United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1993
Commends radio amateurs for their contributions to technical progress in electronics and for their emergency radio communications in times of disaster. Urges the Federal Communications Commission to continue and enhance the development of the amateur radio service as a public benefit by adopting rules and regulations which encourage the use of new technologies within the amateur radio service. Declares that reasonable accommodation should be made for effective operation of amateur radio from residences, private vehicles and public areas and that regulation at all levels of government should facilitate and encourage amateur radio operation as a public benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish an independent peer review process with respect to listing and delisting of endangered and threatened species (species). Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) in cooperation with the affected State to develop species recovery plans. Gives priority to multispecies plans and sets forth plan deadlines. Requires each Federal land management agency to identify species and appropriate conservation measures on lands under its jurisdiction. Authorizes agency contracts with the Secretary for such purposes. Directs the Secretary to establish a Habitat Conservation Planning Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or interest-free advances from the Fund to State and local governments for conservation plan development. Provides financial and technical assistance to private landowners for species conservation measures. Provides for increased international cooperation and enforcement under the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Programs and Related Provisions Subtitle A: Programs Subtitle B: Related Provisions Title II: Organization Title III: Reauthorization Subtitle A: National and Community Service Act of 1990 Subtitle B: Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 Title IV: Technical and Conforming Amendments National Service Trust Act of 1993 - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to reauthorize, revise, and reorganize national and community service and domestic volunteer programs, establish a Corporation for National Service and a National Service Trust program of Federal investment in support of national service, and provide expanded opportunities for national service and educational awards for participants. Title I: Programs and Related Provisions - Subtitle A: Programs - (Sec. 101) Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (the Act) to establish the National Service Trust program, replacing the current American Conservation and Youth Service Corps. Authorizes the Corporation for National Service (CNS) to make matching grants to State and local governments, Indian tribes, public and private nonprofit organizations, and higher education institutions for: (1) full- or part-time national service programs, including summer programs; and (2) subgrants for national service programs of other entities. Authorizes CNS to enter into agreements with other Federal agencies to support their national service programs. Directs CNS to approve national service educational awards for participants serving in CNS-assisted national service programs. Describes types of eligible national service programs addressing unmet human, educational, environmental, or public safety needs, including community corps, youth corps, service-learning, special skills or specialized training, individualized placement, campus-based, preprofessional training, professional corps, disadvantaged youth community service, national service entrepreneur, intergenerational, or other programs. Directs CNS to establish qualification criteria. Authorizes CNS to provide the following types of program assistance: planning, operational, replication, subgrantee, training, technical, and other special assistance (including support for State commissions and challenge grants for national service programs). Requires CNS to ensure that participants in VISTA or the Civilian Community Corps receive national service educational awards, except in specified circumstances. Sets forth application and program requirements. Requires an assurance that the program assisted will not perform service that provides a direct benefit to any: (1) for-profit business; (2) labor union; (3) partisan political organization; or (4) organization engaged in religious activities (unless such service does not involve use of assistance or participants to give religious instruction, conduct worship services, or engage in any form of proselytization). Sets a minimum age for national service participants of 17, except for certain youth programs where the beginning of service may be between age 16 and 25. Sets rules for selection of participants, including selection and training of a national leadership pool. Sets a term of service at a minimum of 1,700 hours during: (1) a full-time period of nine months to one year; or (2) a part-time period of one to two years. Establishes requirements for participant living allowances. Limits the Federal share to not more than 85 percent of the VISTA volunteer allowance. Makes those who serve in approved national service positions eligible for national service educational awards. (Sec. 102) Establishes the National Service Trust in the Treasury to provide for the payment of national service educational awards. Sets forth eligibility standards for national service educational awards. Bases such awards on only the first and second terms of service. Requires that the award be used within five years after completion of the term of service. Sets the award's value at $5,000 for each term of service (up to two terms). Allows the use of such awards to: (1) repay outstanding student loans; (2) pay current educational expenses; (3) enable participation in approved school-to-work programs; and (4) pay interest during forbearance on loan repayment. Provides that awards shall not be considered: (1) in a means-test for Federal or federally-assisted benefits; or (2) as taxable income under the Internal Revenue Code. Makes conforming amendments to student loan provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). Makes Stafford loan forgiveness available. (Sec. 103) Establishes School-Based and Community-Based Service-Learning programs to replace current Programs for Students and Out-of-School Youth. Revises the Serve-America program (currently named Service-America) to include: (1) school-based programs for students; (2) community-based service programs for school-age youth; and (3) a service-learning clearinghouse. Authorizes CNS to make planning grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) with respect to service-learning coordinators participating in an assisted national service program or receive a national service educational award. Authorizes grants for school-based service-learning programs and community-based service programs. Directs CNS to provide financial assistance to eligible public and private nonprofit organizations to establish a service-learning clearinghouse. Adds priority criteria for the making of grants for Higher Education Innovative Programs for Community Service. (Sec. 104) Establishes an Investment for Quality and Innovation program to carry out specified innovation and quality improvement activities. Directs CNS to provide assistance to appropriate entities to establish one or more clearinghouses, including the service-learning clearinghouse. Authorizes the President, acting through CNS, to make Presidential awards for service to individuals providing significant service, and to outstanding service programs. Provides that Civilian Community Corps members may receive educational awards (or suitable alternative benefits if ineligible for such awards). Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 to extend the authority to conduct the Civilian Community Corps Demonstration Program. Subtitle B: Related Provisions - (Sec. 111-121) Makes conforming amendments and repealers to specified Federal law. Title II: Organization - (Sec. 201) Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to require the establishment of State commissions on national service as a condition for receiving certain grants or allotments or a distribution of approved national service positions. Sets commission membership standards and duties, including planning. (Sec. 202) Establishes the Corporation for National Service (CNS) as a Government corporation to administer programs under the Act. Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to require the Director of the ACTION Agency to report directly to the CNS Chairperson (under interim authorities). Directs the Chairperson to establish (or request the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to provide) job search and related assistance to employees of the ACTION Agency who are not transferred to CNS. (Sec. 202 & 203) Transfers to CNS functions of: (1) the Commission on National and Community Service (under interim authorities); and (2) the ACTION Agency (under final authorities). Title III: Reauthorization - Subtitle A: National and Community Service Act of 1990 - Extends the authorization of appropriations for the National and Community Service Act of 1990. Subtitle B: Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 - Domestic Volunteer Service Act Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1978 (DVSA) to reauthorize, reorganize, and revise its programs. Chapter I: VISTA and Other Anti-Poverty Programs - (Sec. 321) Adds to VISTA program objectives generating private sector resources commitment, encouraging local level volunteer service, and strengthening local agencies and organizations to carry out the program. (Sec. 322) Revises procedures and other requirements for selection and assignment of VISTA volunteers. Allows a sponsoring organization to recruit VISTA volunteers, subject to final approval of the Director of the ACTION Agency (the Director). (Sec. 323) Revises provisions for terms and periods of service. Authorizes a VISTA summer associates program. (Sec. 324) Revises postservice stipends. (Sec. 325) Requires encouragement of participation of both younger (18 through 27) and older (55 and older) VISTA volunteers. (Sec. 328) Repeals authority for student community service programs grants and contracts. (Sec. 329) Renames the University Year for ACTION the University Year for VISTA program. Shortens the minimum period of participation to an academic semester or equivalent. Allows volunteers to receive a living allowance or such other support the Director deems appropriate. (Sec. 330) Revises authority to establish and operate special volunteer and demonstration programs. Requires a competitive process for any grant or contract exceeding $100,000. (Sec. 331) Permits the Director to provide technical and financial assistance to employers and other private organizations that use or desire to use volunteers. (Sec. 332) Repeals a separate authority for drug abuse education and prevention programs under special volunteer programs. Chapter 2: National Senior Volunteer Corps - (Sec. 342) Renames the retired senior volunteer program the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). (Sec. 343) Expands RSVP eligibility to include older working persons and those over 55 (currently 60). (Sec. 345) Requires certain adjustments and minimums for stipends for low-income volunteers. (Sec. 346) Allows non-low-income persons to participate in the Foster Grandparent and the Senior Companion programs, without any financial support except reimbursement for related expenses. (Sec. 347) Repeals certain conditions for grants and contracts under those two programs, including a requirement that volunteers no longer be in the regular work force. (Sec. 348) Eliminates one type of evaluation of the Senior Companion Program. (Sec. 349) Encourages agreements with other Federal agencies involving retired, senior, intergenerational, and conservation volunteer programs. (Sec. 352) Authorizes grants and contracts for demonstration programs of innovative activities involving older volunteers. Prohibits reducing other older volunteer programs to support such demonstrations. Chapter 3: Administration - (Sec. 365) Bases disability or death benefits for VISTA volunteers on a grade GS-5 (rather than GS-7) Federal employee entrance salary. (Sec. 370) Grants copyright protection for the programs of the ACTION Agency. (Sec. 371) Authorizes the Director to establish a Center for Research and Training on Volunteerism. (Sec. 372) Amends Federal law relating to Federal employees to make retirement credit for time served as a VISTA volunteer available to all who become Federal employees subsequent to such volunteer service, upon their paying a deposit based on their post-service stipend. Chapter 4: Authorization of Appropriations and Other Amendments - (Sec. 381-383) Extends the authorization of appropriations for various programs under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973. (Sec. 385) Repeals Youthbuild Projects authority. Chapter 5: General Provisions - (Sec. 391) Sets forth technical and conforming amendments. Title IV: Technical and Conforming Amendments - (Sec. 401-405) Sets forth various changes of definitions and references in specified Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1993
Calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to continue to remove its troops from the independent Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania through a firm, expeditious, and conscientiously observed schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1993
Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment Training Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to award competitive grants to enable community colleges or historically black colleges and universities that serve economically distressed central cities to develop specialized training curricula for entrepreneurship and self-employment for disadvantaged, inner city individuals. Outlines application and curriculum requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to award competitive grants to enable such community colleges and historically black colleges and universities, micro-enterprise programs, and community development corporations to provide the training required for interested inner city individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a loan guarantee program under which the Administrator shall guarantee loans of up to $25,000 to eligible individuals by community development corporations, community development loan funds and credit unions, micro-enterprise programs, and community development banks for the purposes stated in this Act. Outlines requirements concerning loan eligibility and the implementation of the loan guarantee program. Authorizes appropriations. Requires assurances that the area served by such loans or grants have an unemployment rate in excess of nine percent.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1993
Community Policing Assistance Act of 1993 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to units of local government and community groups in economically distressed central cities to establish or expand cooperative efforts between police and community for purposes of increasing police presence in the community. Requires the Director to develop a written model that informs community members regarding: (1) how to identify the existence of a drug or gang house; (2) what civil remedies, such as public nuisance violations and civil suits in small claims court, are available; and (3) what mediation techniques are available between community members and individuals who have established a drug or gang house in such community. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) grant application requirements; (2) allocation of funds and grant renewal; (3) criteria for awarding grants; and (4) reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to determine the need adjusted per capita income for certain economically distressed central cities, based on a specified formula. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1993
Mobility for Work Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a Mobility for Work Demonstration Program to evaluate the effects of assisting residents of central cities to commute to job locations, especially in the suburbs, within the metropolitan area. Authorizes grants to up to six entities through such Program to carry out demonstration projects in eligible metropolitan areas, using specified program models. Requires a peer review panel to review applications. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1993
Economic Conversion Clearinghouse Act - Establishes within the Department of Commerce the Office of Economic Conversion Information to: (1) serve as a central information clearinghouse on matters relating to economic adjustment and defense conversion programs and activities of the Federal and State governments; and (2) aid persons in applying for economic adjustment and defense conversion assistance under Federal, State, and local laws. Outlines further Office functions, including: (1) the development of information data bases for use in identifying and applying for such assistance; (2) the establishment of mechanisms to assure easy access to such information data bases, as well as their user-friendliness (including establishing a toll-free number); and (3) the conduct of a regular review of the various agencies and programs in the Federal system involving economic adjustment and defense conversion. Establishes the Interagency Economic Conversion Information Coordinating Committee to: (1) advise and make appropriate recommendations to the Office; (2) coordinate and facilitate the information gathering and monitoring activities of the Office among Federal departments and agencies; (3) aid the Office in preparing and presenting information in an accessible, user-friendly manner; and (4) assist the Office in making technical assistance personnel available as needed. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1993
National Wildlife Refuge System Management and Policy Act of 1993 - Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) from initiating or permitting a new use of a refuge or expanding or extending an existing use unless it is compatible with the purposes of the System and the refuge. Allows existing uses of such refuge system lands that have been determined to be compatible under this Act or the Refuge Recreation Act to continue under specified conditions. Ceases such use and requires revocation of any permits for it within five years after the enactment of this Act unless the Secretary determines that such use is compatible. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to establish and maintain a formal process for determinations of compatibility. Directs the Secretary to prepare and periodically revise: (1) a comprehensive plan for the System; and (2) a comprehensive conservation plan for each refuge or ecologically related complex of refuges in the System, except those in Alaska. Grants the Secretary emergency power to suspend any activity in any refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System if such activity constitutes an imminent danger to the health and safety of any wildlife population, refuge, or to public health and safety. Authorizes appropriations
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1993
United States-China Act of 1993 - Prohibits the President from recommending for a 12-month period in 1994 continuation of a waiver of human rights and emigration requirements for nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) for China under the Trade Act of 1974 unless the President reports to the Congress that China has: (1) taken steps to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in China and Tibet and allowed the unrestricted emigration of Chinese citizens who desire to leave for reasons of political or religious persecution; (2) accounted for and released prisoners who dissented in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, and other citizens detained for the nonviolent expression of their political beliefs or the exercise of internationally guaranteed rights of freedom of speech, association, and assembly; and (3) prevented the export to the United States of products manufactured by convict or forced labor. Requires such report to state whether China has made significant progress in: (1) ceasing religious persecution in China and Tibet and releasing religious leaders incarcerated as a result of the expression of their religious beliefs; (2) ceasing financial and other incentives to encourage non-Tibetans to relocate in Tibet; (3) ceasing unfair trade practices which restrict American business; (4) providing U.S. exporters fair access to Chinese markets, including lowering tariffs, removing nontariff barriers, and increasing the purchase of U.S. goods and services; (5) adhering to the Missile Control Technology Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group controls and the Australian Group on Chemical and Biological Arms controls; (6) adhering to the Joint Declaration on Hong Kong; (7) accounting for U.S. military personnel listed as prisoners of war or missing in action with respect to the Korean and Vietnam conflicts; (8) ceasing the jamming of Voice of America broadcasts; and (9) providing humanitarian groups access to prisoners and places of detention. Requires the President, if he recommends such extension, to report on the extent of China's compliance with the above-mentioned objectives. Grants nondiscriminatory treatment to products produced by nonstate-owned enterprises in China. Declares that despite China's entry into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) its most-favored-nation treatment status shall be governed by the Trade Act of 1974. Requires the President, if he decides not to seek such extension, to ensure that members of the GATT take similar action with respect to China.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1993
Environmental Competitiveness Act of 1993 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to establish within the National Institute of Standards and Technology a Twenty-First Century Manufacturing Infrastructure Program which shall include: (1) the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Program; and (2) the National Manufacturing Outreach Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to provide grants to State technology assessment offices to deploy source reduction and environmental technologies to companies in the States. Establishes the Environmental Competitiveness Commission which shall identify the ten small business industries that would benefit most from source reduction technical assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1993
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to include, for tariff treatment under it, dried mixtures of caseinate containing less than 31 percent by weight of butterfat and consisting of not less than 17.5 percent by weight of sodium caseinate, butterfat, whey solids containing over 5.5 percent by weight of butterfat, and dried whole milk, but not containing dried milk, dried whey, or dried buttermilk any of which contains 5.5 percent or less by weight of butterfat.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1993
Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to define a "dietary supplement" as a food for special dietary use that includes a vitamin, a mineral, an herb, an amino acid, or another ingredient used to supplement the diet by increasing total dietary intake. Excludes a dietary supplement from the definition of the term "drug" and the term "food additive". Deems a dietary supplement adulterated if it presents a substantial and unreasonable risk of illness or injury. Deems a food misbranded unless the label lists the daily value of specified nutrients which shall reflect the daily intake of each nutrient that will promote optiomal health. Prohibits such value from being less than the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance. Deems a dietary supplement misbranded unless it meets specified guidelines. Establishes an Office of Dietary Supplements within the National Institutes of Health. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1993
Voluntary Environmental Cleanup and Economic Redevelopment Act of 1993 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to provide grants to: (1) States that establish voluntary environmental cleanup programs meeting specified requirements; and (2) local governments to conduct site characterizations for affected sites at which voluntary cleanups are being conducted or are proposed under State voluntary cleanup programs. Directs the Administrator to provide loans for the cleanup of affected sites to owners or prospective purchasers of affected sites at which voluntary cleanups are being conducted or are proposed. Sets forth loan application and approval procedures, as well as maximum loan amounts and loan agreement requirements. Grants the United States a lien on contaminated property subject to a loan until the loan agreement has been satisfied. Establishes the Economic Redevelopment Revolving Fund. Transfers loan repayments to the Fund and makes the Fund available for the loan program. Authorizes appropriations. Limits the amount of grants or loans that may be used for administrative costs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1993
King Holiday and Service Act of 1993 - Amends Federal law to: (1) authorize appropriations for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission; (2) extend the Commission; and (3) revise its membership. Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to authorize the Commission to make grants to eligible entities to carry out service opportunities on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1993
Condemns the human rights abuses of the Government of Sudan and calls upon such Government to cease such abuses. Deplores the internecine fighting among factions of the Sudan People's Liberation Army. Urges such Government and factions to grant immediate and full access to areas of needy people in Sudan to humanitarian relief organizations. Calls upon the President to: (1) expand relief operations to Sudan; (2) increase the amount and expedite delivery of financial assistance to non-governmental organizations that supply emergency aid to southern Sudan; (3) urge the United Nations (UN) to take specified steps; (4) appoint a U.S. Special Negotiator; and (5) take action in the international community to put pressure on any party in Sudan that obstructs the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1993
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to raise the social security payroll tax exemption for State and local election officials and workers and index the exempt amount beginning in 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1993
Pipe and Tube Inverted Tariff Correction Act of 1993 - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to revise a specified subheading relating to nonalloy iron and steel pipes and tubes to include non-galvanized forms of such products. Increases the duty on certain other iron and steel pipes and tubes. Imposes a duty on galvanized nonalloy iron and steel pipes and tubes having a specified thickness. Increases the duty on certain stainless steel pipes and tubes. Authorizes the U.S. Trade Representative to negotiate compensation for claims made pursuant to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or any other trade agreement to which the United States is a party, as a result of the amendments made by this Act. Declares that any staged reduction in the rate of duty that is proclaimed pursuant to the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement shall apply to such products. Sets forth certain waiver requirements with respect to the applicability of the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1993
Condemns North Korea for its stated intention to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States and its international partners should take measured steps to compel North Korea to remain a party to the Treaty and to allow unconditional special inspections of apparent nuclear waste sites and other areas suspected of harboring a nuclear weapons-building program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Vegetable Ink Printing Act of 1993 - Requires that all Federal lithographic printing using oil in its ink be performed using the maximum amount of vegetable oil-based ink that is technologically feasible and commercially cost-competitive with printing using petroleum-based inks.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Lead Abatement Title II: Miscellaneous Title III: Authorization of Appropriations Lead Exposure Reduction Act of 1993 - Title I: Lead Abatement - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit the importing, manufacturing, processing, or distribution in commerce of certain products containing more than a specified percentage of lead. Directs the Administrator to: (1) ban the manufacture, importation, processing, sale, and distribution in commerce of lead solders commonly used in plumbing systems; and (2) restrict the sale and display of lead solders not commonly used in such systems. Prohibits the sale or distribution in commerce of packaging or products if they include any additive to which lead has been intentionally introduced. Exempts certain products from lead content requirements, including: (1) paint used by artists; and (2) products used for medical purposes, radiation protection or shielding, or in the mining industry to determine the presence of noble metals. Requires the Administrator to promulgate a list of lead-containing products that may present a health or environmental risk, specify the maximum concentration of lead found in such products, and promulgate labeling requirements. Prohibits: (1) placing in a landfill or incinerating lead-acid batteries; and (2) the disposal of such batteries other than by recycling in accordance with this Act. Requires used batteries to be delivered to specified entities and establishes battery acceptance requirements. Makes it unlawful to sell a battery that does not bear a label setting forth lead content and recycling information. Requires the Administrator to: (1) study and report to the Congress on the recycling and disposal of small sealed consumer lead-acid batteries; and (2) publish a rule to regulate such batteries or a determination that regulations are not needed. Directs the Administrator to require States receiving grants for lead inspections at covered schools and day care facilities to conduct inspections to detect lead-based paint and dust which contains a dangerous level of lead. Requires school or day care personnel and parents of children attending facilities where lead is present to be given risk disclosure information. Establishes requirements for renovations of such facilities. Requires the Administrator to make grants to States for inspecting such facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, to establish protocols, criteria, and minimum performance standards for laboratory analysis of lead in blood and a program to certify blood analysis laboratories. Requires the Administrator to appoint a Coordinator for Lead Activities. Directs the Administrator to award grants to institutions of higher education for establishing Centers for the Prevention of Lead Poisoning. Title II: Miscellaneous - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem a food to be adulterated if the packaging used for such food contains lead that has been intentionally introduced or if the incidental presence of lead exceeds specified percentages. Requires the Secretary to establish standards and testing procedures with respect to lead in ceramic and crystal wares as necessary to make food that contacts such wares unadulterated. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations to: (1) reduce lead in processed food; and (2) establish tolerance levels and testing procedures for lead in wine. Prohibits the introduction or delivery into interstate commerce of ceramic or crystal ware or processed food that is not in compliance with lead regulations. Title III: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
Comprehensive Child Immunization Act of 1993 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate: (1) a list of vaccines that provide immunization against naturally occurring infectious diseases which are recommended for universal use in children; and (2) recommendations regarding the appropriate dosage and the ages of children at which each vaccine should be administered. Directs the Secretary to establish a national system to track the immunization status of children. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to States to enable such States to establish and operate State immunization tracking registries, subject to specified conditions. Sets forth limitations on the use and disclosure of personally-identifiable information relating to a child who receives a recommended childhood vaccine or to the parent or guardian of such a child. Directs the Secretary to provide for the distribution without charge of such vaccines purchased by the Secretary under the Social Security Act to health care providers who serve children and meet other specified requirements. Permits a health care provider receiving such a vaccine to: (1) use it only for administration to children; and (2) impose a fee for the administration of the vaccine, but not for the vaccine itself, subject to specified limitations. Authorizes appropriations. Requires that funds made available for the purpose of strengthening the public health infrastructure and used in the delivery of childhood immunization services be used for activities consistent with a strategic plan that meets nationally established immunization goals developed by the State in consultation with representatives of health care providers, health centers, State agencies serving young children, and other entities involved in the prevention and control of vaccine-preventable illnesses. Revises the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program regarding: (1) addition of vaccines to the vaccine injury table; (2) the limitation of actions; (3) the extension of time for decision in proceedings on petitions for vaccine-related injuries or deaths; and (4) vaccine information materials (requiring a concise description of vaccine risks and benefits and a statement of Program availability).
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Locate and Case Tracking Title II: Establishment Title III: Parentage Title IV: Enforcement Title V: Collection and Distribution Title VI: Federal Role Title VII: State Role Title VIII: Effective Date Interstate Child Support Enforcement Act - Title I: Locate and Case Tracking - (Sec. 101) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow the Federal Parent Locator System (FPLS) to be used for parentage establishment and child support and visitation enforcement if there are appropriate safeguards. (Sec. 102) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement to provide the Secretary (Secretary) of Health and Human Services (HHS) with access to quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Requires that State agencies charged with child support enforcement maintain child support order registries and be allowed access to medical, financial, employment, and other specified data base information on absent parents. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should investigate accessing certain Federal data banks not already linked with FPLS. (Sec. 103) Requires the Secretary to expand FPLS to provide State agencies and courts with a national locate and case tracking network. (Sec. 104) Requires that private attorneys and pro se obligees be allowed limited access to State locate information and enforcement techniques for purposes of establishing and enforcing child support and other orders if there are appropriate safeguards. (Sec. 105) Requires the heads of national and regional individual tracking systems to allow child support enforcement agencies access to their information. (Sec. 106) Requires that States: (1) broadcast failure-to-appear warrants, capiases, and bench warrants issued in parentage and child support proceedings over their crime information systems; and (2) remit any subsequent forfeiture to the child support obligee to the extent of any child support arrearage if a defendant posts security after being arrested. Title II: Establishment - (Sec. 201) Amends SSA title IV part D to set forth requirements for State laws on service of process and jurisdiction in child support and parentage actions. Declares that the Congress finds that due process is satisfied if State courts exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident who is the parent or presumed parent of a resident child in order to establish, enforce, or modify a child support order or to establish parentage. Requires States to recognize and enforce parentage and child support orders of other States where jurisdiction has been properly exercised. Specifies the conditions under which a State court may modify a parentage or child support order made by another State court. (Sec. 202) Provides for service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed forces relating to child support, alimony, and parentage obligations. (Sec. 203) Requires that parents' identification and locate information be filed with the State court adjudicating parentage and child support actions. Requires safeguards on such information where there is a court order for the physical protection of the child or one parent entered against the other parent. (Sec. 204) Requires State child support agencies to timely notify any individual owed child support of all hearings in which such support might be established, modified, or enforced, and promptly provide copies of any such orders. (Sec. 205) Requires States to allow parties seeking both parentage and child support establishment in a judicial proceeding to bring a joint action in a single cause of action. Sets forth guidelines for uniform State procedures regarding jurisdiction and venue, and Federal employee residential status. (Sec. 206) Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) to allow appropriate State agencies to obtain from credit reporting agencies information relevant to the setting of a child support award without having to obtain a court order. (Sec. 207) Creates a National Child Support Guidelines Commission to study and report to the President and the Congress on national child support guidelines, and to develop such guidelines for congressional consideration should it be advisable. (Sec. 208) Amends SSA title IV part D to specify certain principles to be included in State child support guidelines. (Sec. 209) Requires States to provide for continuation of a parental child support obligation until a child's marriage, emancipation by a court, or the later of a child's 18th birthday or graduation from high school, except in cases of disabilities arising during childhood or where a court (as allowed by this Act) has ordered support payable to an adult child in college. (Secs. 210 and 211) Requires the new Assistant Secretary of the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) (designated under title VI of this Act) to: (1) draft and distribute a national subpoena duces tecum for use by child support agencies and others to reach employee income information; and (2) develop a uniform abstract of a child support order for State court use. (Sec. 212) Requires States to: (1) list on marriage licenses the applicants' social security numbers; and (2) use procedures that require individuals who have been issued subpoenas to produce and deliver documents to or to appear at a court or administrative agency on a certain date. Title III: Parentage - (Sec. 301) Aments SSA title IV part D to: (1) require States to provide for hospital-based paternity outreach programs and adopt various specified procedures related to paternity establishment; and (2) provide for 90 percent Federal matching for such programs. Title IV: Enforcement - (Secs. 401 and 402) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) revise anti-assignment provisions to allow child support to be withheld from certain governmental sources; and (2) require procedures for State verification of W-4 form information on outstanding child support obligations and imposition of monetary penalties for failures involving W-4 form reporting and subsequent employer withholding of child support obligations. (Sec. 402) Requires: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the W-4 form completed by new employees to include information on outstanding child support obligations; and (2) employers to provide a copy of such form to the appropriate State child support enforcement agency. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to require employers to withhold from employee wages amounts owed for child support. (Sec. 403) Requires States to mandate that any individual or entity engaged in commerce, as a condition of doing business in that State, honor income withholding notices or orders issued by a court or agency of any other State, and maintain records of payroll deductions for child support obligations. (Sec. 404) Specifies the priority for applying proceeds withheld from income for current and past due child support obligations and health insurance for dependent children. (Sec. 405) Allows workers' compensation income to be subject to income withholding. (Sec. 406) Amends CCPA with respect to State laws and garnishments for securing child support. Gives Federal debts a lower priority than child support debts when the obligor's disposable income cannot satisfy both debts through withholding. Prohibits employers from discharging any employee whose earnings are subject to garnishment for additional indebtedness arising from a child support order. (Secs. 407 through 412, 414, 416 through 421, and 424) Requires States to: (1) provide that the election of remedies prohibition does not apply in child support cases; (2) refuse to issue or renew professional and business licenses of noncustodial parents subject to outstanding child support warrants; (3) prohibit motor vehicle departments from issuing or renewing the driver's licenses of any such parent; (4) authorize post-judgment bank account seizure without a separate court order to collect overdue child support payments; (5) impose liens against lottery or gambler's winnings, insurance settlements or policy payouts, court awards, judgments, or settlements, and property seized in forfeiture cases to collect such payments; (6) void fraudulent conveyances of property made to avoid paying child support; (7) allow the posting of a cash bond, security deposit, or personal undertaking to provide for timely child support payments in cases not involving absent parents; (8) authorize attachment of a child support obligor's retirement investment funds without a separate court order to collect overdue child support payments; (9) mandate reporting to credit bureaus of overdue child support equaling two month's child support payment; (10) enact laws that provide for criminal penalties for non-support; (11) permit enforcement of any child support order until at least the child's 30th birthday; (12) assess and collect interest on all child support judgments; (13) provide for health care insurance for the child; and (14) adopt without material change the officially approved version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. (Sec. 408) Prohibits States and the Federal Government from issuing or renewing professional and business licenses of individuals delinquent in making child support payments until the license hold is released. (Sec. 413) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the IRS Commissioner should instruct IRS field officers and agents to give a high priority to requests for the use of full collection in delinquent child support cases. Requires the Secretary of Treasury to simplify the full collection process and reduce the amount of child support arrearage needed before an individual may apply for full collection. (Sec. 415) Permits Federal and State tax refund procedures to be used by non-AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (SSA title IV part A) recipients to collect past-due child support regardless of the child's age. (Sec. 422) Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to: (1) allow parentage and child support case establishment, modification, and enforcement to proceed uninterrupted after a bankruptcy petition is filed; (2) treat as outside chapter 11, 12, or 13 plans debt owed to child support creditors, except as specified; and (3) allow a claim for payment of a debt for child support to be asserted in court. (Sec. 423) Sets forth requirements pertaining to parentage establishment and child support payments in the armed forces. Title V: Collection and Distribution - (Secs. 501 through 504) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) set priorities for State distribution of child support collections; (2) require States to limit claims against noncustodial parents for reimbursement of a child's portion of AFDC to the amount specified under a child support order; (3) allow States to assess charges above the application fee for non-AFDC child support services against persons other than custodial parents; and (4) require States to provide for collection and disbursement points for child support cases. (Sec. 501) Authorizes the Comptroller General to analyze the existing child support distribution system and authorize, under certain circumstances, pilot projects for the distribution of arrearages in a specified manner. Amends the IRC to revise the Federal income tax refund offset mechanism. Title VI: Federal Role - (Sec. 601) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) designate the separate organizational unit charged under current law with various child support and parentage responsibilities as the OCSE; and (2) change OCSE's organizational structure. (Secs. 602 and 603) Requires the new OCSE Assistant Secretary to provide training assistance to the States and study staffing at State child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 602) Requires States to provide for training for child support personnel. (Sec. 604) Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the incentive formula operating with respect to State child support agencies. (Sec. 605) Defines "child support" to include periodic and lump sum payments for current and past-due economic support, payments of premiums for health insurance for children, payments for or provision of child care, and payments for educational services. (Secs. 606 and 607) Requires the Secretary to: (1) contract for a study of and report to the Congress on the OCSE audit process to improve the criteria and methodology for auditing State child support enforcement agencies; and (2) make grants to provide for demonstration projects for the purpose of establishing or improving a system of assured minimum child support payments. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: State Role - (Sec. 701) Amends SSA title IV part D to prohibit States from denying establishment, enforcement, or modification services to applicants because of nonresidency. (Secs. 702, 703, and 705) Requires States to: (1) promote the greatest economic security possible for children, within the obligor's ability to pay; (2) provide custodial parents with certain information; and (3) allow changes in child support payees without a court hearing or order. (Sec. 704) Expresses the sense of the Congress that State and local child support enforcement agencies should provide: (1) offices in easily accessible locations near public transportation; (2) office hours that allow parents to meet with attorneys and caseworkers without taking time off work; and (3) office environments suitable for discussion of matters related to privacy. Title VIII: Effective Date - (Sec. 801) Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1993
Product Liability Fairness Act - Declares that this Act applies to any civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller, on any theory, for harm caused by a product. Excludes actions brought for loss or damage to a product or for commercial loss. States that: (1) this Act supersedes any State law only to the extent that this Act establishes an applicable rule of law; and (2) the provisions of title I shall not supersede or preempt any applicable State or Federal law. Title I: Expedited Judgments and Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures - Sets forth expedited settlement procedures, including: (1) the option of allowing either the claimant or the defendant to offer a judgment for a specific dollar amount as complete satisfaction of the claim; and (2) alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures. Establishes penalties for: (1) parties who refused an offer and did worse at trial; and (2) a defendant who refuses ADR and then loses at trial. Title II: Standards for Civil Actions - States that a person seeking to recover for harm caused by a product may bring a civil action against the product's manufacturer or product seller pursuant to applicable State or Federal law, except to the extent such law is inconsistent with this Act. Sets forth uniform standards for: (1) product seller liability; (2) the award of punitive damages; and (3) time limitations on liability. Bars punitive damages if the requirements of specified Federal laws have been met. Entitles an employer or workers' compensation insurer to the right of subrogation against a manufacturer or product seller to recover workers' compensation for harm caused to an employee by a product if a civil suit has been brought under this Act. Provides that each defendant shall only be liable for the amount of noneconomic loss proportionally caused. Provides a complete defense, in any civil action in which all defendants are manufacturers or product sellers, in cases where the claimant was under the influence of alcohol or drugs and was more than 50 percent responsible for the harm.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 Title II: Teacher Training Title III: Amendments to Other Laws Service-Learning Act of 1993 - Title I: Amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to add service-learning as a component for which funds may be used under various ESEA programs, including Local Targeted Assistance, Law Related Education, Blue Ribbon Schools, Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Critical Skills Improvement, Magnet Schools Assistance, the Secretary's Fund for Innovation in Education, and Drug Abuse Education and Prevention. Establishes a program of grants and contracts for infusion of service-learning into the academic curriculum as a strategy to improve teaching and learning environments in classrooms, schools, and communities. Reserves specified funds for such service-learning program. Directs the Secretary of Education to make such program grants and contracts to State and local educational agencies (SEAs and LEAs) and other public and private entities. Requires the National Diffusion Network to coordinate with the Commission on National and Community Service in identifying and disseminating information on innovative service-learning programs. Title II: Teacher Training - Establishes a program of grants for teacher training in service-learning. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to SEAs for such preservice and inservice training and retraining through subgrants, technical assistance, and assessment for: (1) LEA elementary and secondary school demonstration and exemplary programs; and (2) higher education institution programs not only for elementary, middle, secondary, and vocational school personnel, but also for their own faculty, especially in schools of education. Requires provision for participation of private school teachers. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance, summarize State evaluations biennially for the Congress, and develop model reporting standards. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to require the regional service clearinghouses to: (1) coordinate with the Secretary; and (2) provide and collect information on school-based service-learning. Authorizes appropriations for such information function. Amends the General Education Provisions Act to direct the Office of Education Research and Improvement to conduct research on experiential-based methods of instruction, such as service learning.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1993
Indoor Radon Abatement Reauthorization Act of 1993 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate areas in which the average radon level is likely to exceed the national average by more than a de minimis amount as priority radon areas. Requires the Administrator to make available to the public final radon control standards and techniques for residential dwellings, multiunit residential structures, and schools. Directs the appropriate Federal official, before providing any direct Federal financial assistance, to require residential dwellings or multiunit residential structures constructed in a priority radon area later than two years after the establishment of new construction standards, the date of enactment of this Act, or the designation of such area as a priority radon area, whichever is later, to be constructed in accordance with radon control standards. Requires the Administrator to establish a radon design awards program to provide for awards for the best residential design incorporating radon control or mitigation standards. Makes specified activities eligible for grant assistance for radon programs. Requires local educational agencies located in priority radon areas to conduct radon tests in school buildings. Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress a plan describing activities to be undertaken by Federal agencies to assess and mitigate radon in Federal buildings. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promulgate regulations for the disclosure of radon hazards in housing offered for sale or lease. Directs the Administrator to develop a written document containing radon-related information. Requires housing contracts to contain radon warning statements and affords potential purchasers the right to conduct a test and access to radon-related information. Prohibits persons from offering radon measurement devices or measurement or mitigation services unless they have completed the EPA radon proficiency program. Requires the Administrator to implement an outreach program to provide information about radon to the medical community. Directs Federal agencies to assure that new Federal buildings or schools constructed with Federal funds in priority radon areas conform to model construction standards for controlling radon levels. Requires the Secretary to disseminate information on health threats posed by radon and radon testing and mitigation methods to federally assisted housing in priority radon areas. Provides for testing of federally owned housing in such areas prior to the signing of a sales contract. Directs the Secretary to undertake a radon research program. Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to study and report to the Congress on the extent of radon contamination in work places. Authorizes appropriations. Extends the authorization of appropriations for technical assistance, grants to States for radon programs, and regional radon training centers. Earmarks funds for radon remediation measures for local educational agencies and for grants to such agencies for reducing radon levels. Directs the Administrator to: (1) evaluate existing efforts to promote radon testing in homes and methods to increase such testing; and (2) report to the Congress on the effectiveness of alternative strategies to promote such testing. Requires the Administrator to conduct a program to reassess the human health risks associated with radon exposure.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improving Enrollment Title II: Application of Other Medicaid Eligibility Rules Title III: Report Medicare Enrollment Improvement and Protection Act of 1993 - Title I: Improving Enrollment - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) 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 (SSA title XIX) payment of their Medicare out-of-pocket expenses and how to apply for such cost-sharing benefit. Requires such notice to be suitable for posting and distributed to physicians, medical facilities, and others receiving grants to provide services to older individuals. Mandates direct enrollment of Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) eligibles by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to establish a toll-free telephone number for information about such cost-sharing benefit. Amends the Medicaid program to: (1) require the Secretary to develop a simplified form for applying for such cost-sharing benefit for processing at social security offices; and (2) provide for a period of presumptive eligibility for medical assistance for individuals who qualify for such cost-sharing benefit without regard to whether a final determination of eligibility for such assistance has been made. 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 cost-sharing benefit. Authorizes appropriations. 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 for such cost-sharing benefit. Title III: Report - Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on Department activities to ensure enrollment in and full implementation of such cost-sharing program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1993
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1993 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to subject to criminal penalties and a civil remedy persons who intentionally: (1) by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction injure, intimidate, or interfere with any person because that person is or has been obtaining abortion services or lawfully aiding another to obtain such services; or (2) damage or destroy the property of a medical facility because such facility provides abortion services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study concerning the effect of such prohibited conduct on the delivery of reproductive health services for women and on the health and welfare of women throughout the United States. Requires the Secretary to conduct an investigation to determine whether any person has violated or is violating this Act. Permits the Secretary to obtain the assistance of the Attorney General or a State or local government agency in conducting such investigations. Directs the Secretary to immediately refer a violation to the Attorney General for appropriate action. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) civil remedies (including compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and costs); and (2) action by the Attorney General (who may commence a civil action in any appropriate U.S. district court).
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1993
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the people of Taiwan deserve to be represented in the United Nations and in other international organizations by appointees representing Taiwan's Government.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1993
Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1993 - Urges the President to seek an agreement with governments that trade with the United States to secure an international ban on trade in products of child labor. Requires the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to identify foreign countries that: (1) utilize child labor in the export of products; and (2) have on a continuing basis exported such products to the United States. Authorizes any person to file a petition with the Secretary requesting that a particular foreign industry and its host country be identified. Requires the Secretary, before making such identification, to: (1) consult with the U.S. Trade Representative, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Treasury; and (2) publish notice in the Federal Register that such identification is being considered and invite public comment. Prohibits the importation of products which have been produced by child labor. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1993
Family Preservation and Child Protection Reform Act - (Sec. 3) Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to convert the Child Welfare program from an authorization to a capped innovative family services entitlement program. Requires maintenance of State effort under such program. Sets forth a new formula for allotments to States under such program. Requires States to use funds to provide respite care to any family operating a foster family home for one or more foster children with special needs. Requires the use of entitlement grants to develop or expand specialized child welfare services programs for families in crisis due to substance abuse. (Sec. 4) Reserves funds for grants to State court systems to assess and improve procedures in child welfare cases. (Sec. 5) Requires each State to periodically compile a detailed directory of programs designed to keep families together or reunify them or place children permanently, identifying which of such programs provides specialized child welfare services to families in crisis due to substance abuse. (Sec. 6) Requires States to inventory all children placed in foster care and determine the appropriate action in each case. Requires States to set up information and case review systems for each child receiving foster care, as well as specified service programs for all such children. (Sec. 7) Requires States to report on measures taken to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act. (Sec. 9) Allows the involvement of private parties in the development of State plans. (Sec. 10) Amends title IV of the Social Security Act to add a new part C, Comprehensive Service Projects to grant States flexibility and resources to develop comprehensive and coordinated services. Authorizes demonstration projects for the coordination of child and family services. (Sec. 11) Makes children whose adoption has been set aside by a court eligible for discretionary foster care maintenance payments. Makes eligible for adoption assistance payments the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made. (Sec. 12) Expands the definition of children with special needs, for purposes of the adoption assistance program. (Sec. 13) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish an Advisory Committee on Foster Care Placement to study and report to the Secretary and the Congress on reasonable State efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of children from their homes and to make it possible for foster children to return home. (Sec. 14) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a deduction for adoption expenses paid for a child with special needs. (Sec. 15) Requires the State plan to provide for a periodic reevaluation of foster care maintenance payments. (Sec. 16) Revises requirements for dispositional hearings to determine the final status of a foster child, in part to accelerate such hearings. (Sec. 18) Revises certain case plan requirements for placement of children in out-of-State foster care, including special State reports on such placements. (Sec. 19) Revises certain requirements for the treatment of assets of youth participating in the independent living program. (Sec. 20) Eliminates the ceilings on Federal foster care payments to States and the States' authority to transfer unused foster care funds to the Child Welfare Services program. (Sec. 21) Directs the Secretary of HHS to: (1) establish an advisory committee; and (2) issue final regulations for training of staff of agencies responsible for administering foster care and adoption assistance programs and for training of foster and adoptive parents. Requires the Secretary to publish a model staff recruitment, training, and staff retention program for State and local child welfare agencies. (Sec. 23) Provides for grants for child welfare traineeships. (Sec. 25) Amends title IV of the Social Security Act to add a new part G, Child Welfare Review System. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish such system to: (1) review each State child welfare program to assess whether the requirements of such Act are being carried out; (2) impose financial penalties in cases of substantial failure to comply; and (3) provide technical assistance to any such program. (Sec. 26) Requires the Secretary to establish a work group to advise on the planning and implementation of the system to be used for the collection of data relating to adoption and foster care. (Sec. 27) Requires the Secretary to conduct, through contracts with independent research organizations, the following research and evaluation projects; (1) foster care evaluations; (2) longitudinal child welfare data bases; and (3) studies of child welfare population dynamics. Requires the Secretary to study child separation practices in at least three States and develop appropriate separation guidelines. (Secs. 28-30) Directs the Secretary of HHS to conduct certain demonstration projects with respect to child welfare, independent living services for young adults, and home rebuilding for children released from foster care. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Commission on the Evaluation of Disability in Children. (Sec. 32) Amends part A of title XI of the Social Security Act to overturn certain limitations in Suter v. Artist M. on private enforceability of State plan requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Safety and Health Programs Title II: Safety and Health Committees and Employee Safety and Health Representatives Title III: Coverage Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Standards Title V: Enforcement Title VI: Protection of Employees from Discrimination Title VII: OSHA Training and Education Title VIII: Recordkeeping and Reporting Title IX: NIOSH Title X: State Plans Title XI: Victims' Rights Title XII: Construction Safety Title XIII: Administration Title XIV: Effective Date Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) with respect to occupational safety and health programs, committees, employee representatives, coverage, standards, enforcement, antidiscrimination, training and education, hazard and illness evaluation, State plans, and victims' rights. Title I: Safety and Health Programs - (Sec. 101) Amends OSHA to establish requirements for each employer to set up and carry out a written occupational safety and health program that includes specified methods and procedures. Title II: Safety and Health Committees and Employee Safety and Health Representatives - (Sec. 201) Amends OSHA to require each employer of 11 or more employees (each for 20 or more hours per week) to provide for: (1) health committees; and (2) employee safety and health representatives. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary), upon the employer's application, to approve establishment of an alternative method of employee participation in worksite health and safety activities in a manner at least as effective as committee participation, if such alternative mechanism meets specified conditions. (Sec. 202) Provides for employee participation in the Secretary's inspections of workplaces. Title III: Coverage - (Sec. 301) Revises the OSHA definition of employer to extend OSHA coverage to States and local government employees. (Sec. 302) Directs the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives to establish a comprehensive occupational safety and health program meeting specified OSHA and other requirements. (Sec. 303) Applies OSHA to employment performed in Federal nuclear facilities under the control or jurisdiction of the Department of Energy. (Sec. 304) Extends an employer's duties under OSHA to all employees working at the place of employment (even if they are not the employer's employees). Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Standards - (Sec. 401) Specifies timeframes and procedures for setting OSHA standards. (Sec. 403) Requires each OSHA standard to prescribe requirements for recording or reporting work-related adverse medical conditions determined as a result of medical examinations or test. (Sec. 404) Requires public disclosure of all communications on OSHA standards with parties outside the Department of Labor, including those with executive branch officials (except the President). (Sec. 405) Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) acting through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to modify and establish exposure limits for toxic materials and harmful physical agents on a regular basis in a specified manner. (Secs. 406 and 407) Directs the Secretary to promulgate final standards: (1) on exposure monitoring and medical surveillance programs; and (2) on ergonomic hazards to protect employees from work-related musculoskeletal disorders. (Sec. 408) Requires that emergency temporary standards: (1) be issued based on the best available evidence; and (2) remain in effect for no more than 18 months (currently six months). (Sec. 409) Directs the Secretary to issue, within 60 days, an interim final regulation reducing permissible exposure limits to toxic substances, including a specified final rule on air contaminants and a proposed rule on air contaminants for construction, agriculture, and maritime. Title V: Enforcement - (Sec. 501) Provides that time spent by an employee in accompanying the Secretary's representative on an OSHA inspection shall be deemed hours worked, with no loss of wages, benefits, or other terms and conditions of employent. (Sec. 502) Requires the Secretary to notify employees or their representatives, within 30 days after receipt of their request for inspection, of the Secretary's determination that there no reasonable grounds to believe a violation or danger exists. (Sec. 503) Requires the Secretary to make a special inspection upon notification by any Federal or State agency of reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of OSHA or specified safety and health standards exists that threatens physical harm. (Sec. 504) Directs the Secretary to carry out a special emphasis inspection program for conducting inspections of industries or operations where existing hazards or newly recognized or new hazards introduced into work sites warrant more intensive than normal inspections. (Sec. 505) Requires the Secretary to investigate any work-related death or serious incident resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees. Requires the employer to: (1) notify the Secretary of any death or serious incident occurring in a place of employment covered by OSHA; and (2) prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence that would assist in an investigation. (Sec. 506) Revises provisions for abatement of serious hazards during employer contests to a citation. (Sec. 507) Grants employees the right to contest a citation's designation of the character of a violation or any proposed penalties as inadequate. (Sec. 508) Grants employee representatives the right to participate in other proceedings (as well as hearings) conducted under specified OSHA enforcement procedures. (Sec. 509) Requires the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission's rules of procedure to provide for prompt notice to affected employees or their representatives if the Secretary intends to withdraw or modify a citation as a result of any agreement with the employer. Grants employees or their representative, regardless of whether they have previously elected to participate in the proceedings, the right to object to modifications or withdrawals of citations. (Sec. 510) Revises OSHA provisions for restraining imminent dangers. Grants employees the right to refuse to perform a duty identified as the source of an imminent danger, and prohibits discrimination against them for such refusal. Specifies a civil penalty against an employer for each day during which an employee continues to be exposed. (Sec. 511) Authorizes the Secretary to issue citations and assess penalties for violations of specified OSHA provisions relating to: (1) inspections, investigations, and recordkeeping; (2) safety and health programs; (3) safety and health committees; and (4) construction plans and programs. (Sec. 512) Revises OSHA criminal penalties to subject to them not only the employer but also certain officers, management officials, and supervisiors. Increases the maximum amount of fines and length of prison terms for specified violations. Establishes criminal penalties for a willful violation that causes serious bodily injury (currently, death only). Prohibits a penalty or fine imposed on a director, officer, or agent of an employer from being paid out of the employer's assets. Provides that nothing in OSHA shall preclude State and local law enforcement agencies from conducting criminal prosecutions. (Sec. 514) Directs the Secretary to establish an effective system for targeting inspections of worksites, with priority given to those with a high potential for death, serious injury, or exposures to toxic materials or harmful physical agents. (Sec. 515) Provides for the vacating of specified citations for violations if the employer demonstrates that certain conditions involving adequate employee training and work rule enforcement have been met. Title VI: Protection of Employees from Discrimination - (Sec. 601) Extends OSHA antidiscrimination coverage to employees: (1) reporting any injury, illness, or unsafe condition to the employer, employer's agent, safety and health committee, or employee safety and health representative; and (2) refusing to perform duties when reasonably apprehensive that doing so would result in serious injury to themselves or other employees, after having sought and been unable to obtain from the employer corrections of the circumstances causing such refusal. Revises procedures for consideration of discrimination complaints. Revises remedies. (Sec. 602) Requires the Secretary's regulations to include provisions requiring employers to post employee rights protections under such OSHA antidiscrimination provisions. Title VII: OSHA Training and Assistance - (Sec. 701) Requires the Secretary to develop and disseminate curricula, model programs, and other information and materials to assist employers in complying with OSHA standards and requirements for safety and health programs, employee training and education, and safety and health committees. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide technical assistance and consultative services concerning worksite safety and health to employers and employees. Requires targeting of such assistance and consultation at small employers, high hazard worksites, and high hazard industries. Directs the Secretary to award: (1) grants for regional or State safety resource councils or centers; and (2) excellence awards to employees and other organizations. (Sec. 702) Establishes in the Treasury a revolving fund, the OSHA Assistance Fund, to pay for such programs. Directs the Secretary to impose fees to offset program costs. Title VIII: Recordkeeping and Reporting - (Sec. 801) Requires the Secretary to collect information and conduct analyses identifying: (1) industries, employers, processes, operations, and occupations, with a high rate of injury or illness; (2) factors that cause or contribute to injuries and illnesses; (3) workers' compensation costs associated with injuries and illnesses; and (4) employee exposure to toxic substances and harmful physical agents. Directs the Secretary to require each employer covered by OSHA to report: (1) each work-related death of an employee immediately upon knowledge; and (2) each serious incident resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees within 24 hours of the incident. (Sec. 802) Revises OSHA requirements for employer records and reports to include work-related illnesses reported by an employee or an employee's physician, unless the employer makes a reasonable determination that the illness is not work-related. (Sec. 803) Requires all such employer records and reports to be made available to the Secretary, the Secretary of HHS, employees, and employee representatives. Title IX: NIOSH - (Sec. 901) Requires NIOSH hazard to evaluation reports to evaluate whether any potentially hazardous condition or harmful physical agent found in the place of employment poses a risk to exposed employees. (Sec. 902) Directs the Secretary of HHS to identify major factors contributing to occupational injuries and deaths through accident investigations and epidemiological research. (Sec. 903) Extends the authority of the Secretary of HHS, and of NIOSH, to inspect records to the Secretary's designees and contractors. (Sec. 904) Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a national surveillance program to identify cases of occupational illnesses, deaths, and serious injuries. (Sec. 905) Establishes NIOSH as a separate agency within the U.S. Public Health Service in the Department of HHS. (Sec. 906) Includes education programs for employees and members of safety and health committees under NIOSH training provisions. Title X: State Plans - (Secs. 1001 and 1002) Revises OSHA requirements for State plans to provide for: (1) development of safety and health programs and safety and health committees and training programs that are at least as effective as those under the new OSHA requirements; and (2) reporting requirements, protection of employee rights, and access to information that are at least as effective as those under OSHA or other Federal laws governing access to information related to OSHA. (Sec. 1003) Requires a State to enforce a Federal OSHA standard until a State standard at least as effective is in effect, if a State fails to adopt or promulgate such a standard within six months after the Federal standard is promulgated. (Secs. 1004 and 1005) Sets forth requirements and procedures for the Secretary of Labor to: (1) investigate complaints against a State's compliance with and enforcement of the State plan; and (2) take corrective action against such State noncompliance. (Sec. 1006) Requires States operating State safety and health plans to conform them to this Act. Title XI: Victims' Rights - (Sec. 1101) Provides for victims' rights under OSHA, including family members as well as the injured employee. Title XII: Construction Safety - Construction Safety, Health, and Education Improvement Act of 1993 - (Sec. 1203) Amends OSHA to establish in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (the Administration) an Office of Construction Safety, Health, and Education (the Office). Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to: (1) identify construction employers with high rates of fatalities or lost workday injuries or illnesses or with patterns of noncompliance with health and safety requirements; (2) develop a system for notifying such employers; (3) establish courses and curricula for training OSHA inspectors an other OSHA employees with construction safety and health duties; (4) establish model compliance programs and assist employers, employees, and their representative organizations in setting up their training programs; and (5) establish a toll-free line on which reports, complaints, and notifications required under OSHA may be made. Establishes within the Administration the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Construction. (Sec. 1203) Establishes requirements for construction safety and health plans and programs, involving construction employers and designated project constructors and coordinators. (Sec. 1204) Directs the Secretary to establish an effective targeting system for general schedule construction inspections. Directs the Secretary to require constructors to report promptly any incident involving construction work that results in a fatality, an injury or illness causing two or more hospitalizations, or a structural failure or fire or explosion which caused or could have caused serious bodily injury to employees. (Sec. 1206) Expands the advisory jurisdiction of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (the Committee). (Sec. 1207) Requires any State construction safety and health plan to contain requirements at least as effective as those imposed by the Act and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. (Sec. 1208) Establishes in OSHA a Construction Safety and Health Academy to train OSHA employees who conduct construction worksite inspections, and others the Secretary considers appropriate. (Sec. 1209) Considers a project constructor an employer for specified OSHA enforcement purposes. (Sec. 1210) Directs the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress annually on the construction industry and after three years on whether the office should be continued or a Construction Industry Safety and Health Administration should be established in the Department of Labor. (Sec. 1211) Directs the Secretary to recommend to specified congressional committees any legislative changes required to make safety records (including records of compliance with Federal safety and health laws and regulations) one criterion considered in the awarding of Federal construction contracts. Title XIII: Administration - (Sec. 1301) Establishes an Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the Department of Labor, to be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. Title XIV: Effective Date - (Sec. 1401) Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1993
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 - 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: (1) furthers a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is 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 · 11 March 1993
National Cooperative Production Amendments Act of 1993 - Amends the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 to apply such Act to joint ventures for the production of a product, process, or service and the testing in connection with such production. Revises the Act to exclude from the definition of "joint venture" activities where two or more persons enter into an agreement or engage in any other conduct restricting, requiring, or otherwise involving the marketing, distribution, or provision by any person who is a party to such venture of any product, process, or service other than: (1) the distribution among the parties to such venture of a product, process, or service produced by the venture; (2) the marketing of proprietary information developed through the venture formed under a written agreement entered into before the date of this Act's enactment; or (3) the licensing, conveying, or transferring of intellectual property developed through such venture formed under a written agreement entered into on or after such date. Excludes from such definition the following activities: (1) entering into any agreement or engaging in any other conduct allocating a market with a competitor; (2) exchanging among competitors information relating to production (other than production by such venture) of a product, process, or service if such information is not reasonably required to carry out the purpose of such venture; (3) entering into any agreement or engaging in any other conduct restricting, requiring, or otherwise involving the production of a product, process, or service (other than the production by such venture); (4) using existing facilities in connection with the production of a product, process, or service by such venture unless the use is for the production of a new product or technology; and (5) entering into any agreement or engaging in any other conduct to restrict or require participation by any party to such venture in any unilateral or joint activity that is not reasonably required to carry out the purpose of the venture, with exceptions. Modifies the "rule of reason" standard to provide that, in any action under Federal antitrust law or similar State law, the conduct of any person in making or performing a contract to carry out a joint venture shall not be deemed illegal per se, but shall be judged based on its reasonableness, taking into account all relevant factors affecting competition, including effects on competition in properly defined, relevant research, development, product, process, and service markets. Specifies that: (1) for the purpose of determining a properly defined, relevant market, worldwide capacity shall be considered if appropriate in the circumstances; and (2) if a purpose of a joint venture is the production of a product, process, or service, a party to such venture may file a written notification of the identity and nationality of any party to the venture or controlling entity. Makes protections of the Act inapplicable with respect to a joint venture's production of a product, process, or service, unless: (1) the principal facilities for such production are located in the United States or its territories; and (2) each person who controls any party to such venture (including the party itself) is a U.S. person or a foreign person from a country whose law accords antitrust treatment no less favorable to U.S. persons than to that country's domestic persons with respect to participation in joint ventures for production. Sets forth reporting requirements regarding joint ventures and U.S. competitiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1993
Local Exchange Infrastructure Modernization Act of 1993 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to exercise its authority to: (1) preserve and enhance universal telephone service at reasonable rates; (2) achieve universal availability of advanced network capabilities and information services; (3) assure a seamless nationwide distribution network through joint network planning, coordination, and service arrangements between and among local exchange carriers (LECs); (4) maintain high standards of quality for advanced network services; and (5) assure adequate communication for the public health, safety, defense, education, national security, and emergency preparedness. Defines "local exchange carrier" for purposes of such Act. Requires the FCC to prescribe regulations that require: (1) joint coordinated network planning, design, and cooperative implementation among all LECs in the provision of public switched network infrastructure and services; (2) development of standards for interconnection between the LEC public switched network and others by appropriate standard-setting bodies; and (3) a LEC to share public switched network infrastructure and functionality with requesting LECs which serve a geographic area for which they lack economies of scale or scope for the particular required network functionality.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1993
Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) continue the Chesapeake Bay Program; and (2) maintain a Chesapeake Bay Program Office. Requires the Office to support the Chesapeake Executive Council (signatories of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement to protect the Bay) by: (1) implementing activities that support the Program; (2) making available information pertaining to the environmental quality and living resources of the Bay; (3) assisting the signatories in implementing action plans to carry out Agreement authorities; (4) assisting in the development of strategies to improve Bay water quality and living resources; and (5) implementing outreach programs to foster stewardship of the Bay. Establishes a Chesapeake Bay Federal Agencies Committee to coordinate Federal activities relating to the restoration of the Bay. Requires Federal agencies to report to the President on activities planned and undertaken, and resources provided, to meet responsibilities under the Program. Directs Federal agencies that own or operate facilities within the Bay watershed to assess the facilities to ensure compliance with the Program (specifically identifying impacts on Bay water quality or living resources) and include a plan for addressing such impacts in the report to the President. Requires the Administrator to: (1) implement a research, monitoring, and data collection program to assess the environmental quality and living resources of the major tributaries, rivers, and streams within the Bay watershed and assist in the development of management plans for such tributaries; and (2) establish a habitat restoration and design program in the watershed to demonstrate low-cost techniques for restoring wetlands, forest riparian zones, and other Bay habitats. Authorizes grants to public or private entities to carry out such programs. Directs the Administrator to implement a basinwide toxics reduction strategy, as well as research and monitoring to improve understanding of intermedia transfers of toxic pollutants and the ultimate fate of the pollutants within the Bay ecosystem. Authorizes financial assistance for specified activities. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Program and related interstate development plan grants. Authorizes appropriations for activities not covered under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow farmers' cooperatives to include gains or losses from the sale or other disposition of assets in net earnings from business done with or for patrons if the assets were used to facilitate the conduct of business.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1993
Senior Citizens Against Marketing Scams Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for enhanced penalties for telemarketing fraud that targets or victimizes persons over age 55. Directs the court to order offenders to: (1) pay restitution to persons who sustained losses as a result of the fraudulent activity; and (2) forfeit to the United States property constituting or derived from proceeds obtained as a result of the offense. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if necessary, amend the sentencing guidelines to ensure that victim related adjustments for fraud offenses against persons over age 55 are adequate. Authorizes the Attorney General to make awards for furnishing information leading to the prosecution and conviction of telemarketing fraud offenders. Authorizes appropriations. Makes the mail fraud statute applicable to matter sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate carrier. Sets forth provisions regarding fraud and related activity in connection with access devices. Directs the Attorney General to establish a national, toll-free telemarketing fraud hotline.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Taxpayer Advocate Title II: Modifications to Installment Agreement Provisions Title III: Interest Title IV: Joint Returns Title V: Collection Activities Title VI: Information Returns Title VII: Modifications to Penalty for Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax Title VIII: Awarding of Costs and Certain Fees Title IX: Other Provisions Title X: Form Modifications; Studies Subtitle A: Form Modifications Subtitle B: Studies Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2 - Title I: Taxpayer Advocate - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the Office of Taxpayer Advocate, headed by the Taxpayer Advocate, 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 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) allow the Order to require the Secretary of the Treasury to act within a specified time period; and (2) 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, or termination of, installment agreements. Title III: Interest - Authorizes 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. Title IV: Joint Returns - 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 limitations on filing a joint return after filing separate returns. Title V: Collection Activities - 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 to provide a copy of such notice of withdrawal to the taxpayer and, 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, with exceptions. Increases 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 and notice requirements for issuance. 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, in any court proceeding where a taxpayer asserts a reasonable dispute with respect to income reported on an information return filed by a third party and the taxpayer has fully cooperated with the Secretary, to present reasonable and probative information concerning such deficiency in addition to such return. Title VII: Modifications to Penalty for Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax - Establishes preliminary notice requirements for failure to pay tax. 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; (3) such notification was before any notice by the Secretary with respect to such failure; and (4) such failure is not a part of a plan to defraud the Government. Directs the Secretary to: (1) disclose certain information where more than one person is liable for a penalty; and (2) 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 who do not have actual knowledge of the failure on which such penalties are imposed from collection penalties. Title VIII: Awarding of Costs and Certain Fees - Authorizes a taxpayer who substantially prevails on a claim to file a motion for an order requiring the disclosure of all information and copies of relevant records in the possession of the IRS regarding such taxpayer's case and the substantial justification for the position taken by the IRS. 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. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) treatment of substitute returns under section 6651 (relating to failure to file a tax return or to pay tax); (2) prospective application of Treasury Department regulations; and (3) required notice to the taxpayer of payments that the Secretary cannot associate with any outstanding tax liability of such taxpayer. Authorizes a taxpayer to bring a civil damage suit against the United States if any U.S. officer or employee intentionally compromises the determination or collection of any tax due from an attorney, certified public accountant (CPA), or enrolled agent representing a taxpayer in exchange for information conveyed by the taxpayer for purposes of obtaining advice concerning tax liability, except where conveyed for the purpose of perpetrating a fraud or crime. Title X: Form Modifications; Studies - Subtitle A: Form Modifications - Directs the Secretary to: (1) take steps to ensure that taxpayers are aware of provisions of the Internal Revenue Code permitting payment of tax in installments, extensions, and compromises of tax liability; (2) provide improved procedures for taxpayers to notify the Secretary of changes in names and addresses; and (3) include in the IRS publication entitled "Your Rights As a Taxpayer" a section on the rights and responsibilities of divorced individuals. Subtitle B: Studies - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a one-year pilot program for appeals of enforcement actions to the Appeals Division of the IRS; (2) study ways to assist the elderly, physically impaired, foreign-language speaking, and other taxpayers with special needs to comply with the internal revenue laws; and (3) report to the tax-writing committees on the IRS's taxpayer-rights education program and on all cases involving complaints about misconduct of IRS employees. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct: (1) a study on IRS efforts to notify taxpayers of tax deficiencies; and (2) annual studies of the accuracy of 25 of the most commonly used IRS forms, notices, and publications.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1993
Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that any legislation enacted to reform the health care system must: (1) ensure that every person has access to coverage for medically and psychologically necessary treatments for mental disorders that is equitable to the coverage provided for treatments of physical illnesses; and (2) meet specified requirements concerning coverage, consumer choice, financial protection, financing policies, and coordination across Federal, State, and local programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1993
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to exclude certain footwear and leather-related products assembled in beneficiary countries from duty-free treatment.
![Official portrait of Sen. Wofford, Harris [D-PA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000665_200.jpg)