United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1995
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government should not establish any policy restricting medical professionals from providing women full and accurate medical information on their reproductive health options, including the provision of nondirective abortion counseling.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1995
Capitol Visitor Center Authorization Act of 1995 - Authorizes the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), under the direction of the U.S. Capitol Preservation Commission, to: (1) plan, construct, equip, administer, and maintain a Capitol Visitor Center under the East Plaza of the Capitol; and (2) reconstruct the environs of the East Plaza to enhance its attractiveness, safety, and security. Requires the AOC to complete engineering and architectural designs and cost estimates for construction of the Center and to report to specified congressional committees and the Commission on the results. Prohibits the AOC from beginning the construction of the Center until the cost estimates are approved by resolutions adopted by such committees. Establishes in the Treasury an Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Buildings and Grounds, Capitol Visitor Center, Gifts and Donations account. Authorizes the: (1) AOC to enter into contracts, using noncompetitive procedures, to carry out this Act with respect to the Center; and (2) Commission to establish and delegate its functions under this Act to a Special Committee which shall provide the AOC with all necessary oversight ant direction. Limits funding for the payments of expenditures incurred by the AOC in providing for the Center to amounts in the account established by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1995
Permits the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby Association to sponsor a free public event, soap box derby races, on the Capitol grounds on July 15, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1995
Marine Resources Revitalization Act of 1995 - Amends the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966 to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions of the National Sea Grant College Program relating to grants, contracts, and fellowships.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1995
Bosnia and Herzegovina Self-Defense Act of 1995 - Directs the President to terminate the U.S. arms embargo of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the date of receipt of a request from such government for assistance in exercising its right of self-defense under the United Nations Charter or on May 1, 1995, whichever comes first.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Ending the Cycle of Intergenerational Dependency Title II: Combating Teenage Pregnancy Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Parental Responsibility Act - Title I: Ending the Cycle of Intergenerational Dependency - Amends title IV part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require appropriate adult-supervised supportive living arrangements for minors (and their children) as a condition of their receiving AFDC. (Sec. 102) Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to entitle each State to funds to establish, operate, and support adult-supervised group homes for custodial parents under age 19 and their children. Sets forth provisions for payments of allotments to States, payments to Indian tribes, receipt of payments by such homes, and submission of recommendations on usage of Government surplus properties for such homes. (Sec. 103) Requires completion of high school or other training for teenage parents as a condition of receiving AFDC. Allows a State the option of requiring some or all custodial parents and pregnant women who have not attained 19 years of age (or at the State's option, 21) and who are receiving AFDC to participate in a program of additional monetary incentives and penalties. (Sec. 104) Requires drug treatment and counseling as part of the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program under AFDC. Title II: Combating Teenage Pregnancy - Amends SSA title IV part A (AFDC) to allow each State agency to provide for eligible entities' operation of projects to reduce teen pregnancy. Allows Indian tribes and Alaska native entities to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to operate such projects. Directs the Secretary of HHS to study and report to the Congress annually on the effectiveness of different approaches used in such projects. Authorizes appropriations. Entitles each State to a specified payment of the Federal share of the cost of such projects. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretaries of Education and of HHS and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service to establish a National Clearinghouse on Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1995
Amends part B (Supplemental Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include within Medicare coverage the use of blood-testing strips for individuals with Type I or II diabetes. Requires such strips to be included within a payment methodology covering inexpensive and routinely purchased equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1995
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that any additional interest rate increases should not be made without considering the effects of previous increases on the economy.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1995
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Bureau of Labor Statistics or an independent panel of experts should review the Consumer Price Index to determine whether there is an upward bias; and (2) if such a bias exists, steps should be taken to eliminate it.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1995
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to certain services for the treatment of spinal conditions that are conducted by State-licensed doctors of chiropractic legally authorized by the State to provide them.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 1995
Older Women's Breast Cancer Detection Act of 1995 - Amends part B (Supplemental Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the breast cancer screening benefit to cover on an annual (currently, biennial) basis routine breast cancer screening for women age 65 and older (thus covering them on the same basis as those age 49 through 64).
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 1995
Working Wage Increase Act of 1995 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the minimum wage per hour to: (1) $4.70 during the year beginning July 4, 1995; and (2) $5.15 after July 3, 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1995
Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights Act of 1995 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that, except when on duty or acting in an official capacity, no law enforcement officer (officer) shall be prohibited from engaging in political activity or be denied the right to refrain from engaging in such activity. Sets forth minimum standards that apply when an officer is under investigation that could lead to disciplinary action, including, with respect to: (1) rights of officers while under investigation, the right to be notified of the investigation prior to being interviewed and, at the conclusion of the investigation, to be informed in writing of the investigative findings and any recommendation for disciplinary action; (2) rights of officers prior to and during questioning, that the questioning be conducted at a reasonable hour at the offices of the persons conducting the investigation or at the place where the officer reports for duty (unless the officer consents in writing to being questioned elsewhere), that the officer be informed of the questioner's identity, that all questions be asked by or through a single investigator, that the officer be informed in writing of the nature of the investigation prior to any questioning, that the questioning be for a reasonable time period, that no threats or promises be made in connection with an investigation to induce the answering of any question, that all questioning be recorded in full (and a copy of the transcript made available to the officer), and that the officer be entitled to counsel (or another person of the officer's choice) at any questioning (unless the officer consents in writing to being questioned outside the presence of counsel); and (3) the conduct of a disciplinary hearing, notice of opportunity for a hearing, requirement of determination of a violation, time limits, notice of filing of charges, representation, provision of a hearing board and procedure, access to evidence, identification of witnesses, a copy of the investigative file, examination of physical evidence, summonses, closed hearings, recordation, sequestration of witnesses, testimony under oath, verdicts on each charge, the burden of persuasion, findings of not guilty or guilty, and appeals. Allows an officer to waive any of the rights guaranteed by this Act subsequent to the time that the officer has been notified that he or she is under investigation. Specifies that such a waiver shall be in writing and signed by the officer. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) summary punishment and emergency suspension; (2) retaliation for exercising rights; (3) other remedies; (4) declaratory or injunctive relief; (5) prohibition of adverse material in the officer's file (unless the officer has an opportunity to review and comment in writing on such material); (6) disclosure of personal assets; (7) States' rights; and (8) mutually agreed upon collective bargaining agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1995
Helium Privatization Act of 1995 - Amends the Helium Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) enter into agreements with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium on Federal lands; (2) grant leasehold rights to such helium; (3) store and transport crude helium; and (4) maintain and operate existing crude helium storage at the Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field. Directs the Secretary to: (1) cease producing, refining, and marketing refined helium; and (2) dispose of all facilities, equipment, and Federal property interests relating to refined helium activities. Requires the Secretary to impose fees for helium storage, withdrawal, or transportation services. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) the purchase of helium by Federal agencies from certain private persons; and (2) the sale of crude helium by the Secretary. Prohibits the Secretary from making crude helium sales in amounts that will disrupt the crude helium market price. Mandates that proceeds from helium sales be paid to the Treasury. Instructs the Secretary to eliminate helium stockpiles by a prescribed deadline. Repeals the Secretary's authority to borrow under the Helium Act. Directs the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior to prepare certain annual financial statements for the Helium Operations of the Bureau of Mines.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1995
Firefighters Pay Fairness Act of 1995 - Amends Federal law to provide that, for Federal fire fighters, the annual rate of basic pay shall be calculated on the basis of 26 administrative biweekly work periods of up to 106 hours each. Prescribes a formula for computing the basic biweekly pay of Federal employees who are not fire fighters but perform fire fighting duties. Extends existing biweekly pay period and pay computation requirements to Federal fire fighters and employees in and under the judicial branch. Removes employees of the District of Columbia government from coverage by such requirements. Repeals the current exception from such requirements for employees on the Isthmus of Panama in the service of the Panama Canal Commission. Requires compensation at time-and-a-half per hour for any hours worked in excess of 106 during a biweekly pay period by fire fighters subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Prescribes basic rates of pay for fire fighters: (1) promoted to a supervisory position; and (2) selected and assigned for training. Adds certain pay retention rights for Federal firefighters subject to a reduction or termination of a rate of pay established under this Act. Authorizes a Federal agency to pay cash awards of up to five percent of basic pay to fire fighters or other employees performing fire fighting duties who make substantial use of: (1) special skills, such as handling hazardous materials; or (2) a certification or license, such as certification as an emergency medical technician. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to report to the Congress with respect to transition and funding increase plans and regulatory or legislative modifications necessary to prevent diminution in retirement benefits under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1995
Uniform Child Support Enforcement Act of 1995 - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish in the Internal Revenue Service a national registry of abstracts of child support orders. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe guidelines under which the Internal Revenue Service shall collect child support through tax withholding procedures. Declares that child support obligations will be treated as taxes for purposes of penalties and interest. Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to: (1) prescribe paternity establishment procedures for State child support programs; (2) reflect the provisions of this Act through the elimination of provisions relating to State enforcement of child support obligations (other than medical support obligations); and (3) require the States to enact the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in August 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1995
Amends the Federal criminal code to permit an officer or employee of the Federal Government, if not inconsistent with the faithful performance of such individual's duties, to represent an employee association before, or the interest of the members of the association to, the executive branch or any Federal agency.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1995
Fire Safety Education Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants with entities to obtain and distribute at the State and local level fire safety and prevention education programs and supporting educational resources. Authorizes funds provided to be used to educate the public in all aspects of fire safety and prevention. Requires funded programs to give priority to appropriate public education materials that have already been developed. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants with States for the purpose of implementing the revised National Fire Incident Reporting System to improve the collection and analysis of fire data at the State and local levels. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1995
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) trafficking in persons violates human dignity and forced prostitution involving physical coercion or debt bondage constitutes a form of forced labor and a slavery-like practice; (2) the U.S. State Department should continue to press the Government of Thailand to strictly enforce all laws that can lead to the prosecution of those involved in trafficking and forced prostitution, ensure that Thai police participants in U.S. Government-sponsored police training programs are systematically vetted to exclude those implicated in such activities, urge the Thai Government to protect the rights and safety of Burmese women and girls in Thailand who are freed from brothels or arrested as illegal immigrants because their status as trafficking victims is unclear, and report to the Congress; (3) the executive branch should take steps to assure that weapons and equipment provided or sold to the Thai police do not become available to members of those forces who might be involved in trafficking, forced prostitution, or abuse of women who are apprehended; and (4) the Agency for International Development should target a portion of its assistance to Thailand for AIDS prevention and control to the foreign population in Thailand, particularly Burmese women in the Thai sex industry.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1995
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to restore the deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals for the taxable year 1994. Makes such deduction permanent law. Increases such deduction from 25 percent to 80 percent after December 31, 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1995
Presidential FEMA Reform Act of 1995 - Directs the President to establish a commission to review the Federal emergency management system and to report to him and the Congress on recommendations for improving the system.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1995
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and other Federal law to make any managed health care plan established by the Secretary of Defense in the Military Health Services System eligible for payments by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on behalf of any plan enrollees entitled to Medicare benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 1995
Church Retirement Benefits Simplification Act of 1995 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to recodify and revise qualifications for church retirement and pension plans. Makes employee contributions to such plans nonforfeitable. Requires the plan to meet minimum vesting requirements. Recodifies the authority of a church or a convention or association of churches to be treated as an employer making contributions to retirement income accounts. Subjects church-related hospitals and universities to certain coverage and related rules in the case of a contract purchased by a church. Requires distributions from retirement income accounts provided by churches to be in accordance with distributions under cash or deferred arrangements. Provides for determining the beginning date for such distributions. Allows self-employed ministers and chaplains who work for non-church employers to participate in their church plans. Provides that certain rules aggregating employees do not apply to churches. Restores qualified voluntary employee contributions to church plans. Treats self-employed ministers as employees for purposes of certain welfare benefit plans and retirement income accounts. Allows a deduction for contributions to retirement income accounts by such ministers. Provides that a church plan maintained by more than one employer shall not be treated as a single plan. Provides that accounting methods of deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations do not apply to a church plan. Exempts a church plan from the requirement to maintain separate accounts for medical benefits for key employees. Provides that the special rules for computing employee contributions to pension plans do not apply to certain foreign missionaries. Repeals the elective deferral catch-up limitation for church retirement income accounts. Allows church plans to annuitize benefits and increase benefit payments. Provides that rules for self-insured medical reimbursement plans are not applicable to church plans. Provides that retirement benefits of ministers are not subject to the tax on net earnings from self-employment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1995
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) obstetrician-gynecologists should be designated as primary care providers for women in Federal laws relating to the provision of health care; and (2) legislative proposals that define primary care should include services performed by obstetrician-gynecologists in such definition.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1995
Amends provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act that revise Federal patent law to provide that a patent term shall be the later of 17 years from the date the patent is granted or 20 years from the date the application was filed in the United States. Provides that if the application contains a reference to an earlier application, the term shall be 20 years from the date the earliest application was filed. Removes provisions that provide for extensions of patent terms under certain conditions. Provides for public disclosure and inspection of original and continuing patent applications in cases where a continuing patent application is filed that claims the benefit of the filing date of a prior application that was filed more than 60 months earlier. Requires the term of a patent that is in force or results from an application filed within six months after the Uruguay Round Agreements Act enactment date to be the term provided in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1995
Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize a State in which all or part of a Severe ozone nonattainment area is located to submit a plan revision requiring employers in such area to implement programs to reduce work-related vehicle trips and miles by employees. (Current law requires such States to submit such revision within two years of the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.) Authorizes such revision to require employers in such areas to increase average passenger occupancy per vehicle in commuting trips between home and workplace during peak travel periods. (Current law requires specified increases in average passenger occupancy.) Authorizes (currently, requires) the revision to require employers subject to a vehicle occupancy requirement to submit a compliance plan.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1995
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: Jobs for Unemployed Noncustodial Parents Title IX: Effective Date Interstate Child Support Act of 1995 - Title I: Locate and Case Tracking - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) to be used along with appropriate disclosure safeguards for parentage establishment and child support and visitation enforcement. (Sec. 101) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) denial of visitation rights under a child support order should be treated as irrelevant in any action to enforce its support provisions; and (2) failure to pay child support pursuant to such an order should be treated likewise in any action to enforce visitation rights. (Sec. 102) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement to provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) (Secretary) with access to quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Requires that: (1) 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; (2) registry information from each State be sent to the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) (designated under title VI of this Act) within HHS for a national registry of all State child support orders. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should investigate accessing certain Federal data banks not 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. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the network should be used to access State records only through the agency administering the State's part D plan. (Sec. 104) Requires that private attorneys and pro se obligees be given access, in accordance with appropriate safeguards, to State locate resources and through enforcement techniques with respect to child support, visitation, and parentage orders. (Sec. 105) Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to require employers to withhold from employee wages amounts owed for child support. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the W-4 form completed by new employees in order to enable employers to obtain employee child support and other information for the appropriate State employment security agency. (Sec. 106) Requires the heads of national and regional individual tracking systems to allow child support enforcement agencies access to their information for paternity or child support purposes. (Sec. 107) Requires that States: (1) broadcast warrants issued in child support proceedings over their crime information systems; (2) remit, in a criminal case, to any individual owed child support any security posted by or on behalf of the individual owing the support and then forfeited, to the extent of any arrearage in support owed; and (3) have procedures to obtain access to financial records for purposes of child support establishment and enforcement. Title II: Establishment - Amends SSA title IV part D to provide for service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed forces in connection with parentage and child support proceedings. (Sec. 202) Requires that: (1) parents' identification and locate information be filed with the appropriate adjudicating entity in parentage and child support actions; (2) there be appropriate safeguards on such information where a court has ordered that the custodial parent or child receive physical protection from the noncustodial parent; (3) appropriate administrative agencies make reasonable attempts to timely notify any individual owed child support of any proceeding to establish, modify, or enforce the support obligation; (4) States allow parties seeking both parentage and child support establishment in a judicial proceeding to bring a joint action in a single cause of action; (5) States provide for uniform procedures regarding jurisdiction and venue in parentage and child support cases; (6) States provide for continuation of parental child support obligations until they terminate as described; (7) States allow parties to participate in interstate parentage and child support proceedings by telephonic means; (8) marriage licenses, birth certificates, and divorce and parentage decrees contain social security numbers; and (9) appropriate State agencies be allowed subpoena power in connection with child support hearings. (Sec. 205) Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) to allow appropriate State agencies to obtain from credit reporting agencies information for establishing and modifying child support awards. (Sec. 206) 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. 207) Specifies certain principles to be used in accordance with the application of State child support guidelines. (Sec. 208) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, if children receive child support while obtaining postsecondary education, they will attain higher levels of education affording them a greater chance to break the welfare cycle. (Sec. 209) Requires the new OCSE Assistant Secretary to develop a: (1) national subpoena duces tecum for distribution to child support agencies and others to use to reach income information; and (2) uniform abstract of a child support order for State court use. (Sec. 214) Requires the Legal Services Corporation to ensure the use of a specified amount of funding for child support cases. (Sec. 215) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) children on Indian reservations be accorded the same right of support currently afforded to off-reservation children; (2) State and tribal governments should, to the greatest extent possible, ensure that jurisdictional issues do not prevent any Indian child from receiving the support to which the child is entitled; and (3) States should work with community-based organizations with ties to underserved populations to develop better methods to reach and work with such populations to encourage the filing of more support orders. Amends the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 to require Indian tribes to give full faith and credit to child support orders of other Indian tribes, to the extent such entities already give full faith and credit to the acts, records, and proceedings of the other entity. (Sec. 216) Amends SSA title IV part D to provide grants for certain demonstration projects designed to secure child support services in underserved areas and combat domestic violence. Title III: Parentage - Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) require States to adopt various specified procedures for voluntary paternity acknowledgment; and (2) provide for 90 percent Federal matching for such programs. (Sec. 301) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in a proceeding to establish paternity, once paternity is alleged, the burden of proof should shift to the alleged father. Title IV: Enforcement - Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) require States to mandate that an employer comply with wage withholding orders issued by any State court or administrative agency; (2) specify the priority for applying amounts withheld from income for child support and child health insurance; (3) subject to withholding for child support income from workers' compensation and other specified Federal sources; (4) prohibit State court application of the election of remedies doctrine to prevent collection of child support; (5) deny State occupational, professional, and business licenses, and driver's licenses and vehicle registrations to delinquent noncustodial parents; (6) authorize liens on vehicle titles, seizure of bank accounts, and holds on lottery winnings, settlements, payouts, bequests, and proceeds from the sale of forfeited property to satisfy child support arrearages; (7) require States to make a rebuttable presumption that any transfer of property by an individual who owes a child support arrearage is made with the intent to avoid payment of the arrearage; (8) revise the mechanism for collection of past-due child support from Federal tax refunds to cover post-minor children who do not receive Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC); (9) authorize attachment of retirement plan interests without a separate court order to satisfy child support arrearages; (10) permit enforcement of any child support order until the child is at least 30; (11) require interest on all child support judgments; (12) require States to adopt the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Laws in August 1992; (13) allow State courts to order the assignment of life insurance benefits and interests in jointly held property to satisfy child support arrearages; and (14) require States to treat international child support cases in the same manner as interstate child support cases. (Sec. 404) 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. (Sec. 406) Denies Federal occupational, professional, and business licenses for delinquent individuals until the license hold is released. (Sec. 412) 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. 417) Sets forth requirements pertaining to parentage establishment and child support payments in the armed forces. (Sec. 419) Directs the Comptroller General and Secretary of the Treasury to study the feasibility of an annual reconciliation process for paying child support arrearages as part of the Federal income tax process. (Sec. 420) Authorizes the Secretary of State to refuse, revoke, or restrict passports in cases where the applicant or holder is a noncustodial parent subject to a State arrest warrant for nonpayment of a substantial child support arrearage. (Sec. 421) Prohibits Federal benefits, loans, guarantees, and employment for individuals owing certain child support arrearages. (Sec. 424) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention of 1956. Title V: Collection and Distribution - 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 in the child support order; (3) revise part D plan provisions concerning fees; and (4) require States to provide for collection and disbursement points for child support cases. (Sec. 501) Requires Comptroller General to conduct studies and pilot projects with respect to requiring State systems to pay the child support collected under a State plan to the individuals to whom the support is owed before making any payment to reimburse any State for AFDC provided with respect to the child in question. Amends IRC to revise the Federal income tax refund offset mechanism. (Sec. 505) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should encourage parents to use the State child support agency to process and distribute child support payments. Title VI: Federal Role - Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) designate the separate organizational unit currently charged with various parentage and child support responsibilities as the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE); and (2) change OCSE's organizational structure. (Sec. 602) Requires: (1) the new OCSE Assistant Secretary to provide training assistance to the States; (2) States to provide for training of child support personnel; and (3) the Secretary to study staffing at State child support enforcement programs and reduce payments to States that have not implemented recommended staffing levels. (Sec. 604) Requires the Secretary to: (1) authorize demonstration projects to test alternative approaches to incentive funding for State child support programs; and (2) reduce payments to States which have not reinvested incentive payments in their child support programs. Provides that "support" under SSA title IV part D with respect to incentive payments to States includes premiums paid for health insurance coverage pursuant to a support order. Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should not use amounts paid to them pursuant to SSA title IV part D, which are reinvested in child support activities, to supplant State funding of such activities. (Sec. 606) Requires the Secretary to: (1) contract for a study of OCSE's audit process to develop criteria and methodology for auditing activities of State child support enforcement agencies; and (2) provide for State demonstration projects for the purpose of ensuring that custodial parents owed child support have a consistent source of income for the support of their children. (Sec. 607) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) children should have a consistent source of income to meet their education and medical needs; (2) the provision of public assistance to a custodial parent for the support of a child with respect to whom the noncustodial parent owes child support does not absolve the latter of the obligation to provide such support; (3) the States must continue to vigorously pursue efforts to establish parentage, and establish and enforce child support obligations; and (4) OCSE should develop a mechanism to publicize the best State practices in child support. (Sec. 608) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Treasury a Children's Trust Fund to hold the contributions designated by individuals on their tax returns for funding child support programs. (Sec. 609) Requires: (1) the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on delinquent child support payments and the effectiveness of administrative vs. judicial adjudication of parentage and child support cases; and (2) OCSE to produce and update a certain compendium of State child support laws published by the National Conference of State Legislatures, and establish a permanent child support advisory committee. Title VII: State Role - Amends SSA title IV part D to require 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 on child support cases and the services available under their part D plans; and (3) require any changes in child support payees to be made only through administrative procedures. (Sec. 703) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should: (1) work closely with parents to improve the quality of child support services; (2) have offices in areas accessible to public transportation with convenient hours that allow parents to meet privately with attorneys and caseworkers; and (3) establish administrative procedures to process child support cases and a child support council to recommend improvements in State paternity and child support programs. Title VIII: Jobs for Unemployed Noncustodial Parents - Expresses the sense of the Congress that any Federal program to provide jobs for noncustodial parents should be administered so as not to adversely affect any Federal program for custodial parents. (Sec. 801) Requires the Secretary to transmit evaluations of certain projects under the JOBS program under SSA title IV part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) to the Secretary of Labor for study and possible action, including authorizing States to provide services of greater scope and duration to unemployed noncustodial parents under such program. Title IX: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1995
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1993 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army Transport Service, during World War II constituted active military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge under such Act to each merchant marine member whose qualified service warrants such a discharge. Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee for any benefit application for such qualified service.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1995
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts (except those derived from borrowing) for that fiscal year unless the Congress, by a three-fifths roll call vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each House to increase the public debt. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress. Requires the approval of a majority of each House by roll call vote before any bill to increase revenue may become law. Waives these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect. Waives these provisions when the United States is engaged in a military conflict which poses a threat to national security as declared by a joint resolution adopted by a majority of each House.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1995
Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 - Applies, by a specified conditional date, provisions of the following laws to the legislative branch: (1) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (2) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (3) the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990; (4) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; (5) titles I and V of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; (6) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA); (7) provisions relating to Federal labor management relations; (8) with the exception of the U.S. Capitol Police, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988; (9) the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act; and (10) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Requires that an action to abate a violation of OSHA for which a citation is received take place as soon as possible, but no later than the fiscal year after the citation is issued. (Sec. 4) Establishes in the legislative branch an Office of Compliance to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the application of such laws to the legislative branch; (2) an examination of the procedures used by the instrumentalities to enforce the application of such laws; and (3) a determination as to whether to direct an instrumentality to make improvements in its regulations and procedures so as to assure that they are as effective as those specified in this Act. Authorizes the Office's Board of Directors to direct an instrumentality that has no such procedures to adopt the requisite procedures. Requires the Board to issue regulations governing such applicability which shall be subject to congressional approval. Makes applicable to the legislative branch any provision of Federal law to the extent that it relates to terms and conditions of employment (including protection from discrimination in personnel actions, health and safety of employees, and family and medical leave). Directs the Office, on an ongoing basis, to: (1) determine which of such laws should apply to the legislative branch; (2) study the application to the legislative branch of laws enacted after enactment of this Act; and (3) issue regulations to apply such laws to the legislative branch subject to congressional approval. Sets forth House and Senate procedures for concurrent resolutions to disapprove such regulations. (Sec. 6) Requires the Office to: (1) carry out an education program for Members of Congress and other employing authorities of the legislative branch respecting the laws made applicable to them and a program to inform individuals of their rights under such laws and this Act; (2) publish statistics on the use of the Office by congressional employees; and (3) develop a system for the collection of demographic data on the composition of the congressional employees. Requires the Board to submit to the Congress annual reports on the information collected under such system. (Sec. 7) Sets forth procedure for consideration of alleged violations of the laws made applicable to the legislative branch consisting of the following steps: (1) counseling through the Office; (2) mediation with the Office; (3) a formal complaint and hearing by a board; (4) judicial review if a congressional employee is aggrieved by a dismissal, final decision, or an order by the hearing board or if a head of an employing office is aggrieved by a final decision or would be subject to an order issued by such board; and (5) as an alternative to steps 3 and 4, a civil action in a U.S. district court. (Sec. 14) Declares that any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee because of the exercise of a right under this Act constitutes an unlawful employment practice that may be remedied in the same manner as a violation of law made applicable to the legislative branch under this Act. (Sec. 15) Requires all counseling, mediation, and hearings and deliberations of a hearing board to be confidential. Permits the records of hearing boards to be made public if required for judicial review. Authorizes the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to have access to the hearing of the hearing board only after the board has made a decision with respect to the matter. (Sec. 17) Provides that this Act shall not be construed to authorize enforcement by the executive branch of any of the laws made applicable to congressional employees under this Act. Limits a congressional employee to the judicial proceeding provided by this Act to redress prohibited practices. (Sec. 18) Requires the Office to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the ways that public access to information held by the Congress may be improved, streamlined, and made consistent between the House and the Senate; and (2) the application of the Freedom of Information Act and the Right to Privacy Act to the legislative branch.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1994
Provides for an adjournment of the House of Representatives from October 7 until November 29, 1994, and a recess or adjournment of the Senate on any day from October 7 through 14 until November 30, 1994. Provides for an adjournment sine die of the House on November 29, 1994, and of the Senate on December 1, 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1994
Urges: (1) the Government of the Russian Federation to adhere to the provisions of the agreement for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova initialed on August 10, 1994; and (2) the Administration to continue to use every appropriate opportunity, including multilateral and bilateral diplomacy, to secure removal of Russian military forces from Moldova.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1994
Fire Safety Education Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants with entities to obtain and distribute at the State and local level fire safety and prevention education programs and supporting educational resources. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants with States for the purpose of implementing the revised National Fire Incident Reporting System to improve the collection and analysis of fire data at the State and local levels. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1994
Missing Service Personnel Act of 1994 - Requires the military commander of the unit, facility, or area to which the following persons are assigned to conduct an investigation as to their whereabouts after receiving factual information that their status is uncertain: (1) military personnel who disappear during a period of war, national emergency, or hostilities; and (2) any civilian Federal employee (including an employee of a Federal contractor) who serves with or accompanies an armed force in the field during such a period. Requires such persons to be placed in a missing status and requires notification of such status to either the officer having general court-martial authority over the person (for military personnel) or the Secretary of the military department employing such person (for civilian and contractor employees). Requires such officials to be kept informed (specifies deadlines) as to all information and inquiries concerning efforts to locate such missing personnel. Requires such officials to appoint a board to conduct an inquiry into the whereabouts and status of such persons. Provides for: (1) board composition, activities, and access to information; (2) inquiry proceedings (requiring the appointment of counsel, with specified duties, to represent the missing person); (3) a board recommendation as to the official status of a person following such an inquiry; (4) board reports to the officials involved as to board conclusions (prohibiting public availability of such reports for a one-year period); (5) report review by the official; (6) a report from such official to interested persons; and (7) an additional investigation and inquiry by an additional board upon receipt of new information within one year after the date of the first official notice of a person's disappearance. Allows interested persons (family members, dependents, next of kin) to participate at the proceedings of the board during such additional inquiry. Provides for the availability of appropriate information to board personnel conducting investigations and inquiries. Provides similar procedures for the second board with respect to meetings (open to the public, with exceptions), recommendations, reports, review by the Secretary of the military department concerned, and reports to interested persons. Requires a board to be reconvened when information becomes available that would directly lead to a determination of a person's status. Requires the Secretary concerned to appoint a board to conduct an inquiry as to the status of a missing person: (1) on or about three years after the first official notice of the disappearance of such person; and (2) not later than every three years thereafter until a total of 12 years after the first official notice. Provides for: (1) the release to a board by the Secretary concerned of all personnel file information concerning missing persons; (2) the treatment of classified information; (3) penalties for the wrongful withholding of information; (4) limited circumstances under which a board may recommend that a missing person be declared officially dead; (5) the submission by the board of appropriate information if such recommendation occurs; and (6) judicial review for interested persons of a board decision to declare a person officially dead. Provides for the appointment of a board to review the status of a person previously declared dead, with board procedures similar to those described above. Requires a person previously declared dead or in a missing status who is subsequently found alive to be paid for the full time of their absence.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1994
Smithsonian Institution Sesquicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the scientific, educational, and cultural significance of the Smithsonian Institution. Mandates that: (1) all but a certain portion of surcharges received from coin sales be paid by the Secretary to the Smithsonian Institution to support programming related to the 150th anniversary and general activities of the Smithsonian Institution; and (2) a certain portion of such surcharges be dedicated to supporting the operation and activities of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1994
Criminal Justice Information Services Placement Assistance Act - Authorizes noncompetitive, career or career-conditional appointments for employees of the Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who do not relocate from Washington, D.C. to Clarksburg, West Virginia, provided that: (1) the employee meets the qualification requirements prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management for the position to which appointed; (2) the last previous Federal employment was as an employee of such Division; and (3) the appointment is effected on or before September 30, 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1994
Designates August 1, 1994, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Authorizes the President to reassert America's commitment to the Helsinki Accords and requests him to: (1) convey to all signatories of the Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is a vital element of further progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; and (2) develop new proposals to advance the human rights objectives of such process to address the major problems that remain.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) marinas should not be treated as offshore facilities for purposes of financial responsibility requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990; and (2) any regulations under such Act that require offshore facilities to demonstrate $150 million in financial responsibility should not apply to marinas.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1994
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities, including employing authorities of the House of Representatives, employing offices of the Senate, and instrumentalities of the Congress. Declares that: (1) this Act does not apply to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's partner; and (2) a disparate impact does not establish a prima facie violation of this Act. Prohibits quotas and preferential treatment. Declares that this Act does not apply to: (1) religious organizations (except in their for-profit activities); (2) the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Provides for enforcement. Disallows State and Federal immunity. Allows recovery of attorney's fees. Prohibits retaliation and coercion. Requires posting notices for employees and applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: JOBS Title II: WORK Title III: Child Care Title IV: Provisions with Multi-Program Applicability Title V: Prevention of Dependency Title VI: Child Support Enforcement Title VII: Improving Government Assistance and Preventing Fraud Title VIII: Self Employment/Microenterprise Demonstrations Title IX: Financing Title X: Effective Dates Work and Responsibility Act of 1994 - Title I: JOBS - Amends parts A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) and F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise the Federal welfare system for the purpose of making AFDC a transitional program with the goal of enabling participants to achieve maximum economic independence and self-sufficiency by, among other changes, imposing time-limited AFDC benefits and requiring participation in modified and new State-administered job training and subsidized employment programs that have been designed to eventually move them into the permanent work force and prepare them for a life without welfare by enabling them to get work experience and by requiring them to perform job searches for suitable nonsubsidized employment. (Sec. 101) Modifies current AFDC and JOBS participation requirements. Requires all AFDC recipients (including minor custodial parents not attending school full time) who are able to participate in the JOBS program to so participate, starting in FY 1996 or 1997 on a phased-in basis with custodial parents (including such minor parents) born in 1972 or later, and continuing thereafter with any such additional classes of parents of dependent children or other AFDC applicants or recipients. Requires a recipient unable to participate in the JOBS program because of a third trimester pregnancy, temporary incapacity, or other specified reason, to participate in related preparatory activities the State in appropriate cases may require pursuant to the recipient's employability plan, in order to prepare the recipient for full JOBS participation. Requires suspension for up to six months of the AFDC benefits of a family with a member who is required to participate in JOBS but refuses without good cause to accept the required number of weekly hours of employment offered by a public or private sector employer under the program. Grants States the option of continuing AFDC to the dependent children of any family with a parent who is required to participate in JOBS but fails without good cause to do so and is cut off AFDC for the period specified under current law, while preserving their eligibility under SSA title XIX (Medicaid). Directs the applicable State agency to provide appropriate counseling and other supportive services to assist the parent in addressing such failure. Requires custodial parents below age 20 who do not have a high school diploma (or its equivalent), and are required to participate in JOBS, to participate in an educational activity, regardless of State resource availability as currently conditioned under law. Allows States to apply AFDC sanctions to any individual required to get substance abuse treatment as a condition of JOBS participation who fails to get such treatment. (Sec. 102) Requires the States to implement statewide within two years of initial implementation in FY 1996 or 1997 modified JOBS programs that, with respect to the AFDC recipients required to participate in JOBS, provide for an assessment of such recipient's literacy skills and for expanded education, optional free substance abuse treatment, mandatory job search, and self-employment (including microenterprise) preparation services, in addition to the currently authorized child care and other supportive services. Requires such State JOBS programs to provide any other appropriate services or activities detailed in the recipient's individualized employability plan which the State agrees to provide and the recipient agrees to participate in by signing a personal responsibility agreement, in order to prepare the recipient for either permanent unsubsidized employment or temporary subsidized employment through the new WORK program. Requires such JOBS programs to address participant training for child care providers and nontraditional employment positions. Requires such JOBS programs to require employability plans to: (1) indicate the overall time for achieving their employment goals; and (2) be extended whenever the 24 month limit on AFDC benefits is extended. Subjects them to periodic review and revision to reflect the recipient's progress towards meeting such goals. (Continues with further modifications in the JOBS program as provided below under title II of this Act.) (Sec. 103) Revises JOBS program provisions on dispute resolution and service provision, with changes in the latter provisions: (1) extending their applicability (although modified, and along with additional specified wage, benefit, and working condition requirements) to the WORK program; (2) specifying the components of grievance procedures for resolving regular employee complaints alleging violations of worker displacement prohibitions or other specified work-related requirements; (3) requiring written notification of labor organizations when JOBS program participants are assigned to regular employment positions; (4) establishing an alternative expedited grievance procedure for complaints involving such an assignment; and (5) providing for binding arbitration for adverse grievance decisions. Changes earned income disregards and the limit on Federal reimbursement for State expenditures under work supplementation program provisions. (Sec. 104) Requires the States to generally limit AFDC benefits to 24 months, subject to extension for certain educational purposes, unless they have opted to participate in a limited number of demonstrations using alternative limits. (Sec. 105) Places administrative jurisdiction of the WORK program under the Assistant Secretary for Family Support in the Department of Health and Human Services. Title II: WORK - Adds to SSA title IV part G the WORK program. Requires States to have new programs requiring former JOBS participants who have been cut off AFDC after 24 months without receiving an extension or finding suitable employment to: (1) register with the applicable State agency for an approprate Work assignment of up to one year in the local area, involving placement in a temporary position in a subsidized private or public sector job (including ones as community service and child care providers) that gives them the experience for eventually finding a nonsubsidized job; and (2) conduct job searches for suitable nonsubsidized employment after completing an assignment while awaiting assignment to the next WORK job. (Sec. 201) Allows registrants to receive supplemental AFDC benefits in addition to their WORK earnings, as well as have their Medicaid-eligibility preserved while participating in WORK. Prohibits the upward adjustment of the amount of such supplemental benefits because of any failure to work the required hours for each assignment. Requires the aplicable State agency to conduct a comprehensive assessment at periodic intervals and either reassign the WORK participant to JOBS for additional training or to another assignment if he or she cannot find unsubsidized employment. Details other program provisions, chief among them provisions for: (1) local WORK advisory boards for advising administering agencies; (2) child care and other supportive services; (3) sanctions, hearings, and evaluations following WORK violations; and (4) optional joint JOBS and WORK administration and provision of program services through one-stop career centers. (Sec. 202) Revises current JOBS funding provisions, among other changes: (1) increasing the capped JOBS entitlement beginning in FY 1996, with the level of such entitlement specified for FY 2005 and each fiscal year thereafter adjusted for inflation; (2) limiting entitlement payments under JOBS to a State according to the average monthly number of adult recipients in the State for the preceding fiscal year relative to the number in all States (no longer factoring in the amount allotted to the State for FY 1987); (3) including enhanced Federal matching in the formulae for determining Federal payment with respect to a State's JOBS, WORK, and associated child care support expenditures; (4) establishing similar separate funding for the WORK program and specified set-asides under both programs for Indian tribes and Alaska Native organizations; and (5) earmarking specified funds for use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to provide to States requesting additional funding for JOBS or WORK in the following fiscal year beyond that which was originally allocated and subsequently reallocated. (Sec. 204) Requires the States to implement modified JOBS programs as described above that, additionally, provide: (1) at the State's option, for a separate program for job training and employment opportunities for non-custodial parents without requiring their participation in JOBS or WORK in order to participate in the separate program; (2) for revised components for Indian tribes and Alaska Native organizations, among other changes, making such components applicable to such entities applying to conduct WORK programs, and to provide funding for Indian and Alaska Native child care under the AFDC, JOBS, and WORK programs; and (3) for special rules for territories regarding applicability of the 24 month limit on AFDC benefits and the WORK program. (Sec. 205) Amends SSA title XI to remove WORK and "at-risk" family child care from the territorial cap. (Sec. 207) Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to exempt earnings from WORK employment from being: (1) subject to Federal income and unemployment taxes; and (2) treated as earned income or qualified wages for purposes of the earned income and targeted jobs tax credits. Title III: Child Care - Makes various specified changes with regard to AFDC's child care support programs, including those largely conforming to the provisions of this Act concerning child care support for JOBS and WORK participants. Provides, in addition, for transitional child care for individuals leaving the WORK program. Provides also, with respect to AFDC recipients, JOBS and WORK participants, transitional child care recipients, and "at-risk" families, for parental rights and child care health and safety standards consistent with those under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (Child Care Block Grant Act), including requirements for proper child immunizations and protection against toxic substances and weapons at sites where child care is provided. (Sec. 302) Provides for: (1) family cost-sharing for transitional and "at-risk" family child care consistent with the methodology used under the Child Care Block Grant Act; (2) "at-risk" family child care only in cases where the family involved is not eligible for other SSA title IV part A child care support programs, and regardless of whether they need child care in order to work; and (3) modified State payment and Federal reimbursement rules, among other changes making State licensing and monitoring activities with respect to child care providers reimbursable as an administrative cost. (Sec. 304) Provides for: (1) optional administration of AFDC's child care support programs by the lead State agency designated under the Child Care Block Grant Act; (2) establishment of a set-aside in the "at-risk" family child care support program for improving the quality and increasing the supply of appropriate child care for low-income communities; (3) increased Federal funding for the "at-risk" family child care support program as well as a new enhanced Federal match for that program consistent with that for other SSA title IV part A services; and (4) reallotment of unused "at-risk" funds to States with expenditures exceeding applicable limits. (Sec. 307) Provides for offering working AFDC families a supplement if certain earned income disregard provisions are applied in order to guarantee child care. Title IV: Provisions with Multi-Program Applicability - Revises current JOBS performance standards and AFDC quality control and management information system provisions. Provides for: (1) an outcome-based performance standards system for measuring the extent to which JOBS and WORK help participants and their families move towards self-sufficiency and economic well-being and away from welfare; and (2) an expanded quality control system, as well as new State automated systems, for use in assessing the State's performance in administering its AFDC, JOBS, WORK and child care support programs, by applying such standards and in assisting the States in monitoring participants, processing payments, providing services, managing information, and performing the other operations involved in administering such programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 403) Amends AFDC to require the Secretary to establish and maintain an automated National Welfare Receipt Registry of information on current and past AFDC and WORK participants for assisting States in administering their AFDC, JOBS, and WORK plans. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Earmarks funding out of the capped JOBS and WORK entitlements above for specified demonstration projects, studies, and other activities related to the programs created and modified by this Act and involving, for instance: (1) JOBS placements in positions with significant retention rates; (2) WORK programs conducted outside the State's AFDC program; (3) State Work Support Agencies for assisting former AFDC recipients in retaining unsubsidized employment; and (4) parenting skills for noncustodial parents. (Sec. 405) Requires the Secretary and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, beginning in FY 1998, to make certain certifications over a six-year period regarding the use of the component databases of the National Welfare Reform Information Clearinghouse (established under title VI of this Act) by State and Federal agencies. Requires the Director to determine whether Federal agencies have used such databases for reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in their programs in order to achieve the mandatory spending reductions assumed in the cost estimates accompanying this Act. Specifies required reductions in mandatory spending for the succeeding fiscal year if the Director certifies before the close of the current fiscal year that despite the full use of such databases mandatory spending was not reduced by the projected amount. Title V: Prevention of Dependency - Amends AFDC and JOBS to make various specified changes designed to prevent welfare dependency, including changes relating to: (1) supervised living arrangements for unmarried minor parents with dependent children and pregnant women; (2) State options to limit AFDC benefit increases for families on AFDC who have additional children, and to conduct a program of montary incentives and penalties to encourage teen custodial parents and pregnant women to complete high school and participate in parenting activities; and (3) case management for teen custodial parents on AFDC. (Sec. 505) Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to provide for: (1) grants for development of school-based programs in high risk areas for promoting adolescent personal responsibility and character development with emphasis on drug use and pregnancy prevention; (2) grants for carrying out similar demonstration projects providing comprehensive services for promoting educational advancement, improving community stability, and developing employment opportunities in addition to focusing on personal responsibility and drug use and pregnancy prevention; and (3) establishment by appropriate Federal officials of the National Clearinghouse on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs for disseminating information on and performing other specified functions, including sponsoring training institutes, with regard to adolescent pregnancy prevention programs. Title VI: Child Support Enforcement - Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to revise the Federal child support and paternity establishment system and related IRC and other provisions to mandate among other things: (1) centralized collection and disbursement (including interstate collection and disbursement) of child support payments through a new single statewide automated system linked to a central registry of all child support orders established or modified in the State involved subject to wage withholding; and (2) a National Welfare Reform Information Clearinghouse composed of specified automated registries and directories (including an expanded Federal Parent Locator Service) containing employment, locate, and other specified types of information for assisting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in verifying employment and States in administering their AFDC, JOBS, WORK, and child support and paternity establishment programs, verifying the income and eligibility of Medicaid, food stamp, and SSI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSA title XVI) program participants, and ruling on unemployment and worker compensation claims. (Sec. 601) Mandates: (1) outreach for voluntarily establishing paternity and facilitating access to child support enforcement services; (2) annual State reviews of and reports on child support and paternity establishment programs for use by Federal auditors in assessing program performance using new Government standards; and (3) increased Federal matching payments for such programs. Includes among such changes new State plan requirements regarding: (1) AFDC recipient cooperation in State efforts to establish paternity and secure support; (2) distribution of support payments; (3) due process rights; (4) privacy safeguards; and (5) State and local agency program staff and contractor training. (Sec. 612) Revises provisions on: (1) State incentive payments, providing for performance-based incentive adjustments to the Federal matching rate for payments to a particular State; and (2) reductions in State AFDC payments for certain failures, adding specific failures to achieve appropriate levels of performance in paternity establishment and child support enforcement or to submit complete or reliable data, and conditioning the effectiveness of such reductions on the State's failure to take sufficient corrective action in the succeeding fiscal year to achieve compliance. (Sec. 615) Requires the Secretary to conduct staffing studies for a report to the Congress. (Sec. 616) Earmarks specified funding for Federal technical assistance, training, research, demonstrations, and other activities assisting State child support and paternity establishment programs. (Sec. 617) Makes specified changes with regard to: (1) annual congressional reports on all SSA title IV part D activities; and (2) data collection and reporting. (Sec. 623) Revises State law requirements regarding: (1) income withholding; (2) locate networks; (3) labor union cooperation in such State efforts; (4) use of social security numbers on child support and paternity orders and other specified party records; (5) modification of child support orders (including uniform interstate enforcement and modification of such orders); (6) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity (including before the child is born) and establishing, modifying, and enforcing support obligations; (7) imposition of motor vehicle title liens and other specified actions for support arrearages (including mandatory credit bureau reporting of all arrearages); (8) arrearage statute of limitations and interest and penalties; and (9) visitation rights. (Sec. 625) Directs the Secretary to establish a National Welfare Reform Information Clearinghouse and an automated National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 627) Directs the Secretary to conduct studies on: (1) (and make grants to States for demonstrations involving) certain locate activities; and (2) the use of tax return information for modifying child support orders. (Sec. 642) Provides for: (1) a reduction in State AFDC payments for failure to establish paternity promptly; and (2) State options to provide for incentive payments to families to encourage paternity establishment. Directs the Secretary to authorize certain State demonstrations involving financial incentives for paternity establishment. (Sec. 651) Authorizes the Secretary to establish: (1) a revolving loan fund for program improvements to increase child support collections; and (2) the National Commission on Child Support Guidelines to determine whether a national child support guideline is advisable and develop one for congressional consideration if it is. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 662) Amends IRC to make specified changes with regard to the IRS tax refund offset program and collection of arrearages, among other changes: (1) eliminating the disparities between AFDC and non-AFDC cases; and (2) prohibiting additional fees for updating open case arrearages. (Sec. 664) Consolidates and revises provisions for collecting support from Federal employees and members of the armed forces. (Sec. 672) Modifies support obligation treatment under the Federal bankruptcy code. (Sec. 673) Provides for passport denial in cases involving child support arrearages exceeding $5,000. (Sec. 681) Directs the Secretary to make grants for State demonstrations to determine the effectiveness of programs to provide assured levels of child support to custodial parents of children whose paternity and support obligations have been established. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 691) Authorizes appropriations for State absent parent access and visitation programs. Title VII: Improving Government Assistance and Preventing Fraud - Amends AFDC, the Family Support Act of 1988, the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Food Stamp Act), SSA title XI, and the IRC to make various specified changes in income disregard, resource exclusion, and other provisions under the Federal welfare system that are designed to: (1) simplify administration, for example, by changing the policy of obtaining citizenship declarations from each family member in cases where a single family is applying for AFDC, and by conforming program rules between AFDC and the food stamp program on the treatment of educational assistance; and (2) prevent fraud by allowing State agencies to use the IRS to collect AFDC overpayments from Federal tax refunds. (Sec. 731) Individual Development Account Demonstration Act of 1994 - States that it is U.S. policy to: (1) eliminate barriers that prevent AFDC recipients from becoming self-sufficient through self-employment and asset accumulation; (2) identify and implement cost-effective strategies to encourage saving and entrepreneurship among low-income families that have the potential to reduce Federal spending on transfers and services to them; (3) enhance private-sector opportunities for such families by enabling them to use their own resources through expanded business investment, job creation, home ownership, and human capital investment; and (4) expand the capacity of local organizations to provide asset-related services, such as savings mechanisms and loan funds, that help people to help themselves. (Sec. 732) Provides for the establishment of State and local demonstration projects designed to determine: (1) the social, psychological, and economic effects of providing low-income individuals with the opportunity to accumulate assets and develop and use entrepreneurial skills; and (2) the extent to which an asset-based assistance policy may be used to enable such individuals to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 734) Amends the IRC to allow the establishment of individual development accounts (IDAs) by or on behalf of an eligible individual for the purpose of accumulating funds to pay his or her qualified expenses. Establishes an annual limit on such contributions (except contributions to IDAs established under the demonstration projects above), and a limit on total contributions for all years of $10,000. Defines qualified expenses as those for: (1) post-secondary education expenses; (2) a first-home purchase; and (3) business capitalization. Declares that contributions to IDAs are not subject to the gift tax or the tax on prohibited transactions. (Sec. 741) Provides for State demonstrations under which participating residents will receive advanced earned income payments from a responsible State agency in lieu of receiving them from an employer. Authorizes appropriations. Title VIII: Self-Employment/Microenterprise Demonstrations - Directs the Secretary and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, subject to available funding, to jointly develop a self-employment/microenterprise demonstration program for welfare recipients and low-income individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Title IX: Financing - Caps AFDC's emergency assistance program. (Sec. 902) Establishes uniform eligibility criteria under AFDC, SSI, and Medicaid for all categories of aliens, including those lawfully admitted for permanent residence. (Sec. 903) Makes the current five-year period of sponsor responsibility permanent law under SSI and increases sponsor periods under AFDC and food stamps to five years, among other changes in AFDC, SSI, and food stamp alien eligibility rules, which include changes disqualifying after five years certain aliens with sponsors having income in excess of applicable limits. (Sec. 904) Amends the National School Lunch Act, among other things, to: (1) establish a two-tiered reimbursement structure for family or group day care homes; (2) provide family or group day care home sponsoring organizations with additional funding for administrative expenses for each home located in a low-income area; and (3) require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide State assistance grants. (Sec. 905) Amends the Food Stamp Act to extend expiring provisions reducing the percentage of recovered food stamp overpayments retainable by State agencies. (Sec. 906) Make persons receiving in excess of $100,000 in off-farm adjusted gross income ineligible for Commodity Credit Corporation crop subsidies. (Sec. 907) Amends the IRC to: (1)extend the expiring corporate environmental income tax used to finance the Hazardous Substance Superfund; (2) extend the earned income tax credit to military personnel on extended active duty abroad; and (3) deny such credit for non-resident aliens. (Sec. 908) Amends the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 to extend railroad safety inspection fees permanently. (Sec. 911) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to extend certain customs fees. Title X: Effective Dates - Specifies the effective dates of this Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hoyer, Steny H. [D-MD-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_md_5_hoyer_steny_200.jpg)