) Establishes an Office for Customer Service, which shall be under the direction of an Assistant Commissioner of Internal Revenue, to be responsible for all taxpayer assistance and education. (Sec. 104) Establishes an Office of the Taxpayer Advocate which shall, among other things, assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS. Sets forth reporting requirements. Title II: Improving the Efficiency of Tax Administration - Authorizes the Secretary to promote and encourage the use of electronic tax administration programs. (Sec. 202) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into tax administration agreements with State tax authorities. Title III: Providing Flexibility for IRS Management - Amends Federal law concerning Government organization and employees to add a new chapter entitled Personnel Flexibilities Relating to the Internal Revenue Service. Sets forth provisions under such chapter concerning: (1) pay authority; (2) recruitment, retention, and relocation incentives; (3) performance awards; (4) career reserved positions; (5) demonstration project authority; (6) the establishment of an IRS performance management system; (7) the establishment of one or more broad-banned pay and classification systems covering all or any portion of the IRS workforce; and (8) general workforce staffing. (Sec. 302) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 303) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) IRS century date computer issues should be fully funded so as to resolve such issues; (2) IRS enforcement, tax processing, taxpayer assistance and management should be funded at no less than current levels for the next three years; and (3) multi-year budgets should be adopted for IRS technology and capital investment programs so as to ensure stability in the implementation of those programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1997
Teacher Excellence in America Challenge Act of 1997 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to replace current State and local Programs for Teacher Excellence with a Teacher Excellence in America Challenge program under which the Secretary of Education may award competitive grants to professional development partnerships for 80 percent of the cost of providing teacher preparation, induction, classroom experience, and professional development opportunities to prospective, beginning, and veteran teachers while improving the education of students in the classroom. Provides for such professional development partnerships among institutions of higher education, elementary schools or secondary schools, local educational agencies (LEAs), State educational agencies, teacher organizations, and nonprofit organizations. Requires that priority be given to partnerships serving elementary schools, secondary schools, or LEAs that serve high percentages of children from families below the poverty line. Lists activities for which partnerships shall use such grants, excluding construction, renovation, or repair of any school or facility. Sets forth requirements for grant applications and partnership assurances. Directs the Secretary to reserve a certain amount of funds under this Act for national evaluation and information dissemination activities. Authorizes appropriations. Repeals the following HEA programs: (1) National Teacher Academies; (2) Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarships; (3) the Teacher Corps; (4) the Class Size Demonstration Grant program; (5) Middle School Teaching Demonstration Programs; (6) New Teaching Careers programs (for minority teacher recruitment); and (7) Programs for Special Populations, including the National Mini Corps Program, Foreign Language Instruction, Small State Teaching Initiative, Faculty Development Grants, and Early Childhood Education Training.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1997
Expresses the condolences of the Congress on the death of Mother Teresa. Designates September 13, 1997, as a National Day of Recognition for the humanitarian efforts of Mother Teresa and those who have labored with her in service to the poor and afflicted of the world.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1997
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of Agriculture should use specified existing authority to establish a temporary emergency minimum milk price that is equitable to all producers nationwide and provides price relief to economically distressed milk producers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 1997
Substance Abuse Treatment Parity Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to require parity and nondiscriminatory application of treatment limitations and financial requirements to substance abuse treatment benefits under private group and individual health plans which offer such treatment benefits in addition to medical and surgical benefits. Exempts from this Act small employers with 50 or fewer employees.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 1997
Disapproves the President's cancellation (line item veto) of a provision in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 that deems certain taxes, fees, or assessments collected by New York State from a health care provider before June 1, 1997, for which a specified waiver has been sought, to be permissible broad-based health care related taxes in compliance with Medicaid law (thus exempting such taxes, fees, or assessments from the requirement that provider-specific taxes be subtracted from the State share of Medicaid expenditures for purposes of Federal share calculation).
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 1997
Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to repeal specified provisions which provide for the tax treatment of certain tax-exempt organizations which provide commercial-type insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Acid Deposition Control Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a Nitrogen Oxide Allowance Program under which the contiguous States and the District of Columbia will be allocated allowances, beginning in the year 2000, to emit limited monthly amounts of nitrogen oxides. Allocates such allowances in proportion to a State's share of total electric power generated in the contiguous States. Sets forth requirements for the intrastate distribution of allowances among affected facilities (facilities with combustion units that serve an electricity generator with a minimum capacity of 25 megawatts) by a State or the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations: (1) authorizing allowances to be transferred among affected facilities or persons; and (2) for issuing and tracking the use and transfer of allowances. Permits unused allowances to be carried forward for subsequent years. Requires the Administrator, for States for which the Administrator distributes allowances, to place ten percent of the total allowances in a new source reserve. Provides for the auctioning and sale of undistributed allowances in such reserve during 2003 through 2005. Distributes auction proceeds to affected sources in proportion to the number of allowances that would have been received but for the auction. Authorizes the Administrator to terminate or limit allowances. Makes it unlawful, after January 1, 2000, for: (1) the owner or operator of an affected facility to emit nitrogen oxides exceeding the amount permitted by allowances held by such facility; or (2) any person to hold, use, or transfer such allowances, except as provided under this Act. Repeals the nitrogen oxides emission reduction program under the Clean Air Act. Bars the use of an allowance before the calendar year for which the allowance is allocated. Amends the Clean Air Act to require owners or operators of industrial facilities with a minimum capacity of 100 million British thermal units (mmBtus) per hour to install and operate continuous emission monitoring systems on affected units and quality assure data for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, opacity, and volumetric flow. Imposes penalties for emissions in excess of allowances. Requires offsets of allowances in the calendar year following the one in which excess emissions occurred. Decreases the amount of sulfur dioxide authorized to be emitted under an existing allowance program for 2003 and subsequent years. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on objectives for scientifically credible environmental indicators, including acid neutralizing capacity, sufficient to protect sensitive ecosystems of the Adirondack, Mid-Appalachian, and Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, Long Island Sound, and the Chesapeake Bay. Directs the Administrator, by December 31, 2006, to determine whether emissions reductions under this Act are sufficient to achieve such objectives and, if not, to promulgate regulations necessary to protect such ecosystems. Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the practicality of monitoring mercury emissions from all combustion units with a minimum capacity of 250 mmBtus per hour. Provides for regulations to: (1) require reporting of mercury emissions from such units; and (2) control electric utility and industrial source mercury emissions. Directs the Administrator to establish a competitive grant program to fund research related to the effects of nitrogen deposition on sensitive watersheds and coastal estuaries in the eastern United States. Requires the Administrator to report to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Resources on the health and chemistry of certain Adirondack lakes and streams that were subjects of a specified report required under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Amends the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990 to strike provisions relating to the temporary appointment of one additional district judge for the northern district of Alabama. Extends temporary judgeships in: (1) the eastern district of California, the northern district of New York, the eastern district of Virginia, the southern and central districts of Illinois, the eastern district of Missouri, the northern district of Ohio, and the districts of Hawaii, Nebraska, and Kansas until the first vacancy occurring 10 years or more after the confirmation of the judge named to fill such judgeships; and (2) the eastern district of Pennsylvania until the first vacancy occurring five years or more after the confirmation date of the judge named to fill such judgeship.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 1997 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify the definition of "religion" to include all aspects of religious observance, practice, and belief unless, after initiating and engaging in an affirmative and bona fide effort, an employer demonstrates that it is unable to reasonably accommodate a religious observance or practice without undue hardship (action requiring significant difficulty or expense) on the conduct of the employer's business. Prohibits deeming an accommodation by the employer reasonable if the accommodation does not remove the conflict between employment requirements and the religious observance or practice. Excludes, in certain circumstances, a defense that the accommodation would be in violation of a seniority system. Prohibits requiring payment of premium wages for work performed during hours to which premium wages would ordinarily be applicable if work is performed during those hours only to accommodate religious requirements of an employee.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Magnetic Levitation (MAGLEV) Transportation Technology Deployment Act of 1997 - Declares that it is U.S. policy to establish a MAGLEV transportation technology system (i.e., a transportation system employing magnetic levitation that would be capable of safe use by the public at a speed in excess of 240 miles per hour) operating along Federal-aid highways and other rights-of-way as part of a national transportation system. Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish a High-Speed Ground Transportation Office in the Federal Railroad Administration to coordinate and administer all authorized high-speed rail and MAGLEV programs, to make available financial assistance to provide the Federal share of full project costs of eligible projects selected, and to otherwise carry out this Act; and (2) solicit applications from States, or authorities designated by one or more States, for financial assistance authorized for planning, design, and construction of eligible MAGLEV projects. Sets forth provisions regarding the Federal share, authorized uses of assistance, and project eligibility. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria for selecting eligible projects, to evaluate the projects, and to select projects to receive financial assistance. Sets forth provisions regarding joint ventures. Directs the Secretary to conduct research regarding the quantification of benefits derived from the implementation of MAGLEV technology, MAGLEV safety, and the development of domestic MAGLEV technologies and technologies associated with MAGLEV infrastructure. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations from the Highway Trust Fund to carry out this Act. Specifies that, for the purpose of obtaining tax-exempt bond financing under the Internal Revenue Code, a MAGLEV facility shall be considered to be a high-speed intercity rail facility with an average speed greater than 150 miles per hour.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Authorizes the President to present a gold medal to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to religious understanding and peace. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike duplicate medals in bronze. Authorizes appropriations from the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund, where sales proceeds shall be deposited.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1997
Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1997 - Provides that a veterans' preference eligible (PE) or an individual who has been separated from military service under honorable conditions after three or more years of active duty shall not be denied the opportunity to compete for a vacant position within a Federal agency, either in the competitive or excepted service, by reason of: (1) not having acquired competitive status; or (2) not being an employee of such agency. Requires each agency to notify the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. employment offices of each vacant position for which competition is restricted to employees or individuals having competitive service. Requires OPM, at least every two years, to submit to the Congress and the President a report detailing for the prior period the number of such vacant positions in the Federal Government and the number of PE or separated individuals referred or appointed to such positions. Directs OPM to establish and keep current a comprehensive list of all announcements of vacant positions within each agency for which competition is so restricted. Applies such PE requirements to the Postal Service, with exceptions for certain collective bargaining positions. Prohibits, during a Federal reduction in force (RIF), a position occupied by a PE from being placed in a single-position competitive level if the PE is qualified to perform the essential functions of any other position at the same grade in the competitive area (defined as being able to perform such functions within 150 days). Entitles a PE whose current or latest performance rating is at least fully successful to be assigned during a RIF to any position for which he or she is qualified that is within: (1) the PE's commuting area and is currently occupied by an individual placed in such position within six months before the RIF; or (2) the PE's competitive area and is not more than three grades below the position from which the PE was released (with an exception). Authorizes a PE to challenge the classification of any position to which the PE asserts assignment rights in an action before the Merit Systems Protection Board. Requires each agency to establish an agency-wide priority placement program to facilitate employment placement for PEs who are scheduled to be or who are separated from service due to a RIF and who have received a rating of at least fully successful at their last performance evaluation or who occupy positions excluded from a performance appraisal system. Allows an individual to designate a different local commuting area in order to exercise reemployment rights if there are no alternative positions within the most local area. Requires an agency to place qualified present and former employees in retention order by PE subgroup and tenure group. Makes an individual eligible for reemployment for two years after a RIF. Provides conditions under which an individual loses eligibility for such reemployment. Provides administrative and judicial redress and remedies for any PE or other individual who alleges that an agency has violated such individual's veterans' preference or related rights. Extends the veterans' preference to: (1) employment within the General Accounting Office; (2) appointments made to the Office of the President (with an exception when the President certifies that the position is a confidential, policy-making, or political position); and (3) appointments to the legislative branch (with specified exclusions). Establishes administrative remedies and procedures for PE and separated individuals with respect to appointments within the legislative or judicial branches of the Federal Government. Requires the Judicial Conference of the United States to prescribe regulations to provide for: (1) veterans' preference in the consideration of applicants for employment, and in the conduct of any RIF, within the judicial branch; and (2) redress procedures for alleged violations of any rights of such individuals. Requires the Conference to: (1) consult with specified congressionally chartered veterans' service organizations when considering such regulations; and (2) provide specified congressional committees with a copy of such regulations. Extends the veterans' preference to RIFs in the Federal Aviation Administration. Includes among PE veterans those who served during a military operation in a qualified hazardous duty area under requirements prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. Prohibits any employee authorized to take personnel actions from knowingly taking, or failing to take, any personnel action if such taking or failure would violate a PE requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1997
Urges the German Government to: (1) expand and simplify its system of reparations so that all Holocaust survivors can receive reparations regardless of their nationality, length or place of internment, or current financial situation; (2) provide reparations to Holocaust survivors in the former Soviet Union and other former Communist countries in Eastern and Central Europe; (3) fulfill its responsibilities to Holocaust victims and immediately set up a comprehensive medical fund to cover the medical expenses of all Holocaust survivors worldwide; and (4) help restore the dignity of such survivors by paying them sufficient reparations to ensure that no Holocaust survivor be forced by poverty to live in conditions worse than those generally enjoyed by the surviving former Nazis who persecuted them.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1997
Captive Exotic Animal Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for knowingly transferring, transporting, or possessing, in or affecting interstate commerce, a confined exotic animal for purposes of allowing the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or the collection of a trophy.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1997
Regulatory Improvement Act of 1997 - Provides for the analysis of major regulatory rules by Federal agencies. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) principles for risk assessments; (2) peer review; (3) deadlines for rule making; (4) judicial review; and (5) guidelines, interagency coordination, and research. Mandates a comparative risk analysis study. Requires certain agency heads to establish advisory committees for the review of rules. Directs the: (1) President to establish a process for the review and coordination of Federal agency regulatory actions; and (2) Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish procedures for public and agency access to information concerning regulatory review actions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1997
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a postage stamp to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first Women's Rights Convention.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1997
Designates the portion of State Route 17 located between Harriman, New York, and Erie, Pennsylvania, as Interstate Route 86, subject to substandard features being upgraded. Provides that designation of such Route shall not: (1) be charged against the mileage limitation established for the Interstate System; or (2) increase Federal financial responsibility with respect to such Route. Allows a State to use specified Federal highway funds to eliminate substandard features and to resurface, restore, rehabilitate, or reconstruct any portion of the designated Route.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1997
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1997 - Establishes a transportation Federal credit assistance pilot program to provide alternative financing for eligible surface transportation projects. Sets forth eligibility criteria for such assistance. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to enter into agreements with one or more obligors to make secured and direct loans to a State, local servicer, or other entity to finance eligible projects costs (including the refinancing of interim construction financing of such project costs). Amends Federal transportation law to revise the duties of the Secretary to include, among other things, to develop and coordinate Federal policy on financing transportation infrastructure, including the provision of direct Federal credit assistance and other techniques used to leverage Federal transportation funds. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Office of the Secretary an Office of Infrastructure Finance, headed by a Director who shall be responsible for: (1) carrying out certain responsibilities of the Secretary; (2) carrying out research on financing transportation infrastructure; and (3) providing technical assistance to Federal, State, and local government agencies and officials to facilitate the development and use of alternative techniques for financing transportation infrastructure. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1997
Quiet Communities Act of 1997 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to reestablish an Office of Noise Abatement and Control, which shall be responsible for coordinating Federal noise abatement activities, updating or developing noise standards, providing technical assistance to local communities, and promoting research and education. Requires the Administrator to: (1) conduct a study of airport noise, examining the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) selection of noise measurement methodologies, health impact thresholds, and abatement program effectiveness; and (2) submit such study to the Congress and the FAA. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1997
Amends Federal aviation law to declare that nothing in such law or in the Death on the High Seas Act shall affect any remedy existing at common law or under State law with respect to any injury or death arising out of any aviation incident occurring on or after January 1, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1997
Ocean and Coastal Research Revitalization Act of 1997 - Amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to add or modify various definitions. (Sec. 5) Replaces provisions establishing and administering the National Sea Grant College Program with provisions maintaining such a program and setting forth its elements and the Program duties of the Secretary of Commerce. (Sec. 6) Repeals provisions authorizing grants and contracts regarding specified international activities, including research, education, and technology transfer. (Sec. 7) Replaces provisions providing for the designation of sea grant colleges and regional consortia with provisions setting forth the criteria for designation as a sea grant college or institute and designee duties. (Sec. 8) Repeals provisions mandating support of graduate fellowships related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. (Sec. 9) Modifies requirements regarding the sea grant review panel. (Sec. 10) Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1997
Puerto Rico Economic Activity Credit Improvement Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the requirements for corporations to be eligible for the Puerto Rico economic activity credit. Requires that, in determining the credit amount, the credit provisions be applied separately to each substantial line of business of the corporation. Removes provisions limiting, in taxable years beginning after 2001, the aggregate taxable income taken into account in determining the amount of the credit. Terminates the credit four years after Puerto Rico has, for three consecutive years, unemployment under and per capita income over specified percentages of the U.S. rates. (Sec. 3) Amends provisions relating to the Puerto Rico and other possession tax credit to modify, with respect to possessions other than Puerto Rico, corporate eligibility requirements. Requires that, in determining the credit amount, the credit provisions be applied separately to each substantial line of business of the corporation. Modifies additional restricted credit requirements. Sets forth the circumstances in which the credit is available with regard to Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Terminates the credit, for any possession other than Puerto Rico, four years after the possession has, for three consecutive years, unemployment under and per capita income over specified percentages of the U.S. rates and poverty under a specified level.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1997
Landmine Elimination Act of 1997 - Prohibits, beginning on January 1, 2000, funds appropriated or otherwise available to any Federal department or agency from being obligated or expended for new deployments of anti-personnel landmines. Requires the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on actions and proposals to substitute for new deployments of such landmines on the Korean Peninsula. Allows the President to delay application of the prohibition with respect to the Peninsula if, not later than January 1, 2000, and each year thereafter, the President certifies the Congress that new deployments of anti-personnel landmines on the Peninsula in the event of a Korean war or a period of emergency in Korea declared by the President would be indispensable to the defense of the Republic of Korea in such year.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1997
Women's Business Centers Act of 1997- Amends the Small Business Act to: (1) authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide financial assistance to private organizations to conduct five-year (currently, three-year) demonstration projects to benefit small businesses owned and controlled by women; (2) adjust the level of cash contributions required from Federal and non-Federal sources for each of the five years of the projects; (3) require each assistance applicant to submit a five-year (currently, three year) plan on proposed fund raising and training activities under a project; (4) allow each recipient to receive such assistance for five years (in lieu of three); (5) establish within the SBA the Office Of Women's Business Ownership to administer SBA's women's business enterprise programs; (6) require the SBA to report biennially to the small business committees on the effectiveness of projects conducted under this Act; and (7) increase the annual authorization of appropriations for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1997
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1997 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish in the National Park Service (NPS) a program to be known as the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom under which the Secretary shall: (1) produce and disseminate educational materials about the Railroad; (2) provide technical assistance to other government agencies, private entities, or the Governments of Canada, Mexico, or any appropriate Caribbean country to ensure coordination of Federal and non-Federal elements of the Network; and (3) regulate use of an official symbol for the Network. Includes within the Network: (1) NPS units or programs pertaining to the Underground Railroad; (2) Federal, State, local, or privately-owned properties pertaining to the Railroad that have a verifiable connection to it and that are included or eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places; and (3) governmental or nongovernmental facilities or programs of educational, research, or interpretive natures that are directly related to such Railroad. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1997
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1997 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities, including an employing authority or office to which specified provisions of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 or the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 apply. Prohibits related retaliation and coercion. 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: (1) quotas and preferential treatment; and (2) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from entering into a consent decree that includes a quota or preferential treatment. Declares that this Act does not apply to: (1) religious organizations (except regarding employment in a position the duties of which pertain solely to activities of the organization that generate unrelated business income subject to taxation under specified Internal Revenue Code provisions); (2) the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Provides for enforcement. Disallows State immunity. Makes the United States or a State liable for all remedies (except punitive damages, with compensatory damages available to the extent specified in certain existing provisions of law) to the same extent as under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Allows recovery of attorney's fees. Requires posting notices for employees and applicants.
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