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United States · Official source
5,049 records where Sen. Specter, Arlen [R-PA] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1997
Expresses the sense of the Senate that November 6, 1997, should be designated as National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1997
Technology Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Commerce for the: (1) Scientific and Technical Research and Services laboratory activities of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; (2) construction and maintenance of Institute facilities; (3) activities of Under Secretary for Technology, the Office of Technology Policy, and the Office of Air and Space Commercialization; and (4) industrial technology services activities of the Institute. (Sec. 6) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act respecting the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) to, among other things: (1) require each applicant for a contract or award to certify that the applicant has made an effort to secure private market funding for the research project involved; (2) permit a large business to participate in a research project that is the subject of a contract or award only as a member of a joint venture that includes one or more small businesses as members; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Commerce to vest title to tangible personal property in any recipient of financial assistance under specified conditions. (Sec. 7) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to revise requirements for the extension of Federal financial assistance to Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology under the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program. (Sec. 8) Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 respecting the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to expand the list of categories for awards. (Sec. 9) Prohibits funds authorized by this Act or any other Act enacted before the date of enactment of this Act from being used for the Next Generation Internet, with the exception of funds that may be used for the continuation of the programs and activities related to Next Generation Internet that were funded and carried out during FY 1997. (Sec. 11) Expresses the sense of the Congress on the Year 2000 problem. (Sec. 12) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Director should donate educationally useful Federal equipment to schools to enhance the science and mathematic programs of those schools. Mandates annual reports to the President. (Sec. 13) Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to establish within the Institute a teacher science and technology enhancement program to provide for the professional development of mathematics and science school teachers. (Sec. 14) Requires a joint study by the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering to review the effectiveness of the ATP. (Sec. 15) Establishes within the Department an Office of Air and Space Commercialization to be the principal unit for the coordination of space-related issues, programs, and initiatives within the Department. (Sec. 16) Establishes the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology (EPSCoT) to strengthen the technological competitiveness of States that have historically received less Federal research and development funds than those received by a majority of the States. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary, to: (1) enter into arrangements for the coordination of EPSCoT through the State committees established under the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) of the National Science Foundation; and (2) cooperate with any State science and technology council established under EPSCoR and representatives of small business firms and other technology-based businesses. Requires: (1) a specified report; and (2) an evaluation of the EPSCoT program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1997
Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act of 1997 - Directs the President to report periodically to specified congressional committees on foreign persons (except those previously identified or sanctioned or subject to waiver) who, on or after August 8, 1995, have transferred, or attempted to transfer, controlled goods or technology, or provided, or attempted to provide, technical assistance or facilities that contributed, or would have contributed, to Iran's efforts to acquire, develop, or produce ballistic missiles. Requires imposition on such persons of minimum two-year sanctions prohibiting: (1) sales to such persons of items on the United States Munitions List (and terminating sales of any controlled U.S. arms); (2) the export to such persons of dual use goods and technology; and (3) the provision of U.S. financial assistance. Authorizes the President to waive such sanctions on the basis of additional information demonstrating that the sanctioned person did not commit the acts alleged.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1997
Authorizes use of the rotunda of the Capitol on October 29, 1997, for a ceremony to honor Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope by conferring upon him the status of an honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1997
Redesignates Washington National Airport in Alexandria, Virginia, as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1997
Disapproves the President's cancellations (line item veto) of appropriations for 36 military construction projects in the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1997
Authorizes the President to present gold medals, on behalf of the Congress, to named individuals referred to collectively as the "Little Rock Nine," in recognition of the selfless heroism they exhibited and the pain they suffered in the cause of civil rights by integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates of such medals in bronze. States that these medals are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1997
Designates October 17, 1997, as National Mammography Day.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the low-income State housing credit ceiling amount; and (2) provide for a cost-of-living adjustment for such amount.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the post-1987 reduction in the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides, beginning in 1999, for cost-of-living adjustments in the State ceiling on such bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1997
Amends Senate Resolution 54 (Omnibus Committee Funding Resolution for 1997 and 1998) to increase the amount authorized for expenditures by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs for March 1, 1997, through September 30, 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Senate Election Spending Limits and Benefits Title II: Reduction of Special Interest Influence Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Soft Money of Political Party Committees Subtitle B: Soft Money of Persons Other Than Political Parties Subtitle C: Contributions Subtitle D: Independent Expenditures Title III: Appropriations Title IV: Severability; Judicial Review; Effective Date; Regulations Senate Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1997 - Title I: Senate Election Spending Limits and Benefits - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to set forth Senate election spending limits and benefits. Directs the Federal Election Commission to certify a candidate who has met the requirements of this title as eligible for matching funds (under such title). Title II: Reduction of Special Interest Influence - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Soft Money of Political Party Committees - Prohibits a national committee of a political party (including specified related entities) from soliciting or receiving contributions or making expenditures not subject to FECA. Requires a State, district, or local committee of a political party (including specified related entities) to make Federal election year expenditures (with exceptions) from funds subject to FECA. Prohibits a national, State, district, or local committee from soliciting or donating funds to a tax-exempt organization. Prohibits an incumbent or candidate for Federal office from soliciting or receiving funds not subject to such Act, or to solicit or receive funds for a non-Federal election in excess of certain limits or from prohibited sources (with exceptions for State or local candidates in compliance with State law). (Sec. 202) Establishes aggregate and separate individual and multicandidate political committee contribution limits to State Party Grassroots Funds and all committees established by a State committee of a political party. Increases annual individual contribution limits. Sets forth State Party Grassroots Fund and reporting provisions. (Sec. 203) Prohibits applying the exclusion for building funds (relating to the definition of "contribution") for purposes of any requirement to report contributions under FECA, and requires all such contributions aggregating in excess of $200 to be reported. Authorizes the filing of State reports by State committees. Requires the reporting of all disbursements made by authorized committees. Revises requirements for the reporting of the names and addresses of persons to whom certain expenditures are made to meet candidate or committee operating expenses, to require the reporting of the election to which the operating expenditure relates. Subtitle B: Soft Money of Persons Other Than Political Parties - Requires certain persons other than a political party that make aggregate election activity disbursements exceeding $10,000 to file with the Commission. Subtitle C: Contributions - Revises the provision regarding contributions by foreign nationals to prohibit donations of money or any other thing of value to political parties by foreign nationals. (Sec. 222) Revises the limitation on annual individual contributions to prohibit an individual from making contributions to a candidate or donations to political committees aggregating more than $25,000 in a calendar year. (Sec. 223) Prohibits the making of contributions to certain officials to defray legal expenses of such officials under specified conditions. Subtitle D: Independent Expenditures - Redefines the term "independent expenditure." (Sec. 232) Repeals current independent expenditure reporting requirements and replaces them with new independent expenditure reporting requirements. Title III: Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary for: (1) FECA; (2) the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act; and (3) the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account. Title IV: Severability; Judicial Review; Effective Date; Regulations - Sets forth provisions regarding severability, expedited review of constitutional issues, effective date, and Commission regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1997
Declares September 26, 1997, to be Austrian-American Day.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1997
Declares that the Congress: (1) maintains that the standard for the "Made in USA" label should continue to be that a product was all or virtually all made in the United States; and (2) urges the Federal Trade Commission to refrain from lowering the standard at the expense of consumers and jobs in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1997
Calls for the United States to discontinue all financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority and urge its allies to do the same, unless and until the Palestinian Authority demonstrates a 100-percent maximum effort to curtail terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1997
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of Agriculture should use specified existing authority to establish a temporary emergency minimum milk price that is equitable to all producers nationwide and provides price relief to economically distressed milk producers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 1997
Substance Abuse Treatment Parity Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to require parity and nondiscriminatory application of treatment limitations and financial requirements to substance abuse treatment benefits under private group and individual health plans which offer such treatment benefits in addition to medical and surgical benefits. Exempts from this Act small employers with 50 or fewer employees.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 1997
Condemns the bombing in Jerusalem on September 4, 1997, and those responsible for encouraging or inciting such acts. Expresses: (1) condolences to the families of the victims; and (2) solidarity with the people of Israel. Reaffirms that the United States should fully cooperate with Israel in helping to stem the tide of terrorism which has threatened the Oslo peace process and the stability of the region. Affirms that the United States should provide no monetary or other assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it has fulfilled its obligations under the Oslo Accords.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 1997
Extends condolences to the people of the United Kingdom on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Recognizes the extraordinary impact of the Princess of Wales' humanitarian efforts around the world. Designates September 6, 1997, as a National Day of Recognition for the Humanitarian Efforts of Diana, Princess of Wales.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Comprehensive One-Call Notification Act of 1997 - Provides for the establishment of a State one-call notification program to protect underground facilities from excavation damage. Outlines required elements of the program, including minimum standards and provisions for implementation and enforcement. Authorizes a State to maintain an alternate one-call notification program if it provides protection for public safety, the environment, or excavators that is equivalent to, or greater than, protection under a program that meets the minimum standards of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to study damage prevention practices associated with existing one-call notification systems in order to determine which systems practices appear to be the most effective in preventing damage to underground facilities and in protecting the public, the environment, excavators, and public service disruption. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to assist qualifying States in improving their one-call notification programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Victim Protection Act of 1997 - Amends habeas corpus provisions of the Federal judicial code to bar the court from prohibiting the retrial of a person detained unless the court finds an infringement of the double jeopardy, speedy trial, or ex post facto rights of the person, or finds that the law under which the person was convicted violates the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Magnetic Levitation (MAGLEV) Transportation Technology Deployment Act of 1997 - Declares that it is U.S. policy to establish a MAGLEV transportation technology system (i.e., a transportation system employing magnetic levitation that would be capable of safe use by the public at a speed in excess of 240 miles per hour) operating along Federal-aid highways and other rights-of-way as part of a national transportation system. Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish a High-Speed Ground Transportation Office in the Federal Railroad Administration to coordinate and administer all authorized high-speed rail and MAGLEV programs, to make available financial assistance to provide the Federal share of full project costs of eligible projects selected, and to otherwise carry out this Act; and (2) solicit applications from States, or authorities designated by one or more States, for financial assistance authorized for planning, design, and construction of eligible MAGLEV projects. Sets forth provisions regarding the Federal share, authorized uses of assistance, and project eligibility. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria for selecting eligible projects, to evaluate the projects, and to select projects to receive financial assistance. Sets forth provisions regarding joint ventures. Directs the Secretary to conduct research regarding the quantification of benefits derived from the implementation of MAGLEV technology, MAGLEV safety, and the development of domestic MAGLEV technologies and technologies associated with MAGLEV infrastructure. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations from the Highway Trust Fund to carry out this Act. Specifies that, for the purpose of obtaining tax-exempt bond financing under the Internal Revenue Code, a MAGLEV facility shall be considered to be a high-speed intercity rail facility with an average speed greater than 150 miles per hour.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Calls for: (1) the President to demand that the Government of Russia take actions to stop governmental and nongovernmental entities in the Russian Federation from providing missile technology and technical advice to Iran in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime; (2) the United States, if Russia's response is inadequate, to impose sanctions on the responsible Russian entities in accordance with Executive Order 12938 on the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and to reassess cooperative activities with Russia; (3) raising the threshold under current law allowing for the waiver of the prohibition on the release of foreign assistance to Russia; and (4) encouragement of our European allies to take steps to stop such proliferation.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1997
Aircraft Repair Station Safety Act of 1997 - Terminates the effectiveness of certain November 22, 1988, amendments to the foreign repair station rules of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Declares that certain standards issued by the FAA for domestic repair stations shall apply in the same manner to foreign repair stations. Amends Federal aviation safety law to require the FAA Administrator to issue an order revoking an air agency certificate for a repair station if the Administrator finds that that any station owner or personnel knowingly used an uncertified or substandard airframe, engine, propeller, appliance, or any other part in the repair or overhaul of an aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1997
Extends congressional gratitude to Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope for his accomplishments and service on behalf of U.S. military service members. Confers upon Mr. Hope the status of an honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1997
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service to recommend and the Postmaster General to issue a postage stamp to honor the 100th anniversary of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Labor Title II: Department of Health and Human Services Title III: Department of Education Title IV: Related Agencies Title V: General Provisions Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies. Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Labor for: (1) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration for salaries and expenses and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14) departmental management; and (15) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health, including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; (9) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (10) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (11) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (12) low income home energy assistance; (13) refugee and entrant assistance; (14) the child care and development block grant; (15) the social services block grant; (16) children and families services programs; (17) family preservation and support; (18) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (19) the Administration on Aging; (20) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (21) the Office of Inspector General; (22) the Office for Civil Rights; and (23) policy research. Rescinds FY 1998 funds for a sample study of child welfare. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Education for: (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) Indian education; (6) bilingual and immigrant education; (7) special education; (8) rehabilitation services and disability research; (9) special institutions for persons with disabilities; (10) vocational and adult education; (11) student financial assistance; (12) the Federal family education loan program account; (13) higher education; (14) Howard University; (15) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (16) the historically black college and university capital financing program account; (17) education research, statistics, and improvement; (18) a child literacy initiative; (19) the Institute of Museum and Library Services; (20) departmental management; (21) the Office for Civil Rights; and (22) the Office of the Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to: (1) transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the: (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (7) National Council on Disability; (8) National Education Goals Panel; (9) National Labor Relations Board; (10) National Mediation Board; (11) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (12) Physician Payment Review Commission; (13) Prospective Payment Assessment Commission; (14) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (15) Social Security Administration for payments to the social security trust funds, special benefits for disabled coal miners, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (16) U.S. Institute of Peace. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 508) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act for an abortion except when made known to the Federal entity to which funds are appropriated that such procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother or that the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 512) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage. (Sec. 514) Amends the Social Security Act to increase fees required from States for Federal administration of State supplementary payments under the SSI program. Provides for the deposit of a portion of such fees into a special fund and authorizes appropriations from the fund for administrative expenses of the SSI program. (Sec. 515) Amends the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend certain voluntary separation incentive payments to Federal employees who separate before December 31, 1997 (currently, September 30, 1997). (Sec. 516) Cancels a specified amount of budgetary resources available to agencies funded in this Act for salaries and expenses during FY 1998, to be allocated by the Office of Management and Budget. Makes this provision inapplicable to the Food and Drug Administration and the Indian Health Service.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Independent Counsel Reform Act of 1997 - Amends the Ethics in Government Act to revise the provision regarding preliminary investigation by the Attorney General of any covered person to include investigation by the Attorney General of any such person who may have violated any provision of: (1) the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974, as amended; (2) the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act, as amended; or (3) the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act, as amended. Authorizes the Committee on the Judiciary of either House of the Congress to petition the division of the court of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit assigned for the purpose of appointing independent counsels to appoint an independent counsel under specified circumstances. Requires the division of the court, upon receipt of a congressional application, to appoint an independent counsel and define that independent counsel's prosecutorial jurisdiction upon a determination by such division that the Attorney General's failure to appoint an independent counsel is an abuse of discretion.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Authorizes the President to present a gold medal to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to religious understanding and peace. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike duplicate medals in bronze. Authorizes appropriations from the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund, where sales proceeds shall be deposited.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Allows use of the rotunda of the Capitol on October 21, 1997, for a congressional ceremony honoring Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1997
Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions, as such provisions may apply to the children of Vietnam veterans who were born with the birth defect spina bifida, to: (1) define the Vietnam era, during which period the child must have been conceived, as the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975; (2) define a Vietnam veteran as any veteran who served during such period, without regard to the character of such individual's service (discharge standing); and (3) make provisions regarding service-connected disability compensation and benefits applicable to such children. Allows vocational training programs for children of veterans to begin on the child's 18th birthday or upon completion of the child's secondary schooling, whichever occurs first. Makes conforming changes to effective dates with regard to the spina bifida provisions as contained in the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1997
Establishes a presumption of total disability, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' pension benefits based upon a nonservice-connected disability, for a veteran who is 65 years of age or older and a patient in a nursing home.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1997
Amends the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 to require screening mammograms to be provided in accordance with current recommendations of the American Cancer Society relating to the age of the recipient and frequency of receipt.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1997
Amends the Judicial Improvements and Access to Justice Act to make permanent the authorization of appropriations for arbitration in United States district courts.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1997
Veterans' Housing Loan Improvements Act of 1997 - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to provide a table of fees, expressed in terms of a percentage of the total loan, to be charged to active-duty veterans, reservists, and other veterans for housing loans made, guaranteed, or insured by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Repeals Federal provisions which: (1) limit to loans closed before October 1, 1998, certain loan default procedures; (2) prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on certificates or other securities representing an interest in veterans' mortgage loans if such certificates are issued or approved after December 31, 1997; (3) prohibit the withholding of payments and benefits to veterans or their spouses due to liability for mortgage loans made to such veterans; and (4) provide for a veterans' direct loan revolving fund, a loan guaranty revolving fund, and a guaranty and indemnity fund. Establishes in the Treasury the Veterans Housing Benefit Program Fund for use in all veterans' housing loan operations. Extends through FY 1999 the Native American Veteran housing loan pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Comparability Title II: Staggered Retirement and Recall Provisions Title III: Renaming Provisions Court of Veterans Appeals Amendments of 1997 - Title I: Comparability - Authorizes the Court of Veterans Appeals (Court) to prescribe necessary or appropriate rules and regulations. Requires a portion of a year of six months or more served as a Court judge to be credited toward years of service and a portion less than six months to not be credited. Prohibits a cost-of-living adjustment to the retired pay of a Court judge if the adjustment would cause the retired pay to exceed the rate of pay of a judge performing active service. Allows a Court judge to elect to participate in a survivor annuity within six months after marriage if such judge has retired. Reduces the percentage of pay reduction required of active judges as contributions toward retirement annuities. Prohibits interest payments on retirement pay deductions in the case of Court judges for any period during which such judges: (1) were separated from judicial service or service as a member of Congress or congressional employee; and (2) were not receiving retired pay or annuities based on such service. Allows a survivor annuity to be paid to the survivors of a judge who dies after having rendered at least 18 months (currently five years) of creditable civilian service. Allows a survivor annuity without a creditable service requirement in the case of a judge who dies of an assassination. Repeals a current requirement that a surviving spouse be at least 50 years of age before receiving such annuity. Increases such annuities at the same time and by the same percentage by which annuities payable from the Judicial Survivors' Annuity Fund are increased. Exempts the Court of Veterans Appeals Retirement Fund from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Provides a forfeiture of retired pay rights and benefits in the case of any Court judge who, after retirement, represents a client in a civil claim relating to veterans' benefits. Title II: Staggered Retirement and Recall Provisions - Allows only one individual each year to retire as a Court judge in the years 1999 through 2003. Provides retirement requirements, including age and years of service. Requires a judge to: (1) notify the President and the Court's chief judge of the intent to retire; and (2) retire during the fiscal year in which notification is provided but not earlier than 90 days after such notification is provided. Makes a retired Court judge eligible for recall upon providing the chief judge with written notification. Allows the chief judge to recall such a judge due to a vacancy or otherwise to meet case workloads. Title III: Renaming Provisions - Renames the Court as the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Compensation and Pensions Title II: Memorial Affairs Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment and Benefit Programs Improvement Act of 1997 - Title I: Compensation and Pensions - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, effective December 1, 1997, 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: (1) Federal Register publication of such rates; and (2) the rounding-down of such rate increases to the next lower whole dollar. Extends permanently: (1) the authority of the Secretary to utilize information from the Secretaries of Health and Human Services or the Treasury for veterans' income verification purposes; and (2) a provision limiting the monthly pension payable to a veteran having neither spouse nor child who is covered by a Medicaid plan for services furnished by a nursing facility. States that a veteran's disability or death shall not be considered to have resulted from service-connected injury or disease when the injury or disease is attributable in whole or part to the use of tobacco products during military service. Authorizes the Under Secretary for Benefits to reimburse the Veterans Health Administration for costs associated with the conduct of medical examinations requested in connection with claims for veterans' benefits. Title II: Memorial Affairs - Limits to the costs of required improvements and necessary equipment the amount of grants authorized to be made by the Secretary to assist States in establishing, expanding, or improving veterans' cemeteries. Removes a requirement that funds authorized for such grants be expended within two years of such authorization.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1997
Affordable Child Care Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit (as part of the general business credit) for employers who provide qualified day care centers for the use of their employees. Requires that the credit be passed on to employees using the centers in the form of reduced costs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit to a taxpayer for any individual who: (1) is a father, mother, stepfather, or stepmother of the taxpayer or of the taxpayer's current or former spouse (or an ancestor of such individuals); (2) is at least 65 years old; and (3) has the taxpayer's home as the individual's principal residence for more than half of the year.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1997
Amends Federal aviation law to declare that nothing in such law or in the Death on the High Seas Act shall affect any remedy existing at common law or under State law with respect to any injury or death arising out of any aviation incident occurring on or after January 1, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1997
Recognizes the importance of African-American music to global culture. Calls on the people of the United States to study, reflect on, and celebrate African-American music.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1997
Adolescent Family Life and Abstinence Education Act of 1997 - 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 · 18 June 1997
Adoption Promotion Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the adoption credit and the exclusion for employer-provided adoption assistance with respect to children with special needs. Allows up to $2000 to be withdrawn penalty-free from an individual retirement account to pay for qualified adoption expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1997
Designates August 15, 1997, as Indian Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Indian and American Democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1997
Denies Federal veterans benefits to any person who is convicted of a Federal or State capital offense.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1997
Landmine Elimination Act of 1997 - Prohibits, beginning on January 1, 2000, funds appropriated or otherwise available to any Federal department or agency from being obligated or expended for new deployments of anti-personnel landmines. Requires the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on actions and proposals to substitute for new deployments of such landmines on the Korean Peninsula. Allows the President to delay application of the prohibition with respect to the Peninsula if, not later than January 1, 2000, and each year thereafter, the President certifies the Congress that new deployments of anti-personnel landmines on the Peninsula in the event of a Korean war or a period of emergency in Korea declared by the President would be indispensable to the defense of the Republic of Korea in such year.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1997
Women's Business Centers Act of 1997- Amends the Small Business Act to: (1) authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide financial assistance to private organizations to conduct five-year (currently, three-year) demonstration projects to benefit small businesses owned and controlled by women; (2) adjust the level of cash contributions required from Federal and non-Federal sources for each of the five years of the projects; (3) require each assistance applicant to submit a five-year (currently, three year) plan on proposed fund raising and training activities under a project; (4) allow each recipient to receive such assistance for five years (in lieu of three); (5) establish within the SBA the Office Of Women's Business Ownership to administer SBA's women's business enterprise programs; (6) require the SBA to report biennially to the small business committees on the effectiveness of projects conducted under this Act; and (7) increase the annual authorization of appropriations for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1997
Declares that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol to, or other agreement regarding, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992, at negotiations in Kyoto in December 1997 or thereafter which would: (1) mandate new commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the Annex 1 Parties, unless the protocol or other agreement also mandates new specific scheduled commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for Developing Country Parties within the same compliance period; or (2) result in serious harm to the U.S. economy. Calls for any such protocol or other agreement which would require the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification to be accompanied by: (1) a detailed explanation of any legislation or regulatory actions that may be required to implement it; and (2) an analysis of the detailed financial costs which would be incurred by, and other impacts on, the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1997
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1997 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish in the National Park Service (NPS) a program to be known as the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom under which the Secretary shall: (1) produce and disseminate educational materials about the Railroad; (2) provide technical assistance to other government agencies, private entities, or the Governments of Canada, Mexico, or any appropriate Caribbean country to ensure coordination of Federal and non-Federal elements of the Network; and (3) regulate use of an official symbol for the Network. Includes within the Network: (1) NPS units or programs pertaining to the Underground Railroad; (2) Federal, State, local, or privately-owned properties pertaining to the Railroad that have a verifiable connection to it and that are included or eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places; and (3) governmental or nongovernmental facilities or programs of educational, research, or interpretive natures that are directly related to such Railroad. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Amends the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 to: (1) extend the termination date of the Assassination Records Review Board through September 30, 1998; and (2) authorize appropriations for FY 1998.