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551 records in 1996
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 27 March 1996
17 Miss Quill asked the Minister for the Environment if he is in receipt of the Irish business survey on litter; and if he has studied the findings of this survey. [6631/96]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 27 March 1996
60 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for the Environment if he will sanction the commencement of phase two of the Ballymun refurbishment scheme in 1996, in view of the three year gap in the completion of phase one. [4650/96]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 27 March 1996
15 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment if he will make a decision on the redevelopment/refurbishment of Ballymun flats. Dublin 11 or pending the decision if he will approve the next phase of the refurbishment work. [6616/96]
European Union · European Parliament · 27 March 1996
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Untitled Subtitle A: Breast Cancer Research Extension Act of 1996 Subtitle B: HHS Women Scientists Employment Opportunity Act Subtitle C: Women and AIDS Research Initiative Amendments of 1996 Subtitle D: Women's Cardiovascular Diseases Research and Prevention Act Subtitle E: Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases Research Act of 1996 Subtitle F: Lupus Research Amendments of 1996 Subtitle G: Ovarian Cancer Research and Information Amendments of 1996 Subtitle H: HPV Infection and Cervical Cancer Research Resolution of 1996 Subtitle I: Office for Rare Disease Research Act of 1996 Subtitle J: Federal Risk Assessment in Women's Health Act of 1996 Subtitle K: Women's Health Environmental Factors Act of 1996 Subtitle L: Consumer Involvement in Breast Cancer Research Act Subtitle M: Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act of 1996 Title II: Services Subtitle A: Women's Health Office Act of 1996 Subtitle B: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1996 Subtitle C: Improved Patient Access to Clinical Studies Act of 1996 Subtitle D: Equitable Health Care for Neurobiological Disorders Act of 1996 Subtitle E: Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act Subtitle F: Insurance Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence Act Subtitle G: Domestic Violence Victims Insurance Protection Act of 1996 Subtitle H: Fairness to Minority Women Health Act Subtitle I: Adolescent Health Demonstration Projects Act Subtitle J: Eating Disorders Information and Education Act of 1996 Subtitle K: Women's Choice and Reproductive Health Protection Act of 1996 Subtitle L: Women's Right To Know Act of 1996 Subtitle M: International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health Act Subtitle N: Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1996 Subtitle O: Women and HIV Outreach and Prevention Act Subtitle P: Smoking Prevention and Cessation in WIC Clinics Act Subtitle Q: Comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Act Subtitle R: Postreproductive Health Care Act Subtitle S: Family Caregiver Support and Protection Act of 1996 Subtitle T: Medicare Mammography Enhancement Act of 1996 Subtitle U: Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Standardization Act of 1996 Subtitle V: Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Resource Center Act of 1996 Subtitle W: Women Veterans Health Improvement Act of 1996 Women's Health Equity Act of 1996 - Title I: Untitled - Subtitle A: Breast Cancer Research Extension Act of 1996 - Breast Cancer Research Extension Act of 1996 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for breast cancer research. Subtitle B: HHS Women Scientists Employment Opportunity Act - HHS Women Scientist Employment Opportunity Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish policies for the Department of Health and Human Services on matters relating to the employment of women scientists; and (2) monitor compliance and take appropriate action if policies have been violated. Mandates implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force on the Status of NIH (National Institutes of Health) Intramural Women Scientists. Provides for a study and report on pay equity. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Women and AIDS Research Initiative Amendments of 1996 - Women and AIDS Research Initiative Amendments of 1996 - Mandates a program to conduct biomedical and behavioral research (directly or through grants) on cases of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in women. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Women's Cardiovascular Diseases Research and Prevention Act - Women's Cardiovascular Diseases Research and Prevention Act - Mandates expansion, intensification, and coordination of research and related activities of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute with regard to cardiovascular diseases in women. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases Research Act of 1996 - Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases Research Act of 1996 - Requires specified institutes of the National Institutes of Health to expand and intensify research on osteoporosis and related bone diseases. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Lupus Research Amendments of 1996 - Lupus Research Amendments of 1996 - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute with respect to lupus. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle G: Ovarian Cancer Research and Information Amendments of 1996 - Ovarian Cancer Research and Information Amendments of 1996 - Authorizes appropriations for research on ovarian cancer. Subtitle H: HPV Infection and Cervical Cancer Research Resolution of 1996 - HPV Infection and Cervical Cancer Research Resolution of 1996 - Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that, in conducting cervical cancer research, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases should collaborate in sponsoring basic and clinical research on human papilloma virus diagnosis and prevention as a risk of cervical cancer and, as applicable, develop screening techniques. Subtitle I: Office for Rare Disease Research Act of 1996 - Office for Rare Disease Research Act of 1996 - Establishes, in the National Institutes of Health, the Office for Rare Disease Research. Subtitle J: Federal Risk Assessment in Women's Health Act of 1996 - Federal Risk Assessment in Women's Health Act of 1996 - Directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy to conduct a review of all Federal programs that assess or mitigate the risks to women's health from environmental exposures. Provides for a study and report to the Congress. Subtitle K: Women's Health Environmental Factors Act of 1996 - Women's Health Environmental Factors Act of 1996 - Mandates a report to the Congress: (1) summarizing the body of scientific knowledge on environmental effects on women's health; and (2) specifying an agenda for the conduct and support of research. Subtitle L: Consumer Involvement in Breast Cancer Research Act - Consumer Involvement in Breast Cancer Research Act - Requires the National Cancer Institute, to the extent practicable, to increase the involvement of people who are accountable to, represent, and report back to organizations that represent those affected by breast cancer in decision making at the Institute regarding breast cancer. Subtitle M: Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act of 1996 - Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act of 1996 - Requires that $44 million of the first $191 million appropriated to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism be obligated for research on alcohol abuse and alcoholism among women. Authorizes appropriations (in addition to the existing authorization of appropriations for the Institute) for such research regarding women. Title II: Services - Subtitle A: Women's Health Office Act of 1996 - Women's Health Office Act of 1996 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish an Office of (or on) Women's Health and a related coordinating committee in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the Health Care Resources and Services Administration, and the Office of the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Amends the PHSA to establish a related advisory committee. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1996 - Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1996 - Prohibits insurance providers from: (1) denying or canceling health insurance coverage or varying the premiums, terms, or conditions of coverage on the basis of genetic information or on the basis that the individual or family involved has requested or received genetic services; (2) requesting or requiring insured individuals or applicants to disclose genetic information; or (3) disclosing genetic information without prior written authorization. Subtitle C: Improved Patient Access to Clinical Studies Act of 1996 - Improved Patient Access to Clinical Studies Act of 1996 - Prohibits a health plan from denying, limiting, imposing additional conditions on, or discriminating against an enrollee on the basis of the enrollee's participation in an approved clinical study. Subtitle D: Equitable Health Care for Neurobiological Disorders Act of 1996 - Equitable Health Care for Neurobiological Disorders Act of 1996 - States that the standards for the nondiscriminatory and equitable treatment by employer health benefit plans of individuals with neurobiological disorders require that such plans provide for coverage of services essential to the effective treatment of such disorders in a specified manner. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a noncompliance tax of up to 25 percent. Subtitle E: Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits insurers and health carriers from denying, terminating, or limiting coverage on the basis that the applicant or insured is, has been, or may be the subject of abuse involving household or family members, current or former spouses, or individuals in or formerly in a sexually intimate relationship. Requires an insurer that takes any adverse action relating to any plan or policy of an abuse subject (whether applicant or insured) to advise such individual of the specific reasons for the action. Subtitle F: Insurance Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence Act - Insurance Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title prohibiting health insurers from discriminating against an individual or group because the individual or a family member is the subject of abuse. Mandates development of model standards. Provides for application the amendments made by this subtitle to specified provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Subtitle G: Domestic Violence Victims Insurance Protection Act of 1996 - Domestic Violence Victims Insurance Protection Act of 1996 - Prohibits insurers from denying or cancelling insurance coverage for individuals solely on the basis that the individual is or has been the subject of an act of domestic violence. Subtitle H: Fairness to Minority Women Health Act - Fairness to Minority Women Health Act - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to exempt aliens and their children from provisions attributing to the alien the income and resources of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse if the alien is battered by, or the subject of extreme cruelty by, the person who executed the affidavit of support or similar agreement regarding the alien. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit payments to States for obstetrical or gynecological services unless the hospital, clinic, or provider has available at least one individual who is able to communicate in the predominant language used by residents of the area. Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow grants (under existing provisions) for family planning projects only if the service providers under the grant have at least one such individual. Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to prohibit making funds available under the Act unless providers of shelter or related assistance have at least one such individual. Subtitle I: Adolescent Health Demonstration Projects Act - Adolescent Health Demonstration Projects Act - Mandates grants for the establishment or support of adolescent health demonstration projects. Prohibits using grant funds to perform or pay for abortions. Subtitle J: Eating Disorders Information and Education Act of 1996 - Eating Disorders Information and Education Act of 1996 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program of information and education to the public concerning the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle K: Women's Choice and Reproductive Health Protection Act of 1996 - Women's Choice and Reproductive Health Protection Act of 1996 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to authorize appropriations for population research and family planning programs. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit any government authority from limiting the right of any individual to provide or receive nonfraudulent information about the availability of reproductive health care services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) assure that the Food and Drug Administration evaluates the drug Mifepristone or RU 486; and (2) assess initiatives by which the Department of Health and Human Services can promote the testing, licensing, and manufacturing of the drug Mifepristone or other antiprogestins in the United States. Prohibits Federal law from being construed to prohibit health insurance providers from offering coverage for any reproductive health care services, including abortion services. Amends Federal law to provide that the performance of an abortion in a facility of the uniformed services located outside the 48 contiguous States of the United States is not prohibited, provided specific requirements are met. Subtitle L: Women's Right To Know Act of 1996 - Women's Right To Know Act of 1996 - Amends title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit a governmental authority, in or through any program or activity that provides health care services or information, from limiting the right of any person to provide or to receive nonfraudulent information about the availability of reproductive health care services, including family planning, prenatal care, adoption, and abortion services. Subtitle M: International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health Act - International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to set forth population assistance authorities and requirements. Authorizes appropriations for voluntary population planning under existing provisions. Makes development assistance available on a priority basis for countries which have agreed to address specific education, literacy, and health issues. Authorizes the President to establish a grant program, to be known as the Safe Motherhood Initiative, to improve the access of girls and women to reproductive health care services. Authorizes appropriations for the Child Survival Fund, the Safe Motherhood Initiative, and for research on, and treatment and control of, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in developing countries. Subtitle N: Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1996 - Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for knowingly circumcising, excising, or infibulating any part of the labia majora, labia minora, or clitoris of another person who has not attained age 18, subject to medical exceptions. Subtitle O: Women and HIV Outreach and Prevention Act - Women and HIV Outreach and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants, with regard to women (and their partners) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), for preventive health services, referrals, follow-ups, outreach, and training on the effective provision of such services. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes grants to provide HIV prevention education to women. Sets forth requirements regarding the composition of Planning Councils. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to provide: (1) substance abuse treatment to women; (2) counseling to women who engage in substance abuse on the prevention of infection with, and the transmission of, the etiologic agent for AIDS; and (3) such counseling to women who are the partners of individuals who abuse substances. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants under existing provisions to provide early intervention services for women and related technical assistance. Subtitle P: Smoking Prevention and Cessation in WIC Clinics Act - Smoking Prevention and Cessation in WIC Clinics Act - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require the State agency responsible for nutrition education and drug abuse education to establish a smoking cessation demonstration program for pregnant participants. Subtitle Q: Comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Act - Comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish: (1) a program for the conduct and support of research and training, the dissemination of health information, and other programs with respect to the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects; and (2) the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Subtitle R: Postreproductive Health Care Act - Postreproductive Health Care Act - Mandates grants for: (1) prevention and outpatient treatment of, and counseling for, health conditions unique to, more serious, or more prevalent for women of menopausal age or older, or for which the medical risk or types of medical intervention are different; and (2) related education and training of health professionals. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle S: Family Caregiver Support and Protection Act of 1996 - Family Caregiver Support and Protection Act of 1996 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage for respite care services, defined as companion or homemaker services, personal assistance, community day services, or temporary residential care furnished on a short-term, intermittent, or emergency basis. Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to deductions for medical care to include qualified long-term care services as medical care. Subtitle T: Medicare Mammography Enhancement Act of 1996 - Medicare Mammography Enhancement Act of 1996 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise requirements regarding the coverage of mammograms. Subtitle U: Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Standardization Act of 1996 - Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Standardization Act of 1996 - Provides for Medicare coverage of bone mass measurements. Subtitle V: Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Resource Center Act of 1996 - Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Resource Center Act of 1996 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations, in addition to other authorizations of appropriations, for the establishment and operation of a clearinghouse on osteoporosis and related bone disorders. Subtitle W: Women Veterans Health Improvement Act of 1996 - Women Veterans Health Improvement Act of 1996 - Amends Federal law relating to veterans' benefits to include women's health services in the definition of "medical services." Sets forth requirements concerning studies and reports.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1996
Clean Power Production Act - Instructs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to assess and report to the Congress on the reasonable range of environmental impacts associated with electric utility restructuring, including significant proposed State and Federal changes in public utility regulations and the probable results of such changes upon specified air pollutants and the environment. Directs the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish and co-chair the Commission for Environmental Mitigation of Electric Utility Restructuring to develop strategies and policies using such assessment to mitigate environmental impacts associated with such restructuring; and (2) report to the Congress on such strategies and policies. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1996
Port Revitalization Act of 1996 - Provides that the cost of providing land-based and confined aquatic dredged material disposal facilities (facilities) associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of any Federal navigation project for any harbor or other federally maintained waterway shall be considered a general navigation feature (thereby allowing the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to be used to cover such dredging and disposal activities). Provides for the determination of the Federal share of the costs of operation and maintenance (O&M) of such disposal facilities, as well as eligible O&M costs related to such facilities. Prohibits the expenditure of such funds until the Secretary of the Army determines that such funds are not otherwise required to cover other eligible O&M costs assigned to commercial navigation. (Sec. 3) Authorizes the Secretary, at the request of a non-Federal project sponsor, to provide additional capacity at a facility constructed by the Army beyond that which would be required for project purposes if the non-Federal sponsor agrees to pay all costs associated with the construction of the additional capacity. Allows such costs to be recovered through the assessment of user fees from third parties whose dredged materials are deposited in such facilities and who enter into agreements for the use of such facilities. Requires all user fees collected to be used by the Secretary for O&M costs associated with the facility. Authorizes the Secretary to participate in the construction and use of facilities developed by non-Federal interests if such facilities are necessary to the construction or O&M of a Federal navigation project. Authorizes the Secretary to pay disposal fees associated with the use of such facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to use management techniques to extend the useful life of all land-based and confined dredged material disposal facilities constructed and managed by the Secretary after the enactment of this Act. (Sec. 4) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to lower, effective on January 1, 1997, the tax imposed on the use of any U.S. port to 0.085 (currently, 0.125) percent of the value of the commercial cargo involved. Directs the Secretary, in each calendar year, to conduct an assessment of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to determine whether such tax should be reduced or increased to ensure that such Fund remains at a sufficient level to pay the eligible O&M costs under this Act and the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the Congress on such determination. (Sec. 5) Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to add as a purpose of a pilot project under such Act the development of one or more sediment decontamination technologies on a pilot scale demonstrating a capacity of at least 500,000 cubic yards per year. Extends permanently the authorization of appropriations for such pilot project. Requires the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report annually to the Congress on the results of the project, including the development of decontamination technologies. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary to construct, operate, and maintain a dredged material containment facility for the Port of New York-New Jersey substantially in accordance with a final report of the Army Chief of Engineers. Requires the Secretary to maintain the facility for the public benefit after it has been filled to capacity with dredged material.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 Title II: Conforming Amendments to Other Laws Antarctic Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1996 - Title I: Amendments to the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 - Amends the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to restate findings and purposes of the Act regarding scientific activities and tourism in Antarctica and the Antarctic Treaty and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Treaty. (Sec. 102) Modifies definitions. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions concerning prohibited acts by any person (currently, U.S. citizens) to modify the prohibitions, in accordance with the Protocol, and make unlawful the following activities in or respecting Antarctica: (1) introduction of any prohibited product onto land or ice shelves or into water; (2) disposal of any waste onto ice-free land areas or into fresh water systems or of any prohibited waste; (3) engaging in open burning of waste; (4) transporting passengers by any seagoing vessel not required to comply with the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, except by agreement under which the vessel owner or operator must comply with Annex IV; (5) failure of an organizer or operator to notify members of an expedition of the environmental protection obligations of this Act and means of compliance by participants; (6) damage to historic sites or monuments; (7) refusal of permission to any authorized U.S. officer or employee to board a U.S. vessel, vehicle, or aircraft for purposes of search or inspection in connection with enforcement of this Act and forcible assault of or other interference with an authorized U.S. officer or employee in the conduct of such activities; (8) resisting lawful arrest or detention for a prohibited act; (9) interference with the apprehension, arrest, or detention of another person, knowing that the other person has committed a prohibited act; (10) violation of any regulation, or a term or condition of a permit, issued pursuant to this Act; and (11) attempting to commit or cause to be committed any prohibited act. Prohibits specified other activities in Antarctica (including disposal of waste and introducing any member of a nonnative species) except as authorized by permit. Exempts from prohibitions these activities and certain of those enumerated above under defined emergency circumstances. (Sec. 104) Provides standards and procedures for the environmental impact assessment of Federal agency activities in Antarctica (which shall be the sole and exclusive obligations regarding such assessment) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, allowing an activity to proceed after an initial evaluation if it is determined that the activity is likely to have no more than a minor or transitory impact. Excepts from these procedures activities conducted jointly or in cooperation with foreign signatory governments where it is determined that the major part of the activity is being conducted by one or more other governments and another government is coordinating environmental assessment procedures. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations regarding environmental assessment of certain nongovernmental activities. Conditions decisions to proceed with a comprehensively evaluated activity upon consideration of the draft evaluation at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. Provides exceptions from this Act's environmental assessment requirements under emergency circumstances. (Sec. 105) Revises requirements for the issuance of permits authorizing takings and harmful interferences or entry into Specially Protected Areas. (Sec. 106) Revises requirements for the issuance of regulations by the Director of the National Science Foundation. Removes general consultation requirements. Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to issue regulations to implement certain provisions of the Protocol and this Act regarding vessels. Title II: Conforming Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships to apply the requirements of Annex IV to the Protocol, for purposes of such Act, to all vessels in Antarctica over which the United States has jurisdiction. Applies the Act to vessel activities regulated under the Protocol and provides authority to the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to administer and enforce Annex IV to the Protocol (including the Protocol in provisions concerning violations, penalties, and the promulgation of regulations). (Sec. 202) Amends the Antarctic Protection Act of 1990 to state the indefinite prohibition on Antarctic mineral resource activities, eliminating references to further agreements.
European Union · Court of Justice of the European Union · 26 March 1996
Germany · German Bundestag · 22 March 1996
European Union · Court of Justice of the European Union · 21 March 1996
Austria · National Council · 20 March 1996
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Rudolf Anschober und Genossen an den Bundesminister für Justiz betreffend Skandaldeponie Ort <i>(im Innkreis)</i>
Austria · National Council · 20 March 1996
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1996
Revises Federal veterans' benefits provisions to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish hospital care, and to allow the Secretary to furnish nursing home care, to a veteran who is catastrophically disabled (a veteran whose expenditures for such care exceeded 7.5 percent of his or her gross adjusted income for the preceding year). (Sec. 2) Makes eligible for medical services on an ambulatory or outpatient basis, notwithstanding that there is insufficient medical evidence to conclude that such disability may be associated with the described exposure, any disabled veteran who the Secretary finds: (1) may have been exposed to dioxin or was exposed to a toxic substance found in a herbicide or defoliant used for military purposes during the Vietnam era while serving on active duty in Vietnam; (2) was exposed while serving on active duty to ionizing radiation from the detonation of a nuclear device in connection with such veteran's participation in the test of such a device or with the American occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, from September 11, 1945, through July 1, 1946; or (3) may have been exposed to a toxic substance or environmental hazard while serving on active duty in Southwest Asia during the Persian Gulf War. Prohibits the provision of such medical services: (1) for any disability that is found to have resulted from a cause other than the exposure described; or (2) after December 31, 1996. Repeals a provision regarding the order of priority for furnishing ambulatory or outpatient medical services for veterans. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary to furnish nursing home, domiciliary, or long-term care to qualifying disabled veterans where necessary for medical purposes or to obviate the need for hospital care. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Secretary to furnish hospital and nursing home care to any adult dependent of a veteran which the Secretary determines is needed for a disability if such dependent agrees to pay a specified amount representing a portion of the costs of care. Makes such amounts collected or received by the United States for hospital, nursing home, and domiciliary care available to the Secretary for payment of the costs of such care, without fiscal year limitation. (Sec. 5) Revises the definition of covered "medical services" for purposes of veterans' benefits provisions to include: (1) primary health care services which include initial diagnostic services, treatment services, referral to specialized care or services, and long-term followup care or services for certain chronic conditions, and routine services regarding disabilities that are provided by physicians who specialize in such disabilities; and (2) medical equipment and prosthetic appliances that are prescribed by a physician based on specific medical needs. (Sec. 7) Repeals a requirement that the Secretary include in the budget documents submitted to the Congress for any fiscal year a detailed report on contract care and services furnished. Authorizes the Secretary to furnish primary health care or preventive health services to veterans who reside in locations that are more than 50 miles or one hour traveling time from a Department of Veterans Affairs facility by or through contract with non-Department facilities under specified circumstances. (Sec. 8) Modifies provisions regarding prosthetic appliances and seeing eye dogs. Directs the Secretary to furnish medical equipment or a prosthetic appliance (equipment) as well as necessary fitting and training to any veteran who is entitled to such equipment. Authorizes the Secretary to repair or replace any reasonably necessary equipment belonging to the veteran which is damaged or destroyed by an accident caused by a service-connected disability for which the veteran is in receipt of, or would, but for the receipt of retirement pay, be entitled to, disability compensation. Authorizes the Secretary to provide eligible veterans: (1) training in a Department facility or by contract, including certain travel and incidental expenses; (2) special clothing made necessary by the wearing of equipment; (3) seeing-eye or guide dogs trained to aid the blind and devices for aiding individuals in overcoming blindness, plus training, including travel expenses; and (4) devices for assisting in overcoming deafness, including telecaptioning decoding devices for television receivers. (Sec. 9) Revises provisions regarding the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical-Care Cost Recovery Fund to make specified amounts available to the Secretary for payment of the costs of furnishing hospital care and medical services, including the costs of Department personnel salaries. (Sec. 10) Grants authority for reimbursement by Medicare of certain health care services provided by Department facilities. (Sec. 11) Directs the Secretary to ensure that the Department maintains its capacity to provide for the specialized treatment and rehabilitative needs of disabled veterans, including veterans with spinal cord dysfunction, blindness, and mental illness, in a manner that: (1) affords reasonable access to care and services for those specialized needs; and (2) ensures that overall Department capacity to provide such services is not reduced below its capacity to provide such services as of the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1996
Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to specify that the goal of the program to assess the effectiveness of selected technologies in rendering sediments acceptable for unrestricted ocean disposal or beneficial reuse, or both, shall be to make possible the development, on an operational scale, of one or more sediment decontamination technologies, each of which demonstrates a sediment decontamination capacity of at least 5,000 cubic yards per day. Sets forth reporting requirements regarding progress toward meeting that goal. Increases and extends the authorization of appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1996
Authorizes non-Federal interests (NFIs) to undertake flood control projects, subject to obtaining any required permits in advance of actual construction. Authorizes an NFI or the Secretary of the Army, upon request, to undertake all necessary studies and engineering for such projects. Authorizes any NFI which has received from the Secretary a favorable recommendation for a flood control project (or separable element thereof) to carry out such project if a final environmental impact statement has been filed. Directs the Secretary to monitor any project for which a permit is granted to ensure permit compliance. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse any NFI for the Federal share of an authorized flood control project if the Secretary: (1) approves the construction plans of the NFI; and (2) finds that such construction is economically justified and environmentally acceptable.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1996
Expresses appreciation to Jean Schrag Lauver for 21 years of service on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works as a majority and minority professional staff person.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1996
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to exempt from liability for costs or damages under the Act any State or local board, commission, or other entity (or its members) established by law to plan for or implement the redevelopment or reuse of a facility with respect to a hazardous substance release from the facility to the extent the liability is based solely on the entity's status as an owner of the facility if the entity: (1) has not engaged in a response action or the generation of hazardous substance at the facility; or (2) is the owner of the facility only on a temporary basis prior to transfer. Revises the definition of "contractual relationship," for purposes of liability under CERCLA, to exclude transfers of property from an exempt redevelopment entity described in this Act after the disposal or placement of a hazardous substance if the defendant has not engaged in: (1) a response action or disposal of a hazardous substance at the facility; or (2) the generation of a hazardous substance disposed of at the facility.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1996
Rail Safety Act of 1996 - Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate regulations concerning limitations on duty hours of train employees that are no less stringent than those under specified existing Federal transportation law. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the feasibility of requiring satellite-based positive train control systems in the United States by January 1, 2001; and (2) the technical, structural, and economic feasibility of installing in rail passenger cars devices which, in the event of a collision, would automatically provide passenger escape access. Directs the Secretary, to the extent feasibility is determined, to promulgate regulations requiring installation of such control systems and train escape devices by specified dates. Directs the Secretary to: (1) determine what regulations are necessary to increase the ability of passengers to escape from a rail car in the event of an emergency; and (2) if necessary, promulgate them, to take effect as soon as practicable. Directs the Secretary to establish, by regulation, minimum safety standards for fuel tanks of locomotives of rail passenger trains that take into consideration environmental protection and public safety. Directs the Secretary to determine, and report to the appropriate congressional committees, whether to promulgate regulations for public safety purposes to: (1) require crash posts at the corners of rail passenger cars; (2) require safety locomotives on rail passenger trains; (3) establish minimum crash-worthiness standards for passenger cab cars; or (4) carry out any combination of the above. Directs the Secretary to: (1) study whether to promulgate regulations requiring placement of rail signals along railways in specified positions; and (2) promulgate such regulations if the requirement is determined necessary. Requires a report to the Congress if such placement is determined unnecessary.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1996
Environmental Dredge Disposal Act of 1996 - Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to consider the provision of dredged material disposal facilities associated with Federal navigation projects for harbors as a general navigation feature of a project for purposes of Federal cost sharing. Prohibits the expenditure of Federal funds for costs associated with such a facility unless the Secretary of the Army determines that the funds are not required to cover eligible operation and maintenance (O&M) costs assigned to commercial navigation. Limits to $25 million the Federal share of such O&M costs for a fiscal year. Defines eligible O&M costs associated with such a project. Requires the amendment of existing agreements to conform with changes made under this Act.
Austria · National Council · 14 March 1996
Unselbständiger Entschließungsantrag der Abgeordneten Ing. Monika Langthaler und Genossen betreffend die umweltpolitische Bedeutung der XX. Gesetzgebungsperiode unter dem Leitbild "Nachhaltiges Wirtschaften"
France · Senate · 14 March 1996
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1996
Coeur d'Alene River Basin Environmental Restoration Act of 1996 - Establishes in the Treasury the Coeur d'Alene Trust Fund for transfer of funds to the Secretary of the Army for use by the State of Idaho, in conjunction with the Coeur d'Alene River Basin Commission (established by this Act), in developing an action plan to support and enhance natural recovery of the Coeur d'Alene River basin. Requires submission to the Secretary of a completed action plan by the Governor of Idaho by June 1, 1997. Establishes the Coeur d'Alene River Basin Commission. Limits liability, with exceptions, under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or the Solid Waste Disposal Act for damages attributable to activities in the basin undertaken before enactment of this Act. Exempts persons from liability under these Acts for damages attributable to a release or potential release of a hazardous substance resulting from a mining-related activity in the basin engaged in on or before enactment of this Act if such release was caused solely by an act or omission of a third party. Permits entrance by the Secretary into cooperative agreements with the Governor and the Commission. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1996
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a program to provide loans for the environmental assessment and remediation of brownfield sites, with specified exceptions. Defines a "brownfield site" as a parcel of land that contains or contained abandoned or under-used commercial or industrial facilities, the expansion or redevelopment of which is complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances. Authorizes the Administrator, upon approval of an application and with the consent of the State and local governments with jurisdiction over the site, to make separate loans for site characterization and assessment and for response action (for purposes of making the site or sites available for manufacturing, business, or other commercial or residential purposes). Directs the Administrator to establish a system for the ranking of applications for assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Corporate Tax and Agricultural Related Provisions Title II: Mineral Exploration and Development Subtitle A: Mineral Exploration and Development Subtitle B: Environmental Considerations of Mineral Exploration and Development Subtitle C: Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund Subtitle D: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions Common Sense Corporate Responsibility Act of 1996 - Title I: Corporate Tax and Agricultural Related Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the election to take the percentage credit under the Puerto Rico and possessions tax credit provisions; (2) eliminate the exclusion of certain income of foreign sales corporations; and (3) repeal alcohol fuel incentives. (Sec. 104) Amends the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to require the payment of the full cost for the delivery of water used for the production of surplus crops. (Sec. 105) Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to repeal: (1) title III (Export Enhancement Program); and (2) the market promotion program provisions. Title II: Mineral Exploration and Development - Subtitle A: Mineral Exploration and Development - Mineral Exploration and Development Act of 1996 - Sets forth guidelines for mineral exploration on public domain lands. Declares that holders of mining claims located or converted and maintained under this Act have the exclusive right of possession and use of the claimed land for mineral activities. (Sec. 205) Prescribes rules for mining claim location and use of public land surveys. Provides for administrative adjudication of conflicting claims. Mandates a specified location fee for every unpatented mining claim located after the date of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 206) Subjects existing unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites to the provisions of this Act ("converted mining claims"). (Sec. 207) Sets forth certain annual claim maintenance fees. Mandates that all monies received from such fees be deposited into the Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund (established under this Act). (Sec. 208) States that failure to comply with the requirements of this Act shall be deemed conclusively to constitute forfeiture of the mining claim. (Sec. 209) Prescribes procedural guidelines for: (1) contesting a mining claim on the basis of discovery; and (2) demonstrating the continued sufficiency of a mining claim. Subtitle B: Environmental Considerations of Mineral Exploration and Development - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, and for National Forest System lands the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretaries), to require that mineral activities on Federal lands be conducted in a manner that minimizes adverse impacts to the environment. Prescribes surface management guidelines for the granting of both an exploration and an operations permit. Requires applications for such permits to contain both an operations plan and a reclamation plan, and evidence of financial assurances. Limits an operations permit to a ten-year term (subject to renewal). (Sec. 215) Declares persons in violation of this Act ineligible for permits. Sets as a prerequisite to the issuance of any permit evidence of financial assurance payable to the United States for all lands to be affected by the mineral activities described in the permit application. (Sec. 217) Mandates that lands subject to mineral activities be restored to a condition capable of supporting their prior uses, or to other beneficial uses which conform to applicable land use plans. Sets forth reclamation standards applicable to mineral exploration. (Sec. 218) Declares that State standards for reclamation, bonding, inspection, and water or air quality which either meet or exceed Federal standards shall not be construed as inconsistent with this Act. Permits cooperative agreements between the States and the Secretary. Prohibits the Secretary from delegating authorities or responsibilities conferred under this Act to any State or its political subdivision. (Sec. 219) Requires the Secretaries, in preparing land use plans, to determine those areas deemed unsuitable for certain mineral activities. Requires withdrawal of such areas from mineral exploration and development. Subtitle C: Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund - Establishes the Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund (the Fund), to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, for the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by past minerals activities on certain public lands. (Sec. 233) Restricts reclamation expenditures to Federal or Indian land and water resources that traverse or are contiguous to Federal or Indian lands where such resources have been affected by past mineral activities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 236) Subjects the production of locatable minerals (or mineral concentrates or products derived from locatable minerals) from any mining claim under this Act to a royalty scheme of eight percent of the net smelter return. Subtitle D: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 and the National Materials and Minerals Policy Research and Development Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to implement minerals policy and actions to improve availability and analysis of mineral data in Federal land use decision making for National Forest System lands. (Sec. 242) Authorizes the Secretaries to establish and collect user fees to reimburse the United States for expenses incurred in administering this Act. (Sec. 243) Prescribes procedural guidelines for the publication of an application for an operations permit and the public participation requirements. (Sec. 244) Instructs the Secretaries to: (1) inspect mineral activities to ensure compliance with surface management requirements; and (2) require all operators to maintain a monitoring and evaluation system to identify compliance with them. Authorizes citizen suits to enforce compliance. (Sec. 246) Prescribes procedural guidelines for administrative and judicial review of agency actions. (Sec. 247) Sets forth enforcement guidelines and civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance. Provides transitional rules for: (1) new and preexisting claims; (2) claims that have not been converted; (3) contest proceedings; and (4) oil shale claims. (Sec. 251) Adjusts the dollar amounts established under this Act to a certain inflation formula. (Sec. 255) Prohibits the issuance after January 4, 1995, of patents for vein, lode, placer, and mill site mining claims unless certain administrative requirements are met. (Sec. 256) Declares that the Multiple Minerals Development Act, and certain other Federal law, apply to all mining claims located or converted under this Act. (Sec. 257) Amends Federal law to subject all mineral materials deposits to disposal under the terms of the Materials Act of 1947 (eliminating the concept of uncommon varieties). Renames specified Federal law: (1) the Surface Resource Act of 1955; and (2) the Materials Act of 1947. Repeals the Building Stone Act and the Saline Placer Act. (Sec. 258) Declares this Act applicable to Federal lands that are used for beneficiation or processing activities for any mineral regardless of Federal title to the mineral. (Sec. 259) Requires recipients of funds under this Act to comply with the "Buy American Act." (Sec. 260) Expresses the sense of the Congress that such funds should be used to purchase only American-made equipment and products. (Sec. 261) Declares a person ineligible to receive any contract made with funds provided under this Act if the person has been judicially determined to have intentionally affixed a "Made in America" label to a product that is not U.S.-made. (Sec. 263) Declares that court-awarded compensation for a Federal taking under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution shall be paid from the Fund. (Sec. 264) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to report annually to the Congress on the percentage of each mining claim held by a foreign firm.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1996
Ward Valley Land Transfer Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the California Department of Health Services specified lands in San Bernardino County, California, known as the Ward Valley Site, upon the tendering to: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury of $500,100 on behalf of California; and (2) the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of a written commitment by California to carry out environmental monitoring and protection measures, based on recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences, subject to Federal oversight by the Commission.
Germany · German Bundestag · 14 March 1996
European Union · Court of Justice of the European Union · 14 March 1996
Austria · National Council · 13 March 1996
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten MMag. Dr. Madeleine Petrovic und Genossen an die Bundesministerin für Gesundheit und Konsumentenschutz betreffend möglichen Handel mit gestohlenen ungarischen Hunden
Austria · National Council · 13 March 1996
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Brigitte Tegischer und Genossen an den Bundesminister für Umwelt betreffend Verkehrsprotokoll der Alpenkonvention
Austria · National Council · 13 March 1996
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Ing. Monika Langthaler und Genossen an den Bundesminister für Umwelt betreffend Handelsverbot für gefährlichen Abfall von OECD- in Nicht-OECD-Staaten
Austria · National Council · 13 March 1996
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten MMag. Dr. Madeleine Petrovic und Genossen an die Bundesministerin für Gesundheit und Konsumentenschutz betreffend Transit von rumänischen Versuchshunden durch Österreich nach Italien
European Union · European Commission · 13 March 1996
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1996
Energy Policy and Conservation Act Amendment Act - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to: (1) restate its purpose so as to grant the President authority to fulfill Federal obligations under the international energy program (currently, standby authority, subject to congressional review, to impose rationing and implement energy conservation plans); (2) repeal the loan guarantee program for the development of underground coal mines; and (3) limit only to instances when the Secretary determines before any lease sale that such bidding would adversely affect competition or the receipt of fair market value the current prohibition on certain lease bidding with respect to Outer Continental Shelf lands by persons partly but significantly owned by more than one major oil company or affiliate. Repeals requirements for oil or gas production at the maximum efficient rate and temporary emergency production rate. (Sec. 3) Repeals the mandate for: (1) a Strategic Petroleum Reserve Plan; (2) an Early Storage Reserve; and (3) a Regional Petroleum Reserve. Revises the guidelines for the maintenance of the SPR. Authorizes the Secretary to use underutilized facilities to store petroleum product owned by a foreign government. Repeals guidelines for the use of interim storage facilities, and environmental considerations for existing facilities. Mandates submission of an expansion plan to the Congress when the Secretary determines that a 750 million barrel inventory can reasonably be expected in the Reserve within five years. Makes the Secretary of Energy's authority to acquire petroleum products for the SPR contingent on the availability of funds. Repeals guidelines governing storage, transport, or exchange of petroleum products with respect to: (1) prescriptions for fill operations by the President (minimum fill rates); (2) withdrawals from Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1; (3) fill operations suspensions during emergencies; and (4) a test program of refined petroleum products storage. Instructs the Secretary to sell SPR petroleum at public sale to the highest qualified bidder without regard to Federal, State or local regulations. Makes SPR status reports annual instead of quarterly. Authorizes appropriations for the SPR. Extends the authorities relating to the SPR through FY 2001. (Sec. 4) Repeals general emergency authorities, including energy emergency preparedness authority. Revises guidelines governing: (1) international voluntary agreements affecting emergency responses (including the applicability of the Defense Production Act of 1950); and (2) antitrust defenses applicable to international voluntary agreements (only if the International Energy Agency's Emergency Sharing System has been activated). Extends the authorization of appropriations for interagency working groups to promote exports of renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services through FY 2001. Extends other emergency energy authorities through FY 2001. (Sec. 5) Extends authorizations of appropriations through FY 2001 for: (1) State energy conservation programs; (2) the energy conservation program for schools and hospitals; and (3) the alternative fuels truck commercial application program. (Sec. 6) Modifies the statutory mandate that the President collect certain petroleum product information.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1996
Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that any chemical supply house that, after having been provided a warning within the previous ten years, sells a listed chemical to a person who uses or intends or attempts to use the listed chemical, or who causes the listed chemical to be used or attempted to be used, to manufacture or produce methamphetamine, shall: (1) be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $250,000; or (2) for a second violation, be ordered to cease the production and sale of any chemicals. Directs the Attorney General to provide a written warning to each chemical supply house that violates such provision. Requires that all amounts received from enforcement of the civil penalty be used by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for the environmental cleanup of clandestine laboratories used to manufacture methamphetamine. Increases penalties for the possession and distribution of a list I chemical. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to reflect such amendment. Adds penalties for the manufacture and possession of equipment used to make methamphetamine. Includes specified transactions involving pseudoephedrine among those constituting a "regulated transaction." Adds iodine, red phosphorous, and hydrochloric gas to the list of list I chemicals. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to methamphetamine, including that the rise in manufacture and usage of methamphetamine is of major concern to the United States, that a substantial portion of the ephedrine used to make methamphetamine is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border, and that all ephedrine and pseudoephedrine producing countries and Mexico should cooperate in any way possible to deter the smuggling of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 Title II: Amendments to Antarctic Protection Act of 1990 Title III: Amendments to the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships Antarctic Environmental Protection Act of 1996 - Title I: Amendments to the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 - Amends the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to restate findings and purposes of the Act regarding the Antarctic Treaty and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Treaty and implementation of the Protocol. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions concerning prohibited acts by any person (currently, U.S. citizens) to modify the prohibitions, in accordance with the Protocol, and make unlawful the following activities in or respecting Antarctica: (1) introduction of any prohibited product onto land or ice shelves or into water; (2) disposal of any waste onto ice-free land areas or into fresh water systems or of any prohibited waste; (3) engaging in open burning of waste; (4) transporting passengers by any seagoing vessel not required to comply with the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, except by agreement under which the vessel owner or operator must comply with Annex IV; (5) failure of an organizer or operator to notify members of an expedition of the environmental protection obligations of this Act and means of compliance by participants; (6) damage to historic sites or monuments; (7) refusal of permission to any authorized U.S. officer or employee to board a U.S. vessel, vehicle, or aircraft for purposes of search or inspection in connection with enforcement of this Act and forcible assault of or other interference with an authorized U.S. officer or employee in the conduct of such activities; (8) resisting lawful arrest or detention for a prohibited act; (9) interference with the apprehension, arrest, or detention of another person, knowing that the other person has committed a prohibited act; (10) violation of any regulation, or a term or condition of a permit, issued pursuant to this Act; and (11) attempting to commit or cause to be committed any prohibited act. Prohibits specified other activities in Antarctica (including disposal of waste and introducing any member of a nonnative species) except as authorized by permit. Exempts from prohibitions these activities and certain of those enumerated above under defined emergency circumstances. (Sec. 104) Provides standards and procedures for the environmental impact assessment of Federal agency activities in Antarctica (which shall be the sole and exclusive obligations regarding such assessment) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, allowing an activity to proceed after an initial evaluation if it is determined that the activity is likely to have no more than a minor or transitory impact. Excepts from these procedures activities conducted jointly or in cooperation with foreign signatory governments where it is determined that the major part of the activity is being conducted by one or more other governments and another government is coordinating environmental assessment procedures. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations regarding environmental assessment of certain nongovernmental activities. Conditions decisions to proceed with a comprehensively evaluated activity upon consideration of the draft evaluation at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. Provides exceptions from this Act's environmental assessment requirements under emergency circumstances. (Sec. 105) Revises requirements for the issuance of permits authorizing takings and harmful interferences or entry into Specially Protected Areas. (Sec. 106) Revises requirements for the issuance of regulations by the Director of the National Science Foundation. Removes general consultation requirements. Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to issue regulations to implement certain provisions of the Protocol and this Act regarding vessels. Title II: Amendments to Antarctic Protection Act of 1990 - Amends the Antarctic Protection Act of 1990 to revise its findings to state that the Protocol prohibits indefinitely Antarctic mineral resource activities and to state as its purpose to provide legislative authority to implement the Protocol. (Sec. 202) States the indefinite prohibition on Antarctic mineral resource activities, eliminating references to further agreements. Title III: Amendments to the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships - Amends the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships to apply the requirements of Annex IV to the Protocol, for purposes of such Act, to all vessels in Antarctica over which the United States has jurisdiction. Applies the Act to vessel activities regulated under the Protocol and provides authority to the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to administer and enforce Annex IV to the Protocol (including the Protocol in provisions concerning violations, penalties, and the promulgation of regulations).
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1996
Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that any chemical supply house that, after having been provided a warning within the previous ten years, sells a listed chemical to a person who uses or intends or attempts to use the listed chemical, or who causes the listed chemical to be used or attempted to be used, to manufacture or produce methamphetamine, shall: (1) be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $250,000; or (2) for a second violation, be ordered to cease the production and sale of any chemicals. Directs the Attorney General to provide a written warning to each chemical supply house that violates such provision. Requires that all amounts received from enforcement of the civil penalty be used by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for the environmental cleanup of clandestine laboratories used to manufacture methamphetamine. Increases penalties for the possession and distribution of a list I chemical. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to reflect such amendment. Adds penalties for the manufacture and possession of equipment used to make methamphetamine. Includes specified transactions involving pseudoephedrine among those constituting a "regulated transaction." Adds iodine, red phosphorous, and hydrochloric gas to the list of list I chemicals. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to methamphetamine, including that the rise in manufacture and usage of methamphetamine is of major concern to the United States, that a substantial portion of the ephedrine used to make methamphetamine is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border, and that all ephedrine and pseudoephedrine producing countries and Mexico should cooperate in any way possible to deter the smuggling of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine into the United States.
European Union · European Parliament · 11 March 1996
Austria · National Council · 7 March 1996
Bericht des Wirtschaftsausschusses über die Regierungsvorlage (37 d.B.): Washingtoner Artenschutzübereinkommen-Durchführungsgesetz
Austria · National Council · 7 March 1996
Bericht des Wirtschaftsausschusses über den Antrag 30/A(E) der Abgeordneten Rudolf Anschober und Genossen betreffend Bergrechtsreform
Austria · National Council · 7 March 1996
Bericht des Wirtschaftsausschusses über den Antrag 7/A der Abgeordneten Arnold Grabner und Genossen betreffend ein Bundesgesetz, mit dem das Berggesetz 1975 geändert wird
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1996
Ward Valley Land Transfer Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the California Department of Health Services specified lands in San Bernardino County, California, known as the Ward Valley Site, upon the tendering to: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury of $500,100 on behalf of California; and (2) the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of a written commitment by California to carry out environmental monitoring and protection measures, based on recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences, subject to Federal oversight by the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1996
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to extend the deadline for the submission by the Great Lakes National Program Office to the Congress of a report assessing the adverse effects of water pollutants in the Great Lakes System on the health of persons in Great Lakes States and the health of fish, shellfish, and wildlife in the Great Lakes System. Requires such report to include documenting exposure pathways, body burdens, and associated human health effects in defined at-risk populations with the Great Lakes basin. Authorizes appropriations.
France · Senate · 6 March 1996
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Omnibus Appropriations Title I (sic): Department of Justice Title II: Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Title III: The Judiciary Title IV: Department of State and Related Agencies Title V: Related Agencies Title VI: General Provisions Title VII: Rescissions Title VIII: Prison Litigation Reform Title I (sic): Fiscal Year 1996 Appropriations Title II: District of Columbia School Reform Subtitle A: District of Columbia Reform Plan Subtitle B: Public Charter Schools Subtitle C: Even Start Subtitle D: World Class Schools Task Force, Core Curriculum, Content Standards, Assessments and Promotion Gates Subtitle E: Per Capita District of Columbia Public School and Public Charter School Funding Subtitle F: School Facilities Repair and Improvement Subtitle G: Residential School Subtitle H: Progress Reports and Accountability Subtitle I: Partnerships with Business Subtitle J: Management and Fiscal Accountability Subtitle K: Personal Accountability and Preservation of School-Based Resources Subtitle L: Establishment and Organization of the Commission on Consensus Reform in the District of Columbia Public Schools Subtitle M: Parent Attendance at Parent-Teacher Conferences Title I (sic): Department of the Interior Title II: Related Agencies Title III: General Provisions Title I (sic): Department of Labor Title II: Department of Health and Human Services Title III: Department of Education Title IV: Related Agencies Title V: General Provisions Title I (sic): Department of Veterans Affairs Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development Title III: Independent Agencies Title IV: Corporations Title V: General Provisions Title II (sic): Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1996 Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions Title IV: Contingency Appropriations Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996 - Title I (sic): Omnibus Appropriations - Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 - Title I: Department of Justice - Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1996 - Makes FY 1996 appropriations to the Department of Justice, including funding for the Community Relations Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Federal Prison System. (Sec. 114) Revises provisions of subtitle A (Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth in Sentencing Incentive Grants) of title II (Prisons) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Directs the Attorney General to provide grants to eligible States to build or expand: (1) correctional facilities to increase the prison bed capacity for the confinement of persons convicted of a "part 1 violent crime" (murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) or adjudicated delinquent for an act which, if committed by an adult, would be a part 1 violent crime; (2) temporary or permanent correctional facilities, including facilities on military bases, prison barges, and boot camps, for the confinement of convicted nonviolent offenders and criminal aliens for the purpose of freeing suitable existing prison space for the confinement of persons convicted of a part 1 violent crime; and (3) jails. Authorizes States to enter into regional compacts to carry out such provisions, subject to specified limitations. Specifies that an eligible State may receive either a general grant or a truth-in- sentencing incentive grant, with an exception. Sets forth general eligibility requirements. Requires a State, to be eligible for a general grant, to submit an application to the Attorney General that provides assurances that such State has, since 1993, increased the percentage of persons convicted of a part 1 violent crime sentenced to prison, the average prison time actually to be served in prison by such persons, and the average percentage of time of the sentence to be actually served in prison by persons convicted of a part 1 violent crime and sentenced to prison (with an indeterminant sentencing exception). Requires a State, to be eligible for a truth-in-sentencing incentive grant, to submit such an application providing assurances that: (1) such State has implemented truth-in-sentencing laws that require (or has enacted but has not yet implemented such laws that, within three years, will require) persons convicted of a part 1 violent crime to serve not less than 85 percent of the sentence imposed; or (2) if the State practices indeterminate sentencing, such State demonstrates that the average time served equals at least 85 percent of the sentences established for such crimes under the State's sentencing and release guidelines (with exceptions for geriatric prisoners or those whose medical condition precludes them from posing a threat to the public after a public hearing in which representatives of the public and the prisoner's victims have had an opportunity to be heard regarding a proposed release). Sets forth special rules regarding State: (1) sharing of funds with counties and other units of local government; (2) policies providing for the recognition of the rights and needs of crime victims; (3) use of funds to build or expand juvenile correctional facilities or pretrial detention facilities for juvenile offenders; and (4) use of funds for the privatization of correctional facilities. Sets forth: (1) formulas for the Attorney General to apply in determining the amount of funds that may be granted to each eligible State; and (2) accountability requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth provisions regarding the distribution, limitations on the use of, and matching requirements with respect to, grant funds. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) payments for incarceration on tribal lands; (2) payments to eligible States for incarceration of criminal aliens (and authorizes appropriations); (3) support of Federal prisoners in non-Federal institutions (and authorizes appropriations); and (4) reports by the Attorney General to the Congress. Title II: Department of Commerce and Related Agencies - Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for the Department of Commerce (Department) and related agencies and activities, including: (1) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; (2) the International Trade Commission and international trade activities; (3) export administration; (4) the Economic Development Administration; (5) minority business development; (6) economic and statistical analysis and administration; (7) the Bureau of the Census and related activities; (8) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; (9) public broadcasting facilities, planning, and construction; (10) the Patent and Trademark Office; (11) the National Institute of Standards and Technology and related services and activities; (12) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (including a transfer of funds); (13) various government trust funds related to ocean and water resources development and activities; (14) technology policy and administration; and (15) the Office of the Inspector General. Rescinds $75 million of amounts available to the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the construction of research facilities. (Sec. 201) Allows advance payments to be made for authorized Department activities only upon certification by Department officials that such payments are in the public interest. (Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary or other appropriate agency head, if legislation is enacted to dismantle or reorganize the Department, to report to the appropriations committees within 90 days thereafter a plan for transferring funds provided to the Department in this Act to the appropriate successor organizations. Authorizes the Secretary to use any available funds to carry out the legislation, including voluntary separation incentives if duly authorized. (Sec. 207) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this title to implement specified provisions of the Endangered Species Act relating to the determination of endangered or threatened species, except to delist or reclassify species. (Sec. 208) States that the transfer of title of the Rutland City Industrial Complex to Hilinex, Vermont, shall not require compensation to the Government for its share of such property. (Sec. 209) Directs the Secretary to: (1) commence and complete a demolition of existing structures and an environmental cleanup of the Central Foundry Property in Holt, Alabama; and (2) transfer such property to the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority. (Sec. 210) Requires any costs incurred by a department or agency funded under this title resulting from personnel actions taken in response to funding reductions included in this title to be absorbed within the total budgetary resources available to such department or agency. Title III: The Judiciary - Judiciary Appropriations Act, 1996 - Appropriates FY 1996 funds for activities of the Judiciary, including: (1) the Supreme Court; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; (3) the U.S. Court of International Trade; (4) the Courts of Appeals, district courts, and other judicial services; (5) the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (Administrative Office); (6) the Federal Judicial Center; (7) Judicial Retirement Funds; and (8) the United States Sentencing Commission. (Sec. 305) Revises provisions regarding judicial conferences of the circuits to allow (current law requires) the chief judge to summon judges to and preside at, and every judge to attend and remain throughout, such conferences. Title IV: Department of State and Related Agencies - Department of State and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 - Appropriates funds for FY 1996 for the Department of State and related agencies, activities, and programs, including: (1) diplomatic and consular programs; (2) the Capital Investment Fund; (3) the Office of the Inspector General; (4) payments to the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (5) contributions to international organizations, peacekeeping activities, conferences and commissions; (6) a grant to the Asia Foundation; (7) the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA); (8) the United States Information Agency (USIA); (9) the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Program Trust Fund; (10) the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program; (11) the American Studies Collections Endowment Fund; (12) international broadcasting operations, including broadcasting to Cuba; and (13) the National Endowment for Democracy. (Sec. 401) Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 404) Requires the Secretary of State and the Directors of USIA and ACDA, within 90 days after the enactment of legislation consolidating, reorganizing, or downsizing the functions of such department and agencies, to submit to the appropriations committees a proposal for transferring or rescinding funds appropriated herein for such consolidated functions. Authorizes such officials to use any available funds to cover the consolidation costs required by such legislation, including voluntary separation incentives duly authorized. (Sec. 407) Amends the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Act to extend its Au Pair programs through FY 1999. (Sec. 408) Repeals Federal provisions limiting the use of endowment trust income under the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Act. (Sec. 409) Expresses the sense of the Senate that no funds made available under this Act should be used for the deployment of combat- equipped U.S. military personnel for any ground operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, except in specific limited circumstances. Title V: Related Agencies - Appropriates funds for FY 1996 for: (1) the Maritime Administration of the Department of Transportation; (2) the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; (3) the Commission on Civil Rights; (4) the Commission on Immigration Reform; (5) the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (6) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; (7) the Federal Communications Commission; (8) the Federal Maritime Commission; (9) the Federal Trade Commission; (10) the Japan- United States Friendship Commission; (11) the Legal Services Corporation; (12) the Marine Mammal Commission; (13) the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission; (14) the Securities and Exchange Commission; (15) the Small Business Administration; (16) certain accounts and revolving funds; and (17) the State Justice Institute. (Sec. 501) Places limitations on the use of funds by the Legal Services Corporation. Directs the Corporation to: (1) implement a system of competitive awards of grants and contracts that will apply to all contracts for the delivery of legal assistance awarded by the Corporation after March 31, 1996; and (2) promulgate regulations to implement a competitive selection process for the recipients of such grants and contracts. Prohibits the Corporation from: (1) engaging in litigation that is in any way intended to or has the effect of altering or revising any legislative, judicial, or elective district; (2) attempting in any way to influence the issuance of any executive order or regulation or the passage or defeat of any legislation; (3) bringing a class action suit against the Federal Government or any State; (4) providing assistance to any alien unless the alien is lawfully present in this country or meets other specified requirements; (5) supporting or conducting programs to advocate particular public policies or encourage political activities; or (6) participating in any litigation with respect to abortion or any prisoner. Sets forth prohibited uses of funds appropriated to the Corporation. Directs the Corporation to report every 60 days to the appropriations committees setting forth the status of certain legal assistance cases and matters brought through the Corporation. Requires an audit (containing specified information) to be conducted of each person or entity receiving financial assistance from the Corporation. Allows the Corporation access to appropriate legal and financial documents for purposes of such audits, while requiring appropriate confidentiality. Requires such audits for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 1996. (Sec. 510) Provides authorized funds transfers, and transfer limits, for appropriations made to the Small Business Administration. Title VI: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized and prohibited uses of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 607) Expresses the sense of the Congress that equipment and products purchased with funds from this Act should be American-made. (Sec. 611) Prohibits the use of funds from this Act to provide specified amenities or personal comforts in the Federal prison system. (Sec. 614) Amends the Federal criminal code to terminate the Advisory Corrections Council. (Sec. 615) Requires costs incurred by a department or agency funded under this title resulting from personnel actions taken in response to funding reductions included in this title to be absorbed within the total budgetary resources available to such department or agency. (Sec. 616) Repeals provisions of the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I which, among other things: (1) appropriate necessary amounts at a rate of operations provided for in the conference report on the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996, subject to exceptions; and (2) stipulate that, notwithstanding any other provision of such Act, the rate of operations only for program administration and the continuation of grants awarded in FY 1995 and prior years may be increased up to a level of 75 percent of the final FY 1995 appropriated amount for the Advanced Technology Program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Ounce of Prevention Council, Drug Courts, Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, and Cops on the Beat Program. Title VII: Rescissions - Rescinds specified funds from unobligated balances within certain accounts of: (1) the Department of Justice; (2) the State Department; and (3) USIA. Title VIII: Prison Litigation Reform - Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 - Revises Federal criminal code provisions regarding remedies for prison crowding to substitute provisions regarding remedies for prison conditions. Prohibits: (1) prospective relief in any civil action regarding prison conditions from extending further than necessary to correct the violation of the Federal right of particular plaintiffs; and (2) the court from granting or approving any such relief unless that relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of the Federal right, and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct the violation. Directs the court to give substantial weight to any adverse impact on public safety or the operation of a criminal justice system caused by the relief. Prohibits the court from ordering prospective relief that requires or permits a government official to exceed his or her authority under, or that otherwise violates, State or local law, unless: (1) Federal law permits such relief to be ordered in violation of State or local law; (2) the relief is necessary to correct the violation of a Federal right; and (3) no other relief will correct the violation of the Federal right. Authorizes the court to enter a temporary restraining order or an order for preliminary injunctive relief, which shall automatically expire 90 days after its entry, with exceptions. Directs the court to give substantial weight to any adverse impact on public safety or operation of a criminal justice system caused by the preliminary relief, and to respect principles of comity in tailoring any such relief. Prohibits a prisoner release order from being entered unless: (1) a court has previously entered an order for less intrusive relief that has failed to remedy the deprivation of the Federal right and the defendant has had a reasonable amount of time to comply with the previous court orders; and (2) it is entered by a three-judge court, which finds by clear and convincing evidence that crowding is the primary cause of the violation and no other relief will remedy it. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) termination or modification of relief; (2) settlements; (3) State law remedies; (4) procedure for motions affecting prospective relief; and (5) the use of special masters. (Sec. 803) Amends the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act to require the Attorney General to personally sign any complaint filed, or any certification or motion to intervene made, to initiate a civil action under the Act. Revises provisions of the Act to prohibit any action from being brought by a prisoner with respect to prison conditions until available administrative remedies are exhausted. Specifies that the failure of a State to adopt or adhere to an administrative grievance procedure shall not constitute the basis for an action. Directs the court to dismiss any such action if satisfied that the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief (and authorizes the court, in such instances, to dismiss the underlying claim without first requiring exhaustion of administrative remedies). Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) limits on the award of attorney's fees; (2) limits on recovery; (3) hearings; and (4) waiver of reply. (Sec. 804) Amends the Federal judicial code to require a prisoner: (1) of a Federal, State, or local institution seeking to bring a civil action or appeal a judgment in a civil action or proceeding without prepayment of fees or security to submit a certified copy of the prisoner's trust fund account statement for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of appeal, obtained from the appropriate official of each institution at which the prisoner is or was confined; and (2) who brings a civil action or files an appeal in forma pauperis to pay the full amount of a filing fee (and directs the court to assess and, when funds exist, to collect, as a partial payment of any court fees required by law, an initial partial filing fee of 20 percent of the greater of the average monthly deposits to the prisoner's account or the average monthly balance in the prisoner's account for such six-month period). Sets forth similar provisions regarding the payment of costs by the prisoner. Revises provisions regarding the appointment of counsel in forma pauperis proceedings to require the court to dismiss the case at any time if the allegation of poverty is untrue or if the action or appeal is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. Makes an exception to the discharge of debt in a bankruptcy proceeding for a fee imposed by a court for the filing of a case, motion, complaint, or appeal, or for other costs and expenses assessed with respect to such filing, regardless of an assertion of poverty by the debtor or the debtor's status as a prisoner. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) successive claims; (2) judicial screening of complaints in civil actions brought by prisoners against governmental entities; and (3) limits of Federal tort claims by prisoners. (Sec. 807) Requires any compensatory damages award to a prisoner in connection with a civil action brought against any Federal, State, or local correctional facility or official or agent thereof to be paid directly to satisfy any outstanding restitution orders pending against the prisoner, with the remainder forwarded to the prisoner. (Sec. 808) Provides for notice to crime victims of pending damage awards. (Sec. 809) Authorizes the court to revoke earned release credit under specified circumstances. Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) direct the Bureau of Prisons, in awarding credit towards service of sentence for satisfactory behavior, to consider whether the prisoner has earned or is making satisfactory progress toward earning a high school diploma or an equivalent degree; and (2) provide that credit awarded after the date of enactment of this Act shall vest on the date the prisoner is released from custody. Title I (sic): Fiscal Year 1996 Appropriations - District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1996 - Makes appropriations for the District of Columbia Government for FY 1996, including funds for: (1) the Federal payment ($660 million); (2) the Federal contribution to the Police Officers and Fire Fighters', Teachers', and Judges' Retirement Funds ($52.07 million); and (3) the Federal contribution to education reform ($14.93 million). Appropriates specified sums for the District of Columbia out of the District of Columbia general fund for the current fiscal year for: (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) the public education system; (5) education reform; (6) human support services; (7) public works; (8) repayment of specified loans and interest; (9) repayment of the general fund recovery debt; (10) repayment of interest on short-term borrowing; (11) the Rainy Day Fund; (12) the incentive buyout program; (13) outplacement services; (14) capital outlay (including rescissions); (15) the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund and construction projects; (16) the Lottery and Charitable Games Enterprise Fund; (17) the Cable Television Enterprise Fund; (18) the Starplex Fund; (19) D.C. General Hospital; (20) the D.C. Retirement Board; (21) the Correctional Industries Fund; (22) the Washington Convention Center Enterprise Fund; and (23) the D.C. Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority (Authority). Prohibits the use of revenues from Federal sources to support the Statehood Commission and Statehood Compact Commission. Requires the District to operate a free, 24-hour telephone information service where residents of the area surrounding Lorton prison can obtain information about all prison disturbances. Requires the Mayor of the District to reduce appropriations and expenditures in specified amounts for: (1) nonpersonal services and personal services, including by decreasing rates of compensation for District government employees through the renegotiation of existing collective bargaining agreements and otherwise, if necessary; and (2) boards and commissions. Requires the Chief Financial Officer of the District, on behalf of the Mayor, to adjust appropriations and expenditures for personal and nonpersonal services, together with the related full-time equivalent positions, in accordance with the direction of the Authority to obtain a specified net reduction within or among one or several of the various appropriation headings in this Act. (Sec. 101) Sets forth certain uses of and restrictions on the expenditure of appropriations made by this Act. (Sec. 110) Requires that the annual budget for the District of Columbia government for FY 1997 be transmitted to the Congress by April 15, 1996, or as provided under the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995. (Sec. 123) Directs the Mayor to submit to the D.C. Council, within 30 days after the end of the first quarter of FY 1996, the FY 1996 revenue estimates. (Sec. 130) Prohibits: (1) Federal funds provided under this Act from being used by the District to provide for salaries, expenses, or other costs associated with the offices of U.S. Senator or U.S. Representatives under the District of Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention Initiatives of 1979; (2) any funds appropriated under this from being expended for any abortion unless it is necessary to save the life of the mother or if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or (3) any funds made available pursuant to this Act from being used to implement or enforce the District Domestic Partner Act (also called the District of Columbia Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992) or any registration system for unmarried, cohabitating couples whether they are homosexual, lesbian, or heterosexual, including registration for the extension of employment, health, or governmental benefits to such couples on the same basis that such benefits are extended to legally married couples. (Sec. 135) Amends the District of Columbia Real Property Tax Revision Act of 1974 to require the D.C. Council, if it extends the time to establish rates of taxation on real property for a tax year, to establish such rates by permanent legislation. Changes the date by which the Council should establish the rates from July 15 to October 15. Applies, during a tax year, the rates of taxation for the prior year if the rates are not established and the Council does not extend the time. Makes the real property tax rates for taxable real property in the District for FY 1996 the same rates in effect for FY 1994. Repeals provisions of the Act which require such rates to be those submitted by the Mayor or the D.C. Council. (Sec. 137) Specifies reporting requirements for: (1) the Mayor (with respect to actions to effect the directives of the Council in this Act with respect to certain spending reductions); (2) the Board of Education; and (3) the University of the District of Columbia. (Sec. 144) Prohibits an agency from filling a position wholly funded by appropriations authorized by this Act which is vacant on October 1, 1995, or which becomes vacant during FY 1996, unless the Mayor or the independent agency submits a proposed resolution of intent to fill the vacant position to the D.C. Council for approval or disapproval. Prohibits any reduction in the number of full-time equivalent positions or any reduction-in-force due to privatization or contracting out if the Authority disallows the full-time equivalent position reduction provided in this Act in meeting the specified ceiling of 35,984 for FY 1996. Allows the appropriate personnel authority to fill a vacant position with a District government employee currently occupying a position that is funded with appropriated funds. Exempts local school-based teachers, officers, teachers' aides, or certain D.C. court personnel. (Sec. 147) Precludes the use of the funds provided in this Act for the renovation of property at 227 7th Street Southeast, Washington, D.C. (commonly known as Eastern Market), except for the regular maintenance and upkeep of its current structure and grounds. (Sec. 149) Modifies D.C. reductions-in-force procedures to allow a personnel authority to establish lesser competitive areas within an agency on the basis of all or a clearly identifiable segment of an agency's mission or a division or major subdivision of an agency. Authorizes each agency head to identify positions for abolishment. Outlines procedures for abolishment of such positions for FY 1996. (Sec. 150) Prohibits the total amount appropriated in this Act under the caption "Division of Expenses" for District operating expenses for FY 1996 from exceeding $4.994 billion, of which $165.339 million shall be from intra-District funds. Allows the Mayor to accept, obligate, and expend Federal, private, and other grants received by the District government that are not reflected in the amounts appropriated in this Act. Prohibits acceptance, obligation, and expenditure of such grants until: (1) the Chief Financial Officer submits to the Authority a report setting forth detailed information regarding such grant; and (2) the Authority reviews and approves such action. Prohibits obligation or expenditure from the general fund or other funds of the District government in anticipation of approval or receipt of such grants not subject to this Act. Requires the Chief Financial Officer to report monthly to the D.C. Council and specified congressional committees on detailed information regarding all of such grants subject to this Act. (Sec. 151) Requires the District, by March 15, 1996, to develop a series of alternative plans for the use and operation of the Lorton Correctional Complex, including plans under which the Complex will be closed, will remain in operation under the District's management, or will be operated under Federal or private management (Sec. 152) Prohibits a person from joining in a petition to a District court for a decree of adoption unless the person is the petitioner's spouse. Allows an unmarried person to file a petition for adoption when no other person joins in the petition or where the co-petitioner is the natural parent of the child. (Sec. 154) Establishes in the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund: (1) the Operation and Maintenance Account to be used solely for funding the operation and maintenance of the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Facility and related waste water treatment works; and (2) an Environmental Protection Agency Grant Account to be used solely for purposes specified under the terms of the grants and appropriations involved. Title II: District of Columbia School Reform - District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 - Subtitle A: District of Columbia Reform Plan - Requires the Superintendent of the District of Columbia public schools, with the approval of the Board of Education, to submit a long-term reform plan for the District's school system to the Mayor, the D.C. Council, the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority, the Commission on Consensus Reform in the District of Columbia public schools (established under subtitle L), and the appropriate congressional committees within 90 days after this Act's enactment and each February 15 thereafter. Requires each plan to be consistent with the financial plan and budget for the District for FY 1996 and each subsequent fiscal year, as the case may be, required under the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995. Specifies areas to be addressed, measurement and deadline requirements, and goals for the plans, including: (1) improving the health and safety of students; and (2) providing after-school programs offering such activities as arts classes, physical fitness programs, and community service. Subtitle B: Public Charter Schools - Prescribes the process for filing charter petitions with respect to an eligible applicant seeking to: (1) convert an existing District public, private, or independent school into a public charter school; or (2) establish a public charter school in the District. (Sec. 2202) Lists the contents of public charter school petitions, including a description of the proposed scope and size of the school's program, any special area of focus for the school, the employment relationship between the school and its employees, and assurances that the school will seek and maintain accreditation and licensing. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the process for approving or denying petitions (permits approval of up to ten petitions for the 1996-1997 academic year and up to five for each year thereafter); (2) duties, powers, and other requirements of such schools (prohibits the schools from charging tuition, fees, or other mandatory payments, except to nonresident students or for field trips or similar activities and requires the schools to be nonsectarian and unaffiliated with a sectarian school or religious institution); (3) the Boards of Trustees of such schools; (4) student admission, enrollment, and withdrawal; (5) transfers, creditable service, and retirement concerns of District public school employees who work for public charter schools; (6) reduced fares on public transportation for the schools' students; and (7) the provision of services, such as facilities maintenance, to public charter schools by the Superintendent of D.C. schools. (Sec. 2210) Considers a public charter school, for any fiscal year, to be a local educational agency (LEA) for purposes of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and makes the school eligible for assistance under ESEA if the ratio of low-income students to all students in the school equals or exceeds the lowest of such ratio for an eligible public school. Provides for the allocation of ESEA assistance between eligible District public charter schools and public schools for FY 1996 through 1998. Requires the Secretary of Education to calculate such allocations for FY 1999 and there after according to a specified formula based on the numbers of low-income students served. Prohibits the Board of Education from directing a public charter school in the school's use of such funds. Exempts the public charter schools from specified ESEA provisions and from District property and sales taxes. Directs each public charter school to elect to be treated as an LEA or a District public school for purposes of specified provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. (Sec. 2211) Outlines the powers and duties of eligible chartering authorities. (Sec. 2212) Requires a charter granted to a public charter school to be in force for a five-year period. Allows renewal of such charter for an unlimited number of times (each for a five-year period). (Sec. 2213) Permits an eligible chartering authority that has granted a charter to a public charter school to revoke the charter if the authority determines that the school has committed a violation of applicable laws or a material violation of the conditions, terms, standards, or procedures set forth in the charter. (Sec. 2214) Establishes a Public Charter School Board within the District government. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 2000. (Sec. 2215) Encourages the following Federal agencies and federally established entities to explore whether it is feasible for the agency or entity to establish one or more public charter schools and to report such determination on the feasibility to the appropriate congressional committees: (1) the Library of Congress; (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Museum; (3) the Drug Enforcement Administration; (4) the National Science Foundation; (5) the Department of Justice; (6) the Department of Defense; (7) the Department of Education; and (8) the Smithsonian Institution, including the National Zoological Park, the National Museum of American History, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the National Gallery of Art. Subtitle C: Even Start - Amends ESEA to authorize appropriations for FY 1996 through 2000 for the purpose of carrying out Even Start programs in the District. Requires the Secretary to provide grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable them to carry out District Even Start programs that build on the findings of the National Evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program, such as providing intensive services in early childhood education, parent training, and adult literacy or education. Limits such grants to eight for FY 1996, 14 for FY 1997, 20 for each of FY 1998 and 1999, and 20 or such number as the Secretary determines appropriate for FY 2000, taking into account the results of evaluations described in ESEA. Defines "eligible entity" as a partnership composed of at least: (1) a District public school: (2) the LEA in existence on September 1, 1995, for the District, any other public organization, or an institution of higher education as defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965; and (3) a private nonprofit community-based organization. Directs the Secretary to allocate specified amounts of authorized appropriations for District Even Start programs to: (1) enter into a contract with the National Center for Family Literacy for the provision of technical assistance to eligible entities; and (2) provide for evaluations to determine the effectiveness of such programs in providing high quality family literacy services. Subtitle D: World Class Schools Task Force, Core Curriculum, Content Standards, Assessments, and Promotion Gates - Part 1: World Class Schools Task Force, Core Curriculum, Content Standards, and Assessments - Authorizes the Superintendent to award a grant to a World Class Schools Task Force to enable the Task Force to recommend to the Superintendent, the Board of Education, and the District of Columbia Goals Panel: (1) content standards in the core academic subjects that are developed by working with the District community (requires such standards to be developed within 12 months after this Act's enactment); (2) a core curriculum (which includes the teaching of computer skills) developed by working with the D.C. community; (3) district-wide assessments for measuring student achievement in accordance with such content standards; and (4) model professional development programs for teachers using the standards and curriculum. Encourages the Task Force, to the extent practicable, to develop district-wide assessments that permit comparison among: (1) individual D.C. public schools and public charter schools and individual students attending such schools; and (2) students of other nations. (Sec. 2415) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996. Part 2: Promotion Gates - Requires the Superintendent, within one year of the adoption of the assessments, to establish and implement promotion gates: (1) for mathematics, reading, and writing for at least one grade level from kindergarten through grade four, including at least grade four, and to establish dates for establishing such other promotion gates for other subject areas; (2) with respect to at least one grade level from grades five through eight, including at least grade eight; and (3) with respect to at least one grade level from grades nine through 12, including grade 12. Subtitle E: Per Capita District of Columbia Public School and Public Charter School Funding - Requires the Mayor, for FY 1997 and each fiscal year thereafter, to make annual payments to the Board of Education for the operating expenses of the District public schools and charter schools from the general fund of the District in accordance with a specified formula based on the number of students in public schools and public charter schools. (Sec. 2502) Sets forth provisions which require reports by: (1) each public school and charter school to the Mayor and the Board of Education of the calculation of the number of students enrolled in each grade from kindergarten through grade 12; (2) the Board of Education to the Authority, the Mayor, the D.C. Council, the Consensus Commission, the Comptroller General of the United States, and appropriate congressional committees which summarize the most recent calculations; and (3) the Authority on an independent audit of such initial calculations. (Sec. 2503) Sets forth provisions providing for transition funding for District public charter schools. Subtitle F: School Facilities Repair and Improvement - Part 1: School Facilities - Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement or Understanding with the Superintendent regarding the terms under which the Administrator will provide technical assistance and related services with respect to District public schools facilities management. Authorizes the Administrator to accept and use a conditioned gift made for the express purpose of repairing or improving the District public schools, except that the Administrator shall not be required to carry out such repairs or improvements unless he or she accepts a donation sufficient to cover the costs of the repairs or improvements. (Sec. 2552) Requires the Mayor and the D.C. Council, within 24 months after the Agreement is signed and in consultation with the Administrator, the Authority, the Board of Education, and the Superintendent to: (1) design and implement a comprehensive long-term program for the repair and improvement, and maintenance and management, of the District public school facilities; and (2) designate a new or existing agency or authority within the District government to administer the program. (Sec. 2553) Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator for FY 1996 for the costs of engineering plans. Part 2: Waivers - Allows voluntary donation of materials and services for the repair and improvement of District school facilities. Waives, with respect to any contractor, subcontractor, and any other group, entity, or individual who donates materials and services for the repair or improvement of a District public school facility, all District fees and all requirements contained in the document entitled "District of Columbia Public Schools Standard Contract Provisions" published by the District public schools for use with construction or maintenance projects for purposes of repair and improvement of such facilities for a period beginning on this Act's enactment date and ending 24 months after such date. Part 3: Gifts, Donations, Bequests, and Devises - Allows a District public school or public charter school to accept directly from any person a gift, donation, bequest, or devise of any property, real or personal, without regard to any District law or regulation. Subtitle G: Residential School - Authorizes the Superintendent to develop a plan that meets specified requirements to establish for the District a residential school for academic year 1997-1998 and to assist in the startup of such school. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 to develop the plan and for 1997 for capital costs associated with the startup of the school, including the purchase of real and personal property and the renovation or construction of facilities. Makes the school an eligible institution for the purposes of scholarships awarded under this Act. Subtitle H: Progress Reports and Accountability - Requires the Superintendent to report to the appropriate congressional committees, the Board of Education, the Mayor, the Consensus Commission, and the D.C. Council on the progress of the District public schools toward achieving the goals of the long-term reform plan. (Sec. 2652) Requires the Chairperson of the D.C. Council to report to such committees on legislative and other actions the Council has taken or will take to facilitate the implementation of the goals of such plan. Subtitle I: Partnerships with Business - Requires the Superintendent to provide a grant to a private, nonprofit corporation which shall: (1) establish the District Education and Learning Technologies Advancement Council; (2) in conjunction with the Superintendent, students, parents, and teachers, implement strategies to ensure access to state-of-the-art educational technology within the District public schools and public charter schools; (3) assist the Superintendent in acquiring the necessary equipment, including computer hardware and software, to establish an electronic data transfer system and in training District public school employees in using such equipment; (4) establish the District Employment and Learning Center to serve as a regional institute providing job training and employment assistance; (5) establish initiatives with the District public schools and public charter schools, appropriate governmental agencies, and businesses and other private entities to facilitate the integration of rigorous academic studies with workforce preparation programs in District public schools and public charter schools; (6) establish a consortium for the purpose of establishing a program for the professional development of teachers and school administrators employed by the District public schools and public charter schools; (7) provide matching funds, or in-kind contributions, or a combination thereof, for the purposes of carrying out such duties; and (8) establish the Jobs for District of Columbia Graduates Program to assist District public schools and public charter schools in organizing and implementing a school-to-work transition system to give priority to providing assistance to at-risk and disadvantaged youths. (Sec. 2705) Requires the corporation, to the extent practicable, to provide matching funds, or in-kind contributions, or a combination thereof, for the purposes of carrying out such duties. (Sec. 2708) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 1998. (Sec. 2709) Terminates on October 1, 1998, the authority to provide assistance to the corporation or any other entity established by it. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the corporation's activities under this Act should continue to be carried out after such date with resources made available from the private sector; and (2) the corporation should provide oversight and coordination for such activities after such date. Subtitle J: Management and Fiscal Accountability - Requires the Board of Education: (1) to enter into a contract for academic year 1995 through 1996 and each succeeding academic year for the provision of all food services operations and security services for District public schools, unless the Superintendent determines that it is not feasible and provides such reasons in writing to the Board and to the Authority; and (2) for academic year 1995 through 1996, to consult with the Authority on the development of new management and data systems, as well as training of personnel to use and manage the systems in areas of budget, finance, personnel and human resources, management information services, procurement, supply management, and other systems recommended by the Authority. (Sec. 2752) Sets forth provisions with respect to the Board of Education regarding: (1) annual reporting requirements on positions and employees of the D.C. public school system; (2) annual budgets and budget revisions; (3) read-only access to its internal financial management systems and all other data bases to designated staff of the Mayor, the Council, the Authority, and appropriate congressional committees; and (4) development of its FY 1997 budget request. Subtitle K: Personal Accountability and Preservation of School- Based Resources - Prohibits a reduction in the full-time equivalent positions for school-based teachers, principals, counselors, librarians, or other school-based educational positions that were established as of the end of FY 1995, unless the Authority determines, based on student enrollment that: (1) fewer school-based positions are needed to maintain established pupil-to-staff ratios; or (2) reductions in positions for other than school-based employees are not practicable. Defines "school-based educational position" as a position located at a District public school or other position providing direct support to students at such a school such as a position for a clerical, stenographic, or secretarial employee, but not any part-time educational aide position. (Sec. 2802) Amends the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to modify the Board of Education's reduction-in-force procedures to prohibit the Board from requiring or permitting nonschool-based personnel or school administrators to be assigned or reassigned to the same competitive level as classroom teachers. (Sec. 2803) Makes the evaluation process and instruments for evaluating District public school employees a nonnegotiable item for collective bargaining purposes. (Sec. 2804) Provides that such an employee shall be: (1) classified as an educational service employee; (2) placed under the Board's personnel authority; and (3) subject to all Board rules. Subtitle L: Establishment and Organization of the Commission on Consensus Reform in the District of Columbia Public Schools - Establishes within the District government a Commission on Consensus Reform in the District of Columbia Public Schools to: (1) identify and suggest ways to remove obstacles to implementation of the long- term reform plan; (2) assist in developing programs that lower the dropout rate and that ensure that public school students achieve basic literacy, critical thinking, and communication skills; (3) assist in developing district-wide skills assessments; (4) make recommendations to improve community, parent, and business involvement in public schools; (5) recommend ways to increase student involvement and attention; and (6) assist in establishing procedures that ensure that every student is provided necessary employment skills, including the development of individual career paths. (Sec. 2854) Requires any student who is required to serve a suspension from classes at a District public school outside the school, to perform community service. (Sec. 2855) Allows the Commission to examine and request the Inspector General of the District of Columbia or the Authority to audit: (1) Board of Education records to ensure, monitor, and evaluate the Board's performance with respect to compliance with the long-term reform plan and such plan's overall educational achievement; and (2) records of any public charter school to assure, monitor and evaluate the performance of the school with respect to the content standards and district-wide assessment. Subtitle M: Parent Attendance at Parent-Teacher Conferences - Authorizes the Mayor to implement a policy which encourages all District residents with children attending a District public school to attend and participate in at least one parent-teacher conference every 90 days during the academic year. Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 - Title I (sic): Department of the Interior - Makes appropriations for the FY 1996 operation of the Department of the Interior. Prohibits this Act's funds being spent by the National Park Service for activities in direct response to the United Nations Biodiversity Initiative in the United States. Authorizes the National Park Service (NPS) to transfer NPS funds to State, local, and tribal governments, other public entities, educational institutions, and private nonprofit organizations to carry out NPS programs. Directs the National Park Service to conduct a Feasibility Study for a northern access route into Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Restricts or regulates: (1) the use of this Act's research resources funds regarding the Endangered Species Act; and (2) activities and funding relating to the National Biological Survey. Provides funding for the closure of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, transferring specified functions to the Secretary of Energy. Sets forth the uses and limitations for such appropriations, including use of Bureau of Indian Affairs school system funds. Provides for a report concerning Indian tribes and their compliance with provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. (Sec. 109) Repeals the Outer Banks Protection Act. (Sec. 118) Sets forth provisions affecting the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands concerning infrastructure assistance. Title II: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service. Prohibits the use of funds to implement any reorganization or "reinvention" of the Forest Service. Makes appropriations for the Department of Energy for, among other things, fossil energy research and development, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), and the SPR Account. Makes appropriations to the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service for Indian health services and facilities. Appropriates funds to: (1) the Department of Education for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education for Indian Education; (2) the Office of Navajo and Hopi Relocation; (3) the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; (4) the Smithsonian Institution; (5) construction and improvements at the National Zoological Park; (6) restoration and repair of buildings owned or occupied by the Smithsonian Institution; (7) the National Gallery of Art; (8) the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and (9) the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Makes appropriations for: (1) the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities; (2) the Institute of Museum Services; (3) the Commission of Fine Arts; (4) National Capital arts and cultural affairs; (5) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (6) the National Capital Planning Commission; (7) the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission; and (8) the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. Requires that funds made available in previous years for the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation be available for operating and administrative expenses and for the orderly closure of the Corporation. Rescinds $2.172 million. Sets forth uses and prohibitions on such funds. Title III: General Provisions - Sets forth uses and limitations of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 307) Requires expenditures under this Act to comply with the Buy American Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that entities receiving Federal assistance should purchase only American-made equipment and products. Prohibits Federal contracts with persons found to have falsely labeled a product with a "Made in America" inscription. (Sec. 312) Prohibits any funds from this Act from being used for the AmeriCorps program. (Sec. 313) Mandates dissolution of the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation. (Sec. 314) Regulates use of any Act's funds for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project. (Sec. 315) Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a fee program to demonstrate the feasibility of user-generated cost recovery for the operation and maintenance of recreation areas or sites and habitat enhancement projects on Federal lands. (Sec. 322) Prohibits, with exceptions, use of this Act's funds to accept or process applications for a patent for any mining or mill site claim located under the general mining laws. (Sec. 324) Prohibits funding the Office of Forestry and Economic Development after December 31, 1995. (Sec. 326) Provides for a land exchange in Washington State. Authorizes appropriations as necessary to carry out this Act. (Sec. 327) Provides for the establishment of the Timber Sales Pipeline Restoration Fund. (Sec. 328) Places limitations on the type of grant awards that can be made by the National Endowment for the Arts. (Sec. 329) Delays the implementation of regulations concerning livestock grazing on lands administered by the Forest Service. (Sec. 330) Increases penalties for the use of a hazardous or injurious device on Federal or Indian lands. (Sec. 331) Prohibits, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the use of funds available to the National Endowment for the Arts pursuant to this Act to promote, disseminate, sponsor, or produce any material or performance that: (1) denigrates the religious objects or religious beliefs of the adherents of a particular religion; or (2) depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual or excretory activities or organs. Requires that this prohibition be strictly applied without regard to the content or viewpoint of the material or performance. (Sec. 333) Prohibits using this Act's funds to review or modify sourcing areas previously approved under specified provisions of the Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990 or to enforce or implement specified Federal regulations. Prohibits adoption of policies that would restrain domestic transportation or processing of timber from private lands or impose additional accountability requirements on any timber. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 - Title I (sic): Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 1996 - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for agencies within the Department of Labor. Rescinds unobligated advances to the Employment Security Administration account of the Unemployment Trust Fund. Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 1996 - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services. Rescinds existing and makes new appropriations for low income home energy assistance, designating certain of the new appropriations as emergency requirements under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and making those funds available only on a formal presidential budget request that designates the request as an emergency requirement under that Act. Provides limitations on the use of appropriated funds. (Sec. 207) Requires a transfer of funds for the security protection of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Sec. 209) Rescinds amounts for Disease Control, Research, and Training under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1996 - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for agencies and programs within the Department of Education. Sets forth general provisions relating to the use of appropriated funds. (Sec. 301) Prohibits appropriated funds from being used to transport teachers or students in order to: (1) overcome racial imbalance in any school or school system; or (2) carry out a racial desegregation plan. (Sec. 303) Prohibits the use of funds to prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in the public schools. Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 for the following agencies or programs: (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (7) National Council on Disability; (8) National Education Goals Panel; (9) National Labor Relations Board; (10) National Mediation Board; (11) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (12) Physician Payment Review Commission; (13) Prospective Payment Assessment Commission; (14) Social Security Administration; (15) Railroad Retirement Board; and (16) United States Institute of Peace. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth provisions on the use of the appropriated funds. (Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds to carry out any program of distributing sterile needles for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug unless the Surgeon General determines that such programs are effective in preventing the spread of HIV and do not encourage the use of illegal drugs. (Sec. 506) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and funds purchased under this Act should be American-made. (Sec. 507) Imposes a disclosure requirement on grantees receiving Federal funds. (Sec. 508) Prohibits the use of funds to perform abortions except to save the life of the mother or where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. (Sec. 509) Permits States to not perform abortions, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term. (Sec. 510) Sets forth limitations on the use of appropriated funds. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 - Title I (sic): Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Provides for the use of such appropriations. Sets forth various administrative provisions, including specified limitations, with respect to availability, transfers, and use of such appropriations. (Sec. 103) Prohibits availability of such appropriations for: (1) purchase of any site for or toward the construction of any new hospital or home (except the appropriations for construction of major or minor projects or the parking revolving fund); and (2) hospitalization or examination of any persons except beneficiaries entitled under the laws bestowing such benefits to veterans, unless reimbursement is made to the appropriation at rates fixed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. (Sec. 108) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer jurisdiction and control of certain land in Wichita, Kansas, to the Secretary of Transportation. Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Provides for the use of such appropriations. (Sec. 201) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 (USHA), as amended by the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Additional Disaster Assistance, for Anti-terrorism Initiatives, for Assistance in the Recovery from the Tragedy that Occurred at Oklahoma City, and Rescissions Act, 1995, to authorize public housing agencies to provide modernization assistance to mixed-income developments. (Sec. 203) Provides for conversion of certain public housing to vouchers. Requires each PHA to: (1) identify any distressed public housing developments that meet specified criteria; and (2) develop and carry out a plan in conjunction with the Secretary for their removal from the PHA inventory and the annual contributions contract, over a period of up to five years (with possible extensions for up to another five years in certain circumstances). Directs the Secretary to make authority available to a PHA to provide section 8 tenant-based assistance to families residing in any development that is removed from the PHA inventory and the annual contributions contract. Requires each conversion plan to require the PHA to notify and counsel families residing in such a development, and ensure that they are offered tenant-based or project-based assistance and relocated, as necessary, to other decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing which is, to the maximum extent practicable, housing of their choice. (Sec. 204) Repeals a "take one-take all" requirement under USHA that a housing owner who accepts a Section 8 voucher holder as a tenant must accept all others. Exempts housing unit owners participating in the certificate and voucher programs from certain notice requirements relating to rent increases or termination of their assistance payment contracts with a PHA. Limits certain requirements to the duration of a lease. (Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary to conduct a demonstration program under which up to 30 selected PHAs (including Indian housing authorities) may administer the public or Indian housing program and the section 8 housing assistance payments program in ways which are designed to reduce costs and achieve greater cost-effectiveness in Federal expenditures, provide incentives for heads of households to become economically self-sufficient, and increase housing choices for lower-income families. (Sec. 208) Amends the Multifamily Housing Finance Improvement Act, under the housing and Community Development Act of 1992, to extend the risk-sharing and housing finance agency pilot demonstration programs but reduce the number of units involved in such programs during FY 1996. (Sec. 209) Authorizes the Secretary of HUD to delegate, during FY 1996, to one or more entities the authority to carry out some or all of the Secretary's responsibilities and functions in connection with the foreclosure of HUD-held mortgages under the National Housing Act (NHA). (Sec. 210) Authorizes the Secretary, during FY 1996, to sell or otherwise transfer multifamily mortgages held by the Secretary under the National Housing Act to State housing finance agencies, in connection with the risk-sharing or the housing finance agency pilot demonstration program under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, without regard to certain unit limitations. (Sec. 211) Amends section 8 of the USHA to provide for the transfer of budget authority. Directs the Secretary, if a section 8 assistance contract, other than a contract for tenant-based assistance, is terminated, not renewed, or expires, to transfer any budget authority remaining in that contract to another contract, in order to provide continued assistance to eligible families, including those receiving the benefit of the project-based assistance at the time of the termination. (Sec. 212) Makes certain amendments (made by the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995) relating to documentation of multifamily refinancings under the National Housing Act effective during FY 1996 and thereafter. (Sec. 213) Directs the Secretary, in FY 1996 and 1997, to initiate a demonstration program with respect to multifamily projects: (1) whose owners agree to participate; (2) whose mortgages are insured under the NHA and assisted under section 8 of the USHA; and (3) whose present section 8 rents are, in the aggregate, exceed the fair market rent of the locality in which the project is located. Requires these programs to be designed to test the feasibility and desirability of the goal of ensuring, to the maximum extent practicable, that the debt service and operating expenses, including adequate reserves, attributable to such multifamily projects can be supported with or without mortgage insurance under the NHA and with or without above-market rents and utilizing project-based assistance or, with the consent of the property owner, tenant-based assistance, while taking into account the need for assistance of low and very low-income families in such projects. Authorizes the Secretary to use arrangements with third parties, under which the Secretary may provide for their assumption of some or all of the Secretary's functions, obligations, and benefits. Sets forth goals and demonstration approaches for such programs. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) manage and dispose of multifamily properties and multifamily mortgages for properties assisted under section 8 with rents above 110 percent of fair market rents; and (2) delegate to one or more entities the authority to carry out some or all of the Secretary's functions and responsibilities in connection with the foreclosure of mortgages held under the NHA. Authorizes the Secretary, subject to the consent of specified parties, to: (1) remove, relinquish, extinguish, modify, or agree to the removal of any mortgage, regulatory agreement, project-based assistance contract, use agreement, or restriction that had been imposed or required by the Secretary, including restrictions on distributions of income which would interfere with the ability of the project to operate without above market rents; (2) require an owner of a property assisted under the section 8 new construction-substantial rehabilitation program to apply any accumulated residual receipts toward effecting program purposes; (3) enter into contracts to purchase reinsurance, or enter into participations or otherwise transfer economic interest in contracts of insurance or in the premiums paid, or due to be paid, on such insurance to third parties; (4) offer project-based assistance with rents at or below fair market rents for the locality and negotiate other terms acceptable to the Secretary and the project owner; (5) offer to pay all or a portion of the project's debt service, including payments monthly from the appropriate Insurance Fund, for the full remaining term of the insured mortgage; (6) forgive and cancel any mortgage debt insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that a demonstration program property cannot carry at market rents while bearing full operating costs; and (7) for demonstration program properties that cannot carry full operating costs (excluding debt service) at market rents, approve project-based rents sufficient to carry such full operating costs (and offer to pay the full debt service in the specified manner). Directs the Secretary to develop procedures to provide appropriate and timely notice to local government officials, the community, and the tenants of the project. Limits such demonstration program authority with respect to mortgages to not more than 15,000 units. Prohibits the expansion of such demonstration until specified reports are submitted to the Congress. Appropriates funds for the cost of modifying loans held or guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). (Sec. 217) Requires all remaining obligated and unobligated balances in the Renewal of Expiring Section 8 Subsidy Contracts account on September 30, 1995, to be transferred to and merged with the obligated and unobligated balances, respectively, of the Annual Contributions for Assisted Housing account. (Sec. 218) Directs the Secretary to cancel the indebtedness of the Hubbard Hospital Authority of Hubbard, Texas, of the Groveton Texas Hospital Authority, and of the Hepzibah Public Service District of Hepzibah, West Virginia, relating to specified public facilities loans under title II of the Housing Amendments of 1955. (Sec. 219) Determines the Paul Mirabile Center, San Diego, California, to satisfy HUD continuum care requirements. Treats such Center as entirely residential rental property consisting solely of residential units used exclusively to facilitate the transition of homeless individuals to independent living within 24 months. (Sec. 220) Limits to no more than seven Assistant Secretaries and 77 schedule C and 20 non-career senior executive service employees the number of such Assistant Secretaries and employees in HUD by the end of FY 1996. (Sec. 221) Requires specified funds to be made available to: (1) the County of San Bernardino in California to assist with the expansion of the Los Padrinos Gang Intervention Program and the Unity Home Domestic Violence Shelter (from remaining funds made available to Bethlehem House in Highland, California, for site planning and loan acquisition); and (2) the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, for the renovation and rehabilitation of an industrial building (from specified funds for removal of asbestos from an abandoned public school building in that city). (Sec. 222) Amends the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 to revise eligibility criteria to determine which housing qualifies for lead-based paint abatement grants. (Sec. 223) Amends USHA to repeal the six-year limitation on the extension period for Federal sharing of utility cost savings with PHAs under the program of annual contributions for operation of low-income housing. (Sec. 223A) Amends NHA, with respect to the housing program for moderate income and displaced families, to extend through FY 1996 the period for mortgage note sales. (Sec. 223B) Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1988 to repeal the prohibition (Frost-Leland) against the use of funds for demolishing certain historic buildings in Dallas and Houston, Texas. (Sec. 223D) Prohibits the use of any funds in this Act: from being used: (1) by the Secretary to impose any sanction or penalty because of the enactment of any State or local law or regulation declaring English as the official language; or (2) for lobbying activities as prohibited by law. (Sec. 223E) Transfers to the Department of Justice all HUD functions, activities, and responsibilities relating to title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, and the Fair Housing Act, including any rights guaranteed under the Fair Housing Act and any functions relating to the Fair Housing Initiatives program under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987, along with adequate personnel and resources allocated to any such activity. (Sec. 224) Prohibits the use of any funds provided in this Act during FY 1996 to investigate or prosecute under the Fair Housing Act any otherwise lawful activity engaged in by one or more persons, including the filing or maintaining of non-frivolous legal action, that is engaged in solely for the purposes of achieving or preventing action by a Government official, entity, or court of competent jurisdiction. (Sec. 225) Prohibits the use of any funds provided in this Act to take any enforcement action with respect to a complaint of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act on the basis of familial status and which involves an occupancy standard established by the housing provider, except to the extent that it is found that there has been discrimination in contravention of the standards provided a specified HUD Memorandum, or until such time that HUD issues a final rule. (Sec. 226) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 with respect to the eligibility of housing reconstruction costs for expenditure of Community Development Block Grant funds. Title III: Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1996 to the: (1) American Battle Monuments Commission; (2) Community development Financial Institutions Fund; (3) Consumer Product Safety Commission; (4) Corporation for National and Community Service (including transfer of funds); (5) Court of Veterans Appeals; (6) Department of Defense-Civil for cemeterial expenses, Army; (7) Environmental Protection Agency; (8) Executive Office of the President for the Office of Science and Technology Policy; (9) Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Environmental Quality; (10) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); (11) General Services Administration for the Consumer Information Center; (12) National Aeronautics and Space Administration; (13) National Credit Union Administration for the obligations of the Central Liquidity Facility; (14) National Science Foundation; (15) Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; and (16) Selective Service System. Authorizes exemption from categorical pretreatment standards under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, if specified conditions are met, of an industrial discharger that is a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility which discharged to the Kalamazoo Water Reclamation Plant (an advanced wastewater treatment plant with activated carbon) before enactment of this Act. Requires the Director of FEMA to promulgate a methodology, based on specified criteria, for assessment and collection of fees applicable to persons subject to the FEMA radiological emergency preparedness regulations. Authorizes such fee assessment and collection only during FY 1996. (Sec. 301) Prohibits EPA use of any funds provided in this Act to: (1) carry out any final action by the EPA Administrator or delegate for promulgation of a rule concerning any new standard for radon in drinking water; (2) sign, promulgate, implement or enforce a proposed regulation relating to individual foreign refinery baseline requirements for reformulated gasoline; (3) implement a provision of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (or any pending EPA action to implement such provision) for denial or restriction of the use of defined areas as disposal sites for dredged or fill material; or (4) implement specified requirements of the Clean Air Act with respect to any moderate nonattainment area in which the average daily winter temperature is below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Declares that this last prohibition does not preclude EPA assistance to the State of Alaska to make progress toward meeting the carbon monoxide standard in such areas and to resolve remaining issues regarding the use of oxygenated fuels in such areas. (Sec. 305) Provides for the transfer of property and the making of a grant for the creation of the Center for Ecology, Research, and Training in Bay City, Michigan. Title IV: Corporations - Authorizes certain corporations and agencies of HUD to make commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as necessary to carry out provisions under the Government Corporation Control Act. Allows any collections by such corporations and agencies to be used for new loan or mortgage purchase commitments to the extent provided under this Act, with specified exceptions. Makes funds available for the Office of Inspector General of the Resolution Trust Corporation. Title V: General Provisions - Specifies certain uses, limitations, and prohibitions on uses of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 514) Requires FY 1996 pay raises to be absorbed within the levels appropriated in this Act. (Sec. 516) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds made available under this Act should be American-made. (Sec. 517) Prohibits the use of funds to implement any cap on reimbursements to grantees for indirect costs, except as published in a specified Office of Management and Budget Circular. (Sec. 519) Requires the Director of FEMA to sell the disaster housing inventory of mobile homes and trailers, and deposit the proceeds in the Treasury. (Sec. 520) Requires that funds necessary to terminate the Office of Consumer Affairs be made available from funds appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services for FY 1996. Title II (sic): Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1996 - Makes supplemental appropriations to: (1) the Department of Agriculture for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Consolidated Farm Service Agency, the Rural Housing and Community Development Service, and the Rural Utilities Service; (2) the Department of Commerce for the Economic Development Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; (3) the Small Business Administration; (4) the Department of the Army for the Corps of Engineers-Civil; (5) the Department of the Interior for the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Service, and the Bureau of indian Affairs; (6) the Department of Agriculture for the National Forest System; (7) the Department of Transportation for the Office of the Secretary, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Federal Transit Administration; (8) the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Community development grants; (9) the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster relief; (10) the President for assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States and for foreign military financing for grants for Jordan; (11) the Department of Defense for military personnel, operation and maintenance, procurement, and for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization security investment program. Rescinds specified funds for: (1) missile procurement, other procurement, and research, development, test and evaluation, Air Force. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Permits the President to make available funds for population planning programs under titles II and IV of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1996, under specified circumstances. (Sec. 3002) Amends the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986 to revise provisions relating to Department of Commerce grants to commercial fishermen for losses resulting from Hurricanes, Hugo, Andrew, or Iniki. (Sec. 3003) Sets forth provisions concerning Bonneville Power Administration refinancing. (Sec. 3005) Sets forth provisions concerning funds apportioned to the State of Vermont for a specified surface transportation program. Title IV: Contingency Appropriations - Makes appropriations, in addition to funds provided elsewhere in this Act to: (1) the Department of Commerce for the National Institute of Standards and Technology; (2) the Department of State for administration of foreign affairs, contributions to international organizations, and contributions for international peacekeeping activities; (3) the Legal Services Corporation; (4) the Department of the Interior for the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; (5) the Department of Energy for energy conservation; (6) the Department of Labor under specified headings found elsewhere in this Act; (7) the department of Veterans Affairs; (8) the Department of Housing and Urban Development; (9) the Environmental Protection Agency; (10) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and (11) the National Science Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1996
Fiscal Year 1996 Disaster Recovery Flexibility Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary administers in connection with the obligation by the Secretary or the use by any recipient of any funds or loan guarantees appropriated or made available to HUD for FY 1996, but only upon a finding that: (1) such waiver is required to facilitate the obligation or use of such funds or guarantees for activities in an area for which the President has declared a major disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; and (2) such waiver would not be inconsistent with the overall purposes of the statute or regulation. Limits the application of any such waiver only to funds or guarantees used for activities in such a disaster area. Prohibits the Secretary from waiving or specifying alternative requirements under this Act for any statutory or regulatory requirements relating to fair housing or nondiscrimination, the environment, or labor standards.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1996
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act (the Act) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make capitalization grants to States to establish State drinking water treatment revolving loan funds. Places the authority to establish assistance priorities for financial assistance provided with amounts deposited into the State loan fund in the State agency that has primary responsibility for the administration of the State program. Directs the Governor, in nonprimacy States, to determine which State agency will have the authority to establish priorities for such assistance. Authorizes State Governors to transfer amounts between such funds and water pollution control revolving funds established under the Clean Water Act. Requires the Administrator to reserve one and a half percent of drinking water funds for capitalization grants to Indian tribes for the improvement of public water systems. Specifies that such funds shall be used to address the most significant threats to public health associated with public water systems that serve Indian tribes, as determined by the Administrator in consultation with the Director of the Indian Health Service and Indian tribes. Directs the Administrator, in consultation with the Director and such tribes, to prepare surveys and assess the needs of drinking water treatment facilities to serve Indian tribes. Authorizes the Administrator to make such grants to the District of Columbia and specified U.S. territories. Authorizes: (1) States to reserve a certain amount of such grants for technical assistance for small public water systems; and (2) the Administrator to make grants to Alaska for the benefit of Alaska Native villages. Requires the Administrator, beginning in FY 1999, to withhold a specified percentage (five percent for FY 1999, ten percent for FY 2000, and 15 percent for each subsequent fiscal year) of each capitalization grant made to a State unless the State has met specified requirements under this Act regarding new system capacity. Sets forth provisions regarding projects eligible for assistance, including assistance for disadvantaged communities, and source water quality protection and capacity development (but limits the total amount of assistance provided and expenditures made by a State for each fiscal year, with respect to such protection and development, to 15 percent of the amount of the capitalization grant received by the State for that year, and not exceeding ten percent of that amount for: (1) acquiring land or conservation easements; (2) providing funding to implement recommendations of source water quality protection partnerships; (3) providing assistance through a capacity development strategy; or (4) making expenditures to delineate or assess source water protection areas). Sets forth provisions regarding State loan fund administration, technical assistance, and management. Requires: (1) States to prepare annual intended use plans for funds; (2) priority for the use of funds to be given to projects that address the most serious risk to human health, that are necessary to ensure compliance with filtration requirements and other specified requirements, and that assist those most in need on a per household basis according to State affordability criteria; and (3) each State, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to publish and periodically update a list of projects in the State that are eligible for assistance, including the priority assigned to each project and the expected funding schedule for each project. Directs the Administrator to: (1) conduct annual reviews and audits as the Administrator considers appropriate, or require each State to have the reviews and audits independently conducted, in accordance with specified single audit requirements; (2) submit to the Congress a periodic survey and assessment of the needs for facilities in each State eligible for assistance (including, in Alaska, the needs of Native villages); (3) conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the State loan funds through FY 1999; and (4) publish such regulations and guidance as necessary. Specifies that the failure or inability of any public water system to receive funds, or a delay in obtaining the funds, shall not alter the obligation of the system to comply in a timely manner with all applicable drinking water standards and requirements under the Act. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to reserve: (1) $10 million for health effects research on specified drinking water contaminants, giving priority to research concerning the health effects of cryptosporidium, disinfection byproducts, and arsenic, and for the implementation of a research plan for subpopulations at greater risk of adverse effects; (2) $2 million to pay the costs of monitoring for unregulated contaminants; and (3) specified sums for small system technical assistance. (Sec. 4) Repeals specified existing requirements for the Administrator to issue maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs) and national primary drinking water (NPDW) regulations. Requires the Administrator to publish an MCLG and promulgate an NPDW regulation for each contaminant (with exceptions) for which a NPDW regulation has been promulgated as of the date of this Act's enactment if the Administrator determines, based on adequate data and appropriate peer- reviewed scientific information and an assessment of health risks, that the contaminant may have an adverse effect on the health of persons and that the contaminant is known to occur, or there is a substantial likelihood that it will occur, in public water systems with a frequency and at levels of public health concern. Directs the Administrator: (1) not later than July 1, 1997, to publish and periodically update a list of contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in drinking water provided by public water systems that may warrant regulation; and (2) at such time as such list is published, to describe available and needed information and research regarding the health effects of the contaminants, their occurrence in drinking water, and treatment techniques and other feasible means to control the contaminants. Requires (with exceptions) the Administrator, by July 1, 2001, and every five years thereafter, to take one of the following actions for not fewer than five contaminants: (1) publish a determination that information available to the Administrator does not warrant the issuance of an NPDW regulation; (2) publish a determination that an NPDW regulation is warranted, and proceed to propose an MCLG and NPDW regulation not later than two years after the date of publication of the determination; and (3) propose an MCLG and NPDW regulation. Sets forth provisions regarding insufficient information to make, and the basis for, such determinations. Requires the Administrator to give priority to those contaminants not currently regulated that are associated with the most serious adverse health effects and that present the greatest potential risk to human health due to their presence in drinking water provided by public water systems. Sets forth provisions regarding public comment and judicial review. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate an interim NPDW regulation for a contaminant to address an urgent threat to public health. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) schedules for publication of MCLGs and NPDW regulations; (2) substitution of contaminants; and (3) promulgation, by December 31, 1995, of an information collection rule to facilitate further revisions to the NPDW regulation for disinfectants and disinfectant byproducts, including information on microbial contaminants such as cryptosporidium. (Sec. 5) Requires the Administrator, in carrying out the Act, to: (1) use the best available, peer-reviewed science and supporting studies conducted in accordance with sound and objective scientific practices, and data collected by accepted or best available methods; and (2) ensure that the presentation of information on public health effects is comprehensive, informative, and understandable. Directs the Administrator to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each NPDW regulation containing a maximum contaminant level (MCL) or treatment technique before it is proposed, including consideration of alternative MCLs or treatment requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Permits the MCLG for contaminants that are known or likely to cause cancer in humans to be set at a level other than zero if the Administrator determines, based on the best available, peer-reviewed science, that there is a threshold level below which there is unlikely to be any increase in cancer risk and the Administrator sets the MCLG at that level with an adequate margin of safety. Requires the Administrator, at the time he or she proposes an NPDW regulation, to publish a determination as to whether the benefits of the MCL justify the costs. Authorizes the Administrator to establish an MCL for a contaminant at a level other than the feasible level if the technology, treatment techniques, and other means used to determine the feasible level would result in an increase in the health risk from drinking water by: (1) increasing the concentration of other contaminants in drinking water; or (2) interfering with the efficacy of drinking water treatment techniques or processes that are used to comply with other NPDW regulations. Authorizes the Administrator, if he or she determines that the benefits of an MCL would not justify the cost of complying with the level, to promulgate an MCL for the contaminant that maximizes health risk reduction benefits at a cost that is justified by the benefits, with an exception. Prohibits the Administrator from establishing an MCL in a Stage I or Stage II NPDW regulation for contaminants that are disinfectants or disinfection byproducts, or to establish an MCL or treatment technique requirement for the control of cryptosporidium. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) disinfectants and disinfectant byproducts; and (3) review of standards. (Sec. 7) Sets forth requirements with respect to the promulgation of NPDW regulations for: (1) arsenic (requires the Administrator to follow a specified schedule, to develop and carry out a comprehensive plan for research in support of drinking water rulemaking, and to take other specified steps regarding assessment, proposed regulation, and final regulation of arsenic); (2) radon (provides for an MCL of 3,000 picocuries per liter but permits a revision to the regulation to include a different MCL under specified circumstances; e.g., if the Administrator determines, and the National Academy of Sciences and the Science Advisory Board concur, that revision is appropriate and supported by peer-reviewed scientific studies to address risks from ingestion of radon in drinking water); and (3) sulfate (prior to promulgating an NPDW regulation for sulfate, the Administrator and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control shall 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, including the health effects that may be experienced by groups within the general population that are potentially at greater risk of adverse health effects as the result of such exposure, conducted in consultation with interested States and based on the best available, peer-reviewed science and supporting studies, and subject to notice of proposed rulemaking and public comment). (Sec. 10) Directs the Administrator to: (1) amend filtration criteria to allow a State exercising primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems, on a case-by-case basis, to establish treatment requirements as an alternative to filtration for systems having uninhabited, undeveloped watersheds in consolidated ownership, and having control over access to, and activities in, those watersheds, if the State determines (and the Administrator concurs) that the quality of the source water and the alternative treatment requirements established by the State ensure significantly greater removal efficiencies of pathogenic organisms for which NPDW regulations have been promulgated or which are of public health concern than would be achieved by the combination of filtration and chlorine disinfection); and (2) propose a regulation that describes treatment techniques that meet the filtration requirements that are feasible for community water systems serving a population of 3,300 or for fewer and noncommunity water systems. Delays until at least three years after the enactment of this Act the deadline for issuing regulations to require disinfection at groundwater systems. (Sec. 11) Revises provisions regarding NPDW regulation effective dates to provide that such a regulation shall take effect three years after the date on which it is promulgated unless the Administrator determines that an earlier date is practicable, except that the Administrator, or a State in the case of an individual system, may allow up to two additional years to comply with an MCL or treatment technique if the Administrator or State determines that additional time is necessary for capital improvements. (Sec. 12) Directs the Administrator, simultaneously with promulgating NPDW regulations, to issue guidance or regulations regarding system treatment technologies. Requires the Administrator to include in the list of the technology, treatment techniques, and other means which the Administrator finds to be feasible for purposes of meeting NPDW MCLs any means that is feasible for small public water systems serving specified populations and that achieves compliance with the MCL or treatment technique, including packaged or modular systems and point-of-entry treatment units. Prohibits the Administrator from including in the list any point-of-use treatment technology, treatment technique, or other means to achieve compliance with an MCL or treatment technique requirement for a microbial contaminant. Specifies that if the American National Standards Institute has issued product standards applicable to a specific type of point-of-entry or point-of-use treatment device, individual units of that type shall not be accepted for compliance with an MCL or treatment technique requirement unless they are independently certified in accordance with such standards. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to institutions of higher learning to establish and operate not fewer than five small public water system technology assistance centers in the United States. (Sec. 13) Revises provisions of the Act authorizing variances and exemptions from NPDW regulations to: (1) allow public water systems to receive a variance on the condition that they install and operate best available treatment technology; and (2) authorize the Administrator (or a State with primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems) to grant to public water systems serving a population of 10,000 or fewer a variance for compliance with a requirement specifying an MCL or treatment technique contained in an NPDW regulation if a system cannot afford to comply with the regulation and adequate protection of public health is ensured. (Sec. 15) Requires each State to: (1) obtain the legal authority or other means to ensure that all new community water systems and new nontransient, noncommunity water systems commencing operation after October 1, 1996, demonstrate technical, managerial, and financial capacity with respect to each NPDW regulation in effect, or likely to be in effect, on the date of commencement of operations; (2) prepare, periodically update, and submit to the Administrator a list of community water systems and nontransient, noncommunity water systems that have a history of significant noncompliance; (3) report to the Administrator on the success of enforcement mechanisms and initial capacity development efforts in assisting such systems to improve technical, managerial, and financial capacity; and (4) develop and implement a strategy to assist public water systems in acquiring and maintaining such capacity. Directs the Administrator to support: (1) the States in developing capacity development strategies; and (2) the network of university-based Environmental Finance Centers in providing training and technical assistance to State and local officials in developing the capacity of public water systems, including the establishment of a national public water systems capacity development clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 16) Requires public water systems receiving assistance from a State Revolving Loan Fund to be operated by a trained and certified operator. Specifies that, in the case of a State with primary enforcement responsibility or any other State that has established a training program that is consistent with the guidance issued under the Act, the authority to prescribe the appropriate level of training for certification for all systems shall be solely the responsibility of the State. Authorizes the Administrator to withhold funds that would otherwise be allocated to the State, or require the repayment of an amount equal to the amount of any such assistance, for noncompliance. (Sec. 17) Directs each State to: (1) delineate the source water protection areas for community water systems in the State using hydrogeologic information considered to be reasonably available and appropriate by the State; and (2) conduct vulnerability assessments in source water areas determined to be a priority by the State. Authorizes States to establish source water quality partnership petition programs to assist in the local development of a voluntary, incentive-based partnership to reduce the presence in drinking water of contaminants and to obtain Federal and State financial or technical assistance. Sets forth requirements for State approval of petitions, including: (1) an identification of technical, financial, or other assistance that the State will provide to assist in addressing the drinking water contaminants that may be addressed by a petition based on specified factors; and (2) a description of technical or financial assistance pursuant to Federal and State programs that is available to assist in implementing recommendations of the partnership, including any voluntary agricultural resource management plan or voluntary whole farm or whole ranch management plan developed and implemented under a process established by the Secretary of Agriculture. Authorizes the Administrator to make a grant to each State that establishes an approved program in an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the cost of administering the program. Directs the Administrator to publish guidance to assist: (1) States in the development of a source water quality protection partnership program; and (2) municipal or local governments or political subdivisions and community water systems in the development of source water quality protection partnerships and in the assessment of source water quality. (Sec. 18) Grants: (1) a State primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems if the Administrator determines that such State has adopted drinking water regulations that are no less stringent than the NPDW regulations within two years after such regulations are promulgated. Authorizes the Administrator to provide an extension of not more than two years if, after submission and review of appropriate, adequate documentation from the State, the Administrator determines that the extension is necessary and justified. Grants a State that has primary enforcement authority for existing drinking water regulations interim primary enforcement authority for new regulations pending such determination. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 19) Requires the Administrator to review existing monitoring requirements for not fewer than 12 contaminants within two years. Authorizes: (1) States to establish alternative monitoring programs for any NPDW regulation, except for a regulation applicable to a microbial contaminant or an indicator of such a contaminant, subject to specified requirements; and (2) the Administrator or a State to suspend quarterly monitoring requirements applicable to small systems for any contaminant (other than a microbial contaminant or such an indicator, that causes an acute effect, or a contaminant formed in the treatment process or distribution system) that is not detected during the first quarterly sample in a monitoring cycle. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing the criteria for a monitoring program for unregulated contaminants, and to list up to 20 contaminants. Requires all systems serving more than 10,000 people to monitor for such contaminants. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to establish a national database containing information on the occurrence of regulated and unregulated contaminants. Provides that information requirements imposed by the Administrator that require monitoring, the establishment or maintenance of records, or reporting, by a substantial number of public water systems, shall be established by regulation. Directs the Administrator to review new analytical methods to screen for regulated contaminants. Authorizes the Administrator to approve such methods as are more accurate or cost-effective than established reference methods for use in compliance monitoring. (Sec. 20) Requires each owner or operator of a public water system to give notice to those served by the system: (1) of any failure of the system to comply with an applicable maximum contaminant level or treatment technique requirement of, or a testing procedure prescribed by, an NPDW regulation, or to perform required monitoring; (2) of the existence of a variance granted for an inability to meet a maximum contaminant level requirement or a granted exemption and of any failure to comply with the requirements of any schedule prescribed pursuant to the variance or exemption; and (3) of the concentration level of any unregulated contaminant for which the Administrator has required public notice. Directs the Administrator to prescribe the manner, frequency, form, and content of such notice to provide for different notice frequencies for violations that are intermittent or infrequent and violations that are continuous or frequent, and to take into account the seriousness of any potential adverse health effects that may be involved. Permits a State to establish alternative notification requirements. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 21) Revises enforcement provisions of the Act to permit enforcement actions to be taken by both EPA and a State with primary enforcement responsibility. Directs the Administrator to notify local elected officials before taking enforcement actions against public water systems in nonprimacy States. Authorizes the Administrator or a State to suspend enforcement action with respect to a violation for a two-year period if the violation is to be corrected through a consolidation or restructuring during that period. Requires States, to have primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems, to adopt administrative penalties of at least $1,000 per violation for large systems. Increases the maximum amount for an administrative penalty imposed by EPA from $5,000 to $25,000 per violation, but only after a hearing on the record. (Sec. 22) Revises current provisions governing the applicability of drinking water laws and regulations to the Federal Government. Waives the sovereign immunity of the United States with respect to any requirement, administrative authority, or process or sanction under such laws and regulations. Allows citizens and States to seek penalties for all violations of the Act at Federal facilities. (Sec. 23) Authorizes appropriations for research with respect to the safe supply of drinking water. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop, and periodically update, an integrated risk characterization strategy for drinking water quality; and (2) develop and carry out a research plan to support the development and implementation of rules regarding enhanced surface water treatment, disinfectant and disinfection byproducts, and groundwater disinfection. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 24) Revises the definition of "public water system" to include systems that provide water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances. Excludes from regulation connections to non-piped systems if the water is used exclusively for non-residential uses, the Administrator or the State determines that alternative water to achieve the equivalent level of public health protection provided by the applicable NPDW regulation is provided for residential or similar uses for drinking and cooking, or the Administrator or the State determines that the water provided for residential or similar uses for drinking and cooking is centrally treated or treated at the point of entry by the provider, a pass-through entity, or the user to achieve the equivalent level of protection provided by the applicable NPDW regulations. Sets forth transition provisions. (Sec. 25) Authorizes the Administrator to makes grants to States for the development and implementation of State programs for the protection of groundwater resources. Prohibits any such grant from being used for more than half of the cost of the program. Authorizes appropriations. Reauthorizes grants to support: (1) the critical aquifer protection program; (2) the wellhead protection program; and (3) State administration of the Underground Injection Control program. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the extent and seriousness of contamination of private sources of drinking water that are not regulated under this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to reestablish a partnership between the Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory and the National Center for Ground Water Research, a university consortium, to conduct research, training, and technology transfer for groundwater quality protection and restoration. Authorizes the Administrator to provide: (1) technical and financial assistance to units of State or local government for projects that demonstrate and assess innovative and enhanced methods and practices to develop and implement watershed protection programs, including methods and practices that protect both surface and groundwater; and (2) financial assistance to New York State for demonstration projects implemented as part of the watershed program for the protection and enhancement of the quality of source waters of the New York City water supply system. Sets forth matching and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 26) Amends prohibitions on lead plumbing and pipes to prohibit: (1) the use in the installation or repair of any public water system or in any plumbing in a facility providing water for human consumption of any plumbing fitting or fixture that is not lead free; (2) the sale (effective two years after this Act's enactment) of any pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture that is not lead free, with exceptions; or (3) the sale of any solder or flux that is not lead free that does not bear a label stating that it is illegal to use the solder or flux in plumbing providing water for human consumption. Directs the Administrator to: (1) provide accurate and timely technical information and assistance to qualified third-party certifiers in the development of voluntary standards and testing protocols for the leaching of lead from new plumbing fittings and fixtures that are intended by the manufacturer to dispense water for human ingestion; and (2) promulgate regulations setting a health effects-based performance standard establishing maximum leaching levels from new plumbing fittings and fixtures that are intended by the manufacturer to dispense water for human ingestion if a voluntary standard is not established within a year. Repeals Federal law encouraging the use of geothermal heat pumps that return water to the distribution lines of public water systems. (Sec. 27) Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a regulation establishing for bottled water a quality level for each contaminant of public water systems for which such a level is established or make a finding that a regulation is unnecessary because the contaminant is not contained in water used for bottled drinking water (requires the Secretary to issue the regulation or make the required finding for any contaminant for which a NPDW regulation was promulgated before this Act's enactment within one year). (Sec. 28) Authorizes the Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers to modernize the Washington Aqueduct. Authorizes appropriations. Modifies the membership of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council to include two members representing small, rural water systems. Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to: (1) require the designated chairpersons of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to invite representatives of the Lake Champlain Basin Program to participate as ex officio members of the Task Force; and (2) include Lake Champlain among the waters with respect to which the aquatic nuisance species and zebra mussel demonstration programs apply. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to establish the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy, consisting of a consortium of American and Mexican universities, to: (1) conduct research and development programs, projects, and activities, including training and community service, on U.S.-Mexico border environmental issues, with particular emphasis on water quality and safe drinking water; (2) provide objective, independent assistance to the EPA and other Federal, State, and local agencies involved in environmental policy, research, training, and enforcement; and (3) help to coordinate and facilitate the improvement of environmental policies and programs between the United States and Mexico. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to develop a screening program, using appropriate validated test systems, to determine whether certain substances may have an effect in humans that is similar to an effect produced by a naturally occurring estrogen, or such other endocrine effect as the Administrator may designate. Sets forth provisions regarding program implementation, substances to be tested, exemptions, information collection, penalties and procedures for failure to submit required information, action by the Administrator to protect public health, and reporting requirements. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to the State of Alaska for the benefit of rural and Native villages in Alaska to pay the Federal share (50 percent) of the cost of: (1) the development and construction of water and wastewater systems to improve the health and sanitation conditions in the villages; and (2) training, technical assistance, and educational programs relating to the operation and management of sanitation services in rural and Native villages. Requires the Administrator to consult with such State on a method of prioritizing grant allocation according to the needs of, and relative health and sanitation conditions in, each eligible village. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Administrator and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies to award grants to any appropriate entity or border State (i.e., Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas) to provide assistance to eligible communities (colonias lacking basic sanitation facilities) for: (1) the conservation, development, use, and control of water for the purpose of supplying drinking water; and (2) the construction, improvement, operation, and maintenance of sewers and treatment works for wastewater treatment. Authorizes appropriations.
Austria · National Council · 5 March 1996
Bericht des Ausschusses für Land- und Forstwirtschaft über die Regierungsvorlage (7 d.B.): Übereinkommen zum Schutz und zur Nutzung grenzüberschreitender Wasserläufe und internationaler Seen samt Anlagen und Erklärung
Austria · National Council · 5 March 1996
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Hannelore Buder und Genossen an den Bundesminister für Land- und Forstwirtschaft betreffend wasserrechtliche Bewilligungen bei der "ennsnahen Trasse" <i>(der B 146 Ennstal Straße)</i>
Austria · National Council · 5 March 1996
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Hannelore Buder und Genossen an den Bundesminister für Land- und Forstwirtschaft betreffend mit Schwefelkies kontaminierten Altstandort in Weißenbach/Enns <i>(Veranlassungen der Wasserrechtsbehörde)</i>