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Bill· HRH.R. 3536 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1996
Airline Pilot Hiring and Safety Act of 1996 - Amends Federal aviation law to require air carriers to request and receive a pilot applicant's record for the previous five years with respect to: (1) current airman certificate, including any summaries of legal enforcement actions; (2) employment; and (3) motor vehicle driving record. Prohibits any Federal or State court action for defamation or invasion of privacy against any carrier or person with respect to the furnishing or use of such records according to the requirements of this Act. Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish certain minimum standards for pilot qualifications for employment. Directs the Administrator of the FAA to study and report to the Congress on the appropriateness of requiring the Secretary of Defense to provide an air carrier with the armed services records of an applicant pilot.
Bill· HRH.R. 3542 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1996
Authorizes dependency and indemnity compensation to be paid to a veteran's former spouse if: (1) such spouse, but for the divorce, would qualify as a surviving spouse; and (2) the divorce was due to the misconduct of, or was procured by, the veteran without the fault of the spouse.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 442 (104th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1996
Sets forth the rule for the consideration of H.R. 3517 (military construction appropriations).
Bill· SS. 1823 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Title II: Supplemental Security Income Subtitle A: Eligibility Restrictions Subtitle B: Benefits for Disabled Children Subtitle C: State Supplementation Programs Subtitle D: Studies Regarding Supplemental Security Income Program Subtitle E: National Commission on the Future of Disability Subtitle F: Retirement Age Eligibility Title III: Child Support Subtitle A: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments Subtitle B: Locate and Case Tracking Subtitle C: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures Subtitle D: Paternity Establishment Subtitle E: Program Administration and Funding Subtitle F: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders Subtitle G: Enforcement of Support Orders Subtitle H: Medical Support Subtitle I: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents Subtitle J: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments Title IV: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens Subtitle A: Eligibility for Federal Benefits Subtitle B: Eligibility for State and Local Public Benefits Programs Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support Subtitle D: General Provisions Subtitle E: Conforming Amendments Subtitle F: Earned Income Credit Denied to Unauthorized Employees Title V: Reductions in Federal Government Positions Title VI: Reform of Public Housing Title VII: Child Protection Block Grant Programs and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs Subtitle A: Child Protection Block Grant Program and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs Subtitle B: Child and Family Services Block Grant Title VIII: Child Care Title IX: Child Nutrition Programs Subtitle A: National School Lunch Act Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Act of 1966 Title X: Food Stamps and Commodity Distribution Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs Title XI: Miscellaneous Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 - Title I: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families - Expresses the sense of the Congress that prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and reduction in out-of-wedlock births are important Government interests. (Sec. 103) Replaces the current Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program and the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS) under parts A and F of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) with a single, combined program of block grants to the States for operating statewide temporary assistance (TEA) programs with certain mandatory work, education, and job preparation requirements for needy families either already with or expecting a child, which are designed to assist such families in becoming self-sufficient. Limits such families generally to no more than five years of TEA cash assistance, with certain exceptions for minor children, battered family members, and hardship situations. Denies TEA assistance in cases where an individual family member is a fugitive felon or a probation or parole violator and in certain other specified situations as well. Requires, in addition, certain adult-supervised living arrangements for unmarried teenage parents. Provides for the exchange of TEA program information with law enforcement agencies under certain conditions. Establishes penalties for States and individual families for specified grant and program violations, respectively, through reduced grants and assistance payments, allowing States to terminate such payments to certain adult family members without small children needing child care who refuse to: (1) engage in work, educational, or job preparation activities (required program activities); or (2) cooperate with the State in establishing paternity or obtaining child support unless the member qualifies for a good cause exception. Provides for a separate reduction in State family assistance grant payments for States failing to comply with Federal requirements under SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) pertaining to paternity establishment and child support enforcement. Sets forth the mechanism for State appeal of Federal adverse decisions with respect to State plans or imposition of penalties, providing for advance notification of any program violation and the opportunity for a State to correct it before any such penalty is imposed. Limits the amount of any penalty reduction in the State's quarterly family assistance grant payment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that State TEA programs should: (1) assign the highest priority to requiring adults in two-parent families and in single-parent families with older preschool or school-age children to be engaged in required program activities; and (2) require noncustodial, nonsupporting parents under age 18 to fulfill community work obligations and attend appropriate parenting or money management classes after school. Specifies State TEA plan contents, including provisions for numeric goals for reducing illegitimacy in the State over a specified ten year period beginning in 1996, and certain certifications by the State that it will operate child support enforcement and protection programs, in order for it to be eligible (according to certain other criteria as well) to receive Federal grants for its TEA programs (family assistance grants). Allows the States to decide in their TEA plans: (1) whether or not they intend on providing TEA assistance to aliens; and (2) how to treat families moving interstate. Provides for: (1) the allowable uses of quarterly family assistance grants, family planning services, and assistance to low income households in meeting home heating and cooling costs; (2) additional grants to States as rewards for reductions in illegitimate births and for high performance under the TEA program, as well as supplemental grants to certain States for population increases; and (3) a Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs (Contingency Fund) in the Treasury for payments to certain eligible States. Makes appropriations for such grants and the Contingency Fund. Sets up a Federal loan program for State TEA programs for anti-fraud and other specified activities, making necessary appropriations. Outlines specific program data collection and reporting requirements, as well as certain research, evaluation, and study requirements. Provides for direct funding, by way of three-year tribal family assistance grants, to Indian tribes (with a special rule for Indian tribes in Alaska) with approved tribal family assistance plans. Directs the Bureau of the Census to expand the Survey of Income and Program Participation to obtain information that will enable interested persons to evaluate the impact of the changes made by this title on a random national sample of recipients of assistance under State programs. Provides for the treatment of existing State AFDC (welfare reform) waivers in effect on the date of enactment of this Act and those granted subsequently. Retains the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Family Support as the official responsible for administering SSA title IV part A and D programs. (Sec. 104) Allows States to contract with charitable, religious, and private organizations to provide services and administer programs established or modified under titles I, II, and VI of this Act. Prohibits the expenditure of financial assistance provided under such programs for sectarian worship, instruction, or proselytization. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to expand census data collection efforts to enable the Bureau of the Census to collect statistically significant data on grandparent caregivers. (Sec. 106) Requires an HHS report to the Congress on State automated data processing systems used in administering SSA title IV part A programs to determine what would be required to establish a system for tracking public program participants and checking case records to determine if such participants are participating in public programs of two or more States. (Sec. 107) Details requirements for a similar report, and study, on alternative outcomes measures for evaluating the success of the States in moving individuals off welfare through employment. (Sec. 108) Makes conforming amendments to SSA, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and related provisions of other specified Federal laws. (Sec. 111) Directs the Commissioner of Social Security (Commissioner) to: (1) develop a prototype counterfeit-resistant social security card; and (2) study and issue a report to the Congress with regard to improving the social security card application process. (Sec. 112) Requires any organization accepting Federal funds under this Act to disclose that fact in any communication it makes that in any way intends to promote public support or opposition to any Federal, State, or local government policy through any broadcasting station, periodical, or other specified type of general public advertising. Makes any organization failing to make such a disclosure ineligible to receive Federal funds under this Act. (Sec. 113) Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to remove the "demonstration" status of the Job Opportunities for Certain Low-Income Individuals (JOLI) program and give it an increased annual authorization for any fiscal year. Title II: Supplemental Security Income - Subtitle A: Eligibility Restrictions - Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to deny SSI for ten years to individuals found to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in order to obtain benefits simultaneously in two or more States. Denies SSI for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators. Provides for exchange of SSI information with law enforcement agencies under certain conditions. (Sec. 203) Revises the treatment afforded prisoners with regard to SSI and OASDI (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) benefits under SSA title II to: (1) deny SSI benefits for ten years to a person found to have fraudulently obtained them while in prison; (2) eliminate the OASDI requirement that confinement stem from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; and (3) authorize the Commissioner to contract with any interested State or local institutions used to confine prisoners for monthly reports back of certain identifying information in order to enforce SSI and OASDI benefit limitations, and pay such institution a specified fee with regard to each SSI- or OASDI-eligible inmate identified who becomes ineligible for such benefit as a result of such reporting. Requires the Commissioner to study and report to the Congress on other specified potential improvements in the collection of information respecting public inmates. (Sec. 204) Makes certain changes respecting the effective date of applications for SSI benefits. Subtitle B: Benefits for Disabled Children - Revises the rules with respect to childhood eligibility, with corresponding changes to childhood SSI regulations modifying the medical criteria for evaluation of mental and emotional disorders, and discontinuing the use of individualized functional assessments for children. Modifies medical improvement review standards, specifically dividing their applicability to, and creating separate criteria for, individuals aged 18 or older, and individuals under age 18, respectively. (Sec. 211) Provides that once an eligible child meets the definition of disability, the amount of the individual's cash benefit will be based on whether or not the child meets criteria for needing personal assistance enabling the child to stay at home with his or her family. (Sec. 212) Provides that at least once every three years the Commissioner shall review the continued SSI eligibility of each individual who has not attained age 18 and is eligible for such benefits by reason of an impairment (or combination of impairments) which is likely to improve (or, at the Commissioner's option, is unlikely to improve). Requires a representative payee of a recipient whose case is so reviewed to present, at the time of review, evidence demonstrating that the recipient is, and has been, receiving treatment, to the extent considered medically necessary and available, for the condition which was the basis for providing benefits under the SSI program. Provides that if the representative payee refuses to comply without good cause with such requirement, the Commissioner shall, if in the individual's best interest, promptly terminate payment of benefits to the representative payee, and provide for payment of benefits to an alternative representative payee of the individual or, if the interest of the individual would be served thereby, to the individual. Provides that if an individual is eligible for SSI benefits by reason of disability for the month preceding the month in which the individual attains age 18, the Commissioner shall redetermine such eligibility: (1) during the one-year period beginning on the individual's 18th birthday; and (2) by applying the criteria used in determining the initial eligibility for applicants who have attained age 18. Specifies requirements governing continuing disability reviews for low-birth-weight babies. (Sec. 213) Revises provisions regarding the disposal of resources for less than fair market value by certain individuals and appropriate notification of Medicaid. Provides for the treatment of assets held in trust by individuals who have not attained age 18 and any earnings resulting from such trust. Requires representative payees of eligible individuals below age 18 to establish financial institution accounts on their behalf into which SSI payments shall be paid. Allows representative payees to use funds in the account to pay for certain allowable expenses. Directs the Commissioner to establish a system for accountability monitoring whereby a representative payee shall report on activities respecting funds in the account. (Sec. 214) Reduces cash SSI payments to institutionalized children whose medical costs are covered by private insurance. (Sec. 215) Provides for installment payment of large amounts of past-due SSI benefits, and the recovery of SSI overpayments from social security benefits. Subtitle C: State Supplementation Programs - Repeals maintenance of effort requirements applicable to optional State programs for supplementation of SSI benefits. Subtitle D: Studies Regarding Supplemental Security Income Program - Requires the Commissioner to prepare an annual report for the President and the Congress on the SSI program, and make appropriate arrangements for a study of the disability determination process under SSA titles II and XVI for any needed changes. (Sec. 233) Outlines the requirements for a study and report by the General Accounting Office on the impact of this title on the SSI program and on the extra expenses incurred by families of children receiving benefits under such program that are not covered by other Federal, State, or local programs. Subtitle E: National Commission on the Future of Disability - Establishes the National Commission on the Future of Disability to develop and carry out a comprehensive study of all matters related to the nature, purpose, and adequacy of all Federal programs serving individuals with disabilities in order to develop appropriate recommendations for any needed legislation or administrative action. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Retirement Age Eligibility - Provides that, for purposes of determining an aged individual under SSI, the age used shall be the retirement age used under the OASDI program. Title III: Child Support - Subtitle A: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive assistance under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. (Sec. 302) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 303) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. Subtitle B: Locate and Case Tracking - Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 312) Requires State plans to include centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. (Sec. 313) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 314) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 315) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 316) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and HHS to jointly develop cost-effective methods of accessing information in the various State directories of new hires and the National Directory of New Hires (established under this Act), taking into account impact and cost to the States, and the need to ensure authorized use of wage record information. (Sec. 317) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). Subtitle C: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures - Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 323) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. Subtitle D: Paternity Establishment - Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 333) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. Subtitle E: Program Administration and Funding - Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 342) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec 344) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 345) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. Subtitle F: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders - Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 352) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 353) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for knowingly or negligently violating such prohibition. Subtitle G: Enforcement of Support Orders - Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 362) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the armed forces. (Sec. 364) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 365) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures: (1) to ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) to report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) to provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of a non-custodial parent; and (4) to implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 370) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 371) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of Health and Human Services as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 372) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each non-custodial parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 373) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 374) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. Subtitle H: Medical Support - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 377) Amends part D of SSA title IV to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. Subtitle I: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents - Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate non-custodial parents' access to their children. Subtitle J: Effect of Enactment - Sets forth effective dates and conforming amendments. Title IV: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens - Subtitle A: Eligibility for Federal Benefits - Prohibits (with exceptions) specified Federal benefits to nonqualified aliens. Limits (with exceptions) qualified alien access to other specified Federal programs. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide the Immigration and Naturalization Service with information on illegal aliens. Subtitle B: Eligibility for State and Local Public Benefits Programs - Sets forth similar prohibitions and limitations on alien access to State and local public benefits. Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support - Attributes a sponsor's (and spouse's) income and resources to the alien sponsoree in determining eligibility for Federal means-tested public benefits. (Sec. 422) Authorizes States to make similar attributions. (Sec. 423) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to set forth sponsor affidavit of support requirements. (Sec. 424) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require sponsor cosignature of alien student loans. Subtitle D: General Provisions - Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations for verification of Federal public benefits eligibility. (Sec. 435) Makes the determination of an alien's qualifying quarters under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act dependant upon whether or not a parent or spouse received Federal means-tested assistance during such quarters. Subtitle E: Conforming Amendments Related to Assisted Housing - Makes conforming amendments to the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980. Subtitle F: Earned Income Credit Denied to Unauthorized Employees - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a taxpayer to provide his or her social security number in order to qualify for the individual earned income credit. Title V: Reductions in Federal Government Positions - Outlines the mechanism for various specified Federal executive agency workforce reductions, requiring submission to specified congressional committees of certain determinations about the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions of their respective departments by the Secretaries of Agriculture, of Education, of Labor, of Housing and Urban Development, and of HHS. Requires the Secretaries to make FTE reductions, including reductions-in-force, resulting from such determinations over the ensuing 14 months. Requires the Comptroller General to analyze and report to such committees on such determinations, with recommendations for further FTE reductions, if appropriate. (Sec. 502) Requires the HHS Secretary to reduce the Federal workforce within HHS: (1) by 75 percent of the FTE positions relating to any direct spending program, or any program funded through discretionary spending, that has been converted into a block grant program by this Act; and (2) by 75 percent of a proportionate number of the total FTE departmental management positions. Requires reduction of FTE positions in HHS: (1) by 245 FTE positions related to the program converted by this Act into TEA block grants; and (2) by 60 FTE managerial positions. (Sec. 503) Encourages the HHS Secretary to reduce personnel in the Washington, D.C., area office (agency headquarters) before reducing field personnel. Title VI: Reform of Public Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit (with an exception) increased housing assistance under such Act due to reduced family income resulting from noncompliance reductions in welfare or other public assistance benefits. (Sec. 602) Prohibits an increase in federally appropriated means-tested welfare or public assistance due to reduced income resulting from fraud-caused reductions under another means-tested welfare or public assistance program. Title VII: Child Protection Block Grant Programs and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Independent Living Programs - Subtitle A: Child Protection Block Grant Program and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs - Replaces title IV-B (Child Welfare Services) with a block grant program to the States to implement: (1) child protection programs regarding child abuse and neglect; and (2) child protection. (Sec. 701) Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) shall: (1) establish a national data collection and analysis program to coordinate existing State child abuse and neglect reports; and (2) implement a data collection system regarding adoption and foster care. Appropriates funds for child welfare studies and for assessment of State courts improvement of foster care and adoption proceedings. (Sec. 711) Makes conforming amendments to title IV-E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance). Delineates requirements for State eligibility for Federal payments for foster care maintenance and adoption assistance. Sets forth guidelines for payments and allotments to the States for adoption assistance, foster care, and independent living programs (designed to assist children who have attained age 16 to make the transition from foster care to independent living). (Sec. 731) Instructs the Secretary to submit a legislative proposal to certain congressional committees providing for technical and conforming amendments in the law, pursuant to this Act. (Sec. 732) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should: (1) allocate sufficient funds for adoption and medical assistance to encourage child adoption; (2) offer incentives to make adoption of special needs children more affordable for middle-class families; (3) provide a child that must be removed from its biological parents with a single foster care placement and single coordinated case team, including conclusion of adoption within one year of such child's foster care placement; and (4) participate in programs to enable maximum visibility of waiting children to potential parents. Subtitle B: Child and Family Services Block Grant - Renames the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act as the Child and Family Services Block Grant Act of 1996. Changes the purposes of the Act to emphasize assistance to each State in improving child protective service systems. Delineates criteria governing State eligibility for Federal block grants for: (1) child and family services; and (2) research, demonstrations, training, and technical assistance. (Sec. 751) Instructs the Secretary to: (1) establish a national child abuse and neglect data collection and analysis program, and a national clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse; and (2) provide technical and training assistance to the States for child abuse and neglect programs and for adoption opportunities. Mandates peer review for such grants. Instructs the Secretary to conduct a national random sample study of children at risk of child abuse or neglect. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 2002, including grants for demonstration projects. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to assist them in developing programs related to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases. Requires any State requesting such assistance to establish a multidisciplinary task force on children's justice to study administrative, civil, and criminal judicial handling of such cases, and make recommendations which the State must adopt (or equivalent alternatives). Title VIII: Child Care - Child Care and Development Block Grant Amendments of 1996 - Revises and extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (the Act, for purposes of this title). Sets forth goals for State child care assistance. (Sec. 803) Amends Part A of title IV (AFDC) of the Social Security Act to entitle each State to payments for providing child care assistance. (Sec. 804) Authorizes the State lead agency to administer the financial assistance it receives through other governmental or nongovernmental agencies. (Sec. 805) Revises State application and plan requirements with respect to consumer education information, State licensing compliance, meeting the needs of AFDC or TEA recipients (especially those attempting through work activities to leave the assistance program) and those at risk of becoming dependent on assistance, and assistance for certain low-income working families. (Sec. 807) Reduces from 20 percent to three percent the minimum amount of certain funds available for State activities to improve the quality of child care, limited to: (1) comprehensive consumer education to parents and the public; (2) activities increasing parental choice; and (3) activities designed to improve child care quality and availability. (Sec. 808) Repeals a requirement that States expend a specified minimum amount of reserved funds for early childhood development and before- and after-school services. (Sec. 813) Reduces the allotment reserved for Indian tribes or tribal organizations from three percent to one percent. Prescribes guidelines for the use of such allotment for facility repair and construction. (Sec. 815) Repeals: (1) the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985; (2) the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act; (3) specified programs under title X (Programs of National Significance) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and (4) the Native Hawaiian Family-based Education Centers program under the Native Hawaiian Education Act. Title IX: Child Nutrition Programs - Subtitle A: National School Lunch Act - Amends the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to repeal specified authorities and requirements for the school lunch and related programs, including: (1) State educational authority to use resources from the nutrition and education (NET) program; (2) prohibition of State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (3) certain demonstration grants to private nonprofit organizations or educational institutions for elementary school curriculum food and nutrition projects; (4) aspects of summer food service programs, reducing payment rates and daily meals at camps, reducing the National Youth Sports Program, and revising nutritional standards compliance requirements; (5) certain commodity distribution program requirements, including State Advisory Councils; (6) expansion of the child care food program; (7) adult care food aid to adult day care centers and services for persons over 60; (8) certain pilot projects, including one for paperwork reduction; and (9) an information clearinghouse. (Sec. 901) Includes in the definition of child any individual with one or more mental or physical disabilities, regardless of age, who attends a specified type of institution, or any nonresidential public or nonprofit private school of high school grade or under, in order to participate in a school program for such individuals. (Sec. 902) Revises nutritional requirements. (Sec. 905) Prohibits, in general, any waiver that will increase Federal costs. Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Act of 1966 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to revise the school breakfast program: (1) eliminating Federal assistance for food preparation training and program expansion and start-up costs; (2) repealing certain authorities and requirements relating to State administrative expenses (SAE); (3) repealing the prohibition against State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (4) repealing the program of cash grants for nutrition education. (Sec. 929) Revises the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC), among other things repealing specified requirements and changing from mandatory to optional: (1) drug abuse education; and (2) provision of WIC information in languages other than English. (Sec. 931) Makes the Nutrition and Education program discretionary rather than mandatory. Authorizes appropriations. Title X: Food Stamps and Commodity Distribution - Food Stamp Reform and Commodity Distribution Act of 1996 - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Act) to establish a maximum 24-month food stamp program (program) authorization period for households whose adult members are elderly or disabled. (Sec. 1012) Expands the definition of "coupon." (Sec. 1013) Treats children who are themselves parents living with their children and married children living with their spouses as part of an existing household rather than as a separate household. (Sec. 1014) Authorizes States to establish additional criteria for separate household determinations. (Sec. 1015) Revises thrifty food plan adjustment requirements. (Sec. 1016) Revises the definition of "homeless individual" to limit the length of time a person may temporarily live in another person's residence. (Sec. 1018) Revises household income exclusion provisions regarding: (1) students; and (2) Federal energy assistance. (Sec. 1020) Revises household income deduction provisions regarding: (1) standard deductions; (2) earned income; (3) dependent care; (4) child support payments; (5) homeless shelter assistance; (6) excess medical expenses; and (7) excess shelter expenses. (Sec. 1021) Eliminates specified excludable auto value increases and establishes the maximum excludable auto value at $4600. (Sec. 1022) Includes as household income third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless. (Sec. 1023) Increases penalties for certain program violations. (Sec. 1024) Disqualifies permanently an individual convicted of specified coupon violations. (Sec. 1025) Revises work requirement and employment and training provisions. Extends employment and training funding authorizations. (Sec. 1028) Authorizes comparable program disqualification based upon welfare or public assistance disqualification. (Sec. 1029) Disqualifies permanently an individual who participates in the program in two or more States. (Sec. 1030) Disqualifies a fleeing felon from program participation. (Sec. 1031) Requires at State option: (1) cooperation with child support agencies in order to maintain program eligibility; and (2) program disqualification for child support arrears. (Sec. 1033) Defines "work program." Makes nonexempt persons ineligible for program benefits if during the preceding 12-month period they received food stamps for four months or more without working at least 20 hours per week, or participating in a workfare program. Sets forth exempted persons and situations. (Sec. 1034) Directs States to implement electronic benefit transfer systems. (Sec. 1035) Eliminates annual minimum allotment adjustments. (Sec. 1037) Authorizes a combined allotment for expedited households. (Sec. 1038) Authorizes program reductions for failure to comply with a public assistance reduction requirement. (Sec. 1039) Authorizes program assistance for households residing in a homeless shelter or drug or alcohol treatment center. (Sec. 1040) Provides that no food store or wholesale food concern be approved for program participation without a prior visit by a Department of Agriculture employee, or whenever possible, a designated State or local official. (Sec. 1041) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish authorization periods for retail food stores and wholesale food concerns to redeem food stamps or benefits through an electronic benefit transfer system. (Sec. 1042) Includes income and sales tax information among the types of eligibility verification information that may be requested. (Sec. 1043) Establishes a six-month reapplication waiting period for a store that does not meet participation requirements. (Sec. 1044) Revises: (1) food stamp office operating provisions; and (2) expedited coupon service requirements. (Sec. 1045) Eliminates certain certification personnel training requirements. (Sec. 1046) Provides for the exchange of information with law enforcement or Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel. (Sec. 1048) Authorizes a family to withdraw a fair hearing request. (Sec. 1049) Permits States to use income, and immigration eligibility verification systems other than the system used in part A (General Provisions) of title XI (General Provisions and Peer Review) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 1050) Provides for disqualification of a store: (1) that knowingly submits a falsified application; and (2) that is disqualified from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). (Sec. 1052) Directs program overissuances to be collected by: (1) allotment reduction; (2) unemployment compensation withholding; or (3) Federal pay or Federal income tax refund recovery. (Sec. 1053) Authorizes suspension of a store pending administrative and judicial review. (States that the Secretary shall not be liable for lost sales during such period.) (Sec. 1054) Establishes criminal forfeiture penalties for specified program violations. (Sec. 1055) Terminates Federal matching requirements for program recruitment activities. (Sec. 1057) Authorizes States to use funds otherwise available to a participating household for a work supplementation or support program. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1058) Authorizes waiver of program requirements as necessary to conduct related pilot projects. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1061) Authorizes States to carry out private sector employment initiatives. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1062) Authorizes appropriations for program operations. (Sec. 1063) Authorizes States to carry out a Simplified Food Stamp Program in lieu of existing program requirements. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1064) Establishes an optional State food assistance block grant program in lieu of the food stamp program. Sets forth program provisions. Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs - Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to combine the emergency food assistance program with the soup kitchen-food bank program. Amends the Act to direct the Secretary to purchase commodities for such combined programs. (Sec. 1072) Amends the Charitable Assistance and Food Bank Act of 1987 to repeal the food bank demonstration project. (Sec. 1073) Makes conforming amendments to the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988. Title XI: Miscellaneous - Requires any funds received by a State under the TEA program, the optional State food assistance block grant program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, or the child care block grant program under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, to be expended only in accordance with the laws and procedures applicable to expenditures of the State's own revenues, including appropriation by the State legislature, consistent with the terms and conditions required under such provisions of law. (Sec. 1102) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to eliminate housing assistance with respect to fugitive felons and probation and parole violators, and provide for the exchange of certain housing information with law enforcement agencies upon request for specified official purposes. (Sec. 1103) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Congress should adopt enterprise zone legislation in the 104th Congress, and that such legislation provide various specified incentives and provisions, such as Federal tax incentives that expand access to capital, increase the formation and expansion of small businesses, and promote commercial revitalization. (Sec. 1104) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) States should diligently continue their efforts to enforce child support payments by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent, regardless of the employment status or location of the non-custodial parent; and (2) States are encouraged to pursue pilot programs in which the parents of a non-adult, non-custodial parent who refuses to or is unable to pay child support must pay or contribute to the child support owed by the non-custodial parent or otherwise fulfill all financial obligations and meet all conditions imposed on the non-custodial parent, such as participation in a work program or other related activity. (Sec. 1105) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to modify the eligibility disqualifications for aliens to give State agencies the option of considering either all income and financial resources of the individual rendered ineligible to participate in the food stamp program, or such income, less a pro rata share, and the financial resources of the ineligible individual, to determine the eligibility and the value of the allotment of the household of which such individual is a member. (Sec. 1106) Directs the HHS Secretary to establish and implement a certain strategy for: (1) preventing out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancies; and (2) assuring that at least 25 percent of the communities in the United States have teenage pregnancy prevention programs in place. (Sec. 1107) Expresses the sense of the Senate that States and local jurisdictions should aggressively enforce statutory rape laws. (Sec. 1108) Provides that States shall not be prohibited by the Federal Government from sanctioning welfare recipients who test positive for the use of controlled substances. (Sec. 1109) Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to provide for an increase in funding under such title and authorize the provision of abstinence education, along with a separate funding set-aside for it. (Sec. 1110) Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to make certain amendments in order to encourage electronic benefit transfer systems for the distribution of needs-tested benefits by a government agency. (Sec. 1111) Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to provide for a reduction in block grants to States for social services.
Bill· SS. 1801 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Federal Aviation Authorization Title II: Airport Revenue Protection Title III: Air Traffic Management System Performance Improvement Title IV: Pilot Records Title V: Abolition of Board of Review and Related Authority Title VI: Federal Aviation Administration Funding Omnibus aviation Act of 1996 - Title I: Federal Aviation Authorization - Federal Aviation Authorization Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to authorize appropriations for FY 1997 for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations. (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Administrator of FAA to transfer budget authority derived from trust funds among appropriations authorized for FAA operations, air navigation facilities, and research and development, if the aggregate estimated outlays in such accounts in the fiscal year in which the transfers are made will not be increased as a result of such transfer. (Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for FY 1997 for: (1) air navigation facilities; (2) research and development; and (3) airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning and programs (with a decrease in FY 1996 appropriations for such programs as a result of a FY 1995 rescission of a specified amount). (Sec. 121) Directs the Administrator of FAA to prescribe regulations to carry out a pavement maintenance pilot project to preserve and extend the useful life of airport runways and taxiways. (Sec. 122) Extends the program: (1) through FY 1997 for converting military airports to civil use; and (2) indefinitely for constructing parking lots, fuel farms, and utilities. (Sec. 123) Extends the State block grant pilot program through FY 1997. (Sec. 124) Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to State or local government non-airport sponsors for preparation of land use compatibility plans or implementation of land use compatibility projects. (Sec. 131) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY 1997 the airport and airway program. (Sec. 144) Directs the Secretary, among other things, to promote the provision of commercial space transportation services. (Sec. 145) Revises Federal law regarding commercial space transportation to require a license for a person to operate a reentry site or to reenter a reentry vehicle. (Sec. 148) Authorizes the Secretary to prohibit, suspend, or end the operation of a reentry site, or the reentry of a reentry vehicle, if it is detrimental to the public health and safety, the safety of property, or national security or foreign policy interest of the United States. (Sec. 149) Provides for: (1) the preemption of scheduled reentries; and (2) administrative hearings and judicial review of the Secretary's decision to prohibit, suspend, or end the operation of a reentry site, or the reentry of a reentry vehicle. (Sec. 151) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to facilitate and encourage the acquisition of Government reentry services by the private sector and State governments. (Sec. 161) Extends aviation insurance and reinsurance programs through FY 2002. (Sec. 171) Authorizes the Administrator, in carrying out various aviation programs, to purchase housing units outside the contiguous United States. (Sec. 172) Authorizes the Administrator to require employment investigations, including criminal history record checks in cases where there is an employment gap, for individuals responsible for screening passengers and property at airports. (Sec. 173) Directs the Administrator to prescribe regulations prohibiting the disclosure of voluntarily provided information which could promote aviation safety or security. Title II: Airport Revenue Protection - Airport Revenue Protection Act of 1996 - Amends Federal aviation law to prohibit, with specified exceptions, the expenditure for non-airport purposes of local aviation fuel taxes or revenues generated by an airport that is the subject of Federal assistance or that operates pursuant to an airport operating certificate. (Sec. 205) Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations requiring a recipient of an airport project grant or any other Federal airport financial assistance to include in its annual audit a review of airport-related funding activities. Requires the Secretary to review any audit identifying an illegal diversion of airport revenues. Requires the Secretary, after notifying the airport and its sponsor, to assess an administrative penalty equal to the amount of the illegal diversion, or withhold a similar amount from apportioned or grant funds that would otherwise be made available to the sponsor. (Sec. 207) Directs the Secretary to establish a process under which a private citizen (other than a Department of Transportation employee) may petition the Secretary or the Administrator for review of an allegation of illegal diversion of airport revenues. Prohibits the Secretary or the Administrator from disclosing the identity of a petitioner (whistleblower). (Sec. 209) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to conform to this Act. Title III: Air Traffic Management System Performance Improvement - Air Traffic Management System Performance Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to delineate the powers and duties of the Administrator and the Secretary with respect to the FAA. (Sec. 306) Authorizes the Administrator to issue, rescind, and revise regulations as necessary to carry out the FAA functions. Prohibits the Administrator, without the Secretary's prior approval, from issuing a proposed or final regulation that is significant or is likely to result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $50 million or more in any year. Requires the Administrator to review any unusually burdensome regulations, which would result in the annual expenditure by State, local,and tribal governments in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $25 million or more (adjusted annually for inflation) in any year. (Sec. 307) Authorizes the Administrator to utilize personnel of other Federal agencies. (Sec. 309) Requires the Administrator, after the first fiscal year in which the FAA is funded entirely by user fees, to prepare a budget for the FAA for each fiscal year. (Sec. 312) Directs the Administrator to establish a select panel to review and report to the Congress on a limited innovative program to fund specific facilities and equipment projects, and to provide limited additional funding alternatives for airport capacity development. (Sec. 314) Directs the Administrator to establish the Federal Aviation Management Advisory Council which shall: (1) provide advice and counsel to the Administrator on issues which affect or are affected by the Administrator's operations; and (2) function as an oversight resource for management, policy, spending, and regulatory matters. (Sec. 315) Requires the Administrator, in order to protect the public health and welfare from aircraft engine emissions, to prescribe air pollutant emission standards for aircraft engines. (Sec. 316) Directs the Secretary to study and report to a specified congressional committee on rural air fares. (Sec. 321) Directs the Administrator to develop, and submit to the Congress, innovative: (1) acquisition management systems to procure goods and services; and (2) personnel system for the management, compensation, and advancement of FAA employees. (Sec. 322) Requires the Administrator to terminate air traffic control modernization programs funded under the Facilities and Equipment account, and to consider the termination of substantial acquisitions, that fail to meet specified established project criteria. (Sec. 333) Directs the Administrator to establish, and submit to the Congress, a performance-based fee system for various FAA services, including air traffic control services. (Sec. 336) Raises spending cap limitations under the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for domestic air navigation facilities and international joint air navigation services. (Sec. 337) Requires the multiyear appropriation (for not less than three years) of funds for Trust Fund activities. (Sec. 338) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Congress must make every effort to expend unobligated balances under the Trust Fund for the aviation industry. Rural Air Service Survival Act - Authorizes the availability of a specified amount of user fees collected under this Act for each fiscal year to carry out the essential air service program. Authorizes the Secretary to require an eligible public agency that controls a commercial service airport to provide for basic essential (small community) air service matching funds of up to ten percent for any payments it receives under this Act. Transfers the essential air service program from the Secretary to the FAA Administrator. Title IV: Pilot Records - Pilot Records Improvement Act of 1996 - Amends Federal aviation law to require air carriers to request and receive a pilot applicant's record for the previous five years with respect to: (1) current airman certificate, including any summaries of legal enforcement actions; (2) employment; and (3) motor vehicle driving record. (Sec. 402) Prohibits any Federal or State court action for defamation or invasion of privacy against any carrier or person with respect to the furnishing or use of such records according to the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 403) Directs the Administrator to appoint a task force to conduct a study directed toward the development of standards and criteria for: (1) preemployment screening of pilots; and (2) pilot training facilities. Title V: Abolition of Board of Review and Related Authority - Amends the Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 to abolish the Board of Review of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. (Sec. 502) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Airports Authority should: (1) not provide free preferential reserved parking areas to Members of Congress, Government officials, or diplomats at Washington National Airport or Washington Dulles International Airport; and (2) provide the public equal access to such parking areas. (Sec. 505) Increases from 11 to 13 the number of persons on the board of directors of the Airports Authority. Increases the number of board members whom the President must appoint with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires eight votes (currently, seven) to approve bond issues and the annual budget. Staggers the terms of presidential appointees to the board of directors. (Sec. 506) Requires the board of directors, including any members appointed under this Act, to continue to meet and act until necessary conforming changes in State law are made in order that the reconstituted board functions without interruption. Title VI: Federal Aviation Administration Funding - Expresses the sense of the Senate that there should be an immediate enactment of an interim measure to provide short-term funding for the FAA until the new funding system established under this Act is implemented.
Bill· SS. 1818 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Short Titles; Table of Contents Title II: ERISA Provisions Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification Subtitle B: Portability Subtitle C: Enhanced Security Title I: Short Title; Table of Contents - Retirement Savings and Security Act - Sets forth the table of contents. Title II: ERISA Provisions - Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish reporting and fiduciary requirements relating to NESTs (National Employee Savings Trusts, under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), which are 401(k)-type plans for small business, designed to ensure participation by low- and moderate-wage workers, who will be able to save up to $5,000 per year tax-deferred, plus receive employer contributions toward retirement). (Sec. 2002) Eliminates specified ERISA requirements relating to employee benefit plan descriptions and filing of summary plan descriptions and descriptions of material modifications to a plan. Requires filing of annual plan reports by plan administrators. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to request any documents relating to such plans. (Sec. 2003) Includes under ERISA purchases of qualified State prepaid tuition program instruments to which specified IRC provisions apply. Subtitle B: Portability - Directs the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to prescribe specified types of payment rules relating to missing participants for terminated multiemployer plans. (Sec. 2011) Allows the administrator of a plan not otherwise subject to ERISA plan termination insurance provisions to elect to transfer a missing participant's benefits to the PBGC upon plan termination. Requires such administrator to provide the PBGC with specified information. Directs the PBGC, if such a missing participant's benefits are transferred to it, to pay the appropriate amount to the participant or beneficiary. (Sec. 2012) Eliminates a special vesting rule for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 2013) Provides for treatment of certain loans during military service. Subtitle C: Enhanced Security - Increases the amounts of guarantees for multiemployer plan benefits. (Sec. 2022) Directs the Secretary of Labor, as chairman of the PBGC board, to transmit to the President and the Congress an annual reversion report providing information on plans from which residual assets were distributed to employers. (Sec. 2023) Sets forth a full funding limitation for multiemployer plans. Requires a valuation every three years in the case of multiemployer plans. (Sec. 2024) Increases the maximum civil penalty for certain prohibited transactions. (Sec. 2025) Revises provisions relating to substantial owner benefits to modify: (1) a phase-in of guarantee; and (2) allocation of assets. Pension Audit Improvement Act of 1996 - Amends ERISA to repeal certain provisions for limited scope audits. (Sec. 2033) Requires certain notifications by plan administrators and accountants regarding: (1) irregularities that may have occurred with respect to plans; and (2) termination of an accountant's engagement for auditing services. Sets forth civil penalties for failures to provide the Secretary of Labor with such notifications. (Sec. 2034) Prescribes additional requirements for qualified public accountants. (Sec. 2035) Revises certain fiduciary penalties. Modifies a prohibition of assignment or alienation. Changes from mandatory to discretionary: (1) the imposition and the amount of civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibility; and (2) certain provisions relating to an applicable recovery amount.
Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 61 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
Acknowledges the service and sacrifices of the men and women in the armed forces, intelligence community, and foreign service community of the United States who contributed to historic victory in the Cold War.
Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 62 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
Calls on the Secretary of the Navy to name the first of the fleet of new attack submarines the South Dakota.
Bill· HRH.R. 3521 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
Fairness for Disabled Veterans Act of 1996 - Allows payments to members of the armed forces under the Special Separation Benefits program or the Voluntary Separation Incentive program of the Department of Defense without a concurrent pro rata reduction of veterans' disability compensation paid to such members through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Law· HRH.R. 3517 (104th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1997 - Appropriates funds for FY 1997 for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure functions administered by the Department of Defense (DOD) in specified amounts for: (1) military construction for the Army, Navy (including rescissions), and Air Force; (2) military construction, DOD (including a transfer of funds); (3) the DOD Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement Fund (including a transfer of funds); (4) military construction for the Army and Air National Guards; (5) military construction for the Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves; (6) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; (7) family housing for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (8) family housing, DOD; (9) the DOD Family Housing Improvement Fund (including a transfer of funds); (10) the Homeowners Assistance Fund, Defense; and (11) the Base Realignment and Closure Accounts, Parts II, III, and IV. (Sec. 101) Specifies restrictions and authorizations regarding the use of funds appropriated under this or other Military Construction Appropriations Acts. (Sec. 113) Directs the Secretary of Defense to notify specified congressional committees 30 days in advance of the plans and scope of any proposed military exercise involving U.S. personnel if construction costs for such exercise are expected to exceed $100,000. (Sec. 118) Provides for the transfer of lapsed unobligated military construction and family housing funds into the Foreign Currency Fluctuations, Construction, Defense account. (Sec. 119) Directs the Secretary to report to the congressional appropriations committees on actions proposed by DOD to encourage other member nations of NATO, Japan, Korea, and U.S. allies in the Arabian Gulf to assume a greater share of the common defense burden of such nations and the United States. (Sec. 121) Requires entities receiving assistance under this Act to comply with the Buy American Act. (Sec. 123) Authorizes the transfer of DOD funds for expenses associated with the Homeowners Assistance Program under the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966.
Bill· HRH.R. 3524 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
Authorizes a State's National Guard, as part of a drug interdiction and counter-drug activities plan, to assist the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the transportation of aliens who have violated Federal or State law prohibiting or regulating the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance.
Bill· HRH.R. 3520 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Revenue Provisions Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification Subtitle B: Expanded Individual Retirement Accounts to Increase Coverage and Portability Subtitle C: Other Expansions of Pension Portability Subtitle D: Conforming Amendments Title II: ERISA Provisions Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification Subtitle B: Portability Subtitle C: Enhanced Security Title III: Additional Retirement Participation and Payment Options for Federal Employees Title IV: Conforming Railroad Retirement Benefits with Social Security Retirement Savings and Security Act - Title I: Revenue Provisions - Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification - Chapter 1: The NEST and Other Coverage Expansion - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish national employee savings trusts (NESTS), 401 (k)-type plans, for employees of small employers. (Sec. 1102) Makes tax-exempt organizations and Indian governmental instrumentalities eligible section 401(k) pension plan employers. (Sec. 1103) Sets forth alternative methods for satisfying section 401(k) nondiscrimination tests. (Sec. 1104) Revises "highly compensated employee" provisions. (Sec. 1106) Repeals the limitation in the case of an employee with defined benefit and a defined contribution plans from the same employer. (Sec. 1107) Makes certain defined contribution plan provisions applicable to all permanently disabled employees. (Sec. 1108) Revises deferred payment provisions with respect to: (1) owner-employee contributions; (2) State and local plan trust requirements; and (3) certain disability payments to former police officers or fire fighters. Chapter 2: Simplification and Cost Savings - Sets forth a special compensation limitation rule with respect to governmental and multiemployer deferred payment plans. States that a governmental plan's eligibility shall not be affected by its excess benefit arrangement. (Sec. 1204) Provides special rules for treatment of governmental and tax-exempt organization deferred compensation plans. (Sec. 1206) Establishes a simplified method for annuity distribution taxation for certain employer plans. (Sec. 1207) Eliminates five-year income averaging for lump-sum distributions. (Sec. 1208) Reduces from 59.5 years old to 59 years old the age at which a recipient may receive certain retirement and annuity distributions penalty-free. (Sec. 1209) Provides a special rule for certain rural cooperative plan distributions. (Sec. 1211) Treats the social security retirement age as the uniform retirement age for purposes of pension plan non-discrimination requirements. (Sec. 1214) Eliminates partial termination rules with respect to multiemployer plans. (Sec. 1217) Increases the tax on prohibited transactions. Subtitle B: Expanded Individual Retirement Accounts to Increase Coverage and Portability - Chapter 1: Retirement Savings Incentives - Subchapter A: IRA Deduction - Increases individual retirement account (IRA) income limitations. Provides inflation adjustments for deductible amounts and income limitations. Subchapter B: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs - Establishes nondeductible tax-free IRAs. Chapter 2: Distributions and Investments - Authorizes IRA distributions to be used without the additional ten-percent tax for first home purchases, higher education, financially devastating medical costs, and by the unemployed. (Sec. 1323) Sets forth provisions with respect to the use of IRA funds to purchase qualifying State prepaid tuition instruments. Chapter 3: Termination of Certain Provisions - Sets forth IRA-related termination provisions with respect to: (1) inflation adjustments; (2) contributions to special IRA accounts; (3) early withdrawal tax; and (4) increases in specified limitations. Subtitle C: Other Expansions of Pension Portability - Establishes alternative nondiscrimination rules for certain plans that provide for early participation. (Sec. 1402) Establishes special rules for certain veterans' reemployment rights, including provisions regarding: (1) contributions; (2) elective deferrals; (3) retroactive adjustments; (4) loan repayment suspensions; and (5) compensation. (Sec. 1403) Eliminates the special vesting rule for multiemployer plans. Subtitle D: Conforming Amendments - Makes specified conforming amendments. Title II: ERISA Provisions - Subtitle A: Expanded Pension Coverage and Simplification - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish reporting and fiduciary requirements relating to NESTs designed to ensure participation by low- and moderate-wage workers, who will be able to save up to $5,000 per year tax-deferred, plus receive employer contributions toward retirement). (Sec. 2002) Eliminates specified ERISA requirements relating to employee benefit plan descriptions and filing of summary plan descriptions and descriptions of material modifications to a plan. Requires filing of annual plan reports by plan administrators. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to request any documents relating to such plans. (Sec. 2003) Includes under ERISA purchases of qualified State prepaid tuition program instruments to which specified IRC provisions apply. Subtitle B: Portability - Directs the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to prescribe specified types of payment rules relating to missing participants for terminated multiemployer plans. (Sec. 2011) Allows the administrator of a plan not otherwise subject to ERISA plan termination insurance provisions to elect to transfer a missing participant's benefits to the PBGC upon plan termination. Requires such administrator to provide the PBGC with specified information. Directs the PBGC, if such a missing participant's benefits are transferred to it, to pay the appropriate amount to the participant or beneficiary. (Sec. 2012) Eliminates a special vesting rule for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 2013) Provides for treatment of certain loans during military service. Subtitle C: Enhanced Security - Increases the amounts of guarantees for multiemployer plan benefits. (Sec. 2022) Directs the Secretary of Labor, as chairman of the PBGC board, to transmit to the President and the Congress an annual reversion report providing information on plans from which residual assets were distributed to employers. (Sec. 2023) Sets forth a full funding limitation for multiemployer plans. Requires a valuation every three years in the case of multiemployer plans. (Sec. 2024) Increases the maximum civil penalty for certain prohibited transactions. (Sec. 2025) Revises provisions relating to substantial owner benefits to modify: (1) a phase-in of guarantee; and (2) allocation of assets. Pension Audit Improvement Act of 1996 - Amends ERISA to repeal certain provisions for limited scope audits. (Sec. 2033) Requires certain notifications by plan administrators and accountants regarding: (1) irregularities that may have occurred with respect to plans; and (2) termination of an accountant's engagement for auditing services. Sets forth civil penalties for failures to provide the Secretary of Labor with such notifications. (Sec. 2034) Prescribes additional requirements for qualified public accountants. (Sec. 2035) Revises certain fiduciary penalties. Modifies a prohibition of assignment or alienation. Changes from mandatory to discretionary: (1) the imposition and the amount of civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibility; and (2) certain provisions relating to an applicable recovery amount. Title III: Additional Retirement Participation and Payment Options for Federal Employees - Requires the Executive Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to prescribe regulations to allow Federal employees to be afforded a reasonable opportunity to make an election to make contributions under the Thrift Savings Plan on the date of commencing service or beginning on the earliest date thereafter that such an election becomes administratively feasible. (Sec. 3002) Provides for a deferred annuity for a surviving former spouse of a deceased former Federal employee who separated from the service with title to a deferred annuity if such individuals were married to one another prior to the date of separation. Provides for a surviving spouse to elect to receive a certain deferred annuity if a former employee dies after having separated from the service with title to a deferred annuity but before having established a valid claim for annuity. (Sec. 3003) Provides for the payment of a lump-sum credit for a former spouse of a Federal employee. Title IV: Conforming Railroad Retirement Benefits with Social Security - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (RRA) with respect to eligibility for and amount of a child's annuity. (Sec. 4002) Provides for entitlement to spousal annuities despite certain age requirements. Repeals the age requirement for divorced spouses, and provides for entitlement of the divorced spouse where the worker's annuity is not payable. (Sec. 4003) Provides for RRA benefits equivalent to those under the Social Security Act, with respect to: (1) amounts of continued payment to survivors of waived lump sum benefits; (2) lump sum death benefits; and (3) benefits with respect to service for which certain railroad retirement annuities are not payable.
Bill· SS. 1791 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1996 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, effective December 1, 1996, the rates of and limitations on veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents of certain disabled veterans, the clothing allowance for certain service-disabled veterans, dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), and supplemental DIC for children. Increases each such rate by the same percentage as the increase in benefit amounts under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death. Requires the Secretary to publish such increases in the Federal Register at the same time that percentage increases under title II of the Social Security Act are required to be published.
Bill· SS. 1795 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Division A: Reforming Non-Medical Welfare Programs Title I: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Title II: Supplemental Security Income Subtitle A: Eligibility Restrictions Subtitle B: Benefits for Disabled Children Subtitle C: State Supplementation Programs Subtitle D: Studies Regarding Supplemental Security Income Program Subtitle E: National Commission on the Future of Disability Subtitle F: Retirement Age Eligibility Title III: Child Support Subtitle A: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments Subtitle B: Locate and Case Tracking Subtitle C: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures Subtitle D: Paternity Establishment Subtitle E: Program Administration and Funding Subtitle F: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders Subtitle G: Enforcement of Support Orders Subtitle H: Medical Support Subtitle I: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents Subtitle J: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments Title IV: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens Subtitle A: Eligibility for Federal Benefits Subtitle B: Eligibility for State and Local Public Benefits Programs Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support Subtitle D: General Provisions Subtitle E: Conforming Amendments Subtitle F: Earned Income Credit Denied to Unauthorized Employees Title V: Reductions in Federal Government Positions Title VI: Reform of Public Housing Title VII: Child Protection Block Brant Programs and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs Subtitle A: Child Protection Block Grant Program and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs Subtitle B: Child and Family Services Block Grant Title VIII: Child Care Title IX: Child Nutrition Programs Subtitle A: National School Lunch Act Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Act of 1966 Title X: Food Stamps and Commodity Distribution Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs Title XI: Miscellaneous Division B: Restructuring Medicaid Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 - Division A: Reforming Non-Medical Welfare Programs - Title I: Block Grants For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families - Expresses the sense of the Congress that prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and reduction in out-of-wedlock births are important Government interests. (Sec. 103) Replaces the current Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) with a single program of block grants to the States for operating statewide temporary assistance (TEA) programs with certain mandatory work, education, and job preparation requirements for needy families either already with or expecting a child, which are designed to assist such families in becoming self-sufficient. Limits such families generally to no more than five years of TEA cash assistance, with certain exceptions for minor children, battered family members, and hardship situations. Denies TEA assistance in cases where an individual family member is a fugitive felon or a probation or parole violator and in certain other specified situations as well. Requires, in addition, certain adult-supervised living arrangements for unmarried teenage parents. Provides for the exchange of TEA program information with law enforcement agencies under certain conditions. Establishes penalties for States and individual families for specified grant and program violations, respectively, through reduced grants and assistance payments, allowing States to terminate such payments to certain adult family members without small children needing child care who refuse to: (1) engage in work, educational, or job preparation activities (required program activities); or (2) cooperate with the State in establishing paternity or obtaining child support, unless the member qualifies for a good cause exception. Provides for a separate reduction in State family assistance grant payments for States failing to comply with Federal requirements under SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) pertaining to paternity establishment and child support enforcement. Sets forth the mechanism for State appeal of Federal adverse decisions with respect to State plans or imposition of penalties, providing for advance notification of any program violation and the opportunity for a State to correct it before any such penalty is imposed. Limits the amount of any penalty reduction in the State's quarterly family assistance grant payment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that State TEA programs should: (1) assign the highest priority to requiring adults in two-parent families and in single-parent families with older preschool or school-age children to be engaged in required program activities; and (2) require noncustodial, nonsupporting parents under age 18 to fulfill community work obligations and attend appropriate parenting or money management classes after school. Specifies State TEA plan contents, including provisions for numeric goals for reducing illegitimacy in the State over a specified ten year period beginning in 1996, and certain certifications by the State that it will operate child support enforcement and protection programs, in order for it to be eligible (according to certain other criteria as well) to receive Federal grants for its TEA programs (family assistance grants). Allows the States to decide in their TEA plans: (1) whether or not they intend on providing TEA assistance to aliens; and (2) how to treat families moving interstate. Provides for: (1) the allowable uses of quarterly family assistance grants, family planning services and assistance to low income households in meeting home heating and cooling costs; (2) additional grants to States as rewards for reductions in illegitimate births and for high performance under the TEA program, as well as supplemental grants to certain States for population increases; and (3) a Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs (Contingency Fund) in the Treasury for payments to certain eligible States. Makes appropriations for such grants and the Contingency Fund. Sets up a Federal loan program for State TEA programs for anti-fraud and other specified activities, making necessary appropriations. Outlines specific program data collection and reporting requirements, as well as certain research, evaluation, and study requirements. Provides for direct funding, by way of three-year tribal family assistance grants, to Indian tribes (with a special rule for Indian tribes in Alaska) with approved tribal family assistance plans. Directs the Bureau of the Census to expand the Survey of Income and Program Participation to obtain information that will enable interested persons to evaluate the impact of the changes made by this title on a random national sample of recipients of assistance under State programs. Provides for the treatment of existing State AFDC waivers in effect on the date of enactment of this Act and those granted subsequently. Retains the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Family Support as the official responsible for administering SSA title IV part A and D programs. (Sec. 104) Allows States to contract with charitable, religious, and private organizations to provide services and administer programs established or modified under titles I, II, and VI of this Act. Prohibits the expenditure of financial assistance provided under such programs for sectarian worship, instruction, or proselytization. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to expand census data collection efforts to enable the Bureau of the Census to collect statistically significant data on grandparent caregivers. (Sec. 106) Requires an HHS report to the Congress on State automated data processing systems used in administering SSA title IV part A programs to determine what would be required to establish a system for tracking public program participants and checking case records to determine if such participants are participating in public programs of two or more States. (Sec. 107) Details requirements for a similar report, and study, on alternative outcomes measures for evaluating the success of the States in moving individuals off welfare through employment. (Sec. 108) Makes conforming amendments to SSA, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and related provisions of other specified Federal laws. (Sec. 111) Directs the Commissioner of Social Security (Commissioner) to: (1) develop a prototype counterfeit-resistant social security card; and (2) study and issue a report to the Congress with regard to improving the social security card application process. (Sec. 112) Requires any organization accepting Federal funds under this Act to disclose that fact in any communication it makes that in any way intends to promote public support or opposition to any Federal, State, or local government policy through any broadcasting station, periodical, or other specified type of general public advertising. Makes any organization failing to make such a disclosure ineligible to receive Federal funds under this Act. (Sec. 113) Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to remove the "demonstration" status of the Job Opportunities for Certain Low-Income Individuals (JOLI) program and give it an increased annual authorization for any fiscal year. Title II: Supplemental Security Income - Subtitle A: Eligibility Restrictions - Amends SSA title XVI to deny SSI for ten years to individuals found to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in order to obtain benefits simultaneously in two or more States. Denies SSI for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators. Provides for exchange of SSI information with law enforcement agencies under certain conditions. (Sec. 203) Revises the treatment afforded prisoners with regard to SSI and OASDI (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) benefits under SSA title II to: (1) deny SSI benefits for ten years to a person found to have fraudulently obtained SSI benefits while in prison; (2) eliminate the OASDI requirement that confinement stem from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; and (3) authorize the Commissioner to contract with any interested State or local institutions used to confine prisoners for monthly reports back of certain identifying information in order to enforce SSI and OASDI benefit limitations, and pay such institution a specified fee with regard to each SSI- or OASDI-eligible inmate identified who becomes ineligible for such benefit as a result of such reporting. Requires the Commissioner to study and report to the Congress on other specified potential improvements in the collection of information respecting public inmates. (Sec. 204) Makes certain changes respecting the effective date of applications for SSI benefits. Subtitle B: Benefits for Disabled Children - Revises the rules with respect to childhood eligibility, with corresponding changes to childhood SSI regulations modifying the medical criteria for evaluation of mental and emotional disorders, and discontinuing the use of individualized functional assessments for children. Modifies medical improvement review standards, specifically dividing their applicability to, and creating separate criteria for, individuals aged 18 or older, and individuals under age 18, respectively. (Sec. 211) Provides that once an eligible child meets the definition of disability, the amount of the individual's cash benefit will be based on whether or not the child meets criteria for needing personal assistance enabling the child to stay at home with his or her family. (Sec. 212) Provides that at least once every three years the Commissioner shall review the continued SSI eligibility of each individual who has not attained age 18 and is eligible for such benefits by reason of an impairment (or combination of impairments) which is likely to improve (or, at the Commissioner's option, is unlikely to improve). Requires a representative payee of a recipient whose case is so reviewed to present, at the time of review, evidence demonstrating that the recipient is, and has been, receiving treatment, to the extent considered medically necessary and available, for the condition which was the basis for providing benefits under the SSI program. Provides that if the representative payee refuses to comply without good cause with such requirement, the Commissioner shall, if in the individual's best interest, promptly terminate payment of benefits to the representative payee, and provide for payment of benefits to an alternative representative payee of the individual or, if the interest of the individual would be served thereby, to the individual. Provides that if an individual is eligible for SSI benefits by reason of disability for the month preceding the month in which the individual attains age 18, the Commissioner shall redetermine such eligibility: (1) during the one-year period beginning on the individual's 18th birthday; and (2) by applying the criteria used in determining the initial eligibility for applicants who have attained age 18. Specifies requirements governing continuing disability reviews for low-birth-weight babies. (Sec. 213) Revises provisions regarding the disposal of resources for less than fair market value by certain individuals and appropriate notification of Medicaid. Provides for the treatment of assets held in trust by individuals who have not attained age 18 and any earnings resulting from such trust. Requires representative payees of eligible individuals below age 18 to establish financial institution accounts on their behalf into which SSI payments shall be paid. Allows representative payees to use funds in the account to pay for certain allowable expenses. Directs the Commissioner to establish a system for accountability monitoring whereby a representative payee shall report on activities respecting funds in the account. (Sec. 214) Reduces cash SSI payments to institutionalized children whose medical costs are covered by private insurance. (Sec. 215) Provides for installment payment of large amounts of past-due SSI benefits, and the recovery of SSI overpayments from social security benefits. Subtitle C: State Supplementation Programs - Repeals maintenance of effort requirements applicable to optional State programs for supplementation of SSI benefits. Subtitle D: Studies Regarding Supplemental Security Income Program - Requires the Commissioner to prepare an annual report for the President and the Congress on the SSI program, and make appropriate arrangements for a study of the disability determination process under SSA titles II and XVI for any needed changes. (Sec. 233) Outlines the requirements for a study and report by the General Accounting Office on the impact of this title on the SSI program and on the extra expenses incurred by families of children receiving benefits under such program that are not covered by other Federal, State, or local programs. Subtitle E: National Commission on the Future of Disability - Establishes the National Commission on the Future of Disability to develop and carry out a comprehensive study of all matters related to the nature, purpose, and adequacy of all Federal programs serving individuals with disabilities in order to develop appropriate recommendations for any needed legislation or administrative action. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Retirement Age Eligibility - Provides that, for purposes of determining an aged individual under SSI, the age used shall be the retirement age used under the OASDI program. Title III: Child Support - Subtitle A: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive assistance under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. (Sec. 302) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 303) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. Subtitle B: Locate and Case Tracking - Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 312) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. (Sec. 313) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 314) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 315) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 316) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and HHS to jointly develop cost-effective methods of accessing information in the various State directories of new hires and the National Directory of New Hires (established under this Act), taking into account impact and cost to the States, and the need to insure authorized use of wage record information. (Sec. 317) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). Subtitle C: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures - Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 323) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. Subtitle D: Paternity Establishment - Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 333) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. Subtitle E: Program Administration and Funding - Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 342) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec 344) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 345) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. Subtitle F: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders - Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 352) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 353) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for any person knowingly or negligently violating such prohibition. Subtitle G: Enforcement of Support Orders - Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 362) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces. (Sec. 364) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 365) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures: (1) to ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) to report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) to provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of a non-custodial parent; and (4) to implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 370) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 371) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of Health and Human Services as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 372) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each non-custodial parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 373) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 374) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. Subtitle H: Medical Support - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 377) Amends part D of SSA title IV to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. Subtitle I: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non- Residential Parents - Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate non-custodial parents' access to their children. Subtitle J: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments - Sets forth effective dates and conforming amendments. Title IV: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens - Subtitle A: Eligibility for Federal Benefits - Prohibits (with exceptions) specified Federal benefits to nonqualified aliens. Limits (with exceptions) qualified alien access to other specified Federal programs. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide the Immigration and Naturalization Service with information on illegal aliens. Subtitle B: Eligibility for State and Local Public Benefits Programs - Sets forth similar prohibitions and limitations on alien access to State and local public benefits. Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support - Attributes a sponsor's (and spouse) income and resources to the alien sponsoree in determining eligibility for Federal means-tested public benefits. (Sec. 422) Authorizes States to make similar attributions. (Sec. 423) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to set forth sponsor affidavit of support requirements. (Sec. 424) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require sponsor cosignature of alien student loans. Subtitle D: General Provisions - Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations for verification of Federal public benefits eligibility. (Sec. 435) Makes the determination of an alien's qualifying quarters under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act dependant upon whether or not a parent or spouse received Federal means-tested assistance during such quarters. Subtitle E: Conforming Amendments Related to Assisted Housing - Makes conforming amendments to the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980. Subtitle F: Earned Income Credit Denied to Unauthorized Employees - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require a taxpayer to provide his or her social security number in order to qualify for the individual earned income credit. Title V: Reductions In Federal Government Positions - Outlines the mechanism for various specified Federal executive agency workforce reductions, requiring submission to specified congressional committees of certain determinations about the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions of their respective departments by the Secretaries of Agriculture, of Education, of Labor, of Housing and Urban Development, and of HHS. Requires the Secretaries to make FTE reductions, including reductions-in-force, resulting from such determinations over the ensuing 14 months. Requires the Comptroller General to analyze and report to such committees on such determinations, with recommendations for further FTE reductions, if appropriate. (Sec. 502) Requires the HHS Secretary to reduce the Federal workforce within HHS: (1) by 75 percent of the FTE positions relating to any direct spending program, or any program funded through discretionary spending, that has been converted into a block grant program by this Act; and (2) by 75 percent of a proportionate number of the total FTE departmental management positions. Requires reduction of FTE positions in HHS: (1) by 245 FTE positions related to the program converted by this Act into TEA block grants; and (2) by 60 FTE managerial positions. (Sec. 503) Encourages the HHS Secretary to reduce personnel in the Washington, D.C., area office (agency headquarters) before reducing field personnel. Title VI: Reform of Public Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit (with an exception) increased housing assistance under such Act due to reduced family income resulting from noncompliance reductions in welfare or other public assistance benefits. (Sec. 602) Prohibits an increase in federally appropriated means-tested welfare or public assistance due to reduced income resulting from fraud-caused reductions under another means-tested welfare or public assistance program. Title VII: Child Protection Block Grant Programs and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Independent Living Programs - Subtitle A: Child Protection Block Grant Program and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs - Replaces title IV-B (Child Welfare Services) with a block grant program to the States to implement: (1) child protection programs regarding child abuse and neglect; and (2) child protection. (Sec. 701) Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) shall: (1) establish a national data collection and analysis program to coordinate existing State child abuse and neglect reports; and (2) implement a data collection system regarding adoption and foster care. Appropriates funds for child welfare studies and for assessment of State courts improvement of foster care and adoption proceedings. (Sec. 711) Makes conforming amendments to Title IV-E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance). Delineates requirements for State eligibility for Federal payments for foster care maintenance and adoption assistance. Sets forth guidelines for payments and allotments to the States for adoption assistance, foster care, and independent living programs (designed to assist children who have attained age 16 to make the transition from foster care to independent living). (Sec. 731) Instructs the Secretary to submit a legislative proposal to certain congressional committees providing for technical and conforming amendments in the law, pursuant to this Act. (Sec. 732) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should: (1) allocate sufficient funds for adoption and medical assistance to encourage child adoption; (2) offer incentives to make adoption of special needs children more affordable for middle-class families; (3) provide a child that must be removed from its biological parents with a single foster care placement and single coordinated case team, including conclusion of adoption within one year of such child's foster care placement; and (4) participate in programs to enable maximum visibility of waiting children to potential parents. Subtitle B: Child and Family Services Block Grant - Renames the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act as the Child and Family Services Block Grant Act of 1996. Changes the purposes of the Act to emphasize assistance to each State in improving child protective service systems. Delineates criteria governing State eligibility for Federal block grants for: (1) child and family services; and (2) research, demonstrations, training, and technical assistance. (Sec. 751) Abolishes the current Federal program, including the Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, community-based family resource programs, temporary child care for children with disabilities, crisis nursery demonstration programs, certain preventive services for children of homeless families or families at risk of homelessness, and requirements for criminal background checks for child care providers. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) establish a national child abuse and neglect data collection and analysis program (in addition to the current national clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse); (2) provide technical and training assistance to the States for child abuse and neglect programs and for adoption opportunities. Mandates peer review for such grants. Instructs the Secretary to conduct a national random sample study of children at risk of child abuse or neglect. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 2002, including grants for demonstration projects. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to assist them in developing programs related to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases. Requires any State requesting such assistance to establish a multidisciplinary task force on children's justice to study administrative, civil, and criminal judicial handling of such cases, and make recommendations which the State must adopt (or equivalent alternatives). Title VIII: Child Care - Child Care and Development Block Grant Amendments of 1996 - Revises and extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (the Act, for purposes of this title). Sets forth goals for State child care assistance. (Sec. 803) Amends Part A of title IV (AFDC) of the Social Security Act to entitle each State to payments for providing child care assistance. (Sec. 804) Authorizes the State lead agency to administer the financial assistance it receives through other governmental or nongovernmental agencies. (Sec. 805) Revises State application and plan requirements with respect to consumer education information, State licensing compliance, meeting the needs of AFDC or TEA recipients (especially those attempting through work activities to leave the assistance program) and those at risk of becoming dependent on assistance, and assistance for certain low-income working families. (Sec. 807) Reduces from 20 percent to three percent the minimum amount of certain funds available for State activities to improve the quality of child care, limited to: (1) comprehensive consumer education to parents and the public; (2) activities increasing parental choice; and (3) activities designed to improve child care quality and availability. (Sec. 808) Repeals a requirement that States expend a specified minimum amount of reserved funds for early childhood development and before- and after-school services. (Sec. 813) Reduces the allotment reserved for Indian tribes or tribal organizations from three percent to one percent. Prescribes guidelines for the use of such allotment for facility repair and construction. (Sec. 815) Repeals: (1) the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985; (2) the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act; (3) specified programs under title X (Programs of National Significance) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and (4) the Native Hawaiian Family-based Education Centers program under the Native Hawaiian Education Act. Title IX: Child Nutrition Programs - Subtitle A: National School Lunch Act - Amends the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to repeal specified authorities and requirements for the school lunch and related programs, including: (1) State educational authority to use resources from the nutrition and education (NET) program; (2) prohibition of State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (3) certain demonstration grants to private nonprofit organizations or educational institutions for elementary school curriculum food and nutrition projects; (4) aspects of summer food service programs, reducing payment rates and daily meals at camps, reducing the National Youth Sports Program, and revising nutritional standards compliance requirements; (5) certain commodity distribution program requirements, including State Advisory Councils; (6) expansion of the child care food program; (7) adult care food aid to adult day care centers and services for persons over 60; (8) certain pilot projects, including one for paperwork reduction; and (9) an information clearinghouse. (Sec. 901) Includes in the definition of child any individual with one or more mental or physical disabilities, regardless of age, who attends a specified type of institution, or any nonresidential public or nonprofit private school of high school grade or under, in order to participate in a school program for such individuals. (Sec. 902) Revises nutritional requirements. (Sec. 905) Prohibits, in general, any waiver that will increase Federal costs. Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Act of 1966 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to revise the school breakfast program: (1) eliminating Federal assistance for food preparation training and program expansion and start-up costs; (2) repealing certain authorities and requirements relating to State administrative expenses (SAE); (3) repealing the prohibition against State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (4) repealing the program of cash grants for nutrition education. Revises the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC), among other things repealing specified requirements and changing from mandatory to optional: (1) drug abuse education; and (2) provision of WIC information in languages other than English. (Sec. 931) Makes revisions to the nutrition education and training program. Authorizes appropriations. Title X: Food Stamps and Commodity Distribution - Food Stamp Reform and Commodity Distribution Act of 1996 - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Act) to establish a maximum 24-month food stamp program (program) authorization period for households whose adult members are elderly or disabled. (Sec. 1012) Expands the definition of "coupon." (Sec. 1013) Treats children who are themselves parents living with their children and married children living with their spouses as part of an existing household rather than as a separate household. (Sec. 1014) Authorizes States to establish additional criteria for separate household determinations. (Sec. 1015) Revises thrifty food plan adjustment requirements. (Sec. 1016) Revises the definition of "homeless individual" to limit the length of time a person may temporarily live in another person's residence. (Sec. 1018) Revises household income exclusion provisions regarding: (1) students; and (2) Federal energy assistance. (Sec. 1020) Revises household income deduction provisions regarding: (1) standard deductions; (2) earned income; (3) dependent care; (4) child support payments; (5) homeless shelter assistance; (6) excess medical expenses; and (7) excess shelter expenses. (Sec. 1021) Eliminates specified excludable auto value increases and establishes the maximum excludable auto value at $4600. (Sec. 1022) Includes as household income third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless. (Sec. 1023) Increases penalties for certain program violations. (Sec. 1024) Disqualifies permanently an individual convicted of specified coupon violations. (Sec. 1025) Revises work requirement and employment and training provisions. Extends employment and training funding authorizations. (Sec. 1028) Authorizes comparable program disqualification based upon welfare or public assistance disqualification. (Sec. 1029) Disqualifies permanently an individual who participates in the program in two or more States. (Sec. 1030) Disqualifies a fleeing felon from program participation. (Sec. 1031) Requires at State option: (1) cooperation with child support agencies in order to maintain program eligibility; and (2) program disqualification for child support arrears. (Sec. 1033) Defines "work program." Makes nonexempt persons ineligible for program benefits if during the preceding 12-month period they received food stamps for four months or more without working at least 20 hours per week, or participating in a workfare program. Sets forth exempted persons and situations. (Sec. 1034) Directs States to implement electronic benefit transfer systems. (Sec. 1035) Eliminates annual minimum allotment adjustments. (Sec. 1037) Authorizes a combined allotment for expedited households. (Sec. 1038) Authorizes program reductions for failure to comply with a public assistance reduction requirement. (Sec. 1039) Authorizes program assistance for households residing in a homeless shelter or drug or alcohol treatment center. (Sec. 1040) Provides that no food store or wholesale food concern be approved for program participation without a prior visit by a Department of Agriculture employee, or whenever possible, a designated State or local official. (Sec. 1041) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish authorization periods for retail food stores and wholesale food concerns to redeem food stamps or benefits through an electronic benefit transfer system. (Sec. 1042) Includes income and sales tax information among the types of eligibility verification information that may be requested. (Sec. 1043) Establishes a six-month reapplication waiting period for a store that does not meet participation requirements. (Sec. 1044) Revises: (1) food stamp office operating provisions; and (2) expedited coupon service requirements. (Sec. 1045) Eliminates certain certification personnel training requirements. (Sec. 1046) Provides for the exchange of information with law enforcement or Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel. (Sec. 1048) Authorizes a family to withdraw a fair hearing request. (Sec. 1049) Permits States to use income, and immigration eligibility verification systems other than the system used in part A (General Provisions) of title XI (General Provisions and Peer Review) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 1050) Provides for disqualification of a store: (1) that knowingly submits a falsified application; and (2) that is disqualified from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). (Sec. 1052) Directs program overissuances to be collected by: (1) allotment reduction; (2) unemployment compensation withholding; or (3) Federal pay or Federal income tax refund recovery. (Sec. 1053) Authorizes suspension of a store pending administrative and judicial review. (States that the Secretary shall not be liable for lost sales during such period.) (Sec. 1054) Establishes criminal forfeiture penalties for specified program violations. (Sec. 1055) Terminates Federal matching requirements for program recruitment activities. (Sec. 1057) Authorizes States to use funds otherwise available to a participating household for a work supplementation or support program. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1058) Authorizes waiver of program requirements as necessary to conduct related pilot projects. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1061) Authorizes States to carry out private sector employment initiatives. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1062) Authorizes appropriations for program operations. (Sec. 1063) Authorizes States to carry out a Simplified Food Stamp Program in lieu of existing program requirements. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1064) Establishes an optional State food assistance block grant program in lieu of the food stamp program. Sets forth program provisions. Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs - Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to combine the emergency food assistance program with the soup kitchen-food bank program. Amends the Act to direct the Secretary to purchase commodities for such combined programs. (Sec. 1072) Amends the Charitable Assistance and Food Bank Act of 1987 to repeal the food bank demonstration project. (Sec. 1073) Makes conforming amendments to the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988. Title XI: Miscellaneous - Requires any funds received by a State under the TEA program, the optional State food assistance block grant program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, or the child care block grant program under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, to be expended only in accordance with the laws and procedures applicable to expenditures of the State's own revenues, including appropriation by the State legislature, consistent with the terms and conditions required under such provisions of law. (Sec. 1102) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to eliminate housing assistance with respect to fugitive felons and probation and parole violators, and provide for the exchange of certain housing information with law enforcement agencies upon request for specified official purposes. (Sec. 1103) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Congress should adopt enterprise zone legislation in the 104th Congress, and that such legislation provide various specified incentives and provisions, such as Federal tax incentives that expand access to capital, increase the formation and expansion of small businesses, and promote commercial revitalization. (Sec. 1104) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) States should diligently continue their efforts to enforce child support payments by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent, regardless of the employment status or location of the non-custodial parent; and (2) States are encouraged to pursue pilot programs in which the parents of a non-adult, non-custodial parent who refuses to or is unable to pay child support must pay or contribute to the child support owed by the non-custodial parent or otherwise fulfill all financial obligations and meet all conditions imposed on the non-custodial parent, such as participation in a work program or other related activity. (Sec. 1105) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to modify the eligibility disqualifications for aliens to give State agencies the option of considering either all income and financial resources of the individual rendered ineligible to participate in the food stamp program, or such income, less a pro rata share, and the financial resources of the ineligible individual, to determine the eligibility and the value of the allotment of the household of which such individual is a member. (Sec. 1106) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and implement a certain strategy for: (1) preventing out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancies; and (2) assuring that at least 25 percent of the communities in the United States have teenage pregnancy prevention programs in place. (Sec. 1107) Expresses the sense of the Senate that States and local jurisdictions should aggressively enforce statutory rape laws. (Sec. 1108) Provides that States shall not be prohibited by the Federal Government from sanctioning welfare recipients who test positive for the use of controlled substances. (Sec. 1109) Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to provide for an increase in funding under such title and authorize the provision of abstinence education, along with a separate funding set-aside for it. (Sec. 1110) Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to make certain amendments in order to encourage electronic benefit transfer systems for the distribution of needs-tested benefits by a government agency. (Sec. 1111) Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to provide for a reduction in block grants to States for social services. Division B: Restructuring Medicaid - Medicaid Restructuring Act of 1996 - Amends SSA to add a new title XV (Program of Medical Assistance for Low-Income Individuals and Families), the stated purpose of which is to provide funds to States to enable them to provide medical assistance to low-income individuals and families in a more effective, efficient, and responsive manner. (Sec. 2003) Outlines program components, including key provisions for: (1) certain guaranteed benefits for select individuals, including certain poor pregnant women, disabled and poor elderly individuals, and children receiving foster care or adoption assistance; (2) guaranteed coverage of Medicare premiums and cost-sharing for certain Medicare beneficiaries; (3) only nominal cost-sharing for children and pregnant women with regard to primary and preventive care services; (4) prevention of spousal and family impoverishment with regard to long-term care; (5) State flexibility in benefits, provider payments, geographical coverage area, and selection of providers; (6) coverage of abortions only for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or when a woman suffers from a physical disorder, illness, or injury that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed; (7) denial of payment under the State Medicaid plan for any item or service furnished for euthanasia purposes; (8) limitation on payments for Medicaid services to nonlawful aliens, generally allowing treatment only in emergency situations; (9) periodic, independent evaluations and audits under the program; (10) a separate fraud prevention program, as well as, under certain conditions, State fraud control units; (11) an information reporting system with regard to actions taken by State licensing authorities against health care practitioners and providers; (12) quality assurance requirements for nursing facilities, as well as requirements relating to residents' rights; and (13) an optional master drug rebate agreement program for covered outpatient drugs of a manufacturer. (Sec. 2004) Terminates the current Medicaid program as of October 1, 1997. Sets a limitation on Medicaid payments in FY 1997. (Sec. 2005) Directs the HHS Secretary to waive such requirements of SSA titles XV and XVIII as may be necessary for States to conduct certain demonstration projects to use funds to develop and implement innovative programs for individuals dually eligible for benefits under both titles, including such individuals who are chronically ill.
Bill· HRH.R. 3506 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
Authorizes the Court of Veterans Appeals to provide funds (where possible, through a nonprofit organization) for financial assistance to legal assistance entities to assist financially needy veterans in connection with proceedings before such Court. Permits legal assistance activities in connection with such proceedings to include: (1) financial assistance to defray the expenses of legal advice or representation (other than payment of attorney's fees); (2) case screening and referral services; (3) education and training of attorneys and other legal personnel who may appear before the Court; and (4) encouragement and facilitation of pro bono representation by attorneys, clinical law programs of law schools, and veterans' service organizations. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) contributions by legal assistance entities receiving financial assistance; (2) a prohibition against such entities requiring or requesting the payment of a charge or fee in connection with the program; and (3) administrative and reporting requirements. Provides funding.
Bill· HRH.R. 3512 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
Prohibits the head of a defense agency from obligating funds to pay a defense contractor for individual compensation costs to the extent that the total compensation paid in a fiscal year to such individual exceeds $200,000.
Bill· HRH.R. 3507 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Division A: Reforming Non-Medical Welfare Programs Title I: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Title II: Supplemental Security Income Subtitle A: Eligibility Restrictions Subtitle B: Benefits for Disabled Children Subtitle C: State Supplementation Programs Subtitle D: Studies Regarding Supplemental Security Income Program Subtitle E: National Commission on the Future of Disability Subtitle F: Retirement Age Eligibility Title III: Child Support Subtitle A: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments Subtitle B: Locate and Case Tracking Subtitle C: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures Subtitle D: Paternity Establishment Subtitle E: Program Administration and Funding Subtitle F: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders Subtitle G: Enforcement of Support Orders Subtitle H: Medical Support Subtitle I: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents Subtitle J: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments Title IV: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens Subtitle A: Eligibility for Federal Benefits Subtitle B: Eligibility for State and Local Public Benefits Programs Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support Subtitle D: General Provisions Subtitle E: Conforming Amendments Subtitle F: Earned Income Credit Denied to Unauthorized Employees Title V: Reductions in Federal Government Positions Title VI: Reform of Public Housing Title VII: Child Protection Block Grant Programs and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs Subtitle A: Child Protection Block Grant Program and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs Subtitle B: Child and Family Services Block Grant Title VIII: Child Care Title IX: Child Nutrition Programs Subtitle A: National School Lunch Act Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Act of 1966 Title X: Food Stamps and Commodity Distribution Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs Title XI: Miscellaneous Division B: Restructuring Medicaid Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 - Division A: Reforming Non-Medical Welfare Programs - Title I: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families - Expresses the sense of the Congress that prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and reduction in out-of-wedlock births are important Government interests. (Sec. 103) Replaces the current Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) with a single program of block grants to the States for operating statewide temporary assistance (TEA) programs with certain mandatory work, education, and job preparation requirements for needy families either already with or expecting a child, which are designed to assist such families in becoming self-sufficient. Limits such families generally to no more than five years of TEA cash assistance, with certain exceptions for minor children, battered family members, and hardship situations. Denies TEA assistance in cases where an individual family member is a fugitive felon or a probation or parole violator and in certain other specified situations as well. Requires, in addition, certain adult-supervised living arrangements for unmarried teenage parents. Provides for the exchange of TEA program information with law enforcement agencies under certain conditions. Establishes penalties for States and individual families for specified grant and program violations, respectively, through reduced grants and assistance payments, allowing States to terminate such payments to certain adult family members without small children needing child care who refuse to: (1) engage in work, educational, or job preparation activities (required program activities); or (2) cooperate with the State in establishing paternity or obtaining child support, unless the member qualifies for a good cause exception. Provides for a separate reduction in State family assistance grant payments for States failing to comply with Federal requirements under SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) pertaining to paternity establishment and child support enforcement. Sets forth the mechanism for State appeal of Federal adverse decisions with respect to State plans or imposition of penalties, providing for advance notification of any program violation and the opportunity for a State to correct it before any such penalty is imposed. Limits the amount of any penalty reduction in the State's quarterly family assistance grant payment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that State TEA programs should: (1) assign the highest priority to requiring adults in two-parent families and in single-parent families with older preschool or school-age children to be engaged in required program activities; and (2) require noncustodial, nonsupporting parents under age 18 to fulfill community work obligations and attend appropriate parenting or money management classes after school. Specifies State TEA plan contents, including provisions for numeric goals for reducing illegitimacy in the State over a specified ten year period beginning in 1996, and certain certifications by the State that it will operate child support enforcement and protection programs, in order for it to be eligible (according to certain other criteria as well) to receive Federal grants for its TEA programs (family assistance grants). Allows the States to decide in their TEA plans: (1) whether or not they intend on providing TEA assistance to aliens; and (2) how to treat families moving interstate. Provides for: (1) the allowable uses of quarterly family assistance grants, family planning services and assistance to low income households in meeting home heating and cooling costs; (2) additional grants to States as rewards for reductions in illegitimate births and for high performance under the TEA program, as well as supplemental grants to certain States for population increases; and (3) a Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs (Contingency Fund) in the Treasury for payments to certain eligible States. Makes appropriations for such grants and the Contingency Fund. Sets up a Federal loan program for State TEA programs for anti-fraud and other specified activities, making necessary appropriations. Outlines specific program data collection and reporting requirements, as well as certain research, evaluation, and study requirements. Provides for direct funding, by way of three-year tribal family assistance grants, to Indian tribes (with a special rule for Indian tribes in Alaska) with approved tribal family assistance plans. Directs the Bureau of the Census to expand the Survey of Income and Program Participation to obtain information that will enable interested persons to evaluate the impact of the changes made by this title on a random national sample of recipients of assistance under State programs. Provides for the treatment of existing State AFDC waivers in effect on the date of enactment of this Act and those granted subsequently. Retains the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Family Supports as the official responsible for administering SSA title IV part A and D programs. (Sec. 104) Allows States to contract with charitable, religious, and private organizations to provide services and administer programs established or modified under titles I, II, and VI of this Act. Prohibits the expenditure of financial assistance provided under such programs for sectarian worship, instruction, or proselytization. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to expand census data collection efforts to enable the Bureau of the Census to collect statistically significant data on grandparent caregivers. (Sec. 106) Requires an HHS report to the Congress on State automated data processing systems used in administering SSA title IV part A programs to determine what would be required to establish a system for tracking public program participants and checking case records to determine if such participants are participating in public programs of two or more States. (Sec. 107) Details requirements for a similar report, and study, on alternative outcomes measures for evaluating the success of the States in moving individuals off welfare through employment. (Sec. 108) Makes conforming amendments to SSA, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and related provisions of other specified Federal laws. (Sec. 111) Directs the Commissioner of Social Security (Commissioner) to: (1) develop a prototype counterfeit-resistant social security card; and (2) study and issue a report to the Congress with regard to improving the social security card application process. (Sec. 112) Requires any organization accepting Federal funds under this Act to disclose that fact in any communication it makes that in any way intends to promote public support or opposition to any Federal, State, or local government policy through any broadcasting station, periodical, or other specified type of general public advertising. Makes any organization failing to make such a disclosure ineligible to receive Federal funds under this Act. (Sec. 113) Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to remove the "demonstration" status of the Job Opportunities for Certain Low-Income Individuals (JOLI) program and give it an increased annual authorization for any fiscal year. Title II: Supplemental Security Income - Subtitle A: Eligibility Restrictions - Amends SSA title XVI to deny SSI for ten years to individuals found to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in order to obtain benefits simultaneously in two or more States. Denies SSI for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators. Provides for exchange of SSI information with law enforcement agencies under certain conditions. (Sec. 203) Revises the treatment afforded prisoners with regard to SSI and OASDI (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) benefits under SSA title II to: (1) deny SSI benefits for ten years to a person found to have fraudulently obtained SSI benefits while in prison; (2) eliminate the OASDI requirement that confinement stem from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; and (3) authorize the Commissioner to contract with any interested State or local institutions used to confine prisoners for monthly reports back of certain identifying information in order to enforce SSI and OASDI benefit limitations, and pay such institution a specified fee with regard to each SSI- or OASDI-eligible inmate identified who becomes ineligible for such benefit as a result of such reporting. Requires the Commissioner to study and report to the Congress on other specified potential improvements in the collection of information respecting public inmates. (Sec. 204) Makes certain changes respecting the effective date of applications for SSI benefits. Subtitle B: Benefits for Disabled Children - Revises the rules with respect to childhood eligibility, with corresponding changes to childhood SSI regulations modifying the medical criteria for evaluation of mental and emotional disorders, and discontinuing the use of individualized functional assessments for children. Modifies medical improvement review standards, specifically dividing their applicability to, and creating separate criteria for, individuals aged 18 or older, and individuals under age 18, respectively. (Sec. 211) Provides that once an eligible child meets the definition of disability, the amount of the individual's cash benefit will be based on whether or not the child meets criteria for needing personal assistance enabling the child to stay at home with his or her family. (Sec. 212) Provides that at least once every three years the Commissioner shall review the continued SSI eligibility of each individual who has not attained age 18 and is eligible for such benefits by reason of an impairment (or combination of impairments) which is likely to improve (or, at the Commissioner's option, is unlikely to improve). Requires a representative payee of a recipient whose case is so reviewed to present, at the time of review, evidence demonstrating that the recipient is, and has been, receiving treatment, to the extent considered medically necessary and available, for the condition which was the basis for providing benefits under the SSI program. Provides that if the representative payee refuses to comply without good cause with such requirement, the Commissioner shall, if in the individual's best interest, promptly terminate payment of benefits to the representative payee, and provide for payment of benefits to an alternative representative payee of the individual or, if the interest of the individual would be served thereby, to the individual. Provides that if an individual is eligible for SSI benefits by reason of disability for the month preceding the month in which the individual attains age 18, the Commissioner shall redetermine such eligibility: (1) during the one-year period beginning on the individual's 18th birthday; and (2) by applying the criteria used in determining the initial eligibility for applicants who have attained age 18. Specifies requirements governing continuing disability reviews for low-birth-weight babies. (Sec. 213) Revises provisions regarding the disposal of resources for less than fair market value by certain individuals and appropriate notification of Medicaid. Provides for the treatment of assets held in trust by individuals who have not attained age 18 and any earnings resulting from such trust. Requires representative payees of eligible individuals below age 18 to establish financial institution accounts on their behalf into which SSI payments shall be paid. Allows representative payees to use funds in the account to pay for certain allowable expenses. Directs the Commissioner to establish a system for accountability monitoring whereby a representative payee shall report on activities respecting funds in the account. (Sec. 214) Reduces cash SSI payments to institutionalized children whose medical costs are covered by private insurance. (Sec. 215) Provides for installment payment of large amounts of past-due SSI benefits, and the recovery of SSI overpayments from social security benefits. Subtitle C: State Supplementation Programs - Repeals maintenance of effort requirements applicable to optional State programs for supplementation of SSI benefits. Subtitle D: Studies Regarding Supplemental Security Income Program - Requires the Commissioner to prepare an annual report for the President and the Congress on the SSI program, and make appropriate arrangements for a study of the disability determination process under SSA titles II and XVI for any needed changes. (Sec. 233) Outlines the requirements for a study and report by the General Accounting Office on the impact of this title on the SSI program and on the extra expenses incurred by families of children receiving benefits under such program that are not covered by other Federal, State, or local programs. Subtitle E: National Commission on the Future of Disability - Establishes the National Commission on the Future of Disability to develop and carry out a comprehensive study of all matters related to the nature, purpose, and adequacy of all Federal programs serving individuals with disabilities in order to develop appropriate recommendations for any needed legislation or administrative action. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Retirement Age Eligibility - Provides that, for purposes of determining an aged individual under SSI, the age used shall be the retirement age used under the OASDI program. Title III: Child Support - Subtitle A: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive assistance under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. (Sec. 302) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 303) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. Subtitle B: Locate and Case Tracking - Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 312) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. (Sec. 313) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 314) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 315) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 316) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and HHS to jointly develop cost-effective methods of accessing information in the various State directories of new hires and the National Directory of New Hires (established under this Act), taking into account impact and cost to the States, and the need to ensure authorized use of wage record information. (Sec. 317) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the social security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). Subtitle C: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures - Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 323) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. Subtitle D: Paternity Establishment - Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 333) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. Subtitle E: Program Administration and Funding - Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 342) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec 344) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 345) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. Subtitle F: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders - Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 352) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 353) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for any person knowingly or negligently violating such prohibition. Subtitle G: Enforcement of Support Orders - Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 362) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces. (Sec. 364) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 365) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures: (1) to ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) to report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) to provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of a non-custodial parent; and (4) to implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 370) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 371) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of Health and Human Services as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 372) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each non-custodial parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 373) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 374) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. Subtitle H: Medical Support - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 377) Amends part D of SSA title IV to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. Subtitle I: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non- Residential Parents - Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate non-custodial parents' access to their children. Subtitle J: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments - Sets forth effective dates and conforming amendments. Title IV: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens - Subtitle A: Eligibility for Federal Benefits - Prohibits (with exceptions) specified Federal benefits to nonqualified aliens. Limits (with exceptions) qualified alien access to other specified Federal programs. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide the Immigration and Naturalization Service with information on illegal aliens. Subtitle B: Eligibility for State and Local Public Benefits Programs - Sets forth similar prohibitions and limitations on alien access to State and local public benefits. Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support - Attributes a sponsor's (and spouse) income and resources to the alien sponsoree in determining eligibility for Federal means-tested public benefits. (Sec. 422) Authorizes States to make similar attributions. (Sec. 423) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to set forth sponsor affidavit of support requirements. (Sec. 424) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require sponsor cosignature of alien student loans. Subtitle D: General Provisions - Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations for verification of Federal public benefits eligibility. (Sec. 435) Makes the determination of an alien's qualifying quarters under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act dependant upon whether or not a parent or spouse received Federal means-tested assistance during such quarters. Subtitle E: Conforming Amendments Related to Assisted Housing - Makes conforming amendments to the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980. Subtitle F: Earned Income Credit Denied to Unauthorized Employees - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a taxpayer to provide his or her social security number in order to qualify for the individual earned income credit. Title V: Reductions In Federal Government Positions - Outlines the mechanism for various specified Federal executive agency workforce reductions, requiring submission to specified congressional committees of certain determinations about the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions of their respective departments by the Secretaries of Agriculture, of Education, of Labor, of Housing and Urban Development, and of HHS. Requires the Secretaries to make FTE reductions, including reductions-in-force, resulting from such determinations over the ensuing 14 months. Requires the Comptroller General to analyze and report to such committees on such determinations, with recommendations for further FTE reductions, if appropriate. (Sec. 502) Requires the HHS Secretary to reduce the Federal workforce within HHS: (1) by 75 percent of the FTE positions relating to any direct spending program, or any program funded through discretionary spending, that has been converted into a block grant program by this Act; and (2) 75 percent of a proportionate number of the total FTE departmental management positions. Requires reduction of FTE positions in HHS by: (1) 245 FTE positions related to the program converted by this Act into TEA block grants; and (2) 60 FTE managerial positions. (Sec. 503) Encourages the HHS Secretary to reduce personnel in the Washington, D.C., area office (agency headquarters) before reducing field personnel. Title VI: Reform of Public Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit (with an exception) increased housing assistance under such Act due to reduced family income resulting from noncompliance reductions in welfare or other public assistance benefits. (Sec. 602) Prohibits an increase in federally appropriated means-tested welfare or public assistance due to reduced income resulting from fraud-caused reductions under another means-tested welfare or public assistance program. Title VII: Child Protection Block Grant Programs and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Independent Living Programs - Subtitle A: Child Protection Block Grant Program and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs - Replaces title IV-B (Child Welfare Services) with a block grant program to the States to implement: (1) child protection programs regarding child abuse and neglect; and (2) child protection. (Sec. 701) Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) shall: (1) establish a national data collection and analysis program to coordinate existing State child abuse and neglect reports; and (2) implement a data collection system regarding adoption and foster care. Appropriates funds for child welfare studies and for assessment of State courts improvement of foster care and adoption proceedings. (Sec. 711) Makes conforming amendments to title IV-E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance). Delineates requirements for State eligibility for Federal payments for foster care maintenance and adoption assistance. Sets forth guidelines for payments and allotments to the States for adoption assistance, foster care, and independent living programs (designed to assist children who have attained age 16 to make the transition from foster care to independent living). (Sec. 731) Instructs the Secretary to submit a legislative proposal to certain congressional committees providing for technical and conforming amendments in the law, pursuant to this Act. (Sec. 732) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should: (1) allocate sufficient funds for adoption and medical assistance to encourage child adoption; (2) offer incentives to make adoption of special needs children more affordable for middle-class families; (3) provide a child that must be removed from its biological parents with a single foster care placement and single coordinated case team, including conclusion of adoption within one year of such child's foster care placement; and (4) participate in programs to enable maximum visibility of waiting children to potential parents. Subtitle B: Child and Family Services Block Grant - Renames the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act as the Child and Family Services Block Grant Act of 1996. Changes the purposes of the Act to emphasize assistance to each State in improving child protective service systems. Delineates criteria governing State eligibility for Federal block grants for: (1) child and family services; and (2) research, demonstrations, training, and technical assistance. (Sec. 751) Abolishes the current Federal program, including the Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, community-based family resource programs, temporary child care for children with disabilities, crisis nursery demonstration programs, certain preventive services for children of homeless families or families at risk of homelessness, and requirements for criminal background checks for child care providers. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) establish a national child abuse and neglect data collection and analysis program (in addition to the current national clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse); (2) provide technical and training assistance to the States for child abuse and neglect programs and for adoption opportunities. Mandates peer review for such grants. Instructs the Secretary to conduct a national random sample study of children at risk of child abuse or neglect. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 2002, including grants for demonstration projects. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to assist them in developing programs related to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases. Requires any State requesting such assistance to establish a multidisciplinary task force on children's justice to study administrative, civil, and criminal judicial handling of such cases, and make recommendations which the State must adopt (or equivalent alternatives). Title VIII: Child Care - Child Care and Development Block Grant Amendments of 1996 - Revises and extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (the Act, for purposes of this title). Sets forth goals for State child care assistance. (Sec. 803) Amends part A (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act to entitle each State to payments for providing child care assistance. (Sec. 804) Authorizes the State lead agency to administer the financial assistance it receives through other governmental or nongovernmental agencies. (Sec. 805) Revises State application and plan requirements with respect to consumer education information, State licensing compliance, meeting the needs of AFDC or TEA recipients (especially those attempting through work activities to leave the assistance program) and those at risk of becoming dependent on assistance, and assistance for certain low-income working families. (Sec. 807) Reduces from 20 percent to three percent the minimum amount of certain funds available for State activities to improve the quality of child care, limited to: (1) comprehensive consumer education to parents and the public; (2) activities increasing parental choice; and (3) activities designed to improve child care quality and availability. (Sec. 808) Repeals a requirement that States expend a specified minimum amount of reserved funds for early childhood development and before- and after-school services. (Sec. 813) Reduces the allotment reserved for Indian tribes or tribal organizations from three percent to one percent. Prescribes guidelines for the use of such allotment for facility repair and construction. (Sec. 815) Repeals: (1) the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985; (2) the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act; (3) specified programs under title X (Programs of National Significance) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and (4) the Native Hawaiian Family-based Education Centers program under the Native Hawaiian Education Act. Title IX: Child Nutrition Programs - Subtitle A: National School Lunch Act - Amends the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to repeal specified authorities and requirements for the school lunch and related programs, including: (1) State educational authority to use resources from the nutrition and education (NET) program; (2) prohibition of State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (3) certain demonstration grants to private nonprofit organizations or educational institutions for elementary school curriculum food and nutrition projects; (4) aspects of summer food service programs, reducing payment rates and daily meals at camps, reducing the National Youth Sports Program, and revising nutritional standards compliance requirements; (5) certain commodity distribution program requirements, including State Advisory Councils; (6) expansion of the child care food program; (7) adult care food aid to adult day care centers and services for persons over 60; (8) certain pilot projects, including one for paperwork reduction; and (9) an information clearinghouse. (Sec. 901) Includes in the definition of child any individual with one or more mental or physical disabilities, regardless of age, who attends a specified type of institution, or any nonresidential public or nonprofit private school of high school grade or under, in order to participate in a school program for such individuals. (Sec. 902) Revises nutritional requirements. (Sec. 905) Prohibits, in general, any waiver that will increase Federal costs. Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Act of 1966 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to revise the school breakfast program: (1) eliminating Federal assistance for food preparation training and program expansion and start-up costs; (2) repealing certain authorities and requirements relating to State administrative expenses (SAE); (3) repealing the prohibition against State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (4) repealing the program of cash grants for nutrition education. Revises the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC), among other things repealing specified requirements and changing from mandatory to optional: (1) drug abuse education; and (2) provision of WIC information in languages other than English. (Sec. 931) Makes revisions to the nutrition education and training program. Authorizes appropriations. Title X: Food Stamps and Commodity Distribution - Food Stamp Reform and Commodity Distribution Act of 1996 - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Act) to establish a maximum 24-month food stamp program (program) authorization period for households whose adult members are elderly or disabled. (Sec. 1012) Expands the definition of "coupon." (Sec. 1013) Treats children who are themselves parents living with their children and married children living with their spouses as part of an existing household rather than as a separate household. (Sec. 1014) Authorizes States to establish additional criteria for separate household determinations. (Sec. 1015) Revises thrifty food plan adjustment requirements. (Sec. 1016) Revises the definition of "homeless individual" to limit the length of time a person may temporarily live in another person's residence. (Sec. 1018) Revises household income exclusion provisions regarding: (1) students; and (2) Federal energy assistance. (Sec. 1020) Revises household income deduction provisions regarding: (1) standard deductions; (2) earned income; (3) dependent care; (4) child support payments; (5) homeless shelter assistance; (6) excess medical expenses; and (7) excess shelter expenses. (Sec. 1021) Eliminates specified excludable auto value increases and establishes the maximum excludable auto value at $4600. (Sec. 1022) Includes as household income third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless. (Sec. 1023) Increases penalties for certain program violations. (Sec. 1024) Disqualifies permanently an individual convicted of specified coupon violations. (Sec. 1025) Revises work requirement and employment and training provisions. Extends employment and training funding authorizations. (Sec. 1028) Authorizes comparable program disqualification based upon welfare or public assistance disqualification. (Sec. 1029) Disqualifies permanently an individual who participates in the program in two or more States. (Sec. 1030) Disqualifies a fleeing felon from program participation. (Sec. 1031) Requires at State option: (1) cooperation with child support agencies in order to maintain program eligibility; and (2) program disqualification for child support arrears. (Sec. 1033) Defines "work program." Makes nonexempt persons ineligible for program benefits if during the preceding 12-month period they received food stamps for four months or more without working at least 20 hours per week, or participating in a workfare program. Sets forth exempted persons and situations. (Sec. 1034) Directs States to implement electronic benefit transfer systems. (Sec. 1035) Eliminates annual minimum allotment adjustments. (Sec. 1037) Authorizes a combined allotment for expedited households. (Sec. 1038) Authorizes program reductions for failure to comply with a public assistance reduction requirement. (Sec. 1039) Authorizes program assistance for households residing in a homeless shelter or drug or alcohol treatment center. (Sec. 1040) Provides that no food store or wholesale food concern be approved for program participation without a prior visit by a Department of Agriculture employee, or whenever possible, a designated State or local official. (Sec. 1041) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish authorization periods for retail food stores and wholesale food concerns to redeem food stamps or benefits through an electronic benefit transfer system. (Sec. 1042) Includes income and sales tax information among the types of eligibility verification information that may be requested. (Sec. 1043) Establishes a six-month reapplication waiting period for a store that does not meet participation requirements. (Sec. 1044) Revises: (1) food stamp office operating provisions; and (2) expedited coupon service requirements. (Sec. 1045) Eliminates certain certification personnel training requirements. (Sec. 1046) Provides for the exchange of information with law enforcement or Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel. (Sec. 1048) Authorizes a family to withdraw a fair hearing request. (Sec. 1049) Permits States to use income, and immigration eligibility verification systems other than the system used in part A (General Provisions) of title XI (General Provisions and Peer Review) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 1050) Provides for disqualification of a store: (1) that knowingly submits a falsified application; and (2) that is disqualified from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). (Sec. 1052) Directs program overissuances to be collected by: (1) allotment reduction; (2) unemployment compensation withholding; or (3) Federal pay or Federal income tax refund recovery. (Sec. 1053) Authorizes suspension of a store pending administrative and judicial review. (States that the Secretary shall not be liable for lost sales during such period.) (Sec. 1054) Establishes criminal forfeiture penalties for specified program violations. (Sec. 1055) Terminates Federal matching requirements for program recruitment activities. (Sec. 1057) Authorizes States to use funds otherwise available to a participating household for a work supplementation or support program. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1058) Authorizes waiver of program requirements as necessary to conduct related pilot projects. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1061) Authorizes States to carry out private sector employment initiatives. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1062) Authorizes appropriations for program operations. (Sec. 1063) Authorizes States to carry out a Simplified Food Stamp Program in lieu of existing program requirements. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1064) Establishes an optional State food assistance block grant program in lieu of the food stamp program. Sets forth program provisions. Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs - Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to combine the emergency food assistance program with the soup kitchen-food bank program. Amends the Act to direct the Secretary to purchase commodities for such combined programs. (Sec. 1072) Amends the Charitable Assistance and Food Bank Act of 1987 to repeal the food bank demonstration project. (Sec. 1073) Makes conforming amendments to the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988. Title XI: Miscellaneous - Requires any funds received by a State under the TEA program, the optional State food assistance block grant program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, or the child care block grant program under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, to be expended only in accordance with the laws and procedures applicable to expenditures of the State's own revenues, including appropriation by the State legislature, consistent with the terms and conditions required under such provisions of law. (Sec. 1102) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to eliminate housing assistance with respect to fugitive felons and probation and parole violators, and provide for the exchange of certain housing information with law enforcement agencies upon request for specified official purposes. (Sec. 1103) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Congress should adopt enterprise zone legislation in the 104th Congress, and that such legislation provide various specified incentives and provisions, such as Federal tax incentives that expand access to capital, increase the formation and expansion of small businesses, and promote commercial revitalization. (Sec. 1104) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) States should diligently continue their efforts to enforce child support payments by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent, regardless of the employment status or location of the non-custodial parent; and (2) States are encouraged to pursue pilot programs in which the parents of a non-adult, non-custodial parent who refuses to or is unable to pay child support must pay or contribute to the child support owed by the non-custodial parent or otherwise fulfill all financial obligations and meet all conditions imposed on the non-custodial parent, such as participation in a work program or other related activity. (Sec. 1105) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to modify the eligibility disqualifications for aliens to give State agencies the option of considering either all income and financial resources of the individual rendered ineligible to participate in the food stamp program, or such income, less a pro rata share, and the financial resources of the ineligible individual, to determine the eligibility and the value of the allotment of the household of which such individual is a member. (Sec. 1106) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and implement a certain strategy for: (1) preventing out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancies; and (2) assuring that at least 25 percent of the communities in the United States have teenage pregnancy prevention programs in place. (Sec. 1107) Expresses the sense of the Senate that States and local jurisdictions should aggressively enforce statutory rape laws. (Sec. 1108) Provides that States shall not be prohibited by the Federal Government from sanctioning welfare recipients who test positive for the use of controlled substances. (Sec. 1109) Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to provide for an increase in funding under such title and authorize the provision of abstinence education, along with a separate funding set-aside for it. (Sec. 1110) Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to make certain amendments in order to encourage electronic benefit transfer systems for the distribution of needs-tested benefits by a government agency. (Sec. 1111) Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to provide for a reduction in block grants to States for social services. Division B: Restructuring Medicaid - Medicaid Restructuring Act of 1996 - Amends SSA to add a new title XV (Program of Medical Assistance for Low-Income Individuals and Families), the stated purpose of which is to provide funds to States to enable them to provide medical assistance to low-income individuals and families in a more effective, efficient, and responsive manner. (Sec. 2003) Outlines program components, including key provisions for: (1) certain guaranteed benefits for select individuals, including certain poor pregnant women, disabled and poor elderly individuals, and children receiving foster care or adoption assistance; (2) guaranteed coverage of Medicare premiums and cost-sharing for certain Medicare beneficiaries; (3) only nominal cost-sharing for children and pregnant women with regard to primary and preventive care services; (4) prevention of spousal and family impoverishment with regard to long-term care; (5) State flexibility in benefits, provider payments, geographical coverage area, and selection of providers; (6) coverage of abortions only for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or when a woman suffers from a physical disorder, illness, or injury that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed; (7) denial of payment under the State Medicaid plan for any item or service furnished for euthanasia purposes; (8) limitation on payments for Medicaid services to nonlawful aliens, generally allowing treatment only in emergency situations; (9) periodic, independent evaluations and audits under the program; (10) a separate fraud prevention program, as well as, under certain conditions, State fraud control units; (11) an information reporting system with regard to actions taken by State licensing authorities against health care practitioners and providers; (12) quality assurance requirements for nursing facilities, as well as requirements relating to residents' rights; and (13) an optional master drug rebate agreement program for covered outpatient drugs of a manufacturer. (Sec. 2004) Terminates the current Medicaid program as of October 1, 1997. Sets a limitation on Medicaid payments in FY 1997. (Sec. 2005) Directs the HHS Secretary to waive such requirements of SSA titles XV and XVIII as may be necessary for States to conduct certain demonstration projects to use funds to develop and implement innovative programs for individuals dually eligible for benefits under both titles, including such individuals who are chronically ill.
Resolution· HCONRESH.Con.Res. 180 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
Acknowledges the service and sacrifices of the men and women in the armed forces, intelligence community, and foreign service community of the United States who contributed to historic victory in the Cold War.
Bill· SS. 1786 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1996
Directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services to conduct and report to the Congress on a demonstration project providing for Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) reimbursement for health care services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to Medicare-eligible veterans.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 255 (104th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1996
Honors Admiral Jeremy M. 'Mike' Boorda, the 25th Chief of Naval Operations.
Bill· HRH.R. 3495 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1996
Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994 to extend the time for the submission of the final report of the Veterans' Claims Adjudication Commission until December 31, 1996. Provides funding.
Bill· HRH.R. 3493 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1996
Authorizes the Court of Veterans Appeals to provide funds (where possible, through a nonprofit organization) for financial assistance to legal assistance entities to assist financially needy veterans in connection with proceedings before such Court. Permits legal assistance activities in connection with such proceedings to include: (1) financial assistance to defray the expenses of legal advice or representation (other than payment of attorney's fees); (2) case screening and referral services; (3) education and training of attorneys and other legal personnel who may appear before the Court; and (4) encouragement and facilitation of pro bono representation by attorneys, clinical law programs of law schools, and veterans' service organizations. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) contributions by legal assistance entities receiving financial assistance; (2) a prohibition against such entities requiring or requesting the payment of a charge or fee in connection with the program; and (3) administrative and reporting requirements. Provides funding.
Bill· SS. 1777 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title XXXI(sic): Department of Energy National Security Programs Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations Subtitle B: Recurring General Provisions Subtitle C: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations Subtitle D: Other Matters Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Department of Energy National Security Act for Fiscal Year 1997 - Title XXXI(sic): Department of Energy National Security Programs - Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 1997 for operating expenses, plant projects, and capital equipment necessary in carrying out the following activities for national security programs: (1) weapons activities; (2) environmental restoration and waste management; (3) other defense activities; and (4) nuclear waste disposal. Subtitle B: Recurring General Provisions - Prohibits the use of funds appropriated pursuant to this title for: (1) the cost of a program exceeding 110 percent of the program authorization or $1 million more than the amount authorized, whichever is the lesser; or (2) programs which have not been presented to, or requested of, the Congress, unless the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) transmits to the appropriate congressional committees a full statement of the action proposed and 30 days have since expired. (Sec. 3122) Places certain funding limits (requiring congressional reports when amounts exceed such limits) for general plant and construction projects of DOE. Provides fund transfer authority (requiring congressional notification of any such transfer). (Sec. 3125) Directs the Secretary, before submitting a funding request for a construction project in support of a DOE national security program, to complete a conceptual design for such project. Requires a separate funding request for such designs for which the estimated costs exceed $3 million. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out construction design services in connection with any proposed construction project if the total estimated cost for the design does not exceed $600,000. Requires specific authorization by law for designs that exceed such amount. (Sec. 3126) Authorizes the use of DOE funds for planning, design, and construction activities for any DOE national security program that must proceed expeditiously in order to protect public health and safety, meet the needs of national defense, or protect property. Requires the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees when funds are so used. (Sec. 3127) Makes funds for management and support activities and for general plant projects under this Subtitle available for all DOE national security programs. Subtitle C: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations - Requires the Secretary to make a final decision during FY 1997 on the technologies to be utilized, and the accelerated schedule to be adopted, for tritium production in order to meet the requirements of a certain Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Memorandum. Requires a report to the Congress. Earmarks funds authorized under this title for such activities. (Sec. 3132) Directs the Secretary to carry out activities to modernize and consolidate the tritium recycling facilities at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina. Provides funding. (Sec. 3133) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to add a specified purpose and capability to the general requirements for the DOE nuclear weapons stockpile program. Requires a plan and report with respect to such program. Provides funding. (Sec. 3134) Prohibits FY 1997 DOE funds from being used for certain research and development or technology transfer purposes unless such activities support the DOE national security mission. Requires an annual report. (Sec. 3135) Directs the Secretary to accelerate the schedule for the isolation of high-level nuclear waste in glass canisters at the Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site if the Secretary determines that such acceleration will achieve cost savings and the removal and isolation of such waste from the long-term storage tanks there. (Sec. 3136) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the processing of high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel rods. Requires the updating of an implementation plan concerning such waste under a prior defense authorization Act. (Sec. 3137) Earmarks funds for conducting the fellowship program for the development of skills critical to the ongoing mission of the DOE nuclear weapons complex as required under prior law. Requires 21 days' advance notification to the Congress before funds may be obligated or expended for such program. Subtitle D: Other Matters - Directs the Secretary to annually prepare, and submit to the defense and appropriations committees, a five-year budget for DOE national security programs. (Sec. 3152) Sets forth specified requirements for DOE weapons activities budgets for fiscal years after 1997. (Sec. 3153) Repeals a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 which requires a report from the President to the defense and appropriations committees on issues associated with purchasing tritium from foreign suppliers. (Sec. 3154) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress a plan for the near-term processing of spent nuclear fuel rods in two facilities of the Savannah River Site. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a multiyear plan for the cleanup of nuclear waste at the Site. (Sec. 3155) Requires reports concerning: (1) nuclear test readiness postures; and (2) critical difficulties encountered at nuclear weapons laboratories and production plants. (Sec. 3157) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 to extend through December 31, 1997, a requirement concerning notification to the Congress and a subsequent waiting period before undertaking a proposed defense cooperation agreement. (Sec. 3158) Redesignates the Defense Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program as the Defense Nuclear Waste Management Program. Redesignates the Assistant Secretary in charge of such Program as the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Defense Nuclear Waste Management. Redesignates a related Account. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on such redesignations. (Sec. 3159) Establishes the Commission on Maintaining United States Nuclear Weapons Expertise to develop and report to the Congress a plan for recruiting and retaining within the DOE nuclear weapons complex the appropriate scientific, engineering, and technical personnel necessary to permit DOE to maintain a safe and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile without engaging in underground testing. Terminates the Commission 30 days after its report. Provides Commission funding. (Sec. 3160) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President: (1) should consult closely with the Congress concerning U.S. policy and practices for ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile; and (2) if he determines that a safety or reliability problem cannot be corrected within the stockpile stewardship program, to notify the Congress of such problem, together with a plan for corrective action. Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Bill· SS. 1763 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title XXXI(sic): Department of Energy National Security Programs Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations Subtitle B: Recurring General Provisions Subtitle C: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations Subtitle D: Other Matters Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Department of Energy National Security Act for Fiscal Year 1997 - Title XXXI(sic): Department of Energy National Security Programs - Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 1997 for operating expenses, plant projects, and capital equipment necessary in carrying out the following activities for national security programs: (1) weapons activities; (2) environmental restoration and waste management; (3) other defense activities; and (4) nuclear waste disposal. Subtitle B: Recurring General Provisions - Prohibits the use of funds appropriated pursuant to this title for: (1) the cost of a program exceeding 110 percent of the program authorization or $1 million more than the amount authorized, whichever is the lesser; or (2) programs which have not been presented to, or requested of, the Congress, unless the Secretary of Energy transmits to the appropriate congressional committees a full statement of the action proposed and 30 days have since expired. (Sec. 3122) Places certain funding limits (requiring congressional reports when amounts exceed such limits) for general plant and construction projects of DOE. Provides fund transfer authority (requiring congressional notification of any such transfer). (Sec. 3125) Directs the Secretary, before submitting a funding request for a construction project in support of a DOE national security program, to complete a conceptual design for such project. Requires a separate funding request for such designs for which the estimated costs exceed $3 million. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out construction design services in connection with any proposed construction project if the total estimated cost for the design does not exceed $600,000. Requires specific authorization by law for designs that exceed such amount. (Sec. 3126) Authorizes the use of DOE funds for planning, design, and construction activities for any DOE national security program that must proceed expeditiously in order to protect public health and safety, meet the needs of national defense, or protect property. Requires the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees when funds are so used. Makes funds for management and support activities and for general plant projects under this Subtitle available for all DOE national security programs. Subtitle C: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations - Requires the Secretary to make a final decision during FY 1997 on the technologies to be utilized, and the accelerated schedule to be adopted, for tritium production in order to meet the requirements of a certain Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Memorandum. Requires a report to the Congress. Earmarks funds authorized under this title for such activities. (Sec. 3132) Directs the Secretary to carry out activities to modernize and consolidate the tritium recycling facilities at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina. Provides funding. (Sec. 3133) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to add a specified purpose and capability to the general requirements for the stockpile program. Requires a plan and report with respect to such program. Provides funding. (Sec. 3134) Prohibits FY 1997 DOE funds from being used for certain research and development or technology transfer purposes unless such activities support the DOE national security mission. Requires an annual report. (Sec. 3135) Directs the Secretary to accelerate the schedule for the isolation of high-level nuclear waste in glass canisters at the Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site if the Secretary determines that such acceleration will achieve cost savings and the removal and isolation of such waste from the long-term storage tanks there. (Sec. 3136) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the processing of high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel rods. Requires the updating of an implementation plan concerning such waste under a prior defense authorization Act. (Sec. 3137) Earmarks funds for conducting the fellowship program for the development of skills critical to the ongoing mission of the DOE nuclear weapons complex as required under prior law. Requires 21 days' advance notification to the Congress before funds may be obligated or expended for such program. Subtitle D: Other Matters - Directs the Secretary to annually prepare, and submit to the defense and appropriations committees, a five-year budget for DOE national security programs. (Sec. 3152) Sets forth specified requirements for DOE weapons activities budgets for fiscal years after 1997. (Sec. 3153) Repeals a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 which requires a report from the President to the defense and appropriations committees on issues associated with purchasing tritium from foreign suppliers. (Sec. 3154) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress a plan for the near-term processing of spent nuclear fuel rods in two facilities of the Savannah River Site. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a multiyear plan for the cleanup of nuclear waste at the Site. (Sec. 3155) Requires reports concerning: (1) nuclear test readiness postures; and (2) critical difficulties encountered at nuclear weapons laboratories and production plants. (Sec. 3157) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 to extend through December 31, 1997, a requirement concerning notification to the Congress and a subsequent waiting period before undertaking a proposed defense cooperation agreement. (Sec. 3158) Redesignates the Defense Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program as the Defense Nuclear Waste Management Program. Redesignates the Assistant Secretary in charge of such Program as the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Defense Nuclear Waste Management. Redesignates a related Account. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on such redesignations. (Sec. 3159) Establishes the Commission on Maintaining United States Nuclear Weapons Expertise to develop and report to the Congress a plan for recruiting and retaining within the DOE nuclear weapons complex the appropriate scientific, engineering, and technical personnel necessary to permit DOE to maintain a safe and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile without engaging in underground testing. Terminates the Commission 30 days after its report. Provides Commission funding. (Sec. 3160) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President: (1) should consult closely with the Congress concerning U.S. policy and practices for ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile; and (2) if he determines that a safety or reliability problem cannot be corrected within the stockpile stewardship program, to notify the Congress of such problem, together with a plan for corrective action. Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Bill· SS. 1764 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title XXI(sic): Army Title XXII: Navy Title XXIII: Air Force Title XXIV: Defense Agencies Title XXV: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program Title XXVI: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities Title XXVII: Expiration and Extension of Authorizations Title XXVIII: General Provisions Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes Subtitle B: Defense Base Closure and Realignment Subtitle C: Land Conveyances Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 - Title XXI(sic): Army - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to acquire real property and carry out military construction projects in specified amounts at specified installations and locations. Authorizes the Secretary to construct or acquire family housing units, to carry out architectural planning and design activities, and to improve existing military family housing in specified amounts. Authorizes appropriations to the Army for fiscal years after 1996 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of the Army. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title. Title XXII: Navy - Provides, with respect to the Navy, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under the previous title. (Sec. 2204) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to make advances to the Secretary of Transportation for the construction of defense access roads. Title XXIII: Air Force - Provides, with respect to the Air Force, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army. Title XXIV: Defense Agencies - Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to acquire real property and carry out military construction projects in specified amounts at specified installations and locations. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out architectural planning and design activities and to improve existing military family housing units, in specified amounts. (Sec. 2404) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund and the Department of Defense Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement Fund, for appropriate uses. (Sec. 2405) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out certain energy conservation projects. (Sec. 2406) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for fiscal years after 1996 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of DOD. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title. Title XXV: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program - Authorizes the Secretary to make contributions for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program and authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 1996 for such contributions. (Sec. 2503) Redesignates the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Infrastructure Program as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program. Title XXVI: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities - Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 1996 for the Guard and Reserve forces for acquisition, architectural and engineering services, and construction of facilities. Title XXVII: Expiration and Extension of Authorizations - Terminates all authorizations contained in titles XXI through XXVI of this Act on October 1, 1999, or the date of enactment of an Act authorizing funds for military construction for FY 2000, whichever is later, with exceptions. Extends certain prior-year military construction projects. Title XXVIII: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes - Increases threshold amounts for unspecified minor military construction projects. (Sec. 2802) Authorizes day-to-day maintenance and repair of military family housing. Includes under authorized military family housing activities the building of drives into such facilities. (Sec. 2803) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to grant easements for rights-of-way for electric poles and lines and for communications lines and facilities. Subtitle B: Defense Base Closure and Realignment - Amends the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act to authorize the Secretary to transfer real property or facilities at military installations closed or realigned under a base closure law to a military department or other entity within DOD or the Coast Guard. (Sec. 2812) Amends the above Act and the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (together, the base closure laws) to: (1) provide for the deposit of proceeds from the disposal of commissary stores and nonappropriated fund instrumentalities at installations closed or realigned under a base closure law; (2) authorize the Secretary to use such amounts for the acquisition, construction, or improvement of such stores and instrumentalities; and (3) authorize the Secretary to enter into agreements for services at such installations after their closure or realignment. Subtitle C: Land Conveyances - Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and the Army to undertake a specified land exchange within the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. (Sec. 2822) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer to the United States Institute for Peace administrative jurisdiction over the Potomac Annex in Washington, D.C. (Sec. 2823) Authorizes the Secretary of the: (1) Army to convey to Montpelier, Vermont, the Army Reserve Center in Montpelier; (2) Navy to convey to Delaware the former Naval Reserve Facility in Lewes, Delaware; (3) Air Force to convey to the Belle Fourche School District, South Dakota, the Air Force radar bomb scoring site in Belle Fourche; (4) Air Force to convey to an appropriate entity the primate research complex at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico; and (6) Air Force to carry out a demonstration project for the installation and operation by private entities of an electric power distribution system at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Youngstown, Ohio.
Bill· SS. 1762 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Procurement Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations Subtitle B: Army Programs Subtitle C: Navy Programs Subtitle D: Air Force Programs Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations Subtitle C: Ballistic Missile Defense Subtitle D: Other Matters Subtitle E: National Oceanographic Partnership Title III: Operation and Maintenance Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations Subtitle C: Depot-Level Activities Subtitle D: Environmental Provisions Subtitle E: Other Matters Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations Subtitle A: Active Forces Subtitle B: Reserve Forces Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations Title V: Military Personnel Policy Subtitle A: Officer Personnel Policy Subtitle B: Matters Relating to Reserve Components Subtitle C: Officer Education Programs Subtitle D: Other Matters Subtitle E: Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service Subtitle F: Defense Economic Adjustment, Diversification, Conversion, and Stabilization Subtitle G: Armed Forces Retirement Home Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances Subtitle D: Retired Pay, Survivor Benefits, and Related Matters Subtitle E: Other Matters Title VII: Health Care Provisions Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management Subtitle A: General Matters Subtitle B: National Imagery and Mapping Agency Title X: General Provisions Subtitle A: Financial Matters Subtitle B: Naval Vessels and Shipyards Subtitle C: Counter-Drug Activities Subtitle D: Matters Relating to Foreign Countries Subtitle E: Miscellaneous Reporting Requirements Subtitle F: Other Matters Title XI: Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Subtitle A: Personnel Management, Pay, and Allowances Subtitle B: Defense Economic Adjustment, Diversification, Conversion, and Stabilization Title XII: Federal Charter for the Fleet Reserve Association Department of Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for procurement to the armed forces for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and for other procurement. (Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for: (1) defense-wide procurement; (2) reserve procurements; (3) the Defense Inspector General; (4) the chemical demilitarization program; and (5) the Defense Health Program. (Sec. 109) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the Defense Nuclear Agency. Subtitle B: Army Programs - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to enter into multiyear procurement contracts for the Javelin missile system. (Sec. 112) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 to replace the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Logistics, and Environment) with the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research, Development and Acquisition) on State chemical demilitarization citizens' advisory commissions. Subtitle C: Navy Programs - Requires certain certifications by the Secretary of the Navy before funds may be obligated for the EA-6B aircraft reactive jammer program. (Sec. 122) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy, with a cost limitation, to enter into multiyear procurement contracts for up to 106 Penguin missiles. (Sec. 123) Earmarks funds authorized under this Act for one remaining Seawolf attack submarine and a New Attack submarine, under specified contract and construction requirements and limitations. (Sec. 124) Makes funds available for construction of a third Arleigh Burke class destroyer under authority provided in a prior defense authorization Act, with funding limitations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to construct 12 such destroyers in accordance with specified contracting and construction requirements during FY 1998 through 2001 (allowing three destroyers to be constructed in each fiscal year). Subtitle D: Air Force Programs - Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to enter into one or more multiyear procurement contracts for the C-17 aircraft program. Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for the armed forces for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). Earmarks funds so authorized for: (1) basic research and exploratory development; and (2) the Defense Nuclear Agency. Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - Earmarks funds, with limitations, for the space launch modernization program. (Sec. 212) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to include the kinetic energy tactical antisatellite program of the Department of Defense (DOD) as an element of the space control architecture being developed by the DOD Space Architect. Provides funding limitations with respect to such program. (Sec. 213) Makes funds available for the Space-Based Infrared System program for specified purposes. Provides for the conditional transfer of management oversight of the program. (Sec. 214) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to repeal a provision earmarking funds for advanced submarine technology activities. (Sec. 215) Earmarks funds, with limitations, for the Clementine 2 micro-satellite near-Earth asteroid interception mission. (Sec. 216) Prohibits any DOD official from contracting for the procurement of a higher number of Dark Star unmanned aerial vehicles than necessary to complete procurement of a total of three of such vehicles until flight testing has been completed. (Sec. 217) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress comparing the Predator and Dark Star unmanned aerial vehicle programs. (Sec. 218) Requires a program review and report to the congressional defense and appropriations committees with respect to the F-22 aircraft. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on event-based decision making for such program for that fiscal year. (Sec. 220) Earmarks funds for joint service RDT&E of nonlethal weapons and technologies, with specified elements and limitations. (Sec. 221) Earmarks funds for the Counterproliferation Support Program, further earmarking some of such funds for a tactical antisatellite technologies program. Provides authority to transfer additional funds for such programs, with limitations. (Sec. 222) Allows funds authorized to DOD for FY 1997 to be obligated to procure work from a federally funded research and development center or a university-affiliated research center only if the Secretary names such center in a report to the defense committees and only in an amount not in excess of the proposed funding level for such center. Provides funding limits, authorizing the Secretary to waive such limits after notification to the defense committees. Subtitle C: Ballistic Missile Defense - Provides that, unless a missile defense system, upgrade, or component is ABM-qualifying flight tested, it has not been tested in an ABM mode and therefore is not subject to any application, limitation, or obligation under the ABM Treaty. (Sec. 232) Prohibits FY 1997 DOD funds from being used to implement any agreement or understanding, with respect to the ABM Treaty between the United States and the former Soviet Union, concerning limitations on the performance, operations, or deployment of U.S. theater missile defense systems. (Sec. 233) Prohibits the United States during FY 1997 from being bound by any international agreement that would convert the ABM Treaty to a multilateral treaty. (Sec. 234) Earmarks funds for specified upper tier theater missile defense systems, with a certification limitation. (Sec. 235) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to eliminate the requirement that certain items be included in an annual report concerning the ballistic missile defense program. Subtitle D: Other Matters - Authorizes alternative testing in lieu of live-fire survivability testing for the F-22 and V-22 aircraft. Provides funding for such programs. Subtitle E: National Oceanographic Partnership - National Oceanographic Partnership Act - Directs the Secretary of the Navy to establish the National Oceanographic Partnership Program to promote national security, advance economic development, protect the quality of life, and strengthen science education and communication through increased knowledge of the ocean. Establishes a National Ocean Research Council to report annually to the Congress on activities and achievements under the Program. Directs the Council to establish an Ocean Research Partnership Coordinating Group and an Ocean Research Advisory Panel to perform appropriate responsibilities as assigned by the Council. Directs the Council to select the Partnership projects eligible for support under the Program. Provides funding. Title III: Operation and Maintenance - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for operation and maintenance (O&M) for the armed forces and specified activities and agencies of DOD. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 to DOD for working capital and revolving funds. Earmarks funds so authorized for the Defense Nuclear Agency. (Sec. 304) Authorizes up to $150 million to be transferred from the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund for DOD O&M for FY 1997, to be evenly divided between the Army, Navy, and Air Force. (Sec. 305) Earmarks funds for: (1) the Civil Air Patrol; (2) search and rescue costs; and (3) the SR-71 contingency reconnaissance force. Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - Authorizes funds from the National Defense Sealift Fund to be used for the purchase and conversion, or construction, of up to three ships to enhance Marine Corps prepositioning ship squadrons. Eliminates the requirement that vessels constructed using Fund amounts be built in the United States. Allows up to ten (currently, five) vessels to be purchased from foreign shipyards. (Sec. 313) Earmarks funds for the procurement of nonlethal weapons capabilities. (Sec. 314) States that no funds are authorized by this Act to be appropriated to DOD for the Coast Guard within budget subfunction 054. Subtitle C: Depot-Level Activities - Directs the Secretary to maintain within DOD currently-required logistics activities and capabilities. Requires core-logistics functions to be performed in Government-owned and operated facilities of DOD by DOD personnel using DOD equipment. (Sec. 322) Increases from 40 to 50 the percentage of all DOD depot-level maintenance and repair workloads that may be contracted out for performance by non-Federal personnel. Maintains such level at 40 percent until submission to the defense committees of a strategic plan for the performance of such maintenance and repair (such plan being required later under this Subtitle). Revises a current reporting requirement with respect to such workloads. Defines "depot- level maintenance and repair workload" for purposes of such contracting limitations. (Sec. 325) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees a strategic plan for the performance of depot-level maintenance and repair for DOD for fiscal years 1998 through 2007. Requires the Comptroller General to review such strategic plan and report review results to such committees. (Sec. 326) Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the defense committees describing the competitive procedures used for contracting for the performance of depot-level maintenance and repair workload activities. (Sec. 327) Directs the Joint Chiefs of Staff to submit annually to the Secretary a report on the privatization of the performance of the various DOD depot-level maintenance workloads. Requires the Secretary to report in turn to the Congress on such matters. (Sec. 328) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 to extend through FY 1997 the authority for naval shipyards and aviation depots to engage in defense-related production and services. (Sec. 329) Limits the expenditure of funds for F-18 aircraft depot maintenance until the Secretary reports to the defense and appropriations committees on aviation depot maintenance. (Sec. 330) Prohibits the Secretary, until taking specified action and reporting to the Congress, from contracting for the performance by a private source of any of the depot maintenance currently performed at the Sacramento or San Antonio Air Logistics Centers. Subtitle D: Environmental Provisions - Establishes in DOD a separate Environmental Restoration Account for each of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. (Currently, there is only a Defense Environmental Restoration Account, which continues.) Requires sums appropriated for environmental restoration in each military department to be deposited into such accounts. (Sec. 342) Requires the top 20 defense contractors (currently, 100) in terms of dollar volume to be included in an annual report from the Secretary to the Congress on payments made to defense contractors for the costs of environmental response actions. (Sec. 343) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 to repeal certain redundant notification and certification requirements regarding remedial investigations and feasibility studies at certain installations to be closed under the base closure laws. (Sec. 344) Authorizes the Secretary to pay to the Hazardous Substance Superfund stipulated civil penalties assessed against various military facilities and installations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). (Sec. 345) Amends CERCLA to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to withhold the listing of a Federal facility on a national environmental cleanup priorities list if the head of such facility has arranged with the Administrator to respond appropriately to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance. Authorizes the Administrator or the governor of a State to transfer contaminated Federal property before the completion of required remedial actions under CERCLA if the Administrator or governor determines that the property is suitable for transfer and there are assurances that all remaining remedial actions will be taken after such transfer. (Sec. 348) Amends the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships to allow military vessels to dispose in the ocean certain non-plastic, non-floating garbage if the Secretary of the Navy determines that such ship cannot fully comply with the non-dumping requirements of such Act due to technological infeasibility or impairment of the ship's operations or operational capability. Requires each ship which the Navy plans to decommission between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2005, to comply to the greatest extent practicable with the ocean dumping limitations of the Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that it should be an objective of the Navy to fully comply with such dumping requirements and to develop ships that are environmentally sound. (Sec. 349) Authorizes the Secretary and the Secretaries of the military departments to enter into cooperative agreements with States, local governments, and appropriate public and private entities to provide for the preservation, management, maintenance, and rehabilitation of cultural resources on military installations. (Sec. 350) Directs the Secretary to submit to the defense and appropriations committees a report that assesses the effects of the proposed withdrawal of public lands at El Centro Naval Air Facility, California, on the operational and training requirements of DOD at that facility. (Sec. 351) Amends the Act commonly known as the Sikes Act to allow hunting and fishing fees collected at closed military installations to be available for expenditure at any other military reservation for the protection, conservation, and management of fish and wildlife located there. Subtitle E: Other Matters - Authorizes the contracting out for fire fighting and security guard functions at a private facility at which a Federal activity is located pursuant to a lease of such facility to the Federal Government. (Sec. 362) Authorizes DOD recruitment funds to be expended for small meals and refreshments provided to specified individuals during personnel recruiting functions. (Sec. 363) Prohibits the Secretary from using other-than- competitive procedures for the procurement of brand-name commercial items for resale in commissary stores unless such item is regularly sold outside such stores under the same brand name. (Sec. 364) Authorizes the Superintendent of the Naval Academy to administer a nonappropriated fund account for the midshipmen's store, specified shops, and the laundry and dairy. (Sec. 365) Increases the assistance authorized to be provided by the Secretary to the Inaugural Committee to include planning and assistance with respect to security and ceremonial activities, and any other appropriate assistance. (Currently, only the loan of equipment is authorized.) Includes a congressional joint committee as an authorized recipient of such assistance. (Sec. 366) Allows the Secretary to authorize the commander of a military installation or other DOD facility, or the commander of a specified or unified combatant command, to provide assistance for the World Cup Games, the Goodwill Games, the Olympics, and any other major civilian sporting event in support of essential security and safety at such event, but only under appropriate agreements with event sponsors. Excludes the Special Olympics or Paralympics from such authorized assistance. (Sec. 367) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer DOD funds to the Administrator of General Services for the renovation of Building One at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, for use as a Defense Finance and Accounting Service Center. Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations - Subtitle A: Active Forces - Provides the authorized end strengths for active-duty forces as of the end of FY 1997. Increases from 0.5 to five the percentage of authorized temporary variation in such levels. (Sec. 403) Provides the authorized end strengths for commissioned officers in grades O-4 through O-6. (Sec. 404) Extends through FY 2000 the requirement for recommendations to the Secretary for appointments to joint 4-star officer positions. (Sec. 405) Increases from 68 to 80 the authorized number of active-duty general officers in the Marine Corps. Subtitle B: Reserve Forces - Sets forth the authorized end strengths as of the end of FY 1997 for members of the Selected Reserve and reserve personnel on active duty in support of the reserves. Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for military personnel. Title V: Military Personnel Policy - Subtitle A: Officer Personnel Policy - Extends through FY 1997 the authority for the temporary promotion of Navy lieutenants possessing critical skills. (Sec. 502) Provides an exception to the baccalaureate degree requirement for appointments above the Naval Reserve grade of O-2 in the case of appointments of officers to the Seaman to Admiral Program. (Sec. 503) Increases from three to eight years since graduation from an unaccredited educational institution the time period for such graduates to be considered educationally qualified for appointment as reserve officers in grade O-3. (Sec. 504) Reduces from three to two years the minimum time in grade before chief warrant officers on the active-duty list may be considered for promotion. Authorizes the selection of chief warrant officers from below their promotion zone. (Sec. 505) Reduces from semiannually to annually the required frequency of a periodic report on promotion rates of officers currently or formerly serving in joint duty assignments. Subtitle B: Matters Relating to Reserve Components - Amends the Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act to allow a person who has completed at least six months of satisfactory service as an adjutant or assistant adjutant before completion of three years of such service to be retired in the higher grade of such position, notwithstanding that he or she had not completed three years of such service. Provides grade recognition, for retirement credit purposes, for other persons promoted to higher positions who did not serve in such positions, but instead served in other positions for which the promoted grade is the minimum authorized grade for the position in which the person actually served. (Sec. 513) Repeals the requirement for physical examinations of members of the National Guard called into Federal service. (Sec. 514) Authorizes reserve personnel within two years of retirement eligibility to waive the prohibition against the involuntary release of such members within such period. (Sec. 515) Provides for the retirement of reserve personnel disabled by injury or disease incurred or aggravated while remaining overnight between inactive duty training periods. (Sec. 516) Provides reserve duty credit for participation in the Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program if the person completes the course of study, completes the active duty obligation, and possesses a specialty designated as one critically needed in wartime. (Sec. 517) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the current and projected force structure of the National Guard and other reserve components. Subtitle C: Officer Education Programs - Increases the maximum age limit before appointment to: (1) the Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, to less than 27 years of age; and (2) a military service academy, to less than 23 years of age. (Sec. 522) Directs the Secretary of the Army to carry out, and report to the Congress in each of 1998 through 2001 on, a demonstration project assessing the feasibility and advisability of providing instruction and other support to units of the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps through members of the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. Terminates such authority four years after enactment of this Act. Subtitle D: Other Matters - Allows no more than 25 (currently, 15) formerly retired general or flag officers of an armed force to be serving on active duty concurrently pursuant to orders issued by the Secretary of such military department. Provides exceptions and limits to the periods of recalled service. (Sec. 533) Provides disability coverage for officers granted excess leave in order to participate in an educational program. Entitles such members to eligibility for: (1) placement on the temporary disability retirement list; and (2) separation from the armed forces. (Sec. 534) Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations setting forth uniform policies and procedures regarding the retention of military personnel who are permanently nonworldwide assignable for medical reasons. (Sec. 535) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to extend the normal one-year authorized waiting period before entry under the delayed entry program for an additional 180 days if such Secretary determines the additional period to be in the best interests of that armed force. (Sec. 536) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to accept a reenlistment for: (1) a member who has less than ten years of service, for at least two but not more than six additional years; and (2) a member with at least ten years of service, for the above period or for an unspecified period. (Sec. 537) Repeals the applicability of military missing person provisions to DOD civilian and contractor employees who accompany an armed force into action. Increases from 48 hours to ten days after a unit commander concludes that a person should be in a missing status the time period permitted prior to a required preliminary report to the Secretary concerned on such person's status. Repeals the requirement that counsel represent a missing person during inquiries as to their status. Requires subsequent reviews concerning a person's declared status to be made upon receipt of information that may result in a change of such status (Currently, such reviews are required every three years.) Repeals: (1) statutory penalties for the wrongful withholding of information as to a person's status; (2) the right of judicial review of a missing or dead status determination; and (3) the inclusion of certain information upon a determination of death of a missing person. (Sec. 538) States that the three-year statute of limitations for filing claims for the correction of military records is not extended by reason of military service, but provides an exception in the interests of justice. (Sec. 539) Authorizes the President, notwithstanding specified time limitations, to award the Medal of Honor to certain named individuals for acts of heroism while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Subtitle E: Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service - Applies to an officer in the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service (PHS) a current prohibition on crediting enlisted service performed as a cadet or midshipman as service as an officer in the armed forces. (Sec. 562) Amends the Public Health Service Act to except from PHS commissioned officer end strength limitations those officers who are assigned to duty in DOD. Subtitle F: Defense Economic Adjustment, Diversification, Conversion, and Stabilization - Makes permanent the current conditional authority to expand the DOD law enforcement personnel placement assistance program to include fire fighters. (Sec. 572) Requires (currently, authorizes) the Secretary, and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard, to establish a program providing assistance to separated military personnel to obtain certification and employment as teachers or teachers' aides. Reduces from five to two school years the period in which such former member must agree to be employed in such a position after receiving such assistance and certification. Reduces the amount required to be paid by the Secretary concerned to the local educational agency as part of the salary of such teachers or teachers' aides. Subtitle G: Armed Forces Retirement Home - Amends the Armed Forces Retirement Home Act of 1991 to authorize the Chairman of the Retirement Home Board or the director of each individual establishment of the Armed Forces Retirement Home to accept voluntary services from any person, unless such services are disapproved by the Board. Provides voluntary service requirements and limitations, as well as the Federal employee status of such persons while performing such services. Allows such Chairman or director to reimburse such volunteers for incidental expenses incurred in providing such services. (Sec. 583) Authorizes the Retirement Home Board to sell or otherwise dispose of specified property under their control in Washington, D.C., under specified terms and conditions, including required notification to the defense committees of any such disposals. (Sec. 584) Provides for the terms of appointment for members of Retirement Home governing boards. Authorizes the Board to waive certain dual compensation prohibitions with respect to the director of an individual retirement home or one of its employees, allowing for the adjustment of such pay in consideration of the dual compensation. (Sec. 585) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 to delay until the end of FY 1998 the implementation of a new fee structure for residents of the military retirement homes (delays similarly the end date of a series of three reports with respect to such fee implementation). Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on meeting the funding needs of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in a manner that is fair and equitable to its residents as well as to members of the armed forces who provide required monthly contributions for the Home. (Sec. 586) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 from the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund for the operation of the Home. Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits - Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances - Waives any FY 1997 military pay increases tied to increases in the General Schedule of Compensation for Government employees. Increases by 3.0 percent, effective on January 1, 1997, the rates of basic pay and basic allowance for subsistence. Increases by 4.0 percent, on the same date, the rate of basic allowance for quarters (BAQ). (Sec. 602) Repeals the requirement that the rate of monthly cadet and midshipman pay be adjusted in the same manner and time as the rates of monthly basic pay to military personnel. (Sec. 603) Authorizes senior noncommissioned officers who are hospitalized to continue to be entitled to their authorized basic pay for up to 180 days after commencement of such hospitalization. (Sec. 604) Authorizes a BAQ for certain members (single or married personnel of specified grades) assigned to sea duty. (Sec. 606) Authorizes a family separation allowance for a member who is separated from a spouse who is also a member of the armed forces if the member has no dependents and the two members were residing together immediately before such separation. (Sec. 607) Authorizes the Comptroller General to waive certain time limitations with respect to claims for military pay or allowances of $25,000 or less. Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays - Extends through FY 1998 specified authorities currently scheduled to expire at the end of FY 1997 with respect to certain special pay and bonus programs within the regular and reserve armed forces. (Sec. 614) Increases the special pay for dental officers of the armed forces. (Sec. 615) Repeals the requirement limiting special pay for optometrists to optometrists in the armed forces (thereby qualifying PHS optometrists for such pay). (Sec. 616) Authorizes special pay as nonphysician health care providers for officers in the Regular or Reserve Corps of the PHS. (Sec. 617) Authorizes the payment of foreign language proficiency pay for officers of the PHS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Currently, such pay is limited to officers in the armed forces.) Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances - Authorizes the payment of a travel expense for travel from a new duty station to the port of debarkation to pick up a privately owned vehicle. (Sec. 622) Allows a member authorized to have a vehicle shipped to a foreign country due to a change of duty station to store such vehicle at Government expense in lieu of such shipping when the government of such foreign country precludes the entry of such vehicle or requires extensive vehicle modification before such entry is permitted. (Sec. 623) Authorizes a member to defer travel leave permitted between consecutive tours of duty for up to one additional year due to participation in a contingency operation. (Sec. 624) Provides funding for the transportation of household effects of members of the Commissioned Corps of the PHS. Subtitle D: Retired Pay, Survivor Benefits, and Related Matters - Repeals a provision providing a conditional effective date for the FY 1998 military retirement pay cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). (Sec. 632) Authorizes a member or former member, subject to specified conditions and restrictions, to transfer or assign such member's retired or retainer pay account when it becomes due and payable for the payment of any financial obligations. (Sec. 633) States that Survivor Benefit Plan COLAs shall become effective concurrently with the payment of related military retirement pay COLAs. (Sec. 634) Directs the Secretary concerned to pay an annuity to the qualified surviving spouse of each member of the armed forces who: (1) died before March 21, 1974, and was entitled to retired or retainer pay on such date; or (2) was a member of the reserves between September 21, 1972, and October 1, 1978, and at the time of death would have been entitled to retired pay but for the fact of being under 60 years of age. (Sec. 635) Increases the annual income limitation for purposes of eligibility for supplemental income for certain spouses of former military personnel. Subtitle E: Other Matters - Authorizes military personnel and members of the Coast Guard to be reimbursed for adoption expenses incurred through any adoption source (private source) if the adoption is supervised by a court under a State or local law. (Sec. 642) Authorizes the withholding for Federal income tax purposes of amounts from the separation pay received by involuntarily separated military personnel. Title VII: Health Care Provisions - Revises the implementation deadline with respect to the requirement for a Selected Reserve dental insurance plan. (Sec. 702) Provides a dental insurance plan for: (1) members and former members entitled to retired or retainer pay; (2) members of the Retired Reserve who would be eligible for such pay except for not having attained 60 years of age; and (3) eligible dependents of (1) and (2), above. Outlines provisions concerning premiums, benefits, and coverage. Provides for the continuation during the enrollment period of benefits to dependents upon the death of an enrollee. (Sec. 703) Directs the Secretary to take necessary action to provide a uniform software package for use by providers of health care under the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) and by military treatment facilities for the computerized processing of information. (Sec. 704) Revises certain DOD authority with respect to the receipt of payments or reimbursement from third party health insurance providers for care provided to military personnel and their dependents at military treatment facilities under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). (Sec. 706) Provides for the crediting of amounts collected in the administration of CHAMPUS. (Sec. 707) Directs the Comptroller General to analyze the effectiveness of the medical research and clinical care programs of DOD that relate to Persian Gulf illnesses, including the use of experimental drugs, and to report study results to the Congress. Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters - Earmarks funds authorized under this Act for DOD procurement technical assistance programs. (Sec. 802) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year: (1) 1991 to extend through FY 1998 the Mentor-Protege pilot program; and (2) 1994 to modify and extend through FY 2001 the authority of DOD to carry out prototype projects directly relevant to proposed weapons or weapon systems. (Sec. 804) Repeals specified provisions relating to program requirements and administration of a national defense program for analysis of the defense technology and industrial base (base). Directs the Secretary to annually prepare selected assessments of the capability of such base to attain required national security objectives. Repeals the requirement of a periodic defense capability plan under such base. Directs the Secretary to prescribe departmental guidance for the attainment of specified national security objectives in connection with such base. Requires annual reports to the defense committees. Repeals superseded and inconsistent Federal provisions. (Sec. 805) Authorizes the Secretary to require that the procurement of small arms parts and modifications be made only from firms listed in a specified plan prepared by an independent assessment panel of the Army Science Board. (Sec. 807) Treats a DOD cable television franchise agreement as a contract for telecommunications services under the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (Sec. 808) Provides reinstatement and other remedies for employees against whom certain reprisal actions are taken for providing information as to possible violations of law (whistle blowers). (Sec. 809) Directs the Secretary to include in a currently-required report specified matters relating to information resources management by the Federal Government. Directs the Secretary to ensure that all information technology acquired by DOD pursuant to contracts entered into after September 30, 1996, have certain capabilities relating to the fault-free processing of dates and date-related data. Requires a report to the Congress. Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management - Subtitle A: General Matters - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to repeal provisions requiring a reorganization of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. (Sec. 902) Codifies requirements provided under prior law with respect to: (1) the continued operation of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, as well as the required end strengths for University personnel; and (2) the requirements for a United States Army Reserve Command and the assignment of forces under such Command. (Sec. 904) Authorizes the President, through the Secretary of Defense (currently, the Secretary of the Army), to assume control over transportation systems in times of war. (Sec. 905) Directs the Secretary to perform oversight responsibilities within the executive branch with respect to clandestine activities of DOD human intelligence personnel. (Sec. 906) Designates the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency as the Director of Military Intelligence. Establishes within DOD a Military Intelligence Board as the principal forum for coordination of DOD intelligence programs and activities. (Sec. 907) Redesignates the: (1) Office of Naval Records and History Fund as the Naval Historical Center Fund; and (2) Office of Naval Records and History as the Naval Historical Center. Subtitle B: National Imagery and Mapping Agency - National Imagery and Mapping Agency Act of 1996 - Part I: Establishment - Establishes the National Imagery and Mapping Agency as a combat support agency of DOD, with a Director appointed by the President. Requires the Agency to: (1) provide timely, relevant, and accurate imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial information in support of U.S. national security objectives; (2) improve the means of navigating vessels of the Navy and merchant marine; (3) prepare and distribute maps, charts, and related products; and (4) support the imagery requirements of the Department of State and other Federal departments and agencies outside of DOD. Authorizes the Agency Director to use appropriated funds to provide foreign countries with imagery intelligence and geospatial information support. Requires support of Agency activities by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), including administrative and contract services as well as the detail of appropriate personnel. Prohibits the CIA Inspector General from conducting any inspection, investigation, or audit of the Agency without the written consent of the DOD Inspector General. Provides for the protection of Agency identifications (acronyms) and organizational information. Empowers the Secretary with civilian personnel management authority over Agency employees, including the authority to hire personnel, fix the rates of pay and authorized allowances and COLAs, and terminate employees. Authorizes the Secretary to designate National Imagery and Mapping Senior Level positions. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a National Imagery and Mapping Senior Executive Service for senior civilian personnel within the Agency, under specified requirements. Provides related authorities, including details and assignments outside the Agency as well as labor and management bargaining rights and obligations. Requires congressional oversight of the Agency as a combat support agency. Transfers specified missions and functions within DOD (the Defense Mapping Agency and the Central Imagery Office) and the CIA (the National Photographic Interpretation Center) to the Agency, including related personnel and other assets. (Sec. 923) Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to direct the Secretary to perform various imagery functions through the Agency in furtherance of national security. Provides other personnel management authorities. (Sec. 925) Provides creditable civilian service for current Defense Mapping Agency employees who continue their service with the new Agency. Provides savings provisions. (Sec. 928) Authorizes appropriations for the Agency for FY 1997. Part II: Conforming Amendments and Effective Dates - Makes technical and conforming amendments necessitated by the creation of the Agency and the termination of the Defense Mapping Agency and the Central Imagery Office. Provides an effective date. Title X: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Financial Matters - Authorizes the Secretary, in the national interest, to transfer amounts of authorizations made available to DOD in this Division for FY 1997 between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with a total transfer limit of $2 billion. Requires notification to the Congress of any such transfers. (Sec. 1002) Authorizes certain unauthorized FY 1996 defense appropriations to be obligated for DOD programs, projects, and activities in accordance with FY 1996 defense appropriations. (Sec. 1003) Adjusts the amounts authorized to DOD for FY 1996 by the amount by which appropriations pursuant to such authorization were increased or decreased in the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996. (Sec. 1004) Allows FY 1997 DOD funds transferred to the Coast Guard to be used only for the performance of national security functions of the Coast Guard in support of DOD, requiring a certification of the proper use of such funds. (Sec. 1005) Authorizes the use of DOD funds for the military education and training of military and civilian personnel of foreign countries (under the military-to-military contacts program). (Sec. 1006) Authorizes the payment of certain personnel, equipment, services, and supplies expenses related to the provision by DOD of humanitarian and civic assistance. (Sec. 1007) Prohibits DOD funds appropriated for intelligence activities from being obligated or expended by an individual who is not an officer or employee of DOD. (Sec. 1008) Prohibits funds authorized under this Act or otherwise made available to the Navy for FY 1997 from being obligated or expended by the Office of Naval Intelligence for official representation or related activities. (Sec. 1009) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, whenever the President directs the Secretary to provide disaster assistance outside the United States, the President should direct the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to reimburse DOD for such costs. (Sec. 1010) Provides a Fisher House Trust Fund for the Navy, funds from which shall be used for the operation of Fisher houses (houses located near a military medical treatment facility and used for the temporary lodging of patients of such facility and their immediate family). (Sec. 1011) Provides for the designation and liability of Coast Guard disbursing and certifying officials. Places authority over such officials with the Department of Transportation when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy. (Sec. 1012) Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to suspend an action by the Secretary to collect a claim against a deceased member of the Coast Guard when considered appropriate. (Sec. 1013) Authorizes a Federal disbursing official to undertake check cashing and other exchange transactions at a Federal credit union that is operating at DOD invitation in a foreign country where contractor-operated military banking facilities are not available. Subtitle B: Naval Vessels and Shipyards - Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to transfer to the governments of Egypt, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Taiwan, and Thailand specified naval vessels. Directs such Secretary to require that any required repair or refurbishment of such vessels take place at a U.S. shipyard, including a Navy shipyard. Terminates the transfer authority two years after enactment of this Act. (Sec. 1022) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to transfer six obsolete Navy tugboats to the Northeast Wisconsin Railroad Transportation Commission. (Sec. 1023) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to repeal the requirement of the continuous applicability of phased maintenance contracts for AE-class ships. (Sec. 1024) Reaffirms the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Navy should plan for and budget the acquisition of 19 large, medium-speed, roll-on, roll-off vessels rather than only 17 such vessels (as in the current contract). Subtitle C: Counter-Drug Activities - Authorizes the Secretary to provide additional counter-drug support to the Government of Mexico during FY 1997. Provides funding. (Sec. 1032) Prohibits DOD funds from this or any other Act from being obligated or expended for the National Drug Intelligence Center, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with an exception. Requires a joint investigation of the operations of such Center by various inspectors general and a report to the Congress on the results of such investigation. Subtitle D: Matters Relating to Foreign Countries - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with the governments of U.S. allies and other friendly foreign countries for the exchange of military and civilian personnel of DOD with similar personnel of such foreign governments. (Sec. 1042) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide for the reciprocal exchange of personnel between the United States and foreign countries for attendance at flight training schools or programs. (Sec. 1043) Amends the Weapons of Mass Destruction Control Act of 1992 to extend through FY 1998 the authority to support international nonproliferation activities. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous Reporting Requirements - Requires an annual report from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to the defense committees on emerging operational concepts. (Sec. 1052) Requires the Secretary to report to the defense committees on a joint war fighting science and technology plan. (Sec. 1053) Directs the JCS Chairman to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the military readiness requirements of the armed forces. Requires such report to be prepared by the Chief of Staff (Commandant, for the Marines) of each armed force. Subtitle F: Other Matters - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to except from the competitive service appointments to certain nonattorney positions on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. (Sec. 1062) Prohibits DOD funds from being obligated or expended during FY 1997 for retiring or dismantling B-52H bomber aircraft, Trident ballistic missile submarines, Minuteman II ICBMs, or Peacekeeper ICBMs. Authorizes a waiver of such prohibition when determined necessary to implement the START II Treaty. (Sec. 1063) Corrects legal and statutory references with respect to the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Defense Distribution Depot, Anniston, Alabama. (Sec. 1064) Authorizes certain members of the reserves to act as a notary public or U.S. consul. (Sec. 1065) Authorizes military personnel to use non-Government facilities for training activities. (Sec. 1066) Provides that if a member of the armed forces is injured or contracts a disease under circumstances creating a tort liability upon a third person, and such member is unable to perform his or her duties as a result of such injury or disease, then the United States shall have a right of recovery against such third person for the value of pay that accrues to such member for the period in which they are incapacitated. (Sec. 1067) Prohibits DOD funds from being used to adopt or enforce any rule or other prohibition that discriminates against the display of the flag of a particular State, territory, or possession of the United States at an official ceremony at any installation or other facility of DOD at which the official flags of other U.S. States, territories, or possessions are being displayed. (Sec. 1068) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) accept gifts and donations from foreign governments and other individuals or entities within foreign countries in order to defray the costs of operation of the George C. Marshall European Center for Strategic Security Studies; (2) permit representatives of a foreign government to participate in a program at the Center when found to be in the U.S. national interest; and (3) waive certain financial disclosure requirements for a foreign member of the Board of Visitors of the Center serving without compensation. (Sec. 1069) Authorizes the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate to jointly present a bronze medal (previously awarded only to military personnel) to certain civilian participants in the defense of Pearl Harbor. Authorizes appropriations. Makes such authority effective as of November 5, 1990. (Sec. 1070) Redesignates the Nellis Federal Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the Michael O'Callaghan Federal Hospital. (Sec. 1071) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary should name Building A at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences as the David Packard Building. Title XI: Department of Defense Civilian Personnel - Subtitle A: Personnel Management, Pay, and Allowances - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to direct the Secretary, by the end of FY 1996, to convert 3,000 military positions to civilian positions. (Sec. 1102) Authorizes the Secretary to retain civilian employee positions of DOD at a military installation which is to be closed and which is scheduled for transfer during FY 1997 to National Guard operation and control, in order to facilitate active and reserve component training at such installation. Limits the maximum number of positions retained to 20 percent of the Federal civilian work force employed at such installation as of September 8, 1995. (Sec. 1104) Authorizes the Secretary to provide DOD civilian employees (and their family members) abroad with benefits comparable to those provided by the Secretary of State to members of the Foreign Service serving abroad. (Sec. 1105) Authorizes an employee of a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of DOD or the Coast Guard who moves, without a break in service of more than three days, to a position in DOD or the Coast Guard to receive travel, transportation, and related expenses under the same conditions and to the same extent as regular DOD or Coast Guard employees. (Sec. 1106) Amends the Defense Department Overseas Pay and Personnel Practices Act to require the Secretary of the military department concerned (currently, the Secretary of Defense) to conduct the employment and salary practices applicable to teachers employed overseas in that department. (Sec. 1107) Authorizes the Secretary to employ appropriate teaching faculty at the English Language Center of the Defense Language Institute and the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. (Sec. 1108) Authorizes the Secretary to provide reimbursement to DOD domestic dependent school board members for expenses incurred in the performance of school board duties. (Sec. 1109) Extends through FY 2001 the authority for civilian DOD employees to participate in voluntary DOD reductions-in-force. (Sec. 1110) Authorizes an agency head to grant employee compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay for time spent in irregular or overtime work. (Sec. 1111) Provides for the lump-sum payment of annual leave to a DOD employee for leave that remains unused upon the employee's transfer from an installation being closed or realigned under a base closure law. (Sec. 1112) Waives the requirement for the repayment of voluntary separation incentive pay by former DOD employees who are reemployed when such employment is without pay. (Sec. 1113) Provides Federal holiday observance procedures for DOD employees when a holiday occurs on that employee's regularly scheduled day off. (Sec. 1114) Repeals Federal provisions: (1) requiring a specified percentage of hotels in which Federal employees are booked to meet fire safety and control requirements of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974; and (2) prohibiting the payment of lodging expenses of DOD employees when adequate Government facilities are available. Subtitle B: Defense Economic Adjustment, Diversification, Conversion, and Stabilization - Authorizes the Secretary to establish a pilot program under which Federal retirement benefits are provided to persons who convert from Federal employment in the Navy or Air Force to employment with a DOD contractor in connection with the privatization of the performance of functions at selected military installations being closed under the base closure and realignment process. Outlines provisions concerning: (1) eligible transferred employees; (2) applicable retirement benefits; (3) computation of average pay; (4) the payment by the military department concerned of the unfunded liability in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund caused by the addition of such benefits; (5) the termination 90 days after such transfer of Federal health benefits coverage; (6) a study and report from the Comptroller General to the Congress on each pilot program established under this section; and (7) required implementing regulations by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. (Sec. 1122) Directs (currently authorizes) the Secretary to establish a program providing assistance to terminated DOD employees and DOD contractor employees in obtaining certification and employment in the private sector as teachers and teachers' aides (known as the troops-to-teachers program). Reduces from five to two school years the period of obligated service after such assistance and certification. Title XII: Federal Charter for the Fleet Reserve Association - Recognizes and grants a Federal charter to the Fleet Reserve Association, a nonprofit organization formed to aid and maintain an adequate naval defense for the United States and assist in the recruitment and welfare of personnel in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Requires the Association to report annually to the Congress on its activities.
Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 59 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should award a Medal of Honor to Wayne T. Alderson in recognition of acts performed while serving in the U.S. Army in Germany during World War II.
Bill· HRH.R. 3489 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
Ballistic Missile Defense Act of 1996 - Declares that it is U.S. policy to develop by the year 2000 a National Missile Defense System (System) that: (1) can be deployed in 2003; (2) shall be capable of providing a highly effective defense of the United States against limited ballistic missile attacks; and (3) shall be rigorously tested during development. Sets forth, in the following order, U.S. policy regarding the priority for the development and deployment of ballistic missile defense programs: (1) maintaining the operational readiness of the armed forces and modernization of weapon systems to ensure mission effectiveness in the future; (2) completing the development and deployment of essential theater missile defense systems; and (3) developing the System by the year 2000 for deployment in the year 2003 and developing space-based sensors. Directs the Secretary, in order to implement that policy, to initiate a National Missile Defense Program which shall include: (1) a ground-based interceptor system that provides coverage of the continental United States (including Alaska) and Hawaii; (2) fixed ground-based radars; (3) space-based sensors; and (4) battle management, command, control, and communications. Specifies Program implementing and reporting requirements. Requires the President to take specified actions to: (1) defend against weapons of mass destruction by preventing the spread of fissile materials and other components; (2) reduce the threat to the United States from such weapons delivered by intercontinental ballistic missiles (including by urging Russia to ratify the START II Treaty); and (3) carry out a program to enhance U.S. capabilities relating to the threat to the United States of a chemical or biological weapons attack inside the United States by unconventional means (establishes in the executive branch an interagency task force to assess and make recommendations concerning such capabilities). Requires the President to: (1) carry out requirements of this Act in a manner consistent with the ABM Treaty; (2) seek Treaty amendments necessary to deploy the System; and (3) treat any negotiated Treaty amendment as having entered into force only if it is made in the same manner as a treaty. Specifies conditions to be satisfied in order for Treaty modifications restricting theater ballistic missile defense systems to be binding on the United States.
Bill· HRH.R. 3468 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
Biomaterials Access Assurance Act of 1996 - Provides that, in any civil action, a biomaterials supplier (one who supplies components or raw materials used to manufacture implants) may raise any defense provided under this Act. Exempts a biomaterials supplier from liability for harm to a claimant caused by an implant, with exceptions in the case of a supplier who: (1) is a registered manufacturer of the implant; (2) is a seller of the implant and who held title to the implant at the time of sale (or is related by common ownership or control to such a seller); or (3) furnishes raw materials or components that fail to meet applicable contractual requirements or specifications. States that a supplier may be considered a manufacturer of an implant, for purposes of such civil actions, only if the supplier has registered with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and included the implant on a list of devices filed pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Requires claimant payment of attorney's fees if the court finds the claim to be without merit and frivolous.
Bill· HRH.R. 3483 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
Federal Personnel Systems Reinvention Act of 1996 - Amends Federal law concerning the functions of the Office of Personnel Management to revise certain provisions, including provisions related to: (1) the duties of the Director; (2) financing certain reimbursable services from a revolving fund; and (3) reporting requirements. Repeals provisions concerning: (1) loyalty investigations; (2) granting preference to preference eligibles in the District of Columbia; and (3) the keeping of minutes by the Civil Service Commission. (Sec. 3) Authorizes Federal agencies to establish category rating systems for evaluating job applicants for positions in the competitive service. Sets forth provisions regarding details within Executive agencies and military departments, including detail of employees affected by reductions in force. (Sec. 4) Repeals performance-based cash awards for Government employees. Prohibits a senior politically appointed officer from receiving a cash award or time-off-from duty award during a presidential election period. (Sec. 5) Modifies requirements relating to demonstration projects and prescribes procedures to be followed in the House or the Senate for making a project permanent. (Sec. 6) Revises certain requirements related to the Federal dispute resolution process.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 438 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
Sets forth the rule for the consideration of H.R. 3144 (deployment of a national missile defense system).
Bill· SS. 1760 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments Title II: Locate and Case Tracking Title III: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures Title IV: Paternity Establishment Title V: Program Administration and Funding Title VI: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders Title VII: Enforcement of Support Orders Title VIII: Medical Support Title IX: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non- Residential Parents Title X: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments Child Support Improvement Act of 1996 - Title I: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive assistance under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. (Sec. 102) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 103) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. Title II: Locate and Case Tracking - Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 202) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. (Sec. 203) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 204) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 205) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 206) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and of HHS to jointly develop cost-effective methods of accessing information in the various State directories of new hires and the National Directory of New Hires, taking into account impact and cost to the States, and the need to insure authorized use of wage record information. (Sec. 207) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). Title III: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures - Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 303) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. Title IV: Paternity Establishment - Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 403) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. Title V: Program Administration and Funding - Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 502) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec. 504) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 505) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. Title VI: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders - Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 602) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 603) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for knowing or negligent violation of such prohibition. Title VII: Enforcement of Support Orders - Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 702) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the armed forces. (Sec. 704) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 705) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures to: (1) ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of an absent parent; and (4) implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 710) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 711) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of Health and Human Services as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 712) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each absent parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 713) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 714) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. Title VIII: Medical Support - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 802) Amends part D of SSA title IV to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. Title IX: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents - Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate absent parents' access to their children. Title X: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments - Sets forth effective dates and conforming amendments.
Bill· SS. 1761 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
Self Financing Civilian Marksmanship Program Act of 1996 - Repeals the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety Act (thus abolishing the Corporation), except for a provision repealing authority for the conduct of a civil marksmanship program by the Army.
Law· HRH.R. 3458 (104th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1996 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, as of December 1, 1996, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled adult children, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Requires each such increase to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date. Requires the Secretary to publish such increases in the Federal Register at the same time that the social security increases are required to be published.
Bill· HRH.R. 3460 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Patent and Trademark Office Government Corporation Subtitle A: United States Patent and Trademark Office Subtitle B: Effective Date; Technical Amendments Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions Title II: Early Publication of Patent Applications Title III: Prior Domestic Commercial Use Title IV: Inventor Protection Title V: Patent Reexamination Reform Title VI: Miscellaneous Patent Provisions Inventor Rights Protection and Patent Reform Act of 1996 - Title I: Patent and Trademark Office Government Corporation - Patent and Trademark Office Government Corporation Act of 1996 - Subtitle A: United States Patent and Trademark Office - Reestablishes the Patent and Trademark Office as a wholly owned Government corporation under the policy guidance of the Secretary of Commerce, except as otherwise provided in this title. Requires the Office to maintain an office in the District of Columbia metropolitan area. Makes the Office responsible, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, for authorizing the transfer of not to exceed $100,000 in any year to the State Department to make special payments to international intergovernmental organizations for studies and programs for advancing international cooperation concerning patents, trademarks, and related matters. Authorizes the Office to retain and use all of its revenues and receipts, subject to the Omnibus Budget and Reconciliation Act of 1980. (Sec. 113) Vests management of the Office in the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks who shall be appointed by the President for a five-year term. Directs the Commissioner to designate a Deputy Commissioner for Patents, a Deputy Commissioner for Trademarks, and an Inspector General. Exempts the Office from any administratively or statutorily imposed limitation on positions or personnel. Provides that Office employees shall not be subject to provisions governing Federal employees, except for provisions governing: (1) employment of relatives (restrictions); (2) withholding pay; (3) employment limitations; and (4) labor-management relations (under specified conditions). (Sec. 114) Requires the Office to have a Management Advisory Board to review and report annually to the President and specified congressional committees on the Office's policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees and to advise the Commissioner. (Sec. 115) Repeals provisions subjecting the Commissioner's performance (including regulations governing agents and Attorneys representing the Office) to the direction or approval of the Secretary of Commerce. (Sec. 116) Revises the composition of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to include the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner for Patents, the Deputy Commissioner for Trademarks, and appointed members. (Sec. 117) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) revised membership of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences; (2) suits by, and against, the Office; (3) annual report disclosure of the purposes for which receipts were spent; (4) the Commissioner's discretion to designate attorneys who are officers or employees of the Office to conduct hearings relating to suspension or exclusion from practice of certain individuals; (5) receipts, expenditures, and borrowing authority of the Office; (6) annual audit and congressional reporting requirements; and (7) the transfer to the Office of Department of Commerce functions, powers, duties, funds, and property related to the authority and functions which are vested in the Office by this title. Subtitle B: Effective Date; Technical Amendments - Makes this title effective four months after its enactment. (Sec. 132) Makes technical and conforming amendments. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions - Makes existing appropriations and funds for the performance of functions, programs, and activities terminated pursuant to this title available for their duration for necessary expenses in connection with such actions. Title II: Early Publication of Patent Applications - Patent Application Publication Act of 1996 - Requires each patent application, except applications for design patents and provisional applications, to be published as soon as possible after 18 months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought, except for an application that is no longer pending or one subject to a secrecy order. Permits earlier publication at the applicant's request. Prohibits disclosure of information concerning published applications except as determined by the Commissioner. Prohibits, upon request by certain independent inventors at the time of filing, the publication of rejected applications, with specified exceptions, until three months after the Commissioner notifies the applicant. Requires the applicant to certify that no application was or will be filed for the invention in a foreign country. Directs the Commissioner to establish appropriate procedures to ensure that this title does not create new opportunities for pre-issuance or pre-grant opposition that did not exist before its adoption. (Sec. 203) Entitles a patent application to claim the benefit of an earlier filing date in a foreign country if a claim, identifying the original foreign application by specifying its application number, country, and the day, month, and year of its filing, is filed in the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) at any such time during the pendency of the application as is required by the Commissioner. Allows the Commissioner to: (1) consider the failure of the applicant to file a timely claim for priority as a waiver of any such claim; (2) require the payment of a surcharge as a condition of accepting an untimely claim during such pendency; and (3) require a certified copy of the original foreign application, specification, and drawings upon which it is based, a translation if not in the English language, and such other information as necessary. Authorizes the Commissioner to determine the time period within which an amendment containing the specific reference to an earlier filed application shall be submitted. (Sec. 204) Specifies that a patent shall include the right to obtain a reasonable royalty from any person who, during the period beginning on the date of publication of the application or, in the case of an international application designating the United States, the date of its international publication until issue of the patent: (1) makes, uses, or sells in the United States the invention as claimed in the published application or imports such an invention into the United States, or if the invention as claimed in the published application is a process, uses or sells in or imports into the United States products made by that process as claimed in such application; and (2) had actual notice of the published patent application and, where the right arising under this paragraph is based upon an international application designating the United States that is published in a language other than English, a translation of such application into the English language. Makes the right to obtain a reasonable royalty unavailable unless the invention claimed in the patent is substantially identical to that claimed in the published application. Makes the right to obtain a reasonable royalty available only in an action brought within six years after the patent is issued. Specifies the commencement date of the period for obtaining a royalty based upon the publication under the treaty of an international application designating the United States. (Sec. 205) Revises Federal patent law to provide that a person shall not be entitled to a patent if the invention was described in a published patent application by another filed in the United States, or in a published international application, before the invention thereof by the applicant. Prohibits the issuance of a patent if an international application designating the United States was published under the Patent Cooperation Treaty of 1970 in the English language by another before the invention by the patent applicant. (Sec. 206) Directs the Commissioner to recover the cost of early publication by adjusting the filing, issue, and maintenance fees by charging a separate publication fee, or by any combination of such fees. (Sec. 208) Provides for the extension of the term of a patent the issue which is delayed due to an unusual administrative delay by the PTO. Limits to ten years the total duration of extensions which result from administrative or judicial review, an unusual administrative delay by PTO, or from both instances. Reduces the extension period equal to the time in which the applicant failed to engage in reasonable efforts (current law provides a reduction for lack of due diligence) to conclude processing of the application. Prohibits the extension of a patent the term of which has been disclaimed beyond the expiration date of the disclaimer. (Sec. 209) Requires the Commissioner to prescribe regulations to provide for the further limited reexamination of a patent application. Allows the Commissioner to establish appropriate fees for such activity and to provide a 50 percent reduction on the fees for small qualified entities. Title III: Prior Domestic Commercial Use - Prior Domestic Commercial Use Act of 1996 - Amends Federal patent law to create a defense to patent infringement with respect to any subject matter that would otherwise infringe one or more claims in the patent being asserted, if a person had, acting in good faith, commercially use the subject matter before the effective filing date of such patent. Specifies that the sale or other disposition of the subject matter of a patent by a person entitled to assert the defense shall exhaust the patent owner's rights to the extent they would have been exhausted had such disposition been made by the patent owner. Subjects the defense to specified limitations and qualifications, including that the defense asserted is not a general license under all claims of the patent at issue, but extends only to the subject matter claimed in the patent, and that a person may not assert such a defense unless the subject matter on which the defense is based had been commercially used or reduced to practice more than one year prior to the effective date of the filing of the patent by the person asserting the defense. Specifies other limitations regarding: (1) the burden of proof (on the person asserting the defense); (2) abandonment of use; (3) who may assert the defense (it is a personal defense); (4) unsuccessful assertion of the defense (directs the court to find the case exceptional for purposes of awarding attorney's fees); and (5) invalidity of a patent (a patent shall not be deemed invalid solely because a defense is established under this title). Title IV: Inventor Protection - Inventor Protection Act of 1996 - Requires that every contract for invention development services be in writing and that a copy of the signed written contract be given to the customer at the time the customer enters into the contract. Directs the invention developer to: (1) state in the contract whether the usual business practice is either to seek more than one contract in connection with an invention or to seek to perform services in one or more phases; and (2) supply to the customer a copy of the written document including the usual business terms of contracts and the approximate amount of the usual fees for services provided. Allows a customer to terminate the contract by sending a written letter to the invention developer stating the individual's intent to cancel. (Requires the letter to be deposited with the U.S. Postal Service on or before five business days after the execution date of the contract, whichever is later.) Calls for the invention developer or a third party representing the invention developer to deem delivery of a promissory note, check, bill of exchange, or negotiable instrument of any kind as payment on the date received. Prescribes language and information that must be included in a cover notice on every such contract. Requires the developer to deliver at quarterly intervals a written report for every contract which shall include: (1) a description of the services performed and those yet to be performed; and (2) the name and address of each entity to whom the subject matter has been disclosed. Mandates that each contract include: (1) the terms and conditions of payment and contract termination rights; (2) a statement that the customer may avoid entering into the contract by not making a payment to the developer; (3) a concise description of the specific acts or services the developer undertakes; (4) a statement as to whether the developer undertakes to construct, sell, or distribute one or more prototypes, models, or devices embodying the invention; (5) the name and place of business of the developer and any entity that may perform any of the services; (6) a statement of the developer's representation of estimated or projected customer earnings and the data upon which such representation is based; (7) the name and address of the custodian of all records and correspondence relating to the contract; and (8) a statement setting forth a schedule for performance of services. Renders any such contract voidable if it: (1) does not comply with applicable provisions; (2) is entered into in reliance upon any material false, fraudulent, or misleading information, representation, notice, or advertisement; (3) is made by an unenrolled invention developer; or (4) provides for any act involved in filing for and obtaining utility, design, or plant patent protection unless the developer offers to perform or performs such act through a registered patent attorney or agent. Deems any waiver by the customer of any provision of this chapter contrary to public policy, void, and unenforceable. Permits any customer who is injured by a developer's violation of this chapter or by any false or fraudulent statement, representation, or omission of material fact by a developer to recover in a civil action against the developer, in addition to reasonable costs and attorney's fees, the greater of $5,000 or the amount of actual damages sustained to the customer. Makes an act by invention developers who knowingly provide any false or misleading statement, representation, or omission of material fact to a customer or who fail to make all the disclosures required under this chapter a misdemeanor subject to a $10,000 fine for each offense. Title V: Patent Reexamination Reform - Patent Reexamination Reform Act of 1996 - Amends Federal patent law to expand reexamination request authority to authorize the filing of such requests by any person on the basis of patent specification requirements except for the best mode requirement. (Current law permits reexamination requests only on the basis of prior art.) Establishes procedures for reexamination proceedings based upon third-party (persons who are not the patent owner) requests. Requires documents filed in such proceedings, other than the request, to be served on all parties. Grants third-party requesters one opportunity to file written comments not less than one month after the date of service of the patent owner's response to any PTO action on the merits of reexamination. Grants third-party requesters the right to appeal final reexamination decisions on the same basis such right is available to patent owners. Estops a third-party requester who files a notice of appeal or who participates as a party to an appeal from later asserting the invalidity of any claim determined to be patentable on appeal on any ground which was or could have been raised during reexamination. Bars patent owners and third-party requesters, once an order for reexamination has been issued, from filing a subsequent reexamination request until a reexamination certificate is published. Prohibits a party, once a final decision has been entered in a civil action that the party has not sustained the burden of proving the invalidity of a patent claim, from requesting reexamination on issues that were or could have been raised in the civil action. Requires the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to review adverse decisions of examiners in reexamination proceedings and authorizes appeals to the Board by patent owners and third-party requesters with respect to reexamination decisions. Permits appeals of Board decisions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Title VI: Miscellaneous Patent Provisions - Revises provisions regarding abandonment of provisional applications to allow, notwithstanding the absence of a claim, a provisional application to be treated as a patent application, under specified conditions. (Sec. 602) Grants, under specified conditions, benefits of an earlier filing date to an invention patent application filed in this country that has previously and regularly been filed for the same invention in a foreign country which affords similar privileges in the case of applications filed in a foreign WTO member country. Grants applications for plant breeder's rights filed in such country or in a foreign UPOV Contracting Party the right of priority as a patent application, subject to the same conditions and requirements. Allows a patent to be issued for a tuber propagated plant. Provides that, in the case of a plant patent, the grant to the patentee shall have the right to exclude others from offering the reproduced plant or any of its parts for sale throughout, or importing the plant so reproduced into, the United States.
Bill· HRH.R. 3459 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
Extends through December 31, 1997, the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to sell certificates or other securities evidencing an interest in a pool of mortgage loans made to veterans under the veterans' housing loan guarantee program.
Bill· HRH.R. 3465 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments Title II: Locate and Case Tracking Title III: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures Title IV: Paternity Establishment Title V: Program Administration and Funding Title VI: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders Title VII: Enforcement of Support Orders Title VIII: Medical Support Title IX: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non- Residential Parents Title X: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments Child Support Improvement Act of 1996 - Title I: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive assistance under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. (Sec. 102) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 103) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. Title II: Locate and Case Tracking - Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 202) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. (Sec. 203) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 204) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 205) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 206) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and of HHS to jointly develop cost-effective methods of accessing information in the various State directories of new hires and the National Directory of New Hires, taking into account impact and cost to the States, and the need to insure authorized use of wage record information. (Sec. 207) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). Title III: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures - Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 303) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. Title IV: Paternity Establishment - Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 403) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. Title V: Program Administration and Funding - Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 502) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec. 504) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 505) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. Title VI: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders - Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 602) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 603) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for knowing or negligent violation of such prohibition. Title VII: Enforcement of Support Orders - Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 702) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the armed forces. (Sec. 704) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 705) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures to: (1) ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of an absent parent; and (4) implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 710) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 711) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of Health and Human Services as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 712) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each absent parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 713) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 714) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. Title VIII: Medical Support - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 802) Amends part D of SSA title IV to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. Title IX: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents - Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate absent parents' access to their children. Title X: Effective Dates and Conforming Amendments - Sets forth effective dates and conforming amendments.
Bill· HRH.R. 3457 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce, from the date of enactment of this Act until January 1, 1997, the rates of tax on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, fuel used on inland waterways, special motor fuels, and certain methanol or ethanol fuels. Prohibits the imposition of tax on compressed natural gas during that period. Reduces, for taxes imposed during that period, the rates regarding: (1) certain aviation fuel; (2) gasoline used in trains and certain buses and diesel fuel used in trains; and (3) alcohol fuels in provisions defining the Highway Trust Fund financing rate. Provides for the treatment of floor stocks. Provides for the reimposition of the tax if the reduction is not passed on to the consumer. Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) cancel budget authority in current defense procurement accounts as necessary to achieve a reduction of $2.9 billion in Department of Defense outlays; and (2) report to the Congress on the programs, projects, and activities from which cancellations are made.
Bill· HRH.R. 3466 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
Self Financing Civilian Marksmanship Program Act of 1996 - Repeals the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety Act (thus abolishing the Corporation), except for a provision repealing authority for the conduct of a civil marksmanship program by the Army.
Bill· HRH.R. 3453 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1996
Child Support Enforcement Reform Amendments of 1996 - Subtitle A: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive assistance under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. (Sec. 102) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 103) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. Subtitle B: Locate and Case Tracking - Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 112) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. (Sec. 113) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 114) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 115) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 116) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 117) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). Subtitle C: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures - Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 123) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. Subtitle D: Paternity Establishment - Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 133) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. Subtitle E: Program Administration and Funding - Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 142) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec. 144) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 145) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. Subtitle F: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders - Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 152) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 153) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for any person knowingly or negligently violating such prohibition. Subtitle G: Enforcement of Support Orders - Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 162) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces. (Sec. 164) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 165) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures: (1) to ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) to report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) to provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of a non- custodial parent; and (4) to implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 170) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 171) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of Health and Human Services as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 172) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each absent parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 173) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 174) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. Subtitle H: Medical Support - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 177) Amends part D of SSA title IV to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. Subtitle I: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non- Residential Parents - Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate absent parents' access to their children. Subtitle J: Effect of Enactment - Sets forth effective dates and conforming amendments.
Bill· SS. 1753 (104th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to suspend a special pay agreement (an agreement providing special pay for physicians and dentists entering into a period of service with the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs) in the case of a physician or dentist who enters into a residency training program. Reinstates the agreement when such physician or dentist completes, withdraws from, or is no longer a participant in the program.
Bill· SS. 1751 (104th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes the Board of Veterans' Appeals to send a copy of its written decision to a claimant by any means (currently, only by mail) reasonably calculated to provide notice within the same time that a copy of such decision sent by first-class mail would be expected to reach such claimant. Authorizes a claimant to give a power of attorney naming a veterans' organization as the claimant's representative in a claim before the Board.
Bill· SS. 1752 (104th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes medical personnel of the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs other than physicians, dentists, podiatrists, or optometrists to assume responsibility for the medical care of any patient other than a patient admitted for treatment at a Department facility.
Bill· SS. 1750 (104th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into disbursement agreements with participating medical institutions for the centralized administration of pay and other employee benefits provided to medical residents and interns training at any Department facility (currently, only at a Department hospital) providing hospital care or medical services.
Bill· SS. 1745 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Procurement Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations Subtitle B: Army Programs Subtitle C: Navy Programs Subtitle D: Air Force Programs Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations Subtitle C: Ballistic Missile Defense Subtitle D: Other Matters Subtitle E: National Oceanographic Partnership Title III: Operation and Maintenance Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations Subtitle C: Depot-Level Activities Subtitle D: Environmental Provisions Subtitle E: Other Matters Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations Subtitle A: Active Forces Subtitle B: Reserve Forces Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations Title V: Military Personnel Policy Subtitle A: Officer Personnel Policy Subtitle B: Matters Relating to Reserve Components Subtitle C: Officer Education Programs Subtitle D: Other Matters Subtitle E: Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service Subtitle F: Defense Economic Adjustment, Diversification, Conversion, and Stabilization Subtitle G: Armed Forces Retirement Home Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances Subtitle D: Retired Pay, Survivor Benefits, and Related Matters Subtitle E: Other Matters Title VII: Health Care Provisions Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management Subtitle A: General Matters Subtitle B: National Imagery and Mapping Agency Title X: General Provisions Subtitle A: Financial Matters Subtitle B: Naval Vessels and Shipyards Subtitle C: Counter-Drug Activities Subtitle D: Matters Relating to Foreign Countries Subtitle E: Miscellaneous Reporting Requirements Subtitle F: Other Matters Title XI: Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Subtitle A: Personnel Management, Pay, and Allowances Subtitle B: Defense Economic Adjustment, Diversification, Conversion, and Stabilization Title XII: Federal Charter for the Fleet Reserve Association Title XXI(sic): Army Title XXII: Navy Title XXIII: Air Force Title XXIV: Defense Agencies Title XXV: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program Title XXVI: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities Title XXVII: Expiration and Extension of Authorizations Title XXVIII: General Provisions Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes Subtitle B: Defense Base Closure and Realignment Subtitle C: Land Conveyances Title XXXI(sic): Department of Energy National Security Programs Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations Subtitle B: Recurring General Provisions Subtitle C: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations Subtitle D: Other Matters Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Title XXXIII: National Defense Stockpile Title XXXIV: Naval Petroleum Reserves Title XXXV: Panama Canal Commission National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for procurement to the armed forces for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and for other procurement. (Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for: (1) defense-wide procurement; (2) reserve procurements; (3) the Defense Inspector General; (4) the chemical demilitarization program; and (5) the Defense Health Program. (Sec. 109) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the Defense Nuclear Agency. Subtitle B: Army Programs - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to enter into multiyear procurement contracts for the Javelin missile system. (Sec. 112) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 to replace the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Logistics, and Environment) with the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Research, Development and Acquisition) on State chemical demilitarization citizens' advisory commissions. Subtitle C: Navy Programs - Requires certain certifications by the Secretary of the Navy before funds may be obligated for the EA-6B aircraft reactive jammer program. (Sec. 122) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy, with a cost limitation, to enter into multiyear procurement contracts for up to 106 Penguin missiles. (Sec. 123) Earmarks funds authorized under this Act for one remaining Seawolf attack submarine and a New Attack submarine, under specified contract and construction requirements and limitations. (Sec. 124) Makes funds available for construction of a third Arleigh Burke class destroyer under authority provided in a prior defense authorization Act, with funding limitations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to construct 12 such destroyers in accordance with specified contracting and construction requirements during FY 1998 through 2001 (allowing three destroyers to be constructed in each fiscal year). Subtitle D: Air Force Programs - Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to enter into one or more multiyear procurement contracts for the C-17 aircraft program. Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for the armed forces for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). Earmarks funds so authorized for: (1) basic research and exploratory development; and (2) the Defense Nuclear Agency. Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - Earmarks funds, with limitations, for the space launch modernization program. (Sec. 212) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to include the kinetic energy tactical antisatellite program of the Department of Defense (DOD) as an element of the space control architecture being developed by the DOD Space Architect. Provides funding limitations with respect to such program. (Sec. 213) Makes funds available for the Space-Based Infrared System program for specified purposes. Provides for the conditional transfer of management oversight of the program. (Sec. 214) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to repeal a provision earmarking funds for advanced submarine technology activities. (Sec. 215) Earmarks funds, with limitations, for the Clementine 2 micro-satellite near-Earth asteroid interception mission. (Sec. 216) Prohibits any DOD official from contracting for the procurement of a higher number of Dark Star unmanned aerial vehicles than necessary to complete procurement of a total of three of such vehicles until flight testing has been completed. (Sec. 217) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress comparing the Predator and Dark Star unmanned aerial vehicle programs. (Sec. 218) Requires a program review and report to the congressional defense and appropriations committees with respect to the F-22 aircraft. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on event-based decision making for such program for that fiscal year. (Sec. 220) Earmarks funds for joint service RDT&E of nonlethal weapons and technologies, with specified elements and limitations. (Sec. 221) Earmarks funds for the Counterproliferation Support Program, further earmarking some of such funds for a tactical antisatellite technologies program. Provides authority to transfer additional funds for such programs, with limitations. (Sec. 222) Allows funds authorized to DOD for FY 1997 to be obligated to procure work from a federally funded research and development center or a university-affiliated research center only if the Secretary names such center in a report to the defense committees and only in an amount not in excess of the proposed funding level for such center. Provides funding limits, authorizing the Secretary to waive such limits after notification to the defense committees. Subtitle C: Ballistic Missile Defense - Provides that, unless a missile defense system, upgrade, or component is ABM-qualifying flight tested, it has not been tested in an ABM mode and therefore is not subject to any application, limitation, or obligation under the ABM Treaty. (Sec. 232) Prohibits FY 1997 DOD funds from being used to implement any agreement or understanding, with respect to the ABM Treaty between the United States and the former Soviet Union, concerning limitations on the performance, operations, or deployment of U.S. theater missile defense systems. (Sec. 233) Prohibits the United States during FY 1997 from being bound by any international agreement that would convert the ABM Treaty to a multilateral treaty. (Sec. 234) Earmarks funds for specified upper tier theater missile defense systems, with a certification limitation. (Sec. 235) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to eliminate the requirement that certain items be included in an annual report concerning the ballistic missile defense program. Subtitle D: Other Matters - Authorizes alternative testing in lieu of live-fire survivability testing for the F-22 and V-22 aircraft. Provides funding for such programs. Subtitle E: National Oceanographic Partnership - National Oceanographic Partnership Act - Directs the Secretary of the Navy to establish the National Oceanographic Partnership Program to promote national security, advance economic development, protect the quality of life, and strengthen science education and communication through increased knowledge of the ocean. Establishes a National Ocean Research Council to report annually to the Congress on activities and achievements under the Program. Directs the Council to establish an Ocean Research Partnership Coordinating Group and an Ocean Research Advisory Panel to perform appropriate responsibilities as assigned by the Council. Directs the Council to select the Partnership projects eligible for support under the Program. Provides funding. Title III: Operation and Maintenance - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for operation and maintenance (O&M) for the armed forces and specified activities and agencies of DOD. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 to DOD for working capital and revolving funds. Earmarks funds so authorized for the Defense Nuclear Agency. (Sec. 304) Authorizes up to $150 million to be transferred from the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund for DOD O&M for FY 1997, to be evenly divided between the Army, Navy, and Air Force. (Sec. 305) Earmarks funds for: (1) the Civil Air Patrol; (2) search and rescue costs; and (3) the SR-71 contingency reconnaissance force. Subtitle B: Program Requirements, Restrictions, and Limitations - Authorizes funds from the National Defense Sealift Fund to be used for the purchase and conversion, or construction, of up to three ships to enhance Marine Corps prepositioning ship squadrons. Eliminates the requirement that vessels constructed using Fund amounts be built in the United States. Allows up to ten (currently, five) vessels to be purchased from foreign shipyards. (Sec. 313) Earmarks funds for the procurement of nonlethal weapons capabilities. (Sec. 314) States that no funds are authorized by this Act to be appropriated to DOD for the Coast Guard within budget subfunction 054. Subtitle C: Depot-Level Activities - Directs the Secretary to maintain within DOD currently-required logistics activities and capabilities. Requires core-logistics functions to be performed in Government-owned and operated facilities of DOD by DOD personnel using DOD equipment. (Sec. 322) Increases from 40 to 50 the percentage of all DOD depot-level maintenance and repair workloads that may be contracted out for performance by non-Federal personnel. Maintains such level at 40 percent until submission to the defense committees of a strategic plan for the performance of such maintenance and repair (such plan being required later under this Subtitle). Revises a current reporting requirement with respect to such workloads. Defines "depot- level maintenance and repair workload" for purposes of such contracting limitations. (Sec. 325) Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees a strategic plan for the performance of depot-level maintenance and repair for DOD for fiscal years 1998 through 2007. Requires the Comptroller General to review such strategic plan and report review results to such committees. (Sec. 326) Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the defense committees describing the competitive procedures used for contracting for the performance of depot-level maintenance and repair workload activities. (Sec. 327) Directs the Joint Chiefs of Staff to submit annually to the Secretary a report on the privatization of the performance of the various DOD depot-level maintenance workloads. Requires the Secretary to report in turn to the Congress on such matters. (Sec. 328) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 to extend through FY 1997 the authority for naval shipyards and aviation depots to engage in defense-related production and services. (Sec. 329) Limits the expenditure of funds for F-18 aircraft depot maintenance until the Secretary reports to the defense and appropriations committees on aviation depot maintenance. (Sec. 330) Prohibits the Secretary, until taking specified action and reporting to the Congress, from contracting for the performance by a private source of any of the depot maintenance currently performed at the Sacramento or San Antonio Air Logistics Centers. Subtitle D: Environmental Provisions - Establishes in DOD a separate Environmental Restoration Account for each of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. (Currently, there is only a Defense Environmental Account, which continues.) Requires sums appropriated for environmental restoration in each military department to be deposited into such accounts. (Sec. 342) Requires the top 20 defense contractors (currently, 100) in terms of dollar volume to be included in an annual report from the Secretary to the Congress on payments made to defense contractors for the costs of environmental response actions. (Sec. 343) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 to repeal certain redundant notification and certification requirements regarding remedial investigations and feasibility studies at certain installations to be closed under the base closure laws. (Sec. 344) Authorizes the Secretary to pay to the Hazardous Substance Superfund stipulated civil penalties assessed against various military facilities and installations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). (Sec. 345) Amends CERCLA to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to withhold the listing of a Federal facility on a national environmental cleanup priorities list if the head of such facility has arranged with the Administrator to respond appropriately to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance. Authorizes the Administrator or the governor of a State to transfer contaminated Federal property before the completion of required remedial actions under CERCLA if the Administrator or governor determines that the property is suitable for transfer and there are assurances that all remaining remedial actions will be taken after such transfer. (Sec. 348) Amends the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships to allow military vessels to dispose in the ocean certain non-plastic, non- floating garbage if the Secretary of the Navy determines that such ship cannot fully comply with the non-dumping requirements of such Act due to technological infeasibility or impairment of the ship's operations or operational capability. Requires each ship which the Navy plans to decommission between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2005, to comply to the greatest extent practicable with the ocean dumping limitations of the Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that it should be an objective of the Navy to fully comply with such dumping requirements and to develop ships that are environmentally sound. (Sec. 349) Authorizes the Secretary and the Secretaries of the military departments to enter into cooperative agreements with States, local governments, and appropriate public and private entities to provide for the preservation, management, maintenance, and rehabilitation of cultural resources on military installations. (Sec. 350) Directs the Secretary to submit to the defense and appropriations committees a report that assesses the effects of the proposed withdrawal of public lands at El Centro Naval Air Facility, California, on the operational and training requirements of DOD at that facility. (Sec. 351) Amends the Act commonly known as the Sikes Act to allow hunting and fishing fees collected at closed military installations to be available for expenditure at any other military reservation for the protection, conservation, and management of fish and wildlife located there. Subtitle E: Other Matters - Authorizes the contracting out for fire fighting and security guard functions at a private facility at which a Federal activity is located pursuant to a lease of such facility to the Federal Government. (Sec. 362) Authorizes DOD recruitment funds to be expended for small meals and refreshments provided to specified individuals during personnel recruiting functions. (Sec. 363) Prohibits the Secretary from using other-than- competitive procedures for the procurement of brand-name commercial items for resale in commissary stores unless such item is regularly sold outside such stores under the same brand name. (Sec. 364) Authorizes the Superintendent of the Naval Academy to administer a nonappropriated fund account for the midshipmen's store, specified shops, and the laundry and dairy. (Sec. 365) Increases the assistance authorized to be provided by the Secretary to the Inaugural Committee to include planning and assistance with respect to security and ceremonial activities, and any other appropriate assistance. (Currently, only the loan of equipment is authorized.) Includes a congressional joint committee as an authorized recipient of such assistance. (Sec. 366) Allows the Secretary to authorize the commander of a military installation or other DOD facility, or the commander of a specified or unified combatant command, to provide assistance for the World Cup Games, the Goodwill Games, the Olympics, and any other major civilian sporting event in support of essential security and safety at such event, but only under appropriate agreements with event sponsors. Excludes the Special Olympics or Paralympics from such authorized assistance. (Sec. 367) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer DOD funds to the Administrator of General Services for the renovation of Building One at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, for use as a Defense Finance and Accounting Service Center. Title IV: Military Personnel Authorizations - Subtitle A: Active Forces - Provides the authorized end strengths for active-duty forces as of the end of FY 1997. Increases from 0.5 to five the percentage of temporary variation in such levels. (Sec. 403) Provides the authorized end strengths for commissioned officers in grades O-4 through O-6. (Sec. 404) Extends through FY 2000 the requirement for recommendations to the Secretary for appointments to joint 4-star officer positions. (Sec. 405) Increases from 68 to 80 the authorized number of active-duty general officers in the Marine Corps. Subtitle B: Reserve Forces - Sets forth the authorized end strengths as of the end of FY 1997 for members of the Selected Reserve and reserve personnel on active duty in support of the reserves. Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for military personnel. Title V: Military Personnel Policy - Subtitle A: Officer Personnel Policy - Extends through FY 1997 the authority for the temporary promotion of Navy lieutenants possessing critical skills. (Sec. 502) Provides an exception to the baccalaureate degree requirement for appointments above the Naval Reserve grade of O-2 in the case of appointments of officers to the Seaman to Admiral Program. (Sec. 503) Increases from three to eight years since graduation from an unaccredited educational institution the time period for such graduates to be considered educationally qualified for appointment as reserve officers in grade O-3. (Sec. 504) Reduces from three to two years the minimum time in grade before chief warrant officers on the active-duty list may be considered for promotion. Authorizes the selection of chief warrant officers from below their promotion zone. (Sec. 505) Reduces from semiannually to annually the required frequency of a periodic report on promotion rates of officers currently or formerly serving in joint duty assignments. Subtitle B: Matters Relating to Reserve Components - Amends the Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act to allow a person who has completed at least six months of satisfactory service as an adjutant or assistant adjutant general but was terminated under State law before completion of three years of such service to be retired in the higher grade of such position, notwithstanding that he or she had not completed three years of such service. Provides grade recognition, for retirement credit purposes, for other persons promoted to higher positions who did not serve in such positions, but instead served in other positions for which the promoted grade is the minimum authorized grade for the position in which the person actually served. (Sec. 513) Repeals the requirement for physical examinations of members of the National Guard called into Federal service. (Sec. 514) Authorizes reserve personnel within two years of retirement eligibility to waive the prohibition against the involuntary release of such members within such period. (Sec. 515) Provides for the retirement of reserve personnel disabled by injury or disease incurred or aggravated while remaining overnight between inactive duty training periods. (Sec. 516) Provides reserve duty credit for participation in the Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program if the person completes the course of study, completes the active duty obligation, and possesses a specialty designated as one critically needed in wartime. (Sec. 517) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the current and projected force structure of the National Guard and other reserve components. Subtitle C: Officer Education Programs - Increases the maximum age limit before appointment to: (1) the Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, to less than 27 years of age; and (2) a military service academy, to less than 23 years of age. (Sec. 522) Directs the Secretary of the Army to carry out, and report to the Congress in each of 1998 through 2001 on, a demonstration project assessing the feasibility and advisability of providing instruction and other support to units of the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps through members of the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. Terminates such authority four years after enactment of this Act. Subtitle D: Other Matters - Allows not more than 25 (currently, 15) formerly retired general or flag officers of an armed force to be serving on active duty concurrently pursuant to orders issued by the Secretary of such military department. Provides exceptions and limits to the periods of recalled service. (Sec. 533) Provides disability coverage for officers granted excess leave in order to participate in an educational program. Entitles such members to eligibility for: (1) placement on the temporary disability retirement list; and (2) separation from the armed forces. (Sec. 534) Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations setting forth uniform policies and procedures regarding the retention of military personnel who are permanently nonworldwide assignable for medical reasons. (Sec. 535) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to extend the normal one-year authorized waiting period before entry under the delayed entry program for an additional 180 days if such Secretary determines the additional period to be in the best interests of that armed force. (Sec. 536) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to accept a reenlistment for: (1) a member who has less than ten years of service, for at least two but not more than six additional years; and (2) a member with at least ten years of service, for the above period or for an unspecified period. (Sec. 537) Repeals the applicability of military missing person provisions to DOD civilian and contractor employees who accompany an armed force into action. Increases from 48 hours to ten days after a unit commander concludes that a person should be in a missing status the time period permitted prior to a required preliminary report to the Secretary concerned on such person's status. Repeals the requirement that counsel represent a missing persons during inquiries as to their status. Requires subsequent reviews concerning a person's declared status to be made upon receipt of information that may result in a change of such status (Currently, such reviews are required every three years.) Repeals: (1) statutory penalties for the wrongful withholding of information as to a person's status; (2) the right of judicial review of a missing or dead status determination; and (3) the inclusion of certain information upon a determination of death of a missing person. (Sec. 538) States that the three-year statute of limitations for filing claims for the correction of military records is not extended by reason of military service, but provides an exception in the interests of justice. (Sec. 539) Authorizes the President, notwithstanding specified time limitations, to award the Medal of Honor to certain named individuals for acts of heroism while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Subtitle E: Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service - Applies to an officer in the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service a current prohibition on crediting enlisted service performed as a cadet or midshipman as service as an officer in the armed forces. (Sec. 562) Amends the Public Health Service Act to except from Public Health Service commissioned officer end strength limitations those officers who are assigned to duty in DOD. Subtitle F: Defense Economic Adjustment, Diversification, Conversion, and Stabilization - Makes permanent the current conditional authority to expand the DOD law enforcement personnel placement assistance program to include fire fighters. (Sec. 572) Requires (currently, authorizes) the Secretary, and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard, to establish a program providing assistance to separated military personnel to obtain certification and employment as teachers or teachers' aides. Reduces from five to two school years the period in which such former member must agree to be employed in such a position after receiving such assistance. Reduces the amount required to be paid by the Secretary concerned to the local educational agency as part of the salary of such teachers or teachers' aides. Subtitle G: Armed Forces Retirement Home - Amends the Armed Forces Retirement Home Act of 1991 to authorize the Chairman of the Retirement Home Board or the director of each individual establishment of the Armed Forces Retirement Home to accept voluntary services from any person, unless such services are disapproved by the Board. Provides voluntary service requirements and limitations, as well as the Federal employee status of such persons while performing such services. Allows such Chairman or director to reimburse such volunteers for incidental expenses incurred in providing such services. (Sec. 583) Authorizes the Retirement Home Board to sell or otherwise dispose of specified property under their control in Washington, D.C., under specified terms and conditions, including a required notification to the defense committees of any such disposals. (Sec. 584) Provides for the terms of appointment for members of Retirement Home governing boards. Authorizes the Board to waive certain dual compensation prohibitions with respect to the director of an individual retirement home or one of its employees, allowing for the adjustment of such pay in consideration of the dual compensation. (Sec. 585) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 to delay until the end of FY 1998 the implementation of a new fee structure for residents of the military retirement homes (delays similarly the end date of a series of three reports with respect to such fee implementation). Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on meeting the funding needs of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in a manner that is fair and equitable to its residents as well as to members of the armed forces who provide required monthly contributions for the Home. (Sec. 586) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 from the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund for the operation of the Home. Title VI: Compensation and Other Personnel Benefits - Subtitle A: Pay and Allowances - Waives any FY 1997 military pay increases tied to increases in the General Schedule of Compensation for Government employees. Increases by 3.0 percent, effective on January 1, 1997, the rates of basic pay and basic allowance for subsistence. Increases by 4.0 percent, on the same date, the rate of basic allowance for quarters (BAQ). (Sec. 602) Repeals the requirement that the rate of monthly cadet and midshipman pay be adjusted in the same manner and time as the rates of monthly basic pay to military personnel. (Sec. 603) Authorizes senior noncommissioned officers who are hospitalized to continue to be entitled to the basic pay authorized for such members for up to 180 days after commencement of such hospitalization. (Sec. 604) Authorizes a BAQ for certain members (single or married personnel of specified grades) assigned to sea duty. (Sec. 606) Authorizes a family separation allowance for a member who is separated from a spouse who is also a member of the armed forces if the member has no dependents and the two members were residing together immediately before such separation. (Sec. 607) Authorizes the Comptroller General to waive certain time limitations with respect to claims for military pay or allowances of $25,000 or less. Subtitle B: Bonuses and Special and Incentive Pays - Extends through FY 1998 specified authorities currently scheduled to expire at the end of FY 1997 with respect to certain special pay and bonus programs within the regular and reserve armed forces. (Sec. 614) Increases the special pay for dental officers of armed forces. (Sec. 615) Repeals the requirement limiting special pay for optometrists to optometrists in the armed forces (thereby qualifying Public Health Service optometrists for such pay). (Sec. 616) Authorizes special pay as nonphysician health care providers for officers in the Regular or Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service. (Sec. 617) Authorizes the payment of foreign language proficiency pay for officers of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Currently, such pay is limited to officers in the armed forces.) Subtitle C: Travel and Transportation Allowances - Authorizes the payment of a travel expense for travel from a new duty station to the port of debarkation to pick up a privately owned vehicle. (Sec. 622) Allows a member authorized to have a vehicle shipped to a foreign country due to a change of duty station to store such vehicle at Government expense in lieu of such shipping when the government of such foreign country precludes the entry of such vehicle or requires extensive vehicle modification before such entry is permitted. (Sec. 623) Authorizes a member to defer travel leave permitted between consecutive tours of duty for up to one additional year due to participation in a contingency operation. (Sec. 624) Provides funding for the transportation of household effects of members of the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service. Subtitle D: Retired Pay, Survivor Benefits, and Related Matters - Repeals a provision providing a conditional effective date for the FY 1998 military retirement pay cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). (Sec. 632) Authorizes a member or former member, subject to specified conditions and restrictions, to transfer or assign such member's retired or retainer pay account when it becomes due and payable for the payment of any financial obligations. (Sec. 633) States that Survivor Benefit Plan COLAs shall become effective concurrently with the payment of related military retirement pay COLAs. (Sec. 634) Directs the Secretary concerned to pay an annuity to the qualified surviving spouse of each member of the armed forces who: (1) died before March 21, 1974, and was entitled to retired or retainer pay on such date; or (2) was a member of the reserves between September 21, 1972, and October 1, 1978, and at the time of death would have been entitled to retired pay but for the fact of being under 60 years of age. (Sec. 635) Increases the annual income limitation for purposes of eligibility for supplemental income for certain spouses of former military personnel. Subtitle E: Other Matters - Authorizes military personnel and members of the Coast Guard to be reimbursed for adoption expenses incurred through any adoption source (private source) if the adoption is supervised by a court under a State or local law. (Sec. 642) Authorizes the withholding for Federal income tax purposes of amounts from the separation pay received by involuntarily separated military personnel. Title VII: Health Care Provisions - Revises the implementation deadline with respect to the requirement for a Selected Reserve dental insurance plan. (Sec. 702) Provides a dental insurance plan for: (1) members and former members entitled to retired or retainer pay; (2) members of the Retired Reserve who would be eligible for such pay except for not having attained 60 years of age; and (3) eligible dependents of (1) and (2), above. Outlines provisions concerning premiums, benefits, and coverage. Provides for the continuation during the enrollment period of benefits to dependents upon the death of an enrollee. (Sec. 703) Directs the Secretary to take necessary action to provide a uniform software package for use by providers of health care under the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) and by military treatment facilities for the computerized processing of information. (Sec. 704) Revises certain DOD authority with respect to the receipt of payments or reimbursement from third party health insurance providers for care provided to military personnel and their dependents at military treatment facilities under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). (Sec. 706) Provides for the crediting of amounts collected in the administration of CHAMPUS. (Sec. 707) Directs the Comptroller General to analyze the effectiveness of the medical research and clinical care programs of DOD that relate to Persian Gulf illnesses, including the use of experimental drugs, and to report study results to the Congress. Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters - Earmarks funds authorized under this Act for DOD procurement technical assistance programs. (Sec. 802) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year: (1) 1991 to extend through FY 1998 the Mentor-Protege pilot program; and (2) 1994 to modify and extend through FY 2001 the authority of DOD to carry out prototype projects directly relevant to proposed weapons or weapon systems. (Sec. 804) Repeals specified provisions relating to program requirements and administration of a national defense program for analysis of the defense technology and industrial base (base). Directs the Secretary to annually prepare selected assessments of the capability of such base to attain required national security objectives. Repeals the requirement of a periodic defense capability plan under such base. Directs the Secretary to prescribe departmental guidance for the attainment of specified national security objectives in connection with such base. Requires annual reports to the defense committees. Repeals superseded and inconsistent Federal provisions. (Sec. 805) Authorizes the Secretary to require that the procurement of small arms parts and modifications be made only from firms listed in a specified plan prepared by an independent assessment panel of the Army Science Board. (Sec. 807) Treats a DOD cable television franchise agreement as a contract for telecommunications services under the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (Sec. 808) Provides reinstatement and other remedies for employees against whom certain reprisal actions are taken for providing information as to possible violations of law (whistle blowers). (Sec. 809) Directs the Secretary to include in a currently- required report specified matters relating to information resources management by the Federal Government. Directs the Secretary to ensure that all information technology acquired by DOD pursuant to contracts entered into after September 30, 1996, have certain capabilities relating to the fault-free processing of dates and date-related data. Requires a report to the Congress. Title IX: Department of Defense Organization and Management - Subtitle A: General Matters - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to repeal provisions requiring a reorganization of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. (Sec. 902) Codifies requirements provided under prior law with respect to: (1) the continued operation of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, as well as the required end strengths for University personnel; and (2) the requirements for a United States Army Reserve Command and the assignment of forces under such Command. (Sec. 904) Authorizes the President, through the Secretary of Defense (currently, the Secretary of the Army) to assume control over transportation systems in times of war. (Sec. 905) Directs the Secretary to perform oversight responsibilities within the executive branch with respect to clandestine activities of DOD human intelligence personnel. (Sec. 906) Designates the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency as the Director of Military Intelligence. Establishes within DOD a Military Intelligence Board as the principal forum for coordination of DOD intelligence programs and activities. (Sec. 907) Redesignates the: (1) Office of Naval Records and History Fund as the Naval Historical Center Fund; and (2) Office of Naval Records and History as the Naval Historical Center. Subtitle B: National Imagery and Mapping Agency - National Imagery and Mapping Agency Act of 1996 - Part I: Establishment - Establishes the National Imagery and Mapping Agency as a combat support agency of DOD, with a Director appointed by the President. Requires the Agency to: (1) provide timely, relevant, and accurate imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial information in support of U.S. national security objectives; (2) improve the means of navigating vessels of the Navy and merchant marine; (3) prepare and distribute maps, charts, and related products; and (4) support the imagery requirements of the Department of State and other Federal departments and agencies outside of DOD. Authorizes the Agency Director to use appropriated funds to provide foreign countries with imagery intelligence and geospatial information support. Requires support of Agency activities by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), including administrative and contract services as well as the detail of appropriate personnel. Prohibits the CIA Inspector General from conducting any inspection, investigation, or audit of the Agency without the written consent of the DOD Inspector General. Provides for the protection of Agency identifications (acronyms) and organizational information. Empowers the Secretary with civilian personnel management authority with respect to Agency employees, including the authority to hire personnel, fix the rates of pay and authorized allowances and COLAs, and to terminate employees. Authorizes the Secretary to designate National Imagery and Mapping Senior Level positions. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a National Imagery and Mapping Senior Executive Service for senior civilian personnel within the Agency, under specified requirements. Provides related authorities, including details and assignments outside the Agency as well as labor and management bargaining rights and obligations. Requires congressional oversight of the Agency as a combat support agency. Transfers specified missions and functions within DOD (the Defense Mapping Agency and the Central Imagery Office) and the CIA (the National Photographic Interpretation Center) to the Agency, including related personnel and other assets. (Sec. 923) Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to direct the Secretary to perform various imagery functions through the Agency in furtherance of national security. Provides other personnel management authorities. (Sec. 925) Provides creditable civilian service for current Defense Mapping Agency employees who continue their service with the new Agency. Provides savings provisions. (Sec. 928) Authorizes appropriations for the Agency for FY 1997. Part II: Conforming Amendments and Effective Dates - Makes technical and conforming amendments necessitated by the creation of the Agency and the termination of the Defense Mapping Agency and the Central Imagery Office. Provides an effective date. Title X: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Financial Matters - Authorizes the Secretary, in the national interest, to transfer amounts of authorizations made available to DOD in this Division for FY 1997 between any such authorizations for that fiscal year, with a total transfer limit of $2 billion. Requires notification to the Congress of any such transfers. (Sec. 1002) Authorizes certain unauthorized FY 1996 defense appropriations to be obligated for DOD programs, projects, and activities in accordance with FY 1996 defense appropriations. (Sec. 1003) Adjusts the amounts authorized to DOD for FY 1996 by the amount by which appropriations pursuant to such authorization were increased or decreased in the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996. (Sec. 1004) Allows FY 1997 DOD funds transferred to the Coast Guard to be used only for the performance of national security functions of the Coast Guard in support of DOD, requiring a certification of the proper use of such funds. (Sec. 1005) Authorizes the use of DOD funds for the military education and training of military and civilian personnel of foreign countries (under the military-to-military contacts program). (Sec. 1006) Authorizes the payment of certain personnel, equipment, services, and supplies expenses related to the provision by DOD of humanitarian and civic assistance. (Sec. 1007) Prohibits DOD funds appropriated for intelligence activities from being obligated or expended by an individual who is not an officer or employee of DOD. (Sec. 1008) Prohibits funds authorized under this Act or otherwise made available to the Navy for FY 1997 from being obligated or expended by the Office of Naval Intelligence for official representation activities or related activities. (Sec. 1009) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, whenever the President directs the Secretary to provide disaster assistance outside the United States, the President should direct the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to reimburse DOD for such costs. (Sec. 1010) Provides a Fisher House Trust Fund for the Navy, funds from which shall be used for the operation of Fisher houses (houses located near a military medical treatment facility and used for the temporary lodging of patients of such facility and their immediate family). (Sec. 1011) Provides for the designation and liability of Coast Guard disbursing and certifying officials. Places authority over such officials with the Department of Transportation when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy. (Sec. 1012) Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to suspend an action by the Secretary to collect a claim against a deceased member of the Coast Guard when considered appropriate. (Sec. 1013) Authorizes a Federal disbursing official to undertake check cashing and other exchange transactions at a Federal credit union that is operating at DOD invitation in a foreign country where contractor-operated military banking facilities are not available. Subtitle B: Naval Vessels and Shipyards - Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to transfer to the governments of Egypt, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Taiwan, and Thailand specified naval vessels. Directs such Secretary to require that any required repair or refurbishment of such vessels take place at a U.S. shipyard, including a Navy shipyard. Terminates the transfer authority two years after enactment of this Act. (Sec. 1022) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to transfer six obsolete Navy tugboats to the Northeast Wisconsin Railroad Transportation Commission. (Sec. 1023) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to repeal the requirement of the continuous applicability of phased maintenance contracts for AE-class ships. (Sec. 1024) Reaffirms the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Navy should plan for and budget to provide for the acquisition of 19 large, medium-speed, roll-on, roll-off vessels rather than only 17 such vessels (as in the current contract). Subtitle C: Counter-Drug Activities - Authorizes the Secretary to provide additional counter-drug support to the Government of Mexico during FY 1997. Provides funding. (Sec. 1032) Prohibits DOD funds from this or any other Act from being obligated or expended for the National Drug Intelligence Center, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with an exception. Requires a joint investigation of the operations of such Center by various inspectors general and a report to the Congress on the results of such investigation. Subtitle D: Matters Relating to Foreign Countries - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with the governments of U.S. allies and other friendly foreign countries for the exchange of military and civilian personnel of DOD with similar personnel of such foreign governments. (Sec. 1042) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide for the reciprocal exchange of personnel between the United States and foreign countries for attendance at flight training schools or programs. (Sec. 1043) Amends the Weapons of Mass Destruction Control Act of 1992 to extend through FY 1998 the authority to support international nonproliferation activities. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous Reporting Requirements - Requires an annual report from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to the defense committees on emerging operational concepts. (Sec. 1052) Requires the Secretary to report to the defense committees on a joint war fighting science and technology plan. (Sec. 1053) Directs the JCS Chairman to report to the defense and appropriations committees on the military readiness requirements of the armed forces. Requires such report to be prepared by the Chief of Staff (Commandant, for the Marines) of each armed force. Subtitle F: Other Matters - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to except from the competitive service appointments to certain nonattorney positions on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. (Sec. 1062) Prohibits DOD funds from being obligated or expended during FY 1997 for retiring or dismantling B-52H bomber aircraft, Trident ballistic missile submarines, Minuteman II ICBMs, or Peacekeeper ICBMs. Authorizes a waiver of such prohibition when determined necessary to implement the START II Treaty. (Sec. 1063) Corrects legal and statutory references with respect to the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Defense Distribution Depot, Anniston, Alabama. (Sec. 1064) Authorizes certain members of the reserves to act as a notary public or U.S. consul. (Sec. 1065) Authorizes military personnel to use non-Government facilities for training activities. (Sec. 1066) Provides that if a member of the armed forces is injured or contracts a disease under circumstances creating a tort liability upon a third person, and such member is unable to perform his or her duties as a result of such injury or disease, then the United States shall have a right of recovery against such third person for the value of pay that accrues to such member for the period in which they are incapacitated. (Sec. 1067) Prohibits DOD funds from being used to adopt or enforce any rule or other prohibition that discriminates against the display of the flag of a particular State, territory, or possession of the United States at an official ceremony at any installation or other facility of DOD at which the official flags of other U.S. States, territories, or possessions are being displayed. (Sec. 1068) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) accept gifts and donations from foreign governments and other individuals or entities within foreign countries in order to defray the costs of operation of the George C. Marshall European Center for Strategic Security Studies; (2) permit representatives of a foreign government to participate in a program at the Center when found to be in the U.S. national interest; and (3) waive certain financial disclosure requirements for a foreign member of the Board of Visitors of the Center serving without compensation. (Sec. 1069) Authorizes the Speaker of the House and President pro temp of the Senate to jointly present a bronze medal (previously awarded only to military personnel) to certain civilian participants in the defense of Pearl Harbor. Authorizes appropriations. Makes such authority effective as of November 5, 1990. (Sec. 1070) Redesignates the Nellis Federal Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the Michael O'Callaghan Federal Hospital. (Sec. 1071) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary should name Building A at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences as the David Packard Building. Title XI: Department of Defense Civilian Personnel - Subtitle A: Personnel Management, Pay, and Allowances - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to direct the Secretary, by the end of FY 1996, to convert 3,000 military positions to civilian positions. (Sec. 1102) Authorizes the Secretary to retain civilian employee positions of DOD at a military installation which is to be closed and which is scheduled for transfer during FY 1997 to National Guard operation and control, in order to facilitate active and reserve component training at such installation. Limits the maximum number of positions retained to 20 percent of the Federal civilian work force employed at such installation as of September 8, 1995. (Sec. 1104) Authorizes the Secretary to provide DOD civilian employees (and their family members) abroad with benefits comparable to those provided by the Secretary of State to members of the Foreign Service serving abroad. (Sec. 1105) Authorizes an employee of a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of DOD or the Coast Guard who moves, without a break in service of more than three days, to a position in DOD or the Coast Guard to receive travel, transportation, and related expenses under the same conditions and to the same extent as regular DOD or Coast Guard employees. (Sec. 1106) Amends the Defense Department Overseas Pay and Personnel Practices Act to require the Secretary of the military department concerned (currently, the Secretary of Defense) to conduct the employment and salary practices applicable to teachers employed overseas in that department. (Sec. 1107) Authorizes the Secretary to employ appropriate teaching faculty at the English Language Center of the Defense Language Institute and the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. (Sec. 1108) Authorizes the Secretary to provide reimbursement to DOD domestic dependent school board members for expenses incurred in the performance of school board duties. (Sec. 1109) Extends through FY 2001 the authority for civilian DOD employees to participate in voluntary DOD reductions-in-force. (Sec. 1110) Authorizes an agency head to grant employee compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay for time spent in irregular or overtime work. (Sec. 1111) Provides for the lump-sum payment of annual leave to a DOD employee for leave that remains unused upon the employee's transfer from an installation being closed or realigned under a base closure law. (Sec. 1112) Waives the requirement for the repayment of voluntary separation incentive pay by former DOD employees who are reemployed when such employment is without pay. (Sec. 1113) Provides Federal holiday observance procedures for DOD employees when a holiday occurs on that employee's regularly scheduled day off. (Sec. 1114) Repeals Federal provisions: (1) requiring a specified percentage of hotels in which Federal employees are booked to meet fire safety and control requirements of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974; and (2) prohibiting the payment of lodging expenses of DOD employees when adequate Government facilities are available. Subtitle B: Defense Economic Adjustment, Diversification, Conversion, and Stabilization - Authorizes the Secretary to establish a pilot program under which Federal retirement benefits are provided to persons who convert from Federal employment in the Navy or Air Force to employment with a DOD contractor in connection with the privatization of the performance of functions at selected military installations being closed under the base closure and realignment process. Outlines provisions concerning: (1) eligible transferred employees; (2) applicable retirement benefits; (3) computation of average pay; (4) the payment by the military department concerned of the unfunded liability in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund caused by the addition of such benefits; (5) the termination 90 days after such transfer of Federal health benefits coverage; (6) a study and report from the Comptroller General to the Congress on each pilot program established under; and (7) required implementing regulations by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. (Sec. 1122) Directs (currently authorizes) the Secretary to establish a program providing assistance to terminated DOD employees and DOD contractor employees in obtaining certification and employment in the private sector as teachers and teachers' aides (known as the troops-to-teachers program). Reduces from five to two school years the period of obligated service after such assistance and certification. Title XII: Federal Charter for the Fleet Reserve Association - Recognizes and grants a Federal charter to the Fleet Reserve Association, a nonprofit organization formed to aid and maintain an adequate naval defense for the United States and assist in the recruitment and welfare of personnel in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Requires the Association to report annually to the Congress on its activities. Division B: Military Construction Authorizations - Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 - Title XXI(sic): Army - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to acquire real property and carry out military construction projects in specified amounts at specified installations and locations. Authorizes the Secretary to construct or acquire family housing units, to carry out architectural planning and design activities, and to improve existing military family housing in specified amounts. Authorizes appropriations to the Army for fiscal years after 1996 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of the Army. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title. Title XXII: Navy - Provides, with respect to the Navy, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army under the previous title. (Sec. 2204) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to make advances to the Secretary of Transportation for the construction of defense access roads. Title XXIII: Air Force - Provides, with respect to the Air Force, authorizations paralleling those provided for the Army. Title XXIV: Defense Agencies - Authorizes the Secretary to acquire real property and carry out military construction projects in specified amounts at specified installations and locations. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out architectural planning and design activities and to improve existing military family housing units, in specified amounts. (Sec. 2404) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund and the Department of Defense Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement Fund, for appropriate uses. (Sec. 2405) Authorizes the Secretary to carry out certain energy conservation projects. (Sec. 2406) Authorizes appropriations to DOD for fiscal years after 1996 for military construction, land acquisition, and military family housing functions of DOD. Limits the total cost of construction projects authorized by this title. Title XXV: North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program - Authorizes the Secretary to make contributions for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program and authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 1996 for such contributions. (Sec. 2503) Redesignates the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Infrastructure Program as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program. Title XXVI: Guard and Reserve Forces Facilities - Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after 1996 for the Guard and Reserve forces for acquisition, architectural and engineering services, and construction of facilities. Title XXVII: Expiration and Extension of Authorizations - Terminates all authorizations contained in titles XXI through XXVI of this Act on October 1, 1999, or the date of enactment of an Act authorizing funds for military construction for FY 2000, whichever is later, with exceptions. Extends certain prior-year military construction projects. Title XXVIII: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Military Construction Program and Military Family Housing Changes - Increases threshold amounts for unspecified minor military construction projects. (Sec. 2802) Authorizes day-to-day maintenance and repair of military family housing. Includes under authorized military family housing activities the building of drives into such facilities. (Sec. 2803) Authorizes the Secretary concerned to grant easements for rights-of-way for electric poles and lines and for communications lines and facilities. Subtitle B: Defense Base Closure and Realignment - Amends the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act to authorize the Secretary to transfer real property or facilities at military installations closed or realigned under a base closure law to a military department or other entity within DOD or the Coast Guard. (Sec. 2812) Amends the above Act and the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (together, the base closure laws) to: (1) provide for the deposit of proceeds from the disposal of commissary stores and nonappropriated fund instrumentalities at installations closed or realigned under a base closure law; (2) authorize the Secretary to use such amounts for the acquisition, construction, or improvement of such stores and instrumentalities; and (3) authorize the Secretary to enter into agreements for services at such installations after their closure or realignment. Subtitle C: Land Conveyances - Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and the Army to undertake a specified land exchange within the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. (Sec. 2822) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer to the United States Institute for Peace administrative jurisdiction over the Potomac Annex in Washington, D.C. (Sec. 2823) Authorizes the Secretary of the: (1) Army to convey to Montpelier, Vermont, the Army Reserve Center in Montpelier; (2) Navy to convey to Delaware the former Naval Reserve Facility in Lewes, Delaware; (3) Air Force to convey to the Belle Fourche School District, South Dakota, the Air Force radar bomb scoring site in Belle Fourche; (4) Air Force to convey to an appropriate entity the primate research complex at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico; and (5) Air Force to carry out a demonstration project for the installation and operation by private entities of an electric power distribution system at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Youngstown, Ohio. Division C: Department of Energy National Security Authorizations and Other Authorizations - Title XXXI(sic): Department of Energy National Security Programs - Subtitle A: National Security Programs Authorizations - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 1997 for operating expenses, plant projects, and capital equipment necessary in carrying out the following activities for national security programs: (1) weapons activities; (2) environmental restoration and waste management; (3) other defense activities; and (4) nuclear waste disposal. Subtitle B: Recurring General Provisions - Prohibits the use of funds appropriated pursuant to this title for: (1) the cost of a program exceeding 110 percent of the program authorization or $1 million more than the amount authorized, whichever is the lesser; or (2) programs which have not been presented to, or requested of, the Congress, unless the Secretary of Energy (Secretary, for purposes of this Division) transmits to the appropriate congressional committees a full statement of the action proposed and 30 days have since expired. (Sec. 3122) Places certain funding limits (requiring congressional reports when amounts exceed such limits) for general plant and construction projects of DOE. Provides fund transfer authority (requiring congressional notification of any such transfer). (Sec. 3125) Directs the Secretary, before submitting a funding request for a construction project in support of a DOE national security program, to complete a conceptual design for such project. Requires a separate funding request for such designs for which the estimated costs exceed $3 million. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out construction design services in connection with any proposed construction project if the total estimated cost for the design does not exceed $600,000. Requires specific authorization by law for designs that exceed such amount. (Sec. 3126) Authorizes the use of DOE funds for planning, design, and construction activities for any DOE national security program that must proceed expeditiously in order to protect public health and safety, meet the needs of national defense, or protect property. Requires the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees when funds are so used. Makes funds for management and support activities and for general plant projects under this Subtitle available for all DOE national security programs. Subtitle C: Program Authorizations, Restrictions, and Limitations - Requires the Secretary to make a final decision during FY 1997 on the technologies to be utilized, and the accelerated schedule to be adopted, for tritium production in order to meet the requirements of a certain Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Memorandum. Requires a report to the Congress. Earmarks funds authorized under this title for such activities. (Sec. 3132) Directs the Secretary to carry out activities to modernize and consolidate the tritium recycling facilities at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina. Provides funding. (Sec. 3133) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to add a specified purpose and capability of the general requirements for the DOE nuclear weapons stockpile program. Requires a plan and report with respect to such program. Provides funding. (Sec. 3134) Prohibits FY 1997 DOE funds from being used for certain research and development or technology transfer purposes unless such activities support the DOE national security mission. Requires an annual report. (Sec. 3135) Directs the Secretary to accelerate the schedule for the isolation of high-level nuclear waste in glass canisters at the Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site if the Secretary determines that such acceleration will achieve cost savings and the removal and isolation of such waste from the long-term storage tanks there. (Sec. 3136) Earmarks funds authorized under this title for the processing of high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel rods. Requires the updating of an implementation plan concerning such waste under a prior defense authorization Act. (Sec. 3137) Earmarks funds for conducting the fellowship program for the development of skills critical to the ongoing mission of the DOE nuclear weapons complex as required under prior law. Requires 21 days' advance notification to the Congress before funds may be obligated or expended for such program. Subtitle D: Other Matters - Directs the Secretary to annually prepare, and submit to the defense and appropriations committees, a five-year budget for DOE national security programs. (Sec. 3152) Sets forth specified requirements for DOE weapons activities budgets for fiscal years after 1997. (Sec. 3153) Repeals a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 which requires a report from the President to the defense and appropriations committees on issues associated with purchasing tritium from foreign suppliers. (Sec. 3154) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress a plan for the near-term processing of spent nuclear fuel rods in two facilities of the Savannah River Site. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a multiyear plan for the cleanup of nuclear waste at the Site. (Sec. 3155) Requires reports concerning: (1) nuclear test readiness postures; and (2) critical difficulties encountered at nuclear weapons laboratories and production plants. (Sec. 3157) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 to extend through December 31, 1997, a requirement concerning notification to the Congress and a subsequent waiting period before undertaking a proposed defense cooperation agreement. (Sec. 3158) Redesignates the Defense Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program as the Defense Nuclear Waste Management Program. Redesignates the Assistant Secretary in charge of such Program as the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Defense Nuclear Waste Management. Redesignates a related Account. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense and appropriations committees on such redesignations. (Sec. 3159) Establishes the Commission on Maintaining United States Nuclear Weapons Expertise to develop and report to the Congress a plan for recruiting and retaining within the DOE nuclear weapons complex the appropriate scientific, engineering, and technical personnel necessary to permit DOE to maintain a safe and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile without engaging in underground testing. Terminates the Commission 30 days after its report. Provides Commission funding. (Sec. 3160) Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President: (1) should consult closely with the Congress concerning U.S. policy and practices for ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile; and (2) if he determines that a safety or reliability problem cannot be corrected within the stockpile stewardship program, to notify the Congress of such problem, together with a plan for corrective action. Title XXXII: Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Title XXXIII: National Defense Stockpile - Authorizes the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) Manager, during FY 1997, to obligate up to $60 million of the funds in the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund (Fund) for authorized Fund uses. Authorizes the NDS Manager to obligate amounts excess to such amount 45 days after notifying the Congress that extraordinary or emergency conditions necessitate the additional obligations. (Sec. 3302) Directs the President to dispose of NDS materials, with specified disposal limits. Provides for the deposit of receipts from such disposals. Title XXXIV: Naval Petroleum Reserves - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 for activities relating to the naval petroleum reserves. Title XXXV: Panama Canal Commission - Panama Canal Commission Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 - Authorizes the Panama Canal Commission to make such expenditures as necessary for the operation, maintenance, improvement, and administration of the Panama Canal for FY 1997, with specified limitations. Requires such funds to be made available for the purchase and transportation to the Republic of Panama of passenger motor vehicles built in the United States. Requires expenditures authorized under this title to be in accordance with the Panama Canal Treaties of 1977 and any law implementing those treaties.
Bill· SS. 1749 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Amends Federal provisions concerning the acquisition and operation of Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and the construction or alteration of parking facilities therefor to replace the term: (1) "working drawings" with "construction documents"; and (2) "preliminary plans" with "design development."
Bill· SS. 1748 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1996
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, notwithstanding the requirement for congressional notification and a waiting period, to proceed with a reorganization of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs as described in the Secretary's letter and plan submitted to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on March 17, 1995. Removes: (1) certain offices, services, and Director positions from the VHA as part of the reorganization; and (2) the requirement that the Associate Deputy Chief Medical Director be a qualified doctor of medicine. Allows only two of the Assistant Under Secretaries for Health to be persons qualified in the administration of health services who are not doctors of medicine, dental surgery, or dental medicines.
Bill· HRH.R. 3433 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1996
Prohibits the Secretary of Defense from authorizing the payment of any restructuring costs associated with a merger or acquisition that are incurred by a defense contractor.
Bill· HRH.R. 3444 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1996
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 to: (1) repeal a requirement prohibiting the Secretary of Defense from paying restructuring costs associated with a business combination (merger or acquisition) undertaken by a defense contractor until a review or certification with respect to possible cost savings achieved by such business combination is completed by the Department of Defense (DOD); (2) eliminate a 1997 reporting requirement concerning such possible savings; (3) include new information for determining such savings; (4) require the Comptroller Generally to report quarterly (currently, periodically) on the implementation of DOD policy regarding defense industry restructuring; and (5) require the final report of the Comptroller General on December 1, 1996 (currently, 1997).
Bill· HRH.R. 3442 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1996
Authorizes the Pyramid of Remembrance Foundation to establish a memorial on Federal land within the District of Columbia or its environs to honor members of the armed forces killed while engaged in a military operation, other than a declared war, which involved conflict with an opposing foreign force. Prohibits the use of Federal funds in establishing such memorial, with an exception.