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Law· SS. 1505 (104th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 22 December 1995
Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1995 - Amends Federal natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety transportation law to revise the exclusion from the meaning of the term "transporting gas" (thus from coverage by such law) of the gathering of gas in a rural area outside a populated, non-rural area to specified locations outside the limits of any incorporated or unincorporated city, town, or village. Extends coverage, however, to the movement of gas through regulated lines, regardless of location. (Sec. 4) Repeals the mandate that Federal minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities to include a requirement that all individuals responsible for the operation and maintenance of pipeline facilities be tested for their qualifications. Requires only that they be qualified. Requires such qualifications to address the ability to recognize and react to abnormal operating conditions that may indicate a dangerous situation or a condition exceeding design limits. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, in prescribing minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities, to: (1) consider compliance costs and any comments and recommendations received; (2) prepare a risk assessment document assessing costs and benefits under such standards; and (3) submit each such document to either the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee or the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, as appropriate. Requires such committees, serving as peer review panels, to evaluate and report to the Secretary on such documents. Directs the Secretary to review such evaluations and certify that the incremental benefits of a standard will likely justify its incremental costs. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend the application of a standard during an emergency. Requires a report from the Secretary to the Congress on the implementation of the risk assessment requirements of this section. Directs the Secretary, to the extent appropriate and practicable, to update incorporated industry standards that have been adopted as part of the Federal pipeline safety regulatory program. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to establish risk management demonstration projects under which owners and operators of gas pipeline and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities voluntarily demonstrate applications of risk management. Authorizes the Secretary, during a demonstration project, to waive the applicability of all or a portion of safety standards that would otherwise apply. Outlines demonstration project requirements. (Sec. 6) Eliminates the application of certain inspection and maintenance requirements to persons who transport gas or hazardous liquids. Repeals the requirement of biennial pipeline facility inspections (leaving their frequency to the Secretary's discretion). (Sec. 7) Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations that establish criteria by which operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities and gathering lines shall identify each such facility or line that crosses waters where a substantial likelihood of commercial navigation exists. (Currently, such requirement applies to all navigable waters, regardless of such likelihood.) Requires the Secretary, when identifying an area as unusually sensitive to environmental damage if there is a hazardous liquid pipeline accident, to consider including locations that are critical to drinking water, as well as critical wetlands, national parks, wilderness and wildlife preservation areas, wild and scenic rivers, and critical habitat areas for threatened or endangered species. Repeals the mandate to consider earthquake and landslide zones, freshwater lakes, rivers and waterways, and river deltas and other areas subject to soil erosion or subsidence from flooding. (Sec. 8) Authorizes the Secretary to adopt industry accepted performance standards for the performance of excess flow valves used to protect lines in a natural gas distribution system. (Sec. 9) Repeals the requirement that the Secretary promote the adoption of measures to improve the safety of customer-owned natural gas service lines. (Sec. 10) Redesignates the one-call notification system as the underground facility damage prevention program. Repeals the requirement for criminal penalties in regulations establishing a one-call notification system with respect to the safety of pipeline facilities. (Sec. 11) Requires the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee and the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee to serve as peer review committees. Deems such service to be in compliance with the requirements of other applicable Federal statutes. Requires committee members to be experienced in risk management. Requires at least one of the individuals selected for each committee from the natural gas or hazardous liquid industry and from the general public to have education, background, or experience in risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis. Requires the Secretary, when presenting each committee each standard proposed for transporting gas and hazardous liquid and for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities, to include a risk assessment document and other supporting analyses. Requires each committee to meet with the Secretary at least four times (currently, twice) annually. (Sec. 12) Requires each owner or operator of a natural gas pipeline facility to provide a program for educating the public on the use of an underground facility damage prevention program prior to excavation. Repeals the requirement that persons transporting gas conduct public education programs. (Sec. 13) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into grants and other cooperative agreements with any State, local government, or private entity to carry out pipeline safety programs, including the development, improvement, and promotion of "one-call" damage prevention programs, research, risk assessment, and mapping. (Sec. 14) Deems owners and operators of pipeline facilities who participate in risk management demonstration projects to be in compliance with safety standards or regulatory requirements prescribed under such project. (Sec. 15) Subjects to civil and criminal penalties any person who knowingly and willfully excavates and subsequently damages a pipeline facility and does not report such damage promptly to the operator of the pipeline facility and other appropriate authorities. (Sec. 16) Changes from annual to biennial certain required reports from the Secretary to the Congress concerning gas and hazardous liquid transportation safety requirements. (Sec. 17) Directs the Secretary to make available to the appropriate official of each State the land use recommendations contained in the special report entitled "Pipelines and Public Safety." Requires the evaluation and implementation of recommendations contained in such report. (Sec. 18) Directs the Secretary to analyze and report to the Congress on the assessment of pipeline safety user fees based solely on mileage and the Secretary's determinations with respect to such assessment. (Sec. 19) Prohibits any person from excavating for unauthorized disposal (dumping) of solid waste within the right-of-way of an interstate gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility. (Sec. 20) Authorizes the Secretary to conduct promotional activities relating to prevention of damage to gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. (Sec. 22) Extends and increases annually through FY 1999 the authorization of appropriations for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs and activities carried out through the Department of Transportation.
Bill· HRH.R. 2835 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 December 1995
Mercury Environmental Risk and Comprehensive Utilization Reduction Initiative - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit the sale or offering for sale or promotional purposes of: (1) alkaline-manganese batteries manufactured on or after January 1, 1996, with a mercury content that was intentionally introduced (limits the content in alkaline-manganese button cells to 25 milligrams of mercury per button cell); (2) zinc carbon batteries manufactured on or after January 1, 1997, that contain mercury that was intentionally introduced; (3) button cell mercuric-oxide batteries for use in the United States on or after January 1, 1997; and (4) any mercuric-oxide battery on or after January 1, 1997. Authorizes imposition of civil penalties and commencement of civil actions by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce these prohibitions. Defines a "regulated battery" as a rechargeable battery that contains a cadmium or lead electrode or contains other electrode chemistries and is the subject of a specified determination by the Administrator. Prohibits any person from selling for use in the United States a regulated battery or a rechargeable consumer product introduced into interstate commerce on or after one year after this Act's enactment date unless: (1) the battery is easily removable from the product, is contained in a battery pack that is easily removable from the product, or is sold separately; and (2) the rechargeable consumer product and the battery are labeled in accordance with this Act. Sets forth labeling requirements, including that the label contain a statement that the battery must be recycled or disposed of properly. Authorizes the Administrator, upon determining that other rechargeable batteries having electrode chemistries different from regulated batteries are toxic and may cause substantial harm if discarded for land disposal or incineration, to promulgate requirements for: (1) labeling such batteries and related products; and (2) easy removability of regulated batteries from rechargeable consumer products designed to contain such batteries. Provides for exemptions from these requirements under certain conditions. Makes certain EPA regulations regarding reclamation of spent lead-acid batteries, as in effect on January 1, 1993, applicable to persons collecting, storing, or transporting batteries or products regulated under this Act. Sets forth requirements for a report to the Congress by the Administrator on the disposal of used regulated batteries and rechargeable consumer products. Directs the Administrator to establish a program to provide information on the proper handling and disposal of such batteries and rechargeable consumer products with easily removable batteries. Establishes civil penalties for violations of the regulated battery and rechargeable consumer product requirements of this Act, recordkeeping requirements, and access authorities for the Administrator. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) to prohibit the sale or offering for sale of an alkaline or lead-acid battery unless the container is clearly labeled with a refund value, to be determined by the Administrator according to class or category. Requires distributors of batteries to collect amounts of refund values from retailers and retailers to collect such amounts from consumers. Establishes procedures for return of refund values (and handling costs) and disposition of refunds that are unclaimed or in excess of amounts collected. Makes amounts of unclaimed refunds available for pollution prevention and recycling programs in the State. Prohibits disposal of such a battery by a retailer or distributor in any landfill or other solid waste disposal facility. Makes the refund program's requirements inapplicable in States with procedures substantially identical to those imposed by this Act or which demonstrate a battery recycling or reuse rate of at least 70 percent. Establishes civil penalties for violations of refund program requirements. (Sec. 5) Prohibits, with stated exceptions, the intentional introduction of mercury to the manufacturing or distribution of packaging or a packaging component. Sets threshold levels for mercury presence in packaging or components. Requires manufacturers and suppliers to furnish certificates of compliance to purchasers and make such certificates available, upon request, to the public. Establishes civil penalties for violation of these prohibitions. (Sec. 6) Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to prohibit the Administrator from registering or reregistering any fungicide containing phenylmercuric acetate and cancels existing registrations of such fungicides. (Sec. 7) Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the use and disposal of mercury by the Department of Defense. Requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a program to the Congress, within three years after enactment of this Act, for reducing mercury use in military products. (Sec. 8) Amends SWDA to prohibit Federal agencies, State and local governments, and other waste management jurisdictions, after December 31, 1996, from issuing a permit or other prior approval for the construction or expansion of a municipal solid waste incinerator unless the applicant completes an environmental impact statement. Requires State solid waste plans to provide for separation, for recycling purposes, of mercury-containing items to be listed by the Administrator, including batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, electrical switches, and thermostats. (Sec. 9) Amends the Clean Air Act to remove an exemption of electric utility steam generating units from the applicability of standards promulgated by the Administrator regarding certain hazardous air pollutants. Requires as part of a permit program administered by an air pollution control agency, in the case of such generating units and municipal and medical waste incinerators, the imposition of an additional fee of $500 per pound of mercury emissions from the unit or a greater amount determined by the Administrator to be necessary to cover the costs of a program to research technologies to reduce mercury emissions and remediate mercury contamination. (Sec. 10) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Food and Drug Administration, to: (1) compile a list of drugs and foods containing intentionally introduced mercury compounds, together with a quantitative and qualitative analysis of such compounds; and (2) study the effect on humans of the use of such compounds in nasal sprays.
Bill· HRH.R. 2838 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 December 1995
Public Debt Relief Act of 1995 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to allow a State to exercise flow control authority over solid waste if, on or before January 1, 1984, the State: (1) adopted regulations under a State law that required or directed the transportation, management, or disposal of such waste from residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial sources to specifically identified waste management facilities and applied those regulations to every political subdivision; and (2) subjected the facilities to the jurisdiction of a State public utilities commission. Allows a State or political subdivision of the State meeting the requirements of this Act to exercise flow control authority over all classes and categories of solid waste that were subject to flow control by the State or subdivision on May 16, 1994, by directing it from any existing waste management facility to any other such facility, existing or proposed. Sets limitations on the duration of authority under this Act according to the length of a revenue or general obligation bond issued to finance waste management facilities.
Bill· SS. 1497 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 1995
Land Disposal Program Flexibility Act of 1995 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) to exempt from land disposal restrictions (other than requirements pertaining to applicable specific methods of treatment promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under SWDA) solid waste identified as hazardous based on characteristic alone if such waste: (1) is managed in a treatment system that subsequently discharges to waters of the United States pursuant to a permit issued under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act), undergoes pretreatment for purposes of compliance with toxic and pretreatment effluent standards of such Act, or is managed under a zero-discharge system that the Administrator determines to be engaging in Clean Water Act-equivalent treatment; (2) no longer exhibits such characteristic prior to land disposal; (3) has met any applicable specific method of treatment promulgated by the Administrator; and (4) would not generate toxic gases, vapors, or fumes due to the presence of cyanide at the point of generation when exposed to pH conditions of a specified range. Requires the Administrator to conduct a study of hazardous waste managed in accordance with this Act to characterize the risks to human health or the environment associated with such management, upon completion of which the Administrator may impose additional requirements or defer management of such risks to other State or Federal programs or authorities. Amends SWDA to exempt from land disposal restrictions solid waste identified as hazardous based on characteristic alone if the waste no longer exhibits a hazardous characteristic at the point of injection into any Class I deep well regulated under safe drinking water provisions of the Public Health Service Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 2824 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 1995
Snowbasin Land Exchange Act of 1995 - Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to specified terms and conditions, to transfer certain lands within the Cache National Forest in Utah to the Sun Valley Company in exchange for specified Company lands of approximate equal value to become a part of the Wasatch or Cache National Forests as appropriate. Adjusts the boundaries of such Forests to encompass the lands. Requires such lands to be managed in accordance with the Weeks Act and other applicable laws, rules, and regulations of National Forest System lands. Finds that, based on congressional review, the Phase I facilities identified and described in the Snowbasin Ski Area Master Development Plan dated October 1995 to be located on National Forest System lands, or any modifications thereof mutually agreed to by the Secretary and the Company, are reasonable and necessary to accommodate the 2002 Olympics. Directs the Secretary to issue all necessary permits and authorizations for construction and operation of such facilities in accordance with specified procedures and provisions of this Act. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on whether construction and operation of Phase I facilities have provided for sufficient environmental protection on National Forest lands affected by such facilities.
Bill· HRH.R. 2827 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 1995
Sound Science for the Environment Act - Establishes as an independent agency the National Institute for the Environment to: (1) initiate, facilitate, and perform comprehensive assessments of the current state of knowledge of environmental issues and their implications; (2) establish a Center for Environmental Assessment; (3) award competitively grants and contracts for extramural scientific research; (4) establish a Directorate of Research and a universally accessible National Library for the Environment; and (5) sponsor education and training of environmental scientists and professionals and improve public environmental literacy. Establishes a Board of Governors for the Institute. Provides for interagency acquisition of information and establishes an Interagency Advisory Committee to ensure that the environmental efforts of the Institute and other Federal agencies are complementary. Makes scientists, engineers, and other researchers eligible to receive funding from the Institute. Requires the President to submit to the Congress recommendations regarding existing non-regulatory Federal programs that are appropriate for transfer to the Institute, together with legislation to effect such transfers.
Bill· SS. 1491 (104th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1995
Antimicrobial Pesticide Registration Reform Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to exclude: (1) bacteria from the definition of "fungus"; and (2) liquid chemical sterilant products for use on a critical or semi-critical medical or dental device from the definition of "pesticide." Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) coordinate data requirements, test protocols, timetables, and standards of review and reduce burdens and redundancy caused to the registrant, whenever data in support of a pesticide registration is requested by one or more State or Federal agencies; and (2) develop a process to identify and assist in alleviating future disparities between Federal and State data requirements. Provides, with respect to the labeling of an antimicrobial pesticide product, that: (1) a registrant may modify the labeling to include relevant information on the product's efficacy, composition, or container or other characteristics unrelated to a pesticidal claim or activity; (2) such labeling shall not be false or misleading or in conflict with statements required as a condition of registration and be substantiated upon request; (3) modifications shall be subject to a notification and approval process; and (4) different cautionary statements for use dilutions may be included in the labeling upon approval of the Administrator. Directs the Administrator, to the maximum extent practicable, to identify and evaluate changes to the process for registration of antimicrobial pesticides that will reduce current time periods for review. Details rulemaking requirements regarding the review of such pesticides. Requires an annual report to the Congress on measures taken to effect such changes. Exempts from applicability of certain FIFRA storage, disposal, transportation, and container requirements household, industrial, or institutional antimicrobial products that are not subject to regulation under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, unless the Administrator determines that their application is necessary to prevent an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment.
Bill· HRH.R. 2821 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1995
Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer six specified obsolete tugboats of the Navy to the Wisconsin Railroad Transportation Commission, subject to the condition that the Commission shall not use a vessel until it complies with the terms of any necessary environmental agreement.
Bill· HRH.R. 2800 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Tax and Trust Fund Title II: Educational Enhancement Education Trust Fund Act - Title I: Tax and Trust Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an additional five percent tax on the net payment of wagering proceeds paid during any calendar quarter. Reduces the tax imposed on the net wagering proceeds (but not below zero) by an amount credited for the dedicated State tax imposed on such proceeds. Limits the tax imposed to apply only to wagers accepted in the United States or placed by a person who is in the United States: (1) with a person who is a U.S. citizen or resident; or (2) in a wagering pool or lottery conducted by a U.S. citizen or resident. (Sec. 102) Establishes the National Education Trust Fund to consist of such amounts as may be appropriated or credited to such Fund. Authorizes appropriations to the Fund in amounts equivalent to the net revenues received in the Treasury from the taxes imposed on wagers. Requires that amounts in the Fund be made available only for the purposes of making expenditures to carry out title II of the Education Trust Fund Act. Title II: Educational Enhancement - Permits the use of funds from the Fund by local educational agencies only for educating students, including improving classroom instructional materials, renovating or building school facilities and buildings, and increasing teacher salaries. (Sec. 202) Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide grants from the Fund to State educational agencies for use by local educational agencies to improve education in elementary and secondary schools for the purposes described in the preceding clause. Requires that 74 percent of the funds from such fund be made available for grants to local educational agencies and sets forth a specified formula for the amount a local educational agency in a State, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico is eligible to receive for any fiscal year. (Sec. 203) Provides for low-interest loans from the Fund to local educational agencies for any fiscal year payable over a period not to exceed 30 years. Requires that 24 percent of the funds from such fund be made available for loans to local educational agencies and sets forth a specified formula for the amount a local educational agency in a State, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are eligible to receive for any fiscal year. Requires that interest on a loan be based upon administrative costs, but not exceed two percent of the loan amount. (Sec. 204) Establishes the National Commission on Educational Enhancement to make recommendations to the Secretary of Education to enhance educational programs for elementary and secondary school students, including the purchasing of necessary textbooks and providing a safe physical environment by improving the structural soundness of school facilities. Directs that the Commission be composed of nine members with not less than two individuals to represent local educational agencies, teachers or principals, and parents. Prohibits members of the Commission who are full-time officers or employees of the United States or Members of Congress from receiving additional pay, allowances, or benefit by reason of their service on the Commission. Requires that the Commission transmit an annual report to the Secretary of Education, President, and the Congress containing a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the Commission and a review of how funds from the Fund were spent. Allows two percent of the funds made available for the Trust Fund to be used by the Commission.
Bill· HRH.R. 2801 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1995
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require that administration of contracts awarded for design and construction associated with Superfund lead remedial actions be performed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, except in the case of certain remedial actions carried out by a State or political subdivision.
Bill· SS. 1477 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Mission and Accountability Title II: Expedited Access to Products for Seriously Ill Patients Title III: Revitalizing the Investigation of New Products Title IV: Efficient, Accountable, and Fair Product Review Title V: Drug, Biological Products, Devices Export Reform Title VI: Drug and Biological Products Regulatory Reform Title VII: Device Regulatory Reform Title VIII: Animal Drug Regulatory Reform Title IX: Food Regulatory Reform Food and Drug Administration Performance and Accountability Act of 1995 - Title I: Mission and Accountability - Food and Drug Administration Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to set forth a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mission statement. (Sec. 103) Mandates: (1) performance standards for FDA product reviews; (2) an applicant-accessible information system; and (3) a procedure regarding policy statements of general applicability. (Sec. 106) Authorizes the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to delegate authority related to scientific review groups to a center director. (Sec. 107) Requires an intra-FDA appeal system. Empowers any person to request an evaluation by a scientific review group. Title II: Expedited Access to Products for Seriously Ill Patients - Patient Rights Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 - Establishes or modifies requirements regarding: (1) distribution of an investigational drug or device for a serious condition; (2) humanitarian device exemptions; and (3) a time limit for approval of certain biological product or new drug applications. Title III: Revitalizing the Investigation of New Products - Investigational Products Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 - Regulates: (1) automatic commencement of new drug clinical investigations; (2) criteria for the safety information that must be initially submitted; (3) regarding a mechanism to ensure the fair application of clinical investigation safety standards; (4) investigational device exemptions; and (5) concerning meetings between the sponsor proposing a preclinical or clinical investigation and the Secretary. Title IV: Efficient, Accountable, and Fair Product Review - Product Review Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 - Establishes or modifies requirements regarding: (1) a mechanism to ensure fair and consistent filing requirements; (2) automatic classification in the class specified by the sponsor; (3) criteria for the information to be included in the application; (4) contracts with outside organizations and individuals to review applications; (5) collaborative review; (6) accreditation of organizations to conduct good manufacturing practice inspections; (7) environmental consideration of FDA action; (8) dissemination of certain information on treatment use of investigational new drugs, a use of a new drug for which approval is in effect, and a use of a device produced by a registered manufacturer; (9) approval of a new use drug, biological product, or device application; and (10) the matters that may be considered in determining effectiveness. Title V: Drug, Biological Products, Devices Export Reform - Drug, Biological Products, Devices Export Reform Act of 1995 - Revises requirements regarding the importing and exporting of a drug, biological product, or device. (Sec. 503) Amends the Public Health Service Act to modify partially processed biological product export requirements. Title VI: Drug and Biological Products Regulatory Reform - Drug and Biological Product Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 - Amends the FDCA with regard to: (1) what constitutes substantial evidence; (2) using a small facility to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of a new drug or biological product; and (3) requirements regarding changes in the manufacture of a new drug, biological product, or new animal drug. (Sec. 605) Repeals provisions regarding the certification of drugs containing insulin or containing antibiotics. Allows export of insulin and antibiotics in certain circumstances. (Sec. 606) Amends the Public Health Service Act to regulate biological products in interstate commerce. (Sec. 607) Mandates proposed regulations governing products of human tissue and cell therapy. Title VII: Device Regulatory Reform - Medical Device Reform Act of 1995 - Amends the FDCA to establish or modify requirements regarding: (1) premarket notification requirements; (2) device classification standards; and (3) the circumstances in which device tracking or postmarket surveillance may be required. (Sec. 706) Removes references to distributors from provisions relating to records and reports on devices. Removes provisions regarding reports of removals and corrections. (Sec. 707) Modifies premarket approval requirements. (Sec. 708) Establishes procedures regarding the recognition of an existing performance standard for a device. Title VIII: Animal Drug Regulatory Reform - Animal Drug Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 - Sets forth what constitutes substantial evidence. Regulates what must be considered in evaluating an animal drug containing more than one active ingredient or to be used in combination with other drugs. Modifies approval and residue requirements. (Sec. 804) Sets forth the circumstances in which an animal drug will be considered adulterated. Title IX: Food Regulatory Reform - Food Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 - Establishes an alternate approval procedure for an indirect food additive (a food additive intended to contact food but not intended for consumption as a food ingredient).
Bill· HRH.R. 2762 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 1995
Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, prior to promulgating a national primary drinking water regulation for sulfate, to jointly conduct additional research to establish a reliable dose-response relationship for the adverse health effects that may result from exposure to sulfate in drinking water. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) consideration of health effects that may be experienced by groups within the general population, such as infants and travelers, that are potentially at greater risk; (2) the conduct of research in consultation with interested States and based on the best available, peer-reviewed science and supporting studies; and (3) notice, time, and rulemaking requirements for promulgating such standard.
Law· SS. 1467 (104th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 1995
Fort Peck Rural County Water Supply System Act of 1995 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon request of the Fort Peck Rural County Water District, Inc., in Montana, to enter into a cooperative agreement with the District for the planning, design, and construction by the District of the Fort Peck Rural County Water Supply System. Requires the System to provide for safe and adequate rural water supplies under the District's jurisdiction in Valley County, northeastern Montana. Requires the Secretary, under such agreement, to pay: (1) 80 percent, without reimbursement, of costs associated with the planning, design, and construction of the System (as described in the Final Engineering Report and Alternative Evaluation for the Fort Peck Rural County Water District, dated September 1994); and (2) such sums as are necessary to defray increases in the budget. Prohibits the amount of the Federal funds made available under the agreement from exceeding the authorized appropriations under this Act. Allows not more than five percent of such funds to be used by the Secretary for activities associated with: (1) compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; and (2) oversight of the planning, design, and construction by the District of the System. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 1459 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Management of Grazing on Federal Land Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Qualifications and Grazing Preferences Subtitle C: Grazing Management Subtitle D: Authorization of Grazing Use Subtitle E: Civil violations and Failures of Compliance Subtitle F: Unauthorized Grazing Use Subtitle G: Procedure Subtitle H: Advisory Committees Subtitle I: Reports Title II: Management of National Grasslands Public Rangelands Management Act of 1995 - Title I: Management of Grazing on Federal Land - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary): (1) to establish standards and guidelines for addressing rangeland condition and trend on a State or regional level in consultation with the Resource Advisory Councils (established in section 171 of this Act) and in cooperation with the State departments of agriculture or other appropriate agencies and academic institutions in each interested State; and (2) where appropriate, to authorize and encourage the use of coordinated resource management practices. Authorizes and directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (Secretaries), as appropriate, to enter into cooperative agreements to coordinate the associated activities of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Forest Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service where coordinated resource management involves private land, State land, and Federal land managed by BLM or the Forest Service. (Sec. 106) Requires an authorized officer to manage livestock grazing on Federal land under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield and in accordance with applicable land use plans. Requires a land use plan, with respect to grazing administration, to: (1) consider the impacts of all multiple uses, including livestock and wildlife grazing, on the environment and condition of public rangelands and the contributions of these uses to the management, maintenance, and improvement of such rangelands; (2) establish allowable grazing use (in combination with other multiple uses), related levels of production or use to be maintained, areas of use, and resource condition goals and objectives to be obtained; and (3) set forth programs and general management practices needed to achieve the purposes of this title. Requires land use plans and amendments thereto to continue to be developed in conformance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Specifies that livestock grazing activities and management actions approved by the authorized officer, including the issuance, renewal, or transfer of grazing permits or leases (permits), shall not constitute major Federal actions requiring consideration under NEPA in addition to that which is necessary to support the land use plan and amendments thereto. Subtitle B: Qualifications and Grazing Preferences - Requires a grazing permit to specify: (1) a historical grazing preference; (2) active use, based on the amount of forage available for livestock grazing established in the land use plan; (3) suspended use; and (4) voluntary and temporary nonuse. Specifies that: (1) a grazing preference identified in a grazing permit shall attach to the base property supporting the grazing permit; and (2) the animal unit months of a grazing preference shall attach to the acreage of land base property on a pro rata basis, or water base property on the basis of livestock forage production within the service area of the water. Subtitle C: Grazing Management - Directs the Secretary, if he or she elects to develop an allotment management plan for a given area, to do so in consultation, cooperation, and coordination with the lessees, permittees, and landowners involved, the resource advisory and grazing advisory councils, and any States having lands within the area to be covered by such allotment management plan. (Sec. 122) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with a permittee or lessee (permittee) for the construction, installation, modification, maintenance, removal, or use of a permanent range improvement or development of a rangeland to achieve a management or resource condition objective. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) cost-sharing; (2) title; (3) nonstructural range improvements; (4) incentives for investing in range improvements; (5) range improvement permits; and (5) assignment of range improvements. (Sec. 123) Requires that: (1) monitoring of a grazing allotment be performed by qualified Federal, State, or local agency personnel (personnel), qualified consultants as agreed to in an approved allotment management plan, or qualified range consultants retained by the United States (U.S. consultants); (2) inspection of a grazing allotment be performed by such personnel or U.S. consultants; (3) rangeland monitoring be conducted according to regional or State criteria and protocols that are scientifically based; and (4) criteria and protocols be developed by the Secretary in consultation with the Resource Advisory Councils and in cooperation with State departments of agriculture or other appropriate agencies and academic institutions in each interested State. Sets forth provisions regarding permittee participation in allotment monitoring, with exceptions. (Sec. 124) Prohibits any water rights on Federal land from being acquired, perfected, owned, controlled, maintained, administered, or transferred in connection with livestock grazing management other than in accordance with State law concerning the use and appropriation of water. Directs the Secretary, in managing livestock grazing on Federal land, to follow State law regarding water right ownership and appropriation. Prohibits the Secretary from imposing or requiring any transfer, restriction, or limitation on the use of any water right as a term or condition of any permit or as a requirement for approval of the transportation, storage, or conveyance of water on or across Federal land. Subtitle D: Authorization of Grazing Use - Requires a grazing permit to be issued for a 15-year term unless: (1) the land disposal is pending; (2) the land will be devoted to a public purpose that precludes grazing prior to the end of 15 years; or (3) the Secretary determines that it would be in the best interest of sound land management to specify a shorter term, if the decision to specify a shorter term is supported by appropriate and accepted resource analysis and evaluation, and a shorter term is determined to be necessary, based upon monitoring information, to achieve land management goals and objectives. Directs that a permittee holding a grazing permit be given first priority at the end of the term for renewal of the grazing permit if: (1) the land for which the grazing permit is issued remains available for domestic livestock grazing; (2) the permittee is in compliance with this title and the terms and conditions of the grazing permit; and (3) the permittee accepts the terms and conditions included by the authorized officer in the new grazing permit. (Sec. 132) Allows the Secretary to authorize subleasing of a Federal grazing permit, in whole or in part, only if the permittee is unable to make full grazing use due to ill health or death or under a cooperative agreement with a grazing permittee. (Sec. 133) Specifies that a permittee shall own or control and be responsible for the management of the livestock that graze the Federal land under a grazing permit. Prohibits an authorized officer from imposing any marking or tagging requirement beyond State law requirements. (Sec. 134) Subjects a grazing permit to such reasonable terms or conditions as may be required by this Act or as contained in an approved allotment management plan. Specifies that no term or condition of a grazing permit shall be imposed pertaining to past practice or present willingness of an applicant or permittee to relinquish control of public access to Federal land across private land. Allows an authorized officer to modify the terms and conditions of a grazing permit if monitoring data show that the grazing use is not meeting the land use plan or management objectives. (Sec. 135) Sets the fee for each animal unit month in a grazing fee year to be determined by the Secretary at an amount equal to the three-year average of the total gross value of production for beef cattle for the three years preceding the grazing fee year, multiplied by the ten-year average of the United States Treasury Securities six-month bill "new issue" rate, divided by 12. Specifies that the gross value of production for beef cattle shall be determined by the Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture (ERS). Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the definition of "animal unit month"; (2) livestock not counted as an animal unit month; and (3) other fees and charges. Directs ERS to continue to compile and report the gross value of production of beef cattle on a dollars-per-bred-cow basis for the United States. Subtitle E: Civil Violations and Failures of Compliance - Establishes civil sanctions for any of the following: (1) failing to make grazing use under the terms and conditions of a grazing permit, or under a cooperative agreement; (2) placing supplemental feed on land covered by a grazing permit without authorization; (3) failing to comply with a term, condition, or stipulation of a range improvement cooperative agreement or range improvement permit; (4) entering into an unauthorized sublease; or (5) allowing unauthorized livestock or other privately owned or controlled animals to graze on or be driven across Federal land. Allows an authorized officer, in a case of a violation or failure of compliance, to: (1) withhold issuance of a grazing permit; (2) suspend the grazing use authorized under a grazing permit; or (3) cancel a grazing permit and grazing preference or other grazing authorization. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) cancellation, suspension, or modification of grazing permits; (2) second or subsequent willful violations; (3) consideration of severity; (4) subleases; and (5) failure to make grazing use under the terms and conditions of a grazing permit or under a cooperative agreement. Subtitle F: Unauthorized Grazing Use - Allows an authorized officer to approve a nonmonetary settlement of a case of a violation upon determining that: (1) evidence shows that the unauthorized use occurred through no fault of the livestock operator; (2) the forage use is insignificant; (3) Federal land has not been damaged; and (4) nonmonetary settlement is in the best interests of the United States. (Sec. 152) Directs that any impoundment and sale of unauthorized livestock on Federal land be conducted in accordance with State law. Subtitle G: Procedure - Requires the authorized officer to: (1) serve, by certified mail or personal delivery, a proposed decision on any applicant, permittee, or lienholder, or agent thereof that is affected by a proposed action on an application for, or relating to a term or condition of, a grazing permit or range improvement permit; and (2) send copies of a proposed decision to affected interests. (Sec. 162) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) protests of proposed decisions; (2) final decisions; and (3) appeals. Subtitle H: Advisory Committees - Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, in consultation with the Governors of the affected States, to establish and operate joint Resource Advisory Councils on a State or regional level to provide advice on management issues for all lands administered by BLM and the Forest Service within such area, with an exception. Sets forth provisions regarding Council duties, disregard of advice, membership, subgroups, terms, applicability of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and other advisory councils under the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). (Sec. 172) Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Governor of the affected State and with affected counties, to appoint between five and nine persons to serve on a Grazing Advisory Council for each district and each national forest within the 17 contiguous Western States having jurisdiction over more than 500,000 acres of public lands subject to commercial livestock grazing. Allows the Secretaries to establish joint Grazing Advisory Councils wherever practicable. Sets forth provisions regarding the duties of the Grazing Advisory Councils, disregard of advice, membership, and applicability of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. (Sec. 173) Defines "district" for purposes of this subtitle as a grazing district administered, or other lands within a State boundary which are eligible for grazing, under specified provisions of the Taylor Grazing Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) termination of service of an advisory committee member; and (2) compensation and expense reimbursement. (Sec. 174) Repeals FLPMA provisions regarding grazing advisory boards. Subtitle I: Reports - Directs the Secretaries to submit annual reports that contain: (1) itemization of revenues received and costs incurred directly in connection with the management of grazing on Federal land; and (2) recommendations for reducing administrative costs and improving the overall efficiency of Federal rangeland management. Title II: Management of National Grasslands - National Grasslands Management Act of 1995 - Amends the Forest Rangeland Renewable Resource Planning Act of 1974 to remove the National Grasslands from the National Forest System. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) manage the National Grasslands as a separate entity; (2) administer grazing permits and implement grazing management decisions in consultation, cooperation, and coordination with local grazing associations and other grazing permit holders; and (3) promulgate regulations to manage and protect the National Grasslands. Makes conforming amendments to the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) hunting, fishing, and recreational activities on National Grasslands; (2) valid existing rights; and (3) fees and charges.
Bill· HRH.R. 2747 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 1995
Water Supply Infrastructure Assistance Act of 1995 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to States for establishing water supply infrastructure accounts in State water pollution control revolving loan fund programs to provide assistance for the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of water supply systems. Sets forth specific requirements for grant agreements. Applies certain provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act regarding authorized uses of water pollution control revolving funds, corrective action, and auditing, reporting, and fiscal controls to water supply construction accounts. Sets forth amounts to be allotted to States and U.S. territories. Reserves a specified amount for grants to Indian tribes. Directs the Administrator to develop and submit to the Congress: (1) an estimate of the cost of needed construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of water supply systems in all States; and (2) a study of the economic impact on affected units of government of the cost of installation of water supply systems. Expresses the sense of the Congress that a recipient of assistance under this Act should purchase American-made equipment and products. Directs the Administrator to provide to each recipient of assistance a notice describing such sense of the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 2742 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 1995
Makes available to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency a specified fraction of amounts in the Hazardous Substance Superfund for each fiscal year for a program of grants to States to be used for decontamination and remediation of brownfield sites to make such sites available for proposed new uses. Defines a "brownfield site" as a parcel of land that was previously used for industrial purposes but is contaminated with hazardous or toxic waste and not currently used for any purpose. Prohibits, with respect to a site at which decontamination or remediation is being carried out under an approved State brownfield cleanup program, any action for: (1) decontamination or remediation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) or the Solid Waste Disposal Act; and (2) recovery of costs or damages arising from a hazardous substance release or threatened release under CERCLA against a person who is engaging or has engaged in the cleanup of such a site under a State program approved under this Act. Imposes reporting requirements upon participating States.
Bill· HRH.R. 2738 (104th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Central Valley Project Reform Title II: Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Title I: Central Valley Project Reform - Central Valley Project Reform Act of 1995 - Amends the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to redefine: (1) "anadromous fish" to exclude striped bass, sturgeon, and American shad; (2) "Central Valley Project water" to mean water developed, diverted, stored, or delivered by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with statutes authorizing the Central Valley Project (CVP) and with the terms and conditions of water rights permits or licenses acquired by or issued to the United States pursuant to California law; and (3) "repayment contract" and "water service contract" to exclude contracts which contain terms or agreements for water rights settlements or exchanges. Excludes from the definition of CVP water "base supply" water as defined in certain contracts between the United States and diverters of water from the Sacramento River. (Sec. 104) Prohibits the Secretary from entering into any new short-term, temporary, or long-term contracts or agreements for water supply from the CVP for other than fish or wildlife purposes before the Secretary has completed appropriate environmental review and determined that there is sufficient water to meet existing contractual and legal obligations. Directs the Secretary, upon request, to renew any existing long-term repayment or water service contracts which provide for the delivery of water from the CVP for a period of 25 years and to renew such contracts for successive 25-year periods. Validates and ratifies all contracts renewed by the Secretary between January 1, 1988, and October 31, 1992, with an exception. (Sec. 105) Revises provisions regarding: (1) water transfers, their approval or disapproval, and the appeal of such determination; (2) water conservation standards; (3) fish, wildlife, and habitat restoration; and (4) the CVP Restoration Fund. (Sec. 108) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with any (currently, only nonprofit) organizations for the additional storage and delivery of CVP water. Directs the Secretary, on a priority basis and within two years, to develop and submit to the Congress a least-cost plan to increase CVP yield by the amount reserved and managed for fish and wildlife purposes and otherwise required to meet CVP purposes. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to coordinate with California in implementing measures for the long-term solutions to problems in the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary. Directs the Secretary to identify the water supply impacts resulting from the reallocation of Stanislaus River water for fish and wildlife purposes and to develop and implement a plan to provide long-term replacement water in an amount equal to the identified impacts on out-of-basin entities which have contracted with the Secretary for water from the New Melones Project. (Sec. 109) Prohibits the reduction by more than a specified amount of the first preference entitlement to CVP electrical power provided to Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties, California. Title II: Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities - Reclamation Recycling and Water Conservation Act of 1995 - Amends the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 to authorize the Secretary to participate in the design, planning, and construction of the following water reclamation and reuse projects: the North San Diego County Area Water Recycling Project, the Calleguas Municipal Water District Recycling Project, the Central Valley Water Recycling Project, the St. George Area Water Recycling Project, the Watsonville Area Water Recycling Project, the Southern Nevada Water Recycling Project, the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area Water Reclamation and Reuse Study, the El Paso Water Reclamation and Reuse Project, the Pasadena, California reclaimed water project, Phase 1 of the Orange County Regional Water Reclamation Project, the West Jordan Water Reuse Project, the Hi-Desert Water District in Yucca Valley, California wastewater collection and treatment project, the Oceanside, California Groundwater Desalting Demonstration Project, the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, and the San Joaquin Area Water Recycling and Reuse Project. Limits to 25 percent the Federal share of the total design, planning, and construction costs. (Sec. 203) Authorizes the Secretary to participate in the design, planning, and construction of the Long Beach Desalination Research and Development Project in Los Angeles County, California. Limits to 50 percent the Federal share of such costs. Prohibits the Secretary from providing operation and maintenance funds for such project.
Bill· HRH.R. 2745 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 1995
Restoration of Natural Resources Laws on the Public Lands Act of 1995 - Amends Federal law to repeal the emergency salvage timber sale program. Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to suspend respective activities until they have determined that any such activity complies with applicable environmental and natural resource laws.
Bill· HRH.R. 2712 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Designation of Wilderness Areas in the King Range National Conservation Area to be Administered by the Bureau of Land Management Title II: Acquisition of Headwaters Forest Title III: Elkhorn Ridge Timber Sale Title IV: Smith River National Recreation Area Title V: Contract Out Demonstration of Resource Management Activities Title VI: Hoopa Valley Reservation Title VII: Adaptive Management of Timber Resources for Old Growth Dependent Species Title VIII: Del Norte County Unified School District Land Conveyance Northwest California Forest Health and Economic Recovery Act - Title I: Designation of Wilderness Areas in the King Range National Conservation Area to be Administered by the Bureau of Land Management - King Range Wilderness Act of 1995 - Designates specified lands in California as the King Range Wilderness. Finds and directs that: (1) all public lands in the King Range National Conservation Area managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have been adequately studied for wilderness designation pursuant to the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act of 1976; and (2) those public lands within such Area managed by BLM not designated as wilderness by this title are no longer subject to specified requirements of such Act but shall be managed for the full range of nonwilderness multiple uses. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) administration of wilderness areas; (2) future acquisitions; and (3) disposition under mining laws. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to assure access to the wilderness areas by Native Americans for traditional cultural and religious purposes. Title II: Acquisition of Headwaters Forest - Headwaters Forest Acquisition and Protection Act - Directs the Secretary to: (1) acquire specified lands in Humboldt County, California (Headwaters Forest Addition) from the Pacific Lumber Company (and corporations owned and controlled by it) with the Company's consent; and (2) refrain from designating any other timberland owned by the Company in such county as critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) and give the Company credit for the habitat value of the Addition when issuing incidental take permits under that Act. Requires the designation of the Addition as a National Biological Diversity Reserve to be taken into account for purposes of planning for Federal lands in such county under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (FRRRPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Directs the Secretary to negotiate with the Company for a written agreement providing for the acquisition of the Addition at its appraised fair market value in exchange for certain land containing harvestable and marketable timber harvesting rights (and other property to the extent the appraised fair market value of the Headwaters Forest exceeds that of the land containing such rights). Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the conclusive effect of the acquisition agreement; (2) the effect of failure to reach agreement; and (3) special rules applicable to the negotiation, execution, delivery, and consummation of the acquisition agreement. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) areas of priority in determining which property and property rights to transfer to the Company under this title; (2) marketable timber harvesting rights; (3) other property; (4) a special rule for Federal transfers; and (5) payments to local governments. Designates specified lands as the Headwaters Forest Wilderness and as a National Biological Diversity Reserve. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) accept donations of property for use in acquiring the Addition; and (2) convey such property to the owners without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Elkhorn Ridge Timber Sale - Authorizes the Secretary, acting through BLM, to substitute, without competition, a contract for timber identified for harvest located on public lands administered by BLM in California for the terminated Elkhorn Ridge Timber Sale contract. Title IV: Smith River National Recreation Area - Sets the amount of timber offered for sale each year from the prescribed timber management area, with respect to the Smith River National Recreation Area, at between two and five million board feet. Specifies that administration of the other seven management areas of such Area in a manner consistent with the land and resource management plan for the Six Rivers National Forest (Six Rivers) shall be deemed sufficient protection of species habitat for purposes of the FRRRPA and ESA. Title V: Contract Out Demonstration of Resource Management Activities - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a demonstration program to contract out to the private sector certain resource management activities at Six Rivers, utilizing private sector skills in communities adversely affected by reductions in the timber sale program for the National Forest System (NFS). Includes among the types of activities to be contracted out: (1) preparation of analyses required under Option 9 of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Management of Habitat for Late Successional and Old Growth Forests Related Species within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl and of environmental assessments required in connection with timber sales in Six Rivers; and (2) performance of resource field work, and of forest plan implementation monitoring. Directs such Secretary to use employees of the Forest Service to conduct forest planning and set resource management outputs for Six Rivers, including timber sale levels. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) funding; and (2) submission to the Congress of an annual report and evaluation of the program. Title VI: Hoopa Valley Reservation - Hoopa Valley Reservation South Boundary Correction Act - Directs that all rights of the United States in specified lands be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and be part of the Hoopa Valley Reservation. Directs the Secretary, acting through BLM, to survey and monument that portion of the boundary of the Hoopa Valley Reservation established by the addition of lands made by this title. Title VII: Adaptive Management of Timber Resources for Old Growth Dependent Species - Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to the Congress and implement a research plan, including supporting environmental documents, that provides for the implementation and evaluation of controlled silvicultural treatments in late successional and old growth timber stands in specified units of the NFS (the Hayfork Adaptive Management Area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and the Six Rivers National Forest, and the Lower Trinity and Mad River Ranger Districts in the Six Rivers National Forest)(NFS units) for the purpose of testing the effect of selected partial-cut harvesting of late successional and old growth timber on old growth dependent species, such as the northern spotted owl. Directs the Secretary to prepare and implement such plan using the Pacific Southwest Research Branch of the Forest Service. Requires that administrative and resource management activities historically provided in the NFS units by the National Forest Systems Branch be conducted by private contractors. Directs the Secretary to: (1) select private contractors on the basis of the skills necessary to perform the anticipated task, with special consideration given to local contractors that reside in communities adversely affected by reductions in the timber sale program for the NFS; and (2) use at least 75 percent of the funds calculated based on a specified formula for payments to private contractors for planning, implementation of, and monitoring the plan. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the schedule for silvicultural treatments; (2) the use of receipts generated from the sale of forest products resulting from silvicultural treatments under the plan; and (3) monitoring activities. Title VIII: Del Norte County Unified School District Land Conveyance - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the Del Norte County Unified School District of Del Norte County, California, all rights of the United States in specified property, without consideration, except as required by this title. Makes such conveyance subject to the following conditions: (1) that such School District covenant that the property conveyed will be used primarily for educational or recreational purposes for a minimum of 25 years after the date of conveyance; (2) that Del Norte County shall be provided, for no consideration, an easement for county road number 318 which crosses the Northeast corner of the property conveyed; (3) that the Pacific Power and Light Company shall be provided, for no consideration, an easement for utility equipment as necessary to maintain the level of service provided by the utility equipment on the property as of the conveyance date; and (4) that the United States shall be provided, for no consideration, an easement to provide access to the United States property that is south of the property conveyed. Requires the School District, if the covenant is breached, to pay monetary damages to the United States in an amount equal to the fair market value of the property conveyed as of the time such covenant was breached or forfeit to the United States all rights in the property conveyed. Makes such conveyance subject to such additional terms and conditions as such Secretary and the School District agree are necessary to protect U.S. interests.
Bill· HRH.R. 2714 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 1995
Fair International Standards in Trade (FIST) Act - Authorizes the President to enter into a trade agreement only if it requires each country party to the agreement to: (1) adopt laws that afford internationally recognized worker rights to workers and that promote internationally recognized environmental standards in that country; and (2) treat as an actionable unfair trade practice the denial of such rights and standards as a means for such country to gain a competitive trade advantage.
Bill· SS. 1441 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Division A: Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1996-1999 Title I: Department of State and Related Agencies Chapter 1: Authorization of Appropriations Chapter 2: Authorities and Activities Chapter 3: Personnel Chapter 4: Consular and Related Activities Title II: United Nations Chapter 1: Funding; Budgetary and Management Reform Chapter 2: United Nations Peacekeeping Title III: Other International Organizations Chapter 1: Authorization of Appropriations Chapter 2: General Provisions Title IV: United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs Chapter 1: Authorizations of Appropriations Chapter 2: USIA and Related Agencies Authorities and Activities Title V: United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and the Agency for International Development Title VI: Foreign Policy Division B: Consolidation and Reinvention of Foreign Affairs Agencies Title XI (sic): Organization of the Department of State and Foreign Service Title XII: United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Title XIII: United States Information Agency Title XIV: Agency for International Development and the International Development Cooperation Agency Title XV: Proposed Reorganization of the United Nations Title XVI: Plan for Reorganization of United States Export Promotion and Trade Activities Title XVII: Transition Provisions Foreign Relations Revitalization Act of 1995 - Division A: Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1996-1999 - Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1996-1999 - Title I: Department of State and Related Agencies - Chapter 1: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 1999 for the administration of foreign affairs. (Sec. 111) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 1999 for: (1) offsetting adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and (2) migration and refugee assistance. Chapter 2: Authorities and Activities - Authorizes the Secretary of State to acquire by lease-purchase during FY 1996 through 1999 appropriate housing for Department of State personnel stationed abroad and other facilities, in locations in which the United States has a diplomatic mission. Requires the Secretary and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to certify and notify the appropriate congressional committees that the lease-purchase arrangement will result in a net cost savings to the Federal Government when compared to a lease, a direct purchase, or direct construction of comparable property. (Sec. 122) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State should: (1) utilize property held by the United States in the vicinity of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, as the U.S. Embassy to Germany; and (2) be authorized to make necessary improvements. (Sec. 125) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, with respect to the Secretary of State's authority to transfer to the Buying Power Maintenance account any unobligated funds used to offset adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, to repeal the permanent requirement that such authority only be exercised to the extent and in such amounts as specifically provided for in advance in appropriations Acts. (Sec. 137 of this Act does require, nonetheless, that such authority be exercised only to the extent or in the amounts provided in appropriations Acts, without limiting this requirement to provision in advance in such Acts.) (Sec. 128) Authorizes the Secretary of State to charge a fee for use of the Department of State diplomatic reception rooms. (Sec. 129) Requires a contracting officer of a U.S. agency that performs functions at diplomatic posts abroad to avoid, to the maximum extent practicable, entering into contracts for procurement of property and services that can be procured for it under an existing contract of another U.S. agency performing such functions abroad. (Sec. 130) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize the Secretary of State to procure personal services in prosecuting a proceeding before an international tribunal or a claim by or against a foreign entity. (Sec. 131) Amends the Department of State and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995 to limit funding to the Diplomatic Telecommunications Service (DTS). Requires the two agencies providing the greatest funding to the DTS Program Office (DTS-PO) to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a DTS-PO management plan and strategic plan with specified contents. (Sec. 133) Authorizes the Secretary of State to deposit international center maintenance and security reserve funds retained in interest bearing accounts. (Sec. 134) Authorizes certain joint funds under international agreements for cooperation in environmental, scientific, and cultural areas to be deposited in interest bearing accounts, such interest to be used for program and administrative purposes. (Sec. 135) Authorizes the Secretary of State to lease or acquire an office and residence in Pristina, Kosova, for use by U.S. diplomatic or consular personnel. (Sec. 136) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should urge foreign countries to adopt certain antibribery principles set forth in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 in order to implement effective means of combating bribery of foreign public officials, including the imposition of administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions for such bribery. Directs the Secretary of State to conduct, and submit to specified congressional committees, a study to develop proposals to end the discrimination against U.S. exports that result from bribery and corruption in international business transactions. (Sec. 137) Requires that authorities contained in specified sections of this Act be exercised only to the extent or in the amounts provided in appropriations Acts. Chapter 3: Personnel - Establishes limits on the number of Foreign Service personnel (including noncareer limited appointments) in the Department of State, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), and the Agency for International Development (AID). (Sec. 142) Amends Federal criminal law to subject to both criminal and civil penalties any person who serves in the position of chief of mission and who, within one year after termination from such position, engages in certain lobbying activities. (Sec. 143) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State should require the National Center for Humanities, Education, Languages, and Management Studies (the National Foreign Affairs Training Center, as redesignated) to increase the emphasis on commercial activity, export promotion, and trade in carrying out its core programs and should offer additional classes in such subjects. (Sec. 144) Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish a financial system by which the State Department is reimbursed by other Federal agencies that maintain an overseas presence for the incremental expenses incurred by the Department in providing administrative support to such agencies at U.S. posts abroad. Directs the President to establish an interagency committee consisting of representatives from Federal agencies maintaining a significant number of personnel overseas and headed by the Secretary of State to implement such system. Establishes a working capital fund. (Sec. 145) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to revise provisions relating to Foreign Service performance pay, meritorious and distinguished service awards, and expedited separation of low- ranking employees from the Service. Declares that one objective of the Act is to strengthen and improve the Service by establishing a consolidated and uniform administration of a single Foreign Service by the Director General of the Service, under the direction of the President and the Secretary of State. (Sec. 146) Excludes certain individuals who are not involved in the administration or formulation of personnel policies and programs of the State Department from specified prohibitions with respect to participation in the management of labor organizations by Foreign Service personnel, and vice versa. (Sec. 148) Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of State, under the State Department health care program, to collect from a third party payer the reasonable costs incurred by the Department on behalf of covered beneficiaries for health care services to the same extent that such a beneficiary would be eligible to receive indemnification from the third party payer for such costs. (Sec. 151) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to authorize the Secretary of State to provide training through the Foreign Service Institute to U.S. company employees and their families that are engaged in business abroad when such training is in the U.S. national interest. Authorizes the Secretary to provide on a reimbursable basis foreign language training programs to Members of Congress. (Sec. 152) Redesignates the National Foreign Affairs Training Center as the National Center for Humanities, Education, Languages, and Management Studies. Chapter 4: Consular and Related Activities - Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish a fee to be paid by each diversity immigrant issued a visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act. (Sec. 162) Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of State by regulation to authorize State Department officials or the U.S. Postal Service to retain fees for the execution and issuance of passports. (Sec. 163) Authorizes the Secretary of State to collect up to certain amounts for fees charged for processing machine readable nonimmigrant visas. (Sec. 166) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude from admission into the United States any alien who: (1) is a member of a terrorist organization or who actively supports or advocates terrorist activity; (2) has advocated terrorism or has incited targeted racial vilification or has advocated the death or destruction of U.S. citizens, U.S. officials, or the overthrow of the U.S. Government; or (3) has confiscated, traffics in confiscated, or converts for personal gain confiscated, property which is owned by a U.S. national. (Sec. 168) Requires the U.S. Embassy in each country to report to the Secretary of State a list of those foreign nationals who have confiscated, converted, or trafficked in property the claim to which is held by a U.S. national and in which the confiscation claim has not been fully resolved. (Sec. 169) Permits the President of Taiwan to be admitted to the United States for a visit in 1995. (Sec. 170) Directs the Secretary of State to establish within each U.S. Embassy a Terrorist Lookout Committee. (Sec. 171) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. Government should not impose a border crossing fee along its borders with Canada and Mexico. Title II: United Nations - Chapter 1: Funding; Budgetary and Management Reform - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 1999 for the Department of State to carry out its foreign affairs responsibilities with respect to: (1) the United Nations, its affiliated agencies, and other international organizations; and (2) international peacekeeping activities. (Sec. 203) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.N. General Assembly should reformulate U.N. contributions by member nations to reflect each nation's share of the total world gross national product. (Sec. 204) Authorizes the President to withhold 20 percent of the funds appropriated for the U.S. assessed contribution to the United Nations if the United Nations has failed to implement consensus-based decisionmaking procedures on budgetary matters which assure that sufficient attention is paid to the views of the United States and other member states who are major financial contributors. (Sec. 205) Amends the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 to require specified percentages of funds made available for a fiscal year for U.S. assessed contributions for the U.N. budget and U.N. peacekeeping activities to be withheld from obligation unless the President certifies to the Congress that the United Nations has an independent office of Inspector General to conduct audits of U.N. programs, with an Inspector General duly appointed. Prohibits the United States from paying any voluntary contribution to the United Nations for international peacekeeping activities unless such certification has been made. (Sec. 206) Directs the President to withhold ten percent of the funds made available for U.S. assessed contributions for the U.N. budget until the Secretary of State certifies to the Congress that the United Nations has implemented certain whistleblower protection policies with respect to the reporting of fraud and mismanagement. Chapter 2: United Nations Peacekeeping - Amends the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 to require the President to notify designated congressional committees of any proposed U.N. peacekeeping activity or any other action under the Charter of the United Nations that would involve the use of U.S. Armed Forces or the expenditure of U.S. funds. (Sec. 214) Urges the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to make every effort to: (1) ensure that the United Nations completes a review and reassessment of each nation's assessed contributions for U.N. peacekeeping operations; and (2) advance, as part of the review, the concept that host governments in the region where such operations are carried out should bear a greater burden of its financial cost. Limits the U.S. assessed contribution for U.N. peacekeeping operations. (Sec. 215) Prohibits the obligation of funds to pay U.S. assessed or voluntary contributions for U.N. peacekeeping activities unless the Secretary of State certifies to designated congressional committees that U.S. manufacturers are being given opportunities to provide equipment and services equal to those given to foreign manufacturers. (Sec. 216) Prohibits the sharing of U.S. intelligence information with the United Nations unless the President certifies to appropriate congressional committees that certain requirements to protect such information have been implemented by the United Nations. (Sec. 217) Excludes from actions the United States may take to enforce U.N. sanctions against a foreign country any measure to prohibit assistance that promotes: (1) respect for human rights; (2) the exchange of certain informational materials; or (3) the development of democratic institutions. (Sec. 218) Prohibits funds for contributions to the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) unless the President certifies to the Congress that: (1) the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina supports the continued presence of UNPROFOR within its territory; and (2) certain other conditions are met with respect to UNPROFOR. (Sec. 219) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Executive Branch should cease obligating the United States to pay for international peacekeeping operations in excess of funds specifically appropriated for such purpose. Title III: Other International Organizations - Chapter 1: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 1999 for the Department of State to carry out its foreign affairs responsibilities with respect to: (1) international conferences and contingencies; and (2) specified international commissions. Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1996, conditioned on certain U.S. Government actions promoting attendance at the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, by accredited nongovernmental organizations. (Sec. 304) Declares the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State, in allocating the level of resources for international organizations, should pay particular attention to funding levels of the inter-American organizations. Chapter 2: General Provisions - Sets forth circumstances under which the United States may participate in an international criminal court. (Sec. 312) Prohibits the use of funds: (1) to pay the U.S. contribution to any international organization which engages in the direct or indirect promotion of the doctrine of one world government or one world citizenship; or (2) for the direct or indirect promotion of such doctrine. (Sec. 313) Prohibits the use of funds to pay U.S. membership in the International Labor Organization (ILO), the U.N. Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Inter-American Indian Institute, the Pan American Railway Congress Association, or the Interparliamentary Union. (Sec. 314) Prohibits, until the President makes a certain certification to the Congress, the obligation of funds for: (1) reporting to the Human Rights Committee in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; or (2) responding to any Committee's effort to use such Covenant to resolve claims by other Covenant parties that the United States is not fulfilling its obligations under it. States that such certification is that the Human Rights Committee has: (1) revoked its General Comment No. 24 adopted on November 2, 1994; and (2) expressly recognized the validity as a matter of international law of the reservations, understandings, and declarations contained in the U.S. instrument of ratification of the International Covenant. (Sec. 315) Requires the Secretary of State to report to specified congressional committees on U.S. participation in single-commodity international organizations. (Sec. 316) Prohibits the use of funds for any U.S. contribution to the International Natural Rubber Organization or the International Tropical Timber Organization. (Sec. 318) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the 51 organizations to which the United States makes contributions through the Department of State. (Sec. 319) Declares the sense of the Congress that the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, should promote a representative American perspective on issues of equality, peace, and development, and in the event the United States sends a delegation to it, such delegation should use the voice and vote of the United States: (1) to ensure that the biological and social activity of motherhood is recognized as a valuable and worthwhile endeavor that should in no way be demeaned by society or by the state; (2) to ensure that the traditional family is upheld as the fundamental unit of society upon which healthy cultures are built and, therefore, receives esteem and protection by society and the state; and (3) to define or agree with any definitions that define gender as the biological classification of male and female, which are the two sexes of the human being. Title IV: United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs - Chapter 1: Authorizations of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 1999 to carry out specified international information activities and educational and cultural exchange programs. (Sec. 402) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 1999 for the National Endowment for Democracy. Chapter 2: USIA and Related Agencies Authorities and Activities - Prohibits the use of funds by any Federal agency to participate in an international fair, pavilion, or other major exhibit at any international exposition or world's fair in excess of authorized amounts. (Sec. 412) Authorizes the Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) to continue to administer an au pair program on a world-wide basis through FY 1999. (Sec. 413) Directs the Director of USIA to carry out a pilot program to determine the feasibility and advisability of permitting advertisements on USIA television and radio broadcasts. (Sec. 414) Authorizes the Director of USIA to make computer readable multilingual text and recorded speech in various languages available to the Linguistic Data Consortium of the University of Pennsylvania. (Sec. 415) Requires the Director of USIA to submit to the Congress a plan for the establishment and operation of Radio Free Asia. (Sec. 416) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 to expand the Edmund S. Muskie Fellowship Program (graduate law and business training program) to bring to the United States for study students from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Adds to the selection criteria academic and leadership potential in the fields of journalism, library and information science, and public policy. (Sec. 417) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to authorize the Director of USIA to enter into a contract for the construction of the Voice of America Tinian. Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to extend through March 1, 1997, the authority permitting the second fiscal year of a two-year authorization for any account of the USIA to be appropriated to any other USIA account. (Sec. 418) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study on: (1) the purposes and activities of the North-South Center, East-West Center, Asia Foundation, and the National Endowment for Democracy, and on the extent to which such organizations' activities duplicate activities conducted elsewhere in the U.S. Government; and (2) the activities of the North-South Center located in Miami, Florida, that had the effect of encouraging the Congress to approve implementing legislation for the NAFTA. (Sec. 420) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 to revise requirements for the Mansfield Fellowship Program to subject allowances and benefits to criteria established by the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs. (Sec. 421) Authorizes the Director of the U.S. Information Agency to make available for distribution within the United States the documentary "The Fragile Ring of Life," a film about coral reefs around the world. Title V: United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and the Agency for International Development - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 to carry out the Arms Control and Disarmament Act. (Sec. 502) Amends the Arms Control and Disarmament Act to declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to authorize any Government action which would interfere with, restrict, or prohibit the acquisition, possession, or use of firearms by an individual for the lawful purpose of personal defense, sport, recreation, education, or training. (Sec. 503) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for FY 1996 and 1997 for operating expenses of: (1) the agency primarily responsible for administering development assistance under such Act; and (2) the office of the inspector general of such agency. Title VI: Foreign Policy - Repeals specified laws relating to certain interparliamentary groups. (Sec. 602) Amends Federal law to eliminate the three executive branch members of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (thus leaving Commission membership congressional only). (Sec. 603) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the definition of "refugee" to provide that a person who has been forced to have an abortion or undergo involuntary sterilization, or who has been persecuted for refusing to do so, or for other resistance to a coercive population control program, shall be deemed to have been persecuted on account of political opinion. States that anyone with a well-founded fear that he or she will be forced to undergo such a procedure, or be subjected to persecution for such failure, refusal, or resistance, shall be deemed to have a well-founded fear of persecution on account of political opinion. (Sec. 604) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to approve all applications for licenses under specified regulations to permit payments with respect to goods or services exported before a certain date, directly or indirectly to Iraq or Kuwait, or for the benefit of the Government of Iraq, notwithstanding the failure of such applications to satisfy the requirement that a letter of credit be issued or confirmed by a U.S. bank, or that the letter of credit reimbursement be confirmed by a U.S. bank. Requires issuance of such licenses within 30 days after enactment of this Act. (Sec. 605) Amends the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 to extend from March 31, 1995, to March 31, 1996, the deadline for a required Secretary of State report to the Congress on conditions in Hong Kong of interest to the United States. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to such report. (Sec. 606) Amends the Taiwan Relations Act to supercede the Joint Communique of the United States and China of August 17, 1982, with respect to the Act's provision that the United States will make defense articles and defense services available to Taiwan in quantities necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self- defense capability. (Sec. 607) Renames the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office the Taipei Representative Office. (Sec. 608) Requires the Secretary of State to report annually to the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Speaker of the House on conditions in Tibet and on the state of relations between the United States and those recognized by Congress as the true representatives of the Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama, his representatives, and the Tibetan Government in exile. States the sense of the Congress that whenever an executive branch report is transmitted to the Congress on a country-by-country basis, such report should include, where applicable, a separate report on Tibet listed alphabetically with its own state heading. (Sec. 609) Special Envoy for Tibet Act of 1995 - Establishes within the Department of State a U.S. Special Envoy for Tibet, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Sets forth the duties of such Envoy, including: (1) to promote negotiations between the Dalai Lama and senior members of the Government of China; (2) coordinate U.S. Government policies, programs, and projects concerning Tibet; and (3) consult with the Congress on policies relevant to Tibet and the future and welfare of all Tibetan people. (Sec. 610) Prohibits the use of funds for resettlement in the United States, or to provide education, medical examinations, training, screening, or otherwise facilitate the admission into the United States of Iraqi nationals seeking refugee status who are in Saudi Arabia or Turkey as of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 611) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should appoint a special envoy to: (1) offer assistance in facilitating a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Nagorno- Karabakh; and (2) press for the development of an oil pipeline through Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey. (Sec. 612) Directs the President to report to the appropriate congressional committees on Cuba's methods for enforcing the U.S.-Cuba agreement of September 1994 to restrict Cuban emigration to the United States, and the treatment by the Cuban Government of persons who have been returned to Cuba pursuant to the U.S.-Cuba agreement of May 1995. (Sec. 613) Directs the President to outline to the Congress a U.S. plan to identify and respond to the threat of emerging infectious diseases to the health of the U.S. people. (Sec. 614) Requires the Under Secretary of State for International Security to report to the Congress on: (1) firms engaged in the export of dual-use items; and (2) measures to be taken to strengthen U.S. export-control mechanisms with respect to such items. (Sec. 615) Prohibits the United States from transferring certain arms to Indonesia until the Secretary of State reports to specified congressional committees that significant progress has been made on human rights in East Timor and elsewhere in Indonesia. (Sec. 616) Middle East Peace Facilitation Act of 1995 - Declares the sense of the Congress specifying additional steps the PLO must take to demonstrate an irrevocable denunciation of terrorism and ensure a peaceful settlement of the Middle East dispute. Authorizes the President to suspend specified provisions of law which prohibit foreign and U.N. assistance to the PLO, the receipt or expenditure of PLO funds, and PLO membership in the International Monetary Fund, upon certification to specified congressional committees that: (1) such waiver is in the national interest; (2) the PLO continues to comply with all commitments made in letters to Israel and the Foreign Minister of Norway and under the Declaration of Principles signed in September 1993; and (3) specified funds provided under this Act and other Acts have been used for the purposes for which they were intended. Makes such suspensions effective for up to six months. Specifies additional certifications necessary before U.S. assistance may be provided. Directs the President to ensure continuous monitoring of PLO performance, and to inform the appropriate congressional committees if such performance is not complying with the requirements of this Act. Division B: Consolidation and Reinvention of Foreign Affairs Agencies - Foreign Affairs Reinvention Act of 1995 - Specifies the purposes of this division to include to: (1) consolidate and reinvent U.S. foreign affairs agencies within the Department of State; and (2) assist congressional efforts to balance the Federal budget by 2002. Title XI (sic): Organization of the Department of State and Foreign Service - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities of 1956 to make the Secretary of State: (1) the principle foreign policy adviser to the President; (2) responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and supervision of U.S. foreign relations and for the interdepartmental activities of the U.S. Government abroad. Revises the organization of the Department of State, eliminating and creating specified official positions. (Sec. 1108) Limits the number of Department of State employees for FY 1996 through 1998. (Sec. 1109) Directs the Secretary of State to develop a worldwide plan for the consolidation of U.S. missions and consular posts abroad. (Sec. 1110) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require the head of each department, agency, or entity in the executive branch to ensure, in coordination with the Secretary of State, that the approval of the chief of mission to a foreign country is sought on any proposed change in the size, composition, or mandate of employees performing duties in that country (excluding those under the command of a U.S. area military commander). Authorizes the Secretary of State, in his or her sole discretion, to accord diplomatic titles, privileges, and immunities to such employees. Directs the President to report to specified congressional committees on the procedures contained in National Security Decision Directive Number 38, as in effect on June 2, 1982, and the practices in their implementation, to determine their effectiveness in significantly enhancing the coordination among the several departments, agencies, and entities of the executive branch represented in foreign countries. (Sec. 1111) Directs the President to report to the Congress on the advisability and desirability of integrating the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service and the Foreign Agricultural Service into the Foreign Service. Title XII: United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency - Amends the Arms Control and Disarmament Act to abolish the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. (Sec. 1203) Makes conforming amendments with respect to the transfer of specified authorities to the Department of State and the Secretary of State, respectively. Title XIII: United States Information Agency - Abolishes the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). (Sec. 1304) Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 and other specified Federal law to make conforming amendments with respect to the transfer of specified authorities to the Department of State and the Secretary of State, respectively. Title XIV: Agency for International Development and the International Development Cooperation Agency - Abolishes the Agency for International Development and the International Development Cooperation Agency (except components expressly established by statute or reorganization plan). (Sec. 1402) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and other specified Federal law to make conforming amendments with respect to the transfer of such agencies' functions to the Department of State and the Secretary of State, respectively. Title XV: Proposed Reorganization of the United Nations - Declares the sense of the Congress that the United States lead a comprehensive review of the United Nations to identify reforms to the U.N. system that will produce a smaller, more focused, more efficient United Nations with clearly defined missions are in the interest of the United States and of the United Nations. (Sec. 1502) Directs the President to submit to the Congress a plan recommending a strategic reorganization of the United Nations, including consolidation, abolition, or restructuring of its programs, funds, and organizations, including among other components: (1) consolidation of U.N. technical cooperation activities between U.N. Headquarters and the U.N. office in Geneva, Switzerland, to create a unified agency for technical cooperation for sustainable development with a microenterprise lending capacity merging the functions of specified current U.N. programs and funds; and (2) the consolidation of the U.N. emergency response mechanism by merging other specified functions. Title XVI: Plan for Reorganization of United States Export Promotion and Trade Activities - Directs the President to report to specified congressional committees on what steps are being taken to improve access, coordination, and efficiency among trade promotion organizations and U.S. agencies. Title XVII: Transition Provisions - Sets forth transition administrative provisions regarding: (1) the Secretary of State's reorganization authorities; (2) the transfer of personnel; (3) the submission of reorganization plans for the abolished agencies; (4) congressional consideration of such plans; (5) the establishment of, and authorization of appropriations for, the Foreign Affairs Reorganization Transition Fund; (6) voluntary separation incentives; (7) rights of employees of abolished agencies; (8) transfer and allocation of appropriations and personnel; and (9) a report to the Congress detailing a final accounting of the finances and operations of the abolished agencies.
Bill· SS. 1436 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 1995
Municipal Wastewater Treatment Facility Private Investment Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to include in the regulation of wastewater treatment works (WTWs) under such Act WTWs which are: (1) constructed and owned by a State or municipality; (2) constructed and owned by a State or municipality where ownership has been transferred to a private regulated utility or an entity under contract with the State or municipality to receive municipal wastewater; or (3) owned or operated by a private regulated utility or an entity under contract with the State or municipality to receive municipal wastewater.
Bill· HRH.R. 2682 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 1995
Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations requiring reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions from utility units located in subregions contributing to acid deposition in the Adirondacks necessary to limit, by the year 2000, acid deposition rates to a target level at which the acid neutralizing capacity level of surface waters exceeds the level found in a 1984 survey and the maintenance load of sulfur per hectare does not exceed a specified quantity. Requires the Administrator to also promulgate regulations necessary to require utility units in subregions that are major contributors to Adirondack acid deposition to employ, no later than January 1, 2000, reasonably available technology to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. Describes means allowed for compliance with these regulations. Disallows treatment of emission reductions achieved by compliance with this Act as emission reductions for any other Clean Air Act purposes or as authorizing excess sulfur dioxide emissions under Clean Air Act utility unit allowances.
Bill· SS. 1425 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 27 November 1995
Revised Statutes 2477 Rights-of-Way Settlement Act - Authorizes any State, political subdivision, or other holder of a right-of-way across public lands that was granted under section 2477 of the Revised Statutes (RS 2477) before October 31, 1976, or any person who uses or could use the right-of-way for passage across public lands, to file with the head of the agency or department managing such public lands (Secretary) a notice of the right-of-way. Requires such notice to: (1) be filed not later than five years after this Act's enactment; (2) identify the State and political subdivision through which the right-of-way passes; and (3) contain a map and a general description of the route, termini, and width of the right-of-way. Directs the Secretary: (1) within two years of the date on which notice is filed, to inform the person who filed the notice, the State, and the political subdivision through which the right-of-way passes of any objection to the right-of-way; and (2) to recognize any right-of-way that was accepted or established in accordance with State law or by an affirmative act of a State or political subdivision indicating acceptance of the grant of the right-of-way. Authorizes the Secretary, not later than two years after first notifying a holder or person who filed such a notice of any objection to a right-of-way, to bring an action based on the objection in the U.S. district court to challenge its validity. Directs the Secretary to record any valid right-of-way in the appropriate land records and on maps of the Secretary and to manage the land subject of the right-of-way in a manner that does not interfere with the use of the right-of-way. Prohibits the Secretary or any public land management official from promulgating any regulations relating to RS 2477 rights-of-way that are not essential to carry out the Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) actions to quiet title; (2) the application of State law; and (3) applicability of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
Bill· HRH.R. 2666 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Export and Investment Assistance Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance Title III: Military Assistance Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance Title V: General Provisions Title VI: Middle East Peace Facilitation Act of 1995 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1996 - Title I: Export and Investment Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for: (1) direct loans, loan guarantees, tied-aid grants, insurance, and administrative expenses under Export-Import Bank programs; (2) Overseas Private Investment Corporation direct and guaranteed loans and administrative expenses; and (3) the Trade and Development Agency. Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for the U.S. contribution to: (1) the Agency for International Development (AID) for child survival and disease programs, specified development assistance (including for the Inter-American Foundation and development assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa), specified projects aimed at reunification of Cyprus, democracy and humanitarian activities in Burma, private and voluntary cooperative development organizations obtaining less than 20 percent of their funding for international activities from sources other than the U.S. Government, international disaster relief, emergency humanitarian assistance to the former Yugoslavia, debt restructuring, direct loans and loan guarantees for micro and small enterprise development programs, administrative expenses of the worldwide housing guarantees program, the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund, operating expenses of AID and the AID Office of Inspector General, economic support fund (ESF) assistance, the International Fund for Ireland, economic assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, and assistance for the independent states of the former Soviet Union (including the establishment of a Trans-Caucasus Enterprise fund); (2) the Peace Corps (but with a prohibition on the use of such funds for abortions); (3) international narcotics control; (4) migration and refugee assistance, including refugee resettlement assistance; (5) the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; (6) antiterrorism assistance; and (7) the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund. Bars the use of development assistance funds for: (1) abortions or involuntary sterilizations; and (2) U.S. private and voluntary organizations, except those which obtain less than 20 percent of annual funding for international activities from sources other than the U.S. Government. Permits humanitarian assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan, if the President determines that nongovernmental assistance is not adequate to address the suffering of refugees and internally displaced persons. Title III: Military Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for: (1) international military education and training, but bars such assistance to Zaire and Guatemala and allows funding to Indonesia only for expanded military education and training; (2) foreign military financing and direct loans; and (3) international peacekeeping operations. Prohibits foreign military financing for: (1) any non-NATO country participating in the Partnership for Peace Program except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations; and (2) Zaire, Sudan, Peru, Liberia, and Guatemala. Prohibits such assistance to Colombia or Bolivia until the Secretary of State certifies that such funds will be used primarily for counternarcotics activities there. Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for the U.S. contribution to the: (1) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank); (2) International Development Association; (3) International Financial Corporation; (4)Inter-American Development Bank; (5) Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund; (6) Asian Development Bank; (7) Asian Development Fund; (8) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and (8) North American Development Bank. Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for international programs and organizations. Limits certain callable subscriptions. Sets certain restrictions on international organization funding, including prohibiting the use of funds made available to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for activities in China. Prohibits foreign assistance funds to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) unless the President makes a certain certification to the Committees on Appropriations. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth limits on the use of appropriations, including no more than: (1) 15 percent of such appropriations shall be obligated during the last month of availability; (2) $126,500 for official residence expenses of AID; (3) $5,000 for entertainment expenses of AID; (4) $95,000 for representation allowances for AID; (5) $2,000 for entertainment and representation allowances for the Inter-American Foundation; or (6) $4,000 for entertainment expenses for the Peace Corps. (Sec. 502) Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) bilateral funding of international financial institutions; (2) the export of nuclear equipment, fuel, or technology; (3) direct assistance or reparations to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Iran, Serbia, Sudan, or Syria; (4) assistance to any country whose elected head of government is deposed by military coup; (5) certain transfers between appropriations accounts without consultation with Congress; (6) assistance to any country in default in excess of a year on payments on a U.S. loan (except for Nicaragua and narcotics-related assistance for Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru); and (7) assistance for certain commodities which are in surplus on world markets and could injure U.S. producers of a similar commodity, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 514) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of specified international financial institutions to oppose any assistance for the production or extraction of any commodity or mineral for export if it is in surplus on world markets and such assistance will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar commodity. (Sec. 516) Prohibits the use of international organization funds for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Libya, Iran, or certain Communist countries. (Sec. 517) Declares it is U.S. policy that funds allocated to Israel from the ESF shall not be less than the annual debt repayment from Israel to the United States. (Sec. 518) Prohibits the use of development assistance funds for abortions or involuntary sterilizations. (Sec. 518A) Bars the use of funds for population assistance activities for any foreign private, nongovernmental, or multilateral organization until such organization certifies that it will not perform abortions in any foreign country, except where the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of forcible rape or incest. Bars the use of funds for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) unless the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that: (1) the UNFPA will terminate all family planning activities in China no later than March 1996; or (2) during the twelve months preceding such certification, there have been no abortions as a result of coercion associated with the family planning policies of the national government or other governmental entities within China. (Sec. 519) Requires the President to report to the Committees on Appropriations on annual arms sales proposals covering major weapons under the Arms Export Control Act. (Sec. 520) Prohibits the use of funds for Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Indonesia, Liberia, Nicaragua, Peru, Russia, Sudan, or Zaire, except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations. (Sec. 522) Makes funds available to AID for family planning, health, child survival, and AIDS research and control in developing countries. (Sec. 523) Bars funding for indirect assistance to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Syria, North Korea, or China unless the President certifies that the withholding of such funds is contrary to the national interest. (Sec. 524) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to extend the President's waiver authority with respect to reciprocal leasing through FY 1996. (Sec. 525) Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to notify the Committees on Appropriations before providing excess DOD articles to certain NATO and major non-NATO countries. (Sec. 527) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each international financial institution, and the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the International Fund for Agriculture Development, to oppose any bilateral assistance to any country that supports terrorism. (Sec. 528) Authorizes the commercial leasing of defense articles to Israel, Egypt, NATO, and major non-NATO allies if the President determines that there are compelling foreign policy or national security reasons. (Sec. 529) Prohibits the sale of Stinger missiles to any country bordering the Persian Gulf. (Sec. 530) Authorizes nongovernmental organizations which are grantees or contractors of AID to place funds made available to them under this Act in interest bearing accounts in order to enhance their participation in economic activities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, including endowments and debt-for-development and debt-for- nature exchanges. (Sec. 531B) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to make funds available for FY 1996 and FY 1997 for defense article stockpiles in the Republic of Korea and Thailand. (Sec. 532) Directs the Administrator of the AID to require foreign countries that receive foreign assistance which results in the generation of local currencies to deposit such currencies in a separate account to be used to finance foreign assistance activities. (Sec. 533) Prohibits payments to any international financial institution while the U.S. Executive Director to the institution is compensated at a rate in excess of that for a specified position under the Executive Schedule. (Sec. 534) Bars assistance to any country that is not in compliance with the United Nations sanctions against Iraq, Serbia, or Montenegro unless the President certifies to the Congress that such assistance: (1) is in the national interest; (2) will directly benefit the needy people in that country; or (3) will be humanitarian assistance for foreign nationals who have fled Iraq and Kuwait. Authorizes the President to prohibit the importation into the United States of any product of a foreign country that has not prohibited the importation of Iraq's, Serbia's, or Montenegro's products into its customs territory and the export of its products to such countries. (Sec. 535) Authorizes the drawdown of defense articles, services, and training to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to assist in efforts to locate members of the armed forces and U.S. civilians who remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. (Sec. 537) Requires the Committees on Appropriations to be notified of each country that has been approved for cash flow financing for the procurement of defense articles in excess of $100 million. (Sec. 538) Declares that provisions under this or any other Act authorizing appropriations for foreign operations or export financing shall not be construed to prohibit activities authorized by the Peace Corps Act, the Inter-American Foundation Act, or the African Development Foundation Act. Directs an agency to report to the Committees on Appropriations whenever it is conducting or proposing activities in a country for which such assistance is prohibited. (Sec. 539) Prohibits the use of funds to provide: (1) any financial incentive to a business for purposes of inducing it to relocate outside the United States if it will reduce the number of employees in the United States; (2) assistance for developing in a foreign country an export processing zone or other designated area in which a country's tax, tariff, labor, environment, and safety laws do not apply to activities in the area, unless the President certifies that such assistance is not likely to cause a loss of U.S. jobs; or (3) assistance for any project that contributes to the violation of internationally recognized workers rights in such country. (Sec. 540) Authorizes the President, pursuant to a lifting of the United Nations arms embargo against Bosnia-Herzegovina, to transfer defense articles to such country's government without reimbursement if he certifies to the Congress that the transfer of such articles would assist that nation in self-defense and promote the security and stability of the region. (Sec. 541) Declares that funds appropriated under this Act for Haiti, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Cambodia, and for victims of war, displaced children, displaced Burmese, humanitarian assistance for Romania, and humanitarian assistance for the peoples of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosova, may be made available notwithstanding any other provision of law. Directs the President to terminate assistance to any country that the President determines is cooperating with the military activities of the Khmer Rouge. Authorizes the use of foreign assistance funds to support: (1) tropical forestry and energy programs aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases; and (2) biodiversity conservation activities. Authorizes AID to employ personal services contractors to administer programs for the West Bank and Gaza. (Sec. 542) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to steps the President should take to encourage renunciation of the Arab boycott of Israel. (Sec. 543) Authorizes the use of ESF funds to strengthen the administration of justice in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. (Sec. 544) Declares that restrictions on assistance to foreign countries contained in this Act or any other Act shall not be construed to restrict assistance in support of programs of nongovernmental organizations as long as it is in the national interest of the United States. (Sec. 546) Authorizes for FY 1996 the provision of nonlethal excess defense articles, without regard to certain restrictions, to countries for which U.S. foreign assistance has been requested and for which receipt of such articles was separately justified for the fiscal year. (Sec. 547) Prohibits the use of funds for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States that were not authorized before the enactment of this Act. (Sec. 548) Sets forth Buy American requirements. (Sec. 549) Prohibits the use of funds to pay any assessments, arrearages, or dues of any U.N. member. (Sec. 551) Prohibits the provision of funds to a private voluntary organization that fails to provide any document, file, or record necessary to the auditing requirements of AID. (Sec. 552) Prohibits the provision of funds to any foreign government that provides lethal military equipment to a country that the Secretary of State has determined has a terrorist government, unless the President determines that the furnishing of such assistance is in the national interest. (Sec. 553) Withholds assistance to a foreign country in an amount equal to 110 percent of the total unpaid parking fines and penalties owed by the country to the District of Columbia. (Sec. 554) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the PLO for the West Bank and Gaza unless the President has exercised certain authorities to suspend prohibitions on assistance to the PLO. (Sec. 556) Permits the President to provide a specified amount of commodities and services to the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal if doing so will contribute to a resolution of charges regarding genocide or other violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia. (Sec. 557) Authorizes the use of funds made available to DOD for crating, packing, handling, and transportation of nonlethal excess defense articles transferred to countries eligible to participate in the Partnership for Peace and to receive assistance under the Program of Support for East European Democracy (SEED). (Sec. 558) Authorizes demining equipment used in support of the clearing of landmines for humanitarian purposes to be disposed of on a grant basis in foreign countries. (Sec. 559) Amends provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, with respect to nuclear non-proliferation conditions on assistance to Pakistan, to prohibit military assistance equipment or technology to be furnished to Pakistan unless there is certification that Pakistan does not possess a nuclear explosive device, except for any assistance or transfer provided for: (1) international narcotics control; (2) facilitating military-to-military contact, humanitarian, and civic projects; (3) peacekeeping and other multilateral operations, except for lethal military equipment provided on a lease or loan basis only; and (4) antiterrorism assistance or any provision of law available for antiterrorism assistance. Maintains restrictions on contracts for the delivery of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan. Allows military equipment, technology, and defense services, except for F-16 aircraft, to be transferred to Pakistan with respect to contracts entered into before October 1, 1990. (Sec. 560) Prohibits the obligation of appropriations to create in Jerusalem a new U.S. agency office for the purpose of conducting U.S. business with the Palestinian Authority over Gaza and Jericho (or any successor Palestinian governing entity) provided for in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles. (Sec. 561) Prohibits certain funds appropriated for Informational Program activities from being obligated to pay for: (1) alcoholic beverages; (2) food (other than food provided at a military installation) not provided in conjunction with Program trips where students do not stay at a military installation; or (3) entertainment expenses. (Sec. 562) Prohibits the use of funds for assistance in support of any country that restricts transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance, except in the national security interest of the United States. (Sec. 563) Directs the President to withhold funds made available under this Act equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if any, provided by a foreign, country, or any entity in that country, in support of the completion of the Cuban nuclear facility at Juragua, near Cienfuegos, Cuba, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 564) Bars funding to Haiti if the Government of Haiti is controlled by a regime holding power through means other than the democratic elections to be held in 1995. (Sec. 566) Limits ESF assistance to Turkey. (Sec. 566A) Limits the use of funds for the North American Development Bank only for purposes set out in the binational agreement establishing the bank. (Sec. 567) Bars the use of funds for International Narcotics Control or Crop Substitution in Burma. (Sec. 568) Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to subscribe to an increase in the authorized capital stock of the Asian Development Bank (the fourth general capital increase). Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 569) Authorizes appropriations for the International Development Association (the tenth replenishment). (Sec. 570) Authorizes the President to reduce amounts owed to the United States by eligible countries as a result of: (1) housing guarantees made pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; or (2) credits extended or guarantees issued under the Arms Export Control Act. Permits such authority only: (1) to implement multilateral official debt relief and referendum agreements known as the Paris Club Agreed Minutes; and (2) with respect to countries with heavy debt burdens that are eligible to borrow from the International Development Association, but not from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IDA-only countries). Prescribes additional conditions for the exercise of such authority. (Sec. 572) Authorizes the President to direct the drawdown for Jordan of defense articles and services from DOD, and military education and training up to a specified dollar amount provided certain conditions are met. (Sec. 576) Amends the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 to require that an additional report be made in 1996 respecting conditions in Hong Kong of interest to the United States and directs that such report include detailed information on the status of, and other developments affecting, implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, including the: (1) Basic Law and its consistency with the Joint Declaration; (2) openness and fairness of elections to the legislature; (3) openness and fairness of election of the chief executive and the executive's accountability to the legislature; (4) treatment of political parties; (5) independence of the judiciary and its ability to exercise the power of final judgement over Hong Kong; (6) Bill of Rights. (Sec. 579) Amends the Import-Export Bank Act of 1945 to extend funding for the Tied-Aid Credit Program through FY 1997. Authorizes appropriations to the Tied-Aid Credit Fund for FY 1996 and 1997. (Sec. 581) Amends the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Act of 1990 to extend the Au Pair Program. (Sec. 583) Bars assistance to Haiti until the President reports to the Congress that: (1) the Haitian Government is conducting thorough investigations of extrajudicial and political killings; and (2) the Government is cooperating with the United States authorities in the investigations of such killings. Excludes from the limitation provision of humanitarian or electoral assistance. Permits the President to waive the requirements of the limitation if he determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the waiver is: (1) in the national interest; or (2) necessary to assure the safe and timely withdrawal of American forces from Haiti. (Sec. 584) Prescribes that funding for activities in the internationally-recognized borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, other than refugee and disaster assistance and assistance for the restoration of infrastructure, including power grids, water supplies and natural gas, be limited only to activities in the territory of the Bosniac-Croat Federation. (Sec. 585) Amends the NATO Participation Act of 1994 to authorize the President to: (1) evaluate the degree to which any country emerging from communist domination which has expressed interest in joining NATO meets the specified criteria; and (2) to designate one or more of these countries as eligible to receive assistance under the program to facilitate an eligible country's transition to NATO membership. Permits the President at any time to designate other such European countries for assistance under the program and, at the time of designation, to determine and report to the House Committees on International Relations and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Appropriations that each country so designated meets the criteria. Title VI: Middle East Peace Facilitation Act of 1995 - Middle East Peace Facilitation Act of 1995 - Declares the sense of the Congress specifying additional steps the PLO must take to demonstrate an irrevocable denunciation of terrorism and ensure a peaceful settlement of the Middle East dispute. (Sec. 604) Authorizes the President to suspend specified provisions of law which prohibit the U.S. share of foreign and United Nations assistance to the PLO, the receipt or expenditure of PLO funds, and PLO membership in the International Monetary Fund, upon certification to specified congressional committees that: (1) such waiver is in the national interest; (2) the PLO continues to abide by commitments made in letters to Israel and the Foreign Minister of Norway and under the Declaration of Principles signed in September 1993; and (3) specified funds provided under this Act and other Acts have been used for the purposes for which they were intended. Makes such suspensions effective for up to six months.
Bill· SS. 1417 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1995
NAFTA Accountability Act - Requires assessment of the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), further negotiation of certain NAFTA provisions, and withdrawal from NAFTA unless specified conditions are met and certified to. Sets forth conditions for continuing U.S. participation in NAFTA, which must be met before the end of 1996. Requires the President to renegotiate the terms of NAFTA to correct trade deficits, currency distortions, and agricultural provisions in specified ways. Requires certifications by certain U.S. officials with respect to NAFTA, relating to: (1) gains in U.S. jobs and living standards (by the Secretary of Labor); (2) increased U.S. domestic manufacturing (by the Secretary of Commerce); (3) health and environmental standards, with respect to food imports and to U.S.-Mexico border areas (by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Food and Drug Administration, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency); (4) flow of illegal drugs from Mexico and Canada (by the Attorney General); and (5) Mexican democracy and human freedoms (by the President). Directs the President to consult regularly with the Congress regarding such negotiations. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative to consult with appropriate congressional committees in developing technical and conforming amendments that may be required to carry out this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that until the conditions set by this Act are met: (1) the President should not engage in negotiations to expand NAFTA to include other countries; and (2) fast-track authority should not be renewed with respect to the approval of any such NAFTA expansion.
Bill· HRH.R. 2648 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1995
Lake Gaston Protection Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from granting a license, license amendment, or permit (license) for an activity that will result directly or indirectly in the withdrawal by a State or political subdivision of water from a lake, reservoir, or similar body of water (lake) that is situated in two States unless the Governor of the State in which more than half of the lake is situated certifies that the withdrawal will not adversely affect the environment in, or the economy of, that State. Makes an exception regarding an application for a license for an activity that will occur or affect waters located within a river basin that is subject to an interstate compact, a decree of the Supreme Court, or an Act of Congress that specifically allocates the rights to use such water. Specifies that this Act shall apply to any application made on or after January 1, 1991, unless the application has been granted and is no longer subject to judicial review.
Bill· HRH.R. 2651 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1995
NAFTA Accountability Act - Requires assessment of the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), further negotiation of certain NAFTA provisions, and withdrawal from NAFTA unless specified conditions are met and certified to. Sets forth conditions for continuing U.S. participation in NAFTA, which must be met before the end of 1996. Requires the President to renegotiate the terms of NAFTA to correct trade deficits, currency distortions, and agricultural provisions in specified ways. Requires certifications by certain U.S. officials with respect to NAFTA, relating to: (1) gains in U.S. jobs and living standards (by the Secretary of Labor); (2) increased U.S. domestic manufacturing (by the Secretary of Commerce); (3) health and environmental standards, with respect to food imports and to U.S.-Mexico border areas (by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Food and Drug Administration, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency); (4) flow of illegal drugs from Mexico and Canada (by the Attorney General); and (5) Mexican democracy and human freedoms (by the President). Directs the President to consult regularly with the Congress regarding such negotiations. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative to consult with appropriate congressional committees in developing technical and conforming amendments that may be required to carry out this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that until the conditions set by this Act are met: (1) the President should not engage in negotiations to expand NAFTA to include other countries; and (2) fast-track authority should not be renewed with respect to the approval of any such NAFTA expansion.
Bill· SS. 1413 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1995
Lake Gaston Protection Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from granting a license, license amendment, or permit (license) for an activity that will result directly or indirectly in the withdrawal by a State or political subdivision of water from a lake, reservoir, or similar body of water (lake) that is situated in two States unless the Governor of the State in which more than half of the lake is situated certifies that the withdrawal will not adversely affect the environment in, or the economy of, that State. Makes an exception regarding an application for a license for an activity that will occur or affect waters located within a river basin that is subject to an interstate compact, a decree of the Supreme Court, or an Act of Congress that specifically allocates the rights to use such water. Specifies that this Act shall apply to any application made on or after January 1, 1991, unless the application has been granted and is no longer subject to judicial review.
Bill· HRH.R. 2645 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1995
Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, notwithstanding title VI of the Clean Air Act, the Montreal Protocol, the Copenhagen Accords, and all related international agreements, from banning, phasing out, or restricting the production, importation, export, consumption, or use of CFC-12 (freon) for use in automobile and agricultural air conditioning equipment or HCFC-22 for use in residential air conditioning equipment. Repeals all rules, standards, and other regulatory actions issued by the Administrator before the date of enactment of this Act to the extent they impose controls prohibited under this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 2637 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1995
Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with State and local air pollution control agencies, to undertake a study of air pollution from mobile sources entering the United States from other countries to determine the extent to which air pollution in U.S. areas exceeding national ambient air quality standards is attributable to such sources. Requires development of a verifiable model for estimation of the amount of such pollution and use of estimates and monitoring in at least one metropolitan area near an international border, including the San Diego, California, area, to test model results. Requires a report to the Congress.
Law· HJRESH.J.Res. 122 (104th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Continuing Appropriations Title II: (Unnamed) Title III: Commitment to a Seven-Year Balanced Budget Title I: Continuing Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Makes further continuing appropriations for FY 1996 for continuing projects and activities, including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees, conducted in 1995 and for which appropriations or other authority would be available in the following Acts: (1) the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996; (2) the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1996; (3) the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1996; (4) the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1996; (5) the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996; (6) the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996; (7) the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996; (8) the Department of Transportation Appropriations Act, 1996; (9) the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1996; and (10) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996. Sets the rates of such funding. Sets forth limitations on the use of such funds. (Sec. 106) Provides that, unless otherwise provided for in this joint resolution or in the applicable appropriations Act, appropriations and funds made available and authority granted pursuant to this joint resolution shall be available until: (1) enactment of an appropriation for any project or activity provided for in this joint resolution; (2) the enactment of the applicable appropriations Act by both Houses without any provision for such project or activity; or (3) December 5, 1995, whichever first occurs. (Sec. 111) Provides in specified circumstances, except for section 106, for the maintenance of a minimum level of funding for projects or activities under any Act listed in section 101. Defines minimum level. (Sec. 112) Requires, except for section 106 and under specified conditions, that whenever the rate for operations for any continuing project or activity would result in a furlough of Government employees, that rate for operations may be increased to a minimum level that would enable the furlough to be avoided. (Sec. 113) Requires, except for sections 106, 111, and 112, that for those programs that had high initial rates of operation or complete distribution of funding at the beginning of FY 1995 because of distributions of funding to States, foreign countries, grantees, or others, similar distributions of funds for FY 1996 shall not be made and no grants shall be awarded for such programs funded by this resolution that would impinge on final funding prerogatives. (Sec. 115) Provides that section 132 of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act of 1988 (which provides that amounts appropriated for the Federal Payment to the District of Columbia shall not be subject to apportionment) shall not apply for this joint resolution. Provides for including in the apportionment for the Federal Payment to the District of Columbia an additional $15 million for certain capital construction loan repayments. (Sec. 116) Requires, except for section 106, that the authority and conditions for the application of appropriations of the Office of Technology Assessment as contained in House Report 104-212, shall be followed when applying the funding made available by this joint resolution. (Sec. 119) Requires, except for section 106, the Securities and Exchange Commission's Salaries and Expenses amount to include, in addition to direct appropriations, the amount it collects under the fee rate and offsetting collection authority. (Sec. 120) Requires that funding be made available for the necessary expenses of the Bureau of Mines for: (1) continuing limited health and safety and related research, materials partnerships, and minerals information activities; (2) mineral assessments in Alaska; and (3) terminating all other activities of the Bureau of Mines. (Sec. 121) Requires, except for section 106, that funds for the Environmental Protection Agency shall be made available in the appropriation accounts which are provided in H.R. 2099 as reported on September 13, 1995. (Sec. 122) Sets forth a special formula for determining the rate of operations for projects and activities that would be funded under the heading "International Organizations and Conferences, Contributions to International Organizations" in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996. (Sec. 123) Provides, except for section 106, that the rate for operations of the following projects or activities shall be only the minimum necessary to accomplish orderly termination: (1) Administrative Conference of the United States; (2) Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (with an exception); (3) Interstate Commerce Commission; (4) Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation; (5) Land and Water Conservation Fund, State Assistance; and (6) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Rural Abandoned Mine Program. Title II: - Waives parchment printing requirements of the enrollment of: (1) a continuing resolution; (2) a debt limit extension measure; and (3) a reconciliation bill. (Sec. 202) Sets forth the definitions of terms used in this joint resolution. Title III: Commitment to a Seven-Year Balanced Budget - States that the President and the Congress shall enact legislation in the 104th Congress to achieve a unified balanced budget not later than FY 2002 as scored by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Requires such unified balanced budget to be based on the most current economic and technical assumptions of the Congressional Budget Office.
Bill· SS. 1406 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1995
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey to Eufaula, Oklahoma, all U.S. rights and interests to specified real property at the Eufaula Lake project. Directs the Secretary, prior to the conveyance, to conduct an environmental baseline survey to determine contamination levels for which the United States would be responsible under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and any other applicable law.
Bill· HRH.R. 2601 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1995
Bottled Water Standards Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, after the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency promulgates a national primary drinking water regulation for a contaminant under the Safe Drinking Water Act, to issue a regulation for that contaminant in bottled water or make a finding that a regulation is not necessary to protect the public health because the contaminant is not present in bottled water. Specifies that such a regulation shall take effect on the date on which the final regulation of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) takes effect. Requires the relevant MCL to provide protection of public health equivalent to the MCL provided in the national primary drinking water regulation. Makes the drinking water regulation the standard for bottled water if the Secretary fails to establish a regulation.
Bill· HRH.R. 2609 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1995
Texas Reclamation Projects Indebtedness Purchase Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the Texas public agency which has contracted with the United States for repayment of specified Bureau or Reclamation projects in Texas, or another Texas public agency, for the purchase of such projects under specified conditions. Identifies the affected projects as the Canadian River, Palmetto Bend, and Nueces River Reclamation projects. Provides that the assumption of Federal nonreimbursable responsibility by the contracting party is in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and project purchase review shall not be required.
Bill· SS. 1401 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1995
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Amendments Act of 1995 - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to: (1) repeal certain oversight functions of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; (2) provide for an approved State program for surface coal mining and reclamation operations which shall apply in that State in lieu of the Act; (3) declare the Act inapplicable to surface coal mining and reclamation operations within a State with an approved State program until such program has been amended, and the permittee has been provided reasonable time to conform operations to the amended program; and (4) declare that operations in compliance with a permit issued under the Act shall be deemed to be in compliance with its environmental protection standards and those of an approved State or Federal program pursuant to the Act. Amends enforcement guidelines to grant a State regulatory authority sole enforcement responsibility for the Act and relevant State law, subject only to State administrative and judicial review. Confers enforcement responsibility for Federal water quality laws (including State law enacted pursuant thereto) upon the regulatory authority approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Revises judicial review guidelines to: (1) repeal the provision construing the availability of judicial review of a State regulatory authority as not limiting the operation of rights with respect to citizens' suits to compel compliance with Federal law; and (2) declare that an action by the Secretary of the Interior regarding inadequate State enforcement is subject to judicial review by the U.S. district court for the district which includes the capital of the State whose program is at issue. Establishes a three-year statute of limitations for an enforcement proceeding under this Act. Redefines surface coal mining operations to exclude public roads from the regulatory purview of the Act.
Bill· SS. 1402 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1995
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Amendment Act - Amends the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act to repeal definitions relating to: (1) no-migration determination; (2) retrieval; and (3) test-phase and test-phase activities. (Sec. 3) Declares that existing rights under specified oil and gas leases shall not be affected unless the Secretary of Energy determines that acquisition of such leases is necessary for the long-term protection of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) (currently, unless lease acquisition is required to comply with final disposal regulations or with the Solid Waste Disposal Act). (Sec. 4) Repeals the mandate for test phase and retrieval plans, and the attendant performance assessment report. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the WIPP to receive from the Secretary transuranic waste which did not result from a defense activity but that is under the Secretary's control on the date of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 7) Revises the requirements for commencement of disposal operations to authorize the Secretary to begin the disposal phase after review and certification by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (the Administrator) that Department of Energy's (DOE) application reasonably addresses final disposal standards. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary to submit transuranic waste disposal recommendations and surveys to the Congress. (Sec. 9) Prescribes criteria under which the Administrator shall certify compliance with disposal regulations. States that the Administrator shall disapprove DOE's application only upon finding that the preponderance of evidence shows that the Secretary has failed to adequately address long-term environmental and human-health related risks. Precludes the Administrator from conducting an independent evaluation of the analyses used to evaluate long-term disposal system performance. (Sec. 10) Instructs the Secretary to determine whether or not engineered barriers, or both (sic), will be required to comply with specified Federal regulations. (Current law requires the use of both engineered and natural barriers.) (Sec. 11) Exempts the Secretary from complying with certain Solid Waste Disposal Act proscriptions against land disposal of specified wastes. Repeals the mandate for: (1) periodic oversight and compliance determination by the Administrator and the State of New Mexico (the State); and (2) determination of noncompliance during disposal and decommissioning phases. (Sec. 12) Repeals retrievability requirements. Declares that it is the intent of the Congress that after completion of the Administrator's review and certification under this Act, the Secretary will begin the disposal phase by June 30, 1997. (Sec. 13) Repeals the mandate for: (1) a WIPP decommissioning plan; and (2) the deadline for the Secretary to develop a management plan for the Withdrawal. (Sec. 15) Revises authorization of appropriations guidelines to authorize payments directly to the State instead of to the Secretary for subsequent payments to the State.
Bill· HRH.R. 2595 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1995
Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to establish 1,000 pounds as the reportable quantity for sulfur dioxide for purposes of certain notification requirements with respect to the release of hazardous substances from a vessel or facility.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 116 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1995
Makes continuing appropriations for FY 1996 for projects or activities including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees provided for in the following Acts: (1) the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996; (2) the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1996; (3) the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1996; (4) the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1996; (5) the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1996; (6) the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996; (7) the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996; (8) the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996; (9) the Department of Transportation Appropriations Act, 1996; (10) the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1996; and (11) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996. Sets forth limitations on the use of such funds. (Sec. 112) Requires that whenever the rate of operations for any continuing project or activity provided for which there is a budget request would result in a furlough of Government employees, that rate for operations may be increased to a level that would enable the furlough to be avoided. (Sec. 113) Requires that for those programs that had high initial rates of operation or complete distribution of funding at the beginning of FY 1995 because of distributions of funding to States, foreign countries, grantees, or others, similar distributions of funds for FY 1996 shall not be made and no grants shall be awarded for such programs, subject to stated exceptions. (Sec. 115) Requires that the rate of operations for any continuing project or activity that have not been increased shall be reduced by five percent but shall not be reduced below a defined minimum level or below the level that would result in a furlough. (Sec. 116) Provides that section 132 of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act of 1988 (which provides that amounts appropriated for the Federal Payment to the District of Columbia shall not be subject to apportionments) shall not apply for this joint resolution. Provides for including in the apportionment for the Federal Payment to the District of Columbia an additional $217 million. (Sec. 117) Requires that the authority and conditions for the application of appropriations of the Office of Technology Assessment as contained in House Report 104-212, shall be followed when applying the funding made available by this joint resolution. (Sec. 120) Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission's Salaries and Expenses account to include, in addition to direct appropriations, the amount it collects under the fee rate and offsetting collection authority. (Sec. 121) Requires that funding be made available for the necessary expenses of the Bureau of Mines for: (1) continuing limited health and safety and related research, materials partnerships, and minerals information activities; (2) for mineral assessments in Alaska; and (3) for terminating all other activities of the Bureau of Mines. (Sec. 122) Requires that funds for the Environmental Protection Agency shall be made available.
Bill· SS. 1391 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1995
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit any civil or administrative penalty from being imposed against a local government for a violation of a provisions of the Act: (1) if such government has entered into an agreement with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Army, or the State to carry out a compliance plan with respect to a prior violation of the provision; and (2) during the period beginning on the date on which the government and the Administrator, Secretary, or State enter into such agreement and ending on the date on which the government is required to be in compliance under the agreement.
Bill· SS. 1390 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1995
Local Environmental Improvement Facilitation Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide that, in the case of a civil or administrative penalty assessed against an individual, corporation, partnership, or association (private person), the private person may elect to pay: (1) the amount of the penalty to the Treasury for deposit into a special account for payment of public debt obligations; or (2) an amount not to exceed $500,000 of the penalty to carry out a community environmental project in accordance with this Act, with the remainder to be paid into the Treasury's special account. Requires a private person who makes the latter election, after consulting with and obtaining the concurrence of the State and each political subdivision of the State within which the violation occurred, to enter into an agreement to pay the prescribed amount to an appropriate person to carry out one or more environmental projects. Requires a separate agreement to be entered into with respect to each penalty for which an election is made. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) suitable environmental projects; and (2) oversight.
Bill· HRH.R. 2583 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1995
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to prohibit use of funds in the Hazardous Substances Superfund for construction or operation of a thermal destruction facility at the site known as the OII landfill site, located in the vicinity of the cities of Los Angeles, Montebello, and Monterey Park, California, unless the City of Monterey Park and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency enter into a written agreement regarding the location of the facility.
Bill· SS. 1373 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1995
Agricultural Resources Enhancement Act of 1995 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 (the Act) to define: (1) "alternative conservation system" as one that achieves a substantial reduction in soil erosion; (2) "conservation system" to mean the conservation measures and practices that are approved for application by a producer to a highly erodible field that provide for cost effective and practical erosion reduction based on local resource conditions and standards contained in the Natural Resources Conservation Service field office technical guide (technical guide); and (3) "frequently cropped agricultural land" to mean agricultural land that exhibits wetland characteristics and that has been used for six of the ten years prior to January 1, 1996, for agricultural production or production of an annual or perennial agricultural crop, an aquaculture product, a nursery product, or a wetland crop. Specifies that a designation of highly erodible land on agricultural land shall be valid until an owner or operator requests a new designation. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to provide the designation on the request of the owner or operator. Allows a designation of highly erodible land to be based on the most contemporary science, method, or technology, as determined by the Secretary, for determining soil erodibility that accurately reflects the potential for soil loss. (Sec. 4) Revises provisions of the Act regarding the highly erodible land conservation program to provide that (with exceptions) any participant in an annual program under the Agricultural Act of 1949 after January 1, 1996, who in any crop year after that date produces an agricultural commodity on a field on which highly erodible land is predominate, shall be in violation of such provisions and ineligible for loans or payments in an amount proportionate to the severity of the violation, taking into account the intent of the person and the frequency of the violations. Sets forth or revises provisions regarding: (1) ineligibility for specified loans and payments because of violations; (2) exemptions; (3) the effect on a landlord of ineligibility of a tenant or sharecropper for benefits; (4) a good faith exemption; and (5) failure to apply a conservation plan. Requires the Secretary to ensure that the standards and guidelines contained in a local technical guide applicable to a required conservation plan: (1) allow a person to use an alternative conservation system as a means of meeting the requirements and achieving the goals of the Act with respect to a highly erodible field that has been used in the production of an agricultural commodity after December 23, 1985; and (2) provide for conservation measures and practices that are cost-effective and technically and economically feasible based on local resource conditions and available conservation technology and that do not cause undue economic hardship to the person applying the plan or system. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) erosion measurement; (2) crop residue measurements; (3) revisions of conservation plans and systems and updating of local technical guides; (4) technical assistance; (5) violations; (6) expedited variances; and (7) persons affiliated with those affected by a reduction in benefits due to violations. (Sec. 5) Revises provisions of the Act regarding wetland conservation to provide that (with exceptions) any person who participates in an annual program under the Agricultural Act of 1949 after January 1, 1996, who in any crop year after that date produces an agricultural commodity on converted wetland shall be in violation of such provisions and ineligible for loans or payments in an amount proportionate to the severity of the violation. Sets forth or revises provisions regarding ineligibility for loans and payments, delineation of wetland and exemptions (including a requirement that the Secretary establish a pilot program for mitigation banking of wetlands to assist owners and operators in complying with wetland conservation requirements), consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, and the effect of a reduction in benefits due to violations on affiliated persons. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to bar the Secretary from placing a permanent wetland conservation or floodplain easement on any farm property after January 1, 1996. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to: (1) define "agricultural land" to mean cropland, pasture land, native pasture, rangeland, an orchard, a vineyard, an area that supports a wetland crop, and any other land that is used to produce or support the production of an annual or perennial agricultural crop, an aquaculture product, a nursery product, or a wetland crop; and (2) direct the Secretary to make all determinations concerning the presence of a wetland on agricultural land, the discharge or dredge of fill material from normal farming and ranching activities, and normal farming and ranching practices on agricultural land as provided in provisions permitting the discharge of dredged or fill material from normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities. (Sec. 6) Revises provisions of the Act to direct the Secretary, during calendar years 1996 through 2002, to establish an environmental conservation acreage reserve program (ECARP) to be implemented through contracts and the acquisition of easements to assist owners and operators of farms and ranches to conserve and enhance soil, water, and related natural resources, including grazing land, wetland, and wildlife habitat. Directs the Secretary to carry out ECARP by providing: (1) for the long-term protection of environmentally sensitive land; and (2) technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to improve the management and operation of the farms and ranches and to reconcile productivity and profitability with protection and enhancement of the environment. Specifies that ECARP shall consist of the conservation reserve, wetlands, reserve, and environmental quality incentive programs. Directs the Secretary to designate watersheds or regions of special environmental sensitivity, including the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, and Long Island Sound regions, as conservation priority areas eligible for enhanced assistance, subject to specified procedures and requirements. (Sec. 7) Revises provisions regarding the purpose and goals of the Act, including specifying that the goals of the conservation reserve program shall be to idle land only on a voluntary basis, conserve the environment, ensure respect for private property rights, and enhance wildlife and wildlife habitat. Modifies Act provisions regarding: (1) eligible lands; (2) enrollment priorities; (3) priority functions; (4) duration of contracts; (5) incidental grazing; (6) determination of annual rental payments to be paid to owners and operators for converting eligible cropland normally devoted to the production of an agricultural commodity to a less intensive use; and (7) ownership and operation requirements. Directs the Secretary, regarding such priority functions, to: (1) enroll in the conservation reserve program at least 1.5 million acres of cropland or pasture land that are contiguous or proximate to permanent bodies of water, tributaries or smaller streams, or intermittent streams that the Secretary determines significantly contribute to downstream water quality degradation; (2) accept offers to enroll up to 1.5 million acres of frequently cropped agricultural land; (3) accept offers to enroll a field containing highly erodible land if specified conditions are met; and (4) ensure that such offers to enroll acreage are accepted so as to maximize wildlife habitat benefits. (Sec. 8) Revises the purposes of the Act to include protecting wetlands for purposes of enhancing water quality and providing wildlife benefits while recognizing landowner rights. Modifies Act provisions regarding: (1) minimum enrollment (provides for enrollment in the wetlands reserve program of not more than 975,000 acres during calendar years 1991 through 2002); (2) eligibility; (3) other eligible lands; (4) easements (specifies that the development of a restoration plan, including any compatible use, shall be made through the local Natural Resources Conservation Service representative in consultation with the State technical committee); and (5) duties of the Secretary regarding easement priorities. (Sec. 9) Revises Act provisions regarding the use of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to direct the Secretary to use CCC funds, for each of FY 1996 through 2002, to carry out specified programs. Sets forth provisions regarding advance appropriations to the CCC. Makes specified funds available for the environmental quality incentives, wetland reserve, and conservation reserve programs. Sets forth provisions regarding conservation plans, acreage limitations, and tenant protection. (Sec. 11) Encourages the Secretary to promote wildlife benefits to the extent practicable and to the extent that the action does not conflict with the requirements or purposes of the programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 2567 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1995
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to standards for constructed water conveyance systems to list specified water use, impact, and management factors to be considered by a State when it exercises jurisdiction over constructed (manmade) water conveyances. Provides that if a State adopts or reviews water quality standards for such conveyances, it shall not be required to establish recreational, aquatic life, or fish consumption uses for such systems if such uses: (1) are not existing or reasonably foreseeable; or (2) impede the authorized use of the system.
Bill· SS. 1371 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1995
Snowbasin Land Exchange Act of 1995 - Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to specified terms and conditions, to transfer certain lands within the Cache National Forest in Utah to the Sun Valley Company in exchange for specified Company lands of approximate equal value to be added to and made a part of the National Forest System and to be administered and managed by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to implement the Phase I Master Development Plan for the Snowbasin Ski Area dated November 14, 1995. Permits modification of such Plan at any time after such date and by mutual agreement of the Secretary and the Company. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees that implementation of the Master Development Plan provides sufficient environmental protection.
Bill· SS. 1365 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1995
Endangered Species Habitat Protection Act of 1995 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow landowners of qualified acreage a credit, for agreement to manage such lands for the preservation of endangered species, in an amount equal to the lesser of: (1) the applicable acreage rate of the qualified acreage; or (2) $50,000. Provides for recapture of the credit if the taxpayer transfers the qualified acreage without also transferring the obligations for such acreage. Prohibits making a payment to an owner under capital gain and loss provisions if that owner has indicated an intention to claim an income tax credit or deduction for participation. Provides for a deduction for the donation of property as a conservation easement. Provides for the valuation of property which provides for the protection of endangered species. Provides an additional deduction on State and local real property taxes paid or accrued on property subject to an endangered species conservation agreement. Prohibits the deduction in certain cases. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate fully with the appropriate States, tribes, and other non-Federal persons, including consultation with such persons before the acquisition or interest of any land or water for the conservation of endangered and threatened species. Sets forth provisions providing for the Secretary to enter into a cooperative management agreement with non-Federal persons for the management of: (1) endangered and threatened species or group of species; or (2) a candidate species or group of candidate species. Directs that a cooperative management agreement shall remain in effect and not be required to be amended to include subsequent listing of endangered or threatened species not applicable to such agreement. Allows the Secretary to provide a habitat conservation grant to certain non-Federal persons for the purpose of conserving, preserving, or improving the habitat of endangered and threatened species. Allows a grant to be transferred to subsequent property owners.
Bill· SS. 1364 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1995
Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1995 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (the Act) to revise the findings, purposes, and policy of the Act. Declares it to be congressional policy to conserve endangered and threatened species and to equally consider the conservation of listed species, preservation of economic growth, maintenance of a strong tax base, and protection against the diminishment of the use and value of private property. (Sec. 3) Revises definitions under the Act, including the definition of: (1) "critical habitat" to mean the specific areas within the geographic area occupied by an endangered or threatened species, at the time the species is listed, that contain such physical or biological features as are essential to the conservation of the species and the persistence of the species for at least seven human generations (with "human generation" meaning 20 years) and as may require special management considerations or protection; and (2) "endangered species" to mean any species that, if no action were taken under the Act, would be placed on an irreversible course to extinction within two human generations, with exceptions. (Sec. 4) Modifies provisions regarding the determination of an endangered or threatened species to require the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to: (1) make such determination on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available after requesting the Endangered Species Commission (established under this Act) to conduct a scientific review; and (2) give priority to species the conservation of which is most likely to reduce the need to list other species dependent on the same habitat, and consideration to species identified as a known source of pharmaceutical or agricultural biochemicals. Requires the Secretary to designate, and make revisions regarding, critical habitat on the basis of the best new scientific data available. Specifies that: (1) the information shall include data documenting the biological vulnerability of, and threats to, the species or habitat of the species; and (2) failure to so document the information shall result in a presumption that the petition is inadequate. Directs the Secretary, if such a petition is found to present the information, to: (1) provide a copy of the petition to the State having jurisdiction over the area in which the species is believed to occur; and (2) invite the determination of the State as to whether the petitioned action is warranted, promptly request the Commission to conduct a scientific review of any new information presented by the petition with respect to the status of the species, and promptly publish each finding made in the Federal Register. Sets forth or modifies provisions regarding: (1) judicial review of such findings; (2) endangered species determinations with regard to foreign species; (3) notice of regulations (requiring a readily understandable, nontechnical explanation of the reasons for and purpose of the proposed regulation, an analysis concluding that the conservation benefit outweighs any negative conservation impact of the regulation, and a summary of the findings of the assessment team based on the required review); and (4) State review of such regulations (including scientific review of conflicts between the Secretary and the affected State). Requires the Commission to conduct, at least once every five years, a review of all species included in a list of endangered or threatened species and to report the results to the Secretary. Sets forth procedures for changes in the status of a species. Repeals provisions regarding the development and implementation of recovery plans by the Secretary for the conservation and survival of listed species. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with the States having jurisdiction over areas in which listed species are believed to occur, on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available, and considering the options presented by the Commission, to develop and implement conservation plans to provide for the conservation of the species and the habitats on which the species depend, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary, in developing a conservation objective and plan for a foreign species, to: (1) act in a manner consistent with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Convention); and (2) cooperate with and support any conservation strategy adopted for the species by each foreign nation in which the species occurs. Directs the Secretary, Federal agencies, and the States to minimize adverse social and economic consequences and impacts on private property that may result from the implementation of conservation plans. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the establishment of conservation objectives; (2) schedules for conservation plan preparation; (3) priorities of plans; (4) alternative strategies; (5) procedures for the preparation of proposed and final plans; (6) publication of final plans; and (7) participation by other persons in developing and implementing such plans. Directs the Secretary to designate critical habitat that supports the conservation objective of the Secretary for the species and to revise a critical habitat designation. Permits the Secretary to elect not to designate any critical habitat for the species where the designation is not prudent or determinable. Requires that such designation or revision be made on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available after taking into consideration the availability of substitute habitat in mitigation banks or from other sources and the economic or any other relevant impact. Directs the Secretary to exclude any area from critical habitat for which the Secretary determines that the benefits of the exclusion outweigh the benefits of designating the area as part of the critical habitat, unless the Secretary determines, on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available, that the failure to designate the area as critical habitat will result in the extinction of the species for which the habitat is designated. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) revision of critical habitat designation; (2) the effects of agency actions that are consistent with the conservation objective and plan; (3) alternative species protection; (4) interim management prior to publication of a final conservation plan or a conservation objective, the entering into of a cooperative management agreement, or the issuance of an incidental taking permit; (5) suspension of conservation plans or objectives; (6) reporting requirements; and (7) the standard of judicial review of agency decisions. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage persons to apply to exchange lands, waters, or interests therein under their jurisdiction (lands) (other than units of the National Park System, the National Wilderness Preservation System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and the National Trails System) for lands that are not in Federal ownership and that are affected by the Act, provided that the lands to be exchanged are of approximately equal value. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) appraisals; (2) environmental assessment; and (3) valuation. (Sec. 7) Requires the Secretary to cooperate to the maximum extent practicable with the States and other non-Federal persons, including consulting as appropriate before seeking to acquire land for the purpose of conserving any endangered or threatened species. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) enter into cooperative management agreements (CMAs) with any State or group of States, political subdivision of a State, local government, or other non-Federal person for the management of a listed species, species proposed to be listed, or candidate species (i.e., species found warranted to be listed but precluded from listing because of pending proposals to list that are of a higher priority); and (2) designate any non-Federal person participating or assisting in the implementation of a CMA as a volunteer under the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance for the development and implementation of a CMA with a non-Federal person. Exempts the preparation, approval, and entering into of a CMA from specified requirements of the Act and of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Specifies that: (1) except under extraordinary circumstances (in which case the Secretary shall have the burden of demonstrating and clearly documenting the existence of such circumstances), no additional measures to minimize and mitigate impacts on a species that is a subject of a CMA shall be required of a non-Federal party to the agreement that is in compliance with the agreement; and (2) with respect to any species that is a subject of such a CMA, under no circumstances shall a non-Federal party in compliance with the CMA be required to make any additional payment for any purpose, or accept any additional restriction on any parcel of land available for development or land management under the CMA, without the consent of the non-Federal party. Provides that a CMA shall remain in effect and shall not be required to be amended if a species to which the agreement does not apply is determined to be an endangered or threatened species. Sets forth or revises provisions regarding: (1) violations of CMAs; (2) requirements governing acquisition of water; and (3) Federal reclamation projects and contracts. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make grants to non-Federal persons, from appropriated funds, for the purpose of conserving, preserving, or improving habitat for an endangered or threatened species; and (2) enter into safe harbor agreements with non-Federal persons who own real property for the purpose of encouraging the voluntary management, restoration, or enhancement of non-Federal lands owned by such persons to conserve listed and candidate species. Requires the Secretary: (1) at the request of a State, to delegate to the State the authority to develop and implement a conservation plan for a listed species unless the Secretary determines that the State lacks authority and capability to carry out the requirements of the Act; and (2) to monitor the actions of States in developing and implementing conservation plans. (Sec. 8) Directs each Federal agency to ensure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out by the agency that affects any endangered or threatened species or designated critical habitat of the species is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the species. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) Federal agency consultation with the Secretary regarding agency actions likely to significantly and adversely affect an endangered or threatened species and regarding guidance on the consistency of an agency action with the conservation plan or objective for, an incidental taking permit for, or a CMA concerning, the species; (2) consideration of information and other law; (3) actions exempt from consultation and conferencing; (4) actions not constituting takings; (5) the resolution of conflicts between the responsibilities of a Federal agency under the Act vis-a-vis any other law, treaty, or interstate compact; (6) the use of mitigation banks; (7) risk assessment; and (8) exemptions from the Act. (Sec. 9) Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of State to act cooperatively with other nations in conserving wildlife. Prohibits such Secretaries, to the extent that the conservation programs of such nations are consistent with the Convention, from obstructing the programs of such nations unless the Secretary demonstrates good cause for the action based on adequate findings supported by substantial evidence. (Sec. 10) Directs the Secretary to limit a finding under the Convention to the purpose of the importation. Bars the Secretary from: (1) duplicating the findings required to be made by the exporting nation that is a party to the Convention except for good cause based on adequate findings supported by substantial evidence; and (2) prohibiting any act that is permitted under the Convention in issuing protective regulations with respect to a foreign species. Sets forth restrictions regarding the publishing of proposed protective regulations. (Sec. 11) Provides that an activity of a non-Federal person shall be deemed not to constitute a taking of a species if the activity: (1) is consistent with the applicable guidance of a conservation plan or objective; (2) complies with the terms and conditions of an incidental taking permit or a CMA; or (3) addresses a critical, imminent threat to public health or safety or a catastrophic natural event. Specifies that provisions prohibiting importation shall not apply to a member of a threatened species: (1) taken for scientific collection, live export for captive breeding, sport hunting, or falconry in accordance with the laws of a foreign nation that is a party to the Convention; and (2) accompanied by an export permit issued by the nation or an equivalent document. (Sec. 12) Authorizes the Secretary to permit specified activities, including: (1) the public display or exhibition of living wildlife in a manner that contributes to the education of the public about the ecological role and conservation needs of the affected species; (2) in the case of foreign species, acts that are consistent with the Convention and with conservation strategies adopted by the foreign nations responsible for the conservation of the species; and (3) acts necessary for captive propagation programs. Sets forth or revises provisions regarding: (1) the use of mitigation banks; (2) the scope of permits; (3) environmental assessments; (4) limits on additional measures required to minimize and mitigate impacts on a species that is a subject of a permit where the permittee is in compliance with the permit; (5) interim permits; (6) permit revocation; and (7) voluntary consultation by non-Federal persons. Authorizes the Secretary, after providing notice and opportunity for public hearing, to issue a general permit on a county, State, regional, or nationwide basis for any category of activities that may affect a listed species upon determining that activities in the category are similar in nature, will cause only minimal adverse effects on the species if performed separately, and will have only minimal cumulative adverse effects on the species generally. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) educational and propagation permits; (2) the taking of species for inherently limited uses; (3) multiple species non-Federal conservation plans; (4) wildlife bred in captivity; (5) recognition of captive propagation as a means of recovery; and (6) mitigation banks. (Sec. 13) Directs the Secretary or the Secretary of the Treasury to pay reasonable and necessary costs incurred by any person in providing temporary care for any endangered or threatened fish, wildlife, or plant pending the disposition of any civil or criminal proceeding alleging a violation of the Act. Places the burden of proof on the Secretary to demonstrate that a specimen belongs to a species that has been determined to be an endangered or threatened species under the Act or that is included in an Appendix to the Convention. Prohibits the Secretary from detaining a specimen for a period of longer than 30 days for identification purposes, unless the specimen has been substantially changed from the natural appearance of the specimen, in which case it may be retained for an additional 30 days. Requires the specimen to be released if it cannot be identified within that period. Specifies that no refusal of entry, seizure of evidence, or other enforcement action may take place under the Act if the action is based solely on a notification under the Convention or on a resolution of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention. Authorizes any person to: (1) commence a civil suit to remedy any violation of, or regulation issued under, the Act by the United States or any U.S. agency or official or to challenge the Act or a regulation issued thereunder or the implementation thereof; and (2) intervene as a matter of right in any suit brought under the Act that threatens to cause injury to, or relates to any injury sustained by, the person and grants such person the same right to present argument and to accept or reject potential settlements as the parties to the suit have. (Sec. 14) Requires the Commission to review and report to the Secretary on species of plants that, as of the date of this section's enactment, are or may become endangered or threatened within any State and that are known to produce pharmaceutical or agricultural biochemicals. (Sec. 15) Establishes the Endangered Species Commission. Requires the Commission to: (1) study the activities of the United States under laws and international conventions relating to endangered and threatened species, including the Convention and the Act; (2) make recommendations to, and consult with, the Secretary and other Federal officials concerning such measures as the Commission considers necessary or desirable for the protection and conservation of such species, including a range of options; and (3) conduct such scientific reviews and analyses as the Secretary requests or as are otherwise required to be conducted under this Act. Directs the Commission, upon receipt of a request from the Secretary for a scientific review or assessment regarding such a species, to establish an assessment and planning team and, within 30 days, to establish and arrange for the provision of technical assistance to such a team to assist the Commission in making required assessments by providing it with the best scientific and commercial data available and data that have been peer reviewed and verified by field testing. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the Commission's response to assessment and planning team recommendations; and (2) reporting requirements. (Sec. 16) Directs the Secretary to provide 30 days' notice of any hearing or other public meeting at which public comment is accepted under the Act. (Sec. 17) Requires the Secretary to: (1) balance achieving the conservation objective for a species and ensuring continuing economic growth, providing essential infrastructure, maintaining strong State and local tax bases, and protecting against the diminishment of the use and value of property; and (2) seek, along with the heads of all other Federal agencies and other Federal officials, to minimize the adverse impacts on the use and value of private property resulting from any requirements imposed on the property. (Sec. 18) Directs the Secretary to: (1) identify methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that may be used for rulemaking to develop standards, rules, and guidelines for the listing or monitoring of species, conservation planning, safe harbor agreements with non-Federal persons, and other specified purposes; and (2) develop and implement a pilot program for ADR to be used for such purposes as consistent with the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 and the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act. Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide regular training for all employees involved in developing and implementing such program; and (2) evaluate the program and submit a report including recommendations for a permanent program to the Congress and the Administrative Conference of the United States. (Sec. 19) Sets forth provisions regarding Federal cost-sharing requirements for conservation obligations. (Sec. 20) Entitles a non-Federal property owner to receive compensation if a Federal agency takes action under the Act that results in a diminishment of value of any portion of the non-Federal property of the owner. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the amount of compensation, a duty of notice to owners, requests for compensation, offers by the Secretary, and responses by property owners; (2) arbitration; (3) civil actions; (4) the source of payment; (5) U.S. obligations to make payment subject to the availability of appropriations; and (6) administrative provisions. (Sec. 21) Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to study potential revenue sources for a biodiversity trust fund to be used both for domestic endangered and threatened species protected under the Act and for foreign species subject to the Convention. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 22) Sets: (1) priorities for the development, and a schedule for the adoption, of conservation plans for listed species without recovery plans; and (2) priorities and a schedule for revision of existing plans. Prohibits the Secretary or the head of any other Federal agency from requiring any increase in any measurable criterion contained in a final recovery plan, or any site specific management action in addition to the criteria provided in a final recovery plan, until a conservation plan or conservation objective has been published. Directs the Secretary, in conjunction with the issuance of a conservation plan or objective, to review and reissue certain written opinions of the Secretary relating to the affected species that were issued after January 1, 1995, under the Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 2552 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1995
Requires the Secretary of Energy to transfer, without compensation, the Tatum Dome Test Site to the State of Mississippi after certification from the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the State that any contamination of such property has been remedied in accordance with applicable Federal and State laws and regulations. Subjects such transfer to retention by the United States of the following: (1) the subsurface estate below the depth of 2700 feet below sea level unless a lesser depth is agreed upon by the Secretary; (2) rights of access for monitoring wells for sampling; and (3) the right to install wells additional to those identified in the remediation plan to the extent deemed necessary by the Secretary to monitor potential pathways of contaminant migration.
Bill· HRH.R. 2542 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Reestablishment of Soil Conservation Service Title II: Consolidation of Conservation Financial Assistance Programs of the Department of Agriculture Subtitle A: Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program Subtitle B: Conforming Amendments Title III: Water Quality Conservation Program for Livestock Operations Title IV: Highly Erodible Cropland Conservation Title V: Environmental Conservation Acreage Reserve Program Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions Conservation Consolidation and Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 - Title I: Reestablishment of Soil Conservation Service - Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (Reorganization Act) to replace provisions regarding the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) with provisions reestablishing the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) as an agency within the Consolidated Farm Service Agency (CFSA) of the Department of Agriculture (Department). Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the functions of SCS; and (2) special consultation requirements for certain functions, such as requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure that officials of county and area committees established under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (SCDAA)(county committees) meet annually with officials of Soil and Water Conservation Districts or similar organizations established under State law to consider local conservation priorities and guidelines. (Sec. 102) Revises the Reorganization Act to authorize the Secretary to use: (1) CFSA to provide financial assistance under the Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program and the Livestock Water Quality Conservation Program established under the Conservation Consolidation and Regulatory Reform Act of 1995; and (2) SCS to provide technical assistance under such programs. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to transfer to SCS: (1) all of the records, property, and personnel of NRCS; and (2) the unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds of NRCS. Title II: Consolidation of Conservation Financial Assistance Programs of the Department of Agriculture - Subtitle A: Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program - Directs the Secretary to carry out an Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program to provide technical and financial assistance to the owners and operators (owners) of private agricultural lands who request such assistance to plan, develop, and implement structural practices applicable to such lands and intended to effectuate specified purposes such as erosion control, water conservation, water quality improvement in rural America, and wildlife habitat improvement. Requires the Secretary to provide technical and financial assistance under the Program on the basis of a contract with an owner of agricultural lands. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) contract requirements; (2) approval of county committees; (3) contract terms; and (4) owner responsibilities. (Sec. 203) Provides that, to be eligible to enter into a contract under the Program, an owner must prepare and submit to the Secretary for approval a plan of farming operations or land use practices which incorporates specified soil and water conservation practices and principles and outlines a schedule of proposed changes in cropping systems or land use to be carried out during the contract period. Directs the Secretary, in considering a cost-share plan for approval, to consult with SCS and the local soil and water conservation district. Sets forth plan requirements. (Sec. 204) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) criteria in determining the level of assistance to be provided under a contract under the Program; (2) a 50 percent maximum Federal cost-share requirement; (3) a $5,000 per person limit on financial assistance; (4) time for payment; and (5) treatment of payments. (Sec. 205) Authorizes the Secretary to terminate a contract entered into with an owner under the Program if the owner agrees to such termination or violates the terms and conditions of the contract. Requires the owner, upon: (1) the violation of a term or condition of the contract, to refund any cost-sharing payment already received and forfeit any future payments under the contract; (2) the transfer of the right and interest of an owner in land subject to the contract, to refund all cost-sharing payments received unless the transferee of the right and interest agrees to assume all of the owner's obligations under the contract. (Sec. 206) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 2002. (Sec. 207) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) interim administration pending implementation of the Program; and (2) issuance of final regulations. Subtitle B: Conforming Amendments - Repeals: (1) the Great Plains Conservation Program and the Agricultural Conservation Program under the SCDAA; (2) the Critical Lands Resource Conservation Program in the Great Plains area under the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (FAA); (3) the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program under the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act; (4) the Rural Environmental Conservation Program under the Agricultural Act of 1970; (5) Water Quality Incentive Projects, the Control of Weeds and Pests Program, and the Tree Planting Initiative under the Food Security Act of 1985 (FSA); (6) the Integrated Farm Management Program Option under the Food, Agriculture, and Trade Act of 1990; (7) the Special Areas Conservation Program and Reservoir Sedimentation Program under the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981; (8) Small Watershed Easement Purchase Authority under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act; (9) Financial Assistance Programs under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978; and (10) the Water Bank Act. Title III: Water Quality Conservation Program for Livestock Operations - Directs the Secretary, during FY 1996 through 2002, to carry out a Livestock Water Quality Conservation Program to provide technical and financial assistance to the owners of livestock operations who request such assistance to plan, develop, and implement structural practices in connection with such livestock operations intended to protect or improve water quality and enhance environmental protection. Requires the Secretary (subject to specified requirements) to provide assistance under the Program on the basis of a contract between the Secretary and an owner of a livestock operation. Prohibits the Secretary from entering into a contract with an operator who is not also owner of the livestock operation unless the actual owner concurs in the contract. Requires the owner, to be eligible to enter into a contract, to have an approved water quality plan. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) types of assistance; (2) application and term of the contract; (3) the contracting process, including approval of the county committee and directing the Secretary to administer a competitive offer system for owners of livestock operations proposing to receive cost-sharing payments in exchange for the implementation of structural practices; and (4) owner responsibilities. (Sec. 303) Limits the Federal share of cost-sharing payments under a contract under the Program to implement one or more structural practices to 50 percent of the total cost of the practice or practices, as determined by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to further reduce the Federal share on account of payments received by the owner from a State or local government for the same structural practice. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the effect of other payments; (2) technical assistance; (3) non-Federal assistance; (4) limits on payments; and (5) treatment of payments. (Sec. 304) Directs the Secretary: (1) to provide assistance under the Program to owners of livestock operations in a region, watershed, or conservation priority area based on the significance of the water quality needs and the structural practices that best address the needs; (2) in providing assistance under the Program, to accord a higher priority to assistance and payments that maximize environmental benefits per dollar expended; and (3) to accord a higher priority to owners of livestock operations located within watersheds, regions, or conservation priority areas in which State or local governments provide financial or technical assistance for the same conservation or environmental purposes and to structural practices for lands on which livestock production has been determined to contribute to or create the potential for failure to meet applicable water quality standards or other environmental objectives of a Federal or State law. (Sec. 305) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) required water quality plans; and (2) modification and termination of contracts. (Sec. 307) Directs the Secretary to: (1) allocate $380 million of Commodity Credit Corporation funds for the seven-fiscal year period beginning on October 1, 1995, to carry out the Program (and, if for any fiscal year the Secretary has incurred total contractual obligations to make payments under the Program that would exceed such sum, to prorate all payments owed under the Program for that fiscal year); and (2) issue regulations to implement the Program. Title IV: Highly Erodible Cropland Conservation - Amends the FSA to define: (1) "conservation plan" to mean the document that applies to highly erodible cropland, that implements the conservation system applicable to such highly erodible cropland and contains the decisions of the person regarding location, land use, tillage systems, and conservation treatment measures and schedule, and that is approved by the local soil conservation district in consultation with the county committees and the Secretary or by the Secretary; and (2) "conservation system" to mean a combination of one or more conservation measures or management practices that are based upon local resource conditions, available conservation technology, and the standards and guidelines contained in the SCS field office technical guides and that are designed to achieve, in a cost effective and technically practicable manner, a substantial reduction in soil erosion or a substantial improvement in soil conditions on a field or group of fields containing highly erodible cropland when compared to the level of erosion or soil conditions that existed before the application of the conservation measures and management practices. Revises the definition of "field" to mean a part of a farm which is separated from the balance of the farm by permanent boundaries such as fences, roads, permanent waterways, or other similar features. Specifies that at the option of the owner or operator of the farm, croplines may also be used to delineate a field if farming practices make it probable that such croplines are not subject to change. Requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register the universal soil loss equation and wind erosion equation used by the Department as of a specified date. Prohibits the Secretary from changing such equations thereafter except following certain notice and comment requirements. (Sec. 402) Amends the FSA to direct the Secretary to ensure that the standards and guidelines contained in SCS field office technical guides applicable to the development and use of conservation measures and management practices as part of a conservation system permit a person to use a conservation system that: (1) is technically and economically feasible based on local resource conditions and available conservation technology and cost-effective; and (2) does not cause undue economic hardship on the person applying the conservation system under the person's conservation plan. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) measurement of erosion reduction; (2) residue measurement; (3) certification of compliance; (4) technical assistance; and (5) encouragement of on-farm research. Amends the Reorganization Act to authorize the CFSA, in the case of a technical determination of the SCS regarding use of a conservation system under the FSA, to overrule the determination if strict application causes undue economic hardship on the person using the conservation system. Amends the FSA to direct the Secretary to permit persons to secure technical assistance from sources other than the SCS in the preparation and application of a conservation compliance plan or similar plan required as a condition for assistance from the Department. Requires that if the Secretary rejects a technical determination made by a source other than the SCS, the basis of the Secretary's determination must be supported by clear and convincing evidence. (Sec. 403) Amends the FSA to require the Secretary to establish expedited procedures for the consideration and granting of temporary variances from conservation plans. (Sec. 404) Revises FSA provisions to provide for: (1) a one-year grace period in which to resume conservation compliance where a person has acted in good faith and without intent to violate the FSA; and (2) special penalties regarding highly erodible cropland that was not in production prior to December 23, 1985. (Sec. 405) Limits program ineligibility for failure to actively apply or comply with a conservation plan to those benefits that relate to agricultural commodities produced on the field that is the basis for such ineligibility determination. Permits the Secretary, in the case of egregious and repetitive violations, to expand such ineligibility to include benefits with respect to agricultural commodities produced on fields other than the field that is the basis for the ineligibility determination, as deemed appropriate by the Secretary. Specifies that no person shall be ineligible for such program benefits as a result of the failure of such person to actively apply or comply with the person's conservation plan with respect to acreage that is not eligible for that type of benefits. (Sec. 406) Revises FSA exemption provisions with respect to conservation reserve lands to provide that a person who owns or operates highly erodible land that was the subject of a contract under that Act shall only be required to apply a conservation plan established under such Act and the person shall not be required to meet a higher conservation standard than that applied to other highly erodible cropland located within the same area. (Sec. 407) Requires Department employees who observe possible compliance deficiencies or other potential violations of a conservation plan or Act provision while providing on-site technical assistance to provide to the responsible persons, within 45 days, information regarding those actions needed to comply. Directs such employees to provide such information in lieu of reporting the observations as compliance violations and to attempt to correct such deficiencies as soon as practicable (and if corrective action is not fully implemented within one year, a review of the status of compliance of the person with the conservation plan may then be conducted). Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) notice of possible violations; (2) investigation of notifications; and (3) notification requirements regarding the subject of the complaint. (Sec. 408) Authorizes the Secretary, at the request of a county committee, to establish a producer advisory committee in such county or area for the purpose of consulting with such county committee, conservation district board, SCS field office, and State conservationist in the development of reasonable and practical solutions to resource management goals and the establishment of conservation systems, measures, and practices that meet specified criteria. Requires the members of the producer advisory committee to be appointed by the Secretary from nominees submitted by the county committee making the request. Title V: Environmental Conservation Acreage Reserve Program - Revises FSA provisions to require the owner of land, to be eligible to place such land into a wetland reserve, to enter into a contract with the Secretary to implement a wetland conservation plan for the restoration and protection of the functional wetland values of the land placed in the reserve. Specifies that the wetland conservation plan for land placed into the wetland reserve shall provide for the efficient and effective restoration of the functional values of wetlands and shall permit: (1) repairs, improvements, and inspections on such land that are necessary to maintain existing public drainage systems if such land is subsequently restored to the condition required by the terms of the contract; and (2) the landowner to control public access on such land while identifying access routes to be used for wetland restoration activities, management, and monitoring. Prohibits: (1) the alteration of wildlife habitat and other natural features of such land, unless specifically permitted by the plan; (2) the spraying of such land with chemicals or the mowing of such land, except where such spraying or mowing is permitted by the plan or is necessary to comply with Federal or State noxious weed control laws or an emergency pest treatment program; (3) any activities to be carried out on such participating landowner's or successor's land that is immediately adjacent to, and functionally related to, the land that is placed in the wetland reserve if such activities will alter, degrade, or otherwise diminish the functional value of the eligible land; and (4) the adoption of any other practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of the Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the development of a wetland conservation plan; (2) the duties of owners and operators; (3) compatible uses; (4) the period of a contract; (5) payments under the contract; and (6) violations. Modifies FSA provisions to require the Secretary, in making cost share payments, to pay the owner 50 percent of the cost of carrying out the conservation and wetland measures and practices for which the assistance is provided. (Sec. 502) Repeals: (1) a wetlands reserve program requirement that the Secretary of Agriculture consult with the Secretary of the Interior at the local level and specified other consultation requirements; and (2) the environmental easement program. Revises the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture, during calendar years 1996 through 2000, to extend up to ten years contracts entered into before November 28, 1990, under the FSA's conservation reserve program, at the option of the owner or operator on land that the Secretary has determined under a specified study should remain in conserving uses. (Sec. 504) Sets forth provisions regarding the effect of this title on existing easements. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to provide that provisions regarding the National Forest System shall not be: (1) construed to supersede, abrogate, or otherwise impair any right or authority of a State (impair any right) to allocate quantities of water; or (2) implemented, enforced, or construed to allow any U.S. officer or agency to utilize its authorities to impose any requirement not imposed by the State which would impair any right to the use of water resources allocated under State law, interstate water compact, or Supreme Court decree or held by the United States for use by a State, its political subdivisions, or its citizens. Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to make analogous changes with respect to the authorities of the Bureau of Land Management vis-a-vis land use planning. Prohibits any Federal agency from requiring as a condition of, or in connection with, the granting, issuance, or renewal of a right-of-way a restriction on the operation, use, repair, or replacement of an existing water supply facility located on or above National Forest lands or the exercise and use of existing water rights if such condition would: (1) reduce the quantity of water which would otherwise be made available for use by the owner of such facility or water rights; or (2) cause an increase in the cost of the water supply provided from such facility. Repeals provisions of: (1) the FSA regarding State technical committees; (2) the Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974 regarding management of undesirable plants on Federal lands; (3) the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 regarding a composting research and extension program and administration of environmental programs; and (4) the Farms for the Future Act of 1990.
Bill· HRH.R. 2530 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Subtitle A: Energy Subtitle B: Central Utah Subtitle C: Army Corps of Engineers Subtitle D: Helium Reserve Subtitle E: Territories Title II: Agricultural Programs Subtitle A: Extension and Modification of Various Commodity Programs Subtitle B: Sugar Subtitle C: Peanuts Subtitle D: Tobacco Subtitle E: Planting Flexibility Subtitle F: Miscellaneous Provisions Title III: Commerce Title IV: Transportation Title V: Housing Provisions Title VI: Indexation and Miscellaneous Entitlement-Related Provisions Title VII: Medicaid Reform Subtitle A: Per Capita Spending Limit Subtitle B: Medicaid Managed Care Subtitle C: Additional Reforms of Medicaid Acute Care Program Subtitle D: National Commission on Medicaid Restructuring Subtitle E: Restrictions on Disproportionate Share Payments Subtitle F: Fraud Reduction Title VIII: Medicare Subtitle A: Medicare Choice Program Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Regulatory Relief Subtitle C: Medicare Payments to Health Care Providers Subtitle D: Provisions Relating to Medicare Beneficiaries Subtitle E: Medicare Fraud Reduction Subtitle F: Improving Access to Health Care Subtitle G: Other Provisions Subtitle H: Monitoring Achievement of Medicare Reform Goals Subtitle I: Lock-Box Provisions for Medicare Part B Savings from Growth Reductions Subtitle J: Clinical Laboratories Title IX: Welfare Reform Subtitle A: Temporary Employment Assistance Subtitle B: Make Work Pay Subtitle C: Work First Subtitle D: Family Responsibility and Improved Child Support Enforcement Subtitle E: Teen Pregnancy and Family Stability Subtitle F: SSI Reform Subtitle G: Food Assistance Subtitle H: Treatment of Aliens Subtitle I: Earned Income Tax Credit Title X: Reductions in Corporate Tax Subsidies and Other Reforms Subtitle A: Tax Treatment of Expatriation Subtitle B: Modification to Earned Income Credit Subtitle C: Alternative Minimum Tax on Corporations Importing Products into the United States at Artificially Inflated Prices Subtitle D: Tax Treatment of Certain Extraordinary Dividends Subtitle E: Foreign Trust Tax Compliance Subtitle F: Limitation on Section 936 Credit Title XI: Veterans' Affairs Subtitle A: Permanent Extension of Temporary Authorities Subtitle B: Other Matters Subtitle C: Health Care Eligibility Reform Title XII: Legislative Branch Title XIII: Miscellaneous Provisions Title XIV: Budget Process Provisions Subtitle B(sic): Discretionary Spending Limits Subtitle C: Pay-As-You-Go Procedures Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Subtitle E: Deficit Control Subtitle F: Line Item Veto Subtitle G: Enforcing Points of Order Subtitle H: Deficit Reduction Lock-box Subtitle I: Emergency Spending; Baseline Reform; Continuing Resolutions Reform Subtitle J: Technical and Conforming Amendments Subtitle K: Truth in Legislating Common Sense Balanced Budget Act of 1995 - Title I: Energy, Natural Resources and Environment - Subtitle A: Energy - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to exclude from the definition of "production facility" the construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility using Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) technology (thus making such a facility eligible for one-step licensing). (Sec. 1101) States that one purpose of this Act is to ensure that privatization of the U. S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC) does not result in any adverse effects on the pension benefits of employees at facilities that are operated in the performance of functions vested in USEC. Declares that USEC shall abide by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement in effect on the privatization date at each individual facility. Permits employees who transfer to USEC from other Federal employment to transfer their accrued retirement benefits to a USEC retirement system, or to retain their coverage under their existing Federal plan. Terminates USEC's status as the exclusive marketing agent for the United States for entering into contracts for providing enriched uranium and uranium enrichment and related services. Declares that the privatization of USEC shall not affect the terms, rights, or obligations of the parties to any power purchase contracts. Sets forth the effects of the transfer of uranium enrichment contracts. Declares that the United States shall remain obligated on those contracts during their term. States that USEC shall establish prices for its products, materials, and services on a profit-making basis. Prescribes guidelines under which the Department of Energy (DOE) shall accept responsibility for the treatment, disposal and storage of low-level radioactive waste and mixed waste. States that, as of the privatization date, all liabilities and any judgment against the Corporation attributable to the operation of the USEC from the transition date to the privatization date shall be direct liabilities of, and judgments against, the United States. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to transfer raw and enriched uranium to USEC before the privatization date without charge. Prescribes guidelines under which: (1) USEC is authorized to establish a private corporation to implement the privatization of USEC; and (2) USEC privatization may be implemented by means of a transfer of assets and liabilities to such corporation and a merger or consolidation with it. Prohibits the Secretary from allowing the privatization of USEC by means of a public offering unless the Secretary determines that the estimated gross proceeds from the USEC sale will be an adequate amount. Limits to ten percent of the total votes of all outstanding USEC voting securities the number of securities any person may acquire or hold, directly or indirectly, during the three years following any privatization by means of a public offering. Provides that the proceeds to the U.S. Government from privatization shall be included in the budget baseline and be counted as an offset to direct spending. Mandates termination of any USEC license if privatization results in its being owned, controlled or dominated by a foreign entity or otherwise inimical to the security of the United States. Precludes USEC from implementing the privatization plan less than 60 days after the date that the Comptroller General presents an evaluation of the plan to the Congress. Provides for periodic certification of USEC by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission upon privatization. Authorizes the licensing of Corporation facilities using AVLIS technologies for uranium enrichment. (Sec. 1102) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to repeal the termination date for Nuclear Regulatory Commission authority to assess annual charges (thus making such authority permanent). (Sec. 1103) Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to repeal the exclusion of cogeneration process from the definition of "energy savings". (Sec. 1104) Authorizes the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assess and collect radiological emergency preparedness fees. Subtitle B: Central Utah - Amends the Central Utah Project Completion Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to allow for prepayment of a specified repayment contract with the Central Utah Water Conservancy District regarding municipal and industrial water delivery facilities. Subtitle C: Army Corps of Engineers - Establishes the Army Civil Works Regulatory Program Fund as a repository for certain regulatory fees established by the Secretary of the Army. Subtitle D: Helium Reserve - Helium Act of 1995 - Amends the Helium Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) enter into agreements with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium on Federal lands; (2) grant leasehold rights to such helium; (3) store, transport, and sell crude helium; and (4) maintain and operate existing crude helium storage at the Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field. Directs the Secretary to: (1) cease producing, refining, and marketing refined helium; and (2) dispose of all facilities, equipment, and Federal property interests relating to refined helium activities. Requires the Secretary to impose fees for helium storage, withdrawal, or transportation services. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) the purchase of helium by Federal agencies from certain private persons; and (2) the sale of crude helium by the Secretary. Prohibits the Secretary from making crude helium sales in amounts that will disrupt the crude helium market price. Mandates that proceeds from helium sales be paid to the Treasury. Identifies circumstances under which the Secretary must meet a certain deadline for the elimination of helium stockpiles. Repeals the Secretary's authority to borrow under the Helium Act. Subtitle E: Territories - Terminates annual direct financial assistance to the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands. Title II: Agricultural Programs - Agricultural Reconciliation Act of 1995 - Subtitle A: Extension and Modification of Various Commodity Programs - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 (Act) to extend loan, payment, and acreage reduction programs for wheat (including the food security wheat reserve), feed grains, cotton (including cottonseed and cottonseed oil), and rice. Extends loan and payment programs for oilseeds. (Sec. 2106) Revises specified wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, and rice deficiency payment provisions (flex acres and 50-85 and 0-85 programs). Subtitle B: Sugar - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to extend and set forth sugar price support provisions. Establishes the sugarcane target price at 18 cents per pound. Subtitle C: Peanuts - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to extend the peanut price support program. (Sec. 2302) Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to extend and revise peanut national poundage quota and acreage allotment provisions, including specified provisions regarding Texas and New Mexico. (Sec. 2303) Revises sale, lease, or transfer of farm poundage quota provisions. Provides for: (1) quota transfers to other self-owned farms within the same State; and (2) quota sales within a State having quotas of 10,000 tons or more. (Sec. 2304) Subjects reentered (after export) peanut products made from additional peanuts to specified marketing penalties. (Sec. 2305) Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to limit price support rate increases or decreases. Establishes a special rule regarding New Mexico pools. Requires that all domestic and export peanuts comply with specified quality standards. (Sec. 2306) Requires an annual quota peanut producer referendum regarding the poundage quota. Subtitle D: Tobacco - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to extend tobacco marketing assessment authority. States that such fees shall be used to pay for other tobacco programs not covered by user fees or other specified assessments or contributions. (Sec. 2402) Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to revise farm acreage allotment and marketing quota reduction provisions. (Sec. 2403) Makes a specified farm reconstitution provision applicable to burley (burley) tobacco. (Sec. 2404) Reduces a certain percentage threshold regarding disaster-transfer of flue-cured (flue-cured) tobacco quotas. (Sec. 2405) Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to expand the tobacco types subject to no net cost assessment. (Sec. 2406) Amends the Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1938 to repeal certain tobacco export reporting requirements. (Sec. 2407) Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to repeal certain flue-cured and burley marketing quota reduction provisions. (Sec. 2408) Amends the Tobacco Inspection Act to provide for civil penalties and cease and desist orders for violations of such Act. Grants U.S. district courts jurisdiction in such matters. (Sec. 2409) Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to permit flue-cured or other tobacco quota or allotment transfers across within-State county lines if approved by producer referendum. Eliminates certain burley quota transfer provisions for Tennessee and Virginia. (Sec. 2410) Eliminates certain tobacco exports from flue-cured and burley national marketing quota calculations. (Sec. 2412) Revises certain burley marketing quota lease and transfer provisions. (Sec. 2413) Increases maximum acreage transfers. (Sec. 2414) States that performance rendered in good faith reliance upon Department of Agriculture advice or actions may be accepted as meeting appropriate marketing quota requirements. (Sec. 2415) Harmonizes certain flue-cured and burley sales dates. (Sec. 2416) Authorizes a recent farm purchaser to sell burley or flue-cured marketing quotas within one year of such purchase. Subtitle E: Planting Flexibility - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to state that a farm's total acreage base shall equal the sum of the farm's acreage bases for acreage reduction enrolled crops. (Sec. 2503) Revises planting flexibility provisions. (Sec. 2504) Bases 1996 through 2002 farm program payment yields on the 1995 crop year. Subtitle F: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to reduce the maximum amount of deficiency and land diversion payments. (Sec. 2602) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Agriculture and the United States Trade Representative should intensify efforts to resolve the Canadian potato trade concerns and to begin to consider dispute resolution actions under the North American Free Trade Agreement or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Title III: Commerce - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act) to state that certain competitive bidding requirements shall not apply to licenses or construction permits issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC): (1) that, as the result of the FCC carrying out specified obligations, are not mutually exclusive; (2) for public safety radio services, including non-Government uses that protect the safety of life, health, and property and that are not made commercially available to the public; or (3) for initial licenses or construction permits for new terrestrial digital television (TV) services assigned by the FCC to existing terrestrial broadcast licensees to replace their current TV licenses. Extends through FY 2002 the authority of the FCC to grant such licenses or permits. Requires the FCC to complete all actions necessary to permit the assignment, by September 30, 2002, by competitive bidding of licenses for the use of bands of frequencies that: (1) individually span not less than 25 megahertz (mhz.), unless a combination of smaller bands can reasonably be expected to produce greater receipts; (2) in the aggregate, span not less than 100 mhz.; (3) are located below three gigahertz (ghz.); and (4) as of this Act's enactment date, have not been designated by FCC regulation for assignment or identified by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to provisions of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (NTIAO Act). Directs the FCC to conduct the competitive bidding for not less than one-half of such aggregate spectrum by September 30, 2001. Requires the FCC, in making available bands of frequencies for competitive bidding, to: (1) seek to promote the most efficient use of the spectrum; (2) take into account the cost to incumbent licensees of relocating existing uses to other bands of frequencies or other means of communication and the needs of public safety radio services; and (3) comply with the requirements of international agreements concerning spectrum allocations. Directs the FCC to notify the Secretary if the FCC: (1) is not able to provide for the effective relocation of incumbent licensees to bands of frequencies that are available to the FCC for assignment; and (2) has identified bands of frequencies that are suitable for the relocation of such licensees and that are allocated for Federal Government use but that could be reallocated pursuant to the NTIAO Act. Amends the NTIAO Act to require the Secretary, upon receiving a notice from the FCC pursuant to this Act, to prepare and submit to the President and the Congress a report recommending for reallocation for use other than by Federal Government stations bands of frequencies that are suitable for the uses identified in the FCC's notice. Requires the FCC to commence the Broadband Personal Communications Services C-Block auction (described in the FCC's Sixth Report and Order) not later than December 4, 1995. Ratifies and adopts the FCC's competitive bidding rules governing such auction. Sets forth or revises provisions regarding: (1) modification of auction policy to preserve the auction value of the spectrum; (2) identification and reallocation of auctionable frequencies; and (3) allocation and assignment of frequencies identified in the second reallocation report. (Sec. 3102) Amends the Act to direct the FCC, for FY 1996 and thereafter, to modify the application fees so that total collections for the fiscal year equal $40 million plus the amount of necessary expenses for costs related to application processing which exceeds $40 million. Directs the FCC to notify the Congress of any proposed and adopted modifications. Requires $40 million from FCC application fees to be deposited into the Treasury and used for application processing and related expenses of the FCC. Revises the schedule of application fees for personal communications services and amateur vanity call signs under the Act. Specifies that moneys received from fees established under this section shall be deposited as an offsetting collection in, and credited to, the account providing appropriations to carry out FCC functions. Sets forth or revises provisions regarding: (1) recovery of executive and legal costs incurred by the FCC; (2) establishment and adjustment of fees; (3) regulatory fees for satellite TV operations; and (4) governmental entities use for common carrier purposes. Directs the FCC to: (1) develop accounting systems for making adjustments authorized by the Act; and (2) annually prepare and submit to the Congress an analysis of such systems and afford interested persons the opportunity to submit comments concerning the allocation of costs, the application, and regulatory fee adjustments. (Sec. 3103) Prohibits the FCC from: (1) renewing any analog TV license for a period that extends beyond the earlier of December 31, 2005, or one year after the date the FCC finds (based on annual surveys) that at least 95 percent of households in the United States have the capability to receive and display video signals, other than video signals transmitted pursuant to an analog TV license; or (2) issuing, after such date, any TV licenses other than advanced TV licenses. Directs the Secretary, each calendar year from 1998 to 2005, to conduct a survey to estimate the percentage of households in the United States that have the capability to receive and display video signals other than those transmitted pursuant to an analog TV license. Requires the FCC to: (1) ensure that, as analog TV licenses expire, the spectrum previously used for the broadcast of analog TV signals is reclaimed and reallocated so as to maximize the deployment of new services (and directs that licensees for new services be selected by competitive bidding); and (2) complete the competitive bidding procedure by May 1, 2002. Directs the FCC to establish procedures to ensure that, within the year prior to the reversion date, the advanced TV licensees provide each requesting household with the capability to receive and display video signals for advanced TV services. Requires: (1) each advanced TV service licensee to provide, for a minimum of five years from such date, at least one nonsubscription video service that meets or exceeds minimum technical standards established by the FCC; and (2) the FCC, to the extent technically feasible, to ensure that picture and audio quality are at least as good as that provided to recipients within the Grade B contour of an analog TV license and to revoke the license of any advanced TV licensee who fails to meet this condition of the license. (Sec. 3104) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to extend Patent and Trademark Office user fees through 2002. Sets amounts of surcharges to be collected in FY 1999-2002. (Sec. 3105) Repeals the authorization of transitional appropriations for the Postal Service. Specifies that liabilities of the former Post Office Department to the Employees' Compensation Fund shall be liabilities of the Postal Service payable out of the Fund. Title IV: Transportation - Amends Federal transportation law to make permanent the mandate for the imposition of railroad safety fees on railroad carriers. (Sec. 4102) Amends Federal shipping law to make permanent the mandate for the imposition of tonnage duties on certain vessels. (Sec. 4103) Directs the Administrator of General Services to sell at fair market value all rights, title, and interests of the United States in and to the land of, and improvements to, Governors Island, New York. Grants the State of New York and the city of New York the right of first refusal to purchase all or part of such Island. (Sec. 4104) Directs the Administrator to sell at fair market the air rights adjacent to Washington Union Station, including certain air rights to be conveyed to the Administrator by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK). Directs AMTRAK, as a condition of future Federal financial assistance, to convey such rights, at no charge, on or before December 31, 1995. Title V: Housing Provisions - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to make the reduction of section 8 annual rent adjustment factors for units without tenant turnover permanent. Amends the National Housing Act to revise the maximum mortgage amount floor for single family mortgage insurance. Revises mortgage foreclosure avoidance and borrower assistance provisions, including: (1) authorizing a partial claim payment program for up to 12 months' equivalent payments; and (2) establishment of an assignment program. Title VI: Indexation and Miscellaneous Entitlement-Related Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise section one provisions so as to provide for a reduction in the annual consumer price index formula used in determining the cost-of-living adjustment of the tax tables through the calendar year 2002. Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for a reduction in block grants beginning with FY 1996; and (2) provide that each State shall be annually entitled to an amount equal to the lesser of 80 percent of the total it spends for services which are directed towards achieving the stated purposes of the title or the State's allotment. Provides for the denial of unemployment compensation to: (1) individuals with income in excess of $120,000 for the most recent taxable year; and (2) individuals who voluntarily leave military service. Title VII: Medicaid Reform - Subtitle A: Per Capita Spending Limit - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to specify a limit on the total amount of State expenditures for medical assistance for which Federal financial participation may be made under Medicaid in a fiscal year beginning in FY 1997, according to a prescribed formula based on certain categories of Medicaid beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish for each State a per capita medical assistance limit for each such category and for administrative expenditures for a fiscal year according to a certain formula that accounts for inflation. Requires the Secretary to notify each State before the beginning of each fiscal year of the per capita limits established for the State for the fiscal year. Exempts certain State expenditures under Medicaid from being subject to such limits and from being taken into account in establishing them. Provides for certain adjustments to such per capita limits, and outlines enforcement provisions for assuring that payments to the States are consistent with them. Places certain restrictions on the authority of States to apply less restrictive income and resource methodologies for making certain eligibility determinations under Medicaid. Subtitle B: Medicaid Managed Care - Repeals certain barriers to: (1) authorize States to require certain Medicaid-eligible individuals to enroll with an eligible managed care provider of their choice under contract with the State to furnish them with all medically necessary assistance as a condition of receiving Medicaid assistance; and (2) add anti-fraud and sanctions requirements applicable to eligible managed care providers. (Sec. 7105) Provides for assuring adequacy of payments to Medicaid managed care plans and providers. (Sec. 7107) Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the effect of risk contracting entities and primary care case management entities on the delivery of and payment for public health services. (Sec. 7108) Requires the Secretary and the Comptroller General to analyze and submit reports annually to specified congressional committees on rates paid for hospital services under coordinated care programs provided for under this subtitle. Subtitle C: Additional Reforms of Medicaid Acute Care Program - Revises provisions governing the use of enrollment fees, premiums, deductions, cost-sharing, and similar charges in order to permit increased flexibility in Medicaid cost-sharing. (Sec. 7202) Requires the Secretary to define, by regulation promulgated after consultation with States and organizations representing health care providers, those treatment services, in addition to those otherwise covered under a State Medicaid plan, that must be covered under Medicaid as measures necessary to correct or ameliorate defects and physical and mental illnesses and conditions discovered by the screening services, whether or not such services are covered under the State plan. (Sec. 7203) Provides that no change in law which has the effect of imposing a requirement on a State under a State plan under Medicaid, and with respect to which the Secretary is required to issue regulations to carry out such requirement, shall take effect until the date the Secretary promulgates such regulation as a final regulation. Provides that any change in a regulation of the Secretary relating to the Medicaid program shall not become effective until the beginning of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the change was promulgated. Gives the States certain options around such requirements. Expresses the sense of the Congress that if a State is required by future legislation to provide for additional services, eligible individuals, or otherwise incur additional costs under its Medicaid program, the Federal Government shall provide for full payment of any such additional costs for at least the first two years in which such requirement applies. (Sec. 7204) Sets forth provisions governing the consideration of applications for Medicaid waivers (i.e. State requests for a waiver of a Medicaid provision, or of another provision of law that applies to State plans under such title), and includes certain specified waivers under SSA and later amendments. Subtitle D: National Commission on Medicaid Restructuring - Establishes the National Commission on Medicaid Restructuring to study and make recommendations to the Congress, the President, and the Secretary regarding the need for changes in the laws and regulations regarding the Medicaid program in order to: (1) ensure adequate access to health care under such program for low-income individuals; (2) promote quality health care; (3) deter Medicaid fraud and abuse; (4) provide States with additional flexibility in implementing their Medicaid plans; and (5) contain Federal and State Medicaid costs. Authorize appropriations. Subtitle E: Restrictions on Disproportionate Share Payments - Revises provisions governing Medicaid payment adjustments for inpatient hospital services furnished by disproportionate share hospitals (DSH), among other changes, establishing a new national DSH payment limit and modifying provisions for determination of State DSH allotments. Subtitle F: Fraud Reduction - Directs the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to develop mechanisms to better monitor and prevent inappropriate payments under Medicaid in the case of individuals who are dually eligible for benefits under such program and the Medicare program under SSA title XVIII. Requires the Administrator to develop improved mechanisms, such as picture identification documents and smart documents, to provide methods of improved identification and tracking of beneficiaries and providers that perpetrate fraud against Medicaid. Title VIII: Medicare - Medicare Preservation Act of 1995 - Amends SSA titles XI and XVIII and the Internal Revenue Code, restructuring the current Medicare program, and creating a new Medicare Choice program within it, while also providing for corresponding tax incentives for Medicare Choice medical savings accounts (MSAs) and other Medicare Choice-related matters. Subtitle A: Medicare Choice Program - Gives individuals entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) the opportunity to elect Medicare coverage during annual, coordinated election periods under either the new Medicare Choice benefit package or through the existing fee-for-service system under such parts. Includes in the Medicare Choice benefit package a high ($10,000) deductible-Medisave product under a specified demonstration plus contributions to Medicare Choice MSAs, as well as separate fee-for-service products and products offered under certain provider- and union-sponsored plans by qualified Medicare Choice organizations. Directs the Secretary to provide for a nationally coordinated educational and publicity campaign to inform individuals who are eligible to elect Medicare Choice products about them and the election processes provided under this subtitle. Directs the Secretary to conduct demonstration projects to test alternative approaches to coordinated open enrollments in different markets, including different annual enrollment periods and models of rolling open enrollment periods. (Sec. 8002) Requires qualified Medicare Choice organizations (except those with union sponsors, Taft-Hartley sponsors, or, for a limited time, provider sponsors) to be licensed under State law in each State in which they offer a Medicare Choice product. Requires such organizations to assume full financial risk on a prospective basis for the provision of health care services (other than hospice care). Allows an organization to obtain insurance in specified circumstances. Sets forth requirements relating to benefits, provision of services (including limited physician incentive plans), enrollment, and premiums. Specifies patient protection standards, including those for information disclosure, access to services, out-of-network services, mandatory quality assurance programs, coverage determinations, grievances, appeals, and fair marketing procedures. Directs the Secretary to provide for demonstration projects to determine the effectiveness, cost, and impact of alternative methods of providing comparative information about the performance of Medicare Choice organizations and products and the performance of Medicare supplemental policies in relation to such products. Prescribes policy for payments to Medicare Choice organizations, including monthly adjusted capitation rates. Requires the Secretary to issue interim regulations regarding standards for Medicare Choice organizations and products within 180 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle, with such regulations to be effective through the end of 1999. Directs the Secretary to develop permanent standards under this subtitle, consulting with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in doing so, with such standards to be effective for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2000. Directs the Secretary to establish a process for the certification of Medicare Choice organizations and products. Involves the Secretary of Labor in such process with respect to union sponsors and Taft-Hartley sponsors. Outlines the certification process, including the use of private accreditation processes. Requires Medicare Choice organizations to contract with the Secretary, subject to specified requirements. Permits certain demonstration projects for high deductible-Medisave products, and lists special rules relating to enrollment and benefits with regard to such products, requiring, among other things, payments to the Medicare Choice MSAs of individuals electing high deductible-Medisave products under such projects. (Sec. 8003) Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on alternative provider payment approaches under Medicare along with recommendations for implementing and testing such approaches and any legislation that may be required for such purpose. Directs the Secretary to work with employers and health benefit plans to develop standards and payment methodologies to allow retired workers to continue to participate in employer health plans instead of participating in the Medicare program. Provides for a similar congressional report with regard to such matter. (Sec. 8004) Sets forth transition rules for current Medicare health maintenance organization (HMO) programs. (Sec. 8011) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from an individual's gross income any Federal payment to his or her Medicare Choice MSA, but include any MSA distribution not used to pay the account holder's qualified medical expenses. Excludes the value of such an MSA from the account holder's gross estate. Exempts an account holder from the excise tax on prohibited transactions even if an MSA ceases to be a Medicare Choice MSA because a distribution was not used to pay qualified medical expenses. Excludes further from gross income any Medicare part B premium discount rebate. (Sec. 8021) Declares that, in any Federal or State antitrust action, the conduct of a provider service network (and any member of such network) in negotiating, making, or performing a contract, to the extent such contract is for providing services under a Medicare Choice provider-sponsored organization (PSO) contract, shall not be illegal per se. Subjects such conduct to the antitrust rule of reason standard. (Sec. 8031) Amends SSA title XVIII to establish the Medicare Payment Review Commission (replacing the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPAC) and the Physician Payment Review Commission (PPRC), hereby abolished) which shall, among other things, review program payment policies (including those under the new Medicare Choice program) for appropriate recommendations to the Congress concerning such policies. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8032) Creates the Commission on the Effect of the Baby Boom Generation on the Medicare Program to: (1) examine the financial impact on the Medicare program of the significant increase in the number of Medicare-eligible individuals which will occur beginning approximately 2010 and last for approximately 25 years; and (2) make specific recommendations to the Congress about a comprehensive approach to preserve Medicare for the period during which such individuals are Medicare-eligible. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8041) Preempts State law restrictions on managed care arrangements and utilization review programs. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Regulatory Relief - Amends SSA titles XI and XVIII, as well as the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, to outline various specified revisions to Medicare physician referral prohibitions and anti-kickback and other penalties for the purpose of achieving Medicare regulatory relief. (Sec. 8101) Includes among such revisions: (1) removal of compensation arrangements from the proscribed financial arrangements between a physician and any entity to which he or she may refer a Medicare beneficiary (thus limiting proscribed financial arrangements to an ownership or investment interest in the entity); (2) limitation of the designated health services subject to such prohibition to items and services furnished by a community pharmacy, magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography services, and outpatient physical therapy services; (3) repeal of the mandate for the Medicare and Medicaid Coverage Data Bank; and (4) the issuance of advisory opinions under SSA title XI. (Sec. 8104) Revises exceptions to the prohibition against physician referrals to an entity in which the referring physician has an ownership or investment relationship to: (1) repeal the site-of-service requirement for excepted in-office ancillary services; (2) revise the exceptions for services furnished in a rural area and for pre-paid plans; and (3) add new exceptions for shared facility services and services furnished in communities with no alternative providers, in ambulatory surgical centers, in renal dialysis facilities, in a hospice, or in a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility. (Sec. 8111) Directs the Attorney General to provide for the development and publication of explicit guidelines on the application of antitrust laws to the activities of health plans, and establish a review process under which a plan administrator or sponsor may submit a request to obtain a prompt opinion from the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the plan's conformity with the Federal antitrust laws. (Sec. 8112) Outlines requirements for issuance (or denial) by the Attorney General of health care certificates of public advantage to requesting eligible health care collaborative activities if the benefits likely to result from such an activity outweigh any reduction in competition likely also to result and if such reduction is necessary to obtain benefits. Provides for judicial review with regard to such matter. (Sec. 8113) Requires the Attorney General, to report annually to the Congress, as part of the annual budget oversight proceedings, on DOJ's Antitrust Division in order for the Congress to determine how enforcement of antitrust laws is affecting the formation of joint ventures, and if such certificates have resulted in undesirable reduction in competition in the health care marketplace. (Sec. 8114) Exempts specified antitrust laws, under certain conditions, from applying with respect to: (1) the merger of, or the attempt to merge, two or more hospitals; (2) a contract entered into solely by two or more hospitals to allocate hospital services; or (3) the attempt by only two or more hospitals to enter into a contract to allocate hospital services. (Sec. 8121) Outlines various specified measures with respect to health care liability designed to provide for malpractice reform that, among other things, include: (1) a statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, with exceptions for minors; (2) a limitation on noneconomic damages; and (3) standards for using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in such matters as an initial attempt to resolve them before they may be brought in State or Federal court. Includes special provisions for certain obstetric services. Requires certain reports on the implementation and effectiveness of ADR systems for the Congress. (Sec. 8151) Modifies under Medicare the payment areas used to determine Medicare payments for physicians' services under such program while ensuring budget-neutrality. Subtitle C: Medicare Payments to Health Care Providers - Provides for a one-year general freeze in payments to Medicare providers during FY 1996, with similar freezes for skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. (Sec. 8211) Revises Medicare provisions for payments for physicians' services, replacing the volume performance standard with sustainable growth rate and establishing a single conversion factor for 1996, among other changes. (Sec. 8221) Provides for a reduction in update for inpatient hospital services for FY 1997 through 2002. (Sec. 8222) Eliminates formula-driven overpayments for ambulatory surgical center procedures and radiology services and diagnostic procedures. (Sec. 8223) Requires the Secretary to establish a prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient services. (Sec. 8224) Reduces Medicare payments to hospitals for inpatient capital-related costs. (Sec. 8225) Places a moratorium on PPS exemption for long term care hospitals. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress recommendations for modifications to the standards used to determine whether a hospital is classified as a long-term care hospital for purposes of determining the amount of payment to the hospital under Medicare part A for the operating costs of inpatient hospital services. (Sec. 8231) Sets forth provisions affecting home health and other specified providers, including providers of durable medical equipment and nursing homes, with similar payment changes and reductions and certain coverage limitations and incentives for cost-efficient management. Requires the Secretary to expand PPS research for home health agencies. (Sec. 8235) Freezes payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. (Sec. 8241) Adds a new SSA title XXI (Teaching Hospitals and Graduate Medical Education Trust Fund) establishing in the Treasury the Teaching Hospital and Graduate Medical Education Trust Fund for payments to teaching hospitals out of specified transfers from the Medicare trust funds and other amounts. Provides within HHS for a temporary advisory counsel (the National Advisory Council on Postgraduate Medical Education) to advise the Secretary on postgraduate medical education financing for assuring an adequate supply of trained specialists consistent with our country's health care needs. (Sec. 8242) Modifies payment policies under Medicare regarding indirect costs of graduate medical education, reducing payment adjustments for indirect medical education. Subtitle D: Provisions Relating to Medicare Beneficiaries - Makes specified changes with regard to the Medicare part B premium, including freezing it for 1996. (Sec. 8302) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the full cost of Medicare part B coverage payable by high-income individuals. (Sec. 8303) Provides annual screening mammography for women over age 49, plus expanded coverage of other preventive benefits under Medicare such as colorectal screening, prostate cancer screening tests and diabetes outpatient self-management training services. Subtitle E: Medicare Fraud Reduction - Outlines various specified measures designed for preventing fraud and abuse under the Medicare program or a State health care program, including among them in addition to the special fraud alerts initially set out: (1) special outreach and other efforts by the Secretary which include establishing a beneficiary incentive program for collecting information on fraud and abuse under Medicare; (2) establishment of the Medicare Integrity Program and associated Anti-Fraud and Abuse Trust Fund for contracting out to eligible private entities specified anti-fraud and abuse activities; (3) establishment by the Secretary of certain fraud reduction demonstration projects; and (3) provide direct spending for Medicare-related anti-fraud activities of the HHS Inspector General. Provides appropriations from the Anti-Fraud and Abuse Trust Fund to carry out the Medicare Integrity Program. (Sec. 8407) Requires the Secretary to recommend to the Congress legislative changes to the Medicare program to enable the prices paid for items and services under it to be established on a more competitive basis. Subtitle F: Improving Access to Health Care - Outlines various specified changes with regard to rural hospitals for the purpose of improving access to health care in rural areas, among other changes, by establishing a rural emergency access care hospital program and a system of additional payments under Medicare for physicians' services furnished in shortage areas. Reduces updates for sole community hospitals. Requires the Medicare Payment Review Commission to study and report to the Congress on the impact of the designation of hospitals as sole community hospitals under the Medicare program on the delivery of health care services to individuals in rural areas. Prohibits denial of request for reclassification of rural referral centers on basis of comparability of wages. Provides for State and consortium demonstration projects for increasing the number of medical students entering primary case practice relative to those entering nonprimary care practice. Requires the Secretary to develop and publish a model law that may be adopted by States to increase the access of individuals residing in underserved rural areas to health care services by expanding the services which non-physician health care professionals may provide in such areas. (Sec. 8512) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude national health service corps loan repayments from gross income. (Sec. 8513) Directs the Secretary to establish a methodology for making payments under Medicare part B for telemedicine services furnished on an emergency basis to individuals residing in an area designated as a health professional shortage area. (Sec. 8514) Provides for an HHS demonstration project to assess the advantages and disadvantages of requiring Medicare Choice organizations to market their products in certain underserved areas which are near the standard service area for such products. (Sec. 8521) Provides for Medicare program payments for health care services provided in the military health services system. Subtitle G: Other Provisions - Provides, with regard to Medicare as secondary payer, for: (1) extension and expansion of existing requirements; (2) recovery against third party administrators of primary plans; and (3) prohibition of retroactive application (before April 24, 1995) of a certain policy directive regarding end stage renal disease beneficiaries enrolled in primary plans. (Sec. 8602) Repeals the Medicare and Medicaid Coverage Databank under SSA title XI. (Sec. 8603) Provides that nothing in SSA title XVIII may be construed to prohibit coverage under Medicare part A or B of items and services associated with the use of a medical device in the furnishing of inpatient hospital services solely on the grounds that the device is not an approved device, if it is an investigational device and is used instead of an approved device. States that the amount of Medicare payment for any item or service associated with the use of an investigational device in the furnishing of such services may not exceed the amount of the payment which would have been made for the item or service if it were associated with the use of an approved device. (Sec. 8604) Excludes from Medicare coverage items or services used for euthanasia. (Sec. 8605) Extends Medicare coverage of, and application of the hospital insurance tax to, all State and local government employees. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle H: Monitoring Achievement of Medicare Reform Goals - Directs the Secretary to establish budgetary and program goals for the Medicare program that are consistent with: (1) specified restrictions on total Medicare outlays for FY 1996 through FY 2002; and (2) an equitable distribution of funds between per beneficiary spending on payments to Medicare Choice organizations and spending on fee-for-service payments to Medicare providers. Requires such goals also to be consistent with the establishment of payments to such organizations in a manner that: (1) promotes the availability of Medicare Choice products in all regions of the country; and (2) permits such organizations to offer adequate coverage. (Sec. 8702) Establishes the Medicare Reform Commission to examine how Medicare has met such goals, with recommendations concerning any problems found to exist submitted to the President for transmittal with corrections to the Congress for action. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle I: Lock-Box Provisions for Medicare Part B Savings from Growth Reductions - Establishes under Medicare part B in the Treasury the Federal Medicare Growth Reduction Trust Fund for the savings under such part that are attributable to this Act. Subtitle J: Clinical Laboratories - Amends the Public Health Service Act to exempt from certification requirements under such Act clinical laboratories in physician offices (except when pap smear analysis is performed). Title IX: Welfare Reform - Subtitle A: Temporary Employment Assistance - Replaces the current Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) Program under SSA title IV part A with a Temporary Employment Assistance (TEA) program for the purpose of providing assistance to families with needy children and assisting parents of such children to obtain and retain private sector work to the extent possible, and public sector or volunteer work if necessary, through the Work First Employment Block Grant program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 9101) Sets forth State TEA plan elements necessary for plan approval by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Includes among them, in addition to certain administrative requirements for ensuring that families on TEA assistance become self-sufficient, the following key elements: (1) limited time for cash assistance, with specified exceptions for teen parents, hardship situations, and individuals exempt from certain work requirements under this title because of illness or other specified reasons; (2) assessment, before such individuals may receive TEA assistance, of the skills, prior work experience, and employability of each applicant for, and recipient of, TEA assistance who has attained age 18 or has not obtained a high school education, and is not attending secondary school; (3) development of an individual responsibility plan on the basis of such assessment, setting forth certain job search, work-, and education-related obligations (including, at State option, appropriate substance abuse treatment) of such individuals in order for them to receive the full amount of TEA assistance (denying it for plan noncompliance after the third offense); (4) State operation a Work First Program (replacing the current Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program) and a workfare or job placement voucher program for individuals prohibited from participation in the Work First program; (5) assurance that all such applicants and recipients will cooperate in paternity establishment and enforcement of child support obligations, and that the State agency will report known or suspected instances of child abuse to the appropriate authorities; (6) State efforts to promote family preservation and stability; and (7) denial of TEA assistance for fraudulent statements made with regard to residence in order to obtain multiple assistance payments and for probation and parole violators. Outlines State payment and miscellaneous State plan quality assurance and data collection, compilation, and reporting requirements, as well as certain research, demonstration, and evaluation requirements (including requirements for the Secretary to establish certain regional information centers for disseminating information concerning welfare reform) with regard to the different State approaches to operating welfare programs under this subtitle. Provides that, upon receiving notice from a State agency administering an approved plan that a named individual has been overpaid under it, the Secretary of the Treasury shall: (1) determine whether any tax refunds are payable to such individual, regardless of whether he or she filed a return as a married or unmarried individual; and (2) withhold from any such refunds an amount equal to the overpayment sought to be collected, and pay it to the State agency. Requires the Secretary to issue regulations allowing a State to submit requests for collection of overpayments only with respect to individuals no longer receiving TEA assistance against whom the State has already taken appropriate action, including notice of its intent to request such withholding of income tax refunds. Specifies rules for the collection of overpayments under SSA title IV part A. Subtitle B: Make Work Pay - Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to give States the option of providing for an extension of Medicaid enrollment for former AFDC recipients for one additional year. (Sec. 9202) Requires State TEA, food stamp, and Medicaid plans to provide their respective applicants and former recipients with written notice of the existence and availability of the earned income tax credit, with changes under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 providing for such notice of availability to be included on employee W-4 forms. (Sec. 9204) Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide for State demonstrations for advance payment of earned income tax credit. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 9205) Repeals the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 and provides for funding of child care services through the program under SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services), with limited funding for child care grants under such program to supplement State and local funds as well as Federal funds provided under other Acts for child care activities. Requires the appropriate State agencies under such program to guarantee child care for participants involved in the education, training, community service, and employment initiatives above connected with State TEA programs. (Sec. 9206) Amends IRC to: (1) include TEA, food stamp, and supplemental security income (SSI) assistance in gross income and exclude such benefits from being taken into account for purposes of the earned income tax credit; and (2) make the dependent care credit refundable and exclude certain high-income taxpayers from being eligible for such credit. Subtitle C: Work First - Replaces the JOBS program under SSA title IV part F with the Work First program under which States have the option of offering a wide variety of job-related activities (including use of job placement companies) to TEA program participants in order to provide them in a cost-effective fashion with the support and skills necessary to obtain and keep full-time unsubsidized employment, preferably in the private sector. (Sec. 9301) Outlines various specified: (1) program components, including microenterprise initiatives, workfare or community service programs, work supplementation programs for jobs with the State or jobs subsidized by the State in the private sector, job placement voucher programs for States not operating a workfare or community service program, and mandatory job search requirements; and (2) associated rules, cost limits, participation and funding requirements, and performance standards for measuring the effectiveness of such programs. Expresses the intent of the Congress that State job-related activities emphasize the use of funds that would otherwise be used to provide individuals with TEA and food stamps to subsidize the wages of such individuals in temporary jobs. Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should target individuals below age 25 for participation in the Work First program in order to break the cycle of welfare dependency. Subtitle D: Family Responsibility and Improved Child Support Enforcement - Chapter 1: Eligibility and Other Matters Concerning Title IV-D Program Clients - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to: (1) record child support orders in a central case registry; and (2) collect child support payments through a centralized collections unit. Permits parties to a child support order to opt for an alternative payment procedure. (Sec. 9401) Revises the guidelines for: (1) State plans for child and spousal support; and (2) payments distribution. (Sec. 9403) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) notification of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations; and (2) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions. Chapter 2: Program Administration and Funding - Revises the formula for: (1) Federal matching payments to the States; and (2) incentive adjustments to the Federal matching rate. (Sec. 9413) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec. 9415) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 9416) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct staffing studies of each State child support enforcement program and to report the results to the Congress. (Sec. 9417) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. Chapter 3: Locate and Case Tracking - Mandates that the single statewide automated data system function as a single central case registry of State-provided services and support orders. Delineates contents of case records and data matching activities, including data exchange with sister States. (Sec. 9422) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. (Sec. 9423) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which child support orders issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding from wages if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 9425) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to add kinds of information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of establishing parentage and executing child support obligations. Requires the Secretary to establish in the Service a Data Bank of Child Support Orders and an automated directory of New Hires. (Sec. 9426) Requires State plans to include procedures for recording social security numbers on certain family legal documents and records. Chapter 4: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures - Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1997. (Sec. 9432) Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for a court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 9433) Amends SSA title IV part D to revise State plan guidelines for mandatory expedited administrative and judicial procedures to include: (1) authorized genetic testing to establish paternity; and (2) the securing of assets and increasing of monthly payments to satisfy a support arrearage. Chapter 5: Paternity Establishment - Expresses the sense of the Congress that social services should be provided in hospitals to women who have become pregnant as a result of rape or incest. (Sec. 9442) Requires State laws to prescribe procedures for parenting counseling for new fathers that stresses the importance of paying child support. (Sec. 9443) Requires State plans to prescribe specified administrative procedures governing agency determination as to whether an individual is cooperating with efforts to establish paternity and secure support, or has good cause not to cooperate with such efforts. (Sec. 9444) Increases the base matching rate for Federal payments to the States for grants for dependent children. (Sec. 9445) Revises the guidelines for statutorily prescribed procedures governing genetic testing and outreach for voluntary paternity acknowledgment. Chapter 6: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders - Establishes the National Child Support Guidelines Commission to develop a national child support guideline for consideration by the Congress that is based on a study of various guideline models, the benefits and deficiencies of such models, and any needed improvement. (Sec. 9452) Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. Chapter 7: Enforcement of Support Orders - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the order of refund distribution with respect to past-due support owed to individuals. (Sec. 9463) Amends SSA title IV part D to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of current and retired members of the armed forces. (Sec. 9465) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures for: (1) placing liens for child support arrearages on motor vehicle titles of the debtor; (2) voiding fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor; (3) suspending any driver's, business, or occupational license issued to any person who owes past-due child support; (4) reporting to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (5) extending the statute of limitations for collection of child support arrearages; and (6) calculating interest or penalties on such arrearages. (Sec. 9471) Prescribes procedural guidelines for passport denial (including revocation) upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 9472) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention of 1956. Requires State plans to provide that the State must treat international child support cases as interstate cases. (Sec. 9473) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which failure to pay child support arrearages results in seizure by a State agency of: (1) insurance settlements or payouts; (2) judicial awards; (3) sale of forfeited property; and (4) bequests. (Sec. 9474) Requires State plans to include procedures under which grandparents are liable for the financial support of the children of their minor children. (Sec. 9475) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the States should develop programs specifically designed to work with noncustodial parents who are unable to meet their child support obligations. Chapter 8: Medical Support - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. Chapter 9: Food Stamp Program Requirements - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to set forth as a prerequisite to eligibility for the Food Stamp Program cooperation by the custodial parent with child support agencies regarding paternity and child support. (Sec. 9492) Denies eligibility to participate in the Food Stamp Program to any individual that is delinquent in any court-ordered payment for child support. Chapter 10: Effect of Enactment - Sets forth effective dates for portions of this title. Subtitle E: Teen Pregnancy and Family Stability - Amends Title IV part A (AFDC) to prescribe guidelines under which State plans may deny temporary employment assistance to recipient families having additional children while receiving such assistance. (Sec. 9502) Requires State plans to set as a prerequisite for temporary employment assistance to pregnant unwed minors (or minors with needy children in their care), that such individuals reside in certain supervised living arrangements with an adult relative or legal guardian. (Sec. 9503) Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to establish a National Clearinghouse on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs. Enumerates maximum grant amounts for such Clearinghouse. (Sec. 9504) Amends Title IV part A (AFDC) to require that State plans mandate completion of high school or other training for custodial teenage parents who are required to participate in the Work First program. Authorizes States to provide additional incentives and penalties to encourage teen parents to complete high school and participate in parenting activities. (Sec. 9505) Denies Federal housing benefits to minors who bear children out-of-wedlock, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 9506) Amends Title IV part A (AFDC) to prescribe guidelines under which State plans are granted the option of denying temporary employment assistance to minor parents. Subtitle F: SSI Reform - Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to revise the rules with respect to childhood eligibility, with corresponding changes to childhood SSI regulations modifying the medical criteria for evaluation of mental and emotional disorders, and discontinuing the use of individualized functional assessments for children. Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to redetermine the eligibility of any individual under age 18 who is receiving SSI benefits based on a disability as of the date of the enactment of this Act and whose eligibility for such benefits may terminate by reason of the amendments of this subtitle. (Sec. 9602) Provides that not less frequently than once every three years the Commissioner shall review the continued SSI eligibility of each individual who has not attained 18 years of age and is eligible for such benefits by reason of an impairment (or combination of impairments) which may improve (or, which is unlikely to improve, at the option of the Commissioner). Requires a parent or guardian of a recipient whose case is so reviewed to present, at the time of review, evidence demonstrating that the recipient is, and has been, receiving treatment, to the extent considered medically necessary and available, of the condition which was the basis for providing benefits under the SSI program. Provides that if an individual is eligible for SSI benefits by reason of disability for the month preceding the month in which the individual attains age 18, the Commissioner shall redetermine such eligibility: (1) during the one year period beginning on the individual's 18th birthday; and (2) by applying the criteria used in determining the initial eligibility for applicants who have attained age 18. Specifies requirements governing: (1) continuing disability reviews for low birth weight babies; and (2) benefit payments through representative payees to eligible individuals and their spouses. (Sec. 9603) Revises representative payee requirements. (Sec. 9604) Denies SSI by reason of disability to drug addicts and alcoholics for whom the addiction or alcoholism is a contributing factor material to the determination of disability. Provides that, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse specified amounts for expenditure on drug treatment and drug abuse and drug treatment research for FY 1997 through 2000. (Sec. 9605) Denies SSI benefits for ten years to individuals found to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in order to obtain benefits simultaneously in two or more States. (Sec. 9606) Denies SSI benefits for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators and provides for exchange of SSI information with law enforcement agencies. (Sec. 9607) Outlines reapplication requirements for adults receiving SSI benefits by reason of disability. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 9608) Provides for a reduction in the unearned income exclusion under provisions for determining the income of an individual and his eligible spouse under SSI. Subtitle G: Food Assistance - Chapter 1: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Act) to establish food stamp program (program) certification periods of: (1) 24 months for households whose adult members are elderly or disabled; and (2) not more than 12 months for all other households. Includes energy assistance in household income determinations. Excludes Job Training Partnership Act income from such determinations. Excludes life insurance policies from family resource determinations. (Sec. 9703) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary), with regard to retail food stores and wholesale food concerns (stores), to: (1) establish authorization periods for coupon acceptance and redemption; and (2) establish specific time periods for prohibiting program participation of stores based on lack of business integrity. (Sec. 9705) Includes sales tax information among the types of eligibility verification information which may be requested. (Sec. 9706) Establishes a six-month reapplication waiting period for a store that does not meet participation requirements. (Sec. 9708) Authorizes suspension of a store pending administrative and judicial review. (States that the Secretary shall not be liable for lost sales during such period.) (Sec. 9709) Provides for disqualification of a store that is disqualified from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). (Sec. 9710) Provides for permanent disqualification of a store that knowingly submits a falsified application. (Sec. 9711) Expands civil and criminal forfeiture for specified violations of the Act. (Sec. 9712) Amends the Social Security Act as amended by the Social Security Administrative Reform Act of 1994, and the Internal Revenue Code as added to by the Social Security Administrative Reform Act of 1994, to authorize information sharing with State WIC enforcement instrumentalities. (Sec. 9713) Amends the Act to expand the definition of "coupon." (Sec. 9714) Increases penalties for specified program violations. (Sec. 9715) Makes the collection of over-issuance of coupons from Federal pay or Federal tax refunds (as authorized by this section) mandatory. (Sec. 9716) Encourages and authorizes States to implement electronic benefit transfer systems. (Sec. 9717) Reduces annual "thrifty food plan" adjustments. (Sec. 9718) Freezes standard deduction adjustments for two years. (Sec. 9720) Disqualifies an individual from program participation for: (1) participation in two or more States; and (2) child support arrears. (Sec. 9722) Authorizes the use of program information to assist in locating fugitive felons. (Sec. 9723) Defines "work program." Makes nonexempt persons ineligible for program benefits if during the preceding 12-month period they received food stamps for six months or more without working at least 20 hours per week, or participating in a workfare program. Sets forth exempted persons and situations. Revises work requirement and employment and training provisions. Extends employment and training funding authorizations. (Sec. 9725) Extends current claims retention rates. (Sec. 9726) Extends Puerto Rico block past assistance. (Sec. 9727) Treats children who are themselves parents living with their children and married children living with their spouses as part of an existing household rather than as a separate household. Chapter 2: Commodity Distribution - Commodity Distribution Act of 1995 - Authorizes the Secretary to purchase and distribute food assistance commodities to the States. (Sec. 9753) Requires the Secretary to establish procedures for supplemental State, local, and private commodity donations. (Sec. 9754) Requires a State seeking commodity assistance to submit an administrative plan every four years to the Secretary. (Sec. 9755) Establishes program allocation guidelines. Requires States to make emergency feeding organizations their first priority. (Sec. 9756) Authorizes the Secretary to use Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds to pay initial commodity processing and packaging costs. (Sec. 9758) Authorizes program appropriations, including a separate authorization of appropriations for administrative costs. (Sec. 9760) Obligates specified funds for a commodity supplemental food program for women, infants, and children or the elderly. Requires the CCC to donate specified amounts of cheese and nonfat dry milk to such program. (Sec. 9761) States that commodities received under this title shall not be considered income or resources for any Federal, State, or local means-tested program. (Sec. 9768) Repeals the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983. Eliminates specified provisions of: (1) the Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987; (2) the Charitable Assistance and Food Bank Act of 1987; (3) the Food Security Act of 1985; (4) the Agricultural and Consumer Protection Act of 1973; (5) the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990; and (6) the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988. Chapter 3: Other Programs - Amends the National School Lunch Act to prohibit an institution with more than one employee from participating in the child and adult care food program if employee payments are based upon the number of day care homes recruited, managed, or monitored. Revises day care home reimbursement provisions, including sponsor payments. Obligates specified FY 1996 funds for State grants to family or group day care homes. Requires specified census data to be provided to day care sponsoring organizations. (Sec. 9782) Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to authorize appropriations (current authorization is discretionary) for the nutrition education and training program. Subtitle H: Treatment of Aliens - Extends the period of sponsor attribution of income and resources (to an alien) under the statewide temporary assistance program (TEA), the supplemental security income program (SSI), and the food stamp program through the date (if any) of such alien's citizenship. Sets forth exceptions based upon age, military or veteran status, family status, domestic violence, or taxpaying status. (Permits Medicaid eligibility.) Amends the Social Security Act to set forth TEA rules regarding income and resource attribution. (Sec. 9802) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to set forth rules for sponsor affidavits of support. (Sec. 9803) Extends affidavit of support requirements to family- related and diversity immigrants. Subtitle I: Earned Income Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require an individual claiming the earned income tax credit to include the individual's and, if married, the spouse's social security number on the individual's tax return. Title X: Reductions In Corporate Tax Subsidies and other Reforms - Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1995 - Subtitle A: Tax Treatment of Expatriation - Sets forth the tax responsibilities of: (1) any U.S. citizen who relinquishes his or her U.S. citizenship; or (2) any long-term U.S. resident who commences to be treated as a resident of a foreign country under provisions of a tax treaty and who does not waive the benefits of such treaty applicable to residents of the foreign country. Allows an exclusion from gain of up to $600,000. Permits an expatriate to elect to continue to be taxed as a United States citizen, in which case the provisions applicable to other expatriates will not apply. Provides for the determination of the basis of the assets of a nonresident alien individual who becomes a U.S. citizen or resident. Subtitle B: Modification to Earned Income Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include capital gain net income in the definition of disqualified income for purposes of the denial of the earned income credit for individuals having excessive income. Subtitle C: Alternative Minimum Tax on Corporations Importing Products into the United States at Artificially Inflated Prices - Imposes an alternative minimum tax on certain corporations equal to four percent of their net business receipts for a taxable year. Imposes such tax on a corporation (foreign or domestic) if: (1) its gross sales in the United States of manufactured parts or products exceeded $10 million; (2) it imported such products with a customs value in excess of $10 million (artificially inflated prices); and (3) its tax obligation under the alternative minimum tax exceeds its total tax obligation. Subtitle D: Tax Treatment of Certain Extraordinary Dividends - Provides, with respect to a corporate shareholder's basis in stock reduced by the non-tax portion of extraordinary dividends, that if the non-taxed portion of such dividends exceeds such basis, such excess shall be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such stock for the taxable year in which the extraordinary dividend is received. Subtitle E: Foreign Trust Tax Compliance - Revises the requirements regarding information that must be reported regarding certain foreign trusts. Modifies the circumstances (with regard to foreign trusts having one or more U.S. beneficiaries) in which a transferor is treated as the owner. Replaces provisions setting forth a special rule applicable to foreign grantors with provisions declaring that provisions relating to treating grantors and others as substantial owners shall apply only when that application results in an amount being currently taken into account in computing the income of a U.S. citizen or resident or a domestic corporation. Requires a United States person to report information regarding foreign gifts or bequests when the gifts' aggregate value during a taxable year exceeds $10,000. Modifies requirements regarding the interest charge on accumulation distributions from foreign trusts. Changes the circumstances in which an estate or trust is included in the definition of "United States person." Modifies the definition of "foreign estate or trust." Requires (for provisions relating to the imposition of a tax on transfers to avoid income tax) treating a trust which is not a foreign trust and which becomes a foreign trust as having transferred, immediately before becoming a foreign trust, all of its assets to a foreign trust. Subtitle F: Limitation on Section 936 Credit - Revises the Puerto Rico and possessions tax credit. Provides for a five year phasedown with respect to such credit. Title XI: Committee on Veterans' Affairs - Veterans Reconciliation Act of 1995 - Subtitle A: Permanent Extension of Temporary Authorities - Makes permanent the: (1) requirement that non-service disabled veterans having incomes above a specified level make copayments in exchange for hospital and medical care received through the Department of Veterans Affairs; (2) authority of the Department to recover from primary insurers the cost of care furnished to veterans in Department health-care facilities; (3) authority to verify a veteran's income for purposes of eligibility for needs-based benefits; (4) pension payment limitation of $90 monthly to Medicaid-eligible veterans and their surviving spouses who have no dependents and who reside in Medicaid-participating nursing homes; (5) authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to charge and collect a home loan fee for Department-guaranteed housing loans; and (6) procedures applicable upon default of such guaranteed loans. Subtitle B: Other Matters - Revises the Government's liability standard for injuries or death resulting from Department treatment to allow compensation to be awarded for the additional disability in the same manner as if the disability or death were service-connected. Provides proximate cause requirements. (Sec. 11022) Extends through FY 1996 (currently, December 31, 1995) the authority of the Secretary to guarantee the real estate mortgage investment conduits used to market pools of veterans' loans. (Sec. 11023) Authorizes the Department to collect veterans' home loan guaranty debts in the same manner as all other debts arising under Department programs. Requires the Department to provide affected individuals with notice of the procedure for appealing the collection determination. Subtitle C: Health Care Eligibility Reform - Revises provisions concerning a veteran's eligibility for hospital care and medical services to: (1) allow such care to be provided only to the extent that amounts are provided in advance in appropriations Acts; and (2) provide full eligibility for both hospital and outpatient care for service-disabled veterans, former prisoners of war, veterans of the Mexican border period or World War I, low-income veterans, and veterans who were exposed to a toxic substance, radiation, or an environmental hazard while on active duty. (Sec. 11032) Extends through December 31, 1998, the authority to provide priority hospital care and medical services for certain Persian Gulf War veterans. (Sec. 11033) Makes certain veterans eligible for prosthetic devices as long as they are receiving ongoing care through the Department. (Currently, hospitalization is required before such veterans are so eligible.) (Sec. 11034) Directs the Secretary, in managing the provision of hospital care and medical services, to establish and operate a system of annual patient enrollment, with specified patient priorities. Requires the system to be managed to assure the provision of timely and quality care. Requires the Secretary to establish and manage Department health-care programs in a manner which promotes cost- effective delivery of health care services in the most clinically appropriate setting. Requires the Department to maintain its capacity to provide for specialized needs of certain disabled veterans. (Sec. 11035) Amends the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 to repeal a provision which terminates on October 1, 1996, the authority of the Secretary to enter into health care resource sharing agreements with the Department of Defense. Entitles the Unites States to recover from primary insurance providers the cost of care or services provided under such Act through a Department medical facility. (Sec. 11036) Repeals a statement of congressional purpose with respect to the Department's sharing of specialized medical facilities, equipment, and information. Expands such sharing authority to include all health care resources and to allow health care providers, plans, and insurers, or other entities or individuals to participate in such sharing arrangements. Increases the authorized payment terms with respect to shared resources. (Currently, only reciprocal reimbursement is permitted.) Allows the Secretary to enter into such arrangements for the treatment of non-veterans only in limited circumstances. (Sec. 11037) Exempts from Department medical personnel ceiling limits all positions held by persons involved in providing health-care resources under sharing arrangements. Title XII: Legislative Branch - Requires that any unobligated funds following a fiscal year from the official expenses allowance of the House of Representatives be dedicated to the Deficit Reduction Fund. Title XIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Eliminates the disparity between the effective dates for the military and civilian retiree cost-of-living adjustments for FY 1996, 1997, and 1998. Provides for the disposal of specified quantities of the following materials from the National Defense Stockpile: (1) cobalt; (2) aluminum; (3) ferro columbium; (4) germanium; (5) palladium; (6) platinum; and (7) rubber. Requires that certain executive branch agencies prepay the Government contributions which are or will be required in connection with providing health-benefits coverage for annuitants of such agencies. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend for seven years the Hazardous Substance Superfund Financing Rate and the repayment date for Superfund borrowing. Title XIV: Budget Process Provisions - Balanced Budget Enforcement Act of 1995 - Establishes a Board of Estimates which shall issue a report stating whether it has chosen the sequestration preview report and final sequestration report of the Office of Management and Budget or the reports of the Congressional Budget Office. Permits the Board to change the list of major estimating assumptions to be used by the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office. Subtitle B(sic): Discretionary Spending Limits - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 establish discretionary spending limits for FY 1996 through 2002. Extends congressional committee allocation and enforcement provisions and the applicability of certain points of order through 2002. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to revise and extend the budgetary amounts through FY 2000 for the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. Revises the general statement of budget enforcement to apply to discretionary spending limits and pay-as-you-go requirements rather than expired maximum deficit amounts. Extends enforcement of discretionary spending limits through FY 2002. Subtitle C: Pay-As-You-Go Procedures - Permanently extends pay-as-you-go provisions (except for the emergency legislation provision which is repealed) and provides for ten-year scorekeeping. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous - Repeals effective date provisions of title II of Gramm-Rudman-Hollings. Subtitle E: Deficit Control - Establishes decreasing deficit targets for FY 1996 through 2002, with a target of zero for each FY after 2002. Sets forth procedures (including sequestration procedures)to be followed if the deficit exceeds the targeted amount for a fiscal year. Lists accounts and activities exempt from sequestration. Subtitle F: Line Item Veto - Makes provision for line item veto authority, which shall be effective unless disapproved by the passage, as specified, of a rescissions-receipts disapproval bill. Permits any Member of Congress to seek judicial review of any provision of this subtitle. Subtitle G: Enforcing Points of Order - Amends Congressional Budget Act of 1974 provisions concerning points of order in the Senate and House of Representatives. Subtitle H: Deficit Reduction Lock-box - Requires any appropriation bill being marked up or reported to contain a line item entitled "Deficit Reduction Lock-box". Specifies amounts which shall comprise such line in any reported: (1) general appropriations bill containing Treasury and Postal Service appropriations; (2) general appropriations bill; or (3) supplemental appropriations bill. Provides for the reduction of the discretionary spending limit for new budget authority by the amount of budget authority transferred to the Deficit Reduction Lock-box. Requires the Congressional Budget Office scorecard to include amounts contained in the Deficit Reduction Lock-box. Subtitle I: Emergency Spending; Baseline Reform; Continuing Resolutions Reform - Chapter 1: Emergency Spending - Provides for the establishment of a budget reserve account for the purpose of setting aside adequate funding for natural disasters and national security measures. Set forth provisions concerning: (1) points of order regarding emergencies; (2)congressional budget process changes; and (3) reporting. Chapter 2: Baseline Reform - Provides, when making baseline assumptions, for adjustments: (1) for inflation, only to adjust discretionary spending limits; and (2) to offset pay absorption and for pay annualization, only to adjust discretionary spending limits. Requires the President's budget to include estimated expenditures and appropriations for the current fiscal year. Requires the starting point for any congressional budget deliberations for the next fiscal year to be the estimated level of outlays for the current year in each function and subfunction. Chapter 3: Restricted Uses of Continuing Resolutions - Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to: (1) prohibit any item of appropriation set forth in any joint resolution continuing appropriations, or amendment thereto, from exceeding the rate it would have been at assuming the continuation of current law; and (2) prohibit it being in order to consider any joint resolution continuing appropriations, or amendment thereto, which changes existing law. Subtitle J: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Makes technical and conforming amendments to: (1) the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974; (2) the Rules of the House of Representatives; and (3) provisions concerning the President's budget. Subtitle K: Truth in Legislating - Requires the report or joint explanatory statement accompanying each House of Representatives reported bill or resolution of a public character to: (1) identify each provision benefitting ten or fewer persons, corporations, organizations, projects, or civil subdivisions; (2) name each beneficiary; (3) name sponsors; and (4) contain a cost estimate.