United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1991 - Permits retired veterans with service-connected disabilities to receive reduced retired pay concurrently with veterans' disability compensation, as long as the person's entitlement to such retired pay is based solely on age, length of service, or both. Provides that the amount of the retired pay reduction shall be 100 percent of the veterans' disability compensation paid less the percentage of the veteran's disability rating.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Amends the Arms Export Control Act to declare that certain Presidential certifications made with respect to a sale, export, or agreement required by a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and a foreign government for the coproduction or codevelopment of major defense equipment shall not be deemed to have been received by the Congress, unless the President, before such MOU enters into force, transmitted its text to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1991
Shipbuilding and Repair Industry Free Trade Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to annually determine and publish the net shipbuilding and repair subsidy provided, directly and indirectly, to each major shipbuilding and repair company in foreign countries meeting certain requirements. Requires the information submitted to the Secretary in connection with the determinations to be treated as proprietary if it meets certain requirements of the Tariff Act of 1930. Requires each company to repay to its government the total value of the aggregate subsidy provided, plus interest. Directs the Secretary to: (1) require certification from both the company and the foreign government that the payments have occurred; and (2) if requested, verify the repayment. Directs the Secretary, if a company has not complied, to direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to collect an annual assessment on each vessel constructed or repaired by the company. Sets the amount of the assessment at the amount of the net subsidy, adjusted by partial repayments and increased by any previous unpaid assessment. Prohibits a vessel from entering a U.S. port until the assessment is paid in full. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to provide for the judicial review of subsidy assessment determinations by the U.S. Court of International Trade.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1991
Prohibits the importation of Chinese products unless: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury determines that they are not manufactured with the use of forced labor; and (2) such determination is based on certain consultations with international organizations conducting inspections, and a certification to the Secretary that a product was not manufactured with the use of forced labor. Requires the United States to use all diplomatic efforts to persuade China to permit representatives of certain international organizations to inspect all facilities holding detainees to assure that products for export are not being produced with the use of forced labor. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of such prohibition and the making of a false certification.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1991
Anti-Forced Labor Act of 1991 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to prohibit the importation, or the transportation in interstate commerce, of products manufactured by forced labor. Declares that such prohibition shall not apply to products vital to U.S. national security. Prohibits U.S. nationals from investing in, or making loans to, a foreign joint venture involving the use of forced labor. Sets forth civil penalties for violating such prohibitions. Provides for the administrative review of orders imposing such penalties. Authorizes private persons to: (1) bring civil actions to enforce such prohibitions in an appropriate U.S. district court; and (2) sue for treble damages business competitors which violate such prohibitions if the plaintiff is injured as a result of such violation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1991
Employee Benefits Simplification and Expansion Act of 1991 - Title I: Nondiscrimination Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to employee benefit plans. Redefines the term "highly compensated employee" for pension, profit sharing, and stock bonus plans, etc., purposes. Makes such employee one who is a five-percent owner or who has compensation from the employer in excess of $50,000. Provides a special rule where no employees are treated as highly compensated. Provides that the cost of living adjustment with respect to any calendar year is based on the increase in the applicable index as of the close of the calendar quarter ending September 30 of the preceding calendar year. Requires the rounding of such amounts to the nearest $1,000, except that elective deferrals and elective contributions to simplified employee pensions are to be rounded to the nearest $100. Allows an employer to determine an employee's compensation solely by reference to such employee's base pay. Provides that the minimum participation rule applies only to defined benefit pension plans. Requires such plans to benefit not less than 25 employees, or the greater of 40 percent of all employees or two employees (or if there is only one employee, such employee). Sets forth alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination requirements for cash or deferred arrangements, including specified contribution and notice requirements. Sets forth alternative methods of satisfying the nondiscrimination test for matching contributions. Revises the method for distributing excess contributions to highly compensated employees. Title II: Distributions - Allows distributions from qualified pension plans to be rolled over tax-free to an individual retirement account or another qualified plan or annuity. Eliminates five-year forward averaging for lump-sum distributions from qualified plans. Requires certain tax-free distributions to be made in the form of a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to an eligible individual retirement plan. Sets forth administrative requirements in making such distributions. Requires distributions to be made from qualified plans by April 1 of the calendar year following the later of: (1) the calendar year in which the employee attains age 70; or (2) the calendar year in which the employee retires. (Present law requires such distributions no later than April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the employee attains age 70 1/2.) Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Revises the definition of a leased employee to include one whose services are performed under the control of a service recipient, instead of one whose services are historically performed by employees. Replaces the 59 1/2- and 70 1/2-year age requirement with 59- and 70-year age requirements for specified pension plans. Eliminates the special aggregation rules that apply to plans maintained by owner-employees that do not apply to other qualified plans. Makes the 150 percent current liability limitation on the deduction allowed for employer contributions to qualified pension plans inapplicable to multi-employer plans. Repeals the present law annual valuation requirement for such plans and applies the prior law requirement that valuations be performed at least every three years. Sets forth affiliation requirements for employers jointly maintaining a voluntary employees' beneficiary association. Provides that compensation, in the case of a governmental plan, includes any amount which is contributed by the employer pursuant to a salary reduction agreement and which is not includible in the gross income of an employee under cafeteria plans, cash or deferred arrangements, tax-exempt organization or public school annuities, State or local government plans, or deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Makes the following limitations inapplicable to plans maintained by State and local governments and certain tax-exempt organizations: (1) excess benefit limitations; (2) compensation limitation on benefits; and (3) limitations on disability and survivor benefits. Allows government plan employers to revoke the grandfather election on the limitation to equal accrued benefits. Modifies provisions relating to simplified employee pensions. Increases the number of allowable participants for salary reduction arrangements from 25 to 100. Allows participation after one year of service (currently, three years of service is required). Repeals the requirement that at least 50 percent of eligible employees participate in a salary reduction arrangement. Eliminates certain requirements regarding contributions on behalf of disabled employees. Allows rural cooperative plans which include cash or deferred arrangements to make distributions to participants after attainment of age 59. Includes reports of pension and annuity payments in information returns and payee statements. Eliminates reports of designated distributions from the scope of the $25 per day penalty. Provides a $10 reporting threshold for designated distributions. Makes tax-exempt organizations eligible for cash or deferred arrangement pension plans.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1991
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from diminishing existing allocations of spectrum (available radio frequencies) to the amateur radio service after January 1, 1991. Requires the FCC to provide replacement spectrum to the service for any frequency reallocation after such date.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the provisions permitting small issues of tax-exempt bonds to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1991
Department of Energy Science and Technology Partnership Act - Establishes a program in the Department of Energy (DOE) under which the Secretary of Energy shall encourage departmental laboratories to enter into partnerships for research in: energy efficiency, energy supply, high-performance computing, environmental problems, human health, advanced manufacturing technologies, education and training. Authorizes such partnerships with colleges and universities, industry, and other Federal agencies. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to establish a career path program for the recruitment of promising and gifted employees of DOE's national laboratories to serve in critical and other positions as a stage in realizing the full potential that such employees contribute to the strategic defense and energy security posture of the United States. Increases the number of Under Secretaries in DOE from one to three, and the number of Assistant Secretaries from eight to 11.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Manufacturing Strategy Act of 1991 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act to direct the Department of Commerce to be the lead civilian agency for working with U.S. industry to: (1) develop new generic advanced manufacturing technologies; and (2) encourage and assist the deployment and use of advanced manufacturing equipment and techniques throughout the United States. Requires the Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary) to establish an Advanced Manufacturing Systems and Networking Project to create a collaborative multi-year technology development program in the Institute, U.S. industry, and, as appropriate, the States, to develop, refine, test, and transfer advanced computer-integrated electronically-networked manufacturing technologies and associated applications. Authorizes appropriations for such Project. States that it shall be a mission of all Federal research and development agencies to support the national technology base. Sets forth specifics of the required support. Provides for the establishment of programs to provide fellowships to: (1) graduate students at institutions of higher education who choose to pursue masters or doctoral degrees in manufacturing engineering; and (2) industrial executives to serve as instructors in manufacturing at two-year community and technical colleges. Authorizes appropriations for such fellowships. Establishes a National Quality Laboratory to disseminate information and materials and promote education and research activities regarding ways in which companies and organizations can improve their quality management programs and productivity. Authorizes appropriations for such Laboratory. Amends provisions of Federal law to require the Secretary, under provisions which require the Secretary to provide assistance for the creation and support of Regional Centers (Centers) for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology, to provide assistance for the creation and support of National Centers for Manufacturing and Process Technology (National Centers). Provides that if a Center receives a positive evaluation after its third year of operation the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (the Institute) may contract with the Center to provide additional technology extension or transfer services above and beyond the baseline activities of the Center. Specifies what such additional services may include. States that the objective of the National Centers program is to enhance manufacturing productivity and quality. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes within the Institute a State Technology Extension Program and sets forth its authorities. Establishes a National Commission on Industrial Modernization for the purpose of examining what steps must be taken by industry and government to ensure that within a decade the U.S. has a modern industrial infrastructure second to no other nation. Authorizes appropriations for the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Federal Technology Strategy Act of 1991 - Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to direct the President to develop Federal technology development plans for specified areas of technology and identify national needs in those areas. Requires that the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy serve as the lead Federal official for preparation of the plans. Designates the Department of Commerce as the lead civilian agency and the Department of Defense as the lead defense agency. Requires that the Director review the budget of each department and agency, in the context of the plans, before submission. Requires that the Director summarize Federal funding proposed for each of the critical technologies or groups of technologies identified in the most recent biennial critical technologies report. Requires Federal agencies, as appropriate, to support: (1) industry-led projects to develop new generic enabling technologies; and (2) collaboration with State and industry to accelerate commercialization and use of new advanced technologies. Requires each Federal research and development agency to provide funds to support activities under the Advanced Technology Program. Prohibits Federal departments and agencies and any organization in the United States which receives Federal research and development funding from participating in or assisting any technology development project that is operated by or receives funds from a foreign government with which the U.S. Government has a science and technology agreement unless the participation is approved in advance by the Director or the Secretary of Commerce. Authorizes banning violators from receiving Federal research assistance for two years. Requires, when such approval has been obtained, that any Federal department or agency channel funding through U.S.-based joint research and development ventures. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress on actions that can be taken by private industry, the States, and the Federal Government to increase private investment in: (1) the development and production of new commercial technologies; and (2) the use and application of advanced manufacturing and process technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Medicare Physician Regulatory Relief Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) prohibit the denial of physician claims because of patient failure to complete Medicare secondary payer questionnaires; (2) prohibit carriers from using extrapolation to recover the amounts they reimbursed physicians for claims for which Medicare disallows payment if the physician requests that each such claim be individually identified; (3) prohibit the imposition of specified user fees on physicians; (4) require consideration of physician comments in annual carrier performance reviews; (5) allow individuals (including physicians) to file administrative appeals when they have suffered damages as a result of the failure of a carrier to carry out Medicare policies; and (6) require review of medical necessity denials by physicians in the same medical specialty as the physician providing the service. Amends the Medicare and Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) programs to permit the reimbursement of a patient's regular physician for services provided by another physician who covers for the regular physician under contractual arrangements. Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to repeal the peer review requirement for certain surgical procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Advanced Manufacturing Technology Act of 1991 - Title I: Advanced Manufacturing Technology Management - Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to direct the President, through the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, to develop and submit to the Congress, at least once every two years, a strategic road map, covering at least four years after the year in which it is issued, for advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). Establishes the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Advisory Committee. Requires that the Council serve as the lead Federal entity for the development of the map and interagency coordination of Federal AMT activities. Title II: Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development - Part A: Department of Defense - Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) refine and implement the National Defense Manufacturing Technology Plan; and (2) encourage AMT research and development of the U.S. public and private sectors. Directs the Secretary to establish one or more Advanced Manufacturing Technology Partnerships to encourage the development and use of generic, precompetitive AMT. Requires each Partnership to be composed of at least two eligible firms. Allows other participants. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Department of Commerce - Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to establish, in the Advanced Technology Program, the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Component to provide financial support for activities to identify and solve generic problems associated with research and development in AMT and with the establishment of technical standards in AMT. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish one or more such Partnerships. Authorizes appropriations. Part C: Other Departments and Agencies - Directs the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Director of the National Science Foundation each to establish such Partnerships. Authorizes appropriations. Part D: Administrative and Other Provisions for Partnerships - Requires the participants in each Partnership to designate a lead institution to direct the Partnership. Provides for submission and contents of Partnership proposals, cost-sharing requirements, competitive selection of Partnerships, and protection of information. Part E: Additional Definitions - Sets forth definitions for purposes of this title. Title III: Manufacturing Extension Programs - Amends Federal law to direct the Secretary of Defense to promote the improvement of defense foundation firms (currently, of the subtier defense industry) through the use of manufacturing extension programs (currently, the use of manufacturing extension programs and other organizations). Requires the extension programs to be carried out under existing provisions relating to regional centers for the transfer of manufacturing technology or provisions added by this Act relating to a National Manufacturing Extension Program. Revises the definition of "manufacturing extension programs" to mean public and private nonprofit programs (currently, publicly-chartered organizations and services) for certain purposes aimed at small and medium-sized (currently, small) manufacturing firms. Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct the National Manufacturing Extension Program to: (1) encourage efforts to improve manufacturing quality, productivity, and performance; (2) promote development of a broad range of AMT programs; and (3) increase the involvement of appropriate private sector segments. Authorizes: (1) assistance through contracts, cooperative agreements, or other financial arrangements; and (2) technical assistance. Authorizes one-time grants to States which, due to chronic economic disadvantages, lack the resources to establish and sustain AMT programs. Declares that there is an Interagency Council on Manufacturing Extension to take such actions as advising the Secretary of Commerce and providing for coordinated implementation regarding the Extension Program. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the Department of Commerce to carry out provisions of this Act relating to the Extension Program and the Council; and (2) the Department of Defense to carry out provisions relating to the Program and the Council and for transfer to the Department of Commerce for the conduct of the Extension Program. Title IV: Manufacturing Education and Training - Part A: Defense Manufacturing Engineering Education - Establishes a program of grants to higher education institutions for enhancement of existing and establishment of new manufacturing engineering education programs. Requires that at least ten grants be awarded within one year after enactment of this Act. Requires that a supported program be: (1) conducted at the undergraduate or graduate levels, or both; (2) a consolidated and integrated multidisciplinary program including multidisciplinary instruction, work experience opportunities, faculty and student research, and significant private sector involvement. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Manufacturing Managers in the Classroom - Directs the Secretary of Defense to conduct the Manufacturing Managers in the Classroom Program to support employment of experienced manufacturing managers and experts as teachers in higher education institutions. Authorizes appropriations to: (1) the Department of Defense to carry out the Program and for transfer to the Department of Commerce for the conduct of the Program; and (2) the Department of Commerce to carry out this part. Title V: International Activities in Advanced Manufacturing - Earmarks certain funds, authorized to be appropriated to the Departments of Defense and Energy under title II of this Act, for AMT activities under the authority of technology agreements entered into by the United States and other nations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
Defense Manufacturing Engineering Education Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Defense (the Secretary) to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education to support enhancement of existing and establishment of new programs in manufacturing engineering education. Requires consultation with the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Requires the Secretary and the NSF Director to enter into an agreement to coordinate such grant program with similar NSF programs, and for NSF assistance in administering and managing such grant program. Sets forth requirements for programs of engineering supported by such grant awards. Requires such programs to be conducted at the undergraduate and/or graduate level. Sets forth components for such consolidated and integrated multidisciplinary programs. Requires significant involement of industry in such programs. Sets forth requirements for grant proposals. Bases grant awards on merit competition. Sets forth minimum criteria for selection. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Defense to carry out such grant program for FY 1992 and 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1991
National Critical Technologies Act of 1991 - Title I: Federal Management of National Critical Technologies - Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to direct the President, through the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, to develop and submit to the Congress, at least once every two years, a strategic road map, covering at least four years after the year in which it is issued, for each national critical technology. Specifies the required contents of each map, including: (1) assessing current U.S. strengths and weaknesses in developing and applying the covered technologies; (2) specifying goals and priorities in enhancing development or application; (3) increasing access to foreign technology; and (4) identifying feasible joint actions of Federal departments and agencies. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish one or more critical technologies advisory committees to advise the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology (Coordinating Council) and review each map. Requires that the Coordinating Council: (1) serve as the lead Federal agency for development of the maps and interagency coordination of map-related activities; (2) review the Federal budget prior to submission and submit review results to the Executive Office of the President. Title II: Federal Support for Development of Critical Technologies - Part A: Department of Defense - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into cooperative arrangements, each known as a Defense Dual-Use Technology Partnership, to encourage and provide for research and development of dual-use critical technologies identified in the annual defense critical technologies plan mandated by current law. Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of Defense, in carrying out advanced research projects through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) or a military department (currently, through DARPA), to enter into cooperative agreements and other transactions with any entity. Allows the Secretary to authorize the Secretary of the military department concerned to enter into such transactions. Repeals provisions terminating, on a specified date, the Secretary's authority to enter into such agreements. Sets forth special rules for applying existing provisions (relating to payments by the Department of Defense of independent research development costs) to a specified portion of costs attributable to participation in critical technology research and development consortia meeting certain requirements. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Partnership provisions. Part B: Other Departments and Agencies - Directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology acting under the Advanced Technology Program, to continue to support the activities of U.S. industry and joint ventures associated with applications of national critical technologies. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Energy to enter into cooperative arrangements, each known as a Department of Energy Critical Technology Partnership, for research and development of critical technologies selected by the Secretary, with each Partnership required to be composed of at least two eligible firms and at least one Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory. Allows other participants. Mandates similar Critical Technology Partnerships within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Authorizes appropriations separately for DOE, NASA, and HHS. Part C: Administrative Provisions Relating to Critical Technology Partnerships - Requires that the participants in each Partnership designate a lead institution to direct Partnership activities. Requires: (1) non-Federal participants to contribute at least half of the total Partnership cost; and (2) Partnership selection to be made through a competitive process using specified criteria. Allows an agreement establishing a Partnership to include a requirement that a participant make payments to the department or agency establishing the Partnership. Protects trade secrets and information that is privileged or confidential. Part D: Additional Definitions - Sets forth definitions applicable to this title. Title III: Critical Technology Application Centers - Amends Federal law to direct the Secretary of Defense to conduct the Critical Technology Application Centers Assistance Program, to assist regional critical technology application centers. Requires a center to: (1) include eligible firms conducting business in the region; and (2) be sponsored by an agency connected in one of specified ways to State or local governments. Declares the purpose of a center to be to facilitate the use of national critical technologies for commercial purposes to enhance the development and economic sustainability of the capability of an industry of the region to compete internationally and, in the case of military applications, thereby to maintain industrial capabilities vital to national security. Allows center activities to include: (1) joint research and development; (2) proprietary research and development (limited to a specified percentage of center costs); and (3) sharing of information, equipment, personnel, and expertise. Authorizes the Secretary to provide to a center financial assistance (limited to 30 percent of costs) and technical assistance for up to six years. Prohibits financial assistance for construction. Requires the sponsoring agency to pay at least 30 percent and participating firms to pay at least 40 percent of center costs. Requires that non-Federal participants pay the total costs for proprietary research and development. Requires assistance to be awarded under a competitive process according to specified criteria. Directs the Secretary of Defense to appoint a panel to evaluate the activities of each center receiving financial assistance. Prohibits further assistance to a center if the panel determines that the center's activities are not consistent with center purposes as specified in this Act. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Defense and Commerce to carry out the Program. Title IV: Foreign Technology Monitoring and Assessment - Requires the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology to: (1) coordinate Federal monitoring of foreign technology developments; (2) facilitate joint foreign science and technology monitoring and assessment efforts of Federal departments and agencies; and (3) establish strategic goals and priorities for the clearinghouses established by this title. Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to establish in the Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology the Clearinghouse of Foreign Commercial Technology Monitoring and Assessment (Commerce Clearinghouse) to serve as the lead Federal agency for the compilation and dissemination of unclassified information and assessments on foreign research, development, and application of commercial critical technologies. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a merit-based foreign critical technology monitoring and assessment grant program for the establishment of foreign critical technology monitoring and assessment offices in Europe and on the Pacific Rim Area. Limits support for an office to six years and 50 percent of operating and capital costs. Requires each office to disseminate its assessments to the Commerce Clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations. Amends Federal law to declare that there is, in the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, the Clearinghouse of Foreign Defense Technology Monitoring and Assessment (Defense Clearinghouse). Includes among Defense Clearinghouse responsibilities: (1) creating unclassified and classified data bases; and (2) ensuring maximum public availability of information in those data bases through limiting restrictive classification and through disseminating information to the Commerce Clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes making available to the National Science Foundation, for support of the assessment of foreign capabilities in critical technologies, specified sums from the amounts authorized by this Act for the Commerce and Defense Clearinghouses.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1991
Recreational Hunting Safety and Preservation Act of 1991 - Makes it unlawful to intentionally obstruct a lawful hunt (as defined by this Act) within a national forest. Establishes: (1) civil penalties for such violations; (2) procedures for individual and government agent complaints; and (3) permitted uses of collected penalty money. Authorizes injunctive relief. Permits an affected individual or sportsman's organization to bring a civil action to recover actual and punitive damages and attorney's fees.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1991
Renewable Hydrogen Energy Research and Development Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to solicit proposals and award contracts to conduct necessary research and development programs, including programs to: (1) develop, build, and test systems for generating hydrogen from renewable energy sources; (2) develop, build, and test catalytic hydrogen gas diffusion burners for residential furnaces and stoves, with a goal of greater than 95 percent combustion efficiency; (3) evaluate the ability of existing natural gas pipelines to carry hydrogen gas with a goal of determining components of the system that would have to be modified to carry more than 20 percent hydrogen mixed with natural gas and pure hydrogen gas; (4) develop, build, and test one hydrogen storage system suitable for electric vehicles powered by way of fuel cells; and (5) design, build, and test a fuel cell suitable to power an electric motor vehicle. Directs the Secretary to prepare a comprehensive research and development plan to facilitate the development of renewable hydrogen energy systems. Sets forth elements of the plan. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 to require the Secretary of Energy to solicit proposals for and provide financial assistance to joint ventures for the demonstration of: (1) the production of hydrogen using renewable energy sources; (2) an electric utility load-leveling system with hydrogen as the storage medium; and (3) a renewable hydrogen zero emission transportation system. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1991
Requires Federal agencies to make available to the public information relating to the location, treatment, or condition of any U.S. personnel currently classified as prisoners of war or missing in action. Requires the Secretary of Defense to also make available to the public a complete list of U.S. personnel classified as prisoners of war, missing in action, or killed in action (body not returned) after 1940, including: (1) the current classification of each person; and (2) each change in the listed person's classification that has occurred since the original classification. Provides exceptions to such disclosure requirements, including where disclosure would compromise the safety of personnel known or thought to be held as prisoners of war. Requires the agency head, in such an instance, to notify the President and the congressional intelligence committees of such a determination.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the treatment of rental and nonrental real estate activities under the limitations on losses from passive activities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for a three-year credit period for a percentage of the investment in acid rain control property installed to comply with sulfur dioxide emission limitations under the Clean Air Act. Allows the use of tax-exempt facility bonds to finance acid rain control property. Allows a business credit for a percentage of the expenditures paid or incurred for coal cleaning minerals used to remove or reduce the sulfur content of coal. Excludes from gross income the value of clean air allowances allocated to the taxpayer under the Clean Air Act. Allows a 60-month amortization of acid rain control property.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1991
Designates August 1, 1991, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with any signatory nation which may be in violation; (3) convey to all signatories of such Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is vital to progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; and (4) develop new proposals to advance the human rights objectives of the Helsinki process, including the self-determination of peoples.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the American public should observe the 100th anniversary of filmmaking in 1993 and recognize the American Film Institute's leadership role in preserving the art of film.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991
Geologic Mapping Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish and maintain a comprehensive nationwide geologic mapping program, with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the lead Federal agency. Sets forth program objectives. Mandates: (1) participation by the USGS, the individual State Geological Surveys, and scientists from the academic community; and (2) appointment of a geologic mapping advisory group. Requires that the program include Federal, support, State, and education geologic mapping components. Sets forth objectives for each component, including the support component contributing to national paleontologic, geochronologic, geophysical-map, and geochemical-map data bases. Requires that the USGS prepare an implementation plan covering specified matters. Requires the USGS to establish a national geologic-map data base to be a national archive that includes all maps and data bases developed under this Act. Declares that geologic maps contributed to the National Archives should be standardized so that information can be assimilated, exchanged, and compared efficiently and accurately. Authorizes appropriations for each component.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991
Federal Lands and Families Protection Act - Title I: Establishing Long Term Program - Provides for the establishment of a long-term Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) program to protect old growth forest, the Northern Spotted Owl, and other old growth associated species on areas of ecologically-significant old growth forest on State and Federal lands in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California selected for the Old Growth Forest Reserve to be established by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior under this Act. Requires the Secretaries to: (1) submit the applicable land management plans for implementing such program for appropriate consultation required under the Endangered Species Act; and (2) review previously applied administrative constraints on resource uses on lands under their jurisdiction to minimize the impact on pre-existing land uses resulting from the establishment of the Reserve. Bars further acquisition of mineral and mining rights in the Reserve. Permits roads, structures, and motorized and nonmotorized recreation and access, and hunting and fishing in the Reserve where consistent with the requirements of this Act and other applicable law. Permits timber harvesting in certain limited circumstances and only if not proscribed for any Reserve area in the applicable land management plan. Title II: Ensuring the Effectiveness of Federal Land Planning - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to provide additional guidance on the implementation, amendment, and revision of plans for Federal lands necessary to ensure the effectiveness of Federal land planning and that the applicable land management plans under title I of this Act and the protections which they afford the Old Growth Forest Reserve and associated species are implemented effectively. Title III: Providing An Interim Program - Provides for an interim program until the Reserve is established and applicable land management plans are adopted under title I of this Act with the same purposes as the long-term program, and for the provision of an adequate supply of timber on FS and BLM lands. Directs the Secretaries to establish an Old Growth Research Program (OGRP) to better understand and manage old growth forest ecosystems. Restricts timber sales on road construction, and mineral leasing on certain FS and BLM lands, including those within a certain radius of a Northern Spotted Owl nest site. Requires environmental impact statements on, and appropriate consultation for, the timber harvested from FS and BLM lands to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. Provides for judicial review of agency decisions or actions under this title. Directs the Secretaries to publish in the Federal Register timber harvesting guidelines for Reserve areas based on OGRP work. Title IV: Economic Adjustment - Establishes the Timber Economic Adjustment Commission to provide Federal economic adjustment grants and benefit payments to the communities economically dependent on the timber on FS and BLM lands and the dislocated workers adversely affected by enactment of this Act. Outlines specific eligibility criteria that such communities and workers must meet in order to receive such assistance. Requires the Secretaries to notify the Commission of any Federal action likely to have a substantial impact on employment. Requires a final Commission report to the Congress and applicable State Governors on economic conditions and employment in affected areas. Title V: Miscellaneous - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1991
Family Farm Tax Relief and Savings Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to nontaxable exchanges to allow the rollover of gain from the sale of a qualified farm asset into one or more individual retirement plans, to be known as asset rollover accounts. Denies an itemized deduction for contributions to such accounts and sets forth contribution limitations. Provides that rollover contributions to an asset rollover account may be made only from other such accounts. Sets forth reporting requirements for individuals making contributions to such accounts and taxes excess contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1991
Title I: Community Reinvestment Act Amendments - Regulatory Efficiency For Depository Institutions Act - Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to provide that a regulated financial institution that receives a written rating of "satisfactory" or better by a Federal depository institutions regulatory agency with respect to its record of meeting the community's low-and-moderate income credit needs shall not be subject to any further such evaluation during the two-year period beginning on the date of the evaluation's public disclosure. Exempts certain small-sized institutions from the requirements of such Act. Prohibits a Federal financial supervisory agency from requiring a regulated financial institution to prepare certain community credit needs data that duplicate information submitted under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975. Title II: Expedited Funds Availability and Electronic Transfers - Amends the Expedited Funds Availability Act with respect to: (1) availability schedules; (2) deposits into shared automated teller machines (ATMs); (3) new accounts; (4) next day availability schedule exceptions; and (5) Federal Reserve Board jurisdiction to impose risks of loss and liability. Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to impose consumer liability of $500 for unauthorized electronic fund transfers in cases where the cardholder has substantially contributed to its unauthorized use (including writing on, or keeping with the card or other means of access a personal identification or other security code). Title III: Amendments to the Truth in Lending Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to exempt from its disclosure requirements credit transactions involving consumers who earn more than $200,000 annually, or who have net assets in excess of $1,000,000 at the time of such transaction. Imposes liability upon a cardholder for the unauthorized use of a credit card if the liability exceeds $50, and the cardholder does not provide the card issuer timely notice of unauthorized transactions after receipt of his account statement. Authorizes the Board to modify or waive rights under such Act regardless of circumstances. Title IV: Amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to permit a consumer reporting agency to furnish a consumer report to a person it has reason to believe intends to use the information for solicitation or marketing of financial services, if such report contains no specific information on the credit experience of any consumer. Title V: Homeownership Amendments - Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to provide that federally-related real estate transactions having a value of not more than $100,000 shall not require the services of either a State-certified or licensed appraiser. Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to increase to three business days the time by which lenders of federally-related home mortgage loans must furnish borrowers with a federally-produced real estate settlement procedures information booklet. (Currently such booklet must be furnished at the time the mortgage application is received.) States that no booklet need be provided if the loan is denied. Amends the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 to exempt from its provisions certain small-sized depository institutions. Amends the Competitive Equality Banking Act of 1987 to limit an "adjustable rate mortgage loan" solely to consumer loans. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to repeal the requirement that a creditor notify a delinquent homeowner of the availability of homeownership debt counseling offered by the creditor and federally-approved nonprofit organizations. Prohibits a Federal financial institutions regulatory agency from requiring an institution under its jurisdiction to collect or analyze data in connection with Fair Housing Act requirements (other than a data form required under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975).
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1991
Rural Primary Care Act of 1991 - Title I: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable personal income tax credit for any physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who provides primary health services to residents of a rural health professional shortage area and who does not have certain connections with the National Health Service Corps loan repayment or scholarship programs. Excludes from gross income any payments made on behalf of a taxpayer by the National Health Service Corps loan repayment program. Amends provisions relating to election to expense certain depreciable business assets to specify a higher maximum aggregate cost to be taken into account for property used by a physician in providing primary health services in a rural health professional shortage area. Mandates a study to determine the present number of, and future need for, physician and nonphysician primary care providers in medically underserved urban areas. Requires that the determination form the basis for a study of the feasibility of extending the tax credit provided under this title. Title II: Public Health Service Provisions - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions relating to area health education centers. Requires set-aside of a minimum amount of funds currently authorized for preventive health and health services block grants for the county health department grants mandated by this title. Requires grants to county health departments for preventive health services in areas within the county that are not urbanized. Requires such grants to be used to: (1) provide immunization services; (2) improve maternal and infant health; (3) reduce adolescent pregnancy and improve reproductive health; and (4) provide other appropriate services. Title III: State Health Service Corps Demonstration Projects - State Health Service Corps Demonstration Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a State Health Service Corps Demonstration Project. Directs the Secretary to make grants under the Project to up to ten States for the Federal share of training and employment of physician and nonphysician providers serving health professional shortage areas. Requires a recipient State to enter into an agreement with an area health education center for the planning, development, and operation of a program of training and employing such providers. Sets forth the responsibilities of a center. Authorizes appropriations. Requires each State carrying out a Project to establish a State Health Service Corps Scholarship Program involving a period of service in the service area or on the clinical staff of an area health education center or a medical school in return for a scholarship. Authorizes the official heading the State agency administering the Program to contract with an educational institution for the payment of scholarship or loan amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1991
Veterans' Claims Administrative Equity Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, if a claim for compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, or pension is not decided by the Secretary within 270 days of the date on which the claim is filed, to pay benefits in acordance with the claim until the claim is adjudicated. Requires the Secretary, in cases in which a claim is denied, the claimant files a Notice of Disagreement with the Secretary, and the Secretary does not certify the case to the Board of Veterans' Appeals within 270 days of the date of the filing of the Notice, to pay the benefits for which the claim was filed. Directs the Secretary, whenever the Board or the Court of Veterans Appeals remands a case to the Secretary involving a claim for benefits, to pay benefits in accordance with the claim retroactive to the first day of the first month after the month in which the decision appealed from was made. Requires the Secretary, whenever a veteran is determined to be eligible for vocational rehabilitation and counseling services and is not interviewed by the Secretary within 60 days of such determination, to arrange for such services to be provided through an accredited agency on a fee basis. Sets forth provisions applying this Act to claims filed before this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1991
Condemns the murder of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and others in the bomb explosion on May 21, 1991. Expresses regret over the deaths of Gandhi and other victims of election violence in India. Offers condolences to Gandhi's widow and children and to the people of India. Stands in solidarity with the Indian people in their effort to sustain the most successful democratic tradition in the developing world.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1991
Mental Health Care Amendment Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage of the services of marriage and family therapists, psychiatric nurses, and clinical mental health counselors and supplies furnished incident to such services.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1991
Youthbuild Act of 1991 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide grants for Youthbuild projects which shall employ economically and educationally disadvantaged youth to help construct or rehabilitate rental and transitional housing for homeless persons and low-income families. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1991
Pledge of Allegiance Commemorative Coin Act - Establishes the Pledge of Allegiance Commemorative Coin Advisory Board to: (1) consult with the Secretary of the Treasury (the Secretary) regarding coin design; (2) oversee the expenditure of funds provided to the U.S. Capitol Historical Society for assisting its educational programs and providing non-operating improvements to the Capitol; and (3) establish rules and operating procedures to implement this Act. Directs the Secretary to issue five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half dollar clad coins emblematic of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Declares a general waiver of public contract procurement regulations governing coin mintage under this Act. Mandates that surcharges be distributed equally between the Treasury and the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Provides for audits by the Comptroller General. Requires that: (1) all amounts received from the sale of coins be deposited in the coinage profit fund; and (2) the Secretary take actions to ensure that coin mintage and issuance under this Act will not result in any net cost to the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1991
Title I: Federal Agency Energy Efficiency and Management - Government Energy Efficiency Act of 1991 - Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure reliable accounting of Federal building energy consumption costs. Requires the President's budget to identify each agency's requested amount for energy operating costs, energy conservation, and efficiency expenditures. Requires an audit survey by the President's Council on Efficiency and Integrity of agency energy use to determine compliance with energy management goals for Federal buildings set forth under the National Energy Conservation Policy Act. Requires a report to the Congress on survey results. Requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to hold regional workshops for State and local officials to coordinate energy management and conservation planning. Requires GSA to undertake a program to include energy efficient products on the Federal Supply schedule and the New Item Inventory Schedule. Establishes a GSA demonstration program to identify those products with significant energy-saving potential and encourage their use by Federal agencies. Requires GSA to determine the feasibility of labeling such products on the Supply and Inventory schedule. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to authorize the deposit of amounts from rebates or other cash incentives related to energy savings into the Federal Buildings Fund. Authorizes the GSA Administrator, in the administration of any real property which the Administrator leases and pays utility costs for, to assign energy rebates to the lessor for purposes of installing energy conserving equipment. Permits the Administrator to obligate certain funds for energy management improvement and programs to promote source reduction and recycling. Requires agency programs for the training of Federal building managers in energy management according to prescribed guidelines. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary of Energy to establish a financial bonus program to reward outstanding building managers and others making outstanding contributions toward the reduction of building energy costs or use. Authorizes appropriations. Requires OMB and the Interagency Energy Management Task Force to submit to the Congress a report on agency attainment of energy management goals set forth under the National Energy Conservation Policy Act. Establishes Federal building energy consumption targets. Authorizes Federal agencies to participate in utility incentive programs. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to require the Secretary to establish a demonstration program to install commercial energy efficiency technologies in Federal buildings. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 to revise the management plan required to conduct activities under that Act. Requires the Architect of the Capitol to undertake a study to determine the feasibility and costs of congressional office building compliance with all applicable Federal energy reduction requirements. Title II: Federal Alternative Vehicle Procurement and Management - Federal Alternative Vehicle Procurement and Management Act of 1991 - Requires the GSA Administrator to ensure that alternative fuel vehicles are procured for Federal agency use. Requires Federal agency refueling facilities for alternative fuel vehicles to serve the public unless national security considerations prevent public access. Requires the GSA Administrator to: (1) institute a program to promote and educate Federal agencies and employees on such vehicles; and (2) coordinate with State and local governments in the purchase, refueling, and maintenance of such vehicles. Provides for exempting the Department of Defense from this title for reasons of national security. Authorizes an incentive program for agencies to use such vehicles. Establishes an awards program for Federal employees who demonstrate a strong commitment, through the use of such vehicles, to a cleaner environment and energy secure country. Authorizes appropriations. Requires an annual GSA report to the Congress on its alternative fuel vehicle program. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1991
Lumbee Recognition Act - Extends Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina. Authorizes any group of Indians in Robeson or adjoining counties, North Carolina, whose members are not enrolled in the Tribe to petition under specified provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal existence. Makes the Tribe and its members eligible for all services and benefits provided to Indians because of their status as federally recognized Indians except that members of the Tribe shall not be entitled to such services until funds have been appropriated for such purposes. Deems members of the Tribe residing in Robeson and adjoining counties to be resident on or near an Indian reservation for purposes of the delivery of such services. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services: (1) upon verification of a tribal roll, to develop a determination of needs and a budget required to provide services to eligible members of the Tribe; and (2) to submit a written statement of such needs and budget with the first budget request submitted to the Congress after the fiscal year in which the tribal roll is verified. Authorizes the Tribe to plan and administer programs under Federal provisions pursuant to an annual written funding agreement between the Tribe and the Secretaries (in lieu of authority provided under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act) specifying: (1) the services to be provided, and procedures for modifying budget allocations, within any fiscal year; and (2) the responsibility of the Secretary for, and procedure to be used in, auditing the expenditures of the Tribe. Directs the Lumbee Tribe to organize for its common welfare and to adopt a constitution and bylaws. Directs the Secretary to assist the Tribe in the drafting of a constitution and bylaws, the conduct of an election with respect to such constitution, and the reorganization of the Government of the Tribe under any such constitution and bylaws. Declares that, until the Tribe adopts a constitution and prior to such adoption, the opening of the tribal roll for a specified period to allow the enrollment of any individual previously enrolled in another Indian group or tribe in Robeson or adjoining counties who meet specified requirements, the membership of the Tribe shall consist (subject to review by the Secretary) of every individual who is named in the tribal membership roll that is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. Requires the State of North Carolina to exercise jurisdiction over all criminal offenses committed, and all civil actions that arise, on specified tribal lands in North Carolina. Makes such Tribe eligible for certain agricultural loans to acquire land within reservations with respect to lands within the exterior boundaries of Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina. Authorizes appropriations, but requires proposals for expenditures of such funds to be submitted by the Tribe to specified congressional committees prior to any expenditure of such funds by the Tribe.
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