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Bill· SS. 3384 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1992
International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Choice Act of 1992 - 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 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 subjecting nongovernmental and multilateral organizations to requirements which are more restrictive than requirements applicable to foreign governments for such assistance. 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) countries 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. Prohibits assistance for the United Nations Population Fund from being obligated if China is denied most-favored-nation trading status. Prohibits U.S. population assistance for programs in China. Applies prohibitions on funding for abortions or involuntary sterilization to assistance to assistance for the Fund. Requires the Fund to maintain such assistance in a separate account, without commingling with other funds. Requires agreements between the United States and the Fund to obligate such assistance to provide for a full refund to the United States if the Fund provides more than a specified amount for family planning programs in China. Prohibits the use of such funds to carry out any program that is disapproved by the U.S. representative to the United Nations. 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 promote universal access to basic education. Declares that it is U.S. foreign policy to assist efforts 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. 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 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.
Bill· SS. 3387 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1992
Health Care Liability Reform and Quality of Care Improvement Act of 1992 - Title I: Findings and Purpose - Sets forth: (1) findings regarding this Act; and (2) the purpose of this Act. Title II: Health Care Liability Reforms - Requires, in order to be eligible to participate in the incentive program provided for in this title, that States have in effect the health care liability reforms set forth in this title. Requires, in any health care liability action, the liability of each defendant for non-economic damages to be several and not joint, with each defendant liable only for the proportion of that defendant's fault and a separate judgment against that defendant in that amount. Prohibits awarding non-economic damages over a certain dollar amount in any health care liability action, subject to waiver. Reduces the total damages received by a plaintiff by the amount of any collateral source benefits. Allows: (1) future economic damage awards to be paid periodically, based on when the damages are likely to occur or at the time the damages accrue; and (2) in certain circumstances, the court to require the health care provider to purchase an annuity or fund a reversionary trust to make such periodic payments. Prohibits reopening a judgment awarding periodic payments to contest, amend, or modify the schedule or amount in the absence of fraud or any ground permitting relief after entry of a final judgment. Declares it U.S. policy to encourage alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Requires a State to establish at least one ADR mechanism. Requires a State to: (1) cooperate with Federal research efforts regarding patient outcomes, clinical effectiveness, and clinical practice guidelines; (2) collect, analyze, and supply the Secretary of Health and Human Services with information regarding the performance of State medical boards; and (3) impose continuing education requirements on a disciplined physician. Allows alternatives to these requirements regarding medical boards and continuing education if the Secretary finds the alternatives at least as effective in reducing the incidence of negligence as compliance with the requirements. Allows States three years from the adoption of this Act to enact, adopt, or otherwise comply with the requirements of this title. Deems a State to be in compliance if it has in effect a system for prompt payment of economic damages not payable by State, Federal, or private health or disability insurance, wage continuation, or any other source or payment intended to compensate an injured person. Requires the withholding of certain funds for noncompliance. Allows waiver of the requirements of this title for any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project which is likely to assist in promoting the objectives of this Act. Title III: Mandatory Non-Binding Arbitration - Establishes a system for nonbinding arbitration of health care liability claims and a mechanism for resolution through arbitration of health care liability claims. Title IV: Federal Implementation of Health Care Liability Reforms - Amends Federal law to prohibit, in a health care liability action, finding the United States jointly and severally liable for non-economic damages. Allows liability only for those non-economic damages directly attributable to its pro rata share of fault. Reduces damages paid by the United States by the amount of any collateral source benefits. Prohibits awarding non-economic damages, in an action against the United States, over a certain dollar amount. Requires, at the request of the United States when future economic damages are awarded in excess of a specified amount, an order that such damages be paid by periodic payments based on when the damages are likely to occur. Allows the United States, in such cases, to pay the judgment periodically, purchase an annuity, or fund a reversionary trust. Prohibits reopening the judgment to contest, amend, or modify the schedule or amount in the absence of fraud or any ground permitting relief after entry of a final judgment. Title V: Construction of Provisions - Provides for construction, severability, and the effective date of this Act.
Bill· SS. 3362 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1992
Provides that the Georgia Baptist Hospital College of Nursing shall be deemed as satisfying, for academic year 1992-1993, the accreditation requirements described in specified provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Bill· SS. 3363 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1992
John F. Kennedy Center Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the John F. Kennedy Center Act (the Act) to extend the authorization of appropriations for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (the Center). Revises provisions for the Center's Board of Trustees (the Board). Provides for the appointment (as ex officio members of the Board) of: (1) the Secretary of State (to replace the Secretary of Health and Human Services); and (2) the Superintendent of Schools of the District of Columbia (to replace the Chairman of the District of Columbia Recreation Board). Shortens the length of terms of general trustees (who are appointed by the President) from ten to six years. Revises Board duties to include: (1) a leadership role in national performing arts policies and programs; (2) a comprehensive and broad program for national and community outreach; (3) joint initiatives with the affiliated Very Special Arts for model programs in the arts for disabled individuals; (4) ensuring excellence and cultural diversity in the Center's education and outreach programs and policies; and (5) annual comprehensive Center building needs planning. Authorizes the Board to enter into contracts and other arrangements and make payments to public agencies or private organizations or persons to carry out its functions under the Act. Authorizes the Board to negotiate any contract for any capital improvement to the Center with selected contractors, and to award the contract on the basis of contractor qualifications as well as price. Revises Board powers to provide for appointment of a Center chairperson (rather than a director and assistant director). Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) and the Board to enter into a cooperative agreement regarding major capital projects for the Center. Requires that the Board or its designated representative plan, design, and construct all such projects, with the approval of the Secretary (or designee) before commencement of such activities. Requires the Secretary to transfer funds for such activities to the Board. Requires the Board to submit quarterly progress reports to the Secretary (or designee) on such activities. Requires the Board, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior, to designate the maintenance, repair, alteration, and other services to be performed for the Center, in order to ensure that such services will meet Board's requirements for high quality operations. Prohibits the Board from requiring the expenditure of funds in excess of those appropriated for such purposes. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Center for: (1) capital projects and for maintenance, repair, and security services (these funds go to the Secretary of the Interior to cover the Board's expenses and their use is prohibited for performing arts related production expenses); and (2) education and outreach programs (these funds go to the Secretary of Education, to be granted to the Board to carry out these activities).
Bill· SS. 3368 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1992
Title I: Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site - Establishes the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Kansas. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to prepare and submit a general management plan for the historic site to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Dry Tortugas National Park - Establishes the Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida. Abolishes the Fort Jefferson National Monument. Specifies that the park shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior as a unit of the National Park Service and managed for specified purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) acquire lands and interests in land within the park by donation or exchange; (2) exchange those Federal lands which were deleted from the park by specified boundary modifications and which are directly adjacent to lands owned by the State of Florida outside the park, for lands owned by Florida within the park boundary; and (3) lease or acquire, by purchase, donation, or exchange, and to operate incidental administrative and support facilities in Key West, Florida. Provides for the transfer to the Secretary of jurisdiction over lands within the park boundaries determined by the U.S. Coast Guard to be excess to its needs, subject to specified requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3358 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to limit the amount of funds which local educational agencies may use for administrative expenses under chapter 1 (Financial Assistance to Meet Special Educational Needs of Children) of title I (Basic Programs) of ESEA. Directs the Secretary of Education to conduct a study to determine the actual share of Federal funds used for administrative expenses by State and local recipients of funds under certain Federal programs of assistance for elementary and secondary school education.
Bill· SS. 3359 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Manufacturing Application and Education Network Act of 1992 - Requires the Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Conservation and Renewable Energy, and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to comprise a selection committee which shall use competitive procedures to select a managing consortium to establish and administer the operations of the Manufacturing Application and Education Network (Network) Centers established in accordance with this Act. Outlines criteria for selection of a managing consortium, including having a primary mission of developing and deploying advanced manufacturing technologies and having the capacity to transfer such technologies to other areas. States that the first consortium so selected shall manage the Network Centers for five years, with each consortium selected thereafter managing such Centers for three years. Requires the consortium selected, with the support of a task force created later under this Act, to establish and oversee the administration of not less than 150 Network Centers within ten years after the date of enactment of this Act. Requires each consortium to develop a Network propagation plan that shall: (1) include a plan for the establishment of the Centers nationwide, upon the approval of the consortium; and (2) be based upon economic development and manufacturing profiles submitted to the consortium for approval by each of the 50 States. Requires: (1) the consortium to submit to the OSTP Director for distribution to all organizations involved in establishing the Centers a copy of establishment and business plans of each Center, as well as quarterly reports; and (2) the OSTP Director to report to the Senate and House Armed Services and Small Business Committees evaluating the progress and plans of the Network Centers. States that a Network Center may only be established and supported under this Act with the approval of the appropriate selected consortium, in consultation with a representative selected by the Secretary of Defense. Allows a consortium to approve the establishment and support of a Center only if such Center promotes the deployment of innovative and robust technology into U.S. manufacturing companies by conducting activities in: (1) technology awareness; (2) technology education; (3) technology demonstration; (4) technology application support; and (5) technology advancement support. Limits the amount of Federal funds authorized to be allocated to each Network Center by the consortium. Requires each Network Center to enter into a written agreement with the United States to share all information and technology developed by the Center while using Federal funds. Requires the OSTP Director to establish a task force under the auspices of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology. Requires the task force to: (1) develop a government-wide plan to utilize the skilled work force of the Federal laboratories to support Network Center operations; (2) develop a streamlined process for Federal agencies to identify and transfer existing Government technologies and equipment that would be of value to the Network; and (3) develop and implement a plan for the OSTP to periodically communicate to all relevant Federal agencies and the Congress concerning the progress being made in Federal programs involving technology transfer. Requires assistance from certain Federal officials in maximizing export opportunities for small and disadvantaged small business concerns participating in Network Centers. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary for Export Administration, to: (1) collect sourcing data on existing Federal procurements; (2) analyze such data in order to determine U.S. ability to supply components for critical and enabling technologies to current and future world markets; (3) identify the technologies that are deemed critical to reach full-scale production within a two-year period; and (4) provide detailed reports to the consortium on the findings. Amends the Small Business Act to authorize exclusive small business set-asides for Federal procurement of components and subsystems produced in Network Centers established under this Act. Directs breakout procurement center representatives established under such Act to provide written notification to a contractor or subcontractor that if two or more bids are received from small or disadvantaged small business concerns participating in Network Centers under this Act, the procurement contract for such component or subsystem must be set aside for competition among small and disadvantaged small business concerns in the United States. Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a program to promote the award of Federal procurement contracts to small and disadvantaged small business concerns that participate in the Network Centers under this Act, including contracts for the procurement of systems and components of critical technologies. Provides credits to Federal contracting officers and their Government contractors who support the achievement of Government targets for small business contracting. Outlines eligibility requirements for small or disadvantaged small business concerns to receive contract awards under the program, including a priority among such small and disadvantaged small businesses. Prohibits a contract awarded under such program from exceeding the lowest qualified bid received by a participating small or disadvantaged small business concern by more than ten percent.
Bill· HRH.R. 6210 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Comprehensive Services for Youth Act of 1992 - Title I: School-Based or School-Linked Health and Social Services Center Grants - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) (the Secretary), acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (the Administrator), to award grants to eligible local community partnerships to coordinate and deliver comprehensive education, health, and social services to children or youth in school-based, school-linked, or community-based locations. Requires each such partnership to include: (1) a local health care provider with experience in delivering services to adolescents; (2) one or more local public schools; and (3) at least one community-based organization with a history of providing services to at-risk youth in the particular community. Requires broad-based community participation, through an expanded partnership or an advisory board, involving parents and youth to be served, teachers and other public school and school board personnel, community-based organizations (particularly those serving minority youth), youth development and service organizations and interested business leaders. Requires targeting of the partnership's location and service to a community in which youth are exposed to a high risk environment. Describes high risk environment as having high rates of: (1) children in poverty or lacking access to health care; (2) dropouts and students retained in grade; (3) alcohol or drug abuse; (4) sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV); (5) teen pregnancy; (6) suicide; (7) community or gang violence; (8) youth unemployment; or (9) juvenile justice involvement. Requires partnership use of grant funds for coordination and delivery of specified core services at a school-based, school-linked, or community-based location or locations accessible to and used by at-risk children, youth, and their families. Sets forth such core services under the categories of: (1) comprehensive health, mental health, and social services; and (2) youth development and life planning services. Requires coordination among core services. Allows use of grant funds for coordination or co-location of core services with additional services identified in the comprehensive plan to enhance support available through the partnership service delivery network. Gives priority to grant applicants whose comprehensive services plan demonstrates: (1) continuity of access to core services on a year-round basis or beyond traditional school or service hours, either on site or through a backup referral system of community-based providers; and (2) the offer of services beyond the in-school population, including core services to out-of-school youth, to the extent practicable. Provides for an initial three-year grant period, and authorizes two-year extensions upon demonstration of substantial progress in integration of comprehensive services and improvement in health and education outcomes of the populations served. Sets forth application and plan requirements. Requires equitable geographic distribution of grants to both urban and rural communities. Sets minimum and maximum grant amounts. Sets forth provisions for Federal share, non-Federal share, and waivers of the latter. Requires grantees to use ten percent of such assistance to provide staff training (including teachers and school personnel) and to secure necessary technical assistance (through local community-based entities, to the maximum extent feasible). Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administration, to award one-year nonrenewable planning grants to eligible entities that agree to establish a local community partnership to deliver comprehensive services. Sets forth application requirements. Requires use of such planning grants for: (1) assessments of needs and barriers to services; (2) delivery planning and coordination of services; and (3) development of program goals and progress measurements. Limits to ten percent the portion of grant program funds which may be used for such planning grants. Limits the maximum amount of each planning grant. Title II: State and Local Coordinated Youth Services Grants - Subtitle A: Local Consortia Grants - Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to award grants to eligible consortia to coordinate and deliver comprehensive core education, health, and social services to at-risk youth through an integrated service delivery network directed by a consortium. Requires such consortia membership to include representatives from the local health department, local educational agency, health and social services providers and community-based organizations with a history of serving at-risk youth (including minority youth, dropouts, adolescent parents, and runaway or homeless youth), youth development organizations, juvenile justice personnel, and parents and the at-risk youth to be served. Requires specified financial or organizational commitments by consortium members. Subtitle B: Statewide Youth Services Center Grants - Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to award grants to eligible States to provide for coordination and delivery of comprehensive education, health, and social services to at-risk youth through the award of State grants to local community partnerships or consortia. Requires States, to be eligible for such grants, to: (1) provide assurances of cooperative agreements among State education, health, and social services agencies concerning planned delivery of such comprehensive youth services; (2) demonstrate financial and organizational commitments; (3) currently support coordinated delivery of such services through a system of school-based, school-linked, or community-based comprehensive youth services centers; (4) document that services are prioritized among communities that have a high-risk environment for youth, as indicated by specified factors; and (5) meet certain application requirements. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Both Local and Statewide Grant Programs - Sets forth requirements for applications and use of grant funds for a consortium or State entity awarded a grant under subtitle A or B. Requires coordination and delivery of specified core services through a system of school-based, school-linked, or community-based youth centers to serve in-school and out-of-school youth and their families. Sets forth such core services under the categories of: (1) comprehensive health, mental health, and social services; and (2) youth development and life planning services. Requires coordination and co-location of delivery of existing core services into a broader system of health and social services centers accessible to in-school or out-of-school youth to use available resources more effectively before adding new resources or developing new services. Requires provision of outreach services to out-of-school youth (including adolescent parents and runaway and homeless youth), and coordination of core services with alternative education and job training and placement opportunities for such youth. Allows use of grant funds for: (1) coordination and co-location of core services with additional services to enhance the support available to at-risk youth and their families through the service delivery network; and (2) expansion of coordination and delivery of core services to the feeder elementary schools whose students will attend secondary schools currently providing core services. Sets forth grant application and plan formulation and content requirements. Provides for an initial three-year grant period, and authorizes two-year extensions upon demonstration of substantial progress in integration of comprehensive services and improvement in health and education outcomes of the youth served. Provides for an integration incentive. Authorizes the Secretary, in making a grant under this title, to make bonus amounts available as integration incentives. Specifies forumulae for such bonuses. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to award one-year nonrenewable planning grants to consortia or States. Sets forth application requirements. Requires the use of such funds to: (1) establish an administrative mechanism to develop and implement a citywide, countywide, or statewide system of school-based, school-linked, or community-based comprehensive youth services centers; (2) assess needs and barriers to services; (3) develop program goals and progress measurements; and (4) develop a strategic plan for coordination and delivery of comprehensive services to youth at school-based, school-linked, or community-based locations. Limits to ten percent the portion of grant program funds which may be used for such planning grants. Limits the maximum amount of each planning grant. Title III: Implementation Provisions - Makes ineligible for title I funds any community that: (1) is currently receiving State funds to deliver co-located education, health, and social services; or (2) will receive funding from a State funded under subtitle B of title II. Allows such a currently funded community partnership to form a consortium to seek funding for an expanded citywide or countywide youth services network under subtitle A of title II. Requires a local consortium operating in a locality receiving State funding for delivery of such co-located services to include participation from the entities receiving such State funding. Makes eligible for continued funding, at the completion of its five-year grant period under title I, a partnership that has expanded into a citywide or countywide consortium (as described under subtitle A of title II) or has become part of a statewide network (as described under subtitle B of title II). Directs the Secretary to consult with the Secretary of Education in developing program regulations to implement this Act. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information on programs under this Act and on successful and model programs and to provide technical assistance. Requires such information and assistance to be provided directly through the Health Resources and Services Administration as the administering agency and other Department of HHS agencies with appropriate expertise, or through grants and contracts with nonprofit organizations. Requires the Secretary to collaborate with the Departments of Education and Labor and the Commission on National and Community Service, in such information and technical assistance efforts. Sets forth annual reporting requirements for entities receiving funds under this Act, including analyses of progress at the end of the third year. Sets forth maintenance-of-effort requirements. Authorizes appropriations for titles I and II and for special projects of national significance under title IV. Title IV: Federal Coordinated Youth Services Initiatives - Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to establish and administer a special projects of national significance program to award direct grants to public and nonprofit private entities to fund model programs to integrate health and social services, including HIV prevention, provided to special populations of youth at risk. Bases grant awards on: (1) need to provide such services to such subpopulations; (2) need to assess effectiveness of a prevention or service model or collaboration strategy; and (3) potential replicability of proposed activities in other localities. Allows such special projects to include projects targeting youth who are: (1) runaway, homeless, or street youth; (2) immigrants or migrants; (3) in the juvenile justice system; (4) in foster care; (5) in gangs; (6) with a history of substance abuse; (7) with HIV disease; (8) adolescent parents; and (9) Native American. Amends the Augustus F. Hawkins Human Resources Reauthorization Act of 1990 to direct the Federal Council on Children, Youth, and Families to: (1) identify (and make recommendations to modify or eliminate) program regulations or practices that impede coordination and collaboration; (2) develop recommendations for creating jointly funded programs, unified assessments, eligibility, application procedures, and confidentiality regulations that facilitate information-sharing; and (3) make recommendations to the Congress on legislative action needed to facilitate coordination of educational, health, and social services for in-school and out-of-school youth. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress: (1) biannual summaries of annual grantee reports and progress assessments; and (2) a final evaluation report within four and a half years. Directs the Secretary to use the amount made available under specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act to conduct such evaluation. Title V: Grants to Cities to Provide Education, Employment, Recreation, Social, and Cultural Awareness Assistance to At-Risk Youth - Directs the Secretary, to make grants to not more than ten selected cities to assist them to establish and operate teen resource and education centers to provide education, employment, recreation, social, and cultural awareness assistance to at-risk youth. Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants to a city if it applies and agrees to operate at least two such centers. Requires such centers to offer for at-risk youth: (1) educational assistance, including information on institutions of higher education, assistance with financial aid applications and scholarship search, and preparatory courses for high school equivalency and college entrance examinations; (2) employment and skills training, including hiring teen peer counselors to provide basic job skills training, job referral services, and job banks; (3) recreational opportunities, such as sports teams, neighborhood gardening and food distribution, and reading programs; (4) social skills development, including hiring adult counselors and providing support groups for counseling on social and personal issues; and (5) cultural awareness programs, such as classes in the history and culture of various cultural groups and productions of plays, stories, and artwork reflecting the cultural heritage of such youth. Requires such centers to provide financial assistance to college graduates who work full-time at the center to assist them to repay part of their student loan debt. Sets forth grant selection and allocation requirements. Requires city reports to the Secretary on their use of the grant, and interim and final reports by the Secretary to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
Law· HRH.R. 6181 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Title I: User Fees - Prescription Drug User Fee Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide authority for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to assess and collect fees from manufacturers of prescription drugs beginning in FY 1993. Establishes a schedule for prescription drug application and supplement fees, prescription drug establishment fees, and prescription drug product fees. Provides for the annual adjustment of such fees to reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers or increases in Federal pay. Authorizes the Secretary to waive or reduce fees. Prohibits the assessment of fees for a fiscal year after FY 1993 unless appropriations for salaries and expenses of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are equal or greater than such appropriations for FY 1992. Credits such fees to the appropriation account for salaries and expenses of the FDA. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1997. Provides a mechanism for collecting unpaid fees. Requires the FDA to make annual reports to the Congress on this Act. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study to evaluate whether to impose user fees to supplement appropriated funds to improve the process of reviewing applications for new animal drugs. Requires a report to specified congressional committees on the results of such study. Title II: Dietary Supplements - Dietary Supplement Act of 1992 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue final regulations with respect to dietary supplements of vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other similar nutritional substances under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 by December 15, 1993. Prohibits the implementation of such Act prior to the issuance of such regulations. Prohibits the promulgation of regulations that require the use of, or are based upon, recommended daily allowances of vitamins or minerals before November 8, 1993. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on enforcement practices of the FDA with respect to such dietary supplements. Requires the Comptroller General to report to such committees on a study of the management activities of the FDA related to such dietary supplements. Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment, in cooperation with the Congressional Research Service and subject to the approval of the Technology Assessment Board to report to such committees on a study of the health outcomes and regulatory systems affecting the development and sale of such dietary supplements.
Law· HRH.R. 6187 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
International Narcotics Control Act of 1992 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for international narcotics control for FY 1993 and 1994. Exempts maritime law enforcement operations in archipelagic waters from a prohibition on U.S. participation in foreign police actions. 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 Arms Export Control Act to be made available to finance the leasing of aircraft. Permits the use of narcotics control assistance to acquire land or real property for foreign military or law enforcement forces through leases of up to two years. (Current law prohibits the use of such assistance for such acquisitions by any means.) Prohibits the use of such funds (over a specified amount) for construction of facilities for use by such forces unless the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees. Revises congressional reporting and certification requirements with respect to international narcotics control. Amends the International Narcotics Control Act of 1989 to make certain dollar limitations on law enforcement assistance for Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru inapplicable on this Act's enactment date. Repeals obsolete provisions of specified Acts. Makes prohibitions on the provision of assistance to foreign law enforcement agencies inapplicable, during FY 1993 and 1994, 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. 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. Authorizes the transfer of excess defense articles to major drug-transit countries. Prohibits the transfer of excess defense articles for conservation and wildlife management purposes or for modernization of military capability to any major illicit drug producing country or drug-transit country in Latin America or the Caribbean. Excludes construction equipment from the definition of "excess defense articles" for purposes of restricting the transfer of such equipment to foreign countries. Authorizes military education and training for civilian personnel from other than ministries of defense if such education and training would contribute to cooperation between military and law enforcement personnel with respect to counternarcotics law enforcement. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit the Bank from guaranteeing, insuring, or participating in an extension of credit in connection with sales of defense articles or services to any country (currently, countries designated under a section of the Internal Revenue Code as economically less developed countries). Exempts from such prohibition articles or services sold before September 30, 1997. Adds to the list of criteria required for approval of such financing that the President determines that the purchasing country has complied with restrictions concerning end use of such articles or services and has not used them to engage in human rights violations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6207 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish limitations on debt collection practices under HEA. Prohibits garnishment or other actions to collect on defaulted student loans unless the net income of the borrower and spouse (including any cash benefits received under a needs-based government assistance program) exceeds 150 percent of the poverty level for the relevant family size. Sets other procedural requirements for garnishments and for tax refund intercepts to collect such debts. Requires eligible lenders or loan servicing agents to provide student borrowers with information about their rights to forbearance or deferment. Provides for cure of delinquency and cessation of collection activity if a borrower eligible for forbearance or deferment was not adequately informed of his or her right to apply or was not given assistance in completing the application. Provides for removal from default status if the borrower is granted a forbearance or deferment. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to discharge the student borrower's liability and repay the loan in cases of where the institution has engaged in fraud, misrepresentation, or any violation of State or Federal law in connection with soliciting, offering, contracting for, or providing instruction. Subjects lenders, guaranty agencies, and any other persons involved in collecting a student loan under title IV of HEA to the same due process requirements that would apply to the Secretary if the Secretary were collecting the loan.
Bill· HRH.R. 6208 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Women in Enterprise Development Act of 1992 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to implement a Women in Enterprise Development Program. Requires the program to provide funding and support for projects having the following three components: (1) financial assistance to women to support the creation of businesses in which women can participate, foster investment in businesses owned by women, and enable women to further their education; (2) assistance to support efforts of educational institutions to encourage participation by women and prepare them for involvement in government and businesses; and (3) assistance to support local resource centers which offer courses, workshops, career counseling, and information to women interested in business or government careers. Urges the Administrator to use at least ten percent of funding made available for assistance for micro-enterprise development.
Bill· HRH.R. 6196 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Tax Fairness Restoration and Economic Growth Act - Title I: Tax Reductions - Subtitle A: Capital Gains Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude capital gain from gross income and exempt capital gain from tax. Makes such exemption applicable to computing the alternative minimum tax. Subtitle B: Restoration of Income Averaging - Sets forth provisions to restore income averaging. Subtitle C: Elimination of Double Tax on Dividends - Allows a shareholder credit (for taxpayers other than corporations) for dividends from domestic corporations. Provides for determining such credit based on the corporation's post-1992 Federal income taxes and post-1992 undistributed earnings. Includes such credit in the determination of gross income. Allows corporations a 100 percent deduction for amounts received as dividends from domestic corporations. Revises computations on dividends received by corporations on the preferred stock of a public utility. Subtitle D: Permanent Extension of Research Credit - Makes permanent law the credit for increasing research activities. Subtitle E: Reduction of Individual Tax Rate - Reduces individual income tax rates by eliminating the highest tax bracket. Subtitle F: Retirement Savings Incentives - Part I Restoration of IRA Deduction - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove the limitations on deductions for individual retirement plans and provides a cost-of-living adjustment for deductible amounts. Part II: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs - Establishes special individual retirement accounts that are nondeductible. Makes such accounts nontaxable if earnings on contributions are held for at least five years. Applies the early withdrawal penalty to distributions made before the end of the five year-period. Part III: Penalty-Free Distributions - Provides exemptions from the ten-percent penalty on early withdrawals from individual retirement plans for: (1) first home purchases; (2) higher education expenses; and (3) financially devastating medical expenses. Subtitle G: Repeal of Excise Penalty Taxes on Autos - Repeals the excise tax on luxury items (passenger vehicles, boats, aircraft, jewelry, and furs). Subtitle H: Repeal of Limitation On Itemized Deductions - Repeals the overall limitation on itemized deductions. Subtitle I: Repeal of Passive Loss Limitations - Repeals passive loss limitations. Subtitle J: Restoration of 10-Percent Investment Credit - Restores the ten percent investment tax credit for property placed in service after enactment of this Act. Subtitle K: Restoration of Accelerated Cost Recovery System - Restores the accelerated cost recovery system as in effect on the day after the enactment of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. Subtitle L: Credit for First-Time Homebuyer - Allows a credit for a first-time homebuyer of ten percent of the price of the principal residence. Limits such credit to $2,500. Requires the residence to be acquired on or after February 1, 1992, and before January 1, 1993. Title II: Taxpayer Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Additional Safeguards to Protect Taxpayers' Rights - Part I: Taxpayers' Advocate - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the Office of Taxpayers' Advocate, headed by the Taxpayers' Advocate, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Office to: (1) assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS; (2) identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the IRS; (3) propose changes in the administrative practices of the IRS to mitigate such problems; and (4) identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems. Requires the Taxpayers' Advocate to annually report to specified congressional committees on Office activities. Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to establish procedures requiring a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the Commissioner by the Taxpayers' Advocate. Authorizes the terms of a Taxpayer Assistance Order to require the Secretary of the Treasury to take certain actions (currently, only to cease or refrain from taking such actions). Part II: Modifications to Installment Agreement Provisions - Requires prior notification to taxpayers under an installment agreement to pay tax liability before altering, modifying, or terminating such an agreement. Provides for administrative review of denials of requests for installment agreements. Suspends the failure to pay penalty during any period an installment agreement is in effect. Part III: Interest - Extends from ten days to 21 days the period for which interest will not be imposed after notice and demand for payment, if such payment is less than $100,000. Provides for the abatement of interest in the case of an assessment due to the error or delay of an IRS managerial act. Increases the interest rate for overpayment of tax from two percent to three percent (making such rate equal to the interest rate for underpayment of tax). Waives interest on all overpayments refunded within 45 days after a return is filed. Part IV: Joint Returns - Requires separate deficiency notices in the case of a joint income tax return if the most recent data available to the IRS shows that such spouses did not file a joint return with each other. Allows the disclosure of collection activities to an individual requesting such information in the case of a joint return where such individual is no longer married to or resides in the same household as the other joint filer. Removes limitations on filing a joint return after filing separate returns. Part V: Collection Activities - Authorizes the Secretary, if it is determined to be in the best interest of the taxpayer and the United States, to: (1) withdraw a notice of a lien; (2) return property that has been levied upon; and (3) offer compromises in civil or criminal cases. Requires the Secretary, at the request of the taxpayer, to make reasonable efforts to notify credit reporting agencies and financial institutions of such withdrawal notice. Part VI: Erroneous and Fraudulent Information Returns - Requires payee statements to provide the phone number of the person providing payment. Establishes civil damages for the fraudulent filing of information returns. Requires the Secretary to take reasonable steps to corroborate the accuracy of an information return when making a determination of a deficiency by a third party, when such return is disputed by the taxpayer. Part VII: Modifications to Penalty for Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax - Declares that a person shall not be liable for any penalty for failure to collect and pay over tax if such person: (1) is not a significant owner, or highly compensated employee of the trade or business; (2) notifies the Secretary within ten days after such failure; and (3) such notification was before any notice by the Secretary with respect to such failure. Requires the Secretary to disclose certain information where more than one person is liable for a penalty. Part VIII: Awarding of Costs and Certain Fees - Repeals the "substantially justified" test for determining whether a taxpayer may recover costs and fees incurred as part of an administrative or court proceeding. Provides for the awarding of reasonable litigation or administrative costs to a prevailing party who represents himself in an administrative or court proceeding. Makes IRS employees personally liable in certain cases. Provides that any failure to agree to an extension of time for the assessment of any tax shall not be taken into account in determining whether a prevailing party has exhausted all administrative remedies. Part IX: Other Provisions - Revises provisions on the required content of tax due, deficiency, and other notices. Provides for the treatment of returns prepared for or executed by the Secretary for purposes of certain tax penalties. Provides protection for taxpayers who rely on certain guidance published by the IRS. Subtitle B: Form Modifications - Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that taxpayers are aware of permission to pay tax in installments, extensions of time for payment of tax, and compromises of tax liability; (2) improve procedures for taxpayers to notify the Secretary of changes in names and addresses; (3) include in a specified publication a section on the rights and responsibilities of divorced individuals; (4) ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities under the Federal tax system and that the public is aware of penalties for failure to collect and pay over tax; and (5) notify taxpayers of any payments that cannot be associated with any outstanding tax liability. Subtitle C: Additional Improvements - Requires the Secretary to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a pilot program for appeals of certain enforcement actions (including lien, levy, and seizure actions); (2) a study on ways to assist the elderly, physically impaired, foreign-language speaking, and other taxpayers with special needs to comply with IRS laws; (3) the scope and content of the IRS taxpayer-rights education program for its officers and employees; and (4) cases involving complaints about misconduct of IRS employees and the disposition of such complaints. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a study of notices of deficiency; (2) the accuracy and clarity of 25 of the most commonly used IRS forms, notices, and publications; and (3) a study of IRS employee-suggestion programs.
Bill· SS. 3332 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Establishes the San Rafael Swell National Trails and Recreation Area in Utah. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to finalize a management plan for the Area and to review and revise (as necessary) such plan at least once every five years. Requires plan revisions to provide for: (1) motorized access; (2) recreational and public use throughout the Area; (3) protection of scientific, cultural, and educational resources of the public lands within the Area; (4) interpretive and education opportunities for the public; and (5) management of livestock grazing and wild horses and burros. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a visitor center for the Area. Permits: (1) motorized use of public lands within the Area, as consistent with this Act; and (2) continued use of Area lands for domestic livestock grazing. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, specified public and private entities to carry out this Act. Establishes the San Rafael Swell National Recreation Area Advisory Council. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3350 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
National Organ Donor and Awareness Campaign Act of 1992 - Mandates a national campaign to increase public awareness of organ transplantation, including development of a national clearinghouse. Requires research on the process by which individuals listed in the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network are selected and other matters relating to public education and promotion regarding organ donation. Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to establish a Network advisory committee. Increases the Network's annual funding cap. Modifies Network functions and its board of director's composition. Amends block grant provisions of the PHSA to mandate payments to health care facilities for the dispensing of immunosuppressive drugs to eligible transplant recipients. Authorizes appropriations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to remove the one-year limitation on coverage of immunosuppressive drugs. Amends the PHSA to require, in making grants and contracts to increase the number of organ donors, inclusion of projects encouraging procurement from minority communities (including cultural, racial, and language minorities) and from other communities with below average donation rates. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3348 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Health Care Access and Affordability Act of 1992 - Title I: Social Security Act Provisions - Subtitle A: Small Employer Insurance Reform - Part I: Tax Deductible Health Insurance Costs - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the deductible for health insurance costs for self-employed individuals from 25 percent to 100 percent. Makes such deduction permanent. Part II: Standards and Requirements of Small Employer Health Insurance Reform - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXI, Standards For Small Employer Health Insurance and Certification Of Managed Care Plans. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to request that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) develop specific standards to implement specified requirements for health insurance plans issued to small employers that relate to: (1) insurer registration; (2) guaranteed eligibility, availability, and renewability; (3) preexisting conditions; (4) restrictions on rating practices; and (5) benefit package offerings. Provides that if NAIC fails to develop such standards or the Secretary finds that they do not implement such requirements, the Secretary must develop such standards. Provides that if a State has not established a regulatory program that provides for the application and enforcement of such standards, the Secretary must certify the compliance of small employer plans with them. Part III: Tax Penalty on Noncomplying Insurers - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the issuer of a health insurance plan to a small employer if the issuer fails to meet the requirements of title XXI of the Social Security Act (as added by this Act). Establishes such tax as 25 percent of the gross premiums received by the issuer. Makes such tax nondeductible. Subtitle B: Medicare and Medicaid Provisions - Part I: Medicare - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary to establish an experimental program offering certain Medicare beneficiaries a choice among specified types of benefit options. Directs the Secretary to evaluate the experimental program and report to the Congress annually on the program's effectiveness. Provides for combined annual accounting of Medicare part A and B trust funds. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of an Advisory Council on Hospital Reimbursement Procedures to recommend to the Secretary a uniform hospital reimbursement form as the sole form for the Health Care Financing Administration to use in processing claims submitted under Medicare. Specifies form contents. Requires a Council report on electronic billing. Requires the Secretary to develop such a form if the Council fails to make such a recommendation. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide for demonstration projects to provide for the designation of certain medical procedures which will only be reimbursed if performed at a Medicare center of excellence; (2) develop a Medical Directive and Proxy Designation form and provide for a registry within HHS for such forms; and (3) notify providers and Medicare-eligible individuals of the availability of such form. Part II: Medicaid - Directs the Secretary to: (1) make grants to States for demonstration projects for improving access to Medicaid (SSA title XIX) services in medically underserved areas, providing medical assistance under Medicaid to certain uninsured individuals, providing outreach activites to individuals who may be eligible for certain medical assistance, and reducing infant mortality; and (2) report to the Congress on such projects. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Public Health Service Act Provisions - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate a public education program on disease prevention through behavior change, preventive care, and screening. Authorizes appropriations. Modifies the authorization of appropriations for community health centers, earmarking certain funds for the establishment of new centers. Requires the National Health Service Corps to revise its priorities in assigning members. Specifies new criteria. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes in the National Institute on Aging the Center for the Fostering of Independent Living to conduct and support applied research, both social and scientific. Requires the Center to publish a Guide to Independent Living. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates development of a system to produce comprehensive reports under title IX (Agency for Health Care Policy and Research) of the Public Health Service Act concerning the performance of local and regional health care markets. Title III: Permanent Health Care Reform - Consumer Choice Health Care Reform Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Tax Treatment of Health Care Expenses - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit for premiums paid by a qualified individual (excludes a federally covered individual) on an employer-sponsored health insurance plan. Specifies the limitations on such health expenses credit. Allows employers to make advance payments of such credit to employees with a health care expenses eligibility certificate. Terminates the medical expense deduction and the health insurance credit after December 31, 1994. Allows an individual a deduction for a percentage of employer-provided health insurance premiums and allows such deduction in computing adjusted gross income. Repeals the current income exclusion for employer contributions to accident and health plans. Limits the business deduction for employer-provided health insurance premiums to computations based upon the number of employees and the national average premium. Allows individuals a tax deduction for contributions made to a medical care savings account established for the benefit of an eligible individual. Adjusts such deduction for inflation after 1994. Allows such deduction in arriving at adjusted gross income. Establishes an excise tax for excess contributions to medical care savings accounts and makes such accounts subject to the tax on prohibited transactions. Subtitle B: Health Insurance Requirements - Sets forth requirements for employers for withholding health insurance premiums of employees, notifying employees of tax rights with respect to such premiums, converting non-self-insured plans, and selling, transferring, or reassigning existing self-insured plans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the failure to notify employees of the option to convert a non-self-insured plan to a federally qualified health insurance plan. Imposes a tax on the failure of a carrier offering a health insurance plan to comply with requirements with respect to self-insured plans. Revises provisions covering continuation coverage requirements of group health plans and requires such coverage for a maximum of 60 months. Subtitle C: State Plan Requirements - Requires States, as a condition of receiving Federal funds for health care programs after December 31, 1994, to meet specified requirements concerning: (1) health plans for the uninsured; (2) enrollment; and (3) monitoring. Subtitle D: Federal Preemption - Preempts all State laws in existence on January 1, 1995, in the following areas for five years: (1) mandated insurance laws; (2) anti-managed care laws; (3) mandated cost-sharing laws; and (4) certificate of need laws. Subtitle E: Medicaid Reform - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to: (1) set the Federal medical assistance percentage for any State at 100 percent (excluding long-term care assistance); (2) provide Medicaid coverage for all individuals with income at the poverty level; and (3) authorize the HHS Secretary to award grants to States for the provision of long-term care to Medicaid-eligible individuals. Title IV: Antitrust Provisions - Subtitle A: Modification of the Operation of the Antitrust Laws to Hospitals - Provides that it shall not be unlawful under the antitrust laws for two or more hospitals to engage in conduct solely for the purpose of negotiating a proposed agreement (including the sharing of data) to share expensive medical services or expensive high technology equipment. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue waivers to exempt such conduct from the operation of the antitrust laws, subject to specified requirements. Provides that, to be eligible to receive such a waiver, two or more hospitals must submit to the Secretary an application that contains a proposed agreement that only: (1) provides that such hospitals shall share the expensive medical services or high technology equipment identified in such agreement; (2) specifies the period of time during which such agreement shall be in effect; and (3) describes the particular medical services or high technology equipment to be shared. Directs the Secretary, in evaluating the application, to consider whether implementation of such agreement will result in enhancement of the quality of hospital or hospital-related care, the preservation of hospital services in geographical proximity to the communities traditionally served by the applicants, improvement in the cost-effectiveness of high-technology services provided by the applicants, improvement in the efficient utilization of hospital resources and capital equipment, the provision of services that would not otherwise be available, or the avoidance of duplication of hospital resources. Sets forth: (1) provisions regarding the issuance and effect, and revocation, of a waiver; and (2) reporting requirements. Subtitle B: Encouraging Enforcement Activities of Medical Self-Regulatory Entities - Prohibits the recovery of damages, interest on damages, costs, or attorney fees under provisions of the Clayton Act relating to suits by persons injured, by the United States, and by State attorneys general, or under similar State laws, from any medical self-regulatory entity as a result of engaging in standard setting or enforcement activities designed to promote the quality of health care provided to patients. Directs any Federal agency engaged in the establishment of medical professional standards to consult with and use appropriate medical self-regulatory entities, if available, in carrying out standard setting and related regulatory activities. Subtitle C: Interagency Committee - Establishes the Interagency Committee of Health Care Reform and Antitrust Policy to coordinate policy regarding health care reform and antitrust policy, and to make recommendations to the Congress regarding achieving both health care cost containment and greater access to quality health care through cooperation among health care providers. Title V: Medical Malpractice Reform - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Sets forth findings and definitions. Subtitle B: Grant Programs - Mandates grants to States for medical malpractice alternative dispute resolution systems. Describes fault-based, defined catastrophic injury compensation, early offer and recovery mechanism, and binding arbitration approaches. Allows other approaches. Requires: (1) grants for basic research on the prevention of and compensation for injuries from health care professional or provider malpractice; (2) grants for the licensing and discipline of health care professionals; (3) technical assistance to States for evaluation of medical practice acts and procedures, malpractice detection, and discipline; and (4) grants for educating the public regarding appropriate use of health care, realistic expectations, the resources and role of licensing and disciplinary boards, and faculty training and curricula. Mandates allotments to States for the grants under this title. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Health Care Malpractice Dispute Reform - Applies these provisions to all Federal or State medical malpractice actions. Limits lump sum future damages award dollar amounts. Mandates collateral source payment reductions. Limits the dollar amount of noneconomic damages. Sets forth time limitations for initiating actions. Preempts certain types of State laws regarding these requirements. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require: (1) allocation of all practitioner licensing or certification fees to a disciplinary agency; (2) each service provider and medical liability carrier to have a malpractice risk management program; and (3) review by professional societies of malpractice claims. Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate a grant to an entity that represents recipients of assistance under provisions relating to migrant and community health centers for development of a business plan and establishment of a nationwide risk retention group. Authorizes appropriations for the grant and for capitalization. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the President's Council on Senior Fitness. Directs the Secretary, through the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, to implement programs to promote healthy lifestyle choices. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3344 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Mature and Older Workers Act of 1992 - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to authorize appropriations for programs under title II (Training Services for the Disadvantaged) and title IV (Federally Administered Programs). Defines a mature or older worker as one who is 40 years of age or older. Defines a younger worker as one who is age 22 through 39. Requires that private industry councils and State councils each include at least one representative of an agency or organization that by its organizational mission represents the interests of mature or older workers. Requires award of incentive grants to service delivery areas conducting Younger Workers programs and Youth Opportunity programs which exceed certain performance standards. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to include in the annual report to the Congress an analysis, for each State and on a nationwide basis, of the number of participants served under JTPA (and the type of services they received) who are in various age groups. Revises and renames title II part A as the Younger Workers Program (currently Adult and Youth Programs). Sets forth allotment and allocation requirements. Defines an economically disadvantaged younger worker. Sets forth requirements for individual eligibility, program design, authorized services, linkages to other Federal and other appropriate programs, and transfer of funds to other title II programs. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report on the number and percentage of assisted younger workers that remain employed for at least nine months after receiving such assistance. Revises and renames title II part B as the Mature or Older Workers Program. Sets forth allotment allocation (as well as recapture and reallotment) requirements. Defines an economically disadvantaged mature or older worker. Sets forth requirements for individual eligibility, program design, authorized services, job training plans, linkages to other Federal and other approprate programs, and transfer of funds to other title II programs. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report on the number and percentage of assisted adults who remain employed for at least nine months after receiving such assistance. Revises title II part C (currently part B) Summer Youth Employment and Training Programs, for economically disadvantaged youth. Adds enhancement of the citizenship skills of youth to the purposes of such programs. Provides for allotment and allocation, authorized uses of funds, limitations, comparable functions of agencies and officials, and program goals and objectives. Establishes a new part D, the Youth Opportunity Program, under title II of JTPA, for economically disadvantaged youth aged 16 through 21. Requires that least 50 percent of the participants in such program in each service delivery area be out-of-school youth. Requires that at least 70 percent of both the in-school and out-of-school participants be from specified targeted groups. Allows in-school participants to be age 14 through 21, if this is provided in the job training plan. Makes in-school youth also eligible if they participate in a compensatory education program under chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (even if they do not qualify as economically disadvantaged). Allows up to ten percent of program participants to be individuals who do not meet the economically disadvantaged (or compensatory education) eligibility requirement, but who face serious barriers to employment. Allows all students to participate in schoolwide projects for certain low-income schools. Requires Youth Opportunity programs to be operated on a year-round basis. Sets forth requirements for program design, authorized services, linkages with educational programs and with other Federal and other appropriate education and training programs, and transfer of funds to other title II programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 6173 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Act - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish a Division of Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Services (the Division) within the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Sets forth the Division's functions. Requires the Director of the Division to award grants to States for acquisition of school library media resources for public elementary and secondary schools. Sets forth requirements for allocation to States, State plans, and State distribution of allocation to local educational agencies. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director to award grants for projects that: (1) encourage collaboration between public elementary and secondary library media specialists and teachers to develop instructional units that enable students to use a variety of information resources; and (2) expand students' information-gathering abilities and certain cognitive skills. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director to award grants to encourage collaborative elementary and secondary school library media specialist and teacher programs to: (1) expand use of computers and computer networks in the curriculum; and (2) enable elementary and secondary school library media centers to access information from computerized databases. Authorizes the Director to enter into cooperative agreements with the National Science Foundation and other appropriate nonprofit agencies and organizations in carrying out this grants program. Authorizes appropriations. Requires that funds under this Act supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, or local funds.
Bill· HRH.R. 6175 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Medical School Assistance Entitlement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace provisions relating to the Federal program of insured loans to graduate students in health professions schools with provisions entitling eligible individuals to payments for medical or osteopathic school attendance costs from the Trust Fund established by this Act. Limits lifetime payments. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an additional individual income tax on any individual (and the individual's spouse) who received such payments. Establishes the Medical School Assistance Trust Fund, appropriating to it the taxes imposed by this Act. Authorizes appropriations to the Trust Fund, as repayable advances, as necessary to make the payments.
Law· HRH.R. 6135 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1993 - Title I: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes FY 1993 appropriations to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for: (1) research and development; (2) space flight, control, and data communications; (3) construction of facilities; (4) research and program management; and (5) the Inspector General. Requires the Administrator of NASA (Administrator) to: (1) report to the Congress on a New Launch System and expendable launch vehicles; and (2) carry out an Earth Observing System program. Title II: General Provisions - Permits the use of appropriations for research and development and space flight, control, and data communications for certain items of a capital nature (other than land acquisition) required for the performance of research and development contracts and for grants to nonprofit educational and research organizations for construction or purchase of additional research facilities. Prohibits the use of these funds for the construction of any major facility whose estimated cost exceeds a specified amount, unless the Administrator of NASA notifies specified congressional committees. Authorizes the use of certain funds, subject to limitations, for: (1) facilities construction, repair, or modification; (2) unforeseen programmatic facility project needs; (3) repair or modification of facilities controlled by the General Services Administration; and (4) scientific consultations or extraordinary expenses. Authorizes reprogramming of certain funds for: (1) transatmospheric research and technology; and (2) construction of facilities. Permits upward variances of funds for facilities construction under circumstances outlined in this Act. Makes available specified funds for the construction and modification of facilities. Requires the Administrator to notify specified congressional committees of the nature, cost, and reasons for such construction before expending the funds in question. Prohibits, until 30 days following congressional receipt of the Administrator's full explanation, the use of funds appropriated pursuant to this Act for any program that: (1) has been deleted by the Congress; (2) is in excess of the amount actually authorized for the particular program by specified provisions; or (3) has not been presented to either of specified congressional committees. Limits obligation of unauthorized appropriations and requiures related reports to the Congress and the Comptroller General. Requires NASA to submit to the Congress a five-year budget and an estimate of the lifecycle costs associated with each program. Amends the Commercial Space Launch Act to authorize FY 1993 appropriations. Prohibits user fees unless specifically authorized by the Act. Authorizes FY 1993 appropriations: (1) to carry out activities of the National Space Council; and (2) to the Secretary of Commerce for the Office of Space Commerce. Requires: (1) the Administrator to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the single stage rocket technology flight test program; and (2) the National Space Council to report to such committees on a national aerospace transportation technology plan. Declares the sense of the Congress with regard to multilateral scientific cooperation and the Space Agency Forum on International Space Year, including activities by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Repeals provisions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1991 authorizing appropriations for the Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby/Cassini mission. Amends the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 to authorize the National Science Foundation to foster the development and use of computer networks in support of research and education. Directs the President to report to the Congress on various opportunities for increased space-related trade and cooperation with the independent states of the former Soviet Union. Authorizes the Office of Space Commerce of the Department of Commerce to conduct trade missions for the purpose of familiarizing U.S. aerospace industry representatives with space-related business opportunities in the independent states. Requires agencies conducting procurement to comply with specified provisions of the Buy American Act. Requires investigation, in meeting NASA's needs for additional facilities, of abandoned and underused buildings, grounds, and facilities in depressed communities. Mandates a study and report to the Congress regarding the extent to which information developed by NASA is brought to market by foreign aerospace firms more quickly than by U.S. companies. Directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to: (1) establish an Institute for Aviation Weather Prediction, which shall expand upon the activities of the aviation unit currently at the National Severe Storms Center in Kansas City, Missouri; and (2) provide an opportunity for Center employees to assume comparable Institute duties. Title III: Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research on Space and Aeronautics - Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research on Space and Aeronautics Act - Directs the Administrator to establish an Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research on Space and Aeronautics among eligible States. Obligates funds for program grants. Title IV: High Risk Research and Development Contract Administration - Mandates an assessment of the allocation of risk between the Government and its contractors for future research and development contracts regarding increasing the contractor's risk to conform to contract requirements. Requires development of regulations for the administration of research and development contracts regarding: (1) the use of performance-based contracts; (2) clauses obligating the Government to pay for correction of defects; and (3) cost recovery for defective work. Title V: Commercial Space Competitiveness - Amends the Commercial Space Launch Act to extend through January 1, 2000, the deadline for Government payment of certain launch-related third party claims. Directs the Administrator to establish a commercial space launch voucher demonstration program, which shall expire after September 30, 1995. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make space transportation infrastructure grants. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator and the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, to inventory and identify all U.S.-owned launch support facilities. Authorizes: (1) the Administrator or the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to enter into multiyear anchor tenancy contracts under specified conditions; and (2) use of Government space facilities on a reimbursable basis by non-Federal entities under specified conditions. Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act to authorize the Administrator to protect from dissemination information developed under Space Act agreements with non-Federal parties for up to five years. Establishes a Commercial Space Achievement Award. Sets forth Award criteria. Title VI: Biomedical Research in Space - Directs the Administrator and the Director of the National Institutes of Health to jointly establish: (1) a biomedical research joint working group; (2) a biomedical research grant program; (3) a biomedical research fellowship program; and (4) a plan to conduct joint biomedical research activities by the republics of the former Soviet Union and the United States. Directs the Administrator to establish a national electronic data archive for biomedical research data obtained from space-based experiments. Directs the Administrator, with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster, and the Surgeon General of the United States, to jointly establish an international telemedicine satellite consultation capability to support disaster area emergency medical services. Authorizes appropriations.
Law· HRH.R. 6167 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Water Resources Development Act of 1992 - Title I: Water Resources Projects - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army (the Secretary) to carry out public works projects in the following locations for improvements to navigation, flood control, ecosystem restoration, and beach erosion control and hurricane protection: (1) Southeast Alaska Harbors of Refuge, Alaska; (2) Whiteman's Creek, Arkansas; (3) Morro Bay Harbor, California; (4) Sacramento Metro Area, California; (5) Rio Grande Alamosa, Colorado; (6) Delaware River Mainstem and Channel Deepening, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; (7) Canaveral Harbor, Florida; (8) Kissimmee River, Florida; (9) Port Everglades Harbor, Florida; (10) Savannah Harbor, Georgia and South Carolina; (11) Amite River and Tributaries, Louisiana; (12) Saugus River and Tributaries, Massachusetts; (13) Las Vegas Wash and Tributaries, Nevada; (14) Morehead City Harbor, North Carolina; (15) West Onslow and New River Inlet, North Carolina; (16) Lackawanna River at Olyphant and at Scranton, Pennsylvania; (17) Locks and Dams 2 and 3, Monongahela River, Pennsylvania; (18) Rio Grande De Loiza, Puerto Rico; (19) Sargent Beach, Texas; (20) Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas; and (21) Sandbridge Beach, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Modifies projects at the following locations with respect to wildlife mitigation, flood control, beach erosion control and hurricane protection, navigation, and other improvements: (1) Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Alabama and Mississippi; (2) Goleta and vicinity, California; (3) Oceanside Harbor, California; (4) San Leandro Marina, California; (5) O'Hare system of the Chicagoland underflow plan, Illinois; (6) Illinois River, Illinois; (7) South Frankfort, Kentucky; (8) Locks and Dam 26, Mississippi River, Alton, Illinois and Missouri; (9) Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana; (10) Parish Creek, Shady Side, Maryland; (11) Buffomville Lake, Massachusetts; (12) South Fork Zumbro River, Minnesota; (13) New Madrid Harbor, Missouri; (14) Papillion Creek and Tributaries Lakes, Nebraska; (15) Passaic River Main Stem, New Jersey and New York; (16) Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook Bay, New Jersey; (17) Sandy Hook to Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey; (18) Rio Grande Floodway, New Mexico; (19) Jones Inlet, New York; (20) Westhampton Beach, New York; (21) Broken Bow Lake, Red River Basin, Oklahoma; (22) Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania; (23) Chetco River, Oregon; (24) Port Orford, Oregon; (25) Cliff Walk, Newport, Rhode Island; (26) Ray Roberts Lake, Elm Fork of the Trinity River, Texas; (27) Sims Bayou, Texas; (28) Virginia Beach, Virginia; (29) Lower Granite Lock and Dam, Washington; (30) Beech Fork Lake, West Virginia; (31) Bluestone Lake, Ohio River Basin, West Virginia; and (32) La Crosse and Shelby, Wisconsin. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to authorize and direct the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a contract with the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Southwest Florida Water Management District of the State of Florida for the continued operation and maintenance by the Secretary of portions of the Cross Florida barge canal project, subject to specified requirements. Authorizes the Secretary (subject to specified requirements) to: (1) construct visitor centers at Melvin Price Lock and Dam, Alton, Illinois, and at Mt. Morris Dam, New York, and a Northeastern New Jersey Regional Flood Operations-Response, Engineering, and Visitor Center, and at the John Hammerschmidt Lake, Arkansas River, Arkansas; and (2) establish and operate the Lower Mississippi River Museum and Riverfront Interpretive Site, Vicksburg, Mississippi. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in the planning and design of the museum and site and with the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the National Park Service in the planning, design, and implementation of interpretive programs. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct studies and carry out small navigation projects at: (1) Calcasieu River, Louisiana; (2) Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts; (3) Aunt Lydia's Cove, Chatham, Massachusetts; (4) Grand Marais, Minnesota; (5) Grand Portage, Minnesota; (6) Silver Bay, Minnesota; (7) Seaway Pier, Buffalo, New York; and (8) Tangier Island, Virginia. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct studies and, if the Secretary determines such projects to be feasible, to carry out small flood control projects at: (1) Blue River and Brock Creek, Salem, Indiana; (2) White River, Elnora, Indiana; (3) White River, Gibson County, Indiana; (4) White River, Petersburg, Indiana; (5) Wabash River, Knox County, Indiana; (6) Red River at Grand Marais Outlet, Minnesota; (7) Sullivan Run Creek, Butler, Pennsylvania; (8) Little Fossil Creek, Texas; and (9) Turpentine Run, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Modifies the project with respect to the maximum allotment and cost-sharing at St. Peters, St. Charles County, Missouri. Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a Sonoma Baylands wetland demonstration project in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary, California. Sets forth project purposes and requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth limitations on amounts transferred and obligated pursuant to the Upper Mississippi River Management Program. Specifies that the costs of operation and maintenance of projects located on Federal lands or lands owned or operated by a State or local government shall be borne by the Federal, State, or local agency that is responsible for management activities for fish and wildlife on such lands. Directs the Secretary to construct a research and quarantine facility in Broward County, Florida, to be used in connection with efforts to control Melaleuca and other exotic plant species that threaten native ecosystems in Florida. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to maintain navigation access to, and berthing areas at, all currently operating public and private commercial dock facilities associated with or having access to the Federal navigation project on the Columbia, Snake, and Clearwater Rivers from Bonneville Dam to and incuding Lewiston, Idaho, at a depth commensurate with the Federal navigation project. Exempts the Federal Government from liability resulting from such project. Authorizes the Secretary to construct such bulkheads along the Outer Harbor, Buffalo, New York, as may be necessary to protect the shoreline and reduce the flow of pollutants into Lake Erie. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study for a streambank and shoreline protection project for Walnut Canyon Creek, Anaheim, California, subject to specified requirements; and (2) proceed expeditiously with design, land acquisition, and construction of the Montgomery Point Lock and Dam on the White River, Arkansas. Sets forth provisions with respect to the costs of major rehabilitation from specified projects. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a study for the purpose of determining whether there is contaminated ground water flowing downstream from the San Gabriel Valley Ground Water Basin to the Central Ground Water Basin in California through existing Federal facilities at Whittier Narrows Dam, Los Angeles County, California. Directs the Secretary: (1) to complete the general reevaluation study for the flood control project at Santa Paula Creek, California, and transmit to the Congress a report on the results of such study; (2) to complete and transmit to the Congress a feasibility study for enlargement of the flood control project for the Success Reservoir, Tule River, California; and (3) as part of the ongoing review of the Anacostia River Watershed in the District of Columbia and Maryland, to carry out a comprehensive assessment of adverse impacts to such watershed from Federal facilities, review current plans for reducing such adverse impacts, and carry out a feasibility study to identify and recommend measures for implementation to eliminate such adverse impacts. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) expeditiously complete the general design memorandum for the sand transfer portion of the navigation project for Canaveral Harbor, Florida; (2) expeditiously complete that portion of the navigation study for Tampa Harbor, Alafia River and Big Bend, Florida, relating to the Alafia River; (3) complete the feasibility study for Cedar River and tributaries, Blackhawk, Iowa; (4) complete the study for Federal maintenance of the Port Fourchon Navigation Channel, Louisiana; (5) conduct a study of and report to the Congress on, the water supply, distribution, and transmission needs of Brockton, Massachusetts; the feasibility of providing additional water supply for Brockton and vicinity; and the water quality and quantity and related land resources of the Taunton River; (6) conduct a study on proposed uses of the seawall located in Haverhill, Massachusetts (7) conduct an economic reevaluation of proposed improvements at Grand Marais Harbor, Michigan; (8) conduct a review and evaluation of the recreational master plan for Yazoo Basin, Mississippi; (9) conduct a study of the project for flood control, Ramapo River, Oakland, New Jersey; (10) complete the feasibility study for Little River, Niagara Falls, New York; (11) complete the feasibility study of shoreline protection for Strawberry Island, New York (and take such interim emergency measures as necessary); (12) complete a study of the flood control project for Wister Lake, Oklahoma; (13) conduct independent studies to determine the Federal interest and feasibility of providing improvements to the Chesapeake Bay shoreline in Hampton and Poquoson, Virginia, for environmental protection and enhancement and protection against high tides and wave action; (14) conduct a study of the project for navigation, Corpus Christi Ship Channel, Texas to determine the feasibility of modifying the project to include maintenance of the Jewel Fulton Canal at a depth of 17 feet as a Federal responsibility; and (15) conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing a Tug Valley Greenway, West Virginia, for the purpose of utilizing the river environment for public recreation opportunities. Sets forth reporting requirements. Sets the Federal share (100 percent) of the cost of completion of the study for mitigation of shoreline damage attributable to the Federal navigation project at Salmon Harbor, Oregon. Continues the authorization for projects and studies (for flood control and other purposes) at the following locations: (1) Green Bay Levee District, Iowa; (2) Lake Pontchartrain, North Shore, Louisiana; (3) St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway, Missouri; (4) Deal Lake, Monmouth County, New Jersey; (5) Tyrone, Pennsylvania; and (6) Big Pine Lake, Texas. Sets forth limitations with respect to such projects and studies. Deauthorizes navigation projects at the following locations: (1) Boothbay Harbor, Maine; (2) Boston Inner Harbor Channel, Massachusetts; (3) Newburyport, Massachusetts; (4) Greilickville, Michigan; (5) South Haven Harbor, Michigan; and (6) Sag Harbor, New York. Deauthorizes a portion of the Canaveral Harbor project, Florida. Designates: (1) lock and dam 3, Arkansas River, Arkansas, as the "Joe Hardin Lock and Dam"; (2) the Greers Ferry Lake Visitors Center, Arkansas, as the "William Carl Garner Visitors Center"; (3) the reservoir created by the James W. Trimble Lock and Dam on the Arkansas River, Arkansas, as the "John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake"; (4) lock 5 on the Red River Waterway, Louisiana, as the "Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. Lock"; (5) the area for which environmental and other streambank restoration measures are authorized relating to the project for flood control, Passaic River Mainstem, New Jersey and New York, as the "Joseph G. Minish Passaic River Waterfront Park and Historic Area"; (6) the project for flood control, Buena Vista, Virginia, as the "James R. Olin Flood Control Project"; (7) the Gallipolis Locks and Dam, Ohio River, Ohio and West Virginia, as the "Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam"; and (8) the Mill Creek Reservoir, Washington, as the "Virgil B. Bennington Lake." Title II: Generally Applicable Provisions - Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to modify requirements concerning the ability of non-Federal interests to pay under cost-sharing agreements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) review regulations on ability to pay in light of locally prevailing conditions such as those associated with specified projects; and (2) amend the regulations to the extent that the Secretary determines necessary to more appropriately take into account locally prevailing conditions which would limit the ability of local interests to participate as non-Federal project sponsors in accordance with established cost-sharing formulas. Prohibits project modifications for improvements of the environment without specific congressional authorization if the estimated cost exceeds $5 million. Authorizes appropriation of not to exceed $25 million (currently, $15 million) annually to carry out provisions related to such modifications. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) accept contributions for environmental and recreation projects, with funds received to be deposited into a specified account in the Treasury; and (2) carry out projects for the protection, restoration, and creation of aquatic and ecologically related habitats in connection with dredging of an authorized navigation project. Sets forth provisions, in connection with the latter, regarding cooperative agreements, determination of construction costs, and authorization of appropriations. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the definition of rehabilitation for inland waterway projects; (2) construction of shoreline protection projects by non-Federal interests; (3) cost-sharing for disposal of dredged material on beaches; and (4) fees for development of State water plans. Extends specified State safety and training, research, and dam inventory programs. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to non-Federal interests for the repair, reconstruction, or other modification to Mussers Dam, Middle Creek, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, subject to specified limitations. Sets forth the Federal share. Authorizes appropriations. Specifies that all costs incurred in carrying out the project to correct seepage problems at Beaver Lake, Arkansas, shall be treated as costs incurred for a dam safety project, subject to cost-sharing requirements of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. Authorizes the Secretary to procure materials necessary to promote the Corps safety program, for distribution to Corps employees, and to recognize outstanding safety performance by such employees. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary: (1) to the maximum extent practicable, to make use of private sector resources in carrying out surveying and mapping activities in the Corps' Civil Works Program; (2) to ensure that procurement with funds appropriated to carry out this Act are conducted in compliance with the "Buy American Act," with exceptions; (3) to report to specified congressional committees with specific recommendations on improving the equitable distribution of water resources development projects in rural areas; and (4) to conduct a comparative analysis with respect to the compensation of Corps and other similarly-situated Federal employees. Sets forth additional reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study on the need for changes in Federal law and policy with respect to dredged material disposal areas for the construction and maintenance of harbors and inland harbors by the Secretary. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to non-Federal interests for carrying out specified projects for the beneficial reuse of waste water, including: (1) a Southern California Comprehensive Water reuse system; (2) San Diego area water reuse demonstration facilities; (3) Santa Rosa water reuse projects; and (4) a project to reduce salt water intrusion into aquifers in the vicinity of Castroville, California, improve the water quality of Monterey Bay and enhance the long-term water supply in the area. Sets forth certain restrictions regarding procurement of assistance from non-private sources. Sets the non-Federal share of the cost of projects for which assistance is provided at not less than 25 percent, with exceptions. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to provide design and construction assistance to the Santa Clara Valley Water District and to the city of San Jose, California to demonstrate and field test for public use innovative processes which advance the technology of waste water reuse and treatment and which promote the use of treated waste water for critical water supply purposes and for the protection of fish and wildlife in the San Francisco Bay. Sets the Federal share for specified grants at 75 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to non-Federal interests to carry out water-related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects relating to wastewater treatment and for other purposes at the following locations: (1) Washington, D.C. and Maryland; (2) Atlanta, Georgia; (3) Hazard, Kentucky; (4) Rouge River, Michigan; (5) Jackson County, Mississippi; (6) Epping, Manchester, and Rochester, New Hampshire; (7) Paterson and Passaic County, New Jersey; (8) State of New Jersey (including New Jersey Wastewater Treatment Trust); (9) Erie County, New York; (10) Otsego and Chenango Counties, New York; (11) Greensboro and Glassworks, Pennsylvania; (12) Lynchburg and Richmond, Virginia; and (13) along the U.S.-Mexican border. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to provide design and construction assistance to: (1) appropriate non-Federal interests for a water transmission line from the northern part of Beaver Lake, Arkansas, into Benton and Washington Counties, Arkansas; (2) the Buffalo Sewer Authority, Buffalo, New York, for the development and implementation of best management practices to reduce pollution from the combined sewer system in the city; (3) the town of Amherst, New York, for a storm water control project; and (4) the city of Lewiston, New York, for construction of a storm water control project. Sets forth cost and cost-sharing provisions. Provides for the termination of the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors. Authorizes the Secretary to develop and implement a program to share the cost of managing recreation facilities and natural resources at water resource development projects under the Secretary's jurisdiction. Requires the Secretary to debar persons convicted of intentionally affixing a label bearing a "Made in America" inscription to any product sold in or shipped to the United States which is not made in the United States and which is used in a civil works project of the Secretary from contracting with the Federal Government for a period of from three to five years. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Extends the jurisdiction of the Mississippi River Commission. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a prevention monitoring program for zebra mussels throughout the New York City water supply system; (2) develop appropriate zebra mussel prevention and removal technologies for such system; and (3) provide technical assistance to the State and city of New York on alternative design and maintenance practices for such system in the event of zebra mussel infestation. Sets forth cost-sharing provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to issue regulations to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species in the Great Lakes through ballast water carried on vessels that, after operating on the waters beyond the exclusive economic zone, enter a U.S. port on the Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Earth Conservancy to develop, and carry out along the Susquehanna River between Wilkes-Barre and Sunbury, Pennsylvania, a wetlands demonstration project for the purposes of: (1) enhancing municipal waste water treatment in the region; (2) restoring and maintaining the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the Susquehanna River and its tributaries as well as nearby lands; and (3) developing cleanup technologies which can be utilized for various environmental restoration initiatives. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with non-Federal interests to develop and carry out along the Juniata River and its tributaries, Pennsylvania, a watershed reclamation and protection and wetlands creation and restoration project. Sets the Federal share at 75 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes: (1) the construction of boat ramps and docks at Clarks Hill Reservoir, Georgia, subject to specified requirements; and (2) the Secretary to construct trailhead facilities at specified projects in West Virginia. Authorizes the Secretary to design and construct projects to address water quality problems associated with: (1) storm water discharges from large storm events for the New Orleans, Louisiana, area; and (2) watershed areas of Onondaga County and Syracuse, New York; of the Penobscot River near Bangor, Maine, and the Casco Bay near Portland, Maine; and of Narragansett Bay near the Providence, Rhode Island Metropolitan area. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) project design; and (2) cost-sharing. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct studies of Baltimore Harbor, Maryland, for the purpose of developing analytical procedures and criteria for contaminated dredged material in order to distinguish those materials which should be placed in containment sites from those which could be used in beneficial projects or placed in open waters without being chemically altered, and of determining the feasibility and necessity of decontaminating dredged materials and of dewatering and recycling such materials for use as marketable products. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to review the report of the Chief of Engineers on the Ohio River and Tributaries and other pertinent reports to determine whether modifications of the report's recommendations are advisable at the present time. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study of the economic benefits of Federal and significant non-Federal shore protection activities in the Mid-Atlantic region from New York to Virginia. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Agriculture for the purpose of studying problems associated with flooding in Harrison County, Mississippi, under which the Secretaries will jointly conduct a reconnaissance study of such County and of specified bodies of water and associated watersheds; and (2) conduct a study on the need for navigation improvements in Reynolds Channel and the connecting State Boat Channel between Captree Island and Oak Beach. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) review the reports of the Chief of Engineers and other pertinent documents pertaining to Orchard Beach, Bronx, New York, and to make appropriate recommendations concerning storm damage prevention, recreation, environmental restoration, and other purposes; and (2) conduct a study on the need for erosion protection along the East River, New York, in the vicinity of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, with a view toward mitigating the deleterious effects of drift removal on protecting the adjacent shoreline from erosion. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a reconnaisance and feasibility study: (1) of remediation of contaminated sediments in Lake Champlain and the Narrows of Lake Champlain, Vermont; (2) of providing additional boat access points on Lake Champlain, Vermont; and (2) on providing additional flood protection for Montpelier, Vermont. Sets forth funding provisions. Directs the Secretary, in studying the feasibility of Federal improvements to the St. John's River Channel, Florida, to examine the commercial and military uses of the channel in those areas traversed by both military and commercial vessels, and coordinate the Secretary's efforts with the Secretary of the Navy to utilize available studies and resources which project future military dredging needs in the St. John's River Channel. Requires the Chief of Engineers to review the report of the Chief of Engineers on central and southern Florida, and other pertinent reports, with a view to determining whether modifications to the existing project are advisable at the present time due to significantly changed physical, biological, demographic, or economic conditions. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study on whether or not to relieve the State of Illinois of the requirement to make annual payments for unused water supply storage in Rend Lake on the Big Muddy River, Illinois; and (2) report to the Congress. Requires such State, until six months after the date on which the Secretary transmits such report to the Congress, to make any payments under its contract with the United States for use of storage space for water supply in Rend Lake on such River. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1988 to authorize the Secretary to pay tuition expenses of suitable, English-taught primary and secondary education in Puerto Rico for the children of Federal employees who are employed (currently, temporarily residing and employed) in Puerto Rico for the construction of the Portuguese and Bucana Rivers, subject to specified requirements. Directs the Secretary to undertake such measures as necessary to compensate for damages caused to public and private property by the drawdown undertaken in March 1992 by the Corps at the Little Goose and Lower Granite projects in Washington. Specifies that the costs of such measures shall be considered project costs and shall be allocated in accordance with existing cost allocations for such projects. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to establish a pilot program for providing environmental restoration infrastructure and resource protection development projects to non-Federal interests in south central Pennsylvania, subject to specified (including reporting) requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to make capital improvements to the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Directs the Secretary to enter into such arrangements as necessary to rehabilitate, renovate, preserve, and maintain the Illinois and Michigan Canal and its related facilities. Sets the Federal share of such improvements at 50 percent. Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility of establishing a transfer facility at the Leonard Ranch property adjacent to Port Sonoma-Marin, California, for the drying and rehandling of dredged material from San Francisco Bay for transport to an upland site for beneficial uses. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a plan for modifying the channel bypass element of the Levisa Fork, Kentucky, project for water quality improvement in and restoration of Pikeville Lake, Kentucky (and authorizes appropriations); and (2) undertake a revision of the master plan for the Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania, project and submit to the Congress for approval any proposed changes that significantly change uses of the Lake, surrounding land resources, or any facilities located thereon. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) study the feasibility of developing and preserving seasonal wetlands on the Santa Rosa plain, California, and provide technical assistance to the Sonoma County Vernal Pool Task Force in developing a plan for the development and preservation of such wetlands; and (2) participate in the study and construction of a water resources project in the vicinity of Phoenix, Arizona, for the purpose of providing flood control and improving water quality in the Tres Rios wetlands, Arizona, at a total cost of $6.5 million. Directs the Secretary to: (1) determine whether a design deficiency exists at the Klamath Glen levee, California (and, if so, correct the deficiency); and (2) cooperate with State and local officials in reviewing the water supply needs of the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, Ohio. Redesignates a parcel of land to be conveyed by the Secretary to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the building located thereon, for use as a clubhouse for the local American Legion Post of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission of the State of New Jersey for the development of the Phase I Environmental Improvement Program of the Special Area Management Plan for the Hackensack Meadowlands area, New Jersey. Sets forth cost-sharing provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to initiate a program to exchange certain lands at Allatoona Lake, Georgia. Requires the Secretary to: (1) study a hydro-environmental monitoring and information system in the New York Bight and Harbor, subject to specified requirements; and (2) conduct a national study on information that is currently available on contaminated sediments, and compile information obtained in such study for the purpose of identifying the location and nature of contaminated sediments in the nation. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to cooperate with non-Federal interests in the completion of a study on contaminated sediments in Milwaukee Harbor, Wisconsin, and surrounding areas. Authorizes appropriations. Directs: (1) the Secretary to complete planning, design, and construction of a project for navigation, Arthur Kill, New York and New Jersey after entering into appropriate agreements with non-Federal interests for completion of such planning and design; and (2) the President to transmit to specified congressional committees a report on expenditures from and deposits into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) conduct investigations and surveys of the watersheds of the rivers in the Conemaugh River Basin, Pennsylvania; and (2) develop and implement restoration projects for abatement and mitigation of water quality degradation caused by abandoned mines and mining activity in such basin. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer to the State of Wisconsin the locks and appurtenant features of the navigation portion of the Fox River System, Wisconsin. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to include costs of lands, easements, rights-of-way, and relocations among specified costs to be allocated to mitigate damages to fish and wildlife. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a study on environmentally beneficial ways to expand or supplement existing placement options and sites serving channel dredging operations of the Port of Baltimore. Specifies that such study shall enhance an ongoing long-term management study for the Chesapeake Bay area being conducted by the State of Maryland and the Secretary. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Declares portions of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to be non-navigable waters of the United States, subject to specified limitations. Directs the Secretary to carry out an exchange rate demonstration project at the Eastern Channel of the Lockwoods Folly River, Brunswick County, North Carolina. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to review the construction performed by non-Federal interests at the project for navigation, Port Everglades, Florida. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse such interests, subject to specified requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) use available resources to support the logistical and minor construction needs of the local organizing committee of the 1993 World University Games in western New York; and (2) undertake a program to control nuisance aquatic vegetation for the purpose of preserving the recreational uses of the waters of Lake Gaston, Virginia and North Carolina (and authorizes appropriations). Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program for providing water-related environmental assistance to non-Federal interests in southern West Virginia, subject to specified (including reporting) requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to establish the Tennessee River Heritage Museum and Education Facility to encourage science and technology as it relates to developing, managing, and preserving rivers as a nationally significant resource. Directs TVA to cooperate with the Tennessee Valley Exhibit Commission of Alabama to establish an exhibit in Florence, Alabama, on research and development in the area of inland navigation, tributary development, and related activities. Authorizes TVA to accept contributions from private sources in carrying out such provision. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study to review the operation of the project for flood control, Red Rock Dam and Lake, Iowa, authorized by the Flood Control Act of June 28, 1938. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary, in carrying out modifications (under the Water Resources Development Act of 1986) in the structures and operations of the project for flood control, Sacramento River, California, for the purpose of improving the quality of the environment in the public interest, to: (1) credit the value of all lands, easements, and rights-of-way provided by non-Federal interests for such modifications to the non-Federal share of the cost of such modifications; (2) include the one-time construction of the operation and maintenance facilities as part of project costs for cost-sharing purposes; and (3) in addition to the plan contained in the Yolo Basin Wetlands Project Modification Report dated April 1992, plan, design, and construct as part of such modifications historical wetlands at an alternative site located contiguous to the Yolo Bypass. Requires the Secretary to complete a project modification report by September 30, 1993. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study on bank stabilization and marsh creation by construction of a system of retaining dikes and by beneficial use of dredged material along the Calcasieu River Ship Canal, Louisiana, at critical locations. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary, subject to the cost-sharing provisions of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, to investigate and carry out saltmarsh restoration projects along the coastline of the State of Connecticut. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to the towns of Winfield, Buffalo, and Eleanor, West Virginia, to assist residents in analyzing and understanding the remedial options available for dealing with substances posing a risk to the environment at the Corps lock and dam construction site in the vicinity of Winfield, West Virginia. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) convey to the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas, all right, title, and interest of the United States (with exceptions) in and to a tract of real property located adjacent to the city, subject to specified requirements; and (2) conduct a study on flooding problems along the Rahway River, New Jersey, and implement such measures as the Secretary determines feasible. Authorizes the Secretary to participate as an active Federal member in the Memorandum of Understanding for the Interagency Ecological Study Program for implementation of the monitoring requirements in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, California. Amends the Water Resource Development Act of 1988 to authorize the Secretary to design and implement a comprehensive flood warning and response system to serve communities and flood prone areas along the Juniata River and its tributaries in Pennsylvania (as under current law) at full Federal expense (currently, consistent with the cost sharing policies of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986). Deletes provisions of specified Acts authorizing and directing the Secretary to use funds for activities authorized by the Follow Through Act to develop, at full Federal expense, detailed plans and specifications and to construct measures in Tarrant County, Texas, to eliminate flood damage in the historical stockyards area along Tony's Creek and Marine Creek. Authorizes and directs the Tennessee Valley Authority to grant a release from the restriction and covenant which requires that certain property located in Decatur, Alabama, be used solely for the purpose of erecting docks and buildings for shipbuilding purposes or for the manufacture or storage of products for the purpose of trading or shipping in transportation. Authorizes the Secretary to construct, establish, equip, maintain, and operate (or assist in doing so) an interagency child care facility at Fort Point, Galveston, Texas, to provide child care services for children of Federal employees. Sets forth provisions regarding the establishment of fees for such services, transfers of funds from Federal agencies in connection with such facility, and the Secretary's authority to accept donations. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to offer technical assistance to the National Park Service (NPS) on infrastructure repairs and improvements at the Presidio of San Francisco, California, during the transition period from Army to NPS management and after its inclusion into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Requires the Secretary to assist the NPS in identifying opportunities at the Presidio for demonstration and education programs of environmentally suitable and innovative technologies, and make available a liaison from its Construction Engineering Research Laboratory for such purpose. Directs the Secretary to develop a comprehensive five- and 20-year sediment management strategy for the Maumee River, Toledo Harbor, which may include a combination of several sediment disposal alternatives and shall emphasize innovative, environmentally benign alternatives, including reuse and recycling for wetland restoration. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct the engineering and construction activities necessary to implement the five-year sediment management strategy. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to repeal an authorization of appropriations for the relocation of the Southeast Light on Block Island, Rhode Island. Sets forth cost-sharing provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to reconstruct the Allendale Dam in North Providence, Rhode Island, subject to specified cost, cost-sharing, and other requirements. Directs the Secretary to execute a water supply contract with the Ouachita River Water District for withdrawals from Lake DeGray, Arkansas, as provided in the agreement forwarded by the Vicksburg District Corps of Engineers dated March 1992. Authorizes the Secretary (subject to specified requirements) to: (1) remove a sunken barge from waters off the shore of the Narragansett Town Beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island; (2) construct two elevated water storage towers at Quonset Point-Davisville, Rhode Island, and to relocate 6,000 linear feet of sewer lines to West Davisville, Rhode Island; and (3) undertake the repair and reconstruction of a flood wall system at Stillwater, Minnesota, including an extension of such system to prevent the continuous eroding of the riverfront. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide that: (1) prior to October 1, 1994 (currently, 1992) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or the State shall not require a permit for stormwater discharges; and (2) not later than October 1, 1993 (currently, 1992) the Administrator shall issue regulations which designate certain stormwater discharges to be regulated to protect water quality and establish a comprehensive program to regulate such designated sources. Title IV: Infrastructure Technology, Research and Development - Authorizes the Secretary to engage in activities to inform the U.S. maritime industry and port authorities of technological innovations abroad that could significantly improve waterborne transportation in the United States. Sets forth funding provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct such studies as necessary to provide a report to the Congress on the dredging needs of the national ports and harbors of the United States. Authorizes appropriations. Deauthorizes the responsibility of the Federal Government to maintain and operate a 1,400-foot eathen dike constructed by local interests in lieu of a 1,400-foot steel sheetpile breakwater authorized as part of the Flushing Bay and Creek, New York, project by the River and Harbor Act of 1962. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to develop a data collection and monitoring program of coastal processes for the Atlantic Coast of New York, from Coney Island to Montauk Point, with a view toward providing information necessary to develop a program for addressing post-storm actions and long-term shoreline erosion control. Directs the Secretary to provide an initial plan for data collection and monitoring to specified congressional committees within 12 months. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator and the Secretary: (1) within a year, based upon a review of decontamination technologies identified pursuant to the Water Resources Development Act of 1990, to jointly select removal, pretreatment, post-treatment, and decontamination technologies for contaminated marine sediments for a decontamination project in the New York/New Jersey Harbor; and (2) upon selection of technologies, to jointly recommend a program of selected technologies to assess their effectiveness in rendering sediments acceptable for unrestricted ocean disposal or beneficial reuse, or both. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Contaminated Sediment and Ocean Dumping - National Contaminated Sediment Assessment and Management Act - Establishes a National Contaminated Sediment Task Force. Sets forth provisions regarding the duties and compensation of the Task Force. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Administrator to: (1) conduct a comprehensive national survey of data regarding aquatic sediment quality in the United States; and (2) compile all existing information on the quantity, chemical and physical composition, and geographic location of pollutants in aquatic sediment, including the probable source of such pollutants and identification of contaminated sediments. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires the Administrator to conduct a comprehensive and continuing program to assess aquatic sediment quality. Sets forth reporting requirements. Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to revise provisions regarding: (1) ocean dumping requirements (including the addition of a requirement that the Secretary, prior to issuing a permit, obtain the concurrence by the Administrator and the establishment of related procedures); (2) restrictions on States' rights to adopt or enforce requirements respecting ocean dumping (eases such restrictions under specified circumstances); (3) the designation of sites for dumping; (4) permit conditions; and (5) ocean dumping penalties. Extends the authorization of appropriations under such Act through 1997. Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator for the Task Force and for sediment survey and monitoring. Requires the annual ocean dumping reports required to be submitted to the Congress under such Act to include: (1) a description of the number of permits issued (including the number of permits issued by the Secretary with the concurrence of the Administrator); (2) any actions taken involving waiver of requirements under the dumping permit program for dredged material; and (3) for each permit, the site receiving the material, the volume and characteristics of material dumped (including the extent and nature of pollutants in such material), and the management practices implemented in connection with each disposal activity.
Bill· HRH.R. 6150 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Foreign Aid Reduction and Reform Act of 1992 - Declares the policy of the Congress that: (1) humanitarian aid to foreign nations should continue to be provided in the form of grants; (2) foreign aid to military and economic development purposes should be converted to loans, rather than grants; and (3) the conversion should be implemented over a reasonable period of time, in recognition of prior commitments and managerial efficiency. Title I: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Rescinds FY 1993 funds made available to the President for the Agency for International Development for: (1) population, development assistance; (2) operating expenses; (3) the housing guaranty program account; (4) the economic support fund; (5) the international fund for Ireland; (6) Philippines assistance; (7) assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States; and (8) assistance for Russia and emerging Eurasian democracies. Rescinds funds made available to the African Development Foundation and the Inter-American Foundation. Provides supplemental FY 1993 funds to the: (1) Overseas Private Investment Corporation Program account; (2) the Peace Corps; and (3) the Department of State for international narcotics control and anti-terrorism assistance. Rescinds funds made available to the President for international military education and training and the foreign military financing program. Provides supplemental FY 1993 funds to the President for direct loans under the foreign military financing program, peacekeeping operations, the subsidy appropriation, and administrative expenses. Title II: Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies - Rescinds FY 1993 funds made available to the Department of State for: (1) the administration of foreign affairs; (2) the Office of Inspector General; (3) representation allowances; (4) protection of foreign missions and officials; (5) acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad; (6) emergencies in the diplomatic and consular service; (7) the repatriation loans program account; (8) payment to the American Institute in Taiwan; and (9) international organizations and conferences. Rescinds FY 1993 funds made available to: (1) certain international commissions; (2) payment to the Asia Foundation; (3) the Board for International Broadcasting; (4) the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; (5) the International Trade Commission; (6) the Japan-United States Friendship Commission; and (7) the United States Information Agency.
Bill· HRH.R. 6145 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1987 to require at least five percent of the total funds obligated for Department of Defense procurement contracts to be used for contracts entered into with small disadvantaged business concerns, historically Black colleges and universities, and certain minority institutions. (Currently, such percentage is a goal under such Act as opposed to a requirement.)
Bill· SS. 3315 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1992
Dollars for Scholars Community Scholarship Foundation Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make an endowment grant to an eligible organization to support the establishment of not more than 25 regional centers to foster development of locally based, volunteer organizations to improve high school graduation rates and postsecondary attendance through providing academic support services and financial assistance for postsecondary education. Sets forth requirements for the eligible organization, the regional centers, and the local affiliates of the eligible organization. Sets forth conditions for the endowment grant. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3307 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1992
Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Act - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish a Division of Elementary and Secondary School Library Media Services (the Division) within the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Sets forth the Division's functions. Requires the Director of the Division to award grants to States for acquisition of school library media resources for public elementary and secondary schools. Sets forth requirements for allocation to States, State plans, and State distribution of allocation to local educational agencies. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director to award grants for projects that: (1) encourage collaboration between public elementary and secondary library media specialists and teachers to develop instructional units that enable students to use a variety of information resources; and (2) expand students' information-gathering abilities and certain cognitive skills. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director to award grants to encourage collaborative elementary and secondary school library media specialist and teacher programs to: (1) expand use of computers and computer networks in the curriculum; and (2) enable elementary and secondary school library media centers to access information from computerized databases. Authorizes the Director to enter into cooperative agreements with the National Science Foundation and other appropriate nonprofit agencies and organizations in carrying out this grants program. Authorizes appropriations. Requires that funds under this Act supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, or local funds.
Bill· HRH.R. 6109 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1992
School-Based Childhood Immunizations Program Amendments Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants for immunizations for children. Authorizes the grants only to local educational agencies with elementary schools in communities with substantial cases of vaccine-preventable diseases and substantial numbers of unimmunized children. Mandates community education. Specifies permissible uses of grant funds, including recruiting and retaining a school nurse. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6100 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1992
American Consumers Health Care Reform Act of 1992 - Title I: Immediate Health Care Reforms - Subtitle A: Expansion of Medicaid Program - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to mandate Medicaid eligibility for all residents of a State: (1) who are U.S. citizens or nationals or lawful resident aliens; (2) whose income does not exceed specified percentages of the poverty level, increasing those percentages between the first and second effective fiscal years; and (3) whose resources do not exceed the limits set by title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act. Terminates, two years after this Act becomes effective, payments to States (and State obligations to provide assistance) under Medicaid, except for outpatient prescription drugs and biologicals, home health care, nursing facility services, community supported living, home and community-based services, and other items and services that relate to long-term care and are not covered under Medicaid provisions added by this Act. Includes in the assistance made available under this Act assistance for the same amount, duration, and scope as under certain Medicaid provisions relating to medical assistance, except for nursing facility or home health care services. Regulates cost-sharing: (1) prohibiting it for services related to pregnancy, preventive services, or services to children under 19; (2) limiting it for individuals whose income is under 50 percent of the poverty level; (3) specifying copayment amounts for other services and individuals; and (4) limiting total cost-sharing per year. Phases in an increased Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for acute care services and a modified FMAP for items and services other than acute care services. Prohibits assistance under these provisions and the increased FMAP unless the State continues to provide home health care and nursing facility services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop standards for State long-term care plans under existing Medicaid provisions at the end of a specified transition period. Mandates a report on the impact on States of the FMAP decrease for outpatient prescription drugs. Amends Medicaid provisions to establish a Federal medical assistance program regarding acute care services for poor individuals and certain assistance for Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) cost-sharing for certain Medicare beneficiaries. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the provisions relating to the new program and such Medicare assistance. Mandates payment for items and services furnished to: (1) U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful resident aliens; (2) whose incomes do not exceed specified percentages of the poverty level, increasing those percentages in the third through fifth effective fiscal years; and (3) whose resources do not exceed a specified level. Mandates payment for Medicare cost-sharing for: (1) Medicare beneficiaries; (2) disabled and working individuals, as defined in specified provisions; and (3) individuals who would be Medicare beneficiaries but for their income being between 100 and 120 percent of the poverty line. Specifies covered services, including certain: (1) inpatient and outpatient hospital services; (2) consistent with State law, rural health clinic services; (3) other laboratory and X-ray services; (4) screening, diagnostic, and treatment services; (5) family planning services and supplies; (6) physician's services; (7) medical and surgical services furnished by a dentist; (8) nurse-midwife services; and (9) pediatric or family nurse practitioner services. Excludes certain nursing facility and home health care services. Prohibits fixed limitations on the amount, duration, and scope of medically necessary services. Phases in, over two years, a requirement that payment rates for such services be the same under Medicaid as under Medicare. Mandates adjustment of such payment rates for demographic and geographic characteristics. Limits payments for such services based on Medicare participation conditions and agreements. Regulates cost-sharing: (1) prohibiting it for services related to pregnancy, preventive services, or services to children under 19; (2) limiting it for individuals whose income is under 50 percent of the poverty level; (3) specifying copayment amounts for other services and individuals; and (4) limiting total cost-sharing per year. Requires: (1) eligibility for these services to be determined by the same entity in a State that determines eligibility for benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act; and (2) payment to providers to be made through the same entity or entities that make provider payments under Medicare, as amended by this Act. Mandates encouragement of the development and application of managed care arrangements to the provision of such services, including primary care case-management arrangements, health maintenance organizations, and competitive medical plans. Requires comprehensive managed care arrangements to include capitation payments at a level equivalent to payments that would be made for individuals not enrolled in such an arrangement. Requires State maintenance of effort, phasing in over nine years an increased Federal percentage and phasing out over the same period the FMAP for services not covered. Mandates a study on the effect of the State maintenance of effort requirements on different States and on the relation of the total amount of maintenance of effort to the long-term care needs in each State. Subtitle B: Medicare Reform - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take steps to consolidate the administration of Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) over a five-year period, contracting with a single entity that combines the intermediary and carrier functions in each area, except where special regional or national contracts are appropriate. Mandates development of payment proposals that eliminate inconsistent incentives under Medicare. Subtitle C: Health Benefit Plan Reform - Part 1: Preemption of State Mandatory Benefit Laws and Anti-Managed Care Laws - Preempts State laws, as applied to a qualified small employer (not over 100 employees) purchasing group (having at least 100 employer members per State): (1) requiring the offering, by an employer member, of any health benefit plan services, category of care, or services of any class or type of provider; or (2) prohibiting a group of employers from purchasing health insurance with respect to member employers or their employees. Preempts State laws: (1) restricting carriers from negotiating provider reimbursement rates or contracting selectively with one provider or a limited number of providers; (2) limiting the financial incentives a health benefit plan may require a beneficiary to pay when a non-plan provider is used on a non-emergency basis; or (3) restricting utilization review in certain ways. Requires the Comptroller General to study the benefits and cost effectiveness of the use of managed care in the delivery of services. Ends the preemptions mandated by this paragraph five years after enactment of this Act. Part 2: Restriction on Pre-Existing Condition Provisions for Employer Health Insurance - Prohibits a carrier from imposing certain preexisting condition limitations or exclusions. Requires carriers to waive a preexisting condition waiting period in certain circumstances. Part 3: Small Employer Insurance Market Reforms - Requires a carrier that offers a small employer health plan in a State to offer the same plan to any other small employer in the State. Allows refusal to issue or renew (or termination of) such a plan only for nonpayment of premiums, fraud, or misrepresentation. Requires, after a minimum benefit package is established under provisions of this Act, that each such carrier make available a plan that only provides for such minimum benefits. Declares that a plan offered through an association composed exclusively of employers (which may include self-employed individuals) and formed for purposes other than obtaining health insurance need not be offered to individuals who are not employees of employer members or self-employed members. Allows health maintenance organizations to have geographic and size limits. Requires: (1) a single cohesive rating system applied consistently for all small employers and actuarially certified annually; and (2) the reference premium rate charged for a small employer health plan with similar benefits in a community for a type of family enrollment to be the same for all small employers. Allows limited reference premium rate adjustment based on the age and gender of covered individuals. Requires each small employer health plan to permit enrollment of three classes: (1) one adult; (2) a married couple without children; and (3) a married couple with one or more children or one adult with one or more children. Part 4: Establishment of Standards; Enforcement; General Definitions - Mandates development of standards to carry out parts 2 and 3 of this subtitle. Requires each State to report to the Secretary on the enforcement of the standards. Permits more stringent State standards. Directs the Secretary to provide for enforcement if a State fails to do so and with respect to plans not subject to State regulation. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the failure of any carrier to comply with part 2 standards or of any small employer carrier to comply with part 3 standards. Subtitle D: Medical Malpractice Reform - Part 1: General Provisions - Applies this subtitle to any medical malpractice liability action in any State or Federal court, except regarding: (1) a vaccine-related injury or death covered by certain provisions of the Public Health Service Act; or (2) injuries allegedly arising solely from the use of a medical product. Preempts inconsistent State laws. Part 2: Uniform Standards for Medical Malpractice Liability Actions - Sets forth time limits for bringing medical malpractice liability claims. Prohibits bringing such a claim in a State court unless the claim has been initially resolved under an alternative dispute resolution system (ADR) certified by the Secretary under this Act. Gives an ADR decision the same status, for purposes of court enforcement, as the verdict of a medical malpractice action adjudicated in a State or Federal trial court. Provides for the treatment of an ADR decision regarding going forward with the action and the burden of proof. Amends Federal law relating to judicial procedure to require each Federal agency to use an alternative means of dispute resolution to settle a medical malpractice claim against the United States. Mandates a pretrial settlement conference. Limits: (1) noneconomic damages to a specified dollar amount; and (2) punitive damages to twice the damages awarded to the plaintiff and the plaintiff's family. Requires any punitive damages to be paid to the State in which the action is brought. Requires that State to use such amounts to carry out activities to assure the safety and quality of health care services, including: (1) licensing health care providers; (2) operating ADRs; (3) operating public education programs; and (4) carrying out programs to reduce malpractice-related costs for providers volunteering services in medically underserved areas. Mandates periodic payment for future losses, if over a specified amount. Limits contingent plaintiff's attorney's fees. Mandates awarding attorney's fees, expert fees, and certain other litigation expenses to the contesting party if the court upholds an ADR ruling. Makes medical malpractice liability several only and not joint, with each defendant being liable only for their percentage of the responsibility. Prohibits a finding of negligence in a medical malpractice liability action unless the conduct at the time of providing the services was not reasonable. Declares it to be a complete defense that the defendant followed the appropriate practice guideline, provided the Secretary has sanctioned the use of the guideline for purposes of an affirmative defense. Sets forth a sanctioning process. Declares that a prima facie case of negligence is not presented solely by showing that the defendant failed to follow the appropriate practice guideline. Prohibits a finding of malpractice relating to services during labor or delivery if the defendant did not previously treat the plaintiff for the pregnancy unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Specifies the ways and extent to which this part supersedes State laws. Part 3: Requirements for State Alternative Dispute Resolution System (ADR) - Lists requirements for State ADRs, including that they: (1) apply to all medical malpractice claims under the State courts; and (2) transmit findings of malpractice to the State agency responsible for monitoring or disciplining providers. Requires application of the provisions of part 2 to claims under a State's ADR as such provisions apply to actions brought in the State. Provides for certification of State ADRs. Mandates a report to the Congress describing and evaluating State ADRs. Part 4: Other Requirements and Programs - Amends the Social Security Act to authorize appropriations (and modify existing authorizations of appropriations) to carry out provisions regarding research on outcomes of health care services and procedures, earmarking funds for sanctioning practice guidelines for an affirmative defense in medical malpractice liability actions. Directs the Secretary, in order to facilitate the research, to conduct and support data collection on medical malpractice actions. Mandates: (1) development of a standard reporting form for State ADRs regarding resolved disputes; and (2) a study on the effect of the malpractice guidelines developed by the Administrator for Health Care Policy and Research on malpractice incidence and costs. Allows, notwithstanding any other provision of State or Federal law, a State agency responsible for disciplinary actions for a type of health care practitioner to enter into agreements with State or county professional societies to participate in the licensing of such practitioner and the review of any malpractice action or allegation or other information concerning the practice patterns of the practitioner. Requires each State to require: (1) each health care professional and provider to participate in a risk management program to prevent and provide early warning of practices which may endanger patients; and (2) each malpractice insurance provider to establish risk management programs and require those maintaining insurance to participate. Mandates grants: (1) for the conduct of basic research on the prevention of and compensation for injuries resulting from health care professional or provider malpractice and research on the outcomes of health care procedures; (2) to States to improve each State's ability to license and discipline health care professionals; (3) for public education on appropriate health care use and realistic expectations; (4) for public education on the resources and role of health professional licensing and disciplinary boards; and (5) for developing faculty training and curricula for educating health professionals in quality assurance, risk management, and medical injury prevention. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates a study on the factors preventing or discouraging physicians from volunteering to provide services in medically underserved areas. Subtitle E: Medical Education Reform - Amends Medicare provisions to require that, ten years after enactment of this Act, half of: (1) direct graduate medical education cost payments be made for residency training in primary care fields; and (2) indirect medical education cost payments be made for physicians in primary care fields. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that, ten years after enactment of this Act, half of all new insured loans to and installments on lines of credit for graduate students in health professions schools be made for students in primary care fields. Requires each State to develop a comprehensive plan to identify the health personnel needs of its residents. Subtitle F: Public Delivery System - Mandates development of national standards to identify medically underserved populations. Requires each State to develop a comprehensive plan for addressing the needs of such populations under such standards. Authorizes appropriations for additional grants to migrant and community health centers and programs for health services for the homeless to provide for at least one publicly-funded health center in each such identified area. Directs the Secretary to promote individual responsibility in personal health care and in the use of health care resources. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the amounts appropriated under provisions relating to the general authority of the Secretary regarding health information and health promotion should be increased sufficiently to permit the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion to carry out specified activities. Directs the President to provide for the coordination and, to the extent appropriate, consolidation of all Federal nutrition activities. Requires establishment of at least four demonstration projects to test alternative ways of promoting informed decision making by providers and patients on the appropriate utilization of expensive life-sustaining technology. Specifies four projects which must be included. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates: (1) development of an action plan for reducing the U.S. incidence of specified health risk factors such as smoking, overweight, sedentary lifestyle, and failure to use seat belts; and (2) identification of Federal policies that may hinder attainment of the plan goals. Subtitle G: Public Disclosure - Directs the Secretary to establish standards for the collection and disclosure of health care data under this subtitle, including a computerized system, a uniform claims format, a mechanism to avoid duplicating Medicare and Medicaid services reporting and to coordinate data collected for such services with other health care services, and a quality- and effectiveness-measuring methodology. Allows the collection and disclosure requirements of this subtitle to be implemented by a State or by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the implementing entity to collect, and data sources to submit, specified data. Mandates publication of specified data, including on at least the most frequent 65 percent of services and payments and including comparisons among providers regarding payments and service effectiveness. Provides for special reports from raw data and for a means for computer-to-computer access to any purchaser. Provides for public access to the data. Prohibits release of specified types of information and imposes criminal penalties. Sets forth procedures for access by purchasers and other parties. Subtitle H: Tax Incentives to Provide Only Minimum Benefits - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow a trade or business expense deduction for health care benefits exceeding the minimum benefits package under title II of this Act. Excludes from an employee's gross income employer-provided health coverage, but only up to the minimum benefit package. Removes provisions ending, on a specified date, the deductibility of a specified percentage of the health insurance expenses of self-employed individuals. Makes the cost of the minimum benefit package coverage fully deductible for such individuals. Title II: National Health Care Reform Proposals - Subtitle A: National Health Care Reform Commission - Establishes the National Health Care Reform Commission, requiring it to: (1) develop national health care goals to improve access to health care, safeguard and improve quality, and control costs; and (2) advise the Secretary on subtitle B demonstration projects and make related evaluations and recommendations. Requires the Commission to submit to the Congress a legislative proposal specifying a minimum benefit package to be used for a demonstration project under this title. Declares that the package, if approved by enactment of a joint resolution, shall also be used for implementing subtitle C (Health Benefit Plan Reform) of title I and determining the tax treatment of employer-paid employee health benefits in excess of the minimum package. Requires: (1) coverage of medically appropriate and cost effective preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic services; and (2) cost-sharing providing an incentive to avoid unnecessary care while avoiding excessive cost-sharing by individuals with catastrophic illnesses. Sets forth rules, changeable as any other rules of the House of Representatives or the Senate, for the consideration of such a joint resolution. Subtitle B: Demonstration Projects on Alternative Financing and Delivery Systems - Mandates establishment of such demonstration projects as necessary to test alternative methods for organizing the structure of the U.S. health care financing and delivery system. Authorizes the Secretary to initiate projects and seek applications from States. Prohibits projects from increasing Medicare and Medicaid expenditures. Authorizes waivers, as necessary, of requirements of Medicare, Medicaid, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and specified antitrust laws. Requires the Secretary to provide for the transfer from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund of sums as necessary to provide for evaluations of the projects.
Bill· HRH.R. 6108 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1992
Bipartisan Commission on Total Quality Government Act of 1992 - Establishes the Bipartisan Commission on Total Quality Government to: (1) provide for the education of Members of Congress, their staff, and congressional instrumentalities about Total Quality (TQ) (a structured management approach first used in private industry); (2) make recommendations to the President and the Congress regarding the application of TQ principles to the organization and operations of the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government; (3) establish a formal focus group of high-level Federal employees personally involved in TQ efforts in order to provide information and insights on issues and obstacles related to creating a TQ Government; (4) sponsor forums with various Government customers and suppliers and provide opportunities for affected groups to communicate their satisfaction with Government services or their recommendations for improvement; and (5) survey U.S. citizens about the quality of Government services in order to ensure that the major customers of the Government have input into efforts to improve the Government. Requires the Commission to submit an initial report to the President and the Congress with recommendations for the application of TQ principles to the organization and operation of the legislative and executive branches of the Government, with additional annual reports to follow. Requires the President, after receiving such a report from the Commission, to submit to the Commission and the Congress separate reports containing the President's recommendations for restructuring and improving the operation of all executive branch organizations recommended for reform by the Commission. Requires House and Senate leadership, after receiving such a report from the Commission, to submit to the Commission and the President separate reports with recommendations for restructuring and improving the operation of all legislative branch organizations recommended for reform by the Commission.
Bill· SS. 3300 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
21st Century Health Care Act - Title I: Eligibility and Enrollment - Entitles every U.S. resident who is a citizen, national, or lawful resident alien to health care coverage purchased through a health insurance purchasing cooperative (HIPC) created under this Act in their State of primary residence. Authorizes the National Health Care Board created in this Act to also make eligible for health care services such nonimmigrant aliens and other individuals as the Board considers appropriate. Requires such State to provide a mechanism for the enrollment of individuals entitled to health benefits purchased through a HIPC, as well as the issuance of a State health insurance card for use in identification and claims processing. States that each State HIPC program: (1) shall not impose a minimum residency requirement for entitlement in excess of three months; (2) shall provide continuation of services for individuals moving to another State until a minimum period of residency is established in the latter State; and (3) shall provide for the payment of health care services to individuals temporarily absent from the State. Requires the Board to issue regulations to provide for the transition of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to the health benefits program established under this Act. Title II: Managed Competition in Health Plans - Subtitle A: National Health Care Board - Establishes a National Health Care Board to: (1) establish and oversee the various responsibilities for the Health Outcomes Management Standards Board, the Health Benefits Standards Board, the Health Insurance Standards Board, the Medicare Transition Board, and the National Health Data System (all created under this Act); (2) establish a uniform data system to designate qualified HIPCs and carriers; (3) determine and implement a system for the collection of relevant health outcomes data; (4) determine and revise minimum benefit requirements of a qualified health benefits plan; (5) establish a program for low-income assistance, including premium and cost-sharing assistance; (6) establish an assistance program for individuals employed by small businesses; and (7) make written recommendations at least annually to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the States with respect to the planning, development, and implementation of all components of the National Health Insurance Data System established under this Act. Requires the Board to provide for the initial organization of a Health Outcomes Management Standards Board (Outcomes Board) to make recommendations to the Board concerning: (1) the establishment of a national data system for patient outcomes and other quality measures; (2) the standards for information collection and reporting from Accountable Health Plans (AHPs); and (3) oversight of data centers and data evaluation. Provides funding to the Outcomes Board through establishment of an annual registration fee for AHPs. Requires the Board to provide for the initial organization of a Health Benefits Standards Board (Benefits Board) to make recommendations to the Board concerning: (1) the uniform set of effective benefits; (2) effective services for such benefits; and (3) auditing standards to ensure the accuracy of information collected from AHPs. Provides funding to the Benefits Board through an annual AHP registration fee. Requires the Board to provide for the initial organization of a Health Insurance Standards Board (Insurance Board) to make recommendations to the Board concerning the standards for AHPs and HIPCs, and the treatment of uniform effective health benefits and expenses in excess of accountable health plan costs. Requires the Insurance Board to also ensure the financial viability of AHPs and resolve conflicts between AHPs and consumers in the delivery of the uniform set of effective benefits. Provides funding to the Insurance Board through an annual AHP registration fee. Requires the Board to provide for the initial organization of a Medicare Transition Board (Transition Board) to make recommendations to the Congress concerning the integration of the Medicare health program with the health program established under this Act. Provides funding to the Transition Board through an annual AHP registration fee. Directs the Board to: (1) register AHPs that meet standards provided under this Act; (2) establish rules for the process of risk-adjustment of premiums among AHPs by HIPCs; (3) establish standards for the periodic reporting by AHPs of information on clinical health outcomes, status, well-being, plan satisfaction of enrolled individuals, health care expenditures, and volumes and prices of procedures; (4) analyze all information so reported; (5) provide for the distribution of its analysis on individual AHPs; (6) publish annual reports on collected information; and (7) distribute related information as appropriate. Provides procedural rules governing congressional consideration of Board actions, requiring specific disapproval by joint resolution in order to overturn such actions. Subtitle B: Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperatives - Requires each State to provide for the establishment as a not-for-profit corporation of a health insurance purchasing cooperative (HIPC) to implement a State coordinated buying program under specified procedures. Outlines HIPC requirements. Requires each HIPC to be governed by a Board of Directors to oversee the functioning of all HIPCs within such State, provide expertise, coordinate HIPC activities among districts, and resolve disputes arising in the implementation of this Act. Requires each HIPC to: (1) enter into agreements with AHPs and employers; (2) enroll individuals under AHPs; (3) receive and forward adjusted premiums for plan enrollment; (4) coordinate with other HIPCs; (5) engage in education and outreach efforts to inform the public about the HIPC coordinated buying program; (6) solicit bids and negotiate with AHPs to make available health benefit plans through the coordinated buying program and one or more HIPCs; and (7) prepare and disseminate the documentation required by Federal agencies to certify participation in the coordinated program. Provides similar local district activities of HIPCs. Outlines provisions concerning the agreement entered into between each HIPC and AHP, including agreement termination, offer of enrollment to individuals at applicable premium rates, and payment and receipt of premiums. States that each AHP retains the risk of nonpayment by enrolled individuals. Requires each HIPC to offer eligible individuals the opportunity to enroll in an AHP for the HIPC area in which such individual resides. Outlines provisions concerning the enrollment process, as well as the periods of coverage for the initial, general, and special enrollment periods. Provides for the receipt of premiums by a HIPC and the forwarding of such premiums to the AHP providing the health services, after the taking by the HIPC of a specified percentage to cover overhead expenses. Requires the Board to establish rules for coordination among HIPCs in cases where under an agreement with a HIPC eligible individuals are enrolled by an employer located in one State and the employees reside in a different State. Subtitle C: Accountable Health Plans - Part 1: Requirements for Accountable Health Plans - Requires the Board to provide a process whereby a health plan may be registered with the Board by its sponsor as an accountable health plan (AHP). Requires an AHP, in order to be eligible for registering, to: (1) provide for coverage of the uniform set of effective benefits specified by the Board; (2) provide for the collection and reporting to the Board of information concerning enrollees and the provision of services; (3) not discriminate in enrollment or benefits; (4) establish standard premiums for the uniform set of effective benefits; (5) meet financial solvency requirements; and (6) provide for effective grievance procedures and restrict certain physician incentive plans. Requires each AHP to also provide for the imposition of uniform cost-sharing (deductibles and coinsurance). Requires each AHP to provide at least annually to its HIPC necessary information to evaluate AHP cost and performance in meeting the needs of its enrollees. Prohibits an AHP from denying, limiting, or conditioning the coverage under its plan based on the health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, or lack of evidence of insurability of an individual. Allows an AHP to exclude coverage for a previous condition, but limits such exclusion to six months. Requires each AHP to establish standard premiums, for individual and family coverage, for the uniform set of effective benefits within each HIPC area in which the plan is offered. Provides with respect to each AHP: (1) financial solvency requirements; (2) grievance procedures; and (3) the acceptance of information electronically from the Board on the eligibility of individuals for low-income and small business assistance. Part 2: Preemption from State Laws for Accountable Health Plans - Preempts any State law which is different from the uniform set of effective benefits established by the Board under this Act, as well as any State law restricting network plans or utilization review programs. Subtitle D: Treatment of Areas of Ineffective Competition - Requires the Board, if it determines that there is ineffective price competition in the provision of health services within the uniform set of effective benefits in an area of a State, to authorize the State HIPC to establish reimbursement benchmarks to be used in the determination of rates to be charged by providers of services in such area until the Board finds that effective price competition exists. Subtitle E: Definitions - Provides definitions. Title III: Uniform Effective Health Benefits - Requires the Board to annually specify the uniform set of effective benefits for the next fiscal year to apply in all States. Requires such benefits to include the full range of legally authorized treatments for conditions, but allows for the exclusion of benefits for services and items that the Board determines have not been shown to reasonably improve or significantly ameliorate a health condition. Requires specific treatments, procedures, and care to be left up to the individual AHP. Provides for the inclusion and exclusion of specified services within the uniform set of effective benefits. Requires the Board to entitle every eligible individual under an AHP to payment for such covered services. Title IV: Application of Antitrust Laws - Exempts from the antitrust laws the action of two or more hospitals negotiating a proposed agreement to share expensive medical services or high technology equipment. Requires, for such exemption, such hospitals to submit an application to the Board describing the particulars of such agreement, Board approval, and Board issuance of a waiver from the antitrust laws for such agreement. Allows the revocation of such waiver in specified circumstances. Title V: Cost Control and Financing - Subtitle A: Health Budgets - Requires the Board to: (1) establish an annual fiscal year budget of expenditures; (2) compute the national average per capita cost for each of the health care services included in the expenditures; (3) designate a series of risk groups, by age, sex, and other factors, for health care services and costs; (4) develop for each State HIPC a factor to adjust the national average per capita costs for each risk group; (5) determine total projected expenditures for each State HIPC for each covered health service; (6) determine the appropriate Federal contribution for each State for total projected expenditures; and (7) make appropriate subsequent calculations to adjust the budgets, estimates, and contributions. Requires each State to raise the revenues necessary to cover its share specified in the national health budget established by the Board. Subtitle B: Funding - Directs the Board to develop a mechanism for determining and collecting revenues to fund Federal contributions, which shall be approved or disapproved under congressional joint resolution procedures. Amends the Public Health Service Act to impose on any employer a civil penalty equal to 34 percent of the excess health plan expenses of such employer. Defines the excess health plan expenses as those not covered under an AHP or paid to a HIPC for coverage under an AHP. Prohibits the amount of employer contribution from varying based on the AHP selected. Outlines employer obligations with respect to the enrollment of eligible individuals in an AHP through a State HIPC. Provides civil penalties for failing to meet such obligations. Establishes the National Health Care Trust Fund and appropriates to the Fund all of the premiums received by the Board for coverage under an AHP, along with any penalties collected. Requires each State to establish a funding program for the implementation of the State HIPC program in that State, requiring each program to include the enrollment and standard premium financing required under this Act. Entitles each State with an HIPC program approved by the Board to its appropriate per capita funding from the Board for implementation of the AHP.
Bill· SS. 3299 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Managed Competition Act of 1992 - Title I: Managed Competition in Employer-Based Health Plans: Incentives to Control Costs - Subtitle A: Use of Tax Incentives to Purchase Cost Effective Plans - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the excess health plan expenses of employers. Allows a full and permanent deduction for the health plan premium expenses of self-employed individuals, except with respect to excess health plan expenses. Excludes from gross income contributions by a partnership or S corporation to an accident or health plan covering its partners or shareholders. Subtitle B: Health Plan Purchasing Cooperatives (HPPCs - Provides for the establishment of health plan purchasing cooperatives as not-for-profit corporations in or among States to: (1) enter into agreements with accountable health plans; (2) enter into agreements with small employers; (3) enroll individuals in accountable health plans; (4) receive and forward adjusted premiums, including the reconciliation of low-income assistance among such plans; and (5) coordinate and carryout other functions as required by this title. Subtitle C: Accountable Health Plans (AHPs) - Sets forth requirements for accountable health plans with respect to: registration and qualifications, uniform benefits, cost-sharing for low-income individuals, standardized information, prohibition of discrimination based on health status, standard premiums, financial solvency, grievance mechanisms, and coordinating benefits. Preempts State laws for accountable health plans. Subtitle D: National Health Board - Establishes a National Health Board to: (1) specify a uniform set of effective benefits by October 1, 1993; (2) provide for an advisory Health Benefits and Data Standards Board and a Health Plan Standards Board; (3) register accountable health plans; (4) establish rules for the process of risk-adjustment premiums; (5) establish standards for a national health data system; (6) measure the quality of care in specialized centers; and (7) make specified reports to the Congress. Subtitle E: Treatment of Areas of Ineffective Competition - Authorizes States to develop plans for controlling growth in premiums of accountable health plans where there is ineffective price competition. Subtitle F: Repeal of COBRA Continuation Requirements - Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Public Health Service Act with respect to continuation coverage requirements of group health plans. Subtitle G: Definitions - Provides definitions for terms under this title. Title II: Low-Income Assistance for Health Coverage - Subtitle A: Low-Income Assistance - Provides assistance to low-income individuals enrolled under accountable health plans who are not eligible for Medicare through adjustments of premiums, cost-sharing assistance, and payments for certain items and services. Subtitle B: Long-Term Care Phase-Down Assistance to States - Phases down assistance to States for long-term care from 1994 through 1997. Subtitle C: Financing - Repeals the dollar limitation on the amount of wages subject to the hospital insurance tax. Subtitle D: Repeal of Medicaid Program - Repeals title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act. Requires the National Health Board to report to the Congress on changes in the laws needed to conform to such repeal. Title III: Improved Access in Rural and Undeserved Areas - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend authorizations of appropriations for migrant health centers, community health centers, scholarship and loan repayment programs of the National Health Service Corps, and area health education centers. Title IV: Preventive Health and Personal Responsibility - Subtitle A: Expansion of Public Health Programs - Extends authorized appropriations for: immunizations against vaccine-preventable diseases, lead poisoning prevention, preventive health measures with respect to breast and cervical cancers, health information and health promotion, and preventive health and health services block grants. Provides for the use of appropriated funds for the prevention, control, and elimination of tuberculosis and for grants for the early intervention regarding acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Authorizes appropriations for programs regarding the smoking of tobacco products. Subtitle B: Expansion of Medicare Coverage of Preventive Services - Amends the title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage for colorectal screening, certain immunizations, well-child care, annual mammography screenings, and certain additional benefits. Title V: Malpractice Reform - Subtitle A: Findings; Purpose; Definitions - Sets forth congressional findings with respect to the need for malpractice reforms. Subtitle B: Grants to States for Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for a two-year period for the implementation and evaluation of alternative dispute resolution systems. Sets forth eligibility requirements for States seeking such grants and standards and regulations for such program. Subtitle C: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims - Establishes uniform standards for health care liability actions brought in a Federal or State court and to medical malpractice claims subject to an alternative dispute resolution system, except in the case of an injury arising from the use of a medical product. Subtitle D: Liability Protections for Federally-Supported Health Centers - Provides liability protection for physicians or other licensed or certified health care practitioners deemed to be employees of the Public Health Service. Requires the Attorney General to report to the Congress on medical malpractice liability claims arising under this subtitle. Title VI: Paperwork Reduction and Administrative Simplification - Preempts State laws that require medical or health insurance records to be maintained in written, rather than electronic form. Requires the National Health Board to ensure the confidentiality of electronic health care information and establish standardization for the electronic receipt and transmission of health plan information. Requires the Board to establish goals and time frames for: (1) the use of uniform health claims forms and identification numbers; (2) achieving uniformity in determining the liability of insurers when benefits are payable under two or more health plans; and (3) achieving uniformity in the availability of information among health plans when benefits are payable under two or more health plans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the administrator of a health plan for failure to satisfy certain health plan requirments.
Bill· HRH.R. 6081 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Women's Violence-Related Injury Reduction Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants for demonstration projects to identify victims of domestic violence or sexual assault and refer them to entities providing related services. Allows use of the grants to train health care providers to engage in such activities. Mandates related education of health care providers and the public, epidemiological research, and cooperation with States regarding establishing a national system for the collection of data on domestic violence and sexual assault. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6085 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Lifelong Learning Act of 1992 - Title I: Grant Program to Establish Training Programs for Teachers - Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to eligible consortia to establish training programs to upgrade the skills of teachers at elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, and institutions of higher education. Sets the maximum period of such a grant at not more than three fiscal years, subject to the Secretary's annual approval and the availability of appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications, authorized uses of funds, reports, and allocations. Requires an eligible consortium to be made up of: (1) local educational agencies or institutions of higher education, or both; (2) a teacher association; (3) representatives of business and industry associations; and (4) labor organizations. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Grant Program to Provide School to Work Transition Services for Students in Elementary and Secondary Schools - Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to: (1) assist elementary and secondary school students to become familiar with the workplace; and (2) prepare secondary school students for a smooth transition from school to work. Sets a three-year maximum grant period, subject to the Secretary's annual approval and availability of appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications, authorized uses of funds, reports, and allocation. Requires an eligible entity to be a local educational agency, community college, community-based organization, or labor union. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Grant Program to Establish Job Training Programs for Business and Industry - Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to provide job training for businesses, particularly in new industries, in order to create and retain jobs. Sets a three-year maximum grant period, subject to the Secretary's annual approval and the availability of apppropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications, authorized uses of funds, reports, and allocation. Requires an eligible entity to be a community college, labor union, industry-based or occupation-specific association, or an agency or organization that provides training services under the Job Training Partnership Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Grant Program to Establish Job Training Courses at Community Colleges - Directs the Secretary to make grants to community colleges to establish job training courses at such colleges. Sets a three-year maximum grant period, subject to the Secretary's annual approval and availability of appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications, authorized uses of funds, reports, and allocation. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6062 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Environmental Education Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a joint program to support instructional equipment and facilities for environmental science and technology. Authorizes appropriations.
Law· HRH.R. 6056 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Title I: Fiscal Year 1993 Appropriations - District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1993 - Appropriates funds to the District of Columbia for FY 1993 for: (1) the Federal payment to the District of Columbia; (2) the Federal contribution to retirement funds; (3) expenses incurred in connection with presidential inauguration activities; and (4) the Federal contribution to establish the Trauma Care Fund. Appropriates specified sums out of the District of Columbia general fund for the current fiscal year for: (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) public education; (5) human support services; (6) public works; (7) the Washington Convention Center Fund; (8) repayments of specified loans and interest; (9) repayment of the general fund deficit; (10) employees' optical and dental benefits; (11) inaugural expenses; (12) the rental and leasing of facilities for governmental purposes; (13) the Trauma Care Fund; (14) furlough adjustments; (15) within-grade salary adjustments; (16) capital outlay; (17) the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund and water construction projects; (18) the Lottery and Charitable Games Enterprise Fund; (19) the Cable Television Enterprise Fund; and (20) the Starplex Fund. Prohibits the use of funds to implement or enforce: (1) any registration system for unmarried, cohabitating couples whether they are homosexual, lesbian, or heterosexual, including registration for the extension of employment, health, or governmental benefits to such couples on the same basis as that extended to legally married couples; or (2) the District Domestic Partner Act (also called the District of Columbia Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992). Requires the District of Columbia to operate and maintain a telephone hotline for Lorton-area residents to receive information concerning escapes, fires, and riots at Lorton prison. Directs the District of Columbia Mayor to reduce appropriations and expenditures for personal and nonpersonal services by a specified amount. Sets forth certain uses of and restrictions on the expenditure of appropriations made by this Act. Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) activities which permit or encourage partisan political activities; (2) the salary of any District of Columbia government employee whose name, title, grade, salary, or work and salary history are not available for inspection by specified congressional committees and the District of Columbia Council, or whose name and salary are not available for public inspection; (3) publicity or propaganda purposes; (4) abortions, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term; (5) reprogramming, unless the reprogramming was approved according to specified procedures; or (6) the operation, after June 1, 1993, of the Cedar Knoll Facility. Requires that the annual budget for the District of Columbia government for FY 1994 be transmitted to the Congress by April 15, 1993. Requires the Mayor to develop an annual plan for capital outlay borrowings. Prohibits the Mayor from: (1) borrowing funds for capital projects without the prior approval of the District of Columbia Council; or (2) using money borrowed for capital projects for operating expenses of the District of Columbia government. Directs the Mayor to submit to the D.C. Council, within 30 days after the end of the first quarter of FY 1993, the FY 1993 revenue estimates. Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to extend, for one year, the District's authority to sell its general obligation bonds through negotiated sales. Prohibits the renewal or extension of any sole source contract with the District of Columbia government without opening that contract to the competitive bidding process, subject to exception. Requires any sequestration order under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to be applied to each account appropriating Federal funds in this Act (rather than to the aggregate total of those accounts) which is not specifically exempted from sequestration by specified Federal law. Provides for repayment to the Federal Treasury of any amounts appropriated and paid to the District of Columbia before a sequestration order is issued, applying the sequestration percentage proportionately to each account not specifically exempted from sequestration. Requires the District of Columbia to pay interest on its quarterly payments to the United States that are made more than 60 days after its receipt of an itemized statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons of amounts due for housing D.C. convicts in Federal penitentiaries. Authorizes an entity of the District of Columbia government to accept and use a gift or donation during FY 1993 if: (1) the Mayor approves; and (2) the entity uses such gift or donation to carry out its authorized functions or duties. Requires the entity to keep accurate and detailed records of acceptance and use of any gift or donation and to make them available for audit and public inspection. Authorizes the Board of Education to accept gifts to the public schools without prior approval by the Mayor. Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to issue or renew a registration certificate or identification tag for any motor vehicle if unpaid fines for traffic violations are outstanding against any registered owner (or authorized user) of the vehicle. Provides for waivers of such prohibition, subject to certain conditions. Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to impose, collect, transfer, or enforce a payment in lieu of taxes on the Water and Sewer Utility Administration that would increase payments in Maryland or Virginia under the Blue Plains Intermunicipal Agreement of 1985. Mandatory Life Imprisonment or Death Penalty for Murder in the District of Columbia - Requires the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics to place the Mandatory Life Imprisonment or Death Penalty for Murder in the District of Columbia initiative on the ballot. Declares that such measure, if passed, would provide for the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole for persons convicted of first degree murder in the District of Columbia. Amends the District of Columbia Code to establish mitigating and aggravating factors to be considered by the jury before recommending the death sentence. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) governmental notification of intent to seek the death penalty; (2) capital sentencing hearings; (3) proof of mitigating and aggravating factors; (4) findings by the jury of such factors or concerning a sentence of death; (5) precautions to assure against discrimination; (6) imposition of a death sentence; (7) death sentence appeal rights; (8) implementation of a death sentence; (9) a prohibition on the execution of pregnant women; (10) conscientious objection to participation in execution; (11) appointment of counsel for indigent capital defendants; (12) representation for the defendant after finality of judgment; (13) standards for competence of counsel; (14) claims of ineffectiveness of counsel in collateral proceedings; (15) time for collateral attack on death sentences; (16) stays of execution; and (17) finality of the appeal decision. Grants the Mayor the power to commute a death sentence to a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Title II: Fiscal Year 1992 Supplemental District of Columbia Funds - District of Columbia Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act, 1992 - Makes supplemental appropriations (including rescissions) to the District of Columbia for FY 1992 for: (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) public education; (5) human support services; (6) repayment of the general fund deficit; (7) resizing; (8) the rental and leasing of facilities for governmental purposes; (9) capital outlay; (10) the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund; and (11) the Starplex Fund. Rescinds specified FY 1992 funds earmarked for public works, the Washington Convention Center Fund, and repayment of certain loans and interest. Amends the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1992 to authorize the District of Columbia Board of Education to accept and use gifts to the public schools without prior approval by the Mayor. Declares that appropriations made and authority granted under this title shall be deemed available for FY 1992.
Bill· SS. 3284 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1992
Authorizes the United States to participate in the Cascadia Corridor Commission to be established as a bilateral advisory commission in coordination with the Canadian Government and State, provincial, and local governments in the Cascadia region along Interstate 5/Highway 99 from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Oregon. Authorizes the Commission to: (1) establish a forum to coordinate consideration of regional issues in the Cascadia region; and (2) develop a strategy for environmentally sound economic development in such region and submit such plan to the Congress, the Canadian Parliament, the legislature of British Columbia, and the State legislatures of Oregon and Washington. Requires the strategy to consider environmental management, urban development, transportation, communications, and education. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 555 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1992
Designates October 1992 as National High Blood Pressure Education Program's 20th Anniversary Month.
Law· HRH.R. 6049 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1992
Congressional Award Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Congressional Award Act to require the Director of the Congressional Award Board to ensure that: (1) appropriate procedures for fiscal control and fund accounting are established for the financial operations of the Congressional Award Program; and (2) such operations are administered by personnel with expertise in accounting and financial management. Authorizes the personnel to be retained under contract. Requires the Director to ensure that the Board's liabilities do not exceed its assets for any calendar year. Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) determine if the Director has substantially complied with this Act for calendar years 1993 and 1994; and (2) submit such findings in the annual report to the Congress on audit results for calendar year 1995. Requires the Board to take such necessary actions for the orderly cessation of the Board's activities if the Director fails to substantially comply with this Act. Extends the Board through October 1, 1995.
Bill· SS. 3271 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Sexual Assault Prevention Act of 1992 - Title I: Sexual Violence - Subtitle A: Penalties and Remedies - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for pretrial detention in sex offense cases. Makes murder a Class A felony, mandating the death sentence, when done in the course of certain sex offenses, sexual assault, or child molestation, or when the defendant has previously been convicted of sexual assault or child molestation, subject to specified mitigating factors. Requires instructing the jury not to: (1) be influenced by prejudice or bias relating to the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of the defendant or any victim; and (2) recommend a death sentence unless it concludes that it would recommend such sentence regardless of such factors. Requires each juror to sign a certification to that effect. Prohibits: (1) carrying out a death sentence on a woman while she is pregnant; and (2) requiring any employee of, or any person under contract to provide services to, a State corrections department, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or the U.S. Marshals Service, to attend or participate in any execution. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the appointment of counsel for indigent capital defendants; (2) representation after finality of judgment; (3) standards for competence of counsel; (4) claims of ineffectiveness of counsel in collateral proceedings; (5) time limits for collateral attack on a death sentence; (6) stays of execution; and (7) finality of the decision on review. Increases penalties for: (1) recidivist sex offenders; and (2) sex offenses against victims under age 16. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission: (1) to amend the sentencing guidelines to increase by at least four levels the base level for offenses relating to sexual, and aggravated sexual, abuse; (2) to consider whether any other changes applicable to such offenses are warranted; (3) in amending the guidelines in conformity with this provision, to review the appropriateness and adequacy of existing offense characteristics and adjustments applicable to such offenses; and (4) in any subsequent amendment to the guidelines, to maintain minimum guideline sentences for such offenses which are at least equal to those required by this provision. Amends the Federal criminal code to require that a person charged with an offense under provisions relating to sexual abuse be tested for the human immunodeficiency virus: (1) before release pending trial; and (2) six months and twelve months after the initial test. Requires results to be provided to the judicial officer or court and disclosed only to the victim, the attorney for the Government, and the person tested. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to enhance the sentence of an offender who had reason to know that he was infected, except where the offender did not engage or attempt to engage in conduct creating a risk of transmission. Amends: (1) the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 to require a governmental department or agency to pay for up to two tests for a sexual assult victim in the twelve months following the assault and a counseling session regarding the tests and the risk of transmission as the result of the assault; and (2) the Controlled Substances Act to provide for increased penalties for distribution of a controlled substance to a woman while she is pregnant. Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the restitution of victims of sex offenses, including reimbursement for lost income and necessary child care, transportation, and other expenses related to participation in the investigation or prosecution of, or attendance at proceedings related to, the offense. Requires the court to issue an order requiring restitution of the full amount of the victims's losses and expenses for which restitution is authorized in imposing sentence, unless the Government and the victim do not request such restitution. Provides for the enforcement of restitution orders through the suspension of Federal benefits. Provides that whoever, in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, engages in sexual violence against another, shall be liable to the injured party in a civil action. Includes among the relief available compensatory and punitive damages and any appropriate equitable or declaratory relief. Amends the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976 to include such provision with respect to payment of attorney fees. Subtitle B: Rules of Evidence, Practice, and Procedure - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to allow evidence of similar offenses in criminal or civil sexual assault and child molestation cases. Revises Federal Rule of Evidence 412 (rape victim shield law), including: (1) making inadmissible reputation or opinion evidence of the past sexual behavior of an alleged victim of a sex offense, and evidence of a victim's past sexual behavior other than reputation or opinion evidence (with exceptions), in a civil case (current law applies only to criminal cases); and (2) requiring any order admitting such evidence to explain the reasoning leading to the finding of relevance and the basis of the finding that its probative value outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice notwithstanding the potential of the evidence to humiliate and embarass the alleged victim and to result in unfair or biased inferences. Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that an appeal by the United States before trial shall lie to a court of appeals from an order of a district court admitting evidence of an alleged victim's past sexual behavior in a criminal case in which the defendant is charged with a sex offense, whether or not the conduct occurred in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a Federal prison. Adds a Federal Rule of evidence that, in a criminal case in which a person is accused of a sex offense, evidence is not admissible to show that the alleged victim invited or provoked the commission of the offense. Enacts rules to be known as the Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers in Federal Practice and includes them as an appendix to provisions of the U.S. Code relating to the judiciary and judicial procedure. Applies the rules to proceedings before a U.S. court or a Federal agency that carries out adjudicatory or quasi-adjudicatory functions. Includes rules relating to: (1) litigation abuse (including conduct to increase litigation expenses or with no substantial purpose other than to distress another person); (2) a duty of enquiry in relation to the client (including attempting to elicit from the client a materially complete account of the alleged criminal activity or civil wrong if the client acknowledges involvement in such activity or wrong), and to elicit the material facts relevant to a defense of alibi if the client denies such involvement; (3) a duty to expedite litigation (including not attempting to delay or prolong proceedings for specified reasons); and (4) a duty to prevent the commission of a crime (including allowing or requiring disclosure of information). Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to provide that: (1) if the offense charged is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, each side is entitled to six peremptory challenges (currently, six for the Government and ten for the defendant or defendants jointly); and (2) if sentence is to be imposed for a crime of violence or sexual abuse, the court shall (before imposing sentence) address the victim personally if the victim is present at the sentencing hearing, and determine if the victim wishes to make a statement and present any information in relation to the sentence (which statement may be made in camera under specified circumstances). Expresses the sense of the Congress that news media, law enforcement personnel, and other persons should exercise restraint and respect a rape victim's privacy by not disclosing the victim's identity to the general public or facilitating such disclosure without the victim's consent. Subtitle C: Safe Campuses - Requires the Attorney General to: (1) provide for a national baseline study to examine the scope of the problem of campus sexual assaults and the effectiveness of institutional and legal policies in addressing such crimes and protecting victims; and (2) submit a report to the Congress by September 1, 1995. Authorizes appropriations. Amends: (1) the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the disclosure of arrest records by campus police; and (2) the Higher Education Act of 1965 to add sexual assault to the list of offenses regarding which certain institutions are required to collect and disclose statistics. Subtitle D: Assistance to States and Localities - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to support projects and programs relating to sexual violence. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) formula and discretionary grant allotments; (2) application requirements for formula grants; (3) conditions on grants; (4) program evaluation (by the National Institute of Justice); (5) coordination of grant administration; and (6) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Attorney General to make supplementary grants to States adopting laws that exceed or are reasonably comparable to Federal provisions relating to sexual violence in certain respects. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Domestic Violence and Offenses Against the Family - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penaties (including madatory penalties if the offense involves the infliction of bodily injury on, or the commission of sexual abuse against, the victim) for interstate travel to commit spouse abuse or to violate a protective order, subject to specified requirements. Provides for mandatory restitution and pretrial detention for victims of such offense. Includes as an aggravating factor, for purposes of death penalty provisions under this Act, that a killing occurred in the course of such offense. Establishes penalties (including restitution) for noncompliance with child support obligations in interstate cases. Makes compliance with any court or administrative order under State law requiring payments for the support of a child, or of a child and the parent with whom the child is living, a condition of probation. Provides for full faith and credit of protective orders among the States. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, for purposes of determining child custody, evidence establishing that a parent engages in physical abuse of a spouse should create a statutory presumption that it is detrimental to the child to be placed in the custody of the abusive spouse. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) prepare a report on the status of battered women's syndrome as a medical and psychological condition and on its effect in criminal trials; (2) conduct a study of the means by which abusive spouses may obtain information concerning the addresses or locations of estranged or former spouses; (3) complete a study of problems of recordkeeping of criminal complaints involving domestic violence; and (4) evaluate, develop, prepare and disseminate to State authorities, and make recommendations concerning anti-stalking legislation. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to support projects and programs relating to domestic violence and other criminal and unlawful acts that particularly affect women. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) formula and discretionary grant allotments; (2) application requirements for formula grants; (3) conditions on grants; (4) program evaluation; (5) coordination of grant administration; and (6) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: National Task Force on Violence Against Women - Establishes the National Task Force on Violence Against Women to develop a uniform Federal, State, and local law enforcement strategy aimed at protecting women against violent crimes, punishing persons who commit such crimes, and enhancing the rights of the victims. Sets forth administrative and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6042 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Mathematics Education Act of 1992 - Establishes the Fund for the Improvement of Mathematics (the Fund) to provide grants to schools to: (1) improve mathematics education; and (2) implement the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (the Standards). Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to select to administer the Fund a national education professional association which has demonstrated at least a ten-year professional and financial commitment to improving mathematics education and which provides specified assurances. Requires that priority in funding and assistance be given to schools in the most disadvantaged areas in a State. Directs the Fund to provide grants to schools and institutions of higher education to improve mathematics education and meet the goals outlined in the Standards. Sets forth requirements for applications to the Fund for grants and contracts. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6040 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Authorizes the United States to participate in the Cascadia Corridor Commission to be established as a bilateral advisory commission in coordination with the Canadian Government and State, provincial, and local governments in the Cascadia region along Interstate 5/Highway 99 from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Oregon. Authorizes the Commission to: (1) establish a forum to coordinate consideration of regional issues in the Cascadia region; and (2) develop a strategy for environmentally sound economic development in such region and submit such plan to the Congress, the Canadian Parliament, the legislature of British Columbia, and the State legislatures of Oregon and Washington. Requires the strategy to consider environmental management, urban development, transportation, communications, and education. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6038 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Amends Federal patent law to permit separate patent extensions for certain drug products: (1) under a patent which is subject to full regulatory review and approval; and (2) which were developed at a qualified nonprofit institution of higher education.
Bill· SS. 3267 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Establishes in the Treasury: (1) the Interim Arizona InterTribal Education Assistance Trust Fund; and (2) the Interim Navajo Education Assistance Trust Fund. Authorizes appropriations and provides for fund allocations. Sets forth related Treasury and trust fund reimbursement requirements for a specified private party based upon full or partial appropriations under this Act. Prohibits payment methods provided for by this Act to be followed in lieu of specified current methods without the consent of the InterTribal Council of Arizona and the Navajo Tribe. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary of the Interior to transfer jurisdiction of certain property to the Department of Veterans Affairs; (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to accept such transfer and convey certain property to Arizona; and (3) the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain property to Phoenix, Arizona.
Bill· HRH.R. 6027 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Comprehensive Health Care and Cost Containment Act of 1992 - Title I: Federal and State Administration - Subtitle A: Federal Administration - Subtitle A: Federal Administration - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services a Federal Health Board. Requires the Board to: (1) determine national per capita spending rates for covered district health care services and for health care practitioner services; (2) establish a single national insurance premium for enrollment catgories; (3) make Federal payments to States and insurers; (4) certify State compliance with this Act; (5) enter into reciprocity agreements with foreign countries; and (6) report to the Congress on duplicative Federal health care programs. Requires an annual report to the Congress on the status of the health care system in the United States. Establishes within the Department of Education a Federal Health Education Commission to manage the Federal grant program to States for consumer education programs and for primary care practitioners. Subtitle B: State Administration - Requires each State to provide for a State Health Board to establish health districts to appoint district health care boards, set global budgets for each health care district, establish fee schedules for practitioner groups, and develop long-range plans for future health care infrastructure. Requires each State Health Board to establish a State Health Care Education Commission to be responsible for specified activities. Title II: Health Care Services - Subtitle A: National Health Insurance Program - Sets forth national standards for health insurance for district health care services or health care practitioner services, including enrollment requirements. Authorizes reduced premiums for low-income individuals. Subtitle B: Payment Amounts for Health Care Practitioner Services and for Covered District Health Care Services - Requires each State to provide for the chartering of practitioner associations with respect to fee schedules and medical malpractice insurance. Provides for the establishment of annual per capita rates for district health care costs and the development of State and district budgets for health care services. Requires the Board to disseminate Federal payments to States for such services. Title III: Malpractice Insurance Reform - Sets forth requirements for States with respect to physician medical malpractice liability in order to be eligible for Federal payments. Title IV: Provisions Relating to ERISA and Federal and State Antitrust Laws - Declares that provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act are superseded to the extent inconsistent with the requirements of this Act. Provides that the antitrust laws do not apply to health service entities covered under this Act. Title V: Health Care Education Trust Fund - Establishes the Health Care Education Trust Fund to be administered by the Federal Health Care Commission in making grants for health care consumer education. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the tax on cigarettes and distilled spirits. Title VI: Tax Treatment of Health Insurance Premiums - Allows a tax deduction for health insurance expenses, whether or not the taxpayer itemizes deductions. Title VII: Private Options - States that individuals are not precluded from obtaining insurance for services that are covered health care services. Title VIII: Pharmaceuticals and Other Health Care Devices - Limits manufacturers and marketers of pharmaceuticals and other health devices to prices charged in Canada by the Patented Medicine Review Board. Title IX: Termination of Programs - Amends the Social Security Act to repeal certain Federal health care programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 6018 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
International Narcotics Control Act of 1992 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for international narcotics control for FY 1993 through 1995. Exempts maritime law enforcement operations in archipelagic waters from a prohibition on U.S. participation in foreign police actions. 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 Arms Export Control Act to be made available to finance the leasing of aircraft. Permits the use of narcotics control assistance to acquire land or real property for foreign military or law enforcement forces through leases of up to three years. (Current law prohibits the use of such assistance for such acquisitions by any means.) Prohibits the use of such funds (over a specified amount) for construction of facilities for use by such forces unless the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees. Revises congressional reporting and certification requirements with respect to international narcotics control. Amends the International Narcotics Control Act of 1989 to make certain dollar limitations on law enforcement assistance for Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru inapplicable on this Act's enactment date. Repeals obsolete provisions of specified Acts. Makes prohibitions on the provision of assistance to foreign law enforcement agencies inapplicable, during FY 1993 through 1995, 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. 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. Authorizes the transfer of excess defense articles to major drug-transit countries. Prohibits the transfer of excess defense articles for conservation and wildlife management purposes or for modernization of military capability to any major illicit drug producing country or drug-transit country in Latin America or the Caribbean. Excludes construction equipment from the definition of "excess defense articles" for purposes of restricting the transfer of such equipment to foreign countries. Authorizes military education and training for civilian personnel from other than ministries of defense if such education and training would contribute to cooperation between military and law enforcement personnel with respect to counternarcotics law enforcement. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit the Bank from guaranteeing, insuring, or participating in an extension of credit in connection with sales of defense articles or services to any country (currently, countries designated under a section of the Internal Revenue Code as economically less developed countries). Exempts from such prohibition articles or services sold before September 30, 1997. Adds to the list of criteria required for approval of such financing that the President determines that the purchasing country has complied with restrictions concerning end use of such articles or services and has not used them to engage in human rights violations.
Law· HJRESH.J.Res. 553 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Makes continuing appropriations for FY 1993 for projects or activities including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees provided for in the following Acts: (1) the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993; (2) the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1993; (3) the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1993; (4) the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1993; (5) the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1993; (6) the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993; (7) the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993; (8) the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1993; (9) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1993; (10) the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993; (11) the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1993; and (12) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993. Sets forth limitations on the use of such funds. Requires each agency, office, and instrumentality of the District of Columbia government, except the District of Columbia Courts, to furlough each employee for one day in each month of FY 1993, or a proportional number of hours for part-time employees. Prohibits such employees from receiving within-grade salary increases during FY 1993 and prohibits time from accruing toward the waiting period for advancement to the following rate within the grade. Requires the Federal Communications Commission's Salaries and Expenses account to be maintained at the current rate of operations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6008 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act - Title I: Community Policing; Cop on the Beat - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Omnibus Act) to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to units of general local goverment community groups to establish or expand cooperative efforts between police and community to increase the police presence in the community. Requires the Director to develop a written model that informs community members regarding: (1) how to identify the existence of a drug or gang house; (2) what civil remedies are available; and (3) what mediation techniques are available between community members and individuals who have established a drug or gang house in such community. Sets forth application requirements. Requires each application to include a comprehensive plan containing: (1) a description of the crime problems within the areas targeted for assistance, the projects to be developed, community resources and gaps in the plan that cannot be filled with existing resources, and the system the applicant will establish to prevent and reduce crime; (2) an explanation of how the requested grant will be used to fill such gaps; and (3) an evaluation component. Requires the Director to allocate not less than 75 percent of the funds available to units of local government or combinations of such units and not more than 20 percent to community groups. Provides for grant renewal. Limits: (1) costs of administration, technical assistance, and evaluation to five percent of available funds; and (2) the Federal share to 75 percent of total project costs. Requires the Director, in awarding grants, to consider: (1) demonstrated need and ability to provide the services described in the plan; (2) evidence of the ability to coordinate a community-wide response to crime; (3) ability to maintain the program after funding is no longer available; and (4) geographic distribution of grant awards. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Police Corps and Law Enforcement Officers Training and Education - Establishes within the Department of Justice 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 in the Police 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 Corp (sic) 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. Permits the use of scholarships for graduate and professional study. Specifies that where a participant has enrolled in the program upon or after transfer to a four-year institution of higher education, the Director may reimburse such participant for the participant's prior educational expenses. 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 (including a provision authorizing a participant to obtain leave to serve on an official church mission under specified conditions). 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 program. Requires the Director to pay participants a weekly stipend during training. 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 the Director, if the police force of which the participant is a member lays off the participant such as would preclude such participant's completing four years of service and result in denial of educational assistance, to permit the participant to complete the service obligation in an equivalent alternative law enforcement service. Requires a State, in order to participate in the 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. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Law Enforcement Scholarship Program - Directs each State receiving funds under the Law Enforcement Scholarship Program to: (1) pay from such funds the Federal share (not more than 60 percent) of the costs of awarding scholarships to in-service law enforcement personnel for further education and providing full-time employment in summer or part-time (not to exceed 20 hours per week) employment during a period not to exceed one year, subject to specified requirements; and (2) designate an appropriate State agency to serve as the lead agency to conduct a scholarship program, a student employment program, or both in the State in accordance with this Act. Authorizes each such State to reserve not more than eight percent of such funds for administrative expenses. Specifies that: (1) scholarships awarded under this subtitle shall be for a period of one academic year; (2) an individual shall be eligible to receive such a scholarship if such individual has been employed in law enforcement for the two-year period immediately preceding the date on which assistance is sought; and (3) each individual awarded such a scholarship may use such scholarship for educational expenses at any accredited institution of higher education. Makes an individual who has been employed as a law enforcement officer ineligible to participate in a student employment program carried out under this Act. Sets forth State application 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 institutions of higher education. Sets forth local application requirements. Grants priority in awarding scholarships to members of underrepresented groups, those pursuing an undergraduate degree, and those not receiving financial assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965. 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 for which funds are received under such scholarship, with a six-month minimum and two-year maximum period. 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 III: Certainty of Punishment for Young Offenders - Amends the Omnibus Act to require the Director of the BJA to make grants to States, for use by States and units of local governments, to develop alternatives to incarceration and probation for young offenders which promote reduced recidivism, crime prevention, and victim assistance, including boot camp prison programs, community service programs, and demonstration restitution projects. Sets forth provisons with respect to: (1) State and local applications; (2) application review; (3) the allocation and distribution of funds to State and local governmental units; (4) evaluation; and (5) limitations on administrative costs. Authorizes appropriations.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 345 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Congratulates the College of William and Mary on its 300th anniversary.
Bill· HRH.R. 5993 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
National American Youth Service Act - Title I: Imposition and Term of Mandatory National Service Obligation - Imposes an obligation to perform at least 1,000 hours of national service on each individual who: (1) is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; and (2) attains age 18 on or after October 1, 1995. Allows commencement of such service upon the individual's attaining age 18, but requires completion before the individual attains age 26. Provides that prior service shall not be counted if performed before October 1, 1995, or before registration as a participant under this Act. Provides for prorated amounts of service for new citizens and permanent residents after age 18 and before age 26. Requires registration with the local national service board within 90 days after the participant attains age 18 (or after naturalization or attainment of permanent resident status). Allows advanced registration at any time after age 16. Sets forth the types of national service to satisfy the obligation, including: (1) service as a (tax free) one dollar-per hour volunteer with an accredited sponsor organization or a Federal volunteer program established by a Federal agency pursuant to task force or identification; (2) service with the existing programs of the Peace Corps, the National Volunteer Antipoverty Program (VISTA, student community service programs, and special volunteer programs), the Urban Elementary School Literacy Corps, the American Conservation and Youth Corps and other programs of the Commission on National and Community Service, and the National Health Service Corps; (3) employment as a law enforcement officer or firefighter for at least two years before attaining age 26; (4) service in the armed forces (unless the member is separated under adverse conditions before attaining age 26); and (5) participation in the Job Corps or a job training program for the economically disadvantaged under the Job Training Partnership Act or a comparable State job training program (such participation counting toward the service obligation only if the participant successfully completes training). Makes individuals who fail to register or complete the national service obligation ineligible for: (1) appointment to a position in a Federal agency; (2) the Medicare program; (3) Federal old-age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits; (4) any student grant, loan, or work assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965; (5) student assistance under the Public Health Service Act; and (6) job training and employment assistance under the Job Training Partnership Act. Requires inclusion of an appeals process under rules to implement such eligibility requirements and to verify individual compliance with registration and service obligations. Provides for exemptions and deferments on the basis of unfitness to serve. Provides for temporary hardship deferments. Title II: Administration of National Service - Establishes in the executive branch and Office of National Service (ONS) to regulate and oversee registration and performance of national service participants. Requires ONS to be supervised by a Director appointed by the President, by and with Senate advice and consent. Requires ONS to be fully operational by October 1, 1995. Establishes a task force on national service (the task force), which shall consist of the Director and a representative of each Executive department. Requires the task force to: (1) identify existing opportunities in the Federal Government for volunteer services performance; (2) consider methods to expand opportunities for national service participants to satisfy their obligations through federally-operated programs; and (3) report to the President and the Congress within nine months after enactment of this Act. Requires the Director to: (1) establish a system to track and record national service performance by participants; (2) consider the feasibility of using Selective Service System personnel and facilities and certain Internal Revenue Code statement and records for such purpose; (3) notify each participant upon completion of the service obligation; and (4) carry out other duties relating to information services, promotion, and consultation. Requires the Director to establish a network, consisting of a State national service office for each State and a local national service board for each congressional district, to: (1) register participants; (2) assist participants to find and perform national service in satisfaction of their obligation; and (3) approve sponsor organizations. Authorizes the Director, with the cooperation of the Director of Selective Service, to use State headquarters and local boards of the Selective Service System as part of the network. Requires each State office and local board in the network to: (1) disseminate information on registration and national service obligations; (2) provide information and counseling to participants on service opportunities; and (3) investigate complaints between participants and sponsor organizations. Sets forth application procedures for nonprofit organizations to serve as sponsor organizations for national service participants in a State. Sets forth accreditation agreement requirements for such organizations. Requires the State office to establish and maintain a directory of accredited sponsor organizations. Requires that the actual selection of a participant to perform service with a sponsor organization be left to that organization's discretion. Authorizes appropriations for titles I and II. Title III: Miscellaneous National Service Programs - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to authorize appropriations to the Commission on National and Community Service for grants under the American Conservation and Youth Service Corps program. Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program. Increases the minimum number of years of VISTA volunteer service (including training and other support) for which funds must be made available first from appropriations for National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs for specified fiscal years. Amends the Peace Corps Act to authorize appropriations to carry out the Peace Corps program. Requires the President to endeavor to maintain a minimum Peace Corps enrollment of at least specified numbers of volunteers for specified fiscal years. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to establish the Urban Elementary School Literacy Corps (UESLC) to recruit, select, train, and assign volunteers to provide individual attention and instruction in reading and writing to first and second grade students in urban elementary schools. Sets forth UESLC program requirements for qualifying schools and volunteers, volunteer assignment and placement, terms and conditions of service, stipends, allowances and support services, notice and acceptance of terms and conditions, grievance procedures, and legal expenses. Sets forth requirements for UESLC preservice training, including support and allowances, and direct administrative authority or grants and contracts to various entities to carry out such training. Sets forth special limitations relating to UESLC volunteer activities, support costs, government assistance, and nondiscrimination. Makes Federal law relating to Federal employees inapplicable to UESLC volunteers, except as specifically provided in this Act for purposes of specific Federal laws, for credit in connection with subsequent employment in the Federal Government, and for eligibility for appointment to the competitive service in the same manner as Peace Corps volunteers. Authorizes appropriations for UESLC program. Requires the Secretary to establish the UESLC program within two years after enactment of this Act. Amends specified Federal law relating to Federal employees compensation for work injuries and civil service retirement to include provisions for UESLC volunteers. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for cancellation of certain student loans because of service as a UESLC volunteer. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to credit towards Foreign Service retirement any service as a UESLC volunteer. Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow a deferment of repayment of certain health education assistance while a borrower is in service as a UESLC volunteer.
Bill· SS. 3256 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1992
Minority Biomedical Research Construction Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to eligible institutions, including historically Black colleges and universities, for the acquisition, construction, remodeling, expansion, or equipping of graduate biomedical research facilities. Defines as eligible an institution that has at least one-half of its students from disadvantaged backgrounds and that awards doctoral degrees in the health professions or biomedical sciences. Authorizes approprations.
Bill· SS. 3243 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1992
Family Investment Act of 1992 - Title I: Family and Medical Leave - Subtitle A: Short Title; Findings and Purposes - Family and Medical Leave Act of 1992 - Sets forth the short title of this title I, along with findings and purposes. Subtitle B: General Requirements for Leave - Establishes certain requirements for family and medical leave for permanent employees. Makes employees eligible for such leave if they have been employed, by the employer from whom leave is sought, for at least: (1) a total of 12 months; and (2) 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12-month period. (Excludes from such coverage: (1) employees at worksites at which the employer employs less than 50 persons, if the total number of employees of that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is less than 50; and (2) Federal officers and employees covered under subtitle C of this title.) Entitles employees to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period because of: (1) the birth and care of their child; (2) the placement of a child for their adoption or foster care; (3) their care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition; or (4) their own serious health condition which makes them unable to perform the functions of their position. Conditions such leave for the birth or placement of a child as follows: (1) the entitlement ends 12 months after the birth or placement; and (2) such leave may not be taken intermittently unless employee and employer agree otherwise. Allows intermittent leave for necessary medical treatment of an employee or family member. Allows the employer to require a temporary transfer to an equivalent alternative position that better accommodates such intermittent leave. Allows all leave to which an employee is entitled under this subtitle: (1) to be taken on a reduced leave schedule, upon agreement with the employer; and (2) to consist of unpaid leave, except under specified conditions when substitution of certain types of paid leave may be elected or required. Declares that nothing in this Act shall require an employer to provide paid sick or medical leave in any situation in which the employer would not normally provide any such paid leave. Requires employees to: (1) give at least 30 days' notice of the need for leave to which they are entitled under this Act, when foreseeable; and (2) make a reasonable effort to schedule medical treatment or supervision so as not to disrupt unduly the employer's operations, subject to approval of the health care provider. Allows limitation of the dual aggregate leave entitlement to 12 weeks in any 12-month period, in the case of spouses employed by the same employer, if such leave is for the birth or placement of a child or for the care of a sick parent. Sets forth conditions of certification for leave entitlements under this title, including provisions relating to: (1) sufficient certification; (2) explanation of inability to perform job functions; (3) dates and duration of planned medical treatment in the case of intermittent leave; (4) second opinion; (5) resolution of conflicting opinions; and (6) subsequent recertification. Sets forth employment and benefits protections relating to leave entitlements under this title. Requires restoration of the employee to his or her position or an equivalent position upon return from such leave. Allows an employer to deny such restoration to certain highly compensated employees (i.e. those among the highest paid ten percent of the employer's employees within 75 miles of the facility at which the employee works), under specified conditions, if necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the employer's operations. Requires maintenance of employee health benefits during such leave. Allows the employer to recover premiums paid for such coverage if the employee fails to return to work after the leave period has expired for reasons other than a certified serious health condition or other circumstances beyond the employee's control. Prohibits employers or other persons from: (1) interfering with employee rights under this title; or (2) from discriminating against any individual because of participation in proceedings or inquiries under this subtitle, or because the individual opposes any practice made unlawful by this subtitle. Sets forth the investigative authority of the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) under this subtitle. Provides for enforcement of this title. Provides for administrative action by the Secretary to resolve complaints of violations under this subtitle in the same manner as under specified provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Provides for civil actions by employees, and by the Secretary on their behalf. Makes an employer who violates this subtitle's prohibitions against interfering with employee exercise of rights or discriminating against employees liable for damages in the amount of: (1) any wages, salary, employment benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to the employee by reason of the violation; (2) (in any case where such compensation has not been denied or lost) any actual monetary losses sustained by the employee as a direct result of the violation, such as the cost of providing care, up to the amount of 12 weeks' wages or salary; (3) interest on such losses; and (4) an additional amount of liquidated damages equal to the sum of such losses and the interest (except that the court may reduce or eliminate such additional liquidated damages in cases where the employer can show good faith and reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation). Makes such employers also liable for appropriate equitable relief, including, without limitation, employment, reinstatement, and promotion. Requires the court to allow attorney's fees and other costs of the action to be paid by the defendant in addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff. Sets forth provisions for limitations of such civil actions. Sets forth provisions for action for injunction by the Secretary. Sets forth special rules concerning employees of local educational agencies and of private elementary and secondary schools, including provisions relating to intermittent leave for instructional employees, periods near the completion of an academic term, and reduction of liability. Requires employers to post notice of the pertinent provisions of this subtitle. Requires fines for willful violations of such requirement. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this subtitle. Subtitle C: Leave for Civil Service Employees - Amends specified Federal law to entitle civil service employees to family and temporary medical leave for specified periods. Makes such employees eligible for such leave if they have been employed by an employing agency for at least 12 months on other than a temporary or intermittent basis. Allows such employees up to 12 administrative workweeks in any 12-month period for: (1) family leave (i.e., leave because of the birth or placement of a child or care of a sick spouse, child, or parent), but such leave may not be used at a time more than 12 months after such birth or placement; or (2) temporary medical leave for a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of their position. Provides that such leave shall be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave for any part of such leave. Sets forth requirements for employees to give prior notice of the need for such leave, when foreseeable, and to schedule medical treatments, if possible, so as to not unduly disrupt the employing agency's operations. Sets forth certification provisions. Provides for protection for job position and health insurance benefits of employees using such leave. Sets forth prohibitions against coercion. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for administration of this title which are consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under subtitle B of this title. Subtitle D: Commission on Leave - Establishes the Commission on Leave. Requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of: (1) existing and proposed policies relating to leave; (2) the potential costs, benefits, and impact on productivity of such policies on employers; and (3) alternative and equivalent State enforcement of this title with respect to employees of local educational agencies and private schools. Requires the Commission to report on such study to the Congress within two years after the Commission first meets. Terminates the Commission within 30 days after its report to the Congress. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth the effect of this title on other laws and existing employment benefits. Provides that nothing in this title shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting more generous leave policies. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this subtitle within 60 days. Subtitle F: Coverage of Congressional Employees - Applies the rights and protections established under specified provisions of subtitle B of this title to Senate employees and any employing office of the Senate. Makes specified provisions of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 applicable, with certain exceptions including limitations on the period for requests for counseling. Provides that allegations shall be considered by the Office of Senate Fair Employment Practices or another entity designated by the Senate. Requires such Office to ensure that Senate employees are informed of their rights under this title. Applies the rights and protections under subtitle B of this title to employees of the House of Representatives, except for the exemption concerning highly compensated employees. Requires that the remedies and procedures under the Fair Employment Practices Resolution be applied in administering such coverage. Title II: Head Start, Child Immunization, and Other Assistance for Children - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to treat as emergency funding requirements not subject to discretionary spending limits the costs of carrying out Head Start programs under the Head Start Act, child immunizations under the Public Health Service Act, and the special supplemental food program (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Title III: Family Involvement in Education - Parents as Teachers: The Family Involvement in Education Act of 1992 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Parents as Teachers program. Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to States for parents as teachers programs, with special consideration for hard-to-serve populations. Makes eligible for such a grant any State which operates a parents as teachers program associated with the Parents as Teachers National Center in Missouri. Sets forth program requirements, limiting services to families during the period from the last three months of a mother's pregnancy to the child's attaining age three. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Parents as Teachers National Center for information dissemination and technical and training assistance for States with such programs; and (2) evaluate such programs within four years. Provides for a declining Federal share in such program from 100 percent in the first year to 25 percent in the fifth year. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Child Welfare - Subtitle A: Foster Care, Adoption, and Child Welfare Services - Amends part B (Child-Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to create a permanent capped entitlement program for innovative child and family services designed to preserve and strengthen families and prevent the need for unnecessary placement in foster care. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to authorize up to 15 States to conduct demonstration projects to improve the coordination of services and benefits provided by child and family services programs with others such as the women, infants, and children (WIC), the job opportunities and basic skills (JOBS) and Medicaid (SSA title XIX) programs which provide such services. Directs the Secretaries of HHS, of Agriculture, of Education, and the Attorney General to: (1) review department policies and regulations to determine whether changes can be made without statutory changes to improve the funding and delivery of such services; and (2) issue a report to the Congress that includes recommendations for both legislative and nonlegislative changes to improve the coordination of the funding and delivery of such services. Amends SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to require that a court or administrative body conducting a periodic case review of a child who is legally eligible for adoption determine and document: (1) for the child the specific measures taken by the State child welfare agency to find an adoptive family; or (2) that adoption placement would be inappropriate for the child. Gives State part E plans the option of continuing foster care maintenance and adoption assistance payments to children whose adoptions have set aside by a court. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a tax deduction of up to $3,000 for families who adopt a child with special needs. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee on Foster Care Placement to study and report to the Secretary and the Congress with respect to reasonable efforts requirements under State part E plan provisions. Revises the definition of case review system. Directs the HHS Secretary to provide for demonstration projects to test whether family reunification can be facilitated by allowing a family to receive assistance under SSA title IV part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) for the month prior to the child's return home from a foster care placement. Provides for Federal payment of specified percentages of State costs in developing, installing, and operating statewide mechanized data collection and information retrieval systems which: (1) the Secretary determines are likely to enhance the administration of programs under parts B and E; and (2) meet other specified requirements. Modifies the independent living program to permit States to allow foster children making the transition from foster care to independent living to accumulate assets for the purpose of establishing a household while preserving such child's eligibility for Medicaid. Makes such program permanent. Directs the HHS Secretary to provide for: (1) child welfare traineeships under part B for the education and training of students in child welfare services programs; and (2) guidelines for States to use Federal funds for training State and local child welfare agency employees in order to improve agency capacity to administer programs under parts B and E and to provide services accordingly. Provides for an extension of the increase in reimbursement for foster and adoptive parent training made under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989. Adds to the list of information comprising the health and education records of foster children: (1) the telephone numbers of the child's health and educational providers; and (2) a record that the foster care provider was advised of the child's eligibility for Medicaid services. Permits the HHS Secretary to authorize up to ten States to conduct and evaluate specified types of child welfare demonstration projects. Allows the State of New York, after its application has been approved by the HHS Secretary as meeting specified requirements, to conduct a demonstration project for the purpose of testing how to enhance the practices and procedures that will expedite the discharge of children from foster care or the adoption of children by suitable parents. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 to modify the prohibition against penalizing States before FY 1991 for noncompliance with foster care protections. Directs the HHS Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees recommendations for legislation to establish a system for the review of State child welfare programs and the provision of technical assistance to any such program. Requires the HHS Secretary to pay a State claim for foster care and adoption assistance within 90 days of its receipt unless the Secretary issues a deferral or a disallowance of such claim prior to the expiration of such 90 day period. Directs the HHS Secretary to appoint a Commission on the Evaluation of Disability in Children to study and report to the Congress on the effects of the definition of "disability" under the Supplemental Security Income program (SSA title XVI) as it applies to determining whether a child under age 18 is eligible to receive benefits under such program. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Comprehensive Substance Abuse Programs for Pregnant Women and Caretaker Parents with Children - Amends SSA title IV part B to authorize appropriations to enable States to establish comprehensive programs of substance abuse treatment for certain low-income pregnant women, caretaker parents, and their children. Title V: Safe Children and Communities - Safe Children and Communities Act of 1992 - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for projects to improve the safety of families with children in low-income, violent communities. Authorizes appropriations.