United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Affidavits of Support Title II: Public Charge Deportation Title III: Attribution of Sponsor's Income Title IV: Ineligibility of Illegal Aliens for Public Assistance and Benefits Title V: Enhanced Verification of Eligibility Based on Citizenship or Immigration Status Title VI: Housing Assistance Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions Title VIII: General Provisions Alien Public Assistance Benefits Amendments of 1996 - Title I: Affidavits of Support - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act), as amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, to apply alien sponsor affidavit of support provisions to means-tested public benefits. (Current law refers to Federal means-tested public benefits.) Revises certain related income provisions. Title II: Public Charge Deportation - Amends the Act to revise the public charge grounds for deportation, including increasing the public charge period. Sets forth a special rule for battered spouses and children. Provides for exclusion and deportation of an alien who obtains public benefits through fraud or misrepresentation. Makes an alien deportable as a public charge ineligible for naturalization. Title III: Attribution of Sponsor's Income - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to apply attribution of sponsor income provisions for five years to current immigrants. Title IV: Ineligibility of Illegal Aliens for Public Assistance and Benefits - Authorizes States to deny driver's licenses to illegal aliens. (Sec. 402) Amends the Social Security Act to prohibit crediting of "employment" for persons not authorized to work in the United States. (Sec. 403) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to deny HIV or AIDS treatment to illegal aliens. Title V: Enhanced Verification of Eligibility Based on Citizenship or Immigration Status - Amends the Social Security Act to require proof of identity for certain public assistance (SAVE program)benefits. (Sec. 502) Authorizes States to require proof of eligibility for State benefits. (Sec. 504) Requires verification of student eligibility (citizen, national, or immigrant) for postsecondary Federal student financial assistance. Title VI: Housing Assistance - Use of Assisted Housing by Aliens Act of 1996 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to: (1) prorate rental housing assistance based upon the number of eligible family members; (2) require prior verification of immigration status and eligibility for financial assistance; and (3) prohibit sanctions against an entity making financial assistance eligibility determinations. Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate unemployment benefit crediting based upon the status of permanently residing in the United States under color of law. (Sec. 702) Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to repeal a specified food stamp program transition provision. Title VIII: General Provisions - Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) effective date; (2)foreign assistance inapplicability; (3) notification; and (4) definitions.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1996
Strengthening Social Security Act of 1996 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require covered employers to have a plan for withholding certain contributions from the wages of their eligible employees for investment according to the individual employee's personal investment plan. Defines personal investment plan as: (1) any personal investment retirement plan restricted to certain contribution deposits in the Personal Investment Fund, established in the Treasury by this Act; or (2) any individual retirement plan restricted to certain contribution deposits and administered or issued by a bank. Requires the Personal Investment Fund to be governed by a Personal Investment Fund Board under a system similar to the Thrift Savings Program for Federal employees. Covers self-employed individuals. Applies this Act only to employees who have not attained age 55. Specifies reduced social security tax rates for plan participants. Imposes civil penalties upon employers who fail to establish a personal investment payroll deduction plan or observe certain requirements with respect to it. Provides for: (1) specified graduated increases in "normal" and early retirement ages; and (2) reduction in cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) applied to higher primary insurance amounts under the OASDI program, tying OASDI COLA determinations based on applicable increase percentages to similar determinations under other specified Federal benefit programs, including the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program under SSA title XVI. Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics to reduce by .5 percentage point the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Indexes used with respect to OASDI COLA calculations. Provides for: (1) a phased in reduction in spousal benefits other than survivors' benefits to 33 percent of the primary insurance amount; and (2) various specified adjustments in the formula for determining primary insurance amounts under OASDI. Mandates social security coverage of all State and local government employees hired after January 1, 1997. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 with respect to social security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, continuing for only a limited period the increased amount of benefits included in the gross income of certain taxpayers. Establishes within the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund an Equities Fund containing the income on, and proceeds from the sale or redemption of, equities held in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1996
Personal Investment Plan Act of 1996 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require covered employers to have a plan for withholding certain contributions from the wages of their eligible employees electing to participate for investment according to the individual employee's personal investment plan. Defines personal investment plan as: (1) any personal investment retirement plan restricted to certain contribution deposits in the Personal Investment Fund, hereby established in the Treasury; or (2) any individual retirement plan restricted to certain contribution deposits and administered or issued by a bank or other specified person. Establishes in the Social Security Administration a Personal Investment Fund Board to govern the Personal Investment Fund under a system similar to the Thrift Savings Program for Federal employees. Covers self-employed individuals. Specifies reduced social security tax rates for participating employees and self-employed individuals. Sets forth civil penalties for employers who fail to establish a personal investment payroll deduction plan or observe certain requirements with respect to it. Prescribes adjustments to primary insurance amounts under the OASDI program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1996
Department of Veterans Affairs Employment Reduction Assistance Act of 1996 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a plan to pay voluntary separation incentives to employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Provides for the determination and payment of incentive payments to such employees. Requires repayment of the entire payment if such former employee accepts employment with the Government within five years of the date of separation, with an authorized waiver by the appropriate official. Requires an agency to contribute to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund an amount equal to 15 percent of the final basic pay of each agency employee to whom an incentive has been paid. Mandates the reduction of total full-time equivalent employees in each agency by one for each employee receiving an incentive payment, allowing a waiver of such reduction by the President in periods of war or national or extraordinary emergencies. Requires: (1) the Department to submit quarterly reports to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) concerning individuals receiving such payments; and (2) OPM to submit annual reports to specified congressional committees on such information. Authorizes the Secretary to release volunteering employees in a reduction in force within the Department (currently, only the Secretaries of Defense or a military department are so authorized). Extends all such authority through FY 2000. Provides for continued health insurance coverage for employees separated before October 1, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1996
Agent Orange Benefits Act of 1996 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide needed health care to a child of a Vietnam veteran who is suffering from spina bifida, for any associated disability. Authorizes the Secretary to provide such health care directly or by contract or other arrangement with a health care provider. Includes within such care home, hospital, nursing home, outpatient, preventive, and rehabilitative care, case management, respite care, the training of family members in the provision of necessary home care, and necessary pharmaceuticals, supplies, and equipment. Authorizes the Secretary to provide vocational training to such a child if the Secretary determines that the achievement of a vocational goal by such child is reasonably feasible. Limits such training to 24 months, unless the Secretary determines that an extension is necessary (up to 24 months). Requires a child eligible for more than one assistance program through the Department of Veterans Affairs to elect one program for participation. Directs the Secretary to pay a monetary allowance to any such child for any disability resulting from spina bifida based on the degree of disability. Requires an increase in such disability benefit whenever there is an increase in benefits payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Provides veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation for the additional disability or death of a veteran which was: (1) not the result of the veteran's own willful misconduct; (2) incurred by care, treatment, or examination furnished to the veteran through the Department; and (3) incurred as a proximate result of such care, treatment, or examination.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1996
Jackie Robinson Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) mint and issue one-dollar silver coins emblematic of Jackie Robinson in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the breaking of the color barrier in major league baseball; and (2) distribute surcharge proceeds to the Jackie Robinson Foundation to enhance its education and youth leadership programs, and increase the availability of scholarships for economically disadvantaged youths. Prescribes conditions for payment of such surcharges, including a proscription against Foundation compensation to any agent or attorney for services rendered to support or influence legislative action of the Congress relating to the coins minted and issued under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1996
Federal Law Enforcement Dependents Assistance Act of 1996 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide educational assistance to the dependents of civilian Federal law enforcement officers who are killed or are permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty. Authorizes the Attorney General to discontinue such assistance upon finding that the recipient fails to maintain satisfactory progress. Authorizes retroactive assistance to each eligible dependent of a Federal law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty on or after May 1, 1992. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1996
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to offer to transfer all right, title, and interest of the United States (including fee simple interest and mineral and water rights) in lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the State in which such land and interests are located. (Excludes mineral interests underlying a surface estate held in trust by the United States for an Indian tribe which interests shall be transferred from the BLM administrative jurisdiction to be held in trust for the Indian tribe for which the overlying surface estate is held in trust.) Permits a State to accept an offer only in its entirety. Makes such a land transfer effective ten years after a State accepts the offer. Restricts conveyance of such lands by a State. (Sec. 3) Requires a State to honor valid existing leases and permits on such lands and to manage the land in accordance with other terms and conditions of such leases and permits. Provides that, except for mining claims for which the holder is entitled to a patent as provided by this Act and under specified conditions, after the date on which land subject to a mining claim is transferred to a State, the validity and continued existence of such claim shall be determined under the law of the State to which the land was transferred and shall be administered in accordance with such State law. Requires a State to which land is transferred to respect a right- of-way granted by the United States on the land in accordance with the terms and conditions of the right-of-way. (Sec. 4) Requires transferred land: (1) that has been designated by an Act of Congress as wilderness to be managed by the State as wilderness in accordance with the requirements of Federal laws that specifically provide for its management; (2) that is, on the date of transfer, subject to use for military purposes to continue to be subject to the same military uses; and (3) to continue to provide for the public access provided on the date of transfer. Sets forth provisions relating to the transfer of water rights on the transferred land. Limits BLM obligations and expenditures to $800 million beginning with the fiscal year in which this Act is enacted. Requires the Secretary to give priority to expending amounts available to the BLM for land management activities and carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Treatment of Passive Foreign Investment Companies Title II: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations Title III: Other Provisions International Tax Simplification for American Competitiveness Act - Title I: Treatment of Passive Foreign Investment Companies - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt U.S. shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation from passive foreign investment company (PFIC) inclusion. (Sec. 102) Allows a U.S shareholder of a PFIC to elect to include the difference between such stock's fair market value and adjusted basis as income, or the difference between adjusted basis and fair market value or unreversed inclusions as a deduction. (Sec. 103) Modifies the definition of "passive income" and the asset valuation test. Title II: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations - Amends the Code to treat as dividends the gain on certain stock sales by controlled foreign corporations. (Sec. 203) Revises specified indirect (deemed taxes paid) foreign tax credit provisions. (Sec. 204) Excludes certain active finance-related income from inclusion as foreign personal holding company income. (Sec. 205) Repeals the separate foreign tax credit limitation (separate basket rule) for certain noncontrolled U.S.-foreign corporations. Applies "look-thru" rules to such entities. (Sec. 206) Treats European Union countries as a single country for certain controlled foreign corporation income purposes. (Sec. 209) Allows affiliated foreign insurance companies to offset losses. Title III: Other Provisions - Amends the Code with respect to certain foreign tax credit determinations to provide that accrued taxes shall be translated into dollars by using the average exchange rate for the year to which such taxes relate. (Sec. 302) Allows a taxpayer to elect a specified alternative minimum foreign tax credit limitation. (Sec. 303) Provides for recognition of taxable gain with respect to certain property transfers by a U.S. person to a foreign corporation. (Sec. 306) Applies uniform capitalization rules to foreign taxpayers with respect to income connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business. (Sec. 307) Extends the excess foreign tax carryover or carryback period. (Sec. 308) Provides for recharacterization of overall domestic loss by treating certain U.S. source income as non-U.S. source income. (Sec. 309) Treats as non-U.S. source income compensation earned by nonresident alien aircraft or vessel crew members for services in the United States. (Sec. 310) Includes computer software within the category of foreign sales corporation (FSC) property. (Sec. 311) Provides special rules with respect to financial services income and interest. (Sec. 312) Excludes from consideration as U.S. property certain assets acquired by securities or commodities dealers.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1996
Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 - Requires a group health plan that applies an aggregate lifetime (or annual) limit for medical or surgical services, if the plan also provides a mental health benefit, to include mental health payments in that limit or establish a separate aggregate lifetime (or annual) limit for mental health services, with the mental health limit not less than the medical or surgical limit. Prohibits a group health plan that does not apply a medical or surgical limit from applying a mental health limit. Exempts employers with fewer than 26 employees.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1996
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that no funds appropriated by the Congress are used to maintain and operate golf courses on real property under control of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for the maintenance and operation of such golf courses by entering into: (1) 20-year leases with Department employee associations, other non-Federal nonprofit organizations, or private entities; or (2) enhanced use leases. Requires golfing revenues generated from such property use to be retained by the Department for uses deemed appropriate by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary, before leasing a Department golf course, to consider the option of excessing the golf course to the General Services Administration so that such property may be screened for redeployment by another executive agency.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1996
Redesignates the: (1) National Cemetery System of the Department of Veterans Affairs as the National Cemetery Administration; and (2) position of Director of the System as the Assistant Secretary for Memorial Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1996
Community Protection Initiative of 1996 - Amends the Federal criminal code to exempt qualified current and former law enforcement officers carrying appropriate written identification from State and local laws prohibiting the carrying of a concealed firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1996
Authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to construct the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum Dulles Center at Washington Dulles International Airport. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to pay construction expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
Commission on Retirement Income Policy Act of 1996 - Establishes the Commission on Retirement Income Policy to study and report to the President and Congress on: (1) trends in retirement savings in the United States; (2) existing Federal incentives and programs to encourage and protect such savings; and (3) new Federal incentives and programs needed for such purpose. Requires the Commission to address specified issues and to include in its recommendation measures addressing specified needs of future retirees. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Findings and Purposes Title II: Property Rights Litigation Relief Title III: Alternative Dispute Resolution Title IV: Private Property Taking Impact Analysis Title V: Private Property Owners Administrative Bill of Rights Title VI: Miscellaneous Omnibus Property Rights Act of 1996 - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Sets forth findings and purposes for this Act. Title II: Property Rights Litigation Relief - Prohibits Federal and State agencies from taking private property except for public use and with just compensation to the owner. Sets forth the circumstances in which compensation is required. Prohibits filing claims against a State agency for carrying out a regulatory program mandated by Federal law, delegated under a Federal program, or funded by Federal funds in connection with a State regulatory program. Title III: Alternative Dispute Resolution - Provides for settlement or arbitration, on consent of both parties, of property rights disputes. Declares that title 9 of the U.S. Code (relating to arbitration) shall apply to enforcement of awards rendered under this title. Title IV: Private Property Taking Impact Analysis - Requires that Federal agency actions likely to result in the taking of private property be preceded by a written impact analysis available to the public. Title V: Private Property Owners Administrative Bill of Rights - Directs Federal agency heads enforcing the Endangered Species Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to: (1) comply with State and tribal laws; (2) act in the manner least intrusive to private property rights; (3) implement rules and regulations to ensure the protection of those rights; (4) refrain from entering private property to acquire information without the written consent of and notice to the owner; and (5) refrain from using data collected on privately owned property to implement or enforce such Acts without providing the property owner with access to and the opportunity to dispute the data. (Sec. 506) Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish property owner appeal rights. (Sec. 508) Requires agency heads to provide owners of private property adversely affected by agency action with the option to: (1) sell the property to the agency for fair market value without use restrictions; (2) receive compensation for any resulting decrease in the property's fair market value; or (3) enter into arbitration. Requires that payment under this title, at the property owner's election, be provided for in accordance with the standard specified under title II of this Act, or in the amount equal to the fair market value of the property before the date of the final agency action with respect to which the property or interest is acquired. (Sec. 509) Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require notice to all private property owners or lessees of property subject to the Act of any new management agreement with a non-Federal person that establishes restrictions on property use, providing each of them the opportunity to participate in the agreement. Title VI: Miscellaneous - Sets forth severability provisions and the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1996
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to revise it and rename it the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996. Instructs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) develop and operate an integrated management system for the storage and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste; (2) store spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste beginning no later than November 30, 1999, at designated facilities pursuant to certain interim storage facility contracts; (3) provide for the transportation of such wastes (using systems and components procured and manufactured in the United States); and (4) engage private sector participation to the greatest extent possible in the implementation of this Act. Shields the United States from any financial liability for the Secretary's failure to meet acceptance or emplacement deadlines under this Act. Establishes an integrated management system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, including its storage, transportation, and disposal. Sets a deadline for development of the capability to commence rail to truck intermodal transfer from the mainline rail line at Caliente, Nevada, to the interim storage facility site. Instructs the Secretary to acquire necessary lands and rights-of-way along the "Chalk Mountain Heavy Haul Route." Directs the Secretary to offer to enter into a prescribed benefits agreement with Lincoln County, including a payment schedule. Requires conveyance to such County of specified Federal lands. Prescribes procedural guidelines for the availability beginning by November 30, 1999, of: (1) transportation readiness for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from sites designated by the contract holders to mainline transportation facilities; and (2) public education programs for States, local governments, and Indian tribes through whose jurisdiction the Secretary plans to transport substantial amounts of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste. Requires a transporter of nuclear waste under contract with the Secretary to comply with all governmental and Indian tribal transportation regulations. Instructs the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate employee protection training standards for workers directly involved in nuclear waste transportation, storage and disposal. Sets forth a phased schedule for the Secretary to begin operating an interim nuclear waste storage facility, but prohibiting construction activities before December 31, 1998. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) cease all but termination activities at the Yucca Mountain site if the President determines it is unsuitable for repository development; (2) present a viability assessment of the site to the President and the Congress by a specified deadline; and (3) proceed with all activities necessary to begin acceptance of nuclear waste at an interim storage facility site designated by the President. Precludes construction activities, however, until the site has been approved by law. Prescribes two-tiered design and licensing phases for the site. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on alternatives for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Establishes the Office of Nuclear Waste Disposal Research to implement research, development, and demonstration activities on such alternative technologies. Instructs the Secretary to establish a university-based Nuclear Waste Disposal Consortium of academic institutions, national laboratories, the commercial nuclear industry, and other organizations to investigate and report to the Congress on the technical and institutional feasibility of such alternative technologies. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants (including financial and technical assistance) to enable affected Indian tribes or local governmental units to monitor and review the impact of the integrated management system upon residents at the Yucca Mountain site. Directs the Secretary to offer an affected local government unit the opportunity to designate an on-site representative to conduct oversight activities at an interim storage facility or repository site. Provides that acceptance of benefits under this Act by any affected Indian tribe or local government shall not be deemed an expression of consent to the siting of an interim storage facility or repository in Nevada. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to convey all Federal interest in specified property to Nye County, Nevada. Prescribes contract guidelines for the Secretary to accept title to, and transport, store, and dispose of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste for a fee. Prescribes a schedule of annual fees for electricity generated by civilian nuclear power reactors, and of a one-time fee for spent nuclear fuel used in such generation. States that payment of the latter one-time fee relieves the payer of further financial obligation to the Federal Government for its long-term storage or permanent disposal. Mandates annual fee reviews, and adjustment proposals to the Congress if appropriate. Continues the Nuclear Waste Fund and the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Directs the Secretary to issue a final rule establishing the appropriate portion of the costs of managing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel allocable to the interim storage or permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activities and spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors. Authorizes appropriations. Preempts State and local law in favor of this Act and the Atomic Energy Act. Grants U.S. courts of appeals original and exclusive jurisdiction over civil actions under this Act. Prescribes guidelines for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing hearings about facility expansions and transshipments. Prohibits the Secretary from conducting site-specific activities for a second repository unless the Congress has specifically authorized and appropriated funds therefor. Requires the NRC to promulgate regulatory guidelines for: (1) financial assurances for low-level radioactive waste site closures; and (2) training and qualification of civilian nuclear powerplant personnel. Delineates an emplacement schedule for contract holders' spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. States that the Secretary's acceptance of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste constitutes a transfer of title to the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) accept all spent nuclear fuel withdrawn from Dairyland Power Cooperative's La Crosse Reactor; and (2) pay for the on-site storage of such fuel until DOE removes it from the site. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a Decommissioning Pilot Program to decommission and decontaminate the sodium-cooled fast breeder experimental test-site reactor located in northwest Arkansas. Prohibits the use of funds from the Nuclear Waste Fund for such Pilot Program. Declares that nothing in this or any other Federal law shall be construed as a reservation of Federal water or water rights for any purpose arising under this Act. Authorizes the United States to acquire and exercise such rights, subject to certain restrictions. Continues the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to take necessary action to improve the management of the civilian radioactive waste management program to ensure to the maximum extent its operation like a private business. Repeals mandates and authorizations for the Interim Storage Fund, the Monitored Retrievable Storage Commission, the Office of Subseabed Disposal Research, and the Office of Nuclear Waste Negotiator. Directs the Secretary to: (1) create a value engineering function within the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management; and (2) employ, on an on-going basis, integrated performance modeling regarding site characterization.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1996
Daylight Saving time Extension Act of 1996 - Amends the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to extend daylight saving time by: (1) beginning it on the third Sunday of March instead of the first Sunday in April; and (2) ending it on the first Sunday of November instead of the last Sunday of October. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to make such adjustments with respect to hours of operation of daytime standard amplitude modulation broadcast stations as may be consistent with the public interest.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1996
Medicare Restoration Act of 1996 - Establishes the National Commission on Medicare Reform to: (1) review relevant analyses of the current, short-term, and long-term financial condition of the Medicare trust funds; (2) identify problems that threaten their solvency; (3) analyze potential solutions to such problems that will both assure Medicare's financial integrity and the provision of appropriate benefits under it; (4) make recommendations to restore the solvency of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and to provide for sustainable growth of the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund; and (5) review and analyze such other matters as the Commission deems appropriate. Requires a report to the President and the Congress. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide funding for the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1996
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to study and report to the Congress concerning grazing use of specified agricultural and ranch lands within and adjacent to Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Requires that the study: (1) determine the significance of the ranching use and pastoral character of the land and the significance of that use and character to the purposes for which the Park was established; and (2) identify any need and practicable means for preservation of the land that is necessary to protect that use and character. Requires the Secretary to: (1) reinstate, if necessary, and extend until June 1, 1997, the grazing permit under the same terms and conditions as were in effect before its expiration; and (2) cancel the extension with respect to any portion of the land that is disposed of in a manner that would result in it no longer being used for ranching or other agricultural purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to Wyoming specified property in Crook County for purposes of: (1) fish and wildlife management or education; or (2) maintaining and using the historical interests and significance of facilities on the property consistent with Federal and State law. Requires the State to provide access to the property for institutions of higher education at a level of compensation as mutually agreed.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1996 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, effective December 1, 1996, the rates of and limitations on veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents of certain disabled veterans, the clothing allowance for certain service-disabled veterans, dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), and supplemental DIC for children. Increases each such rate by the same percentage as the increase in benefit amounts under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death. Requires the Secretary to publish such increases in the Federal Register at the same time that percentage increases under title II of the Social Security Act are required to be published.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments Title II: Locate and Case Tracking Title III: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures Title IV: Paternity Establishment Title V: Program Administration and Funding Title VI: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders Title VII: Enforcement of Support Orders Title VIII: Medical Support Title IX: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non- Residential Parents Title X: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments Child Support Improvement Act of 1996 - Title I: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive assistance under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. (Sec. 102) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 103) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. Title II: Locate and Case Tracking - Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 202) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. (Sec. 203) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 204) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 205) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 206) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and of HHS to jointly develop cost-effective methods of accessing information in the various State directories of new hires and the National Directory of New Hires, taking into account impact and cost to the States, and the need to insure authorized use of wage record information. (Sec. 207) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). Title III: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures - Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 303) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. Title IV: Paternity Establishment - Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 403) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. Title V: Program Administration and Funding - Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 502) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec. 504) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 505) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. Title VI: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders - Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 602) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 603) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for knowing or negligent violation of such prohibition. Title VII: Enforcement of Support Orders - Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 702) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the armed forces. (Sec. 704) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 705) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures to: (1) ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of an absent parent; and (4) implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 710) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 711) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of Health and Human Services as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 712) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each absent parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 713) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 714) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. Title VIII: Medical Support - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 802) Amends part D of SSA title IV to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. Title IX: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents - Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate absent parents' access to their children. Title X: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments - Sets forth effective dates and conforming amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to suspend a special pay agreement (an agreement providing special pay for physicians and dentists entering into a period of service with the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs) in the case of a physician or dentist who enters into a residency training program. Reinstates the agreement when such physician or dentist completes, withdraws from, or is no longer a participant in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes the Board of Veterans' Appeals to send a copy of its written decision to a claimant by any means (currently, only by mail) reasonably calculated to provide notice within the same time that a copy of such decision sent by first-class mail would be expected to reach such claimant. Authorizes a claimant to give a power of attorney naming a veterans' organization as the claimant's representative in a claim before the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes medical personnel of the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs other than physicians, dentists, podiatrists, or optometrists to assume responsibility for the medical care of any patient other than a patient admitted for treatment at a Department facility.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into disbursement agreements with participating medical institutions for the centralized administration of pay and other employee benefits provided to medical residents and interns training at any Department facility (currently, only at a Department hospital) providing hospital care or medical services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Amends Federal provisions concerning the acquisition and operation of Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and the construction or alteration of parking facilities therefor to replace the term: (1) "working drawings" with "construction documents"; and (2) "preliminary plans" with "design development."
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, notwithstanding the requirement for congressional notification and a waiting period, to proceed with a reorganization of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs as described in the Secretary's letter and plan submitted to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on March 17, 1995. Removes: (1) certain offices, services, and Director positions from the VHA as part of the reorganization; and (2) the requirement that the Associate Deputy Chief Medical Director be a qualified doctor of medicine. Allows only two of the Assistant Under Secretaries for Health to be persons qualified in the administration of health services who are not doctors of medicine, dental surgery, or dental medicines.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1996
United States Tourism Organization Act - Establishes: (1) the National Tourism Board to develop a national travel and tourism strategy for increasing U.S. tourism; and (2) the United States Tourism Organization as a non-Federal nonprofit organization to implement the national travel and tourism strategy developed by the Board. Requires the Secretary of State to cooperate with the Organization and place a high priority on implementing its recommendations. Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to require the Federal trade promotion plan of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to reflect Board recommendations. Makes the Chairman of the Organization a member of the TPCC. Terminates the Organization and the Board if a plan for the long-term financing of the Organization has not been implemented two years after its incorporation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1996
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce by 4.3 cents per gallon the tax on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, fuel used by commercial waterway transportation vessels, special motor fuels, and methanol or ethanol fuels. Makes the reduction effective from seven days after enactment of this Act until January 1, 1997. Provides for the treatment of floor stocks. Expresses the sense of the Congress that consumers immediately receive the benefits. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees on whether there has been a passthrough to consumers. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to authorize appropriations to carry out the Act. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to complete actions necessary to permit the competitive bidding of licenses for the use of described frequency bands. Prohibits the FCC from treating enactment of this Act as an expression of the intent of the Congress regarding the award of initial licenses of construction permits for Advanced Television Services.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1996
Interstate Stalking Punishment and Prevention Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and prescribe penalties for interstate stalking (i.e., traveling across a State line or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States with the intent to injure or harass another person and, in the course or as a result of such travel, placing that person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury to that person or a member of that person's immediate family).
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1996
Freedom from Government Competition Act of 1996 - Requires Federal agencies to obtain all goods and services necessary for or beneficial to the accomplishment of their authorized functions by procurement from private sources, except as specified. Provides for a study and report.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1996
Promotion of Commerce On-Line in the Digital Era (Pro-CODE) Act of 1996 - Prohibits the Secretary of Commerce (acting through the National Institute of Standards and Technology or otherwise) from promulgating or enforcing regulations, or otherwise adopting standards or carrying out policies: (1) that result in encryption standards intended for use by businesses or entities other than Federal computer systems; or (2) in a manner inconsistent with this Act, or that have the effect of imposing Government-designed encryption standards on the private sector by restricting the export of computer hardware and computer software with encryption capabilities. (Sec. 5) Prohibits the Federal and State governments from: (1) restricting or regulating the interstate sale by any person of any product with encryption capabilities; or (2) requiring, as a condition of such a sale, that a decryption key be given to any other person (including a Federal agency or a private entity certified or approved by the Federal or a State government). Grants the Secretary exclusive authority to control exports of all computer hardware, software, and technology with encryption capabilities, except that which is specifically designed or modified for military use, including command, control, and intelligence applications. Prohibits requiring any validated license (with limited exceptions) for the export or reexport of any: (1) computer software, including that with encryption capabilities, that is generally available, as is, and designed for installation by the purchaser, or that is in the public domain (including on the Internet) or publicly available because it is generally accessible to the public in any form; or (2) computing device or computer hardware solely because it incorporates or employs in any form such computer software (including that with encryption capabilities). Directs the Secretary to authorize the export or reexport of computer software with encryption capabilities under a general license for nonmilitary end-uses in any country to which exports of software or hardware of similar capability are permitted for use by financial institutions not controlled in fact by U.S. persons, unless there is substantial evidence that such software and hardware will be diverted to a military end-use or an end-use supporting international terrorism, modified for military or terrorist end-use, or reexported without requisite Federal authorization. Declares that nothing in this Act may be construed to affect any law in effect before this Act's enactment designed to prevent the distribution of descramblers and any other equipment for illegal interceptions of cable and satellite television signals.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1996
Adoption Promotion Act of 1996 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a tax credit of up to $5,000 for qualified adoption expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year. Provides a limitation based on modified adjusted gross income. Permits unused credit to be carried forward to the succeeding taxable year on a first-in first-out basis, but prohibits carrying forward credit to any taxable year following the fifth taxable year after the taxable year in which the credit arose. Allows distributions from an individual retirement plan to be used without penalty to pay for adoption expenses. Excludes from gross income aggregate amounts of up to $5,000 ($7,500 in the case of a child with special needs) paid or expenses incurred by the employee for qualified adoption expenses in connection with the adoption of a child if such amounts are received under an employer's adoption assistance program. Provides a limitation based on modified adjusted gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1996
Adolescent Family Life and Abstinence Education Act of 1996 - Amends Public Health Service Act provisions relating to adolescent family life demonstration projects to include the provision of abstinence information in the definition of "necessary services." Mandates, in approving demonstration project grants, adequate representation of both urban and rural areas. Requires a simplified and expedited application process for applicants seeking less than $15,000. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the demonstration project provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1996
Utility Consumer Service Improvement and Protection Act of 1996 - Amends Federal transportation law to exempt a utility service vehicle driver from motor carrier safety regulations regarding: (1) maximum driving and on-duty times applicable to commercial motor vehicle operators; (2) installation of automatic recording devices associated with such times; and (3) physical testing, reporting, or recordkeeping. Prohibits construction of such exemption to exempt such drivers from mechanical safety or licensing requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1996
Constitutional Amendment - Grants victims of violent crimes the following rights: (1) to be informed of, and present at, every proceeding in which the rights to liberty, justice, and due process are extended to the accused or convicted offender; (2) to be heard at any proceeding involving sentencing and to object to a previously negotiated plea or a release from custody; (3) to be informed of any release or escape; (4) to a speedy trial, a final conclusion free from unreasonable delay, full restitution from the convicted offender, reasonable measures of protection from violence or intimidation by the accused or convicted offender; and (5) to notice of such rights. Grants the several States and the Congress the power to implement further this amendment by appropriate legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1996
Crude Oil Transportation Fairness Act of 1996 - Amends Federal transportation law to exempt persons who offer crude oil or condensates for transport from certain registration and fee requirements if that person transfers title to the crude oil or condensates to the transporter at the time they are initially transported from a storage location. Limits the maximum annual registration fee the Secretary may charge a person filing a registration statement to $250 (currently, the fee shall be between $250 and $5,000).
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1996
Provides for observation of a moment of silence at 9:02 a.m. central daylight time on April 19, 1996, in remembrance of the victims of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Commends the people of Oklahoma and the aid provided by rescuers, Federal agencies, countless volunteers, and Federal employees. Reaffirms trust in our system of justice to ensure that the perpetrators are convicted and punished.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1996
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Jackson, Mississippi, as the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
![Official portrait of Sen. Simpson, Alan K. [R-WY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000429_200.jpg)