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United States · Official source
2,830 records where Sen. Wirth, Timothy [D-CO] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1992
Prohibits a member of the armed forces or person seeking to become a member from being discriminated against by the armed forces on the basis of sexual orientation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1992
Designates October 8, 1992, as National Firefighters Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1992
Urges: (1) the Government of the Yemen Arab Republic to cease its obstruction and allow unlimited Yemeni-Jewish emigration and free travel for family reunification, medical treatment, and educational purposes; (2) that the provision of the free and unlimited exchange of letters and phone calls be extended to Yemeni Jews; (3) that the issue of the emigration and family reunification of such Jews be part of any equation of U.S. aid to such Government; and (4) the President to discuss with U.S. allies and trading partners making similar pleas to such Republic on behalf of Yemeni Jews' freedom of travel and emigration.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Small Business Innovation Development Amendment Act of 1992 - Amends the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 to extend the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program from October 1, 1993, to October 1, 2000. Amends the Small Business Act regarding small business eligibility for Federal agency research and development awards to include in the three-phase evaluation process determining the technological feasibility of ideas those ideas which appear to have commercial potential. Prescribes minimum SBIR expenditure amounts for FY 1992 through 1997 and after. Requires each Federal agency that is required to establish an SBIR program to: (1) determine unilaterally research topics within its SBIR solicitations, giving special consideration to topics which permit substantial applicant participation in research project formulation; and (2) make payments in full to SBIR funding agreement recipients, subject to specified audit deadlines. Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (the Administrator) to modify directives for the conduct of general SBIR policy to provide for: (1) rights to data; (2) continued use of agency property; (3) follow-on contracts; and (4) increased amounts of Phase 1 awards. Repeals the requirement for an annual report by the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Provides that if a Federal agency required to establish an SBIR program makes an SBIR solicitation award for which it shall provide written justification of such award in its next annual report. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on specified aspects of SBIR program implementation. Includes Department of Defense (DOD) activities in the extension of programs under this Act and requires the evaluation process for research and development awards to consider the commercial potential of ideas. Revises the definition of "extramural budget" to remove an exclusion that provides that such definition shall not include amounts of DOD obligated solely for operational systems development. Increases the amount required to be expended by DOD for SBIR. Establishes a maximum amount for SBIR contracts awarded by DOD in the first phase.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1992 - Prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State (the government) from burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except that the government may burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is: (1) essential to further a compelling governmental interest; and (2) the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. Sets forth provisions pertaining to judicial relief, attorney's fees, and applicability.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1976 to apply its interagency consultation provisions to U.S.-backed projects abroad. Grants standing to bring a civil suit under such Act to a person who has by study, visits, or other means demonstrated an aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, professional, recreational, or scientific interest in an endangered or threatened species.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1992
Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 - Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to Cuba. Declares that the President should encourage countries that conduct trade with Cuba to restrict their trade and credit regulations with Cuba in a manner consistent with this Act. Authorizes the President to impose the following sanctions against countries that provide assistance to Cuba: (1) ineligibility for assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or the Arms Export Control Act; (2) a prohibition on agreements with the United States for the establishment of free trade areas; and (3) ineligibility for forgiveness or reduction of debt owed to the U.S. Government. Terminates such sanctions if the President reports to the Congress that Cuba has met conditions established under this Act concerning democracy, human rights, and a free market economy. Prohibits restrictions on the export to Cuba of medicines, subject to specified conditions and inspection requirements. Permits telecommunications services between the United States and Cuba. Requires the U.S. Postal Service to provide direct mail service to and from Cuba. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to promote nonviolent democratic change in Cuba. Prohibits the issuance of licenses for certain transactions between U.S.-controlled firms in third countries and Cuba. Bars domestic concerns from receiving a tax deduction for the portion of the deductible expenses of such concerns which are allocated or apportioned to income derived from Cuba. Prohibits vessels which enter Cuba to engage in trade from loading or unloading any freight in the United States within 180 days after departure from Cuba. Prohibits: (1) vessels carrying goods or passengers to or from Cuba or carrying goods in which a Cuban national has an interest from entering a U.S. port, except as authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury; and (2) specified commodities authorized to be exported under a general license from being exported under such a license to any such vessels. Directs the President to establish strict limits on remittances to Cuba by U.S. persons for purposes of financing the travel of Cubans to the United States to assure that such remittances are not used by the Cuban Government as a means of gaining access to U.S. currency. Declares that food, medicine, and medical supplies for humanitarian purposes should be made available to Cuba under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 if the President certifies to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Government of Cuba: (1) has made a commitment to hold free and fair elections for a new government within six months and is proceeding to implement that decision; (2) has made a commitment to respect and is respecting human rights and basic democratic freedoms; and (3) is not providing weapons or funds to any group in any other country that seeks the violent overthrow of the government of such country. Waives sanctions against Cuba under this Act if the President reports to the Congress that Cuba: (1) has held free and fair elections conducted under internationally recognized observers; (2) has permitted opposition parties ample time to campaign for such elections and has permitted full access to the media to all candidates; (3) is showing respect for basic civil liberties and human rights; (4) is moving toward establishing a free market economic system; and (5) has committed itself to constitutional change that would ensure regular free and fair elections. Requires the President, if he makes such report, to take the following actions with respect to a freely-elected Cuban Government: (1) encourage the admission of such government to international organizations and financial institutions; (2) provide emergency relief during Cuba's transition to a viable economic system; (3) take steps to end the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba; and (4) enter into negotiations for a trade agreement with Cuba. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to exercise the authorities of the Trading With the Enemy Act in enforcing this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Trading With the Enemy Act to authorize the Secretary to impose a civil penalty on violators of such Act. Provides for forfeiture of any property or vessel that is the subject of a violation. Requires the Department of the Treasury to establish a branch of the Office of Foreign Assets Control in Miami, Florida.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1992
Forest Service Decisionmaking and Appeals Reform Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to establish a public notice and comment process for proposed Forest Service land and resource management activities. Directs the Secretary to establish a related administrative appeals process.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1992
Establishes reemployment rights for Department of Defense (DOD) employees in reduction in force (RIF) actions. Requires DOD and each military department concerned to offer an employee who has been released under a RIF the right of first refusal to a job such entity restores within two years after the employee's release. Prohibits such entities from replacing within two years such an employee with a contract or temporary employee. Provides that if DOD or a military department seeks to staff some positions within two years after a RIF, it must offer reemployment to employees released under the RIF on the basis of seniority. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to keep a Government-wide list of vacant positions and establish a toll-free number which will enable the public to access information on the list. Requires Federal agencies to give qualified displaced DOD employees full consideration before hiring candidates from outside the agency. Codifies existing regulations requiring agencies to issue specific written notices to employees and their representatives at least 60 days prior to a RIF. Requires additionally that an agency also notify the appropriate State dislocated worker unit and chief elected official whenever a significant number of employees will be separated under a RIF. Amends the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 and the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act to make civilian employees at military installations scheduled for closure or realignment eligible to receive assistance under the defense conversion adjustment program under the Job Training Partnership Act one year in advance of the closure or realignment. Provides that DOD or each military department concerned may offer certain employees the option of receiving a lump sum payment for unused sick leave. Provides that this option is in lieu of adding unused sick leave to length of service for purposes of calculating Federal retirement benefits. Allows DOD and each military department concerned to authorize payment of a lump sum separation benefit to certain civilian employees to encourage voluntary separations. Sets forth rules for determining the amount of such payment. Provides that civilian employees at military bases scheduled for closure between October 1, 1992, and December 31, 1997, will be allowed to have annual leave which was lost as a result of closure operations during such period restored. Provides for continued health benefit coverage for DOD employees involuntarily separated under a RIF. Requires such an employee to continue to pay his or her share of the premium under the health plan involved. Provides that an employee who is involuntarily separated under a RIF will be treated as if entitled to an immediate annuity under the Thrift Saving Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1992
Rural Development and Ancient Forest Ecosystem Conservation Act - Title I: Rural Development in Rural Communities - Subtitle A: Rural Development for Communities and Businesses - Establishes the Community Rural Development Investment Fund and individual Community Rural Development Commissions for Oregon, Washington, and California. Requires each Commission to distribute Fund monies, in the form of low-interest rural developemnt business loans, to communities associated with employment in wood products, log harvesting, or log hauling or transportation. Subtitle B: Dislocated Forest-Worker Assistance - Establishes the Dislocated Forest-Worker Assistance Account, funded with monies from timber sales from federally owned forests, to provide income supplements, vocational retraining stipends, job search allowances, relocation allowances, and other benefits to dislocated timber-harvesting and wood products industries employees who have exhausted State unemployment benefits. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous - Requires employment of persons to perform forest ecosystem management practices on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Lands. Allows withholding of sums from timber harvest contracts to fund such employment. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture (the Secretaries), for each timber sale contract, to retain a cash deposit as security to ensure contract compliance. Expresses the sense of the Congress that annual Forest Service appropriations should not be less than those during the preceding ten years. Allows States west of the 100th meridian from which unprocessed logs are exported to establish export restrictions because of temporary shortages in the supply of timber. Provides special rules for exports to Canada and for a presidential suspension on restrictions if U.S. trade obligations are violated. States that western red cedar unprocessed logs from the Tongass National Forest may not be exported unless they are surplus to domestic processor needs. Provides special policies for conservation and management of the Pacific yew (used in the manufacture of taxol for the treatment of cancer). Amends the Wood Residue Utilization Act of 1980 to authorize appropriations for a pilot wood residue utilization project to demonstrate the commercial viability of cement fiber board products for use in the construction industry. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Forest Ecosystem Conservation - Subtitle A: Westside Forests - Directs the Secretaries to manage late-successional/old-growth Westside forests in the ecoregions of Pacific Forest and Willamette-Puget Forest in a manner to maintain viable vertebrate species and restore biological diversity. Requires consistency with the Watershed and Fish Habitat Emphasis Option. Requires management of key Westside watersheds to restore ecological forest elements and protect habitats of potentially threatened and endangered fish species and stocks of anadromous salmonoids. Subtitle B: Eastside Forests - Requires a study of Federal forests in the ecoregion provinces of the Columbia Forest, Rocky Mountain Forest, Palouse Grassland, Intermoutain Sagebrush, Sierran Forest, and California Chaparral (Eastside forests) to determine ecosystem management strategies that will restore and protect the health of forests and their ecological elements. Provides for interim protection of Eastside watersheds and late-succession/old-growth forests. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous - Establishes Forest Ecosystem Advisory Committees to recommend ecosystem management objectives for all BLM and Forest Service forests. Requires Inspectors General of the Department of Agriculture and the Interior to conduct audits of standards used by the Secretaries in the development of land and resource management plans. Requires development of a definition for a "dead and dying" tree. Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978 to require the establishment of a program of studies to facilitate implementation of an ecosystem-based approach to the management of federally owned forests. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1992
Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that any legislation passed by the Congress to address American health care needs must include coverage for mental disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Legal Services Reauthorization Act of 1992 - Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to authorize appropriations for the Legal Services Corporation for FY 1993 through 1997. Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) apply Federal criminal laws against theft, fraud, and embezzlement to Corporation funds; and (2) make the Federal criminal statute against obstructing a Federal audit applicable with regard to auditors employed or retained by the Corporation. Specifies that certain provisions of the False Claims Act apply to the Corporation, any financial assistance recipient and other grantee or contractor of the Corporation (awardee), subgrantee or subcontractor of any such entity, or employee thereof (thus, giving the Attorney General the authority to bring a civil action against any person employed by or contracting with a recipient, subrecipient, grantee, or contractor who perpetuates a fraud with Corporation funds, but excluding from application to the Corporation and its recipients provisions which permit a private person to initiate a false claims action). Revises prohibitions on the use of Corporation funds for lobbying purposes to prohibit such use by an awardee: (1) to pay for publicity or propaganda intended or designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress or State or local legislative bodies, or to influence any decision by a Federal, State, or local agency; (2) to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone communication, letter, printed matter, or other device intended or designed to influence: any decision by a Federal, State, or local agency, except when legal assistance is provided by an employee of an awardee of the Corporation to an eligible client on a particular matter which directly involves the client's legal rights or responsibilities; any Member of Congress or other Federal, State, or local elected official to favor or oppose any referendum, initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure of the Congress, State legislature, local council, or similar governing body; or any such Member or official to favor or oppose legislation (with exceptions); or (3) for adminstrative or related costs associated with such prohibited activities. Permits the use of such funds in connection with any communication: (1) made in response to a Federal, State, or local agency or elected official; or (2) to a Federal, State, or local elected official pertaining to the authorization or appropriation of funds or any other measure affecting the authority, functions, or funding of, or pertaining to oversight measures directly affecting, the awardee or the Corporation, if the project director or designee of the awardee has expressly determined that the legislative body involved is considering such authorization, appropriation, or other measure, or is conducting oversight of the awardee or the Corporation. Requires the Corporation to: (1) arrange for evaluations to determine whether awardees are providing comprehensive, economical, and effective legal assistance to eligible clients; and (2) conduct monitoring and investigations into allegations that an awardee has violated applicable requirements. Sets forth provisions concerning investigation procedures. Directs the Board of Directors of the Corporation to provide for the enforcement of requirements with respect to such awardees. Permits the Corporation to suspend, reduce, or terminate financial assistance (with such termination only after consideration of other remedial measures and only after the employee has been afforded reasonable notice and opportunity for a timely, full, and fair hearing, to be conducted by an independent hearing examiner when requested), or deny an application for refunding (after affording the awardee an opportunity to correct the failure) when: (1) there has been a substantial failure to comply with applicable requirements; or (2) evaluations demonstrate that an awardee has consistently failed to provide economical and effective legal assistance. Authorizes the Corporation to deny an application for refunding when the Corporation has identified an applicant for financial assistance that is better able to provide comprehensive, economical, and effective legal assistance for the geographic area served by such awardee. Revises provisions concerning notice to awardees prior to the suspension or termination of assistance or the denial of a refunding application. Prohibits the annual level of assistance from being reduced by more than five percent or $20,000, whichever is less, unless the awardee has been afforded notice and, at the awardee's request, a timely and fair hearing. Sets forth Corporation monitoring requirements. Directs that standards and procedures adopted pursuant to such provision take into account: (1) the responsibility of the Corporation to provide for independent evaluations; (2) that each awardee has the responsibility to manage its day-to-day operations and to assure that its employees comply with all applicable law and deliver high quality legal assistance in an effective and economical manner; (3) that the personal privacy of eligible clients could be adversely affected by the public disclosure of records or documents obtained in connection with monitoring or investigation (and bars the Corporation from requiring disclosure of such records to the extent that they can be expected to contain information directly pertinent and necessary to an audit, or to an investigation of a likely pattern of discrimination, lack of compliance with the law, or poor performance by an awardee which is indicated by other external evidence); (4) the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, the privacy protections of State law, and the principle that matters and records that are personal or private and that relate to an individual employee should be protected from examination by the Corporation; and (5) the rules of ethics and professional responsibility that are applicable in the jurisdiction where an awardee delivers legal assistance. Requires the Corporation to develop criteria for evaluating the capability and performance of awardees. Specifies that the Inspector General of the Corporation shall not, in carrying out his or her functions, be subject to any restriction that: (1) is contained in the standards and procedures adopted by the Corporation under this provision; and (2) limits access by the Corporation to documents or other information. Directs the Corporation to require each grantee, contractor, or person or entity receiving financial assistance to provide for an independent annual financial audit and to submit the report of the audit to the Corporation. Bars the Corporation from selecting the auditor employed by such entity. Permits the Corporation to conduct its own audit or hire an independent auditor when necessary, with the costs to be borne by the Corporation. (Current law directs the Corporation to conduct, or require each such grantee, contractor, or person or entity to provide for, an annual financial audit.) Places restrictions on the bringing of a class action suit by an awardee with funds provided by the Corporation against the Federal Government or any State or local government. Requires awardees to adopt policies to attempt to negotiate settlements and to use alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, where appropriate, before filing suit. Prohibits the use of Corporation funds to alter, revise, or reapportion a legislative, judicial, or elective district at any level of government. Places restrictions on the use of Corporation funds for legal assistance for aliens. Revises requirements for governing bodies of grant or contract recipients to require a recipient's governing body to be comprised of (in the majority) attorneys who are appointed by State, county, or local bar associations the memberships of which represent a majority of the attorneys practicing law in the locality in which the recipient is to provide legal assistance. Sets forth requirements for governing or policy bodies of recipients and other awardees. Allows the governing body of a bar association to appoint members of the governing or policy bodies of more than one awardee of the Corporation. Makes technical and conforming changes with respect to the professional responsibilities of the Corporation and attorney employees of the Corporation. Specifies that neither the Corporation nor the Comptroller General shall have access to any reports or records protected from disclosure by the laws or rules of ethics or professional responsibility that apply in the jurisdiction where such reports or records are maintained. Requires the Corporation (with specified exceptions) to ensure that attorneys employed full-time in providing legal assistance supported in major part by the Corporation refrain from any: (1) outside practice of law in which the attorneys seek or receive compensation; and (2) uncompensated outside practice of law. (Current law bars attorneys employed full-time in legal assistance activities supported in major part by the Corporation from any compensated outside practice, and any uncompensated outside practice except as authorized in guidelines promulgated by the Corporation.) Prohibits the use of Corporation funds for initiating the defense of a person in a proceeding to evict such person from a public housing project if the person has been convicted of the illegal sale or distribution of a controlled substance and the proceeding has been brought by a public housing project agency because such person threatens the health or safety of other tenants or employees of such agency. Prohibits awardees (or employees) from engaging in precomplaint settlement negotiations, filing a complaint, or pursuing litigation against a defendant unless a written retainer agreement which enumerates the facts on which the claim is based has been signed by the plaintiffs. Specifies that, unless authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction, no awardee (or employee) may file a complaint or petition in a court until all plaintiffs known to plaintiff's counsel at the time have been specifically identified in the complaint or petition. Requires the Corporation to study, through the use of demonstration projects and other appropriate methods, the feasibility of utilizing a system of competition to improve the delivery of legal assistance and related activities. Sets forth reporting requirements. Specifies that a general restriction on training activities of the Corporation should not be construed to prohibit training of attorneys or paralegals as necessary to prepare them to advise any eligible client as to the nature of the legislative process, or to inform any such client of his or her rights under any statute, order, or regulation. Repeals a limitation on the use of non-Federal funds received by the Corporation. Directs the Corporation to require each awardee to maintain a system of time and recordkeeping that discloses the types of activities supported by Corporation and non-Corporation funds and allocates appropriate costs, including overhead, to activities funded by non-Corporation funds. Sets forth additional requirements regarding the specific type of system to be employed. Prohibits the use of alternative corporations to evade the provisions of this Act. Defines an "alternative corporation" as a group which has a single identity of interest with an awardee. Requires any awardee which shares employees with any other entity to specify with particularity the use of any funds by such employees. Directs the Corporation to ensure that all attorneys engaged in legal assistance activities supported by the Corporation refrain, while so engaged, from any political activity (current law) associated with a political party or the campaign of any candidate for public or party office. Requires grants and contracts made for calendar years 1993 through 1997 to be made for at least 12 months, except for any grant to a new program commencing operations after the beginning of the applicable calendar year. Sets forth provisions with respect to the establishment of local priorities and periodic analysis of the legal needs of clients in the area served by each such awardee. Revises the defintion of "staff attorney" to mean an attorney who: (1) is employed by a recipient organized in whole or in part for the provision of legal assistance to eligible clients under the Act; and (2) receives more than half of his or her annual professional salary from the proceeds of a grant or contract from the Corporation to such recipient. (Current law specifies an attorney who receives more than half of his annual professional income from a recipient organized solely for the provisions of legal assistance to eligible clients.) Directs the Corporation to conduct a study on legal assistance to older Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1992
Pacific Yew Act - Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to pursue a conservation-management policy with respect to National Forest System and other public lands containing Pacific yew that will combine long-term conservation with sustainable yew harvests for the manufacture of taxol (a cancer treatment drug derived from the yew.) Requires timber sales to be conducted in accord with such policy. Directs the Secretaries to: (1) inventory Pacific yew on lands under their jurisdiction; (2) encourage and assist in research regarding the ecology of the Pacific yew, development of alternative methods of procuring taxol, and propagation of Pacific yew and other yew species in agricultural or commercial settings; and (3) ensure collection of Pacific yew resources in a fashion that minimizes illegal harvests and maintains the yew's taxol properties. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to sell Pacific yew to qualifying persons for manufacturing of taxol in the United States. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine and notify the appropriate Secretaries when sufficient medical quantities of taxol are available from sources other than Pacific yew harvested from Federal lands. Terminates the requirements of this Act upon such notification.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1992
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should take immediate steps through a multilateral effort, including military force, if necessary, to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilian populations in and around Sarajevo.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1992
Medicare Enrollment Improvement and Protection Act of 1992 - Title I: Improving Enrollment - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services' annual notice to Medicare beneficiaries to inform certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries of the requirements to qualify for Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) payment of their premiums, deductibles, and copayments under Medicare and how to apply for such benefit. Requires the notice described above to be prepared in a manner suitable for posting and distributed to physicians, hospital offices, other medical facilities, and entities receiving grants from the Secretary for programs designed to provide services to individuals age 65 or older. Requires the Secretary to establish a toll-free telephone number for information about such benefit. Amends the Medicaid program to require the Secretary to develop a simplified form for applying for such benefit for processing at social security offices. Amends the Medicare program to mandate direct enrollment of part A (Hospital Insurance) eligibles by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to make grants to State agencies and organizations for the provision of outreach assistance to older individuals who may be eligible for such benefit. Authorizes appropriations to fund such grant program. Title II: Application of Other Medicaid Eligibility Rules - Amends the Medicaid program to permit retroactive payments of medical costs incurred by certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries in or after the third month before the month in which such an individual applied to have Medicaid cover such costs. Title III: Report - Directs the Secretary to submit reports to the Congress on Department activities to ensure enrollment and full implementation of the program under the Social Security Act for Medicaid payment of Medicare costs and the effectiveness of each such activity, along with any recommendations for appropriate legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Mike Mansfield Fellowship Act - Establishes the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program. Directs the Secretary of State (Secretary) to make grants to the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs (Center) to award two-year fellowships to eligible Federal employees. Requires fellowship recipients (Mansfield Fellows): (1) during their first year, to study, in Washington, D.C., the Japanese language and political economy; and (2) during their second year, to serve as a Fellow in a parliamentary office, ministry, or other agency of the Government of Japan, or, subject to Center approval, a nongovernmental Japanese institution associated with the recipient's interests. Requires the Center to comply with specified program requirements in order to be eligible for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an arrangement with the Government of Japan to place Fellows in that Government. Authorizes the Foreign Service Institute to assist in carrying out Japanese language training by the Center through providing classroom space, teaching materials, and facilities, insofar as this is not detrimental to the Institute's other responsibilities. Authorizes the Center to accept and use gifts from private sources for such program, subject to review and approval of the Mansfield Fellowship Review Board. Provides that specified amounts from Department of State funds shall be available to the Secretary to make program grants to the Center for FY 1993 through 1996. Sets forth program requirements. Requires that the Federal employees eligible for such fellowships have: (1) at least two years experience in any branch of the U.S. Government; and (2) a strong career interest in U.S.-Japan relations and a commitment to further Federal service. Requires that at least ten such fellowships be awarded annually. Prohibits Mansfield Fellows from engaging in any intelligence or intelligence-related activity on behalf of the U.S. Government. Allows Federal agencies to separate from service such Fellows for a specified period, but requires that: (1) Fellows be reemployed or reinstated in an appropriate position and with all attendant rights and benefits as they would have acquired if they had not been so separated; and (2) they continue to participate during the fellowship period, as if they were not separated, in specified programs for health and life insurance, workers' compensation leave, and retirement (with employer contributions to be made by the Center, and employee deductions to be taken from fellowship stipends). Establishes the Mansfield Fellowship Review Board to review program administration and submit annual reports. Authorizes appropriations for the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Clear Creek County, Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to transfer, under specified conditions, certain public lands in Clear Creek County, Colorado, to the Secretary of Agriculture, the State of Colorado, and certain local governments (Clear Creek County and the towns of Silver Plume and Georgetown). Requires the consent of the Secretary before the grantee or its successor can transfer the title of such conveyed lands. Reverts such transferred title to the United States in specified circumstances. Gives an individual with an existing valid mining claim or location, and who has met specified U.S. mining requirements, on certain public lands transferred by this Act: (1) protection in possessory rights for a seven-year period; and (2) an opportunity to patent such lands. Deems an abandonment of such claim or location by the individual if certain conditions are not met within the designated period. Withdraws specified public lands from U.S. mining and mineral leasing laws.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Designates February 21 through February 27, 1993, as American Wine Appreciation Week. Commends the winegrape and fruit growers and vintners of the United States for the production of high quality agricultural products.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1992
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to permit specified tracts of land on or near National Forest ski areas to be used for construction of employee housing.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1992
Declares that the Congress adopts specified principles on rights and obligations with respect to the environment, to be known as the Earth Charter, and urges the nations participating in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992 to adopt the same rights and obligations as a separate Earth Charter. Includes within such principles: (1) the integration of environmental and development objectives with economic and trade policies; (2) the promotion of sustainable development; (3) respect for human rights; (4) the adoption of precautionary measures to prevent causes of environmental degradation; (5) a commitment to peace and security; (6) the elimination of unsustainable patterns of production and consumption; (7) the availability of information relevant to environment and development; (8) open and free market objectives; (9) the bearing of pollution costs by polluters; (10) the establishment of democratic institutions; (11) the elimination of poverty; and (12) assistance to developing countries.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Prohibits a foreign person from purchasing or otherwise acquiring the LTV Aerospace and Defense Company.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Global Climate Protection Act - Directs the President to promulgate final regulations that will achieve stabilization of carbon dioxide emissions by January 1, 2000. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate and report biennially to the Congress on the progress made pursuant to such regulations. Directs the President to promulgate additional regulations to achieve stabilization if the Administrator finds that the regulations will not achieve stabilization. Permits citizen suits against officers of the United States for failures to perform duties in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1992
Petroleum Marketing Practices Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act to allow as grounds for nonrenewal of a franchise relationship the failure of the parties to agree to changes to the franchise provisions as long as such failure is not the result of the franchisor's insistence for the purpose of converting a franchisee operation into one operated by the franchisor's employees or agents (that is, turning the franchise into a company-owned station). Prohibits a State or any political subdivision from implementing any law or regulation which requires payment for a franchisee's goodwill upon either termination or nonrenewal of a franchise. Permits State law to specify the terms and conditions under which a franchise or franchise relationship may be transferred to a franchisee's designated successor upon the franchisee's death. Requires a franchisor that does not wish to exercise its underlying lease options to lease or purchase the marketing premises, to offer to assign them to the franchisee as a prerequisite to termination or nonrenewal of the franchise relationship. Bars a franchisor from requiring, as a condition of the franchise relationship, that the franchisee waive or release its rights under Federal or State law. Declares invalid and unenforceable any franchise provision which specifies that franchise interpretation or enforcement shall be governed by the law of any State other than the one in which the franchisee has its principal place of business.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1992
Used Oil Energy Production Act - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require a producer or importer of 100,000 gallons or more per year of lubricating oil to increase annually the percentage (set by the Secretary) of recycled oil either: (1) by refining, rerefining, or reprocessing it into petroleum products (including fuels); or (2) by purchasing certain oil recycling credits. Exempts certain facilities from such requirements. Requires annual reports to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to list or identify used oil as a hazardous waste for certain purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1992
Title I: Interagency Council on the Homeless - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Interagency Council on the Homeless, and the Council's authority, through October 1, 1994. Title II: Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Program - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Federal emergency management food and shelter program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1992
Designates the week of October 18 through 24, 1992, as National Radon Action Week.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Revises formulae for ski area permit fees for National Forest System lands.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), in cooperation with the Secretary of State, to enter immediately into negotiations with Canada to provide protection for the entire Alsek River watershed to preserve its fisheries, wildlife, water quality, and recreational and wilderness values. Requires the Secretary (acting through the Director of the National Park Service) to ensure that the internationally significant natural resource values of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, including all interests of the United States protected by international treaty, are not degraded by proposed open-pit copper mine developments within Canada. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to study and report to the Congress on the potential impacts to the Park and Preserve caused by the proposed mine development in British Columbia. Directs the Secretary of State to seek the agreement of the Canadian Government that the International Joint Commission be referred, pursuant to a specified Treaty, to: (1) examine comprehensively the potential adverse environmental and social impacts of the proposed mining activity; and (2) issue no permits required to develop such project before completion of such study. Requires the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of State, to seek the cooperation of the Canadian Government to obtain World Heritage Site status and protection for the entire Alsek and Tatshenshini River watershed.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1992
John Heinz Competitive Excellence Award Act of 1992 - Establishes the John Heinz Excellence Award, to be evidenced by a national medal coined and provided to the U.S. Senate by the U.S. Mint. Allows two such separate awards to be presented annually (one to a qualifying individual, including Federal, State, or local government employees, and one to a qualifying organization, institution, or business). Prohibits presentation of an award within a category in a given year if there is no qualified individual, organization, institution, or business recommended by the selection panel established by this Act. Sets forth qualification criteria for such awards. Requires the Senate majority and minority leaders to present such award to an individual and an organization, institution, or business that has demonstrated excellence in promoting U.S. industrial competitiveness in the international marketplace through technological innovation, productivity improvement, or improved competitive strategies. Directs the Office of Technology Assessment to: (1) ensure that all nominees receive a detailed summary of any evaluation conducted of such nominee; and (2) make available to the nominee and the public a summary of each award winner's competitiveness strategy (excluding proprietary information unless the award winner consents).
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1992
Small Business Incentive Act of 1992 - Title I: Amendment to the Securities Act of 1933 - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 to increase from $5 million to $10 million the size of small business offerings that are exempt from the registration requirements of the Act (thus removing some regulatory constraints in order to facilitate capital-raising by small businesses). Title II: Amendments to the Investment Company Act of 1940 - Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the Act) to exclude from its definition of investment company any issuer all of whose securities are held by certain investors whom the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has determined by rule or regulation possess such financial sophistication, net worth, and other specified factors as not to need the protections of the Act (thus exempting such companies from some of the Act's regulatory constraints). Empowers the SEC to define, by rule, such "qualified purchasers." Sets forth conditions under which certain business and industrial development companies that are already subject to regulation by the State in which they are organized are exempt from the regulatory constraints of the Act. Increases from $100,000 to $10 million the maximum aggregate amount of proceeds that certain interstate closed-end investment companies may receive from the sale of their outstanding securities and still retain their exempt status under the Act. Expands the definition of eligible portfolio company to include any company which does not have total assets in excess of $4 million and capital and surpluses in excess of $2 million (thus increasing the flow of capital by permitting business development companies to invest in more small businesses). Declares that a business development company is not required to make available significant managerial assistance with respect to any eligible portfolio company (as defined by this Act), or any other company that meets certain SEC criteria (thus encouraging the flow of capital to very small businesses). Permits a business development company to include within its mandatory asset threshold the securities of any eligible portfolio company as defined by this Act (thus including securities of very small businesses). Permits a business development company to acquire the securities of an eligible portfolio company from persons other than such portfolio company itself. Permits a business development company to: (1) issue multiple classes of debt without restriction; and (2) issue warrants, options, or rights to subscribe or convert to voting securities either alone or accompanied by debt or equity securities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1992
Directs the Secretary of Energy to develop, issue, and commence implementation of a plan for the restructuring of the employee work force of Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities. Outlines plan requirements, including: (1) that any changes in functions or missions at such facilities be carried out so as to minimize the economic impact of such changes on such DOE employees, with prior notice of such changes at least 120 days before they take place, retraining, early retirement and attrition, and other similar means of minimization; (2) first preference for terminated DOE defense facility employees in any DOE hiring; (3) retraining of such employees for work in environmental restoration and waste management activities of DOE; (4) relocation assistance for appropriate employees; (5) retraining, education, and reemployment assistance for employment outside of DOE; and (6) local impact assistance to communities that are affected by any DOE defense facility restructuring plan. Directs the Secretary to issue yearly plan updates containing specified information. Requires appropriate consultation by the Secretary when developing such plans. Requires all plans and updates to be submitted to specified congressional committees. Directs the Secretary, when entering into a contract for the procurement of environmental restoration and waste management activities (contract) at a DOE nuclear defense facility, to require the contractor and any subcontractor to: (1) recognize any collective bargaining agreements in force at the facility and any labor organizations authorized to act on behalf of such employees; (2) employ employees of the collective bargaining units at such facility; (3) assume the liability and obligations of the pension programs of the preceding employer at such facility for employees retained under the contract; and (4) credit periods of employment with previous employers toward contract requirements relating to sick leave, vacations, health insurance, and other employment-related benefits, with limitations. Directs the Secretary to establish and carry out a program for the identification and ongoing medical evaluation of current and former DOE employees who are subject to significant health risks as a result of exposure to hazardous or radioactive substances during such employment. Outlines program implementation provisions, requiring the Secretary to: (1) carry out certain activities under the program in concurrence with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS); (2) permit the participation of specified organizations; (3) notify each employee identified and examined or tested of test results; (4) collect and assemble information relating to such examinations and tests; (5) carry out such program within one year after enactment of this Act; and (6) enter into an agreement with the Secretary of HHS under which each Secretary of Energy carries out required activities under the program. Directs the Secretary to carry out a program to provide for insurance to cover the reasonable health care costs for DOE employees who: (1) were defense nuclear facility employees; (2) through such employment, received a level of exposure to hazardous or radioactive substances that poses a significant risk to such employee's health; (3) as a result of such exposure, have developed a significant illness, disease, or clinical sensitivity; and (4) are not entitled to benefits under the Medicare or any other health insurance program. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe, with participation by specified organizations, standards for determining the eligibility of former employees for such insurance coverage. Requires establishment of the insurance program within six months after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1992
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Government should support appropriate loan guarantees to Israel for refugee absorption.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1992
Prohibits any member or employee of the Senate from receiving from a congressional or other Federal entity any service or benefit at Government expense or at a discount that is of a kind or in an amount not typically provided by employers or that is not necessary or appropriate for the member or employee to perform his or her duties. Establishes the Commission on Senate Perquisites. Requires the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate to report to the Commission on: (1) the services and benefits available to Senate members and employees that are not equally available to all other persons or that are available in or near the Senate buildings at below fair market value; and (2) how such services and benefits contribute to the members' and employees' performance of their duties. Requires the Commission, upon receipt of such report, to review the services and benefits provided to Senate members and employees. Directs the Commission to report to the majority and minority leaders of the Senate proposing introduction of a resolution that: (1) describes those benefits and services that may not properly be made available in or near Senate buildings by Government or private sector employees at the expense of Senate members and employees; and (2) directs the appropriate Senate officers to arrange for the provision of such services and benefits at fair market value. Authorizes any Senate member to introduce such a resolution and provides for its consideration. Requires all payments received for such services and benefits provided by Government employees and all rent and other payments received from private contractors that provide such services and benefits to be paid into the deficit reduction account of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1992
Yucca House National Monument Expansion Act of 1992 - Expands the boundaries of the Yucca House National Monument, Colorado, to include specified lands within its boundaries. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire such lands and interests in them by donation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1992
Appropriations Category Reform Act of 1992 - States that the Congress declares that it is essential that the Nation achieve savings in national defense beyond those agreed to in the budget summit agreement of 1990, reduce the deficit, and invest in areas of pressing domestic need that have been neglected since the 1980s. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the discretionary spending limit for FY 1993 by merging the defense and domestic categories into a national category. Makes conforming changes to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1992
Every Fifth Child Act - Makes appropriations for FY 1993, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, in specified amounts to begin a phase-in toward full funding of: (1) the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; (2) Head Start programs under the Head Start Act; and (3) the Job Corps program under the Job Training Partnership Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that such programs should receive specified minimum levels of funding to allow: (1) the WIC program to be fully funded through FY 1996; (2) Head Start programs to be fully funded through FY 1998; and (3) the Job Corps to establish at least 50 additional centers and serve at least 50 percent more of low-income disadvantaged youth by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1992
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal provisions providing reduced Medicare reimbursements for new physicians.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1992
Designates August 15, 1992, as 82d Airborne Division 50th Anniversary Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 - Title I: Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide grants to State and local entities for lead-based paint hazard reduction activities (including testing of children) in private target housing. Authorizes appropriations, including a technical assistance set-aside. Establishes a ten percent minimum matching requirement. Amends specified Federal housing Acts to require assessments of lead-based paint hazards. Amends the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act to require the inspection and abatement of lead-based paint hazards in all pre-1978 federally owned residential properties prior to disposition. Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to require State and local comprehensive housing affordability strategies to include estimates of housing units with lead paint problems and outline hazard abatement activities. Directs the Secretary to: (1) assess and reduce lead-based paint hazards as part of the National Housing Act mortgage insurance programs; and (2) establish a task force on private sector financing of lead-based paint hazard reduction. Title II: Assessment and Reduction Infrastructure - Requires Federal assessment and reduction of lead-based paint hazards to be conducted by federally certified contractors and laboratories. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue lead-based paint hazard assessment and reduction guidelines; and (2) establish related monitoring systems. Subjects a contractor to contract disqualification (in addition to other remedies) for certification noncompliance or negligent compliance. Directs the Secretary to establish a National Clearinghouse on Residential Lead-Based Paint Poisoning. Sets aside specified funds for Clearinghouse activities. Title III: Public Information and Technical Assistance - Provides for the disclosure of information concerning lead-based paint hazards in contracts for purchase, sale, or leasing of target housing. Sets forth required contract Lead Warning Statements. Requires the Secretary to publish a related lead hazard information pamphlet. Sets forth penalties for disclosure violations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a public awareness campaign regarding the dangers of childhood lead poisoning; and (2) establish a lead hazard hotline. Sets aside specified funds for such activities. Requires: (1) the Secretary to develop consumer information to be distributed by home improvement retailers regarding potential lead hazards of remodeling or renovation; and (2) manufacturers of hand tools used in such remodeling to affix a related warning label (to be developed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission). Title IV: Formulation of a National Strategy - Directs the Secretary to formulate a national strategy for eliminating lead-based paint hazards in housing. Title V: Research and Development - Subtitle A: HUD Research - Directs the Secretary to conduct research on: (1) lead exposure from non-paint sources such as exterior soil and lead dust; and (2) lead testing technologies. Sets aside specified funds for such activities. Subtitle B: GAO Report - Directs the General Accounting Office to assess the availability of liability insurance for owners of residential housing that contains lead-based paint and persons engaged in assessment and reduction activities. Title VI: Reports - Sets forth reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1992
Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union Act to extend from three to five years the statute of limitations for civil actions brought by a Federal conservator or receiver of a failed depository institution.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1992
Amends the National School Lunch Act to suspend specified compliance and accountability rules issued by the Secretary of Agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) an appropriate commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Mariana Islands campaign of World War II should be planned; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior should take steps to ensure by June 15, 1994, the completion of a visitor center at the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Guam, and one at the American Memorial Park, Saipan, for the interpretation of the campaign. Increases the authorization of appropriations for such parks.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992
Bank and Thrift Disclosure Act of 1992 - Requires each appropriate banking agency to disclose to the public the reports of all examinations of each failed depository institution performed during the five-year period preceding its transfer, failure, or receipt of certain Federal depository insurance (or other Federal "bail-out" funds). Limits such disclosure requirement to an institution that received such funds while it was critically undercapitalized within the one-year period before its failure. Cites conditions under which public disclosure may be delayed because of threats to safety, soundness, or pending administrative, civil, or criminal investigations. Subjects a holding company of such a failed institution to the same public disclosure requirements, but excludes open institutions and affiliated solvent institutions. Mandates public disclosure of settlement agreements between the Resolution Trust Corporation or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and any other party with respect to certain failed depository institutions. Applies the public disclosure requirements of this Act to specified kinds of failed institutions. Shields certain identifying and customer information from the disclosure requirements. Requires the appropriate banking agencies to: (1) make public disclosures of loans by insiders (senior personnel and principal shareholders) who have defaulted on loans made by a failed institution; and (2) provide the public with periodic updates of pending and settled lawsuits brought by such agencies involving transactions that caused a material loss to either the failed depository institution or to the deposit insurance fund. Directs the Comptroller General to selectively audit examination reports and public disclosures made by the appropriate banking agencies to assess their compliance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992
Hospital Cooperative Agreement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a demonstration program of ten five-year grants for collaboration among hospitals regarding the provision of expensive, capital-intensive medical technology or other highly resource-intensive services. Requires that projects be designed to demonstrate a reduction in costs, an increase in access to care, and improvements in the quality of care. Allows grant funds to be used only to facilitate collaboration and not to purchase facilities or capital equipment. Requires at least three of the grants to be used to demonstrate how such agreements may be used to increase access to or quality of care in rural areas. Requires cooperative agreements facilitated under these provisions to provide for the sharing of medical technology or eligible services. Declares that it is not a violation of antitrust laws for a hospital to carry out activities under these provisions. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992
Investment Adviser Oversight Act of 1992 - Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to authorize the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish fees to recover the costs of enhanced supervision and regulation of investment advisers and their activities. Provides that such fees shall be paid by such advisers at the time of filing an application for registration. Authorizes the Commission to require, by rule, an adviser to file any required fee, application, report, or notice through any person the Commission designates. Prohibits investment advisers from giving investment advice other than in connection with impersonal advisory services, unless the adviser has reasonably determined such advice to be suitable based upon the client's financial situation and experience. Authorizes the Commission to require by rule that registered advisers be bonded against larceny and embezzlement.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992
RU-486 Regulatory Fairness Act - Declares that a specified import alert issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with respect to the drug RU-486 shall not have any legal effect and shall be withdrawn by the FDA. (RU-486 has been used outside the United States to abort pregnancies.) Prohibits the FDA from taking any action to bar the import of that drug unless the FDA finds that it is being imported for an illegal use. Requires the FDA to give consideration in accordance with provisions relating to new drug approval when an application is submitted under such provisions for RU-486.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1992
Appropriations Category Reform Act of 1992 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the discretionary spending limit for FY 1993 by merging the defense and domestic categories into a national category. Makes conforming changes to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1992
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretaries of the Army and the Interior, no later than October 1, 1992, to enter into a memorandum of understanding under which: (1) the Secretary of the Army transfers to the Secretary of the Interior all responsibility to manage for wildlife and public use purposes the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado, except for specified portions designated under this Act; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior shall establish and manage the real property transferred as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, before such transfer is complete, to certify that cleanup and remedial actions required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 have been completed. Directs the Secretary of the Army to retain jurisdiction and control over all real property at the Arsenal used for water treatment, the disposition of hazardous substances, and other purposes related to environmental cleanup and remediation. Requires such cleanup and remediation activities, to the extent possible, to be compatible with the wildlife and public use purposes of the Arsenal as a wildlife refuge. Continues the validity of all leases related to real property at the Arsenal after such transfer. Requires the management by the Secretary of the Interior of the Arsenal as a wildlife refuge to be subject to any required environmental cleanup and remediation activities by the Secretary of the Army. Outlines provisions concerning U.S. liability for environmental hazards present at the Arsenal both before and after final transfer under this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, by December 1, 1992, to establish the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge with such transferred property. Requires such Secretary to publish a notice of such establishment in the Federal Register. Outlines provisions concerning administration of the Refuge. Outlines fish, water, wildlife, and various public use purposes of the Refuge. Prohibits the establishment of the Refuge to limit, restrict, or modify the ongoing environmental remediation conducted by the Secretary of the Army pursuant to this Act. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from permitting the annexation of lands within the Refuge by any unit of general local government. Designates defined areas within the Arsenal for disposal for commercial, highway, or other public use purposes. Directs the Secretary of the Army, within 180 days after the completion of remedial design for the Arsenal and after providing an opportunity for public comment, to determine which parcels shall be retained from the Arsenal transfer for cleanup and remediation measures. Requires the Secretary of the Army to notify the State of Colorado and appropriate units of local government of the proposed and final determinations. Directs the Secretary of the Army to then transfer unretained parcels to the Administrator of General Services for disposal for commercial, highway, or other public use purposes, as stated. Outlines limitations to such disposal, including the requirement that it be subject to applicable provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. Requires any amounts realized from the sale of property disposed by the Secretary of the Army to be transferred to the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to supplement funds available for the construction of a visitor and education center at the Refuge.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1992
Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2 - Title I: Taxpayers Advocate - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the Office of Taxpayer Advocate, headed by the Taxpayer Advocate, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Office to: (1) assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS; (2) identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the IRS; (3) propose changes in the administrative practices of the IRS to mitigate such problems; and (4) identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems. Requires the Taxpayer Advocate to annually report to specified congressional committees on Office activities. Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to establish procedures requiring a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the Commissioner by the Taxpayer Advocate. Replaces the Office of the Ombudsman with the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate. Revises the terms of a Taxpayer Assistance Order to: (1) assist a taxpayer suffering a hardship (currently, a significant hardship); (2) allow the Order to require the Secretary of the Treasury to act within a specified time period; and (3) require the Secretary to take certain actions (currently, only to cease or refrain from taking certain actions). Title II: Modifications to Installment Agreement Provisions - Grants certain taxpayers the right to an installment agreement for the payment of tax liability less than $10,000. Requires prior notification to taxpayers under an installment agreement to pay tax liability before altering, modifying, or terminating such an agreement. Provides for administrative review of denials of requests for installment agreements. Suspends the failure to pay penalty during any period an installment agreement is in effect. Title III: Interest - Requires the abatement of interest in the case of an assessment due to the unreasonable error or delay of an IRS act. Extends from ten to 21 days the period for which interest will not be imposed after notice and demand for payment, if such payment is less than $100,000. Increases the interest rate for overpayment of tax from two percent to three percent (making such rate equal to the interest rate for underpayment of tax). Title IV: Joint Returns - Requires separate deficiency notices in the case of a joint income tax return if the most recent data available to the IRS shows that such spouses did not file a joint return with each other. Allows the disclosure of collection activities to an individual requesting such information in the case of a joint return where such individual is no longer married to or resides in the same household as the other joint filer. Removes limitation on filing a joint return after filing separate returns. Provides that in the case of an examination of an individual with respect to a joint income tax return, the absent divorced or separated spouse cannot be represented by the individual without such acknowledgement in writing. Title V: Collection Activities - Requires the Secretary to send notices of a proposed tax deficiency. Authorizes the Secretary, in certain cases, to: (1) withdraw a notice of a lien; (2) return property that has been levied upon; and (3) offer compromises in civil or criminal cases. Requires the Secretary, at the request of the taxpayer, to make reasonable efforts to notify credit reporting agencies and financial institutions of such withdrawal notice. Requires prior notification to the taxpayer that the taxpayer is under examination and an explanation of the process. Removes certain limits on the standard of conduct and the dollar limit on the recovery of civil damages for unauthorized collection actions. Revises provisions with respect to a designated summons concerning the standard of review, requirements for issuance, and quash proceedings. Title VI: Information Returns - Requires payee statements to provide the phone number of the person providing payment. Establishes civil damages for the fraudulent filing of information returns. Requires the Secretary to make reasonable investigations to corroborate the accuracy of an information return when making a determination of a deficiency by a third party, when such return is disputed by the taxpayer. Title VII: Modifications to Penalty for Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax - Establishes requirements for preliminary notice and declaratory judgment proceedings for failure to pay tax. Authorizes the Secretary to disclose certain information where more than one person is liable for a penalty. Declares that a person shall not be liable for any penalty for failure to collect and pay over tax if such person: (1) is not a significant owner or highly compensated employee of the trade or business; (2) notifies the Secretary within ten days after such failure; and (3) such notification was before any notice by the Secretary with respect to such failure. Directs the Secretary to ensure that IRS employees are aware of their responsibilities under the tax depository system, the circumstances under which they may be liable for penalties, and reporting responsibilities. Exempts unpaid, volunteer board members of tax-exempt organizations from collection penalties. Title VIII: Awarding of Costs and Certain Fees - Repeals the "substantially justified" test for determining whether a taxpayer may recover costs and fees incurred as part of an administrative or court proceeding. Denies such costs where the position of the United States is substantially justified. Revises the commencement date of reasonable administrative costs. Increases the limit on attorney fees. Provides that any failure to agree to an extension of time for the assessment of any tax shall not be taken into account in determining whether a prevailing party has exhausted all administrative remedies. Title IX: Other Provisions - Revises provisions on the required content of tax due, deficiency, and other notices. Provides protection for noncorporate taxpayers who rely on certain guidance published by the IRS. Requires any final, temporary, or proposed regulation issued by the Secretary to be applied prospectively from the date of publication in the Federal Register. Requires notice to the taxpayer of the inability to associate any payment with any outstanding tax liability. Makes the costs of preparing certain tax returns fully deductible.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Voting Rights Act Language Assistance Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to extend the termination date on the prohibition of covered States and political subdivisions providing voting materials only in English. Modifies criteria for determining whether a State or subdivision is covered.