United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Acclaims the President for his decisive leadership, unerring judgment, and sound decisions with respect to the Persian Gulf crisis. Commends and expresses appreciation to the members of the U.S. armed forces and other members of the international coalition who participated in Operation Desert Storm. Conveys sympathy and condolences to the families and friends of coalition and U.S. forces who were injured or killed during such operation. Expresses compassion for the families of noncombatants who suffered hardship and personal losses during the Persian Gulf War. Supports continued efforts to promote peace and stability in the Persian Gulf.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) Saddam Hussein and his subordinates should be held legally and financially accountable for the invasion of Kuwait, the brutal treatment of Kuwait, the Kuwaiti people, and allied and U.S. prisoners of war, launching unprovoked SCUD attacks against Israel and Israeli civilians, dumping oil into the ocean, and the destruction of oil fields; and (2) the United Nations should take steps to try such individuals for war crimes following and including the invasion of Kuwait.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Women's Health Equity Act of 1991 - Title I: Research - Subtitle A: Women's Health Research Act - Women's Health Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the Office of Research on Women's Health (Office) to ensure that women's health reseach is identified and addressed by NIH. Establishes in the Office the Coordinating Committee for Research on Women's Health and the Advisory Committee for Research on Women's Health. Mandates that the Director of the Office prepare and annually review a plan for establishing a program for clinical research on obstetrics and gynecology to be conducted by the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD). Requires the NICHHD Director to establish a program of contracts with individuals who agree to conduct obstetrics and gynecology research in return for the Federal Government paying, to a specified maximum, the educational loans of the individuals. Requires the NIH Director to establish a single data system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information regarding women's health research conducted or supported by NIH, including a registry of clinical trials of experimental treatments. Requires the NIH Director to establish and operate a program to provide information on research and prevention activities relating to women's health research. Provides for grants or contracts for the development and operation of Centers of Excellence in Women's Health Research using a single institution or a consortium for each Center. Provides, subject to appropriations, for three centers, with support covering five years. Allows extension of support if recommended by a technical and scientific peer review group. Authorizes appropriations for specified provisions of this subtitle. Subtitle B: Clinical Trials Fairness Act - Clinical Trials Fairness Act - Amends provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to the national research institutes and provisions relating to the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure, in conducting or supporting clinical research, that women and minority groups are included as research subjects, unless inappropriate. Requires that any project be designed and carried out so as to provide for a valid analysis of whether the research variables affect women or minorities differently than other subjects. Directs the Secretary to establish within the advisory council of each agency of an institute and ADAMHA a Clinical Research Equity Subcommittee to review all clinical research of that agency to determine whether the research is being conducted in accordance with requirements of this Act. Provides for suspension or revocation of the authority for any project the Secretary determines is not being conducted in accordance with those requirements. Defines "minority groups" to mean racial and ethnic minority groups. Requires that the technical and scientific peer review process in the institutes and ADAMHA include an evaluation of the inclusion of women and minority groups as research subjects. Subtitle C: Women's Health and Mental Health Research Act - Women's Health and Mental Health Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish in the Office of the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) the Office of Research on Women's Health and Mental Health (Office) to ensure that women's health and mental health research is identified and addressed by ADAMHA. Establishes in the Office the Coordinating Committee for Research on Women's Health and the Advisory Committee for Research on Women's Health. Requires that the Administrator establish: (1) a single data system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information regarding women's health and mental health research, including a registry of clinical trials of experimental treatments; and (2) a program to provide information on women's health and mental health research. Provides for grants or contracts for the development and operation of Centers of Excellence in Women's Health and Mental Health Research using a single institution or a consortium for each Center. Provides, subject to appropriations, for three centers, with support covering five years. Allows extension of support if recommended by a technical and scientific peer review group. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act - Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for research on alcohol abuse and alcoholism, earmarking certain amounts for such research relating to women. Subtitle E: Breast Cancer Basic Research Act - Authorizes to be appropriated, in addition to sums already authorized, a certain amount to the National Cancer Institute for breast cancer research other than research which involves treatment or clinical trials. Subtitle F: Contraceptive and Infertility Research Centers Act - Contraception and Infertility Research Centers Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Institute of Child Health and Human Development to make grants and enter into contracts for centers for improving methods of contraception and centers for diagnosing and treating infertility. Requires the Director, subject to appropriations, to provide for three centers with respect to contraception and two centers with respect to infertility. Requires each center to: (1) conduct clinical and other applied research; (2) develop training protocols for and conduct training of physicians, scientists, nurses, and other health and allied health professionals; (3) develop model continuing education programs; and (4) disseminate information to such professionals. Allows a center to use the funds to provide: (1) stipends for health and allied health professionals enrolled in the training programs; and (2) fees to individuals serving as subjects in the clinical trials. Requires each center to use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions, meeting requirements as prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Serivces. Allows support for a center to be for a period of up to five years, with extensions of one or more periods of up to five years if the center's operations have been reviewed by a peer review group and the group has so recommended. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to establish a program of entering into agreements with health professionals, including graduate students, under which the professionals agree to conduct research with respect to contraception or infertility in consideration of the Government agreeing to repay, for each year of such service, not more than a specified amount of the principal and interest of their educational loans. Applies provisions of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program to this program, except as inconsistent. Authorizes appropriations. Requires amounts appropriated to remain available until the end of the second fiscal year after they are appropriated. Subtitle G: Sense of Congress Regarding Contraceptive Research - Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that it should: (1) establish a program of research for the development of methods of contraception and methods of diagnosing and treating infertility; (2) provide adequate long-term resources for the program; (3) ensure that Federal programs with respect to sexually transmitted diseases adequately respond to the role of such diseases in infertility; (4) ensure public education on contraception and infertility; (5) establish as Federal goals the development, by the year 2010, of improved barrier methods to protect against pregnancy and diseases, new methods of contraception for use by men, a vaccine-like drug for women that prevents pregnancy for a significant period of time without other specified effects, and new and improved techniques of diagnosing and treating infertility; (6) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reestablish the Ethical Advisory Board in order to facilitate research with respect to infertility; (7) review the policies and procedures of the Food and Drug Administration with respect to expediting approval of drugs and devices for use by the public, especially with respect to contraception and infertility; and (8) determine to what extent measures can be implemented by public or private entities to resolve liability issues involved with drugs and devices concerned with contraception and infertility. Subtitle H: Women and AIDS Research Initiative - Women and AIDS Research Initiative Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, or both, to establish a program to conduct biomedical and behavioral research on cases of infection with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in women. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct the research directly or through grants. Specifies forms of research to be included. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants for community-based clinical trials on experimental treatments for such infection for women. Allows the Director of the NIH to authorize grantees to expend the grants to provide individuals with transportation, child care, and other incidental services necessary to enable the individuals to participate as subjects in the trials. Subtitle I: Ovarian Cancer Research Act - Ovarian Cancer Research Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the Director of the National Cancer Institute, to conduct or support basic research on certain aspects of ovarian cancer. Prohibits the Secretary from conducting or supporting clinical research on the same matters. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle J: Osteoporosis and Related Research Act - Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Research, Education, and Health Services Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMSD), the Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) to expand and intensify research on osteoporosis and related bone disorders. Requires, with respect to osteoporosis and related bone disorders: (1) the NIAMSD Director to increase the number of Specialized Centers of Research; (2) the NIA Director to increase the number of program project grants devoted to creating centers of excellence; and (3) the NIDDKD Director to increase the number of grants in osteoporosis. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the Interagency Council on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders and the Advisory Panel on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders. Authorizes appropriations for the Advisory Panel. Requires the NIAMSD Director to make grants or enter into contracts to establish a Resource Center on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders to: (1) disseminate information about research results, services, and educational materials to health professionals, patients, and the public; and (2) coordinate leadership training for the development of health professional resource networks. Requires grant and contract recipients to establish: (1) a central computerized information system to translate scientific and technical information into information readily understandable by the general public; and (2) a national toll-free telephone information line. Requires the grant or contract recipient to charge fees for providing information, but allows exceptions for individuals and organizations unable to pay. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Services - Subtitle A: Breast Cancer Informed Decision Act - Breast Cancer Treatment Informed Consent Act - Requires any State receiving funds under titles V (Maternal and Child Health Block Grant) or XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act or under the preventive health service provisions of the Public Health Service Act to require any physician or surgeon licensed to practice medicine in such State to inform any breast cancer patient of alternative methods of treatment for breast cancer before such treatment is begun. Requires that the patients be informed by means of: (1) a standardized written summary in layman's language and in a language understood by the patient of alternative methods of treatment; and (2) an explanation of the treatment options described in such written summary together with the risks associated with each procedure relative to each patient's particular medical circumstances. Subtitle B: Women's Health Care Coverage Expansion Act - Women's Health Care Coverage Expansion Act of 1991 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare and Medicaid coverage of obstetrical and gynecological services furnished by nurse practitioners. Subtitle C: Mickey Leland Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood Act - Mickey Leland Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenthood Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace the title on adolescent family life demonstration projects with a title on adolescent pregnancy prevention, care, and research grants. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide, supplement, or improve the quality of care services to pregnant adolescents and their male partners and adolescent parents and prevention services to nonpregnant adolescents. Requires grantees to charge fees for services only under a fee schedule, approved by the Secretary, based on the income of the person and taking into account the difficulty adolescents face in obtaining resources to pay for services. Prohibits discrimination because of an individual's inability to pay for services. Sets forth priorities in making grants, including giving priority to applicants that: (1) serve an area with a high incidence of adolescent pregnancy; and (2) serve an area with a high proportion of low-income families and low availability of care programs. Requires that the amount of a grant be set by the Secretary. Limits a grant, subject to waiver for one year, to 75 percent of the cost of a program. Specifies the information and assurances which must accompany a grant application. Directs the Secretary to coordinate Federal policies and programs providing services relating to the prevention of initial and recurrent adolescent pregnancies and providing care services, including by requiring grantees under these provisions to report concerning Federal, State, and local policies that interfere with delivery and coordination of programs of care for pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education to support and disseminate the results of research relating to adolescent pregnancy. Limits grants or contracts to: (1) one year, subject to renewal for four additional one-year periods; and (2) subject to waiver, a specified dollar amount. Allows funds to be used for descriptive or explanatory surveys, evaluation studies, longitudinal studies, or limited programs for services for the purpose of increasing knowledge and understanding of specified matters. Directs the Secretary to establish a system for the review of grant and contract applications which is similar to the system of scientific peer review of the National Institutes of Health. Restricts grants to programs determined by the review panel to have scientific merit. Authorizes appropriations, earmarking at least two-thirds of appropriated funds for services, with no more than one-third to be used for grants for prevention services. Prohibits using such funds for the performance of an abortion. Subtitle D: Adolescent Health Demonstration Projects - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants in FY 1991 through 1995 for the establishment or support of adolescent health demonstration projects. Requires such projects to: (1) provide health care information and services, including related social services; (2) serve adolescents before their graduation from high school; (3) encourage family participation; and (4) establish community advisory committees. Directs the Secretary to give priority to project applicants who will serve areas with low-income or minority populations. States that no grant funds may be used to perform or pay for abortions. Subtitle E: COBRA Displaced Family Amendments - COBRA Displaced Family Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Public Health Service Act (the Acts) to declare that specified provisions relating to the required period of group health plan continuation coverage do not apply to the qualifying events of death, divorce, or legal separation involving a beneficiary who is 50 years old or older. Requires that coverage continue until the 23rd birthday, or 36 months after the qualifying event, whichever is later, for an individual who is a dependent child beneficiary at the time of such an event involving a covered employee 50 years old or older. Amends the Acts to modify: (1) the termination of extended average for disability and the general rule for other qualifying events, as they relate to the maximum required period of continuation coverage; and (2) dates by which certain notice must be given. Amends the Acts to require that notice of the option to enroll under a conversion plan be given during the 120-day period ending 60 days before the expiration of the continuation coverage. (Current law requires such notice be given during the 180-day period ending on the expiration date of the continuation coverage.) Subtitle F: Federal Employee Family Building Act - Federal Employee Family-Building Act of 1991 - Requires any contract for health benefits for Federal employees that provides obstetrical benefits to also provide benefits for family-building procedures. Provides that payment terms or conditions under such contracts shall be no more restrictive for family-building benefits than for obstetrical benefits. Defines "family-building procedure" as a medical procedure to overcome infertility (including procedures to achieve pregnancy and procedures to carry pregnancy to term) and procedures relating to child adoption. Requires such contracts to provide that: (1) benefits shall consist of reimbursement for reasonable and necessary medical expenses and counseling fees directly relating to the adoption of a child; and (2) benefits shall be available in connection with obstetrical care for the biological mother and medical care for the child if, or to the extent that, the pre-adoptive or adoptive parent or parents are legally responsible for the cost of such care. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to authorize the use of sick leave for purposes relating to family-building procedures. Title III: Prevention - Subtitle A: Medicaid Infant Mortality Amendments - Medicaid Infant Mortality Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to phase-in mandatory State coverage of pregnant women and infants whose family income is below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level. Deducts child and medical care costs from the income eligibility test. Authorizes States to provide Medicaid coverage of prenatal home visitation services for high-risk pregnant women and/or postpartum home visitation services for high-risk infants. Subtitle B: Breast Cancer Screening and Safety Act - Breast Cancer Screening Safety Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require certification in order for a facility to perform or interpret mammograms, inspect equipment, or conduct quality assurance oversight related to mammography. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue and renew certificates for up to two years. Requires, in order to be certified, that a facility be accredited. Allows the Secretary to approve a private nonprofit organization to be an accreditation body which meets certain requirements, including inspecting facilities. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish standards for facilities to assure the safety and accuracy of mammography; (2) specify organizations eligible to certify individuals to perform radiological procedures; (3) specify boards eligible to certify individuals to interpret screening mammograms; (4) establish standards regarding the qualifications for individuals to interpret screening mammograms; and (5) specify boards eligible to certify individuals to inspect screening mammography equipment and oversee quality assurance practices. Directs the Secretary to conduct annual announced and unannounced inspections of certified facilities. Provides for: (1) intermediate sanctions for certain violations; (2) suspension, revocation, and limitation of certificates; and (3) injunctions. Requires fees for certificate issuance and renewal, and for inspections, sufficient to cover costs. Requires annual publication of a list of facilities convicted of fraud and abuse, false billings, or kickbacks, facilities that have had certificates revoked, suspended, or limited, and facilities that have been the subject of a sanction or other similar matters. Allows the Secretary to exempt facilities in a State with more stringent requirements from compliance with this Act. Directs the Secretary to: (1) make grants for research on new methods of establishing a Mammography Registry; and (2) based on the research, establish the Registry. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require that screening mammographies paid for under Medicare be performed by a facility: (1) certified under this Act; and (2) in compliance with specified provisions of this Act. Subtitle C: Medicaid Coverage for Mammographies and Pap Smears - Medicaid Women's Basic Health Coverage Act of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicaid coverage of: (1) screening mammographies for women age 35 and older conducted in accordance with the frequency guidelines established by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 for such coverage under the Medicare Program (title XVIII of the Social Security Act); and (2) screening pap smears. Subtitle D: Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Act - Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage of bone mass measurements. Subtitle E: Women and AIDS Outreach and Prevention - Women and AIDS Outreach and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants regarding prevention of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases in women, including preventive health services, screening, providing treatment (for such diseases other than AIDS), referrals, and follow-up services. Requires that a grantee be an entity that provides health or voluntary family planning services: (1) to a significant number of low-income women; and (2) in an area with a significant number of AIDS cases in women and in newborn infants. Requires that grantees maintain the confidentiality of information on individuals, subject to complying with applicable law. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Infertility Prevention Act - Infertility Prevention Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with regard to any treatable sexually transmitted disease that can cause infertility in women if treatment is not received for the disease, to make grants for specified activities, including counseling, screening, treatment, referrals, outreach, public information and education, training for health care providers, and data collection. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria for ensuring the quality of screening for such diseases. Limits grants to three years, with annual approval by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for research on improving the delivery of services under this subtitle. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
International Voluntary Family Planning Assistance Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations for international population planning assistance. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds for the United Nations Population Fund if: (1) the Fund maintains such funds in a separate account, without commingling; (2) none of the funds are made available for China; and (3) any agreement to obligate such funds expressly states that the full amount granted by the agreement will be refunded to the United States if U.S. funds are used for family planning in China or abortions in any country. Requires a specified amount of population planning assistance to be used to increase family planning service delivery in countries with large population growth. Prohibits any funds appropriated under this Act from being used for abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
Nursing Home Access to Respiratory Therapy Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include respiratory therapy within covered extended care services.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
States that, for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code, Persian Gulf conflict service shall be treated as service in a combat zone. Includes service performed in Diego Garcia in connection with Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, or any related military operation as Persian Gulf service.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Mobility Assistance Act of 1991 - Redesignates the Urban Mass Transportation Administration of the Department of Transportation as the Federal Public Transportation Administration. Amends the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 to increase from 8.64 percent to ten percent the amount allocated from block grants for mass transportation projects in urban areas with a population of less than 200,000. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants and loans to eligible entities in urbanized and non-urbanized areas for special mobility assistance transportation projects to meet the needs of the elderly and handicapped. Declares that nothing shall prohibit the leasing of vehicles to local public bodies or agencies to meet the special needs of elderly and disabled passengers. Authorizes the Secretary, based upon a specified formula, to increase the Federal share for construction costs associated with public transportation projects in non-urbanized areas. Limits Mass Transit Account Block Grants for public transportation construction projects in non-urbanized areas. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the apportionment of such funds for State Initiative Block Grants based upon a specified formula to determine entitlement. Prohibits the Federal share for construction projects under this program from exceeding: (1) 80 percent of construction costs; or (2) 50 percent of operating costs for the payment of operating subsidies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Declares that, with regard to assistance to nations in transition from communism to democracy, it is U.S. policy to provide foreign aid directly to democratic governments at the republic level in countries that include a ruling communist majority in other republic governments or at the Federal level.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Women and AIDS Outreach and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants regarding prevention of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases in women, including preventive health services, screening, providing treatment (for such diseases other than AIDS), referrals, and follow-up services. Requires that a grantee be an entity that provides health or voluntary family planning services: (1) to a significant number of low-income women; and (2) in an area with a significant number of AIDS cases in women and in newborn infants. Requires that grantees maintain the confidentiality of information on individuals, subject to complying with applicable law. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Women and AIDS Research Initiative Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, or both, to establish a program to conduct biomedical and behavioral research on cases of infection with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in women. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct the research directly or through grants. Specifies forms of research to be included. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants for community-based clinical trials on experimental treatments for such infection for women. Allows the Director of the NIH to authorize grantees to expend the grants to provide individuals with such transportation, child care, and other incidental services as may be necessary to enable the individuals to participate as subjects in the trials.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to exclude the administrative expenses of the old-age, survivor, and disability insurance programs from Federal budget calculations. Exempts such expenses from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Makes technical and related corrections to the Social Security Act and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Amends rule XLVIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require members and employees of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to take a secrecy oath. Authorizes the Select Committee to refer cases of unauthorized disclosure and violations of the required oaths to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for investigation. Specifies possible sanctions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1991
Older Americans' Freedom to Work Act of 1991 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Guardianship Rights and Responsibilities Act of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to reduce the Federal share of Medicaid payments available to States which fail to adopt, within two years of this Act's enactment, the rights, standards, and duties concerning guardianship that are set forth in this Act. Requires that an individual who is the subject of a guardianship petition: (1) be provided with an adequate and timely notice, in large print and plain language, of all pending guardianship proceedings, rights afforded in the course of such proceedings, and the possible consequences of a determination of incapacity; (2) have the right to counsel; and (3) have the right to have the question of incapacity heard by a jury and to file an appeal against a determination of incapacity and a guardianship order. Requires that determinations of incapacity be made only when the subject of the guardianship petition is present at such hearing, unless such person waives the right to be present or is physically unable to be present, and be based on clear and convincing evidence of incapacity to administer his or her own affairs. Sets forth the training and services which court personnel in guardianship hearings must receive and provide. Prohibits an incapacity determination in a guardianship proceeding from being considered prima facie evidence of insanity or inability to function in a non-institutionalized setting. Requires that the personal preferences of a ward in the selection of a guardian be taken into account when feasible and the ward be entitled to participate in all decisions affecting such ward during the guardianship to the extent such ward's functional limitations make such participation possible. Requires that a guardianship be imposed on a ward in the least restrictive manner commensurate with the ward's functional limitations. Prohibits the appointment of a person as a guardian unless such person: (1) completes, or agrees to enroll in and complete, court-supervised training in the legal, economic, and psychosocial needs of wards; and (2) has filed a guardianship plan with, and had the plan approved by, the court. Requires a guardian to keep the court which issued the guardianship order informed of the ward's affairs and whereabouts and use the ward's funds only for the administration of the guardianship and the ward's benefit. Provides that a court in a State into which a ward moves shall be notified of the existence of a guardianship, and receive information on and assume jurisdiction over, such guardianship. Authorizes such court to require the guardian to submit a new petition for guardianship. Directs courts to conduct annual reviews of guardianship orders they have issued. Requires private professional guardians to meet guardian certification requirements which are consistent with this Act's requirements. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award two-year demonstration grants to eligible States for the establishment and operation of a guardianship advocate program under which individuals are hired and trained as court employees serving as guardianship advocates and investigators. Requires that preference in awarding grants be given to States which provide assurances that their program will continue to operate after the expiration of such grant. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on such programs within three years after the final demonstration grant is awarded. Authorizes appropriations for such grants.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act - Establishes within the Treasury the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Land Acquisition and Tax Funds into which shall be deposited specified amounts. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to manage the Band Tax Fund and to use such Fund to pay certain claims for which the Band is liable and which have been certified by the Commissioner of Finance in the State of Maine as valid claims. Provides that if there are insufficient funds in the Band Tax Fund to pay all claims in full, the deficiency shall be paid only from income-producing property owned by the Band which is not held in trust by the United States. Directs the Secretary to prescribe procedures governing the filing and payment of such claims. Directs the Secretary to expend funds in the Land Acquisition Fund to acquire land or natural resources for the Band. Declares that land or natural resources acquired within the State of Maine with such funds shall be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Band. Extends Federal recognition to the Aroostook Band of Micmacs. Makes the Band eligible to receive financial benefits available to other federally recognized tribes and eligible for special programs and services regardless of the residence of the members of the Band on or near a reservation. Declares that the Band and its lands shall have the same status as other tribes and their lands accorded Federal recognition under the terms of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980. Authorizes the State of Maine and the Band to execute agreements regarding the jurisdiction of Maine over lands owned by, or held in trust for the benefit of, the Band or any member of the Band. Allows the Band to organize for its common welfare and to adopt an appropriate governing document, consistent with the terms of this Act, to be filed with the Secretary. Provides for the classification of the Band as an Indian tribe within the meaning of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for transfer to the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Land Acquisition Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Veterans PTSD Treatment and Psychological Readjustment Act of 1991 - States that it shall be the policy of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to implement the recommendations of the Chief Medical Director's (CMD) Special Committee on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to establish and operate specialized inpatient post-traumatic stress disorder units (SIPUs) at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. Requires such facilities and services to be available to all eligible veterans, including veterans of the Persian Gulf conflict. Requires the Secretary to gradually increase the number of SIPUs in order to meet a total increase of not less than 30 units by December 31, 1994. Requires the Secretary to direct the Special Committee to identify areas of the country in which there are significant needs for expanding the Vet Center program. Directs the Special Committee to present a list of not less than 40 areas as candidates for new Vet Centers to the Readjustment Counseling Service of the Department no later than September 30, 1991. Requires the Counseling Service to gradually increase the number of existing Vet Centers in order to meet a total increase of not less than 40 by December 31, 1994. Directs the Advisory Committee on Readjustment of Veterans (established under this Act) to prepare a report to be submitted to the Congress on recommendations to increase outreach efforts to veterans of the Vietnam era and thereafter with readjustment counseling needs. Expands eligibility under the Vet Center program to include veterans of the Persian Gulf conflict. Directs the Secretary to make facilities and services of the Vet Centers available to family members of military personnel assigned to duty in the Persian Gulf. Urges the Secretary to fill expeditiously Vet Center staff vacancies caused by reassignment to Department medical facilities in preparation for receipt of casualties from the Persian Gulf conflict. Directs the Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee and seek its advice with respect to: (1) the administration of Department benefits for veterans, particularly Vietnam and post-Vietnam era veterans; (2) reports and studies pertaining to veterans, particularly Vietnam and post-vietnam era veterans; and (3) the needs of all veterans with respect to compensation, health care, readjustment, outreach, and other benefits and programs administered by the Department. Requires the Advisory Committee to report annually to the Secretary pertaining to the social, economic, educational, and psychological readjustment of veterans. Requires the Secretary to submit such reports to the Congress, along with comments and recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a pilot program to contract for care and treatment and rehabilitative services in halfway houses, therapeutic communities, psychiatric residential treatment centers, and other community-based treatment facilities for eligible veterans suffering from PTSD. Requires the CMD to plan, design, and conduct such program. Requires the Secretary to approve the quality and effectiveness of a program operated by a contract facility before allowing veterans to be furnished treatment there under the pilot program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) urge all public and private entities to provide appropriate employment and training opportunities to veterans who have been provided treatment and rehabilitative services under this Act for PTSD and who have been determined to be sufficiently rehabilitated to be employable; and (2) provide all possible assistance to the Secretary of Labor in placing such veterans in such opportunities. Requires the Secretary to provide referral services and advice to veterans discharged or released from active service who are not eligible for PTSD treatment and services. Limits participation in the PTSD pilot program to 500 eligible individuals. Directs the Secretary to report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on the operation of the pilot program through FY 1994. Terminates the pilot program after five years of operation. Directs the Special Committee to examine the effectiveness of contracts for the treatment of PTSD with private facilities and therapists. Requires the Special Committee to report its findings and recommendations to the veterans' committees. Requires the Secretary, in administering the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program, to encourage the participation of individuals who desire to become psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and other professionals specializing in the treatment of PTSD. Directs the CMD to conduct research programs to consider the most effective treatment for PTSD and the effectiveness of involving the family in the treatment of PTSD and to report his findings to the veterans' committees. Requires such research to be conducted through the National Center on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, with consultation from the Special Committee and the Advisory Committee. States that it shall be the policy of the Secretary to implement the recommendations of the Special Committee to establish and operate post-traumatic stress disorder clinical teams (PCTs) at Department medical centers that provide mental health services. Requires such services to be available to all veterans, including veterans of the Persian Gulf conflict. Directs the Secretary to increase the number of PCTs by 50 units by the end of calendar year 1994. Requires the Secretary, in establishing such new PCTs, to give priority to locations that do not have a SIPU or an affiliated Vet Center. Requires the Secretary to direct the Special Committee to assess the capacity of the Department to provide treatment for PTSD. Requires the Special Committee to report its findings to the Secretary, to be forwarded to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Nontraditional Employment for Women Act - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (the Act) to define "nontraditional employment", as applied to women, to refer to occupations or fields of work where women comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals employed. Requires service delivery area (SDA) job training plans to include: (1) goals for the training of women in nontraditional employment and the training-related placement of women in nontraditional employment and apprenticeship; (2) a description of efforts to be undertaken to accomplish such goals, including efforts to increase awareness of such training and placement opportunities; and (3) procedures for annual reporting of the extent to which the SDA has met such goals and of a statistical breakdown of women trained and placed in nontraditional occupations, including specified types of information. Requires the State Governor's coordination and special services plan to include such goals and descriptions of efforts for training and placement of women in nontraditional employment under the Act and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act. Directs the State job training coordinating council to: (1) review, summarize, and annually disseminate the results of SDAs' and Governor's efforts to train and place women in nontraditional employment; and (2) obtain from the sex equity coordinator under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act a summary of activities and an analysis of results under that Act and disseminate such summary annually. Requires State education coordination grant recipients to provide statewide coordinated approaches, including model programs, to train, place, and retain women in nontraditional employment. Allows the use of funds under title II (Training Services for the Disadvantaged) for outreach activities relating to education, training, work experience, and retention of women in nontraditional employment. Directs the Secretary of Labor to use a specified portion of funds for national activities under the Act for FY 1992 through 1995 to make grants to States to develop demonstration and exemplary programs to train and place women in nontraditional employment. Limits such grants to no more than six per fiscal year. Allows States receiving such assistance to award grants to service providers and SDAs under specified conditions. Directs the Secretary of Labor to report, with recommendations, to the Congress within five years on the extent of success of States and SDAs, and the effectiveness of such demonstration programs, in training, placing, and retaining women in nontraditional employment. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to mean that the Congress is taking a position on the issue of comparable worth. Provides that failure to meet the goals in this Act shall not itself constitute a violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or any other Federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or age.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Act - Authorizes appropriations for the Secretary of Education to make demonstration grants to local education agencies to establish effective and innovative elementary school counseling programs that can serve as national models. Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of School Counseling, headed by a Director, in the Department of Education.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Social Security Administrative Reform Act of 1991 - Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration as an Independent Agency - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to establish as an independent executive agency a Social Security Administration, governed by a Social Security Board, to administer the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income program under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act. Transfers to the Board all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) pertaining to such programs. Title II: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction - Makes conforming amendments to titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act. Requires the Board to report to the Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session on its administration under the Social Security Act. Requires the Secretary of HHS to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs. Sets forth rules of construction.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual an income tax deduction for qualified home health care and adult day and respite care expenses with respect to a dependent who: (1) resides with the taxpayer; (2) suffers from Alzheimer's disease or a related organic brain disorder; and (3) is physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to pay a specified sum to a named employee of the Farmers Home Administration in full satisfaction of any claim for reimbursement of relocation expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Extends the immediate retirement provisions applicable to Federal law enforcement officers to: (1) revenue officers for the Internal Revenue Service; (2) customs inspectors for the U.S. Customs Service; (3) customs canine enforcement officers for the U.S. Customs Service; and (4) inspectors for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions governing the income tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to: (1) make the deduction permanent (under current law it will expire after tax year 1991); and (2) phase in an increase in the allowable deduction, reaching 100 percent for taxable years beginning in 1994 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1991
National Literacy Act of 1991 - Title I: Literacy: Strategic Planning, Research, and Coordination - Establishes an Interagency Task Force on Literacy. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to direct the Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education to coordinate literacy-related programs. Establishes the National Institute for Literacy and the National Institute Board. Authorizes the Institute to award Literacy Leader Fellowships. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Adult Education Act (AEA) to authorize the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to establish a network of State or regional adult literacy resource centers. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Workforce Literacy - Establishes in the Department of Labor a National Workforce Literacy Assistance Collaborative. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Adult Education Act (AEA) to revise provisions for national workforce literacy strategies grants to business, industry, labor, and education partnerships for workplace literacy. Requires the Secretary of Education (the Secretary), in awarding grants for exemplary demonstration partnerships for workplace literacy, to: (1) give priority to partnerships which include small businesses; and (2) limit such grant awards to not more than three years. Directs the Secretary to reserve a specified amount, whenever appropriations for workforce literacy partnership grants exceed a certain level, to establish a program of grants for large-scale national workforce literacy strategies. Authorizes appropriations for AEA workforce literacy programs. Title III: Investment in Literacy - Extends through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for programs under the Adult Education Act (AEA). Revises the use of funds under the AEA basic State grants program. Requires that basic grants to States also be used for competitive two-year Gateway Grants to public housing authorities for literacy programs and related activities. Requires biennial evaluations and reports on such Gateway Grants. Revises AEA to give State advisory councils, plans, and evaluations literacy-related responsibilities. Requires States to report biennially to the Interagency Task Force on meeting literacy goals, coordinating workplace literacy services, and building a high quality delivery system for adult literacy programs. Provides for training educators to recognize and serve illiterate individuals more effectively. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise targeted assistance programs under ESEA to include training programs to enhance the ability of teachers and school counselors to identify, particularly in the early grades, students with reading and related problems which place them at risk for adult illiteracy. Renames the Even Start program under ESEA as the Even Start Family Literacy Program. Revises the program to expand eligibility to include community-based organizations or other nonprofit organizations of demonstrated quality applying in collaboration with a local educational agency (LEA) (as well as LEAs and LEA consortia). Sets minimum grant amounts. Makes individual children eligible from birth through age seven (currently from age one through age seven). Provides for continuation of eligibility for certain participants until the parents become ineligible due to educational achievement or until all children in the family attain age eight. Gives priority to applicants demonstrating that the area to be served has a high percentage or a large number of children and adults in need of program services. Authorizes appropriations for the Even Start Family Literacy Program. Establishes a Family Literacy Public Broadcasting Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Education, subject to availability of appropriations, to contract with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for production and dissemination of family literacy programming and accompanying materials to assist parents in improving family literacy skills and languages development. Requires CPB to: (1) cooperate with local public broadcasting stations; (2) arrange for distribution of audio and video instructional media materials for use, and distribution on loan, to families at sites chosen from among State and local libraries with literacy programs and nonprofit entities serving hard-to-serve populations; and (3) report to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for the Family Literacy Public Broadcasting Program. Title IV: Business Leadership for Employment Skills - Amends the Adult Education Act (AEA) to provide for education programs for commercial drivers. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive matching grants for adult education programs which increase the literacy skills of eligible commercial drivers so that they may successfully complete the knowledge test requirements under the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986. Requires grantees to refer individuals identified as having literacy skill problems to appropriate adult education programs. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Books for Families - Revises the ESEA inexpensive book distribution program to require that priority be given in selection of additional local programs to those which serve children and students with special needs. Requires the program contractor (Reading is Fundamental) to report to the Secretary of Education annually on such additional programs. Amends the Library Services and Construction Act to direct the Secretary of Education, in awarding grants for library literacy programs and services, to give priority to those that: (1) will be delivered in areas of greatest need with highest concentrations of adults without secondary education or its equivalent, and which either have few community or financial resources or have low per capita income, unemployment, or underemployment; and (2) coordinate with literacy organizations and community-based organizations providing literacy services. Title VI: Students for Literacy - Amends HEA to authorize appropriations for Student Literacy Corps programs. Requires individual students in such programs, as a condition of course credit, to perform at least 60 hours of voluntary, uncompensated service as tutors in a public community agency's educational or literacy program. Title VII: Volunteers for Literacy - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to establish a Literacy Challenge Grants program. Authorizes the Director of the ACTION Agency to award such grants to eligible public and private entities to pay the Federal share of costs of establishing, operating, or expanding community or employee literacy programs that include the use of full- or part-time volunteers. Authorizes appropriations for Literacy Challenge Grants, but only if there are specified levels of funding for the VISTA Program and the VISTA Literacy Corps. Title VIII: Literacy for Incarcerated Individuals - Amends the Adult Education Act (AEA) to establish requirements for mandatory functional literacy programs for incarcerated adults in State correctional systems and local jails or detention centers. Requires such a program to be in effect in at least one major correctional facility, for each State correctional system and each local jail or detention center with an inmate population, within two years after enactment of this Act. Requires, if adequate funds are available, each State correctional system and each local jail or detention center with over 150 inmates to have such a program in effect within five years after enactment of this Act. Sets forth required components of such programs, including inmate mandatory participation any individual who is serving a life sentence without parole, or terminally ill, or under a sentence of death. Requires annual reports. Encourages: (1) parole agencies to make educational recommendations for those being released who do not have a marketable job skill or a high school diploma; and (2) jails with less than 150 inmates to develop such mandatory functional literacy programs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for interest on certain indebtedness incurred to pay the educational expenses of the taxpayer, spouse, or dependent. (Under current law, such a loan must be secured by an interest in real property.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1991
Directs the U.S. Postal Service to ensure that: (1) any changes in the nature of postal service implemented on a nationwide or substantially nationwide basis, beginning after July 27, 1990, and before the enactment of this Act, are rescinded; and (2) any practices, standards, or other related matters (including standards as to the maximum length of time for the delivery of classes or types of mail) which were modified or replaced as a result of those changes are restored.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1991
Rape and Incest Victims' Choice Resolution - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Federal Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) funding should be available for the abortion of pregnancies resulting from rape or incest if such acts, considering the physical and mental state of the women involved, are reported promptly.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to make granting independence to the Republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as an additional condition for the extension of most-favored-nation treatment to the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 1991
Public Rangelands Fee Act of 1991 - Sets forth a formula, beginning with grazing year 1991, for determining fees for domestic livestock grazing on public rangelands.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual up to $10,000 of distributions from an individual retirement account or qualified pension plan used within 180 days to purchase a residence that will be the first residence in which the taxpayer has a present ownership interest. Reduces the excludible amount for taxpayers with adjusted gross income above $30,000 ($50,000 for joint returns). Exempts from the penalty tax on early distributions from qualified retirement plans comparable withdrawals used to purchase the first residence in which the taxpayer's child has a present ownership interest.
![Official portrait of Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000663_200.jpg)