Education

Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1991

Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education Act - Title I: Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) an Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education to be headed by a Director. Requires a State that desires to participate in the Police Corps to designate a lead agency and submit a State plan containing assurances with respect to: (1) lead agency cooperation with other State and local agencies; (2) the State advertising of the assistance available; (3) State screening and selection of law enforcement personnel for participation in the program; and (4) compliance with other specified requirements. Authorizes the Director to award college scholarships (including direct payments to institutions and reimbursement of educational costs) to participants who agree to work for four years in a State or local police force after completion of a baccalaureate program and police corps training, subject to specified conditions. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) scholarship assistance for dependent children of law enforcement officers; (2) the selection of participants; (3) minority recruitment; and (4) leaves of absence. Requires the Director to establish up to three training centers to provide basic law enforcement training to State Police Corps program participants. Requires participants to attend two eight-week training sessions at such training centers and to meet certain performance standards in order to remain in the Police Corps program. Requires the Director to pay participants a weekly stipend during training. Requires a State, in order to participate in the Police Corps program, to submit a plan for implementing such program to the Director for approval. Requires such plan to: (1) include assurances that participants will receive additional State or local training after completing Federal training which shall count toward the four-year service obligation; and (2) provide that program participants shall be assigned to community and preventive patrol in geographic areas with the greatest need for additional law enforcement personnel. Provides for the swearing in of participants as members of the police force to which they are assigned after completing Federal training and meeting the requirements of that police force. Requires the Director to report annually on the Police Corps program to the Attorney General, the President, and specified congressional officials. Authorizes appropriations.

To impose adequate standards for lead content of water dispensed for human consumption in elementary and secondary schools as a condition of receiving certain Federal financial assistance.

United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1991

Requires all elementary and secondary schools (schools) that dispense water for human consumption to dispense lead-free water for such purposes. Requires certification of compliance with such requirement by each school within six months of enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to waive such requirement for an additional period for schools that have initiated remedial actions. Directs the Secretary to penalize any school for noncompliance by withholding a portion of the school's funds payable under provisions for education of disadvantaged children under chapters 1 and 2 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Requires withholding of five percent of such funds in the first year of noncompliance and ten percent in the second and each succeeding year of noncompliance. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to issue regulations that describe acceptable tests for lead content in water that may be used by schools to determine compliance. Defines "lead-free water" as water containing not more than 15 parts per billion of lead.

Next Generation Automobile Research and Development Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1991

Next Generation Automobile Research and Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a research advisory committee to provide advice and recommendations on the automotive technology research program carried out under this Act. Requires the Secretary to undertake a research and development program to: (1) develop automotive technologies to enable the U.S. automotive industry to become the world leader in new technology; and (2) conduct research that would enhance U.S. competitiveness and speed the commercial adoption of specified automotive technologies. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to universities or other research organizations for conducting such research and development activities.

ADAMHA Reorganization Act

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1991

Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration Reorganization Act of 1991 - Title I: Administration and Institutes - Subtitle A: Restructuring - Amends the Public Health Service Act to remove provisions relating to the administration, institutes, and research of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration. Establishes, as an agency of the Public Health Service, the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (ADAMHSA). Sets forth its general duties. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates: (1) grants to prevent and treat substance abuse among high risk youth; (2) grants for providing pregnant and postpartum women and their children substance abuse prevention, education, and treatment services, including primary health care, comprehensive social services, support services, counseling, housing, and case management; (3) grants to improve the provision of substance abuse treatment services, including through focusing on specified populations, treatment and vocational training in exchange for service, projects operated by community and migrant health centers, and treatment campus projects; (4) grants for drug and alcohol treatment services to individuals under criminal justice supervision; (5) grants to increase the number of full-time substance abuse treatment and prevention providers and the number of health professionals providing treatment and prevention as a component of primary health care; and (6) grants to States to expand their substance abuse treatment capacity. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes: (1) grants or contracts for outreach to intravenous drug abusers to prevent exposure to and transmission of the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome; (2) grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to develop and expand mental health and substance abuse treatment for homeless individuals; and (3) grants to communities for the development of comprehensive long-term strategies for the prevention of substance abuse and evaluation of different community approaches to such prevention. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes grants for demonstration projects for: (1) community services for seriously mentally ill individuals and their families, seriously emotionally and mentally disturbed children and youth and their families, and seriously mentally ill homeless and elderly individuals; (2) the prevention of youth suicide; (3) recognition, assessment, treatment, and clinical management of depressive disorders; (4) the prevention of sex offenses and treatment and assistance to sex offense victims; (5) mental health services to family violence victims; and (6) prevention services for individuals at risk of developing mental illness. Authorizes appropriations. Requires: (1) the appointment of one or more advisory councils for ADAMHSA; (2) peer review of services grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts administered through ADAMHSA. Requires peer review approval for assistance under, and both peer review and advisory council approval for assistance over, a specified amount. Mandates a process to respond to misconduct in projects receiving funds under specified provisions. Authorizes and regulates the use of experts and consultants. Establishes within ADAMHSA the Office for Special Populations to take specified actions with regard to women, minorities, and the elderly. Establishes in the National Institutes of Health the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), requiring comprehensive research on cause, diagnosis, epidemiology, prevention, and treatment, including services research. Authorizes appropriations. Includes in the purpose of NIMH the study of psychological, social, and legal factors that influence behavior. Authorizes grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts through NIAAA, NIDA, and NIMH relating to research and demonstrations relative to the cause, diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention of mental illness and substance abuse. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish, through NIAAA, NIDA, and NIMH, National Health and Substance Abuse Education Programs to disseminate information on improved treatment and family assistance methods and to support training. Authorizes the Secretary, through NIAAA and NIDA, to designate National Substance Abuse Research Centers for interdisciplinary research on substance abuse and other biomedical, behavioral, and social issues. Mandates annual grants to Centers. Establishes in NIDA the Medication Development Program to take specified steps regarding: (1) medication to treat the symptoms and disease of alcohol and drug abuse and addiction and related mental disorders; and (2) supporting training in such areas. Mandates related grants or contracts and cooperative agreements. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Provisions - Replaces provisions titled "Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Substance Abuse and Mental Health" with provisions directing the Secretary, through the ADAMHSA Administrator, as feasible and on request of a State, to make technical assistance available for specified purposes, including: (1) program management and evaluation; (2) accreditation or licensure of facilities and personnel; and (3) improving the scope of mental health and substance abuse health insurance offered in the State. Makes the Secretary, through the Administrator, responsible for fostering substance abuse prevention and treatment programs and services in State and local governments and private industry. Mandates: (1) development of model programs suitable for replication on a cost-effective basis in different types of businesses and governmental entities; and (2) dissemination of information on the model programs. Prohibits denial or deprivation of Federal civilian employment or a Federal professional or other license or right solely on the grounds of prior substance abuse, except for employment in specified Federal agencies, any other Federal department or agency designated for purposes of national security by the President, or any Federal position determined to be sensitive. Prohibits discrimination against substance abusers who are suffering from medical conditions in admission or treatment, solely because of their substance abuse, by any private or public general hospital, or outpatient facility receiving any Federal support. Prohibits disclosure of patient information maintained in connection with substance abuse prevention, training, treatment, or research which is conducted or assisted by any Federal department or agency, subject to specified exceptions. Provides for monetary penalties. Mandates: (1) data collection on the national incidence and prevalence of the various forms of mental illness and substance abuse; and (2) competitive grants for epidemiological and longitudinal studies of infants and the families of infants with fetal cocaine and fetal alcohol syndromes. Authorizes appropriations. Provides, if the Secretary determines that a disease or disorder within the jurisdiction of ADAMHSA constitutes a public health emergency, for: (1) expediting peer and advisory committee review; (2) waiving advertising requirements for proposals for contracts; (3) increasing existing grants and contracts; and (4) disseminating information. Subtitle C: Transfer Provisions - Provides for the transfer from the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) to: (1) ADAMHSA of authorities, responsibilities, services, personnel, assets, liabilities, orders, regulations, legal actions, and other matters; and (2) the appropriate Directors of NIAAA, NIDA, and NIMH all research related functions of ADAMHA. Subtitle D: Conforming Amendments - Amends specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to projects for assistance in transition from homelessness and provisions relating to alternative utilization of military facilities to substitute references to the Administrator of ADAMHSA for references to: (1) the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health; and (2) the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Directs the Secretary to carry out provisions relating to alcohol and drug abuse and mental health services block grants through the Administrator. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to try to get alternative Federal funding for grantees receiving assistance under the community youth activity program under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. Requires that the peer review systems, advisory councils, and scientific advisory committees used by NIAAA, NIDA, and NIMH before the transfer of those Institutes to NIH be used by those Institutes after the transfer. Title II: Reauthorization and Improvement of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Mental Health Service Block Grant Program - Authorizes appropriations for the alcohol and drug abuse and mental health service block grant provisions of the Public Health Service Act. Revises the formula for determining the amount of block grant allotments. Requires that unobligated block grant funds remain available to a State if the Secretary finds that the funds were obligated but subsequently unobligated due to the State's diligence in carrying out the purposes of such provisions. Directs (currently, authorizes) the Secretary to waive a requirement (to spend at least 50 percent of specified funds reserved to carry out certain drug abuse activities) if the Secretary determines that the incidence of intravenous drug abuse in a State does not require that level of funding. Allows block grant allotments to be used for: (1) grants to community health centers for services relating to seriously (currently, chronically) mentally ill individuals; (2) grants to underserved populations of mentally ill individuals in State and local correctional facilities; (3) renovation that makes land or a facility suitable for use under such block grant provisions, including removing hazards or making the land or facility accessible to disabled persons; and (4) programs of treatment for adult and juvenile substance abusers in State and local criminal and juvenile justice systems. Replaces provisions prohibiting the use of block grant funds for the distribution of needles or bleach in connection with the use of illegal drugs with a provision prohibiting the use of such funds for any program prohibited by specified provisions (relating to needle or syringe distribution) of the Health Omnibus Programs Extension of 1988. Amends provisions limiting the percentage of block grant funds a State may use for administration to prohibit including in administrative expenses reasonable expenses incurred for training. Prohibits substance abuse treatment facilities and mental health treatment facilities receiving assistance under Public Health Service Act block grant provisions from discriminating against mentally ill substance abusers. Requires a State to maintain spending levels for alcohol and drug abuse and community mental health services at least at the level (currently, the average level) the State maintained during the previous two years. Removes a provision allowing waiver of that requirement due to extraordinary economic conditions in the State. Adds a requirement that the State mental health planning council comment on the State plan required under specified provisions. Requires a State, on request of the council, to submit the comments to the Secretary with the State plan. Requires development and implementation by a State, and annual approval by the Secretary, of a statewide Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Plan. Directs the Secretary, in making grants under existing provisions for the development of State comprehensive mental health services plans, act through the Administrator of ADAMHSA. Title III: Studies - Requires the Director of the NIDA to report to specified congressional committees on the role of the private sector in the development of anti-addiction medications, including legislative proposals designed to encourage private sector development of such medications. Requires the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration to report to specified congressional committees on the process by which anti-addiction medications receive marketing approval. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the Medications Development Division of the NIDA shall devote special attention and adequate resources to the development of specified medications relating to drug abuse. Requires the Directors of NIAAA, NIDA, and NIMH to establish a panel of independent experts in pharmacotherapeutic treatment of drug addiction to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the national strategy for developing such treatments. Requires the report to be made available to the public. Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on a uniform definition of "serious mental illness." Requires the ADAMHSA Administrator, acting jointly with the NIMH Director, to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the most effective methods for, and the obstacles to, providing mental health services to individuals residing in correctional facilities.

Omnibus Adoption Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1991

Omnibus Adoption Act of 1991 - Title I: National Advisory Council on Adoption - Establishes the National Advisory Council on Adoption (the Council), to be appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Terminates such Council after four years. Title II: Adoption Data Collection System - Directs the Secretary of HHS to: (1) report to the Congress, within 30 days, on the status of the implementation of the adoption data collection system required under specified provisions of the Social Security Act, including specific assurances relating to such system; (2) report monthly to the Congress on the progress made in implementing such system; and (3) consult with the Council in developing regulations to carry out such reporting requirements and assurances. Title III: Adoption Education Programs - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish a program of fellowships for graduate study in social work, in innovative programs concerning the effects of adoption on the adopted children, their adoptive families, and their biological parents who make an adoption plan. Directs the Secretary of Education to award up to 50 such fellowships. Sets forth provisions for student selection procedures, stipends, payments to institutions, fellowship conditions, consultation with the Council, and an authorization of appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Secretary of Education, within one year after enactment of this Act, to make grants to States to carry out adoption education programs. Sets forth provisions for grants amounts, applications and agreements, program guidelines, consultation with the Council, and an authorization of appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Title IV: Adoption Benefits for Federal Employees and Military Personnel - Amends Federal law relating to Federal employees to allow their sick leave (including advance sick leave) to be used for purposes relating to the adoption of a child. Includes prenatal and maternal benefits (other than those relating to a surrogate parenting arrangement) for the biological mother of an adoptive child among the types of benefits which may be provided under Federal employee benefits plans. Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish minimum standards for this type of benefits, in accordance with specified guidelines. Amends Federal law relating to members of the uniformed services to require establishment of a program to reimburse them for expenses they incur for prenatal and maternal care provided to the biological mother of a child they legally adopt. Limits such reimbursement to care provided on or after the date on which the member notifies the appropriate administering Secretary. Prohibits such reimbursement for expenses incurred in carrying out a surrogate parenting arrangement. Includes prenatal care among types of authorized care for military dependents. Includes care for preexisting conditions among the types of authorized care for adopted children of uniformed service members. Defines adopted child, for purposes of Federal law relating to members of the uniformed services, as a child with respect to whom a written plan of adoption has been entered into pursuant to the laws of the State in which the child resides. Directs OPM and the Secretary of Defense to coordinate their development of regulations and guidelines to carry out their responsibilities under this title, and to consult with the Council in such development. Title V: Adoption Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to establish a refundable tax credit for certain amounts of adoption expenses, for taxpayers at certain income levels. Title VI: Maternal Health Certificates Program - Directs the Secretary of HHS, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, to establish a program to provide maternal health certificates for eligible pregnant women to use to cover expenses incurred in receiving services at a maternal and housing services facility. Bases eligibility on an individual's having an annual individual income of not greater than 175 percent of the applicable official poverty line income. Determines such income without taking account of: (1) the income of any parent or guardian of the individual; or (2) the income of an estranged spouse who has been living apart from the woman for at least six months. Prohibits finding an individual ineligible for such program solely on the grounds that they do not receive aid under the State plan for aid for families with dependent children (AFDC) under the Social Security Act. Sets limits on the amount of expenses which such program certificates may cover. Directs the Secretary of HHS to consult with the Council in developing regulations for such program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994 for such maternal health certificates program. Title VII: Rehabilitation Grants for Maternity Housing and Services Facilities - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out a program to make grants to eligible nonprofit entities for rehabilitation of existing structures for use as facilities to provide housing and services to pregnant women. Sets forth provisions for such grant program authority, applications, limitations on numbers and amounts of grants, and reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary of HUD to consult with the Council in issuing such program regulations. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1992 through 1994. Title VIII: Sense of Congress Regarding Changes in State Adoption Laws - Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State should adopt and enforce specified types of adoption laws, rules, or regulations, which include provisions for: (1) disclosure of all relevant information, including background information (except actual identification of the child or biological parents), to the prospective adoptive parent, with criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure, (2) pre-placement investigations of the prospective adoptive parent; (3) disclosure to the court of all costs incurred by or on behalf of each party to the adoption; (4) guaranteed adequate legal representation for the biological mother; (5) filing of a petition for adoption with the appropriate court within one year after placement; and (6) coverage by the health plan of the adoptive parent of pregnancy and childbirth expenses (excluding surrogate parenting arrangements) for the child and the biological mother, or for any dependent child of the plan enrollee, and plan coverage of pre-existing conditions of adopted children.

Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Project Act

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1991

Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Project Act - Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to extend the Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Project from five to eight years. Increases the number of participating tribes in the project from 20 to 30. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate and enter into an annual written funding agreement with the governing body of a participating tribal government that successfully completes its Self-Governance Planning Grant. Authorizes appropriations for the ten tribes added to the Project by this Act.

Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1991

Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require each eligible institution participating in any program under HEA title IV (Student Assistance) to include a statement of policy regarding the rights of victims of sexual assault, that complies with specified requirements, in its disclosure of campus security policy and campus crime statistics. Requires each institution of higher education to establish and implement a written policy establishing a campus sexual assault victims' bill of rights which provides that specified rights shall be accorded to such victims by all campus officers, administrators, and employees of such institution.

Spending Priority Reform Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1991

Spending Priority Reform Act of 1991 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that any money returned to the Treasury as a result of this Act should be deposited in the General Fund of the Treasury to be applied against servicing the national debt. Title I: Interior Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Department of the Interior for: (1) certain National Park Service studies; (2) projects for historic landmarks; and (3) grants for miscellaneous local projects. Title II: Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for: (1) a specified fresh-water fish hatchery; (2) a certain seafood consumer center, Oregon; (3) a project for fish oil research; (4) special area management planning, Charleston, South Carolina; and (5) the purchase of a research vessel for the University of Massachusetts. Amends the Small Business Act to repeal the authorization for a tree planting program. Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Small Business Administration for such program and for direct grants for miscellaneous projects. Title III: Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the General Services Administration for certain projects funded through the Federal Buildings Fund. Title IV: Agriculture Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for certain special research grants and the rural development grant for the restoration of the birthplace of Lawrence Welk or the construction, alteration, or repair of a Lawrence Welk museum. Title V: Transportation Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Department of Transportation for specified Federal Highway Administration demonstration projects. Title VI: Housing and Urban Development Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for certain housing projects. Title VII: Defense Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations made under the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1991, for certain grants to universities and certain miscellaneous projects. Title VIII: Foreign Operations Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations for a specified grant relating to foreign development and development assistance made to a university. Title IX: Legislative Branch Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized appropriations to study the location for a new staff gymnasium for the House of Representatives. Title X: Supplemental Appropriations (Public Law 102-27) - Rescinds unauthorized appropriations made under the Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Consequences of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Food Stamps, Unemployment Compensation Administration, Veterans Compensation and Pensions, and Other Urgent Needs Act of 1991 for: (1) the service life extension program for the U.S.S. Kennedy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; and (2) the costs of establishing a Center for Commerce and Industrial Expansion at Loyola University of Chicago.

Contraception and Infertility Research Centers Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1991

Contraception and Infertility Research Centers Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Institute of Child Health and Human Development to make grants or enter into contracts for centers for improving methods of contraception and centers for diagnosing and treating infertility. Requires the Director, subject to appropriations, to provide for three centers with respect to contraception and two centers with respect to infertility. Requires each center to: (1) conduct clinical and other applied research; (2) develop training protocols for and conduct training of physicians, scientists, nurses, and other health and allied health professionals; (3) develop model continuing education programs; and (4) disseminate information to professionals. Allows a center to use the funds to provide: (1) stipends for health and allied health professionals enrolled in the training programs; and (2) fees to individuals serving as subjects in the clinical trials. Requires each center to use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions, meeting requirements as prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Allows support for a center to be for a period of up to five years, with extensions of one or more periods of up to five years if the center's operations have been reviewed by a peer review group and the group has so recommended. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to establish a program of entering into agreements with health professionals, including graduate students, under which the professionals agree to conduct research with respect to contraception or infertility in consideration of the Government agreeing to repay, for each year of such service, not more than a specified amount of the principal and interest of their educational loans. Applies provisions of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program to this program, except as inconsistent. Authorizes appropriations. Requires amounts appropriated to remain available until the end of the second fiscal year after they are appropriated.

Spending Priority Reform Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1991

Spending Priority Reform Act of 1991 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that any money returned to the Treasury as a result of this Act should be deposited in the General Fund of the Treasury to be applied against servicing the national debt. Title I: Interior Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Department of the Interior for: (1) certain National Park Service studies; (2) projects for historic landmarks; and (3) grants for miscellaneous local projects. Title II: Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for: (1) a specified fresh-water fish hatchery; (2) a certain seafood consumer center in Oregon; (3) a project for fish oil research; (4) special area management planning in Charleston, South Carolina; and (5) the purchase of a research vessel for the University of Massachusetts. Amends the Small Business Act to repeal the authorization for a tree planting program. Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Small Business Administration for such program and for direct grants for miscellaneous projects. Title III: Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the General Services Administration for certain projects funded through the Federal Buildings Fund. Title IV: Agriculture Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for certain special research grants and the rural development grant for the restoration of the birthplace of Lawrence Welk or the construction, alteration, or repair of a Lawrence Welk museum. Title V: Transportation Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Department of Transportation for specified Federal Highway Administration demonstration projects. Title VI: Housing and Urban Development Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for certain housing projects. Title VII: Defense Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations made under the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1991, for certain universities and certain miscellaneous projects. Title VIII: Foreign Operations Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1991 appropriations for a specified grant relating to foreign development and development assistance made to a university. Title IX: Legislative Branch Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized appropriations to study the location for a new staff gymnasium for the House of Representatives. Title X: Supplemental Appropriations (Public Law 102-27) - Rescinds unauthorized appropriations made under the Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Consequences of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Food Stamps, Unemployment Compensation Administration, Veterans Compensation and Pensions, and Other Urgent Needs Act of 1991 for: (1) the service life extension program for the U.S.S. Kennedy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; and (2) the costs of establishing a Center for Commerce and Industrial Expansion at Loyola University of Chicago.

Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to contraception and infertility.

United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1991

Declares that the Congress should: (1) establish a program of research for the development of methods of contraception and methods of diagnosing and treating infertility; (2) provide adequate long-term resources for the program; (3) ensure that Federal programs with respect to sexually transmitted diseases adequately respond to the role of such diseases in infertility; (4) ensure public education on contraception and infertility; (5) establish as Federal goals the development, by the year 2010, of improved barrier methods to protect against pregnancy and diseases, new methods of contraception for use by men, a vaccine-like drug for women that prevents pregnancy for a significant period of time without other specified effects, and new and improved techniques of diagnosing and treating infertility; (6) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reestablish the Ethical Advisory Board in order to facilitate research with respect to infertility; (7) review the policies and procedures of the Food and Drug Administration with respect to expediting approval of drugs and devices for use by the public, especially with respect to contraception and infertility; and (8) determine to what extent measures can be implemented by public or private entities to resolve liability issues involved with drugs and devices concerned with contraception and infertility.

Jeffrey C. Martin, of Tennessee, to be General Counsel, Department of Education, vice Edward C. Stringer, resigned.

United States · United States Senate · 12 June 1991

Higher Education Act Amendments of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1991

Higher Education Act Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and reauthorize its programs. Title I: Access and Retention - Establishes a new HEA title I, Access and Retention, to provide special programs and projects: (1) to identify and encourage students from low-income or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds who have potential for postsecondary and graduate education; and (2) to prepare students from such backgrounds for such education. (Replaces the current title I, Postsecondary Programs for Nontraditional Students.) Establishes a new Precollege Outreach Program of grants to States (replacing the current part A program) to support outreach services for individuals from low-income and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in order to help them successfully complete secondary education and begin and succeed in postsecondary education. Authorizes States to make subgrants to eligible entities to carry out one or more of such services. Provides for a gradually declining Federal share of project costs, from 90 percent in the first year, with five percent reductions in succeeding years leveling off at 70 percent for the fifth year and thereafter. Includes among criteria to be used by the State agency in selecting projects the degree to which an applicant's service area include large numbers of low-income or first-generation college students. Prohibits an institution of higher education from using such grant funds for recruitment of students to enroll at that institution. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a new Student Support Service Program of grants to institutions of higher education (replacing the current part B Natinal Programs) to support individuals pursuing postsecondary education programs who are first-generation college students or from low-income or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. Directs the Secretary, in making such grant awards, to give highest priority to projects at institutions with the lowest educational and general expenditures per full-time equivalent student. Sets forth types of authorized services to assist in motivating and preparing students for postsecondary education. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a new Ronald E. McNair Graduate Outreach Program of grants to institutions of higher education (combining and replacing certain current part C programs) for services to eligible individuals from low-income and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds to prepare them for graduate, professional, and doctoral study. Directs the Secretary not to make such a grant award without assurances that: (1) at least two-thirds of project participants will be first-generation college students from low-income families; (2) remaining participants will be from a group underrepresented in graduate education; (3) participants will be enrolled in a degree program, at an institution of higher education; and (4) participants in summer research internships will have completed their sophomore year in postsecondary education. Sets forth authorized uses of grant funds, including opportunities for research or other scholarly activities, summer internships, and fellowships. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: National Graduate Fellowships Program - Repeals HEA titles II (Academic Library and Information Technology Enhancement) and IX (Graduate Programs). Establishes a new HEA title II, National Graduate Fellowships Program, for competitive grants to institutions of higher education to provide financial support to highly qualified individuals in graduate studies in areas of national need (including individuals from groups traditionally underrepresented in such studies in such areas). Designates each fellowship recipient a National Graduate Fellow. Limits the fellowship stipend to five years. Authorizes the Secretary to award continuation grants to institutions demonstrating satisfactory progress. Requires institutions receiving them to give preference in awarding fellowship stipends to students who have received National Graduate Fellowships and who demonstrate satisfactory progress in their studies. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to make new grants under title II only to the extent that funds remain from continued prior funding under HEA to recipients of graduate fellowship assistance for: (1) the Foreign Language and Areas Studies Fellowship Program; (2) the Patricia Roberts Harris Fellowship Program; (3) the Jacob K. Javits Fellows Program; or (4) the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Program. Requires institutions receiving title II grants to give preference in awarding fellowships to students who previously received such assistance under a listed program. Allows a student who received such assistance to subsequently receive a National Graduate Fellowship, but limits the combined period of assistance to not more than five years. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Institutional Aid - Revises HEA title III, Institutional Aid. Eliminates provisions for special consideration for certain activities. Deems these simply as allowable program activities.) Revises eligibility criteria for institutions to require that their average educational and general expenditures be lower, by a percentage determined annually, than the same expenditures per full-time equivalent undergraduate student of institutions that offer similar instruction. Eliminates as a requirement for such assistance that such institutions are to have been authorized for the preceding five years to offer a specified degree program and accredited or making reasonable progress toward accreditation. Eliminates provisions for waivers of such requirement for institutions with specified percentages of minority students. Limits grant awards to only one such grant, with a maximum five-year duration, to any eligible institution, except that a one-year planning grant may be awarded for preparing plans and applications. Requires: (1) grant applications to describe measurable goals for the institution's management and academic programs, and a plan for achieving them; and (2) continuation applications to demonstrate progress toward achieving them. Revises the program of grants to strengthen Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Allows the use of grant funds to establish or improve a development office to strengthen or improve contributions from alumni and the private sector. Prohibits awarding to any one undergraduate institution: (1) more than two such grants for a period not to exceed ten years from September 30, 1987; or (2) any grant exceeding five years. Requires grant applications to describe measurable goals for the institution's financial management as well as academic goals, and plans to achieve them. Revises and renames a certain program Endowment Challenge Grants for Institutions Eligible for Assistance. Increases the amount (from $10,000,000 to $20,000,000) which appropriations for such grants must exceed before the Secretary may make a two-to-one matching endowment grant exceeding $1,000,000 to an institution. Gives priority for endowment grants to applicants that have received another title III grant within the preceding five years. Revises title III general provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Student Assistance - Part A: Grants to Students - Amends HEA title IV (Student Assistance) with respect to the program of Grants to Students in Attendance at Institutions of Higher Education. Subpart 1: Pell Grants - Extends Pell Grant program authority through FY 1997. Eliminates a requirement that the Secretary make an advance payment to eligible institutions of at least 85 percent of the amount each institution requests as needed to pay Pell Grants to eligible students. Revises requirements for the amount of Pell Grants. Sets the amount of an award to a student at the lesser of: (1) the specified maximum award less the expected family contribution; or (2) the percentage (based on family-income level) of the amount of the student's need for financial assistance (i.e. cost of attendance minus expected family contribution). Increases the maximum award amount to $3,700 for 1992-3 and the four succeeding award years. Sets forth a table of percentages of student need for award computation. Increases the minimum allowable award from $200 to $400. Eliminates certain restrictions on the award of Pell Grants to students attending on a less than half-time basis. Revises the period of eligibility for Pell Grants. Limits such period to the full-time equivalent of three academic years in the aggregate in the case of all undergraduate degree or certificate programs normally requiring two years or less. Specifies that longer eligibility periods for longer programs are cumulative and include periods for which the student received a Pell Grant under shorter programs Revises requirements for adjustments for insufficient appropriations for the Pell Grant program. Provides for reduction of all awards by a percentage determined in accordance with a schedule of reductions by the Secretary. (Currently certain awards are held harmless.) Increases the minimumm allowable Pell Grant, under such reduction formula, from $100 to $200. Eliminates certain limitations on the availability of Pell Grant funds when excess amounts are available at the end of a fiscal year. Subpart 2: Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants - Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) program, but reduces the amount of funding. Reduces the Federal share of SEOG awards to not more to not more than 50 percent in FY 1992 and thereafter. (Current law provides for a maximum Federal share of 85 percent in FY 1991, and allows an even greater Federal share if the Secretary determines it warranted.) Subpart 3: Repeals - Repeals authority for the following programs: (1) Grants to States for State Student Incentives (SSI); (2) Special Programs for Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (TRIO programs); (3) Assistance to Institutions of Higher Education (including the Veterans Education Outreach Program); and (4) Special Child Care Services for Disadvantaged College Students. Subpart 4: Presidential Achievement Scholarship Program - Creates a Presidential Achievement Scholarship Program to award scholarships to Pell Grant recipients who demonstrate high levels of academic achievement. Authorizes appropriations. Allows Presidential Achievement Scholars to receive up to four scholarships, each for one academic year, for full-time undergraduate study (or five scholarships for full-time undergraduate study programs that require attendance for five academic years). Bases eligibility in the first year of postsecondary education on the student's receiving a Pell Grant and either: (1) ranking, or having ranked, in the top ten percent, by grade point average, of his or her high school graduating class; or (2) achieving at least the announced minimum score on one of the nationally administered, standardized tests identified by the Secretary. Bases eligibility after the first year on the student's receiving a Pell Grant and: (1) being enrolled in a program of study of at least two years that lead to a degree or certificate; and (2) ranking in the top 20 percent, by cumulative grade point average or equivalent, of his or her postsecondary education class as of the last academic year of study completed. Provides that a student's eligibility for such a scholarship does not depend on receipt of scholarship or Pell Grant in the previous academic year. Requires full-time attendance at the institution as a condition for receiving such a scholarship. Directs the Secretary to establish scholarship award procedures, including deadlines for consideration of students. Requires disbursement of scholarship proceeds to the institutions, but not until the student recipients are enrolled. Sets such scholarship award at $500 for any academic year. Reduces such amount by the amount it exceeds the student's cost of attendance by itself or when combined with other Federal or non-Federal grant or scholarship assistance in the the academic year. Provides for proportionate reductions in each award to adjust for insufficient appropriations. Subpart 5: National Science Scholars Program - Creates a National Science Scholars Program to award scholarships to outstanding students, selected by the President, for the study of physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for an initial award for the first year of undergraduate study and a continuation award for the remaining three (or four) years, as appropriate. Allows National Science Scholars to use such award to attend any defined institution of higher education. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF Director) and the Secretary to jointly establish criteria for selection of scholars for initial year awards. Requires such criteria to include potential to successfully complete a postsecondary program, and motivation to pursue a career, in such fields. Allows consideration to be given to individual financial need and to the nondiscriminatory promotion of participation by minorities and individus with disabilities. Requires States to establish a nominating committee, if they desire to qualify student residents for selection. Requires each State nominating committee to submit to the President nominations of from four to ten individuals from each congressional district. Requires priority ranking of such nominations. Requires the President to select and announce two such scholars for each academic year from each congressional district. Directs the Secretary to make continuation awards of additional scholarships to recipient of initial awards who meet specified requirements. Requires disbursement of scholarship proceeds to the institutions, but not until the student recipients are enrolled. Requires the NSF Director and the Secretary to encourage the support and assistance of civic groups, the business community, professional associations, institutions of higher education, and others in providing scholarship assistance to National Science Scholarship finalists. Sets forth eligibility requirements for initial and continuation awards. Allows the Secretary to waive full-time attendance requirements in unusual circumstances. Directs the Secretary to determine circumstances for eligibility reinstatement after an interruption of schooling for personal reasons. Requires the Secretary annually to notify all public and private secondary schools and all institutions of higher education in each State of the availability of such scholarships. Sets such a scholarship award at $6,000 for any academic year. Reduces such amount by the amount it exceeds the student's cost of attendance by itself or when combined with other Federal and non-Federal grant or scholarship assistance in the academic year. Provides for proportionate reductions in each award to adjust for insufficient appropriations. Requires priority consideration to be given students receiving such scholarships, to the extent they are otherwise qualified, for federally financed summer employment in federally funded research and development centers that complements and reinforces their educational program. Requires Federal agencies to participate actively in providing appropriate summer employment opportunities for such students. Repeals provisions of the Excellence in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education Act of 1990 which currently authorize the National Science Scholars Program. Subpart 6: Special Programs for Students Whose Families Are Engaged in Migrant and Seasonal Farmwork - Revises the Special Programs for Students Whose Families Are Engaged in Migrant and Seasonal Farmwork. Renames certain grants as grants to build the program capacity of educational agencies, institutions, and organizations to operate high school equivalency programs (HEP) and college assistance migrant programs (CAMP) for migrant students. Makes State and local educational agencies (as well as as institutions of higher education and private nonprofit organizations) eligible for such HEP grants. Allows provision of HEP services to individuals 16 years of age or older, or beyond the State age of compulsory school attendance, and not currently enrolled in school. (Current laws requires 17 years of age or over.) Limits authorized CAMP services, with specified exceptions, to those services necessary to assist migrant students in completing their first year of college. Requires CAMP grantees to provide follow-up services for migrant students after their first year of college. Authorizes use of up to ten percent of the CAMP grant for such follow-up services. Requires such follow-up services to include: (1) monitoring and reporting on student academic progress; and (2) referring students to providers of counseling services, academic assistance, or financial aid. Requires each project application to include a long-range management plan describing how the applicant will, over the grant period, gradually assume financial responsibility to provide services substantially similar to those proposed in the application. Requires the Secretary in making grants, to consider the geographic distribution of the persons to be served by grantees. Requires grant awards to be one-time, nonrenewable grants for: (1) a five-year period for first-time grantees; and (2) a three-year period for previous grantees. Provides for a Federal share of 90 percent in the first year, declining to 50 percent in the last year of such grants. Retains the $150,000 minimum allocation for each project. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the the HEP and CAMP programs. Subpart 7: Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program - Revises the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program, particularly the formula for allocation of such scholarship program funds among States. Bases such allocation on relative population ages five through 17. Provides that each State shall receive at least ten scholarships. Allocates to the State $1,500 per scholarship. Eliminates a requirement that ten such scholars be selected for each congressional district. Requires the State education agency to adopt selection procedures to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of awards within the State. Eliminates requirements for an award ceremony. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program. Part B: Guaranteed Student Loans - Revises the Robert T. Stafford Student Loan program. Extends the authorization for, and the amount of, new loan principal that may be made to students covered by Federal loan insurance. Increases the annual and aggregate loan limits under the Stafford loan and the Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) programs. Requires lenders to: (1) offer Stafford and SLS loan borrowers the option of repaying such loans on a graduated repayment schedule under specified conditions; (2) obtain the borrower's authorization for entry of judgment against the borrower in the event of default; and (3) obtain the borrower's driver's license number, if any, at the time of loan application (for the parent loan PLUS program, as well). Eliminates a provision which allowed an institution to refuse to certify a student's eligibility for a loan, or allowed it to certify a lesser amount, under specified conditions. Revises loan deferment provisions. Retains deferment while the borrower is in specified courses of study. Replaces the various current categorical deferments with a hardship deferment of up to three years in the aggregate. Requires the lender to grant specified forbearance if the borrower is a Peace Corps or VISTA volunteer does not qualify for such hardship deferment. Revises provisions for Federal reinsurance coverage. Revises the period in which guaranty agencies must file reinsurance claims. Revises requirements for calculation and payment of such reinsurance. Requires in the case of Stafford, SLS, and PLUS loan applicants over age 21, that the lender: (1) obtain a credit report; and (2) require a cosigner for such applicants who have adverse credit histories. Allows the lender to charge such applicants for the actual cost of such credit reports, up to $25. Requires a 60-day delayed disbursement of Stafford or SLS loans to first-year undergraduates at institutions with default rates of 30 percent or greater. (Retains the current 30-day delayed disbursement for first-year undergraduates at institutions with default rates less than 30 percent.) Revises provisions for eligibility limitations, suspensions, terminations, other hearing procedures, and fines for lenders or institutions that violate program requirements. Sets forth conflict-of-interest restrictions on guaranty agency officers and employers. Prohibits any guaranty agency from permitting any of its officers or employees, or any member of their immediate families, to have a direct financial interest in, or serve as an officer or employee of, any lender, secondary market, contractor, or service with which the guaranty agency does business. Includes financial information among the information the Secretary may reasonably require from a guaranty agency to carry out the student loan programs and protect the U.S. financial interest. Revises the administrative cost and collection retention allowances for guaranty agencies. Revises provisions for oversight of guaranty agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to require a guaranty agency to submit and implement a management plan if the ratio of its reserve funds to outstanding guarantees is less than a set level, or if its administrative or financial condition jeopardizes its continued ability to perform its responsibilities under its guaranty agreement. Authorizes the Secretary to terminate the guaranty agreement with any agency that fails to submit an acceptable management plan or fails to improve substantially its condition in accordance with such a plan. Authorizes the Secretary to assume guaranty agency functions of agencies whose agreements are terminated by the Secretary or themselves. Limits the Secretary's liability for any outstanding liabilities of a guaranty agency, the functions of which the Secretary has assumed, to the fair market value of assets assigned by the agency to the Secretary, minus any necessary liquidation or administrative costs. Requires State backing of designated guaranty agencies. Requires each State to guarantee, with its full faith and credit or the equivalent, all student loans guaranteed by the guaranty agency designated for that State for borrowers attending eligible institutions in that State. Provides that a State may elect to guarantee, in addition, student loans guaranteed by any other guarantee agency for borrowers who are attending eligible institutions in that State. Requires the State, if such a guaranty agency backed by the State is unable to discharge its insurance obligation, to be responsible for discharging them, as well as administrative costs associated with transferring the guaranty agency's operations to another entity. Directs the Secretary, if a State discharges such insurance obligations, to pay the State the amount the guaranty agency would otherwise have received as reimbursement. Directs the Secretary, unless a State demonstrates by January 1, 1994, that it is backing the designated guaranty agency, to assess institutions of higher education participating in the student loan program that are located in that State a fee based on the risk of financial loss to the Federal Government that the State would otherwise assume. Requires such fees to be deposited in the student loan insurance fund. Requires a State to pay a share of default costs in specified circumstances. Allows a State to charge a fee to an institution of higher education in the State participating in the loan program according to an approved fee structure based on the institution's cohort default rates and the State's risk of loss under such requirement Eliminates the student loan program eligibility of foreign institutions (but not of study abroad that is part of the curriculum of U.S. institutions). Revises the definition of cohort default rate. Reduces the special allowance rates for holders of loans for which the cohort default rate exceeds 20 percent. Requires the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) to notify the Secretary, within 15 days, when: (1) it makes a loan or extends any other form of credit to a guaranty agency; (2) its cumulative loans or other forms of credit outstanding to any one lender exceed $50,000,000; or (3) it makes any additional loans or other forms of credit to a lender whose cumulative outstanding loans from it exceed $50,000,000. Requires Sallie Mae's annual report on its operations and activities: (1) to be submitted to the Secretary and the Congress (currently the President and the Congress); and (2) to include specific information regarding its investments and debts, the characteristics of its student loan portfolio, and other data which the Secretary may reasonably require. Part C: Work-Study Programs - Extends the authorization of appropriations for Work-Study Programs (but reduces the amount of such funding). Lowers the maximum Federal share of the the compensation of students employed in the work-study program to 50 percent for FY 1992 and succeeding fiscal years. (Current law sets it at 70 percent for academic year 1990-1991 and succeeding academic years.) Eliminates special incentives (such as increased Federal administrative allowance and increased Federal share of student compensation for community service-learning jobs under the work-study program. Lowers the maximum Federal share of the cost of any job location and development program, under the work-study program from 80 percent to 50 percent. Prohibits students attending proprietary institutions of higher education from being employed by such institutions under the work-study program (but allows them to participate in work-study program employment by a government agency or a private nonprofit organization). Reduces from $200 to $100 the amount of work-study program compensation in excess of need that a student may receive. Eliminates provisions for private sector employment agreements under the work-study program. Part D: Income Contingent Loan Program - Extends through FY 1996 the authorization of appropriations for the Income Contingent Direct Loan Program (ICL program) (and increases the amount of such funding). Eliminates the limitation that the Secretary may not enter into ICL agreements with more than ten institutions of higher education. Makes consortia of institutions of higher education (as well as single institutions) eligible to participate in the ICL program. Provides for an aggregate ICL loan limit of $50,000 for individual graduate and professional students, including any such loans made to such persons before they become graduate or professional students. Provides for an annual limit of $10,000 on ICL loans to graduate and professional students. (Retains current limits for undergraduates.) Requires ICL applicants to provide their driver license number, if any. Requires institutions to: (1) obtain a credit report on any ICL applicant over age 21; and (2) require any such applicant with an adverse credit history to obtain a cosigner. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the cost-effectiveness of the ICL program, its impact on participating institutions and students, and the feasibility of extending it to a loan program of general applicability. Part E: Perkins Loan Program - Authorizes appropriations for the Perkins Loan Program, but only for reimbursement of institutions for Perkins loans that are cancelled for certain public service. Terminates the authorization of appropriations for: (1) Federal contributions to student loan funds established under such program; and (2) continuation loans to certain students who have received earlier Perkins Loans. Revises provisions for terms of such loans and cancellation for public service. Extends provisions for distribution of assets from such student loan funds. Repeals provisions for allocation of funds. Part F: Need Analysis - Revises provisions for need analysis to apply them to all need-based student assistance programs, including Pell Grants (which currently have a separate need analysis system). Revises the definitions of cost of attendance and family contribution, as well as provisions for data elements used in determining the expected family contribution. Revises the formula for calculation of the expected family contribution for a dependent student to eliminate references to the student's spouse. Allows application of any parents' negative available income: (1) to reduce the parents' income supplement amount from assets; and (2) if there is any negative amount remaining after that is reduced to zero, to increase the allowances against the dependent student's income. Revises the minimum dependent student contribution to be the greater of: (1) specified amounts that vary according to family total income; or (2) 70 percent of the student's total income, minus the adjustment to student income. Eliminates certain exceptions to the general need analysis calculation for dislocated workers and displaced homemakers. Excludes from the calculation of net worth the net value of the principal place of residence for the families of dependent students and for independent students, if their adjusted gross income is less than $20,000. Revises the tables for determination of standard maintenance allowance, employment expense allowance, adjusted net worth of business and of farm, asset protection allowance, and parents' assessment from available income. Revises the asset protection allowance to provide for consideration of the average age of both parents. Revises provisions for family contribution for married or single independent students without dependents (including various revisions similar to those described for dependent students). Includes married, as well as unmarried, students under this category of independent students without dependents. Revises provisions for minimum student contribution under this category. Revises tables for determining various allowances and other factors. Revises provisions relating to the family contribution for married or single independent students with dependents (including provisions similiar to those in other categories). Revises tables for determining various allowances and other factors. Eliminates certain restrictions on the Secretary's authority to prescribe regulations to carry out need analysis requirements. Revises provisions relating to development of revised tables of assessment rates for purposes of such need analysis. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations specifying situations in which the data elements considered in determining a student's expected family contribution may be modified to accommodate the special circumstances of the student. Part G: General Provisions - Revises general provisions relating to student assistance programs. Includes as an institution of higher education for the student assistance programs any institution that provides programs of at least six months (or 600 clock hours) that prepare students for gainful employment in recognized occupations, and that has been in existence for at least two years. Makes ineligible for student assistance program participation for specified periods any institution whose cohort default rate equals or exceeds a specified threshold percentage. Revises provisions for proprietary institutions of higher education. Authorizes the Secretary, if a particular category of proprietary institution does not meet specified student assistance program requirements because there is no nationally recognized accrediting agency or association qualified to accredit such institutions, to: (1) appoint an advisory committee to recommend qualifying standards; and (2) determine whether the particular schools meet them. Provides for reduction of student assistance loan award maximums for short-term programs. Revises provisions relating to a master calendar. Revises provisions for a common financial reporting form for determination of expected family contribution. Requires students, in order to remain eligible for assistance, to satisfy specified minimum academic achievement standards, including an academic standing above the bottom ten percent of their postsecondary class. Directs the Secretary to implement a system of verification of immigration status. Revises requirements for borrower information to be submitted to the institution during the exit interview. Eliminates certain provisions for training in financial aid and student support services. Requires any institution participating in any student assistance program to have in effect a fair and equitable refund policy and to provide a written statement of it, with examples, to prospective students. Revises provisions for student assistance program participation agreements. Requires the institution to acknowledge the authority of the Secretary, guaranty agencies, accrediting agencies, and State licensing bodies to share with each other any information pertaining to the institution's eligibility to participate in such programs. Prohibits institutions from providing any incentive payments for securing enrollments to any persons or entities engaged in any student recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the award of student financial assistance. Eliminates the requirement that hearings be on the record, with respect to program participation limitation, suspension, or termination procedures. Authorizes the Secretary to conditionally certify an institution's eligibility to participate in student assistance programs, under specified circumstances. Provides for loan collection wage garnishment. Authorizes a guaranty agency, or the Secretary where appropriate, to garnish the disposable pay of an individual to collect the amount owed or the required repayment, subject to certain conditions. Provides for data matching. Authorizes the Secretary to obtain from Federal or State agencies specified information relating to an individual for student loan collection purposes. Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into an agreement to provide prompt access for the Secretary to wage and unemployment compensation claims information and data maintained by or for the Department of Labor or State employment security agencies. Subjects to specified criminal penalties attempts to commit specified offenses. Amends the Higher Education Technical Amendments of 1991 to make permanent the elimination of limitations on actions to collect defaulted student loans or grant overpayments. Title V: Education Recruitment, Retention, and Development - Establishes a new Partnerships for Innovative Teacher Education program, replacing the current Midcareer Teacher Training for Nontraditional Students program. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to and contracts with State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and consortia of such institutions and agencies to plan, establish, and operate teaching schools to develop and put into practice the best knowledge about teaching. Provides that such awards shall be for a term of three years, with renewals for two additional years under specified conditions. Provides for applications, priorities, uses of funds by award recipients, and authorized activities of such teaching schools. Authorizes appropriations. Sets the Federal share at 75 percent for the first three years and 50 percent for the final two years. Repeals provisions for School, College, and University Partnerships. Retains Professional Development and Leadership Programs. Authorizes appropriations to complete the final year of funding for the territories under provisions for Leadership in Educational Administration Development. Repeals provisions for Professional Development Resource Centers and Leadership in Educational Administration Development. Retains Teacher Scholarships and Fellowships. Renames the Congressional Teacher Scholarship Programs the Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship Program. Makes such scholarships available to outstanding high school graduates who demonstrate an interest in teaching. Authorizes appropriations. Revises requirements for the teaching service obligation of certain scholarship recipients, repayment conditions, assurances of pursuing a teaching career, and maintenance of academic achievement. Revises the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Program to authorize appropriations. Bases allotment of funds on the number of public school teachers in each State and other specified jurisdictions. Authorizes the Secretary, in extraordinary circumstances, to waive or defer all or a portion of the service requirement, or to allow fellows to fulfill their service requirement by teaching in another school or school district. Requires States, in making fellowship awards, to give priority to applicants proposing fellowship projects involving pursuit of eligible activities on a full-time basis as part of a sabbatical. Eliminates the requirement that announcement of such awards be made in a public ceremony. Repeals provisions for State Task Forces on Teacher Training. Title VI: International Education Programs - Revises the International and Foreign Language Studies program for graduate and undergraduate language and area centers to eliminate stipends and allowances for: (1) individuals undergoing advanced training; and (2) students beginning their third year of graduate training. Repeals provisions for grants to institutions of higher education or public or private nonprofit library institutions or consortia to acquire, maintain bibliographic data on, preserve, and make available to researchers and scholars certain periodicals published outside the United States which are not commonly held by U.S. academic libraries. Authorizes appropriations to carry out International Education Programs. Title VII: College Facilities Loans and Insurance - Revises and redesignates the Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Academic Facilities Loans and Insurance program to: (1) provide higher education institutions with access to private capital construction debt through the College Construction Loan Insurance Association; and (2) provide for servicing of the remaining loan portfolio of the Higher Education Facilities Loans, College Housing Loans, and College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans authorized before the effective date of this Act. Repeals the authorization of appropriations and other provisions for: (1) Grants for the Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Undergraduate Academic Facilities; (2) Grants for Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Graduate Academic Facilities; (3) Loans for Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Academic Facilities; (4) Grants to Pay Interest on Debt; (5) Housing and Other Educational Facilities Loans; and (6) Special Programs. Authorizes appropriations for remaining programs. Title VIII: Cooperative Education - Extends the authorization of appropriations for Cooperative Education (but reduces the amount of such funding). Eliminates certain reservations of funds for specified categories of projects. (Retains the current division of 75 percent of funds for grants for cooperative education programs and 25 percent for demonstration and innovation projects, training and resource centers, and research.) Defines cooperative education as the provision of alternating or parallel periods of academic study and public and private employment in order to give students work experience related to their academic or occupational objectives and an opportunity to earn the funds necessary for continuing and completing their education. Revises matching requirements for cooperative education grants. Requires grant applicants to describe fiscal support plans to ensure that such programs shall continue beyond the five-year period of Federal assistance at not less than the level of expenditures for the initial year of Federal assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to elect not to make a continuation award to a fund recipient that has failed to maintain such fiscal effort in years after the grant period. Requires each recipient to document to the Secretary its maintenance of fiscal effort beyond the five-year period of Federal assistance. Revises grant application requirements to require descriptions of: (1) the extent to which programs in the academic discipline for which the application is made have had a favorable reception by public and private sector employers; and (2) the plans the applicant will carry out to evaluate their cooperative education program at the end of the grant period. Eliminates certain factors for special consideration of applications. Directs the Secretary to give special consideration to applications which demonstrate a commitment to serving disadvantaged students and students with disabilities. Revises provisions relating to the duration of grants. Provides that: (1) only institutions that have received such a grant before enactment of this Act shall be eligible to receive one additional continuation grant of not more than five years; and (2) all other institutions may receive only a single five-year grant. Revises provisions for training and resource centers to provide that their improvement of materials used in cooperative education programs shall take place in conjunction with other specified activities. Title IX: Postsecondary Improvement Programs - Revises provisions for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). Repeals consultation provisions which prohibit any FIPSE grant or contract unless it has been submitted to the appropriate State entity and that entity has had an opportunity to submit comments and recommendations to the Secretary. Specifies that the Secretary appoints the Director of the National Board of FIPSE. Revises Board functions and repeals a requirement for a minimum number of Board meetings annually. Eliminates provisions requiring the Director to establish grant and contract review and evaluation procedures, and prohibiting such procedures from being subject to any review outside of officials responsible for FIPSE administration. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the FIPSE program. Revises and renames the Minority Science and Engineering Programs the Minority Science Improvement Program. Repeals a requirement that the Secretary submit to the Congress an annual list of grantees. Directs the Secretary in cooperation with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies that operate programs similar to the Minority Science Improvement Program, to report to the President before 1995, summarizing and evaluating those programs. Repeals provisions for Science and Engineering Access Programs. Requires grant recipients, in order to remain eligible to receive funds, to demonstrate to the Secretary that they are making reasonable progress toward achieving the project goals. Repeals specified provisions: (1) relating to procedures for grant and contract review; and (2) for the Advisory Board for the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Programs. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Minority Science Improvement Program. (Eliminates provisions allocating funds and providing an additional appropriation for new activities specifically aimed at increasing the participation of minority students in scientific and engineering research careers.) Revises and renames the Innovative Projects for Community Services and Student Financial Independence programs the Innovative Projects for Community Services, whose purpose shall be to support innovative projects to encourage student participation in community service projects, including literacy projects. Provides that the Secretary (rather than the FIPSE Board Director) shall establish the procedures under which the FIPSE Board approves Innovative Projects grant and contract applications. Extends the authorization of appropriations for Innovative Projects for Community Services (and increases the amount of such funding to reflect the incorporation of certain functions of the Student Literacy Corps eliminated by this Act). Title X: Partnerships for Economic Development and Urban Community Service - Repeals the Partnerships for Economic Development and Community Service program. Title XI: General Provisions - Revises the definition of institution of higher education. Requires such institutions, in order to be eligible to participate in HEA programs, to comply with such minimum State licensing standards as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation and which the relevant State licensing body is to impose upon institutions it licenses. Revises the alternative accreditation process. Authorizes the Secretary, if a particular category of institutions is not accredited because no nationally recognized accrediting agency or association is qualified to do so, to appoint an advisory committee to: (1) recommend standards to qualify institutions in such category to participate in HEA programs; and (2) review whether particular institutions meet such standards. Requires an institution, if it is accredited by more than one accrediting body, to designate, for HEA eligibility purposes, one such body as it primary accreditor, on either an institutionwide or program basis. Deems such an institution no longer accredited for purposes of HEA eligibility for a 24-month period if its accreditation is terminated for cause by the primary accreditor, or if it withdraws from such accreditation voluntarily under a show cause or suspension order, unless such accreditation is restored by the same accreditor during such 24-month period. Revises provisions relating to treatment of territories and territorial student assistance. Changes from mandatory to discretionary the Secretary's authority to waive the eligibility criteria of any postsecondary education program administered by the Department of Education where such criteria does not take into account the unique circumstances of specified U.S. territories. Eliminates provisions for: (1) promulgation of certain regulations; and (2) an authorization of appropriations for supporting the cost of providing postsecondary education programs on Guam for nonresident students from specified U.S. territories. Extends the authorization for the continued existence of the National Advisory Committee on Accreditation and Institutional Eligibility. Revises provisions for peer review of applications to authorize the Secretary to use up to one-half of one percent of appropriations, for discretionay grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to provide for the panels of readers required to review the applications for such grants, contracts, and agreements. Provides for sharing of institutional eligibility information by the Secretary, guaranty agencies, accrediting agencies, and State licensing bodies. Makes ineligible for any HEA assistance any individual who is in default on any loan made, insured, or guaranteed by the Federal Government, unless satisfactory repayment arrangements are made. Repeals provisions for: (1) a Joint Study Commission on Postsecondary Institutional Recognition; and (2) regional technology transfer centers. Title XII: Effective Dates - Sets forth effective dates for various provisions of this Act.

Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1992

United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1991

Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1992 - Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for the payment at maturity, or the redemption or buying before maturity, of a Government obligation included in the public debt for purposes of reducing a portion of such debt caused by borrowings to finance specified international affairs accounts. Title I: Multilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for the U.S. contribution to the: (1) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and the Global Environmental Facility of such bank; (2) the International Development Association; (3) the International Finance Corporation; (4) the Inter-American Development Bank and the Fund for Special Operations of such bank; (5) the Inter-American Investment Corporation; (6) the Enterprise for the Americas Investment Fund; (7) the Asian Development Bank; (8) the Asian Development Fund; (9) the African Development Fund; (10) the African Development Bank; and (11) the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Limits the callable capital portion of the U.S. share of increases in the stock of the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, and the EBRD. Requires the President to reduce from the amounts obligated for the International Development Association and the Asian Development Bank the U.S. proportionate share of any loans approved for China for non-basic human needs since October 1, 1991, if China is denied most-favored-nation trading status. Limits the amount of funds for the International Finance Corporation that may be expended for the purchase of stock. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank to oppose assistance to any recipient who refuses to agree to conduct procurement of goods or services utilizing Bank funds in a nondiscriminatory manner. Requires the Secretary to certify to the Appropriations Committees that none of the funds for the Asian Development Fund will be made available for China. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for reports calculating loans, guarantees, and insurance commitments for credit programs within the international affairs (Budget Function 150) account: (1) the probability of repayment on loans and default on guarantees; (2) subsidy estimates for each country and credit program; and (3) risk assessments for each country within each credit program. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for international organizations and programs. Prohibits such funds from being made available to the United Nations Fund for Science and Technology. Earmarks specified amounts of such funds for certain international organizations and United Nations programs. Provides that funds may be made available to the International Atomic Energy Agency only if the Secretary of State reports to the Congress that Israel is not being denied its right to participate in the Agency. Permits funds to be made available for the Tropical Forestry Action Plan (TFAP) only if the Secretary reports to the Congress that: (1) TFAP has been reorganized, with an international steering committee and secretariat independent of the Food and Agriculture Organization; (2) TFAP's responsibilities have been broadened to include areas outside the forestry sector; and (3) procedures exist to ensure increased participation in TFAP plans. Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for development assistance. Earmarks amounts for: (1) health and child survival activities and activities relating to research on, and the treatment and control of, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS); (2) development projects of private entities and cooperatives for dairy development; (3) the Vitamin A Deficiency Program and activities relating to iodine deficiency and other micro-nutrients; (4) U.S. participation in the Associate Professional Officers Program of the international food agencies; (5) activities relating to the control and prevention of River Blindness; (6) operations for blind children; (7) cooperative projects among the United States, Israel, and developing countries (with amounts made available for the Cooperative Development Program and cooperative development research projects); (8) the Central and Latin American Rural Electrification Support project; (9) technical assistance and training programs for Soviet and Czechoslovakian statisticians and economists; and (10) Soviet and East European research and training. Limits the amount to be made available for child survival activities for Laos. Earmarks amounts from funds made available for the Agency for International Development (AID) under this title for: (1) child survival activities; and (2) programs in support of basic education activities. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for population planning assistance. Prohibits funding for coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. Earmarks amounts for: (1) the AID Office of Population; and (2) the United Nations Population Fund (only for contraceptive commodities and related logistics). Prohibits such funds from being made available for programs in China. Applies prohibitions on the use of funds for abortion and involuntary sterilization to funds for the Fund. Requires the Fund to maintain such funds in a separate account, without commingling. Provides for the refund of such funds to the United States if the Fund provides more than a specified amount for family planning programs for China. Prohibits the obligation of any amount for the Fund if China is denied most-favored-nation trading status. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for the Development Fund for Africa. Earmarks an amount for activities supported by the Southern African Development Coordination Conference. Provides for the transfer of a specified amount of such funds for the International Fund for Agricultural Development's Special Program for Subsaharan African Countries Affected by Drought and Desertification. Prohibits the transfer of funds appropriated by this Act to the Government of Zaire. Earmarks development assistance funds for: (1) displaced children; (2) children in Cambodia; (3) civilians injured as a result of civil strife and warfare; (4) women in development; and (5) Burmese students. Prohibits any development assistance funds from being made available to U.S. private and voluntary organizations (except cooperative development organizations) which obtain less than 20 percent of annual funding for international activities from sources other than the U.S. Government. Provides that such prohibition shall supersede certain provisions with respect to such organizations of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1985. Earmarks an amount of development assistance for humanitarian assistance to Romania (with amounts for AIDS activities, child health, foster care and adoption activities, and family planning, subject to certain conditions). Limits the amount of commitments for certain loan guarantees and direct loans under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for: (1) American schools and hospitals abroad; (2) international disaster assistance; (3) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; and (4) AID operating expenses. Requires AID, in order to effectively monitor the West Bank and Gaza program, to station one professional at either the Consulate General in Jerusalem or the embassy in Tel Aviv. Directs AID to increase the number of direct-hire professional environmental and energy staff by 20 over the number of such staff within AID at the end of FY 1991. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for the AID Office of the Inspector General. Prohibits the use of funds from any Act to relocate the overseas offices of the Inspector General to a U.S. location without the Inspector General's approval. Requires the number of positions authorized for such office in Washington and overseas to be at least 251 by the end of FY 1992. Authorizes the Inspector General to establish a regional office in Europe to carry out responsibilities with regard to assistance for Eastern Europe. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for: (1) modifying direct loans authorized under development and economic support assistance provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and under provisions of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945; and (2) economic support fund (ESF) assistance. Earmarks amounts of ESF assistance for: (1) Israel; (2) Egypt, including an amount for the Commodity Import Program; (3) the West Bank and Gaza Program; and (4) scholarships or bicommunal projects for Cyprus. Authorizes funds for Egypt to be provided through cash transfer assistance if Egypt will undertake economic reforms. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the recommended levels of ESF assistance for Egypt and Israel are based on their continued participation in the Camp David Accords and upon the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. Prohibits ESF funds from being made available for El Salvador's Special Investigative Unit until the Secretary of State submits a plan of the El Salvadoran Government to transfer the Unit from military to civilian control. Prohibits ESF assistance to Zaire. Limits the amount of ESF assistance for tied aid credits and for humanitarian assistance for Armenia. Earmarks ESF assistance for technical assistance in support of democratic or market-oriented reforms for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and eligible recipients in the Soviet Union that request such assistance. Permits such assistance to be provided only through the government of such state or republic or through nongovernmental organizations. Defines "an eligible recipient in the Soviet Union" as the government of any republic or local government that was elected through free and fair elections, any indigenous nongovernmental organization that promotes democratic reforms, human rights, the rule of law, or market-oriented reforms, or any Soviet governmental agency that promotes such reforms, provided that funds are not provided directly to such agency. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for: (1) the U.S. contribution to the International Fund for Ireland; (2) the Multilateral Assistance Initiative for the Philippines; and (3) nonproject sector assistance for the Philippines. Requires the President, if the United States and the Government of the Philippines are unable to agree to a military base agreement, to report to the Appropriations Committees justifying requested or modified assistance levels for the Philippines in light of the failure to achieve such agreement. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for economic assistance for Eastern Europe. Earmarks amounts of such assistance for: (1) technical assistance and training and for assistance to support housing sectors; (2) environment and energy activities; (3) activities to foster democratic pluralism; and (4) the Polish-American, Hungarian-American, and other Enterprise Funds and for other private enterprise activities. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for: (1) independent agencies and the African Development Foundation; (2) the Inter-American Foundation; (3) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) for direct and guaranteed loan programs; (4) the Peace Corps (prohibits abortion funding); (5) international narcotics control; (6) the U.S. contribution to the International Red Cross and assistance to refugees; (7) the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; and (8) antiterrorism assistance. Earmarks amounts of migration and refugee assistance for: (1) refugees resettling in Israel; (2) Tibetan refugees; (3) voluntary repatriation of Hmong refugees from Thailand to Laos; and (4) overseas refugee programs. Limits the amount of such assistance to be made available to the Department of State Office of Refugee Programs. Title III: Military Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for: (1) international military education and training (prohibits the use of such funds for countries whose annual per capita GNP exceeds $2,349 unless such countries agree to fund transportation and living allowances of their students and the provision of such funds to Zaire, Liberia, Sudan, and Somalia); (2) the foreign military financing program; and (3) peacekeeping operations. Earmarks amounts of foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt. Requires the interest rate on foreign military financing loans to be at least five percent annually. Makes available a specified amount of foreign military financing on a grant basis for Greece if Turkey receives financing on a grant basis. Prohibits foreign military financing for Zaire, Sudan, Liberia, or Somalia. Permits financing for Malawi to be provided only to support the Malawian military's efforts to secure the Nacala Railroad and for military activities to assist in the Mozambican peace process. Limits: (1) the amount of foreign military financing for the procurement of defense articles and services not sold by the U.S. Government for countries other than Israel and Egypt; (2) the amount of funds for administering military assistance and sales; (3) foreign military financing for Greece, Turkey, Portugal, and the Philippines; and (4) obligations with respect to the Special Defense Acquisition Fund. Permits the procurement of defense articles and services or design and construction services not sold by the U.S. Government only by countries for which assistance was justified for the foreign military financing program in the FY 1989 congressional presentation for security assistance programs. Directs the Department of Defense, as requested by the Defense Security Assistance Agency, to conduct audits of private firms whose contracts are made directly with foreign governments and are financed under this title. Requires the total of grants and direct loans provided for Greece and Turkey under the foreign military financing program to be made available according to a seven to ten ratio. Repeals a provision of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988 that concerns lowering the interest rate on certain foreign military sales. Title IV: Export Assistance - Authorizes the Export-Import Bank to make expenditures within the limit of funds and borrowing authority and to make any necessary contracts and commitments. Prohibits the use of Bank funds for nuclear exports to a non-nuclear weapon state. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 to subsidize gross obligations for the principal amount of direct loans, tied-aid grants, interest subsidies, and total loan principal under Export-Import Bank programs. Prohibits the use of such funds or the use of credits or grants to support the financing of any item covered by the U.S. Munitions List. Limits the amount available for administrative expenses of the Export-Import Bank. Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for: (1) administrative expenses incurred in connection with contracting for the issuance of and servicing of insurance and reinsurance or in lieu of contracting for the performance of services by the Export-Import Bank; and (2) the Trade and Development Program. Title V: General Provisions - Prohibits the use of funds appropriated in this Act (other than funds appropriated for international organizations and programs) for any water or related land resource project which has not met specified standards and criteria for such projects proposed for construction in the United States. Limits the percentage of appropriations, with specified exceptions, that may be obligated during the last month of availability. Prohibits using certain funds appropriated or made available pursuant to this Act for: (1) retirement pay for any person serving in the armed forces of any recipient country; (2) making payments on procurement contracts which do not authorize the termination of such contract for the convenience of the United States; or (3) paying any assessments, arrearages, or dues of any member of the United Nations. Prohibits using any of the funds contained in title II of this Act to carry out the transfer of funds to international or multilateral lending organizations. Limits the amounts of funds made available under this Act to be used for: (1) official residence expenses, entertainment expenses, and representation allowances of AID; (2) entertainment expenses and representation allowances for foreign military financing programs, the Inter-American Foundation, and the Trade and Development Program; and (3) entertainment expenses for international military education and training programs and the Peace Corps. Prohibits the use of funds made available under this Act (other than funds for international organizations and programs) to finance the export of nuclear equipment, fuel, or technology. Prohibits the use of funds made available under this Act to: (1) assist any foreign government in repressing the legitimate rights of its population; (2) finance assistance or reparations to Angola, Cambodia, Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Vietnam, Iran, or Syria (including assistance provided by the Export-Import Bank or its agents); or (3) finance assistance to any country whose elected head of government is deposed by military coup. Prohibits obligating funds made available under this Act under an appropriation account to which they were not appropriated, unless the President provides a written policy justification to the Appropriations Committees. Continues the availability of certain AID funds and funds for credit sales under the Arms Export Control Act, provided the Appropriations Committees are notified. Prohibits appropriations contained in this Act from remaining available after expiration of the current fiscal year, except as provided in this Act. Prohibits the use of funds made available under this Act to: (1) be used for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States; (2) assist a country in default for more than a year on a U.S. loan under a program for which funds are appropriated under this Act (exempts from such prohibition funds for Nicaragua and for narcotics-related assistance for Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru); or (3) be made available for any international financial institution whose U.S. representative cannot obtain any document developed by or in the possession of the management, unless such representative certifies to the Appropriations Committees that such document's confidentiality is essential to the institution's operation. Prohibits the use of funds made available under this Act for direct assistance, the Export-Import Bank, and OPIC to finance any loan or other assistance to establish or expand production of any commodity for export by a foreign country if such commodity is likely to be in surplus on world markets and will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar or competing commodity. Exempts the Export-Import Bank from such prohibition if the Bank determines that the benefits to industry and employment in the United States are likely to outweigh the injury to such producers. Prohibits making any of the funds appropriated under any Act available for any testing, study, variety improvement, or certain other activities related to the growth or production in a foreign country of an agricultural commodity for export which would compete with a similar commodity grown or produced in the United States. Prohibits the use of funds appropriated to AID, other than funds to carry out the Caribbean Basin Initiative, to procure studies or assist in establishing facilities for the manufacture of import-sensitive articles that compete with U.S. exports. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of specified international financial institutions to oppose assistance for the production or extraction of any commodity or mineral for export if it is in surplus on world markets and if the assistance will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar or competing commodity. Sets forth congressional notification procedures for the obligation of specified funds made available under this Act. Waives notification requirements if there is a risk to human health or welfare. Limits expenditures for consulting services through procurement contracts. Prohibits using funds appropriated under this Act to lobby for abortion. Prohibits any of the international organizations and programs funds from being available for the U.S. proportionate share of any programs for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Libya, Iran, or, at the discretion of the President, Communist countries to which foreign assistance is prohibited. Prohibits the United States from making a contribution to the United Nations or any of its affiliated agencies if such an agency grants full membership to any organization that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood. Authorizes Israel to use any loan made available under the Arms Export Control Act for which repayment is forgiven before using any other loan made available under such Act. Prohibits U.S. employees from recognizing or negotiating with the PLO so long as the PLO does not recognize Israel's right to exist, does not accept Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and does not renounce the use of terrorism. Declares that it is U.S. policy that ESF assistance for Israel shall not be less than the annual debt repayment from Israel to the United States. Limits the amount to be used for a Democracy Contingency Fund. Requires congressional notification prior to making funds available for military aircraft in Central America. Directs the Secretary to notify specified congressional committees whenever helicopters or military aircraft are provided to Central American countries by any foreign country. Expresses the policy of the United States that sustainable economic growth must be predicated on sustainable use of natural resources. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) instruct U.S. executive directors of the multilateral development banks to promote programs which address the problems of global climate change; and (2) promote reforms within the International Monetary Fund which address such problems. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) how natural resource management initiatives mandated by this Act have been incorporated in the Bush Administration's efforts to address third world debt (the Brady Plan); (2) progress made by the multilateral development banks in meeting standards set forth for programs to address global climate change; (3) the progress made by the Inter-American Development Bank in implementing environmental reforms; (4) each multilateral development bank's forestry sector and energy sector loans and their impact on carbon dioxide emissions; and (5) the progress made by the World Bank in implementing the recommendations set forth in a certain report on debt-for-nature swaps. Directs the AID Administrator to: (1) update and issue guidance to all AID bureaus detailing the elements of a Global Warming Initiative to emphasize the need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and to accelerate sustainable development strategies; (2) increase the number and expertise of personnel devoted to the Initiative; (3) accelerate the activities of the Multi-Agency Working Group on Power Sector Innovation; (4) focus tropical forestry assistance programs on the key middle- and low-income developing countries projected to contribute large amounts of greenhouse gases to the environment; (5) assist countries in developing an analysis of the appropriate use of their total tropical forest resources, with the goal of developing national programs for sustainable forestry; and (6) focus energy assistance activities on the key countries. Prohibits making any funds appropriated by this Act available for activities that would: (1) result in any significant loss of tropical forests; or (2) involve commercial timber extraction in primary tropical forest areas unless an environmental assessment meeting certain conditions is made. Permits the use of certain funds for programs to support tropical forestry and energy programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in key countries, subject to certain conditions. Earmarks funds for: (1) environment and energy activities (with amounts for biological diversity activities, renewable energy projects, elephant conservation and preservation, and the AID Office of Energy); and (2) the creation of a fund to support global participation in the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, provided that such funds are not contributed to developing countries that are not parties to the Protocol. Prohibits the use of development assistance funds to pay for: (1) abortions or involuntary sterilizations as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any persons to practice abortions or undergo sterilization; or (2) any biomedical research concerning abortions or involuntary sterilization as a method of family planning. Reaffirms the congressional commitment to population, development assistance and the need for informed voluntary family planning. Earmarks specified amounts of development and economic assistance appropriated by this Act for the Afghan people. Requires the AID Administrator to ensure that an equitable portion of such funds is made available to benefit Afghan women and girls. Prohibits making any of the funds appropriated by this Act available to a private voluntary organization which fails to provide the records necessary for an AID audit or which is not registered with AID. Withholds a specified amount of military aid and financing from El Salvador until the President reports to the Appropriations Committees that El Salvador has: (1) substantially concluded all investigations with respect to those responsible for the January 1981 murders of specified U.S. and Salvadoran land reformers; and (2) pursued all legal avenues to bring to trial and obtain a verdict of those responsible for such murders and for the deaths of certain peasants, priests, and trade unionists. Expresses the sense of the Congress that all countries receiving U.S. foreign aid should cooperate in facilitating lasting solutions to refugee situations. Prohibits making any of the funds appropriated by this Act available for: (1) costs of Ethiopia's forced resettlement or villagization programs; or (2) Sudan, Uganda, Liberia, Lebanon, Zaire, Yemen, Guatemala, Chile, or Somalia, except through regular congressional notification procedures. Earmarks certain appropriated funds for child survival activities and activities relating to research on, and the treatment and control of, AIDS in developing countries. Permits ESF funds to be provided to Chile to support the efforts of private individuals and groups to develop a national consensus on the importance of an independent judiciary and the administration of justice. Prohibits making any of the funds appropriated under this Act available to finance indirectly any assistance or reparations to Angola, Cambodia, Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Vietnam, Iran, or Syria unless the President certifies that the withholding of these funds is contrary to the national interest of the United States. Amends the Arms Export Control Act to extend waiver authority with respect to reciprocal leasing agreements through FY 1992. Requires delivery of defense equipment (permitted under special authority during unforeseen emergencies) within 120 days of congressional notification. Sets forth additional notification requirements with respect to the transfer of excess defense equipment to NATO. Requires the Secretary of State to transmit copies of all debt relief agreements to the appropriate congressional committees. Continues the funding of Middle East regional cooperative programs. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the U.S. Government should use its influence in the Asian Development Bank to secure reconsideration of the decision to designate Taiwan as "Taipei, China"; and (2) the Asian Development Bank should resolve this dispute in a fashion that is acceptable to Taiwan. Prohibits the use of funds provided under any Act for the sale of M-833 or comparable antitank shells containing a depleted uranium penetrating component to any country except a NATO member country, major non-NATO ally, or Taiwan. Allows earmarked funds to be reprogrammed for other programs within the same account if: (1) compliance with the earmark is made impossible by any Act; or (2) with respect to countries with which the United States has base access agreements, the President determines that the recipient of funds has reduced its military or economic cooperation with the United States. Requires the President, before funds for such countries are reprogrammed, to provide a written policy justification to the Appropriations Committees. Subjects such reprogramming to the regular notification procedures of such committees. Provides for U.S. opposition to assistance to terrorist countries by international financial institutions. Prohibits bilateral assistance to such countries. Earmarks amounts of ESF assistance for: (1) scholarships to disadvantaged South Africans; and (2) Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador, provided such countries are making progress in certain narcotics control efforts. Permits development and ESF assistance to be made available to Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Jamaica for reducing dependence on the production of crops from which narcotic and psychotropic drugs are derived. Limits the amount of foreign military financing to be made available for Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia. Prohibits such financing for any government that engages in a consistent pattern of human rights violations. Permits funds to be made available for training and equipment for narcotics law enforcement agencies in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru (except for Peru's Sinchi Police). Prohibits assistance to countries which fail to take measures to prevent illicit drugs from being sold to U.S. Government personnel or from entering the United States illegally. Earmarks amounts of assistance made available to AID for narcotics education and awareness programs and narcotics related economic assistance activities. Requires that any agreement for the sale or provision of any article on the U.S. Munitions List shall expressly state that the article is being provided by the United States only with the understanding that it will not be transferred to Cyprus or otherwise used to further the severance or division of Cyprus. Directs the President to report to the Congress when such equipment is used for such purposes. Permits the commercial leasing of defense articles (other than major defense equipment) by Israel, Egypt, NATO countries, and major non-NATO allies if the President determines that there are compelling foreign policy or national security reasons for those defense articles being provided by commercial lease rather than by government-to-government sale. Limits the amount of ESF and development assistance to be made available for humanitarian and development assistance for Cambodians. Terminates assistance to any Cambodian organization that is cooperating with the Khmer Rouge in their military operations. Requires the President to report to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate on the extent of military cooperation between the Khmer Rouge and the non-Communist resistance. Provides that funds made available for humanitarian assistance for Cambodian children shall also be available for civilian victims of war. Provides that all AID contracts and solicitations shall require U.S. marine insurance companies to have a fair opportunity to bid for marine insurance. Expresses the sense of the Congress that funds made available for the International Fund for Ireland should be allocated to programs which emphasize jobs creation in areas having the highest rates of unemployment. Prohibits the use of certain assistance provided under this Act for assistance to Afghanistan if such assistance would be provided through the Soviet-controlled government of Afghanistan. Requires at least 25 percent of ESF assistance for El Salvador to be used for certain development projects and activities in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Requires at least ten percent of FY 1990 development assistance and assistance for the Development Fund for Africa (unless the AID Administrator determines otherwise) to be made available only for U.S. organizations and individuals that are: (1) business concerns or private organizations owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; (2) historically black colleges or universities; and (3) colleges and universities in which more than 40 percent of the students are Hispanic American. Directs the Administrator to: (1) utilize the authority of the Small Business Act; (2) enter into contracts with such entities using less than full and open competitive procedures; and (3) issue regulations requiring contracts in excess of $500,000 to provide that at least ten percent of the contract shall be subcontracted to such entities. Requires AID personnel with contracting authority to notify the AID Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization before advertising contracts in excess of $100,000. Directs the Administrator to: (1) include as part of the performance evaluation of any mission director such director's efforts to carry out such activities; and (2) report annually to the Congress on the implementation of such program. Prohibits the United States from selling or making available Stinger missiles to any Persian Gulf country. Prohibits the provision of funds appropriated under this Act to any person undertaking an action prohibited by U.S. law. Authorizes nongovernmental organizations which receive AID economic assistance to invest any local currencies which accrue to such organizations as a result of such assistance. Earmarks a specified amount of development and ESF assistance for Lebanon. Sets forth the value of additions to be made to stockpiles in Israel during FY 1992. Extends the period during which the President may waive prohibitions on assistance to Pakistan to April 1, 1993. Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of funds for Pakistan except through the notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations. Sets forth requirements for the maintenance of separate accounts for, and the use of, local currencies, cash transfers, and non-project sector assistance. Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act for: (1) any member of the Nicaraguan resistance who has not disarmed and is not abiding by the terms of the cease-fire agreement and the addenda to the Toncontin Agreement; and (2) payments to international financial institutions that compensate U.S. directors in excess of specified rates. Sets forth human rights reporting requirements for the Secretary of State. Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to provide assistance to any country that is not in compliance with the United Nations Security Council 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 such country; or (3) will be humanitarian assistance for foreign nationals who have fled Iraq and Kuwait. Authorizes the President to prohibit the importation into the United States of products of any foreign country that has not prohibited the importation of Iraqi products and the export of its products to Iraq. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, in all negotiations concerning the EBRD, to seek: (1) establishment of procedures for environmental assessment of all proposed operations with significant environmental impacts; (2) establishment of an environmental unit to review operations and monitor compliance with environmental provisions; (3) establishment of procedures for consultation with and involvement of the public in the development of EBRD policies; and (4) agreement that a significant portion of EBRD funds shall be devoted to environmental restoration and protection projects. Repeals a provision of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1991 which made excess defense articles avilable to countries supporting Operation Desert Shield. Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to finance the procurement of chemicals or chemical agents that may be used for chemical weapons production. Prohibits ESF and foreign military financing assistance for Kenya unless the President certifies to the Congress that the Kenyan Government is taking steps to: (1) charge and try or release all prisoners and cease mistreatment of prisoners; and (2) restore the independence of the judiciary and freedoms of expression. Requires the delivery of excess defense articles to NATO allies and major non-NATO allies on the southern and southeastern NATO flanks to be given priority over the delivery of such articles to other countries. Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1991 to revise the amount of defense articles and services authorized to be drawn down for Israel. Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to implement the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990. Directs the President to submit to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee: (1) a U.S. plan for establishing a multilateral regime to restrict transfers of arms to the Middle East; and (2) an analysis of the feasibility and potential elements of such regime. Prohibits the United States from agreeing to any transfers of major military equipment to the Middle East and Persian Gulf region unless the President submits such plan and analysis and reports that there has been agreement by another major arms supplier on or after May 21, 1991, to transfer such equipment to any nation in the region. Exempts from such prohibition emergency or replacement transfers or transfers pursuant to agreements entered into before May 21, 1991. Requires the President to report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee on: (1) all transfers of conventional and unconventional arms to the Middle East; (2) the current military balance in the region; (3) the operation of any agreements comprising the arms transfer and control regime; and (4) supplier nations that have refused to participate in such a regime or that have engaged in conduct that violates or undermines the regime. Directs the President to seek negotiations among, and undertake efforts to convene a conference of, the five members of the United Nations Security Council and other nations, as appropriate, to establish a multilateral arms transfer and control regime with respect to the Middle East and Persian Gulf region. Declares that the purpose of such regime should be to: (1) limit the proliferation of conventional weapons and ballistic missile technologies and systems and halt the proliferation of unconventional weapons; (2) maintain the military balance in the region through the reduction of conventional weapons and the elimination of unconventional weapons; and (3) promote regional arms control in such region.

Office of Educational Research and Improvement Reauthorization Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1991

Amends the General Education Provisions Act to extend through FY 1996 the authorization of appropriations for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation and Education Benefit Budget Amendments of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1991

Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation and Education Benefit Budget Amendments of 1991 - Limits: (1) entitlement to veterans' vocational rehabilitation programs sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans entitled to veterans' disability compensation for a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more (currently, 20 percent or more); and (2) eligibility under the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance program to the natural or legally adopted children of the parent from whom eligibility is derived.

A bill to amend title 18 of the United States Code to punish as a Federal criminal offense the acts of international parental child kidnapping.

United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1991

Amends the Federal criminal code to punish as a Federal criminal offense acts of international parental child kidnapping. Subjects any individual who removes a child from, or conceals or detains a child outside, the territorial jurisdiction of the United States for payment or promise of payment at the instruction of a person who has not been granted custody of the child by a court of law to a fine, up to three years' imprisonment, or both. Sets forth as affirmative defenses that the defendant: (1) acted within the provisions of a valid court order granting the defendant legal custody or visitation rights, and that such order was obtained pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and was in effect at the time of the offense; (2) was fleeing an incidence or pattern of domestic violence; or (3) had physical custody of the child pursuant to a court order granting legal custody or visitation rights and failed to return the child as a result of circumstances beyond the defendant's control, subject to specified conditions. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to ensure that sentencing guidelines reflect the appropriateness of imposing a greater sentence than would otherwise be imposed for such offense under specified circumstances, such as where the defendant abused or neglected the kidnapped child or the defendant committed the offense while armed with a deadly weapon. Specifies that if a child was removed from the territorial jurisdiction of the United States prior to the enactment of this Act, charges under this Act may be approved only in cases involving the concealing or detaining of the child in violation of a court order that existed at the time of the child's removal from the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Authorizes appropriations to conduct national, regional, and State training and education programs on criminal and civil aspects of international and interstate parental child abduction under the State Justice Institute Act of 1984.

Diversity in Education Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1991

Diversity in Education Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide that a scholarship program, if its purpose is to promote diversity in the relevant student body, shall not be found to violate the requirements of such Act or any other Act on the basis that it allocates funds based on race, color, or national origin.

Biden-Thurmond Violent Crime Control Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991

Violent Crime Control Act of 1991 - Title I: Safer Streets and Neighborhoods - Safer Streets and Neighborhood Act of 1991 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Omnibus Act) to: (1) authorize appropriations ($1,000,000,000 for FY 1992 and such sums as necessary in FY 1993 and 1994) for grants to State and local law enforcement agencies; and (2) continue the Federal-State funding formula for such agencies for FY 1992. Title II: Death Penalty - Federal Death Penalty Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, of its intention to seek the death penalty and of the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Includes as threshold aggravating factors for homicide that the defendant: (1) intentionally killed the victim; (2) intentionally inflicted serious bodily injury which resulted in the death of the victim; (3) intentionally participated in an act, contemplating that the life of a person would be taken, and the victim died as a direct result of the act; (4) attempted to kill the President of the United States; or (5) intentionally engaged in an act constituting reckless disregard for human life, knowing that the act created a grave risk of death to someone other than the participants, and the victim died as a direct result of the act. Sets forth special aggravating factors with respect to the crimes of treason, espionage, homicide, and attempted murder of the President. States that no person who was less than 18 years of age at the time of the offense may be sentenced to death. Prohibits the execution of mentally retarded persons or pregnant women. Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified based on consideration of both the aggravating and mitigating factors. Requires the court to instruct the jury: (1) not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant or any victim in its consideration of the sentence; and (2) that it is not required to return a death sentence. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the Court of Appeals to review the record, address all substantive and procedural issues raised on appeal, and consider whether such sentence was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor and whether the evidence supports the special finding of the existence of the required aggravating factor. Specifies that whenever such court finds that the sentence was imposed under such influence, the admissible evidence adduced does not support such special finding, or other legal error requires reversal of the sentence, the court shall remand the case for reconsideration or impose a sentence other than death (and, in any other case, remand for reconsideration.) Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Prohibits requiring any employee of any State department of corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or any provider of services under contract to participate in any execution if participation is contrary to his or her moral or religious convictions. Bars the imposition of a death sentence for a death-eligible offense committed in Indian country unless the Indian tribe having criminal jurisdiction over land and persons subject to such jurisdiction has elected to have this title apply in such cases. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for: (1) murders committed by prisoners in Federal correctional institutions; (2) kidnappings which result in the death of any person; (3) attempting to kill the President of the United States (if such attempt results in bodily injury or comes dangerously close to causing the President's death); (4) murder for hire; (5) murder in the aid of a racketeering activity; (6) engaging in a criminal enterprise activity which results in death; and (7) other specified offenses, including civil rights murders and certain murders involving damage to religious property or obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs. Racial Justice Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit the imposition or execution of sentences of death under color of State or Federal law in a racially discriminatory pattern. Specifies that to establish such a pattern: (1) ordinary methods of statistical proof shall suffice; and (2) it shall not be necessary to show discriminatory intent on the part of any individual or institution. Specifies that: (1) to establish a prima facie showing of a racially discriminatory pattern it shall suffice that death sentences are being imposed or executed upon persons of one race with a frequency disproportionate to their representation among the number of persons arrested for, charged with, or convicted of death-eligible crimes, or as punishment for crimes against persons of one race with a frequency that is disproportionate to their representation among persons against whom death-eligible crimes have been committed; and (2) to rebut such a showing, a State or Federal entity must establish by clear and convincing evidence that identifiable and pertinent nonracial factors persuasively explain the observable racial disparities comprising the pattern. Requires any State or Federal entity that provides for the death penalty to designate a central agency to collect and maintain pertinent data on the charging, disposition, and sentencing patterns for all cases of death-eligible crimes. Directs each such entity to: (1) monitor compliance by local officials and agencies; (2) devise and distribute to every local official or agency responsible for the investigation or prosecution of death-eligible crimes a standard form to collect pertinent data; (3) maintain, compile, and index such forms and data and make them available to the public; (4) maintain a centralized, alphabetically indexed file of all police and investigative reports transmitted to it by local officials or agencies in every case of death-eligible crime; and (5) allow access to its file of police and investigative reports to the counsel of record for persons charged with death-eligible crimes. Requires each local official responsible for the investigation or prosecution of death-eligible crimes to: (1) complete such form on every case of death-eligible crime; (2) transmit such form to the central agency within three months after disposition of each such case; and (3) transmit to such agency a copy of all police and investigative reports made in connection with each case of death-eligible crime. Requires such data to include, at a minimum: (1) pertinent demographic information on all persons charged with the crime and all victims (including race, sex, age, and national origin); (2) information on the principal features of the crime; (3) information on the aggravating and mitigating factors of the crime, including the background and character of every person charged with the crime; and (4) a narrative summary of the crime. Requires the court to appoint counsel for those financially unable to retain counsel and to furnish investigative, expert, or other services as necessary for the development of the claim of any such person, subject to certain limitations. Specifies that no determination on the merits of a factual issue made by a State court pertinent to any claim under this Act shall be presumed to be correct unless: (1) the State is in compliance with the provisions of this Act; (2) the determination was made in a proceeding in a State court in which the person asserting the claim was afforded rights to counsel and to the furnishing of investigative, expert, and other such services which were substantially equivalent to those provided in this Act; and (3) the determination is one which is otherwise entitled to be presumed correct under the criteria specified under Federal habeas corpus provisions. Title III: Death Penalty for Murder of Law Enforcement Officer Act - Authorizes the death penalty for the murder of: (1) Federal law enforcement officials; and (2) State law enforcement officers working with Federal agents. Title IV: Death Penalty for Drug Criminals Act - Death Penalty for Drug Criminals Act of 1991 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to authorize the death penalty for first degree murders committed in the course of: (1) drug distribution conspiracies; (2) drug import and export conspiracies; (3) drug distribution to minors, near schools, or while employing minors; and (4) export, import, or distribution of major quantities of drugs. Title V: Prevention and Punishment of Terrorist Acts - Subtitle A: Aviation Terrorism - Amends the Federal criminal code to set forth penalties for performing or attempting an act of violence against a person at an airport serving international civil aviation which causes or is likely to cause serious injury or death; destroying or seriously damaging the facilities of, or a civil aircraft not in service at, such airport; or disrupting the services of such airport, if such an act endangers or is likely to endanger safety. Amends the Federal Aviation Act to delete a limitation on the applicability of aircraft piracy provisions to situations where the place of takeoff or of actual landing of the aircraft on board which the offense is committed is situated outside the territory of the State of registration of such aircraft. Makes the willful violation of certain Federal Aviation Administration regulations relating to airport and airline security punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. Subtitle B: Maritime Terrorism - Act for the Prevention and Punishment of Violence Against Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for acts of violence against maritime navigation, such as seizing control of a ship by force, threat, or intimidation, performing acts of violence against persons on board a ship that are likely to endanger safe navigation, and destroying or seriously damaging maritime navigational facilities that are likely to endanger safe navigation. Sets forth analogous provisions with respect to maritime fixed platforms. Declares that all the territorial sea of the United States, as defined by Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988: (1) is part of the United States, subject to its sovereignty; and (2) for purposes of Federal criminal jurisdiction, is within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to U.S. jurisdiction over the territorial sea and over crimes against U.S. nationals on foreign vessels. Subtitle C: Terrorism Offenses and Sanctions - Establishes criminal penalties for: (1) committing, or attempting to commit, torture outside the United States (with jurisdiction over the prohibited activity if the alleged offender is a U.S. national or is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or the alleged offender); (2) using weapons of mass destruction against a U.S. national outside of the United States, any person within the United States, or any property that is owned, leased, or used by the United States or any U.S. department or agency; and (3) committing certain homicides and attempted homicides involving firearms in Federal facilities. Increases penalties for international terrorist acts. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for terrorist murders. Subtitle D: Preventing Domestic and International Terrorist Acts - Part I: Attacking the Infrastructure of Terrorist Organizations - Makes it a Federal criminal offense for an individual, within the United States and acting as an agent of a foreign power, to provide material support or resources (including currency, securities, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, personnel, and other physical assets), or to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, or ownership of such support or resources, knowing that such resources or support are intended to be used to commit a terrorist act. Provides for the civil and criminal seizure and forfeiture of any real or personal property used or intended for use for, or constituting or derived from the gross profits or other proceeds obtained from, specified violations related to terrorist acts, or to facilitate the concealment or an escape from the commission of such violations. Part II: Cooperation of Witnesses in Terrorist Investigations - Alien Witness Cooperation Act of 1991 - Authorizes the Attorney General to waive immigration admission, and other legal, requirements and grant permanent resident status for alien witnesses who cooperate with the Government in Federal or State prosecutions. Bars the granting of such status to an alien who would be excluded because of felony convictions unless the Attorney General determines that the granting of such status to such alien is necessary in the interests of justice and comports with the safety of the community. Limits the number of aliens and members of their immediate families entering the United States under such authority to 200 persons in any single fiscal year. Makes the decision to grant or deny permanent resident status under this Act at the discretion of the Attorney General and not subject to judicial review. Subtitle E: Preventing Economic Terrorism - Makes it a Federal criminal offense to counterfeit, or to make, deal, or possess any plate or other item used in the counterfeiting of, U.S. securities abroad. Establishes an Economic Terrorism Task Force to: (1) assess the threat of terrorist actions directed against the U.S. economy and the adequacy of existing policies and procedures designed to prevent such actions; and (2) recommend administrative and legislative responses to prevent such actions. Sets forth provisions: (1) regarding the makeup of such Task Force; (2) making provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act inapplicable to such Task Force; and (3) establishing reporting requirements. Specifies that if the report of the Task Force is classified, an unclassified version shall be prepared for public distribution. Subtitle F: Authorizations to Expand Counter-Terrorist Operations by Federal Agencies - Authorizes appropriations for counter-terrorist operations and programs. Title VI: Drive-By-Shooting Act - Drive-By-Shooting Prevention Act of 1991 - Sets penalties for any individual who, in furtherance or to escape detection of a major drug offense, with intent to intimidate, harass, injure, or maim, fires a weapon into a group of two or more people causing: (1) grave risk to human life (a fine and up to 25 years' imprisonment); or (2) death (a fine, life imprisonment, or, in a case of first degree murder, a sentence of death). Title VII: Assault Weapons - Antidrug, Assault Weapons Limitation Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer, importation, receipt, or possession of any assault weapon, except: (1) by the Federal, State, or local government; and (2) with respect to weapons lawfully possessed before enactment of this Act. Specifies firearms to be included as assault weapons. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to recommend to the Congress the addition or deletion of firearms to be designated as assault weapons. Increases the length of imprisonment for an individual who uses or carries an assault weapon during and in relation to the commission of a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime. Prohibits the sale, shipment, or delivery (or purchase, possession, or acceptance of delivery) of an assault weapon to (or by) any person who does not fill out a specified form. Establishes recordkeeping requirements. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the request and delivery of such form. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) investigate and study the effect of this title on violent and drug trafficking crime; and (2) submit to the Senate a report on its findings. Establishes penalties for knowingly failing to acquire the proper form with respect to the lawful transfer, transport, shipping, receipt, or possession of an assault weapon. Specifies the effective period of this title. Title VIII: Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education Act - Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education Act - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) an Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education to be headed by a Director. Requires a State that desires to participate in the Police Corps program or the Law Enforcement Scholarship program to designate a lead agency and submit a State plan containing assurances with respect to: (1) lead agency cooperation with other State and local agencies; (2) the State advertising of the assistance available; (3) State screening and selection of law enforcement personnel for participation in the program; and (4) compliance with other specified requirements. Subtitle A: Police Corps Program - Authorizes the Director to award scholarships (including direct payments to institutions and reimbursement of educational costs) to participants who agree to work for four years in a State or local police force after completion of a baccalaureate program and police corps training, subject to specified conditions. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) scholarship assistance for dependent children of law enforcement officers; (2) the selection of participants; (3) minority recruitment; and (4) leaves of absence. Requires the Director to establish up to three training centers to provide basic law enforcement training to State Police Corps program participants. Requires participants to attend two eight-week training sessions at such training centers and to meet certain performance standards in order to remain in the Police Corps program. Requires the Director to pay participants a weekly stipend during training. Requires a State, in order to participate in the Police Corps program, to submit a plan for implementing such program to the Director for approval. Requires such plan to: (1) include assurances that participants will receive additional State or local training after completing Federal training which shall count toward the four-year service obligation; and (2) provide that program participants shall be assigned to community and preventive patrol in geographic areas with the greatest need for additional law enforcement personnel. Provides for the swearing in of participants as members of the police force to which they are assigned after completing Federal training and meeting the requirements of that police force. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Law Enforcement Scholarship Program - Directs each State to pay from funds under this Act the Federal share (not more than 60 percent) of the cost of awarding scholarships to in-service law enforcement personnel for further education. Sets forth State plan requirements, including identifying model curricula and existing programs and providing assurances that the State will promote cooperative agreements to enhance law enforcement personnel recruitment efforts in high schools and community colleges. Sets forth application requirements. Grants priority in awarding scholarships to members of underrepresented groups and to those pursuing an undergraduate degree. Requires each individual awarded a scholarship to work in a law enforcement position in the State which made the award for a period of one month for each credit hour of financial assistance (with a six-month minimum and two-year maximum). Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Reports - Sets forth provisions requiring: (1) annual reports by the Director to the Attorney General, the President, and specified Members of Congress; and (2) a special report by the Attorney General to the Congress on a plan to expand scholarship assistance to eligible Federal law enforcement officers. Title IX: Police Officers' Bill of Rights Act of 1991 - Police Officers' Bill of Rights Act of 1991 - Amends the Omnibus Act to provide that, except when on duty or acting in an official capacity, no law enforcement officer (officer) shall be prohibited from engaging in political activity or be denied the right to refrain from engaging in such activity. Sets forth minimum standards that shall apply when an officer is under investigation or is subjected to questioning under circumstances that could lead to disciplinary action, including that: (1) questioning be conducted at a reasonable hour, and take place at the offices of those conducting the investigation, with exceptions; (2) the officer under investigation be informed in writing of the nature of the investigation prior to questioning; (3) any questioning be for a reasonable period of time, allowing for reasonable periods for rest and personal necessities; (4) such questioning be recorded in full in writing or by electronic device, and a copy of the transcript made available to the officer under investigation; and (5) the officer be entitled to the presence of counsel or other individual at the questioning. Requires the law enforcement agency to notify the officer that such officer is entitled to a hearing by a hearing officer or board, with exceptions for summary punishment or emergency suspension for misconduct. Specifies that an emergency suspension shall not affect the officer's health benefits. Sets forth provisions: (1) with respect to the composition of a disciplinary hearing board and procedures for a disciplinary hearing; and (2) limiting the penalty to that which was recommended by the trial board. Provides for notice of disciplinary action. Bars any penalty or threat of penalty against the officer for the exercise of rights under this Act. Prohibits: (1) a law enforcement agency from inserting any adverse material into the file of an officer unless such officer has had an opportunity to review and comment in writing on the adverse material; (2) requiring or requesting an officer to disclose personal property, income, assets, sources of income, debts, or expenditures (including those of any household member) unless the information is necessary in investigating a violation of law, rules, or regulation with respect to the performance of official duties, or where such disclosure is required by Federal, State, or local law; and (3) a State from having more than two legislative sessions to enact a Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights that provides rights substantially similar to those afforded under this Act. Authorizes a cause of action in State court by the officer for recovery of damages and full reinstatement against a law enforcement agency that materially violates rights afforded under this Act, subject to specified limitations. Specifies that the sovereign immunity of a State shall not apply in the case of such a violation. Specifies that this Act does not preempt State law or collective bargaining agreements or discussions that provide rights for officers that are substantially similar to those afforded by this Act. Title X: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies - Federal Law Enforcement Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), U.S. attorneys, U.S. marshals, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, U.S. courts, and defender services. Title XI: Habeas Corpus Reform Act - Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Applies such procedures to Federal habeas corpus cases brought by prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence. Makes the applicability to such procedures contingent upon a State establishing a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable fees and litigation expenses of competent counsel consistent with this Act. Sets forth procedures for the appointment of counsel or for allowing a prisoner to proceed pro se. Provides for a mandatory stay of execution during the post-conviction review initiated pursuant to this Act. Details conditions which will cause such stay to expire. Prohibits a Federal court, if one of such conditions has occurred, from entering a stay of execution or granting relief in a capital case unless: (1) the basis for the stay and request for relief is a claim not previously presented by the prisoner in the State or Federal courts, and the failure to raise the claim is the result of State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of United States, is the result of Supreme Court recognition of a new Federal right that is retroactively applicable, or is based on a factual predicate that could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence; (2) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court's confidence in the jury's determination of guilt on the offense for which the death penalty was imposed; or (3) a stay and consideration of the requested relief are necessary to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Imposes time limits on filing for habeas corpus relief. Requires such time limits to be tolled under specified conditions. Requires the district court, upon the development of a complete evidentiary record, to rule on the merits of the claims properly before it. Authorizes a district court to refuse to consider a claim under this Act if: (1) the prisoner previously failed to raise the claim in State court at the time and in the manner prescribed by State law; (2) the State courts, for that reason, refused or would refuse to entertain the claim; and (3) such refusal would constitute an adequate and independent State law ground that would foreclose direct review of the State court judgment in the U.S. Supreme Court. Provides an exception to such authorization. Makes the requirement for a certificate of probable cause inapplicable, with an exception. States that a mechanism for the provision of counsel services to indigents sufficient to invoke the provisions of this Act shall provide for counsel to indigents: (1) charged with offenses for which capital punishment is sought; (2) who have been sentenced to death and who seek appellate or collateral review in State court; and (3) who have been sentenced to death and who seek certiorari review in the U.S. Supreme Court. Prescribes minimum qualifications for appointed counsel. Authorizes payment of fees and expenses for investigative, expert, or other services reasonably necessary for the representation of the defendant. Allows the court to fix the compensation to be paid to an attorney appointed under this Act. Specifies which law is applicable in Federal habeas corpus proceedings. Title XII: Punishment of Gun Criminals - Gun Criminals Punishment Act of 1991 - Subtitle A: Increased Penalties for Gun Offenses - Requires that any individual who, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, discharges a firearm that kills another person: (1) if the killing is a first degree murder, be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or any term of years, fined, or both; and (2) if the killing is other than a first degree murder, be fined, imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both. Increases penalties to be imposed in addition to penalties provided for a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime for discharging, using, carrying, or otherwise possessing a firearm during and in relation to such crime to five to ten years for firearm, ten to 15 years for an assault weapon, short-barreled rifle, or short-barreled shotgun, and 30 years for a machine gun, destructive device, or firearm equipped with a silencer or muffler. Requires an individual to be sentenced to life imprisonment for a second conviction of such an offense if the firearm is an assault weapon. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to promulgate, or amend existing, guidelines to provide for a sentencing enhancement in accord with such provisions. Subtitle B: Firearms and Related Amendments - Establishes penalties for possessing (current law covers only using and carrying) an explosive during the commission of a felony. Provides for 20 years imprisonment for using, carrying, or possessing an explosive, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction. Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer of firearms to non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides. Specifies that if a conviction was for a violent felony involving the threatened or actual use of a firearm or explosives, or was for a serious drug offense, such person shall be considered convicted for purposes of this Act irrespective of any pardon, setting aside, expunction, or restoration of civil rights. Permits the judicial officer to consider pretrial detention with respect to certain firearms and explosives offenses. Sets forth penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking and for theft of firearms and explosives. Provides for the mandatory revocation of the supervised release of an individual for possession of a firearm. Increases penalties for making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to: (1) change from six to five years the statute of limitations for certain firearms offenses; and (2) provide for the summary forfeiture of unregistered National Firearms Act weapons, with provision for reimbursement for innocent owners. Makes it unlawful for felons and others to possess explosives. Authorizes the summary destruction of explosives subject to forfeiture under specified circumstances. Sets forth requirements for reimbursement of the value of destroyed property. Makes it unlawful to knowingly possess stolen firearms, ammunition, or explosives. Adds using a firearm in the commission of counterfeiting or forgery (current law specifies only "whoever, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime") among offenses which, if the offender uses or carries a firearm, will subject such person to an enhanced sentence. Provides for a mandatory five year penalty for firearms possession by violent felons and serious drug offenders. Modifies provisions regarding the reporting of multiple firearms sales to: (1) cover sales during any 30 consecutive days (currently, during any five consecutive business days); and (2) require each licensee to forward a copy of the report to the chief law enforcement officer of the place of residence of the unlicensed person not later than the close of business on the date that the multiple sale or disposition occurs. Subjects individuals who conspire to commit a firearms or explosives offense to the same penalties as those prescribed for the underlying offense. Provides for a fine or up to ten years imprisonment, or both, for stealing a firearm or explosive from specified individuals, such as a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer. Makes it unlawful for any person (current law specifies licensee) to distribute explosive materials to specified classes of individuals. Defines "burglary" to mean any crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year and consisting of entering or remaining surreptitiously within a building that is the property of another with intent to engage in conduct constituting a Federal or State offense. Prohibits the court from placing on probation or suspending the sentence of any person sentenced pursuant to (currently, convicted of) a provision enhancing penalties for the use of a firearm during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime. Bars the sale of firearms and explosives to, or possession of firearms and explosives by, persons convicted of a violent or serious drug misdemeanor. Subtitle C: Prohibited Gun Clips and Magazines - Includes ammunition feeding devices (AFDs) within the definition of firearms for purposes of Federal firearms laws. Defines an AFD to include any detachable magazine, feed strip, or similar device which has a capacity of, or which can be readily converted to accept, more than 15 rounds of ammunition, with exceptions. Prohibits the importation, manufacture, transfer, receipt, or possession of AFDs, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to maintain a central registry of all such devices transferred after the effective date of this Act which, after such transfer, are not under the control of the United States or any State or political subdivision. Specifies that such registry shall include: (1) identification of the device; (2) date of registration; (3) identification and address of the person entitled to possess the device; and (4) such other information as may be required by regulations promulgated by the Secretary. Establishes additional registration procedures. Requires all AFDs to be identified by a serial number and such other identification as the Secretary may prescribe. Provides for criminal penalties for violation of provisions of this Act relative to AFDs. Authorizes specified individuals engaged in the manufacture or importation of AFDs requiring a license to continue to engage in such business pending final action on the application. Title XIII: Prison for Violent Drug Offenders - Authorizes appropriations for the construction, and operation for one year, of ten regional prisons. Sets forth provisions with respect to the location and population of such prisons, prisoner eligibility (State and Federal prisoners with release dates of not more than two years from the date of assignment to the prison who have long-term drug abuse problems and serious criminal histories, and who agree to the assignment), State responsibilities, and the powers of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (e.g., to return any prisoner not complying with program requirements and conditions.) Requires any State seeking to refer a State prisoner to a regional prison to submit to such Director an aftercare plan setting forth the provisions that the State will make for the continued treatment of the prisoner in a therapeutic community following release and providing for vocational job training where appropriate. Title XIV: Boot Camps - Directs the Attorney General, within one year, to establish within the Bureau of Prisons ten military-style boot camp prisons. Sets forth provisions with respect to prison capacity, proportion of State to Federal prisoners, and eligibility requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title XV: Youth Violence Act - Subtitle A: Increasing Penalties for Employing Children to Distribute Drugs Near Schools and Playgrounds - Amends the CSA to increase the penalty for employing, using, inducing, or coercing individuals under age 18 to violate provisions of such Act, or to assist in avoiding detection or apprehension for certain offenses under such Act by Federal, State, or local law enforcement officials. Subtitle B: Antigang Grants - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to authorize the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to make grants to States and units of general local government to assist them in planning, coordinating, and evaluating projects to reduce the formation or continuation of juvenile gangs and the use and sale of illegal drugs by juveniles. Specifies the allocation (50-50) of funds available to each State for juvenile drug supply and drug demand reduction programs. Directs the Administrator to give priority to programs aimed at juvenile involvement in organized gang- and drug-related activities. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth provisions with respect to application, and review and approval, procedures. Subtitle C: Juvenile Penalties - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) add certain firearms offenses to the offenses over which the United States has juvenile delinquency jurisdiction; and (2) provide for the treatment of violent juveniles who commit firearms offenses as adults under certain circumstances. Specifies factors to be considered in transferring a juvenile to adult status. Classifies as serious drug offenses for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 serious drug offenses committed by juveniles. Title XVI: Rural Crime and Drug Control Act - Subtitle A: Fighting Drug Trafficking in Rural Areas - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize appropriations, and increase the base allocation, for rural drug enforcement assistance. Directs the Attorney General to establish a Rural Drug Enforcement Task Force in each of the Federal judicial districts which encompass significant rural lands. Specifies the membership of such task forces. Directs the Attorney General to cross-designate up to 100 Federal officers with jurisdiction to enforce CSA provisions on non-Federal lands to the extent necessary to effect the purposes of this title. Requires the Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to develop a specialized course of instruction devoted to training law enforcement officers from rural agencies in the investigation of drug trafficking and related crimes. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Increasing Penalties for Certain Drug Trafficking Offenses - Ice Enforcement Act of 1991 - Amends the CSA to increase penalties for specified offense involving crystalline methamphetamine. Subtitle C: Rural Drug Prevention and Treatment - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Office for Treatment Improvement to establish a program to provide grants to hospitals, community health centers, and other appropriate entities that serve nonmetropolitan areas to assist in developing and implementing projects that provide, or expand the availability of, substance abuse treatment services. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the alcohol and drug abuse information clearinghouse required to be established under the Public Health Service Act to: (1) gather information pertaining to Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration and other rural drug abuse treatment and education projects operating throughout the United States; and (2) disseminate information to rural hospitals, community health centers, community mental health centers, treatment facilities, community organizations, and other interested individuals. Subtitle D: Rural Land Recovery Act - Specifies that each of the Rural Drug Enforcement Task Forces shall include one Director of Rural Land Recovery. Directs State and Federal prosecutors, when bringing charges against the operators of such laboratories, to include, in addition to drug-related charges, counts involving infringements of applicable environmental protection laws, including illegal disposal of hazardous waste and knowing endangerment of the environment. Authorizes such prosecutors and private citizens to bring suit against the operators of such laboratories for environmental and health-related damages caused by the operators in their manufacture of illicit substances. Title XVII: Drug Emergency Areas Act of 1991 - Drug Emergency Areas Act of 1991 - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to replace language with respect to the designation of high intensity drug trafficking areas with provisions authorizing the President to declare a State or part of a State to be a drug emergency area. Requires requests for such a declaration to be made, in writing, by the Governor or chief executive officer of any affected State or local government and forwarded to the President through the Director of National Drug Control Policy. Allows cities, counties, or States to submit a joint request. Requires requests to be based on a written finding that the emergency is of such severity and magnitude that Federal assistance is necessary to ensure an effective response. Prohibits the President from limiting declarations made under this Act to highly-populated centers of drug trafficking, drug use, or drug-related violence. Requires the President to consider applications from governments of less populated areas where the magnitude and severity of such activities are beyond the capability of the State or local government to respond. Requires Governors or chief executive officers, as part of such requests and as a prerequisite to such assistance, to: (1) take appropriate action under State or local law to respond to the crisis and furnish information on the nature and amount of State and local resources which have been or will be committed to alleviating the emergency; (2) certify that State and local government obligations and expenditures will comply with all applicable cost-sharing requirements; and (3) submit a detailed plan outlining the State or local government's short- and long-term plans to respond to the emergency. Requires the Director to review requests submitted and forward the application to the President, along with a recommendation. Authorizes the President to make grants to State or local governments of up to $50,000,000 for any single emergency. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of the costs necessary to implement the short- and long-term plan. Limits the duration of assistance to a drug disaster area to one year, after which the Governors or chief executive officers may apply for an extension of up to 180 days. Requires any State or local government receiving Federal assistance to balance the allocation of such assistance evenly between drug supply and demand reduction efforts, unless State or local conditions dictate otherwise. Authorizes the President to: (1) direct any Federal agency to utilize its authorities and resources to support State and local efforts; and (2) provide technical and advisory assistance. Title XVIII: Drunk Driving Child Protection Act - Drunk Driving Child Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Assimilative Crimes Statute to require the imposition of a Federal penalty (if not already imposed by a State) of one year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine, or both, in addition to any term of imprisonment under State law for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol if a minor (other than the offender) was present in the vehicle at the time of the offense. Amends the common carrier provisions of the Federal criminal code to increase the penalty for operating a common carrier under the influence of drugs or alcohol if a minor (other than the offender) is present in the vehicle by up to one year's imprisonment (or if serious bodily injury of a minor is caused, five years; or if death of a minor is caused, ten years) and an additional $1,000 fine, or both. Defines "minor" as a person less than 18 years of age. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in determining child custody and visitation rights, the courts should take into consideration the history of drunk driving of any person involved in the determination. Title XIX: Commission on Crime and Violence - Establishes the National Commission on Crime and Violence in America to: (1) develop a comprehensive crime control plan to serve as a blueprint for action in the 1990s; (2) bring attention to successful models and programs; (3) reach beyond the traditional criminal justice community for ideas; and (4) recommend improvements in local, State, and Federal coordination. Sets forth the composition of the Commission, its responsibilities, administrative provisions, reporting requirements, and termination date. Title XX: Protection of Crime Victims - Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1991 - Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, as amended, to eliminate the cap on the crime victims fund. Requires (current law authorizes) the court to order restitution payments for specified violations of the Federal criminal code and the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. Authorizes the court, in addition to ordering restitution of the victim of the offense of which a defendant is convicted, to order restitution of persons harmed physically, emotionally, or pecuniarily by defendant's unlawful conduct during which the offense occurred or during the course of a scheme, conspiracy, or pattern of unlawful activity related to the offense. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to determination of amounts owed to the victim, set-offs, enforcement of restitution orders, and procedures for issuing such orders. Title XXI: Crack House Eviction Act - Amends the CSA to authorize: (1) the Attorney General to bring a civil action against violators of prohibitions against maintaining places for the manufacture, distribution, or use of controlled substances; and (2) the court to assess a civil penalty of up to $100,000 and grant such other relief, including injunctions and evictions, as appropriate. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) aggressively pursue the use of criminal penalties, civil injunctions, forfeiture sanctions, and other remedies against drug offenders; and (2) report annually to the Congress on the manner and extent to which such remedies are being used and their effect in curtailing drug trafficking. Title XXII: Organized Crime and Dangerous Drugs Division - Subtitle A: Establishment of an Organized Crime and Dangerous Drugs Division in the Department of Justice - Justice Department Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1991 - Establishes within DOJ the Organized Crime and Dangerous Drugs Division, consisting initially of specified offices within the Criminal Division of DOJ and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program. Transfers to such Division all functions, personnel, and available funds of such offices and program. Requires such Division to be headed by an Assistant Attorney General for the Organized Crime and Dangerous Drug Division and a Deputy Assistant. Establishes within such Division such sections and offices as the Attorney General deems appropriate to maintain or increase the level of enforcement activities with respect to criminal racketeering, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, asset forfeiture, international crime, and civil enforcement. Directs the Attorney General to establish at least 20 field offices of the Division to be known as Organized Crime and Dangerous Drug Strike Forces. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to coordination of field activities and the transfer of staff assigned to the Task Forces to the Division (designated the Criminal Narcotics Section). Specifies that the agents assigned to the Strike Forces shall be dedicated exclusively to, and located with, the Strike Forces and shall be given credit for the work of the Strike Forces. Requires the Assistant Attorney General for Organized Crime and Dangerous Drugs to report to the Congress on the areas of the United States that may require increased assistance from DOJ through the establishment of additional strike forces. Authorizes appropriations for salaries and expenses of the Division for FY 1992, subject to certain limitations. Subtitle B: International Prosecution Teams - Requires the Division to include at least ten International Drug Enforcement Teams: (1) devoted exclusively to investigating, prosecuting, and supporting the investigation and prosecution of international drug cases; and (2) responsible for developing expertise in handling civil and criminal cases involving extradition, money laundering, drug-related corruption, and other complex cases relating to international drug trafficking. Specifies relationships of team members and goals, including improved coordination and cooperation between the United States and foreign countries in the suppression of international money laundering and narcotics trafficking. Title XXIII: Exclusionary Rule - Amends the Federal criminal code to bar the exclusion of evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure that was in violation of the fourth amendment to the Constitution if the search or seizure was carried out in reasonable reliance on a warrant that was issued by a detached and neutral magistrate and that was ultimately found to be invalid, unless: (1) the judicial officer in issuing the warrant was materially misled by information in an affidavit that the affiant knew was false or would have known was false except for his reckless disregard of the truth; (2) the judicial officer provided approval of the warrant without exercising a neutral and detached review of the application for the warrant; (3) the warrant was based on an affidavit so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence entirely unreasonable; or (4) the warrant is so facially deficient that the executing officers could not reasonably presume it to be valid. Title XXIV: Drug Testing - Federal Prisoner Drug Testing Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to require, as a condition of probation, supervised release, or parole, that the defendant pass a drug test prior to the imposition of sentence, refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance, and submit to at least two periodic drug tests (as determined by the court, with respect to probation or supervised release, and by the U.S. Parole Commission, with respect to parole) for use of a controlled substance. Specifies that no action may be taken against a defendant pursuant to such a drug test unless the test confirmation is a urine drug test confirmed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques or one determined to be of equivalent accuracy. Title XXV: Maximum Penalty Increases for Violent Crimes - Increases the maximum penalty for: (1) assaults against specified classes of individuals; (2) manslaughter; (3) certain civil rights violations (including damage to religious property); (4) interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises; and (5) conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Specifies that, in determining the equitable share of proceeds for a State or local law enforcement agency from a drug-related asset seizure under CSA provisions, the Attorney General shall not retain more than ten percent of the total proceeds to cover the costs of administrative expenses. Title XXVI: Obstruction of Justice - Increases penalties for obstruction of justice offenses against court officers and jurors and for retaliatory killings of witnesses, victims, and informants. Title XXVII: Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act - Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act - Makes it unlawful for any licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun to an unlicensed individual unless: (1) after the most recent proposal of such transfer by the individual, the transferor has received a statement of eligibility from the individual, has notified the chief law enforcement officer for such individual's place of residence about the proposed transfer, and either has received a response indicating that such transfer is not prohibited by law or has not received a response indicating otherwise within seven days; (2) the individual has presented to the transferor a statement from the officer, issued in the past ten days, that the individual requires a handgun because of a threat to him or his family; (3) the individual has presented to the transferor a permit to possess a handgun that has been issued in the past five years by the State in which the transfer is to take place under a State law which requires law enforcement verification of the individual's legal qualification to possess a handgun; (4) State law either requires a waiting period of at least seven days or requires that an authorized government official verifies that the information available to such official does not indicate that possession of a handgun by the purchaser would be unlawful; or (5) the transferor has received a report from any system of felon identification established by the Attorney General under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 that the individual's possession or receipt of the handgun would not violate Federal, State, or local law. Requires the statement of eligibility to include a statement that the individual: (1) is not under indictment for and has not been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; (2) is not a fugitive; (3) is not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance; (4) has not been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution; (5) is not an alien who is illegally in the United States; (6) has not been dishonorably discharged from the armed forces; and (7) is not a person who has renounced U.S. citizenship. Requires any transferor who, after a transfer, receives a report from such officer that receipt or possession of the handgun by the individual violates the law, to: (1) furnish information about the transfer and the individual to the chief law enforcement officer of the transferor's place of business and the individual's place of residence; and (2) keep confidential any information received which is not otherwise available to the public, with exceptions. Requires a transferor to retain a copy of the individual's statement and retain evidence of compliance with the requirement under this Act with respect to the furnishing of a copy of the statement to the chief law enforcement officer of the place of residence of the individual within one day after furnishing such statement. Requires the law enforcement officer to destroy any copy of the individual's sworn statement and any record containing information derived from such statement within 30 days, unless such officer determines that the transaction would violate Federal, State, or local law. Specifies that a chief law enforcement officer shall not be liable to any person for action taken by the officer to ascertain whether a transferee of a handgun has a criminal record or whether there is any other legal impediment to the transferee receiving a handgun under any Federal, State, or local law, except a law that specifically provides for such liability. Directs the Attorney General, subject to appropriations, to make a grant to an eligible State for the direction of a computerized criminal history record system or improvement of an existing system and to defray the cost to State and local law enforcement agencies in conducting background checks on prospective handgun purchasers. Specifies the allocation of grant funds. Authorizes appropriations.

Higher Education Act Amendments of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991

Higher Education Act Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and reauthorize its programs. Title I: Access and Retention - Establishes a new HEA title I, Access and Retention, to provide special programs and projects: (1) to identify and encourage students from low-income or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds who have potential for postsecondary and graduate education; and (2) to prepare students from such backgrounds for such education. (Replaces the current title I, Postsecondary Programs for Nontraditional Students.) Establishes a new Precollege Outreach Program of grants to States (replacing the current part A program) to support outreach services for individuals from low-income and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in order to help them successfully complete secondary education and begin and succeed in postsecondary education. Authorizes States to make subgrants to eligible entities to carry out one or more of such services. Provides for a gradually declining Federal share of project costs, from 90 percent in the first year, with five percent reductions in succeeding years leveling off at 70 percent for the fifth year and thereafter. Includes among criteria to be used by the State agency in selecting projects the degree to which an applicant's service area include large numbers of low-income or first-generation college students. Prohibits an institution of higher education from using such grant funds for recruitment of students to enroll at that institution. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a new Student Support Service Program of grants to institutions of higher education (replacing the current part B National Programs) to support individuals pursuing postsecondary education programs who are first-generation college students or from low-income or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. Directs the Secretary, in making such grant awards, to give highest priority to projects at institutions with the lowest educational and general expenditures per full-time equivalent student. Sets forth types of authorized services to assist in motivating and preparing students for postsecondary education. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a new Ronald E. McNair Graduate Outreach Program of grants to institutions of higher education (combining and replacing certain current part C programs) for services to eligible individuals from low-income and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds to prepare them for graduate, professional, and doctoral study. Directs the Secretary not to make such a grant award without assurances that: (1) at least two-thirds of project participants will be first-generation college students from low-income families; (2) remaining participants will be from a group underrepresented in graduate education; (3) participants will be enrolled in a degree program at an institution of higher education; and (4) participants in summer research internships will have completed their sophomore year in postsecondary education. Sets forth authorized uses of grant funds, including opportunities for research or other scholarly activities, summer internships, and fellowships. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: National Graduate Fellowships Program - Repeals HEA titles II (Academic Library and Information Technology Enhancement) and IX (Graduate Programs). Establishes a new HEA title II, National Graduate Fellowships Program, for competitive grants to institutions of higher education to provide financial support to highly qualified individuals in graduate studies in areas of national need (including individuals from groups traditionally underrepresented in such studies in such areas). Designates each fellowship recipient a National Graduate Fellow. Limits the fellowship stipend to five years. Authorizes the Secretary to award continuation grants to institutions demonstrating satisfactory progress. Revises institutions receiving them to give preference in awarding fellowship stipends to students who have received National Graduate Fellowships and who demonstrate satisfactory progress in their studies. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to make new grants under title II only to the extent that funds remain from continued prior funding under HEA to recipients of graduate fellowship assistance for: (1) the Foreign Language and Areas Studies Fellowship Program; (2) the Patricia Roberts Harris Fellowship Program; (3) the Jacob K. Javits Fellows Program; or (4) the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Program. Requires institutions receiving title II grants to give preference in awarding fellowships to students who previously received such assistance under a listed program. Allows a student who received such assistance to subsequently receive a National Graduate Fellowship, but limits the combined period of assistance to not more than five years. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Institutional Aid - Revises HEA title III, Institutional Aid. Eliminates provisions for special consideration for certain activities. (Deems these simply as allowable program activities.) Revises eligibility criteria for institutions to require that their average educational and general expenditures be lower, by a percentage determined annually, than the same expenditures per full-time equivalent undergraduate student of institutions that offer similar instruction. Eliminates as a requirement for such assistance that such institutions are to have been authorized for the preceding five years to offer a specified degree program, and accredited or making reasonable progress toward accreditation. Eliminates provisions for waivers of such requirement for institutions with specified percentages of minority students. Limits grant awards to only one such grant, with a maximum five-year duration, to any eligible institution, except that a one-year planning grant may be awarded for preparing plans and applications. Requires: (1) grant applications to describe measurable goals for the institution's management and academic programs, and a plan for achieving them; and (2) continuation applications to demonstrate progress toward achieving them. Revises the program of grants to strengthen Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Allows the use of grant funds to establish or improve a development office to strengthen or improve contributions from alumni and the private sector. Prohibits awarding to any one undergraduate institution: (1) more than two such grants for a period not to exceed ten years from September 30, 1987; or (2) any grant exceeding five years. Requires grant applications to describe measurable goals for the institution's financial management as well as academic goals, and plans to achieve them. Revises and renames a certain program Endowment Challenge Grants for Institutions Eligible for Assistance. Increases the amount (from $10,000,000 to $20,000,000) which appropriations for such grants must exceed before the Secretary may make a two-to-one matching endowment grant exceeding $1,000,000 to an institution. Gives priority for endowment grants to applicants that have received another title III grant within the preceding five years. Revises title III general provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Student Assistance - Part A: Grants to Students - Amends HEA title IV (Student Assistance) with respect to the program of Grants to Students in Attendance at Institutions of Higher Education. Subpart 1: Pell Grants - Extends Pell Grant program authority through FY 1997. Eliminates a requirement that the Secretary make an advance payment to eligible institutions of at least 85 percent of the amount each institution requests as needed to pay Pell Grants to eligible students. Revises requirements for the amount of Pell Grants. Sets the amount of an award to a student at the lesser of: (1) the specified maximum award less the expected family contribution; or (2) the percentage (based on family-income level) of the amount of the student's need for financial assistance (i.e. cost of attendance minus expected family contribution). Increases the maximum award amount to $3,700 for 1992-3 and the four succeeding award years. Sets forth a table of percentages of student need for award computation. Increases the minimum allowable award from $200 to $400. Eliminates certain restrictions on the award of Pell Grants to students attending on a less than half-time basis. Revises the period of eligibility for Pell Grants. Limits such period to the full-time equivalent of three academic years in the aggregate in the case of all undergraduate degree or certificate programs normally requiring two years or less. Specifies that longer eligibility periods for longer programs are cumulative and include periods for which the student received a Pell Grant under shorter programs Revises requirements for adjustments for insufficient appropriations for the Pell Grant program. Provides for reduction of all awards by a percentage determined in accordance with a schedule of reductions by the Secretary. (Currently certain awards are held harmless.) Increases the minimumm allowable Pell Grant, under such reduction formula, from $100 to $200. Eliminates certain limitations on the availability of Pell Grant funds when excess amounts are available at the end of a fiscal year. Subpart 2: Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants - Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) program, but reduces the amount of funding. Reduces the Federal share of SEOG awards to not more to not more than 50 percent in FY 1992 and thereafter. (Current law provides for a maximum Federal share of 85 percent in FY 1991, and allows an even greater Federal share if the Secretary determines it warranted.) Subpart 3: Repeals - Repeals authority for the following programs: (1) Grants to States for State Student Incentives (SSI); (2) Special Programs for Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds (TRIO programs); (3) Assistance to Institutions of Higher Education (including the Veterans Education Outreach Program); and (4) Special Child Care Services for Disadvantaged College Students. Subpart 4: Presidential Achievement Scholarship Program - Creates a Presidential Achievement Scholarship Program to award scholarships to Pell Grant recipients who demonstrate high levels of academic achievement. Authorizes appropriations. Allows Presidential Achievement Scholars to receive up to four scholarships, each for one academic year, for full-time undergraduate study (or five scholarships for full-time undergraduate study programs that require attendance for five academic years). Bases eligibility in the first year of postsecondary education on the student's receiving a Pell Grant and either: (1) ranking, or having ranked, in the top ten percent, by grade point average, of his or her high school graduating class; or (2) achieving at least the announced minimum score on one of the nationally administered, standardized tests identified by the Secretary. Bases eligibility after the first year on the student's receiving a Pell Grant and: (1) being enrolled in a program of study of at least two years that lead to a degree or certificate; and (2) ranking in the top 20 percent, by cumulative grade point average or equivalent, of his or her postsecondary education class as of the last academic year of study completed. Provides that a student's eligibility for such a scholarship does not depend on receipt of scholarship or Pell Grant in the previous academic year. Requires full-time attendance at the institution as a condition for receiving such a scholarship. Directs the Secretary to establish scholarship award procedures, including deadlines for consideration of students. Requires disbursement of scholarship proceeds to the institutions, but not until the student recipients are enrolled. Sets such scholarship award at $500 for any academic year. Reduces such amount by the amount it exceeds the student's cost of attendance by itself or when combined with other Federal or non-Federal grant or scholarship assistance in the the academic year. Provides for proportionate reductions in each award to adjust for insufficient appropriations. Subpart 5: National Science Scholars Program - Creates a National Science Scholars Program to award scholarships to outstanding students, selected by the President, for the study of physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for an a initial award for the first year of undergraduate study and continuation award for the remaining three (or four) years, as appropriate. Allows National Science Scholars to use such award to attend any defined institution of higher education. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF Director) and the Secretary to jointly establish criteria for selection of scholars for initial year awards. Requires such criteria to include potential to successfully complete a postsecondary program, and motivation to pursue a career, in such fields. Allows consideration to be given to individual financial need and to the nondiscriminatory promotion of participation by minorities and individus with disabilities. Requires States to establish a nominating committee, if they desire to qualify student residents for selection. Requires each State nominating committee to submit to the President nominations of from four to ten individuals from each congressional district. Requires priority ranking of such nominations. Requires the President to select and announce two such scholars for each academic year from each congressional district. Directs the Secretary to make continuation awards of additional scholarships to recipient of initial awards who meet specified requirements. Requires disbursement of scholarship proceeds to the institutions, but not until the student recipients are enrolled. Requires the NSF Director and the Secretary to encourage the support and assistance of civic groups, the business community, professional associations, institutions of higher education, and others in providing scholarship assistance to National Science Scholarship finalists. Sets forth eligibility requirements for initial and continuation awards. Allows the Secretary to waive full-time attendance requirements in unusual circumstances. Directs the Secretary to determine circumstances for eligibility reinstatement after an interruption of schooling for personal reasons. Requires the Secretary annually to notify all public and private secondary schools and all institutions of higher education in each State of the availability of such scholarships. Sets such a scholarship award at $6,000 for any academic year. Reduces such amount by the amount it exceeds the student's cost of attendance by itself or when combined with other Federal and non-Federal grant or scholarship assistance in the academic year. Provides for proportionate reductions in each award to adjust for insufficient appropriations. Requires priority consideration to be given students receiving such scholarships, to the extent they are otherwise qualified, for federally financed summer employment in federally funded research and development centers that complements and reinforces their educational program. Requires Federal agencies to participate actively in providing appropriate summer employment opportunities for such students. Repeals provisions of the Excellence in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education Act of 1990 which currently authorize the National Science Scholars Program. Subpart 6: Special Programs for Students Whose Families Are Engaged in Migrant and Seasonal Farmwork - Revises the Special Programs for Students Whose Families Are Engaged in Migrant and Seasonal Farmwork. Renames certain grants as grants to build the program capacity of educational agencies, institutions, and organizations to operate high school equivalency programs (HEP) and college assistance migrant programs (CAMP) for migrant students. Makes State and local educational agencies (as well as as institutions of higher education and private nonprofit organizations) eligible for such HEP grants. Allows provision of HEP services to individuals 16 years of age or older, or beyond the State age of compulsory school attendance, and not currently enrolled in school. (Current laws requires 17 years of age or over.) Limits authorized CAMP services, with specified exceptions, to those services necessary to assist migrant students in completing their first year of college. Requires CAMP grantees to provide follow-up services for migrant students after their first year of college. Authorizes use of up to ten percent of the CAMP grant for such follow-up services. Requires such follow-up services to include: (1) monitoring and reporting on student academic progress; and (2) referring students to providers of counseling services, academic assistance, or financial aid. Requires each project application to include a long-range management plan describing how the applicant will, over the grant period, gradually assume financial responsibility to provide services substantially similar to those proposed in the application. Requires the Secretary in making grants, to consider the geographic distribution of the persons to be served by grantees. Requires grant awards to be one-time, nonrenewable grants for: (1) a five-year period for first-time grantees; and (2) a three-year period for previous grantees. Provides for a Federal share of 90 percent in the first year, declining to 50 percent in the last year of such grants. Retains the $150,000 minimum allocation for each project. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the the HEP and CAMP programs. Subpart 7: Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program - Revises the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program, particularly the formula for allocation of such scholarship program funds among States. Bases such allocation on relative population ages five through 17. Provides that each State shall receive at least ten scholarships. Allocates to the State $1,500 per scholarship. Eliminates a requirement that ten such scholars be selected for each congressional district. Requires the State education agency to adopt selection procedures to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of awards within the State. Eliminates requirements for an award ceremony. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program. Part B: Guaranteed Student Loans - Revises the Robert T. Stafford Student Loan program. Extends the authorization for, and the amount of, new loan principal that may be made to students covered by Federal loan insurance. Increases the annual and aggregate loan limits under the Stafford loan and the Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) programs. Requires lenders to: (1) offer Stafford and SLS loan borrowers the option of repaying such loans on a graduated repayment schedule under specified conditions; (2) obtain the borrower's authorization for entry of judgment against the borrower in the event of default; and (3) obtain the borrower's driver's license number, if any, at the time of loan application (for the parent loan PLUS program, as well). Eliminates a provision which allowed an institution to refuse to certify a student's eligibility for a loan, or allowed it to certify a lesser amount, under specified conditions. Revises loan deferment provisions. Retains deferment while the borrower is in specified courses of study. Replaces the various current categorical deferments with a hardship deferment of up to three years in the aggregate. Requires the lender to grant specified forbearance if the borrower is a Peace Corps or VISTA volunteer does not qualify for such hardship deferment. Revises provisions for Federal reinsurance coverage. Revises the period in which guaranty agencies must file reinsurance claims. Revises requirements for calculation and payment of such reinsurance. Requires in the case of Stafford, SLS, and PLUS loan applicants over age 21, that the lender: (1) obtain a credit report; and (2) require a cosigner for such applicants who have adverse credit histories. Allows the lender to charge such applicants for the actual cost of such credit reports, up to $25. Requires a 60-day delayed disbursement of Stafford or SLS loans to first-year undergraduates at institutions with default rates of 30 percent or greater. (Retains the current 30-day delayed disbursement for first-year undergraduates at institutions with default rates less than 30 percent.) Revises provisions for eligibility limitations, suspensions, terminations, other hearing procedures, and fines for lenders or institutions that violate program requirements. Sets forth conflict-of-interest restrictions on guaranty agency officers and employers. Prohibits any guaranty agency from permitting any of its officers or employees, or any member of their immediate families, to have a direct financial interest in, or serve as an officer or employee of, any lender, secondary market, contractor, or service with which the guaranty agency does business. Includes financial information among the information the Secretary may reasonably require from a guaranty agency to carry out the student loan programs and protect the U.S. financial interest. Revises the administrative cost and collection retention allowances for guaranty agencies. Revises provisions for oversight of guaranty agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to require a guaranty agency to submit and implement a management plan if the ratio of its reserve funds to outstanding guarantees is less than a set level, or if its administrative or financial condition jeopardizes its continued ability to perform its responsibilities under its guaranty agreement. Authorizes the Secretary to terminate the guaranty agreement with any agency that fails to submit an acceptable management plan or fails to improve substantially its condition in accordance with such a plan. Authorizes the Secretary to assume guaranty agency functions of agencies whose agreements are terminated by the Secretary or themselves. Limits the Secretary's liability for any outstanding liabilities of a guaranty agency, the functions of which the Secretary has assumed, to the fair market value of assets assigned by the agency to the Secretary, minus any necessary liquidation or administrative costs. Requires State backing of designated guaranty agencies. Requires each State to guarantee, with its full faith and credit or the equivalent, all student loans guaranteed by the guaranty agency designated for that State for borrowers attending eligible institutions in that State. Provides that a State may elect to guarantee, in addition, student loans guaranteed by any other guarantee agency for borrowers who are attending eligible institutions in that State. Requires the State, if such a guaranty agency backed by the State is unable to discharge its insurance obligation, to be responsible for discharging them, as well as administrative costs associated with transferring the guaranty agency's operations to another entity. Directs the Secretary, if a State discharges such insurance obligations, to pay the State the amount the guaranty agency would otherwise have received as reimbursement. Directs the Secretary, unless a State demonstrates by January 1, 1994, that it is backing the designated guaranty agency, to assess institutions of higher education participating in the student loan program that are located in that State a fee based on the risk of financial loss to the Federal Government that the State would otherwise assume. Requires such fees to be deposited in the student loan insurance fund. Requires State to pay a share of default costs in specified circumstances. Allows a State to charge a fee to an institution of higher education in the State participating in the loan program, to an approved fee structure based on the institution's cohort default rates and the State's risk of loss under such requirement. Eliminates the student loan program eligibility of foreign institutions (but not of study abroad that is part of the curriculum of U.S. institutions). Revises the definition of cohort default rate. Reduces the special allowance rates for holders of loans for which the cohort default rate exceeds 20 percent. Requires the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) to notify the Secretary, within 15 days, when: (1) it makes a loan or extends any other form of credit to a guaranty agency; (2) its cumulative loans or other forms of credit outstanding to any one lender exceed $50,000,000; or (3) it makes any additional loans or other forms of credit to a lender whose cumulative outstanding loans from it exceed $50,000,000. Requires Sallie Mae's annual report on its operations and activities: (1) to be submitted to the Secretary and the Congress (currently the President and the Congress); and (2) to include specific information regarding its investments and debts, the characteristics of its student loan portfolio, and other data which the Secretary may reasonably require. Part C: Work-Study Programs - Extends the authorization of appropriations for Work-Study Programs (but reduces the amount of such funding). Lowers the maximum Federal share of the the compensation of students employed in the work-study program to 50 percent for FY 1992 and succeeding fiscal years. (Current law sets it at 70 percent for academic year 1990-1991 and succeeding academic years.) Eliminates special incentives (such as increased Federal administrative allowance and increased Federal share of student compensation for community service-learning jobs under the work-study program. Lowers the maximum Federal share of the cost of any job location and development program, under the work-study program from 80 percent to 50 percent. Prohibits students attending proprietary institutions of higher education from being employed by such institutions under the work-study program (but allows them to participate in work-study program employment by a government agency or a private nonprofit organization). Reduces from $200 to $100 the amount of work-study program compensation in excess of need that a student may receive. Eliminates provisions for private sector employment agreements under the work-study program. Part D: Income Contingent Loan Program - Extends through FY 1996 the authorization of appropriations for the Income Contingent Direct Loan Program (ICL program) (and increases the amount of such funding). Eliminates the limitation that the Secretary may not enter into ICL agreements with more than ten institutions of higher education. Makes consortia of institutions of higher educations (as well as single institutions) eligible to participate in the ICL program. Provides for an aggregate ICL loan limit of $50,000 for individual graduate and professional students, including any such loans made to such persons before they become graduate or professional students. Provides for an annual limit of $10,000 on ICL loans to graduate and professional students. (Retains current limits for undergraduates.) Requires ICL applicants to provide their driver license number, if any. Requires institutions to: (1) obtain a credit report on any ICL applicant over age 21; and (2) require any such applicant with an adverse credit history to obtain a cosigner and report to the Congress on the cost-effectiveness of the ICL program, its impact on participating institutions and students, and the feasibility of extending it to a loan program of general applicability. Part E: Perkins Loan Program - Authorizes appropriations for the Perkins Loan Program, but only for reimbursement of institutions for Perkins loans that are cancelled for certain public service. Terminates the authorization of appropriations for: (1) Federal contributions to student loan funds established under such program; and (2) continuation loans to certain students who have received earlier Perkins Loans. Revises provisions for terms of such loans and cancellation for public service. Extends provisions for distribution of assets from such student loan funds. Repeals provisions for allocation of funds. Part F: Need Analysis - Revises provisions for need analysis to apply them to all need-based student assistance programs, including Pell Grants (which currently have a separate need analysis system). Revises the definitions of cost of attendance and family contribution, as well as provisions for data elements used in determining expected family contribution. Revises the formula for calculation of the expected family contribution for a dependent student to eliminate references to the student's spouse. Allows application of any parent's negative available income: (1) to reduce the parent's income supplement amount from assets; and (2) if there is any negative amount remaining after that is reduced to zero, to increase the allowances against the dependent student's income. Revises the minimum dependent student contribution to be the greater of: (1) specified amounts that vary according to family total income; or (2) 70 percent of the student's total income, minus the adjustment to student income. Eliminates certain exceptions to the general need analysis calculation for dislocated workers and displaced homemakers. Excludes from the calculation of net worth the net value of the principal place of residence for the families of dependent students and for independent students, if their adjusted gross income is less than $20,000. Revises the tables for determination of standard maintenance allowance, employment expense allowance, adjusted net worth of business and of farm, asset protection allowance, and parent's assessment from available income. Revises the asset protection allowance to provide for consideration of the average age of both parents. Revises provisions for family contribution for married or single independent students without dependents (including various revisions similar to those described for dependent students). Includes married, as well as unmarried, students under this category of independent students without dependents. Revises provisions for minimum student contribution under this category. Revises tables for determining various allowances and other factors. Revises provisions relating to the family contribution for married or single independent students with dependents (including provisions similiar to those in other categories). Revises tables for determining various allowances and other factors. Eliminates certain restrictions on the Secretary's authority to prescribe regulations to carry out need analysis requirements. Revises provisions relating to development of revised tables of assessment rates for purposes of such need analysis. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations specifying situations in which the data elements considered in determining a student's expected family contribution may be modified to accommodate the special circumstances of the student. Part G: General Provisions - Revises general provisions relating to student assistance programs. Includes as an institution of higher education for the student assistance programs any institution that provides programs of at least six months (or 600 clock hours) that prepare students for gainful employment in recognized occupations, and that has been in existence for at least two years. Makes ineligible for student assistance program participation for specified periods any institution whose cohort default rate equals or exceeds a specified threshold percentage. Revises provisions for proprietary institutions of higher education. Authorizes the Secretary, if a particular category of proprietary institution does not meet specified student assistance program requirements because there is no nationally recognized accrediting agency or association qualified to accredit such institutions, to: (1) appoint an advisory committee to recommend qualifying standards; and (2) determine whether the particular schools meet them. Provides for reduction of student assistance loan award maximums for short-term programs. Revises provisions relating to a master calendar. Revises provisions for a common financial reporting form for determination of expected family contribution. Requires students, in order to remain eligible for assistance, to satisfy specified minimum academic achievement standards, including an academic standing above the bottom ten percent of their postsecondary class. Directs the Secretary to implement a system of verification of immigration status. Revises requirements for borrower information to be submitted to the institution during the exit interview. Eliminates certain provisions for training in financial aid and student support services. Requires any institution participating in any student assistance program to have in effect a fair and equitable refund policy and to provide a written statement of it, with examples, to prospective students. Revises provisions for student assistance program participation agreements. Requires the institution to acknowledge the authority of the Secretary, guaranty agencies, accrediting agencies, and State licensing bodies to share with each other any information pertaining to the institution's eligibility to participate in such programs. Prohibits institutions from providing any incentive payments for securing enrollments to any persons or entities engaged in any student recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the award of student financial assistance. Eliminates the requirement that hearings be on the record, with respect to program participation limitation, suspension, or termination procedures. Authorizes the Secretary to conditionally certify an institution's eligibility to participate in student assistance programs, under specified circumstances. Provides for wage garnishment for loan collection. Authorizes a guaranty agency, or the Secretary where appropriate, to garnish the disposable pay of an individual to collect the amount owed or the required repayment, subject to certain conditions. Provides for data matching. Authorizes the Secretary to obtain from Federal or State agencies specified information relating to an individual for student loan collection purposes. Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into an agreement to provide prompt access for the Secretary to wage and unemployment compensation claims information and data maintained by or for the Department of Labor or State employment security agencies. Subjects to specified criminal penalties attempts to commit specified offenses. Amends the Higher Education Technical Amendments of 1991 to make permanent the elimination of limitations on actions to collect defaulted student loans or grant overpayments. Title V: Education Recruitment, Retention, and Development - Establishes a new Partnerships for Innovative Teacher Education program, replacing the current Midcareer Teacher Training for Nontraditional Students program. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to and contracts with State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and consortia of such institutions and agencies to plan, establish, and operate teaching schools to develop and put into practice the best knowledge about teaching. Provides that such awards shall be for a term of three years, with renewals for two additional years under specified conditions. Provides for applications, priorities, uses of funds by award recipients, and authorized activities of such teaching schools. Authorizes appropriations. Sets the Federal share at 75 percent for the first three years and 50 percent for the final two years. Repeals provisions for School, College, and University Partnerships. Retains Professional Development and Leadership Programs. Authorizes appropriations to complete the final year of funding for the territories under provisions for Leadership in Educational Administration Development. Repeals provisions for Professional Development Resource Centers and Leadership in Educational Administration Development. Retains Teacher Scholarships and Fellowships. Renames the Congressional Teacher Scholarship Programs the Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship Program. Makes such scholarships available to outstanding high school graduates who demonstrate an interest in teaching. Authorizes appropriations. Revises requirements for the teaching service obligation of certain scholarship recipients, repayment conditions, assurances of pursuing a teaching career, and maintenance of academic achievement. Revises the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Program to authorize appropriations. Bases allotment of funds on the number of public school teachers in each State and other specified jurisdictions. Authorizes the Secretary, in extraordinary circumstances, to waive or defer all or a portion of the service requirement, or to allow fellows to fulfill their service requirement by teaching in another school or school district. Requires States, in making fellowship awards, to give priority to applicants proposing fellowship projects involving pursuit of eligible activities on a full-time basis as part of a sabbatical. Eliminates the requirement that announcement of such awards be made in a public ceremony. Repeals provisions for State Task Forces on Teacher Training. Title VI: International Education Programs - Revises the International and Foreign Language Studies program for graduate and undergraduate language and area centers to eliminate stipends and allowances for: (1) individuals undergoing advanced training; and (2) students beginning their third year of graduate training. Repeals provisions for grants to institutions of higher education or public or private nonprofit library institutions or consortia to acquire, maintain bibliographic data on, preserve, and make available to researchers and scholars certain periodicals published outside the United States which are not commonly held by U.S. academic libraries. Authorizes appropriations to carry out International Education Programs. Title VII: College Facilities Loans and Insurance - Revises and redesignates the Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Academic Facilities Loans and Insurance program to: (1) provide higher education institutions with access to private capital construction debt through the College Construction Loan Insurance Association; and (2) provide for servicing of the remaining loan portfolio of the Higher Education Facilities Loans, College Housing Loans, and College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans authorized before the effective date of this Act. Repeals the authorization of appropriations and other provisions for: (1) Grants for the Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Undergraduate Academic Facilities; (2) Grants for Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Graduate Academic Facilities; (3) Loans for Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Academic Facilities; (4) Grants to Pay Interest on Debt; (5) Housing and Other Educational Facilities Loans; and (6) Special Programs. Authorizes appropriations for remaining programs. Title VIII: Cooperative Education - Extends the authorization of appropriations for Cooperative Education (but reduces the amount of such funding). Eliminates certain reservations of funds for specified categories of projects. (Retains the current division of 75 percent of funds for grants for cooperative education programs and 25 percent for demonstration and innovation projects, training and resource centers, and research.) Defines cooperative education as the provision of alternating or parallel periods of academic study and public and private employment in order to give students work experience related to their academic or occupational objectives and an opportunity to earn the funds necessary for continuing and completing their education. Revises matching requirements for cooperative education grants. Requires grant applicants to describe fiscal support plans to ensure that such programs shall continue beyond the five-year period of Federal assistance at not less than the level of expenditures for the initial year of Federal assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to elect not to make a continuation award to a fund recipient that has failed to maintain such fiscal effort in years after the grant period. Requires each recipient to document to the Secretary its maintenance of fiscal effort beyond the five-year period of Federal assistance. Revises grant application requirements to require descriptions of: (1) the extent to which programs in the academic discipline for which the application is made have had a favorable reception by public and private sector employers; and (2) the plans the applicant will carry out to evaluate their cooperative education program at the end of the grant period. Eliminates certain factors for special consideration of applications. Directs the Secretary to give special consideration to applications which demonstrate a commitment to serving disadvantaged students and students with disabilities. Revises provisions relating to the duration of grants. Provides that: (1) only institutions that have received such a grant before enactment of this Act shall be eligible to receive one additional continuation grant of not more than five years; and (2 all other institutions may receive only a single five-year grant. Revises provisions for training and resource centers to provide that their improvement of materials used in cooperative education programs shall take place in conjunction with other specified activities. Title IX: Postsecondary Improvement Programs - Revises provisions for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). Repeals consultation provisions which prohibit any FIPSE grant or contract unless it has been submitted to the appropriate State entity and that entity has had an opportunity to submit comments and recommendations to the Secretary. Specifies that the Secretary appoints the Director of the National Board of FIPSE. Revises Board functions and repeals a requirement for a minimum number of Board meetings annually. Eliminates provisions requiring the Director to establish grant and contract review and evaluation procedures, and prohibiting such procedures from being subject to any review outside of officials responsible for FIPSE administration. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the FIPSE program. Revises and renames the Minority Science and Engineering Programs the Minority Science Improvement Program. Repeals a requirement tht the Secretary submit to the Congress an annual list of grantees. Directs the Secretary in cooperation with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies that operate programs similar to the Minority Science Improvement Program, to report to the President before 1995, summarizing and evaluating those programs. Repeals provisions for Science and Engineering Access Programs. Requires grant recipients, in order to remain eligible to receive funds, to demonstrate to the Secretary that they are making reasonable progress toward achieving the project goals. Repeals specified provisions: (1) relating to Procedures for grant and contract review; and (2) for the Advisory Board for the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Programs. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Minority Science Improvement Program. (Eliminates provisions allocating funds and providing an additional appropriation for new activities specifically aimed at increasing the participation of minority students in scientific and engineering research careers.) Revises and renames the Innovative Projects for Community Services and Student Financial Independence programs the Innovative Projects for Community Services, to support innovative projects to encourage student participation in community service projects, including literacy projects. Provides that the Secretary (rather than the FIPSE Board Director) shall establish the procedures under which the FIPSE Board approves Innovative Projects grant and contract applications. Extends the authorization of appropriations for Innovative Projects for Community Services (and increases the amount of such funding to reflect the incorporation of certain functions of the Student Literacy Corps eliminated by this Act). Title X: Partnerships for Economic Development and Urban Community Service - Repeals the Partnerships for Economic Development and Community Service program. Title XI: General Provisions - Revises the definition of institution of higher education. Requires such institutions, in order to be eligible to participate in HEA programs, to comply with such minimum State licensing standards as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation and which the relevant State licensing body is to impose upon institutions it licenses. Revises the alternative accreditation process. Authorizes the Secretary, if a particular category of institutions is not accredited because no nationally recognized accrediting agency or association is qualified to do so, to appoint an advisory committee to: (1) recommend standards to qualify institutions in such category to participate in HEA programs; and (2) review whether particular institutions meet such standards. Requires an institution, if it is accredited by more than one accrediting body, to designate, for HEA eligibility purposes, one such body as it primary accreditor, on either an institutionwide or program basis. Deems such an institution no longer accredited for purposes of HEA eligibility for a 24-month period if its accreditation is terminated for cause by the primary accreditor, or if it withdraws from such accreditation voluntarily under a show cause or suspension order, unless such accreditation is restored by the same accreditor during such 24-month period. Revises provisions relating to treatment of territories and territorial student assistance. Changes from mandatory to discretionary the Secretary's authority to waive the eligibility criteria of any postsecondary education program administered by the Department of Education where such criteria does not take into account the unique circumstances of specified U.S. territories. Eliminates provisions for: (1) promulgation of certain regulations; and (2) an authorization of appropriations for supporting the cost of providing postsecondary education programs on Guam for nonresident students from specified U.S. territories. Extends the authorization for the continued existence of the National Advisory Committee on Accreditation and Institutional Eligibility. Revises provisions for peer review of applications to authorize the Secretary to use up to one-half of one percent of appropriations, for discretionay grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to provide for the panels of readers required to review the applications for such grants, contracts, and agreements. Provides for sharing of institutional eligibility information by the Secretary, guaranty agencies, accrediting agencies, and State licensing bodies. Makes ineligible for any HEA assistance any individual who is in default on any loan made, insured, or guaranteed by the Federal Government, unless satisfactory repayment arrangements are made. Repeals provisions for: (1) a Joint Study Commission on Postsecondary Institutional Recognition; and (2) regional technology transfer centers. Title XII: Effective Dates - Sets forth effective dates for various provisions of this Act.

To implement certain proposals relating to recommendations made pursuant to sections 504 and 902 of the Covenant to establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, approved by Public Law 94-214, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991

Title I : Allows a person who elects to become a national of the United States rather than a citizen, to be naturalized subsequently as a U.S. citizen if the requirements of U.S. naturalization law includes residency and physical presence within the Northern Mariana Islands. Deems the Northern Mariana Islands as a State for purposes of the judicial naturalization requirements. Grants jurisdiction to the courts of records and the District Court of Northern Mariana Islands to naturalize eligible persons under this Act and those who reside within their jurisdiction. Title II : Amends Federal law to authorize the U.S. Resident Representative for the Northern Mariana Islands to nominate one cadet to attend the: (1) U.S. Military Academy; (2) U.S. Naval Academy; and (3) U.S. Air Force Academy. Permits the nomination of nine alternates for each available vacancy. Requires each nominated candidate for admission to be domiciled in the Northern Mariana Islands. Provides that a candidate must, at the time of admission and with specified exceptions: (1) be a U.S. citizen, or have initiated action to become a naturalized citizen; and (2) be eligible for naturalization within two years after admission to the Academy. Requires voluntary disenrollment if a candidate fails to become a naturalized citizen within two years after such admission. Requires the Secretary of the Army to include alternates from the Northern Mariana Islands in his selection of cadets to bring the Academy's class enrollment to full strength, if the number of cadets fall below the authorized number. Sets forth notification procedures to a Member of Congress, delegate, or resident representative by the Secretary of the Navy in the event of a vacancy at the Academy, in which case, each is entitled to nominate a candidate and nine alternates. Prohibits the displacement of any persons nominated for appointment to such Academies, with specified exceptions, and the exceeding of the authorized number of cadets for each of them. Title III : Provides that the territories, possessions, and U.S. commonwealths shall be considered part of the United States with respect to the Department of Commerce promoting fishing interest through its U.S. fishery trade officers, and the fostering of foreign and domestic commerce. Title IV : Authorizes the competitive awards that the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, or any such insular area receives, under the Higher Education Act of 1965, to be incorporated into a consolidated grant.

Federal Aid Surface Transportation Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991

Federal Aid Surface Transportation Act of 1991 - Title I: Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1991 - Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for: (1) the National Highway and Bridge System; (2) the Urban and Rural Highway and Bridge Program; (3) emergency relief; (4) the Federal Lands Highway Program; (5) the University Transportation Centers Program; (6) the Right-of-Way Revolving Fund; and (7) the Territorial Highway Program. Specifies that unobligated balances of funds apportioned or allocated to a State under Federal highway provisions before October 1, 1991, shall be available for obligation in such State under the law, regulations, policies, and procedures relating to the obligation and expenditure of those funds in effect on September 30, 1991. Repeals the FY 1993 authorization under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Authorizes appropriations for Interstate construction to complete the Interstate System out of the Highway Account of the HTF for each of FY 1992 through 1995. Provides for certain allocations for Massachusetts for such fiscal years. Sets forth a formula for the apportionment of authorized funds for such fiscal years among the States. Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Account of the HTF for highway projects for the Interstate Substitution Program. Sets forth provisions with respect to obligation ceilings for Federal-aid highway programs, distribution of and limitations on obligation authority, and redistribution of unused obligation authority. Declares that national resources should be focused upon preserving the nation's investment in its Interstate systems, that broad national defense, economic, safety, and international policy goals are advanced by efficient transportation systems, that national transportation investments should increasingly encourage domestic and international commerce and trade, and that, based on congressionally established national transportation policy and objectives, a new Federal high priority highway network should be designated. Establishes the National Highway and Bridge System, to consist of all currently designated Interstate highways, an appropriate portion of the rural and urban principal arterial routes, including toll facilities, and national defense highways, and routes which meet specified criteria (including nationally significant truck routes, routes that provide nationally significant commodities with access to markets, access points to significant national parks, facilities that will provide logical connection between major population centers and the National Highway and Bridge System, and major urban corridors). Specifies that the National Highway System shall be based on a functional reclassification of roads and streets in each State which shall be designated not later than September 30, 1993, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Secretary of Transportation, and that the Secretary may add segments to the National Highway System as necessary to meet National Highway Program objectives. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria for reviewing projects to be funded as part of the National Highway and Bridge System which: (1) define eligible projects to include rehabilitation, resurfacing, restoration, capacity expansion, operational improvement, safety, and new highway construction; (2) ensure as a first priority for the use of available funds the protection of investments made in the Interstate highways in each State and the provision of suitable traveling quality by such highways; (3) permit funding in urbanized areas to be used to improve highway and transit systems, where it can be shown that the improvement will increase the level of service within the corridor of the National Highway and Bridge System; and (4) permit the use of such funds for intercity rail projects and projects for access to ports, airports, and related facilities. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to the discharge of responsibilities by the Secretary for National Highway and Bridge System projects. Directs the Secretary to establish an Urban and Rural Highway and Bridge Program to provide a category of funds that minimizes Federal requirements and provides flexibility in the use of available funds for either highway or transit projects. Specifies: (1) that the Urban and Rural Highway and Bridge Program shall consist of all public highways (including bridges) functionally classified as arterials, urban collectors, and rural collectors other than those designated as part of the National Highway and Bridge System; (2) that each State shall establish guidelines for implementing this program; and (3) eligible highways and projects. Sets forth provisions with respect to the obligation of funds, and the Federal share of projects, for the construction of toll roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferries. Requires the Secretary, in each fiscal year, to allocate among the States amounts sufficient to ensure that: (1) the total of apportionments and minimum allocation for each State in each such fiscal year shall not be less than 90 percent (currently, 85 percent) of the percentage of estimated tax payments into the Highway Account of the HTF attributable to highway users in the State of total apportionments in each such fiscal year and allocations for the prior year; and (2) each State's total apportionment from the Highway Account of the HTF for the year is not less than that made during FY 1991 (excluding any Interstate construction funds in excess of FY 1992 one-half percent minimum, Interstate substitution, and amounts for demonstration or discretionary funding programs or projects). Directs the Secretary to cooperate with State and local officials in urbanized areas in the development of transportation plans and programs which are formulated with due consideration to comprehensive long-range land use plans, development objectives, innovative financing mechanisms, overall social, economic, environmental, and system performance, energy conservation goals and objectives and with due consideration to their probable effect on the future development of the area. Specifies that the transportation planning process, at a minimum, shall cover the existing urbanized area and the area expected to become urbanized within the forecast period, and that it may encompass the entire Metropolitan Statistical Area/Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area at the discretion of the Governor and the affected units of local government. Requires that transportation plans and programs in urbanized areas of more than 200,000 population be based on a continuing transportation planning process which: (1) is carried out by a metropolitan planning organization and is comprehensive to the degree appropriate based on the complexity of transportation problems in the area, including transportation-related air quality problems; and (2) considers all modes of transportation, including intermodal connectivity, the balance between future development and transportation needs, and an areawide multimodal congestion management system. Specifies that in nonattainment areas for transportation-related pollutants the multimodal congestion management system shall address air quality considerations and be coordinated with the process for development of the transportation element of the State Implementation Plan required by the Clean Air Act. Requires that the costs and impacts of proposed action on both mobility and air quality be evaluated. Bars the Secretary from approving any highway project in urbanized areas of more than 200,000 population that by reconstruction or new construction significantly increases the vehicle carrying capacity of a transportation corridor unless the project is consistent with the congestion management system. Directs the metropolitan planning organization to cooperate with the State in the development of a congestion management, bridge management, pavement management, safety management, and traffic monitoring system. Requires that: (1) a metropolitan planning organization be designated in each urbanized area by agreement among the units of general purpose local government and the Governor to carry out such transportation planning process; (2) such organization develop a transportation improvement program that includes all projects proposed for funding within the study area under the National Highway and Bridge Program, the Urban and Rural Highway and Bridge Program, and the Bridge Program; and (3) in urbanized areas of 200,000 population or less, such organization, the State, and transit operators, at a minimum, meet the requirements of this Act by the development of such a transportation improvement program (including consideration of transportation-related air quality problems.) Requires the Federal highway research program to include coordinated long-term programs of research: (1) on Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems; and (2) for the development, use, and dissemination of performance indicators to measure the performance of the surface transportation system. Requires such program to continue those portions of the Strategic Highway Research Program that the Secretary deems important. Directs the Secretary to create and administer the Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program, a program to attract qualified students to the field of transportation engineering and research. Provides for the funding of such program. Directs the Secretary to cooperate with the States in carrying out: (1) statewide transportation planning; and (2) State highway research. Sets forth provisions regarding State matching fund requirements and waiver of such requirements. Directs the Secretary: (1) in the Secretary's reports regarding future highway needs of the nation, to report as well on the condition and performance of the existing system and on the bridge needs of the nation; and (2) beginning with the report due in January 1995, to include the results of studies of the air quality impacts of transportation programs including the air quality benefits realized from transportation control measures required under the Clear Air Act. Establishes within the Department of Transportation a Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which shall pursue a comprehensive, long-term program for the collection and analysis of data relating to the performance of the national transportation system. Requires the Director of such Bureau to: (1) produce annually unbiased and comparable estimates of factors including productivity in the various portions of the transportation sector, traffic flow, travel times, travel costs of intracity commuting and intercity trips, frequency of vehicle and transportation facility repairs, accidents, and collateral damage to the human and natural environment; and (2) submit reports beginning on October 1, 1992, and every 12 months thereafter, to specified congressional committees describing the status of the U.S. transportation system. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) undertake, on a cost-shared basis, collaborative research and development with non-Federal entities, including State, local, and foreign governments; and (2) enter into cooperative research and development agreements, except that the average Federal share in such agreements shall not exceed 50 percent (but allows the Secretary to approve a higher Federal level of participation where there is substantial public interest or benefit). Authorizes the Secretary to withhold project approvals on National Highway and Bridge Program projects for failure of a State to have a bridge management, pavement management, safety management, and congestion management system. Requires each State to have a traffic monitoring system to provide statistically-based traffic data. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) acquisition of rights-of-way; (2) private, State, and local donations; (3) access to rights-of-way to accommodate needed passenger or commuter rail, high speed ground transportation systems (including magnetic levitation systems), and highway and nonhighway public mass transit facilities; and (4) the definition and scope of the Interstate System. Declares that: (1) the nation must redirect its efforts toward moving people, information, and goods rather than moving vehicles; (2) the new Federal program shall refocus national policies to respond to increasing inter-regional travel, relieving urban congestion, improving rural access, fostering intermodalism, enhancing air quality, conserving energy, and giving priority to projects that offer the best solutions to the transportation problems and environmental considerations of each region; and (3) the essential element for an effective future program is a new Federal, State, and local partnership that provides more funding, greater program flexibility, and greater program management and resource contribution responsibilities at the State and local levels. Sets forth provisions with respect to the apportionment of funds, including apportionment formulas under the: (1) National Highway and Bridge Program, based on the State's rural and urban lane miles, rural vehicle miles traveled, and diesel fuel consumption; and (2) Urban and Rural Highway and Bridge Program, in the ratio of tax payments of the Highway Account of the HTF attributable to the highway users of each State. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) project agreements and obligations of funds; (2) availability of funds; (3) the Federal share payable with respect to certain projects; (4) project litigation expenses; and (5) the allocation and administration of Federal lands highways funds, and the establishment of a coordinated Federal Lands Highways Program. Authorizes (subject to specified limitations): (1) States to use Federal highway funds to construct improved lanes, paths, or shoulders, traffic control devices, shelters, and parking facilities for bicycles and pedestrians, and carry out nonconstruction projects related to safe bicycle and pedestrian use; (2) the Secretary, where a highway bridge deck being replaced or rehabilitated with Federal financial participation is located on a highway on which bicycles or pedestrians are permitted to operate at each end of the bridge and the Secretary determines that the safe accommodation of bicycles or pedestrians can be provided at reasonable cost, to replace or rehabilitate such bridge, making such accommodations; (3) Federal lands highways funds to be used for the construction of pedestrian walkways and bicycle routes; and (4) a State to expend Urban and Rural Highway and Bridge Program funds for such construction. Provides for: (1) a functional reclassification of all public roads; (2) the transfer of funds for transit projects to, for administration by, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration; and (3) a recodification of Federal highway-related provisions. Requires that construction standards adopted for the National Highway and Bridge System be those approved by the Secretary in cooperation with the State highway departments and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (currently, with respect to construction standards for the Interstate System, cooperation with such Association is not required). Directs the Secretary to issue guidelines for minimizing soil erosion from highway construction. Bars the Secretary from approving projects that will result in the severance or destruction of an existing major route for nonmotorized transportation traffic and light motorcycles, unless the project provides a reasonable alternative route or an alternative route exists. Requires: (1) projects for resurfacing, restoring, or rehabilitating specified highways to be constructed in accordance with standards to preserve and extend highway service life and enhance highway safety; and (2) States to charge, at a minimum, fair market value for the sale, use, lease, or lease renewals of right-of-way airspace acquired as a result of a project funded in whole or in part with Federal assistance made available from the Highway Account of the HTF, with exceptions. Provides that: (1) Indian contractors certified by State transportation or highway departments shall receive preference in the award of contracts on Indian reservations to the maximum extent practicable; and (2) contracts for Urban and Rural Highway and Bridge Program projects may be entered into with the prior concurrence of the Secretary in the award. Authorizes: (1) the State transportation or highway department to include warranty or guarantee provisions in construction contracts which, if used, shall be for a specified construction product or feature and may not include routine maintenance; and (2) projects (currently, requires projects) approved to include the amount of any interest earned and payable on bonds issued by the State to the extent that the proceeds of the bonds have actually been expended in the construction of the project. Authorizes the Secretary, except for projects administered under the Urban and Rural Highway and Bridge Program, to make payments to a State for costs incurred on a project. (Current law authorizes payment to States for construction.) Specifies that total payments shall not exceed total costs incurred by the State for the project. Requires any State transportation or highway (currently, highway) department which submits plans for a National Highway and Bridge Program or Interstate System project (currently, Interstate System project) to make its certification and report, indicating that consideration was given to the economic, social, environmental, and other effects of the plan, highway location or design, and various alternatives which were raised during the hearing or which were otherwise considered (current law does not mention the latter requirement). Authorizes the Secretary to approve for Federal financial assistance from National Highway and Bridge Program funds: (1) projects designed to encourage the use of carpools, subject to specified limitations; and (2) the construction of exclusive or preferential high occupacy vehicle (HOV) lanes, highway traffic control devices, intercity and urban bus passenger loading areas and facilities, and fringe and transportation corridor parking to serve HOV, intercity bus, and public transportation passengers. Specifies that if fees are charged for the use of any carpool or other publicly owned parking facility constructed pursuant to Federal highway provisions, the revenue in excess of that required for maintenance and operation of the facility and the cost of providing shuttle service to and from the facility including compensation to any person for operating the facility and for providing shuttle service shall be used for purposes authorized under Federal highway provisions. Requires that National Highway and Bridge System funds be made available to finance the Federal share of projects for exclusive or preferential HOV, truck, and emergency vehicle routes or lanes. Permits such routes on the Interstate System to have less than four lanes of traffic. Prohibits the approval of HOV projects unless the Secretary has received assurances from the owner or operator of the facility that HOV vehicles will fully utilize the proposed project and that essential operations and enforcement support of the facility will be provided. Specifies that, in any case where sufficient land exists within the publicly acquired rights-of-way of the National Highway System to accommodate needed nonhighway public mass transit facilities and where the accommodation can be accomplished without impairing automotive safety or future highway improvements, the Secretary may authorize a State to make those lands and rights-of-way available without charge to a publicly owned mass transit authority for such purposes wherever the public interest will be served. Directs the Secretary to require assurance from any State desiring to avail itself of benefits under Federal highway provisions that employment in connection with proposed projects be provided without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sex (currently, specifies "without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, or sex"). Requires that not to exceed one fourth of one percent of the funds apportioned to a State be available for highway construction training. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex under programs or activities receiving Federal assistance. Repeals a requirement that each State certify that it is enforcing all speed limits on public highways and that the Secretary not approve projects in States failing to make such certification. Requires each State to establish a procedure to certify that highway bridge inspectors meet national qualifications. (Current law requires that standards established by the Secretary include a procedure for national certification of such inspectors.) Directs the Secretary to withhold ten percent of the amount to be appropriated to any State on the first day of each fiscal year in which the purchase or public possession in that State of any alcoholic beverage by a person who is less than 21 years of age is lawful (current law specifies five percent on the first day of the fiscal year succeeding the first fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1985, and ten percent after the second fiscal year beginning after such date). Specifies that funds withheld from apportionment shall be apportioned to the other States in compliance and remain available for the period of time applicable to the category of funds withheld (currently, treatment of such funds varies based on whether funds were withheld on or before September 30, 1988). Directs that construction estimated to cost $50,000 (currently, $15,000) or more per mile or per project for projects with a length of less than one mile on forest development roads and trails be advertised and let to contract, and allows projects with less than such cost, if no acceptable bid is received, to be done by the Secretary of Agriculture. Repeals provisions under the Territorial Highway Program: (1) that Federal financial assistance be granted on the basis of a Federal contribution of 100 percent of the cost of any project; and (2) under which the Governor must agree not to impose any toll, or permit any such toll to be charged, for use by vehicles or persons of any portion of the facilities constructed or operated to qualify for funding. Provides that, in addition to a specified percentage, sums provided (currently, two percent) for each fiscal year may be expended upon request of the Governor with the Secretary's approval under such Program. Requires (currently, authorizes the Secretary to make) expenditures with respect to the reconstruction of the Alaska-Canada international highway. Authorizes the Secretary to give priority of approval to, and expedite the construction of, projects that are recommended as important to the national defense. Modifies provisions regarding the National Highway Institute to: (1) require that private agencies and individuals pay the full cost of any education and training received by them; and (2) authorize the Institute to engage in all phases of contract authority for training purposes authorized under Federal highway provisions and to carry out its authority independently or in cooperation with any other branch of Government, authority, association, or person. Authorizes the Institute to establish and collect fees from any entity and place them in a special account.

Smith-Wyden Rural Health Care Improvement Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991

Smith-Wyden Rural Health Care Improvement Act of 1991 - Title I: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for family practice physicians, nurse practitioners, and certified physicians' assistants who serve in rural and medically underserved areas. Allows such individuals a tax deduction for education loan interest. Title II: Other Provisions - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1992 for area health education centers. Deems physicians or other licensed health care practitioners employed in federally-funded migrant health centers, community health centers, and centers to provide health services to the homeless as Public Health Service employees for purposes of liability claims of medical malpractice. Requires such health entities to have implemented appropriate policies and procedures to assure against malpractice.

Federal Council on Women Act

United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1991

Federal Council on Women Act - Establishes the Federal Council on Women to: (1) collect and evaluate information on a wide range of issues relating to U.S. women (including poverty, health care, violence, employment, education, and aging); (2) review current and proposed Federal policy relating to those issues and the impact of those issues on women; (3) coordinate Council activities with other public and private organizations; and (4) make recommendations to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.

HealthAmerica: Affordable Health Care for All Americans Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991

HealthAmerica: Affordable Health Care for All Americans Act - HealthAmerica Act - Title I: Amendments to Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title on basic health benefits for employees and their families. Requires each employer, with regard to each of its full-time employees and their families, and allows an employer, with regard to all of its part-time employees and their families, to: (1) enroll them in a health benefit plan under provisions of this Act; or (2) make a contribution for coverage of the employees and their families under the public health insurance plan added by this Act to the Social Security Act. Requires employers making a contribution to follow prescribed procedures to facilitate enrollment of its employees, including distributing and submitting enrollment forms and withholding and submitting payroll deductions. Requires, beginning seven years after enactment of this Act, that an individual seeking benefits under a Federal program certify possession of health insurance meeting minimum standards under this Act. Conditions claiming of a personal exemption deduction under the Internal Revenue Code on the individual filer certifying coverage meeting such standards. Title II: Requirements for Health Benefit Plans - Allows, except for provisions of title III of this Act relating to small and medium-sized business insurance, an employer to meet the requirements of this title through any health benefit plan. Exempts, in certain circumstances, employers in the State of Hawaii from the requirements of this title so long as the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act remains in effect. Requires that enrollment of an employee include enrollment of the employee's family and prohibits waiver of enrollment of the employee or the employee's family, subject to exception to avoid duplicate enrollment. Permits variations in premiums, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance which are actuarially equivalent to the requirements in certain provisions of this title. Establishes an Advisory Board to develop actuarial equivalency standards and to deal with other matters concerning the administration of this title. Sets forth general requirements for plan coverage, including, subject to certain limitations, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, inpatient and outpatient physician services, diagnostic tests, prenatal and well-baby care, preventive services (limited to well child care, pap smears, and mammograms), and inpatient and outpatient mental disorder care. Prohibits limitations on the amount, scope, and duration of certain benefits. Allows such limitations on specified other benefits. Allows a plan to: (1) provide benefits through managed care systems; (2) select particular providers or types, classes, or categories of providers; and (3) establish different levels of payment for different providers. Allows an employer to establish a fee schedule or other basis for payment different from charges, provided the payment is sufficient to achieve adequate access to plan services without additional out-of-pocket expenses, but for permitted copayments and deductibles. Requires inpatient mental health care to include payment for professional services by a physician or a licensed or certified clinical psychologist. Requires plan coverage to include outpatient services by a licensed or certified clinical psychologist or a provider with training and education equivalent to a licensed clinical social worker. Mandates reports to the Congress regarding: (1) possible changes to the preventive services covered; and (2) the cost-effectiveness and desirability of coverage of colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, and osteoporosis screening and of coverage of outpatient prescription drugs. Specifies when plan coverage must begin in various circumstances. Prohibits preexisting condition limitations or exclusions. Allows a part-time employee who is charged an increased premium under specified provisions of this Act to waive enrollment. Requires the employer, in such case, to pay, under title V of this Act, the minimum amount the employer would have paid toward coverage if the employee had not waived enrollment. Requires continuation of employee or family coverage during a period of hospitalization. Permits a plan to require an enrollee to pay premiums, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance amounts, subject in each case to certain limits. Limits out-of-pocket expenses. Mandates administration of certain requirements and standards of this title by the State agency designated by the State's chief executive officer. Requires certain notice to the employee, including plan contents, the availability of premium and cost-sharing subsidies, and employer failure to make premium payments. Provides for establishment of model plan language. Requires each plan to designate an individual to answer questions on the plan. Requires the State administering authority to assist employees regarding their rights under the plans. Provides for review of denied claims. Allows an employer to offer a nonmanaged care plan as well as a managed care plan. Allows an employee, if no unmanaged plan is offered, to use nonparticipating providers. Allows a plan to provide for cost-sharing of up to 200 percent of the normal or minimum plan if nonparticipating providers are used. Provides for a civil monetary penalty on an employer, up to a specified percentage of all wages paid by the employer for the year, for failure to comply with specified provisions of this Act. Requires penalties collected to be credited to the public health insurance plan established by this Act. Makes an employer that knowingly does not comply with specified provisions of this Act liable for damages, including health care costs, to the employee or the family of the employee. Allows the employee or family to bring a civil action to recover damages. Title III: Special Assistance for Small and Medium Sized Businesses - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to declare that certain provisions of ERISA supersede any State law relating to benefits under title II of this Act. Includes benefit plans under that title in the ERISA definitions of "employee welfare benefit plan" and "welfare plan." Subtitle A: Reform of Small Group Insurance - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new part, and amends (using similar language) the Social Security Act to create a new title, on group health insurance standards. Prohibits issuing a health benefit plan in a State, or offering a new contract under such a plan with respect to a small employer (defined as having fewer than 100 employees), unless the plan meets certain standards under this Act. Provides for: (1) complaints by individuals and entities respecting potential violations of certain requirements of this subtitle; (2) investigations and related procedures; and (3) enforcement, including cease and desist orders, civil monetary penalties, and orders to take other corrective action. Requires penalties collected to be credited to the AmeriCare Trust Fund. (Provides, in the amendments to the Social Security Act, but not in the amendments to the Public Health Service Act, for imposition on a carrier that is not in compliance with provisions of this subtitle of an excise tax, as provided in subtitle B of this title.) Directs the Secretary to request the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to develop a model Act and model regulations to implement requirements of this subtitle. Requires establishment of a toll-free telephone number to: (1) handle consumer complaints or inquiries; and (2) provide information to small employers and consumers about carriers that offer plans in the area. Mandates periodic audits of State regulatory programs by the Comptroller General to determine compliance with provisions of this subtitle. Sets forth transitional provisions applicable only to plans offered to small employers during the first four years after the effective date of these provisions, including: (1) allowing, in certain circumstances, preexisting condition exclusion; and (2) requiring making available equivalent coverage during any waiting period before the individual may be covered by the plan. Requires carriers offering a plan to small employers to: (1) register with State regulatory authorities; and (2) offer the same plan to any other small employer in the community. Allows: (1) health maintenance organizations (HMOs) to have geographic and size limitations; and (2) carriers to require participation by a minimum percentage of employees. Requires, at the option of the business, plan renewability under the same terms as for issuance, except for rates and administrative changes. Regulates rate changes. Requires premiums for plans offered to small employers to be based on a single cohesive rating system applied consistently for all small employer groups and designed not to treat groups, after the fourth year after enactment of this Act, differently based on health status or risk status. Requires the lowest rate for plans with similar benefits within a block of business to be the same for all small employers. Limits the percentage by which the premium rate for the most expensive block of business may exceed the rate for the least expensive block of business. Allows limited variation in premium rates for: (1) different age and gender groups; and (2) employers who elect, under provisions of this Act, reimbursement under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Requires plans offered to small employers to permit enrollment and compute premiums based on four specified beneficiary classes. Requires plans offered to small employers to: (1) cover all basic health services specified in title II of this Act; and (2) not impose cost-sharing in excess of that permitted by title II (with regard to the amendments to the Public Health Service Act) or in excess of that permitted by the Social Security Act, as amended by title VI of this Act (with regard to the amendments to the Social Security Act.) Requires the carrier, except HMOs, to offer to the small employer a plan that only provides basic services and maximum cost-sharing. Requires a carrier (other than an HMO or a reinsurance carrier) which offers a managed care plan to an employer that is not a small employer to make a managed care plan available to small employers in the same community. Requires the NAIC to develop a model to standardize benefits offered to small employers to promote consumer understanding and comparison among plans. Requires each carrier offering a plan to small employers under subtitle E (relating to payment for services at Medicare rates) of this title to offer the employer the option of having payment at rates no higher than the rates established by title II of this Act (with regard to the amendments to the Public Health Service Act) or by title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (with regard to the amendments to the Social Security Act). Applies, with regard to an employer who elects such option, the limits on charges that may be made under Medicare to individuals receiving benefits under the plan. (Applies, with regard to the amendments to the Social Security Act, the sanctions imposed under Medicare and title XI (general provisions and peer review) of the Social Security Act to violations of these limits.) Requires the NAIC to develop models of legislation for the enactment of health insurance policy reinsurance systems for use by States, including plans offered to small employers. Specifies three models which must be included. Requires any system enacted to provide for an adjustment in reinsurance premiums charged to HMOs that takes into account specified factors. Subtitle B: Tax Equity for Small and Medium-Sized Business - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow self-employed individuals to take a deduction for 100 percent of the cost of health insurance coverage for the individual and the individual's family under subtitle A of this title or under AmeriCare. (Current law allows a deduction of 25 percent of the cost of health insurance coverage.) Provides for a deduction for certain group health plan contributions for the benefit of self-employed individuals. Imposes an excise tax on an entity's violation of the Social Security Act, as amended by subtitle A of this title. Subtitle C: Opportunity for Voluntary Provision of Coverage - Prohibits requiring a medium-sized employer (defined as having between 25 and 100 employees) to provide a health benefit plan under title II of this Act or make a contribution under title V of this Act until the fifth calendar year after enactment of this Act. Ties application to medium-sized employers of the requirement to provide coverage or make a contribution to the number of uninsured employees of all such employers, during or after those four years, as compared to the number of such employees when this Act is enacted. Delays application to small employers of the requirement to provide coverage or make a contribution until the sixth calendar year after enactment of this Act. Ties application of the requirement to the change in the number of uninsured employees of small employers in the first five years. Subtitle D: Small Business Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an eligible small business (defined as having no more than 60 employees) a tax credit for a percentage of health plan expenses. Reduces the percentage as the number of employees increases and as the expanded profit ratio increases. Subtitle E: Additional Assistance to Small and Medium-Sized Businesses - Makes businesses with fewer than 100 employees that did not provide coverage in the year before enactment of this Act eligible to buy private coverage from a small or medium-sized business insurer under which health service providers are paid at rules based on Medicare rates. Allows a small employer that employs fewer than 25 employees and that has been an employer for not more than three years to: (1) not provide coverage or make a contribution for the first two years of being an employer; and (2) make a contribution at one-half the normal rate. Establishes a small and medium-sized business advisory committee. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Reducing Health Care Cost Inflation - Subtitle A: Outcomes Research and Practice Guideline Development and Dissemination - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Administrator for Health Care Policy and Research to: (1) develop an initial set of guidelines for at least three clinical treatments or conditions that account for a significant portion of national health expenditures, have a significant variation in treatment, or otherwise meet specified needs and priorities; and (2) develop outcomes research and practice parameters for mental health services, including regarding childhood attention deficit disorders and manic depression. Amends the Social Security Act to increase the authorization of appropriations to carry out provisions relating to research on outcomes of health care services and procedures. Modifies the percentages which are, during FY 1993 and 1994, to be appropriated from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Subtitle B: Federal Health Expenditure Board - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish as an independent agency in the executive branch the Federal Health Expenditure Board. Amends the Public Health Service Act and, using similar language, the Social Security Act to require the Board to take specified actions, including: (1) developing national health care expenditure, access, and quality goals; (2) convening and overseeing negotiations between providers and purchasers to develop payment rates regarding those expenditure goals; (3) establishing recommended payment levels and other recommended measures; (4) developing State and regional goals; (5) establishing uniform billing and claim forms and mandatory reporting requirements; and (6) recommending rates, budgets, and other measures. Mandates that the Board require negotiations regarding physician and hospital care. Allows the Board to require negotiations concerning other health care sectors. Declares that the Board shall determine which individuals, organizations, and institutions are eligible for representation by negotiators. Sets forth procedures and requirements regarding approval of an organization or individual as a negotiator. Sets forth requirements regarding payment systems adopted for hospitals or physicians. Requires the Board, when negotiators for a sector fail to reach an agreement, to promulgate regulations recommending advisory rates and other matters to achieve the goals. Allows, with regard to the amendments to the Public Health Service Act, purchasers and providers to combine for the purpose of agreeing to pay or charge at the recommended rates. Allows, with regard to the amendments to the Social Security Act, purchasers to combine for such purpose. Makes a provider assessing or a purchaser paying rates other than those required: (1) ineligible for any assistance under the Public Health Service Act (with regard to the amendments to the Public Health Service Act) or for any assistance under the Social Security Act (with regard to the amendments to the Social Security Act); and (2) liable to the United States for a civil monetary penalty. Provides for temporary injunctive relief. Requires the Board to promulgate regulations recommending nonbinding rates for all Federal programs that reimburse providers on a fee, charge, or cost basis or charge third-party providers on such basis. Exempts from that requirement: (1) with regard to the amendments to the Public Health Service Act, programs under titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), or XXI (AmeriCare) of the Social Security Act; and (2) with regard to the amendments to the Social Security Act, programs under such title XVIII. Prohibits, through the fifth fiscal year after enactment of these provisions, Federal payments from rising as a result of such rates. Allows a State consortium, with the approval of the Board, to establish an alternative payment system, rates and methods for achieving Board goals. Requires the Board to establish a system of uniform billing and reporting to enable the Board to determine the progress in meeting the goals, enable providers and purchasers to provide and obtain efficiently provided care, and reduce administrative costs of the health care system. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement methodologies that will measure the effectiveness of the health care service provided by health care providers. Amends Federal law to add members of the Board to the list of positions paid at levels III and IV of the Executive Schedule. Amends the Social Security Act to require the Board to make recommendations regarding hospital and physician services, including modifications of the prospective payment system and the physician payment system. Prohibits, through the fifth fiscal year after enactment of these provisions, the recommendations from increasing Federal payments. Subtitle C: State Purchasing Consortia - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate establishment in each State of a consortium open to all providers and purchasers of health insurance and health care in the State. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make a grant to each State for establishment and initial operation of the consortium. Amends the Public Health Service Act and, using similar language, the Social Security Act to set forth the mandatory consortium functions, including: (1) enrolling all small share health insurance companies in the State as consortium members; (2) establishing a claim payment fund and payment procedures, with the fund to be capitalized through public and private contributions and assessments by the consortium on such enrollees; (3) developing and using uniform billing and claim forms and procedures consistent with subtitle B of this title; and (4) attempting to reduce administrative costs and burdens on enrollees and providers through specified measures. Lists optional consortium functions, including: (1) permitting insurers with a large market share in a State to participate in the consortium; and (2) convening negotiations with providers, purchasers, and others on service availability, coverage and reimbursement levels, and claim submission and payment procedures. Exempts such negotiations, if authorized by the State, from Federal anti-trust laws. Declares that the Consumer Product Safety Act and other Federal consumer protection laws apply to the mandatory consortium functions. Allows States to enter into an agreement for the establishment of a regional consortium. Declares that a State that fails to comply with the requirements regarding consortia shall be ineligible: (1) with regard to the amendments to the Public Health Service Act, to receive assistance under that Act; and (2) with regard to the amendments to the Social Security Act, to receive payments to States under provisions of that Act, as amended by title VI of this Act. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions relating to the consortia. Subtitle D: Cost Control Grant Program - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants and contracts for the development, demonstration, and evaluation of innovative methods for reducing health care costs. Provides for the establishment of a clearinghouse and other activities to disseminate information on successful health care cost control methods. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Malpractice Reform - Authorizes grants to States for programs for medical malpractice reforms. Requires programs receiving grants to include alternative dispute resolution methods. Allows the programs to include medical practice guidelines. Requires a grant to be either: (1) a planning grant, for up to two years; or (2) an operational grant, for up to five years. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for the collection and analysis of data and issues related to: (1) ineffective or unnecessary testing; (2) the occurrence of malpractice and malpractice awards; (3) licensing and disciplining; and (4) malpractice insurance. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Reducing the Administrative Cost of Assuring Appropriate Utilization of Health Care Services and Improving the Quality of Health Care Services - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with the quality improvement board in each State to review the quality of health care provided by professionals and institutions in the State and to establish mechanisms to encourage continuous quality improvement. Amends the Public Health Service Act and, using similar language, the Social Security Act to set forth board duties, including: (1) adopting practice guidelines and quality improvement guidelines; (2) recommending continuous quality improvement measures; (3) reviewing provider performance, with the board allowed to certify a provider as an outstanding provider; and (4) data collection. Prohibits a plan from: (1) denying payment for any service performed or ordered by a provider certified as outstanding; and (2) denying coverage on the basis that the service is not medically necessary. Authorizes planning grants to facilitate the establishment of a board in each State. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle G: Use of Practice Guidelines in Federal Health Insurance and Service Programs - Requires that clinical guidelines developed under existing provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care be used in Federal health insurance programs as utilization review screens and as practice guidelines in Federal programs providing health care services. Subtitle H: National Standards for the Promotion of Managed Care - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit any State law or regulation from: (1) prohibiting a managed care plan from selecting providers, or the type of providers, as the participating providers; or (2) limiting the ability of a managed care entity to negotiate, make contracts or establish alternative rates or forms of payment for participating providers, or require or provide incentives to promote the use of participating providers. Allows, notwithstanding any State law, an entity to offer utilization review services, provided certain procedures are established. Makes the applicable State regulatory authority (or, in certain circumstances, the Secretary of Health and Human Services) responsible for certifying, for the Public Health Service Act and the Social Security Act, whether a plan is a managed care plan. Prohibits making amounts available to a State under the Public Health Service Act unless the State is in compliance with this requirement. Deems a State, unless the State's chief executive officer otherwise indicates, to have elected to comply. Limits State regulation of certain actions by managed care plans. Provides for the establishment of Federal standards for utilization review programs of health benefit plans. Preempts inconsistent State laws or regulations. Subtitle I: Expansion of Technology Assessment - Requires the Administrator for Health Care Policy and Research to focus on expanding and applying assessments of existing health care technologies, to be achieved in part through an evaluation of services provided to individuals through publicly and privately funded sources. Mandates a program of contracts and cooperative agreements for the establishment of public-private partnerships to undertake technology assessment and related activities in the private sector. Title V: Contribution by Employers Not Providing Private Health Coverage - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the percentage of wages which must be paid by employers who elect, under provisions of this Act, to pay a contribution rather than provide a health benefit plan covering their employees. Provides for setting, by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, of that percentage at a level that reflects the cost of coverage of no more than 65 percent of those employees under provisions of the Social Security Act (as amended by this Act) and at least 35 percent covered under provisions of the Public Health Service (as amended by this Act). Title VI: Assuring Provision of Health Benefits to All Americans - Amends the Social Security Act to create a new title on "AmeriCare," under which a State is required to provide basic health benefits described in this title to: (1) any child or pregnant woman without other nongovernmental health coverage by the second year after enactment of this title; (2) any employee or family member for whom an employer makes a contribution under title V of this Act by the second year after enactment of this title; and (3) any individual not covered by a plan under title II of this Act by the seventh year after enactment of this title. Sets forth other requirements on States for participation in AmeriCare. Entitles each individual not otherwise covered under a health benefit plan under title II of this Act to basic health benefits under AmeriCare. Allows each State to require that employers collect AmeriCare premiums on behalf of the employer's employees. Requires basic benefits to include inpatient and outpatient hospital care, inpatient and outpatient physician services, diagnostic tests, prenatal and well-baby care, preventive services (limited to well child care, pap smears, and mammograms), inpatient and outpatient mental disorder care, and certain items and services described under existing provisions of title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act relating to early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment for children under the age of 21. Requires, subject to exception, the basic health benefits with respect to special eligibility individuals to include medical assistance in the State's plan under Medicaid. Allows a State to provide, but prohibits Federal payment for, coverage beyond basic benefits. Prohibits imposing premiums, deductibles, or other cost-sharing on an individual in an under-poverty family. Sets varying limits on premiums, deductibles, and other cost sharing for individuals in families whose income is specified percentages over the poverty line. Provides for the premium levels of employees whose employer elects, in lieu of providing a health benefit plan, to make a contribution under title V of this Act. Allows States to compute premiums separately for four specified combinations of individual, spouse, and child coverage. Limits deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket expenses. Declares ineligible for AmeriCare benefits an individual who is enrolled in a health plan under title II of this Act, except that AmeriCare is required to pay, with respect to an individual covered by a plan or whose employer makes a contribution under title V of this Act, for: (1) premiums, deductibles, and other cost-sharing for an individual in an under-poverty family; and (2) a specified percentage of premiums, deductibles, and other cost-sharing for an individual in a near-poverty family. Requires that an individual receive advanced payment of supplemental premium payments for the calendar year from AmeriCare. Disqualifies all family members from the supplemental payments if a required family income statement is not filed by a specified deadline. Requires payment under AmeriCare to be: (1) on the same basis as under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, adjusted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take into account differences between the population served under Medicare and the population served by AmeriCare or title II of this Act; (2) according to an alternative payment system provided for by a State, if the State meets in the aggregate for all health care providers in the State the requirements for national reimbursement levels described in these provisions; or (3) under Medicare rates phased-in over specified periods. Prohibits administrative or judicial review of the payment rates or rules, including adjustments, under these provisions. Allows a State to contract for the design and implementation of innovative systems of health care delivery and administrative systems that meet the standards of the AmeriCare title. Requires each State, as part of AmeriCare, to offer managed care plans, selected competitively, in which an individual eligible under AmeriCare may enroll. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish demonstration projects to enable States that submit an approved application to implement cost management initiatives that promote the effective furnishing of care. Specifies initiatives required to be included. Allows the Secretary to provide that a State plan for AmeriCare may include payment for services described in existing provisions of title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act relating to home or community-based services. Provides for the administration of AmeriCare in each State, directly or by contract: (1) by that State; (2) at the election of the State and with the approval of the Secretary, by the Secretary; or (3) by a regional administration with other States approved by the Secretary. Provides for review of denied claims and other administrative matters. Mandates a quarterly Federal payment to each State with an approved AmeriCare plan for the Federal share of the expenditures for benefits, supplemental payments, and administrative expenses. Sets the State share of expenses at 80 percent of the State percentage under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act during the second year after enactment of this Act and increases that percentage until 100 percent of the State medicaid percentage is reached in the seventh year after enactment. Establishes in the Treasury the AmeriCare Trust Fund consisting of such gifts and bequests as may be made and amounts credited to the Fund. Appropriates to the Fund the amounts received from: (1) contributions by employers under title V of this Act in lieu of health plan coverage; (2) AmeriCare premiums collected by employers on behalf of employees; (3) penalties collected for employment discrimination based on family status and the requirement to enroll a spouse or child; and (4) penalties collected for failure of an employer to either provide coverage or make a title V contribution. Authorizes appropriations to the Fund as required to make certain expenditures from the Fund. Authorizes and appropriates from the Fund each fiscal year a sum sufficient to carry out the purpose of the AmeriCare title, to be used for making payments to States with approved plans for benefits, supplemental payments, and administrative expenses. Requires amounts received in the Fund to be allotted to each State on the basis of amounts received in the Fund with respect to employees residing in the State. Make amounts in the Fund available, as provided in appropriations Acts, for the expenses of administering the AmeriCare title. Provides for review of AmeriCare programs by utilization and quality control peer review organizations in a similar manner as provided under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop: (1) recommendations for the calculation of a specific Federal insurance assistance percentage applicable to coverage furnished under AmeriCare; and (2) recommendations for the creation of an emergency fund to fund certain benefits under AmeriCare in the event a State experiences changes in economic conditions or other conditions necessitating emergency funding. Mandates a reduction (by one quarter after the second year after enactment of this Act and by one half after the seventh year after enactment of this Act) in the Medicare disproportionate share adjustment percentage, subject to exception for hospitals receiving, under title VI of this Act, less that 200 percent of the reduction. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the provision of medical assistance under Medicaid to any individual eligible for AmeriCare. Provides for an annual increase in the Medicaid cap on payments to territories based on the percentage increase in the total Federal program costs of AmeriCare over such costs of Medicaid in the year preceding the effective date of this Act. Title VII: Development of Health Service Capacity - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate grants to entities that do or will meet requirements relating to migrant or community health centers to expand the availability of comprehensive primary health services in medically underserved or high impact areas. Sets forth priorities in making the grants, including that the amounts be used to provide services in areas with the greatest need and in which demand can be expected to increase after implementation of this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title VIII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates of specified provisions of this Act. Declares that, after enactment of this Act, no employer shall be required under title II of this Act to provide any health benefit in addition to the benefits required under specified provisions of title II, as in effect on the date of enactment, unless: (1) the additional benefit is for a service that AmeriCare plans are required to cover; and (2) before enactment of such requirement, the benefits and costs have been analyzed and considered by the Congress.

National Energy Security Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991

National Energy Security Act of 1991 - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Subtitle A: Findings and Purposes - Sets forth the energy efficiency and development purposes of this Act. Subtitle B: Goals, Least-Cost Energy Strategy, and Director of Climate Protection - Enumerates the goals of this Act, including establishment in 1992 of an international framework convention on global climate change and international commitment to such convention. Requires the first National Energy Policy Plan submitted by the President to the Congress to include a least-cost energy strategy prepared by the Secretary of Energy according to specified guidelines. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Director of Climate Protection, who shall participate annually in the formulation of such strategy. Title II: Definitions - Sets forth definitions used in this Act. Title III: Corporate Average Fuel Economy - Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act of 1991 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to direct the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light trucks manufactured in model years 1996 through 2001, and for those manufactured in model years 2002 and thereafter. Requires such Secretary to determine the maximum feasible average fuel economy achievable according to prescribed formulas for passenger automobiles, light trucks, or classes of light trucks manufactured during such model years. Provides that credits for exceeding average fuel economy standards may be transferred among manufacturers and among vehicle classes of a manufacturer. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue rules implementing such a credit trading system. Grants average fuel economy credits for small passenger automobiles manufactured with airbags for either driver seating position only, or for both the driver and front seat outboard seating positions. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 explanatory booklets each year to every dealer and an additional number if requested. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to assess an excessive fuel consumption fee upon a manufacturer whose average fuel economy does not meet certain statutory standards. Replaces civil penalties for such non-compliance with the excessive fuel consumption fee according to prescribed guidelines. Establishes the Excessive Fuel Consumption Fund. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make payments from the Fund for purposes of: (1) providing financial assistance to State programs encouraging voluntary removal from the marketplace of pre-1980 model-year automobiles; and (2) funding other energy conservation programs. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress regarding the Fund's financial condition and operations. Requires the Secretary of Energy to adopt rules necessary to review and approve State programs that qualify for financial assistance for the older vehicle scrappage program. Mandates that as a prerequisite to Federal assistance at least 50 percent of scrappage program costs be paid from non-Federal funds. Title IV: Fleets and Alternative Fuels - Subtitle A: Alternative Fuel Fleets - Sets forth a schedule according to which Federal agencies, when buying, leasing, or otherwise acquiring vehicles for a Federal fleet, must increase the percentage of alternative fuel vehicles in such fleet from ten percent in 1995 up to 90 percent in 2000 and each year following. Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to work with the Administrator of General Services and each Federal agency head to plan effective coordination of such acquisitions. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates State acquisition of alternative fuel vehicles according to the same schedule if specified circumstances prevail. Sets forth a different schedule for private and municipal fleets, rising from 30 percent in 1998 to 70 percent in 2000 and after. Provides for exemptions from such requirements in specified circumstances. Requires the Secretary to allocate credits to States or private persons for any vehicles acquired in excess of requirements. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this subtitle. Authorizes the Secretary to request the Attorney General to bring civil actions to enforce it. Authorizes the Secretary to delegate administration and enforcement of this subtitle within any State to its Governor if a State program exists. Authorizes appropriations to provide financial assistance to States to which the Secretary delegates such authority. Subtitle B: Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Demonstration, Infrastructure, Development, and Conforming Amendments - Part A: Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Demonstration - Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary to conduct a program to demonstrate electric vehicles, electric-hybrid vehicles, and their assorted equipment. Provides for solicitation and selection of proposals to negotiate up to ten cooperative agreements to receive financial assistance to conduct such demonstrations. Provides for discount payments to reimburse proposers for giving discounts to vehicle purchasers or lessees. Requires 50 percent of the costs of a cooperative agreement to be provided from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Infrastructure Development - Electric Vehicle and Electric-Hybrid Infrastructure Development Act - Directs the Secretary to establish a program for the collection and dissemination of information and data which would be useful to persons seeking to manufacture, sell, lease, own or operate electric and electric-hybrid vehicles. Requires the Secretary to issue guidelines for States and local governmental entities to use in developing comprehensive infrastructure plans to support the deployment of such vehicles. Requires the Secretary to offer State Governors the opportunity to request and receive technical and financial assistance in formulating comprehensive State infrastructure plans. Directs the Secretary to undertake cooperative agreements with non-Federal persons, including fleet operators, to provide the infrastructure necessary to support the use of such vehicles. Requires at least 50 percent of costs to be provided from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations. Part C: Amendment to the Alternative Motor Fuels Act - Makes conforming amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act. Subtitle C: Alternative Fuels - Replacement and Alternative Fuels Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary to establish a program to promote the development and use of domestically produced replacement and alternative fuels (including liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas, "neat" alcohol, hydrogen, coal-derived liquid fuels, and electricity) to replace conventional petroleum motor fuels. Requires the Secretary to study and determine the feasibility of domestically producing enough such fuels by the year 2010 to replace at least 30 percent of the projected consumption of motor fuel in the United States for that year. Requires annual demand estimates of the number and geographic distribution and the amount of each type of alternative fuel vehicle. Requires the Secretary to obtain voluntary commitments from providers of domestic replacement and alternative fuels to produce and offer for public sale sufficient amounts of such fuels to meet demand. Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify the Congress if the amount of such fuels in any area of the United States is insufficient to meet demand; and (2) submit a plan of action to require such providers to make adequate supplies available. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Mass Transit and Training - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to enter into cooperative agreements and joint ventures with local or regional transit authorities in urban areas of over 100,000 population to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of using natural gas or other alterative fuels for mass transit. Mandates that as a prerequisite to such a cooperative agreement or joint venture at least 25 percent of the demonstration costs be borne by the local or regional transit authority. Authorizes the Secretary to grant priority to any entity that demonstrates that the use of alternative fuels for mass transit would have a significant effect on the ability of an air quality region to comply with regulations governing ambient air quality. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Department of Labor to implement a technician training and certification program for the vehicle installation of equipment that converts gasoline or diesel-fueled vehicles to run solely on alternative fuels. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Renewable Energy - Subtitle A: CORECT and COEECT - Amends the EPCA to name certain interagency working groups the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT) and the Committee on Energy Efficiency Commerce and Trade (COEECT). Requires: (1) CORECT to promote the development and application in lesser-developed countries of renewable energy resource products and technologies that promote the use of hybrid fossil-renewable energy systems; (2) COEECT to promote the development and application in such countries of energy efficiency resource products and technologies; and (3) both to provide in-country technical training and financial assistance. Authorizes CORECT and COEECT to establish renewable energy and energy efficiency industry outreach offices in the Pacific Rim and in the Caribbean Basin. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the Congress on the range of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies available to meet the energy needs of developing countries. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Renewable Energy Initiatives - Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 (REEETCA) to direct the Secretary to solicit proposals and provide financial assistance for joint ventures with respect to: (1) oil and diesel fuel displacement using specified renewable energy sources; and (2) training individuals from developing countries in the United States in the operation and maintenance of renewable energy equipment and of energy efficiency equipment. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to solicit proposals and provide financial assistance for at least one joint venture for a utility-scale photovoltaic project of at least ten megawatts. Amends REEETCA to direct the Secretary to enter into buy-down agreements with private lenders to pay the Federal share of the interest on loans to certain qualified borrowers to finance the manufacture, construction, or acquisition of equipment that principally utilizes a renewable energy technology. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees an evaluation of opportunities to minimize waste from processes in the U.S. industries. Establishes certain facilities and equipment located at Keahole Point, Hawaii as the Spark M. Matsunaga Renewable Energy and Ocean Technology Center to carry out research, development, and technology transfer activities on solar and renewable energy, energy storage, and related matters. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a program to reward outstanding achievements in specified renewable energy technologies with awards of up to $5,000,000; and (2) a milestone for technical achievement for the year 2010 for each such technology. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Hydropower - Amends the Federal Power Act to eliminate certain mandatory conditioning powers of Federal land mangers with respect to Government dams. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to give hydroelectric license applicants earliest practicable notice of studies that will be required to accompany a license application. Provides for a single consolidated review of project licensing under the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969 (NEPA). Makes FERC the lead agency for NEPA compliance activities associated with hydroelectric licensing. Grants States exclusive authority to license hydropower projects of five megawatts or less, under certain conditions. Requires the Secretary to study and report to certain congressional committees on cost-effective opportunities to increase hydropower production at existing federally-owned or -operated water regulations, storage, and conveyance facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study and implement water use efficiency measures at Federal reclamation projects in order to increase hydropower production, make more efficient use of project power, and provide more water for fish and wildlife. Removes Federal licensing jurisdiction over: (1) hydroelectric projects on fresh waters in Hawaii; and (2) two specified hydroelectric projects in Alaska. Extends the time for project development for two specified hydropower projects in Arkansas. Title VI: Energy Efficiency - Subtitle A: Industrial, Commercial and Residential - Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA) to require the Secretary of Energy to issue a Federal building code to assure that all new Federal buildings and buildings receiving Federal mortgages include energy efficiency measures that are technologically feasible and economically justified. Requires the Secretary to support the upgrading of an industry voluntary building energy code for new residential and commercial buildings. Directs the Secretary to provide incentive funding to States which adopt building energy codes at least as stringent as those of the industry voluntary building codes. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to direct the Secretary to issue voluntary guidelines for use by States, local organizations and others to develop energy rating systems for residential buildings. Requires the Secretary to provide technical assistance to State and local organizations to encourage adoption of residential energy efficiency rating systems based on such guidelines. Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to provide for notifying homebuyers of the availability of energy efficient mortgages providing financial incentives for the purchase of energy efficient homes at the time of mortgage application. Requires the Secretary to assess the energy performance of manufactured housing and make recommendations to the National Commission on Manufactured Housing about thermal insulation and technically feasible and economically justified energy efficiency improvements applicable to such housing. Requires the Commission to make its own recommendations to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Requires the Secretary of Energy to test the performance and cost-effectiveness of manufactured housing built to established energy efficiency standards. Directs the Secretary to pursue a research and development program and a joint venture program to improve efficiency in energy-intensive industries and industrial processes. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to make triennial reports to the Congress evaluating energy efficiency policy options and their potential to decrease overall U.S. energy use and oil consumption per unit of GNP. Directs the Secretary to establish voluntary guidelines for the conduct of energy audits and the installation of insulation to achieve cost-effective increases in energy efficiency in industrial facilities. Authorizes appropriations for a program of education and technical assistance to promote the use of such guidelines. Requires the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support the voluntary development of a national window rating program to establish energy efficiency ratings for windows and window systems. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to expand the scope and frequency of data collection under the National Energy Information System in order to improve the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of energy efficiency policies and programs. Directs the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support voluntary development of a national energy efficiency rating program for lamps and luminaires. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for them. Authorizes appropriations. Adds lamps, commercial air conditioning and heating equipment, and utility distribution transformers to the appliance efficiency program. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the practicability and cost-effectiveness of upgrading utility distribution transformers at the time of their routine maintenance. Directs: (1) the Secretary to support the development of a voluntary labeling system for commercial office equipment; or (2) the Federal Trade Commission to develop such a program if one is not developed voluntarily within two years. Authorizes appropriations. Amends EPCA to establish a specified standard for showerheads manufactured after July 1, 1992, unless the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) publishes a different standard before March 1, 1992, in which case the ANSI standard shall apply. Preempts State and local showerhead flow rate standards and labeling requirements. Subtitle B: Federal Energy Management - Amends NECPA to prescribe energy management requirements for energy conservation and efficiency in Federal buildings. Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration: (1) to conduct an analysis of significant energy consuming products in the Federal Supply Schedule; and (2) to develop a method to identify products which offer cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy consumption and costs. Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to consider fuel efficiency and cost savings when evaluating bids for the purchase of passenger vehicles and light trucks. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) the funding of Federal energy efficiency projects; and (2) a biennially updated demonstration plan for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in federally-owned facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a financial bonus program, not to exceed $5,000 per award, to reward facility energy managers for outstanding energy savings in Federal agencies. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a plan for demonstrating in Federal facilities, or by Federal agencies, energy efficiency technologies that have received Federal assistance for research and development and are now ready for commercialization. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the potential of using Federal purchasing power to encourage the development and commercialization of new energy efficiency products. Subtitle C: Utilities - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to permit State-regulated electric utilities to charge rates that will make their investments in energy efficiency and conservation measures as profitable as their investments in new facilities construction. Requires the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress on: (1) the extent to which State-regulated electric utility rates reflect least-cost planning; (2) specified effects of least-cost planning; and (3) the extent to which ratemaking methodologies implementing least-cost planning take into account the impact of such measures upon electric utilities' rate of return on investment. Prescribes guidelines for conservation grants to State regulatory authorities. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Southwestern Power Administration and the Southeastern Power Administration (known collectively as PMAs) to consider, as a condition of any future power contract with a nonregulated utility customer, requiring such a customer to implement integrated resource planning. Requires the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to employ integrated resource planning in exercising its functions. Subtitle D: Used Oil Energy Production - Amends EPCA to prescribe market incentive guidelines for the reuse of used oil. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the implementation of the recycled oil program. Subtitle E: State, Local Insular, and Tribal Energy Assistance - Sets forth guidelines for Federal financial assistance to Insular Area governments for renewable energy and energy and energy efficiency measures to reduce their dependence on imported fuels. Amends EPCA to authorize the Secretary to provide up to $1,000,000 to States to capitalize a State revolving fund to undertake energy efficiency projects in State and local government buildings in those States which have demonstrated a commitment to improve building energy codes. Authorizes the Secretary to provide supplemental grants to Weatherization Program grant recipients to cover: (1) the costs of arranging private sector contributions to the program; and (2) the costs of training and education activities between program grant recipients (technical transfer grants). Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes existing State Energy Conservation Programs to use Federal funds to assist in training building designers and contractors in energy system, energy efficiency, and renewable energy technologies. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive supplemental grants under the existing State Energy Conservation Programs to increase public understanding of energy issues or to provide teacher training in energy education. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to grant financial assistance to tribal governments to plan and implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Requires State Energy Conservation Plans to provide for vehicles to turn left from a one-way street into a one-way street at a red light as a condition for receipt of Federal funding. Subtitle F: LIHEAP Options Pilot Program - Energy Options Study Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study and report to the Congress on the advantages and disadvantages of using futures and options contracts for fuel as a means of protecting funds under the Low-Income Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (LIHEAP funds) from large price increases in fuels. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct: (1) a pilot program in cooperation with one or more governmental or tribal fund recipients in which the recipient uses futures and futures options in its fuel assistance program; and (2) a pilot program to educate governmental entities and consumer cooperatives on the prudent and effective use of such futures and futures options to increase their protection against unexpected fuel price surges. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Oil and Gas Leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Subtitle A: Statement of Purpose and Policy and Definitions - Declares that it is the congressional purpose to: (1) authorize competitive oil and gas leasing development on the Arctic Coastal Plain in a manner consistent with environmental and wildlife protection; and (2) provide a new funding source of energy-related projects to enhance energy security and reduce dependence on imported oil. Subtitle B: Congressional Determination of Compatibility - Declares that it is congressional policy that oil and gas activities on the Coastal Plain which are conducted with no significant adverse impact upon fish, wildlife, and the environment shall be deemed compatible with the purpose of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and that no further compatibility findings by the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) are required under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act. Subtitle C: Coastal Plain Competitive Leasing Program - Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in an environmentally sound program for Coastal Plain resources exploration, development, and production. Declares that this title is the sole authority for leasing on the Coastal Plain. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations to implement this title. Declares that the Congress finds that the "Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement" (April 1987) on the Coastal Plain satisfies the legal requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Sets forth the administrative parameters for: (1) lease sales and lease terms; (2) antitrust review by the Attorney General; (3) exploration and development and production plans; (4) plan approval; (5) bonding, surety, or other financial arrangement requirements; and (6) lease suspension and cancellation. Allows the Secretary to cancel leases in any areas of particular environmental sensitivity. Requires the Secretary's consent for lease assignments or subletting. Mandates that lessees unite to the greatest extent practicable in collectively adopting and operating under a cooperative or unit plan for oil pools and gas fields. Provides for the confidentiality of privileged or proprietary information regarding development activities which must be furnished to the Secretary. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this title. Provides for adjudication of lease controversies. Sets forth joint, several, and strict liability for environmental damages and removal costs resulting from oil pollution or the discharge of hazardous substances. Provides for judicial review of complaints regarding regulations issued by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding the leasing program under this Act. Repeals certain limitations applicable to subsurface interests owned by the Inupiat Eskimo people. Provides for expedited judicial consideration of any claims for relief by certain Alaskan corporations. Subtitle D: Coastal Plain Environmental Protection - Directs the Secretary to promulgate environmental protection regulations which ensure that Coastal Plain activities will result in no significant adverse effect on fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment. Requires site-specific assessment and mitigation. Designates the Sadlerochit Spring area as a special area for wildlife conservation and environmental protection. Authorizes the Secretary to exclude such area from leasing and to designate other Coastal Plain areas as special areas requiring protection. Directs the Secretary to prepare and periodically update a facilities construction and siting plan for oil and gas development and transportation. Authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain in a manner that does not adversely affect fish, wildlife, and the environment. Requires the Secretary to conduct additional studies to monitor the human, marine, and coastal environments. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations providing for bi-annual facility inspections for compliance with environmental and safety regulations. Provides funding for a ten-year period for environmental monitoring and enforcement on the Coastal Plain. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) consult with the Department of Transportation and the State of Alaska about the State's role in monitoring and enforcing the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act; and (2) report annually to the Congress regarding the environmental monitoring activities. Subtitle E: Land Reclamation and Reclamation Liability Fund - Makes leaseholders fully responsible and liable for land reclamation within the Coastal Plain and other Federal lands adversely affected by lease activities. Requires establishment of the Coastal Plain Liability and Reclamation Fund within six months of a commercial discovery within the Coastal Plain. Directs the Secretary to collect fees based upon the crude oil volume entering the trans-Alaska pipeline. Prescribes revenue collection and expenditure procedures. Subtitle F: Disposition of Oil and Gas Revenues - Sets forth an allocation schedule for revenue distribution related to oil and gas leasing within the Arctic National Refuge, Alaska. Mandates that revenues distributed to the United States from such oil and gas leases be deposited into the Energy Security Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make such funds directly available to the Secretary of Energy for specified energy projects transmitted to the Congress following the initial deposit of funds in the Energy Security Fund. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations from the Energy Security Fund, for a period of five fiscal years, of up to a certain amount annually to fund high priority Arctic research projects and programs related to understanding the long- and short-term effects of energy development and production activities on the Arctic environment. Directs the Chairman of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee to prepare a list of eligible projects and programs for inclusion in the President's budget. Subtitle G: Export Restrictions - Prohibits the export of crude oil produced from Coastal Plain lands except in specified circumstances. Subtitle H: Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Moratorium - Prohibits the Secretary from preparing or conducting any preleasing or leasing activity under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act with respect to the areas seaward from California and from New Jersey until after January 1, 2000. Title VIII: Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization - Civilian Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a comprehensive advanced nuclear reactor research, development, and demonstration program that will lead to commercialization of advanced reactor technologies after 1996. Requires the Secretary of Energy to submit to the Congress a detailed five-year plan to carry out such program. Directs the Secretary to conduct a program of technical and financial assistance to encourage the development and submission for certification of advanced light water reactor designs which can be certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by the end of 1995. Provides for cooperative and cost-sharing agreements with private parties seeking such certification. Requires annual progress reports to the Congress from the Secretary and the NRC. Requires the Secretary to solicit proposals to carry out the preliminary engineering design of one or more prototype advanced nuclear reactor technologies (other than an advanced light water reactor) necessary to support a decision on whether to recommend construction of a full-scale prototype demonstration using such a technology. Requires the Secretary to make a recommendation by January 31, 1996, on whether to build such a prototype demonstration reactor. Authorizes the Secretary to solicit proposals to implement such recommendation after 180 days following it submission to the Congress. Title IX: Nuclear Reactor Licensing - Nuclear Reactor Licensing Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require the NRC to hold a hearing before granting a combined license to construct and operate a nuclear reactor. Requires a combined license to set forth all the inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria necessary to establish that the plant, once built, is safe to operate. Requires the NRC to ensure that all such requirements are satisfied. Provides for post-construction hearings on combined licenses to determine whether requirements have been met. Authorizes the NRC to allow a plant to operate under a combined license pending a post-construction hearing unless it appears unsafe to do so. Requires post-construction hearings to be informal unless the NRC determines formal proceedings are necessary to resolve factual disputes. Authorizes the NRC to amend a combined license and permit a plant to operate pending a hearing on the amended license if the amendment does not raise significant safety issues. Title X: Uranium - Subtitle A: Uranium Enrichment - Uranium Enrichment Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to repeal the existing statutory contracting requirements applicable to uranium enrichment enterprises. Establishes the United States Enrichment Corporation as a wholly-owned Government corporation to conduct uranium marketing and enrichment activities as a commercial, profitable, self-financing enterprise. Sets forth the Corporation's corporate office and powers and vests its management in an Administrator (appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate). Grants the Secretary of Energy general supervision over such Administrator only with respect to national security and health and environmental concerns. Establishes a Corporate Board whose members shall be appointed by the President, and who shall advise the Administrator and the Secretary regarding Corporation matters. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) Corporation personnel; (2) certain property transfers from the Department of Energy; (3) the Corporation's capital structure; and (4) Corporation pricing policies, including user charges for decommissioning, decontamination, and remedial activities. Requires the Corporation to make annual status reports to certain congressional committees, the President, and the Secretary. Prescribes licensing and taxation guidelines for the Corporation. Sets guidelines for payments in lieu of taxes by the Corporation to States and local governments. Requires the Administrator to make recommendations to the President and the Congress by specified dates regarding the transfer of the Corporation's functions and assets to private ownership. Establishes the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund to cover the Corporation's decommission and decontamination expenses. Applies Federal environmental and occupational safety and health law to the Corporation as though it were privately owned. Exempts the Corporation from sequestration because the maximum deficit amount has been exceeded under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Prohibits the Corporation's total FY 1991 expenditures from exceeding its total FY 1991 receipts. Subtitle B: Uranium - Part 1: Short Title, Findings and Purpose, Definitions - Uranium Security and Tailings Reclamation Act of 1991 - Sets forth findings, purposes, and definitions of this title. Part 2: Uranium Revitalization - Directs the Corporation to establish for a minimum five-year period a voluntary overfeeding program to be made available to its enrichment services customers. ("Overfeeding" means the use of uranium in the enrichment process in excess of the amount required at the transactional tails assay, thus reducing customers' power costs). Provides that the resultant savings shall be credited to such customers. Establishes the National Strategic Uranium Reserve, consisting of 50,000,000 pounds of natural uranium, to be restricted to military purposes and Government research under the control of the Secretary. Confers continuing responsibility upon the Secretary for promotion of the domestic uranium industry, but without using any supervisory authority over the Corporation. Directs the Secretary to develop recommendations and implement Government programs promoting domestic uranium exports. Restricts all uranium purchases by Federal entities to uranium purchased from domestic producers. Exempts the TVA from such restriction. Part 3: Remedial Action for Active Processing Sites - Provides that remedial action costs such as decontamination, decommissioning, and reclamation at an active uranium or thorium processing site shall be borne by specified licensees for any activity resulting in byproduct material. Sets forth a reimbursement schedule for: (1) individual active site uranium licenses; (2) all active site uranium licensees; and (3) thorium licensees. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations governing such reimbursement. Authorizes appropriations. Part 4: Import of Uranium, Enriched Uranium, and Uranium Enrichment Services - Directs the United States International Trade Commission to investigate and report to the President and the Congress on whether non-market economy countries are exporting uranium, enriched uranium, or offering uranium enrichment services at prices below the cost of production or provision. Requires the President, if the investigation results are positive, to report to the Congress on what actions the Federal Government is taking to discourage or end such pricing practices. Requires the owner or operator of any civilian nuclear power reactor to report annually to the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, on the country of origin and the seller of any uranium, enriched uranium, or enrichment services the owner or operator has imported or purchased during the previous fiscal year. Requires such information to be made available to specified congressional committees. Directs the Secretary to encourage States and utility regulatory authorities to consider the objectives of this part, including the national need to avoid dependence on imports, when considering whether to allow electric power plant owners or operators to recover in customer rates and charges any cost of domestic uranium, enriched uranium, or enrichment services from a non-affiliated seller greater than the cost of such items from non-domestic sources. Authorizes the Secretary or the United States Enrichment Corporation to buy enriched uranium from other sources of enriched uranium at prices below, respectively, Department of Energy or Corporation production costs if such purchases are necessary to reduce production costs and maintain competitive prices. Title XI: Natural Gas - Amends the Natural Gas Act to authorize an optional certificate (OC) of public convenience and necessity procedure for the construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines. Directs FERC to issue OCs without a hearing if applicants are willing to accept terms and conditions attached to the certificate, including a prohibition on the recovery of OC facility costs in the rates for other facilities or services. Replaces the ordinary rate review procedure with a special complaint procedure in such instances. Requires FERC to conduct a hearing on the record about a proposed OC construction if such construction would result in the displacement of sales or transportation services being provided by a local distribution company (LDC). Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to authorize FERC to permit: (1) any interstate pipeline to transport natural gas; and (2) the construction of natural gas transportation facilities for interstate commerce. Outlines administrative procedures for FERC compliance with the requirements of the NEPA with respect to natural gas transportation. Requires FERC to conduct a hearing on the record about a proposed OC construction if such construction would result in the displacement of sales or transportation services being provided by an LDC. Declares that FERC issuance of a construction certificate is the only Federal action that may be considered a major Federal action requiring a detailed environmental impact statement (EIS). Requires FERC to permit contractors or consultants selected from a FERC-approved list and paid by the certificate applicant to prepare such required EISs and related documents. Sets forth administrative procedures for rates and charges, utilization of rulemaking procedures, and review of FERC orders. Declares that the formation or operation of an independent producer cooperative shall only be an illegal antitrust law violation if anticompetitive effects substantially outweigh the procompetitive effects. Declares that certain activities related to the sale and distribution of vehicular natural gas (VNG) shall not subject currently exempt entities to the jurisdiction of the Natural Gas Act. Provides that persons not otherwise public utilities may sell or transport VNG without becoming subject to the jurisdiction of State laws in effect before January 1, 1989. States that the VNG activities alone shall not subject a company to regulation under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) or change the status of companies already registered as gas utility companies. Provides for streamlining of the certificate issuance procedure, especially with respect to repair and replacement facilities, unopposed applications, evidence of need, and phased consideration of need and certificate applications. Authorizes FERC to order an interstate pipeline to interconnect with a production or gathering facility, or an intrastate or OC pipeline in the production area. Authorizes FERC, after a hearing, to exempt the natural gas cost component of a pipeline's rates from regulation after finding that the pipeline provided comparable transportation service and served a competitive market. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to provide that general policy discussions by all members of FERC do not constitute a meeting for Sunshine Act purposes. Title XII: Outer Continental Shelf - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to add a new title: the "Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Act". Establishes the Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund, to be funded by a specified percentage of all new revenue attributable to an Outer Continental Shelf lease any part of which is within 200 geographical miles of the coast line. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to annually transmit impact assistance from such Fund to coastal States according to prescribed guidelines. Requires a recipient coastal State to prioritize allocation of such revenues among its subdivisions which are socially or economically impacted by Outer Continental Shelf mineral development. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees on the availability of Outer Continental Shelf areas for oil and gas leasing, development and production. Title XIII: Research, Development, Demonstration and Commercialization Activities - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish priorities according to prescribed criteria for energy research and development and commercialization; and (2) submit to the Congress an accompanying management plan which shall be revised biennially. Requires the Secretary to implement a program: (1) promoting the development and commercialization of new and advanced natural gas utilization technologies; (2) of research and development to increase the recoverable natural gas resource base; (3) of research, development, and commercialization of specified high efficiency heat engines; (4) of research and development of oil shale; (5) of research on extracting oil from western oil shales (including, if appropriate, establishment of at least one field testing center); and (6) of research, development, and demonstration of a high-temperature superconducting electric power system. Authorizes appropriations. Amends REEETCA to repeal the authorization limitations for: (1) renewable energy research and development programs; and (2) energy efficiency research and development programs. Directs the Secretary to expand or institute programs of research, development, and demonstration for: (1) natural gas and electric heating and cooling technologies for residential and commercial buildings; (2) fusion energy that leads to electricity production after the year 2010; (3) techniques related to improving electric vehicles, electric-hybrid vehicles, and battery technology; and (4) increased economic recoverability of domestic oil resources including both advanced secondary oil recovery and tertiary oil recovery. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the development potential of domestic tar sands sources; (2) the potential costs and benefits of telecommuting; (3) the potential for minimizing the volume and toxic lifetime of nuclear waste; and (4) the adequacy of current programs and plans of nuclear waste management. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements with qualified entities to provide post-secondary science and mathematics education programs for low-income and first generation college students. Authorizes appropriations. Title XIV: Coal, Coal Technology, and Electricity - Subtitle A: Coal and Coal Technology - Requires the Secretary to conduct: (1) an advanced coal-based technology research and development program aimed at controlling sulfur and nitrogen oxides at greater proficiency levels (and report periodically to the Congress on the program's status); (2) a research and development program on technologies for non-fuel use of coal (after first submitting a plan to the Congress); (3) a research, development, demonstration, and commercialization program for coal refining technologies; (4) a research, development, and demonstration program for underground coal gasification technology for in-situ conversion of coal to a cleaner burning, easily transportable gaseous fuel; (5) a low-rank coal research and development program; (6) a proof-of-concept program in magnetohydrodynamics; and (7) a research, development, and demonstration program for using ultra-clean coal-water slurry in diesel locomotive engines. Requires the Secretary to submit to certain congressional committees a plan for the export of U.S. coal. Establishes the Clean Coal Technology Export Coordinating Council (Council) to: (1) expand the export and use of clean coal technologies (especially in lesser developed countries); and (2) develop a comprehensive data base and information dissemination system regarding their potential need and availability. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees regarding the status of technologies for combining coal with other materials. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a national clearinghouse for the exchange and dissemination of technical information on technology relating to coal and coal-derived fuels; and (2) study and report to the Congress on the institutional, legal, and regulatory barriers to increased use of coal combustion byproducts by potential governmental and commercial users. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a data base containing all transportation rates for specified modes of transporting domestic coal for a certain period; (2) study the rates and distribution patterns of domestic coal to determine the impact of Federal policies upon such patterns; and (3) report the data base and study results to the Congress. Subtitle B: Electricity - Declares that for purposes of the Clean Air Act certain physical or operational changes to an electric utility steam generating unit undertaken for purposes of pollution control shall not be treated as a modification if the change does not increase the maximum hourly emissions of any pollutant regulated under such Act above the maximum hourly emissions achievable at that unit during the last five years of operation before the change. Sets conditions for finding such a unit in compliance with technology requirements with respect to nitrogen oxide emissions. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on physical impediments to the transfer of excess electrical energy from regions with surplus electrical energy to regions experiencing shortages. Declares that State regulatory authorities are not required to base calculations of avoided cost, under the Public Utility Policies Act (PURPA), on the rates for or the costs of demonstration projects under the Federal clean coal technology program. Directs FERC to complete a rulemaking to establish a demonstration program for regulatory incentives to promote the development of clean coal technologies and other innovative control technologies that limit power plant emissions. Requires FERC to establish a process for negotiating with potential developers of such technology projects to agree upon cost caps for future projects and preapproval of project expenses if they fall within the agreed-upon cap. Encourages States to provide additional incentives for the implementation of clean coal technologies, and requires FERC to give priority in incentive rate treatment to units located in States with incentive programs. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on progress in encouraging State regulatory authorities to provide such incentives. Title XV: Public Utility Holding Company Act Reform - Defines an "exempt wholesale generator" (EWG) as a corporate entity: (1) engaged exclusively in the business of owning or operating all or part of one or more eligible facilities and selling electric energy at wholesale; and (2) exempt from corporate organizational restrictions under PUHCA. Permits registered utility holding companies, exempt utility holding companies, non-utilities, and other companies not currently subject to PUHCA to own EWGs without limitation. Declares that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shall continue to have jurisdiction over: (1) the issuance of securities by a registered utility holding company in order to finance the acquisition of an EWG; (2) the guarantee of securities of an EWG by such a holding company; and (3) service, sales and construction contracts between an EWG and such a holding company, including the creation or maintenance of any other relationship (except ownership). Prohibits FERC from approving a rate or charge for the sale of electricity by EWGs: (1) where a State commission would use the purchase of such electricity as the basis for not permitting recovery of existing capital investment by the purchasing utility (stranded investment); or (2) where the wholesale purchaser is merely a broker interposed for purposes of making an indirect sale to an industrial or other retail customer (sham wholesale transaction, also known as "cherry picking"). Declares that any rate or charge for the wholesale sale of electricity in interstate commerce by an EWG shall not be considered just and reasonable if it allows the EWG to receive undue advantage resulting from the fact that the purchaser is an affiliate or associate company of the EWG. Amends the Federal Power Act to grant State commissions in accordance with State law the authority to review the prudence of wholesale electricity purchases by utilities under their jurisdiction, except in certain instances involving allocation of power costs within registered utility holding company systems. Extends such authority even within such systems in instances involving purchase of power from EWGs. Amends PURPA to require State commissions to analyze the effects on reliability and utility purchasers of the use of leveraged capital structures by wholesale sellers of power (including EWGs) and the adequacy of fuel supplies employed by such sellers. Requires State commissions to consider reflecting the results of such analysis in approving or disapproving wholesale electricity purchases. Requires EWGs to make their books and records available to State commissions. Title XVI: Strategic Petroleum Reserve - Amends EPCA to add the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Enhancement Act of 1991. Directs the President to enlarge the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to 1,000,000,000 barrels as rapidly as possible. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to create a 10,000,000 barrel Defense Petroleum Inventory (DPI). Authorizes the President, acting through the Secretary, to: (1) acquire petroleum products for storage in the SPR or the DPI from foreign governments without competitive procurement; and (2) contract, without regard to certain provisions of EPCA and other Federal law, for storage in the SPR or the DPI of petroleum products owned by foreign governments.

Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991

Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require each eligible institution participating in any program under HEA title IV (Student Assistance) to include a statement of policy regarding the rights of victims of sexual assault, that complies with specified requirements, in its disclosure of campus security policy and campus crime statistics. Requires each institution of higher education to establish and implement a written policy establishing a campus sexual assault victims' bill of rights which provides that specified rights shall be accorded to such victims by all campus officers, administrators, and employees of such institution.

Middle Income Student Assistance Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991

Middle Income Student Assistance Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for student eligibility for Stafford loans without regard to an expected family contribution in the determination of need. Provides that any Stafford loan may be counted as part of the expected family contribution in the determination of need for certain other types of student assistance. Revises Pell Grant provisions relating to borrowing authority for adjustments for insufficient appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to expend, from the next succeeding fiscal year's appropriation for Pell Grants, necessary sums to meet any insufficiencies to satisfy full Pell Grant entitlements for the preceding fiscal year. Excludes, for Pell Grant and other student assistance program need analysis, the net value of the family's principal place of residence or a farm on which the family resides. Directs the Secretary to recommend to the Congress any changes necessary to achieve an equitable assessment of income and assets after the exclusion of such assets.

Student Incentive Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991

Student Incentive Act of 1991 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide for bonus grants for schools that require satisfactory grades for student participation in extracurricular activities, if such schools are eligible for assistance under the chapter 1 title I program for educationally disadvantaged children under such Act. Authorizes appropriations.

Youth Summer Camp and Conservation Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991

Youth Summer Camp and Conservation Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (the Secretaries) to jointly establish a summer camp program for children from low-income families in areas eligible for assistance under the urban park and recreation recovery program under the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (which is title X of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978). Requires such program to provide for contracts with private, nonprofit youth-oriented organizations under which funding will be provided to assist eligible children to attend summer camps, operated by such organizations, for recreational enjoyment and environmental education. Directs the Secretaries to expand the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program to offer youth opportunities for summer employment in a healthful outdoor atmosphere of the National Park System, the National Forest System, or other public land and water areas. Allows such program expansion to include both residential and non-residential camp opportunities. Requires allocation of such program expansion funding: (1) by the Secretary of the Interior among agencies of the Department of the Interior operating a YCC program, giving priority to those with existing programs; and (2) by the Secretary of Agriculture to the Forest Service to expand its existing YCC program. Provides for funding of programs under this Act by requiring additional fees to be paid by concession contractors of the National Park Service and special use permittees of the Forest Service, if their annual gross receipts or sales to the recreating public exceed $2,000,000. Sets such additional fees at two percent of the annual gross receipts or sales. Divides such funds as follows: (1) two-thirds for the summer camp program; and (2) one-third for the YCC program expansion for summer employment.

Leading Employers Into Apprentice Partnerships Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991

Leading Employers Into Apprentice Partnerships Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax exemption for organizations administering a qualified apprenticeship education program. Allows a general business credit of 20 percent of contributions made to such programs by a business.

Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1991

Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 - Title I - Part A: General Provisions - Declares that: (1) the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways is completed; (2) the principal purpose of Federal highway assistance shall henceforth be to improve the efficiency of the existing surface transportation system; and (3) it is U.S. policy to facilitate innovation and competition in transportation modes through Federal and State initiative, and to increase productivity in the transportation sector of the economy through systematic attention to costs and benefits. Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for the following programs: (1) surface transportation; (2) congestion mitigation and air quality improvement; (3) bridge; (4) interstate maintenance; (5) interstate construction (but repeals the existing FY 1993 authorization and a provision regarding minimum apportionments); (6) interstate substitution; (7) Federal lands highway; (8) territorial highway; (9) national magnetic levitation design; (10) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) research; (11) university transportation center; (12) highway use tax evasion; and (13) safety belt and motorcycle helmet use. Sets forth provisions with respect to obligation ceilings for Federal-aid highway programs, redistribution of unused obligation authority, and specified limitations. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a Surface Transportation Program (STP) to fund projects including: (1) construction, restoration, and operational improvement for highways and bridges, including the seismic retrofit and painting of bridges and other elevated structures; (2) capital costs for mass transit, passenger rail, publicly owned intra- or inter-city bus terminals and facilities, and magnetic levitation systems; (3) carpool projects, and parking and bicycle facilities and programs; (4) safety improvements and programs; (5) research and development; (6) transportation control measures under the Clean Air Act (CAA); and (7) other purposes approved by the Secretary. Authorizes the use of STP funds to mitigate wetland loss related to highway construction. Requires that 75 percent of STP funds be divided, based on their relative share of the State's population, between: (1) regions consisting of areas of the State with a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) population of 250,000 or greater and areas with an urbanized population of 50,000 or greater that are in nonattainment for ozone and carbon monoxide; and (2) all other areas of the State. Authorizes the distribution of the remaining 25 percent to any area of the State. Specifies that at least eight percent of the funds apportioned to a State must be reprogrammed for transportation enhancement activities. Specifies that: (1) the Federal share for projects under the STP is 80 percent, unless funds apportioned are used to construct new facilities or expand existing facilities available primarily to single-occupant vehicles (SOVs), in which case the Federal share is 75 percent; and (2) if the State constructs a facility not available to SOVs and subsequently makes the facility available to such vehicles, the State must repay with interest the increase in the Federal share of the project. Sets forth additional administrative requirements, including the requirement that the State submit an annual certification that it will meet all the requirements of this Act. Requires the State to notify the Secretary of the amount of obligation it plans to incur for STP projects during the fiscal year. Provides for an energy conservation, congestion mitigation, and clean air bonus program. Specifies that, beginning in FY 1993, for States with one or more MSAs with a population of 250,000 or more: (1) the amount of each State's STP funds shall be reduced by a factor of .9 if the State's vehicle miles of travel (VMT) per capita is more than 110 percent of its VMT in the base year (defined as 1990 for FY 1993 through 1995, and 1995 for subsequent fiscal years) and (2) such reductions in apportionments shall be placed in a Surface Transportation Bonus Fund, to be used to increase the amount of STP funds by a factor of 1.1 for each affected State if such State's VMT per capita is less than 90 percent of its VMT per capita in the base year. Specifies that the Federal share of capital projects that add capacity available to SOVs shall be 75 percent and for all other projects including projects for high occupancy vehicles (HOVs) that permit SOV use during the off-peak periods shall be 80 percent of construction costs. Directs the Secretary to develop and make available to the States guidance on how to determine what portion of a project qualifies for an 80 percent Federal share. Repeals a provision authorizing the Secretary to approve as a project on any Federal-aid system the construction of exclusive or preferential truck lanes. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to establish a congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program; and (2) funds under such program to be spent on projects that will contribute to attainment of air quality standards as determined by the guidance to be issued under the CAA by the Environmental Protection Agency (with exceptions), a State implementation plan under such Act, or the Secretary. Provides for the apportionment of funds to States based on their non-attainment area population, adjusted for the severity of the non-attainment problem. Specifies that the Federal/State match shall be 80/20. Makes apportionments under this Act available in nonattainment areas, with urbanized populations over 50,000 in proportion to their relative share of weighted nonattainment area population. Specifies minimum apportionments for States subject to specified air pollution control measures. Specifies that the Federal/State match to repair or replace existing bridges without increasing capacity shall be 80/20, but the match for construction of new capacity on existing bridges or construction of new bridges shall be 75/25 (currently, the match is 80/20 in such case). Makes bridge painting, seismic retrofit, and maintenance eligible uses of Federal funds. Repeals the discretionary bridge program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and make available to the States criteria for determining what share of a project is attributable to the expansion of bridge capacity where the new capacity is available to SOVs; and (2) establish "level of service" criteria for the bridge program. Bars the use of interstate maintenance funds to expand the capacity of any interstate highway or bridge where such new capacity consists of one or more new travel lanes that are not HOV or auxiliary lanes. Authorizes States to transfer up to 20 percent of interstate maintenance money to the STP and larger amounts if the State can demonstrate to the Secretary that they are adequately maintaining their interstate highways. Changes the Federal/State match for interstate maintenance from 90/10 to 80/20. Authorizes the Secretary to develop and make available to the States criteria for determining the share of an interstate maintenance project that is attributable to the expansion of the capacity of an interstate highway and what constitutes adequate maintenance. Specifies that segments added to the Interstate System (IS) before January 1, 1984 shall be counted towards a State apportionment of interstate maintenance funds. Directs the Secretary to make apportionments to the States to finish outstanding projects, except that specific amounts are specified for Massachusetts. Combines the public lands highways and forest highways accounts of the current Federal Lands Program. Provides for the apportionment of funds based on the existing formula for the Forest Highway Program. Repeals the current national policy against tolls on roads built or maintained with Federal funds. Authorizes the use of Federal funds to: (1) build new toll roads at a 35/65 Federal/non-Federal cost share; and (2) convert existing non-tolled facilities to toll facilities at an 80/20 cost share. Prohibits the imposition of new tolls on the IS. Authorizes the Secretary to permit Federal participation in the construction of ferryboats and ferry approaches, subject to specified conditions. Directs the Secretary to solicit participation of State and local governments and public authorities for one or more congestion pricing pilot projects. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with up to five such State or local governments or public authorities to establish, maintain, and monitor congestion pricing projects. Specifies the Federal share (100 percent for not more than three years). Directs the Secretary to fund all development and startup costs of such projects for at least one year and thereafter until sufficient revenues are generated by the program to fund its operating costs without Federal participation. Sets forth monitoring and reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to renegotiate specified agreements to permit the continuance of existing toll facilities without repayment of Federal funds. Requires (currently, authorizes) the designation of a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for each urbanized area of a State of over 50,000 population within any State by agreement among the Governor and the units of general purpose local government. Requires that MPOs: (1) in existence on or before October 1, 1991 be considered so designated; and (2) that represent portions of multi-State metropolitan areas, where feasible, provide for coordinated transportation planning for the entire metropolitan area by adopting a single transportation improvement program for such area. Authorizes the Governor of any other State to enter into such agreements as necessary with the Governor of any other State to provide for comprehensive multi-State transportation planning for metropolitan areas that encompass portions of more than one State. Specifies that: (1) plans developed by an MPO shall take into account the requirements of the CAA, local land use or energy plans, and other factors, such as the need for connectivity of roads within the metropolitan area with those outside such area; and (2) the MPO shall develop a transportation improvement program that is consistent with the long range transportation plan developed by the MPO, conforms with the applicable State implementation plan developed pursuant to the CAA, and includes a priority list of projects to be carried out within three years after initial adoption of the program. Sets forth provisions with respect to the selection of projects. Increases the current Federal set-aside for metropolitan planning from .5 to one percent of Federal highway funds. Requires each State to have management systems for bridges, pavement, safety, and congestion with exceptions, and a traffic monitoring system, as well as a planning process that takes into account land use, energy requirements, transportation needs, and other factors. Requires States that contain non-attainment areas under the CAA to produce an annual State transportation plan, incorporating without amendment the provisions of any metropolitan area plan developed pursuant to this Act. Directs FHWA to conduct research on Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHSs) and other new technologies, and develop indicators to measure the performance of the surface transportation system with respect to productivity, efficiency, energy use, air quality, and other factors. Directs the Secretary to create a Dwight D. Eisenhower transportation research fellowship program. Changes the Federal/State match for State research activities from 85/15 to 80/20. Allows States to program research funds without approval of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Establishes within DOT a Bureau of Transportation Statistics to collect, analyze, and disseminate information about the condition and performance of the entire transportation system. Specifies that such Bureau shall: (1) be headed by a Director who is appointed by the President; and (2) produce annual reports. Directs the Administrator of the FHWA to: (1) conduct fundamental chemical and physical property studies of petroleum and modified asphalts used in highway construction in the United States with the primary emphasis of prediction of pavement performance; (2) contract with a non-profit organization with demonstrated expertise in research associated in such areas to undertake the necessary technical and analytical research in coordination with existing programs; and (3) implement a test strip to demonstrate and evaluate unique energy and environmental advantages of the use of shale oil modified asphalts under extreme climate conditions. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth reporting requirements. Establishes a National Magnetic Levitation Design Program to be managed jointly by the Secretary of DOT and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Requires such officials to establish a National Maglev Joint Project Office to carry out such program and to solicit bids from the private sector to design and construct a prototype magnetic levitation system. Requires the Secretary and Assistant Secretary to develop a national strategic plan for the design and construction of a national magnetic levitation surface transportation system, which shall include consideration of other modes of high speed surface transportation, such as high speed rail. Requires the plan to be completed and transmitted to specified congressional committees within 18 months. Specifies that: (1) phase one grants shall be given to up to six applicants to develop a conceptual design for the system at a 90/10 cost share; (2) phase two grants shall be given to up to three participants to develop detailed plans at an 80/20 cost share (and a contract for construction awarded at a 75/25 cost share); and (3) the prototype shall be constructed and ready for operational testing within three years after the award of the grant, and shall be converted to commercial operation after testing is complete. Directs the Secretary, in any case where sufficient land exists within the publicly acquired rights-of-way of any highway constructed in whole or in part with Federal-aid highway funds to accommodate needed passenger or commuter high speed ground transportation (including magnetic levitation) systems and highway and non-highway public mass transit facilities, to authorize a State to make such lands and rights-of-way available without charge to a publicly or privately owned authority or company for such purposes. (Under current law, the Administrator may make such authorization to a publicly owned mass transit authority when in the public interest with respect to rights-of-way of any Federal-aid highway to accommodate needed rail or nonhighway public mass transit facilities where this can be accomplished without impairing automotive safety or future highway improvements). Grants the States a right to income from airspace rights-of-way contingent upon such States' permitting governmental use, use by public or private entities for high speed ground transportation systems, or other transit, utility use, and occupancy where such use or occupancy is necessary for an authorized transportation project, or use for transportation projects eligible for assistance, without charge. Directs the Secretary, by October 1, 1993, to update the findings of the report required by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 to determine the amount the United States could pay the States to reimburse them for segments incorporated into the IS that were constructed at non-Federal expense. Continues current law with respect to disadvantaged business enterprises. Modifies the dollar amount used to define a small business to adjust for inflation. Makes funds under Federal highway provisions available in the year in which they are apportioned or allocated and in the next three years. Requires that: (1) all STP projects be designed, constructed, operated, and maintained in accordance with applicable State requirements; and (2) the design and construction standards adopted by States for projects on principal arterials be those approved by the Secretary in cooperation with State highway departments and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Authorizes any State to request that the Secretary no longer review and approve design and construction standards for any project other than a project on an interstate highway or other multi-land access control highways. Directs the Secretary, after receiving any such request, to undertake project review only as requested by the State, provided that such State complies with the requirements of all other applicable Federal laws and regulations. Authorizes a State highway or transportation department to establish maintenance standards for projects constructed pursuant to Federal highway provisions, subject to annual approval by the Secretary (which may not be withheld if a State is meeting its own standards for routine maintenance). Requires such department to establish the occupancy requirements of vehicles operating in HOV lanes, but requires no fewer than two occupants for such lanes. Specifies that, for purposes of this Act, motorcycles and bicycles shall not be considered SOVs and that nothing in this Act alters the requirement that each State allow the operation of motorcycles in HOV lanes unless the State certifies that such operation would create a safety hazard. Requires a State to repay all Federal funds for preliminary engineering for any project that has not advanced to construction or acquisition of right-of-way within ten years (currently, after a period of time) of receipt of such funds. Specifies that projects that affect historic and scenic values may be designed to protect such values. Requires States that do not adopt laws mandating the use of safety belts and motorcycle helmets to set aside a portion of funds received under the STP for highway safety programs (1.5 percent for noncompliance in FY 1994 and three percent thereafter). Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for safety education, training, monitoring, and enforcement to States that adopt safety belt and helmet laws. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of differences in injuries, medical costs, payor mix, and unreimbursed costs of restrained and unrestrained, helmeted and nonhelmeted victims of motor vehicle and motorcycle crashes. Makes public education and information activities in support of State and community motorcycle safety and safety belt programs eligible for funds authorized to be appropriated for such study. Allows a State to use as a credit toward meeting non-Federal matching requirements non-Federal capital expenditures on facilities that serve interstate commerce, provided such State maintains its aggregate non-Federal transportation capital spending at a level at or above the average of such spending for the preceding three fiscal years. Specifies that use of such credit shall not expose public, quasi-public, or private agencies from which the credit is calculated to any additional Federal oversight, regulation, or liability. Increases the period within which construction must be commenced on a right-of-way funded from the right-of-way revolving fund from ten to 20 years. Authorizes Federal reimbursement of a State for costs to acquire rights-of-way in advance of Federal approval or authorization and land necessary to preserve environmental and scenic values if specified conditions are met. Eliminates the requirement that right-of-way revolving fund advances be for projects on the Federal-aid System. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress a study of alternative transportation modes for use in the National Park System, considering economic and technical feasibility, environmental effects, projected costs and benefits, general suitability of transportation modes, and methods to obtain private capital for construction. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to revise the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices to include a standard for a minimum level of retroreflectivity that must be maintained for pavement markings and signs and locate a standard to define the functional classification of roads that must have a center line, edge lines, or both. Bars the Secretary from making grants under Federal highway provisions to States that fail to provide certification that not less than ten percent of the asphalt pavement laid in the State in a given year, which was financed in whole or in part by such grants, involved the use of rubber-modified asphalt, starting four years after the enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish a phase-in period; and (2) set aside such provisions, establish a rubber-modified asphalt pavement utilization percentage of less than ten percent in a particular State, or grant a State credit toward the ten percent requirement, under specified circumstances. Expands projects eligible for right-of-way revolving fund advances to include passenger rail facilities. Creates a National Scenic and Historic Byways Program and an Office of Scenic and Historic Byways within the FHWA. Directs: (1) such Office to provide technical assistance to the States and provide grants for the planning, design, and development of State scenic byway programs; and (2) the Secretary to establish criteria for roads to be designated as part of an All American Roads Program, designate such roads, and establish criteria for the allocation of funds to the States. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, within two years, to submit to the Congress a proposal for a National Highway System (NHS) to provide an intercontinental system of principal arterial routes, meet national defense requirements, and serve interstate and interregional travel. Specifies that such NHS shall consist of highways on the IS and other specified urban and rural principal arterials, including toll facilities. Directs the States and U.S. territories to complete a functional reclassification, to be updated periodically, of all public roads by September 30, 1993. Continues the authorization for the DOT's public information program, Operation Lifesaver. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a Timber Bridge Construction Discretionary Grant Program. Makes $5,000,000 available for obligation at the Secretary's discretion for such program. Specifies that the Federal share payable on any timber bridge construction project shall be 80 percent. Establishes criteria for selecting and approving grants. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a Program of Research on Wood Use in Transportation Structures. Makes $1,000,000 available for obligation at the Secretary's discretion for such program. Specifies that the Federal share payable on any research grant shall be 100 percent. Delineates areas of research authorized. Directs the Secretary to assure that information and technology resulting from research is transferred to State and local transportation departments and other interested parties. Authorizes (currently, requires) the Secretary to penalize a State for not making provisions for "effective control" of outdoor advertising along the IS by reducing the State allotment by up to five percent (currently, by ten percent) of its apportionment. Provides, as part of effective control, that: (1) each State shall maintain an annual inventory of all outdoor advertising signs, displays, and devices (signs) required to be controlled, identifying all such signs as either illegal, nonconforming, or conforming under State law; (2) each State shall assure that signs required to be removed under this title are removed within 90 days of the date upon which they become unlawful (or if not unlawful, the date upon which they must be removed pursuant to State or local law) or, if eligible to receive compensation pursuant to this title or to be authorized, the date upon which cash compensation is paid or the State or local authorization period ends; (3) no State may allow or undertake any vegetation removal or other alteration of the highway right-of-way with the purpose of improving the visibility of any outdoor advertising sign located outside the right-of-way; and (4) no State may permit any person to modify any outdoor advertising sign which does not conform to provisions of this title to improve its visibility or prolong its useful life. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to the removal of signs and costs incurred for such removal. Limits the use of longer combination vehicles (LCVs) on the IS to those places, and under the conditions now imposed, where they are allowed on or before June 1, 1991. (Defines an LCV as a truck tractor with two or more trailers or semi-trailers, with a gross vehicle weight of more than 80,000 pounds.) Repeals provisions: (1) requiring each State to certify annually that it is enforcing all speed limits on public highways posted at the national maximum speed limit; (2) requiring the Secretary to withhold project approval in any State that fails to certify accordingly; (3) requiring States to submit to the Secretary compliance data for a 12-month period on the percentage of motor vehicles exceeding 55 miles per hour (mph) on their public highways posted at 55; and (4) establishing a process under which a State could lose up to ten percent of its non-interstate highway construction funds for the following fiscal year if the State's 12-month compliance data show that more than 50 percent of its motorists exceeded the posted 55 mph limit. Requires each State to: (1) submit to the Secretary speed-related data as the Secretary determines necessary for each 12-month period ending on September 30, in accordance with criteria to be established by the Secretary, including data on citations and travel speeds on public highways with speed limits posted at or above 55 mph; and (2) certify to the Secretary before January 1 of each year that it is enforcing all speed limits on public highways in accordance with Federal highway provisions. Prohibits the Secretary from approving projects in States which fail to make such certification. Requires States, in preparing such certification, to consider the speed-related data that it submits to the Secretary. Part B: National Recreational Trails Trust Fund Act - National Recreational Trails Trust Fund Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the National Recreational Trails Trust Fund (Fund). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to pay into the Fund an amount equivalent to .3 percent of total HTF receipts, to be adjusted by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to use such amounts in the Fund to make grants to the States for constructing and maintaining recreational trails. Establishes the National Recreational Trails Act Advisory Committee. Part C: Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems Act - Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary to conduct a program to promote and facilitate the implementation of IVHS as a component of the nation's surface transportation systems to enhance the capacity, efficiency, and safety of the Federal-aid highway system, reduce societal, economic, and environmental costs associated with traffic congestion, and enhance U.S. industrial and economic competitiveness and productivity. Requires the Secretary to: (1) coordinate an IVHS program and foster its use; (2) develop and implement standards to promote the widespread use and evaluation of IVHS technology (to the extent practicable, promoting compatibility among IVHS technologies implemented throughout the States); (3) establish guidelines and requirements for the evaluation of field and related operational tests; and (4) establish a repository for technical and safety data collected as a result of federally sponsored projects pursuant to this title. Authorizes the Secretary to utilize advisory committees in carrying out responsibilities under this title. Directs the Secretary: (1) within 12 months, to formulate (and submit to the Congress) a strategic plan for the IVHS program; (2) within 24 months and annually thereafter, to submit reports to the Congress on implementation of such plan; and (3) within 24 months, to submit a report to the Congress (and within five years, to update such report) addressing the non-technical constraints to all aspects of the innovation of such program, including antitrust, privacy, staffing, patent, and liability concerns, recommending legislation and administrative action, and addressing ways to further promote industry and State and local government involvement in such program. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide planning and technical assistance to State and local governments seeking to use and evaluate IVHS technologies; and (2) make grants for feasibility and planning studies to be conducted by State and local governments. Sets forth provisions with respect to funding and eligibility requirements, and priorities for funding projects. Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate transportation corridors in which application of IVHS will have particular benefit and, through financial and technical assistance, assist in the implementation of such systems; and (2) allocate not less than 50 percent of funds for such purpose to eligible States or local entities having several of specified characteristics, such as traffic density at least 1.5 times the national average, severe or extreme nonattainment for ozone, and complexity of traffic patterns. Specifies that the Federal share for activities authorized pursuant to this title shall be 80 percent of the cost.

Civil Rights and Remedies Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1991

Civil Rights and Remedies Act of 1991 - Amends Federal law to allow compensatory damages and equitable civil penalty for intentional employment discrimination on the basis of religion, sex, national origin, or disability. Limits nonpecuniary compensatory damages and the civil penalty to specified dollar amounts, with higher limits for employers with over 100 employees. Prohibits prejudgment interest on compensatory damages. Allows the equitable penalty when there is malice or reckless indifference to the federally protected rights of an aggrieved individual. Requires, if such a penalty is imposed, awarding attorney's and expert witness fees. Prohibits subtracting those fees from the penalty. Allows a court to direct that the penalty be expended, in whole or in part, to correct discriminatory practices at the place of employment or in the community in which the discriminatory practice occurred, using the funds for actions such as public awareness or education programs. Requires that any amounts of the equitable penalty not directed to be used for such corrective actions be deposited in the Equal Employment Enforcement Trust Fund established by this Act. Allows any party, if compensatory damages are sought, to demand a jury trial. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Treasury the Equal Employment Enforcement Trust Fund consisting of amounts equivalent to the equitable civil penalties under this Act not used to take corrective actions where the discriminatory practice occurred. Requires that, as provided in appropriations Acts: (1) half of the amounts in the Fund be available for carrying out enforcement provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and (2) half be available for carrying out specified provisions of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Declares that: (1) the rights and protections under the amendment made by this Act shall apply with respect to any employee in an employment position in the Senate and any employing authority of the Senate, with enforcement and adjudication within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Senate; and (2) provisions of this Act setting forth related requirements and procedures are enacted by the Senate as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and may be changed as any other rule of the Senate. Declares that: (1) the rights and protections under the amendment made by this Act shall apply with respect to any employee in an employment position in the House of Representatives and any employing authority of the House, with remedies and procedures as described in a specified House Resolution; and (2) the provisions of this Act relating to such Resolution are enacted by the House as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House and may be changed as any other rule of the House. Declares that the rights and protections under the amendment made by this Act shall apply with respect to any employee in an employment position in an instrumentality of the Congress and any chief official of the instrumentality, with the chief official establishing the remedies and procedures to be used. Defines instrumentalities of the Congress to include the Architect of the Capitol, the Congressional Budget Office, the General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the United States Botanic Garden.

Adoption Assistance and Maternal Certificates Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1991

Adoption Assistance and Maternal Certificates Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate grants to ten States to establish demonstration programs to provide maternal health certificates to low-income pregnant females residing or awaiting residence in, or receiving outpatient services from, a maternity home. Requires eligible maternity homes to provide a range of services in accordance with standards promulgated under this Act, including regarding room and board, medical care, and counseling and services concerning health, adoption, education, vocation, or employment. Limits the time period covered and the dollar amounts paid per day. Requires matching funds from a State agency, the home, or both. Prohibits requiring a woman, in order to be eligible for this program, to participate in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program under title IV of the Social Security Act. Authorizes appropriations. Requires that adoption data from private agencies that receive Federal assistance (and voluntarily-released data from private agencies that receive no Federal assistance) be included in an existing system of data collection, under the Social Security Act, relating to adoption and foster care Requires an adoption or foster care agency that receives Federal assistance to disclose, to prospective adoptive and foster parents, information about the history of the child, including: (1) medical history; (2) social background; (3) information about the placement of the child; and (4) any record of abuse or neglect. Makes it unlawful to discriminate against an individual in the making, performance, modification, or termination of an insurance contract (defined as a health or life insurance contract which provides family coverage) on the basis of the fact that a son or daughter of the individual is not a biological child of the individual. Declares it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an employee with respect to a term or condition of any leave benefit on the basis of the fact that a son or daughter is not a biological child of the employee. Defines "son or daughter," for both such insurance and such employment discrimination, to mean a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, a child placed for adoption, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is: (1) under 18 years old; or (2) 18 years old or older and incapable of self care. Allows any person to bring a civil action for equitable relief, damages and interest, and attorney's fees. Amends the Social Security Act to add to the formula, used for determining the amount of payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance, provisions relating to expenditures for recruitment of adoptive parents for a child with special needs. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 to remove provisions terminating, on a specified date, a program for reimbursement for adoption expenses incurred by a member of the armed forces.

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1992

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1991

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1992 - Title I: Military Personnel - Appropriates funds for FY 1992 for military 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 1992 for the operation and maintenance of the Army, (including a transfer of funds) Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, the defense agencies (including a transfer of funds), the respective reserve components, and the Army and Air National Guards. Appropriates funds for the Army's National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, the Court of Military Appeals, environmental restoration (including a transfer of funds), humanitarian assistance, and for support and services for the World University Games. Title III: Procurement - Appropriates funds for FY 1992 for the procurement by the Army of aircraft, missiles, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, and ammunition and for other procurement. Appropriates funds to the Navy for the procurement of aircraft, (including a transfer of funds) weapons, and shipbuilding and conversion and for other procurement. Appropriates funds for Marine Corps procurement. Appropriates funds for procurement by the Air Force of aircraft and missiles and for other procurement. Appropriates funds for: (1) National Guard and Reserve equipment; (2) procurement by the defense agencies; (3) Defense Production Act purchases; and (4) procurement of prepositioning equipment. Title IV: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Appropriates funds for FY 1992 for research, development, test, and evaluation by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and defense agencies (including a transfer of funds). Appropriates funds for the expenses of the Deputy Director of Defense Research and Engineering (Test and Evaluation) and the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. Title V: Defense Business Operations Fund - Establishes in the Treasury the Defense Business Operations Fund and appropriates specified amounts to such fund. Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs - Appropriates funds for: (1) the destruction of lethal chemical agents and munitions; (2) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities, defense (including a transfer of funds); and (3) expenses and activities of the Office of the Inspector General for 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; and (2) the Intelligence Community Staff. Title VIII: General Provisions - Prohibits the use of appropriations for unauthorized publicity or propaganda. Exempts during FY 1992 Department of Defense (DOD) personnel from provisions of law prohibiting the employment of non-U.S. citizens. Provides that no part of any appropriation contained in this Act may remain available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year, unless expressly so provided. Prohibits the obligation of more than 20 percent of the funds appropriated by this Act during the last two months of the fiscal year, except as specified. Prohibits the use of appropriations for the procurement of any food, clothing, specified cloth (including cotton, silk, and wool) or synthetic fabrics, or specified metals not grown, produced, or processed within the United States, with specified exceptions. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense, in the national interest and with the approval of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to transfer and merge specified working capital funds. Directs the Secretary to notify the Congress of all such transfers. Limits the cash balances which may be maintained in such funds. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for: (1) the purchase of coal or coke from foreign nations for use at U.S. defense facilities when U.S. coal is available; (2) heating plant fuel conversion at defense facilities in Europe; (3) the conversion of any heating facility at military installations in the Kaiserslautern Military Community in Germany, except as provided under Federal law and after a certain notification from the Secretary to the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations; (4) the initiation of a special access program without prior notification to the appropriations and armed services committees; (5) the preparation of a request to the appropriations committees for a reprogramming of funds, except as specified; (6) certain claims for physician or provider reimbursement for medical services provided under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) in excess of those allowed for FY 1991; (7) programs of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) beyond FY 1992, with a specified exception; (8) initiating a multiyear contract that employs economic order quantity procurement in excess of specified amounts, unless proper congressional notification is given; (9) any intelligence or special activity different from an activity previously justified to the Congress unless the Secretary has notified the appropriations committees of the intent to make such funds available for such activity; or (10) converting certain military technician positions to positions to be held by persons in active Guard or Reserve status if such conversion would reduce the number of military technicians below a specified amount. Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to include civilian military technicians in any administratively imposed freeze on civilian positions. Eliminates during FY 1992 the requirement that the Congress must authorize by law the end-strengths for civilian personnel in DOD. Prohibits setting any end-strength limitations for such personnel during FY 1992. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for: (1) congressional lobbying; (2) the pay of certain nonmilitary Army Reserve technicians; (3) purchasing of dogs or cats to study the medical treatment of wounds; and (4) floating storage for petroleum products in non-U.S. vessels. Permits the appropriation of funds for humanitarian and civic assistance costs incident to authorized operations of the armed forces. Authorizes the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force to retain in active status until age 60 certain officers who need such status in order to maintain employment as a National Guard or Reserve technician. Permits the use of operation and maintenance funds provided under this Act for studies and demonstration projects relating to the delivery of military health and medical care. Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to make contributions to the Department of Defense Education Benefits Fund for educational assistance for a member of the armed forces who enlists for less than three years or receives an enlistment bonus. Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act for the basic pay and allowances of a member of the Army participating as a full-time student and receiving benefits through the Secretary of Veterans Affairs when time spent as a full-time student is credited toward completion of a service commitment. Limits the availability of appropriations to specified percentages of postsecondary educational costs for off-duty training of military personnel. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for conversion to contractor performance of an activity or function of DOD that is currently performed by more than ten civilian DOD employees until a cost-analysis on such performance is completed and certified to the appropriations committees. Prohibits the use of funds for the procurement of 120mm mortars or ammunition for such mortars if manufactured outside the United States. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for the payment of salaries of any persons who authorize the transfer of unobligated or deobligated funds into the Reserve for Contingencies of the CIA. Requires funds appropriated under this Act for CIA construction projects to remain available until expended. Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to use specified funds to charter ships for use as auxiliary minesweepers, under specified conditions. Limits the amount of funds available from this Act for the execution of a contract for the CHAMPUS Reform Initiative. Permits the use of appropriated funds to fully utilize the facilities at the U.S. Army Engineer's Waterways Experiment Station, with a specified exception. Prohibits this Act's funds from being used by a military department to modify an aircraft, weapon, ship, or other item of equipment if such item is to be retired or otherwise disposed of within five years after completion of the modification, with specified exceptions. Specifies the definition of "program, project, and activity" for appropriations contained in this Act for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Earmarks specified funds appropriated to the Army under this Act for the Reserve Component Automation System (RCAS), with certain expenditure limitations. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for fixed-price contracts exceeding $10,000,000 for the development of a major defense system or subsystem, unless the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and the Secretary of Defense take certain action. Provides that monetary limitations on the purchase price of passenger motor vehicles shall not apply to vehicles purchased for certain intelligence activities. Earmarks specified funds for the construction of classified military projects within the continental United States. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for the procurement of welded shipboard anchor and mooring changes manufactured outside the United States. Authorizes DOD to transfer prior-year unobligated balances to the operations and maintenance appropriations of the reserve components in order to provide military technician and DOD medical personnel pay and medical programs the same exemption from the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act as is currently granted to other military personnel accounts, with specified exceptions. Prohibits any funds available to the Department of the Navy from being used to enter into any contract for the overhaul, repair, or maintenance of any naval vessel on the west coast which includes interport differential charges as a factor for the award of such contract. Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act for CHAMPUS programs from being used to reimburse any health care provider for inpatient mental health services in excess of specified periods (depending on one's age), or for care received when a patient is referred to a provider of such care by a medical or health care professional having an economic interest in the facility to which the patient is referred, with specified exceptions. Requires the designs of specified military aircraft to incorporate certain standard avionics specifications by no later than 1998. Provides for the accounting treatment of expenses incurred by the United States in monitoring Soviet implementation of the INF Treaty. Reduces the total amount appropriated to DOD by this Act to reflect savings resulting from the decreased use of consulting services by DOD. Provides funds from this Act for transportation to annual meeting in the United States. of individuals who have been prisoners of war or missing in action from the Vietnam era. Requires limited funds to be available to the Air Force to execute the cleanup of uncontrolled hazardous waste contamination affecting a sale parcel of land at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. Provides for the return of deposit if the purchaser of such parcel exercises the option to withdraw from its sale. Provides reimbursement to the Air Force after a sale is completed for cleanup expenditures in excess of a specified amount. Prohibits funds available to the Department of the Navy from being used to implement certain automated data processing or information technology facility consolidation plans or to make reductions or transfers of personnel in connection with such plans until a congressional notification requirement has been met by the Secretary. Prohibits funds from this Act from being obligated or expended to prepare, or to assist any defense contractor in preparing, any material with respect to economic or employment impact in a State of an acquisition program for which all research, development, testing and evaluation has not been completed. Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being available for a contract for studies, analyses, or consulting services entered into without competition on the basis of an unsolicited proposal unless the head of the activity responsible for the procurement makes certain determinations with respect to such contract. Prohibits the use of DOD funds under this Act to dispose of specified unserviceable M1 rifles and carbines. Prohibits this Act's funds from being used to pay more than 50 percent of a lump-sum reenlistment bonus. Prohibits this Act's funds from being used to assign a supervisor's title or grade when the number of people he or she supervises is considered as a basis for such determination. Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act for the CHAMPUS program from being used for the payment of certain deductible charges required for medical care authorized for spouses and children of members of the armed forces on active duty for 30 days or more and received on an outpatient basis after April 1, 1991, with specified exceptions and limitations. Prohibits Navy funds appropriated by this or any other Act from being used to carry out an electromagnetic pulse program in the Chesapeake Bay area in connection with the Electromagnetic Pulse Radiation Environment Simulator for Ships (EMPRESS) program until the Secretary has made certain certifications to the Congress concerning the importance of such program. Limits the funds available for a health care demonstration project regarding chiropractic care required by the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1985. Prohibits this Act's funds from being used to pay health care providers under CHAMPUS for services determined to be not medically or psychologically necessary. Requires sums for FY 1992 pay raises for programs funded by this Act to be absorbed within the levels appropriated in this Act. Prohibits funds available in this Act from being used for: (1) payments under a DOD contract with the Louisiana State University Medical Center involving the use of cats for wound research; or (2) conducting bone trauma research at the Letterman Army Institute of Research until the Secretary of the Army makes certain certifications. Requires the Secretary to include in any base closure and realignment plan submitted to the Congress a complete review for FY 1991 through 1995, which includes specified information relating to force structures and cost savings after such closure or realignment. Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being used to reduce the FY 1992 two and a half or five-ton truck maintenance workload at letterkenny Army Depot as a result of the consolidation of truck maintenance activities or an increase of such maintenance at any other depot. Prohibits funds from being used to transfer towed and self-propelled artillery maintenance from such Depot. Limits the amount of funds to be used for any single relocation of an organization, unit, activity, or function of DOD into or within the National Capital Region. Provides for the waiver of such limitation in certain cases. Prohibits this Act's funds from being used for: (1) producing more than two-thirds of the liquid gas requirements in-house at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; (2) reducing the end strength and force structure of DOD reserve components below the levels funded in this Act; or (3) reducing or disestablishing the operation of reserve units below those in existence on April 15, 1991. Allows appropriated funds to be used for the pay, allowances, and benefits of Federal or District of Columbia employees who are members of the reserve or National Guard, who perform Federal or military service to enforce the law or provide assistance to civil authorities in the protection or saving of life or property, and who request and are granted leave. Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being used to: (1) initiate or continue any cost study pursuant to Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76; or (2) begin closing a military treatment facility unless the Secretary notifies the appropriations committees. Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act for the American Forces Information Service from being used for any national or international political or psychological activities. Prohibits this Act's funds from being used for the recruitment or enrollment of new students at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences for any class commencing after September 30, 1991. Requires all DOD software to be written in the programming language Ada after June 1, 1991, in the absence of a special exemption. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to adjust the wage rates of certain civilian employees hired for certain health care occupations as authorized for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the direct care of veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prohibits funds available to DOD from being used for the training or utilization of psychologists in the prescription of drugs, except upon the findings and recommendations of a specified Army Blue Ribbon Panel. Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being used for reducing the military and civilian work force at any military medical facility or medical support facility below the level maintained or authorized for FY 1990. Rescinds specified funds as provided in DOD appropriation Acts. Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1991 to terminate the National Commission on Defense and National Security 30 days after submission of its final report. Removes the requirement that such Commission submit five annual reports, instead requiring only an initial and final report. Authorizes the Chairman of the Commission to obtain necessary information from Federal departments or agencies. Earmarks funds made available in this Act for the Civil Air Patrol. Prohibits funds appropriated or made available in this Act from being used to reduce or disestablish the operation of the 815th Tactical Airlift Squadron of the Air Force Reserve if such action would reduce the WC-130 weather reconnaisance mission below the levels funded in this Act. Earmarks DOD operation and maintenance funds made available in this Act for transporting beef for resale in DOD commissaries in foreign countries. Requires, in the use of funds for the procurement of supplies or services appropriated by this Act, that qualified nonprofit agencies for the blind or other severly handicapped be afforded the maximum opportunity to participate as subcontractors and suppliers in the performance of DOD contracts. Earmarks specified funds for the National Drug Intelligence Center. Provides that certain numerical restrictions on the number of flag or general officers serving on active duty shall not apply in the case of such officers serving as full-time practicing physicians. Authorizes any CHAMPUS medical provider to voluntarily waive the patient copayment required for medical services provided to dependents of active-duty personnel from August 2, 1990, until the return of the troops from the Persian Gulf theater, as long as the Government's share of such services is not increased during such period. Limits the sources of funding for the Mitchell Field Health Care Facility in New York. Authorizes the Navy, during FY 1992, to provide notice to exercise options under the LEASAT program for the next fiscal year. Establishes the Foreign National Employees Separation Pay Account, Defense, to provide separation pay to foreign national employees of DOD. Places certain spending limitations on intelligence program funds which are transferred from DOD to another Federal agency for execution. Earmarks specified Navy R&D funds for the V-22 aircraft program. Specifies the manner in which prior-year appropriations for the V-22 program shall be expended. Directs the Secretary to provide the Congress with the total funding plan and schedule to complete the Phase II V-22 full-scale engineering development program. Provides that, during FY 1992, third party payments for health care provided in a military medical facility shall be available for the use of such facility and shall be over and above its direct budget amount. Directs the Secretary to transfer specified funds within DOD accounts. Authorizes the President, during FY 1992 through 1994, to acquire not less than 50,000 kilograms of germanium from current domestic sources to be held in the National Defense Stockpile. Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to: (1) procure a Multibeam Sonar Mapping System not manufactured in the United States; (2) implement more than 15 catchment area management demonstration sites; or (3) fill the commander's position at any military medical facility with a medical doctor unless such person is a trained professional administrator. Earmarks specified funds to CHAMPUS for the payment of expenses of former members of the armed forces who are 100 percent disabled as well as their dependents notwithstanding their coverage for health insurance benefits under Parts A and B of Title XVII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Authorizes certain prior-year funds to be used for the purchase of passenger motor vehicles. Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 1992, to accept burdensharing contributions from the Republic of Korea for the cost of local national employees, supplies, and services of DOD. Exempts the Coast Guard from the assessment of surcharges against stock and industrial fund customers with respect to transactions between the stock and industrial funds of the Coast Guard and DOD. Repeals a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 which requires a 20 percent reduction in the defense acquisition workforce by the end of FY 1995. Prohibits during FY 1992 the incurring of obligations against DOD stock funds in excess of 90 percent of sales from such funds during such fiscal year. Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used for: (1) the compensation of military and civilian personnel assigned to specified naval systems and engineering commands in excess of 75 percent of the number assigned to such commands as of the end of FY 1991; and (2) reducing or disestablishing the operation of the P-3 squadrons of the Navy Reserve below the levels funded in this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Navy to obligate and expend funds appropriated during FY 1991 and 1992 for the modernization of P-3B aircraft of the Navy Reserve. Prohibits funds made available to the Army for FY 1990 through 1992 for C-23 aircraft which remain available for obligation from being used except to maintain commonality with C-23 Sherpa aircraft already in the Army National Guard. Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used for: (1) any contract or grant with a university or other institution of higher learning unless such contract undergoes certain audit procedures and the institution responds fully to all requests for financial information; (2) costs associated with a federally funded research and development center if a member of the Board of Directors of such center simultaneously serves on the Board of Directors of a company under contract to DOD; (3) paying the salaries of more than four senior executives within the Navy Comptroller organization, or for compensation to such individuals at more than a specified rate; (4) paying the salaries of debarment/suspension officials unless such officials are assigned to a consolidated office of debarment and suspension within the Office of the Inspector General; and (5) procuring for use in any Government-owned facility or property under DOD control carbon, alloy, or armor steel plate which were not melted and rolled in the United States or Canada. Provides for the (waiver of such rule on a case-by-case basis). Repeals a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 which authorizes the Secretary of the Army to lease aircraft for helicopter pilot training and to determine if such leasing arrangement is more cost-effective than operating and maintaining Army aircraft for such purpose. Makes funds appropriated under such Act available during FY 1992 to establish an Executive Committee under the auspices of the Critical Technologies Institute. Makes the Secretaries of Defense and Commerce co-chairmen of the Committee. Requires the Committee to prepare and deliver to specified congressional committees: (1) a listing of those products determined to be a critical technology; (2) summaries of general economic conditions of domestic industries producing a product used in a critical technology, as well as current and prospective trends in such industries; (3) reviews of domestic and foreign policies, programs, and activities affecting the economic health of domestic industries using or producing critical technologies; and (4) appropriate recommendations regarding future actions to minimize adverse effects of policies, programs, and activities of domestic and foreign industries on critical technologies. Prohibits any funds available to the Secretary from being used to purchase bridge or machinery control systems or interior communications equipment for the Sealift Program, unless certain Buy American requirements are met with respect to such systems or equipment. Authorizes the waiver of such requirements on a case-by-case basis. Transfers specified operation and maintenance funds to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund established under prior law to be available for the Fund's purposes. Earmarks specified funds for a grant to the Naval Undersea Museum Foundation for the completion of an undersea museum at Keyport, Washington. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for: (1) procuring SQQ-89 systems which do not have the enhanced modular signal processor; (2) procuring vessels which were constructed in foreign shipyards; (3) the Army's acquisition of four-ton dolly jacks if such equipment is or would be manufactured outside the United States; or (4) implementing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reorganization Study until the reorganization proposed is specifically authorized by law after the enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire the modification, depot maintenance, and repair of aircraft, vehicles and vessels, as well as the production of components and other defense-related articles, through competition between DOD depot maintenance activities and private firms. Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being used to implement provisions of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (providing for the establishment of chief financial officers to oversee the financial management of the Federal Government). Requires funds appropriated by this Act to be made available for the Overseas Workload Program. Allows a contract awarded to a firm under such Program during FY 1992 to be performed in the country where the equipment or firm is located. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriations committees on the nature of the maintenance, repair, and overhaul work of DOD performed under the Program. States that, for purposes of this provision, Israel shall be considered to be in the European Theater in every respect, with its firms fully eligible for non-restrictive, non-discriminatory competition under the Program. Directs the Secretary to work with Israel to identify new specialized capabilities in depot maintenance and repair for which it is uniquely suited. Prohibits FY 1992 funds under the Program from being used for contracts awarded during such fiscal year unless such contracts have been awarded under open competition conditions as described under these provisions. Entitles a member of the armed forces on duty at a foreign station (as well as any dependents of such member) to the provision of any reproductive health service in a military medical facility of the United States serving that duty station in the same manner as any other type of medical care. Requires the member to pay the full cost of such services in the case of any such reproductive health service for which appropriated funds may not be used.

To amend title XI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to encourage urban educational institutions to form partnerships to use their knowledge and resources for the solution of severe urban problems.

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1991

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise and retitle title XI as Urban Community Service. Establishes an Urban Community Service program to provide incentives to urban institutions (including academic, private, and civic bodies) to work together to devise and implement solutions to the most pressing and severe problems in their communities. Requires applications for such urban community service program grants to contain a plan agreed to by the members of a consortium that includes a public or private four-year institution of higher education (and, where possible and appropriate, a community college) in partnership with an urban school system, a local government, a private business, or a nonprofit institution. Allows the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to waive this consortium requirement for applicants with an appropriate integrated and coordinated plan. Gives priority to applications that: (1) include plans agreed to by a consortium of several members of the specified categories; and (2) propose to conduct joint projects supported by other local, State, and Federal programs. Requires grant funds to be used for planning, applied research, training, resource exchanges, technology transfers, delivery of services, or other activities to design and implement programs to assist urban communities to meet and address their most pressing problems. Includes the following problem areas among those for which such activities are authorized: (1) urban poverty and its alleviation; (2) health care including delivery and access; (3) under-performing school systems and students; (4) problems faced by the elderly in urban settings; (5) crime prevention and alternative interventions; (6) urban housing; (7) urban infrastructure; (8) economic development; and (9) other problem areas which the participants agree are of high priority for that urban area. Establishes an Urban College, University, and School Partnerships program to encourage partnerships of urban institutions of higher education (or consortia of such institutions) and secondary schools and school systems serving low-income and disadvantaged urban students to support programs to improve school retention and graduation rates, student academic skills, opportunities to continue education beyond high school, and prospects for productive employment. Requires an urban institution of higher education (or consortium), to be eligible for such a university-school partnership grant, to enter a written partnership agreement with a local education agency (LEA). Allows such partnership to include businesses, labor organizations, professional associations, community-based organizations, or other public or private agencies or organizations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to university-school partnerships to support the authorized program activities. Requires that grant preference be given to: (1) programs to serve predominantly low-income neighborhoods; (2) partnerships to run programs during the regular school year and during the summer; and (3) programs to serve educationally disadvantaged students, potential dropouts, pregnant adolescents, and teen-aged parents. Requires maintenance of fiscal effort by LEAs participating in such partnership agreements. Requires such grant applications to assure: (1) establishment of a partnership governing body including one representative from each participant; (2) a gradually declining specified Federal share of project costs; and (3) use of such Federal grant funds to supplement and not supplant non-Federal funds. Provides for: (1) peer review panels for title XI grant applications; and (2) multiyear disbursement of Urban Community Service program grant funds, under specified conditions. Authorizes appropriations.

Family Planning Amendments of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991

Family Planning Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require family planning projects under existing provisions to offer adoption referral services. Removes provisions authorizing a reduction in grant amounts by the value of supplies or equipment furnished. Authorizes appropriations for the projects. Repeals provisions authorizing formula grants to States for family planning services. Replaces provisions authorizing grants and contracts for training personnel to carry out the family planning projects with provisions authorizing grants and contracts for technical assistance, clinical training for personnel, training for educators and counselors, and training of other personnel to carry out the family planning projects and information and education programs. Authorizes appropriations. Allows grants and contracts for research on contraceptive development to be used: (1) for contraceptive evaluation; and (2) to improve the clinical management and direct delivery of family planning services. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct, and make grants and contracts for the conduct of: (1) applied research into the development of new or improved contraceptive devices, drugs, and methods; and (2) evaluations of the acceptance, convenience, safety, efficacy, and cost of contraceptive devices, drugs, and methods. Authorizes appropriations. Replaces provisions authorizing grants and contracts for developing and making available family planning and population growth information to all persons desiring such information with provisions authorizing grants or contracts to establish community-based information and education programs to assist individuals in making responsible choices concerning human sexuality, pregnancy, and parenthood, and to enable individuals to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct, or make grants and contracts for the conduct of, training and technical assistance activities to assist in carrying out the information and education programs; and (2) make grants and contracts for the development, evaluation, and dissemination of educational and informational materials. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to annually collect data on: (1) the numbers of low- and moderate-income individuals and adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancies; (2) the sources of funding for family planning services; and (3) the number of individuals who receive family planning services from grantees and contractees under certain provisions amended by this Act and the types of services chosen by those individuals. Authorizes grants and contracts for the collection of the data. Requires the data to be: (1) made public; and (2) included in an annual report to the Congress, mandated by current law, on family planning and population research. Requires that all grantees under the title of the Public Health Service Act relating to population research and family planning provide education to patients concerning self breast examinations. Requires that projects receiving assistance under such title offer pregnant women information and counseling concerning all legal and medical options regarding their pregnancies. Requires that women requesting such information be provided with nondirective counseling, and referral on request, concerning alternative courses of action, including: (1) prenatal care and delivery; (2) infant care, foster care, or adoption services; and (3) pregnancy termination.

Cancer Registries Amendment Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991

National Institutes of Health Revitalization Amendments of 1991 - Title I: General Provisions Regarding Title IV of Public Health Service Act - Subtitle A: Research Freedom - Part I: Review of Proposals for Biomedical and Behavioral Research - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require review and approval, by an Institutional Review Board, a peer review group, or other entity, before the Secretary of Health and Human Services may approve research or fund applications. Prohibits the Secretary from withholding funding, on ethical grounds, from research which has been so approved unless an ethics advisory board recommends withholding. Part II: Research on Transplantation of Fetal Tissue - Allows the Secretary to conduct or support research on the transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes, regardless of whether the tissue is obtained from a spontaneous abortion, an induced abortion, or a stillbirth, in accordance with State and local law. Establishes criminal penalties for knowingly acquiring, receiving, or otherwise transferring any human fetal tissue for valuable consideration. Excludes from the term "valuable consideration" reasonable payments associated with the transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, or storage of human fetal tissue. Prohibits any official of the executive branch from imposing a policy that prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from conducting or supporting any research on the transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes. Prohibits the Secretary from withholding funds for research which meets requirements of this subtitle. Deems a specified report of the Human Fetal Tissue Transplantation Research Panel to: (1) be issued by an ethics advisory board under provisions of this subtitle; and (2) find that there are no ethical grounds for withholding funds for research on transplantation of human fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes. Part III: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Removes provisions requiring a study of the nature, advisability, and biomedical and ethical implications of exercising any waiver of a specified risk standard relating to fetal research. Subtitle B: Clinical Research Equity Regarding Women and Minorities - Part I: Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research - Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) in conducting and supporting research, to ensure that: (1) women and minorities are included as subjects in each project; and (2) research is conducted so as to provide for a valid analysis of whether the variables being tested affect women or minorities differently than other research subjects. Requires technical and scientific peer review to include an evaluation of compliance with these requirements. Part II: Offices of Research on Women's Health - Establishes within each of the Office of the Director of NIH and the Office of the ADAMHA Administrator an Office of Research on Women's Health to identify projects of women's health (and, for ADAMHA, mental health) research and promote sufficient resource allocation for the conduct or support of the projects by NIH and ADAMHA. Requires the Directors of each Office to establish a Coordinating Committee on Research on Women's Health and an Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health. Includes in the Coordinating Committee's duties determining the extent women are represented among senior physicians and scientists of NIH and ADAMHA and among physicians and scientists conducting research with NIH or ADAMHA funding and carrying out activities to increase such representation. Requires the Director of NIH to: (1) establish a single data system regarding research on women's health conducted or supported by NIH or ADAMHA; and (2) establish and operate a program to provide information on research and prevention activities of NIH and ADAMHA relating to research on women's health (and, for ADAMHA, mental health) and gender differences. Mandates a biennial report by each Director with specified contents, including analyzing the professional status of women physicians and scientists at NIH and ADAMHA and identifying advancement barriers. Directs the Secretary: (1) through the Directors of the Offices of Research on Women's Health, to contract for a study of how research on women's health can be facilitated by the NIH Director and the ADAMHA Administrator; and (2) to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to enter into the contract. Subtitle C: Scientific Integrity - Amends provisions relating to scientific fraud or scientific misconduct to establish within the Office of the Director of NIH the Office on Scientific Integrity. Provides for termination and recovery of financial assistance, provided for certain biomedical or behavioral research, if there is retaliation against a scientific misconduct whistleblower. Prohibits grants to or cooperative agreements or contracts with entities that fail to follow procedures to prevent or respond to such retaliation. Directs the Secretary, with regard to any entity receiving assistance for research to evaluate the safety or effectiveness of a drug, medical device, or treatment, to establish criteria for preventing or responding to any financial interests which will or may create a conflict of interest. Requires the criteria to be uniformly applicable to each entity. Allows individual variation in implementation. Prohibits allowing each entity to develop individual criteria. Allows the Secretary, where such a conflict of interest exists, to take certain actions, including disapproving an application, terminating assistance, and recovering assistance obligated while the conflict exists. Directs the Secretary to require the entity to disclose the conflict in each public presentation of the research results. Prohibits the Secretary, in fiscal years after regulations establishing the criteria are issued, from making a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract for biomedical or behavioral research unless the entity seeking assistance agrees to be subject to the regulations. Mandates a study by the Comptroller General on the extent to which the activities of the Director of the Office of Scientific Integrity have been effective in investigating and preventing scientific fraud and other misconduct. Directs the Secretary, through the National Library of medicine, to develop guidelines for use by scientific and medical journals to protect against publication of manuscripts involving scientific misconduct. Subtitle D: Indirect Costs - Allows the Secretary, in providing financial assistance through NIH for a research project, to authorize an entity to make expenditures from the assistance for administrative and nonadministrative indirect costs. Limits indirect cost expenditures to a percentage of direct costs. Requires a separate approval for certain building and equipment expenditures. Requires the NIH Director to establish a program of supporting biomedical or behavioral research projects whose principal researchers have not previously been principal researchers in such projects supported by the Director. Title II: Protection of Health Facilities - Prohibits stealing or otherwise converting personal property or damaging real property of a health facility assisted under the Public Health Service Act, or deterring, through physical restraint, any individual from entering or exiting the facility. Includes in the prohibitions various acts interfering with the use of animals for research. Provides for fines, imprisonment, restitution, and private civil actions. Title III: National Institutes of Health in General - Directs the Secretary to establish in the Office of the Director of NIH the Advisory Committee on Health Sciences to periodically review the missions of each of the agencies of NIH for the purpose of advising the NIH Director, the Secretary, and the Congress on any modifications in the organizational structure of NIH. Requires the approval of the Committee in order for the Secretary to establish, reorganize, or abolish a national research institute. Mandates preparation and implementation of a plan, regarding biomedical research and experimentation conducted or supported by NIH, for methods that: (1) do not require the use of animals; (2) reduce the number of animals used; and (3) produce less pain and distress in animals. Requires measures to encourage acceptance and training in such methods. Establishes the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Use of Animals in Research. Repeals similar provisions, relating to a plan on animal research and a coordinating committee, of the Health Research Extension Act of 1985. Removes provisions of the Public Health Service Act allowing members of advisory councils to serve after the expiration of their terms until successors have taken office. Title IV: General Provisions Respecting National Research Institutes - Requires that the Secretary, through the director of each of the national research institutes, receive directly all funds appropriated for the institute. Removes provisions allowing the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to directly receive NCI funds. Excludes peer review groups under specified provisions from the application of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Requires the Director of NIH to: (1) carry out a program to expand and intensify research on osteoporosis, Paget's disease, and related bone disorders in addition to research authorized under other Federal law; (2) establish the Advisory Board on Osteoporosis, Paget's Disease, and Related Bone Disorders; and (3) enter into a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract to establish an information clearinghouse on osteoporosis and related bone disorders. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: National Cancer Institute - Authorizes appropriations for the National Cancer Institute. Title VI: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - Authorizes the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to conduct programs of training and education, including continuing education and laboratory and clinical research training. Title VII: National Institute on Aging - Transfers provisions of the Health Research Extension Act of 1985 establishing an Alzheimer's disease registry to provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Transfers provisions of the Health Research Extension Act of 1985 establishing an Alzheimer's disease registry to provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Authorizes appropriations for the NIA. Title VIII: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Authorizes the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to make grants or enter into contracts for the development and operation of centers to conduct basic and clinical research on chronic fatigue syndrome. Title IX: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - Subtitle A: Research Centers With Respect to Contraception and Research Centers With Respect to Infertility - Requires the Director of the NICHHD to make grants and enter into contracts for the development and operation of centers to conduct contraception research and centers to conduct infertility research. Directs the Secretary to establish a program of educational loan repayments for health professionals who agree to conduct research on contraception or on infertility. Subtitle B: Program Regarding Obstetrics and Gynecology - Requires the Director of the NICHHD to establish and maintain an intramural laboratory and clinical research program in obstetrics and gynecology. Subtitle C: Child Health Research Centers - Requires the Director of the NICHHD to develop and support centers for conducting research on child health, giving priority to clinical applications of basic research findings. Title X: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to conduct and support research on multiple sclerosis. Title XI: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - Establishes in the National Institute of Environmental Health Science the Applied Toxicological Research and Testing Program. Title XII: National Library of Medicine - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Adds to the list of functions of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) that of publicizing NLM products and services and promoting the use of computers and telecommunications by health professionals. Authorizes appropriations to carry out provisions relating to: (1) the NLM and to other medical libraries, including regional medical libraries; (2) training in medical library sciences; and (3) biomedical publications. Subtitle B: Financial Assistance - Directs the Secretary to make grants for research on, and development and demonstration of, new education technologies. Subtitle C: National Center for Biotechnology Information - Authorizes appropriations for the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Subtitle D: National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology - Establishes in the NLM the National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology. Removes similar provisions from provisions relating to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Title XIII: Other Agencies of National Institutes of Health - Subtitle A: Division of Research Resources - Redesignates the Division of Research Resources as the National Center for Research Resources. Authorizes the Director of NIH to reserve up to a specified sum to improve regional centers for research on primates. Subtitle B: National Center for Human Genome Research - Adds the National Center for Human Genome Research to the list of agencies of NIH. Declares that the purpose of the Center is to characterize the structure and function of the human genome, including the mapping and sequencing of individual genes. Requires the Director of the Center to make available a minimum percentage of funds for carrying out provisions relating to ethical issues associated with the genome project. Title XIV: Awards and Training - Subtitle A: National Research Service Awards - Directs the Secretary to make grants for comprehensive programs to recruit women and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds into fields of biomedical or behavioral research and to provide research training to women and such individuals. Authorizes appropriations for payments and grants under National Research Service Awards. Subtitle B: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome - Allows the Secretary, under a loan repayment program for research with respect to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) established by existing provisions, to enter into a repayment agreement with a health professional who agrees to conduct AIDS research at NIH for at least three years, provided other conditions are met. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to carry out for the Food and Drug Administration a similar loan repayment program with respect to the review of applications concerning AIDS that are submitted to the Commissioner. Subtitle C: Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs Regarding Professional Skills Needed by Certain Agencies - Directs the Secretary, through the Director of NIH and the Administrator of ADAMHA, to establish programs of scholarships for undergraduate education for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who are underrepresented in professions needed by NIH and ADAMHA in return for the scholarship recipients agreeing to serve as an employee of NIH or ADAMHA for a prescribed period. Requires that the Director and the Administrator: (1) carry out activities to facilitate the interest of the individuals in pursuing careers as employees of NIH and ADAMHA; and (2) approve the academic program of each individual. Directs the Secretary, through the Director and the Administrator, to establish programs of repaying educational loans for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have a substantial amount of education loans relative to income in return for the repayment recipients agreeing to conduct clinical research as employees of NIH or ADAMHA. Limits the NIH scholarship and loan programs to an aggregate of 40 contracts and the ADAMHA programs to an aggregate of 10 contracts. Title XV: Research with Respect to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome - Modifies the duties of the AIDS Clinical Research Review Committee, including requiring the Committee to give advice to other agencies of NIH as well as to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). States that the requirement that the clinical evaluation units at the National Cancer Institute and NIAID conduct evaluations of treatments for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) includes evaluations of treatments for opportunistic cancers and infectious diseases. Authorizes appropriations for model protocols for the clinical care of individuals infected with the etiologic agent for AIDS. Requires the Director of NIH to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the conduct and support of AIDS research by NIH agencies. Title XVI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the appropriateness and impact of NIH assuming responsibility for all Federal research, development, testing, and evaluation functions relating to the medical aspects of biological agents in the development of defenses against biological warfare. Renames the Senior Biomedical Research Service as the Silvio Conte Senior Biomedical Research Service. Increases the maximum number of members of the Service. Declares that the authority regarding the number of members in the Service is in addition to the numbers authorized for the Regular Corps, the Reserve Corps, and the Senior Executive Service. Renames the AIDS clinical Research Review Committee as the AIDS Research Advisory Committee. Title XVII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.

International Cooperation Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991

International Cooperation Act of 1991 - Title I: Economic Assistance - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise policy provisions concerning economic assistance. Sets forth the objectives of U.S. development cooperation policy and economic assistance programs as the: (1) promotion of broad based economic growth; (2) improvement of resource management to bring about environmentally and economically sustainable patterns of development; (3) alleviation of poverty through the development of human resources; and (4) promotion of democracy, respect for human rights, and social and economic pluralism. Requires the President to use the authorities of this Act to provide assistance to meet long-term development needs in developing countries. Authorizes the President to provide such assistance to promote specified activities contributing to broad based, sustainable, and participatory development and economic growth. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for development assistance. Earmarks specified amounts for health improvement, child survival activities, prevention and control of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and reducing vitamin A deficiency. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for population planning assistance. Earmarks a specified amount for the United Nations Population Fund if: (1) the Fund maintains such funds in a separate account, without commingling; (2) none of the funds are made available for China; and (3) any agreement to obligate such funds expressly states that funds will be refunded to the United States if used for family planning in China or abortions in any country. Prohibits the denial of funds for population activities to nongovernmental or multilateral organizations on the basis of any criterion that is not applicable to foreign governments. Authorizes the President to use development and economic support assistance and assistance from the Development Fund for Africa to support human rights and activities to improve the performance of democratic institutions and to promote democracy. Requires a substantial portion of such assistance to be provided to nongovernmental organizations. Prohibits such assistance from being used to influence the outcome of an election in any country. Permits Development Fund for Africa assistance to be used only for countries in Subsaharan Africa. Authorizes the use of such assistance for: (1) development education programs to educate U.S. citizens about developing countries; and (2) nongovernmental organizations to carry out programs concerned with the economic and social development of such countries. Authorizes the President, acting through the administrator of the agency responsible for administering this title (administering agency), to provide assistance for microenterprises in developing countries. Directs the agency to establish specified criteria for determining the financial intermediaries that will receive such assistance. Requires a significant portion of such assistance to be used to support direct credit assistance by, and the institutional development of, financial intermediaries with a primary emphasis on assisting people living in absolute poverty, especially women. Outlines funding sources for such assistance. Permits the President, in order to generate local currencies for providing such assistance, to use development and economic support assistance or assistance from the Development Fund for Africa to provide assistance to developing countries on a loan basis repayable in local currencies. Sets forth minimum levels of assistance to be provided under this Act. Requires the administrator to develop a monitoring system to evaluate the administering agency's microenterprise development activities. Earmarks amounts out of funds for development assistance and assistance for the Development Fund for Africa for private voluntary organizations for FY 1992 and 1993. Requires agencies responsible for environmental programs in developing countries to prepare initial examinations to ensure that such programs are environmentally sustainable. Declares that beneficiary countries should bear a share of the costs of development assistance programs under this Act. Prohibits funds made available under this title from being used for military or paramilitary purposes. Authorizes the President to furnish economic support assistance to countries and organizations to promote economic or political stability. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for such assistance. Declares that economic support assistance should be provided through commodity import programs, project assistance, sector programs, or the provision of U.S. goods and services. Permits such assistance to be provided as a cash transfer only pursuant to an agreement requiring that the country spend an amount equal to such transfer to purchase U.S. goods and services. Requires such agreements to include provisions to ensure that representatives of the U.S. Comptroller General have access to necessary records and personnel for monitoring and auditing purposes. Exempts from such requirements countries which: (1) receive less than $25,000,000 cash transfer assistance annually; or (2) have certain agreements with the United States. Authorizes the President to waive the requirements of this section when it is in the national interest. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for contributions to international organizations. Earmarks specified amounts of such funds for: (1) the United Nations Development Program; (2) the United Nations Children's Fund; (3) the United Nations Environmental Program; (4) the International Fund for Agricultural Development; (5) the Special Program for Africa of the International Fund for Agricultural Development; (6) the United Nations University; and (7) the Organization of American States (OAS) for purposes of establishing an electronic network for the exchange of science and technology information among universities in OAS member countries. Authorizes funds to be earmarked for the International Atomic Energy Agency only if the Secretary of State reports to the appropriate congressional committees that Israel is not being denied the right to participate in the Agency. Applies evaluation and auditing procedures for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank to the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Inter-American Investment Corporation, the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Asian Development Fund. Revises provisions concerning the housing and urban development guarantee program. Raises the limit on: (1) the face value of guarantees with respect to any country; (2) the average face value of guarantees; and (3) the total principal amount of guarantees issued. Authorizes appropriations for the program for FY 1992 and 1993. Terminates authorities with respect to housing guarantees after FY 1993. Authorizes assistance to be provided to developing countries to support private sector activities meeting specified criteria. Permits the President to issue guarantees assuring against losses incurred in connection with loans made for such activities. Sets forth terms and conditions for such guarantees. Authorizes the President to make direct loans for such activities, subject to certain conditions. Establishes ceilings for direct loans and for contingent liability for guarantees. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for: (1) international disaster assistance; and (2) American schools, libraries, and hospital centers abroad. Permits the President to use development or economic support assistance or assistance from the Development Fund for Africa for grants to, or contracts with, nongovernmental organizations to enable such organizations to: (1) purchase debt obligations owned by developing countries to commercial lending institutions or other private parties; and (2) cancel such obligations subject to the President's approval, to the extent that such countries make available assets or policy commitments to promote the objectives of this title. Authorizes grantees or contractees to retain interest earned on the proceeds of debt-for-development or debt-for-environment purchases or exchanges pending the disbursement of such proceeds and interest for the purposes for which assistance was provided. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for operating expenses of the administering agency and of the Office of the Inspector General of such agency. Permits development or economic support assistance or assistance from the Development Fund for Africa to be used for such expenses, subject to a specified limitation. Requires the President to establish a program performance evaluation capacity to: (1) develop a program performance information system to afford the administering agency's managers a means for monitoring achievement of impact and interim performance of the agency's major programs; (2) prepare and disseminate reports on the agency's progress in meeting development objectives for major assistance categories and recipient countries; (3) strengthen the implementation of foreign assistance projects; and (4) coordinate with the Inspector General of such agency to ensure complementarity of efforts. Directs the President to report annually to the Congress on: (1) progress toward achieving the four basic objectives set forth under this title; and (2) a country-by-country analysis of the impact on economic development in each country during the preceding three to five years of U.S. economic assistance programs, with a discussion of U.S. interests that were served by such assistance. Requires the President to maintain within the administering agency a Center for University Cooperation in Development and a Center for Voluntary Cooperation in Development. Provides that the respective purposes of such centers shall be to strengthen the partnership for development between the U.S. Government and: (1) U.S. and developing country institutions of higher education engaged in education, research, and public service programs relevant to developing countries; and (2) U.S. private voluntary organizations, cooperatives, and credit unions engaged in activities relevant to such countries. Authorizes funds from development assistance and assistance from the Development Fund for Africa to be made available for the Centers. Requires the agency administrator to establish a permanent Advisory Committee on Voluntary Cooperation in Development. Title II: Military Assistance, Related Assistance, and Military Sales Programs - Chapter 1: Consolidation and Revision of Assistance Authorities - Revises policy provisions concerning military assistance. Revises the President's authority to furnish military assistance to friendly countries to permit the President to: (1) finance the sale of defense articles or services; or (2) finance the procurement of such articles (under certain circumstances) by any member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or any major non-NATO ally through leases from U.S. commercial suppliers. Requires sales under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act (formerly, the Arms Export Control Act) which are wholly paid from funds made available on a grant basis under this Act or were transferred or made available under former authorities prior to this Act's enactment to be priced to exclude the costs of salaries of members of the U.S. armed forces (other than members of the Coast Guard) and unfunded estimated costs of civilian retirement and other benefits. Prohibits assistance from being furnished under this chapter in any case involving coproduction or licensed production outside the United States of any defense article of U.S. origin unless the President furnishes full information on the proposed transaction to the appropriate congressional committees. Prohibits the obligation of certain assistance for the procurement of: (1) any vessel of war built pursuant to a prime contract awarded to a foreign shipyard; or (2) any weapons system or other major system for a vessel of war built pursuant to such a contract awarded to a foreign rather than a U.S. shipyard because of unfair foreign competition. Exempts from such prohibition vessels of war built in the foreign country which is the recipient of such assistance or built pursuant to a prime contract signed before the effective date of this Act. Permits military assistance to be provided for civic action in Africa. Authorizes assistance provided under this chapter to be on a grant, credit, or guarantee basis. Outlines criteria to be considered by the President in determining the terms of assistance. Requires repayment in U.S. dollars within 12 years of the signature of a loan agreement for credit assistance. Provides that the interest rate on such loans shall be at least five percent annually. Outlines disbursement procedures for funds used to finance the procurement of defense articles and services. Makes such assistance available to a foreign country to make payments to the United States for credits or loans for defense articles or services granted under predecessor military sales or assistance legislation. Revises provisions concerning eligibility for the receipt of defense articles or services and makes them applicable to the financing of such articles or services. Makes defense articles sold or leased under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act or furnished under predecessor foreign assistance or military sales legislation subject to the eligibility provisions of this title. Directs the President to establish controls to make financed commercial arms sales subject to monitoring and auditing requirements no less stringent in accountability than requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulation applicable to sales under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act relating to improper business practices and personal conflict of interest. Incorporates provisions of the Arms Export Control Act concerning the opinion of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency with respect to furnishing assistance. Authorizes appropriations for military assistance and sales for FY 1992 and 1993. Sets aside two percent of appropriations for military financing for assistance to eligible countries for which the Congress has not specified an amount of assistance. Revises provisions concerning transfers of excess defense articles for the modernization of defense capabilities. Requires excess defense articles to be made available to maintain the military balance in the Eastern Mediterranean. Requires the President to ensure, over a three-year period beginning in FY 1992, that the ratio of the value of such articles made available for Turkey to those made available for Greece closely approximates the ratio of the amount of foreign military financing provided for Turkey to the amount provided for Greece. Revises provisions concerning the transfer of excess defense articles to: (1) eligible major drug producing or transit countries (currently, major drug producing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean); and (2) eligible countries, international organizations, or private voluntary organizations for natural resources and wildlife management. Makes provisions concerning transportation and related costs of such articles under provisions governing transfers for the modernization of military capabilities applicable to transfers for counternarcotics or natural resource and wildlife management purposes. Adds to the list of conditions for such transfers that the transfer of articles is preferable to selling them. Sets forth congressional notification requirements. Permits transfers for natural resource and wildlife management purposes to be made available without cost to the recipient. Excludes certain excess defense articles from the annual ceiling on transfers. Revises provisions concerning military personnel detailed overseas for management of military assistance programs. Requires at least one person assigned to each country to be responsible for monitoring international security assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for: (1) international military education and training; and (2) peacekeeping operations. Revises provisions concerning the location of stockpiles. Places a ceiling on the value of additions to stockpiles during FY 1992 and 1993. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for antiterrorism assistance. Revises provisions concerning special drawdown authorities. Authorizes the President to direct the drawdown of Department of Defense commodities or services for: (1) international narcotics control assistance; (2) international disaster assistance; or (3) assistance under the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962. Places a ceiling on articles and services provided for such assistance. Raises the ceiling on the value of defense articles and services authorized to be provided under existing emergency authorities. Makes the Secretary of Defense responsible for establishing priorities in the procurement, delivery, and allocation of defense articles and services. Requires the President to appoint one officer to coordinate security assistance programs. Prohibits personnel overseeing the management of assistance programs or providing defense services or military education and training overseas from performing combatant duties. Makes technical and conforming amendments to the Arms Export Control Act. Revises a provision regarding the Guaranty Reserve Fund and redesignates the Fund as the Foreign Military Loan Liquidating Account. Repeals a provision concerning the availability of funds for procurement of defense articles and services outside the United States. Permits the President to waive requirements under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 concerning the disposition of defense articles and services furnished before the effective date of this title. Chapter 2: Foreign Military Sales Program - Amends the Arms Export Control Act to rename such Act as the Defense Trade and Export Control Act. Repeals a provision concerning purposes for military sales or leases. Deems references to the Arms Export Control Act to be references to the Defense Trade and Export Control Act. Requires the President to take the following steps to address financial management problems with respect to payments on account of foreign military sales: (1) establish a new account for the deposit of funds for sales entered into after September 30, 1992, to isolate such financial transactions from previous sales; (2) establish a centralized accounting system; (3) improve coordination and conformity among the accounting and billing systems of each of the military services; and (4) reconcile the discrepancies between reported disbursements and reported performance with respect to such sales. Directs the President to notify the Congress before: (1) designating a country as a major non-NATO ally; or (2) terminating such a designation. Deems Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, and the Republic of Korea to have been so designated by the President. Raises the threshold on the dollar amount of defense equipment or services on which the President is required to submit specified certifications. Revises provisions concerning presidential certifications and congressional procedures for certain arms transfers. Sets forth conditions under which New Zealand is eligible for shorter congressional review procedures. Adds to the list of information required in the President's quarterly report on military exports information on all concluded defense coproduction agreements. Imposes sanctions on foreign parties to coproduction agreements that violate restrictions concerning unauthorized third party transfers or unauthorized dispositions of defense articles or services or technical data if the President so notifies the Congress or the Congress so determines by joint resolution. Lists such sanctions as: (1) the suspension of authority to produce defense articles abroad pursuant to such agreements; and (2) a prohibition on the issuance and approval of licenses with respect to the foreign party. Disqualifies for financing under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for 12 months any contracts of a person convicted or debarred for a violation of international traffic in arms regulations under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act. Exempts international organizations from a prohibition on the issuance of export licenses for items on the U.S. Munitions List to foreign persons. Requires the President to review biennially and revise, as necessary, international traffic in arms regulations. Provides that charges for defense articles that are not major defense equipment sold or licensed for export under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act shall exclude nonrecurring costs of research on or development or production of such articles. Repeals provisions concerning: (1) discrimination; (2) restraint in arms sales to Subsaharan Africa; (3) foreign military sales credit standards; (4) foreign military sales to less developed countries; and (5) the crediting of registration fees. Chapter 3: Other Provisions - Prohibits funds authorized by any Act from being made available to facilitate the sale of M-833 antitank shells or comparable shells containing a depleted uranium penetrating component to any country other than a NATO member or major non-NATO ally. Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to arms transfers to the Middle East and Persian Gulf region. Requires the President to seek negotiations among, and undertake efforts to convene a conference of, the five members of the United Nations Security Council and other nations, as appropriate, to establish a multilateral arms transfer and control regime with respect to the Middle East and Persian Gulf region. Declares that the purpose of such regime should be to: (1) limit the proliferation of conventional weapons and ballistic missile technologies and systems and halt the proliferation of unconventional weapons; (2) maintain the military balance in the region through the reduction of conventional weapons and the elimination of unconventional weapons; and (3) promote regional arms control in such region. Directs the President to submit to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs: (1) a U.S. plan for establishing a multilateral regime to restrict transfers of arms to the Middle East; and (2) an analysis of the feasibility and potential elements of such regime. Prohibits the United States from agreeing to any transfers of major military equipment to the Middle East and Persian Gulf region unless the President submits such plan and analysis and reports that there has been agreement by another major arms supplier on or after May 21, 1991, to transfer such equipment to any nation in the region. Exempts from such prohibition emergency or replacement transfers or transfers pursuant to agreements entered into before May 21, 1991. Requires the President to report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee on: (1) all transfers of conventional and unconventional arms to the Middle East; (2) the current military balance in the region; (3) the operation of any agreements comprising the arms transfer and control regime; and (4) supplier nations that have refused to participate in such a regime or that have engaged in conduct that violates or undermines the regime. Title III: Trade and Development Agency and Overseas Private Investment Corporation - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise the authorities of the Director of the Trade and Development Agency (replaces the Trade and Development Program). Requires the Agency to disseminate information about its activities to the private sector. Sets forth the duties of the Inspector General of the Agency for International Development (AID) with respect to the Agency. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993. Revises provisions concerning the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Requires OPIC, in determining whether to provide insurance, reinsurance, guarantees, or financing for a project, to ensure that the project is consistent with objectives concerning resource sustainable development. Prohibits OPIC payments from being issued in connection with losses resulting from violations of foreign trade practices under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Raises the ceiling on the maximum contingent liability for outstanding OPIC guarantees. Authorizes OPIC to draw specified amounts from a noncredit account revolving fund to pay estimated subsidy costs of program levels for the loan guarantee and direct loan programs. Permits OPIC to: (1) establish a revolving fund to be available solely for the equity finance program; and (2) make a one-time transfer to such fund from the noncredit account revolving fund. Revises provisions concerning OPIC's insurance reserves. Authorizes OPIC to draw a specified amount from the noncredit account revolving fund for administrative expenses of the direct loan and loan guarantee programs. Makes provisions concerning income and revenues applicable to income and revenues from OPIC's noncredit activities (currently, revenues and income from any source). Authorizes (currently, requires) OPIC to charge fees for its services. Provides for annual (currently, triennial) audits of OPIC. Removes OPIC's exemption from Federal taxation. Title IV: International Narcotics Control - Revises provisions concerning international narcotics control. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for international narcotics control. Makes a prohibition on the use of narcotics control funds for the procurement of weapons or ammunition inapplicable (subject to congressional notification requirements) to: (1) weapons or ammunition for the defensive arming of aircraft used for narcotics control purposes; or (2) firearms and related ammunition provided to Department of State employees for narcotics control activities. Requires the President (currently, the Secretary of State) to maintain records on aircraft use under this title. Authorizes foreign military financing assistance under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act to be made available to finance the leasing of aircraft. Removes a prohibition on the use of narcotics control funds by foreign countries to acquire real property for military or law enforcement forces if the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees. Permits funds for economic support assistance, foreign military financing, or international military education and training to be transferred and consolidated with funds for international narcotics control if: (1) such assistance is withheld from the country for which it was allocated because of laws that require the withholding of assistance from countries that have not cooperated with the United States or taken steps to halt illicit drug production and trafficking; and (2) such funds are used for assistance to countries that have taken significant steps to halt illicit drug production or trafficking. Makes provisions of law that restrict assistance to countries inapplicable with respect to narcotics-related assistance, provided that the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees. Revises congressional reporting and certification requirements with respect to international narcotics control. Requires the President to notify the appropriate congressional committees annually of countries determined to be major drug transit or illicit drug producing countries. Makes prohibitions on the provision of assistance to foreign law enforcement agencies inapplicable, during FY 1992 and 1993, to: (1) transfers of defense articles and services for counternarcotics purposes; and (2) foreign military financing and international military education and training for narcotics-related purposes. Title V: Special Assistance Initiatives and Other Region or Country Specific Provisions - Authorizes the President to provide project and program assistance for long-term development in Subsaharan Africa. Designates such assistance as the Development Fund for Africa. Requires the purpose of such assistance to be to help the poor majority of men and women in Subsaharan Africa to participate in a process of long-term development through economic growth that is equitable, participatory, environmentally sustainable, and self-reliant. Provides that such assistance should also promote sustained economic growth, encourage private sector development, promote individual initiatives, and help to reduce the role of central governments in areas more appropriate for the private sector. Requires the local-level perspective of the rural and urban poor in Subsaharan Africa to be taken into account during the planning process for project assistance. Declares that consultations should be undertaken with private and voluntary organizations which have demonstrated effectiveness in or commitment to the promotion of local grassroots activities on behalf of development in Subsaharan Africa. Requires: (1) local people to be consulted and involved in projects that have a local focus; and (2) development activities to expand the participation and integration of African women in certain critical sectors. Requires assistance provided by this Act to emphasize projects to address critical sectoral priorities for development. Authorizes assistance to promote economic policy reforms. Requires such reforms to include provisions to protect vulnerable groups from possible negative consequences of such reforms. Designates as the critical sectoral priorities for long-term development: (1) increased agricultural production and the maintenance and restoration of renewable natural resources; (2) improved health conditions and the prevention and control of AIDS; (3) voluntary family planning services; (4) improved relevance, equity, and efficiency of education; and (5) development of income generating opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed. Imposes minimum levels of assistance for certain critical sectors. Requires assistance provided under this Act to be concentrated in countries that will make the most effective use of such assistance. Allows assistance to be made available to: (1) assist Subsaharan African countries to increase their capacity to participate in donor coordination mechanisms at the country, regional, and sector levels; and (2) assist sector projects supported by the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC). Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) there should be periodic evaluations of the progress of the administering agency in achieving assistance goals in Subsaharan Africa; and (2) the period of availability of funds appropriated for such assistance should be extended whenever appropriate. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should participate with multilateral financial institutions and other bilateral donors in an economic reform and development program in the Philippines; and (2) a commitment of resources by the United States, donors, and such institutions and a reform effort and leadership role by the Government of the Philippines will be necessary to ensure economic growth in the Philippines and enhanced participation of the Filipino people in the democratic process. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to promote the goals of this Act. Links such assistance to progress by the Government of the Philippines in implementing its economic, structural, judicial, and administrative reform program. Authorizes appropriations. Limits the amount of appropriations for FY 1992. Expresses the sense of the Congress that prior to requesting additional amounts to carry out this Act, the President should take into account: (1) the progress being made by the Philippines toward achieving reform objectives; (2) the extent of participation by the bilateral donors and multilateral financial institutions; and (3) the efforts to coordinate the assistance program. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the coordination of objectives and programs by donors, institutions, and the Government of the Philippines is critical to the success of the multilateral assistance program; (2) all donors should simplify procurement and disbursement procedures to ensure that conditions on the provision or use of assistance are complementary; and (3) the Philippines should establish internal procedures that will ensure the most effective use of such assistance. Sets forth the Caribbean Regional Development Act of 1991. Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to development and economic assistance for the Caribbean. Provides that priority in providing development assistance should be given to supporting indigenous democratic Caribbean institutions that represent and benefit the poor. Requires priority in the allocation of assistance to the Caribbean to be given to: (1) increased food production; (2) rural development; (3) community-based agro-industries; (4) small- and medium-sized farm and manufacturing enterprises; (5) the expansion of tourism; (6) regional integration; (7) the upgrading of technical and managerial skills; (8) support for renewable natural resources; (9) private sector development; (10) democratic development and the administration of justice; and (11) human services and human resources development. Directs the President, in providing assistance to a Caribbean country, to take into account whether the government of such country has failed to protect worker rights and is taking steps to implement laws that demonstrate advancement in providing such rights. Prohibits the administering agency from providing assistance for the use of any substance in a Caribbean country if such use is prohibited under the country's or U.S. public health laws. Declares that the agency should: (1) ensure the active participation of women in the development process; and (2) take into account the perspectives of the poor in the development process. Establishes in the Department of the Treasury the Enterprise for the Americas Facility to support improvement in the lives of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean through market-oriented reforms and economic growth with actions to promote debt reduction, investment reforms, and community based conservation and sustainable use of the environment. Makes eligible for Facility benefits Latin American or Caribbean countries that: (1) have in effect, received approval for, or are making progress toward, specified International Monetary Fund arrangements and structural or sectoral adjustment loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the International Development Association; (2) have put in place major investment reforms in conjunction with an Inter-American Development Bank loan or are implementing or making progress toward an open investment regime; and (3) have agreed with commercial bank lenders on a financing program for debt or debt service reduction. Authorizes the President to reduce the amount owed to the United States (as a result of concessional loans made pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or predecessor foreign economic assistance legislation) by any country eligible for Facility benefits. Sets forth requirements with respect to the exchange of obligations, repayment of principal, and interest on new obligations issued by beneficiary countries. Requires beneficiary countries that enter into Environmental Framework Agreements to establish Enterprise for the Americas Environmental Funds. Authorizes the Secretary of State to enter into Environmental Framework Agreements concerning the operation and use of Environmental Funds with countries eligible for Facility benefits. Directs administering bodies in each beneficiary country to administer the Environmental Funds and to make grants for environmental activities. Requires grants from the Funds to be used for activities that link the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources with local community development. Subjects grants of more than $100,000 to veto by the U.S. Government or the government of the beneficiary country. Establishes an Environment for the Americas Board to: (1) advise the Secretary on the negotiations of Environmental Framework Agreements; (2) ensure that a suitable administering body is identified for each Environmental Fund; and (3) review the programs, operations, and fiscal audits of administering bodies. Declares that the President should encourage other official creditors of beneficiary countries whose debt is reduced under this Act to provide debt reduction to such countries. Requires the President to ensure that Environmental Funds are able to receive donations from private and public entities and private creditors of beneficiary countries. Permits military assistance and sales to be delivered to the armed forces of any Latin American or Caribbean country only with the prior approval of such a country's civilian government. Earmarks a specified amount of funds from economic support and development assistance and assistance from the Development Fund for Africa for assistance for disadvantaged South Africans. Prohibits support to organizations financed or controlled by the Government of South Africa. Requires priority in providing such assistance to be given to South African nongovernmental organizations whose staff are selected on a nonracial basis and which have the support of the disadvantaged communities being served. Extends a certain waiver of a prohibition on assistance to Pakistan if the President certifies that Pakistan does not possess a nuclear explosive device and that the proposed U.S. assistance program will reduce the risk that Pakistan will possess such device. Prohibits the allocation of assistance or the sale or transfer of defense articles or services for Pakistan for FY 1992 and 1993 unless such certification is made. Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to increase the number of representatives on the Environment for the Americas Board. Title VI: Special Authorities, Restrictions, Reports, General Provisions, and Technical and Conforming Amendments - Chapter 1: Special Authorities, Restrictions, and Reports - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise provisions concerning the transfer of funds between accounts. Prohibits: (1) transfers to increase amounts for foreign military financing; and (2) the transfer of funds for the housing and urban development guarantee program and funds for development assistance or assistance under the Development Fund for Africa. Raises the ceilings on the amounts of assistance provided under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 that may be provided to any one country. Exempts from such limitation assistance for countries that are the victims of active (currently, Communist or Communist-supported) aggression. Revises provisions concerning assistance for unanticipated contingencies. Prohibits such assistance from being provided for foreign military financing or international military education and training. Raises the annual ceiling on such assistance. Authorizes the President to transfer unobligated funds (without regard to the 20 percent increase limitation) to provide assistance to a country that has recently emerged or is in the process of emerging: (1) as a democracy; or (2) from civil strife and has a democratically elected government or is making progress toward a democratic form of government. Authorizes the President to adopt as a U.S. contract or obligation any contract with a U.S. or third-country contractor that had been funded with assistance prior to the termination of such assistance. Applies assistance termination provisions to any provision of law concerning such terminations. Exempts from restrictions on foreign assistance (except for countries that support terrorism) assistance for: (1) child survival activities; (2) the prevention and control of AIDS; (3) the needs of displaced children; (4) environmentally sound, sustainable resource management; and (5) efficient energy systems. Revises prohibitions concerning restrictions on assistance. Adds to the list of restrictions prohibitions on assistance for: (1) a country whose government engages in a consistent pattern of human rights violations; (2) a country whose elected head of government is deposed by a military coup; (3) projects designed to increase exports of agricultural, textile, or apparel commodities from developing countries if such exports would be in competition with U.S. exports or be expected to cause injury to U.S. exporters of the same or a similar commodity; and (4) a country that provides lethal military equipment to a terrorist government. Exempts from such prohibition assistance: (1) that is important to U.S. national interests, provided that such assistance will further U.S. nonproliferation objectives; (2) for the alleviation of suffering resulting from a natural or manmade disaster; (3) that benefits poor people; and (4) that will be furnished through nongovernmental organizations to promote respect for human rights and democracy. Prohibits the provision of such assistance until the President reports to the appropriate congressional committees. Requires the President to maintain a list of Communist countries for purposes of restricting assistance. Authorizes the President to remove or exempt a country from the list or prohibitions on assistance, provided that such removal or exemption is reported to the appropriate congressional committees. Prohibits assistance to any country which is more than one year in arrears to the U.S. Government on loan payments under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or former authorities of the Arms Export Control Act. Applies prohibitions on the use of development assistance for abortions or involuntary sterilizations to the use of assistance for Subsaharan Africa or the Philippines for such purposes. Requires funds for voluntary family planning services to be available only for projects which offer a broad range of family planning methods and services. Consolidates and revises provisions concerning prohibitions on assistance to countries engaged in transfers of nuclear materials. Outlines required elements of annual congressional presentation documents on foreign assistance. Revises provisions regarding: (1) U.S. assistance policies and human rights; and (2) congressional notification for program changes. Requires the President to submit quarterly reports to the appropriate congressional committees on the funds obligated for development and economic support assistance. Directs the President to report triennially to the Speaker of the House and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on: (1) the percentage of the budget of each country receiving development or economic assistance that is devoted to military purposes; and (2) the degree to which such country is using its foreign exchange or other resources to acquire military equipment. Chapter 2: Administrative and General Provisions - Revises provisions regarding presidential authorities under this Act. Authorizes the President to designate an agency to administer foreign assistance programs. Revises provisions concerning the allocation of funds and reimbursement among agencies. Permits funds to be used for programs under the Agricultural Act of 1949 and the Food for Progress Act of 1985. Removes funding limitations on assistance for the construction of living quarters, offices, schools, and hospitals abroad and for assistance to schools educating dependents of personnel abroad. Permits economic and development assistance funds to be used to reimburse Federal or State agencies or institutions of higher education that detail employees for economic or development assistance programs that require special technical skills. Excludes such employees from applicable personnel ceilings during the detail period. Provides that if an amount appropriated for any fiscal year pursuant to this Act is less than the authorization amount and the provision calls for earmarked funds, such funds shall be deemed to be reduced to an amount bearing the same ratio to such funds as the amount appropriated bears to the authorization amount. Exempts funds for Israel and Egypt from such reduction. Sets forth provisions concerning the generation and use of local currencies. Revises provisions concerning the use of local currencies owned by the United States. Authorizes nongovernmental organizations to invest local currencies accrued as a result of economic assistance provided by this Act and other specified Acts and to use interest earned on investments for assistance purposes. Revises provisions concerning the use of private enterprise for the procurement of commodities and defense articles. Authorizes the use of Federal facilities for technical assistance purposes when such facilities are not competitive with private enterprise. Revises provisions concerning procurement standards and procedures. Allows (currently, requires) the use of excess personal property or property already owned by a Federal agency (if a substantial savings would occur) in lieu of, or supplementary to, the procurement of new items for U.S.-assisted programs. Revises provisions concerning the use of excess property. Removes a ceiling on the amount of domestic excess property that may be held. Prohibits excess property from being used for economic assistance purposes unless approval is given and the President makes specified determinations regarding such property. Authorizes the use of economic assistance funds to pay transportation charges on shipments by the American National Red Cross and by registered U.S. private voluntary organizations. Revises provisions concerning personnel. Permits personnel detailed to foreign governments or international organizations to be assigned on a leave without pay status. Authorizes the detailing of Department of Defense personnel to any civil office to carry out this Act. Revises provisions concerning discrimination against U.S. personnel. Chapter 3: Technical and Conforming Provisions - Incorporates provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 concerning the Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs into another Act. Prohibits U.S. courts from declining on the ground of the Federal Act of State Doctrine to make a determination on the merits of international law in any case in which claim of title or right to property is asserted by any party, based upon a confiscation after January 1, 1959, by a state in violation of international law. Exempts from such prohibition cases in which: (1) an act of a foreign state is not contrary to international law or cases with respect to a right to property acquired pursuant to an irrevocable letter of credit issued in good faith prior to the time of taking; or (2) the President determines that application of such doctrine is required by U.S. foreign policy interests. Amends Federal provisions governing coins and currency to grant the Secretary of the Treasury: (1) responsibility with respect to foreign credits owed to or by the United States; and (2) sole authority to establish for all foreign currencies or credits the exchange rates at which such currencies are to be reported by Federal agencies. Authorizes the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, at the request of the President, to report on the value of any property of any U.S. person expropriated by a foreign government. Redesignates the Trade and Development Program as the Trade and Development Agency. Makes technical and conforming amendments to specified Acts. Repeals specified Acts. Title VII: Latin America and the Caribbean - Chapter 1: El Salvador - Reserves this portion of the bill for provisions relating to El Salvador. Chapter 2: Other Provisions Pertaining to Central America - Declares that it shall be U.S. policy to: (1) support Central American countries in efforts to build democracy, restore peace, establish respect for human rights, expand economic opportunities, and improve living conditions; (2) support dialogue as the proper means of resolving armed conflicts in Central America; (3) assist in the implementation of, and secure international cooperation and support for, recommendations of the International Commission on Central American Recovery and Development; (4) support the United Nations Development Program for its Special Plan of Economic Cooperation for Central America; (5) organize a partnership among donor countries and Central American countries to mobilize resources and promote a forum for dialogue on issues of development, democracy, social justice, and human rights; and (6) support and promote the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative to assist Central American countries in opening their economies and managing their foreign debt. Prohibits the provision of military aircraft to Central American countries during FY 1992 and 1993 unless the appropriate congressional committees are notified in advance. Requires the Secretary of State to notify such committees whenever any helicopters or other military aircraft are provided to such countries by any foreign country. Prohibits the provision of foreign military financing to Guatemala during FY 1992 and 1993 except as provided by this Act. Establishes the Demobilization and Transition Fund for Guatemala. Authorizes the President to transfer amounts made available for foreign military financing to the Fund. Makes funds available only upon notification to the appropriate congressional committees that the Guatemalan Government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unit have agreed to a ceasefire. Permits such funds to be available only for: (1) costs of demobilization, retraining, relocation, and reemployment in civilian pursuits of former combatants; and (2) costs of monitoring the ceasefire and permanent settlement. Prohibits the authorities of the Defense Trade and Export Control Act from being used to sell to the Guatemalan Government, or issue licenses for the export to Guatemala of: (1) weapons or ammunition; or (2) aircraft, unless the aircraft are unarmed and the Guatemalan Government has agreed that they will not be armed. Permits FY 1992 and 1993 development and economic support assistance and assistance under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 for Guatemala to be used only by civilian agencies and nongovernmental organizations. Requires such assistance to be targeted for: (1) programs that address poverty, basic human needs, and environmental concerns; (2) the improvement of democratic institutions and the promotion of political pluralism; (3) the National Reconciliation Commission; (4) fiscal reform and administration; or (5) programs that promote trade and investment. Prohibits such assistance from being used for partisan political purposes or as an instrument of counterinsurgency. Waives assistance target requirements if the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees that Guatemala has made progress in eliminating human rights violations and in bringing to trial those responsible for major human rights cases. Declares that the President should: (1) take into account the extent to which the Nicaraguan Government has brought the armed forces under civilian control and undertaken investigations into, and prosecution of those responsible for, human rights violations prior to providing assistance for FY 1992 and 1993; and (2) consider the extent to which foreign military financing for Nicaragua will further the goals of strengthening civilian control over the military, ending human rights abuses, and stemming the export of lethal military equipment prior to providing such financing for such fiscal years. Prohibits foreign assistance for any member of the Nicaraguan resistance who has not disarmed or is not abiding by the terms of the cease-fire agreement and the addenda to the Toncontin Agreement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Nicaraguan Government should expedite the processing of claims by private citizens based on expropriation of property by the Sandinista government. Earmarks a specified amount of FY 1992 and 1993 economic support assistance for Central America for the Concerted Plan of Action in Favor of Central American Refugees, Returnees and Displaced Persons. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to strengthening democratic legislatures in Central America. Chapter 3: The Caribbean - Congratulates Haiti on its transition to democracy. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) provide significant and sustained assistance to the Haitian Government so long as it abides by the Haitian Constitution and respects freedom of expression and human rights; (2) continue to provide substantial assistance to Haitian private voluntary organizations to institutionalize democracy and promote economic development; and (3) provide a specified amount of economic assistance to Haiti during FY 1992 and 1993. Encourages the Government of the Dominican Republic to improve respect for the human rights of Haitian laborers engaged in the sugar cane harvesting industry in the Dominican Republic. Withholds a specified amount of economic support assistance from the Dominican Republic until the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees of the steps taken by the Government of the Dominican Republic to improve such human rights. Permits assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to be provided to the Government of Guyana only if the President reports to the appropriate congressional committees that such government is in power as a result of free and fair elections. Exempts from such restriction international narcotics control assistance or assistance for the holding of free and fair elections. Expresses the sense of the Congress that following the submission of the report regarding Guyana, the United States should provide significant and sustained assistance for Guyana under such Acts. Earmarks a specified amount of such assistance for basic human needs. Condemns the armed forces of Suriname for the December 1990 coup and for disregard for civilian authority. Urges the armed forces to permit a peaceful transfer of power to the elected civilian government. Calls upon the President to withhold assistance from Suriname until a peaceful transfer of power has taken place and to use assistance to bolster civilian rule. Chapter 4: Andean Initiative - Authorizes appropriations for development and economic support assistance for FY 1992 and 1993 for Andean countries. Requires priority in the use of funds for Bolivia and Peru to be given to support programs that focus on providing coca farmers with alternative sources of income. Declares that specified amounts of such assistance should be used for law enforcement assistance, protection against narco-terrorist attacks, and assistance for human rights offices in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for foreign military financing assistance for Andean countries. Requires such assistance to be designed to: (1) enhance the ability of the recipient government to control illicit narcotics production and trafficking; (2) strengthen respect for human rights and the rule of law to control narcotics production and trafficking; and (3) assist the armed forces of the Andean countries in their support roles for such countries' law enforcement agencies. Permits the provision of such assistance only if: (1) such country has a democratic government; and (2) the government of such country does not engage in a consistent pattern of human rights violations. Permits such assistance to be used for certain law enforcement training and equipment for purposes of narcotics control efforts. Limits the amount of military and law enforcement assistance for Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. Prohibits Peru's Sinchi Police from being considered as a law enforcement unit. Permits assistance or the transfer of excess defense articles under this Act to an Andean country only if the President determines that: (1) such country is implementing programs to reduce the flow of cocaine to the United States; and (2) the armed forces and law enforcement agencies of such country are not engaged in a consistent pattern of human rights violations and the government of such country has made progress in protecting human rights. Exempts from the human rights condition assistance for programs providing coca farmers with alternative sources of income. Waives provisions of law that prohibit assistance to countries in arrears on loan payments to the United States with respect to narcotics-related assistance to Andean countries. Chapter 5: Other Provisions Pertaining to the Region - Makes assistance available for countries with democratically-elected governments in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prohibits the use of such funds for: (1) lethal equipment; and (2) the participation of Department of Defense personnel and members of the U.S. armed forces in law enforcement training. Permits law enforcement training in the Caribbean to be provided only by the Department of Justice International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program. Makes specified amounts available for such assistance. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1969 to authorize appropriations for the Inter-American Foundation for FY 1992 and 1993. Revises provisions concerning the composition of the Foundation's Board of Directors and the principal office. Prohibits foreign military financing or sales to Chile under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act during FY 1992 and 1993 unless the appropriate congressional committees are notified in advance. Earmarks development and economic support assistance for the Central American Journalism Program and Regional Administration of Justice Program's Center for the Administration of Justice to support democracy building activities in the region. Title VIII: Europe and the Middle East - Chapter 1: Middle East - Earmarks funds for economic support assistance, foreign military financing grants, and assistance for stockpiles for Israel for FY 1992 and 1993. Makes certain amounts of military financing available for advanced weapon systems research and development and the procurement of defense articles and services. Permits the drawdown of a specified amount of defense articles and services from the Department of Defense and military education and training for Israel. Reduces such amount by the value of articles, services, and education and training provided to Israel under the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1991. Requires such drawdowns, to the maximum extent feasible, to be made from units withdrawn from Europe. Earmarks funds for economic support assistance and foreign military financing for Egypt for FY 1992 and 1993. Permits such assistance to include support for law enforcement training. Requires specified amounts of amounts allocated by the Agency for International Development (AID) during FY 1992 and 1993 for democratic initiatives and human rights to be made available for the growth of indigenous nongovernmental organizations that contribute to pluralism, democracy, and respect for human rights and the rule of law in the Middle East. Earmarks specified amounts of FY 1992 and 1993 economic support assistance for the West Bank and Gaza Program and for regional cooperative projects in the Middle East. Earmarks specified amounts of FY 1992 and 1993 development assistance to finance projects under the Cooperative Development Program and cooperative development research among the United States, Israel, and developing countries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should support educational, cultural, and humanitarian activities that bring Israelis together with Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to Lebanon. Earmarks funds for economic support and development assistance for Lebanon for FY 1992 and 1993. Prohibits the sale of defense articles and services under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act and suspends the delivery of such articles and services to Lebanon unless the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees a report that: (1) sets forth the purpose and value of the articles and services to be provided; (2) identifies the intended end-user within the Lebanese Government of such articles and services; and (3) states that such articles and services will assist the Lebanese Government in establishing effective control of Lebanese territory and that sufficient safeguards exist to ensure that such articles and services will not benefit the Government of Syria. Prohibits assistance to Syria until the President reports to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Goverment of Syria: (1) has demonstrated willingness to enter into negotiations with Israel; (2) does not deny its citizens the right to emigrate and does not impose taxes with respect to emigration; (3) is assisting the U.S. Government in obtaining the release of American hostages in Lebanon; (4) no longer supports international terrorist groups; (5) is withdrawing its armed forces from Lebanon; (6) is no longer acquiring chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons and will not use weapons currently in its arsenal to threaten its neighbors; (7) is cooperating with U.S. antinarcotics efforts and taking steps to remove members of the government who are involved in the drug trade; (8) has made progress in improving human rights; and (9) has extradited the Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner. Requires the President to report to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on third country transfers of weapons and military equipment to Syria. Permits the transfer of equipment, supplies, or material captured from Iraq by U.S forces in Operation Desert Storm to the government of any Middle Eastern country only if specified congressional committees are notified in advance. Expresses the sense of the Congress that under international law and the terms of specified United Nations resolutions: (1) Iraq is liable for loss, damage, or injury to foreign governments, nationals, and corporations as a result of its invasion and occupation of Kuwait; and (2) Israel suffered damage as a result of Iraq's aggression and should be able to receive compensation from Iraq commensurate with damage suffered. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should work with its Arab coalition partners to: (1) encourage their support for efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East and to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict; and (2) take specific steps with respect to Israel and terrorism. Requires the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees an analysis of: (1) the Middle East arms balance based upon the cumulative impact of transfers of defense articles and services to the region by all countries; (2) how U.S. policy goals are advanced by U.S. transfers; (3) what type of military or economic compensation is required to countries whose qualitative edge the United States is committed to maintaining, how such compensation is to be funded, and the steps taken to preserve such qualitative edge and areas requiring attention due to a decline in comparative advantage; and (4) defense articles and services obtained by Middle East countries from sources other than the United States. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should obtain rescission by the United Nations General Assembly of Resolution 3379 (maintains that Zionism is a form of racism) and calls upon the General Assembly to rescind such resolution. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the 1981 Israeli preemptive strike against the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak was a legitimate and justifiable exercise of self-defense which also reduced the threat of Iraqi nuclear aggression against countries bordering Iraq; and (2) the United States should seek the repeal of United Nations Security Council Resolution 487 which condemned the strike. Prohibits sales from being made to Kuwait under the Defense Trade and Export Control Act and licenses from being issued for the export to Kuwait of any item on the U.S. Munitions List unless the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the Kuwaiti Government has: (1) put an end to arbitrary arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killing by Kuwaiti armed forces and is making an effort to stop such acts by nongovernmental resistance groups; (2) clarified the legal basis for arrest and detention; (3) ensured that those detained have access to legal counsel and to human rights groups; (4) ensured the rights to a speedy trial, due process, and an appeal of any sentence to detainees; (5) the intention to extend the right to vote to all citizens irrespective of sex or literacy; and (6) established a date for parliamentary elections. Chapter 2: Eastern Mediterranean - Earmarks funds for economic support assistance for Cyprus for FY 1992 and 1993. Permits such assistance to be used only for scholarships or bicommunal projects. Earmarks funds for foreign military financing assistance for Greece and Turkey for FY 1992 and 1993. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should support Turkey's inclusion in the full range of political, economic, and military institutions in Europe. Supports the United Nations Secretary General's peace initiatives regarding Cyprus and encourages both parties on Cyprus to cooperate with the Secretary General. Chapter 3: Support for East Europe Democracy - Amends the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 to make eligible for SEED benefits any Eastern European country taking steps toward: (1) political pluralism and economic reform; (2) respect for human rights; and (3) a willingness to build a friendly relationship with the United States. (Currently, most SEED programs target Hungary and Poland.) Extends specified structural adjustment, debt reduction, and stabilization assistance to such countries. Authorizes AID to provide assistance to support private sector development in Eastern Europe and U.S. participation in capital projects. Permits the President, acting through the AID Administrator, to use funds for labor market transition assistance to eligible Eastern European countries. Extends technical assistance and training for labor market transition assistance to eligible Eastern European countries. Removes a provision authorizing appropriations for Peace Corps programs in Poland and Hungary. Extends assistance for the development of Peace Corps and credit unions to eligible Eastern European countries. Applies provisions governing the use of Polish currency generated by agricultural assistance to local Eastern European currencies generated by such assistance. Repeals provisions concerning: (1) OPIC support for Poland and Hungary; (2) Trade and Development Program activities in Poland and Hungary; (3) tax treatment of loans with below market interest rates for Poland and Israel; and (4) the trade credit insurance program for Poland. Extends Export-Import Bank programs to Czechoslovakia. Urges the President to seek bilateral investment treaties with eligible Eastern European countries to establish a legal framework for U.S. investment in such countries. Extends educational and cultural exchange programs and the scholarship partnership program to eligible Eastern European countries. Removes funding provisions concerning the scholarship partnership program. Authorizes the AID Administrator to use funds available for the scholarship partnership program for scholarships to enable Eastern European students to study at American institutions of higher education in Europe. Extends assistance for the support of democratic institutions and environmental protection and energy efficiency activities to eligible Eastern European countries. Authorizes the President, acting through the AID Administrator and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to provide assistance for environmental and energy activities in eligible Eastern European countries, with emphasis on assistance for policies encouraging and providing incentives for end-use energy efficiency and conservation and reliance on renewable energy resources. Requires the President to work with officials of the Government of Czechoslovakia to establish a regional program to facilitate cooperative activities to address the public health aspects of environmental degradation. Earmarks funds for such program. Revises provisions concerning medical assistance to Poland. Authorizes the President, acting through the AID Administrator, to: (1) provide medical training, health care planning assistance, and other assistance to improve health care to eligible Eastern European countries; and (2) provide assistance to support the infrastructure for a housing sector in such countries. Redesignates the SEED Information Center System as the Eastern European Business Information Center System. States that the System should develop special information on business opportunities in the communications, broadcasting, and information field for use by U.S. industry and the SEED Program coordinator. Repeals a provision concerning economic and commercial officers at U.S. embassies and missions in Hungary and Poland. Authorizes and allocates appropriations for SEED programs for FY 1992 and 1993. Sets forth provisions concerning the reallocation or reduction of such funds. Chapter 4: Other Provisions Relating to Europe - Amends the Anglo-Irish Agreement Support Act of 1986 to make economic support funds available for U.S. contributions to the International Fund. Removes a certification requirement under such Act and revises reporting requirements. Earmarks economic support assistance for FY 1992 and 1993 for assistance to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and to eligible recipients in the Soviet Union that request U.S. technical assistance in support of democratic or market-oriented reforms. Permits such assistance to be provided only through the government of such state or republic or through nongovernmental organizations. Defines an "eligible recipient in the Soviet Union" as the government of any republic or local government that was elected through free and fair elections or any indigenous nongovernmental organization that promotes democratic and market-oriented reforms. Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for disaster assistance to Armenia and to carry out the Soviet-East European Research and Training Act of 1983. Revises reporting requirements under such Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to U.S. policy toward Yugoslavia and the situation in Kosovo province. Expresses the sense of the Congress that regulations issued pursuant to the Defense Trade and Export Control Act should be amended to allow the importation into the United States of sporting and hunting rifles and shotguns manufactured in Poland, Hungary, or Czechoslovakia. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) President Bush should place Soviet cessation of aid to Cuba high on the list of objectives of the upcoming U.S.-Soviet summit; (2) a Soviet cutoff of aid to Cuba should remain a high priority in U.S.-Soviet relations until the Soviet Union ends its economic and military support for the Castro regime; and (3) a democratically-elected government in Cuba should remain a goal of American foreign policy. Title IX: Asia and the Pacific - Chapter 1: East Asia and the Pacific - Requires the President, in determining whether to furnish assistance or make sales of defense articles or services to Burma (Myanmar) during FY 1992 and 1993, to make a specified certification with respect to international narcotics control in Burma and to take into account whether the Burmese Government has: (1) ceded legal authority to a civilian government as mandated by the 1990 elections; (2) released persons arrested for the peaceful expression of their political views; and (3) ceased harassment of persons and political parties attempting to exercise freedoms of expression, association, and assembly. Sets forth notification requirements with respect to certain assistance for Burma. Declares that the Congress would welcome decisions by the President to: (1) impose economic sanctions on Burma under the Customs and Trade Act of 1990; and (2) call upon industrialized countries to impose similar sanctions upon Burma. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the settlement of the Cambodian conflict and genocide. Makes available FY 1992 and 1993 economic support assistance for humanitarian and development assistance for Cambodians along the Thai-Cambodia border and throughout Cambodia. Sets forth conditions on the disbursement of such assistance. Prohibits any funds from being used to promote or augment the capacity of the Khmer Rouge to conduct military or paramilitary operations in Cambodia or Indochina. Earmarks funds for FY 1992 and 1993 for humanitarian assistance to children and war victims in Cambodia. Authorizes the President to use funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for: (1) nonmilitary training of noncommunist Cambodians in the United States; and (2) an international relief and reconstruction program in Cambodia. Prohibits the provision of FY 1992 and 1993 foreign military financing assistance and assistance for international military education and training to Fiji unless the President certifies to the Congress that Fiji has held elections in which there has been broad participation by all communities. Sets forth provisions concerning Malaysia's policy of denying first asylum to Indochinese asylum-seekers. Requires the President to allocate the amount of funds requested in the congressional presentation materials for the South Pacific regional program for FY 1992 unless he notifies the appropriate congressional committees in accordance with reprogramming procedures. Makes available specified amounts of economic support, development, and international disaster assistance for such program. Earmarks development assistance funds for scholarships for study at postsecondary institutions in the United States. Commends Taiwan for sharing in the responsibilities associated with Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Calls on the President to accept future contributions from Taiwan for multinational operations regardless of the positions of China. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should give the highest priority to accounting for Americans missing in Southeast Asia and to negotiating the return of any Americans still held captive in Southeast Asia; (2) the United States should heighten public awareness of the missing Americans through dissemination of factual data; (3) progress on accounting for missing Americans and other humanitarian issues will affect the process of normalizing relations between the United States and Vietnam; and (4) the President should provide specified amounts to support humanitarian projects in Laos for efforts to resolve questions concerning Vietnam prisoners of war or those missing in action. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should encourage the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to consider for OECD membership the Governments of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Makes available specified amounts of economic support, development, and international disaster assistance for humanitarian assistance for displaced Burmese nationals in Thailand and Burma. Prohibits the sale, and the issuance of licenses for export, to China of any item on the U.S. Munitions List for military end-users if the President determines that: (1) any U.S. defense article or technology was used in certain missiles or aircraft transferred to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, or Syria by China in contravention of the Defense Trade and Export Control Act; and (2) any chemical weapon or nuclear equipment or materials were transferred to such countries by China. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the sale or export of systems or components designed for inclusion in civil products and controlled as defense articles only for purposes of export to a controlled country, unless the President determines that the intended recipient is the Chinese military or security forces. Chapter 2: South Asia - Authorizes the President to make available development and economic support assistance for humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and for reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and the establishment of a broad-based freely-elected Afghan Government. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) land mines in Afghanistan; and (2) the termination of military assistance to, and a political settlement in, Afghanistan. Congratulates Bangladesh on the transition to a democratically-elected government and welcomes the economic adjustment program being implemented in coordination with the International Monetary Fund. Urges the President to provide debt relief under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to Bangladesh. Requires the President to allocate the amount of funds requested in the congressional presentation materials for Nepal for FY 1992 unless he notifies the appropriate congressional committees in accordance with reprogramming procedures. Makes available specified amounts of economic support, development, and international disaster assistance for Nepal if a democratically-elected government assumes office pursuant to free and fair elections. Sets forth provisions concerning human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. Requires the President, in determining whether to provide assistance or make sales of defense articles or services to Sri Lanka during FY 1992 and 1993, to take into account whether the Government of Sri Lanka has: (1) established a public register of detainees and ensured that detainees have access to lawyers and family members; (2) taken steps to deter disappearances and killings of civilians by persons under control of government forces; (3) taken measures to minimize civilian casualties in combat operations in the north and the east; and (4) made serious efforts to investigate and prosecute those involved in the murder of journalist Richard DeZoysa. Encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to provide human rights education and training. Chapter 3: Industrial Cooperation Projects in China and Tibet - Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. nationals conducting industrial cooperation projects in China or Tibet should adhere to specified principles, including to: (1) suspend the use of merchandise manufactured by convict or forced labor; (2) seek to ensure political and religious freedom without fear of one's employment status; (3) ensure that methods of production do not pose a danger to project employees and the surrounding environment; (4) strive to use business enterprises that are not controlled by China; (5) promote human rights in China; and (6) prohibit compulsory population control activities on the premises of such projects. Requires the Secretary of State to forward a copy of such principles to member nations of the OECD and encourage them to promote such principles. Requires each U.S. national to register with the Secretary and indicate whether they agree to implement such principles. Sets forth specified reporting requirements. Title X: Africa - Chapter 1: Authorizations of Assistance for Africa - Amends the African Development Foundation Act to authorize appropriations for the African Development Foundation for FY 1992 and 1993. Requires funds from the Development Fund for Africa to be used to assist sector projects supported by the SADCC. Urges the President to use diplomatic means to protect the security of SADCC projects and urges the Government of South Africa to respect the territorial integrity of SADCC states and to refrain from military aggression across its borders. Earmarks funds for FY 1992 and 1993 for economic support assistance for Subsaharan Africa. Welcomes the commitment of several governments in Subsaharan Africa to move toward democratic and multiparty systems of government. Urges the President to increase assistance to promote the development of democratic institutions in Africa. Directs the admninistrator of the administering agency to provide for the establishment of an African Center for Conflict Resolution to analyze, research, and resolve conflicts in Africa. Requires funds from the Development Fund for Africa to be made available for the Center. Chapter 2: Provisions Relating to Specific Countries - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Government of Angola and the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) should be commended for their willingness to enter into negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Angolan conflict and to reach agreement on a date for national elections; and (2) the United States should continue to support negotiations between the leaders of the Angolan Government and UNITA to achieve an agreement for a process of reconciliation among Angolans. Requires the President, in determining whether to provide assistance to Burundi during FY 1992 and 1993, to take into account that the Government of Burundi has: (1) made progress in reforming its military by engaging in a massive Hutu recruitment program; (2) taken steps to reverse discrimination against the Hutu; and (3) embarked on a major repatriation to accommodate the return of Hutu. Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to Ethiopia. Urges the President to impose diplomatic and economic pressures upon the Ethiopian Government if such Government fails to act in good faith to resolve its internal wars peacefully and to improve respect for human rights. Requires the President to report to the appropriate congressional committees every 90 days on Ethiopia's actions with respect to internal wars, human rights, and economic reform. Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to Kenya. Suspends economic and military assistance and sales to Kenya. Waives such suspension if the President reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Kenya is taking steps to: (1) charge and try or release all prisoners; (2) cease physical abuse or mistreatment of prisoners; (3) respect the independence of the judiciary; and (4) respect freedom of expression. Declares that it is U.S. policy to commit heightened diplomatic resources to resolving the fundamental political conflicts in Liberia. Makes available international disaster assistance funds for civil strife, rehabilitation, and general recovery in Liberia. Permits the President to transfer funds obligated for economic support assistance for Liberia to fund peacekeeping efforts in Liberia by the Economic Community of West Africa Monitoring Group. Authorizes assistance to Liberia under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 only if the President reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Liberia has achieved progress toward reconciliation among parties to the conflict in Liberia. Commends the Malawi Government's response to the influx of refugees from Mozambique. Condemns the abuse of human rights of Malawian citizens. Urges President Banda to release prisoners of conscience, end incommunicado detention and torture of prisoners, and permit freedom of speech and association in Malawi. Prohibits foreign military financing for the Malawi Young Pioneers and permits such assistance only for the Malawian military's effort to secure the Nacala Railroad and for activities to assist in the Mozambique peace process. Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to Mozambique. Conditions the provision of economic support assistance and foreign military financing for FY 1992 and 1993 for Mozambique on steps by the Government of Mozambique to increase respect for human rights and promote a political settlement to the conflict in such country. Encourages a peaceful and democratic solution to the problems in Somalia. Declares that it is U.S. policy to commit heightened diplomatic resources to resolving the fundamental political conflicts in Somalia. Permits foreign military financing, international military education and training, and economic support assistance for FY 1992 and 1993 to be provided to Somalia only if the President reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Somalia has made progress toward democratization and respect for human rights. Declares that the President, in providing assistance for refugees in Somalia under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, should ensure that: (1) an impartial counting of eligible beneficiaries of food assistance by donors has been completed; (2) none of the beneficiaries belong to military or paramilitary units; and (3) the amount of such assistance does not significantly exceed the number of beneficiaries of such assistance. Permits international disaster assistance for Somalia to be used for civil strife relief, rehabilitation, and general recovery in Somalia. Sets forth U.S. policy toward South Africa. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should support the elimination of apartheid and the establishment of democratic majority rule in South Africa through a policy to bring about a nonracial democracy; (2) U.S. firms and the Government should provide specified assistance to disadvantaged South Africans; and (3) the President should seek the cooperation of U.S. allies in Western Europe and Japan to join in multilateral initiatives to aid disadvantaged South Africans. Requires funds to be made available from the Development Fund for Africa for assistance for the development and financing of low-cost housing in South Africa. Declares that it is U.S. policy to encourage negotiations between the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People's Liberation Army to end the conflict between these factions. Prohibits economic support assistance (except for basic human needs) and foreign military financing and for Sudan during FY 1992 and 1993. Makes such prohibition inapplicable if the President reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Sudan is making progress toward respect for human rights and democratization. Prohibits the provision of foreign military financing, international military education and training, and economic support and development assistance to Zaire during FY 1992 and 1993 unless the President reports to the appropriate congressional committees that free and fair elections have been held in Zaire. Chapter 3: United States Commission on Southern Africa - United States Commission on Southern Africa Act - Establishes the United States Commission on Southern Africa to solicit private sector funds to develop skilled personnel in South Africa and Namibia, particularly in middle management business and government positions, by providing for the training of disadvantaged South Africans and Namibians in the fields of education, health care, law, and housing. Authorizes the Commission to establish and provide funds for human resource development programs and to provide scholarships and internships for appropriate study and training. Prohibits the use of such funds for programs conducted by or through South African organizations which are financed or controlled by the Government of South Africa. Authorizes the use of such funds only for programs which clearly reflect the objective of an end to apartheid. Provides for the annual audit of the Commission by certified public accountants. Authorizes the U.S. Comptroller General to carry out an annual audit of the Commission. Directs the Commission to ensure that: (1) recipients of Commission assistance keep separate accounts of such assistance and records to facilitate effective audits; and (2) the Commission has access to such records. Makes Development Fund for Africa assistance available for a grant to the Commission. Chapter 4: Other Provisions - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) special efforts should be undertaken to reduce trade barriers and to promote economic interchange between the United States and developing countries in Subsaharan Africa; and (2) the countries of Subsaharan Africa are to be applauded for their stance during the Persian Gulf conflict and commended for their support of the United States. Permits international military education and training to be provided to a Subsaharan African country only if the President considers whether: (1) that country has a government that was democratically-elected as the result of free and fair elections or is committed to respecting human rights and permitting freedom of expression and has achieved progress in a process of democratization; (2) the armed forces of such country are involved in human rights violations or the government of the country fails to respect human rights; and (3) the armed forces of such country or other elements of the government of that country are engaged in destabilization efforts aimed at any other country. Requires the President, when obligating funds for countries that do not meet such conditions, to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the reasons for providing such assistance. Provides for the transfer of a specified amount of funds from the Development Fund for Africa for contributions to the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the United Nations Educational and Training Program for Southern Africa. Exempts international narcotics control assistance or assistance provided through nongovernmental organizations for the holding of free and fair elections from the restrictions on assistance under this title. Provides that any sanction imposed by any State or governmental subdivision that is directed at South Africa or persons engaging in commercial or financial transactions in or with South Africa and that also applies to Namibia shall be null and void with respect to Namibia unless such sanction is consistent with Federal law. Title XI: Other Provisions - Amends the Peace Corps Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Peace Corps through FY 1993. United States Environmental Security and Foreign Policy Act of 1991 - Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to global environmental security. Gives the Secretary of State primary responsibility for overseeing environmental agreements and activities between the United States and foreign countries and international organizations and commissions. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the Congress on: (1) multilateral environmental initiatives and negotiations concluded or in process; (2) bilateral agreements on the environment; (3) U.S. participation in, and support of, environment programs in international organizations and multilateral development banks; (4) international cooperation activities with respect to research and monitoring of environmental and natural resource conditions; and (5) environmental policies and activities of the United States in providing foreign assistance. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Expresses the sense of the Congress that a major effort should be made to strengthen the right to food in international law to assure the access of all persons to adequate food supplies. Declares that the Secretary, through the U.S. representative to the United Nations, should propose to the United Nations General Assembly that a Declaration and a Convention concerning the right to food be adopted and submitted to countries for ratification. Expresses the sense of the Congress that a major effort should be made to reform and restructure the United Nations mechanism for responding to international disasters and other humanitarian emergencies. Requires the Secretary, through the U.S. representative to the United Nations, to develop a proposal for strengthening the United Nations response to such emergencies. Directs the AID Administrator to release the Institute Centroamericano de Administration de Empresas from its obligation to make payments to the U.S. Government on a loan made pursuant to a specified Alliance for Progress Loan Agreement.

Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992

United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991

Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992 - Title I: Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes appropriations for FY 1991 to the Department of Veterans Affairs for: (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration; (2) the Veterans Health Administration; and (3) departmental administration, including the Office of the Inspector General. Authorizes the transfer of funds among specified appropriations. Authorizes the use of appropriations to procure consultant services. Authorizes the use of certain appropriations to pay prior year accrued obligations for certain benefits. Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development - Makes appropriations for FY 1992 for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for: (1) housing programs; (2) community planning and development; (3) research and technology; (4) fair housing activities; and (5) management and administration, including the Office of the Inspector General and personal services and travel of departmental headquarters. Limits the amounts of specified loan obligations, including guarantee commitments of the Government National Mortgage Association. Makes funds available for the renewal of expiring low-income subsidy contracts. Makes funds available for grants to public housing agencies for use in eliminating drug-related crime in public housing projects. Makes funds available for the low-income moderate rehabilitation program to be used to assist homeless individuals. Transfers assets and liabilities of the revolving fund for rehabilitation loans to the revolving fund for liquidating programs under the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1955. Allows the following municipalities to retain land disposition proceeds from certain financially closed-out projects not paid to HUD: (1) the city of Vallejo, California; (2) the city of New London, Connecticut; and (3) the Housing Authority of the city of Jefferson, Missouri. Allows the cities of Newburyport and Malden, Massachusetts, to retain categorical settlement grant funds or urban renewal grant funds after the financial closeout of specified projects. Cancels the indebtedness of Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, relating to a public facilities loan. Limits the number of Senior Executive Service positions other than career-appointees in HUD. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to establish a separate fair market rental rate for Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act and the Housing Act of 1959 to allow service coordinators in housing for the elderly projects. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to give priority to public housing applications for new construction, acquisition, or acquisition and rehabilitation in areas with an adequate supply of housing for low-income families. Title III: Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1992 to the: (1) American Battle Monuments Commission; (2) Consumer Product Safety Commission; (3) Court of Veterans Appeals; (4) Department of Defense-Civil for cemeterial expenses, Army; (5) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); (6) Executive Office of the President for the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Environmental Quality, the National Space Council, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy; (7) Federal Emergency Management Agency; (8) General Services Administration for the Consumer Information Center; (9) Department of Health and Human Services for the Office of Consumer Affairs; (10) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); (11) National Credit Union Administration for the obligations of the Central Liquidity Facility; (12) National Institute of Building Sciences; (13) National Science Foundation; (14) Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; and (15) Selective Service System. Sets forth limitations on average employment in EPA headquarters. Makes funds available to the Interagency Council on the Homeless as authorized under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. Prohibits the use of funds by NASA to fund grants, contracts, or other agreements with an expected duration of more than one year when a primary effect of such grant, contract, or agreement is to provide a guaranteed customer base for or establish an anchor tenancy in new commercial space hardware or services unless an appropriations Act approves such new hardware or services. Authorizes the use of income derived from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Endeavor Teacher Fellowship Trust Fund to award fellowships to U.S. nationals who are undergraduate students pursuing teaching degrees in elementary and secondary education in mathematics, science or technology disciplines. Prohibits the use of funds by NASA to administer, execute, or implement specified Federal regulations with respect to the liability of aerospace contractors in connection with poor workmanship. Title IV: Corporations - 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. Makes funds available for payment of expenditures of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) Resolution Fund and for the Office of Inspector General of the Resolution Trust Corporation. Title V: General Provisions - Specifies certain uses, limitations, and prohibitions on uses of funds appropriated by this Act. Requires FY 1992 pay raises to be absorbed within the levels appropriated in this Act. Prohibits the use of funds by HUD for first class travel of officials or employees unless required by medical necessity or on airplane flights longer than seven hours. Prohibits the use of funds by the Department of Veterans Affairs for any new lease of real property above a specified amount unless a report is submitted to the congressional Committees on Appropriations and a period of 30 days expires after submission of such report. Directs the Resolution Trust Corporation to report to the Congress at least once a month on its review of certain insolvent institution cases resolved by the FSLIC. Prohibits the use of funds to implement the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-576). Amends Federal law with respect to veterans medical care to extend from September 30, 1991 to September 30, 1992, the requirement for veterans to make copayments for medications. Amends the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1990 to extend through FY 1992 the amendments made to modify health care categories and copayments for veterans. Increases the amount made available for veterans medical care for use only for procurement of medical equipment. Provides that such veterans medical care provisions shall not take effect if the amount provided for medical care to the Department of Veterans Affairs is less than a specified amount plus reimbursements.

Teacher Leadership Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 30 May 1991

Teacher Leadership Act of 1991 - Title I: Teacher Recruitment - Part A: University Partnerships for Classroom Leadership - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to create University Partnerships for Classroom Leadership. Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to qualifying institutions (including institutions with large enrollments of minority or disadvantaged and historically Black colleges or universities) to establish partnerships with local education agencies (LEAs) to support: (1) mentorship or tutoring programs; (2) cultural, recreational, or athletic activities; (3) programs of college students as teacher aides; (4) seminars or workshops to advise college students about child development, child psychology, teaching methods, or the teaching profession; and (5) other appropriate activities to establish a presence of minority role models in the classroom or encourage minority students to enter the teaching field. Requires equitable distribution of such grants throughout the Nation and among a variety of communities. Permits the use of grant funds for: (1) training of college students and professors and school teachers; (2) instructional or curriculum materials; (3) transportation or incidental costs associated with participation; and (4) any other appropriate expenses of planning, implementing, or operating the partnership with the LEA. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Community Partnerships for Classroom Leadership - Creates a National Mini Corps Program for higher education institution partnerships with the migrant community. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to such institutions to establish partnerships to provide certain migrant college students with training to help them serve as student or teacher role models, links to the community, and tutors and teachers of migrant children. Provides for equitable distribution of grants. Allows the use of grant funds for program planning, implementation, and operation, but limits the portion that may be used for administrative expenses. Authorizes appropriations. Part C: National Job Bank for Teacher Recruitment Study and Demonstration - Establishes a National Job Bank for Teacher Recruitment. Directs the Secretary, through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), to study the feasibility of establishing: (1) a clearinghouse to operate a national teacher job bank; and (2) regional clearinghouses. Directs the Secretary, through OERI, to contract with one or more State entities, nonprofit organizations, or higher education institutions to pay the Federal share of costs of establishing a Teacher Job Bank Clearinghouse to help: (1) public and private education agencies locate qualified applicants for teaching-related positions; and (2) individuals locate teaching-related jobs or training necessary to enter the teaching profession. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Broadening the Diversity of Skills and Expertise of Teachers - Part A: Business Partnerships for Classroom Leadership - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to LEAs to establish model partnerships with business community representatives to sponsor programs for: (1) local business representatives to work with teachers to provide supplementary instruction in the classroom; (2) classroom teacher internships working in local businesses to gain practical experience or new skills or expertise; (3) local business representatives to work with school administrators to develop instructional material; and (4) other appropriate activities for forming a working relationship between business and classroom leaders. Provides for equitable distribution of grants. Gives priority to partnerships focusing on mathematics or science expertise of classroom teachers, particularly at the elementary level. Allows awards only to partnerships of sufficient size and scope to be models. Allows use of funds for partnership planning, implementation, and operation, but limits the portion which may be used for administrative costs. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Teacher Certification and Licensure - Establishes Standards for Teacher Certification programs to provide Federal support and technical assistance to States to: (1) review their teacher certification and licensure requirements; and (2) determine what new standards or alternative routes need to be developed. Directs the Secretary to make State allotments based on population of children ages five through 17. Directs the Secretary to reserve a portion of funds to provide technical assistance to States which are developing new standards or alternative routes for teacher certification and licensure. Allows States to use assistance for review of existing standards and development of new standards and alternative routes for teacher certification and licensure. Allows States to carry out such activities directly or through grants to appropriate agencies, institutions, or organizations. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Innovations in the Practice of Teaching - Part A: CLASS (Classroom Leaders Assisting Students to Succeed) Academies - Replaces professional development resource centers for teachers with CLASS (Classroom Leaders Assisting Students to Succeed) Academies. Directs the Secretary to award grants to LEAs, State educational agencies, higher education institutions, private management organizations, or nonprofit organizations, or consortia of such entities, to establish and operate a CLASS Academy in each State. Requires that special consideration in awarding grants be given to entities receiving Leadership in Educational Administration Development assistance which can meet specified requirements. Sets forth grantee obligations and general criteria for grants. Requires each grant to be for five years, with possible renewal for one additional five-year period. Allows the use of grant funds for: (1) developing and implementing preservice and in-service training programs and professional development activities for prospective and practicing teachers, including summer institutes; (2) providing support services, consultation, and technical assistance for school-based training and professional development activities; (3) disseminating information about Academy programs and the latest research findings on teaching and learning; and (4) other appropriate expenses related to development and implementation of teacher programs and activities and Academy operation. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, from appropriations for this part for FY 1992 or any succeeding fiscal year, to make available a necessary amount for establishing and operating a CLASS Academy in each State. Sets the non-Federal matching amount at 25 percent of the award to a grantee in FY 1992, and 50 percent in succeeding fiscal years. Part B: Research, Evaluation, and Dissemination - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to and contracts with higher education institutions and other public or private organizations for research and evaluation of alternative teaching strategies, including ones designed to reach particular student populations (such as those who are disadvantaged or who have disabilities or limited English proficiency), and innovative programs for teacher education and training. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, through the National Diffusion Network, to disseminate information and technical assistance with respect to alternative teaching strategies to LEAs, higher education institutions' teacher training programs, and CLASS Academies. Authorizes appropriations.

Job Training Partnership Act Amendments of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 30 May 1991

Job Training Partnership Act Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Amendments to the Job Training Partnership Act - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (the Act) to authorize appropriations for: (1) Training Services for the Disadvantaged, Adult Opportunity Program; (2) the Youth Opportunity Program; (3) Employment and Training Assistance for Dislocated Workers (other than provisions for clean air employment transition assistance); (4) Federally Administered Programs (Employment and Training Programs for Native Americans and Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers; Veterans' Employment Programs; National Activities; Labor Market Information; National Commission for Employment Policy; Training to Fulfill Affirmative Action Obligations); and (5) Job Corps. Authorizes appropriations for the new Youth Opportunities Unlimited Progam. Defines "basic skills deficient" as reading or computing skills at or below 8th grade level. Adds organizations serving older workers to the list of community-based organizations. Strikes from such list the National Urban Indian Council. Revises the definition of "economically disadvantaged" to refer to income guidelines promulgated each year by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Revises the definition of "supportive services" to include drug and alcohol abuse counseling and referral and individual and family counseling. Includes representatives of local welfare agencies on private industry councils (PICs). Revises requirements for service delivery area (SDA) job training plans. Revises requirements for performance standards to add measurement of increased basic education attainment and occupational skills (as well as the current measurement of increased employment and earnings and reduced welfare dependency). Provides for the following additional factors in performance standards for youth programs: (1) attainment of employment competencies; (2) secondary and postsecondary school completion or its equivalent; and (3) enrollment in other training programs or apprenticeships, or enlistment in the armed forces. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to prescribe variations on such standards for youth programs to reflect the differences between in-school and out-of-school programs. Requires PIC's to determine levels for competency standards, based on factors such as entry skill levels and other hiring requirements. Directs Governors to award incentive funds to SDAs for achieving performance standard levels. Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of State Governors to prescribe variations in performance standards within certain parameters. Requires selection of service providers on a competitive basis to the maximum extent possible. Requires such selection process to include: (1) determination of the service provider's ability to meet program design specifications; and (2) documentation of compliance with procurement standards. Requires, with specified exceptions, that all expenditures under the Act be charged to appropriate cost categories. Establishes new cost categories and cost limitations for the Adult Opportunity and Youth Opportunity Programs. Requires the Governor's coordination and special services plan to include descriptions of State coordination measures and projected grant uses. Renames the State job training coordinating council the State human resource investment council. Revises specified provisions for State education coordination and grants. Repeals specified provisions for training programs for older workers. Revises program requirements for service delivery systems. Exempts normal tuition charges for training or education from certain requirements for a breakdown of cost components. Limits the duration of on-the-job training to a period not in excess of that generally required for acquisition of skills needed for that position, but never exceeding six months. Requires on-the-job contracts to: (1) specify types and duration of training and other services; and (2) if an intermediary brokering contractor is used for placements, specify certain additional services and factors. Allows a public or private nonprofit entity to retain any income earned under any program under the Act if it is used to carry out the program, even though financial assistance has expired. Requires States to establish fiscal control and fund accounting procedures to ensure proper disbursal and accounting of Federal funds. Requires the Governor to establish procurement standards for States, local areas, and SDA's to ensure that specified criteria are met. Revises reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Requires recipients to maintain and provide to the Secretary standardized records of a sufficient number of individual participants to provide an adequate sample size to allow for preparation of national estimates to meet specified requirements. Requires States, administrative entities conducting the program, and recipients (other than sub-recipients) to monitor the performance of service providers. Requires Governors to ensure that requirements are established for retention of records for specified periods. Revises training services for disadvantaged adults and renames them the Adult Opportunity Program. Sets forth new eligibility requirements and a new formula for the allotment of funds to the disadvantaged adult program. Requires that the following features be included in all individual adult programs: (1) assessment of skill levels and service needs; (2) service strategy; (3) progress review; and (4) where appropriate, basic and occupational skills training. Requires SDAs to link with: (1) other specified Federal programs; and (2) State, local, and private programs, as appropriate. Allows an SDA to transfer up to ten percent of adult program funds to the youth program under certain conditions. Revises training services for disadvantaged youth and renames them the Youth Opportunity Program. Sets forth new eligibility requirements and a new formula for the allotment of funds to the disadvantaged youth program. Requires that the following features be included in all individual youth programs: (1) assessment of skill levels and service needs; (2) service strategy; (3) progress review; and (4) where appropriate, training in basic, occupational, pre-employment, and work maturity skills, work experience combined with skills training, and supportive services. Requires SDAs to link the youth program with: (1) other specified Federal programs; and (2) as appropriate, State, local, and private programs. Allows an SDA to transfer up to ten percent of youth program funds to the adult program under certain conditions. Provides, with respect to employment and training assistance for dislocated workers, that an eligible dislocated worker participating in training (except on-the-job training) shall be deemed to be in training with the approval of the State agency for purposes of unemployment compensation. Increases from ten to 20 percent of total enrollment the allowable number of nonresidential participants enrolled in the Job Corps in any year. Requires that, in enrolling nonresident participants, priority be given to those eligible individuals who are single parents with dependent children. Establishes a new Youth Opportunities Unlimited Program. Authorizes the Secretary to establish such national progam of Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) grants to pay 50 percent of of the cost of comprehensive education, training, and supportive services for youth in high poverty areas in urban and rural areas. Requires such grants to be awarded to the local service delivery area (on behalf of the participating community) in which the target area is located (or to designated grantees if the target area is in a migrant worker community, Indian reservation, or Alaskan native village). Authorizes the Secretary to select as grant recipients up to 25 communities in the first year after the program is in effect. Makes such grants cover a three-year period, with each year conditional upon compliance. Authorizes participating communities to apply for grants for use on behalf of target areas. Requires that a designated target area have not more than 25,000 population. Requires that program funds be used for services to youth ages 14 through 21. Title II: State Human Resource Investment Council - Requires each State which receives assistance under applicable programs to establish a single State human resource investment council to review and advise on coordination of applicable programs under: (1) the Adult Education Act; (2) the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act; (3) the Job Training Partnership Act; (4) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (5) the Wagner-Peyser Act; (6) the JOBS program of the Social Security Act; and (7) specified provisions of the Food Stamp Act of 1977.

Medicaid Family Care Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1991

Medicaid Family Care Act of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide federally reimbursed Medicaid coverage of alcoholism and drug dependency residential treatment services for pregnant women whose family income is below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level and for their Medicaid-eligible children and spouses. Lists the required services included in such coverage as: (1) individual, group, and family counseling and addiction education and treatment; (2) room and board in a structured environment with on-site supervision 24 hours a day; (3) child day health services; (4) parental assistance in obtaining developmental assistance for their preschool children and public education for themselves and their school-age children; (5) easier access to apppropriate health, social, and child care services; and (6) planning and assistance in reentering society. Requires that such coverage continue for at least 12 months (unless such coverage is found to be no longer therapeutically necessary, except that the coverage of pregnant women must continue for one year following the end of pregnancy. Limits the size of a residential treatment facility to no more than 40 beds, except under prescribed conditions.

International Medical Graduate Equity Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1991

International Medical Graduate Equity Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to establish: (1) a National Repository of International Physician Credentials (the Repository); and (2) an Advisory Council on the Repository (the Council). Authorizes appropriations for such purposes for FY 1992 through 1994. Requires the Secretary to obtain information on a periodic basis from the physician licensing authority of at least ten States with respect to license applications and periodically report on such information to the Congress. Prohibits any State from discriminating against an individual on the basis of their being an international medical graduate (i.e. a graduate of a medical school located outside the United States) by denying their application for a license to practice medicine, if the individual: (1) has received such a license from another State and has practiced medicine in the United States for five years after receiving such license; and (2) meets the State's criteria for issuance of such license to graduates of U.S. medical schools. Prohibits any entity that operates a residency program for medical school graduates to discriminate against an international medical graduate by denying such individual an available residency in the program in any case in which: (1) the residency cannot be filled by a U.S. medical school graduate; and (2) the international medical graduate meets the criteria for program admission for U.S. medical school graduates. Allows individuals aggrieved by such discrimination by a State or a residency program operator to obtain relief through civil action. Sets a five-year statute of limitations on such actions.

Health Professions Training Improvement Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1991

Health Professions Training Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that, in making competitive grants under provisions relating to health research and teaching facilities and training of professional health personnel or provisions relating to nurse education, priority be given to applicants providing certain services or having certain interactions with medically underserved communities. Requires that, after FY 1994, at least 50 percent of the amounts appropriated for such grants be awarded to institutions which meet requirements regarding the percentage of their graduates practicing in such communities. Mandates grants to health professions institutions to expand training programs targeted at individuals desiring to serve the needs of such communities. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates grants to regional consortia (comprised of at least one medical school and at least one health professions school that is not a medical school) to enhance and expand coordination among various health professions programs, particularly in medically underserved rural areas. Authorizes appropriations.

To amend the Social Security Act to increase payments for direct graduate medical education costs of primary care residents in initial residing period, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1991

Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase payments for direct graduate medical education (DME) costs of primary care residents in the initial residency period. Provides an overall cap on approved Full Time Equivalent resident amounts. Requires hospitals to provide more compensation to primary care residents than to non-primary care residents in order to receive DME funding.

Federal Transit Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1991

Federal Mass Transportation Act of 1991 - Amends Federal law to rename the Urban Mass Transportation Administration of the Department of Transportation the Federal Transit Administration. Amends the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 (the Act) to declare as one of the findings of the Congress that significant improvements in public transportation are necessary to achieve national goals for improved air quality, energy conservation, and mobility for elderly persons, persons with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged persons in urban and rural areas. Declares that one of the purposes of the Act is to provide financial assistance to State and local governments and their instrumentalities to help implement such national goals as they relate to the mobility of such persons. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to enter into: (1) full funding contracts with applicants for capital grants for mass transportation projects; and (2) early systems work agreements (which promote completion of such projects more rapidly and at less cost) with such applicants if specified conditions are met. Limits the total estimated amount of Federal contingent commitments to incur obligations covered by early systems work agreements and full funding contracts to no more than the amount authorized under this section or the unobligated balance remaining in the transit account of the Highway Trust Fund, whichever is greater, less an amount to cover capital grants which are not covered by a letter of interest. Prohibits the total amount obligated by such agreements and contracts from exceeding any limitation contained in law. Allocates funds from the amounts available for capital grants and loans for mass transportation projects for: (1) rail modernization; (2) construction of new fixed guideway systems and extensions to such systems; (3) the replacement, rehabilitation, and purchase of buses and related equipment and the construction of bus-related facilities; and (4) capital projects necessary to satisfy requirements of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Requires the Secretary to make certain funds available for rail modernization of: (1) historic rail systems first; and (2) then new systems. Authorizes the Secretary to make discretionary capital grants and loans to States and local public bodies for: (1) projects for the deployment of innovative techniques and methods in the management and operation of public transportation services; and (2) mass transportation services for elderly persons and persons with disabilities. Revises certain criteria used for the making of discretionary capital grants or loans for construction of new fixed guideway systems or extensions. Requires: (1) the Secretary to provide appropriate adjustments for inflation over time and for regional differences in the costs of land and construction when determining such systems' cost-effectiveness; and (2) the alternatives analyses to take account of the direct and indirect costs of relevant alternatives that would provide comparable capacity expansion, including costs related to air pollution, noise pollution, congestion, energy conservation, and economic development. Changes to mandatory the Secretary's current discretionary authority to also consider other appropriate factors, including the current state of land use in the community and the degree to which the project increases the mobility of the transit dependent population, when making such grants or loans. Waives certain requirements with respect to such projects if such grants or loans account for less than $25,000,000 or less than 30 percent of the total project's costs. Prohibits the amount of interest on bonds issued by a State or local public body for a mass transportation project that is considered part of the Federal share of such project's costs from being greater than the most favorable interest terms reasonably available for the project at the time of borrowing. Declares it is in the national interest to promote the development of transportation systems that integrate various modes of transportation, maximize mobility of people and goods within urbanized areas, and minimize transportation-related fuel consumption and air pollution. Requires the designation by agreement among the Governor and units of general purpose local government representing at least 90 percent of the affected population metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) for each urbanized area with a population of more than 50,000. Authorizes the designation of more than one MPO within a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) if specified conditions are met. Includes within the boundaries of a metropolitan area any area that: (1) is a nonattainment area for any transportation-related pollutant under the Clean Air Act; or (2) is likely to be significantly affected by air pollution within a subsequent 20-year period. Directs the Secretary to establish requirements to encourage Governors and MPOs with responsibility for a portion of a multi-State MSA or Consolidated MSA (CMSA) to provide coordinated transportation planning for the entire MSA or CMSA. Requires the Secretary to designate as transportation management areas any metropolitan areas that: (1) have populations of more than 250,000; or (2) are noncompliance areas under the Clean Air Act. Requires the Secretary to publish a list of such areas annually. Requires each MPO to prepare for its metropolitan area a metropolitan strategy that at a minimum: (1) identifies transportation facilities (including major roadways, mass transit, and multimodal and intermodal facilities) that should function as an integrated metropolitan transportation system, emphasizing those facilities that serve specified national and regional transportation functions; (2) assesses major demands on the metropolitan transportation system (projected over the subsequent 20-year period); (3) sets forth a long-range strategy for meeting metropolitan area personal mobility and goods transportation needs, including State and local actions to improve transportation efficiency and capacity; (4) explains how proposed transportation decisions will achieve compliance with specified environmental and resource conservation laws, further energy conservation programs, and affect other concerns of the metropolitan area such as housing, community development, and historic preservation; (5) includes a financial plan that demonstrates how such strategy can be implemented; (6) projects capital investment and other measures to ensure the preservation and most efficient use of existing transportation facilities; and (7) indicates proposed transportation enhancement activities. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for the development of abbreviated strategies for metropolitan areas not designated as a transportation management area. Requires States to develop a statewide transportation strategy that takes into account the transportation needs of areas that have no MPO. Directs each MPO to develop a transportation improvement program for a period of at least three years. Requires States to develop a similar program for areas with no MPO. Requires each MPO to submit to the Governor and the Secretary a list of highway and transit projects for its transportation management area. Prohibits any such projects that are funded under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1991 and the Federal Public Transportation Act, with specified exceptions, from being approved unless they are included in the list of projects approved by an MPO. Authorizes the Secretary to contract for and make grants to States and local public bodies and agencies, or enter into agreements with other Federal departments and agencies, for the planning, engineering, design, and evaluation of public transportation projects, and for other specified technical studies. Encourages to the maximum extent feasible the participation of private enterprise with respect to such plans and programs. Requires the Secretary to ensure that capital and block transportation grants be used to support balanced and comprehensive transportation planning that takes account of the relationships among land use and all transportation modes, without regard to the programmatic source of such planning funds. Sets forth a formula for the allocation of planning funds to metropolitan areas and transportation management areas. Declares that the Federal share of costs for such transportation planning activities shall be 75 percent, except where the Secretary determines that it is in the Federal interest not to require a State or local matching share. Authorizes grants for construction projects in designated transportation management areas to be made available for highway projects if specified requirements are met. Revises the formula for apportioning public transportation block grants for urbanized areas according to fixed guideway revenue vehicle or route miles, and bus revenue vehicle miles and bus passenger miles. (Repeals the "incentive tier".) Applies specified safety provisions of the Act to public transportation block grants. Requires certain certifications that must be submitted annually by a public transportation block grantee to be consolidated into a single document as part of such grantee's application. Requires the Secretary to publish a list of all required certifications annually. Requires the Secretary to establish streamlined administrative procedures to govern compliance with certification requirements with respect to block grantee control over track and signal equipment used in ongoing operations. Revises certain requirements of block grantees with respect to the preparation of a proposed program of projects to require them to assure that such program provides for the maximum feasible coordination of public transportation services assisted under the Act with transportation services assisted by other Federal sources. Authorizes the Secretary, in lieu of the Federal environmental review procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, to approve projects by recipients of assistance under the Act who assume responsibilities for environmental review, decisionmaking, and other action that would apply to the Secretary if such projects were undertaken as Federal projects. Requires each recipient to submit a certain annual certification with respect to the approval of such projects. Amends the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 to repeal specified conditions relating to the construction of a certain segment of Interstate Route I-95 in Florida in order to permit continued Federal operating assistance for commuter rail service in southern Florida. Includes research on transportation safety as a responsibility of each university transportation center established under the Act. Requires the Secretary to coordinate the research, education, training and technology transfer in such centers, the dissemination of the results of the research, and provide for a clearinghouse between the centers and the transportation industry. Authorizes the Secretary to make funds that are appropriated to the Department of Transportation for transportation research available to one or more of the centers for research that is compatible with research conducted in them pursuant to authorizations under the Act or the Highway Trust Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer facilities and equipment acquired by a recipient of Federal transportation funds but no longer needed to any public body for any public use for at least five years after such transfer. Sets forth specified determinations to be made by the Secretary with respect to the transfer of such assets for purposes other than for mass transportation. Authorizes the Secretary to allow the solicitation for a turnkey system project (a vendor-specific project under which a recipient contracts with a vendor to build and operate a transit system that meets specific performance criteria) to be awarded before Federal requirements are met so long as such award is made without prejudice to their implementation as a means to advance new technologies and lower the cost of constructing new mass transportation systems. Authorizes the Secretary to approve no more than four projects for an initial demonstration phase. Authorizes a recipient that procures rolling stock with Federal transportation assistance to enter into multiyear agreements for the purchase of such stock and replacement parts in which the recipient may exercise an option to purchase additional stock or replacement parts for no more than a five year period from the date of the original contract. Directs the Secretary to permit two or more recipients to form a consortium to purchase such stock. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans to the Governor of each State for allocation to State approved private nonprofit organizations and public bodies (currently, such assistance goes directly to private nonprofit corporations and associations) to assist them in providing transportation services to elderly persons and persons with disabilities. Declares that nothing in the Act shall be construed to prohibit the leasing of vehicles purchased with such assistance to local public bodies or agencies as a means of improving transportation services to such individuals. Authorizes States to transfer facilities and equipment acquired with Federal transportation assistance for nonurbanized areas or elderly persons and persons with disabilities to any recipient eligible to receive such assistance if such equipment or facilities continue to be used in accordance with its requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to retain and continue to use any funds returned in connection with grants or contracts for programs that address human resource needs with respect to public transportation activities. Authorizes appropriations from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund and from the general fund of the Treasury for formula and discretionary grant programs for mass transportation projects. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds and funds appropriated under the National Capital Transportation Act of 1969 for: (1) metropolitan planning activities; (2) rural transit assistance programs; (3) State and national transportation planning and research programs; (4) administrative expenses of the Secretary; (5) transportation services to elderly persons and persons with disabilities; and (6) university transportation centers. Makes specified amounts of such funds available for: (1) completion of interstate transfer transit projects; and (2) block grants for transportation projects in urbanized areas. Prohibits the Secretary from using more than three-quarters of one percent (currently, one-half of one percent) of funds for mass transportation projects to contract with persons overseeing the construction of such projects. Makes funds available for: (1) State transit cooperative research programs; and (2) State transportation planning and research in urbanized areas. Requires the Secretary, as part of such program, to establish an independent governing board to recommend mass transportation research, development, and technology transfer activities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, the National Academy of Sciences to implement such activities. Makes funds available to the Secretary for grants or contracts for national mass transportation programs. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds for special urban transportation demonstration initiatives. Authorizes the Secretary to charge and retain fees, tuition, or other related amounts resulting from conferences, seminars, and training sessions for the development of transit technology. Authorizes the Secretary to undertake a program of transit technology development. Requires the Secretary to establish an Industry Technical Panel to assist in identifying priority technology development areas and in setting guidelines for project development, project cost sharing, and project execution. Authorizes funds for mass transportation projects appropriated before October 1, 1983 and remaining available for expenditure after October 1, 1991, to be transferred to the most recent appropriation for such projects.

Dropout Programs Improvement Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1991

Dropout Programs Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Act of 1988 to extend the authorization of appropriations for assistance to address school dropout problems. Authorizes additional appropriations for the Secretary of Education to award grants to local educational agencies in each State to replicate the most successful programs assisted under such Act. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act of 1979 to increase by one (from four to five) the number of specified additional officers in the Department of Education who are to be appointed to carry out certain functions. Adds to such functions: (1) the evaluation, coordination, and dissemination of dropout prevention and reentry programs administered by the Department as well as federally funded dropout programs administered outside the Department; and (2) assistance in directing applicants to appropriate grant funding possibilities for local dropout prevention and reentry programs.

International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Choice Act of 1991

United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1991

International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Choice Act of 1991 - Title I: United States Population Assistance - Sets forth congressional findings with respect to population assistance. Declares that it shall be a principal objective of U.S. foreign policy to achieve universal availability of high quality fertility control services. Requires all family planning activities receiving support under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide a broad range of fertility control methods, including abortion where permitted by individual country policy. Prohibits funds from being used to coerce any person to undergo sterilization or involuntary abortion or to accept any method of fertility control. Requires the U.S. Government to support the expansion of reproductive rights in countries receiving foreign assistance. Prohibits the denial of foreign assistance to any foreign government, international organization, or nongovernmental organization based on such entity's provision of abortion-related information or conduct of advocacy efforts on behalf of reproductive choice. Requires population assistance to provide increased support for special programs to reach young adults before they begin childbearing. Provides that funds shall be allocated to countries meeting at least one of the following criteria: (1) countries accounting for a substantial proportion of the world's annual population increment; (2) having significant unmet needs for fertility control and that require foreign assistance to implement, expand, or sustain family planning services; and (3) countries which demonstrate a strong policy commitment to population stabilization through the expansion of reproductive choice. Makes funds available for: (1) the United Nations Population Fund; and (2) the Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction managed by the World Health Organization. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to establish simplified procedures for the development and approval of programs to be carried out by nongovernmental organizations that have demonstrated a capacity to undertake effective population and family planning activities and a commitment to quality reproductive health care for women. Makes 50 percent of all U.S. population assistance available for nongovernmental organizations. Requires AID to encourage greater involvement in the delivery of family planning services by private health practitioners, employer-based health services, unions, and cooperative health organizations. Sets forth targets for global expenditures in developing countries for core population programs and for U.S. population assistance. Authorizes appropriations for U.S. population assistance. Prohibits individuals in programs assisted by the United States from being denied family planning services because of an inability to pay the cost of such services. Lists research programs to be supported by U.S. assistance. Requires the U.S. Government to support communications strategies to create public awareness about reproductive health needs and the problems associated with world population growth. Directs the AID Administrator to report annually to the Congress on world progress toward population stabilization and universal reproductive choice. Title II: Population Assistance Policy and Development - Declares that it is U.S. policy to achieve universal access to basic education. Earmarks amounts from funds for development and economic assistance programs for education activities for adult literacy and basic primary education. Declares that it is U.S. foreign policy to: (1) reduce the infant mortality rate in all countries by the lower of one-third of the 1990 level or to 50 deaths per 1,000 live births; and (2) reduce the mortality rate of children under five years of age by the lower of 30 percent or 70 deaths per 1,000 live births. Authorizes appropriations from the Child Survival Fund for child survival activities. Sets forth as an objective of U.S. foreign policy during the 1990's the reduction of deaths to women from problems associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and unsafe abortions by one-half. Authorizes appropriations for the AIDS Prevention and Control Fund. Requires the Secretary of State to include information on discrimination against women in each annual country human rights assessment. Directs the U.S. representatives to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to ensure the rapid implementation of the United Nations Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women. Requires the Secretary to submit the five-year review of the status of U.S. women and annual reports requested by the Commission. Provides that U.S. foreign assistance programs shall emphasize activities which increase women's productivity through improved access to labor saving technology, vocational training, extension services, access to credit, and child care facilities. Requires the AID Administrator to report to the Congress (by country) on the legal, social, economic, and cultural barriers to women's self-determination and improvements in the productivity of women's labor in the traditional and modern sectors. Title III: Organizational Provisions - Establishes within the Department of State an Under Secretary of State for Global Population, Environment, and Natural Resources to provide a focus for dialogue on global population growth, environmental degradation, and natural resources management. Declares that the multilateral development banks should increase their support for core protection population activities. Requires the U.S. executive directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the African Development Bank to submit annual reports to the Congress on allocations to core population activities and, if such allocations total less than $1,000,000, to report on actions taken to encourage increases in such allocations. Requires the President to establish a National Bipartisan Commission on World Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health to oversee U.S. preparations for, and participation in, the 1994 International Population Meeting. Directs the Commission to report on population trends and their impact on efforts to alleviate poverty and protect the environment. Authorizes appropriations.

Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991

National Advanced Technician Training Act - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to carry out a national advanced technician training program of: (1) awarding competitive grants to accredited associate-degree-granting colleges which can provide competency-based technical training in designated advanced-technology occupational fields; and (2) establishing and maintaining a readily accessible inventory of advanced technician training programs. Requires the Director to appoint a National Advisory Council on Advanced Technician Training. Requires the Director and the Council to report annually on the national advanced technician training program. Requires program coordination with programs of the Department of Commerce and other relevant Federal agencies including the Departments of Labor, Education, and Defense. Requires such program to emphasize advanced technology training programs which: (1) include flexibility in scheduling to accommodate working people and parents; and (2) take steps to meet the adaptive and training needs of handicapped young people and adults. Requires the Director to designate ten centers of excellence among associate-degree-granting colleges, geographically distributed and competitively chosen, as follows: (1) five with exceptional programs of advanced technician training, to serve as national and regional technical education clearinghouses for other colleges; and (2) five that excel in undergraduate education in mathematics and science, to serve as national and regional mathematics and science education clearinghouses for both colleges and secondary schools. Requires the Director to make at least 20 competitive matching grants annually to associate-degree-granting colleges for partnerships in mathematics and science education with secondary schools in the community served by the college. Authorizes appropriations.