Defence

Concerning the crisis in Cambodia.

United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1997

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the forcible assault upon the democratically elected Government of Cambodia is illegal and constitutes a military coup. Calls for the Administration to immediately invoke provisions of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 prohibiting the use of funds provided by such Act to finance assistance to any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup. Calls for the authorities in Cambodia to take immediate steps to halt all extralegal violence and to restore civil, political, and personal liberties. Calls for the United States to: (1) release the report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning the March 30, 1997, grenade attack in Phnom Penh; (2) press Cambodian authorities to investigate all abuses and extralegal actions that have occurred in Cambodia since July 4, 1997, and bring those responsible to justice; (3) request an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to consider all options to restore peace in Cambodia; (4) encourage the Secretary General of the United Nations to expand the monitoring operations of the United Nations Special Representative on Human Rights in Cambodia; (5) coordinate efforts with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to restore democracy, stability, and the rule of law in Cambodia; (6) continue to suspend direct U.S. assistance to Cambodia until violence ends, a democratically elected government is reconstituted, necessary steps have been taken to ensure that the election scheduled for 1998 takes place in a free and fair manner, the military is depoliticized, and the judiciary is made independent; and (7) call for an emergency meeting of the Donors' Consultative Group for Cambodia to encourage the suspension of assistance as part of a multilateral effort to encourage respect for democratic processes, constitutionalism, and the rule of law.

Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1997

Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1997 - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 (the Act) to revise definitions, including by: (1) including within the definition of "demand reduction" activities to reduce the underage use of tobacco or alcoholic beverages; and (2) defining "intergovernmental relations" as domestic activities conducted by a National Drug Control Program agency that are intended to reduce the availability and use of drugs. Modifies provisions of the Act regarding establishment of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (the Office) to: (1) set forth the responsibilities of such Office (to develop national drug control policy, coordinate and oversee its implementation, assess and certify the adequacy of national drug control programs and budgets, and evaluate their effectiveness); and (2) provide for Deputy Directors of National Drug Control Policy, for International Drug Policy, and for Intergovernmental Relations. Establishes in the Treasury a fund for the receipt of gifts to aid or facilitate the work of the Office. Prohibits Federal officers in the Office from participating in Federal election campaign activities, except for making contributions to individual campaigns. Sets forth or modifies provisions regarding the responsibilities of national drug control program agencies, the drug certification process, and coordination with executive branch departments and agencies in supply and demand reduction and intergovernmental relations. Amends provisions regarding the National Drug Control Strategy to require: (1) the President to submit to the Congress by February 1, 1997, a Strategy which sets forth a comprehensive ten-year plan for reducing drug abuse and its consequences in the United States by limiting the availability of and reducing the demand for illegal drugs and the first of annual reports on progress in implementing the Strategy; and (2) the Director of National Drug Control Policy to include with the annual Strategy Report a description of the national drug control performance measurement system. Establishes in the Office a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program. Amends provisions regarding the Counter-Drug Technology Assessment Center to have it headed by a Director of Technology and to specify duties of such Director, such as identifying demand reduction basic and applied research needs and initiatives. Requires the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services to render assistance and support to the Office and its Director in the conduct of counter-drug technology assessment. Terminates the Office on September 30, 2009. Authorizes appropriations.

To redesignate the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center located in Augusta, Georgia, as the A. James Dyess Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center.

United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1997

Redesignates the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center located in Augusta, Georgia, as the A. James Dyess Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center.

Veterans Health Programs Improvement Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1997

Veterans Health Programs Improvement Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in providing care and services to veterans suffering from serious mental illness, including homeless veterans, to provide: (1) outreach services; (2) care, treatment, and rehabilitative services (including the use of halfway houses); and (3) therapeutic transitional housing assistance and outpatient care. Authorizes the Secretary to operate residences and facilities as therapeutic housing, with specified conditions, including the requirement of a house manager at each residence and payments by residents to cover board expenses. Directs the Secretary to operate a program to expand and improve the provision of veterans' benefits to homeless veterans. Requires the establishment of at least eight sites as centers for the provision of comprehensive services to homeless veterans. Directs the Secretary to coordinate such services with other Federal departments and agencies, State and local governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Requires assessments of the needs of homeless veterans living in each area served by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Amends the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992 to extend through FY 1999 the homeless veterans comprehensive service grant program. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994 to require additional information on program effectiveness in a required report concerning assistance provided to homeless veterans. Extends permanently a pilot program for the furnishing of noninstitutional alternatives to veterans' nursing home care. Authorizes (current law requires) the Secretary to furnish appropriate health-related services solely through contracts with public and private agencies and to designate Department health-care employees to furnish case management services to veterans furnished such services. Amends the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 to require counseling to Persian Gulf War veterans to include verbal counseling along with the provision of written materials. Authorizes the Secretary to provide hospital care and services to a veteran who was exposed to a toxic substance, radiation (current law), or other conditions (currently, an environmental hazard) while performing military service. Directs the Secretary to carry out a program of demonstration projects to test new approaches to treating, and improving treatment satisfaction of, Persian Gulf veterans who suffer from undiagnosed and ill-defined disabilities. Requires the program to be established no later than July 1, 1998, at up to ten geographically dispersed Department medical centers. Provides funding. Excludes from Federal personnel reduction requirements employees of the Veterans Health Administration who: (1) provide or supervise others who provide care and services to patients; or (2) conduct research. Empowers the Secretary with sole authority to establish Department canteens and to fix the prices of merchandise sold in such canteens. Allows such canteens to provide support services to Department medical facilities.

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Restoration Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1997

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Restoration Act of 1997 - Provides that a remarriage before November 1, 1990, of a veteran's surviving spouse shall not bar the furnishing of dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) to such person if the remarriage is terminated by death or divorce, unless the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that the divorce was secured through fraud by the surviving spouse or collusion. Provides the same protection to a surviving spouse who was living with another person before such date and who subsequently ceases to live with such person. Limits the DIC rate payable to such individuals to 50 percent of the rate provided to other surviving spouses. Directs the Secretary to notify such individuals of their DIC eligibility.

Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998

United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Authorization Title II: Coast Guard Management Title III: Marine Safety Title IV: Miscellaneous Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1997 - Title I: Authorizations - Authorizes appropriations for the Coast Guard for: (1) operation and maintenance; (2) acquisition, construction, rebuilding, and improvement of aids to navigation, shore and offshore facilities, vessels, and aircraft; (3) research, development, testing, and evaluation; (4) retired pay, payments under the Retired Serviceman's Family Protection and Survivor Benefit Plans, and payments for medical care of retired personnel and their dependents; (5) alteration or removal of bridges constituting obstructions to navigation and for personnel and administrative costs associated with the Bridge Alteration Program; and (6) environmental compliance and restoration at Coast Guard facilities. (Sec. 102) Authorizes Coast Guard end-of-year strength and military training student loads. Title II: Coast Guard Management - Amends Federal law relating to the Coast Guard to remove the dollar limit on severance pay for regular warrant officers. (Sec. 202) Authorizes honorary recognition of individuals and organizations, including State and local governments and commercial and nonprofit organizations, that significantly contribute to Coast Guard programs, missions, or operations by awarding plaques, medals, and similar items. Title III: Marine Safety - Amends the Ports and Waterways Safety Act and Federal law relating to vessels and seamen to define "navigable waters of the United States" to include all waters of the U.S. territorial sea as described in a specified Presidential Proclamation. Makes changes relating to U.S. navigable waters in provisions relating to the operation of vessels, uninspected vessel safety equipment, recreational vessels, uninspected commercial fishing industry vessels, and vessel pilots. (Sec. 302) Amends Federal law relating to the operation of vessels to impose civil monetary penalties for interfering with the safe operation of a vessel. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Removes a requirement that, in order to be eligible for documentation, a vessel must not be titled in a State. Declares that a documented vessel shall not be titled or required to display numbers (under provisions relating to numbering undocumented vessels) by a State and requires surrender of any State title certificate issued for a documented vessel (but only if the mortgagee consents to the surrender). Allows any indebtedness that is subject to a mortgage granting a security interest perfected under State law covering a vessel titled in a State to have any rate of interest agreed to by the parties. Modifies the actions a mortgagee may take on preferred mortgage default. (Sec. 402) Deems land and improvements comprising the Coast Guard Reserve training facility in Jacksonville, Florida, to be surplus property and mandates its disposal at fair market value, giving the city of Jacksonville the right of first refusal. (Sec. 403) Authorizes issuance of documentation for 13 specified vessels. Deems a certain corporation to be a citizen of the United States for purposes of owning corporations whose vessels are eligible for documentation, provided specified requirements are met. (Sec. 404) Authorizes the conveyance, without consideration, of the U.S. Coast Guard Recreation Facility Nahant, Massachusetts, to the town of Nahant, Massachusetts. (Sec. 405) Deems the lift bridge over the back channel of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to unreasonably obstruct navigation for purposes of the Act popularly known as the "Hobbs Bridge Act" and the "Truman-Hobbs Bridge Act" (relating to the alteration of bridges over U.S. navigable waters). (Sec. 406) Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to modify provisions relating to limits on vessel liability. (Sec. 407) Authorizes the conveyance to the University of Jacksonville, Florida, without consideration, of the Long Branch Rear Range Light, Jacksonville, Florida. (Sec. 408) Prohibits a vessel from transporting cargoes sponsored by the Government for one year after the vessel has been (or after the vessel's owner has had more than one vessel) detained for violation of an international safety convention.

Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998

United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Defense--Civil Title II: Department of the Interior Title III: Department of Energy Title IV: Independent Agencies Title V: General Provisions Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998 - Title I: Department of Defense--Civil - Makes appropriations to the Department of the Army and its Corps of Engineers for FY 1998 for: (1) authorized civil functions of the Department of the Army relating to rivers and harbors, flood control, beach erosion, and related purposes; (2) expenses necessary for the collection and study of information related to such purposes; (3) the prosecution of authorized water development and related projects; (4) certain flood control projects on the Mississippi River and its tributaries; (5) water development projects operation and maintenance; (6) regulatory programs; (7) flood control and coastal emergencies; (8) the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program; and (9) general expenses. Title II: Department of the Interior - Makes FY 1998 appropriations to the Department of the Interior for: (1) the Central Utah Project; (2) the Bureau of Reclamation; (3) water and related resources; (4) project construction and rehabilitation; (5) Bureau of Reclamation Loan Program Account; (6) the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund; (7) California Bay-Delta Ecosystem Restoration; and (8) general administrative expenses. Title III: Department of Energy - Makes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 1998 for: (1) energy supply activities; (2) non-defense environmental management; (3) the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund; (4) general DOE science activities; (5) the Nuclear Waste Disposal Fund; (6) DOE administration; (7) Office of the Inspector General; (8) atomic energy defense weapons activities; (9) defense environmental restoration and waste management; (10) other DOE defense activities; (11) defense nuclear waste disposal; (12) DOE administration expenses; (13) the various geographical power marketing administrations of DOE (including specified costs for the hydroelectric facilities at the Falcon and Amistad Dams); and (14) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Sets forth limitations for appropriations under this title. Title IV: Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for: (1) the Appalachian Regional Commission; (2) the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board; (3) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); (4) the NRC Office of the Inspector General; (5) the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board; and (6) the Tennessee Valley Authority. Title V: General Provisions - Declares the sense of the Congress that all equipment and products bought with funds under this Act should be American-made. Requires each Federal agency to give notice of this policy to any entity to which it provides financial assistance or contracts.

Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997

Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to extend the Export-Import Bank's authority from FY 1997 through 2001. Makes funds available for the Tied Aid Credit Fund without fiscal year limitation. Extends from FY 1997 through 2001 Bank authority to provide financing for the export of nonlethal defense articles or services whose primary end use will be for civilian purposes.

Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998

United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Veterans Affairs Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development Title III: Independent Agencies Title IV: General Provisions Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and for sundry independent agencies. Title I: Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs for: (1) veterans' compensation, pensions, and readjustment benefits; (2) veterans' insurance and indemnities; (3) veterans' housing, education, and vocational rehabilitation loan accounts; (4) veterans' medical care; (5) medical and prosthetic research; (6) medical administration; (7) the General Post Fund, national homes; (8) departmental administration; (9) the National Cemetery System; (10) the Office of Inspector General; (11) construction; (12) the parking revolving fund; and (13) grants to States for construction of extended care facilities and cemeteries. Prohibits the obligation of funds provided under previous legislation for a replacement hospital at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, and makes such funds available to implement capital facility recommendations contained in a report regarding veterans' health care needs in northern California. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds made available under this title. Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development - Makes appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for: (1) public and Indian housing; (2) the Public Housing Capital and Operating Funds; (3) drug elimination grants for low-income housing; (4) revitalization of severely distressed public housing; (5) Native American housing block grants; (6) Indian housing loan guarantees; (7) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS; (8) community development block grants; (9) the HOME investment partnerships program; (10) homeless assistance grants; (11) housing for special populations; (12) the Federal Housing Administration; (13) the Government National Mortgage Association; (14) housing policy development and research; (15) fair housing activities; (16) management and administration; (17) the Office of Inspector General; and (18) carrying out the Federal Housing Enterprise Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992. Sets forth provisions regarding the Capital Grants - Capital Loans Preservation Account and makes certain excess amounts recaptured from interest reduction payment contracts available for properties eligible for assistance under the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990 or the Emergency Low Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987. Rescinds specified amounts for: (1) the Supportive Housing Demonstration Program; (2) the Shelter Plus Care program; and (3) rental housing assistance. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds made available under this title. (Sec. 201) Extends certain provisions regarding contributions for low-income housing projects and the demolition, disposition, or conversion to home ownership of public housing. Amends the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 to extend provisions regarding the streamlining of Section 8 tenant-based assistance. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to extend provisions regarding Section 8 rent adjustments. Amends the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I to extend provisions regarding delays in the reissuance of Section 8 vouchers and certificates. (Sec. 210) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize HUD to make partial guaranteed mortgage loan payments for health care facilities. (Sec. 211) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to extend the Secretary of HUD's authority to enter into certain risk-sharing agreements to determine Federal credit enhancements for loans for affordable multifamily housing. Increases the number of units to which those agreements may apply in FY 1998. (Sec. 213) Incorporates the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (title II of S. 947, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, as passed by the Senate) into this Act by reference. Title III: Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for: (1) the American Battle Monuments Commission; (2) the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; (3) the Consumer Product Safety Commission; (4) the Corporation for National and Community Service; (5) the Office of Inspector General; (6) the Court of Veterans Appeals; and (7) the Department of Defense for Army cemeterial expenses. Appropriates funds for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for: (1) science and technology activities; (2) environmental programs and management; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) buildings and facilities; (5) Superfund; (6) the leaking underground storage tank program; (7) oil spill response programs; and (8) assistance to States and Indian tribes for environmental programs and infrastructure. Makes the Working Capital Fund available to EPA for maintenance and operation of administrative services without fiscal year limitation. Appropriates funds for: (1) the Executive Office of the President for the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Office of Environmental Quality; and (2) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General. Makes appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for: (1) disaster relief; (2) disaster assistance direct loans; (3) salaries and expenses; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) emergency management planning and assistance; (6) a specified emergency food and shelter program; and (7) the National Flood Insurance Fund. Requires the Director of FEMA to promulgate a methodology for collection of fees applicable to persons subject to FEMA's radiological emergency preparedness regulations. Permits collection of such fees only during FY 1998. Makes appropriations for: (1) the General Services Administration for the Consumer Information Center; (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for human space flight, science, aeronautics, and technology research and development, mission support, and the Office of Inspector General; (3) the National Credit Union Administration's Central Liquidity Facility; (4) the National Science Foundation for research, major construction projects, science and engineering education and human resources programs, salaries and expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; (5) the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; and (6) the Selective Service System. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title IV: General Provisions - Sets forth provisions regarding availability, and prohibitions on the use, of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 415) Expresses the sense of the Congress that all equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act should be American-made. (Sec. 417) Requires amounts necessary for FY 1998 pay raises for programs funded by this Act to be within levels appropriated. (Sec. 419) Authorizes certain corporations and agencies of HUD to make commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as necessary to carry out provisions under the Government Corporation Control Act. Allows any collections by such corporations and agencies to be used for new loan or mortgage purchase commitments to the extent provided under this Act, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 421) Makes funds to carry out the termination of the Office of Consumer Affairs available from those appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services for FY 1998.

A bill to extend the Native American veteran direct housing loan pilot program, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997

Extends through FY 2000 a pilot program under which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is authorized to make direct housing loans to Native American veterans. Requires consultation with tribal organizations and Native American veterans organizations in carrying out such program. Amends the Veterans Home Loan Program Amendments of 1992 to: (1) require annual reports concerning the pilot program to be submitted to additional specified congressional committees; and (2) require such reports to include a description of outreach activities undertaken under such program.

An original concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress regarding the OAS-CIAV Mission in Nicaragua.

United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997

Congratulates Santiago Murray and Sergio Caramagna, the first and current directors, respectively, of the International Support and Verification Commission of the Organization of American States and all members of the Commission team for their defense of human rights, promotion of peaceful conflict resolution, and contribution to the development of freedom and democracy in Nicaragua. Expresses support for the continuation of the role of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Nicaragua described in the resolution passed by the OAS General Assembly in Lima, Peru, on June 4, 1997.

National Debt Repayment Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997

National Debt Repayment Act of 1997 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require concurrent resolutions on the budget, beginning with the one for the first fiscal year after there is a surplus, to set forth totals of budget outlays and Federal revenues for the budget year and each fiscal year concerned such that the annual rate of change in outlays is at least one percentage point lower than the corresponding change in revenues for each such year. Permits the Congress to waive such requirement for fiscal years in which a declaration of war is in effect or the United States is engaged in military conflict posing a serious threat to national security or for the budget year and the next fiscal year if real economic growth has been negative for two consecutive calendar quarters. Amends Federal law to require the Secretary of the Treasury to use any budget surplus for a fiscal year, with one-third allocated to each of the following, to: (1) exchange special issue nonmarketable Government bonds in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund or the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund with marketable Government securities; (2) invest in marketable Government securities to be held in a Tax Cut Offset Trust Fund to offset future revenue reductions; and (3) exchange special issue nonmarketable Government securities in the Highway Trust Fund and the Hazardous Substance Superfund with marketable ones. Requires the surplus to be allocated, in specified increments, to repay the public debt when Government trust funds, including those described above, no longer hold nonmarketable securities. Prohibits receipts and disbursements of Government trust funds, in an amount up to the value of marketable Government securities contained in any such fund, from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of the Federal or congressional budgets or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Exempts such receipts and disbursements from any statutory general budget limitation on expenditures and net lending. Directs the Secretary, upon expenditure from a trust fund of any money not so counted, to sell a corresponding amount of marketable Government securities from the fund and reduce its balance accordingly.

On-Line Copyright Liability Limitation Act

United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997

On-Line Copyright Liability Limitation Act - Amends Federal copyright law to exempt a person from being liable for direct infringement, or vicariously liable for the infringing acts of another, based solely on transmitting or otherwise providing access to material on-line, if the person does not: (1) initially place the material on-line; (2) generate, select, or alter the content of the material; (3) determine the recipients of the material; (4) receive a financial benefit directly attributable to a particular act of infringement; (5) sponsor, endorse, or advertise the material; and (6) know, and is not aware by notice or other information indicating, that the material is infringing, or is prohibited by law from accessing the material. Provides that a person shall not be liable, in the case of a finding of contributory infringement based solely on conduct for which the individual is exempt from liability for direct infringement or vicarious liability, for any remedy other than injunctive relief, except that such injunctive relief shall be available only to the extent that all acts required by such relief are technically feasible and economically reasonable to carry out. Prohibits: (1) this Act from imposing an affirmative obligation on an individual to seek information in a case where such person does not know, and is not aware by notice or other information indicating, that certain material is infringing; (2) a person from being liable for claims based on that person's removing, disabling, or blocking on-line access to material in response to information by notice or otherwise indicating or alleging that the material is infringing, whether it is or not; and (3) removing, disabling, or blocking access to material which a person transmits or to which a person otherwise provides on-line access, or the failure to do so, from adversely bearing upon the consideration of the court of a defense to infringement asserted by that person or any other provision of law. Provides that any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material on-line is infringing and shall be liable for any damages, including costs and attorney's fees, incurred by any person who relies upon such misrepresentation in removing, disabling, or blocking access to the material claimed to be infringing.

To ensure that commercial activities of the People's Liberation Army of China or any Communist Chinese military company are not extended normal tariff treatment by the United States or treated as normal commercial intercourse with the United States.

United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997

Directs the Secretary of Defense to compile and publish in the Federal Register a list of Communist Chinese military companies that are operating directly or indirectly in the United States or its territories and possessions. Prohibits the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to goods that are produced, manufactured, or exported by the People's Liberation Army or a Communist Chinese military company.

To amend title 38, United States Code, to specify the entities eligible to purchase pharmaceutical products from the Federal Supply Schedule.

United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997

Amends Federal provisions concerning the procurement of health-care items by the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow only the following entities to purchase a drug, pharmaceutical product, or hematology-related product from the Federal Supply Schedule: (1) an agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government; or (2) an entity specified in Federal law or regulation before July 1, 1997, as eligible to procure such drugs or products from such Schedule.

To amend title 10, United States Code, to clarify the definition of depot-level maintenance and repair as the definition applies to the Department of the Army.

United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997

Requires the definition of "depot-level maintenance and repair," as such term applies to the Army, to include the modification or conversion of parts, assemblies, or subassemblies, in addition to overhaul, upgrading, or rebuilding.

Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998

United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Justice Title II: Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Title III: The Judiciary Title IV: Department of State and Related Agencies Title V: Related Agencies Title VI: General Provisions Title VII: Rescissions - Department of Justice Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the judiciary, and related agencies. Title I: Department of Justice - Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice for: (1) general administration; (2) counterterrorism activities; (3) administration of pardon and clemency petitions and immigration-related activities; (4) specified violent crime reduction programs; (5) the Office of Inspector General; (6) the U.S. Parole Commission; (7) legal activities; (8) deportation of certain denied asylum applicants; (9) antitrust activities; (10) the Office of U.S. Attorneys; (11) the U.S. Trustee Program; (12) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission; (13) the U.S. Marshals Service; (14) fees and expenses of witnesses; (15) the Community Relations Service; (16) certain uses of the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (17) administrative expenses related to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; (18) the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund; (19) interagency law enforcement with respect to organized crime drug trafficking; (20) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (21) construction for specified agencies; (22) the Drug Enforcement Administration; (23) the Immigration and Naturalization Service; (24) the Federal prison system, including amounts for substance abuse treatment in Federal prisons and for buildings and facilities; (25) Office of Justice programs; (26) State and local law enforcement assistance; (27) the Executive Office for Weed and Seed; (28) juvenile justice programs and block grants; and (29) public safety officers' benefits. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 103) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this title to: (1) pay for abortions except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or in the case of rape; or (2) require any person to perform or facilitate an abortion. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the FBI Director to carry out a two-year demonstration project showing the viability for the defensive arming of select non-agent personnel. (Sec. 110) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate provisions establishing the Immigration Detention Account. (Sec. 111) Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995 to make permanent certain provisions that authorize: (1) the adjustment of status of certain aliens to permanent resident; and (2) the issuance of immigrant visas to certain aliens within 90 days of departure from the United States under specified conditions. (Sec. 112) Philippine Army, Scouts, and Guerilla Veterans of World War II Naturalization Act of 1997 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990 with respect to the naturalization of certain Philippine World War II veterans. (Sec. 113) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to expand the definition of "special immigrant" to apply such definition to immigrants who are present in the United States without having been admitted or paroled, or who have been paroled by the Attorney General specifically for purposes of obtaining such status, and who meet other specified criteria. (Sec. 114) Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to eliminate provisions that make the Crime Victims Fund available for judicial branch administrative costs. Authorizes the use of unobligated sums for such costs by the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime to improve services for the benefit of crime victims. (Sec. 116) Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require States to establish boards composed of experts in the behavior and treatment of sex offenders, victims' rights advocates, and law enforcement representatives for purposes of making recommendations to sentencing courts on whether a person is a sexually violent predator. Authorizes the Attorney General to waive such requirement for States that have established satisfactory alternative procedures for making such recommendations. Expands the list of agencies and officials who may be responsible for notifying paroled sex offenders of their duty to register current addresses (currently, the court has this responsibility). Establishes registration requirements for certain sex offenders who are: (1) employed or enrolled as students in States other than their State of residence; (2) probationers or parolees residing in States other than the one in which sentenced; (3) Federal offenders; or (4) military personnel. Requires States to report to the Attorney General on existing or proposed laws regarding stalking crimes against individuals 16 years of age or younger. Expresses the sense of the Senate that each State should have a law that makes it a crime to stalk an individual under the age of 16 without requiring that such individual be physically harmed before a stalker is restrained or punished. (Sec. 117) Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993, to increase the number of visas set aside under a specified pilot program for immigrants seeking to enter the United States for purposes of engaging in a new commercial enterprise. Extends such program. (Sec. 118) Requires the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service to provide a magnetometer and guards at specified real property leased to the Federal Government in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Sec. 119) Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to authorize the transfer of surplus Government property to States, localities, and territories as needed for law enforcement or fire and rescue (currently, as required for correctional facility use) purposes. Title II: Department of Commerce and Related Agencies - Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for: (1) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; (2) the International Trade Commission; (3) export administration and national security activities; (4) the Economic Development Administration; (5) minority business development; (6) economic and statistical analysis programs; (7) the Census Bureau; (8) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; (9) public broadcasting facilities, planning, and construction grants; (10) information infrastructure grants; (11) the Patent and Trademark Office; (12) the Under Secretary for Technology-Office of Technology Policy; (13) the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and for renovation of facilities; (14) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including amounts for construction and fleet maintenance and planning; (15) the Coastal Zone Management Fund; (16) the Fishing Vessel and Gear Damage Compensation Fund; (17) the Fishermen's Contingency Fund; (18) the Foreign Fishing Observer Fund; (19) fishing vessel obligations guarantees; (20) general administration; and (21) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 208) Establishes the Bureau of the Census Working Capital Fund. (Sec. 209) Prohibits the use of FY 1998 funds by the Department of Commerce to make irreversible plans for the use of sampling or other statistical methods in taking the 2000 decennial census for purposes of the apportionment of Representatives in the Congress. Title III: The Judiciary - Judiciary Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for: (1) the Supreme Court; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; (3) the U.S. Court of International Trade; (4) the courts of appeals, district courts, and other judicial services; (5) defender services; (6) fees of jurors and commissioners; (7) court security; (8) the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; (9) the Federal Judicial Center; (10) judicial retirement funds; and (11) the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 304) Makes permanent authorities of the Judiciary Information Technology Fund (currently, such authorities terminate at the end of FY 1998). (Sec. 305) Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1997 - Divides the current U.S. Court of Appeals for the ninth circuit into the following two circuits: (1) the ninth circuit composed of California, Guam, Nevada, and the Northern Mariana Islands, to consist of 15 judges and to hold regular sessions in San Francisco and Los Angeles; and (2) the twelfth circuit, composed of Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, to consist of 13 judges and to hold regular sessions in Portland, Seattle, and Phoenix. Assigns circuit judges of the former ninth circuit to either of the two new circuits based upon their official station, with senior judges permitted election of assignment. Provides for two co-equal clerks of the court for the twelfth circuit to be located in Phoenix and Seattle. (Sec. 306) Authorizes U.S. judges and justices to receive a salary adjustment during FY 1998. Title IV: Department of State and Related Agencies - Department of State and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for the Department of State for: (1) administration of foreign affairs, diplomatic and consular programs; (2) salaries and expenses; (3) the Capital Investment Fund; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) representation allowances; (6) protection of foreign missions and officials; (7) security and maintenance of U.S. missions; (8) emergencies in the diplomatic and consular service; (9) the repatriation loans program account; (10) the American Institute in Taiwan; (11) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (12) international organizations, conferences, peacekeeping, and commissions; (13) the Asia Foundation; and (14) the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Appropriates funds for the U.S. Information Agency for: (1) international information programs; (2) information technology improvements; (3) educational and cultural exchanges; (4) the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Incorporated; (5) the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program; (6) international broadcasting, including broadcasting to Cuba; (7) radio construction; (8) the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West; and (9) the North-South Center. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 406) Prohibits funds appropriated by this or any other Act from being expended to pay for costs incurred in operating certain diplomatic or consular posts in Vietnam or increasing the number of personnel assigned to such posts unless the President certifies that the Vietnamese Government is cooperating in specified activities regarding recovery and analysis of American remains, accounting for prisoners-of-war and individuals missing in action, and investigations in Laos. (Sec. 407) Transfers specified funds for purposes of implementing the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services program. (Sec. 408) Requires the President to withdraw from an international organization if the amount available for payment of U.S. contributions to such organization is less than the amount of contributions for the fiscal year concerned. Title V: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for the: (1) Maritime Administration for operating-differential subsidies, maritime security, operations and training, and the maritime guaranteed loan program; (2) Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; (3) Commission on Civil Rights; (4) Commission on Immigration Reform; (5) Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (6) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); (7) Federal Communications Commission; (8) Federal Maritime Commission; (9) Federal Trade Commission; (10) Legal Services Corporation; (11) Marine Mammal Commission; (12) Securities and Exchange Commission; (13) Small Business Administration, including amounts for the Office of Inspector General, business and disaster loans, and the surety bond guarantees revolving fund; and (14) State Justice Institute. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title VI: General Provisions - Sets forth limitations on the use of funds under this Act. (Sec. 607) Sets forth Buy American provisions. (Sec. 608) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act to: (1) enforce any EEOC guidelines covering harassment based on religion if such guidelines do not differ from proposed guidelines of October 1, 1993; or (2) provide specified personal comforts in the Federal prison system. Title VII: Rescissions - Department of Justice - Rescinds a specified amount of funds made available for the Department of Justice Working Capital Fund.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998

United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1997

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1997 - Provides that a veterans' preference eligible (PE) or an individual who has been separated from military service under honorable conditions after three or more years of active duty shall not be denied the opportunity to compete for a vacant position within a Federal agency, either in the competitive or excepted service, by reason of: (1) not having acquired competitive status; or (2) not being an employee of such agency. Requires each agency to notify the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. employment offices of each vacant position for which competition is restricted to employees or individuals having competitive service. Requires OPM, at least every two years, to submit to the Congress and the President a report detailing for the prior period the number of such vacant positions in the Federal Government and the number of PE or separated individuals referred or appointed to such positions. Directs OPM to establish and keep current a comprehensive list of all announcements of vacant positions within each agency for which competition is so restricted. Applies such PE requirements to the Postal Service, with exceptions for certain collective bargaining positions. Prohibits, during a Federal reduction in force (RIF), a position occupied by a PE from being placed in a single-position competitive level if the PE is qualified to perform the essential functions of any other position at the same grade in the competitive area (defined as being able to perform such functions within 150 days). Entitles a PE whose current or latest performance rating is at least fully successful to be assigned during a RIF to any position for which he or she is qualified that is within: (1) the PE's commuting area and is currently occupied by an individual placed in such position within six months before the RIF; or (2) the PE's competitive area and is not more than three grades below the position from which the PE was released (with an exception). Authorizes a PE to challenge the classification of any position to which the PE asserts assignment rights in an action before the Merit Systems Protection Board. Requires each agency to establish an agency-wide priority placement program to facilitate employment placement for PEs who are scheduled to be or who are separated from service due to a RIF and who have received a rating of at least fully successful at their last performance evaluation or who occupy positions excluded from a performance appraisal system. Allows an individual to designate a different local commuting area in order to exercise reemployment rights if there are no alternative positions within the most local area. Requires an agency to place qualified present and former employees in retention order by PE subgroup and tenure group. Makes an individual eligible for reemployment for two years after a RIF. Provides conditions under which an individual loses eligibility for such reemployment. Provides administrative and judicial redress and remedies for any PE or other individual who alleges that an agency has violated such individual's veterans' preference or related rights. Extends the veterans' preference to: (1) employment within the General Accounting Office; (2) appointments made to the Office of the President (with an exception when the President certifies that the position is a confidential, policy-making, or political position); and (3) appointments to the legislative branch (with specified exclusions). Establishes administrative remedies and procedures for PE and separated individuals with respect to appointments within the legislative or judicial branches of the Federal Government. Requires the Judicial Conference of the United States to prescribe regulations to provide for: (1) veterans' preference in the consideration of applicants for employment, and in the conduct of any RIF, within the judicial branch; and (2) redress procedures for alleged violations of any rights of such individuals. Requires the Conference to: (1) consult with specified congressionally chartered veterans' service organizations when considering such regulations; and (2) provide specified congressional committees with a copy of such regulations. Extends the veterans' preference to RIFs in the Federal Aviation Administration. Includes among PE veterans those who served during a military operation in a qualified hazardous duty area under requirements prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. Prohibits any employee authorized to take personnel actions from knowingly taking, or failing to take, any personnel action if such taking or failure would violate a PE requirement.

Helium Privatization Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1997

Helium Privatization Act of 1997 - Amends the Helium Act to repeal requirements for disposal of helium facilities. Revises the formula for price determinations for crude helium sales to eliminate all factors but inflation adjustments. Revises stockpile elimination guidelines to mandate that half the Federal helium reserves be placed under the authority of the Secretary of Defense, who shall determine and implement helium storage, transportation, and use. States that the Federal Government shall forgive any debt owed on such reserves. Retains the remaining Federal helium under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior. Instructs such Secretary to appoint an Investment Administrator to sell the helium reserves and their attendant production, refining, and marketing assets unless the Secretary of Defense determines such assets are essential to Department of Defense transportation or storage needs. Mandates payment of helium sales proceeds to the Treasury, with a percentage of such proceeds paid as salary to the Administrator pursuant to an agreement between the Administrator and the Secretary of the Interior. States that such Administrator shall be selected from individuals who submit and make an oral presentation of a written helium disposal plan (including any unobligated natural gas reserves and real estate used in helium refinement and production). Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to determine a sales price in consultation with the helium industry, and to sell helium during the period in which no Investment Administrator has been selected. Declares that discovery of additional helium reserves shall not affect the duties of the Secretaries to make helium sales. Narrows solely to reserves under the authority of the Secretary of Defense the scope of a currently mandated National Academy of Sciences study on whether disposal of helium reserves will have a substantial adverse effect on U.S. scientific, technical, biomedical, or national security interests. Repeals the mandate that the Secretary of Defense make recommendations to the Congress on how to avoid potential adverse effects upon such U.S. interests by sales of crude helium reserves.

John J. Hamre, of South Dakota, to be Deputy Secretary of Defense, vice John P. White, resigned.

United States · United States Senate · 15 July 1997

A bill to amend provisions of law governing benefits for certain children of Vietnam veterans who are born with spina bifida, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1997

Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions, as such provisions may apply to the children of Vietnam veterans who were born with the birth defect spina bifida, to: (1) define the Vietnam era, during which period the child must have been conceived, as the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975; (2) define a Vietnam veteran as any veteran who served during such period, without regard to the character of such individual's service (discharge standing); and (3) make provisions regarding service-connected disability compensation and benefits applicable to such children. Allows vocational training programs for children of veterans to begin on the child's 18th birthday or upon completion of the child's secondary schooling, whichever occurs first. Makes conforming changes to effective dates with regard to the spina bifida provisions as contained in the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997.

A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a presumption of total disability for certain individuals for purposes of nonservice-connected disability pension.

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1997

Establishes a presumption of total disability, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' pension benefits based upon a nonservice-connected disability, for a veteran who is 65 years of age or older and a patient in a nursing home.

Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1998

United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Export and Investment Assistance Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance Title III: Military Assistance Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance Title V: General Provisions Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1998 - Title I: Export and Investment Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for: (1) direct loans, loan guarantees, tied-aid grants, insurance, and administrative expenses under Export-Import Bank programs; (2) Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) credit and insurance programs, including administrative expenses; and (3) the Trade and Development Agency. Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for: (1) expenses of the President in carrying out certain programs under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) the Agency for International Development (AID) for child survival and disease programs, including basic education programs; (3) specified development assistance (allowing availability of limited amounts for the Inter-American Foundation and the African Development Foundation); (4) private and voluntary organizations; (5) international disaster assistance; (6) debt restructuring; (7) micro and small enterprise development programs; (8) guaranteed loans for the urban and environmental credit program; (9) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (10) operating expenses of AID and the AID Office of Inspector General; (11) Economic Support Fund (ESF) assistance (earmarking amounts for Israel and Egypt); (12) the International Fund for Ireland; (13) economic assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States (earmarking amounts for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but with a prohibition on funds for new housing construction or repair or reconstruction of existing housing in Bosnia and Herzegovina unless directly related to U.S. troop efforts to promote peace there); (14) assistance for the new independent states of the former Soviet Union (subject to specified conditions); (15) the Inter-American Foundation; (16) the African Development Foundation; (17) the Peace Corps (but with a prohibition on the use of such funds for abortions); (18) international narcotics control; (19) migration and refugee assistance; (20) a targeted program for refugee resettlement assistance; (21) the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; and (22) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism and related programs and activities. Bars the use of development assistance funds for: (1) coercive abortions or involuntary sterilizations; and (2) U.S. private and voluntary organizations which obtain less than 20 percent of annual funding from sources other than the U.S. Government. Prohibits funds to: (1) Russia unless the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that it has terminated arrangements to provide Iran with technology to develop a nuclear program; (2) the Government of Ukraine if the President reports to the Committee on Appropriations that it is engaged in military cooperation with Libya; and (3) the Government of Azerbaijan until the President reports to the Congress that it has ceased all blockades against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Title III: Military Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for: (1) international military education and training (earmarking amounts for Indonesia and Guatemala, with a bar on such assistance to the School of the Americas unless certain conditions are met); (2) foreign military financing and direct loans (earmarking amounts for Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey); and (3) international peacekeeping operations (subject to notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations). Prohibits foreign military financing for: (1) any non-NATO country participating in the Partnership for Peace Program except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations; and (2) Sudan, Liberia, and Guatemala. Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the U.S. contribution to the: (1) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank); (2) International Development Association; (3) Inter-American Development Bank; (4) Asian Development Bank; (5) Asian Development Fund; (6) African Development Fund; (7) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and (8) North American Development Bank. Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for international programs and organizations. Sets certain restrictions on international organization funding, including prohibiting the use of funds made available to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for activities in China. Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO); (2) the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); or (3) the United Nations development group or any similar organization. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth limits on the use of appropriations, including no more than: (1) 15 percent of such appropriations to be obligated during the last month of availability; and (2) specified maximums for official residence expenses, entertainment expenses, and representation allowances for AID, and for entertainment and representation allowances for the Inter-American Foundation and the Trade and Development Agency. Limits the use of funds for entertainment expenses of the Peace Corps, or under the Foreign Military Financing Program. (Sec. 502) Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) bilateral funding of international financial institutions; (2) the export of nuclear equipment, fuel, or technology (except for nuclear safety purposes); (3) direct assistance or reparations to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Iran, Sudan, or Syria; (4) assistance to any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree; (5) certain transfers between appropriations accounts without prior presidential consultation with Congress; (6) assistance to any country in default in excess of a year on payments on a U.S. loan (except for Nicaragua and Liberia, and narcotics-related assistance for Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru); and (7) assistance (except in certain circumstances) for production of any commodity for export by a foreign country, if the commodity is likely to be in surplus on world markets when the resulting productive capacity is expected to become operative, and if the assistance will injure U.S. producers of a similar commodity. (Sec. 514) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of specified international financial institutions to oppose any assistance for the production or extraction of any commodity or mineral for export if it is in surplus on world markets and such assistance will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar commodity. (Sec. 516) Prohibits the use of international organization funds for Libya, Iran, or certain Communist countries. (Sec. 517) Declares it is U.S. policy that appropriations for ESF funds allocated to Israel shall not be less than the annual debt repayment from Israel to the United States. (Sec. 518) Prohibits the use of development assistance funds for abortions or involuntary sterilizations as methods of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions, or provide any financial incentive to undergo sterilization. (Sec. 518A) Sets forth certain limitations on the authorization of funds for population planning activities or other population assistance. (Sec. 519) Requires the President to report to the Committees on Appropriations on annual arms sales proposals covering major weapons under the Arms Export Control Act. (Sec. 520) Prohibits the use of funds for Colombia, Haiti, Liberia, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Russia, Serbia, Sudan, or the Democratic Republic of Congo except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations. (Sec. 522) Makes funds available to AID for family planning, health, child survival, and AIDS research and control in developing countries. (Sec. 523) Bars funding for indirect assistance or reparations to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Syria, North Korea, or China unless the President certifies that the withholding of such funds is contrary to the U.S. national security interest. (Sec. 524) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to extend the President's waiver authority with respect to reciprocal leasing through FY 1998. (Sec. 525) Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to notify the Committees on Appropriations before providing excess DOD articles to certain NATO and major non-NATO countries. (Sec. 527) Prohibits bilateral assistance funds to any country which the President determines grants sanctuary from prosecution to any individual or group which has committed an act of international terrorism or otherwise supports such activities. Authorizes a waiver by the President for national security and humanitarian reasons, requiring notification to the Committees on Appropriations. (Sec. 528) Authorizes the commercial leasing of defense articles (instead of government-to-government sale) to Israel, Egypt, NATO, and major non-NATO allies if the President determines that there are compelling foreign policy or national security reasons. (Sec. 528A) Requires all AID contracts and subcontracts to include a clause requiring that U.S. insurance companies have a fair opportunity to bid for insurance when insurance is necessary or appropriate. (Sec. 529) Prohibits U.S. sale of Stinger missiles in the Persian Gulf region, with certain exceptions. (Sec. 530) Authorizes nongovernmental organizations which are AID grantees or contractors to place funds made available to them under this Act in interest bearing accounts in order to enhance their participation in economic activities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, including endowments and debt-for-development and debt-for-nature exchanges. (Sec. 531) Directs the Administrator of AID to require foreign countries that receive foreign assistance which results in the generation of local currencies to deposit such currencies in a separate account to be used to finance foreign assistance activities. (Sec. 532) Prohibits payments to any international financial institution while the U.S. Executive Director to the institution is compensated at a rate in excess of that for a specified position under the Executive Schedule. (Sec. 533) Bars assistance to any country that is not in compliance with the United Nations (UN) sanctions against Iraq unless the President certifies to the Congress that such assistance: (1) is in the U.S. national interest; (2) will directly benefit the needy people in that country; or (3) will be humanitarian assistance for foreign nationals who have fled Iraq and Kuwait. (Sec. 535) Extends the authority to obligate funds to close the Special Defense Acquisition Fund. (Sec. 536) Requires notification to the Committees on Appropriations of each country that has been approved for cash flow financing for the procurement of defense articles in excess of $100 million. (Sec. 537) Declares that provisions under this or any other Act authorizing appropriations for foreign operations or export financing shall not be construed to prohibit activities authorized by the Peace Corps Act, the Inter-American Foundation Act, or the African Development Foundation Act. Requires an agency to report to the Committees on Appropriations whenever it is conducting or proposing activities in a country for which such assistance is prohibited. (Sec. 538) Prohibits the use of funds to provide: (1) any financial incentive to a business for purposes of inducing it to relocate outside the United States if it will reduce the number of employees in the United States; (2) assistance for establishing or developing in a foreign country an export processing zone or other designated area in which a country's tax, tariff, labor, environment, and safety laws do not apply to activities in the area, unless the President certifies that such assistance is not likely to cause a loss of U.S. jobs; or (3) assistance for any project that contributes to the violation of internationally recognized workers rights in the recipient country. (Sec. 539) Declares that no sanction, prohibition, or restriction against Serbia or Montenegro shall cease to be effective, unless: (1) the President submits to the Congress a specified certification with respect to human rights and progress toward self-determination in Kosova; and (2) certain requirements are met. (Sec. 540) Declares that funds appropriated under this Act for Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Cambodia, and for victims of war, displaced children, displaced Burmese, humanitarian assistance for Romania, and humanitarian assistance for the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosova, may be made available notwithstanding any other provision of law. Authorizes the use of foreign assistance funds to support: (1) tropical forestry and energy programs aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases; and (2) biodiversity conservation activities. Authorizes AID to employ personal services contractors to administer programs for the West Bank and Gaza. (Sec. 541) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to: (1) immediate public renunciation by Arab League countries of the boycott of Israel (reinstated in 1997) and of American firms having commercial ties with Israel; and (2) steps the President should take to encourage such renunciation. (Sec. 542) Authorizes the use of ESF funds to strengthen the administration of justice in countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in other regions. Allows such use of ESF funds (including for anti-narcotics activities) for Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, notwithstanding specified provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. (Sec. 543) Declares that restrictions on assistance to foreign countries contained in this Act or any other Act (except those relating to international terrorism or human rights violations) shall not be construed to restrict assistance: (1) in support of certain programs of nongovernmental organizations; or (2) under specified provisions of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954. (Sec. 544) Authorizes the reprogramming of earmarked appropriations for other programs within the same account, provided certain requirements are met. (Sec. 546) Prohibits the use of funds for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States that were not authorized before the enactment of this Act. Makes specified funds available to private and voluntary organizations to deal with world hunger problems abroad. (Sec. 547) States that assistance under this Act should make full use of American resources, including commodities, products, and services, to the maximum extent possible. (Sec. 548) Prohibits the use of funds to pay any assessments, arrearages, or dues of any U.N. member. (Sec. 550) Prohibits the provision of funds to a private voluntary organization that fails to provide any document, file, or record necessary to the auditing requirements of AID. (Sec. 551) Prohibits the provision of funds to any foreign government that provides lethal military equipment to a country that the Secretary of State has determined has a terrorist government, unless the President determines that the furnishing of such assistance is in the U.S. national interest. (Sec. 552) Withholds assistance to a foreign country in an amount equal to 110 percent of the total unpaid parking fines and penalties owed by the country to the District of Columbia. (Sec. 553) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the West Bank and Gaza unless the President has exercised certain authorities to suspend prohibitions on assistance to the PLO. (Sec. 555) Permits the President to provide up to a specified amount of commodities and services to the UN War Crimes Tribunal if doing so will contribute to a resolution of charges regarding genocide or other violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia. (Sec. 556) Authorizes disposal on a grant basis in foreign countries of demining equipment used in support of the clearing of land mines and unexploded ordnance for humanitarian purposes. (Sec. 557) Prohibits the obligation of appropriations to create in Jerusalem a new U.S. agency office for the purpose of conducting U.S. business with the Palestinian Authority over Gaza and Jericho (or any successor Palestinian governing entity) provided for in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles. (Sec. 558) Prohibits the obligation of certain funds appropriated for Informational Program activities to pay for: (1) alcoholic beverages; (2) food (other than food provided at a military installation) not provided in conjunction with Informational Program trips where students do not stay at a military installation; or (3) entertainment expenses for recreational activities. (Sec. 559) Limits the amount of certain foreign assistance funds to Latin America and the Caribbean region. (Sec. 560) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act should be American-made. Requires Federal agency heads, in providing financial assistance to or entering into any contract with any entity using funds made available in this Act, to notify such entity of this intention. (Sec. 561) Prohibits the use of North American Development Bank funds for purposes other than those set out in the binational agreement. (Sec. 562) Authorizes appropriations, without fiscal year limitation, for the U.S. contribution to the eleventh replenishment of the resources of the International Development Association. (Sec. 563) Authorizes the President to reduce amounts owed to the United States by eligible countries as a result of: (1) housing guarantees made pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; or (2) credits extended or guarantees issued under the Arms Export Control Act. Permits exercise of such authority only: (1) to implement multilateral official debt relief and referendum agreements known as the Paris Club Agreed Minutes; and (2) with respect to countries with heavy debt burdens that are eligible to borrow from the International Development Association (but not from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) (IDA-only countries). Prescribes additional conditions for the exercise of such authority. (Sec. 564) Authorizes the President to engage in certain debt buybacks or sales. Authorizes sale, reduction, or cancellation of certain loans to foreign governments, upon receipt of payment from an eligible purchaser that plans to use such loans only for the purposes of engaging in debt-for-equity swaps, debt-for-development swaps, or debt-for-nature swaps. Limits such authority to funds appropriated by this Act under the heading of debt restructuring. (Sec. 565) Requires the President to determine and certify to the Congress that the Guatemalan military is cooperating with efforts to implement a peace settlement and resolve human rights abuses which elements of the Guatemalan military forces are alleged to have committed, ordered, or attempted to thwart the investigation of, as a condition for: (1) availability of any funds provided in this Act for the Guatemalan military forces; and (2) the lifting of restrictions on Guatemala under the heading Foreign Military Financing Program. Makes such condition inapplicable to funds made available to implement a cease-fire or peace agreement. Subjects any such funds to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations. (Sec. 566) Provides for bilateral and multilateral assistance sanctions against countries harboring war criminals indicted with respect to Nazi Germany, the former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. (Sec. 567) Prohibits provision to the Government of Haiti of any funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act until the President reports to Congress that such Government: (1) is conducting thorough investigations of extrajudicial and political killings that have taken place there since February 12, 1996; and (2) has completed privatization of, or placed under long-term private management contract, at least three major public enterprises. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to humanitarian, law enforcement, antinarcotics, or electoral assistance. Authorizes the President to waive such conditions on a semiannual basis upon determination and certification to the appropriate congressional committees that it is in the U.S. national interest. (Sec. 568) Requires a specified annual report of the Secretary of State containing the voting record of each foreign member country of the UN to include a side-by-side comparison of each country's overall support for the United States at the UN and the amount of U.S. assistance provided to it in FY 1997. (Sec. 569) Prohibits the U.S. from paying any voluntary contribution to the UN, including the UN Development Program, unless the President certifies to the Congress 15 days in advance of such payment that the UN is not engaged in any effort to implement or impose any taxation on U.S. persons in order to raise revenue for itself or any of its specialized agencies. (Sec. 570) Directs the Secretary to report to the Committee on Appropriations on the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (Sec. 571) Limits the amount of ESF assistance to Turkey.

Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998

United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Veterans Affairs Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development Title III: Independent Agencies Title IV: General Provisions Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and for sundry independent agencies. Title I: Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs for: (1) veterans' compensation, pensions, and readjustment benefits; (2) veterans' insurance and indemnities; (3) veterans' housing, education, and vocational rehabilitation loan accounts; (4) veterans' medical care; (5) medical and prosthetic research; (6) medical administration; (7) the General Post Fund, national homes; (8) departmental administration; (9) the National Cemetery System; (10) the Office of Inspector General; (11) construction; (12) the parking revolving fund; and (13) grants to States for construction of extended care facilities and cemeteries. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development - Makes appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for: (1) public and Indian housing; (2) the Public Housing Capital and Operating Funds; (3) drug elimination grants for low-income housing; (4) revitalization of severely distressed public housing; (5) Native American housing block grants; (6) Indian housing loan guarantees; (7) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS; (8) community development block grants; (9) the HOME investment partnerships program; (10) homeless assistance grants; (11) housing for special populations; (12) the Federal Housing Administration; (13) the Government National Mortgage Association; (14) housing policy development and research; (15) fair housing activities; (16) management and administration; (17) the Office of Inspector General; and (18) carrying out the Federal Housing Enterprise Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992. Rescinds specified amounts for: (1) annual contributions for assisted housing; (2) the Supportive Housing Demonstration Program; (3) the Shelter Plus Care program; and (4) rental housing assistance. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. (Sec. 201) Amends the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I to extend certain provisions regarding delays in the reissuance of Section 8 housing vouchers and certificates through FY 1998. (Sec. 202) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to extend specified provisions regarding Section 8 rent adjustments through FY 1998. (Sec. 205) Amends the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I to extend certain provisions regarding minimum rents in public and assisted housing. (Sec. 206) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to provide for allocations for affordable housing to local jurisdictions that receive initial formula allocations of less than $500,000. (Currently, only jurisdictions that receive more than such amount are granted an allocation.) Title III: Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for: (1) the American Battle Monuments Commission; (2) the Department of the Treasury's community development financial institutions program; (3) the Consumer Product Safety Commission; (4) the Corporation for National and Community Service; (5) the Office of Inspector General; (6) the Court of Veterans Appeals; and (7) the Department of Defense for Army cemeterial expenses. Appropriates funds for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for: (1) science and technology activities; (2) environmental programs and management; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) buildings and facilities; (5) Superfund; (6) the leaking underground storage tank program; (7) oil spill response programs; and (8) assistance to States and Indian tribes for environmental programs and infrastructure. Makes the Working Capital Fund available to EPA for maintenance and operation of administrative services without fiscal year limitation. Appropriates funds for: (1) the Executive Office of the President for the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Office of Environmental Quality; and (2) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General. Makes appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for: (1) disaster relief; (2) disaster assistance direct loans; (3) salaries and expenses; (4) the Office of Inspector General; (5) emergency management planning and assistance; (6) a specified emergency food and shelter program; and (7) the National Flood Insurance Fund. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act to extend a certain ceiling on obligations issued under the national flood insurance program through FY 1998. Requires the Director of FEMA to promulgate a methodology for collection of fees applicable to persons subject to FEMA's radiological emergency preparedness regulations. Permits collection of such fees only during FY 1998. Makes appropriations for: (1) the General Services Administration for the Consumer Information Center; (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for human space flight, science, aeronautics, and technology research and development, mission support, and the Office of Inspector General; (3) the National Credit Union Administration's Central Liquidity Facility; (4) the National Science Foundation for research, major construction projects, science and engineering education and human resources programs, salaries and expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; (5) the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; and (6) the Selective Service System. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds. Title IV: General Provisions - Sets forth provisions regarding availability, and prohibitions on the use, of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 415) Expresses the sense of the Congress that all equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act should be American-made. (Sec. 417) Requires amounts necessary for FY 1998 pay raises for programs funded by this Act to be within levels appropriated. (Sec. 419) Authorizes certain corporations and agencies of HUD to make commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as necessary to carry out provisions under the Government Corporation Control Act. Allows any collections by such corporations and agencies to be used for new loan or mortgage purchase commitments to the extent provided under this Act, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 421) Makes funds to carry out the termination of the Office of Consumer Affairs available from those appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services for FY 1998.

Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998

United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Defense--Civil Title II: Department of the Interior Title III: Department of Energy Title IV: Independent Agencies Title V: General Provisions Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998 - Title I: Department of Defense - Civil - Makes appropriations to the Department of the Army and its Corps of Engineers for FY 1998 for: (1) authorized civil functions of the Department of the Army relating to rivers and harbors, flood control, beach erosion, and related purposes; (2) expenses necessary for the collection and study of information related to such purposes; (3) the prosecution of authorized water development and related projects; (4) certain flood control projects on the Mississippi River and its tributaries; (5) water development projects operation and maintenance; (6) the navigable waters and wetlands regulatory program; (7) flood control and coastal emergencies; and (8) general expenses. Authorizes use of the Revolving Fund to construct an addition to the United States Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District main office building on Elemendorf Air Force Base. (Sec. 101) Instructs the Secretary of the Army to advertise specified hopper dredge volume for competitive bid. (Sec. 102) Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of the Army shall provide planning, design and construction assistance to non-Federal interests in implementing water-related environmental infrastructure and environmental resources development projects. Title II: Department of the Interior - Makes FY 1998 appropriations to the Department of the Interior for: (1) the Central Utah Project; (2) the Bureau of Reclamation; (3) water and related resources; (4) Bureau of Reclamation Loan Program Account; (5) California Bay-Delta Ecosystem Restoration; (6) the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund; and (7) general administrative expenses and special funds. Title III: Department of Energy - Makes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 1998 for: (1) non-defense energy research programs; (2) non-defense environmental management; (3) the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund; (4) the Nuclear Waste Disposal Fund; (5) general DOE science and research activities; (6) DOE administration; (7) Office of the Inspector General; (8) atomic energy defense weapons activities; (9) defense environmental restoration and waste management; (10) other DOE defense activities; (11) defense nuclear waste disposal; (12) DOE administration expenses; (13) the various geographical power marketing administrations of DOE (including specified costs for the hydroelectric facilities at the Falcon and Amistad Dams under the Western Area Power Administration); and (14) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Title IV: Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for: (1) the Appalachian Regional Commission; (2) the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board; (3) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); (4) the NRC Office of the Inspector General; (5) the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board; and (6) the Tennessee Valley Authority. Title V: General Provisions - Declares the sense of the Congress that all equipment and products bought with funds under this Act should be American-made. Requires each Federal agency to give notice of this policy to any entity to which it provides financial assistance or contracts. (Sec. 502) Amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the planning, design, and construction of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area Water Reclamation and Reuse Project, including the reclamation and use of nonpotable surface water. (Sec. 503) Amends the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Treaty Settlement Act of 1994 to increase authorizations for construction determined at 1997 prices.

A bill to authorize appropriations for the expansion of the columbarium of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1997

Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for expansion of the columbarium of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1998

United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Military Personnel Title II: Operation and Maintenance Title III: Procurement Title IV: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Title V: Revolving and Management Funds Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs Title VII: Related Agencies Title VIII: General Provisions Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1998 - Title I: Military Personnel - Appropriates funds for FY 1998 for active-duty and reserve personnel in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and for National Guard personnel in the Army and Air Force. Title II: Operation and Maintenance - Appropriates funds for FY 1998 for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (including a transfer of funds in each case), the Marine Corps, the defense agencies (including a transfer of funds), the reserve components, and the Army and Air National Guards. Appropriates funds for: (1) overseas contingency operations (including a transfer of funds); (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; (3) environmental restoration for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and defense-wide (including a transfer of funds in each case); (4) environmental restoration at former defense sites (including a transfer of funds); (5) overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid; (6) nuclear threat reduction programs with respect to republics of the former Soviet Union; and (7) quality of life enhancements, defense. Title III: Procurement - Appropriates funds for FY 1998 for procurement by the armed forces and its reserve components of aircraft, missiles, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and for other procurement. Appropriates funds for defense-wide procurement and for National Guard and reserve equipment. Title IV: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Appropriates funds for FY 1998 for research, development, test and evaluation by the armed forces and defense agencies. Appropriates funds for the Directors of Test and Evaluation and Operational Test and Evaluation. Title V: Revolving and Management Funds - Appropriates funds for: (1) the defense working capital funds; and (2) programs under the National Defense Sealift Fund. Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) medical and health care programs; (2) the destruction of lethal chemical agents and munitions; (3) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities, defense (including a transfer of funds); and (4) expenses and activities of the Office of the Inspector General in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978. Title VII: Related Agencies - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System Fund; (2) expenses of the Intelligence Community Management Account; (3) authorized payments to the Kaho'olawe Island Conveyance, Remediation, and Environmental Restoration Trust Fund; and (4) national security scholarships, fellowships, and grants (using funds derived from the National Security Education Trust Fund). Title VIII: General Provisions - Specifies authorized, restricted and prohibited uses of appropriated funds. (Sec. 8009) Authorizes procurement funds appropriated under this Act to be used for multiyear procurement contracts for the Apache Longbow radar, T-45 aircraft, and AV-8B aircraft. (Sec. 8011) Prohibits during FY 1998 the management by end strengths of DOD civilian personnel. (Sec. 8020) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to establish with host governments of NATO-member countries an account for the deposit of residual value amounts negotiated in the return of U.S. military installations to such countries. (Sec. 8035) Authorizes DOD to incur up to $350 million in obligations for DOD personnel compensation, military construction projects, and supplies and services in anticipation of receipts of contributions from the Government of Kuwait. (Sec. 8036) Earmarks funds from this Act for the Civil Air Patrol. (Sec. 8037) Prohibits the use of funds from this Act to establish a new DOD federally funded research and development center (FFRDC). Limits the Federal compensation to be paid to DOD FFRDC members or consultants. Prohibits the use of FY 1998 DOD FFRDC funds for new building construction, cost-sharing payments for projects funded by Government grants, or absorption of cost overruns. Limits the staff years of technical effort that may be funded for DOD FFRDCs from FY 1998 funds. Directs the Secretary to report to the defense committees concerning such staff year allocations. (Sec. 8042) Reduces by $300 million the total amounts appropriated in titles I through IV of this Act to reflect savings from the DOD use of advisory and assistance services. (Sec. 8047) Directs the President to include within each fiscal year budget the amounts requested for administrative activities of DOD, the military departments, and the defense agencies. (Sec. 8053) Prohibits the use of funds: (1) for the modification of an aircraft, weapon, ship, or other equipment that the military department concerned plans to retire or otherwise dispose of within five years after completion of the modification; (2) to transport chemical munitions to the Johnston Atoll for storage or demilitarization (with an exception and an authorized wartime waiver by the President); (3) by a DOD entity without compliance with the Buy American Act; (4) for assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea unless specifically appropriated for such purpose; and (5) to reduce the civilian medical and medical support personnel assigned to military treatment facilities below the September 30, 1996, level. (Sec. 8056) Earmarks funds appropriated under this Act for the mitigation of adverse environmental impacts on Indian lands resulting from DOD activities. (Sec. 8063) Authorizes DOD to lease real and personal property at the Adak Naval Air Facility, Alaska. (Sec. 8064) Rescinds specified funds from various accounts under prior defense appropriations Acts. (Sec. 8076) Appropriates funds to DOD for transfer to the Coast Guard. (Sec. 8078) Directs the Secretary to report quarterly to specified congressional committees setting forth all costs incurred by DOD in implementing or supporting United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions. (Sec. 8079) Prohibits FY 1997 DOD funds from being obligated or expended to transfer to another nation or international organization defense articles or services for use in any UN peacekeeping or peace enforcement operation, or for any other international peacekeeping, peace enforcement, or humanitarian assistance operation, unless specified congressional committees are given 15 days' advance notice. (Sec. 8080) Directs the Secretary, to the extent authorized by law, to issue loan guarantees in support of U.S. defense exports not otherwise provided for, with a contingent liability limit of $15 billion. Requires quarterly reports to specified congressional committees on such loan guarantees. (Sec. 8085) Authorizes the use of DOD O&M funds in support of U.S. missions and with eligible organizations and activities outside of DOD. (Sec. 8087) Authorizes a specified amount for Air Force aircraft procurement from a prior-year defense appropriations Act to remain available for expenditure until the end of FY 2003. (Sec. 8089) Directs the Secretary, upon the enactment of this Act, to make specified transfers between various DOD appropriation accounts. (Sec. 8090) Prohibits DOD funds from being used to reimburse a defense contractor for restructuring costs associated with a business combination unless: (1) certain DOD cost savings are achieved as a result of such restructuring; and (2) a related report required under prior law is submitted to the Congress. (Sec. 8091) Restricts the purchase of security locks used to protect critical national security information or other classified material. (Sec. 8093) Authorizes the Secretary to waive reimbursement of certain educational costs of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies for military officers and civilian officials of foreign countries if determined to be in the national security interest. (Sec. 8096) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to exchange or sell one Army C-20 aircraft and apply the proceeds to the acquisition of one C-37 aircraft. (Sec. 8097) Earmarks funds from this Act to assist a pilot project that will facilitate the transfer of commercial cruise ship shipbuilding technology and expertise to U.S. shipbuilding yards, utilize the experience and expertise of existing U.S.-flag cruise ship operators, and enable the operation of one U.S.-flag foreign-built cruise ship and two newly-constructed U.S.-flag cruise ships.

To authorize appropriations for the expansion of the columbarium of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1997

Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for expansion of the columbarium of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend eligibility to receive dependency and indemnity compensation to veterans' surviving spouses whose subsequent marriages have terminated.

United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1997

States that the remarriage of a veteran's surviving spouse shall not bar the furnishing of veterans' dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) to such person if the remarriage is terminated by death or divorce, unless the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that the death or divorce was secured through fraud by the surviving spouse or collusion. Makes eligible for DIC a veteran's surviving spouse who ceases to live with another person and hold him or herself out to the public as that person's spouse.

For the relief of Mrs. Lorraine Barde.

United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1997

Deems a named individual to have been divorced before November 1, 1990, thereby making her eligible to receive dependency and indemnity compensation as a surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces.

A bill to specify the frequency of screening mammograms provided to women veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1997

Amends the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 to require screening mammograms to be provided in accordance with current recommendations of the American Cancer Society relating to the age of the recipient and frequency of receipt.

To permit Medicare-eligible retired members of the Armed Forces and their Medicare-eligible dependents to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program.

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1997

Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under which current or former military personnel who are or become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act are offered enrollment in a Federal employees health benefits plan in lieu of receiving care in military treatment facilities or through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). Allows such enrollment for any dependent of such individual if the dependent is entitled to health care under CHAMPUS and is or becomes entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare. Outlines provisions concerning: (1) contributions for such coverage; (2) management of member participation; and (3) cancellation of coverage. Directs the Secretary and the OPM Director to report jointly to the Congress each year on the provision of such services to eligible persons during the preceding fiscal year. Requires the Secretary to offer such health benefits option no later than October 1, 1997.

Recognizing the many talents of the actor Jimmy Stewart and honoring the contributions he made to the Nation.

United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1997

Recognizes the many talents of the late James M. "Jimmy" Stewart. Honors the artistic, military, and political contributions he made to the Nation.

Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1997

Veterans' Housing Loan Improvements Act of 1997 - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to provide a table of fees, expressed in terms of a percentage of the total loan, to be charged to active-duty veterans, reservists, and other veterans for housing loans made, guaranteed, or insured by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Repeals Federal provisions which: (1) limit to loans closed before October 1, 1998, certain loan default procedures; (2) prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on certificates or other securities representing an interest in veterans' mortgage loans if such certificates are issued or approved after December 31, 1997; (3) prohibit the withholding of payments and benefits to veterans or their spouses due to liability for mortgage loans made to such veterans; and (4) provide for a veterans' direct loan revolving fund, a loan guaranty revolving fund, and a guaranty and indemnity fund. Establishes in the Treasury the Veterans Housing Benefit Program Fund for use in all veterans' housing loan operations. Extends through FY 1999 the Native American Veteran housing loan pilot program.

Court of Veterans Appeals Amendments of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Comparability Title II: Staggered Retirement and Recall Provisions Title III: Renaming Provisions Court of Veterans Appeals Amendments of 1997 - Title I: Comparability - Authorizes the Court of Veterans Appeals (Court) to prescribe necessary or appropriate rules and regulations. Requires a portion of a year of six months or more served as a Court judge to be credited toward years of service and a portion less than six months to not be credited. Prohibits a cost-of-living adjustment to the retired pay of a Court judge if the adjustment would cause the retired pay to exceed the rate of pay of a judge performing active service. Allows a Court judge to elect to participate in a survivor annuity within six months after marriage if such judge has retired. Reduces the percentage of pay reduction required of active judges as contributions toward retirement annuities. Prohibits interest payments on retirement pay deductions in the case of Court judges for any period during which such judges: (1) were separated from judicial service or service as a member of Congress or congressional employee; and (2) were not receiving retired pay or annuities based on such service. Allows a survivor annuity to be paid to the survivors of a judge who dies after having rendered at least 18 months (currently five years) of creditable civilian service. Allows a survivor annuity without a creditable service requirement in the case of a judge who dies of an assassination. Repeals a current requirement that a surviving spouse be at least 50 years of age before receiving such annuity. Increases such annuities at the same time and by the same percentage by which annuities payable from the Judicial Survivors' Annuity Fund are increased. Exempts the Court of Veterans Appeals Retirement Fund from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Provides a forfeiture of retired pay rights and benefits in the case of any Court judge who, after retirement, represents a client in a civil claim relating to veterans' benefits. Title II: Staggered Retirement and Recall Provisions - Allows only one individual each year to retire as a Court judge in the years 1999 through 2003. Provides retirement requirements, including age and years of service. Requires a judge to: (1) notify the President and the Court's chief judge of the intent to retire; and (2) retire during the fiscal year in which notification is provided but not earlier than 90 days after such notification is provided. Makes a retired Court judge eligible for recall upon providing the chief judge with written notification. Allows the chief judge to recall such a judge due to a vacancy or otherwise to meet case workloads. Title III: Renaming Provisions - Renames the Court as the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Compensation and Pensions Title II: Memorial Affairs Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment and Benefit Programs Improvement Act of 1997 - Title I: Compensation and Pensions - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, effective December 1, 1997, 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: (1) Federal Register publication of such rates; and (2) the rounding-down of such rate increases to the next lower whole dollar. Extends permanently: (1) the authority of the Secretary to utilize information from the Secretaries of Health and Human Services or the Treasury for veterans' income verification purposes; and (2) a provision limiting the monthly pension payable to a veteran having neither spouse nor child who is covered by a Medicaid plan for services furnished by a nursing facility. States that a veteran's disability or death shall not be considered to have resulted from service-connected injury or disease when the injury or disease is attributable in whole or part to the use of tobacco products during military service. Authorizes the Under Secretary for Benefits to reimburse the Veterans Health Administration for costs associated with the conduct of medical examinations requested in connection with claims for veterans' benefits. Title II: Memorial Affairs - Limits to the costs of required improvements and necessary equipment the amount of grants authorized to be made by the Secretary to assist States in establishing, expanding, or improving veterans' cemeteries. Removes a requirement that funds authorized for such grants be expended within two years of such authorization.

Act to Save America's Forests

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1997

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to Existing Land Management Laws Title II: Protection for Ancient Forests, Roadless Areas, Watershed Protection Areas, Special Areas, and Federal Boundary Areas Act to Save America's Forests - Title I: Amendments to Existing Land Management Laws - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (National Forest System), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (public lands), the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (National Wildlife Refuge System), the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act (Indian lands), and Federal law relating to forest management on military lands to: (1) provide for native biodiversity conservation; and (2) restrict and prohibit certain logging practices. Title II: Protection for Ancient Forests, Roadless Areas, Watershed Protection Areas, Special Areas, and Federal Boundary Areas - Describes Special Areas as Federal forest land parcels possessing outstanding biological, scenic, recreational, or cultural values, exemplary on a regional or national level, which may not meet the definitions of ancient forests, roadless areas, watershed protection areas, or Federal boundary areas. Designates specified Special Areas which shall be subject to restrictions on road construction and logging in the following States: (1) Alabama; (2) Alaska; (3) Arizona; (4) Arkansas; (5) California; (6) Colorado; (7) Georgia; (8) Idaho; (9) Illinois; (10) Michigan; (11) Minnesota; (12) Missouri; (13) Montana; (14) New Mexico; (15) North Carolina; (16) Ohio; (17) Oklahoma; (18) Oregon; (19) South Carolina; (20) South Dakota; (21) Tennessee; (22) Texas; (23) Vermont; (24) Virginia; (25) Wisconsin; and (26) Wyoming. Provides for the appointment of a committee of scientists to recommend additional Special Areas. Restricts road construction and logging in ancient forests, roadless areas, watershed protection areas, Special Areas, and Federal boundary areas.

A bill to require the Secretary of the Army to close the United States Army School of the Americas.

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1997

Directs the Secretary of the Army to close the military education and training facility known as the United States Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. Repeals current statutory authority for the School.

A bill to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to benefit Alaska natives and rural residents, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997

Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) to include lands conveyed to a Native Corporation pursuant to an exchange authorized under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) or other applicable law among lands that are exempt, as long as such lands are not developed, leased, or sold to third parties, from adverse possession claims, real property taxes, specified judgments, and involuntary distributions or conveyances related to the involuntary dissolution of a Native Corporation or Settlement Trust. Specifies that lands shall not be considered developed, leased, or sold to a third party as a result of an exchange or conveyance between or among Native Corporations and trusts, partnerships, corporations, or joint ventures (trusts) whose beneficiaries, partners, shareholders, or joint venturers (beneficiaries) are Native Corporations. Makes certain prohibitions regarding actions by a trustee inapplicable to actions by any trustee whose right, title, or interest in land arises pursuant to an agreement between or among Native Corporations and trusts whose beneficiaries are Native Corporations. (Sec. 2) Amends ANCSA to authorize a Native Regional Corporation, upon request, to obtain the retained mineral estate of the Native Allotments that are totally surrounded by ANCSA land selections. Limits a Regional Corporation to a total of not more than 12,000 acres. (Sec. 3) Amends ANCSA to exempt certain bonds received by a household, an individual Native, or a descendant of a Native from a Native Corporation from being taken into account as an asset or resource in determining eligibility for need based Federal programs. (Sec. 4) Amends the Alaska Land Status Technical Corrections Act of 1992 to treat the establishment of the Gold Creek account and conveyance of land, if any, as though 3,520 acres of land had been conveyed to Gold Creek Susitna Association, Incorporated, under ANCSA for which rights to in-lieu subsurface estate are provided to CIRI (Cook Inlet Region Incorporated). Requires, within one year from enactment, that CIRI select 3,520 acres of land from the area designated for in-lieu selection by a specified document. (Sec. 5) Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1992 with respect to the implementation, valuation, and administration of the Calista Corporation land exchanges. Extends the restriction on certain property transfers. (Sec. 6) Amends ANCSA to include the Haida Corporation and the Haida Traditional Use Sites with respect to transferring the administration of mining claims on Regional Corporation lands and not subjecting any revenues remitted to Haida Corporation to distribution under such Act. (Sec. 7) Amends ANCSA to exempt revenues received by a Regional Corporation from the sale of sand, gravel, stone, pumice, peat, clay, or cinder resources from the revenue sharing requirements otherwise applicable to revenues received for timber resource and subsurface estate sales. (Sec. 8) Sets forth provisions for the establishment of additional native urban and group corporations in Southeast Alaska. Requires a report regarding lands and other appropriate compensation for the newly established corporations. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary to provide for planning grants to the newly established native corporations. (Sec. 9) Amends ANILCA to: (1) provide for the approval of certain protested Alaska Native allotment applications; (2) require the Secretary, in selecting individuals to provide certain visitor services, to give preference to the Native Corporations (currently, the Native Corporation) most directly affected by the establishment or expansion of any conservation system unit by or under the provisions of such Act; (3) require all current and future federal land managers in Alaska or a region that includes Alaska, to participate in an ANILCA training class; and (4) permit subsistence uses by local residents in the Glacier Bay National Park where such uses are traditional. (Sec. 13) Revises with respect to public lands in Alaska: (1) access rights provisions; and (2) cabin use provisions; and (3) requirements for allowed uses. (Sec. 15) Requires a report to the Congress concerning local hires under ANILCA and their inability to obtain competitive service positions.

Biomaterials Access Assurance Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997

Biomaterials Access Assurance Act of 1997 - 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. (Sec. 5) 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); (3) furnishes raw materials or components that fail to meet applicable contractual requirements or specifications; (4) knew, or through reasonable inquiry could have known, of the application to which the raw material was to be put, the risks, and that the buyer or user was ignorant of the risks, but failed to warn the buyer or user; or (5) furnished raw materials that were defective. Declares 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. (Sec. 6) Sets forth procedures regarding dismissal of actions against suppliers. Requires claimant payment of attorney's fees if the court finds the claim to be without merit and frivolous.

To establish a demonstration project to authorize certain covered beneficiaries under the military health care system (including the dependents of active duty military personnel and retired members and their dependents) to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program and to ensure their future health security through the use of medical savings accounts.

United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997

Directs the Secretary of Defense to conduct a demonstration project in at least one region of the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) to provide beneficiaries covered under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) with the option to receive health care through the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, in addition to other health care options available to such covered beneficiaries. Outlines participation eligibility requirements, with a special rule for Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) participants. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to permit a project participant to take a tax credit of 25 percent of the amount paid on behalf of such participant to a medical savings account. Requires a report from the Secretary of Defense to the Congress containing a plan to implement the demonstration project and to permit participants to maintain and use medical savings accounts.

To ensure that persons who enroll in the managed health care program of the Department of Defense known as TRICARE Prime retain coverage under the program in any TRICARE region.

United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997

Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that persons enrolled in TRICARE Prime (a Department of Defense managed health care option) are permitted to transfer their enrollment to another region of the TRICARE program whenever the beneficiary resides or travels in the other region.

To provide that cost-of-living adjustments to payments made under Federal law and to Federal tax benefits shall be determined using a new price index.

United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997

Requires, notwithstanding any other provision of law, that the Consumer Price Index for Government Use (CPI-G) established under this Act be used to determine the amount of any cost-of-living or similar adjustment under the Internal Revenue Code and any payment listed in this Act that is otherwise subject to an adjustment using a price index that includes prices of tobacco products or distilled spirits or both. Includes in that payment list: (1) Social Security Act benefits; (2) retirement benefits for former U.S. employees or former U.S. armed forces members; (3) payments on account of the death or disability of any current or former U.S. employee; and (4) tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. Requires that the CPI-G be based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, but requires it to exclude tobacco product and distilled spirit prices.

China Human Rights and Democracy Act of 1997

United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997

China Human Rights and Democracy Act of 1997 - Authorizes appropriations for International Broadcasting Activities only for broadcasting to China. Earmarks funds for: (1) capital expenditures for the purchase and construction of transmission facilities; and (2) Radio Free Asia. (Sec. 2) Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. international broadcasting through Radio Free Asia and Voice of America should be increased to provide continuous 24-hour broadcasting in multiple languages and dialects, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Tibetan, and Uighur. (Sec. 3) Authorizes appropriations to the National Endowment for Democracy, and directs the Secretary of State to use funds available in the East Asia-Pacific Regional Democracy Fund, to promote democracy, civil society, and the development of the rule of law in China. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to report annually to specified congressional committees on human rights in China, including religious persecution, the development of democratic institutions, and the rule of law. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Prisoner Information Registry for China; and (2) assign not less than six foreign service officers to the U.S. Embassy and consular offices in China to monitor and report on human rights matters in China. (Sec. 5) Requires specified reports to the Congress on Chinese intelligence activities against U.S. interests and on commercial enterprises affiliated with the Chinese military. (Sec. 6) Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. nationals conducting industrial cooperation projects in China should adhere to certain principles. Declares that such nationals should: (1) suspend the use of any merchandise that they have reason to believe was produced by convict or forced labor, and refuse to use forced labor in their projects; (2) seek to ensure that political or religious views, sex, ethnic or national background, or association with dissidents will not prohibit hiring, lead to harassment, demotion, or dismissal of an individual employed in the industrial cooperation project; (3) ensure that methods of production used in the projects do not pose unnecessary danger to workers and the surrounding neighborhoods and environment; (4) strive to establish a private business enterprise when involved in an industrial cooperation project with China or other state entity; (5) discourage any military presence on the premises of projects which involve dual-use technologies; (6) promote freedom of association and assembly among the U.S. national's employees; (7) provide the Department of State with information relevant to its efforts to collect information on prisoners for purposes of the Prisoner Information Registry; (8) discourage or prevent compulsory political indoctrination programs from taking place on project premises; (9) promote freedom of expression of all kinds; and (10) prevent harassment of workers who decide freely the number and spacing of their children, and prohibit compulsory population control activities on the premises of the project. Directs the Secretary to forward a copy of these principles to the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and encourage them to promote similar principles. Directs each U.S. national conducting an industrial cooperation project in China to register with the Secretary and indicate whether they agree to implement such principles. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to give preference to U.S. nationals that have adopted such principles when selecting participants for trade missions in China. (Sec. 7) Requires the promotion of cultural, educational, scientific, agricultural, military, legal, political, and artistic exchanges between the United States and China. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader of the Senate should establish a legislative exchange program with China; and (2) a federally chartered not-for-profit organization should be established to fund exchanges between the United States and China through private donations. (Sec. 8) Prohibits the Secretary from issuing any visa to, and the Attorney General from admitting to the United States, any Chinese national that has been materially involved in: (1) the commission of human rights violations; or (2) the proliferation of conventional or nuclear weapons technology, or other sensitive or dual-use technologies, in contravention of U.S. interests. Provides for waiver of such requirements in the U.S. national interest. (Sec. 9) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Congress, the President, and the Secretary should work with the governments of other countries to establish a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Asia which would be modeled after the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2016) making appropriations for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997

Sets forth the rule (open) for the consideration of H.R. 2016 (military construction appropriations).

Rudy deLeon, of California, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, vice Edwin Dorn, resigned.

United States · United States Senate · 25 June 1997

To amend title 10, United States Code, to extend commissary and exchange store privileges to veterans with a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more and their dependents.

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1997

Provides military commissary and exchange privileges to veterans with service-connected disabilities of 30 percent or more, as well as their dependents.

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide that certain individuals who would be eligible for military retired pay for nonregular service but for the fact that they did not serve on active duty during a period of conflict may be paid such retired pay if they served in the United States merchant marine during or immediately after World War II.

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1997

Entitles to military retired pay certain persons who were members of the U.S. merchant marine during and immediately after World War II. Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned, within 60 days after the enactment of this Act, to make lump-sum payments of accrued pay to such persons.

To amend title 38, United States Code, to deny burial in a federally funded cemetery to persons convicted of certain capital crimes.

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1997

Prohibits burial in a federally funded cemetery of the remains of a person convicted of crimes related to the murder or attempted murder of certain Federal officers or employees or terrorist-related crimes.

To take into trust for the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma certain land in Oklahoma that was known as the Fort Reno Military Reservation and that was formerly part of the Cheyenne-Arapaho lands, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1997

Takes into trust for the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma certain land in Oklahoma (part of the original Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation known as the Fort Reno Military Reservation) and authorizes the lease of all or part of such land to the Bureau of Prisons in connection with the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma. Sets forth improvements and easement provisions.