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Bill· SS. 353 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Workers' Family Protection Act of 1991 - Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (the Director), in cooperation with the Secretary of Labor, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA Administrator), the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the Secretary of Energy, to study the prevalence of and issues related to contamination of workers' homes with hazardous chemicals and substances transported from their workplace (contamination). Requires the Director to identify industries prone to such contamination, evaluate current statutory and regulatory safeguards, and compile a review of the previous research. Requires the Director to provide grants to eligible States for case studies to evaluate the economic, physiological, and psychological effects on workers and their communities from, and preventive and remediation methods respecting, such contamination. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in cooperation with the EPA Administrator, to: (1) cooperate with and assist the Director and eligible grantee States in such studies; (2) evaluate effectiveness in addressing such contamination under programs established under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986; (3) compile a review of previous related research on indoor air quality; and (4) evaluate whether current occupational safety and health and environmental laws and regulations pose an undue burden on families seeking to redress such contamination. Requires the Director to issue to the Congress an interim report and a final report including recommendations for addressing any overlap in jurisdiction over such contamination of the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Energy, the EPA Administrator, and the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) issue appropriate regulations to prevent release of hazardous chemicals and substances from a workplace or workers' clothing or persons; or (2) report to the Congress on why such regulations are unnecessary. Requires the Secretary, at a minimum, to: (1) determine whether additional regulations are needed to protect workers' families from employee-transported releases of lead, mercury, asbestos, pharmaceuticals, and other materials that may pose such risks, including commercial pesticide application and manufacture; (2) consider the risk of acute and chronic health effects; and (3) consider environmental law and regulations. Authorizes appropriations.
Law· SS. 347 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Defense Production Act Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Amendments to the Defense Production Act of 1950 - Part A: Declaration of Policy - Revises the declaration of policy under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to state that such Act affords the President an array of authorities to shape defense preparedness programs and to take appropriate steps to maintain and enhance the defense industrial and technological base (the defense base). Requires executive agencies and departments responsible for defense acquisition to continuously assess the capability of the defense base to satisfy peacetime requirements as well as increased mobilization production requirements. States that plans and programs to carry out the policy stated above shall duly consider the promotion of efficiency and competition. Expresses certain congressional findings disapproving the growing U.S. dependence on foreign sources for critical components and materials used to manufacture major weapons systems for our national defense. States that it is imperative for the United States to preserve and strengthen its industrial and technological capabilities. Part B: Amendments to Title I of the Defense Production Act - Directs the President, within five years, to review the inventory of weapons systems and defense equipment and to designate as an essential weapons system those items deemed appropriate. Requires the President to identify critical components and critical technology items utilizing information from the Defense Industrial Base Information System (established under this Act). Authorizes the President to limit to domestic procurement those critical components and critical technology items needed to meet national security requirements. Authorizes the President to provide appropriate incentives to develop, maintain, modernize, or expand the productive capacities of domestic sources for critical components, critical technology items, or industrial resources within an industry deemed essential for national security. Authorizes the use of funds provided later under this Act for guaranteeing the purchase or lease of advanced manufacturing equipment. Requires the President to give a preference to small businesses in providing assistance authorized under this Act. Authorizes the President to stockpile appropriate supplies of critical components and critical technology items to meet the needs of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the production needs of firms furnishing essential weapons systems to DOD during peacetime and various stages of graduated mobilization, wherever it is determined that necessary quantities of such items cannot be obtained from domestic sources. Requires biennial reports on activities taken to preserve and revitalize the defense base. States that nothing in this Act shall be interpreted to: (1) provide for the imposition of wage or price controls without prior authorization of such action by joint congressional resolution; or (2) require action or compliance by any private person to assist in the production of, or involvement in, chemical or biological warfare capabilities except in time of war or national emergency. Part C: Amendments to Title III of the Defense Production Act - Expands the existing loan guarantee authority of the President to include providing such authority for the procurement of industrial resources or a critical technology item for the national defense. Increases from $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 the maximum loan guarantee amount that may be made before a specific authorization by law is needed. Makes the same changes for loans made to private business enterprises under such Act. Authorizes the President to provide for purchases or purchase commitments for an industrial resource or a critical technology item for Government use or resale. (Currently, such purchases or purchase commitments are permitted for the purchase of metals, minerals, and other material.) Prohibits the President from executing a contract for purchases or purchase commitments unless: (1) the industrial resource or critical technology is essential to the national defense; (2) U.S. industry cannot reasonably provide such resource or technology in a timely manner; or (3) U.S. national defense demand for the resource or technology is equal to or greater than the output of domestic industrial capability determined to be available for national defense. Increases from $25,000,000 to $50,000,000 the maximum industrial resource shortfall authorized to be reached by the President before a specific authorization by law is required. Waives such requirements, along with requirements concerning loan guarantees and loans to private business enterprises, during periods of national emergency declared by the Congress or the President. Extends the term for purchases or purchase commitments from September 30, 1995, to a date not more than ten years from the date such purchase, commitment, or sale was initially made. Establishes in the Treasury the Defense Production Act Fund to carry out the purposes of title III of such Act. Establishes a maximum Fund balance. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to designate a Fund manager to manage such Fund and report to the Congress annually on Fund activities. Provides for the determination of liabilities against the Fund. Transfers a specified amount to such Fund from the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund. States that it shall be the policy of the U.S. Government that: (1) no agency of the United States shall encourage or commit U.S. firms to any offset arrangement in connection with the sale of defense goods or services to foreign governments; (2) Government funds shall not be used to finance offsets in security assistance transactions except under specified procedures; (3) nothing in this Act shall prevent U.S. agencies from fulfilling obligations incurred through international agreements entered into prior to enactment of this Act; (4) the decision whether to engage in offsets and in negotiating and implementing offset arrangements lies with the companies involved; and (5) any exceptions to such policy shall be approved by the President after receiving the recommendation of the National Security Council. Directs the Secretary of Defense to lead an interagency team to consult with foreign nations on limiting the adverse effects of offsets in defense procurement and to report to specified congressional committees. Requires the Secretary of Commerce (currently, the President) to prepare a report on the impact of offsets on the defense preparedness, industrial competitiveness, employment, and trade of the United States, as required under the Defense Production Act of 1950. Provides that if a U.S. firm enters into a contract for the sale of a weapon system or defense-related item to a foreign country or foreign firm and such contract is subject to an offset agreement exceeding $5,000,000, such firm shall furnish an offset agreement to a designated defense official and information concerning such sale. Provides for the protection of confidential information provided to such defense official. Outlines information to be included in the reports prepared by the Department of Commerce. Requires findings and recommendations contained in such reports to be considered by representatives of the United States during bilateral and multilateral negotiations aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of offsets. Requires the President to issue biennial reports assessing those subsectors of the U.S. economy which have been identified as being critical to the development and production of components required for the production of weapons systems and other items of military equipment and the provision of services essential to the national defense. Outlines matters to be considered in such reports, including capacity and capabilities of domestic sources, the extent of foreign dependencies for items of military material, and reasons for decline in U.S. capabilities to meet peacetime and mobilization requirements. Part D: Amendments to Title VII of the Defense Production Act - Requires small business concerns to be given the maximum practicable opportunity to participate as contractors and subcontractors in all programs to maintain and strengthen the nation's defense base under the Defense Production Act of 1950. Requires representatives of small business concerns to participate in such advisory committees as may be established under such Act, and requires small business concerns to be given access to appropriate information to the maximum extent practicable. Requires the President to allocate a fair share of material authorized under the Act to small business concerns, especially to new concerns or individual firms facing undue hardship. Limits the authority of the President to delegate any power conferred upon him by this Act, including the redelegation of such authority. Permits executives being trained and organized in the National Defense Executive Reserve and participating in voluntary agreements or plans or actions under direction of the President and pursuant to treaty obligations to be given antitrust and breach of contract immunity when undertaking any emergency actions. Exempts such activities from provisions of the Advisory Committee Act. Requires the President to provide for the establishment of an information system on the domestic defense industrial base which includes a systematic and continuously-updated procedure to collect and analyze information necessary to evaluate: (1) the adequacy of domestic industrial capacity and capability in critical components, technologies, and technology items essential to national security; and (2) dependence on foreign sources for industrial parts, components, and technologies essential to defense production. Requires the current defense information network to be incorporated into such information system. Provides sources of, and uses for, such information as collected and analyzed, including review and production-base analysis purposes. Directs the President to require the Secretary of each military department to incorporate in such system a complete analysis of the production base of two major weapons systems of such department. Directs the President to provide for the establishment of, and report to the Congress on, a strategic plan for developing a cost-effective, comprehensive information system capable of identifying vulnerability in critical components, technologies, and technology items. Directs the President to require the Secretaries of Defense and of Commerce, as well as the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, to consult with one another, provide information assistance and access, and coordinate standards, definitions, and specifications for information on defense production between Federal departments and agencies. Requires the President, upon establishment of the information system, to convene a task force to establish guidelines and procedures to ensure that all Federal departments and agencies which acquire information with respect to the domestic defense industrial base are fully participating in the system. Requires the President to report on the domestic adequacy or inadequacy of critical components, technologies, and technology items needed for the defense industrial base. Authorizes appropriations. Exempts any regulation or order issued under the Defense Production Act of 1950 from the Administrative Procedure Act. Waives certain Federal employment restrictions (conflict-of-interests provisions) in the case of a special Government employee if the President determines and certifies that it is in the public interest to grant the waiver and that the services provided by the employee are critically needed for the benefit of the Government. Limits the Government-wide waivers to 50, with 25 such waivers to be granted only to Department of Energy employees for use in discharging responsibilities with respect to ensuring adequate energy supplies during the Middle East crisis. Requires a designated agency ethics official to prepare a report at the end of the employment of an employee granted such a waiver describing the activities to which the waiver applied. Require such report to be filed with the President and the Director of the Office of Government Ethics. Part E: Technical Amendments - Limits the use of presidential authority to prioritize contracts having a bearing on national defense over other Government contracts or orders. Increases from $1,000 to $10,000 the possible fine for the willful violation of certain information disclosure rules. Revises provisions concerning certain employment appointment procedures in connection with appointments made by the President in order to carry out the provisions of the Defense Production Act. Part F: Repealers and Conforming Amendments - Repeals specified provisions of such Act which: (1) provide for the effective date of a synthetic fuel action sent to the Congress by the President; (2) provide for voluntary agreements and plans of action for international agreements for the international allocation of petroleum products and related information systems; (3) provide for the accrual of interest on remaining funds authorized and appropriated to carry out such Act; (4) establish the Joint Committee on Defense Production; (5) disqualify certain persons for employment under such Act; (6) require a feasibility study of the application of uniform cost accounting standards under defense procurement contracts; and (7) establish the National Commission on Supplies and Shortages. Part G: Reauthorization of Selected Provisions - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993 to carry out the Defense Production Act of 1950. Terminates all authority under the Act as of the end of FY 1993. Title II: Additional Provisions to Improve Industrial Preparedness - Part A: Encouraging Improvement of the Defense Industrial Base - Directs the President to issue a procurement policy providing for the solicitation and award of contracts for critical components or critical technology items where only domestic sources must be eligible for their award or where a specified percentage of domestic participation is required in the total estimated value of the contract. Waives such requirements if the contracting officer determines that such restrictions are likely to have a significant adverse impact on national interests. Requires the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to be modified to include such contracting requirements for the procurement of critical components or critical technology items. Directs the President to prescribe an acquisition policy which requires that the acquisition plan for any major system or any other acquisition program so designated provides for contract solicitation provisions which encourage competing offerors to acquire modern industrial facilities and production systems for utilization in the performance of the contract as well as other modern equipment to increase productivity of the offerors while reducing the costs of production. Outlines provisions authorized to be included in such contract provisions. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Defense, as part of his study of the defense acquisition process under the Defense Management Review, shall consider: (1) the full allowability of independent research and development bid and proposal costs; and (2) an increase in the progress payment rate on defense contracts. Part B: Miscellaneous - Requires the Code of Federal Regulations to be amended to specify the circumstances under which a contractor who has engaged in an unfair trade practice may be found to lack business integrity or honesty that seriously and directly affects his or her responsibility to perform any Government contract or subcontract. Title III: Amendment to Related Laws - Finds that congressional interest in energy security and the availability of energy for defense mobilization, industrial preparedness, and other purposes of the Defense Production Act has also been expressed in other laws. Directs the President to submit to the Congress biennially the projected capacity and potential prospects for the use of alternative and renewable sources of energy for such purposes. Amends the Geothermal Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1974 to extend the period of loan guaranties and interest assistance provided under such Act through FY 1993. Title IV: Fair Trade in Financial Services - Fair Trade in Financial Services Act of 1990 - Amends the International Banking Act of 1978, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) submit biennial status reports to the Congress regarding foreign treatment of certain U.S. business interests; and (2) initiate negotiations with foreign countries to ensure that they offer U.S. banking and bank holding companies, securities brokers and dealers, and investment advisers the same competitive opportunities as are available to their foreign counterparts. Authorizes the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register a determination that a foreign country does not accord national treatment to such U.S. business interests. Authorizes a Federal banking agency, or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after notice of such determination, to include such determination as a basis for denial of certain foreign trade applications (to conduct banking, securities, or investment advice activities in the United States) from such foreign country in reports required under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. Directs the Secretary to review such determinations annually and rescind determinations, if appropriate. Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to preclude banking interests from such countries from commencing or conducting business in this country as of the date of the Secretary's determination unless prior approval has been obtained from a Federal banking agency (including, under certain circumstances, a State banking agency). Outlines the factors to be considered by the Secretary and the banking and securities regulatory agencies in their exercise of discretion with respect to existing foreign operations in the United States. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to provide that, subsequent to the Secretary's determination in the Federal Register that a foreign country does not accord national treatment to U.S. securities or investment adviser interests, a person from such foreign country may not acquire control of a registered broker, dealer, or investment adviser unless the SEC has been duly notified and has not prohibited such acquisition. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, together with other appropriate agencies and representatives, to conduct an investigation to determine the extent of interdependence of U.S. financial services sectors and foreign countries whose financial services institutions provide financial services in the United States, or whose persons have substantial ownership interests in U.S. financial institutions, and the economic, strategic, and other consequences of that interdependence for the United States. Directs the Secretary to report the results of this investigation within two years to the President, the Congress, and other specified commissions, departments, and agencies as deemed appropriate by the Secretary. Title V: Effective Dates - Sets forth effective dates for provisions of this Act.
Bill· SS. 343 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Department of Energy High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish: (1) a High-Performance Computing Program; (2) a management plan to carry it out; and (3) a national multigigabit-per-second computer network to be known as the Federal High-Performance Computer Network. Directs the Secretary to promote education and research in high-performance computational science and related fields that require the application of high-performance computing resources by making the Department of Energy's computing resources more available to undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty from the Nation's educational institutions. Directs the Secretary to establish at least two Collaborative Consortia to undertake research, development, testing, and the dissemination of information with regard to high-performance computing hardware and associated software and networking technology. Requires each consortium to be comprised of a lead institution which is a DOE-owned national laboratory with experience in applications requiring high-performance computing resources. Provides for Government and private-sector cooperation in carrying out this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to provide funds and make contracts to carry out this Act. Sets forth provisions governing the title to inventions and creations produced or discovered as a result of research and development under this Act. Provides for the confidentiality of trade secrets or privileged or confidential commercial or financial information. Authorizes the Secretary to protect such information for up to five years after development. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 341 (102nd)reported
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
National Energy Security Act of 1991 - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Sets forth the energy efficiency and development purposes of this Act. Title II: Definitions - Sets forth definitions used in this Act. Title III: Energy Efficiency - Subtitle A: Industrial, Commercial, and Residential - Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA) to mandate that the construction of new public housing units comply with energy efficiency performance standards. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to direct the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) promulgate guidelines for State government procedures that would enable the assignment of energy efficiency ratings to residential buildings; (2) establish a technical assistance program for State or local organizations adopting residential energy efficiency rating systems; and (3) undertake joint ventures to encourage commercialization of technologies developed in a research and development program intended to improve energy efficiency and productivity in energy intensive industries and industrial processes. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report triennially to the Congress on energy efficiency policy options that would decrease domestic oil and energy consumption by specified percentages. Amends the Energy Security Act to repeal provisions regarding energy targets. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish voluntary guidelines for energy efficiency audits of industrial facilities and insulation in such facilities; (2) conduct an education and technical assistance program to promote the use of such guidelines; and (3) report on them annually. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support the voluntary development of a national program to establish energy efficiency ratings for windows. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to expand the scope and frequency of certain energy efficiency data and to report on it annually to the Congress. Directs the Secretary of Energy to provide financial and technical assistance to support voluntary development of a national energy efficiency rating program for lamps and luminaries. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for them. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to direct the Secretary to report to the Congress concerning evaluations of: (1) electric lights and utility distribution transformers; and (2) minimum energy efficiency performance standards of electric motors and pumps. Subtitle B: Federal Energy Management - Amends NECPA to prescribe energy management requirements for energy conservation and efficiency in Federal buildings. Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration: (1) to conduct an analysis of significant energy consuming products in the Federal Supply Schedule; and (2) to develop a method to identify products which offer cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy consumption and costs. Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to consider fuel efficiency and cost savings when evaluating bids for the purchase of passenger vehicles and light trucks. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) the funding of Federal energy efficiency projects; and (2) a biennially updated demonstration plan for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Federally-owned facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Utilities - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to permit State-regulated electric utilities to charge rates that will make their investments in energy efficiency and conservation measures as profitable as their investments in new facilities construction. Requires the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress on: (1) the extent to which State-regulated electric utility rates reflect least-cost planning; (2) specified effects of least-cost planning; and (3) the extent to which ratemaking methodologies implementing least-cost planning take into account the impact of such measures upon electric utilities' rate of return on investment. Prescribes guidelines for conservation grants to State regulatory authorities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Used Oil Energy Production - Amends EPCA to prescribe market incentive guidelines for the reuse of used oil. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the implementation of the recycled oil program. Subtitle E: Insular Areas Energy Assistance - Sets forth guidelines for Federal financial assistance to Insular area governments for renewable energy and energy efficiency measures to reduce their dependence on imported fuels. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Renewable Energy - Subtitle A: CORECT - Amends the EPCA to name a certain interagency working group the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT). Requires CORECT: (1) to promote the export of United States renewable energy and energy efficiency products and technologies; (2) to promote the development and application in lesser-developed countries of renewable energy and energy efficiency resource technologies; and (3) to provide in-country technical training and financial assistance. Authorizes CORECT to establish renewable energy industry outreach offices in the Pacific Rim and in the Caribbean Basin. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the Congress on the range of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies available to meet the energy needs of developing countries. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Renewable Energy Initiatives - Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 to direct the Secretary to solicit proposals and provide financial assistance for joint ventures with respect to: (1) oil and diesel fuel displacement using specified renewable energy sources; and (2) training individuals from developing countries in the United States in the operation and maintenance of renewable energy equipment and of energy efficiency equipment. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees an evaluation of opportunities to minimize waste from processes in the U.S. industries. Subtitle C: Hydropower - Prohibits any State or interstate water pollution control agency from making as a prerequisite to certification any requirements not needed to ensure that discharges resulting from a hydroelectric project will comply with statutory requirements. Amends the Federal Power Act to direct the Federal Power Commission, when issuing a hydroelectric power project licenses, to consider the recommendations of the Secretary under whose supervision the project reservation falls concerning its adequate protection and utilization. Exempts from application of the Federal Power Act any project with a power production capacity of 1500 kilowatts or less. Requires the Secretary to study and report to certain congressional committees on cost-effective opportunities to increase hydropower production at existing federally-owned or operated water regulation, storage, and conveyance facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Coal Technology and Electricity - Subtitle A: Coal and Coal Technology - Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct an advanced coal-based technology research and development program aimed at controlling sulfur and nitrogen oxides at greater proficiency levels; (2) periodically report to the Congress on the program's status; (3) conduct a research and development plan with respect to technologies for non-fuel use of coal; and (4) submit to certain congressional committees a plan for the export of U.S. coal. Establishes the Clean Coal Technology Export Coordinating Council (Council) to: (1) expand the export and use of clean coal technologies (especially in lesser developed countries); and (2) develop a comprehensive data base and information dissemination system regarding their potential need and availability. Requires the Secretary to: (1) report to certain congressional committees regarding the status of technologies for combining coal with other materials; and (2) conduct a research, development, and demonstration program for utilizing "ultra-clean coal-water slurry" in diesel locomotive engines. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a data base containing all transportation rates for specified modes of transporting domestic coal for a certain period; (2) study the rates and distribution patterns of domestic coal to determine the impact of Federal policies upon such patterns; and (3) report the data base and study results to the Congress. Subtitle B: Electricity - Declares that for purposes of the Clean Air Act certain physical or operational changes to an electric utility steam generating unit undertaken for purposes of pollution control shall not be treated as a modification if the change does not increase the potential emission of the specific regulated pollutant above the pre-existing potential. Sets conditions for finding such a unit in compliance with technology requirements regarding nitrogen oxide emissions. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on physical impediments to the transfer of excess electrical energy from regions with surplus electrical energy to those experiencing shortages. Title VI: Research, Development, Demonstration and Commercialization Activities - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish priorities according to prescribed criteria for energy research and development and commercialization; and (2) submit to the Congress an accompanying management plan which shall be revised biennially. Requires the Secretary to implement a program: (1) promoting the development and commercialization of new and advanced natural gas utilization technologies; (2) of research and development to increase the recoverable natural gas resource base; and (3) of research, development, and commercialization of specified high efficiency heat engines. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Strategic Petroleum Reserve - Amends the EPCA to direct the Secretary to implement a program for ensuring that: (1) crude oil stored at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be increased at a specified daily rate; and (2) the petroleum product needs of the Department of Defense will be met by requiring importers to provide petroleum products according to prescribed percentage guidelines. Title VIII: Outer Continental Shelf - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to add a new title: the "Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Act". Establishes the Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund, to be funded by a specified percentage of all new revenue attributable to an Outer Continental Shelf lease any part of which is within 200 geographical miles of the coast line. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transmit impact assistance from such Fund annually to coastal States according to prescribed guidelines. Requires a recipient coastal State to prioritize allocation of such revenue among its subdivisions which are socially or economically impacted by Outer Continental Shelf mineral development. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees on the availability of Outer Continental Shelf areas for oil and gas leasing, development and production. Title IX: Oil and Gas Leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Subtitle A: Statement of Purpose and Policy and Definitions - Declares that it is the congressional purpose to: (1) authorize competitive oil and gas leasing development on the Arctic Coastal Plain in a manner consistent with environmental and wildlife protection; and (2) provide a new funding source for energy-related projects to enhance energy security and reduce dependence on imported oil. Subtitle B: Congressional Determination of Compatibility - Declares that it is congressional policy that oil and gas activities on the Coastal Plain which are conducted with no significant adverse impact upon fish, wildlife, and the environment shall be deemed compatible with the purpose of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and that no further compatibility findings by the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) are required under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act. Subtitle C: Coastal Plain Competitive Leasing Program - Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in an environmentally sound program for Coastal Plain resources exploration, development, and production. Declares that this title is the sole authority for leasing on the Coastal Plain. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations to implement this title. Declares that the Congress finds that the "Final Legislative Environmental Impact Statement" (April 1987) on the Coastal Plain satisfies the legal requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Sets forth the administrative parameters for: (1) lease sales and lease terms; (2) antitrust review by the Attorney General; (3) exploration and development and production plans; (4) plan approval; (5) bonding requirements; and (6) lease suspension and cancellation. Allows the Secretary to cancel leases in any areas of particular environmental sensitivity. Requires the Secretary's consent for lease assignments or subletting. Mandates that lessees unite to the greatest extent practicable in collectively adopting and operating under a cooperative or unit plan for oil pools and gas fields. Provides for the confidentiality of privileged or proprietary information regarding development activities which must be furnished to the Secretary. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this title. Provides for adjudication of lease controversies. Sets forth joint, several, and strict liability for environmental damages and removal costs resulting from oil pollution or the discharge of hazardous substances. Provides for judicial review of complaints regarding regulations issued by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding the leasing program under this Act. Repeals certain limitations applicable to subsurface interests owned by the Inupiat Eskimo people. Provides for expedited judicial consideration of any claims for relief by certain Alaskan corporations. Subtitle D: Coastal Plain Environmental Protection - Directs the Secretary to promulgate environmental protection regulations which ensure that Coastal Plain activities will result in no significant adverse effect on fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment. Requires site-specific assessment and mitigation. Designates the Sadlerochit Spring area as a special area for wildlife conservation and environmental protection. Authorizes the Secretary to exclude such area from leasing and to designate other Coastal Plain areas as special areas requiring protection. Directs the Secretary to prepare and periodically update a facilities construction and siting plan for oil and gas development and transportation. Authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain in a manner that does not adversely affect fish, wildlife, and the environment. Requires the Secretary to conduct additional studies to monitor the human, marine, and coastal environments. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations providing for bi-annual facility inspections for compliance with environmental and safety regulations. Provides funding for a ten-year period for environmental monitoring and enforcement on the Coastal Plain. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) consult with the Department of Transportation and the State of Alaska about the State's role in monitoring and enforcing the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act; and (2) report annually to the Congress regarding the environmental monitoring activities. Subtitle E: Land Reclamation and Reclamation Liability Fund - Makes leaseholders fully responsible and liable for land reclamation within the Coastal Plain and other Federal lands adversely affected by lease activities. Requires establishment of the Coastal Plain Liability and Reclamation Fund within six months of a commercial discovery within the Coastal Plain. Directs the Secretary to collect fees based upon the crude oil volume entering the trans-Alaska pipeline. Prescribes revenue collection and expenditure procedures. Subtitle F: Disposition of Oil and Gas Revenues - Sets forth an allocation schedule for revenue distribution related to oil and gas leasing within the Arctic National Refuge, Alaska. Mandates that revenues distributed to the United States from such oil and gas leases be deposited into the Energy Security Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make such funds directly available to the Secretary of Energy for a list of specified energy projects transmitted to the Congress as part of the first budget submitted by the President following the initial deposit of funds in the Energy Security Fund. Subtitle G: Export Restrictions - Prohibits the export of crude oil produced from Coastal Plain lands except in specified circumstances. Title X: Natural Gas - Provides that for purposes of the Natural Gas Act a certificate of public convenience and necessity is not required for the construction of a transportation service facility. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for such transportation service immediately upon initiation of transportation service rendered by such a facility. Prescribes administrative procedures for rate schedules, accounts and records, and rate base treatment. Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to authorize FERC to permit: (1) any interstate pipeline to transport natural gas; and (2) the construction of natural gas transportation facilities for interstate commerce. Outlines administrative procedures for FERC compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) with respect to natural gas transportation. Declares FERC the lead agency for NEPA compliance purposes. Sets forth administrative procedures for rates and charges, utilization of rulemaking procedures, and review of FERC orders. Declares that the formation or operation of an independent producer cooperative shall only be an illegal antitrust law violation if anticompetitive effects substantially outweigh the procompetitve effects. Outlines the scope of State jurisdiction over persons with service area determinations with respect to vehicular natural gas sales for resale and for transportation. Title XI: Transportation and Alternative Fuels - Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act of 1991 - Subtitle A: Corporation Average Fuel Economy - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to direct the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light trucks manufactured in model years 1996 through 2001, and for those manufactured in model years 2002 and thereafter. Requires such Secretary to determine the maximum feasible average fuel economy achievable according to prescribed formulas for passenger automobiles, light trucks, or class of light trucks manufactured during such model years. Provides that credits for exceeding average fuel economy standards may be transferred among manufacturers and among vehicle classes of a manufacturer. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue rules implementing such a credit trading system. Grants average fuel economy credits for small passenger automobiles manufactured with airbags for either driver seating position only, or for both the driver and front seat outboard seating positions. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 explanatory booklets each year to every dealer and an additional number if requested. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to assess an excessive fuel consumption fee upon a manufacturer whose average fuel economy does not meet certain statutory standards. Replaces civil penalties for such non-compliance with the excessive fuel consumption fee according to prescribed guidelines. Establishes the Excessive Fuel Consumption Fund. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make payments from the Fund for purposes of: (1) providing financial assistance to State programs encouraging voluntary removal from the marketplace of pre-1980 model-year automobiles; and (2) funding other energy conservation programs. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress regarding the Fund's financial condition and operations. Requires the Secretary of Energy to adopt rules necessary to review and approve State programs that qualify for financial assistance for the older vehicle scrappage program. Mandates that as a prerequisite to Federal assistance at least 50 percent of scrappage program costs be paid from non-Federal funds. Subtitle B: Alternative Fuels - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to enter into cooperative agreements and joint ventures with local or regional transit authorities in urban areas of over 100,000 population to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of using natural gas or other alternative fuels for mass transit. Mandates that as a prerequisite to such a cooperative agreement or joint venture at least 25 percent of the demonstration costs be borne by the local or regional transit authority. Authorizes the Secretary to grant priority to any entity that demonstrates that the use of alternative fuels for mass transit would have a signficant effect on the ability of an air quality region to comply with regulations governing ambient air quality. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Department of Labor to implement a technician training and certification program for the vehicle installation of equipment that converts gasoline or diesel-fueled vehicles to run solely on alternative fuels. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Electric Vehicle Technology Development and Demonstration - Electric Vehicle Technology Development and Demonstration Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) identify by a specified deadline the nonattainment areas in which conventionally fueled vehicles contribute significantly to that nonattainment and in which the use of electric vehicles could contribute to attainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards; (2) designate nonattainment areas eligible to participate in a specified electric vehicle research and demonstration program; (3) solicit applications from manufacturers to sell, warranty, and service electric vehicles in eligible nonattainment areas; and (4) report to the Congress on the program's status. Authorizes appropriations. Title XII: Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization - Civilian Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a comprehensive program to encourage the deployment of advanced nuclear reactor technologies according to specified guidelines, including appropriate steps for development and submission for certification by the Nuclear Regulatory Commision (NRC) of completed standard designs for commercial nuclear reactors (or their components). Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on progress in certifying standard designs and setting forth certification program plans. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the results of public meetings implemented to develop information upon which to base decisions with respect to the commercialization of advanced nuclear reactor technologies. Outlines the parameters within which the Secretary must: (1) encourage siting, financing, licensing, construction, and operation of facilities for the generation of commercial electric power from nuclear fission in regions where a need for additional electric generating capacity exists; and (2) commercialize promising advanced nuclear reactor technologies for commercial electric power generation. Authorizes appropriations. Restricts appropriations to those specifically set forth under this Act. Requires the NRC to recommend to the Congress legislative changes found necessary for timely licensing consistent with public safety of commercial nuclear power reactors. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) his assessment of commercial nuclear reactor technologies in use or under development in other nations; and (2) the annual status of the advanced nuclear reactor commercialization program. Title XIII: Nuclear Reactor Licensing - Nuclear Reactor Licensing Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require the NRC to hold a hearing before granting a combined license to construct and operate a nuclear reactor. Title XIV: Uranium - Subtitle A: Uranium Enrichment - Uranium Enrichment Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to repeal the existing statutory contracting requirements applicable to uranium enrichment enterprises. Establishes the United States Enrichment Corporation as a wholly-owned Government corporation to conduct uranium marketing and enrichment activities as a commercial, profitable, self-financing enterprise. Sets forth the Corporation's corporate office and powers and vests its management in an Administrator (appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate). Grants the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) general supervision over such Administrator only with respect to national security and health and environmental concerns. Establishes a Corporate Board whose members shall be appointed by the President, and who shall advise the Administrator and the Secretary regarding Corporation matters. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) Corporation personnel; (2) certain property transfers from the Department of Energy; (3) the Corporation's capital structure; and (4) Corporation pricing policies, including user charges for decommissioning, decontamination, and remedial activities. Requires the Corporation to make annual status reports to certain congressional committees, the President, and the Secretary. Prescribes licensing and taxation guidelines for the Corporation. Sets guidelines for payments in lieu of taxes by the Corporation to States and local governments. Requires the Administrator to make recommendations to the President and the Congress by specified dates regarding the transfer of the Corporation's functions and assets to private ownership. Establishes the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund to cover the Corporation's decommissioning and decontamination expenses. Applies Federal environmental and occupational safety and health law to the Corporation as though it were privately owned. Exempts the Corporation from sequestration because the maximum deficit amount has been exceeded under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Prohibits the Corporation's total FY 1991 expenditures from exceeding its total FY 1991 receipts. Subtitle B: Uranium - Uranium Security and Tailings Reclamation Act of 1991 - Sets forth findings, purposes, and definitions of this title. Directs the Corporation to establish for a minimum five-year period a voluntary overfeeding program to be made available to its enrichment services customers. ("Overfeeding" means the use of uranium in the enrichment process in excess of the amount required at the transactional tails assay, thus reducing customers' power costs). Provides that the resultant savings shall be credited to such customers. Establishes the National Strategic Uranium Reserve, consisting of 50,000,000 pounds of natural uranium, to be restricted to military purposes and Government research under the control of the Secretary. Confers continuing responsibility upon the Secretary for promotion of the domestic uranium industry, but without using any supervisory authority over the Corporation. Directs the Secretary to develop recommendations and implement Government programs promoting domestic uranium exports. Restricts all uranium purchases by Federal entities to uranium purchased from domestic producers. Exempts the Tennessee Valley Authority from such restriction. Subtitle C: Remedial Action for Active Processing Sites - Provides that remedial action costs such as decontamination, decommissioning, and reclamation at an active uranium or thorium processing site shall be borne by specified licensees for any activity resulting in byproduct material. Sets forth a reimbursement schedule for: (1) individual active site uranium licensees; (2) all active site uranium licensees; and (3) thorium licensees. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations governing such reimbursement. Authorizes appropriations. Title XV: Public Utility Holding Company Act Reform - Defines an "exempt wholesale generator" (EWG) as a corporate entity engaged exclusively in the business of selling electric energy at wholesale (including ownership or operation of electric energy production facilities). Requires approval of certain rates or charges by the State commission having jurisdiction over them with respect to rates or charges for facility construction or electric production. Declares that an EWG shall not be considered an "electric utility company" under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) (thus exempting it from coverage by such Act). Permits holding companies that are exempt under PUHCA to: (1) own and maintain an interest in one or more EWGs; and (2) acquire and hold securities in one or more EWGs. Retains Securities and Exchange Commission jurisdiction over specified securities activities by a registered holding company with respect to EWGs. Declares that ownership of one or more EWGs shall not result in the owner's being considered as primarily engaged in the sale of generation of electric power under the Federal Power Act (thus ensuring that a non-utility company which acquires an EWG is not required to divest itself of certain business interests in "qualifying facilities" - small power production facilities or cogeneration facilities). Permits the filing of a declaration by an electric utility company that it intends to avoid purchasing electric energy from EWGs. Makes such declaration irrevocable for up to a ten-year period. Prohibits such company from: (1) purchasing electric energy from any EWG during such period; (2) acquiring or owning an interest in the business of an EWG during such period; or (3) offering to sell electric energy from an EWG in whose business it would acquire or own an interest after such declaration expires.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 46 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Designates majority party membership on the following Senate Committees: (1) Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; (2) Appropriations; (3) Armed Services; (4) Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; (5) Commerce, Science, and Transportation; (6) Energy and Natural Resources; (7) Environment and Public Works; (8) Finance; (9) Foreign Relations; (10) Governmental Affairs; (11) Judiciary; and (12) Labor and Human Resources.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 48 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Makes minority party appointments to the following Senate committees for the 102d Congress: (1) Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; (2) Appropriations; (3) Armed Services; (4) Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; (5) Commerce, Science, and Transportation; (6) Energy and Natural Resources; (7) Environment and Public Works; (8) Finance; (9) Foreign Relations; (10) Governmental Affairs; (11) Judiciary; and (12) Labor and Human Resources.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 43 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Amends rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate to change the number of Members on the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, on Energy and Natural Resources, on Foreign Relations, and on Labor and Human Resources.
Bill· HRH.R. 814 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Grand Canyon Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) operate Glen Canyon Dam and take other reasonable mitigation measures to protect, mitigate adverse impacts to, and improve the condition of the environmental, cultural, and recreational resources of Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area; (2) promulgate interim operating procedures for Glen Canyon Dam in consultation with the Department of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, specified State Governors, and Indian tribes and with the full participation of the general public, including the academic and scientific communities, environmental organizations, the recreation industry, and contractors for the purchase of Federal power produced at Glen Canyon Dam; (3) implement such procedures pending development of long-term operating procedures; and (4) establish and implement long-term monitoring requirements. Subjects such operating procedures to the water storage and delivery functions of Glen Canyon Dam pursuant to laws relating to allocation of the Colorado River. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to deviate from such interim operating procedures to: (1) comply with requirements under this Act; (2) respond to hydrologic extremes or power system operating emergencies; or (3) further reduce adverse impacts on resources downstream. Directs the Secretary, no later than December 31, 1993, to complete the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies and the final Glen Canyon Dam Impact Statement as required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Directs the Comptroller General to review the costs and benefits to water and power users and to natural, recreational, and cultural resources resulting from management policies and dam operations identified in the Impact Statement and report the results of such audit to the Secretary and the Congress. Directs the Secretary to implement the long-term operating procedures for the Dam, based on the Studies and the Statement and audit, alone or in combination with other reasonable mitigation measures, and to submit the Studies and the Statement and the long-term operating procedures to the Congress. Prohibits such long-term operating procedures from interfering with the primary water storage and delivery functions of the Glen Canyon Dam pursuant to laws relating to allocation of the Colorado River. Amends the Colorado River Storage Project Act to prohibit the Secretary from operating the hydroelectric powerplant at the Dam in a manner which causes significant and avoidable adverse effects on resources of the Grand Canyon National Park or the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Authorizes appropriations. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as modifying or amending laws relating to environmental or natural resources protection, with regard to the operation of the Glen Canyon Dam.
Bill· HRH.R. 820 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1991 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to operate Glen Canyon Dam in such a manner as to protect, mitigate adverse impacts to, and improve the values for which Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area were established. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a plan for operating the Dam on an interim basis to protect, mitigate adverse effects to, and improve the condition of the natural, recreational, and cultural resources of the Park and Recreation Area; and (2) implement the plan on the earlier of September 1, 1991, or the date of cessation of research flows used for preparing an environmental impact statement ordered by the Secretary. Enumerates certain objectives to be included in the plan as implemented, including noninterference with the water storage and delivery functions of the Dam, the minimization of adverse environmental impacts of the Dam operations on the downstream Park and Recreation Area, and adjustment and monitoring of sufficient water flows downstream from the Dam. Directs the Secretary to consult with appropriate agencies of the Department of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, the Governors of affected States, and affected Indian tribes in the development and implementation of the plan. Authorizes the Secretary to deviate from the plan if found necessary and in the public interest. Requires the Secretary to complete a final Glen Canyon Dam environmental impact statement within three years after enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to: (1) adopt criteria and operating plans separate from those specified under the Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968; and (2) ensure that the Dam is operated in a manner consistent with the protection of the Park and Recreation Area. Requires the Secretary to establish and implement long-term monitoring requirements to assure that the Dam is operated in a manner consistent with the protection of the Park and the Recreation Area downstream. Provides that costs of preparing the environmental impact statement and conducting long-term monitoring shall be nonreimbursable. Permits the Secretary to use funds received from the sale of electric power and energy from the Colorado River Storage Project to prepare the environmental impact statement and to conduct the monitoring. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 813 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Family and Economic Growth Incentive Act of 1991 - Title I: Education Savings Accounts - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual income tax deduction for contributions to a savings account established to pay the educational expenses (tuition, supplies, meals, and lodging) of the taxpayer's child or certain other relatives at an institution of higher education or a vocational school. Limits the deduction to $100,000 for all taxable years (adjusted for inflation) for each account. Disallows the deduction for contributions to an account maintained for any individual aged 19 or older. Requires any account balance to be distributed after the beneficiary attains age 30. Permits an exclusion from the gross income of the contributor or the beneficiary of account distributions used to pay educational expenses of the latter. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization), unless a contributor or the beneficiary engages in specified prohibited transactions in connection with it. Imposes a ten percent surtax on distributions not used for educational purposes. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Imposes a penalty for failure to report. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize deductions to deduct for contributions to an education savings account. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account. Title II: Affordable Housing and First-Home Buyer Assistance - Permits a personal deduction for specified contributions to a first home ownership account. Treats such account as an individual retirement account upon a first home purchase. Repeals the taxation of gain on the sale of a principal residence. Extends through 1994 the issue period for qualified mortgage bonds. Title III: Reinstatement of Investment Tax Credit for Certain Property - Reinstates the ten-percent investment tax credit for property used as an integral part of manufacturing, production, or extraction or of furnishing transportation, communications, electrical energy, gas, water, waste disposal, or pollution control services. Allows such tax credit to offset 100 percent of a C corporation's minimum tax. Title IV: Reduction in Capital Gains Rates - Reduces the individual and corporate capital gains rate from 34 percent to 15 percent. Reduces such tax to 7.5 percent for low- and middle-income taxpayers. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Provides for indexing the limitation on capital losses of noncorporate taxpayers.
Law· HRH.R. 776 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
National Energy Efficiency Act of 1991 - Title I: Buildings - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (the Act) to require the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to establish a program to provide technical assistance to States and localities to update energy efficiency codes and standards for residential and commercial buildings. Requires each State to certify to the Secretary that: (1) it has reviewed and updated its residential and commercial building codes affecting energy efficiency, including a demonstration that such codes meet or exceed the requirements of the Council of American Building Officials' Model Energy Code and the Department of Energy's Commercial Building Standards; and (2) at least 75 percent of the new residential and commercial buildings constructed in such State meet the updated code requirements. Requires the Secretary to establish a task force of representatives from the building construction industry and financial community to advise in the development of the program. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to promulgate procedures to be used by States, local governments, and others to assign energy efficiency ratings to residential buildings. Requires the Secretary to provide technical assistance to any such entities using the energy efficiency rating systems. Directs the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress on such procedures and technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Federal Energy Management - Declares it is the purpose of the Act to promote the conservation and efficient use of energy and renewable energy sources by the Federal Government. Requires, to the maximum extent practicable, the installation of energy conservation measures with payback periods of less than ten years (currently, 25 years) in all Federal buildings no later than January 1, 2000. Sets forth specified Federal agency requirements with respect to such measures. Requires each agency to submit to the Secretary a plan describing how it intends to meet such requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish a Federal Energy Efficiency Fund to provide grants to agencies to enable them to meet the energy efficiency requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes and encourages agencies to participate in programs for energy conservation or the management of electricity demand conducted by gas or electric utilities and available to customers of such utilities. Directs the Secretary to establish a financial bonus program to reward outstanding facility energy managers in such agencies. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to study the monetary value of the environmental benefits resulting from energy efficiency improvements in Federal buildings. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to install in Federal buildings commercial energy efficiency technologies developed by entities receiving Federal financial assistance for research and development. Requires the Secretary to prepare and disseminate an evaluation of each energy efficiency technology included in such program, outlining its technical and economic effectiveness. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration to conduct a detailed analysis of the energy consuming and conserving products in the Federal Supply Schedule and devise a method to highlight those products that are preferred energy efficient models. Requires the Administrator to: (1) issue guidelines to users of the Schedule to encourage the purchase of such models; and (2) identify manufacturers of energy efficient products not listed on the Schedule and provide such manufacturers with assistance to encourage the inclusion of their products on the Schedule. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to require the President to promulgate rules prohibiting agencies from acquiring automobiles with fuel economies that are not greater than the average fuel economy for the previous year. Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to require each agency head to adopt, no later than two years after enactment of this Act, procedures to assure that the construction of new Federal buildings meet or exceed certain energy conservation performance standards. Title III: Electricity and Utilities - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to require rates charged by State-regulated electric utilities be such that prudent investments in conservation and energy efficiency resources are at least as profitable as investments in new generation facilities. Requires the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress: (1) a survey of State laws and policies under which State regulatory authorities require electric utilities to compare energy efficiency and generation investment opportunities to minimize life-cycle costs of electric services to electric customers (least-cost planning); (2) an evaluation of whether such least-cost planning will result in higher or lower electricity costs, enhanced or reduced reliability of electric service, and increased or decreased dependence on particular energy resources; and (3) an evaluation of whether ratemaking methodologies implementing such planning take into account the impact of such measures on electric utilities' costs, operations, and rate of return on investment. Requires unregulated electric utilities to use least-cost planning. Requires each unregulated utility to initiate or expand efforts to ensure that cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy resources are acquired by customer utilities. Title IV: Standards and Information - Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance to support a voluntary, national window rating program to develop window energy ratings and labels. Mandates that such program be administered by the National Fenestration Rating Council which shall report periodically to the Congress and the Secretary regarding the program's status. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for windows and window systems. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to develop a voluntary national program to devise standards for the proper levels of industrial insulation. Requires the Secretary to: (1) review the status of industrial energy auditing procedures; (2) conduct an educational and technical assistance program concerning the standards and auditing procedures; and (3) report to the Congress regarding such standards, auditing procedures, and educational and technical assistance, including the responsiveness of the industrial sector to the standards. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to determine the feasibility of establishing energy conservation standards for the commercial application of lamps, appliance motors, and small package air conditioners. Provides for enforcement of any standards adopted. Title V: International - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to revise the purposes of the interagency working group to require them to: (1) promote the export of renewable energy and energy technologies produced in the United States; (2) inform other countries of the benefits of such technologies; and (3) foster rural and urban economic development and energy self-sufficiency through their use. Requires such group to: (1) develop a data base and information dissemination system that will provide information on the energy technology needs of lesser-developed countries, the technical and economic competitiveness of various renewable energy and energy efficiency resource technologies, and the status of ongoing technology assistance programs; (2) make such information available to industry, Federal and multilateral lending agencies, nongovernmental organizations, host-country and donor-agency officials, and others; and (3) report to the Congress biennially on the full range of energy and environmental technologies necessary to meet the energy needs of developing countries while reducing the generation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Authorizes the interagency working group to establish renewable energy and energy efficiency industry outreach offices in the Pacific Rim and in the Caribbean Basin. Authorizes the group to sponsor trade missions to help market renewable energy and energy efficient products in other countries. Title VI: Miscellaneous - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to require the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to collect annually, on a State-by-State basis, information on renewable energy utilized within such States. Repeals the National Energy Extension Service Act (thus abolishing the Energy Extension Service).
Bill· HRH.R. 778 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Authorizes the President to drawdown the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if it would assist in relieving severe economic problems related to a significant increase in the price of petroleum.
Bill· HRH.R. 788 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Uranium Enrichment Reorganization Act - Title I: United States Uranium Enrichment Corporation - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to establish the United States Uranium Enrichment Corporation as a wholly-owned Government corporation to conduct uranium marketing and enrichment activities as a commercial, profitable, self-financing enterprise. Provides for a Board of Directors appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) certain property transfers from the Department of Energy; and (2) the Corporation's capital structure, financing, pricing policies, and user charges for decommissioning, decontamination, and remedial activities. Requires the Corporation to prepare an annual status report for the President and the Congress. Prescribes licensing and taxation guidelines for the Corporation. Sets guidelines for payments in lieu of taxes by the Corporation to States and local governments. Directs the Board to make recommendations to the President regarding the transfer of its functions and assets to private ownership. Requires congressional approval before the Corporation may be sold and its functions transferred. Applies Federal, State, and local environmental and occupational safety and health laws to the Corporation as though it were privately owned. Declares that the Corporation receipts and disbursements shall: (1) not be included in the totals of the President's budget or the congressional budget; (2) be exempt from any general budget limitation imposed by statute on expenditures and net lending (budget outlays) of the U.S. Government; and (3) be exempt from any order issued under a specified section of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Requires the Corporation to undertake decontamination and decommissioning activities at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Tennessee. Establishes the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund to cover the Corporation's decommissioning and decontamination expenses, including remedial action activities. Requires the Corporation to study and report to the Congress its recommendations for cost effective decontamination, decommissioning, and remedial action of its facilities. Title II: Remedial Action for Active Processing Sites - Declares that the costs of decontamination, decommissioning, reclamation, and remedial action at an active uranium or thorium processing site shall be borne by persons licensed under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 for any activity at such site which results in the production of byproduct material. Requires the Secretary to reimburse such licensees annually for the portion of such costs that are: (1) attributable to tailings generated as an incident of sales to the United States; and (2) incurred no later than December 31, 2002. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 779 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Natural Gas Enhancement Act of 1991 - Amends the Natural Gas Act to extend the time within which the Federal Power Commission must take final action with respect to applications for rehearing of Commission orders. Permits applicants who are required to prepare environmental impact statements with respect to the construction or extension of facilities for the transportation of natural gas to elect a contractor, consultant, or other person designated by the Commission to prepare such statement at the applicant's expense. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to authorize the Commission to utilize rulemaking procedures with respect to the establishment of rates and charges, or the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity, including abandonment of natural gas facilities and services, and the establishment of physical connections under the Natural Gas Act. Amends the Natural Gas Act to declare that the replacement or repair of natural gas facilities for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity has been issued shall not be considered the construction or extension of such facilities unless such replaced or repaired facility has substantially more or less delivery capacity than the original certificated facility, or such replacement or repair results in a reduction or abandonment of service provided by the original certificated facility. Requires the Commission to file notice in the Federal Register of proposed certificates of public convenience and necessity as soon as all required information has been received by it. Deems such certificates to have been issued if no protest or objection has been filed in response to such notice within 60 days after publication of such notice. Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to authorize the Commission to approve any intrastate pipeline to transport natural gas and to construct and operate natural gas facilities of any size or capacity to be used solely for the transportation of natural gas. Requires rates and charges of interstate natural gas pipelines to be just and reasonable. Amends the Natural Gas Act to authorize the President to designate as a priority project the construction or expansion of natural gas facilities over a specific route, or from a specific gas producing area, or into a specific gas consuming market if it is in the national interest. Requires the Commission to issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the construction or expansion of such facilities if the President designates such facilities as a priority project. Declares that a certificate shall not be required for the construction or extension of natural gas facilities if such construction begins after enactment of this Act. Sets forth specified requirements with respect to such construction.
Bill· HRH.R. 777 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Strategic Petroleum Reserve Enhancement Act of 1991 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to direct the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to establish and implement during FY 1992 a minimum (Strategic Petroleum) Reserve fill rate of 200,000 barrels per day until the quantity of crude oil in storage in the Reserve is at least 1,500,000,000. Prescribes implementation guidelines. Requires the Secretary to assess and collect charges from each person who stores petroleum in the Reserve pursuant to such program.
Bill· HRH.R. 780 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Tax Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an investment tax credit for renewable electricity which is generated and sold by a qualified taxpayer within the United States using solar, wind, or geothermal energy and which is not used by the taxpayer or a related person. Allows the use of such credit for a ten-year period. Excludes from gross income employer-provided transportation using a commuter highway vehicle (van pooling) and mass transit between the employee's residence and place of employment. Limits such exclusion to $75 per month. Excludes from gross income the amount or value of any subsidy provided by a public utility to a customer in connection with the purchase, installation, use, or maintenance of any energy or water conservation measure or for energy savings delivered by such measures. Disallows any other deduction or credit for such subsidy.
Bill· SS. 326 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1991
Title I: Federal Programs - Directs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to establish the Federal Energy Efficiency Fund to provide financing to enable Federal agencies to install energy conservation measures. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress detailing funds allocation and the projected energy savings from installed measures. Authorizes appropriations. Sets deadlines by which Federal agencies must: (1) report to the Secretary a list of energy conservation projects that will meet a ten-year payback criterion; and (2) substantially complete energy conservation projects. Permits exceptions for reasons of impracticability. Exempts from this program Federal facilities engaged in either electric energy generation or transmission or uranium enrichment activities. Provides for the continued availability of appropriations for energy conservation purposes through the following fiscal year to agencies that achieve energy cost savings. Authorizes Federal entities to participate in certain gas and electric utility energy management programs (including acceptance of utility financial incentives). Sets forth guidelines under which the Secretary shall develop a simplified method of contracting for shared energy savings contract services. Directs the Secretary to establish a financial bonus program to reward outstanding energy managers at Federal plants. Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to ensure that the average fleet fuel efficiency in each class of federally purchased vehicles is at least equal to the average fuel economy level for that class in the previous model year. Sets a deadline by which the Secretary must establish an energy efficiency technologies demonstration program at Federal facilities that have received Federal financial assistance for research and development. Title II: Utilities - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to declare that gross income does not include the value of a subsidy (rebate) provided by a public utility to a customer for the purchase or installation of any energy conservation measure. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to provide that the rates allowed to be charged by a State-regulated electric utility shall be such that its investments and expenditures for energy conservation and energy efficiency resources are as profitable as its investments and expenditures for the construction of new generation facilities. Requires the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress on: (1) the extent to which State regulatory practices require least-cost planning by electric utilities; and (2) an evaluation of likely results of least-cost energy planning. Prohibits the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from approving interstate electric power sales by a utility unless the utility has adopted a least-cost plan complying with State requirements. Requires the purchaser or transferee of an interstate electric power sale to furnish FERC with a statement that such transfer is the least costly means by which it can obtain power. Requires the Tennessee Valley Authority to adopt a least-cost plan. Prohibits the Western Area Power Administration from selling power to a purchaser that does not have a least-cost plan in effect. Requires the Secretary of Energy to devise plans for the implementation of: (1) energy conservation standards and labeling for specified electric applicances and window systems; and (2) an insulation value rating system. Title III: Building and Housing - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish an income tax credit for granting oil retrofit conservation expenditures. Outlines standards for the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to develop energy efficiency rating guidelines for new and existing residential buildings. Permits certain residential buildings with heating, cooling, or hot water systems operated directly by renewable energy sources to have their energy usage credited toward the building's energy efficiency rating. Directs the Secretary to establish a five-year program to provide technical and financial assistance to State and local organizations for residential energy efficiency rating systems. Requires the Secretary of Energy to ensure that Federal mortgage assistance is not permitted unless certain small family dwellings have met with minimum residential energy efficiency ratings. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) recommend improved commercial building energy efficiency standards to State and local governments for adoption in their building codes; (2) initiate a three-year technical assistance program to promote adoption of such standards; (3) develop model incentives for increasing energy efficiency in commercial buildings beyond the energy efficiency ratings program; and (4) establish a task force to assist in the development of the energy efficiency program and review its results. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Improvement of Industrial Audits and Voluntary Guidelines For Industrial Insulation - Directs the Secretary to: (1) select and assist a nonprofit organization to develop industrial insulation guidelines; (2) review the status of industrial energy auditing procedures; (3) conduct an education and technical assistance program concerning such procedures; and (4) report to the Congress on the program. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: International Market Assessments and Export Promotion - Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue an annual report on at least three countries detailing the market potential for energy efficiency technologies; (2) issue a biannual report on the research and development of energy efficiency technologies in major industrialized countries; (3) conduct a specified number of trade missions to countries identified as good markets for energy efficiency technologies; (4) conduct a training and technical assistance program to assist other countries in policy design and program development to accelerate the adoption of energy efficiency technologies; and (5) present a program evaluation report to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Title VI: Transportation - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to present guidelines under which the Secretary of Transportation shall by regulation establish a program encouraging the removal from the marketplace of motor vehicles manufactured before model year 1980. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit employer deductions for parking expenses on behalf of employees unless the employer provides either a cash or a mass transit, car pool, or van subsidy alternative.
Bill· SS. 324 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1991
National Energy Policy Act of 1991 - Establishes as national goals: (1) the identification of an appropriate mix of policies that have the potential of stabilizing and reducing the generation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the United States; and (2) the promotion of international cooperation in addressing potential global climate change through the establishment of an international framework convention on global climate change. Title I: Energy Policy Initiatives - Mandates that the first National Energy Policy Plan submitted by the President to the Congress (and each subsequent Plan) include a least-cost energy strategy prepared by the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary). Prescribes strategy guidelines. Amends the Energy Security Act to repeal energy target provisions. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Director of Climate Protection within the Department of Energy to participate in: (1) global climate change policy considerations; and (2) least-cost energy strategy considerations. Requires the Director to contract with the National Research Council for the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering (the Academies) to review and report to the Congress on trends in greenhouse gases and global climate change. Requires a report to the Office and the Congress. Requires the President to transmit to the Congress his assessment of such report. Title II: Energy Efficiency Initiatives - Requires the Secretary to: (1) submit periodic evaluations to the Congress regarding energy efficiency policy options necessary to produce certain percentage decreases in U.S. energy use; (2) pursue a research and development program intended to improve energy efficiency and productivity in energy-intensive industries and industrial processes; (3) undertake joint ventures to encourage commercialization of technologies developed from such program; and (4) conduct competitive solicitation for joint venture proposals and provide financial assistance to such ventures. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to set a deadline by which each Federal agency must: (1) install energy conservation measures in its Federal buildings with specified payback periods; (2) submit a list of projects to the Secretary which meets such payback criterion and indicates total energy and cost savings involved; and (3) have substantially completed at least 25 percent of such projects as would account for 25 percent of total energy savings. Directs the Secretary to develop guidelines in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the General Services Administration with respect to the selection of energy service contractors. Sets forth a deadline by which: (1) each Federal agency must consider the energy efficiency of all potential building space at the time of lease renewal or entering into a lease; and (2) all federally owned and leased space under construction must meet model Federal building standards for energy efficiency. Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 to direct the Secretary to solicit proposals and provide financial assistance for joint ventures in fuel cell technology to demonstrate critical enabling technologies to accelerate commercialization of electric energy production from fuel cells. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the NECPA to repeal the prohibition against the supply and installation of residential energy conservation measures by utilities. Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance to support a voluntary, national window rating program to develop window energy ratings and labels. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for windows and window systems. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to report to the Congress regarding the acquisition of energy efficiency information. Requires the Secretary to: (1) submit a feasibility report to the Congress regarding the mandatory use in Federal facilities of compact fluorescent lamps instead of incandescent lamps; and (2) submit a plan to the Congress for the demonstration in Federal facilities of energy efficiency technologies that are ready for commercial demonstration but are not widely available commercially. Amends the NECPA to direct the Secretary to: (1) promulgate procedural guidelines enabling the States to assign energy efficiency ratings to residential buildings; and (2) establish a technical assistance program to State and local governments adopting energy efficiency rating systems or building codes. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to mandate that State regulatory commissions consider a least-cost ratemaking standard under which utility investments in demand-side measures shall be as profitable as investments in new generation facilities (thus creating an economic incentive for utilities to promote residential energy conservation measures). Requires the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress an evaluation of: (1) the results of least-cost planning methodologies implemented by electric utilities; and (2) the extent to which ratemaking methodologies implementing least-cost planning take into account the impact of such measures on electric utilities' profitability. Amends the NECPA to require the Secretary to: (1) conduct a fuel cell systems demonstration program in Federal buildings; and (2) report to the Congress on the program's implementation. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Title III: Energy Research and Development Initiatives - Requires the Secretary to: (1) consider specified criteria when establishing research and development priorities; (2) biennially submit to the Congress a management plan for research, development, and commercialization of energy technologies; (3) implement an engine and vehicle fuel research and demonstration program on systems that offer a potential reduction in the generation of greenhouse gases, and that improve transportation energy uses; and (4) emphasize advanced gas turbine cycles (and their incorporation of energy efficient materials for high efficiency electric and automotive power generation) when implementing a high efficiency heat engine research, demonstration, and commercialization program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Secretary to conduct a natural gas cofiring research, development, and demonstration program with respect to electric utility units and large industrial boilers. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to establish within the Department of Energy a program to develop technologies to a point where private industry will undertake further commercial development. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct demonstration programs regarding: (1) magnetic and inertial confinement fusion for the production of electricity; and (2) coal-based technologies. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements or joint ventures with certain urban area transit authorities to demonstrate the feasibility of using natural gas or other alternative mass transit fuels. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Secretary to implement and finance a fleet vehicle program for the commercialization of natural gas and other alternative fuels. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Secretary of Labor to implement a technician training and certification program for the conversion of conventionally fueled vehicles to natural gas and alternative fuels. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Secretary to conduct or expand the following demonstration programs: (1) specified aspects of improved natural gas and alternative fueled vehicle technology; (2) increased availability of natural gas from specified sources; (3) natural gas and electric heating and cooling technologies for residential and commercial buildings; and (4) electric vehicle and battery technology. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress the results of an assessment of the statutory, economic, and regulatory barriers to expanded hydroelectric capacity development at existing dams. Electric Vehicle Technology Development and Demonstration Act of 1991 - Requires the Secretary to: (1) identify by a specified deadline the nonattainment areas in which conventionally fueled vehicles contribute significantly to that nonattainment and in which the use of electric vehicles could contribute to attainment of National Air Quality Standards; (2) designate nonattainment areas eligible to participate in a specified electric vehicle research and demonstration program; (3) report to the Congress on the program's status; and (4) report to the Congress on the extent to which nuclear fission generated electricity can safely and reliably supply electricity and reduce greenhouse gases. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) specified aspects of methane generation; (2) measures that could reduce atmospheric methane concentrations from sources within the United States; and (3) methane emissions from countries other than the United States. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish an interagency working group known as the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT) to recommend coordinated Federal actions and programs promoting the export of U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency products and technologies. Authorizes the Committee to establish renewable energy industry information outreach offices in the Pacific Rim and the Caribbean Basin. Mandates that a program established by the Secretary of Commerce for enhancing commerce in renewable energy technologies shall provide for an information program regarding: (1) the specific energy technology needs of lesser developed countries; (2) the technical and economic competitiveness of various renewable energy and energy efficiency resources technologies; and (3) the status of ongoing technology assistance programs. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the Congress concerning the range of environmental and energy technologies necessary to meet the energy needs of developing countries. Mandates that a certain management plan required under the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 include a five-year implementation plan for joint ventures with U.S. manufacturers (including assistance to smaller manufacturers) for the development and marketing of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies in key lesser-developed countries. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress the results of a comparative fuel cycle cost analysis with respect to the United States, Europe, and Asia. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 to establish a secretariat within the Department of State to prepare for the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Title V: Natural Resource Policy - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of ecological and environmental resources that could be affected by global climate change. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to report to the President and the Congress on the feasibility of a National Reforestation Initiative. Directs the Secretary of Energy to transmit to the Congress a study of the potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions by undertaking targeted urban tree and vegetative plantings, including landscaping and the use of natural windbreaks designed to reduce the air conditioning and heating needs of buildings.
Bill· HRH.R. 759 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1991
Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy Leasing Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program for the Coastal Plain Study Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. States that this Act shall be considered the primary land management authorization for all exploration and production activities on the Coastal Plain. Provides that no land management review shall be required except as specifically authorized by this Act. Mandates that all receipts from sales, rentals, bonuses, and royalties on leases under this Act be deposited into the Treasury. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations to ensure that oil and gas exploration and transportation activities are conducted to achieve the reasonable protection of animal and environmental resources (including subsistence uses of the Coastal Plain). States that the "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, Coastal Plain Resource Assessment," prepared by the Secretary, satisfies all legal requirements for such promulgation and that no further studies or assessments shall be required. Directs the Secretary to provide impact aid and other assistance to communities on the North Slope and elsewhere in Alaska in order to ensure the public services needed to accommodate oil and gas production and transportation activities on the Coastal Plain.
Bill· HRH.R. 741 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1991
Emergency Oil Market Stability Act of 1991 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to direct the President to promulgate and transmit to the Congress a standby regulation providing for mandatory allocation of petroleum products. Specifies emergency circumstances in which the President may implement such regulation. Mandates that the regulation include an optional standby program for crude oil sharing among refiners. Declares that the President shall have no authority to: (1) impose any tax, tariff, or user fee; (2) prescribe minimum petroleum prices; (3) establish a program for the assignment of rights for end-user purchases gasoline or diesel fuel; or (4) restrict or allocate consumer petroleum inventories. Preempts State and local law about petroleum product pricing or allocation, except where exempted by the President. Permits a Governor to implement a State set aside program for residual fuel oil or any refined petroleum and, if the President approves it, also win exemption. Establishes a civil penalty for violation of the standby regulation. Directs the President to collect information on a State-by-State basis regarding petroleum products pricing, supply, and distribution. Terminates all authority under this Act on a specified date.
Bill· SS. 279 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1991
Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to establish average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and automobiles other than passenger automobiles (light trucks) (for model years 1996 and thereafter). Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary), to modify such standards for model year 1996 and thereafter. Directs the Secretary, in response to petitions filed at least 12 months in advance of the model year, to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether to increase or decrease such standard to a level that is the maximum feasible average fuel economy for that model year, except that such standard shall not be reduced below a level equal to the average fuel economy achieved by the manufacturer of such vehicle for model year 1988, as multiplied by a specified percentage. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report annually to specified congressional committees on a study which: (1) examines the accuracy of fuel economy testing of passenger automobiles and light trucks; and (2) assesses the extent to which fuel economy deteriorates during the lifetime of such vehicles. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 explanatory booklets each year to every dealer and additional numbers if requested. Requires the Secretary to provide for a review and report to the Congress by the National Academy of Sciences on the current state of research and development in light truck fuel economy and passenger automobile fuel economy and an assessment of the potential for improving the fuel efficiency and reducing the energy consumption of passenger automobiles and light trucks. Requires the Secretary of Energy to study and report to the Congress on the future options for regulating the fuel efficiency of such vehicles beyond 2001. Provides for the judicial review of average fuel economy standards (including modifications thereof) established under this Act. Doubles the civil penalty for repeated violations of the fuel economy standard. Requires such penalty to be adjusted for inflation.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 19 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1991
Authorizes expenditures by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for the 102d Congress.
Bill· HRH.R. 706 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1991
National Energy Strategy Act of 1991 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President, as an economic and national security imperative, should: (1) formulate and implement a national energy policy based on achieving a domestic core supply of energy; and (2) work with the Congress in implementing such policy. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the first sale within the United States of imports of: (1) crude oil; (2) refined petroleum products; and (3) petrochemical feedstocks or petrochemical derivatives. Sets the rate of the tax as the difference between $22 per barrel ($24.50 for petroleum and petrochemical products) and the most recently published average price of a barrel of internationally traded oil, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with a specified formula. Treats certain geological and geophysical costs and surface casing costs as intangible drilling and development costs that a taxpayer may elect to capitalize or to deduct for income tax purposes. Exempts oil and gas wells from the application of the net income limitation on percentage depletion. Revises the percentage depletion allowance applicable to oil and gas wells, retaining a 15 percent minimum, but increasing the percentage incrementally (to a maximum of 30 percent) as the average annual removal price falls below $20. Repeals provisions that tax as ordinary income any gains from dispositions of oil, gas, or geothermal wells. Establishes a marginal production income tax credit for producers who maintain economically unproductive oil wells. Applies the credit to domestic crude that is: (1) from stripper well property; (2) heavy oil; or (3) oil recovered through a tertiary recovery method. Fixes the credit at ten percent of the qualified cost (determined in accordance with a formula set forth in this Act) of each barrel produced by the producer during the tax year. Establishes a crude oil and natural gas exploration and development tax credit. Allows a ten percent credit for qualified investments exceeding $1,000,000, 20 percent for those of $1,000,000 or less. Permits the credit as an offset against both minimum tax liability and regular liability. Repeals provisions that identify intangible drilling costs as a tax preference item for purposes of determining alternative minimum tax liability and corporate preference reductions. Allows 50 percent of the marginal production depletion preference (currently the alternative tax energy preference deduction) as a deduction in computing the alternative minimum tax. Increases from 65 to 100 percent the taxable income limitation on the percentage depletion deduction for oil and gas property. Permits a taxpayer to elect to carry forward to the next succeeding taxable year any portion of excess depletion allowances. Permits an income tax credit for investments in qualified clean-burning (natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, or alcohol) motor vehicle fuel property. Permits a 20 percent credit from 1992 through 2001, phasing out the credit in five percent increments annually thereafter to reach zero percent at the end of 2004. Applies the credit to depreciable property that is: (1) equipment designed either to modify a motor vehicle so that it will be propelled only be a clean-burning fuel or to assist in delivering such fuel into such vehicles; or (2) a motor vehicle propelled by clean-burning fuel. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make credit-equivalent payments to States and to local governments in connection with qualified property.
Bill· HRH.R. 693 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1991
Federal Coal Equity Act of 1991 - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing any coal lease: (1) if its issuance would have a significant adverse effect on coal produced from private lands due to the displacement of such coal from historical markets; or (2) to any entity engaged in coal production in a foreign country, or engaged in the importation of such coal into the United States.
Bill· HRH.R. 701 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1991
Naval Petroleum Reserve Leasing Act - Authorizes the President to lease Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1 (California) if it is not necessary for national defense purposes. Sets forth leasing and antitrust guidelines. Mandates the use of competitive leasing procedures, minimum royalty payments, and crude oil set asides for sale to small refiners by Reserve lessees. Authorizes the President to take certain steps to arrange and conduct a leasing action. Authorizes the President to acquire privately owned lands or physical improvements within a Naval Petroleum Reserve if a lease of Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1 cannot be arranged. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to store within the Strategic Petroleum Reserve a Defense Petroleum Inventory of petroleum products (in addition to any other acquisition and storage for such Reserve required by law). Directs the Secretary to obligate the United States share of funds available in the Naval Petroleum Reserve Lease Proceeds Special Account (created by this Act) for the acquisition of 10,000,000 barrels of petroleum products for the Defense Petroleum Inventory. Declares that upon request of the Secretary of Defense: (1) petroleum products acquired for or dedicated to the Defense Petroleum Inventory shall be drawn down and distributed by the Secretary of Energy for the Department of Defense for use, sale, or exchange; and (2) the Secretary of Energy shall acquire and store in the Defense Petroleum Inventory those petroleum products drawn down on behalf of the Department of Defense. Requires the Department of Defense to reimbure the Department of Energy for services rendered under this Act. Establishes the Naval Petroleum Reserve Lease Proceeds Special Account in the Treasury to implement this Act. Funds such Special Account with amounts realized from the lease of any United States interest in Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1. Sets forth a payment scheme under which lease proceeds shall be used to make payments to the State of California. Declares that: (1) the authority to lease under this Act extends to specified sections within Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1; and (2) this Act does not affect the withdrawal of lands provided for in certain school land grants.
Bill· HRH.R. 657 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1991
Commission on Energy Independence Act - Establishes the Commission on Energy Independence to determine the policies and actions necessary for the United States to become as nearly energy independent by the year 2000 as possible. Requires the Commission to report to the Congress on its determinations by a specified deadline. Terminates the Commission after submission of such report. Authorizes appropriations.
Resolution· HCONRESH.Con.Res. 53 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should submit to the Congress a proposed National Energy Policy Plan by a specified deadline. Cites possible national energy goals which the President should consider when establishing national energy objectives and strategies.
Bill· HRH.R. 645 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1991
Radiation Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to affirm State authority to regulate the disposal of certain low-level radioactive waste for which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require disposal in a licensed facility.
Bill· HRH.R. 649 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1991
Amends the Federal Power Act to prohibit the granting of a Federal license for a hydroelectric project unless the applicant complies with all substantive and procedural requirements of the affected State in which the project is located with respect to water acquisition and use. Declares that the Act shall not be construed to constitute a preemption or intent to preempt procedural and substantive State law regarding water rights or water use.
Bill· HRH.R. 647 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1991
Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to direct the President to submit a National Energy Policy Plan biennially to the Congress that will provide for energy self-sufficiency by the year 2000.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 43 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1991
Designates membership on the following committees of the House of Representatives: (1) Agriculture; (2) Armed Services; (3) Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs; (4) the Budget; (5) the District of Columbia; (6) Education and Labor; (7) Energy and Commerce; (8) Foreign Affairs; (9) Government Operations; (10) House Administration; (11) Interior and Insular Affairs; (12) the Judiciary; (13) Merchant Marine and Fisheries; (14) Post Office and Civil Service; (15) Public Works and Transportation; (16) Science, Space, and Technology; (17) Small Business; and (18) Veterans' Affairs.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 44 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1991
Designates membership on the following committees of the House of Representatives: (1) Agriculture; (2) Armed Services; (3) Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs; (4) the Budget; (5) the District of Columbia; (6) Education and Labor; (7) Energy and Commerce; (8) Government Operations; (9) House Administration; (10) Interior and Insular Affairs; (11) the Judiciary; (12) Merchant Marine and Fisheries; (13) Post Office and Civil Service; (14) Public Works and Transportation; (15) Science, Space, and Technology; (16) Small Business; and (17) Veterans' Affairs.
Law· SS. 258 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1991
Amends the Solar, Wind, Waste, and Geothermal Power Production Incentives Act of 1990 to decrease from 80 megawatts to 30 megawatts the size limitations placed upon solar, wind, and geothermal facilities eligible for regulatory benefits under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978.
Bill· HRH.R. 612 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1991
Motor Vehicle Fuel Conservation Act of 1991 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to establish average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and automobiles other than passenger automobiles (light trucks) for model years 1996 and thereafter. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary), to modify such standards for model year 1996 and thereafter. Directs the Secretary, in response to petitions filed at least 12 months in advance of the model year, to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether to increase or decrease such standard to a level that is the maximum feasible average fuel economy for that model year, except that such standard shall not be reduced below a level equal to the average fuel economy achieved by the manufacturer of such vehicle for model year 1988, as multiplied by a specified percentage. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report annually to specified congressional committees on a study which: (1) examines the accuracy of fuel economy testing of passenger automobiles and light trucks; and (2) assesses the extent to which fuel economy deteriorates during the lifetime of such vehicles. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 explanatory booklets each year to every dealer and additional numbers if requested. Requires the Secretary to provide for a review and report to the Congress by the National Academy of Sciences of the current state of research and development in light truck fuel economy and passenger automobile fuel economy and an assessment of the potential for improving the fuel efficiency and reducing the energy consumption of passenger automobiles and light trucks. Requires the Secretary of Energy to study and report to the Congress on the future options for regulating the fuel efficiency of such vehicles beyond 2001. Provides for the judicial review of average fuel economy standards (including modifications) established under this Act. Doubles the civil penalty for repeated violations of the fuel economy standard. Requires such penalty to be adjusted for inflation.
Bill· HRH.R. 616 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1991
Mid-Dakota Rural Water System Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior for: (1) the planning and construction of a rural water treatment and distribution system in portions of specified counties in South Dakota (to be known as the Mid-Dakota Rural Water System); (2) the Untreated Water, Treated Water, and Constructed Wetlands Components of the Wetland Development and Enhancement Component of the System; (3) the South Dakota Wetland Trust; and (4) the Wetland Development and Enhancement Component of the System. Prohibits the Secretary from obligating any Federal funds for the construction of such System until the Secretary finds that appropriate non-Federal interests have implemented water conservation programs throughout the System's service area. Provides that mitigation for fish and wildlife losses incurred as a result of the construction and operation of the System shall be on an acre-for-acre basis, based on ecological equivalency, concurrent with project construction. Directs the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration to make available, from power designated for future irrigation and drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program and subject to certain conditions, the capacity and energy required to meet the pumping requirements of such System. Authorizes the use of and connection to Government facilities at the Oahe power house and pumping plant for purposes of a water supply for the System. Provides for the establishment of a Wetlands Trust, to be administered by the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Foundation. States that the Trust shall be operated to preserve, enhance, restore, and manage wetlands in South Dakota. Sets forth authorized uses of Trust income.
Bill· SS. 241 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1991
States Solid Waste Regulatory Authority Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize each State to enact and enforce laws: (1) regulating the treatment, disposal, and other disposition of solid waste within such State, including imposing fees; and (2) banning the importation of solid waste beginning five years after enactment of this Act if the State has an approved solid waste management plan. Authorizes two or more States to negotiate an agreement or compact, not in conflict with a Federal law or treaty, to provide for the treatment, disposal, or other disposition of solid waste (but no such agreement or compact shall take effect until approved by the Congress). Requires State solid waste management plans to require that the State: (1) identify the amount of solid wastes by waste type that are reasonably expected to be generated within the State or accepted from another State during the ten-year period following enactment of this Act; (2) identify the amount of solid waste to be reduced during such ten-year period through source reduction, recycling, and resource recovery; and (3) establish a process to assure the availability of solid waste treatment, storage, and disposal (including recycling) facilities permitted under such Act. Requires a State, when identifying the amount of solid waste management capacity necessary for the solid waste identified, to take into account solid waste management compacts in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act within the State and one or more States. Requires that a State solid waste management plan: (1) require laws, regulations, and ordinances for the development of new and expanded solid waste management facilities, including the establishment of a process for the siting, and a schedule for the approval and construction, of such facilities; (2) describe solid waste management practices and programs, based on the State's environmental and economic conditions, that promote source reduction and recycling; (3) identify existing State and regional markets for recyclable materials and actions that the State will take to promote and develop recycling markets; (4) provide for a program requiring all solid waste management facilities to register with the State and that only registered facilities may manage solid waste identified in the plan; (5) provide for technical and financial assistance to local communities to meet plan requirements; and (6) specify the conditions under which the State will authorize a person to accept solid waste from other States, for purposes of solid waste management other than transportation, and ensure that such waste is managed in accordance with the plan and that acceptance of such waste will not impede the ability of the State of final destination to manage solid waste generated within its borders. Expresses the intention of such Act and the planning process developed pursuant to such Act that determinations regarding the need for, or size of, waste-to-energy facilities for solid waste management not interfere with the achievement, to the maximum extent possible, of the objectives and policies of such Act. Sets forth additional plan requirements, unless the State demonstrates that their inclusion is impracticable, including: (1) a policy requiring the State and its political subdivisions to procure products made with recyclable materials; (2) a program to encourage composting; (3) a system for curbside pickup of source-separated materials or separation at recycling facilities, or both; and (4) a policy requiring that recyclable materials from residences, commercial establishments, and office buildings in solid waste be separated, to the maximum extent economically practicable, prior to treatment or disposal in solid waste management facilities and requiring the imposition of a surcharge on tipping fees for solid waste from commercial establishments or office buildings that is not source-separated before delivery to a landfill, waste-to-energy facility, or waste treatment facility. Requires States to submit plans for approval within six months of the enactment of this Act. Specifies that if the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency fails to act on a State plan within six months after submission, such plan shall become effective and shall remain in effect as submitted subject to review by the Administrator.
Bill· HRH.R. 560 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
National Energy Policy Act of 1991 - Title I: Provisions Related To Fuel Economy Standards - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to prescribe minimum average fuel economy standards for passenger and non-passenger automobiles manufactured in model years 1996 through 2000, and 2001 and beyond. Requires a 20 percent increase in average fuel economy over model year 1988 by 2000, and a 40 percent increase thereafter. Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of Transportation may consider petitions to modify such standards. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (the Administrator) to conduct an ongoing study of the accuracy of fuel economy testing of passenger automobiles as compared to actual performance under average driving conditions. Requires the Administrator to report study results annually to certain congressional committees. Requires the Secretary of Energy to annually distribute at least 100 fuel economy data booklets to each dealer, and as many as are additionally requested. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to report to the Congress the results of a National Academy of Sciences: (1) review of the current state of research and development in the fuel economy of light trucks and passenger automobiles; and (2) assessment of the remaining potential for improving their fuel efficiency and reducing their energy consumption. Doubles the civil penalties for repeated violations of average fuel economy standards. Title II: Other Provisions Related to Energy Conservation and Provisions Related to Energy Research and Development - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to provide that the rates allowed to be charged by a State-regulated electric utility shall be such that its investments in and expenditures for energy conservation, energy efficiency resources, and other demand side management measures are at least as profitable as its investments in and expenditures for the construction of new generation facilities. Requires the Secretary of Energy to report to the Congress and the President regarding a survey of State rules and policies under which State regulatory authorities: (1) require or permit gas and electric utilities to recover their investments in end-use energy efficiency improvements and their lost net revenues from the reduced energy sales caused by such improvements; and (2) assign a positive dollar value to environmental costs and benefits when evaluating gas and electric utilities' resource planning and acquisition processes. Requires such report to evaluate to what extent each State has adopted regulatory and incentive policies to ensure that end-use energy efficiency improvements will compete on equal terms with additional energy production for gas and electric utilities' future investments in energy supply. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996 for: (1) energy conservation; (2) solar and alternative energy; (3) enhanced oil recovery; and (4) fuel cells. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize appropriations for the alternative fuels bus program from for FY 1992 through 1996. Directs the Secretary of Energy to provide funding for the purchase of alternative-fueled vehicles by State and local government agencies as well as by private entities. Sets forth a percentage schedule for Federal purchase of alternative-fueled vehicles. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on implementation of the alternative-fueled vehicle purchase program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996 for: (1) energy conservation programs for schools and hospitals; and (2) the weatherization assistance program. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a revolving loan fund for loans to Federal agencies to implement the Federal energy management program. Requires loan recipients to give priority to reducing the use of refined petroleum products. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996. Title III: Provisions Related to Increased Petroleum Production Capacity - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to direct the Secretary of Energy to: (1) take expedited measures so that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will have an increased petroleum storage capacity for one billion barrels of petroleum product by September 30, 1996 (including the acquisition and leasing of private capacity); and (2) continue acquisition, transportation, storage, and injection activities until the quantity of petroleum product in the Reserve is two billion barrels by the end of FY 2002. Directs the President to report to the Congress on Western Hemisphere cooperation in energy production and conservation. Title IV: Provisions Related to Duties and Taxes - Amends the Additional U.S. Notes to chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to direct the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy to determine offset amounts (the difference between $16 and any lower weighted average international price of a barrel of crude petroleum), according to prescribed guidelines. Authorizes the President to exempt petroleum goods from any Western Hemisphere country from offset amounts if the President considers that the exemption would foster cooperation among the other Western Hemisphere countries with respect to energy resources development and utilization. (This provides for an automatic increase in import duties on petroleum and petroleum products to make up for any drops in the weighted average international price of a barrel of crude petroleum below $16.) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe gasoline tax rates in lieu of certain fuel deficit reduction rates for any month in which certain gasoline tax rates are in effect. Sets forth rate guidelines. (This provides for a standby contingency gasoline conservation tax if the price of crude oil falls below a certain average real price of crude petroleum. Sets a ceiling on any such tax increase equal to one-half of the price fall.) Imposes a tax for the removal of crude oil from specified Federal and State Outer Continental Shelf, submerged lands, or other lands subject to competitive lease. Excepts the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from such tax. Declares that gross income shall not include certain energy and water conservation subsidies provided consumers by public utilities. Establishes the Energy Security Trust Fund to implement this Act. Establishes as a separate account in such Fund the "Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Account" to implement the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981.
Bill· SS. 236 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 1991
Title I: Short Title - End of the Cold War Act of 1991. Title II: Elimination of Ideological Restrictions and Lists - Finds that during the Cold War the United States maintained lists of foreign persons (Lookout Lists) with unacceptable opinions in order to exclude such persons from entry into the United States. Finds that the United States also made it a criminal offense to express opinions concerning the desirability of revolution even when the person in no way incited persons or conspired to commit any criminal offense. Requires the Government to delete from any Lookout Lists the names of any aliens listed because of any past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that would be lawful within the United States. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make excludable from entry into the United States any alien whose entry or activities would have a serious adverse foreign policy consequence for the United States. Prohibits exclusion under such Act due to past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that would be lawful within the United States. Title III: Unification of United States Diplomacy - Requires the transfer to the Secretary of State of all the functions, powers, and duties of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Requires the President, as part of his annual budget submission to the Congress, to include an aggregate amount of budget outlays for the prior fiscal year for national and tactical intelligence activities, including intelligence activities carried out by the Department of Defense. Title IV: Prohibition on Channeling or Diverting Funds to Carry Out Activities for Which United States Assistance is Prohibited - Provides that whenever a provision of U.S. law prohibits all U.S. assistance from being provided to a specified foreign country, region, government, group, or individual, then no officer or employee of the executive branch may: (1) hold, use, or transfer funds for such purpose; (2) use any funds or facilities to assist any transaction whereby a foreign government or person or U.S. person provides such funds; or (3) provide any U.S. assistance to any third party in order to carry out such banned activities. Provides criminal and civil penalties for such prohibited action. Requires the President to notify the Congress whenever such a prohibition exists and any executive branch officer or employee advocates, promotes, or encourages the provision of funds or property by any foreign government, foreign person, or U.S. person for similar activities. Title V: Environmental Compliance - Federal Government Environmental Compliance Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to undertake a comprehensive review of existing environmental practices and procedures within the Departments of Defense and Energy and to report to the Congress on the degree to which facilities of such Departments are in compliance with existing State and Federal environmental statutes. Requires the Administrator to notify the Secretaries of Defense and Energy of his findings. Requires such Secretaries to: (1) report to the Congress all previous and ongoing violations of State and Federal environmental regulations; (2) report such violations to all relevant States and municipalities; and (3) submit to the Congress a comprehensive plan for bringing their departments into compliance with such regulations. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 231 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 1991
Prohibits the following actions until the President makes a specified certification to the Congress under this Act: (1) the financing of exports to the Soviet Union by the Export-Import Bank; (2) the financing of agricultural commodities to the Soviet Union contracted for or approved after January 16, 1991, by the Commodity Credit Corporation; (3) the granting of most-favored-nation treatment to the Soviet Union and the effectuation of any commercial agreement with the Soviet Union; (4) the approval for export to the Soviet Union of any item controlled for national security purposes under any agreement reached after January 16, 1991, with the Coordinating Committee on Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) which liberalizes such controls; and (5) the waiver or modification of restrictions contained in the Charter of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) applicable to loans to the Soviet Union and the support of EBRD loans to the Soviet Union. Suspends the U.S.-Soviet energy working group and technical assistance in energy, science, and technology to the Soviet Union until the certification is made. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should not attend the summit meeting with the President of the Soviet Union scheduled for February 1991; (2) the President should extend recognition to the democratically-elected governments of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and should exchange ambassadors with such governments; and (3) the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the U.S. executive directors of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to oppose the granting of special association status to the Soviet Union. Describes the certification referred to in this Act as a certification that: (1) the Soviet Union has ceased the threat and use of force against the Baltic States; (2) the central Soviet Government has entered into negotiations with the Baltic governments leading to the formal recognition of independence of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia; and (3) all Soviet-controlled troops have been withdrawn from such nations.
Bill· SS. 220 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1991
Cofiring Promotion Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) implement a research and demonstration program of cofiring (of natural gas and coal) in utility and large industrial boilers in order to determine optimal natural gas injection levels for environmental and operational benefits; and (2) provide financial assistance for half the costs of such cofiring technology projects. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 536 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1991
Coastal States Extension Act of 1991 - Amends the Submerged Lands Act to extend from three nautical miles to 12 nautical miles the territorial sea boundaries of the coastal States, the Great Lake States, and the Gulf of Mexico States. Provides that leases executed under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that cover an area within the newly expanded territorial sea boundaries shall remain in effect until they expire under their original terms. Precludes a State affected by the expanded territorial sea boundaries from granting a lease within such boundaries until the Secretary of Commerce determines that such State has an approved coastal zone management program in accordance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972.
Bill· SS. 210 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1991
Comprehensive Uranium Act of 1991 - Title I - Uranium Enrichment Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to repeal the existing statutory contracting requirements applicable to uranium enrichment enterprises. Establishes the United States Enrichment Corporation as a wholly-owned Government corporation to conduct uranium marketing and enrichment activities as a commercial, profitable, self-financing enterprise. Sets forth the Corporation's corporate office and powers and vests its management in an Administrator (appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate). Grants the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) general supervision over such Administrator only with respect to national security and health and environmental concerns. Establishes a Corporate Board whose members shall be appointed by the President, and who shall advise the Administrator and the Secretary regarding Corporation matters. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) Corporation personnel; (2) certain property transfers from the Department of Energy (DOE); (3) the Corporation's capital structure; and (4) Corporation pricing policies, including user charges for decommissioning, decontamination, and remedial activities. Requires the Corporation to make annual status reports to certain congressional committees, the President, and the Secretary. Prescribes licensing and taxation guidelines for the Corporation. Sets guidelines for payments in lieu of taxes by the Corporation to States and local governments. Requires the Administrator to make recommendations to the President and the Congress by specified dates regarding the transfer of the Corporation's functions and assets to private ownership. Establishes the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund to cover the Corporation's decommissioning and decontamination expenses. Applies Federal environmental and occupational safety and health law to the Corporation as though it were privately owned. Exempts the Corporation from sequestration because the maximum deficit amount has been exceeded under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Prohibits the Corporation's total FY 1991 expenditures from exceeding its total FY 1991 receipts. Title II: Uranium - Subtitle A: Short Title, Findings and Purposes, Definitions - Uranium Security and Tailings Reclamation Act of 1991 - Sets forth findings, purposes, and definitions of this title. Subtitle B: Uranium Revitalization - Directs the Corporation to establish for a minimum five-year period a voluntary overfeeding program to be made available to its enrichment services customers. ("Overfeeding" means the use of uranium in the enrichment process in excess of the amount required at the transactional tails assay, thus reducing customers' power costs). Provides that the resultant savings shall be credited to such customers. Establishes the National Strategic Uranium Reserve, consisting of 50,000,000 pounds of natural uranium, to be restricted to military purposes and Government research under the control of the Secretary. Confers continuing responsibility upon the Secretary for promotion of the domestic uranium industry, but without using any supervisory authority over the Corporation. Directs the Secretary to develop recommendations and implement Government programs promoting domestic uranium exports. Restricts all uranium purchases by Federal entities to uranium purchased from domestic producers. Exempts the Tennessee Valley Authority from such restriction. Subtitle C: Remedial Action for Active Processing Sites - Provides that remedial action costs, such as decontamination, decommissioning, and reclamation at an active uranium or thorium processing site, shall be borne by specified licensees for any activity resulting in byproduct material. Sets forth a reimbursement schedule for: (1) individual active site uranium licensees; (2) all active site uranium licensees; and (3) thorium licensees. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations governing such reimbursement. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 215 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1991
Energy Security Tax Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the first sale within the United States of imports of: (1) crude oil; (2) refined petroleum products; and (3) petrochemical feedstocks or petrochemical derivatives. Sets the rate of the tax at the difference between $20 per barrel ($22.50 for petroleum and petrochemical products) and the most recently published average price of a barrel of internationally traded oil, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with a specified formula.
Bill· SS. 209 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Michigan Scenic Rivers Act of 1991 - Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain rivers in Michigan as components of or potential additions to the national wild and scenic rivers system. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire fee title to lands which, as of August 1, 1990, were owned by Upper Peninsula Energy Corporation without regard to any acreage limitation set forth in this Act. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to study certain rivers for possible designations as wild and scenic rivers and to establish, for each such river, a River Study Committee to advise him in the preparation of a study report to the Congress. Terminates each such Committee after submission of its report. Permits the installation and operation of facilities or other activities within or outside the boundaries of such designated river segments for the control of the lamprey eel, subject to such restrictions and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe for the protection of water quality and other values (including wild and scenic characteristics) of the river. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 141 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the energy credit for solar and geothermal property until December 31, 1996 (currently, such credit expires on December 31, 1991).
Bill· SS. 106 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Federal Power Act to prohibit the granting of a Federal license for a hydroelectric project unless the applicant complies with all substantive and procedural requirements of the affected State in which the project is located with respect to water acquisition and use. Declares that the Act shall not be construed to constitute a preemption or intent to preempt procedural and substantive State law regarding water rights or water use.
Bill· SS. 201 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
World Environment Policy Act of 1991 - Title I: Establishment of the Council on World Environmental Policy - Requires the President to establish a Council on World Environmental Policy to replace the existing Council on Environmental Quality and to be chaired by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Outlines the duties of the Council, including: (1) the submission to the Congress of a Strategic Plan for coordinating policy responses to world environmental problems; (2) the advisement of the President and the Congress on the effects of U.S. policy on such problems; (3) the publication of an annual report detailing the Nation's progress toward meeting the goals of the Plan; and (4) the implementation by all Federal agencies of criteria to minimize the impact of Federal policies on the world environment. Authorizes the President to appoint a United States Environmental Negotiator to represent the United States in negotiations relevant to global environmental issues. Title II: Research, Development of Policy Responses, and Promotion of Public Awareness - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should participate in and support the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP); and (2) the President should periodically, but not less than biennially, transmit to the Congress a plan for U.S. participation in such program. Declares that: (1) the Antarctic region is a critical area in the study of global change; and (2) the United States should support the development of an Antarctic research component to IGBP to include specific recommendations of the ad hoc Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Council of Scientific Unions. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the preservation of Antarctica as a global ecological commons. States that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mission to Planet Earth initiative should enjoy public and congressional support. Expresses the sense of the Congress concerning steps to be taken by the United States with respect to global and domestic environmental issues. Requires the Council to direct Federal agencies to identify existing technologies and develop new technologies to mitigate the effects of global warming. Establishes an Advisory Committee on Response Strategies to provide scientific and technical advice to the Council and the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences. Requires the Council to collaborate with other industrialized countries to establish an international research effort to assess and develop environmentally benign response strategies to global warming. Directs the United States Environmental Negotiator to devise funding mechanisms to ensure that the technologies to implement the response strategies are available when necessitated by climate change. Title III: Carbon Dioxide Offsets Policy Enabling Act - C02 Offsets Policy Enabling Act of 1991 - Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit new major sources of carbon dioxide from operating without a permit issued under this Act. Requires new stationary sources to: (1) obtain certified carbon dioxide credits; (2) demonstrate possession of certified credits equal to one year's expected carbon dioxide emissions to the permitting authority before commencing operation; and (3) deposit annually with the permitting authority sufficient credits to compensate for the year's carbon dioxide emissions. Provides that the receipt by the permitting authority of carbon dioxide offset credits shall be a condition of any permit. Directs new sources that use biomass as a fuel to obtain credits sufficient to offset only the fossil fuel used in production of the biomass. Requires new sources that use trees as fuel to obtain credits for all carbon dioxide emissions. Directs new major sources emitting excess carbon dioxide to obtain credits as soon as practicable and to pay a penalty of $250 per ton of excess carbon dioxide. Adjusts such penalty annually according to percentage changes in the Consumer Price Index. Authorizes a permitting authority to certify carbon dioxide reductions as offset credits if the person providing the reduction or purchasing the credit is in compliance with regulations under this Act. Directs the Administrator of the EPA to establish regulations concerning the certification of stationary source carbon dioxide reductions. Requires the Administrator to promulgate rules establishing carbon dioxide fixation rates. Directs the Administrator to promulgate rules concerning the certification of: (1) carbon dioxide credits from fleet vehicle fuel efficiency improvements beyond the applicable Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency requirement; (2) carbon dioxide credits from appliance efficiency improvements beyond the minimum required under the National Appliance Energy Conservation Amendments; (3) carbon dioxide credits for energy conservation investments; (4) carbon dioxide equivalent credits from the capture and use of coalbed methane; (5) carbon dioxide credits created by construction of cogeneration facilities; and (6) carbon dioxide equivalent credit for the capture and destruction of chlorofluorocarbons. Requires the Administrator to establish regulations identifying the carbon dioxide credits to be granted by fuel switches to less carbon intensive fuels for mobile sources. Authorizes the Administrator to provide for expedited certification of carbon dioxide credits. Requires the Administrator to establish a baseline for sources subject to certification, to be set according to actual performances of such sources during 1990. Authorizes reductions in air pollutants that contribute to global warming to be certified as carbon dioxide offset credits if such reductions meet regulation criteria, except that the amounts of such credits may be reduced or increased based on radiative differences and atmospheric lifetime to reflect the global warming potential of such air pollutants. Requires the Administrator to establish the minimum elements of a permit program to be administered by any air pollution control agency. Requires State Governors to submit permit programs to the Administrator for approval. Directs the Administrator to enforce programs for States failing to make such submission. Requires permits to set forth inspection, entry, monitoring, compliance certification, and reporting requirements. Directs the Administrator to create a National Carbon Dioxide Offset Bank to ensure adequate supplies of carbon dioxide offsets and to create procedures for the tracking and retirement of used credits. Title IV: Phase-Out of Anthropogenic Emissions that Degrade the Environment - Expresses the sense of the Senate that it should be U.S. policy to: (1) urge the parties to the Montreal Protocol to meet on an annual basis and to amend the Protocol in light of scientific and technical developments; (2) join countries committed to phasing out domestic production of chlorofluorocarbons no later than 1997; (3) call for an amendment to the Protocol for phasing out hydrochlorofluorocarbons by 2030; (4) accelerate development and implementation of safe alternatives to ozone-depleting substances; and (5) contribute to efforts to make financial, scientific, and technical resources available to the developing world to enable developing countries to implement post-ozone depleting technologies. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require State solid waste management plans to provide for methods or technologies to minimize emissions of methane and other gases during operation and after closure. Provides that plans that fail to meet such requirements shall be disapproved. Requires all facilities subject to subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act to be designed and operated, by January 1, 1995, to minimize emissions of methane and other pollutants. Requires: (1) all sewage treatment facilities constructed after January 1, 1992, to be designed and operated to minimize methane emissions; and (2) existing facilities to be modified before January 1, 1995, to minimize emissions of methane and other pollutants. Prohibits mass releases and flaring of methane after 1995. Title V: Fuel Economy - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe a gas guzzler tax schedule applicable to 1990 and later model year automobiles. Sets forth a tax credit schedule for the purchase of certain fuel efficient passenger vehicles. Title VI: Waste Minimization and Recycling - National Recyclable Commodities Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Bureau of Recyclable Commodities within the Department of Commerce to promote the use of recovered materials diverted from solid waste. Requires the Secretary to gather and publish statistics on solid waste and specified recovered materials. Provides for the annual updating of such statistics. Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate between six and ten multi-State regions for the purpose of regional data collection; and (2) collect and compile statistics for such regions. Requires the Secretary to revise the standard industrial classification system, as necessary, to facilitate the collection of statistics and other information on recycling and related activities. Requires the Secretary to identify and, to the extent practicable, standardize: (1) the types and grades of recovered and compostable materials covered under this Act that qualify as recovered materials; (2) the technical specifications applied to the use of recyclable commodities as raw materials or feedstocks for recycling; and (3) the test methods used in determining whether materials meet specifications that apply to each commodity. Provides for the periodic revision of types and grades, as necessary. Authorizes the Secretary to assign solid waste materials to multiple types and grades. Requires the periodic revision of specifications and test methods to ensure continuing conformance to industry recycling standards. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory panel to support the identification of specifications and test methods for recyclable materials. Permits industries or local governments engaged in recycling activities to petition the Secretary for the revision of grades, specifications, or test methods to prevent or minimize interference with current recycling techniques. Requires the Secretary to issue a recycling advisory to potentially affected parties if a physical or chemical property or contaminant of a recyclable material is not adequately addressed by specifications or test methods and is interfering with: (1) current recycling techniques; (2) marketing of recycled goods manufactured from the material; or (3) handling of the recyclable material prior to recycling. Makes such advisories available to the public. Directs the Secretary to make reports available to the public, at least on a quarterly basis, on prevailing market prices for recovered materials. Requires the Secretary to make reports available to the public, at least annually, on: (1) the prevailing national recycling rate for each recovered material; and (2) the technical and economic factors that may influence future foreign and domestic markets for recovered materials. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the potential for expanded recycling of recoverable paper and paperboard, lead scrap, rubber scrap, plastic scrap, aluminum scrap, ferrous and nonferrous scrap, waste glass, and yard and food waste. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations requiring labeling on the recyclability and composition of nondurable goods. Sets deadlines for the promulgation of such regulations, requiring regulations for all covered items within four years of this Act's enactment. Directs the Secretary to take specified factors into consideration when determining the recyclability of an item. Sets forth label requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to establish an alternative label requirement if such alternative conveys information equivalent to labels required by this Act. Directs the Secretary to publish a standardized, national recyclability seal to further assist purchasers in identifying recyclable packaging, containers, and nondurable goods. Authorizes the Secretary, when a person is in violation of labeling requirements, to: (1) issue a recall order requiring the removal of the item from sale or distribution in commerce; or (2) commence a civil action against such person. Permits the assessment of civil penalties for noncompliance with an order. Directs the Secretary to establish a task force for developing a plan to transfer responsibility for the promulgation of procurement guidelines from the EPA to the Department of Commerce. Directs the Secretary to issue and periodically revise guidelines for the use of agencies in complying with this Act. Requires such guidelines to set forth information concerning the procurement of recovered items. Sets deadlines for the issuance of guidelines for specified items. Directs the Secretary to review biennially and increase the minimum recycled content standards for procured materials. Requires procuring agencies which procure items designated in the guidelines to procure items composed of the highest percentage of recycled content practicable or which are in conformance with minimum content standards issued by the Secretary. Makes exceptions to such requirements if procurement items: (1) are not reasonably available within a reasonable period of time; (2) fail to meet performance standards set forth in specifications or standards of the procuring agencies; or (3) are only available at an unreasonable price. States that an unreasonable price is one which exceeds the price of alternative items by more than ten percent (except with respect to certain paper goods). Requires contracting offices at procuring agencies to require vendors to: (1) certify that the percentage of recycled content used in the contract will be at least the amount required by specifications or contractual requirements; and (2) estimate the percentage of the total material to be used in the contract which is recycled. Applies such requirements to contracts in which the purchase price of procurement items exceeds $10,000. Directs procuring agencies to develop affirmative procurement programs to assure that items composed of recovered materials will be purchased to the maximum extent practicable. Requires such agencies to: (1) adopt procedures equivalent to those specified in the guidelines and to set equivalent minimum content standards; and (2) maintain records on types, quantities, and percentages of items composed of recycled content which are purchased or contracted for by the agency and report such statistics annually to the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on actions taken by Federal agencies to implement such procurement policies. Repeals a provision of the Solid Waste Disposal Act concerning Federal procurement of recovered materials. Requires the Secretary to develop a program to promote the export of recovered materials for recycling by foreign industries. Directs the Secretary to make available to the public information identifying potential foreign buyers of recovered materials. Requires the Secretary to develop a program to promote the export of recycled goods produced in the United States. Directs the Secretary to integrate this program with existing programs promoting such exports. Requires the Secretary to publish and make available to the public statistics and information on recycling and related activities collected pursuant to this Act on a cost-reimbursable basis. Requires the Secretary to conduct a national advertising campaign that promotes recycling and the purchase of recycled goods. Authorizes the Secretary to publish recycling rates for specific recovered materials and for types of containers, packaging, or goods. Directs the Secretary to make grants to accredited institutions of higher education to establish at least four to six recycling research centers in the United States. Requires the Secretary to establish such centers equitably among the regions of the United States. Directs each center to carry out at least one project relating to research on the composting of yard waste, food waste, or recoverable paper and paperboard. Authorizes such centers, as necessary to conduct research, to enter into contracts with: (1) persons involved in recycling activities; (2) State and local governments; and (3) nonprofit private entities which are exempt from Federal taxation. Limits the Federal share of grants to 80 percent of the total cost of establishing and operating the research center. Prohibits the use of such grants for the acquisition of real property or for building construction. Requires at least 40 percent of the funds made available to each center to be allocated to projects performed jointly by the center and local governments with expertise in areas critical to such research. Sets forth grant selection criteria. Requires the Secretary to establish a program for the source separation and collection of materials contained in solid waste from Federal agencies. Directs the Secretary to issue guidelines for such program. Requires Federal office facilities with more than 25 workers to carry out such programs. Provides for the retention by a Federal agency of any funds received from the sale of collected materials and any savings in solid waste disposal costs resulting from the implementation of such programs. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct an independent technical assessment of any product specification or standard that may: (1) disfavor the use of a recovered material as a substitute for comparable virgin feedstocks or raw materials in the manufacture of the product; and (2) have a substantial adverse impact on existing or potential markets for the recovered material. Prohibits the Secretary from reviewing specifications or standards established by individual firms or persons. Requires the Secretary to: (1) publish and make available to the public the findings of the technical assessment; and (2) provide to interested parties information and technical assistance to remove barriers to recycled goods through the standard-setting process. Permits industries or local governments engaged in recycling activities to petition for an independent technical assessment of any specification or standard. Requires the Secretary to establish an interagency working group to assist in the development of regulations and guidelines and the collection of information required by this Act. Sets forth provisions concerning judicial review of final regulations. Title VII: Financing of Certain Solid Waste Disposal Facilities - National Recyclable Commodities Financing Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the issuance of tax-exempt facility bonds for qualified recycling facilities. Exempts such government-owned facilities from a volume cap. Allows an investment tax credit for certain remanufacturing equipment. Title VIII: Conservation Data - Conservation Data Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to provide, by contract, for the establishment of a biological diversity conservation data network. Limits the total amount of funds for contracts and requires Federal funds to be matched by State or private funds. Requires: (1) at least 80 percent of funds appropriated for such contracts to be available for grants for Natural Heritage Programs; and (2) at least 25 percent of funds for such programs to be for biological surveys. Sets forth required network functions and contract application procedures. Requires the Secretary to establish a unit within the Department of the Interior to: (1) administer the contract; (2) provide for an annual audit of funds; (3) review the biological diversity conservation data network; (4) promote the use by Federal agencies of biological diversity conservation data; and (5) report to the Congress on the general knowledge of the conservation status of elements of biological diversity. Directs the Secretary to publish reports on the conservation status of elements of biological diversity. Authorizes appropriations. Title IX: Assistance to International Family Planning Organizations - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should provide funds for family planning to organizations operating in foreign countries, provided that such organizations can guarantee that no U.S. funds will be used to pay for performing abortions. Provides that the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall be understood to permit U.S. funds to support family planning in foreign countries. Title X: The World Bank and Sustainable Economic Development - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into discussions with the president of the World Bank and with officials of the governments of other major contributors to the Bank to work out guidelines for advance disclosure of prospective bank loans prior to their approval within the Bank. Requires the President to instruct U.S. representatives to the Bank to request that all future energy-sector lending for new energy supplies be contingent on a finding that the quantity of services specified in the loan proposal could not be delivered at the same or lower cost by improving the efficiency of energy use. Title XI: Replanting and Conserving the World's Forests - Sets forth congressional findings on tropical wood. Directs the Secretary of State to enter into negotiations with Japan and the European Communities to: (1) reach agreement on a Phased Tropical Hardwoods Agreement to restrain consumption of tropical hardwoods; and (2) establish an international agreement in support of a special Tropical Forest Conservation Lending Facility to be vested within the World Bank and to finance regimes of sustained yield management for tropical woods. Sets forth congressional findings on global deforestation. Requires the Director of AID to: (1) prepare an assessment of the potential for, and the costs of, raising the productivity of small-holders of land on a country specific basis; (2) frame proposals for the expansion of regional microenterprise lending focused on small-holding agriculture in environmentally stressed regions, to be supported by the World Bank; and (3) prepare an estimate of the full global potential for reforestation, its impact on regional ecological and economic problems, its effect on the global carbon balance, its estimated costs, and a proposal for sharing such costs with the international community. Sets forth congressional findings on the preservation of the Amazon Basin. Encourages the Brazilian Government to begin a process of international consultation toward a program for resource conservation in such Basin. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of State should intensify efforts to achieve international collaboration to afford Brazil the resources to preserve the rain forest, should Brazil invite such a program; and (2) members of the international community should reassess their investment policies to assure that they do not contribute to the accelerated destruction of such Basin's rain forest. Directs U.S. directors of multilateral development banks and other development assistance institutions to urge restraint pending the development of an approach which blends Brazil's requirements for national development with global environmental imperatives. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the rain forest of Sarawak, Malaysia. Declares that it should be U.S. policy to call upon the Government of: (1) Malaysia to act immediately to end the uncontrolled exploitation of the rain forests of Sarawak and to formally recognize and uphold the customary land rights and internationally established human rights of all its indigenous peoples; and (2) Japan to investigate the activities of certain of that country's private corporations in contributing to the destruction of the Sarawak rain forest and to the culture of the indigenous people of Sarawak. Title XII: Nobel Prize - Expresses the sense of the Congress that it should be U.S. policy to urge the Nobel Commission to consider awarding a Nobel Prize for achievements in preservation of the world environment. Title XIII: International Cooperation - Directs the President to request the United Nations to establish a temporary new agency, to be headed by the director of the United Nations Environmental Program, to: (1) coordinate international efforts to minimize and mitigate the effects of unavoidable environmental alterations; and (2) provide financial, technical, and other assistance to developing nations to facilitate improvements in their standard of living while minimizing or eliminating their contributions to global, continental, and subcontinental scale environmental damage. Directs the President to request the United Nations to establish a temporary program of forestation to: (1) assist and encourage nations in halting activities that are destroying forests; and (2) undertake a global reforestation program. Requires the President to instruct U.S. representatives to other bilateral and multilateral organizations to assure that the activities of such organizations are consistent with this Act's goals and objectives. Title XIV: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 130 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act to prohibit a State from licensing a regional low-level radioactive waste disposal facility within 50 miles of another State's border unless the bordering State's legislature approves such site.
Bill· SS. 125 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Deems the Strategic Target System program conducted by the Sandia National Laboratories of the Department of Energy at the Kauai Test Facility of the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, to be a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
Bill· SS. 172 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1991
Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make specified payments to municipalities providing Indian public housing with related services and facilities (roads, water, electricity).