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Bill· HRH.R. 2208 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1991
Requires the head of a Federal agency or the Secretary of a military department to provide to the primary next of kin of a Federal employee or member of the armed forces in a missing status: (1) notice that such missing status is to be reviewed; (2) an opportunity to attend the review hearing with an attorney; (3) access to all information on which such review is based; and (4) an opportunity to present relevant information. Requires the agency head or Secretary concerned to exhaust all reasonable possibilities to obtain proof of the death of a missing person in order to establish a reasonable presumption that the employee or member is dead. Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on an examination and evaluation of procedures by which the missing status of an employee or member is reviewed.
Bill· HRH.R. 2200 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1991
Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act Fairness Amendments of 1991 - Prohibits payments from the disposable retired pay of a member of the armed forces to a former spouse (as part of a court-ordered property settlement agreement) after the remarriage of such former spouse. Prohibits payments so terminated from being reinstated on account of the subsequent termination of the former spouse's remarriage. Directs the Secretary of Defense to promulgate regulations for ascertaining the current marital status of former spouses receiving such payments. Provides that, in the case of a member whose final decree of divorce, dissolution, annulment, or legal separation is issued before such member begins to receive retired pay, the disposable retired pay of such member shall be based on the pay grade and length of service of such member while married up to the date of the final decree. Provides for recomputation of amounts currently provided in accordance with amendments made by this Act. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 to state that changes made in the determination of retired pay as property for property settlement purposes under such Act shall not take effect in the case of property settlement payments due before the end of the one-year period (currently two-year) after the effective date of such Act. Provides that if a court, as part of a final divorce, dissolution, annulment, or legal separation decree, does not treat or reserve jurisdiction to treat the disposable retired pay of a member as either his property or his and his former spouse's property, then, in any subsequent judicial proceeding, the jurisdiction of the court to address such question shall be separately established at such time. Allows a former spouse to make application to a court for division of retired pay as joint property within two years of such a final decree. Provides that a member's disability pay payable as part of his or her retired pay shall not be included by a court as joint property of the member and former spouse subject to division as part of a court-ordered property settlement. Prohibit a court from: (1) ordering a member to make a property settlement payment out of the member's active duty income earned after the date the member first becomes eligible to retire; or (2) making a member pay a pre-retirement payment equivalent to a payment which would otherwise be made had the member retired and commenced receiving retired pay. Outlines provisions for the determination of a pre-retirement payment. Prohibits a court from ordering a member recalled to active duty to commence or continue payments to a former spouse resulting from the treatment of retired pay as joint property for the entire period such member continues on such active duty.
Bill· HRH.R. 2199 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1991
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a pilot program at not less than 30 Department of Veterans Affairs facilities to provide hospice care for terminally ill veterans who are currently being provided hospital, nursing home, or domiciliary care by the Department. Directs the Secretary to contract with non-Department facilities that are considered hospice programs for purposes of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Outlines provisions concerning the duration of such hospice care for each individual, allowing such individual to terminate such care or, in some cases, to have such care extended. Provides for payments to hospice programs for the provision of such care. Requires the Secretary to notify terminally ill veterans of the availability of such pilot program. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the quality of care furnished under the program as well as its cost-effectiveness.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 242 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1991
Designates the week beginning November 10, 1991, as National Women Veterans Recognition Week.
Bill· HRH.R. 2182 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1991
Authorizes persons having claims against the United States for damage to the vessel MV Iver Chaser as a result of a 1984 explosion in Nicaragua's territorial waters to file claims with the Secretary of State. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to pay amounts to persons certified by the Secretary of State. Prohibits the Secretary of State from certifying any claim if the MV Iver Chaser was used for military or security operations by the Sandinista Government of Nicaragua. Limits the total amount of certified claims. Permits the filing of claims within the one-year period beginning on this Act's enactment date. Makes it unlawful for an amount that exceeds ten percent of the amount paid to a person under this Act to be paid to any agent or attorney for any service rendered in connection with the benefits provided by this Act. Prescribes fines for such violations.
Bill· HRH.R. 2179 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1991
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to make specified contract notice requirements currently applicable to property transferred by Federal agencies on which a hazardous substance was stored, released, or disposed applicable to leases of, or granting of easements on, such property. Considers remedial action to have been taken on transferred Federal property on which a hazardous substance was stored, released, or disposed if one of the following conditions exists: (1) remedial action has been completed on the property or no action was required; or (2) remedial action has been commenced on the property with respect to any remaining hazardous substance, the deed for the transfer of such property assures access so that such action can be taken, and the United States agrees to carry out actions until remedial action has been completed. Authorizes the President, acting through a Federal agency, to arrange for the removal of any hazardous substance on real property, regardless of whether a danger to the public health or welfare or the environment exists. Permits Federal agencies to subdivide property subject to this Act for purposes of sale, lease, grant of easement, or other transfer. Requires the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on the manner in which the Department of Defense plans to carry out environmental restoration activities on military installations to be closed.
Bill· HRH.R. 2175 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1991
Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit, except under specified circumstances, the Export-Import Bank from guaranteeing or extending credit for the sale of defense articles and services to any country (currently, only to economically less developed countries). Requires the Comptroller General to study the participation of the Bank in financing sales of such items to foreign countries and to submit the results of such study to specified congressional committees.
Bill· HRH.R. 2173 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1991
Department of Defense Lyme Disease Research and Education Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Army Environmental Hygiene Agency, to carry out a research and education (R&E) program regarding Lyme disease. Specifies actions to be taken by the Secretary as part of such R&E program, including: (1) assessing the risk of Lyme disease at military installations; (2) providing lab support for identifying and assaying deer ticks for Lyme disease; (3) providing information regarding Lyme disease to military personnel at installations at which there are sizable populations of deer ticks, as well as to dependents of such personnel; (4) establishing and maintaining a data repository on information collected by the Department of Defense regarding the disease; (5) conducting operational testing; and (6) testing candidate deer tick repellent compounds for effectiveness and toxicity to humans. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for conducting the R&E program. Earmarks specified amounts of such appropriations for each of the R&E activities undertaken. Directs the Secretary to print and distribute to appropriate military personnel wallet-sized cards that identify the ticks that transmit Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, listing symptoms and methods of prevention. Allows the Secretary to make 25 percent of such cards available to Federal health agencies and the public. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research to conduct research to develop a ribosomal RNA probe to detect Borrella burgdorferi in arthropods, animal reservoirs, and laboratory samples. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Defense for such research.
Bill· HRH.R. 2141 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Establishes the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, Idaho. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to continue implementation of the comprehensive land use plan for the management and rehabilitation of public lands and resources within the conservation area. Requires the Secretrary to review such plan for the compatibility of the military use of such area with the protection and conservation of the area's raptor (birds of prey) habitat and resources. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a visitors center designed to interpret the history, research, management, geology, ecology, and biology of the raptors and their relationship to man. Declares that the management plan shall provide for the continued use of the conservation area's Orchard Training Area by the Idaho National Guard. Authorizes the grazing of domestic livestock within such area. Provides that private lands acquired within the boundaries of the conservation area shall become a part of such area. Directs the Secretary to appoint a steering committee to review long-range plans and research and management of the conservation area. Releases lands of the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area not designated as wilderness for multiple use and management and requires such lands to be managed as part of the conservation area. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 2154 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Makes any law or regulation prescribing the time within which a military decoration or award may be recommended or awarded inapplicable with respect to the awarding of a certain medal to a named individual in the armed forces.
Bill· HRH.R. 2138 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program on a military installation for reducing the amount of solid waste generated at the installation. Requires that the yard waste (leaves and grass trimmings) and cafeteria waste (food waste) at such installation be composted, rather than be disposed of in a landfill or by other conventional means. Requires the compost produced to be used for soil amendment or in another appropriate manner as determined by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the implementation of the pilot program, including a recommendation as to whether similar programs should be carried out at other military installations.
Bill· HRH.R. 2148 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act, 1985 to reduce, as of the end of FY 1992, the authorized end strength for U.S. military personnel stationed in Europe.
Bill· HRH.R. 2134 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Expands the definition of "child," for purposes of eligibility for military health care as dependents of members or former members of the armed forces, to include a person who is under the legal custody of the member or former member and who otherwise satisfies the definition of a military dependent.
Law· HRH.R. 2122 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1991
Emergency Supplemental Persian Gulf Refugee Assistance Act of 1991 - Authorizes supplemental appropriations for FY 1991 for: (1) emergency humanitarian assistance for Iraqi refugees and other persons displaced as a result of the Persian Gulf conflict; (2) peacekeeping activities in the Persian Gulf region; and (3) the reimbursement of appropriations accounts from which such assistance was provided before this Act's enactment. Raises the ceiling on the limitation on appropriations for the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for FY 1991. Provides that such assistance shall not be counted against certain ceiling limitations on international disaster assistance and the drawdown of defense articles and services and military education and training. Permits appropriations under this Act to be appropriated from the Defense Cooperation Account, the Persian Gulf Regional Defense Fund, or the General Fund of the Treasury.
Bill· SS. 976 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Amendments of 1991 - Title I: General Amendments - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise congressional findings, objectives, and national policy provisions. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Solid Waste Disposal Act through FY 1996. Sets forth procedures for the administrative review of regulations. Title II: Toxics Use and Source Reduction - Encourages the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in promulgating requirements or taking actions under specified environmental Acts, to make toxics use and source reduction an integral part of the planning and decisionmaking process. Integrates specified provisions of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 into the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Requires the Administrator, as part of a source reduction strategy, to: (1) convey to EPA offices the impediments to toxics use and source reduction; (2) review and comment upon toxics use and source reduction strategies developed by other Federal agencies; (3) provide assistance to the educational community to promote the introduction of toxics use and source reduction principles into design, engineering, management, and environmental sciences curricula; and (4) provide for opportunities to educate Federal, State, and local government staff of opportunities for cross-media environmental protection. Extends the authorization of appropriations for grants to States to promote toxics use and source reduction by businesses through FY 1996. Requires the Administrator to survey a representative sample of owners and operators of facilities within Standard Industrial Code Classifications 20 through 39 to determine the nature and extent of: (1) the production, use, and consumption of hazardous substances and the generation of solid and hazardous wastes; and (2) toxics use and source reduction that has occurred or is planned. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish guidelines for hazardous substance accounting practices; and (2) publish toxics use and source reduction goals for industrial categories required to report pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Requires owners or operators of facilities required to submit toxic chemical release forms pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act to submit to the Administrator or an authorized State a toxics use and source reduction plan. Directs the Administrator to establish a schedule for the submission of such plans. Sets forth minimum requirements for such plans. Requires owners or operators of such facilities to submit biennially to the State a toxics use and source reduction performance report documenting reduction activities. Sets forth minimum requirements for such reports. Permits persons who can show that a facility is not making a good faith effort to comply with a toxics use and source reduction plan to request EPA or an authorized State to certify whether the facility is in compliance. Authorizes the Administrator or an authorized State to require a facility audit and requires plan modifications if a facility fails to implement or achieve objectives of the plan. Applies plan requirements to Federal facilities that conduct operations comparable to facilities required to submit toxic chemical release forms. Authorizes the Administrator to adopt regulations for exempting categories of facilities from such requirements where toxic use and source reduction opportunities do not reasonably exist for such facilities. Requires the Administrator to establish a Products and Packaging Advisory Board to report on the development of a voluntary program to: (1) minimize the quantity of packaging and other material in the waste stream; (2) minimize the consumption of scarce natural resources in the production and use of packaging; (3) maximize the recycling and reuse of packaging; (4) reduce litter; and (5) assure that human health and the environment will not be affected adversely as a result of the use and disposal of packaging and products. Authorizes the Administrator, after considering the Advisory Board's report, to publish guidelines to take the steps covered by the proposed program. Requires the Administrator to: (1) determine the extent to which hazardous substances are contained in products distributed in commerce; and (2) submit to the Congress a list of products containing hazardous substances which may present a health or environmental risk when disposed or incinerated. Provides for annual revisions of such list. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate regulations for the disposal or incineration of listed products. Requires the Administrator, if such regulations will not adequately protect human health and the environment, to regulate the manufacture and distribution in commerce of such products. Authorizes the Administrator to establish a research program at the Hazardous Substance Research Centers (created pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) to assist the EPA Office of Pollution Prevention. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on the criteria that would be used in establishing a program of regulatory incentives to promote toxics use and source reduction and to evaluate the benefits to human health and the environment that can be achieved from such program. Title III: Recycling - Declares it to be a national goal that at a minimum the generation of municipal solid waste be reduced by at least ten percent by the year 2000 and that at least 25 and 50 percent of such waste stream be recycled by 1995 and the year 2000, respectively. Requires the Administrator to promulgate commodity specific recovery and utilization standards for paper, glass, metals, plastic products, and other commodities. Provides for the review of such standards at least every five years and for revisions, as necessary. Requires the annual minimum recovery and utilization rate (by December 31, 1995) to be at least: (1) 52 percent for newsprint; (2) 66 percent for corrugated paper products; (3) 20 percent for mixed paper grades; (4) 50 percent for high-grade deinking paper; and (5) 100 percent for pulp substitutes; or (6) 40 percent for all grades of paper products. Directs the Administrator, if such rates have not been achieved by such date, to establish specified minimum recycled materials content standards. Requires the minimum annual recovery and utilization rate for plastic bottles or containers having a thickness of seven mils or greater and which retain shape when unsupported to be at least 25 percent by December 31, 1995. Directs the Administrator, if such rate has not been achieved, to require the annual minimum recycled content in such bottles and containers to be 30 percent by December 31, 2000. Requires the annual average percentage of cullet in glass bottles and containers to be at least 65 percent by January 1, 2005. Directs paper manufacturers and manufacturers of glass, metal, and plastic bottles or containers to report annually to the Administrator on the amount produced, the amount of recycled material used, and the average annual percentage of recycled content used in production. Requires the Administrator to compile an annual list indicating the average annual amount of recycled material used by commodities and the percentage of recycled content for each manufacturer and commodity. Directs publishers of daily newspapers with annual circulations of 25,000 or more to publish the average annual recycled content used in the production of the newspaper. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on enforcing commodity specific recycling requirements. Directs the Administrator to conduct demonstration projects and to develop model programs for the collection of materials for recycling in urban and rural areas. Requires such programs to identify collection methods, recycling techniques and technologies, markets for recycled materials, methods for stimulating such markets, methods of financing, and education and training programs that are adapted for recycling in rural areas. Authorizes States to develop model programs or establish their own programs for collecting materials for recycling purposes. Sets forth minimum requirements for State programs. Requires procuring agencies to give preference in procurement to items produced with the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable. Directs such agencies to purchase a quantity of recovered materials, the value of which constitutes 20 percent of the total dollar amount spent on procurement. Increases such percentage by two percentage points every second fiscal year. Provides that the percentage of total procurement reached at the end of the tenth year shall be required for every succeeding fiscal year. Prohibits agencies from paying more than ten percent above the price of a similar item not meeting guidelines for recovered materials. Sets forth a schedule for the preparation of final guidelines for the procurement of recovered glass, ferrous and nonferrous metals, lead-acid batteries, compost, plastic, used tire fragments, and rubber. Requires the Administrator to provide technical assistance to procuring agencies for compliance purposes. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to assure that purchases of fertilizer by the Department of Agriculture include fertilizer made with composted solid waste or secondary materials. Requires the Secretary of Defense to review specifications for military procurement items and to make necessary modifications to eliminate requirements that discriminate against the use or acquisition of items containing recovered materials. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to take actions to stimulate the development of new markets for recovered materials and products containing such materials. Requires the Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative to identify foreign markets for such materials and products and to assist exporters of such materials and products in selling in such markets. Directs the Secretary to: (1) acquire and disseminate information regarding the world demand and competition for recyclable materials and products containing recovered materials, the marketing and distribution of such materials and products in foreign countries, and the factors influencing the export of such materials and products from the United States; and (2) undertake demonstrations abroad of the standards of quality of such materials and products. Provides that Federal contracts for $1,000,000 or more shall require at least 50 percent of materials (for which there are procurement guidelines) used in such contracts to be produced from recycled materials. Permits any person to petition a Federal agency to undertake a waste reduction action and requires such action to be undertaken if: (1) the action would bring about at least a five percent increase in recycled content of an item or would reduce by at least five percent the total volume or toxic constituents of solid waste described in the petition; (2) the action would be consistent with existing law or policies can be modified to accommodate the action and remain in accordance with statutory requirements; and (3) the action would bring about a net saving in cost to the Federal Government or would be neutral in effect or cost. Requires Federal agencies to designate waste reduction officers to oversee compliance with Federal waste reduction requirements. Title IV: Waste and Secondary Materials Management - Revises minimum requirements for State solid waste management plans. Requires States, as part of such plans, to submit to the Administrator capacity management reports that identify or estimate: (1) the amount of municipal waste generated annually within the State; (2) the amount of such waste that is exported annually to other States for recycling, incineration, or disposal; and (3) the amount of such waste that is transported annually into the State from other States for incineration or disposal. Directs States with exports of solid waste in excess of amounts imported to provide for specified reductions of waste exports in their plans. Revises plan approval procedures. Requires the Administrator to review plans at least once every five years. Directs owners or operators of facilities that store, treat, or dispose of solid waste or facilities that recycle solid waste or secondary material to notify States. Prohibits transportation of solid waste for storage, treatment, incineration, or disposal to any facility that has not notified a State. Treats units as having satisfied the notification requirement if: (1) in States with an existing solid waste management permitting system, existing units obtain permits 12 months after this Act's enactment and new units obtain permits prior to commencing construction; and (2) in States without an existing permit system, the units submit to the Administrator a notification and exposure assessment. Prohibits, 48 months after this Act's enactment or on the date of issuance of a permit, whichever is sooner, the storage, treatment, or disposal of solid waste and the recycling of such waste or secondary material, except in accordance with a permit. Authorizes States to exempt recycling facilities from permit requirements if a permit is not necessary to protect human health and the environment. Requires State Governors to submit to the Administrator certifications that State laws provide the regulatory authority and personnel to implement permit requirements. Authorizes States, after the submission of such certifications, to issue permits to facilities in compliance with requirements. Prohibits permits from being issued by any agency or person responsible for the design and construction or operation of a unit. Requires the Administrator to issue or deny permits to solid waste management facilities if a State: (1) has failed to submit the certification or a management plan; or (2) lacks or has failed to exercise regulatory powers to implement permitting requirements. Provides that permits shall contain provisions specifying: (1) the types of wastes handled by a facility, their potential to affect human health and the environment, and measures to mitigate such potential; (2) design of the facility in relation to its location; (3) air and groundwater monitoring to identify adverse effects from a discharge from a facility; (4) financial assurance for closure and postclosure care; (5) measures necessary to prevent the unlawful disposal of hazardous waste and to control precipitation run-on and run-off; (6) restrictions on the receipt of liquids or measures to mitigate the adverse effects of liquids; and (7) the authority to require any corrective action to prevent adverse effects on health and the environment. Limits permits to five-year periods. Authorizes the issuance of a single permit for facilities with multiple units. Requires the owners or operators of facilities subject to permit requirements (except recycling facilities) to pay a fee to cover costs of administering the permit program. Sets forth requirements with respect to fees collected by permitting authorities. Authorizes the Administrator, if the fee provisions of a permit program do not meet specified requirements, to collect fees from facilities. Requires sources that fail to pay fees to pay a penalty of 50 percent of the fee amount plus interest. Directs the Administrator to promulgate guidelines establishing minimum requirements (pursuant to a specified schedule) for facilities that manage solid waste in the following categories: (1) municipal solid waste; (2) municipal waste combustion ash; (3) medical wastes; and (4) industrial solid wastes. Requires the Administrator to identify other solid waste categories for which guidelines are appropriate and specify a schedule for the promulgation of such guidelines. Sets forth minimum requirements for municipal solid waste landfills with respect to groundwater and gas monitoring, hazardous waste disposal, illegal dumping of wastes, run-on and run-off controls, closure and postclosure, financial responsibility, corrective action, liners, leachate collection and removal, and location. Provides that guidelines shall establish requirements for the management of municipal incinerator ash. Requires that landfills into which such ashes are disposed provide for groundwater monitoring and: (1) have a double liner and a leachate collection system above and between such liner; or (2) place such ashes in a monofill having a single composite liner and designed to assure that there will be no future migration of any constituent into ground or surface water. Provides that landfill design requirements shall not apply to owners or operators of solid waste management units utilizing alternative designs if demonstrated that such designs prevent such migration. Provides that the regulations may allow disposal of ash from units in sanitary landfills if such ash and any treated fly ash so disposed are tested and meet current criteria. Directs the Administrator, in developing regulations for the management of municipal incinerator ash, to issue criteria and testing procedures for identifying the characteristics of such ash which may pose a hazard to human health or the environment. Requires the owner or operator of a municipal incinerator or any facility involved in ash management to test the ash in accordance with such criteria and testing procedures. Requires that any ash which is identified as posing a hazard to human health or the environment be disposed of in a landfill which has two or more liners and a leachate collection system above and between such liners. Directs the Administrator to validate such criteria and testing procedures by conducting an analysis of leachate at facilities disposing or reusing ash from municipal incinerators. Authorizes the Administrator to issue a corrective action order or commence an enforcement action against a facility when there has been a release of a hazardous constituent. Authorizes the Administrator or States, under certain conditions, to grant variances from ash disposal requirements pursuant to this Act to owners or operators of municipal incinerators. Limits such variances to specified time periods. Repeals a provision of the Solid Waste Disposal Act which exempts facilities burning household and specified nonhazardous waste from regulation requirements under such Act. Sets forth requirements for guidelines governing the management of medical wastes. Requires the Administrator to establish: (1) an education and outreach program to provide information and assistance for non-hospital sources of medical wastes; and (2) a process for approval and certification of treatment technologies capable of rendering medical waste harmless. Makes it unlawful to treat, store, or dispose of industrial waste in any new surface impoundment unit at an existing facility, any replacement of such unit, or any lateral expansion of such unit, unless the unit is equipped with: (1) two or more liners and a leachate collection system between such liners; and (2) groundwater monitoring. Exempts from such prohibition: (1) alternative design and operating practices for surface impoundments that prevent the migration of hazardous constituents into water at least as effectively as liners and leachate collection systems; and (2) industrial wastewater if such wastewater is noncontact, freshwater cooling water used in the industrial process. Prohibits the placement of bulk liquids and liquids in containers into any landfill containing industrial waste. Applies standards and requirements for hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities to hazardous waste recycling facilities. Deems hazardous secondary material to be hazardous waste for purposes of relevant requirements unless the Administrator promulgates requirements for the recycling, recovery, and reuse of hazardous waste and secondary material. Sets forth minimum requirements. Applies specified requirements for recycling materials set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to hazardous waste and secondary material recycling facilities. Requires regulations under the Solid Waste Disposal Act applicable to hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (in lieu of the CFR requirements) to facilities generating or receiving hazardous secondary material or waste where: (1) such material or waste is burned for energy recovery or where the main purpose is the destruction of the material; (2) such material or waste is inherently waste-like; (3) the products of facilities receiving such material or waste will be used in a manner constituting disposal; or (4) the material or waste is speculatively accumulated. Directs owners or operators of facilities recycling, recovering, or reusing hazardous material in a closed loop manufacturing process or directly reusing hazardous waste or secondary material to certify to the Administrator that such facilities meet the requirements of a closed loop system or direct use process and are exempt from requirements for hazardous waste facilities. Directs the Administrator to provide for permits for facilities which store and recycle hazardous waste or secondary material. Provides for: (1) public notice and comment prior to construction and commencement of operations at such facilities; (2) a demonstration by facility owners or operators that the facility is in compliance with applicable requirements; (3) annual on-site inspection of such facilities by the permitting authority; and (4) such other information to verify compliance with the permit. Authorizes the Administrator to revoke permits if compliance with standards cannot be verified. Makes such requirements inapplicable to land disposal units or incinerators. Permits a class of facilities or recycling units to be eligible for such permits by rule only if no single facility or recycling unit has the potential for significant damage to human health and the environment and will have minimal cumulative adverse effects. Requires the Administrator to promulgate standards for: (1) recycling facilities for solid wastes and secondary materials (other than hazardous wastes and secondary materials); and (2) the reuse or use of products from recycling or resource recovery activities other than raw materials for manufacturing processes and for the use and composition of compost made from solid waste. Sets forth minimum requirements for such standards. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations for collecting, transporting, recycling, and managing lead-acid batteries and tires. Prohibits: (1) the disposal or incineration of lead-acid batteries; and (2) the disposal of tires in land disposal facilities. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations for the collection, storage, transportation, or recycling of used oil. Provides that used oil that is not managed in accordance with such regulations shall be managed as a hazardous waste. Requires the Administrator, in developing such regulations, to conduct an analysis of the economic impact of such regulations on the used oil recycling industry. Provides that regulations for used oil collectors shall: (1) prohibit the storage of used oil in an underground storage tank unless such tank meets requirements under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (2) prohibit the storage of used oil for more than 12 months; (3) require collectors to transfer such oil to specified permitted used oil recycling or disposal facilities or transporters; and (4) require collectors to keep specified records on such oil. Requires used oil transporter regulations to provide that such transporters: (1) acquire identification numbers from EPA; (2) meet applicable financial responsibility requirements; and (3) keep specified records. Includes intermediate storage requirements in transporter regulations. Provides that used oil recycler regulations shall require recyclers to: (1) keep specified records; and (2) test fuel produced from the recycling process before departure from the facility. Prohibits mixing used oil with hazardous waste identified or listed under the Solid Waste Disposal Act except when: (1) the resulting mixture does not exhibit hazardous waste characteristics;and (2) the mixture is burned to recover useful energy in a device that ensures protection of health and the environment. Prohibits the recycling of used oil except in accordance with a permit. Sets forth requirements to be effective if the Administrator fails to promulgate used oil regulations by the applicable deadline. Requires the Administrator to implement education programs to inform the public and small businesses about the environmental and safety hazards associated with improper handling and disposal of used oil and the benefits derived from used oil recycling. Authorizes appropriations. Deems used oil recyclers to have interim permits if they submit specified information to the Administrator or an authorized State. Authorizes a State to prohibit the transportation of municipal solid waste into such State for disposal or incineration from a State with an intrastate restriction on the movement of such waste if the importing State has closed or upgraded all open dumps. Permits a State to enact and enforce laws to collect fees for the incineration and disposal of municipal solid wastes generated in another State if such fees: (1) are applicable throughout the State and do not discriminate against a disposal or incineration site or point of waste generation; and (2) do not apply to any municipal solid waste and recyclable materials that have been separated from municipal solid waste that is transported to a recycling facility. Sets forth a fee scale. Provides for annual increases in such fees, based upon the Consumer Price Index. Authorizes a State to impose fees on municipal solid waste generated in another State only upon certification that the importing State is in compliance with an approved solid waste management plan. Permits a State to restrict or prohibit the transportation of solid waste generated in another State if: (1) the importing State has, and is in compliance with, an approved solid waste management plan; and (2) the exporting State is not in compliance with, or does not have, an approved plan. Authorizes persons adversely affected by State laws or regulations governing the transportation of municipal solid waste to petition the Administrator for relief. Permits the Administrator to suspend State authority for a specified time period. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations prescribing recycling practices which shall be exempt from State authorities governing the transportation of municipal solid waste. Prohibits the disposal (pursuant to a specified schedule) of municipal solid waste originating in another State without the prior consent of the Governor of the receiving State, if the receiving State is in compliance with solid waste management requirements. Prohibits the disposal in any State of solid waste generated in another State without the prior consent of the Governor of the receiving State, if the receiving State is in compliance with solid waste management requirements. Prohibits the disposal in any State of solid waste generated in another State if such disposal constitutes the open dumping of solid waste. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for specified violations of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Extends the authorization of appropriations for solid waste planning, solid and hazardous waste management and resource recovery programs, and solid waste management assistance for rural communities. Title V: Underground Storage Tanks - Authorizes the Administrator to guarantee principal and interest on loans made to qualified small businesses for the closure and replacement of underground storage tanks. Sets forth amounts and conditions of such guarantees. Permits the Administrator to make principal and interest payments on behalf of the borrower if: (1) the borrower is unable to make such payment and it is in the public interest to continue the project; and (2) the probable net cost to the Government in making such payments would be less than that resulting from the borrower's default. Authorizes the Administrator, in the event of a default by a borrower, to make payments in accordance with the guarantee. Requires the Attorney General to recover payments from the defaulting borrower. Terminates the authority to make loan guarantees or payment contracts seven years after this Act's enactment. Permits the Administrator or a State to undertake corrective action with respect to threatened releases of petroleum from underground storage tanks.
Law· SS. 985 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Horn of Africa Recovery and Food Security Act of 1991 - Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan). Requires the President to consult with other nations, armed and unarmed parties in the Horn of Africa, and the United Nations Secretary General to bring about negotiated settlements of the wars in the region. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations to take specified steps with respect to peace and the implementation of an arms embargo in the region; (2) play an active role in other fora in pressing for settlements to such wars; and (3) participate in regional and international peace consultations. Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to the equitable distribution of relief and rehabilitation aid in the Horn of Africa. Declares that development assistance in the Horn of Africa should be targeted to aid the poor. States that U.S. Government aid institutions should seek to: (1) build upon the capabilities and experiences of organizations active in local grassroots relief, rehabilitation, and development efforts; (2) consult with such organizations and incorporate their views into the policymaking process; and (3) support the expansion of their activities without compromising their private nature. Declares that current legislative provisions that restrict assistance to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan should be retained until concrete steps toward peace, democracy, and human rights are achieved. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize emergency assistance for relief and rehabilitation in the Horn of Africa. Makes available a percentage of assistance for management support activities of the Agency for International Development. Authorizes the President to transfer funds from unobligated economic support fund and military assistance to carry out this Act.
Bill· SS. 979 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Department of Energy Critical Technologies of 1991 - Title I: Department of Energy Critical Technologies Program - Directs the Secretary to establish the Critical Technologies Planning Council and the Critical Technologies Advisory Board within the Department of Energy (DOE). Requires the Secretary to develop biennially and implement a five-year DOE Critical Technologies Plan that: (1) coordinates the research and development activities of the DOE laboratories in support of DOE critical technologies; and (2) coordinates DOE Critical Technologies Partnerships. Sets forth required contents of the Plan. Directs the head of each DOE laboratory to report biennially to the Council and the Advisory Board on the core competencies of such laboratory. Requires the report to: (1) identify the national critical technologies listed in the most recent National Critical Technologies Report; (2) describe each laboratory program of research and development in the identified technologies; and (3) discuss the relevance of such technologies to the laboratory's strategic mission objectives. Directs the Secretary to ensure that core competencies reports are disseminated to the private sector. Requires the Secretary to ensure that the laboratory-directed research and development activities of each DOE laboratory include research and development that extends and maintains the vitality of the laboratory's core competencies. Title II: Department of Energy Critical Technologies Partnerships - Directs the Secretary to establish as many DOE Critical Technologies Partnerships as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this title. Requires Partnerships to be comprised of DOE laboratories and participants from U.S. firms and institutions of higher education and other participants, as appropriate. Provides for the designation of a lead institution for the Partnership to direct activities. Requires proposals for partnerships to be submitted to the Secretary by the lead institution. Sets forth proposal requirements. Requires Partnership proposals to demonstrate a financial commitment of the non-Federal participants to contribute 50 percent of the total cost of Partnership activities. Directs the Secretary to provide technical and other assistance to each Partnership. Requires Partnerships to be selected through a competitive process prescribed by the Secretary. Sets forth selection criteria. Prohibits the disclosure of confidential commercial or financial information obtained from a non-Federal participant as a result of Partnership activities. Title III: Authorization of Appropriations and Other Provisions - Authorizes appropriations for atomic energy defense and energy research activities under this Act. Provides that such funds are in addition to funds authorized to be appropriated for technology transfer in connection with such activities or funds appropriated for such purposes before this Act's enactment. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the applicability of this Act to DOE activities that are classified in the interest of U.S. national security or foreign policy.
Bill· SS. 965 (102nd)reported
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 - Title I: Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1991 - Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1991 - Declares that: (1) the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways is completed; (2) the principal purpose of Federal highway assistance shall henceforth be to improve the efficiency of the existing surface transportation system; and (3) it is U.S. policy to facilitate innovation and competition in transportation modes through Federal and State initiative and to increase productivity in the transportation sector of the economy through systematic attention to costs and benefits. Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for the following programs: (1) surface transportation; (2) congestion mitigation and air quality improvement; (3) bridge; (4) interstate maintenance; (5) interstate construction (but repeals the existing FY 1993 authorization and a provision regarding minimum apportionments); (6) interstate substitution; (7) Federal lands highway; (8) territorial highway; (9) national magnetic levitation design; (10) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) research; (11) university transportation center; (12) highway use tax evasion; and (13) safety belt and motorcycle helmet use. Sets forth provisions with respect to obligation ceilings for Federal-aid highway programs and redistribution of unused obligation authority. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a surface transportation program to fund projects such as: (1) construction, restoration, and operational improvements for highways and bridges; (2) capital and operating costs for mass transit, rail, and magnetic levitation systems; (3) carpool projects and parking and bicycle facilities and programs; and (4) surface transportation research and development programs. Sets forth requirements and administrative provisions with respect to such program. Provides that 50 percent of the funds authorized for the next five years shall go to such program. Specifies that the Federal/State cost share ratio for such program shall be 80/20 for projects to maintain existing facilities or use them more efficiently, and 75/25 for projects to build new facilities for use by single occupant vehicles. Requires: (1) each State to spend eight percent of the funds received under this program on "transportation enhancement activities" (defined to include highway safety programs, scenic and historic preservation, billboard control, and environmental mitigation); and (2) that funds be distributed under this program so that each State receives a share of total Federal funds distributed equal to the percent of Federal funds from 1987 to 1991, with exceptions. Repeals a provision authorizing the Secretary to approve as a project on any Federal-aid system the construction of exclusive or preferential truck lanes. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to establish a congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program; and (2) funds under such program to be spent on projects that will contribute to attainment of air quality standards as determined by the guidance to be issued under the Clean Air Act (CAA) by the Environmental Protection Agency, a State implementation under such Act, or the Secretary. Provides for the apportionment of funds to States based on their non-attainment area population, adjusted for the severity of the non-attainment problem. Specifies that the Federal/State match shall be 80/20. Specifies that the Federal/State match to repair or replace existing bridges without increasing capacity shall be 80/20, but the match for construction of new capacity on existing bridges or construction of new bridges shall be 75/25 (currently, the match is 80/20 in any case). Makes bridge painting an eligible use of Federal funds. Repeals the discretionary bridge program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and make available to the States criteria for determining what share of a project is attributable to the expansion of bridge capacity where the new capacity is available to single occupant vehicles; and (2) establish "level of service" criteria for the bridge program. Bars the use of interstate maintenance funds to widen existing interstate highways. Authorizes States to transfer up to 20 percent of interstate maintenance money to the surface transportation program and larger amounts if the State can demonstrate to the Secretary that they are adequately maintaining their interstate highways. Changes the Federal/State match for interstate maintenance from 90/10 to 80/20. Authorizes the Secretary to develop and make available to the States criteria for determining the share of an interstate maintenance project that is attributable to the expansion of the capacity of an interstate highway and what constitutes adequate maintenance. Specifies that segments added to the Interstate System (IS) before January 1, 1984, shall be counted towards a State apportionment of interstate maintenance funds. Directs the Secretary to make apportionments to the States to finish outstanding IS projects, except that specific amounts are specified for Massachusetts. Combines the public lands highways and forest highways accounts of the current Federal lands program. Provides for the apportionment of funds based on the existing formula for the Forest Highways Program. Repeals the current national policy against tolls on roads built or maintained with Federal funds. Authorizes the use of Federal funds to: (1) build new toll roads at a 35/65 Federal/non-Federal cost share; and (2) convert existing non-tolled facilities to toll facilities at an 80/20 cost share. Prohibits the imposition of new tolls on the IS. Authorizes the Secretary to permit Federal participation in the construction of ferryboats and ferry approaches, subject to specified conditions. Directs the Secretary to solicit participation of State and local governments and public authorities for one or more congestion pricing pilot projects. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with up to five such State or local governments or public authorities to establish, maintain, and monitor congestion pricing projects. Specifies the Federal share (100 percent for not more than three years). Directs the Secretary to fund all development and startup costs of such projects for at least one year and thereafter until sufficient revenues are generated by the program to fund its operating costs without Federal participation. Sets forth monitoring and reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to renegotiate specified agreements to permit the continuance of existing toll facilities without repayment of Federal funds. Requires (currently, authorizes) the designation of a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for each urbanized area of a State of over 50,000 population, including representatives of local communities and the State. Specifies that: (1) plans developed by an MPO shall take into account the requirements of the CAA, local land use or energy plans, and other factors; (2) the MPO shall develop a transportation improvement program (and decide how to split Federal funds between highway and transit projects); and (3) the Secretary shall make an annual certification with respect to whether each MPO is carrying out it responsibilities under Federal law. Increases the current Federal set-aside for metropolitan planning from .5 to one percent of Federal highway funds. Requires each State to have management systems for bridges, pavement, safety, and congestion, and a traffic monitoring system, as well as a planning process that takes into account land use, energy requirements, transportation needs, and other factors. Requires States that contain non-attainment areas under the CAA to produce an annual State transportation plan, incorporating without amendment the provisions of any metropolitan area plan developed pursuant to this Act. Directs the FHWA to conduct research on Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems and other new technologies, and develop indicators to measure the performance of the surface transportation system with respect to productivity, efficiency, energy use, air quality, and other factors. Directs the Secretary to create a Dwight D. Eisenhower transportation research fellowship program. Changes the Federal/State match for State research activities from 85/15 to 80/20. Allows States to program research funds without approval of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Establishes within DOT a Bureau of Transportation Statistics to collect, analyze, and disseminate information about the condition and performance of the entire transportation system. Specifies that such Bureau shall: (1) be headed by a Director who is appointed by the President; and (2) produce annual reports. Establishes a National Magnetic Levitation Design Program to be managed jointly by the Secretary of DOT and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Requires such officials to establish a National Maglev Joint Project Office to carry out such program and to solicit bids from the private sector to design and construct a prototype magnetic levitation system. Specifies that: (1) phase one grants shall be given to up to six applicants to develop a conceptual design for the system at a 90/10 cost share; (2) phase two grants shall be given to up to three participants to develop detailed plans at an 80/20 cost share (and a contract for construction awarded at a 75/25 cost share); and (3) the prototype shall be constructed and ready for operational testing within three years after the award of the grant, and shall be converted to commercial operation after testing is complete. Directs the Secretary, in any case where sufficient land exists within the publicly acquired rights-of-way of any highway constructed in whole or in part with Federal-aid highway funds to accommodate needed passenger or commuter high speed ground transportation (including magnetic levitation) systems and highway and non-highway public mass transit facilities, to authorize a State to make such lands and rights-of-way available without charge to a publicly or privately owned authority or company for such purposes. (Under current law, the Administrator may make such authorization to a publicly owned mass transit authority when in the public interest with respect to rights-of-way of any Federal-aid highway to accommodate needed rail or nonhighway public mass transit facilities where this can be accomplished without impairing automotive safety or future highway improvements). Grants the States with a right to income from airspace rights-of-way contingent upon such State's permitting governmental use, use by public or private entities for high speed ground transportation systems, or other transit, utility use, and occupancy where such use or occupancy is necessary for an authorized transportation project, or use for transportation projects eligible for assistance, without charge. Directs the Secretary, by October 1, 1993, to update the findings of the report required by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 to determine the amount the United States could pay the States to reimburse them for segments incorporated into the IS that were constructed at non-Federal expense. Continues current law with respect to disadvantaged business enterprises. Modifies the dollar amount used to define a small business to adjust for inflation. Makes funds under Federal highway provisions available in the year in which they are apportioned or allocated and in the next three years. Authorizes States to: (1) design, construct, and maintain specified highway projects without Federal engineering review; (2) set their own occupancy requirements for high occupancy vehicle lanes; (3) have up to ten years before they must refund to the HTF sums for engineering costs on projects that have not yet been built; and (4) authorize the transportation department of any city of over 1,000,000 people to deal directly with the FHWA. Specifies that projects that affect historic and scenic values may be designed to protects such values. Requires States that do not adopt laws mandating the use of safety belts and motorcycle helmets to set aside a portion of funds received under the surface transportation program for highway safety programs (1.5 percent for noncompliance in FY 1994 and three percent thereafter). Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for safety education, training, monitoring, and enforcement to States that adopt safety belt and helmet laws. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of differences in injuries, medical costs, payor mix, and unreimbursed costs of restrained and unrestrained helmeted and nonhelmeted victims of motor vehicle and motorcycle crashes. Makes public education and information activities in support of State and community motorcycle safety and safety belt programs eligible for funds authorized to be appropriated for such study. Directs the States and U.S. territories to complete a functional reclassification, to be updated periodically, of all public roads by September 30, 1993. Continues the authorization for the DOT's public information program, Operation Lifesaver. Title II: National Recreational Trails Trust Fund Act - National Recreational Trails Fund Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the National Recreational Trails Trust Fund (Fund). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to pay into the Fund an amount equivalent to 0.3 percent of total Highway Trust Fund receipts, to be adjusted by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to use such amounts in the Fund to make grants to the States for constructing and maintaining recreational trails. Establishes the National Recreational Trails Act Advisory Committee. Sets forth reporting requirements.
Bill· SS. 974 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Heinz Elder Life Program Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to modify the definition of "information and referral" to include services for older individuals that: (1) assess their problems and capacities; (2) link older individuals to available opportunities and needed services; and (3) benefit the entire older community. Elevates the status of the Commissioner on Aging to Assistant Secretary. Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish a Commission to study existing reporting requirements and related programs and make legislative and regulatory recommendations to achieve specified objectives. Includes as functions of the Assistant Secretary the: (1) establishment of information and assistance services as priority services for the aged and aging; and (2) development of guidelines for choosing legal assistance providers and developers. Requires area agencies on aging: (1) to establish an informal grievance procedure for older individuals who are dissatisfied with, or denied, services with further appeal to the appropriate area agency on aging; and (2) in providing legal assistance, to give priority to legal problems related to income, health care, long-term care, nutrition, housing and utilities, defense of guardianship, abuse and neglect, and age discrimination. Requires State plans to also provide priority legal assistance in such areas. Requires technical assistance and training to State long-term care ombudsman programs to include assistance in recruiting and retaining volunteers for ombudsman programs by establishing a national program for recruitment efforts. Requires State agencies on aging to encourage adoption of memoranda of understanding between legal assistance providers and long-term care ombudsman providers that will ensure that the providers will coordinate services to the greatest extent possible. Requires the program for the prevention of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older individuals to require that State agencies make all reasonable efforts to resolve any conflicts with other public agencies with respect to the confidentiality of information in complaints and other reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of older individuals by entering into memoranda of understanding that limit information disclosure according to current guidelines. Establishes a program to provide transportation services to older individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Makes legal assistance agencies eligible to participate in demonstration projects for developmental disabilities and mental illness established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act and under the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986. Reauthorizes and extends such demonstration projects through FY 1993. Adds a new section to provide for demonstration projects to determine the feasibility of using the aging network as the infrastructure for a comprehensive long-term care system. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish a program of grants to State agencies to support and assist older individuals by providing legal assistance in areas such as living wills, durable powers of attorney, and other life planning areas. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 958 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Amends Federal provisions relating to the National Guard to add a new chapter concerning the formation of State defense forces. Defines a "State defense force" as a military force organized by a State to become operational when the State National Guard forces are federalized or otherwise unavailable or inadequate for the defense needs of such State. Provides that, as general policy, State defense forces are in the national interest as a military reserve force ready to supplement National Guard forces and State and local government agencies for the performance of specified functions. Provides that membership in a State defense force shall be determined by the individual States, but that a member of the U.S. armed forces shall not also be a member of a State defense force, unless specifically authorized to do so. Provides further that membership in a State defense force does not exempt a person from any required duty under the Military Selective Service Act, nor does such membership limit a person from enlistment or appointment in an armed force. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to issue or loan military equipment, supplies, or uniforms to a State for use in connection with its State defense force. Directs the Secretary of Defense to prescribe policies and procedures to be followed in the issuing and loaning of such equipment. Authorizes the sale (by the Secretary of the military department concerned) and the wearing of military uniforms by members of a State defense force, as long as such uniforms have been approved by such Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to provide a member of a State defense force and States with defense forces training and training assistance for such forces. Authorizes such training, in the alternative, to be provided by an executive department and an independent agency of the Federal Government in the interest of national security and when not detrimental to the primary operational requirements of the department or agency concerned. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to require reimbursement from a State for the cost of providing training or training assistance to the State defense force of such State. Declares that reimbursement normally should be required in the case of training provided a member of a State defense force for a period exceeding 14 days. Directs that the chief executive officer of a State sponsoring a State defense force is the responsible official for that force. Provides that the Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall serve as the means of communication between a State and the Federal Government on matters involving the State defense forces. Provides that a member of a State defense force is not to be considered a member of the U.S. armed forces for any reason, including eligibility for federally-sponsored health care or disability benefits. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to conduct such background investigations for potential members of State defense forces as considered necessary and appropriate by such Secretary for the granting of appropriate security clearances for such personnel. Encourages a State sponsoring a State defense force to make available to officials of the State defense force all appropriate criminal history information, and to maintain a record of criminal history information pertaining to a member in order that security clearances may be expedited in time of mobilization or national emergency.
Bill· SS. 980 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Advanced Materials Synthesis, Processing, and Commercialization Act of 1991 - Title I: National Advanced Materials Processing Plan and Program - Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to direct the President, through the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, at least once every two years, to develop and implement a five-year National Advanced Materials Processing Plan. Requires that the Council: (1) serve as the lead Federal entity responsible for the development of the Plan and for facilitating interagency coordination; and (2) annually review the Federal budget regarding consistency with the Plan. Establishes the Advanced Materials Processing Advisory Panel. Title II: Advanced Materials Processing, Synthesis, and Commercialization Partnerships - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish four or more Advanced Materials Processing, Synthesis, and Commercialization Partnerships, comprised of one or more Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories, U.S. firms, and U.S. higher education institutions, with additional participants allowed. Mandates establishment of specified numbers of similarly-structured Partnerships associated with the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Commerce (through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)), in each case using laboratories of that department or agency instead of DOE laboratories. Requires that each proposal for the establishment of a Partnership be submitted by the lead institution, selected by the proposed participants in the Partnership. Sets forth required contents of proposals. Requires non-Federal cost sharing. Requires Partnerships to be selected through a competitive process. Regulates disclosure of information. Title III: Other Advanced Materials Programs - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a competitive grants program known as the Advanced Materials Synthesis and Processing Principal Investigator Awards Program. Allows grant funds to be used for research and development related to advanced materials processing sciences conducted by the recipient within colleges and research institutions in the United States using, to the extent feasible, existing capital equipment, instrumentation, and facilities of U.S. firms and Federal laboratories. Requires the National Science Board of the NSF to establish a fellowship program for graduate and post-doctoral studies and research in advanced materials synthesis and processing, with grants awarded on the basis of academic merit. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the NIST Director, to: (1) establish and administer a comprehensive national data base for advanced materials, to be the central repository in the Federal Government for such information; and (2) provide for the collection, evaluation, and dissemination of standard reference data for advanced materials. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations and Other Provisions - Authorizes appropriations, to carry out responsibilities under this Act, for the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Commerce, the National Science Foundation, and the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology. Allows the head of a department or agency of the Federal Government to waive the application of this Act to any program or activity that is classified in the interest of the national security or foreign policy of the United States.
Bill· SS. 956 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
International Cooperation Act of 1991 - Title I: Statement of Policy; Economic Assistance Programs - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise policy provisions. Declares that it should be U.S. policy that the financial, material, and human resources authorized by this Act should serve the following goals: (1) to promote and consolidate democratic values, market principles, and peace; (2) to protect against transnational threats; and (3) to meet humanitarian needs. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) concentrate development assistance in countries which will make the most effective use of such assistance; (2) focus development assistance on activities which the United States can provide most effectively and which meet the particular economic assistance requirements of a country; and (3) not provide assistance if the relevant sector or economic policies of a country are unfavorable to the sustainability or impact of the assisted project. Authorizes the President to provide development assistance to support economic growth and democratic development and to address humanitarian needs and global problems. Authorizes appropriations for development assistance for FY 1992. Permits the President to use development assistance funds for: (1) capital and infrastructure assistance; (2) development education programs to educate U.S. citizens about developing countries; and (3) assistance to nongovernmental organizations to strengthen their capacity to carry out programs for the economic and social development of developing countries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the well-being of countries is affected by how the world's environment and physical resource base are managed and that consumption patterns, systems of industrial and agricultural production, and the use of natural resources have an impact on long-term development and growth and survival of all countries; (2) environmentally responsible management of physical resources is necessary by countries to insure their availability for future generations and to assure that the burdens of improved resource management do not fall disproportionately on the poor; and (3) economic assistance programs should assist countries in carrying out programs and policies that promote environmentally sound economic development. Declares that recipient countries should bear a share of the costs of development assistance programs under this Act. Prohibits economic assistance from being used for military or paramilitary purposes or for the purchase of Stingers and mules to transport them. Exempts from such prohibition assistance involving the participation of military personnel in training activities and conferences. Authorizes the President to: (1) make investments in, loans for, and guarantees assuring against losses incurred in, projects in developing countries that meet specified private sector criteria; and (2) make loans (currently, issue guarantees against losses incurred in connection with loans) for housing and urban projects. Revises provisions concerning the housing and urban development guarantee program. Prohibits assistance for such projects if the credit subsidy associated with the borrower would exceed 25 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the President to furnish assistance to countries and organizations to strengthen administration of justice in developing countries and emerging democracies. Permits the President to provide such assistance if a country: (1) has recently emerged or is in the process of emerging as a democracy; or (2) has recently emerged or is emerging from civil strife and has a democratically elected government or is making substantial progress toward a democratic form of government. Authorizes appropriations. Revises provisions concerning international narcotics control. Permits funds for economic support assistance, foreign military financing, or international military education and training to be transferred and consolidated with funds for international narcotics control if: (1) such assistance is withheld from the country for which it was allocated because of laws that require the withholding of assistance from countries that have not cooperated with the United States or taken steps to halt illicit drug production and trafficking; and (2) such funds are used for assistance to countries that have taken significant steps to halt illicit drug production or trafficking. Makes provisions of law that prohibit assistance to countries in default on obligations owed to the United States inapplicable with respect to narcotics-related assistance. Revises congressional reporting requirements with respect to international narcotics production and trafficking. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for such assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for American schools, libraries, and hospital centers abroad. Permits the President to use funds available under this title for grants to, or contracts with, nongovernmental organizations to enable such organizations to: (1) purchase debt obligations owed by developing countries to commercial lending institutions, foreign governments, or other parties; and (2) cancel such obligations subject to the President's approval, to the extent that such country makes available assets or policy commitments to promote the goals of this Act. Authorizes grantees or contractees to retain interest earned on the proceeds of debt-for-development or debt-for-environment purchases or exchanges pending the disbursement of such proceeds and interest for the purposes for which assistance was provided. Authorizes Federal agencies to: (1) furnish services and commodities on an advance-of-funds or reimbursement basis to friendly countries, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations; and (2) contract with individuals for personal services abroad or in the United States to perform such services in lieu of Federal employees. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for international disaster assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for grants to international organizations. Permits the President to withhold contributions from an organization if such organization is denying Israel or other designated countries the right to participate in such organization's activities. Withholds contributions from Libya, Iran, Cuba, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Authorizes the withholding of contributions from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East unless the Agency assures that no U.S. contribution is used to assist any refugee who: (1) is receiving military training as a member of the PLO or any other guerrilla organization; or (2) has engaged in any act of terrorism. Declares that the President should (currently, requires) seek evaluation and auditing of programs of the United Nations, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Inter-American Investment Corporation, the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, the Asian Development Fund, and the Asian Development Bank. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for operating expenses of the agency (administering agency) designated by the President to administer this title and of the Office of Inspector General of such agency. Permits such agency to expend funds in advance of appropriations to maintain operations at posts abroad for up to three days. Declares that the President should establish a program performance evaluation capacity to: (1) develop a program performance information system to afford such agency's managers a means for monitoring achievement of impact and interim performance of the agency's major programs; (2) prepare and disseminate reports on the agency's progress in meeting development objectives for major assistance categories and recipient countries; (3) strengthen the implementation of foreign assistance projects; and (4) coordinate with the Inspector General of such agency to ensure complementarity of efforts. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the sustained participation of U.S. private voluntary organizations, cooperatives, and credit unions that are engaged in development activities serves as an important means of improving the lives of the poor in developing countries; (2) sustained participation of U.S. colleges and universities in the economic development programs of developing countries is vital to such countries' achievement of economic growth and open democratic political systems; and (3) such sustained participation would be enhanced by providing such organizations the opportunity to participate in the planning, development, and implementation of programs involving such organizations. Encourages the President to establish a partnership with such organizations to achieve the attainment of goals concerning development assistance. Title II: Military Assistance and Related Assistance and Sales Programs - Chapter 1: Consolidation and Revision of Accounts - Revises policy provisions concerning military assistance. Revises the President's authority to furnish military assistance to friendly countries to permit the President to: (1) finance the sale of defense articles or services; or (2) finance the procurement of such articles (under certain circumstances) by any member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or any major non-NATO ally through leases from U.S. commercial suppliers. Requires sales under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act (formerly, the Arms Export Control Act) which are wholly paid from funds made available on a grant basis under this Act or were transferred or made available under former authorities prior to this Act's enactment to be priced to exclude the costs of salaries of members of the U.S. armed forces (other than members of the Coast Guard) and unfunded estimated costs of civilian retirement and other benefits. Permits the financing of the procurement of defense articles and services not sold by the U.S. Government only if the country or international organization proposing to make such procurement has signed an agreement with the United States specifying the conditions under which the procurement may be financed. Requires such agreements to grant the U.S. Government the right to deobligate any furnished funds that have not been committed for an approved use three years after the effective date of such an agreement. Authorizes assistance provided under this chapter to be on a grant, credit, or guarantee basis. Outlines criteria to be considered by the President in determining the terms of assistance. Outlines disbursement procedures for funds used to finance the procurement of defense articles and services. Makes such assistance available to a foreign country to make payments to the United States for credits or loans for defense articles or services granted under predecessor military sales or foreign assistance legislation. Revises provisions concerning eligibility for the receipt of defense articles or services and makes them applicable to the financing of such articles or services. Makes defense articles sold or leased under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act or furnished under predecessor foreign assistance or military sales legislation subject to the eligibility provisions of this title. Raises the ceiling on the value of defense articles and services authorized to be made available under certain emergencies. Revises and combines provisions concerning transfers of excess defense articles. Authorizes the transfer of: (1) excess defense articles (currently, nonlethal articles) to countries for which a foreign military financing program was justified in the fiscal year in which the transfer is authorized; and (2) excess property of the Coast Guard on the same basis as Department of Defense property is transferred. Declares that decisions to furnish foreign military financing assistance should take into account whether such assistance will: (1) contribute to an arms race; (2) increase the possibility of outbreak or escalation of conflict; or (3) prejudice the development of multilateral arms control arrangements. Permits such assistance to be provided for civic action in Africa. Authorizes appropriations for such assistance for FY 1992. Revises provisions concerning the location of stockpiles. Places a ceiling on the value of additions to stockpiles during FY 1992. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for: (1) international military education and training; and (2) peacekeeping activities. Removes conditions on the type of arms on the U.S. Munitions List that may be provided for antiterrorism assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for antiterrorism assistance. Makes technical and conforming amendments to the Arms Export Control Act. Revises a provision regarding the Guaranty Reserve Fund and redesignates the Fund as the Foreign Military Loan Liquidating Account. Repeals a provision concerning the availability of funds for procurement of defense articles and services outside the United States. Permits the President to waive requirements under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 concerning the disposition of defense articles and services furnished before the effective date of this title. Chapter 2: Foreign Military Sales Program - Amends the Arms Export Control Act to rename such Act as the Defense Trade and Export Control Act. Repeals a provision concerning purposes for military sales or leases. Deems references to the Arms Export Control Act to be references to the Defense Trade and Export Control Act. Authorizes the President, by notifying the Congress, to designate a country as a major non-NATO ally or terminate such a designation. Deems Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, and the Republic of Korea to have been so designated by the President. Revises provisions concerning presidential certifications and congressional procedures for certain arms transfers. Raises the threshold on the dollar amount of defense equipment or services on which the President is required to submit specified certifications. Deems to be defense articles or services (for purposes of import and export controls) articles or services having military or intelligence applications. Requires articles and services that have gained a predominant civil application to be removed from the U.S. Munitions List. Disqualifies for financing under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for 12 months any contracts of a person convicted or debarred for a violation of international traffic in arms regulations under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act. Authorizes the President to impose controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear-capable missiles and chemical, biological, and related weapons. Permits charges for defense articles sold or licensed or approved for export after September 30, 1991, to exclude nonrecurring costs of research on or development or production of such articles. Replaces the authorities of specified Federal officials under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act with the authority of the President. Repeals an exemption to a prohibition on the resale of military firearms furnished to foreign governments. Repeals provisions concerning: (1) reports and price availability estimates; (2) discrimination; (3) restraint in arms sales to Subsaharan Africa; (4) foreign military sales credit standards; (5) foreign military sales to less developed countries; and (6) the crediting of registration fees. Title III: Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Trade and Development Agency - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise provisions concerning the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Limits the amount of OPIC's equity investments under a pilot program to 49 percent per project for projects in Eastern Europe. Directs OPIC to give preferential consideration in its investment insurance, reinsurance, and guarantee activities to investment projects sponsored by or involving U.S. small business or cooperatives. Permits OPIC to establish a revolving fund to be available solely for a pilot equity finance program. Authorizes (currently, requires) OPIC to charge fees for any service performed under this title. Provides for annual (currently, triennial) financial audits of OPIC. Authorizes the Inspector General of the administering agency (currently, the Agency for International Development) to conduct audits, investigations, and security activities with respect to OPIC. Eliminates OPIC's exemption from Federal taxation. Revises the authorities of the Director of the Trade and Development Agency (replaces the Trade and Development Program). Requires the Agency to disseminate information about its activities to the private sector. Sets forth the duties of the Inspector General of the administering agency with respect to the Agency. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992. Title IV: Special Authorities, Restrictions on Assistance, and Reports - Revises provisions concerning special authorities of the President with respect to the furnishing of assistance and arms export sales, credits, and guaranties. Raises the ceilings on the amount of arms sales or leases, foreign assistance, and foreign currencies authorized to be furnished or used under the President's special authority to waive restrictions on assistance. Raises the ceilings on the amounts of such assistance that may be provided to any one country. Exempts from such limitation assistance for countries that are the victims of active (currently, Communist or Communist-supported) aggression. Authorizes the President to use funds (other than funds for foreign military financing or international military education and training) under this Act for unanticipated contingencies. Places an annual ceiling on such assistance. Prohibits such assistance from being used for gifts to foreign officials. Makes specified amounts of economic support and foreign military financing assistance available for emergency use to promote economic, political, or military stability. Authorizes the President to adopt as a U.S. contract or obligation any contract with a U.S. or third-country contractor that had been funded with assistance prior to the termination of such assistance. Applies assistance termination provisions to any provision of law concerning such terminations. Revises provisions concerning prohibitions on assistance. Adds to the list of restrictions prohibitions on assistance for: (1) a country whose government engages in a consistent pattern of human rights violations; (2) a country whose elected head of government is deposed by a military coup; and (3) a country that is a major drug producing or transit country if the country has not cooperated with the United States and has not taken adequate steps to control the illicit cultivation, production, trafficking, and abuse of narcotic and psychotropic drugs. Exempts from such prohibition assistance: (1) that is important to U.S. national interests, provided that such assistance will further U.S. nonproliferation objectives; (2) for the alleviation of suffering resulting from a natural or manmade disaster; (3) that benefits needy people; and (4) that will be furnished through nongovernmental organizations to promote respect for human rights and democracy. Prohibits the provision of such assistance until the President reports to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Requires the President to maintain a list of Communist countries for purposes of restricting assistance. Authorizes the President to remove or exempt a country from the list or prohibitions on assistance, provided that such removal or exemption is reported to the Speaker of the House and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Directs the President to report to such individuals on the rescission of a determination that a country provides support for international terrorism. Prohibits assistance to any country which is more than one year in arrears to the U.S. Government on loan payments under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or former authorities of the Arms Export Control Act. Prohibits economic assistance from being made available to: (1) any organization or program which supports or manages a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization; or (2) any foreign nongovernmental organization which performs or promotes abortion as a method of family planning. Requires funds for voluntary family planning services to be available only for projects which offer a broad range of family planning methods and services. Declares that the President should consider, in determining whether to provide economic assistance, whether assistance would be furnished to support any project designed to increase exports of agricultural, textile, or apparel commodities from developing countries that: (1) would be in direct competition with U.S. exports; and (2) can be expected to cause injury to U.S. exporters of the same or a similar commodity. Prohibits economic assistance from being used to influence the outcome of any election. Prohibits U.S. armed forces detailed to provide defense services, military education and training, or management of overseas military assistance programs from performing combat duties outside the United States in connection with such services. Outlines required elements of annual congressional presentation documents on foreign assistance. Revises provisions regarding U.S. assistance policies and human rights. Directs the President to report annually to the Congress on human rights practices in countries that are members of the United Nations. Revises provisions concerning congressional notification for program changes. Title V: General Provisions - Revises provisions regarding presidential authorities under this Act. Authorizes the President to designate an agency to administer economic assistance under this Act. Revises provisions regarding general authorities. Permits contracts which entail commitments for the expenditure of funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to be extended for up to ten (currently, five) years. Revises provisions regarding administrative uses of funds. Permits funds to be used for programs under the Agricultural Act of 1949 and the Food for Progress Act of 1985. Removes funding limitations on assistance for the construction of living quarters, offices, schools, and hospitals abroad and for assistance to schools educating dependents of personnel abroad. Permits economic assistance funds to be used to reimburse Federal or State agencies or institutions of higher education that detail employees for economic assistance programs that require specialized technical skills. Provides that if an amount appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out a provision of this Act is less than the authorization amount and the provision calls for earmarked funds, such funds shall be deemed to be reduced to an amount bearing the same ratio to such funds as the amount appropriated bears to the authorization amount. Sets forth provisions concerning the generation and use of local currencies. Revises provisions concerning the use of local currencies owned by the United States. Authorizes nongovernmental organizations to invest local currencies accrued as a result of economic assistance provided by this Act and other specified Acts and to use interest earned on investments for assistance purposes. Revises provisions concerning the use of private enterprise for the procurement of commodities and defense articles. Authorizes the use of Federal facilities for technical assistance purposes when such facilities are not competitive with private enterprise. Revises provisions concerning procurement standards and procedures. Allows (currently, requires) the use of excess personal property or property already owned by a Federal agency (if a substantial savings would occur) in lieu of, or supplementary to, the procurement of new items for U.S.-assisted programs. Revises provisions concerning the use of excess property. Removes a ceiling on the amount of domestic excess property that may be held. Prohibits excess property from being used for economic assistance purposes unless approval is given and the President makes specified determinations regarding such property. Authorizes the use of economic assistance funds to pay transportation charges on shipments by the American National Red Cross and by registered U.S. private voluntary organizations. Revises provisions concerning personnel. Permits personnel detailed to foreign governments or international organizations to be assigned on a leave without pay status. Authorizes the detailing of Department of Defense personnel to any civil office to carry out this Act. Revises provisions concerning discrimination against U.S. personnel. Title VI: Technical and Conforming Provisions - Prohibits U.S. courts from declining on the ground of the Federal Act of State Doctrine to make a determination on the merits of international law in any case in which claim of title or right to property is asserted by any party, based upon a confiscation after January 1, 1959, by a state in violation of international law. Exempts from such prohibition cases in which: (1) an act of a foreign state is not contrary to international law or cases with respect to a right to property acquired pursuant to an irrevocable letter of credit issued in good faith prior to the time of taking; or (2) the President determines that application of such doctrine is required by U.S. foreign policy interests. Amends Federal provisions governing coins and currency to grant the Secretary of the Treasury: (1) responsibility with respect to foreign credits owed to or by the United States; and (2) sole authority to establish for all foreign currencies or credits the exchange rates at which such currencies are to be reported by Federal agencies. Authorizes the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, at the request of the President, to report on the value of any property of any U.S. person expropriated by a foreign government. Prohibits Federal employees from effecting arrests in foreign countries as part of foreign police actions with respect to narcotics control. Lists exceptions to such prohibition. Prohibits Federal employees from interrogating or being present during the interrogation of any U.S. person arrested in a foreign country with respect to narcotics control efforts without such person's written consent. Exempts from such prohibition members of the U.S. armed forces carrying out responsibilities under Status of Forces arrangements. Makes technical and conforming amendments to specified Acts. Repeals specified Acts. Title VII: Special Assistance Initiatives - Chapter 1: Development Fund for Africa - Authorizes project and program assistance for development in Subsaharan Africa. Requires the purpose of such assistance to be to help the poor majority of men and women in Subsaharan Africa to participate in a process of long-term development through economic growth that is equitable, participatory, environmentally sustainable, and self-reliant. Provides that such assistance should also promote sustained economic growth, encourage private sector development, promote individual initiatives, and help to reduce the role of central governments in areas more appropriate for the private sector. Declares that: (1) the local-level perspective of the rural and urban poor in Subsaharan Africa should be taken into account during the planning process for project assistance under this Act; and (2) consultations should be undertaken with private and voluntary organizations which have demonstrated effectiveness in or commitment to the promotion of local grassroots activities on behalf of development in Subsaharan Africa; (3) local people should be consulted and involved in projects that have a local focus; and (4) the President should ensure that development activities expand the participation and integration of African women in certain critical sectors. Requires assistance provided by this Act to emphasize projects to address critical sectoral priorities for development. Authorizes assistance to promote national economic policy reforms. Requires such reforms to include provisions to protect vulnerable groups, especially poor farmers and the urban poor, from possible negative consequences of such reforms. Designates as the critical sectoral priorities for long-term development: (1) increased agricultural production and the maintenance and restoration of renewable natural resources; (2) improved health conditions; (3) voluntary family planning services; (4) improved relevance and efficiency of education; and (5) development of income generating opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed. Imposes minimum levels of assistance for certain critical sectors. Declares that assistance provided under this Act should be concentrated in countries that will make the most effective use of such assistance. Allows assistance to be made available to: (1) assist Subsaharan African countries to increase their capacity to participate in donor coordination mechanisms at the country, regional, and sector levels; and (2) assist sector projects supported by the Southern African Development Coordination Conference. Authorizes assistance to South Africa for: (1) grants to nongovernmental organizations promoting efforts to foster a just society and help the victims of apartheid; (2) assistance to political detainees and prisoners and their families and to support actions of black community organizations to resist, through nonviolent means, the enforcement of apartheid policies; and (3) activities to assist in an end to apartheid and in the establishment of a society based on nonracial principles. Permits such grants to be only for organizations whose character and membership reflect the objective of a majority of South Africans for an end to apartheid and for interracial cooperation and justice. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that there should be periodic evaluations of the progress of the administering agency in achieving assistance goals in Subsaharan Africa. Chapter 2: Assistance for Eastern Europe - Sets forth U.S. policy and objectives with respect to assistance for Eastern Europe. Declares that the United States should provide assistance for eligible East European countries that are taking steps toward: (1) political pluralism; (2) economic reform; (3) respect for human rights; and (4) a willingness to build a friendly relationship with the United States. Defines an eligible East European country as Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, and any other East European country taking such steps. Requires the basic objectives of such assistance to be the promotion of democracy and the encouragement of free market systems. Lists authorized types of assistance. Permits the President to furnish assistance to eligible East European countries. Provides that any authority in the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 to furnish assistance for Poland or Hungary may be deemed to authorize assistance for any eligible East European country. Permits the President to use any funds made available for assistance for Eastern Europe under the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1991 to provide balance of payments support with respect to eligible East European countries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should use the authorities provided under the SEED Act and this Act to provide stabilization assistance to assist Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and other East European countries the President deems appropriate. Authorizes appropriations. Permits the President to: (1) designate Enterprise Funds for any country in Eastern Europe in the same manner and with the same authorities and limitations applicable to the Enterprise Funds for Poland and Hungary established pursuant to the SEED Act; and (2) provide funding and support to the Funds. Authorizes U.S. agencies that are authorized to provide assistance or conduct programs for Poland or Hungary pursuant to the SEED Act to provide such assistance or conduct such programs for eligible East European countries. Permits the President to authorize agencies to implement programs for management and technical assistance for governments and private enterprises in Eastern European countries. Makes appropriations to carry out this chapter available for contracting with individuals for personal services. Chapter 3: Multilateral Assistance Initiative for the Philippines - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should participate with multilateral financial institutions and other bilateral donors in an economic reform and development program in the Philippines; and (2) a commitment of resources by the United States, donors, and such institutions and a reform effort and leadership role by the Government of the Philippines will be necessary to ensure economic growth in the Philippines and enhanced participation of the Filipino people in the democratic process. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to promote the goals of this Act. Links such assistance to progress by the Government of the Philippines in implementing its economic, structural, judicial, and administrative reform program. Authorizes appropriations. Limits the amount of appropriations for FY 1992. Expresses the sense of the Congress that prior to requesting additional amounts to carry out this Act, the President should take into account: (1) the progress being made by the Philippines toward achieving reform objectives; (2) the extent of participation by the bilateral donors and multilateral financial institutions; and (3) the efforts to coordinate the assistance program. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the coordination of objectives and programs by donors, institutions, and the Government of the Philippines is critical to the success of the multilateral assistance program; (2) all donors should simplify procurement and disbursement procedures to ensure that conditions on the provision or use of assistance are complementary; and (3) the Philippines should establish internal procedures that will ensure the most effective use of such assistance. Title VIII: Presidential Contingency Fund - Authorizes appropriations to the President for FY 1992 for unanticipated contingencies in programs within the International Affairs Budget Function. Title IX: Authorizations for Fiscal Year 1993 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 to carry out programs for which appropriations for FY 1992 are authorized by this Act.
Bill· SS. 944 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Airspace Protection Act of 1991 - Requires the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to provide written notice on any proposed designation of special use airspace to: (1) the Governor of any State over which airspace is sought to be designated as special use airspace; (2) the head of an Indian tribe on any Indian lands which are likely to be affected by such designation; (3) the Secretary of the Interior, if such designation includes airspace above any national park, national wildlife refuge, national wild and scenic river, national trail, or national wilderness administered by the Department of the Interior; and (4) each group of users of such airspace. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, upon the request of any Governor, to hold a public meeting and consider comments prior to making a determination with respect to such designation. Requires the Secretary (acting through the FAA) and the Secretary of Defense to adopt procedures for assuring that such designations comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Provides for the triennial review of each designation. Requires the termination or modification of any designation if it is determined that the use of such airspace cannot justify the continued designation of special use airspace.
Bill· SS. 940 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Economic Growth Act of 1991 - Title I: Industrial Recapitalization Funds - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer engaged in manufacturing to establish an industrial recapitalization fund. Restricts deposits to such fund to the sum of: (1) depreciation allowances with respect to eligible plant and equipment; (2) net proceeds from the sale or other disposition of such plant and equipment, or insurance or indemnity attributable to such plant and equipment; and (3) receipts from investment of amounts in such fund. Allows deposits to such fund during the five-year period after its establishment. Allows tax-free withdrawals for a ten-year period for: (1) acquisition, construction, reconstruction, modernization, or refurbishment of eligible plant and equipment; (2) the payment of principal on indebtedness incurred in connection with plant and equipment acquisition and so forth; or (3) the payment of expenditures for approved job training programs for employees of the taxpayer. Makes such fund exempt from taxation and sets forth favorable tax treatment regarding a deduction for deposits, the nonrealization of gain, and the exclusion of fund earnings from gross income. Provides for taxation of nonqualified withdrawals. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to the Congress annually on such funds. Title II: Investment Incentives - Subtitle A: Investment in Stock of Manufacturers - Establishes a deduction for net capital gains on stock of manufacturers that is held for more than three years. Subtitle B: Savings Incentives - Allows a taxpayer to designate an overpayment of tax to be paid to the taxpayer's individual retirement account. Title III: Incentives for Research and Educational Assistance - Makes permanent the credit for increasing research activities. Makes such credit applicable to the development and improvement of commercial products. Allows the credit for research after commercial production and for adaptation of existing business components. Makes permanent the tax exclusion for employee educational assistance programs. Title IV: Amendments to National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 - National Cooperative Production Amendments of 1991 - Amends the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 to: (1) apply such Act to joint ventures for the development or production of any product, process, or service; and (2) require consideration of the worldwide capacity of suppliers to provide a product, process, or service in determining the relevant market for judging the reasonableness of conduct under a joint venture. Makes this Act inapplicable with respect to any activity in connection with a joint production venture if at any time substantially all such activities are not conducted within the United States or its territories. Title V: Advanced Research and Development - National Advanced Research and Development Act of 1991 - Subtitle A: Declaration of Policy - Sets forth congressional findings on the need for a strong technology base in the United States. Subtitle B: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - Establishes in the Department of Defense the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to oversee all functions involving advanced research and development projects. Authorizes the Agency to conduct research projects for other Federal departments and agencies on a reimbursable basis. Establishes the Defense Advanced Research Projects Revolving Fund to carry out the Agency's purposes. Requires the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Advanced Research (head of the Agency) to report to the Congress recommendations for any legislation necessary to carry out the Agency's purposes. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: National Technology Policy Coordinating Council - Establishes in the Department of Commerce the National Technology Policy Coordinating Council to act as a forum for the study and discussion of how the Federal Government and the private sector can utilize advanced technology to help meet the economic and security needs, improve the industrial competitiveness, and improve the general welfare of the United States. Directs the Council to make a report to the President, the Congress, and the National Advanced Technology Trust Fund addressing the relative priority of the funding allocations made for federally-sponsored research and development. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: National Advanced Technology Fund - Establishes the National Advanced Technology Trust Fund to support advanced basic and applied technological research and development in the civilian economy. Authorizes appropriations.
Law· SJRESS.J.Res. 134 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Designates May 22, 1991, as National Desert Storm Reservists Day to commemorate the accomplishments of the men and women of the reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces who proudly served the United States during Operation Desert Storm.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 136 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Authorizes the director of each national cemetery to display a prisoner of war/missing in action flag on a flagstaff at that cemetery. Prohibits any officer or employee of the Government from obligating appropriated funds for the purchase of such a flag at a national cemetery.
Law· HRH.R. 2100 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1992/1993 - Title I: Procurement - Authorizes appropriations to the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for FY 1992 and 1993 for: (1) aircraft; (2) missiles; (3) weapons; (4) tracked combat vehicles; (5) ammunition; (6) shipbuilding and conversion; and (7) other procurement. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) FY 1992 and 1993 for the defense agencies and the chemical demilitarization program; and (2) FY 1992 for the Defense Inspector General. Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for the armed forces, the defense agencies, the Deputy Director of Defense Research and Engineering, and the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation for research, development, test, and evaluation. Title III: Operation and Maintenance - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for operation and maintenance for the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, the defense agencies, the reserve components of the armed forces, the National Guard, the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, the Defense Inspector General, drug interdiction and counter-drug activities, defense, the Court of Military Appeals, environmental restoration, and humanitarian assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for working capital funds of the armed forces and the defense agencies. Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 - Part A: Active Forces - Authorizes end strengths for active-duty forces for FY 1992 and 1993. Part B: Reserve Forces - Authorizes end strengths for reserve components of the armed forces for FY 1992 and 1993. Authorizes end strength variation and reductions for the Selected Reserve components of the armed forces for each such fiscal year. Authorizes end strengths for FY 1992 and 1993 for reserve personnel serving on active duty in support of the reserves. Authorizes increases for each such fiscal year in the number of certain personnel authorized to be on active duty in support of the reserves. Part C: Military Training Student Loads - Authorizes the average military training student loads for FY 1992 and 1993. Provides for the adjustment of such student loads consistent with manpower strengths authorized under this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 2104 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Entitles to military retired pay certain persons who were members of the U.S. merchant marine during and immediately after World War II. Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned, within 60 days after the enactment of this Act, to make lump-sum payments of such accrued pay to such persons.
Bill· HRH.R. 2098 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Nuclear Facilities Occupational Safety Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to apply it to certain Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities (including specified defense, production, utilization, and waste storage or disposal facilities). Directs the Secretary of Labor to promulgate specific regulations and standards to govern the application of OSHA to such facilities. Requires the Secretary of Energy and each contractor operating such a facility to: (1) cooperate with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the conduct of an inspection or investigation under OSHA at such facility; (2) grant access to it to enable the conduct of such inspection or investigation; and (3) provide all information necessary for such inspection or investigation. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy, to protect the confidentiality of information, to deny access to any person who has not been granted a security clearance or access authorization. Provides for transfer and allocation of appropriations and personnel. Directs the Secretary of Labor, by specified deadlines, to promulgate interim regulations and propose and promulgate final regulations to provide for specified types of health and safety training of employees at such DOE nuclear facilities. Requires the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and its Director to: (1) perform functions authorized by OSHA at such facilities; and (2) conduct health hazard evaluations, including ionizing radiation evaluations, at such facilities. Requires medical examinations of employees at such DOE nuclear facilities. Requires all such employees to be given baseline medical examinations in accordance with guidelines developed by the Health Advisory Committee, and subsequent examinations, as recommended by the Committee, for their lifetime. Requires, where appropriate, such examinations for family members determined to be at high risk of disease because of an employee's exposure at the workplace. Requires that all former employees at such facilities and their families be offered participation in a medical surveillance program designed to focus on work-related exposure to toxic substances and radiation, including treatment for occupationally related illness. Requires all contractors with such facilities to maintain a full-time occupational health physician and supporting medical staff, in accordance with Committee guidelines. Establishes a Health Advisory Committee to: (1) review existing medical studies relating to the administration of such medical examination program; and (2) issue the aforementioned guidelines and standards for such program. Requires that all information from such medical examinations be available to individual employees and their representatives and that aggregate information from such examinations be available to the public. Requires that program costs be borne by DOE. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to promulgate necessary regulations. Requires each such DOE nuclear facility to establish a labor-management health and safety committee in accordance with specified guidelines.
Bill· HRH.R. 2112 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Subcontractor Payment Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to require a small business prime contractor under a defense contract to submit to each first tier subcontractor: (1) a notification of a submission to the Department of Defense (DOD) of requests for progress payments covering work of the subcontractor; or (2) a notification of payment terms between DOD and the prime contractor, and between the prime contractor and the subcontractor. Requires the prime contractor to notify the subcontractor of disputed amounts withheld from payment by the prime contractor and of actions that should be taken by the subcontractor to receive such payment. Requires such notifications to be made by the prime contractor before receiving final payment from DOD. Requires the prime contractor to submit a copy of such notification to DOD. Requires access by DOD to the terms of any contract entered into by a prime contractor with a first tier subcontractor. Prohibits the Secretary from making any progress payment to a small business prime contractor until such prime contractor submits to the Secretary a certification of all proper subcontractor payments up to such date. Allows a first progress payment to be made before such certifications are required. Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations requiring each DOD contracting office to immediately provide, upon the request of a first tier subcontractor, information relating to payments made by DOD to the prime contractor that cover work carried out by such subcontractor. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on payment terms and actual payment practices under defense contracts between prime contractors and first tier subcontractors.
Bill· SS. 915 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees concerning the policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs with respect to smoking tobacco products at Department medical facilities, including the establishment of designated smoking areas.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 129 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Requires the Secretary of the Navy: (1) to review the cases of 50 Black sailors who were court-martialed for failing to resume naval loading activities at the Port Chicago, California, naval facility after an unexplained explosion there on July 17, 1944, to determine the extent to which racial prejudice affected the trial; (2) if he determines that such convictions were in error, to take appropriate corrective action; and (3) to recommend to the President and the Congress additional actions that should be taken with respect to the resolution of such cases.
Bill· HRH.R. 2039 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Legal Services Reauthorization Act of 1991 - Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to authorize appropriations for the Legal Services Corporation for FY 1992 through 1996. Revises prohibitions on the use of Corporation funds for lobbying purposes. Requires the Corporation to: (1) arrange for evaluations to determine whether Corporation grant, corporation, or financial assistance recipients are providing comprehensive, economical, and effective legal assistance to eligible clients; and (2) conduct monitoring and investigations into allegations that a recipient 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 recipients. Permits the Corporation to suspend, reduce, or terminate financial assistance or deny an application for refunding (after affording the recipient an opportunity to correct the failure) when: (1) there has been a substantial failure to comply with applicable requirements; or (2) evaluations demonstrate that a recipient 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 the recipient. Revises provisions concerning notice to recipients 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 recipient has been afforded notice and, at the recipient's request, a timely and fair hearing. Sets forth Corporation monitoring requirements. Requires the Corporation to develop criteria for evaluating the capability and performance of recipients. Places restrictions on the bringing of a class action suit by a recipient against the Federal Government or any State or local government. Requires recipients 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 congressional or State legislative district. 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 bodies. Prohibits recipients from soliciting professional employment from a prospective client if: (1) the client has made known to the recipient a desire not to be solicited; (2) the solicitation involves coercion, duress, or harassment; or (3) the solicitation is made to urge the client to initiate litigation without a proper factual basis for the complaint. 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 recipients 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. Requires the Corporation to study the feasibility of a system of competition in the awarding of grants or contracts for legal assistance. Repeals prohibitions on the use of Corporation funds for providing legal assistance for proceedings concerning the desegregation of schools, violations of the Military Selective Service Act, or desertion from the armed forces. Revises recordkeeping requirements for recipients. 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 a recipient. Revises provisions concerning harassment and abuse of the legal process to authorize (currently, require) any court to award reasonable costs and attorneys' fees to a defendant if the Corporation commenced an action for purposes of harassment or retaliation or maliciously abused the legal process, or its actions were frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation. Authorizes the Corporation to recover such costs from the recipient against whom the award was made by offsetting the amount against future grant awards. Prohibits the Corporation from deducting more than five percent annually from a grant for such purposes. Requires grants and contracts made for 1992 through 1996 to be made for at least 12 months.
Bill· HRH.R. 2059 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Veterans' Homeless Pilot Project Amendments of 1991 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct and report to the Congress on a pilot project using real property acquired by the Department of Veterans Affairs through foreclosures of home loans guaranteed by the Department to provide transitional housing for homeless veterans. Directs the Secretary to select properties that have no significant likelihood of being sold for a price sufficient to reduce the liability of the Department or the veteran who had defaulted on the loan guaranteed by the Department. Authorizes the Secretary to maintain, repair, and improve any property used in the pilot program, pay utilities, and purchase household furnishings using funds from appropriations for veterans' readjustment benefits. Requires major structural repairs, alterations, or improvements to be paid from the appropriate revolving fund (either the Loan Guaranty Revolving Fund or the Guaranty and Indemnity Fund). Authorizes the Secretary to charge rent to occupants of such housing. Exempts property used for the pilot project from State and local taxation. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish information, counseling, and guidance regarding benefits and opportunities to veterans participating in the pilot project.
Bill· HRH.R. 2087 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for: (1) the National Highway Program; (2) the Urban and Rural Program; (3) the Bridge Program; and (4) the Right-of-Way Revolving Fund. Specifies that unobligated balances of funds apportioned or allocated to a State under Federal highway provisions before October 1, 1991, shall be available for obligation in such State under the law, regulations, policies, and procedures relating to the obligation and expenditure of those funds in effect on September 30, 1991. Provides for the establishment of the National Highway System (NHS) to consist of: (1) the highways of the Interstate System (IS); (2) other urban and rural principal arterials, including toll facilities; (3) highways of the Strategic Highway Network (SHN) (defined as a network of highways that constitutes an important factor in U.S. strategic defense policy); and (4) major Strategic Highway Network Connectors (SHNCs) (which provide access from major military installations to the SHN.) Makes the following activities, subject to specified conditions, eligible for funding: (1) construction; (2) operational and highway safety improvements; (3) modifications to existing facilities necessary to accommodate other modes; (4) transportation planning; and (5) highway research and development. Specifies that: (1) designation of the NHS, other than the IS, SHN, and SHNCs, shall be by the State in cooperation with local officials; (2) in urbanized areas, local officials shall act through the designated metropolitan planning organizations; (3) the NHS shall be based on a functional reclassification of roads and streets in each State which shall be designated not later than September 30, 1993, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Secretary of Transportation; and (4) the Secretary shall have the authority to approve, in whole or in part, the NHS and may add segments to the NHS as necessary to meet National Highway Program objectives. Sets forth further specifications with respect to new construction or major reconstruction of NHS beltways and bypasses. Directs the Secretary to establish an Urban and Rural Program to provide a category of funds that minimize Federal requirements and to provide flexibility in the use of available funds for either highway or transit projects. Specifies eligible highways and projects. Requires States to: (1) have an ongoing bridge inspection and inventory system; and (2) develop a method to distribute apportionments within the State fairly and equitably to rural areas, urban areas, and urbanized areas of over 200,000 population. Sets forth provisions with respect to the obligation of funds, and the Federal share of projects, for the construction of toll roads, bridges, and tunnels. Declares it to be in the vital interest of the nation that a program be established to enable the States and Federal agencies to replace and rehabilitate highway bridges over waterways, other topographical barriers, other highways, or railroads when the States or Federal agencies and the Secretary find that a bridge is important, that it is unsafe and poses a safety hazard to highway users, that its replacement or rehabilitation would minimize disruptions, delays, and costs to users, or that its replacement or rehabilitation would provide more efficient routes for emergency services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) inventory all highway bridges on any public road which are bridges over waterways, other highways, and railroads; (2) classify them according to serviceability, safety, and essentiality for public use; and (3) based on such classification, assign each a priority for replacement or rehabilitation; and (4) determine the cost of replacing each such bridge with a comparable facility or of rehabilitating such bridge. Sets forth requirements and procedures for Federal participation in, and approval of, bridge replacement and rehabilitation projects. Makes funds available to the States under a Major Bridge Discretionary Program. Sets forth criteria and requirements under such program. Authorizes States to give special consideration to low volume traffic bridges qualifying for replacement or repair under such program. Encourages, and authorizes the Secretary to allocate funds to, States to initiate or expand efforts for planning and program development for scenic byways. Sets forth provisions regarding the availability and apportionment of funds for the various programs, including specifications of the Federal share of certain projects. Authorizes a State to transfer up to 15 percent of its annual apportionments for the National Highway Program, the Urban and Rural Program, and the Bridge Program among the three programs, as it determines necessary. Sets forth limitations on obligations for Federal-aid highway programs for FY 1992 through 1996 and provisions regarding the redistribution of unused obligation authority.
Law· HRH.R. 2038 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Intelligence Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1992 - Title I: Intelligence Activities - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities in specified departments and agencies of the U.S. Government, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Declares that the authorized amounts and personnel ceilings for such intelligence activities are those specified in the classified schedule of authorizations. Authorizes the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to employ civilian personnel in excess of the ceiling for such personnel when necessary to the performance of important intelligence functions. Title II: Intelligence Community Staff - Authorizes appropriations for the Intelligence Community Staff for FY 1992. Establishes an end strength ceiling of 240 full-time Intelligence Community Staff employees. Provides that such staff shall be administered in the same manner as the CIA. Title III: Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System and Related Provisions - Authorizes appropriations for the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund for FY 1992. Title IV: General Provisions - Permits appropriations authorized by this Act for benefits for Federal employees to be increased as may be necessary for increases in compensation or benefits authorized by law. Prohibits the authorization of appropriations by this Act from constituting authority for the conduct of any illegal intelligence activity.
Bill· HRH.R. 2081 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Amends Federal provisions relating to the National Guard to add a new chapter concerning the formation of State defense forces. Defines a "State defense force" as a military force organized by a State to become operational when the State National Guard forces are federalized or otherwise unavailable or inadequate for the defense needs of such State. Provides that, as general policy, State defense forces are in the national interest as a military reserve force ready to supplement National Guard forces and State and local government agencies for the performance of specified functions. Provides that membership in a State defense force shall be determined by the individual States, but that a member of the U.S. armed forces shall not also be a member of a State defense force, unless specifically authorized to do so. Provides further that membership in a State defense force does not exempt a person from any required duty under the Military Selective Service Act, nor does such membership limit a person from enlistment or appointment in an armed force. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to issue or loan military equipment, supplies, or uniforms to a State for use in connection with its State defense force. Directs the Secretary of Defense to prescribe policies and procedures to be followed in the issuing and loaning of such equipment. Authorizes the sale (by the Secretary of the military department concerned) and the wearing of military uniforms by members of a State defense force, as long as such uniforms have been approved by such Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to provide a member of a State defense force and States with defense forces training and training assistance for such forces. Authorizes such training, in the alternative, to be provided by an executive department and an independent agency of the Federal Government in the interest of national security and when not detrimental to the primary operational requirements of the department or agency concerned. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to require reimbursement from a State for the cost of providing training or training assistance to the State defense force of such State. Declares that reimbursement normally should be required in the case of training provided a member of a State defense force for a period exceeding 14 days. Directs that the chief executive officer of a State sponsoring a State defense force is the responsible official for that force. Provides that the Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall serve as the means of communication between a State and the Federal Government on matters involving the State defense forces. Provides that a member of a State defense force is not to be considered a member of the U.S. armed forces for any reason, including eligibility for federally-sponsored health care or disability benefits. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to conduct such background investigations for potential members of State defense forces as considered necessary and appropriate by such Secretary for the granting of appropriate security clearances for such personnel. Encourages a State sponsoring a State defense force to make available to officials of the State defense force all appropriate criminal history information, and to maintain a record of such information pertaining to a member in order that security clearances may be expedited in time of mobilization or national emergency.
Bill· HRH.R. 2040 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Adoption Amendments of 1991 - Replaces Public Health Service Act provisions authorizing appropriations for adolescent family life demonstration projects with provisions requiring set-aside, for such projects, of a specified amount appropriated for the Health Resources and Services Administration. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for a limited amount of adoption expenses. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 to extend to October 1, 1993, the termination date of a test program for reimbursement of adoption expenses of members of the armed forces. Amends Part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Program) of title IV of the Social Security Act to prohibit payments to a State under provisions relating to foster care and adoption assistance if any public agency responsible for adoption placement has failed to fully disclose to prospective adoptive parents all information regarding the child's health. Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate grants to two States to establish demonstration programs to provide maternal health certificates to low-income pregnant females residing or awaiting residence in a maternity home. Requires eligible maternity homes to provide specified services, including room and board, medical care, and counseling and services concerning health, adoption, education, vocation, or employment. Requires that such homes accept the certificates as full payment. Directs the Secretary of Education to develop a model curriculum for educating individuals on issues of adoption that are relevant to the field of social work. Requires the curriculum to be appropriate for secondary, postsecondary, and continuing education settings. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 2093 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay a specified sum to a named individual in full satisfaction of any claim for survivor military annuity amounts payable to him for a certain period.
Law· HJRESH.J.Res. 233 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Designates September 20, 1991, as National POW/MIA recognition Day. Requires the display of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag: (1) at all national cemeteries and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 30, 1991 (Memorial Day), September 20, 1991 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day), and November 11, 1991 (Veteran's Day); and (2) on, or on the grounds of, the White House, and the buildings containing the primary offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, and the Director of the Selective Service Commission on September 20, 1991 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day).
Bill· SS. 883 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for: (1) the National Highway Program; (2) the Urban and Rural Program; (3) the Bridge Program; and (4) the Right-of-Way Revolving Fund. Specifies that unobligated balances of funds apportioned or allocated to a State under Federal highway provisions before October 1, 1991, shall be available for obligation in such State under the law, regulations, policies, and procedures relating to the obligation and expenditure of those funds in effect on September 30, 1991. Provides for the establishment of the National Highway System (NHS) to consist of: (1) the highways of the Interstate System (IS); (2) other urban and rural principal arterials, including toll facilities; (3) highways of the Strategic Highway Network (SHN) (defined as a network of highways that constitutes an important factor in U.S. strategic defense policy); and (4) major Strategic Highway Network Connectors (SHNCs) (which provide access from major military installations to the SHN). Makes the following activities, subject to specified conditions, eligible for funding: (1) construction; (2) operational and highway safety improvements; (3) modifications to existing facilities necessary to accommodate other modes; (4) transportation planning; and (5) highway research and development. Specifies that: (1) designation of the NHS, other than the IS, SHN, and SHNCs, shall be by the State in cooperation with local officials; (2) in urbanized areas, local officials shall act through the designated metropolitan planning organizations; (3) the NHS shall be based on a functional reclassification of roads and streets in each State which shall be designated not later than September 30, 1993, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Secretary of Transportation; and (4) the Secretary shall have the authority to approve, in whole or in part, the NHS and may add segments to the NHS as necessary to meet National Highway Program objectives. Sets forth further specifications with respect to new construction or major reconstruction of NHS beltways and bypasses. Directs the Secretary to establish an Urban and Rural Program to provide a category of funds that minimizes Federal requirements and provides flexibility in the use of available funds for either highway or transit projects. Specifies eligible highways and projects. Requires States to: (1) have an ongoing bridge inspection and inventory system; and (2) develop a method to distribute apportionments within the State fairly and equitably to rural areas, urban areas, and urbanized areas of over 200,000 in population. Sets forth provisions with respect to the obligation of funds, and the Federal share of projects, for the construction of toll roads, bridges, and tunnels. Declares it to be in the vital interest of the nation that a program be established to enable the States and Federal agencies to replace and rehabilitate highway bridges over waterways, other topographical barriers, other highways, or railroads when the States or Federal agencies and the Secretary find that a bridge is important, that a bridge is unsafe and poses a safety hazard to highway users, that replacement or rehabilitation would minimize disruptions, delays, and costs to users, or that replacement or rehabilitation would provide more efficient routes for emergency services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) inventory all highway bridges on any public road which are bridges over waterways, other highways, and railroads; (2) classify them according to serviceability, safety, and essentiality for public use; (3) based on such classification, assign each a priority for replacement with a computable facility or rehabilitation; and (4) determine the cost of replacing each such bridge with a comparable facility or of rehabilitating such bridge. Sets forth requirements and procedures for Federal participation in, and approval of, bridge replacement and rehabilitation projects. Makes funds available to the States under a Major Bridge Discretionary Program. Sets forth criteria and requirements under such Program. Authorizes States to give special consideration to low volume traffic bridges qualifying for replacement or repair under such Program. Encourages, and authorizes the Secretary to allocate funds to, States to initiate or expand efforts for planning and program development for scenic byways. Sets forth provisions regarding the availability and apportionment of funds for the various programs, including specifications of the Federal share of certain projects. Authorizes a State to transfer up to 15 percent of its annual apportionments for the National Highway Program, the Urban and Rural Program, and the Bridge Program among the three programs, as it determines necessary. Sets forth limitations on obligations for Federal-aid highway programs for FY 1992 through 1996 and provisions regarding the redistribution of unused obligation authority.
Bill· SS. 903 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Children's Security Trust Fund Act - Establishes the Children's Security Trust Fund (the Fund) in the Treasury, to be used to expand certain Federal programs that provide assistance to children. Provides that all funds transferred to the Fund shall be voluntary contributions by retirees from their Federal retirement benefits (from Social Security, civil service, military, or railroad retirement programs). Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to invest the portion of the Fund not required for current withdrawals, and to credit the Fund with interest and proceeds from such investments. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to obligate available amounts in the Fund, including any not obligated in previous fiscal years, for programs and services under: (1) the Head Start Act; (2) the supplemental food program under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; or (3) the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Act. Directs the Secretary of HHS to refer individuals receiving Federal retirement benefits (of the types described in provisions for voluntary contributions) who desire to volunteer to provide services under the children's programs that receive assistance under this Act to the appropriate State and local officials and community organizations responsible for such programs.
Bill· SS. 896 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Deems a named decedent to have made an election to provide an annuity to his former spouse in accordance with their separation agreement, for purposes of determining the spouse's eligibility for an annuity under the military Survivor Benefit Plan. Provides for a lump sum payment of such amount.
Law· HRH.R. 1989 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
American Technology Preeminence Act of 1991 - Title I: Department of Commerce Research and Technology - Technology Administration Authorization Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce, to carry out the activities of the Under Secretary for Technology and the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, for: (1) Office of Under Secretary; (2) Technology Policy; (3) Japanese Technical Literature; (4) Clearinghouse on State and Local Initiatives on Productivity, Technology, and Innovation; and (5) National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Requires operating costs for certain NTIS activities to be recovered primarily through fees. Mandates a report by the Secretary to the Congress responding to a specified Inspector General's Report and containing certain information and certifications. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 to change references to the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs to references to the Under Secretary for Technology in provisions relating to: (1) membership on the Advisory Council on Federal Participation in Sematech; and (2) the conduct of a study on Federal participation in Sematech. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for: (1) Electronics and Electrical Measurements; (2) Manufacturing Engineering; (3) Chemical Science and Technology; (4) Physics; (5) Materials Science and Engineering; (6) Building and Fire Research; (7) Computer Systems; (8) Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computing; (9) Technology Assistance; and (10) Research Support Activities. Earmarks certain amounts. Limits funds transfers among the line items. Declares that, subject to specified exceptions, this Act contains the complete authorizations of appropriations for NIST for a specified fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary to pay the Federal share of a pilot program under existing provisions to assist a country or countries in the development of comprehensive industrial standards. Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (NIST Act) to remove provisions limiting the amount NIST may, without specific appropriations, spend for construction or improvement of buildings or facilities. Requires: (1) NIST fire research and building technology programs to be combined for administrative purposes only, and separate budget accounts to be maintained; and (2) a report to the Congress on the combination and matters related to the two programs. Directs the Secretary, through the NIST Director, and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to jointly prepare and, subject to appropriations, carry out a plan for research to develop the fire technology and materials for an all fire resistant aircraft cabin interior. Amends the NIST Act to authorize financial assistance to U.S. citizens for research and technical activities on Institute programs. Authorizes, where shortages exist, recruitment and employment at NIST of foreign nationals admitted to the United States for permanent residence who intend to become U.S. citizens. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to carry out the extramural industrial technology services programs of NIST under specified provisions, to be available for: (1) Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology; (2) State Technology Extension Program; and (3) Advanced Technology Program. Requires competitive merit review of extramural programs. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to remove provisions requiring cooperative agreements between NIST and State technology extension services to expire on September 30, 1991. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the National Advisory Committee on Semiconductor Research and Development Act of 1988. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to make any adjustments in salary, pay, retirement, and other employee benefits which may be provided for by law. Prohibits awarding a contract or subcontract with funds authorized under this title for an article or material produced or manufactured in a foreign country whose government unfairly maintains in government procurement a significant and persistent pattern or practice of discrimination against U.S. products or services which results in identifiable harms to U.S. businesses. Makes ineligible to receive a contract or subcontract from the Department of Commerce any person who fraudulently affixes a "Made in America" label to a product. Authorizes the Secretary, in certain circumstances, to award to a domestic firm a contract that, under competitive procedures, would be awarded to a foreign firm. Title II: Advanced Technology Program Amendments - Emerging Technologies and Advanced Technology Program Amendments Act of 1991 - Amends the NIST Act to authorize the Secretary, through the Director, to make grants and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements under the Advanced Technology Program, including as a method for participating in U.S. joint research and development ventures (joint ventures). Limits the amount of any such contract or award (currently, any such contract or cooperative agreement). Replaces provisions entitling the Federal Government to a share of the licensing fees and royalty payments to a business or joint venture with provisions requiring each agreement with a business or joint venture that receives an award to specify a test for determining whether the venture is a commercial success and, if so, provide for recoupment to the Federal Government. Sets forth eligibility requirements for company participation in the Program. Requires assistance under the Program to be designed to support high risk projects with potential for eventual substantial widespread commercial application. Requires title to any intellectual property arising from assistance under the Program to vest in a company or companies incorporated in the United States. Allows the United States to retain a license in connection with such property. Allows a limited percentage of the funds appropriated for the Program to be used for standards development and technical activities by NIST in support of the purposes of the Program. Authorizes the Secretary, in carrying out NIST extramural funding programs, to retain amounts to pay for NIST's management of the programs. Title III: Amendments to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to remove fiscal year limitations from provisions requiring that each Federal agency transfer an amount to NIST for the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer. Repeals provisions mandating demonstration projects in technology transfer. Adds references to intellectual property to provisions defining "cooperative research and development agreement." Amends the definition of "Federal agency" to include any agency of the legislative branch. Authorizes the Secretary to use appropriated funds to cover the cost of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program to the extent such funds are needed in excess of the funds available under specified provisions. Adds to the duties of the Secretary, through the Under Secretary for Technology, that of serving as a focal point for discussions among U.S. companies on topics of interest to industry and labor. Title IV: National Commission on Reducing Capital Costs for Emerging Technology - Establishes the National Commission on Reducing Capital Costs for Emerging Technology to develop recommendations to increase the competitiveness of U.S. industry by encouraging investments in research, the development of new process and product technologies, and the production of those technologies. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Studies and Reports - Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish the High-Resolution Information Systems Advisory Board to monitor and foster the development of U.S.-based high-resolution information systems industries (defined as the equipment and techniques to create, store, recover, and play back high-resolution images and accompanying sound). Authorizes appropriations. Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to mandate an annual report to the Congress on each major science and technology project in which more than one country is participating and which has a total estimated cost over one billion dollars. Modifies the required contents of the biennial national critical technologies report to the President. Allows a product or process to be considered a national critical technology if it is essential for U.S. long-term national security or economic prosperity (currently, national security and economic prosperity). Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress, with annual updates, regarding: (1) civilian industries necessary for a robust manufacturing infrastructure and critical to economic security; (2) major research and development being undertaken, and substantial investments being made, by the Federal Government in each of the critical industries; and (3) a ten-year plan of major public and private efforts needed to ensure growth and stability of each critical industry. Establishes the Commission on Technology and Procurement to analyze the effect of Federal Government procurement laws, procedures, and policies on the development of advanced technologies in the United States and to make recommendations on changing Federal policy to promote the development of advanced technologies. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the feasibility of establishing and operating a Federal Online Information Product Catalog (FEDLINE) at the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) to serve as a comprehensive inventory of information products and services disseminated by the Federal Government and assist agencies and the public in locating Federal Government information. Authorizes the NTIS Director to retain and use all monies received to fund obligations and expenses through the end of a specified fiscal year. Amends the National Technical Information Act of 1988 to add producing and disseminating information products in electronic format to the duties of the NTIS. Establishes the National Quality Council to take certain actions regarding quality performance in business, education, government, and all other sectors. Establishes in the Treasury the National Quality Performance Trust Fund to receive all funds received by the Council. Makes amounts in the Fund available to the Council without further appropriation. Prohibits the Council from accepting private donations from a single source in excess of a specified amount per year. Requires approval of two-thirds of the Council to accept donations from a single source over a certain amount per year. Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to replace provisions establishing and setting forth the membership and functions of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology with provisions relating to the membership and functions of the Council and assistance to the Council by other Federal agencies. Directs the Secretary to contract with the National Research Council for a thorough review of international product testing and certification issues. Mandates a report to the Secretary, the President, and the Congress. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to report to the Congress: (1) proposing a strategy for improving the university research capabilities of States which historically have received relatively little Federal research and development funding; and (2) on the feasibility and advisability of using the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research as a model for similar programs in other Federal departments and agencies which fund research and development. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees regarding a plan for coordination of Commerce Department efforts with other Federal agencies concerning high-resolution information systems. Title VI: Lead Exposure Hazards - Requires NIST to recommend to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) technical criteria and implement a voluntary accreditation program with respect to laboratory analysis of lead in paint, films, soil, and dust. Requires that funds for implementing the program be provided to NIST by the EPA Administrator. Allows funds received through charges for accreditation services to be used by NIST for operating costs. Requires NIST, subject to the availability of funds, to recommend to the EPA Administrator protocols, criteria, reference materials, and minimum performance standards to be used in the evaluation of emerging products and techniques for detecting lead in paint films and dust and to ensure reliable, accurate, and effective lead detection technologies. Requires NIST, subject to the availability of funds, to recommend to the EPA Administrator performance criteria and standards for lead paint encapsulants and for strippers.
Bill· HRH.R. 2033 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Build America Act of 1991 - Title I: Completion of Interstate System and Interstate Substitute Highway Projects - Approves the estimate forwarded to the Congress by the Secretary of Transportation of the cost of completing the Interstate System (IS). Directs the Secretary to apportion for FY 1993 through 1998 the sums authorized to be appropriated for such years by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 for expenditure on the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (NSIDH), using the apportionment factors contained in such approved estimate. Amends such Act to authorize appropriations for IS completion for FY 1994 through 1998. Specifies that a State which has not completed construction of that portion of the NSIDH which lies within its border by the end of FY 1995 shall not be eligible, effective at the beginning of FY 1996, to receive or apply for funds under such Act until the Secretary agrees that the State has completed such construction, with an exception for States experiencing a natural disaster. Requires that the sums to be apportioned for FY 1992 through 1995 under such Act for expenditure on substitute highway projects be apportioned using the apportionment factors contained in the report forwarded to the Congress by the Department of Transportation by letter dated September 25, 1990. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Obligation Authority - Sets forth Federal obligation limitations for Federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs for FY 1992 through 1996, with exceptions. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the distribution of obligation authority; (2) State obligation limitations; and (3) the redistribution of unused obligation authority. Title III: Authorization of Appropriations Out of the Highway Trust Fund - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996 out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for: (1) the Interstate 4R program; (2) the Federal-Aid Primary System; (3) the Federal-Aid Secondary System; (4) the Federal-Aid Urban System; (5) bridge replacement and rehabilitation; (6) hazard elimination; and (7) railroad-highway crossings. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) forest highways; (2) public lands highways; (3) parkways and park highways; (4) Indian reservation roads; (5) access highways to certain public recreation areas; (6) Federal Highway Administration safety and research programs; and (7) highway use tax evasion projects. Authorizes appropriations out of the HTF for the Interstate 4R discretionary program and for the discretionary bridge program. Directs the Secretary to calculate bonus apportionments for each State according to specified formulas based on: (1) the percentage by which such State exceeds the national average in per capita expenditures for highway purposes; (2) adverse weather; (3) the Federal lands adjustment; and (4) low population density. Limits adjustments to a State's total annual apportionment. Title IV: Program Flexibility - Authorizes States to transfer up to 30 percent of specified highway apportionments (and, with approval of the Secretary, additional amounts) to mass transit and other transportation-related uses. Title V: Additional Provisions - Amends the Highway Improvement Act of 1982 to continue the Federal-Aid Primary System formula through FY 1996. Expands the toll pilot program to authorize Federal participation in toll facilities (current law limits Federal participation to nine toll facilities). Authorizes tolls on a facility to be continued indefinitely, without sanction imposed by the Secretary, if, after the recovery of cost, tolls received from the facility less the actual cost of operation and maintenance are used for purposes eligible under such Act. Authorizes appropriations out of the HTF to the rights-of-way revolving fund. Deletes specified restrictions with respect to additions to the IS. Specifies that additions to the IS may consist of either toll or free mileage. Authorizes the Secretary, in any case where sufficient land exists within the publicly acquired rights-of-way of a Federal-aid highway to accommodate rail, including high speed ground transportation and magnetic levitation systems, or non-highway public mass transit facilities (where the accommodation can be accomplished without impairing automotive safety or future highway improvements), to allow a State to make lands and rights-of-way available without charge to a publicly or privately owned mass transit authority or company for such purposes wherever the public interest will be served. Federal Rural Tourism and Recreational Development Act of 1991 - Declares that it shall be a national goal to provide improved and safe access to public lands to encourage the development of travel and tourism opportunities in support of rural area economic development. Makes funds available for each class of Federal lands highways available for such purposes as transportation planning for tourism and recreational travel, interpretive signage, development of public road facilities for areas of historical, archeological, cultural, and scenic interests, and construction and reconstruction of roadside rest areas. Makes funds available for forest development roads and trails available for such purposes. Directs the Secretary to: (1) transfer to the Secretary of the Interior from the appropriations for public lands highways amounts as may be needed to cover necessary administrative costs of the Bureau of Land Management in connection with public lands highways; and (2) authorize Federal-aid highway projects for pedestrian and bicycle facilities to encourage alternative modes of transportation for tourism and recreational purposes. Authorizes motorized use of trails and walkways as determined by State and local regulations. Directs the Secretary, on October 1 of each fiscal year, to allocate sums authorized to be appropriated for such fiscal year for access highways to public recreation areas on certain lakes according to the relative needs of such areas. Authorizes the expenditure of sums authorized under the Transportation Improvement Act of 1991 for recreational travel and tourism projects on forest and public lands development roads and trails that are open to public travel. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish and carry out a tourism and recreational travel technical assistance program in nonurbanized areas; and (2) set aside in FY 1992 $5,000,000 from funds used to administer the Federal Highway Administration for such program. Requires States using specified funds under the Transportation Improvement Act to have a multipurpose land use statewide driving and recreation travel plan to identify and find solutions to problems related to driving and tourism. Authorizes the Secretary to permit Federal participation in the refurbishment and operation (currently, limited to construction) of ferry boats. Specifies that, in the case of ferries that serve routes on Federal-aid systems and other routes in an integrated system, such a ferry may operate throughout the entire service area of the ferry system. Increases the Federal share payable on account of any project in a State by five percentage points, up to a maximum Federal share payable of 95 percent, if the State certifies to the Secretary that it has developed (either statewide or in significant portions of the State) comprehensive plans with mandatory land use and transportation elements.
Law· HRH.R. 1988 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Multiyear Authorization Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for: (1) research and development; (2) space flight, control, and data communications; (3) construction of facilities; (4) research and program management, including scientific consultations; and (5) the Inspector General. Permits appropriations for the first two numbered categories to be used for certain items of a capital nature (other than land acquisition) required for the performance of research and development contracts and for grants to nonprofit educational and research organizations to augment their research facilities. Prohibits the use of these funds for the construction of any major facility whose estimated cost exceeds a specified amount, unless the Administrator of NASA notifies specified congressional leadership and committees. Authorizes fund use, subject to limitations, for facilities construction, repair, or modification and for unforeseen programmatic facility project needs. Permits upward variances of funds for facilities construction under circumstances outlined in this Act. Authorizes certain fund transfers and makes available specified funds for the construction and modification of laboratories and other installations. Requires the Administrator to notify specified congressional leadership and committees of the nature, cost, and need for such construction before expending the funds in question. Prohibits, until 30 days following congressional receipt of the Administrator's full explanation, the use of funds appropriated pursuant to this Act for any program that: (1) has been eliminated by the Congress; (2) is in excess of the amount actually authorized for the particular program (except for construction of facilities); or (3) has not been presented to either of the relevant congressional committees. Requires NASA to keep the committees fully and currently informed regarding all activities and responsibilities within the jurisdiction of those committees. Requires any Federal entity to furnish any information requested relating to such activity or responsibility. Authorizes the Administrator to use a limited percentage of funds provided for the Small Business Innovation Research Program under specified provisions of the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 for program management and promotional activities. Creates the Office of Facilities Maintenance and gives it complete authority to plan and direct facilities maintenance management for all NASA sites. Amends the Commercial Space Launch Act to authorize appropriations to carry out the Act. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the activities of the National Space Council. Limits the amount the Council may use for official reception and representation expenses. Requires the Council to reimburse other agencies for at least one-half of the personnel compensation costs of individuals detailed to it. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the Council should establish policy recommendations for carrying out the President's commitment to maintaining the continuity of Landsat data. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce for the Office of Space Commerce. Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 1988 to modify requirements regarding space station budget estimates. Requires the Administrator to submit to the Congress, along with NASA's FY 1993 budget request, a study: (1) assessing the usefulness of granting NASA multiyear contracting authority similar to that granted the armed forces under existing law; and (2) recommending at least five programs to be considered by the Congress for multiyear contracting.
Bill· HRH.R. 2029 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Title I: General Provisions - Operation Coastal Shield of 1991 - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes with respect to coastal and Great Lakes water quality. Title II: Coastal Water Quality - Amends the Clean Water Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) issue guidance to States for implementing water quality criteria, developing water and sediment quality-based effluent limitations, and implementing water quality related controls on nonpoint sources; (2) submit a workplan to specified congressional committees on a five-year schedule for developing and revising criteria for pollutants found in coastal waters; (3) issue or revise at least five new criteria and revise at least five existing criteria biennially for pollutants which pose the greatest risk to coastal waters; and (4) publish biological criteria for assessing and protecting coastal water quality and habitat to complement pollutant-specific criteria. Requires a coastal State, whenever the State reviews water quality standards, to adopt coastal water quality standards for pollutants for which water quality criteria and information have been issued. Requires criteria issued by the Administrator to take effect immediately as interim coastal water quality standards for States that fail to adopt approvable standards. Directs the Administrator to publish information on methods for measuring water quality criteria for pollutants that may pose risks to coastal and Great Lakes water quality on bases other than pollutant-by-pollutant criteria. Requires applicants for Federal permits to conduct activities which may result in discharges into navigable waters to obtain a certification from the State in which the discharge will originate that such activities will not contribute to a failure to achieve water quality standards. Directs coastal States to develop coastal water quality protection programs for restoring and protecting coastal water quality. Requires such programs to: (1) incorporate requirements of specified Acts; (2) identify coastal waters for which standards cannot be expected to be maintained and waters that currently meet standards but are threatened by increases in pollution; (3) establish a priority ranking for such waters and implement schedules for developing water quality restoration plans for those waters; (4) provide for a system of allocating and exchanging discharge reduction credits and pollution offsets among sources of conventional pollutants and nutrients into coastal waters; (5) establish a system through which a State authority certifies that the issuance or renewal of a discharge permit or the undertaking of any activity subject to the requirements of a coastal water quality restoration plan complies with such requirements; and (6) ensure public participation in the program and include procedures to ensure compliance with the program. Sets forth: (1) requirements for coastal water quality restoration plans; and (2) approval procedures for such plans and for coastal water quality protection programs. Directs the Administrator to develop water quality restoration plans for States that fail to do so. Requires the Administrator to issue orders to, or commence civil actions against, persons failing to comply with coastal water quality protection program requirements. Authorizes citizen suits against the United States and other governmental authorities for violations of such requirements. Prohibits the issuance or renewal of permits for discharges into estuaries nominated for the National Estuary Program, except in compliance with specified guidelines. Directs the Administrator to review and revise guidelines to prevent the degradation of coastal water quality and to reflect changes made by this Act. Authorizes State Governors to request the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to enter into a cooperative agreement to permit a State and its political subdivisions to enforce requirements for marine sanitation devices. Requires such agreements to authorize States or political subdivisions to assess and retain required penalties. Directs the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator to notify the fish and game and water pollution control authorities of each coastal State of the funds available under the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act to finance shoreside pumpout stations for marine sanitation devices. Requires the Administrator to review and revise standards for marine sanitation devices to prevent discharges from vessels equipped with Type III marine aviation devices. Directs the Administrator to: (1) identify pollution control measures for controlling the introduction of pollutants into coastal waters from nonpoint sources; (2) develop techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of such measures; and (3) make available to State and local authorities technical guidance for implementing and monitoring such measures. Requires the Administrator, with respect to best management practices for industry, to identify releases of pollutants that may cause risks to human health or the environment and to prohibit or restrict the production of such pollutants to eliminate such risks. Revises provisions concerning the purposes of management conferences under the National Estuary Program. Requires such conferences to be convened for periods of at least five years (currently, up to five years). Permits the extension of a conference for an additional five years if the affected Governors concur in the extension and the extension is necessary to meet requirements. Revises approval and implementation procedures for conservation and management plans under the Program. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants for the implementation of such plans. Extends the authorization of appropriations for Program activities. Authorizes appropriations to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Director to participate in the development and implementation of such plans. Requires the Administrator to issue orders to, or commence civil actions against, persons failing to comply with requirements concerning national estuaries. Title III: Coastal and Great Lakes Contaminated Sediments Remediation Program - Directs the Administrator to conduct a survey and report to the Congress on bottom sediment contamination in the Great Lakes and U.S. coastal waters. Declares that the purpose of such survey is to assess the severity of such contamination, identify areas for which additional pollution reduction requirements may be required, and determine the order of priority for undertaking remedial actions. Requires the Administrator to publish: (1) criteria for sediment quality; and (2) information on the factors necessary to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of aquatic ecosystems. Authorizes persons to petition for the development of criteria for pollutants. Requires the Administrator to approve a petition if the pollutant, when present in sediments, is preventing: (1) the attainment of a balanced, indigenous population of fish, shellfish, or wildlife; or (2) recreation in and on the Great Lakes or coastal waters. Directs the Administrator to: (1) issue national sediment remediation standards to govern remediation projects involving contaminated sediments; and (2) issue standards to establish temporary maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants or contaminants during the duration of projects for sediment contamination. Requires the Administrator, when publishing sediment quality criteria for a pollutant, to issue guidance on the imposition by the appropriate permitting authority of sediment-based effluent limits that will prevent the violation of such criteria. Directs the Administrator to publish guidelines to govern projects to clean up contaminated sediments. Provides for the review and revision of such guidelines at least once every five years. Requires the Administrator, with the approval of a State Governor, to implement sediment remediation projects for locations posing the greatest risks to human health and the environment. Prohibits the Administrator, in selecting such sites, from selecting any site listed as a priority under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and for which there is reasonable likelihood of remediation under such Act. Authorizes approprations. Title IV: Monitoring Coastal Waters - Establishes the National Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Task Force. Requires the Task Force to: (1) implement a national strategy for conducting coastal water quality monitoring programs; (2) identify all Federal water quality monitoring programs and incorporate those programs into the national strategy; (3) develop a memorandum of understanding among appropriate Federal agencies to implement such strategy; (4) develop coastal water quality monitoring guidelines; and (5) select high priority coastal waters and approve, implement, or disapprove coastal water quality monitoring programs for such waters. Directs the Task Force to issue quidelines to assist in the development and implementation of such programs. Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to require Regional Marine Research Boards to establish monitoring committees comprised of individuals with technical expertise in coastal water quality monitoring programs. Requires the Boards, acting through such committees, to: (1) recommend areas for individual monitoring; (2) submit recommendations to the Task Force; (3) develop coastal water quality monitoring programs for high priority coastal waters selected by the Task Force; (4) provide for public participation in such programs; (5) provide technical guidance for the implementation of such programs; and (6) review the effectiveness of such programs and make necessary modifications. Sets forth requirements for coastal water quality monitoring programs and approval procedures for programs submitted by the committees to the Task Force. Requires the Under Secretary, the Administrator, and State Governors to ensure compliance with such programs. Deems requirements of approved programs to be requirements of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 and requires such programs to be submitted for approval as part of coastal zone management programs under the coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. Directs the Administrator or a State permitting authority to incorporate monitoring requirements into discharge permits. Title V: Compliance and Enforcement - Amends the Clean Water Act to authorize the use of specified civil and administrative penalties for beneficial mitigation projects. Increases the maximum on class II civil penalties authorized to be assessed under such Act. Prohibits Federal agencies from entering into any contract for the procurement of goods or services if the contract is to be performed at any facility owned or operated by a person who has: (1) repeatedly violated a discharge permit or the requirements of a nonpoint source management program or categorical standard with respect to the treatment of pollutants; or (2) been in repeated noncompliance with an estuary conservation and management plan. Authorizes the Administrator to commence administrative enforcement actions against Federal agencies to enforce this Act. Permits partial program withdrawal of State discharge permit programs if the Administrator determines that a State is not administering part of a program in accordance with applicable requirements. Requires permits to take effect upon issuance unless the permittee demonstrates that: (1) he will be irreparably harmed; and (2) there is a likelihood that he will succeed on the merits in an administrative hearing or civil action to review the permit's conditions. Prohibits Federal agencies from undertaking any development project or awarding any grant for an activity that may adversely affect the quality of navigable waters in any State with a pattern of: (1) continuing and chronic violations of coastal water quality standards; or (2) continuing and chronic failure to maintain a designated use under such standards. Requires Federal agencies which own or operate facilities that discharge pollutants into navigable waters (and that would qualify as major dischargers if industrial facilities) to develop and submit to the Administrator environmental auditing plans for such facilities. Directs industrial dischargers and publicly owned treatment works that discharge pollutants into navigable waters and that have repeatedly violated discharge permits or consent decrees to conduct biannual environmental audits of such facilities until they are no longer in violation of applicable requirements. Requires major dischargers, prior to the renewal of a permit, to provide to the Administrator an environmental audit conducted during the six-month period preceding the renewal. Sets forth requirements for audits and auditors. Requires the Administrator to: (1) issue regulations establishing eligibility requirements for certification of environmental auditors and continuing education requirements for maintaining the certification; and (2) issue guidance to States on the development of State programs for certification of environmental auditors. Directs States having navigable waters that do not meet applicable water quality standards to post and maintain signs at each place of public access to such waters indicating the standards such waters fail to meet and the health and environmental effects which may occur as a result of such failure. Title VI: Financing - Subtitle A: Discharge Fees - Establishes the Coastal Defense Fund. Provides for the deposit of specified fines, penalties, and payments collected under the Clean Water Act and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 into the Fund. Requires the Administrator to use Fund revenues to supplement funding for activities associated with administering the discharge permit program. Directs the Administrator to establish a National Coastal Discharge Permit Fee System to collect fees from coastal dischargers. Declares that the objectives of the System are to: (1) recoup the costs to Federal, State, and local governments of administering coastal discharge permit programs; (2) provide economic incentives to dischargers to eliminate or reduce the volume of toxicities of their effluents; and (3) supplement funding for discharge permitting programs under the Clean Water Act. Provides for the deposit of fees and penalties collected under the System into the Fund. Makes persons failing to pay fees liable for civil penalties. Provides for a hardship exemption to fees under certain conditions. Requires the Administrator, upon the petition of a coastal State, to waive the application of the System to such State if the amount of discharge fees collected under a State system is equivalent to the amount that would be collected by the System. Prohibits such waiver if the State uses fees solely to support State water quality programs. Makes industrial users of publicly owned treatment works liable for fees and requires users to pay fees to the authority responsible for controlling the treatment works. Directs the authority to retain such fees and use them to enforce water quality programs. Requires the Administrator to establish a fee schedule under the System that provides for the assessment of fees at least once a year and for the triennial adjustment of fees. Subtitle B: General Authorizations - Extends through FY 1999 the authorization of appropriations under the Clean Water Act for: (1) specified research, investigations, training, and information; (2) grants to States for pollution control programs; (3) nonpoint source pollution control in rural areas; (4) interagency agreements to maintain water quality; (5) the clean lakes program; and (6) nonpoint source pollution management programs. Extends the general authorization under such Act through FY 1999. Subtitle C: State and Local Financing - Authorizes States to use up to 15 percent of monies available in water pollution control revolving funds under the Clean Water Act to provide financial assistance to financially restricted communities. Permits loans to be made to such communities on terms of up to 40 years. Authorizes a fund to be used to reduce the principal of a debt obligation of a municipality or intermunicipal or interstate agency incurred after April 1, 1991, by up to 34 percent. Adds to the list of projects eligible for revolving fund assistance: (1) approved combined stormwater and sanitary sewer control programs; and (2) Great Lakes protection programs. Provides that: (1) annual principal and interest payments for loans made with revolving fund monies will commence no later than three years (currently, one year) after the completion of the project; and (2) amounts used for administering a fund shall not exceed four percent of amounts allotted to a State, or $400,000, whichever is greater (currently, four percent of all grant awards to such fund). Extends the allotment formula with respect to such funds. Raises the ceiling on the dollar amount to be reserved for planning purposes. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such funds through FY 1999.
Bill· HRH.R. 1992 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse a person for the cost of acquiring a non-Government headstone or grave marker for placement in a cemetery other than a national cemetery in connection with the burial of a veteran.
Bill· HRH.R. 2001 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Amends Federal provisions relating to the National Guard to add a new chapter concerning the formation of State defense forces. Defines a "State defense force" as a military force organized by a State to become operational when the State National Guard forces are federalized or otherwise unavailable or inadequate for the defense needs of such State. Provides that, as general policy, State defense forces are in the national interest as a reserve force of the States, for specified reasons. Provides that membership in a State defense force shall be determined by the individual States, but that a member of the U.S. armed forces shall not also be a member of a State defense force. Provides further that membership in a State defense force does not exempt a person from any required duty under the Military Selective Service Act, nor does such membership limit a person from enlistment or appointment in an armed force. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to issue or loan military equipment, supplies, or uniforms to a State for use in connection with its State defense force. Directs the Secretary of Defense to prescribe policies and procedures to be followed in the issuing and loaning of such equipment. Authorizes the sale (by the Secretary of the military department concerned) and the wearing of military uniforms by members of a State defense force, as long as such uniforms have been approved by such Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to provide a member of a State defense force and States with defense forces training and training assistance for such forces. Authorizes such training, in the alternative, to be provided by an executive department and an independent agency of the Federal Government in the interest of national security and when not detrimental to the primary operational requirements of the department or agency concerned. Provides that the Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall serve as the means of communication between a State and the Federal Government on matters involving the State defense forces. Provides that a member of a State defense force is not to be considered a member of the U.S. armed forces for any reason, including eligibility for federally-sponsored health care or disability benefits. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to conduct such background investigations for potential members of State defense forces as considered necessary and appropriate by such Secretary for the granting of appropriate security clearances for such personnel. Authorizes a State sponsoring a State defense force to conduct necessary and appropriate background investigations as a condition for allowing access to classified information by a member of the defense force.
Bill· HRH.R. 1994 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Allows lawful resident aliens to be counted in determining whether there is sufficient participation at a secondary educational institution to maintain a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps unit.
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