United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1992
Declares that it is U.S. policy to seek international agreements prohibiting the sale, transfer, or export; limiting the use; and terminating the production, possession, or deployment of antipersonnel landmines. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should seek to negotiate an international agreement or a modification of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or To Have Indiscriminate Effects to prohibit the sale, transfer, or export of antipersonnel landmines. Prohibits for a period of one year from this Act's enactment date: (1) sales, financing, transfers, and the issuance of licenses under the Arms Export Control with respect to antipersonnel landmines; and (2) assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 with respect to the provision of such landmines.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1992
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise content requirements with respect to countervailing and antidumping duty petitions and determinations. Prohibits an inference that there is no material injury from being made by the International Trade Commission (ITC) if the volume of imports has decreased after the initiation of a countervailing or antidumping duty investigation. Revises provisions regarding ITC determination of material injury with respect to: (1) price competition between imported merchandise and like U.S. products sold to the consumer; (2) the weighing of previous injurious dumping or subsidizations if a countervailing duty or antidumping duty petition is filed with respect to a product or like product which was the basis of a final affirmative determination during the three years preceding the filing of such petition; (3) treatment of negligible imports in subsequent countervailing duty and antidumping duty investigations; and (4) concentration of subsidized or dumped imports with respect to a market. Declares that in making a final determination with respect to the suspension or continuation of an antidumping duty investigation: (1) the ITC shall not consider as a factor supporting a negative determination any decrease in imports subject to such investigation or improvement in the condition of the domestic industry which occurred after the suspension agreement became effective; and (2) the administering authority shall not consider as a factor supporting a negative determination any decrease in foreign market value of imports subject to such investigation or any increase in U.S. prices which occurred after the suspension agreement became effective. Includes loans or loan guarantees by international development banks and the provision of capital and loans by a government for the expansion of production of an export within the definition of the term "subsidy." Requires the administering authority, when determining whether imported parts or components are circumventing an antidumping or countervailing duty order or finding, and whether to include such parts or components in such order or finding, to consider, among other things, the value and sources of supply of parts or components historically used in completion or assembly of the merchandise subject to such order. Authorizes the administering authority to include within the scope of such order or finding imported parts or components that are used in the completion or assembly of certain merchandise sold in the United States and subject to such order or finding, provided certain criteria are met, including that such merchandise is completed or assembled in the United States from parts or components supplied by the exporter or producer with respect to which such order or finding applies, from suppliers that have historically supplied the parts or components to that exporter or producer, or from any party in the exporting country supplying parts or components on behalf of such exporter or producer. Enables the administering authority to base such a decision on any of such factors by itself, rather than on all of them together. Sets forth similar provisions for merchandise completed or assembled in other foreign countries. Requires the administering authority to decide that a competitive benefit has been bestowed when the price for the input product is lower than the price that the manufacturer of merchandise which is the subject of a countervailing duty proceeding would otherwise pay for the product in obtaining it from an unsubsidized seller (currently any seller) in an arms-length transaction. Sets forth specified factors to be considered in the determination of such price. Declares diversionary input dumping to occur when: (1) a manufacturer incorporates into merchandise under an antidumping duty investigation a component which is the product of another country and which is the subject of an antidumping duty order or an international agreement to eliminate the effect of injurious imports (if entered into after an affirmative preliminary determination); and (2) the manufacturer under investigation purchased such component at a price which is less than the foreign market value. Declares that the foreign market value of imported merchandise may be the constructed value of such merchandise if the administering authority finds there is a reasonable basis to believe that diversionaly input dumping is occurring which has a significant effect on the cost of producing the merchandise under investigation. Requires the administering authority, if diversionary input dumping exists, to include the amount of such dumping when calculating the cost of such merchandise. Requires the administering authority to investigate whether such dumping is occurring whenever it has reasonable grounds to believe that: (1) it is occurring; (2) it has a significant effect on the cost of producing the merchandise under investigation; and (3) official Government or other reliable trade statistics indicate that subsequent to the imposition of an antidumping duty order or implementation of an international agreement regarding such imports, shipments of such imports to the United States have increased either in quantity or market share. Authorizes the administering authority to treat such investigation as an extraordinarily complicated case and extend the time period for making a preliminary determination with respect to such dumping. Requires the administering authority, with respect to receiving a petition, to monitor a downstream product to determine whether such merchandise is similar in description and use to merchandise that has been subject to at least one or more (currently, at least two) suspended countervailing duty or antidumping duty investigations or orders. Declares that amendments made by this Act shall apply to Canadian goods imported into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Grants the consent of the Congress to an amendment to the Delaware River Joint Commission compact between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey continuing such commission under the name of the Delaware River Port Authority.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Radio Free China Act of 1992 - Amends the Board for International Broadcasting Act of 1973 to authorize the Board for International Broadcasting to designate one organization constituted on the model of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Incorporated, to carry out radio broadcasting to China. Designates such broadcasts as Radio Free China. Increases the number of Board members. Limits terms of Board members who are presidential appointees to three years. Sets forth additional provisions concerning membership terms.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Expands the boundaries of Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Pennsylvania, to include the Boundary Expansion, Jumonville Glen Unit, Fort Necessity National Battlefield. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to modify the boundaries of the Jumonville Glen Unit (the Unit) to exclude lands (not to exceed two acres) on which principal structures are located that are actively used by the owner as of July 1, 1991. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to investigate and report to specified congressional committees on archaeological sites in the vicinity of the Unit in order to locate and identify Dunbar's Camp. Authorizes the Secretary to further modify the boundaries of such Unit (to include additional lands within the battlefield, but not to exceed 30 acres), if necessary to preserve and interpret historic resources associated with the Camp.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act, 1985 to reduce to 100,000 by the end of FY 1995 the number of U.S. military personnel assigned to permanent duty ashore in North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries of Europe.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1992
Establishes reemployment rights for Department of Defense (DOD) employees in reduction in force (RIF) actions. Requires DOD and each military department concerned to offer an employee who has been released under a RIF the right of first refusal to a job such entity restores within two years after the employee's release. Prohibits such entities from replacing within two years such an employee with a contract or temporary employee. Provides that if DOD or a military department seeks to staff some positions within two years after a RIF, it must offer reemployment to employees released under the RIF on the basis of seniority. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to keep a Government-wide list of vacant positions and establish a toll-free number which will enable the public to access information on the list. Requires Federal agencies to give qualified displaced DOD employees full consideration before hiring candidates from outside the agency. Codifies existing regulations requiring agencies to issue specific written notices to employees and their representatives at least 60 days prior to a RIF. Requires additionally that an agency also notify the appropriate State dislocated worker unit and chief elected official whenever a significant number of employees will be separated under a RIF. Amends the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 and the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act to make civilian employees at military installations scheduled for closure or realignment eligible to receive assistance under the defense conversion adjustment program under the Job Training Partnership Act one year in advance of the closure or realignment. Provides that DOD or each military department concerned may offer certain employees the option of receiving a lump sum payment for unused sick leave. Provides that this option is in lieu of adding unused sick leave to length of service for purposes of calculating Federal retirement benefits. Allows DOD and each military department concerned to authorize payment of a lump sum separation benefit to certain civilian employees to encourage voluntary separations. Sets forth rules for determining the amount of such payment. Provides that civilian employees at military bases scheduled for closure between October 1, 1992, and December 31, 1997, will be allowed to have annual leave which was lost as a result of closure operations during such period restored. Provides for continued health benefit coverage for DOD employees involuntarily separated under a RIF. Requires such an employee to continue to pay his or her share of the premium under the health plan involved. Provides that an employee who is involuntarily separated under a RIF will be treated as if entitled to an immediate annuity under the Thrift Saving Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1992
Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that any legislation passed by the Congress to address American health care needs must include coverage for mental disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Legal Services Reauthorization Act of 1992 - Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to authorize appropriations for the Legal Services Corporation for FY 1993 through 1997. Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) apply Federal criminal laws against theft, fraud, and embezzlement to Corporation funds; and (2) make the Federal criminal statute against obstructing a Federal audit applicable with regard to auditors employed or retained by the Corporation. Specifies that certain provisions of the False Claims Act apply to the Corporation, any financial assistance recipient and other grantee or contractor of the Corporation (awardee), subgrantee or subcontractor of any such entity, or employee thereof (thus, giving the Attorney General the authority to bring a civil action against any person employed by or contracting with a recipient, subrecipient, grantee, or contractor who perpetuates a fraud with Corporation funds, but excluding from application to the Corporation and its recipients provisions which permit a private person to initiate a false claims action). Revises prohibitions on the use of Corporation funds for lobbying purposes to prohibit such use by an awardee: (1) to pay for publicity or propaganda intended or designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress or State or local legislative bodies, or to influence any decision by a Federal, State, or local agency; (2) to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone communication, letter, printed matter, or other device intended or designed to influence: any decision by a Federal, State, or local agency, except when legal assistance is provided by an employee of an awardee of the Corporation to an eligible client on a particular matter which directly involves the client's legal rights or responsibilities; any Member of Congress or other Federal, State, or local elected official to favor or oppose any referendum, initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure of the Congress, State legislature, local council, or similar governing body; or any such Member or official to favor or oppose legislation (with exceptions); or (3) for adminstrative or related costs associated with such prohibited activities. Permits the use of such funds in connection with any communication: (1) made in response to a Federal, State, or local agency or elected official; or (2) to a Federal, State, or local elected official pertaining to the authorization or appropriation of funds or any other measure affecting the authority, functions, or funding of, or pertaining to oversight measures directly affecting, the awardee or the Corporation, if the project director or designee of the awardee has expressly determined that the legislative body involved is considering such authorization, appropriation, or other measure, or is conducting oversight of the awardee or the Corporation. Requires the Corporation to: (1) arrange for evaluations to determine whether awardees are providing comprehensive, economical, and effective legal assistance to eligible clients; and (2) conduct monitoring and investigations into allegations that an awardee has violated applicable requirements. Sets forth provisions concerning investigation procedures. Directs the Board of Directors of the Corporation to provide for the enforcement of requirements with respect to such awardees. Permits the Corporation to suspend, reduce, or terminate financial assistance (with such termination only after consideration of other remedial measures and only after the employee has been afforded reasonable notice and opportunity for a timely, full, and fair hearing, to be conducted by an independent hearing examiner when requested), or deny an application for refunding (after affording the awardee an opportunity to correct the failure) when: (1) there has been a substantial failure to comply with applicable requirements; or (2) evaluations demonstrate that an awardee has consistently failed to provide economical and effective legal assistance. Authorizes the Corporation to deny an application for refunding when the Corporation has identified an applicant for financial assistance that is better able to provide comprehensive, economical, and effective legal assistance for the geographic area served by such awardee. Revises provisions concerning notice to awardees prior to the suspension or termination of assistance or the denial of a refunding application. Prohibits the annual level of assistance from being reduced by more than five percent or $20,000, whichever is less, unless the awardee has been afforded notice and, at the awardee's request, a timely and fair hearing. Sets forth Corporation monitoring requirements. Directs that standards and procedures adopted pursuant to such provision take into account: (1) the responsibility of the Corporation to provide for independent evaluations; (2) that each awardee has the responsibility to manage its day-to-day operations and to assure that its employees comply with all applicable law and deliver high quality legal assistance in an effective and economical manner; (3) that the personal privacy of eligible clients could be adversely affected by the public disclosure of records or documents obtained in connection with monitoring or investigation (and bars the Corporation from requiring disclosure of such records to the extent that they can be expected to contain information directly pertinent and necessary to an audit, or to an investigation of a likely pattern of discrimination, lack of compliance with the law, or poor performance by an awardee which is indicated by other external evidence); (4) the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, the privacy protections of State law, and the principle that matters and records that are personal or private and that relate to an individual employee should be protected from examination by the Corporation; and (5) the rules of ethics and professional responsibility that are applicable in the jurisdiction where an awardee delivers legal assistance. Requires the Corporation to develop criteria for evaluating the capability and performance of awardees. Specifies that the Inspector General of the Corporation shall not, in carrying out his or her functions, be subject to any restriction that: (1) is contained in the standards and procedures adopted by the Corporation under this provision; and (2) limits access by the Corporation to documents or other information. Directs the Corporation to require each grantee, contractor, or person or entity receiving financial assistance to provide for an independent annual financial audit and to submit the report of the audit to the Corporation. Bars the Corporation from selecting the auditor employed by such entity. Permits the Corporation to conduct its own audit or hire an independent auditor when necessary, with the costs to be borne by the Corporation. (Current law directs the Corporation to conduct, or require each such grantee, contractor, or person or entity to provide for, an annual financial audit.) Places restrictions on the bringing of a class action suit by an awardee with funds provided by the Corporation against the Federal Government or any State or local government. Requires awardees to adopt policies to attempt to negotiate settlements and to use alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, where appropriate, before filing suit. Prohibits the use of Corporation funds to alter, revise, or reapportion a legislative, judicial, or elective district at any level of government. Places restrictions on the use of Corporation funds for legal assistance for aliens. Revises requirements for governing bodies of grant or contract recipients to require a recipient's governing body to be comprised of (in the majority) attorneys who are appointed by State, county, or local bar associations the memberships of which represent a majority of the attorneys practicing law in the locality in which the recipient is to provide legal assistance. Sets forth requirements for governing or policy bodies of recipients and other awardees. Allows the governing body of a bar association to appoint members of the governing or policy bodies of more than one awardee of the Corporation. Makes technical and conforming changes with respect to the professional responsibilities of the Corporation and attorney employees of the Corporation. Specifies that neither the Corporation nor the Comptroller General shall have access to any reports or records protected from disclosure by the laws or rules of ethics or professional responsibility that apply in the jurisdiction where such reports or records are maintained. Requires the Corporation (with specified exceptions) to ensure that attorneys employed full-time in providing legal assistance supported in major part by the Corporation refrain from any: (1) outside practice of law in which the attorneys seek or receive compensation; and (2) uncompensated outside practice of law. (Current law bars attorneys employed full-time in legal assistance activities supported in major part by the Corporation from any compensated outside practice, and any uncompensated outside practice except as authorized in guidelines promulgated by the Corporation.) Prohibits the use of Corporation funds for initiating the defense of a person in a proceeding to evict such person from a public housing project if the person has been convicted of the illegal sale or distribution of a controlled substance and the proceeding has been brought by a public housing project agency because such person threatens the health or safety of other tenants or employees of such agency. Prohibits awardees (or employees) from engaging in precomplaint settlement negotiations, filing a complaint, or pursuing litigation against a defendant unless a written retainer agreement which enumerates the facts on which the claim is based has been signed by the plaintiffs. Specifies that, unless authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction, no awardee (or employee) may file a complaint or petition in a court until all plaintiffs known to plaintiff's counsel at the time have been specifically identified in the complaint or petition. Requires the Corporation to study, through the use of demonstration projects and other appropriate methods, the feasibility of utilizing a system of competition to improve the delivery of legal assistance and related activities. Sets forth reporting requirements. Specifies that a general restriction on training activities of the Corporation should not be construed to prohibit training of attorneys or paralegals as necessary to prepare them to advise any eligible client as to the nature of the legislative process, or to inform any such client of his or her rights under any statute, order, or regulation. Repeals a limitation on the use of non-Federal funds received by the Corporation. Directs the Corporation to require each awardee to maintain a system of time and recordkeeping that discloses the types of activities supported by Corporation and non-Corporation funds and allocates appropriate costs, including overhead, to activities funded by non-Corporation funds. Sets forth additional requirements regarding the specific type of system to be employed. Prohibits the use of alternative corporations to evade the provisions of this Act. Defines an "alternative corporation" as a group which has a single identity of interest with an awardee. Requires any awardee which shares employees with any other entity to specify with particularity the use of any funds by such employees. Directs the Corporation to ensure that all attorneys engaged in legal assistance activities supported by the Corporation refrain, while so engaged, from any political activity (current law) associated with a political party or the campaign of any candidate for public or party office. Requires grants and contracts made for calendar years 1993 through 1997 to be made for at least 12 months, except for any grant to a new program commencing operations after the beginning of the applicable calendar year. Sets forth provisions with respect to the establishment of local priorities and periodic analysis of the legal needs of clients in the area served by each such awardee. Revises the defintion of "staff attorney" to mean an attorney who: (1) is employed by a recipient organized in whole or in part for the provision of legal assistance to eligible clients under the Act; and (2) receives more than half of his or her annual professional salary from the proceeds of a grant or contract from the Corporation to such recipient. (Current law specifies an attorney who receives more than half of his annual professional income from a recipient organized solely for the provisions of legal assistance to eligible clients.) Directs the Corporation to conduct a study on legal assistance to older Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1992
International Refugee Protection Act of 1992 - Reaffirms that the obligations of the United States under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Convention) apply to actions of the United States with respect to individuals outside U.S. territorial boundaries. Prohibits: (1) the United States from returning a national or habitual resident of a country who is outside the territorial boundaries of the United States or within the territorial waters of his or her country of residence or nationality to the territorial boundaries of such country; and (2) the expenditure of funds with respect to any such return unless the U.S. Government has determined that such an individual is not, due to a well-founded fear of persecution about returning to his or her country, a refugee under the Convention. Makes this Act inapplicable to an individual if: (1) such individual participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; (2) there are serious reasons for considering that the individual has committed a serious nonpolitical crime; or (3) there are reasonable grounds for regarding the individual as a danger to U.S. security. Provides that this Act does not apply to nationals and habitual residents of a country at U.S. diplomatic and consular missions in that country.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1992
Medicare Enrollment Improvement and Protection Act of 1992 - Title I: Improving Enrollment - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services' annual notice to Medicare beneficiaries to inform certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries of the requirements to qualify for Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) payment of their premiums, deductibles, and copayments under Medicare and how to apply for such benefit. Requires the notice described above to be prepared in a manner suitable for posting and distributed to physicians, hospital offices, other medical facilities, and entities receiving grants from the Secretary for programs designed to provide services to individuals age 65 or older. Requires the Secretary to establish a toll-free telephone number for information about such benefit. Amends the Medicaid program to require the Secretary to develop a simplified form for applying for such benefit for processing at social security offices. Amends the Medicare program to mandate direct enrollment of part A (Hospital Insurance) eligibles by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to make grants to State agencies and organizations for the provision of outreach assistance to older individuals who may be eligible for such benefit. Authorizes appropriations to fund such grant program. Title II: Application of Other Medicaid Eligibility Rules - Amends the Medicaid program to permit retroactive payments of medical costs incurred by certain low-income Medicare beneficiaries in or after the third month before the month in which such an individual applied to have Medicaid cover such costs. Title III: Report - Directs the Secretary to submit reports to the Congress on Department activities to ensure enrollment and full implementation of the program under the Social Security Act for Medicaid payment of Medicare costs and the effectiveness of each such activity, along with any recommendations for appropriate legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1992
Local Exchange Infrastructure Modernization Act of 1992 - 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 as a carrier that: (1) is required to provide upon request, under tariff or subject to other government oversight (by the FCC or a State commission), interstate and intrastate access services and telephone exchange service; (2) is, or was, a participant in one or more interstate pools established by the FCC, or would have been required to participate in one or more such pools had the carrier been engaged in interstate and intrastate access and telephone exchange service while such participation was mandatory; (3) is subject to the requirements imposed by the FCC or a State commission related to the provision of equal access; and (4) conforms with the provisions of the North American Numbering Plan applicable to the assignment of numbering resources for telephone exchange service, as defined by the Plan's Administrator. 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. Specifies that: (1) no LEC shall be prohibited from transporting or processing signalling and information for another LEC in adjoining or reasonably proximate serving areas upon request of that LEC to the same extent that the providing LEC is permitted to engage in such activities for itself; (2) nothing in such Act shall be construed to alter, limit, or supersede the authority of any State with respect to the regulation of intrastate communication service; and (3) nothing contained in Federal or State antitrust law shall render unlawful any action taken by a LEC or any individual or concerted action taken such as lobbying before the Congress, the FCC, or communicating by any means with other LECs, by any LEC, or its directors, officers, agents, employees, affiliates, subsidiaries, joint ventures, counsel, or other persons purporting to act on behalf of such carrier.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Mike Mansfield Fellowship Act - Establishes the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program. Directs the Secretary of State (Secretary) to make grants to the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs (Center) to award two-year fellowships to eligible Federal employees. Requires fellowship recipients (Mansfield Fellows): (1) during their first year, to study, in Washington, D.C., the Japanese language and political economy; and (2) during their second year, to serve as a Fellow in a parliamentary office, ministry, or other agency of the Government of Japan, or, subject to Center approval, a nongovernmental Japanese institution associated with the recipient's interests. Requires the Center to comply with specified program requirements in order to be eligible for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an arrangement with the Government of Japan to place Fellows in that Government. Authorizes the Foreign Service Institute to assist in carrying out Japanese language training by the Center through providing classroom space, teaching materials, and facilities, insofar as this is not detrimental to the Institute's other responsibilities. Authorizes the Center to accept and use gifts from private sources for such program, subject to review and approval of the Mansfield Fellowship Review Board. Provides that specified amounts from Department of State funds shall be available to the Secretary to make program grants to the Center for FY 1993 through 1996. Sets forth program requirements. Requires that the Federal employees eligible for such fellowships have: (1) at least two years experience in any branch of the U.S. Government; and (2) a strong career interest in U.S.-Japan relations and a commitment to further Federal service. Requires that at least ten such fellowships be awarded annually. Prohibits Mansfield Fellows from engaging in any intelligence or intelligence-related activity on behalf of the U.S. Government. Allows Federal agencies to separate from service such Fellows for a specified period, but requires that: (1) Fellows be reemployed or reinstated in an appropriate position and with all attendant rights and benefits as they would have acquired if they had not been so separated; and (2) they continue to participate during the fellowship period, as if they were not separated, in specified programs for health and life insurance, workers' compensation leave, and retirement (with employer contributions to be made by the Center, and employee deductions to be taken from fellowship stipends). Establishes the Mansfield Fellowship Review Board to review program administration and submit annual reports. Authorizes appropriations for the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Designates February 21 through February 27, 1993, as American Wine Appreciation Week. Commends the winegrape and fruit growers and vintners of the United States for the production of high quality agricultural products.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1992
REFORM Commission Act of 1992 - Establishes a Reorganization for Efficient Field Office Reduction and Management Commission to review the Department of Agriculture's field structure.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1992
Declares that the Congress adopts specified principles on rights and obligations with respect to the environment, to be known as the Earth Charter, and urges the nations participating in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992 to adopt the same rights and obligations as a separate Earth Charter. Includes within such principles: (1) the integration of environmental and development objectives with economic and trade policies; (2) the promotion of sustainable development; (3) respect for human rights; (4) the adoption of precautionary measures to prevent causes of environmental degradation; (5) a commitment to peace and security; (6) the elimination of unsustainable patterns of production and consumption; (7) the availability of information relevant to environment and development; (8) open and free market objectives; (9) the bearing of pollution costs by polluters; (10) the establishment of democratic institutions; (11) the elimination of poverty; and (12) assistance to developing countries.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1992
Condemns the violence in South Africa. Urges the Government of South Africa to take steps to end the violence and protect all South Africans. Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should prepare and transmit to the Senate a report on the nature of the violence in South Africa, the role that the various particpants are playing, and the impact of such violence on South Africa's transition to democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1992
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Government of Thailand should promptly restore respect for human rights and democratic rule by taking specified steps, including: an immediate cessation of the use of lethal force against unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators; lifting the State of Emergency; releasing all those detained for the peaceful expression of their views; allowing those detained since May 18, 1992 immediate access to attorneys, medical personnel, and international humanitarian organizations; declaring amnesty for all those facing criminal charges since the February 1991 military coup for peacefully expressing their views; and fulfilling its stated commitment to peaceful negotiations and elected rule; (2) the U.S. Government should suspend joint military exercises with Thailand; and (3) the Secretary of State should convey these recommendations to the Thai authorities at the highest level and confirm that no U.S. economic or military assistance will be provided until a duly elected government is fully installed and human rights are respected.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out demonstration projects at the Philadelphia Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Tucson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, to evaluate the feasibility and desirability of installing telephones for use by patients of Department health-care facilities. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on an evaluation of such demonstration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Civil War Battlefield Commemorative Coin Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Civil War battlefield preservation. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires that all sales include a surcharge of $35 per coin for the five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for the one-dollar coins, and $1 per coin for the half-dollar coins. Requires that all surcharges be paid to the Civil War Battlefield Foundation for the preservation of historically significant Civil War battlefields.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Makes technical corrections to Federal highway provisions. Authorizes States to start work on projects authorized under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act before Federal funding becomes available, subject to specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to a representative of the American Philosophical Society in commemoration of the 250th anniversaries of the founding of the Society and the birth of Thomas Jefferson. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and deliver bronze duplicates of such medal to the Society, upon receipt of full payment for them.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Agricultural Market Promotion Program Amendments Act of 1992 - Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to make a private brand product processed in whole or in part in the United States and composed in whole or in part of U.S. agricultural commodities eligible for market promotion assistance. Sets forth related marketing plan requirements. Requires an eligible trade organization to establish per country market penetration goals. Limits per country promotion assistance to the attainment of such goal.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow, on order of a veterinarian: (1) a new animal drug approved for one use to be used for a different purpose; and (2) a new drug approved for human use to be used in non-food producing animals.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Congratulates the residents of Jerusalem and the people of Israel on the 25th anniversary of the reunification of that city. Urges that: (1) Jerusalem remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected; and (2) the President and Secretary of State issue an unequivocal statement in support of such principle.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1992
National Environmental Technologies Agency Act - Establishes the National Environmental Technologies Agency to: (1) coordinate Federal environmental restoration and protection planning; (2) identify areas that need technical solutions to maintain environmental security, are not receiving product-oriented research necessary to meet those needs, and exhibit the greatest promise for the development of solutions; (3) support the development of technology having future application in environmental restoration and protection; (4) coordinate the exchange of technological information relating to environmental restoration and protection between Federal agencies and the private sector; (5) support continuing research and development of advanced technologies; (6) monitor research and development being conducted on advanced technologies by private industry; and (7) promote continuing development of a technological industrial base in the United States. Establishes an interagency advisory committee to provide information to the Agency with respect to the needs and concerns of specified agencies in the field of environmental technologies. Establishes the Industry and Academia Advisory Council to make recommendations regarding general policy for the Agency. Permits the Agency Administrator to transfer to the domestic private sector technology developed with the support of the Agency if the technology may have potential application in private activities relating to environmental restoration and protection. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into cooperative agreements with public or private entities to carry out Agency functions, subject to certain conditions. Provides for dissemination of the results of Agency research. Prohibits the making of a contract or award until the research project in question has passed a merit review. Directs the Administrator, in determining whether to make an award to a joint venture, to consider whether the joint venture has provided for appropriate participation of U.S. small businesses. Exempts from Federal disclosure requirements information obtained on a confidential basis in connection with business operations or trade secrets of a joint venture. Prohibits the disclosure by a Federal employee of intellectual property owned by a joint venture that receives funding under this Act, except in accordance with an agreement between the owner and the Administrator. Entitles the United States to a share of licensing fees and royalty payments made to a joint venture in an amount proportionate to the Federal share of costs incurred. Provides for the return of unspent Federal funds to the Agency if it appears that the recipient is not making satisfactory progress toward successful completion of the project. Entitles the United States, upon dissolution of a joint venture that receives funding under this Act, to a share of the residual assets proportionate to the Federal share of costs. Establishes the Environmental Advanced Research Projects Revolving Fund. Authorizes the Administrator to use the Fund to provide financial assistance to industrial and nonprofit research centers, universities, and other entities that serve long-term environmental security needs. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on: (1) activities of the Agency; (2) the extent to which technologies developed with Agency assistance have been used; and (3) the extent to which those technologies have been transferred overseas. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1992
Title I: Interagency Council on the Homeless - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Interagency Council on the Homeless, and the Council's authority, through October 1, 1994. Title II: Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Program - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Federal emergency management food and shelter program.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1992
Unemployment Compensation, Reemployment, and Fairness Act of 1992 - Title I: Short-time Compensation Programs - Provides that adoption of short-time compensation programs (which provide partial unemployment benefits to individuals whose workweeks have been reduced by at least ten percent under qualified employer plans providing for shortened workweeks in lieu of layoffs) as part of State unemployment compensation law is not precluded by any Federal law (including specified Internal Revenue Code provisions). Declares that benefits payable under a short-time compensation program shall be treated as unemployment compensation payable for partial unemployment, for purposes of Federal law. Requires annual State review of qualified employer plans to assure that they continue to meet short-time compensation program requirements of this Act and any applicable State law. Directs the Secretary of Labor to assist States in establishing and implementing short-time compensation programs by: (1) developing model legislative language and proposing appropriate revisions; and (2) providing technical assistance and guidance. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on implementation of this Act. Title II: Unemployment Reforms - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow States to pay unemployment benefits to eligible individuals while they participate in qualified self-employment training programs which are approved by the State agency administering unemployment compensation, and which meet requirements established by the Secretary of Labor. Amends the Social Security Act to require the State agency administering unemployment compensation to provide: (1) early reemployment review of unemployed workers (within the first five weeks of their unemployment benefits); (2) technical and training program staff to assist with reemployment services; and (3) followup reevaluation and assistance to individuals participating in reemployment activities. Requires such agency, to the extent it determines effective, to provide: (1) reemployment review information to other State employment and training program staff, including staff of State job services and service delivery areas; and (2) job search and placement services, counseling, testing, occupational and labor market information, assessment, and referral to employers. Allows such agency to provide reemployment reviews and, if effective, reemployment reviews and, if effective, reemployment services for workers who have received notice of permanent layoff or impending layoff, or workers in occupations experiencing limited demand due to technological change, impact of imports, or plant closures. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe necessary regulations, including ones: (1) for determining whether an individual should be considered temporarily or permanently laid off; and (2) for assisting States in examining use of computer technology for early reemployment review and services. Amends the Social Security Act to require States to grant administrative hearings for employers with respect to their liability for paying unemployment taxes. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations relating to such hearing requirement. Title III: Budgetary Treatment of Trust Fund - Amends the Social Security Act to exclude the Unemployment Trust Fund (the Fund) (including disbursement for administrative expenses) from the unified Federal budget, thus giving the Fund "off-budget" status, beginning in FY 1993. Exempts the Fund from: (1) any general budget limitation imposed by statute on Federal expenditures and net lending (budget outlays); (2) being counted for purposes of calculating the deficit under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974; and (3) any order under specified provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) (BBEDCA).
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Small Business Access to Surety Bonding Survey Act of 1992 - Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a survey and report to specified congressional committees on the experiences of businesses, especially small businesses, in obtaining surety bonds from corporate surety firms.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), in cooperation with the Secretary of State, to enter immediately into negotiations with Canada to provide protection for the entire Alsek River watershed to preserve its fisheries, wildlife, water quality, and recreational and wilderness values. Requires the Secretary (acting through the Director of the National Park Service) to ensure that the internationally significant natural resource values of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, including all interests of the United States protected by international treaty, are not degraded by proposed open-pit copper mine developments within Canada. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to study and report to the Congress on the potential impacts to the Park and Preserve caused by the proposed mine development in British Columbia. Directs the Secretary of State to seek the agreement of the Canadian Government that the International Joint Commission be referred, pursuant to a specified Treaty, to: (1) examine comprehensively the potential adverse environmental and social impacts of the proposed mining activity; and (2) issue no permits required to develop such project before completion of such study. Requires the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of State, to seek the cooperation of the Canadian Government to obtain World Heritage Site status and protection for the entire Alsek and Tatshenshini River watershed.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1992
Democracy in Peru Act of 1992 - Calls upon the Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori and the Peruvian armed forces to: (1) restore the Peruvian Congress and judiciary to power; (2) respect the Peruvian Constitution; (3) restore and respect individual and human rights; and (4) renounce violence as a means of achieving political goals. Calls upon: (1) Peru's armed forces to submit to civilian control; and (2) the Organization of American States and the international community to consider measures to ensure that constitutional order is restored in Peru. Suspends all U.S. assistance (except humanitarian assistance) to Peru until the President certifies to the Congress that the conditions of this Act have been met.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) seek an international arms embargo against the military regime of Burma (Myanmar) until power has been transferred to a legitimate, democratically elected government; and (2) instruct the Secretary of State to call for an end to China's military sales and economic support to the Government of Burma until such time as all political prisoners are unconditionally released, martial law is lifted, and the results of the May 1990 elections are fully implemented.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1992
American Health Security Plan - Title I: Eligibility and Enrollment - Entitles every U.S. resident citizen, national, and lawful resident alien to health care services and long-term care services under this Act. Requires each State program to provide for a mechanism for enrollment and issuance of an identification and processing card. Provides for portability. Title II: Benefits - Subtitle A: Health Care Services - Includes as covered services: (1) inpatient and outpatient hospital care; (2) diagnostic and screening tests; (3) services furnished by health care professionals; (4) preventive care; (5) prescription drugs, biologicals, and devices; (6) substance abuse services; (7) outpatient mental health services; (8) hospice care; (9) habilitation and rehabilitation; (10) home medical equipment and prosthetic devices; and (11) approved experimental treatment. Prohibits States from limiting the amount, duration, or scope of services except as provided in this Act. Excludes cosmetic surgery and certain inpatient amenities. Requires: (1) the Federal Health Board established by this Act to provide for copayments and out-of-pocket limits; and (2) the Federal Health Priorities Council established by this Act to study whether out-of-pocket limits should take into account family size and whether cost sharing should be different for individuals who engage in practices deemed to increase the likelihood of service use. Subtitle B: Long-Term Care Services - Requires that the Board set standards for eligibility, long-term care services coverage, income protection, and case management. Requires that long-term care include at least home- and community-based services, nursing home care, hospice care, home medical equipment, and services for individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness. Requires the Board to establish an income-related cost sharing schedule. Requires reduction of cost sharing to ensure that the income and assets of the individual using long-term care services under this Act are sufficient to: (1) cover all items needed in addition to those provided by the long-term care facility; (2) maintain the individual's primary residence; and (3) maintain the individual's independence once the individual no longer needs long-term care services. Requires, for the protection of spouses and dependents, reduction of cost sharing. Provides for the appointment of a Long-Term Care Services Assessment Commission to make recommendations annually regarding specified aspects of long-term care under this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Modification of Services - Requires annual recommendations by the Priorities Council regarding changes in services under this Act. Authorizes the Board to promulgate regulations for implementing the Council's recommendations. Gives the regulations the force of law unless Congress disapproves. Title III: Federal and State Administration - Subtitle A: Federal Administration - Establishes the Federal Health Board to administer this Act and take other actions, including establishing national minimum quality standards, establishing uniform reporting requirements, and reviewing and approving interstate consortia. Requires the Board to appoint the Federal Health Advisory Council. Establishes the Federal Health Priorities Council to conduct hearings and studies and make recommendations on how health care dollars should be allocated in the context of a publicly funded national health insurance plan. Authorizes appropriations for the Board, the Advisory Council, and the Priorities Council. Subtitle B: State Administration - Provides for Board review and approval of State programs. Includes in requirements for State programs: (1) financing of services through a designated fund; (2) designation of a single nonprofit State agency to administer the program; (3) establishment of boards to negotiate with hospitals and practitioners; and (4) freedom of individuals to choose providers. Allows States to contract with fiscal intermediaries, in a process of competitive bidding, to administer the State program. Provides for waivers for States to: (1) implement alternative and innovative provider reimbursement, cost sharing, and administration; and (2) provide services through a capitation method. Allows any group of States to establish a regional consortium in lieu of State programs. Provides for congressional disapproval of the consortium agreement. Mandates grants to States or regional consortia for the establishment and initial operation of the State or regional plan. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Financing - Subtitle A: Health Budgets - Requires the Board to establish an annual or biennial budget for Federal and State expenditures under this Act. Requires computation of national average per capita costs, adjustments for risk groups, and adjustments for specified factors in each State. Provides for determination by the Board of the Federal and State shares of expenditures, subject to congressional disapproval. Entitles each State with an approved State program to a Federal contribution of the Federal share plus that State's total projected expenditures for services under this Act. Prohibits a State, either by intention or as an unstated consequence of budget allocations, from restricting timely access to medically necessary and appropriate services under this Act or permitting queues to form that have the potential to be life threatening. Subtitle B: Payments to Providers - Provides for State payments to hospitals and other health care and long-term care institutions for the areas of operating, capital, and health training expenses. Sets forth principles for guiding State reimbursement negotiation boards in each such area. Requires the State practitioner reimbursement negotiation board to negotiate with the State organizations representing each of the practitioner disciplines to derive a relative value scale fee schedule fulfilling specified principles. Sets forth principles for negotiating reimbursement rates for nonphysician providers. Declares payment by a State program to be payment in full. Subtitle C: Revenues - Requires the Board to develop a mechanism for determining and collecting a premium from individuals and employers. Requires the Board, subject to congressional disapproval, to collect premiums from individuals and employers according to certain requirements, including that the premiums from: (1) individuals be income-based and progressive; and (2) employers be based on each employer's ability to pay. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to define "accident or health insurance," for purposes of provisions relating to exclusions from gross income, to mean an approved State program under this Act. Removes provisions relating to amounts paid to highly compensated individuals under a discriminatory self-insured medical expense reimbursement plan. Prohibits trade or business expense deductions for employer group health plan expenses unless the plan is an approved State plan under this Act. Removes provisions: (1) limiting deductions for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to 25 percent of those costs; and (2) terminating, on a specified date, the allowance of any deductions for such costs for self-employed individuals. Modifies definitions under provisions allowing individual medical expense deductions, including defining "medical care" to mean premiums and cost-sharing under this Act. Terminates, after 1998, the child health insurance credit. Establishes in the Treasury the Federal Health Care Trust Fund. Appropriates to the Fund premiums under this Act and additional revenues received as a result of amendments made by this subtitle. Transfers to the Fund all remaining amounts in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Authorizes and appropriates: (1) amounts equal to appropriations under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act and under provisions of Federal law relating to the Civilian Health and Medical Plan of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) and relating to health insurance for Federal officials and employees; (2) additional sums as required to cover administrative expenses; (3) payments to each State for the Federal share of expenditures under this Act; and (4) sums as determined by the Board to be necessary to cover contingencies. Declares that the receipts and disbursements of the Fund shall not be included in the totals of the U.S. budget and exempts them from any general budget limitation. Makes each State responsible for establishing a financing program for the implementation of the State program. Title V: Congressional Consideration - Sets forth rules, changeable as any other rule of the House of Representatives or the Senate, regarding congressional disapproval resolutions under this Act. Title VI: Private Options - Declares that this Act does not prohibit private insurance coverage supplementing the services covered under this Act. Allows private insurance coverage for services covered under this Act, subject to limitations, including: (1) prohibiting private coverage for the cost-sharing requirements for health care services and other non-long-term care services covered under this Act; (2) requiring issuers of private insurance to inform purchasers of any duplication in coverage; and (3) requiring the Comptroller General to review private insurance industry practices and make recommendations to the Congress regarding prevention of fraud and abuse in the sale of duplicative or supplemental private insurance. Declares that the purchase of any private insurance does not relieve the purchaser of the payment of premiums under this Act. Title VII: Expansion of Outcomes Research and Delivery of Services in Underserved Areas - Amends provisions of the Social Security Act relating to health care outcomes research to authorize appropriations. Authorizes appropriations to carry out provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to the National Health Service Corps. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to local communities for programs to finance the health-related education of residents of such communities, provided such residents agree to practice in a health-related field in that community for at least four years after graduation. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates grants to expand the availability of comprehensive primary health services in medically underserved areas. Allows community and migrant health centers in existence at enactment of this Act to use any increase in revenue resulting from the increase in the number of insured patients treated for the expansion of the amounts and types of services furnished, to serve additional patients or areas, or to promote the recruitment, training, or retention of personnel. Authorizes appropriations. Title VIII: Malpractice Reform - Requires the Board to make grants to States for the development and implementation of medical malpractice reforms meeting specified criteria. Authorizes appropriations. Title IX: Effective Dates; Terminations; Transition; Relation to ERISA - Repeals: (1) titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; (2) provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to hospital insurance; (3) certain provisions of Federal law relating to the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); and (4) specified provisions of Federal law relating to health benefits for Federal officials and employees. Requires the Board to recommend to the Congress amendment or repeal of any other Federal program inconsistent with or duplicative of the principles of this Act. Supersedes, to the extent they are inconsistent with this Act, the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1992
John Heinz Competitive Excellence Award Act of 1992 - Establishes the John Heinz Excellence Award, to be evidenced by a national medal coined and provided to the U.S. Senate by the U.S. Mint. Allows two such separate awards to be presented annually (one to a qualifying individual, including Federal, State, or local government employees, and one to a qualifying organization, institution, or business). Prohibits presentation of an award within a category in a given year if there is no qualified individual, organization, institution, or business recommended by the selection panel established by this Act. Sets forth qualification criteria for such awards. Requires the Senate majority and minority leaders to present such award to an individual and an organization, institution, or business that has demonstrated excellence in promoting U.S. industrial competitiveness in the international marketplace through technological innovation, productivity improvement, or improved competitive strategies. Directs the Office of Technology Assessment to: (1) ensure that all nominees receive a detailed summary of any evaluation conducted of such nominee; and (2) make available to the nominee and the public a summary of each award winner's competitiveness strategy (excluding proprietary information unless the award winner consents).
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1992
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should: (1) expeditiously conclude a fair and enforceable multilateral steel agreement; (2) continue the bilateral arrangements limiting the export of steel to the United States until a multilateral steel agreement is concluded; and (3) maintain the integrity of U.S. trade relief laws, especially provisions relating to antidumping and countervailing duties.
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