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Bill· HRH.R. 3857 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Workplace Fairness Subtitle A: Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection Subtitle B: Federal Employee Fairness Subtitle C: Legislative Pay Equity Study Subtitle D: Sexual Harassment Prevention Subtitle E: Sexual Harassment Information Subtitle F: Sexual Harassment Tax Equity Subtitle G: Equal Remedies Subtitle H: Federal Temporary Workers Protection Subtitle I: Contingent Work Force Equity Title II: Economic Opportunity Subtitle A: Microenterprise Opportunity Expansion Subtitle B: Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and Engineering Work Forces Subtitle C: Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Subtitle D: Self-Sufficiency Standard Subtitle E: Community Reinvestment Subtitle F: Telecommunications Economic Opportunity Subtitle G: HHS Women Scientist Employment Opportunity Subtitle H: Women in Enterprise Development Title III: Work and Family Subtitle A: Child Care Consolidation and Investment Subtitle B: Child Care Public-Private Partnership Subtitle C: Dependent Care Tax Credit Refundability Subtitle D: IRA Deductions for Homemakers Subtitle E: Federal Parental Leave for Education Activities Subtitle F: Tax Incentives for Family-Friendly Workplaces Subtitle G: Parental Equity Leave Title IV: Economic Self-Sufficiency Subtitle A: Child Support Responsibility Subtitle B: Interstate Child Support Subtitle C: Child Support Enforcement Improvements Subtitle D: Single Parent Protection Subtitle E: Women's Pension Equity Subtitle F: Pension Reform Subtitle G: Social Security Caregiver Title V: Economic Impact of Domestic Violence Subtitle A: Workplace Violence Prevention Tax Credit Subtitle B: Insurance Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence Subtitle C: Fairness to Minority Women Health Subtitle D: Battered Women's Employment Protection Subtitle E: Domestic Violence Legal Services Eligibility Economic Equity Act of 1996 - Title I: Workplace Fairness - Subtitle A: Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) with respect to requirements for approval of State unemployment compensation laws to provide for eligibility for unemployment compensation of certain individuals seeking part-time employment. (Sec. 11102) Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to establish and carry out an annual survey relating to temporary workers. (Sec. 11103) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide protection of part-time and temporary workers with respect to their treatment under participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans. (Sec. 11201) Amends the IRC to provide for waiver of an employer's liability for certain employment taxes for a reasonable good faith misclassification based on common law rules. Amends the Revenue Act of 1978 to revise provisions relating to controversies involving whether individuals are employees for purposes of the employment taxes to modify safe harbor rules and authority for classifications of individuals as nonemployees. (Sec. 11202) Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to set forth requirements regarding classification of persons as employees and independent contractors under certain Federal procurement contracts. (Sec. 11203) Amends Federal law relating to defense contracts to set forth requirements regarding classification of persons as employees and independent contractors under Federal defense contracts. Subtitle B: Federal Employee Fairness - Amends title VII (Equal Employment Opportunities) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to revise provisions relating to administrative determination of Federal employee discrimination claims, including Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) determination of such claims. (Sec. 12002) Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide for EEOC enforcement regarding specified claims, with certain exceptions with respect to employment in the Library of Congress. Provides for opportunity to commence civil action in the case of certain claims pending before EEOC. (Sec. 12003) Amends Federal law relating to civil service employment to revise provisions for grievance procedures, actions involving discrimination, disciplinary action, personnel recordkeeping, and right to intervene in certain discrimination cases. (Sec. 12005) Directs EEOC to issue certain guidelines and rules, including: (1) standards for alternative dispute resolution processes and identification of approved examples; (2) establishment of a voluntary settlement program; and (3) rules regarding classified information. (Sec. 12008) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) it should increase appropriations to EEOC to carry out additional EEOC responsibilities imposed by this Act; and (2) Federal agencies should not use their funds for salaries and expenses to pay any relief awarded under Civil Rights Act of 1964 title VII provisions against discrimination in Federal employment. Subtitle C: Legislative Pay Equity Study - Declares the congressional policy of nondiscrimination and pay equity for employees of the legislative branch. (Sec. 13002) Establishes the Commission on Employment Discrimination in the Legislative Branch to evaluate and report to the Congress on the compensation system and personnel policies and practices of the Library of Congress. Subtitle D: Sexual Harassment Prevention - Establishes a right of civil action by the injured person to seek relief for specified sexual harassment offenses or retaliation in relationships between: (1) a patient and a physician, psychotherapist, or dentist; (2) a client and an attorney, marriage, family, or child counselor, social worker, or accountant; (3) a beneficiary and an executor, trustee, or administrator of a trust or estate; (4) an employee and an employer with fewer than 15 employees for each working day in each of 33 or more calendar weeks in the current and preceding calendar year; or (5) the parties to a contract, or persons negotiating a contract or seeking to enforce claimed rights under a contract. (Sec. 14002) Authorizes additional appropriations for the EEOC. Subtitle E: Sexual Harassment Information - Requires employers to provide EEOC-approved information on sexual harassment violations and claims, through: (1) posting of notices at the workplace; and (2) annual notices to individual employees. Sets forth civil penalties for violation of such information requirements. (Sec. 15003) Directs EEOC to provide: (1) technical assistance materials to employers, including model notices and voluntary guidelines for employer policies and procedures to address allegations of discrimination, including sexual harassment, in employment; and (2) a toll-free telephone number for employees and employers to obtain information regarding compliance with this subtitle and such model notices and guidelines. (Sec. 15004) Requires EEOC enforcement of employer information requirements (except in the case of congressional employees, where the Board of the Office of Compliance is the enforcer). Subtitle F: Sexual Harassment Tax Equity - Amends IRC to allow an income tax deduction for legal expenses of individuals bringing sexual harassment suits against their employers. Subtitle G: Equal Remedies - Amends certain provisions of the Revised Statutes, as added by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, to provide for equalization of remedies. Subtitle H: Federal Temporary Workers Protection - Amends Federal civil service law to provide eligibility for health benefits for certain Federal temporary workers. Subtitle I: Contingent Work Force Equity - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require that contingent (part-time or temporary) workers receive the same wages as full-time workers for the same work (with exceptions for differential payments pursuant to seniority, merit, or production quantity-or-quality systems or based on factors other than employment status). (Sec. 19002) Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to require employers to protect all workers (not only their own employees) from hazards within the employers' control. Directs the Secretary of Labor to study whether the health and safety of part-time or temporary employees are being adequately monitored and, if not, to determine how such monitoring can be made adequate. (Sec. 19003) Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act to lower the threshold for employee coverage to 125 hours of service with an employer during the previous three-month period. (Sec. 19004) Directs the Secretary of Labor, through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to carry out an annual survey identifying the characteristics of temporary workers and their relationships with the establishments at which they are temporarily employed and, where appropriate, with their permanent employers. (Sec. 19005) Amends the National Labor Relations Act to include in collective bargaining units part-time or temporary workers with reasonable expectations of continued employment. (Sec. 19006) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1970 (ERISA) to provide for: (1) treatment of employees working at less than full-time (500 or more hours but less than 1,000 hours service per year) under participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans; (2) treatment of part-time workers (less than 30 hours service per week) under group health plans; and (3) inclusion of certain individuals whose services are leased or contracted for under the definition of employee. (Sec. 19007) Amends IRC to require States to provide unemployment compensation to part-time workers unavailable for full-time work. Title II: Economic Opportunity - Subtitle A: Microenterprise Opportunity Expansion - Provides various means of promoting and assisting microenterprises (commercial enterprises with five or fewer employees, one or more of whom own the enterprise). (Sec. 21001) Amends the Social Security Act to exclude certain business assets from resources and income for purposes of eligibility under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Extends public assistance benefits under AFDC and Medicaid and under SSI and Medicaid for persons with income from or resources in a microenterprise. (Sec. 21002) Amends IRC provisions relating to State law requirements for unemployment compensation to provide for payment of unemployment compensation, under certain conditions, to individuals starting microenterprises. Allows State unemployment compensation funds to be used to provide microenterprise startup assistance to eligible individuals. (Sec. 21003) Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to provide for treatment of microenterprise loans and grants by insured depository institutions as community reinvestment. (Sec. 21004) Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to provide for treatment of microenterprise loans by savings associations as qualified thrift investments. (Sec. 21005) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to allow the use of community development block grant assistance for administrative costs of entities assisting microenterprises. (Sec. 21006) Requires each Federal banking agency to establish a Microenterprise Technical and Operations Office as a division to offer technical assistance, training, outreach, and other support to: (1) groups and individuals engaged in, or desiring to establish, a microenterprise; and (2) institutions which offer credit or financial services to microenterprises. (Sec. 21007) Directs the Financial Institutions Examination Council to study and report, with recommendations, to the Congress on the best means to make credit available to small businesses which: (1) do not qualify for microenterprise loans or need credit in larger amounts than such loans make available; and (2) need credit in smaller amounts than is generally available from financial institutions or the Small Business Administration. Subtitle B: Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and Engineering Work Forces - Establishes the Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and Engineering Work Forces to study and report to the Congress on the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in the science and engineering work forces. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Equal Surety Bond Opportunity - Sets forth equal surety bond requirements. Lists activities constituting unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or age, as well as those not constituting such discrimination. Requires statements of reasons for adverse actions on surety bond applications. (Sec. 23002) Provides for civil liability for violations of this subtitle. (Sec. 23003) Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from approving as a surety a company which does not maintain full compliance with the requirements of this subtitle. Sets forth administrative enforcement procedures. Subtitle D: Self-Sufficiency Standard - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to define economic self-sufficiency. (Sec. 24003) Establishes economic self-sufficiency standards for adult training programs under JTPA. (Sec. 24004) Prohibits State Governors from awarding incentive grants to service delivery areas that do not have an approved local economic self-sufficiency standards table in effect. (Sec. 24005) Requires inclusion of the local economic self-sufficiency standards table and related reports in: (1) the job training plan; and (2) the Governor's coordination and special services plan. (Sec. 24007) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Labor for grants to States for economic self-sufficiency demonstration programs. Subtitle E: Community Reinvestment - Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to direct the appropriate Federal financial supervisory agencies to jointly develop a format for collecting (and reporting to the public) specified types of data from regulated financial institutions concerning their record of meeting the credit needs of their local communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Subtitle F: Telecommunications Economic Opportunity - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to: (1) require each provider of telecommunications services to submit annual plans, and implementation reports, for increasing its procurement, in underrepresented categories, from business enterprises that are owned by minorities or women; (2) report annually to the Congress on such matters; and (3) establish regulations and criteria for determining eligibility of minority-or woman-owned businesses for such procurement contracts. Sets forth sanctions and remedies relating to specified violations. Subtitle G: HHS Women Scientist Employment Opportunity - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add a new title XXVII, Women's Scientific Employment with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), relating to the employment of women as scientists in specified agencies of HHS, specified aspects of such employment, and inclusion of women in intramural and extramural conferences and other groups. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle H: Women in Enterprise Development - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to establish and implement a Women in Enterprise Development Program, including provisions for financial, educational, and informational assistance. Urges the Administrator to use a specified portion of funds for microenterprise development. Title III: Work and Family - Subtitle A: Child Care Consolidation and Investment - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to appropriate funds for FY 1997 through 2001 for child care services for eligible children through the awarding of grants to States. (Sec. 31003) Changes from discretionary to mandatory the existing program of child care and development block grants for States. Decreases from 25 to 20 percent the amount of funds a State shall reserve per fiscal year for activities to improve the quality of child care and to provide before- and after-school and early childhood development services. Directs States to reserve at least 50 percent of grant amounts for child care activities to support low-income working families. Requires State plans to assure that the availability of child care will be coordinated with AFDC requirements, and to ensure that the parent of a dependent child is not required to undertake an education, job training or search, or employment requirement unless child care assistance is available. Directs the Secretary to establish a child care quality improvement incentive initiative to make funds available to States that demonstrate progress in the implementation of: (1) innovative teacher training programs; or (2) enhanced child care quality standards and licensing and monitoring procedures. (Sec. 31004) Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act to repeal the AFDC, Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Training program, and transitional child care programs, as well as the at-risk child care program. Repeals the Child Development Assistance Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985, and the authority for State dependent care grants under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981. Subtitle B: Child Care Public-Private Partnership - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a business-incentive grant program to provide child care through public-private partnerships. (Sec. 32001) Provides program grants to cover not more than one-third of the costs for: (1) businesses or consortia (two or more businesses acting jointly, which may also include a nonprofit private organization) to start up, or provide additional, employee child care services; and (2) nonprofit business organizations to provide technical information and assistance to enable businesses to provide employee child care services. (Sec. 32004) Gives priority in grant selection to businesses with fewer than 100 full-time employees and to business and consortia applications. Requires equitable geographic distribution. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Dependent Care Tax Credit Refundability - Repeals the Internal Revenue Code's nonrefundable income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses, replacing it with a corresponding refundable 50 percent credit, reduced (but not below 20 percent) as the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000 (adjusted for inflation). Includes within the scope of the new credit up to $1,200 ($2,400 in the case of more than one qualifying individual) of respite care expenses incurred in the care of: (1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is at least 13 years old; or (2) a spouse or other dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Subtitle D: IRA Deductions for Homemakers - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain spouses a full deduction for contributions to an individual retirement account. Subtitle E: Federal Parental Leave for Education Activities - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to extend coverage to employees at worksites where the employer employs at least 25 (currently 50) employees at the worksite and within 75 miles of that worksite. (Sec. 35002) Allows covered employees to take up to four hours during any 30-day period, and up to 24 hours during any 12-month period, of parental involvement leave to participate in or attend their children's educational and extracurricular activities. (Sec. 35003) Amends Federal civil service law to apply the same parental involvement leave allowance to Federal employees. Subtitle F: Tax Incentives for Family-Friendly Workplaces - Amends the IRC with respect to business related credits to establish: (1) a small business family and medical leave credit; and (2) a credit for wages paid to an employee who is allowed to shift hours of employment or to work at home in order to reduce child care needs. Subtitle G: Parental Equity Leave - Requires an employer to provide an employee who is a parent of an adopted child or a foster child with the same leave the employer provides (in addition to leave required by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993) an employee who is on parent leave for the birth of a child. Title IV: Economic Self-Sufficiency - Subtitle A: Child Support Responsibility - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to: (1) record child support orders in a central case registry; and (2) collect child support payments through a centralized collections unit. Permits parties to a child support order to opt for an alternative payment procedure. (Sec. 41102) Revises the guidelines for: (1) State plans for child and spousal support; and (2) payments distribution. (Sec. 41103) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) notification of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations; and (2) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions. (Sec. 41201) Revises the formula for: (1) Federal matching payments to the States; and (2) incentive adjustments to the Federal matching rate. (Sec. 41203) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec. 41205) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 41206) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct staffing studies of each State child support enforcement program and to report the results to the Congress. (Sec. 41207) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. (Sec. 41301) Mandates that the single statewide automated data system function as a single central case registry of State-provided services and support orders. Delineates contents of case records and data matching activities, including data exchange with sister States. (Sec. 41301) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. (Sec. 41303) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which child support orders issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding from wages if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 41305) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to add kinds of information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of establishing parentage and executing child support obligations. Requires the Secretary to establish in the Service a Data Bank of Child Support Orders and an automated Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 41306) Requires State plans to include procedures for recording social security numbers on certain family legal documents and records. (Sec. 41401) Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1997. (Sec. 41402) Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for a court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 41403) Amends SSA title IV part D to revise State plan guidelines for mandatory expedited administrative and judicial procedures to include: (1) authorized genetic testing to establish paternity; and (2) the securing of assets and increasing of monthly payments to satisfy a support arrearage. (Sec. 41502) Revises the guidelines for statutorily prescribed procedures governing genetic testing and outreach for voluntary paternity acknowledgment. (Sec. 41601) Establishes the National Child Support Guidelines Commission to develop a national child support guideline for consideration by the Congress that is based on a study of various guideline models, the benefits and deficiencies of such models, and any needed improvement. (Sec. 41602) Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 41701) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the order of refund distribution with respect to past-due support owed to individuals. (Sec. 41703) Amends SSA title IV part D to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of current and retired members of the armed forces. (Sec. 41705) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures for: (1) placing liens for child support arrearages on motor vehicle titles of the debtor; (2) voiding fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor; (3) suspending any driver's, business, or occupational license issued to any person who owes past-due child support; (4) reporting to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (5) extending the statute of limitations for collection of child support arrearages; and (6) calculating interest or penalties on such arrearages. (Sec. 41711) Prescribes procedural guidelines for passport denial (including revocation) upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 41712) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention of 1956. Requires State plans to provide that the State must treat international child support cases as interstate cases. (Sec. 41801) Amends ERISA to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. Subtitle B: Interstate Child Support - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to allow the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) to be used along with appropriate disclosure safeguards for parentage establishment and child support and visitation enforcement. (Sec. 42101) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) denial of visitation rights under a child support order should be treated as irrelevant in any action to enforce its support provisions; and (2) failure to pay child support pursuant to such an order should be treated likewise in any action to enforce visitation rights. (Sec. 42102) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement to provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) (Secretary) with access to quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Requires that: (1) State agencies charged with child support enforcement maintain child support order registries and be allowed access to medical, financial, employment, and other specified data base information on absent parents; (2) registry information from each State be sent to the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) (designated under title VI of this Act) within HHS for a national registry of all State child support orders. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should investigate accessing certain Federal data banks not linked with FPLS. (Sec. 42103) Requires the Secretary to expand FPLS to provide State agencies and courts with a national locate and case tracking network. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the network should be used to access State records only through the agency administering the State's part D plan. (Sec. 42104) Requires that private attorneys and pro se obligees be given access, in accordance with appropriate safeguards, to State locate resources and through enforcement techniques with respect to child support, visitation, and parentage orders. (Sec. 42105) Amends the IRC to require employers to withhold from employee wages amounts owed for child support. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the W-4 form completed by new employees in order to enable employers to obtain employee child support and other information for the appropriate State employment security agency. (Sec. 42106) Requires the heads of national and regional individual tracking systems to allow child support enforcement agencies access to their information for paternity or child support purposes. (Sec. 42107) Requires that States: (1) broadcast warrants issued in child support proceedings over their crime information systems; (2) remit, in a criminal case, to any individual owed child support any security posted by or on behalf of the individual owing the support and then forfeited, to the extent of any arrearage in support owed; and (3) have procedures to obtain access to financial records for purposes of child support establishment and enforcement. (Sec. 42201) Amends SSA title IV part D to provide for service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed forces in connection with parentage and child support proceedings. (Sec. 42202) Requires that: (1) parents' identification and locate information be filed with the appropriate adjudicating entity in parentage and child support actions; (2) there be appropriate safeguards on such information where a court has ordered that the custodial parent or child receive physical protection from the noncustodial parent; (3) appropriate administrative agencies make reasonable attempts to timely notify any individual owed child support of any proceeding to establish, modify, or enforce the support obligation; (4) States allow parties seeking both parentage and child support establishment in a judicial proceeding to bring a joint action in a single cause of action; (5) States provide for uniform procedures regarding jurisdiction and venue in parentage and child support cases; (6) States provide for continuation of parental child support obligations until they terminate in specified ways; (7) States allow parties to participate in interstate parentage and child support proceedings by telephonic means; (8) marriage licenses, birth certificates, and divorce and parentage decrees contain social security numbers; and (9) appropriate State agencies be allowed subpoena power in connection with child support hearings. (Sec. 42205) Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) to allow appropriate State agencies to obtain from credit reporting agencies information for establishing and modifying child support awards. (Sec. 42206) Creates a National Child Support Guidelines Commission to study and report to the President and the Congress on national child support guidelines, and to develop such guidelines for congressional consideration should it be advisable. (Sec. 42207) Amends SSA title IV part D to specify certain principles to be used in accordance with the application of State child support guidelines. (Sec. 42208) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, if children receive child support while obtaining postsecondary education, they will attain higher levels of education affording them a greater chance to break the welfare cycle. (Sec. 42209) Requires the new OCSE Assistant Secretary to develop: (1) a national subpoena duces tecum for distribution to child support agencies and others to use to reach income information; and (2) a uniform abstract of a child support order for State court use. (Sec. 42214) Requires the Legal Services Corporation to ensure the use of a specified amount of funding for child support cases. (Sec. 42215) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) children on Indian reservations be accorded the same right of support currently afforded to off-reservation children; (2) State and tribal governments should, to the greatest extent possible, ensure that jurisdictional issues do not prevent any Indian child from receiving the support to which the child is entitled; and (3) States should work with community-based organizations with ties to underserved populations to develop better methods to reach and work with such populations to encourage the filing of more support orders. Amends the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 to require Indian tribes to give full faith and credit to child support orders of other Indian tribes, to the extent such entities already give full faith and credit to the acts, records, and proceedings of the other entity. (Sec. 42216) Amends SSA title IV part D to set forth specific measures, including grants for certain demonstration projects, designed to secure child support services in underserved areas and combat domestic violence. (Sec. 42301) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) require States to adopt various specified procedures for voluntary paternity acknowledgment; and (2) provide for 90 percent Federal matching for such programs. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in a proceeding to establish paternity, once paternity is alleged, the burden of proof should shift to the alleged father. (Sec. 42401) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) require States to mandate that an employer comply with wage withholding orders issued by any State court or administrative agency; (2) specify the priority for applying amounts withheld from income for child support and child health insurance; (3) subject to withholding for child support income from workers' compensation and other specified Federal sources; (4) prohibit State court application of the election of remedies doctrine to prevent collection of child support; (5) deny State occupational, professional, and business licenses, and driver's licenses and vehicle registrations to delinquent noncustodial parents; (6) authorize liens on vehicle titles, seizure of bank accounts, and holds on lottery winnings, settlements, payouts, bequests, and proceeds from the sale of forfeited property to satisfy child support arrearages; (7) require States to make a rebuttable presumption that any transfer of property by an individual who owes a child support arrearage is made with the intent to avoid payment of the arrearage; (8) revise the mechanism for collection of past-due child support from Federal tax refunds to cover post-minor children who do not receive AFDC; (9) authorize attachment of retirement plan interests without a separate court order to satisfy child support arrearages; (10) permit enforcement of any child support order until the child is at least 30; (11) require interest on all child support judgments; (12) require States to adopt the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Laws in August 1992; (13) allow State courts to order the assignment of life insurance benefits and interests in jointly held property to satisfy child support arrearages; and (14) require States to treat international child support cases in the same manner as interstate child support cases. (Sec. 42404) Amends CCPA with respect to State laws and garnishments for securing child support. Gives Federal debts a lower priority than child support debts when the obligor's disposable income cannot satisfy both debts through withholding. Prohibits employers from discharging any employee whose earnings are subject to garnishment for additional indebtedness arising from a child support order. (Sec. 42406) Denies Federal occupational, professional, and business licenses for delinquent individuals until the license hold is released. (Sec. 42412) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the IRS Commissioner should instruct IRS field officers and agents to give a high priority to requests for the use of full collection in delinquent child support cases. Requires the Secretary of Treasury to simplify the full collection process and reduce the amount of child support arrearage needed before an individual may apply for full collection. (Sec. 42417) Sets forth requirements pertaining to parentage establishment and child support payments in the armed forces. (Sec. 42419) Directs the Comptroller General and Secretary of the Treasury to study the feasibility of an annual reconciliation process for paying child support arrearages as part of the Federal income tax process. (Sec. 42420) Authorizes the Secretary of State to refuse, revoke, or restrict passports in cases where the applicant or holder is a noncustodial parent subject to a State arrest warrant for nonpayment of a substantial child support arrearage. (Sec. 42421) Prohibits Federal benefits, loans, guarantees, and employment for individuals owing certain child support arrearages. (Sec. 42424) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention of 1956. (Sec. 42501) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) set priorities for State distribution of child support collections; (2) require States to limit claims against noncustodial parents for reimbursement of a child's portion of AFDC to the amount in the child support order; (3) revise part D plan provisions concerning fees; and (4) require States to provide for collection and disbursement points for child support cases. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct studies and pilot projects with respect to requiring State systems to pay the child support collected under a State plan to the individuals to whom the support is owed before making any payment to reimburse any State for AFDC provided with respect to the child in question. Amends IRC to revise the Federal income tax refund offset mechanism. (Sec. 42505) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should encourage parents to use the State child support agency to process and distribute child support payments in order to establish an official payment record. (Sec. 42601) Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) designate the separate organizational unit currently charged with various parentage and child support responsibilities as the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE); and (2) change OCSE's organizational structure. (Sec. 42602) Requires: (1) the new OCSE Assistant Secretary to provide training assistance to the States; (2) States to provide for training of child support personnel; and (3) the Secretary to study staffing at State child support enforcement programs and reduce payments to States that have not implemented recommended staffing levels. (Sec. 42604) Requires the Secretary to: (1) authorize demonstration projects to test alternative approaches to incentive funding for State child support programs; and (2) reduce payments to States which have not reinvested incentive payments in their child support programs. Provides that "support" under SSA title IV part D with respect to incentive payments to States includes premiums paid for health insurance coverage pursuant to a support order. Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should not use amounts paid to them pursuant to SSA title IV part D, which are reinvested in child support activities, to supplant State funding of such activities. (Sec. 42606) Requires the Secretary to: (1) contract for a study of OCSE's audit process to develop criteria and methodology for auditing activities of State child support enforcement agencies; and (2) provide for State demonstration projects for the purpose of ensuring that custodial parents owed child support have a consistent source of income for the support of their children. (Sec. 42607) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) children should have a consistent source of income to meet their education and medical needs; (2) the provision of public assistance to a custodial parent for the support of a child with respect to whom the noncustodial parent owes child support does not absolve the latter of the obligation to provide such support; (3) the States must continue to vigorously pursue efforts to establish parentage, and establish and enforce child support obligations; and (4) OCSE should develop a mechanism to publicize the best State practices in child support. (Sec. 42608) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Treasury a Children's Trust Fund to hold the contributions designated by individuals on their tax returns for funding child support programs. (Sec. 42609) Requires: (1) the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on delinquent child support payments and the effectiveness of administrative as compared with judicial adjudication of parentage and child support cases; and (2) OCSE to produce and update a certain compendium of State child support laws published by the National Conference of State Legislatures, and establish a permanent child support advisory committee. (Sec. 42701) Amends SSA title IV part D to require States to: (1) promote the greatest economic security possible for children, within the obligor's ability to pay; (2) provide custodial parents with certain information on child support cases and the services available under their part D plans; and (3) require no more than administrative procedures for any changes in child support payees. (Sec. 42703) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should: (1) work closely with parents to improve the quality of child support services; (2) have offices in areas accessible to public transportation with convenient hours that allow parents to meet privately with attorneys and caseworkers; and (3) establish administrative procedures to process child support cases and a child support council to recommend improvements in State paternity and child support programs. (Sec. 42801) Expresses the sense of the Congress that any Federal program to provide jobs for noncustodial parents should be administered so as not to adversely affect any Federal program for custodial parents. Requires the Secretary to transmit evaluations of certain projects under SSA title IV part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) to the Secretary of Labor for study and possible action, including authorizing States to provide services of greater scope and duration to unemployed noncustodial parents under such program. Subtitle C: Child Support Enforcement Improvements - Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability to a person for disclosing individual financial records to a State child support enforcement agency attempting to establish, modify, or enforce a child support obligation. Establishes civil damages for unauthorized disclosure. (Sec. 43002) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to grant a State child support enforcement agency access to and use of consumer reports. (Sec. 43003) Amends the SSA title IV part D to mandate certain State-prescribed procedures which require any child support order to include coverage of the health care costs of the child. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on incentives that should be provided to encourage State enforcement of non-custodial parents' obligations to pay the medical and dental expenses of their children. (Sec. 43004) Requires an annual report to the Congress on State compliance with the time limits within which State agencies must respond to requests for certain child support assistance. (Sec. 43005) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures imposing a late payment penalty for an employer's failure to remit to the State within ten days wages withheld to pay child support obligations to the State. (Sec. 43006) Instructs the Secretary to expand the Parent Locator Service to establish a national network based on the comprehensive statewide child support enforcement systems developed by the States. Subtitle D: Single Parent Protection - Amends the IRC to allow an income tax credit for any unpaid child support to which the taxpayer is entitled. Mandates a corresponding increase in the income tax owed by the individual obligated to make such child support payment. Subtitle E: Women's Pension Equity - Amends the IRC and ERISA to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to develop a model spousal consent form for the waiver of a qualified joint and survivor annuity or a qualified preretirement survivor annuity. (Sec. 45002) Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to extend tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former spouses pursuant to divorce agreements. (Sec. 45003) Amends the Federal civil service code to provide for survivor annuities for widows, widowers, and former spouses of Federal employees who die before attaining the age for a deferred annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). (Sec. 45004) Includes payments to a former spouse of a Federal employee, Member of Congress, or Federal annuitant under CSRS and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirement payments that may be made under a court decree, court order, property settlement, or similar process. (Sec. 45005) Requires deduction of court-ordered payments to former spouses from any retirement benefits under CSRS or FERS, regardless of any waiver of retired pay made to enhance a civil service retirement annuity. Subtitle F: Pension Reform - Extends the applicability of the pension nondiscrimination rules to integrated pension plans under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to benefits attributable to plan years beginning on or before December 31, 1988. Repeals the provision allowing integration for simplified employee pensions. (Sec. 46002) Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to require an employer operating a single line of business to designate a qualified trust as part of a plan benefiting all the employer's employees. (Sec. 46003) Amends the IRC and ERISA to repeal the special vesting rule for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 46004) Provides for the division of pension benefits upon divorce. Subtitle G: Social Security Caregiver - Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide for an increase in the number of years disregarded in determining the benefit computation years for an individual living with a child under age 12 or with a chronically dependent child, parent, or spouse. (Sec. 47003) Repeals the seven-year restriction on eligibility for widow's and widower's insurance benefits based on disability. (Sec. 47004) Provides for an increase in widow's and widower's insurance benefits by reason of delayed retirement. (Sec. 47006) Exempts from the two-year waiting period following a divorce for divorced spouse's benefits in cases of prior receipt of spouse's benefits. (Sec. 47008) Provides for full benefits for disabled widows and widowers without regard to age. (Sec. 47009) Prohibits any reduction in widow's or widower's insurance benefits for disabled individual. Title V: Economic Impact of Domestic Violence - Subtitle A: Workplace Violence Prevention Tax Credit - Amends the IRC to allow a workplace safety program credit to an employer for 40 percent of the safety and education costs paid or incurred by such employer to implement workplace safety programs to combat violence against women. Subtitle B: Insurance Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title prohibiting health insurers from: (1) discriminating against an individual or group because the individual or a family member is the subject of domestic violence; or (2) disclosing or being compelled (subject to exception) to disclose information concerning the status of an individual as a victim of domestic violence. (Sec. 52001) Mandates development of model standards. Requires each State to report on its implementation actions and, where States fail to act, provides for Federal enforcement involving civil fines against insurers and a Federal private right of action. Subtitle C: Fairness to Minority Women Health - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of SSA title IV 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. (Sec. 53003) 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 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. (Sec. 53004) Mandates a study and report to the Congress regarding domestic violence in which Latina women are the victims. Subtitle D: Battered Women's Employment Protection - Amends the IRC with respect to unemployment tax to require appropriate State laws to provide for unemployment compensation for an individual separated from employment due to circumstances directly resulting from the individual's experience of domestic violence. (Sec. 54002) Amends the Social Security Act to require State laws approved under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act to provide for training for claims reviewers and hearing personnel in the nature of domestic violence, and in methods of ascertaining its existence, so that employment separations stemming from domestic violence are reliably screened, identified, and adjudicated. (Sec. 54003) Requires employers subject to the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act or similar State law, employment benefits program, or collective bargaining agreement to provide leave to employees seeking temporary absences to deal with domestic violence and its aftermath. Entitles employees to use such leave to deal with domestic violence. Subtitle E: Domestic Violence Legal Services Eligibility - Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to require the Legal Services Corporation, in establishing income levels to determine if a client who is the victim of domestic violence is eligible for assistance, to prescribe that only that client's income will be considered in making such determination.
Bill· HRH.R. 3859 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1996
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for a one-year extension of the treatment of certain practice relative value units under the Medicare payment system for physicians' services.
Bill· HRH.R. 3847 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Administration Title II: Programs and Functions of Administration Subtitle A: Transfers from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; Transfer from Other Agencies Subtitle B: Additional Provisions Regarding Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Subtitle C: Funding Title III: Advisory Council; Peer Review Title IV: Miscellaneous Authorities Title V: Disposition of Remaining Programs and Functions of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Title VI: General Provisions Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Consolidation and Reorganization Act of 1996 - Title I: Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Administration - Establishes as an independent agency in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Administration, to be headed by an Administrator appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Title II: Programs and Functions of Administration - Subtitle A: Transfers from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; Transfer from Other Agencies - Transfers to the Administration programs and functions: (1) relating to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Public Health Service Act substance abuse block grants, or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); (2) under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994; (3) under specified provisions of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 administered by the HHS' Administration for Children and Families (relating to drug abuse and youth gangs and or runaway and homeless youth); (4) under the Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Act of 1990; and (5) under the Drug-Free Public Housing Act of 1988. Subtitle B: Additional Provisions Regarding Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse - Mandates a program to coordinate public and nonprofit private entity activities to provide for a nationwide network for substance abuse prevention. Authorizes grants to assist communities in coordinating substance abuse prevention services. (Sec. 212) Mandates coordination of Administration and Office of National Drug Control Policy activities. Subtitle C: Funding - Authorizes appropriations for the Administration. Title III: Advisory Council; Peer Review - Mandates an advisory council and peer review of grants and cooperative agreements. Title IV: Miscellaneous Authorities - Sets forth miscellaneous authorities of the Secretary of HHS and the Administrator, including regarding facilities (acquiring, constructing, improving, etc.) and the use of personnel, consultants, experts, and volunteers. Title V: Disposition of Remaining Programs and Functions of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - Transfers to the HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration all functions of SAMHSA not transferred under title II of this Act. Terminates SAMHSA. Title VI: General Provisions - Sets forth transitional and savings provisions and makes conforming amendments.
Bill· HRH.R. 3856 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1996
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for prospective payment under Medicare for inpatient rehabilitation hospital services and units based on discharges classified by functional-related groups.
Law· SS. 1965 (104th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Importation of Methamphetamine and Precursor Chemicals Title II: Provisions to Control the Manufacture of Methamphetamine Title III: Increased Penalties for Trafficking and Manufacture of Methamphetamine and Precursors Title IV: Legal Manufacture, Distribution, and Sale of Precursor Chemicals Title V: Education and Research Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 - Title I: Importation of Methamphetamine and Precursor Chemicals - Directs the Attorney General to coordinate international drug enforcement efforts to decrease the movement of methamphetamine and methamphetamine precursors into the United States. (Sec. 102) Amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (CSIEA) to: (1) make specified prohibitions against the possession, manufacture, or distribution for purposes of unlawful importation of a schedule I or II controlled substance applicable to a listed chemical; and (2) set penalties of a fine and ten years' imprisonment for manufacturing, possessing with intent to distribute, or distributing a listed chemical in violation of such prohibitions. Title II: Provisions to Control the Manufacture of Methamphetamine - Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to: (1) include chemicals within the scope of provisions regarding penalties for simple possession; and (2) prohibit knowingly or intentionally possessing a list I chemical obtained pursuant to or under authority of a registration that has expired or that has been revoked or suspended or if the registrant has ceased to do business in the manner contemplated by his registration. Amends the CSA and the Tariff Act of 1930 to permit the seizure and forfeiture of list I chemicals involved in illegal trafficking. (Sec. 202) Directs: (1) the Attorney General to study and report to the Congress on measures to prevent the diversion of agents used in methamphetamine production; and (2) the United States Sentencing Commission (the Commission) to amend the sentencing guidelines to ensure that the manufacture of methamphetamine in violation of the CSA is treated as a significant violation. (Sec. 203) Amends the CSA to increase penalties for the manufacture and possession of equipment used to make controlled substances. (Sec. 204) Adds iodine and hydrochloric gas to list II chemicals, but excludes iodine from specified requirements for listed chemicals under the CSIEA. (Sec. 205) Prohibits distributing a laboratory supply to a person who uses it to manufacture a controlled substance or a listed chemical in violation of the CSA with reckless disregard for the illegal uses to which such supply will be put. Imposes civil penalties upon businesses that violate such provision. (Sec. 206) Amends the CSA to enjoin anyone convicted of specified felony violations relating to the manufacture and exportation of a listed chemical from engaging in a transaction involving a listed chemical for up to ten years. (Current law covers only "receipt, distribution, or importation" of a listed chemical and bars violators from engaging in such a "regulated" transaction for that period.) Authorizes the Attorney General to commence a civil action for appropriate declaratory or injunctive relief, subject to specified requirements. (Sec. 207) Authorizes the court, when sentencing a defendant convicted of specified CSA offenses involving the manufacture of methamphetamine, to order restitution and reimbursement by the defendant for costs incurred by the United States for the associated cleanup. (Sec. 208) Modifies the CSA to require each regulated person to keep a record of each regulated transaction involving a listed chemical, a tableting machine, or an encapsulating machine for two years. Title III: Increased Penalties for Trafficking and Manufacture of Methamphetamine and Precursors - Amends the CSA and the CSIEA to increase penalties for trafficking in methamphetamine and list I chemicals. (Sec. 303) Directs the Commission to determine whether the sentencing guidelines adequately punish specified offenses relating to the handling of hazardous waste and related issues under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and Federal transportation provisions, and, if not, to promulgate or amend existing guidelines to enhance the punishment for a defendant convicted of such offense. Title IV: Legal Manufacture, Distribution, and Sale of Precursor Chemicals - Amends the CSA to provide for the regulation of pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine, subject to specified limitations. Specifies that any sale of: (1) ordinary over-the-counter pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine products by retailed distributors shall not be a regulated transaction, with exceptions; and (2) other products containing pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine by retail distributors shall not be a regulated transaction if the distributor's sales are limited to less than the threshold quantity of 24 grams of pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine in each single transaction. Directs the Attorney General to reinstate an exemption with respect to a particular ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine drug product upon determining that such product is manufactured and distributed in a manner that prevents diversion. Authorizes the Attorney General to establish single-transaction limits of 24 grams of pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine base for retail distributors, subject to specified conditions. Sets penalties for violations. (Sec. 402) Requires each regulated person who engages in a transaction with a non-regulated person which involves ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine (including drug products containing these chemicals) and which uses or attempts to use the Postal Service or any private or commercial carrier, to submit monthly reports of such transactions to the Attorney General. Title V: Education and Research - Establishes a Methamphetamine Interagency Task Force. (Sec. 502) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a public health monitoring program to monitor methamphetamine abuse in the United States. (Sec. 503) Requires the Attorney General to: (1) establish an advisory panel consisting of an appropriate number of representatives from Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies with experience in investigating and prosecuting illegal transactions of precursor chemicals; (2) continue specified current efforts; and (3) establish a Suspicious Orders Task Force.
Bill· SS. 1963 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
Medicare Cancer Clinical Trial Coverage Act of 1996 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration project which provides for payment under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act of routine patient care costs for Medicare beneficiaries with cancer who are enrolled in an approved clinical trial program, while still applying the beneficiary cost sharing provisions of such program to project participants. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the impact on Medicare of covering such routine patient care costs if coverage were extended to Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis other than cancer.
Bill· SS. 1964 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 1996 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services of registered dieticians and nutrition professionals.
Bill· HRH.R. 3841 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Demonstration Projects Title II: Simplifying Appeals Title III: Performance Management Enhancement Title IV: Enhancement of Thrift Savings Plan and Certain Other Benefits Subtitle A: Additional Investment Funds for the Thrift Savings Plan Subtitle B: Thrift Savings Accounts Liquidity Subtitle C: Other Provisions Relating to the Thrift Savings Subtitle D: Resumption of Certain Survivor Annuities That Terminate by Reason of Marriage Subtitle E: Life Insurance Benefits Title V: Reorganization Flexibility Title VI: Soft Landing Provisions Title VII: Miscellaneous Omnibus Civil Service Reform Act of 1996 - Title I: Demonstration Projects - Amends Federal law provisions concerning Government organization to modify certain provisions concerning demonstration projects. Title II: Simplifying Appeals - Eliminates mixed-case procedures involving an action or complaint of discrimination. (Sec. 202) Provides that an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board be the exclusive administrative remedy for any action by an employee or applicant under certain circumstances. (Sec. 203) Authorizes the development of an internal procedure to encourage each agency to use alternative dispute resolution techniques to resolve discrimination complaints. Establishes a task force to study and evaluate the use of alternative dispute resolution techniques and issue a report to the Congress. Title III: Performance Management Enhancement - Requires that increased weight be given to an employee's performance rating for order-of-retention purposes in a reduction in force. (Sec. 302) Prohibits an appeal with respect to a denial of a periodic step-increase. Modifies requirements regarding performance ratings. (Sec. 303) Modifies performance appraisal requirements. (Sec. 304) Amends provisions respecting cash awards honoring invention or superior accomplishment. (Sec. 305) Revises labor management and employee relations grievance procedures. (Sec. 306) Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to collect information on training programs within and outside of Government and submit a report to the Congress on an annual basis. Title IV: Enhancement of Thrift Savings Plan and Certain Other Benefits - Subtitle A: Additional Investment Funds for the Thrift Savings Plan -Thrift Savings Investment Funds Act of 1996 - Adds two new funds, the International Stock Index Investment Fund and the Small Capitalization Stock Index Fund, to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) under the Federal Employees' Retirement System. Subtitle B: Thrift Savings Accounts Liquidity - Thrift Savings Plan Act of 1996 - Increases withdrawal options for TSP participants upon separation from employment. Eliminates the purpose requirements for taking a TSP loan. Permits a TSP participant, before separation, to make a one-time withdrawal from the account upon: (1) attaining age 59 and one-half; or (2) financial hardship. (Sec. 414) Revises provisions concerning notification of an employee's or Member's spouse upon making or changing a withdrawal election. (Sec. 416) Eliminates the definition of basic pay with respect to the TSP. (Sec. 417) Allows eligible rollover distributions from a qualified plan to the Thrift Savings Fund. Subtitle C: Other Provisions Relating to the Thrift Savings Plan - Eliminates percentage limitations on contributions made to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). (Sec. 422) Provides for loans under the Thrift Savings Plan for furloughed employees. (Sec. 423) Allows immediate participation in the Thrift Savings Plan. Subtitle D: Resumption of Certain Survivor Annuities That Terminate by Reason of Marriage - Allows resumption of certain survivor annuities that terminate because of marriage. Subtitle E: Life Insurance Benefits - Revises provisions concerning the payment of Federal employee life insurance benefits pursuant to a domestic relations court order. (Sec. 442) Requires that additional optional life insurance be excepted from provisions requiring reduction under specified circumstances for a permanently disabled individual. (Sec. 443) Permits an involuntarily separated employee to make payments which will continue his or her Federal life insurance coverage for up to 18 months following the separation. Title V: Reorganization Flexibility - Authorizes the head of an Executive agency or military department, until September 30, 2001, to: (1) separate any employee volunteering to separate (except for an employee with critical skills) whether or not such employee is subject to separation due to a reduction in force; and (2) retain an employee, for each such employee voluntarily separated, in a similar position who would otherwise be separated due to a reduction in force. (Sec. 502) Authorizes nonreimbursable details within Executive agencies and military departments before a reduction in force. Title VI: Soft-Landing Provisions - Makes provisions for the continued eligibility of involuntarily separated Federal employees for life and health insurance. (Sec. 603) Authorizes each Executive agency to establish an agencywide priority placement program for employees affected by a reduction in force. (Sec. 604) Authorizes the establishment of a program to provide job placement and counseling services to current and former employees. (Sec. 605) Authorizes non-Federal employment incentive payments for education and retraining. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Authorizes the use of appropriated funds to reimburse qualified Federal employees for professional liability insurance. (Sec. 702) Requires a contractor to offer the right of first refusal of employment to the former Federal employee whose position was abolished because of the conversion of his or her duties to contract. (Sec. 703) Sets forth provisions regarding the debarment of any health care provider found to have engaged in fraudulent practices. (Sec. 704) Prohibits the extension of certain procedural and appeal rights to certain personnel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation against whom such agency is taking an adverse action. (Sec. 705) Provides for the conversion of certain excepted service positions in the United States Fire Administration to competitive service positions. (Sec. 706) Sets forth the eligibility requirements for survivor annuity benefits for a former spouse.
Bill· HRH.R. 3832 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Title II: Supplemental Security Income Subtitle A: Eligibility Restrictions Subtitle B: Benefits for Disabled Children Subtitle C: State Supplementation Programs Subtitle D: Studies Regarding Supplemental Security Income Program Subtitle E: National Commission on the Future of Disability Title III: Child Support Subtitle A: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments Subtitle B: Locate and Case Tracking Subtitle C: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures Subtitle D: Paternity Establishment Subtitle E: Program Administration and Funding Subtitle F: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders Subtitle G: Enforcement of Support Orders Subtitle H: Medical Support Subtitle I: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents Subtitle J: Effect of Enactment Title IV: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens Subtitle A: Eligibility for Federal Benefits Subtitle B: Eligibility for State and Local Public Benefits Programs Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support Subtitle D: General Provisions Subtitle E: Conforming Amendments Title V: Reductions in Federal Government Positions Title VI: Reform of Public Housing Title VII: Child Care Title VIII: Child Nutrition Programs Subtitle A: National School Lunch Act Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Act of 1966 Title IX: Food Stamp and Related Programs Title X: Miscellaneous Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Earned Income Tax Credit Bipartisan Welfare Reform Act of 1996 - Title I: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families - Expresses the sense of the Congress that prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and reduction in out-of-wedlock births are important Government interests. (Sec. 103) Replaces the current Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) programs under parts A and F, respectively, of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) with a single, combined program of block grants to the States for operating statewide temporary assistance (TANF) programs with certain mandatory work (subsidized or unsubsidized, public or private), employment-related education, and job training, search, and other job-related activities (required program activities) for eligible families, which are designed to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and assist such families in forming, staying together, and ultimately becoming self-sufficient in private sector employment. Limits such families generally to no more than five years of TANF cash assistance, with certain exceptions for minor children, battered family members, and hardship situations. Requires participating States to provide vouchers to families denied cash assistance due to any other State-imposed time limits. Mandates that families include either a minor child who resides with a custodial parent or other adult caretaker relative or a pregnant individual in order to be eligible for TANF assistance. Requires, in addition, certain adult-supervised living arrangements for unmarried teenage parents and the attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent if they did not complete a high school education. Prohibits (unless a State opts otherwise) additional TANF cash assistance for children born into families already on TANF, with certain exceptions for: (1) children born into families with no other children; (2) vouchers provided in lieu of cash benefits that are only good for State-specified goods and services suitable for child care in the particular case; and (3) children born as a result of rape or incest. Denies TANF in cases where an individual family member is a fugitive felon or a probation or parole violator, and suspends it for ten years for individuals found to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in order to obtain TANF assistance in two or more States. Requires States not disregard benefits an individual receives under a State old-age, foster care, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) plan under SSA title XVI when determining the amount of TANF for the family of which the individual is a member. Specifies State TANF plan contents, including provisions for numeric goals for reducing illegitimacy in the State over a specified period beginning in 1996, and certain certifications by the State that it will operate child support enforcement and protection programs. Includes among criteria for Federal approval of a State program under TANF requirements for a parent or caretaker receiving TANF to engage in State-defined work once the State determines the parent or caretaker is ready to engage in work, or once the parent or caretaker has received assistance under TANF for 24 months (whether or not consecutive), whichever is earlier. Allows the States to decide in their TANF plans: (1) whether or not they intend on providing TANF to aliens; and (2) how to treat families moving interstate, while allowing them to treat such families under the rules of their former State of residence only under certain conditions. Requires a plan to contain an estimate of the number of individuals (if any) who will become ineligible for State Medicaid assistance as a result of eligibility rules changes for the new TANF-funded State program, and requires the plan to indicate the extent to which the State will provide medical assistance to such individuals. Provides for the allowable uses of quarterly family assistance grants, among other purposes, for family planning services, child care under certain State block grant programs, and meeting home heating and cooling costs of certain low income households; but prohibits their use for medical services generally. Provides for: (1) additional grants to States for reductions in illegitimate births, population increases, and State work, education, and job preparation programs; and (2) a Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs in the Treasury for payments to eligible States. Makes applicable appropriations. Sets up a Federal loan program for State TANF programs for anti-fraud and other specified activities, making necessary appropriations. Provides for the exchange of certain TANF program information with law enforcement agencies under specified conditions. Details the required activities under State TANF programs for assisting participant families in achieving self-sufficiency, including participation in community service programs and vocational educational training, along with certain special rules such as those limiting the number of families which may engage in vocational educational activities. Requires the applicable State agency responsible for administering the TANF program to make an initial assessment of the TANF recipient's skills, prior work experience, and employability and develop an individual responsibility plan based on such assessment in which the recipient agrees to satisfy certain obligations in return for the State's provision of certain services to enable the recipient to obtain and keep employment in the private sector. Establishes penalties for States and individual families for specified grant and program violations through reduced grants and assistance payments, respectively, even allowing States to terminate such payments to certain adult family members who refuse to: (1) engage in required program activities; or (2) cooperate with the State in establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support order. Provides for a separate reduction in State family assistance grant payments for States failing to comply with Federal requirements under SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) pertaining to paternity establishment and child support enforcement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that State TANF programs should: (1) assign the highest priority to requiring adults in two-parent families and in single-parent families with older preschool or school-age children to be engaged in required program activities; and (2) require noncustodial, nonsupporting parents under age 18 to fulfill community work obligations and attend appropriate parenting or money management classes after school. Sets forth the mechanism for State appeal of Federal adverse decisions with respect to State TANF plans or imposition of penalties, providing for advance notification of any program violation and the opportunity for a State to correct it before any such penalty is imposed. Limits the amount of any penalty reduction in the State's quarterly family assistance grant payment. Provides for direct funding, by way of three-year tribal family assistance grants, to Indian tribes (with a special rule for Indian tribes in Alaska) with approved plans for administering their own welfare programs with similar work requirements and time limits for receipt of assistance. Makes necessary appropriations. Directs the Bureau of the Census to expand the Survey of Income and Program Participation to obtain information that will enable interested persons to evaluate the impact of the changes made by this title on a random national sample of recipients of assistance under State TANF programs and, as appropriate, on other low income families. Provides for the treatment of existing State AFDC (welfare reform) waiver projects in effect when this Act is enacted and those granted subsequently. Retains the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Family Support as the official responsible for administering TANF programs. Outlines various specified program data collection and reporting requirements, as well as certain research, evaluation, and study requirements. Allows for demonstrations of innovative approaches for reducing welfare dependency and increasing the well-being of minor children. Requires certain annual State rankings by the HHS Secretary according their successes in placing TANF recipients into long-term private sector jobs and reducing out-of-wedlock births. Makes applicable appropriations. (Sec. 104) Allows States to contract with charitable, religious, and private organizations to provide services and administer programs established or modified under titles I, II, and VI of this Act. Prohibits the expenditure of financial assistance for sectarian worship, instruction, or proselytization. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to expand census data collection efforts to enable the Bureau of the Census to collect statistically significant data on grandparent caregivers. (Sec. 106) Requires an HHS report to the Congress on State automated data processing systems used in administering TANF programs to determine what would be required to establish a system for tracking public program participants and checking case records to determine if they are participating in public programs of two or more States. (Sec. 107) Details requirements for a similar report, and study, on alternative outcomes measures for evaluating the success of the States in moving individuals off welfare through employment. (Sec. 108) Makes applicable conforming amendments to SSA (including SSA title XI with regard to additional grants for Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa), the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and related provisions of other specified Federal laws, as well as to the Internal Revenue Code with regard to the collection of overpayments under the TANF program. (Sec. 111) Directs the Commissioner of Social Security (Commissioner) to: (1) develop a prototype counterfeit-resistant social security card; and (2) study and report to the Congress on improving the social security card application process. (Sec. 112) Requires any organization accepting Federal funds under this title or any amendments made by it to disclose that fact in any communication it makes that in any way intends to promote public support or opposition to any Federal, State, or local government policy through any broadcasting station, periodical, or other specified type of general public advertising. Makes any organization failing to make such a disclosure ineligible to receive Federal funds under this Act. (Sec. 113) Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to remove the "demonstration" status of the Job Opportunities for Certain Low-Income Individuals (JOLI) program and give it an increased annual authorization. (Sec. 115) Provides for the application of certain former AFDC standards and methodologies under the Medicaid program, such as those for determining income and resources, as well as those under TANF which are current. Title II: Supplemental Security Income - Subtitle A: Eligibility Restrictions - Amends SSA title XVI to: (1) deny SSI by reason of disability to drug addicts and alcoholics for whom addiction or alcoholism would be a contributing factor material to the disability determination; (2) revise representative payee and treatment requirements; (3) suspend SSI benefits for ten years to individuals found to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in order to obtain SSI or other benefits simultaneously in two or more States; (4) deny SSI benefits for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators; and (5) outline the process for periodic review with respect to the continuing eligibility of an individual 18 years of age or older to receive certain SSI disability benefits. (Sec. 204) Revises the treatment afforded prisoners with regard to SSI and Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits to: (1) deny SSI benefits for ten years to a person found to have fraudulently obtained SSI benefits while in prison; (2) eliminate the OASDI requirement that confinement stem from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; and (3) authorize the Commissioner to contract with any interested State or local institutions used to confine prisoners for monthly reports of certain identifying information in order to enforce SSI and OASDI benefit limitations, and pay such institution a specified fee with regard to each SSI- or OASDI-eligible inmate identified who becomes ineligible for such benefit as a result of such reporting. Requires the Commissioner to study and report to the Congress on other specified potential improvements in the collection of information respecting public inmates. (Sec. 205) Makes certain changes respecting the effective date of applications for SSI benefits. (Sec. 206) Sets out rules governing the installment payment of large past-due amounts of SSI benefits and for the recovery of SSI overpayments from OASDI benefits. Subtitle B: Benefits for Disabled Children - Revises the rules with respect to childhood eligibility, with corresponding changes to childhood SSI regulations modifying the medical criteria for evaluation of mental and emotional disorders, and discontinuing the use of individualized functional assessments for children. Requires the Commissioner to redetermine the eligibility of any individual under age 18 receiving SSI benefits based on a disability as of the enactment of this Act, and whose eligibility for such benefits may terminate by reason of this Act. (Sec. 212) Provides that at least once every three years the Commissioner shall review the continued SSI eligibility of each individual who has not attained age 18 and is eligible for such benefits by reason of an impairment (or combination of impairments) which may improve (or, which is unlikely to improve, at the option of the Commissioner). Requires a parent or guardian of a recipient whose case is so reviewed to present evidence that the recipient is and has been receiving treatment of the condition which was the basis for the SSI benefits. Provides that if an individual is eligible for SSI disability benefits for the month preceding the month in which the individual attains age 18, the Commissioner shall redetermine such eligibility: (1) during the one year period beginning on the individual's 18th birthday; and (2) by applying the criteria used in determining the initial eligibility for applicants who have attained age 18. Outlines specific requirements governing: (1) continuing disability reviews for low birth weight babies; and (2) benefit payments through representative payees to eligible individuals and their spouses. Makes certain appropriations to the HHS Secretary for the conduct of continuing disability reviews. (Sec. 214) Provides for a reduction in cash SSI benefits payable to institutionalized individuals whose medical costs are covered by private insurance. (Sec. 215) Reduces by specified basic needs and earned income disregard allocations the amount of parental income attributed to disabled children while preserving their Medicaid eligibility. (Sec. 216) Outlines a schedule for computing the SSI benefits on a graduated basis depending upon the size of the affected household for each additional eligible blind or disabled child of the same household where one or more eligible blind or disabled children are living, as long as such household is not a group or foster home. Bases the applicable household size upon the number of eligible blind and disabled children in it whose countable income and resources do not exceed applicable limits. Describes the preservation of Medicaid eligibility for affected children. Subtitle C: State Supplementation Programs - Repeals maintenance of effort requirements applicable to optional State programs for supplementation of SSI benefits. Subtitle D: Studies Regarding Supplemental Security Income Program - Requires the Commissioner to report annually to the President and the Congress on the SSI program, and make appropriate arrangements for a study of the OASDI and SSI disability determination processes for any needed changes. (Sec. 233) Outlines the requirements for a General Accounting Office study and report on the impact of this subtitle on the SSI program and on the extra expenses incurred by families of children receiving benefits under such program that are not covered by other Federal, State, or local programs. Subtitle E: National Commission on the Future of Disability - Establishes the National Commission on the Future of Disability to develop and carry out a comprehensive study of all matters related to the nature, purpose, and adequacy of all Federal programs serving individuals with disabilities in order to develop appropriate recommendations for any needed legislation or administrative action. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Child Support - Subtitle A: Eligibility for Services; Distribution of Payments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive AFDC. (Sec. 302) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 303) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification of State plan services applicants or recipients about all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. Subtitle B: Locate and Case Tracking - Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 312) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. (Sec. 313) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 314) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 315) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 316) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 317) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased individuals (on death records). Subtitle C: Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures - Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 323) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. Subtitle D: Paternity Establishment - Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 333) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. Subtitle E: Program Administration and Funding - Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 342) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec. 344) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 345) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. Subtitle F: Establishment and Modification of Support Orders - Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 352) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 353) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for any person knowingly or negligently violating such prohibition. Subtitle G: Enforcement of Support Orders - Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 362) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces. (Sec. 364) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 365) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures: (1) to ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) to report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) to provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of an absent parent; and (4) to implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 370) Instructs the Secretary of State to deny a passport to any individual certified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to be in arrears of more than $5,000 for child support payments. Authorizes revocation, restriction or limitation of a previously issued passport in connection with such individuals. (Sec. 371) Authorizes the Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the HHS Secretary, to declare any foreign country a reciprocating country if it has established, or undertakes to establish, procedures for the establishment and enforcement of child support obligations whose obligees are U.S. citizens. Provides for revocation of such declaration in certain circumstances. Designates the HHS Secretary as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 372) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each noncustodial parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 373) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 374) Amends Federal bankruptcy law to make nondischargeable in bankruptcy any debts owed to a State or municipality for child support. Subtitle H: Medical Support - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 377) Amends SSA title IV part D to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. Subtitle I: Enhancing Responsibility and Opportunity for NonResidential Parents - Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate noncustodial parents' access to their children. Subtitle J: Effect of Enactment - Sets forth effective dates for this title. Title IV: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens - Subtitle A: Eligibility for Federal Benefits - Denies Federal public benefits (except certain emergency disaster relief, public health, housing, and child nutrition benefits) to non-qualified aliens. (Sec. 402) Denies SSI and stamp eligibility to all but certain qualified aliens, who may receive only limited benefits. (Sec. 403) Makes qualified aliens ineligible (with limited exceptions) for Federal means-tested public benefits for the first five years after U.S. entry. Amends SSA and the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide for reporting of certain illegal alien information to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Subtitle B: Eligibility for State and Local Public Benefits Programs - Makes an alien who is not a qualified alien, a nonimmigrant, or a parolee for less than one year ineligible for State or local benefits (except certain emergency disaster relief, public health, housing, and child nutrition benefits). (Sec. 412) Authorizes States, with certain exceptions, to determine eligibility for State means-tested public benefits for qualified aliens, nonimmigrants, or certain parolees. Subtitle C: Attribution of Income and Affidavits of Support - Deems the income and resources of any alien over age 18 (who is not pregnant) applying for Medicaid and SSA title XXI benefits to include: (1) the income and resources of any person who executed an affidavit of support on the alien's behalf; and (2) the income and resources of the person's spouse (if any). (Sec. 422) Authorizes States to make similar attributions with respect to State programs (except certain emergency disaster relief, public health, housing, and child nutrition benefits). (Sec. 423) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prescribe requirements for a sponsor's affidavit of support. Requires a sponsor to reimburse the appropriate Federal, State, or local agency for any means-tested public benefits a sponsored alien receives. (Sec. 424) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require a sponsor's endorsement of and cosignature on any student loan for a permanent resident alien. Subtitle D: General Provisions - Sets forth definitions and requires appropriate regulations by the Attorney General for State use. Subtitle E: Conforming Amendments - Makes conforming amendments to the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 and the Housing Act of 1949. Title V: Reductions in Federal Government Positions - Outlines the mechanism for various specified Federal executive agency workforce reductions, requiring submission to specified congressional committees of determinations about the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions of their respective departments by the Secretaries of Agriculture, of Education, of Labor, of Housing and Urban Development, and of HHS. Requires the Secretaries to make FTE reductions, including reductions-in-force, over the ensuing 14 months. Requires the Comptroller General to analyze and report to such committees on such determinations, with recommendations for further FTE reductions, if appropriate. (Sec. 502) Requires the HHS Secretary to reduce the Federal workforce within HHS: (1) by 75 percent of the FTE positions relating to any direct or indirect discretionary spending program converted into a block grant program by this Act (including 245 FTE positions related to the program converted into TEA block grants); and (2) by 75 percent of a proportionate number of the total FTE departmental management positions (including 60 FTE managerial positions related to the program converted into TEA block grants). (Sec. 503) Encourages the HHS Secretary to reduce personnel in the Washington, D.C., area office (agency headquarters) before reducing field personnel. Title VI: Reform of Public Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit increased housing assistance (except instances of limited-time frame benefits) to a family whose benefits under other public assistance programs have been reduced because of noncompliance. (Sec. 602) States that a person whose benefits under a means-tested welfare or public assistance program have been reduced because of fraud shall not, during such reduction period, receive an income-based increase in any other means-tested assistance program. Title VII: Child Care - Child Care and Development Block Grant Amendments of 1995 (sic) - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize appropriations for FY 1996 through 2002. (Sec. 703) Amends SSA title IV part A (TANF) to establish a general child care assistance entitlement program funded by Federal grants to the States. Authorizes appropriations. Prescribes program parameters. (Sec. 708) Repeals the program requirement for early childhood development and before- and after-school services. Revises enforcement guidelines to require a State to reimburse the Secretary for funds improperly expended on prohibited or non-authorized purposes. (Sec. 712) Revises the Secretary's congressional reporting requirements to mandate biannual reports to the House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities. (Sec. 713) Authorizes an Indian tribe or tribal organization to use Federal funds for the construction or renovation of child care facilities. (Sec. 715) Repeals the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985 and the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act. Repeals funding authority for certain programs of national significance, involving: (1) child care for children of at-risk students; (2) alternative programs for bilingual and special education students; and (3) rural child care centers for student parents and their children. Repeals funding authority for Native Hawaiian Family-based Education Centers. Title VIII: Child Nutrition Programs - Subtitle A: National School Lunch Act - Amends the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to repeal specified authorities and requirements for the school lunch and related programs, including: (1) State educational authority to use resources from the nutrition and education (NET) program; (2) prohibition of State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (3) certain demonstration grants to private nonprofit organizations or educational institutions for elementary school curriculum food and nutrition projects; (4) aspects of summer food service programs, reducing payment rates and daily meals at camps, reducing the National Youth Sports Program, and revising nutritional standards compliance requirements; (5) certain commodity distribution program requirements, including State Advisory Councils; (6) expansion of the child care food program; (7) adult care food aid to adult day care centers and services for persons over 60; (8) certain pilot projects, including one for paperwork reduction; and (9) an information clearinghouse. (Sec. 807) Prohibits, in general, any waiver that will increase Federal costs. (Sec. 810) Provides for grants for State assistance to family or group day care homes. Repeals the requirement that an institution participating in the child care program receive compensation for at least 25 percent of its enrolled children or 25 percent of its licensed capacity, whichever is less. Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and of Health and Human Services to study and report to specified congressional committees on the impact of this title on adult food care program participation and family day care licensing. Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Act of 1966 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to revise the school breakfast program: (1) eliminating Federal assistance for food preparation training and program expansion and start-up costs; (2) repealing certain authorities and requirements relating to State administrative expenses; (3) repealing the prohibition against State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; and (4) repealing the program of cash grants for nutrition education. (Sec. 830) Revises the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC), among other things repealing specified requirements and changing from mandatory to optional: (1) drug abuse education; and (2) provision of WIC information in languages other than English. Makes the Nutrition and Education program discretionary rather than mandatory. Authorizes appropriations. Title IX: Food Stamp Program and Related Programs - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Act) to establish a maximum 24-month food stamp program (program) authorization period for households whose adult members are elderly or disabled. (Sec. 902) Expands the definition of "coupon." (Sec. 903) Treats children who are themselves parents living with their children and married children living with their spouses as part of an existing household rather than as a separate household. (Sec. 904) Revises thrifty food plan adjustment requirements. (Sec. 905) Revises the definition of "homeless individual" to limit the length of time a person may temporarily live in another person's residence. (Sec. 906) Excludes from household income or resources: (1) certain job training income; (2) life insurance cash value; and (3) excluded AFDC income. Increases standard deductions. (Sec. 908) Eliminates specified excludable auto value increases and establishes the maximum excludable auto value at $4600. (Sec. 909) Includes as household income third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless. (Sec. 910) Increases penalties for certain program violations. (Sec. 911) Disqualifies permanently an individual convicted of specified coupon violations. (Sec. 912) Revises work requirement and employment and training provisions. Extends employment and training funding authorizations. (Sec. 915) Authorizes comparable program disqualification based upon means-tested public assistance disqualification. (Sec. 916) Disqualifies for ten years an individual who participates in the program in two or more States. (Sec. 917) Disqualifies a fleeing felon from program participation. (Sec. 918) Requires at State option: (1) cooperation with child support agencies in order to maintain program eligibility; and (2) program disqualification for child support arrears. (Sec. 920) Defines "work program." Makes nonexempt persons ineligible for program benefits if during the preceding 12-month period they received food stamps for not less than six months without working at least 20 hours per week, or participating in a workfare program. Sets forth exempted persons and situations. (Sec. 921) Directs States to implement electronic benefit transfer systems. (Sec. 922) Eliminates annual minimum allotment adjustments. (Sec. 924) Authorizes a combined allotment for expedited households. (Sec. 925) Authorizes program reductions for failure to comply with a means-tested public assistance reduction requirement. (Sec. 926) Authorizes program assistance for households residing in a homeless shelter or drug or alcohol treatment center. (Sec. 927) Authorizes the Secretary to establish authorization periods for retail food stores and wholesale food concerns (stores) to redeem food stamps. (Sec. 928) Authorizes the Secretary to establish a ineligibility period for a store's lack of business integrity. (Sec. 929) Includes income and sales tax information among the types of eligibility verification information that may be requested. (Sec. 930) Establishes a six-month reapplication waiting period for a store that does not meet participation requirements. (Sec. 931) Revises: (1) food stamp office operating provisions; and (2) expedited coupon service requirements. (Sec. 933) Provides for the exchange of information with law enforcement or Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel. (Sec. 935) Authorizes a family to withdraw a fair hearing request. (Sec. 938) Authorizes suspension of a store pending administrative and judicial review. (States that the Secretary shall not be liable for lost sales during such period.) (Sec. 939) Provides for disqualification of a store: (1) that knowingly submits a falsified application; and (2) that is disqualified from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). (Sec. 941) Establishes criminal forfeiture penalties for specified program violations. (Sec. 942) Amends the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand authority for sharing retailer-provided information with State entities. (Sec. 943) Terminates Federal matching requirements for program recruitment activities. (Sec. 944) Revises overissuance collection provisions. (Sec. 947) Authorizes appropriations for program operations. (Sec. 948) Authorizes States to carry out a Simplified Food Stamp Program in lieu of existing program requirements. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 949) Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to combine the emergency food assistance program with the soup kitchen- food bank program. (Sec. 950) Amends the Charitable Assistance and Food Bank Act of 1987 to repeal the food bank demonstration project. Title X: Miscellaneous - Requires that any funds received by a State under the TANF, food stamp, or child care block grant program be expended consistent with the laws and procedures applicable to expenditures of the State's own revenues and program terms and conditions. (Sec. 1002) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to eliminate housing assistance for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators, and provide for the exchange, upon request, of certain housing information about such individuals with law enforcement agencies. (Sec. 1003) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Congress should adopt enterprise zone legislation in the 104th Congress that provides for specified incentives and reforms; (2) States should diligently continue their efforts to enforce child support payments by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent, regardless of the former's employment status or location; (3) States are encouraged to pursue pilot programs in which the parents of a non-adult, non-custodial parent who refuses to or is unable to pay child support must pay or contribute to the child support owed by the non-custodial parent or otherwise fulfill all financial obligations and meet all conditions imposed on the non-custodial parent, such as participation in a work program or other related activity; and (4) States and local jurisdictions should aggressively enforce statutory rape laws. (Sec. 1005) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to modify the eligibility disqualifications for aliens to give State agencies the option of considering either all income and financial resources of the individual rendered ineligible to participate in the food stamp program, or such income, less a pro rata share, and the financial resources of the ineligible individual, to determine the eligibility and the value of the allotment of the household of which such individual is a member. (Sec. 1006) Directs the HHS Secretary to establish a strategy for: (1) preventing out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancies; and (2) assuring that at least 25 percent of U.S. communities have teenage pregnancy prevention programs in place. (Sec. 1008) Provides that States shall not be prohibited by the Federal Government from sanctioning welfare recipients who test positive for the use of controlled substances. (Sec. 1009) Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to authorize appropriations for grants, contracts, and other assistance for sexual abstinence education. (Sec. 1010) Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act with respect to encouraging electronic benefit transfer systems for the distribution of needs-tested benefits by government agencies to recipients' electronic accounts. (Sec. 1011) Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to provide for a reduction in block grants to States for social services. (Sec. 1012) Encourages the HHS Secretary to work in coordination with State agencies to ensure that Federal transportation funds that may be used for TANF recipients are most efficiently used for such purpose. (Sec. 1013) Provides for an enhanced Federal match for child welfare automation expenses under SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance). Subtitle B: Earned Income Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny the earned income tax credit, personal exemptions, and other benefits to individuals who fail to provide their taxpayer identification numbers (i.e. social security numbers) on their tax returns. (Sec. 1022) Amends Internal Revenue Code rules for denial of earned income credit for individuals having excessive investment income to: (1) reduce from $2,350 to $2,200 the disqualified income threshold; (2) revise the adjustment for inflation; (3) make disqualified income (and therefore a basis for denial of credit) any capital gain net income and any aggregate gains from all passive activities; and (4) modify adjusted gross income for the earned income credit to exclude specified capital, trust and estate, and business net losses. (Sec. 1024) Requires notice of availability of the earned income tax credit to applicants and former recipients of TANF, food stamp, and Medicaid assistance. (Sec. 1025) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to require inclusion on W-4 forms of a notice of the availability of the earned income tax credit and dependent care tax credit. (Sec. 1026) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the advance payment to a participating resident of the earned income tax credit by a responsible State agency, in lieu of advance payments from an employer, through a State Advance Payment Program. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 3829 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Committee on Agriculture Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs Subtitle C: Electronic Benefit Transfer Systems Title II: Committee on Commerce Subtitle A: Involvement of Commerce Committee in Federal Government Position Reductions Subtitle B: Restricting Public Benefits for Aliens Subtitle C: Energy Assistance Subtitle D: Abstinence Education Title III: Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities Subtitle A: Child Care Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Programs Subtitle C: Related Provisions Title IV: Committee on Ways and Means Subtitle A: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Subtitle B: Supplemental Security Income Subtitle C: Child Support Subtitle D: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens Subtitle E: Reform of Public Housing Subtitle F: Child Protection Block Grant Program and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs Subtitle G: Reductions in Federal Government Positions Subtitle H: Miscellaneous Welfare Reform Reconciliation Act of 1996 - Title I: Committee on Agriculture - Food Stamp Reform and Commodity Distribution Act of 1996 - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Act) to establish a maximum 24-month food stamp program (program) authorization period for households whose adult members are elderly or disabled. (Sec. 1012) Expands the definition of "coupon." (Sec. 1013) Treats children who are themselves parents living with their children and married children living with their spouses as part of an existing household rather than as a separate household. (Sec. 1014) Authorizes States to establish additional criteria for separate household determinations. (Sec. 1015) Revises thrifty food plan adjustment requirements. (Sec. 1016) Revises the definition of "homeless individual" to limit the length of time a person may temporarily live in another person's residence. (Sec. 1018) Revises household income exclusion provisions regarding: (1) students; and (2) Federal energy assistance. (Sec. 1020) Revises household income deduction provisions regarding: (1) standard deductions; (2) earned income; (3) dependent care; (4) child support payments; (5) homeless shelter assistance; (6) excess medical expenses; and (7) excess shelter expenses. (Sec. 1021) Eliminates specified excludable auto value increases and establishes the maximum excludable auto value at $4600. (Sec. 1022) Includes as household income third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless. (Sec. 1023) Increases penalties for certain program violations. (Sec. 1024) Disqualifies permanently an individual convicted of specified coupon violations. (Sec. 1025) Revises work requirement and employment and training provisions. Extends employment and training funding authorizations. (Sec. 1028) Authorizes comparable program disqualification based upon means-tested public assistance disqualification. (Sec. 1029) Disqualifies for ten years an individual who participates in the program in two or more States. (Sec. 1030) Disqualifies a fleeing felon from program participation. (Sec. 1031) Requires at State option: (1) cooperation with child support agencies in order to maintain program eligibility; and (2) program disqualification for child support arrears. (Sec. 1033) Defines "work program." Makes nonexempt persons ineligible for program benefits if during the preceding 12-month period they received food stamps for four months or more without working at least 20 hours per week, or participating in a workfare program. Sets forth exempted persons and situations. (Sec. 1034) Directs States to implement electronic benefit transfer systems. (Sec. 1035) Eliminates annual minimum allotment adjustments. (Sec. 1037) Authorizes a combined allotment for expedited households. (Sec. 1038) Authorizes program reductions for failure to comply with a means-tested public assistance reduction requirement. (Sec. 1039) Authorizes program assistance for households residing in a homeless shelter or drug or alcohol treatment center. (Sec. 1040) Provides that no food store or wholesale food concern be approved for program participation without a prior visit by a Department of Agriculture employee or designated State or local official. (Sec. 1041) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish authorization periods for retail food stores and wholesale food concerns to redeem food stamps or benefits through an electronic benefit transfer system. (Sec. 1042) Includes income and sales tax information among the types of eligibility verification information that may be requested. (Sec. 1043) Establishes a six-month reapplication waiting period for a store that does not meet participation requirements. (Sec. 1044) Revises: (1) food stamp office operating provisions; and (2) expedited coupon service requirements. (Sec. 1045) Eliminates certain certification personnel training requirements. (Sec. 1046) Provides for the exchange of information with law enforcement or Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel. (Sec. 1048) Authorizes a family to withdraw a fair hearing request. (Sec. 1049) Permits States to use income, and immigration eligibility verification systems other than a specified system under the Social Security Act (SSA). (Sec. 1050) Provides for disqualification of a store: (1) that knowingly submits a falsified application; and (2) that is disqualified from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). (Sec. 1052) Directs program overissuances to be collected by: (1) allotment reduction; (2) unemployment compensation withholding; or (3) Federal pay or Federal income tax refund recovery. (Sec. 1053) Authorizes suspension of a store pending administrative and judicial review. (States that the Secretary shall not be liable for lost sales during such period.) (Sec. 1054) Establishes criminal forfeiture penalties for specified program violations. (Sec. 1055) Terminates Federal matching requirements for program recruitment activities. (Sec. 1057) Authorizes States to use funds otherwise available to a participating household for a work supplementation or support program. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1058) Authorizes waiver of program requirements as necessary to conduct related pilot projects. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1060) Authorizes States to carry out private sector employment initiatives. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1061) Authorizes appropriations for program operations. (Sec. 1062) Authorizes States to carry out a Simplified Food Stamp Program in lieu of existing program requirements. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1063) Establishes an optional State food assistance block grant program in lieu of the food stamp program. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1064) Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the use of food stamps for vitamin and mineral purchases. (Sec. 1066) Authorizes States to consider all or part of the income and financial resources of a person rendered ineligible for program participation in determining the eligibility of such person's household. (Sec. 1068) Expresses the sense of the House Committee on Agriculture that reductions in outlays resulting from this title shall not be considered for certain budget reduction purposes under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs - Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to combine the emergency food assistance program with the soup kitchen-food bank program. Amends the Act to direct the Secretary to purchase commodities for such combined programs. (Sec. 1072) Amends the Charitable Assistance and Food Bank Act of 1987 to repeal the food bank demonstration project. (Sec. 1073) Makes conforming and technical amendments to the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 and the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990. Subtitle C: Electronic Benefit Transfer Systems - Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to exempt (with exceptions) State and local government electronic benefit transfer systems from specified provisions of such Act. Title II: Committee on Commerce - Subtitle A: Involvement of Commerce Committee in Federal Government Position Reductions - Deems that any provision of law with respect to consultation with a relevant committee of Congress on reductions in Federal Government positions refers to the Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives, to the extent that the matter falls within such Committee's jurisdiction. Subtitle B: Restricting Public Benefits for Aliens - Denies Federal public benefits (except certain emergency medical services and public health assistance) to non-qualified aliens. (Sec. 2102) Makes qualified aliens ineligible (with limited exceptions) for Federal means-tested public benefits for the first five years after U.S. entry. (Sec. 2112) Requires the Attorney General to promulgate regulations requiring verification that an applicant for a restricted Federal public benefit is a qualified alien eligible to receive it. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Energy Assistance - Amends the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to repeal certain deeming requirements with respect to home energy assistance payments not considered household income for purposes of the excess shelter expense deduction under the food stamp program. Subtitle D: Abstinence Education - Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant) to increase the authorization of appropriations to enable each State to provide sexual abstinence education focused on those groups most likely to bear children out-of- wedlock. Title III: Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 - Subtitle A: Child Care - Child Care and Development Block Grant Amendments of 1996 - Revises and extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (the Act, for purposes of this title). Sets forth goals for State child care assistance. (Sec. 3103) Amends SSA title IV part A (formerly Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC), but replaced by this Act with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)) to entitle each State to payments for providing child care assistance. (Sec. 3105) Revises State application and plan requirements with respect to consumer education information, State licensing compliance, meeting the needs of TANF recipients (especially those attempting through work activities to leave the assistance program) and those at risk of becoming dependent on assistance, and assistance for certain low-income working families. (Sec. 3107) Reduces from 20 percent to four percent the minimum amount of certain funds available for State activities to improve the quality of child care, limited to: (1) comprehensive consumer education to parents and the public; (2) activities increasing parental choice; and (3) activities designed to improve child care quality and availability. (Sec. 3108) Repeals a requirement that States expend a specified minimum amount of reserved funds for early childhood development and before- and after-school services. (Sec. 3113) Reduces the allotment reserved for Indian tribes or tribal organizations from three percent to one percent. Prescribes guidelines for the use of such allotment for facility repair and construction. (Sec. 3115) Repeals: (1) the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985; (2) the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act; (3) specified programs under title X (Programs of National Significance) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (4) the Native Hawaiian Family-based Education Centers program under the Native Hawaiian Education Act; and (5) the AFDC and Transitional Child Care programs and the At-Risk Child Care program under SSA title IV. Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Programs - Amends the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to repeal specified authorities and requirements for the school lunch and related programs, including: (1) State educational authority to use resources from the nutrition and education (NET) program; (2) prohibition of State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (3) certain demonstration grants to private nonprofit organizations or educational institutions for elementary school curriculum food and nutrition projects; (4) aspects of summer food service programs, reducing payment rates and daily meals at camps, reducing the National Youth Sports Program, and revising nutritional standards compliance requirements; (5) certain commodity distribution program requirements, including State Advisory Councils; (6) expansion of the child care food program; (7) adult care food aid to adult day care centers and services for persons over 60; (8) certain pilot projects, including one for paperwork reduction; and (9) an information clearinghouse. (Sec. 3201) Includes in the definition of child any individual with one or more mental or physical disabilities, regardless of age, who attends a specified type of institution, or any nonresidential public or nonprofit private school of high school grade or under, in order to participate in a school program for such individuals. (Sec. 3202) Revises nutritional and other program requirements. (Sec. 3205) Prohibits, in general, any waiver that will increase Federal costs. (Sec. 3221) Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to revise the school breakfast program: (1) eliminating Federal assistance for food preparation training and program expansion and start-up costs; (2) repealing certain authorities and requirements relating to State administrative expenses (SAE); (3) repealing the prohibition against State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; and (4) repealing the program of cash grants for nutrition education. (Sec. 3229) Revises the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC), among other things repealing specified requirements and changing from mandatory to optional: (1) drug abuse education; and (2) provision of WIC information in languages other than English. (Sec. 3231) Makes the Nutrition and Education program discretionary rather than mandatory. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3241) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop proposed changes to the regulations under the school lunch program and the summer food service program under NSLA and the school breakfast program under CNA, to simplify and coordinate those programs into a comprehensive meal program. Subtitle C: Related Provisions - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to produce and publish specified types of data relating to the incidence of poverty in the United States at least every two years. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3302) Expresses the sense of the Congress that this title, and the amendments it makes, should not result in an increase in the number of children who are hungry, homeless, poor, or medically uninsured. (Sec. 3303) Requires the Congress, in the event that an increase does result by the end of the FY 1997, to: (1) revisit the provisions and amendments of this title which caused such increase; and (2) as soon as practicable thereafter, pass legislation that stops the continuation of such increase. Title IV: Committee on Ways and Means - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (sic) - Subtitle A: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families - Expresses the sense of the Congress that prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and reduction in out-of-wedlock births are important Government interests. (Sec. 4103) Replaces the current Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA), as well as the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) Program under part F of that title, with a single, combined program of block grants to the States for operating statewide temporary assistance (TANF) programs with certain mandatory work, education, and job preparation requirements for needy families either already with or expecting a child, which are designed to assist such families in becoming self-sufficient. Limits such families generally to no more than five years of TANF cash assistance, with certain exceptions for minor children, battered family members, and hardship situations. Requires that families include either a minor child who resides with a custodial parent or other adult caretaker relative or a pregnant individual in order to receive TANF assistance. Prohibits additional cash TANF assistance for children born into families already on TANF assistance (with certain exceptions for: (1) children born into families with no other children; (2) vouchers provided in lieu of cash benefits that are only good for particular goods and services suitable for child care; and (3) children born as a result of rape or incest), unless the particular State exempts itself from such prohibition. Denies TANF assistance in cases where an individual family member is a fugitive felon or a probation or parole violator, and in certain other specified situations as well. Requires States receiving TANF grants to ensure that, if any individual or family becomes ineligible to receive TANF cash assistance as a result of the collection or increased collection of child or spousal support under SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity), having received such assistance in at least three of the six months immediately preceding the month in which such ineligibility begins, the individual or each individual family member shall be eligible for Medicaid assistance for a four month period. Requires States receiving TANF grants to ensure that: (1) certain other families becoming ineligible for TANF cash assistance due to increased earnings from employment receive Medicaid assistance during the immediately succeeding 12-month period; and (2) individuals who would be eligible for cash assistance under the State's SSA title IV part A (AFDC) plan if such plan were still in effect are eligible for medical assistance under the State's Medicaid program. Requires the State agency responsible for administering the State's TANF program to make an initial assessment of the skills, prior work experience, and employability of each TANF recipient who has attained 18 years of age or not completed high school. Authorizes the State agency to develop an individual responsibility plan in consultation with the individual outlining his or her obligations and the services the State intends to provide for the individual to attain self-sufficiency. Allows States receiving TANF grants used to provide assistance for any individual who is receiving benefits, or on behalf of whom benefits are paid, under a State old-age, foster care, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) plan to disregard such assistance payment in determining the amount of TANF assistance to be provided under the State TANF program to the family of which the individual is a member. Requires, in addition, certain adult-supervised living arrangements for unmarried teenage parents. Provides for the exchange of certain TANF program information with law enforcement agencies under specified conditions. Establishes penalties for States and individual families for specified grant and program violations, through reduced grants and assistance payments, respectively, allowing States to terminate such payments to certain adult family members who refuse to: (1) engage in work, educational, or job preparation activities (required program activities); or (2) cooperate with the State in establishing paternity or obtaining child support unless the member qualifies for a good cause or other exception. Provides for a separate reduction in State family assistance grant payments for States failing to comply with Federal requirements under SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) pertaining to paternity establishment and child support enforcement. Sets forth the mechanism for State appeal of Federal adverse decisions with respect to State plans or imposition of penalties, providing for advance notification of any program violation and the opportunity for a State to correct it before any such penalty is imposed. Limits the amount of any penalty reduction in the State's quarterly family assistance grant payment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that State TANF programs should: (1) assign the highest priority to requiring adults in two-parent families and in single-parent families with older preschool or school-age children to be engaged in required program activities; and (2) require noncustodial, nonsupporting parents under age 18 to fulfill community work obligations and attend appropriate parenting or money management classes after school. Specifies State TANF plan contents, including certain certifications by the State that it will operate child support enforcement and protection programs, in order for it to be eligible (according to certain other criteria as well) to receive Federal grants for its TANF programs (family assistance grants). Allows the States to decide in their TANF plans: (1) whether or not they intend on providing TANF assistance to aliens; and (2) how to treat families moving interstate. Provides for: (1) the allowable uses of quarterly family assistance grants, including for family planning services and assistance to low income households in meeting home heating and cooling costs (but prohibits grant use for medical services generally); (2) additional grants to States as rewards for reductions in illegitimate births and for high performance under the TANF program, as well as supplemental grants to certain States for population increases; and (3) a Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs (Contingency Fund) in the Treasury for payments to certain eligible States. Provides for supplemental grants for required program activities. Makes applicable appropriations for such grants and the Contingency Fund. Sets up a Federal loan program for State TANF programs for anti-fraud and other specified activities, making necessary appropriations. Outlines specific program data collection and reporting requirements, as well as certain research, evaluation, and study requirements. Makes applicable appropriations. Provides for direct funding, by way of three-year tribal family assistance grants, to Indian tribes (with a special rule for Indian tribes in Alaska) with approved tribal family assistance plans. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to implement and evaluate demonstrations of innovative and promising strategies which: (1) provide one-time capital funds to establish, expand, or replicate programs; (2) test performance-based grant-to-loan financing in which programs meeting performance targets receive grants while programs not meeting such targets repay funding on a prorated basis; and (3) test strategies in multiple States and types of communities. Directs the Bureau of the Census to expand the Survey of Income and Program Participation to obtain information that will enable interested persons to evaluate the impact of the changes made by this title on a random national sample of recipients of assistance under State programs. Provides for the treatment of existing State AFDC (welfare reform) waivers in effect on the enactment of this Act and those granted subsequently. Retains the HHS Assistant Secretary for Family Support as the official responsible for administering TANF programs. Eliminates certain child care programs under SSA title IV part A, including the at-risk child care program. (Sec. 4104) Allows States to contract with charitable, religious, and private organizations to provide services and administer programs established or modified under titles I, II, and VI of this Act. Prohibits the expenditure of financial assistance for sectarian worship, instruction, or proselytization. (Sec. 4105) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to expand census data collection efforts to enable the Bureau of the Census to collect statistically significant data on grandparent caregivers. (Sec. 4106) Requires an HHS report to the Congress on State automated data processing systems used in administering TANF programs to determine what would be required to establish a system for tracking public program participants and checking case records to determine if such participants are participating in public programs of two or more States. (Sec. 4107) Details requirements for a similar report on alternative outcomes measures for evaluating the success of the States in moving individuals off welfare through employment. (Sec. 4108) Makes conforming amendments to SSA, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and related provisions of other specified Federal laws. (Sec. 4111) Directs the Commissioner of Social Security (Commissioner) to: (1) develop a prototype counterfeit-resistant social security card; and (2) study and report to the Congress on improving the social security card application process. (Sec. 4112) Requires any organization accepting Federal funds under this title or any amendments made by it (other than funds provided under SSA titles IV, XVI, or XX) to disclose that fact in any communication it makes that in any way intends to promote public support or opposition to any Federal, State, or local government policy through any broadcasting station, periodical, or other specified type of general public advertising. Makes any organization failing to make such a disclosure ineligible to receive Federal funds under this Act. (Sec. 4113) Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to remove the "demonstration" status of the Job Opportunities for Certain Low-Income Individuals (JOLI) program and give it an increased annual authorization. (Sec. 4115) Makes certain conforming amendments to Medicaid to provide for the continued application of standards and methodologies under TANF for certain individuals. Subtitle B: Supplemental Security Income - Amends SSA title XVI to deny SSI for ten years to individuals found to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in order to obtain benefits simultaneously in two or more States. Denies SSI for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators. Provides for the exchange of certain SSI information with law enforcement agencies under specified conditions. (Sec. 4203) Revises the treatment afforded prisoners with regard to SSI and OASDI (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) benefits, among other changes: (1) eliminating the OASDI requirement that confinement stem from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; and (2) authorizing the Commissioner to enter into an agreement with any interested State or local correctional institutions for monthly identification reports in order to enforce respective benefit limitations, and pay them a specified fee with regard to each SSI- or OASDI-eligible inmate identified who becomes ineligible for respective benefits as a result of such reporting. Requires the Commissioner to study and report to the Congress on other specified potential improvements in the collection of information respecting public inmates. Requires an additional report to the Congress on the institutions not providing certain information to the Commissioner. (Sec. 4204) Makes certain changes respecting the effective date of applications for SSI benefits. (Sec. 4211) Revises the rules with respect to childhood eligibility, with corresponding changes to childhood SSI regulations modifying the medical criteria for evaluation of mental and emotional disorders, and discontinuing the use of individualized functional assessments for children. Modifies medical improvement review standards, specifically dividing their applicability to, and creating separate criteria for, individuals aged 18 or older, and individuals under age 18, respectively. Provides that no individual under the age of 18 who engages in substantial gainful activity may be considered to be disabled. (Sec. 4212) Provides that at least once every three years the Commissioner shall review the continued SSI eligibility of each individual who has not attained age 18 and is eligible for such benefits by reason of an impairment (or combination of impairments) which is likely to improve (or, at the Commissioner's option, is unlikely to improve). Requires a representative payee of a recipient whose case is so reviewed to present, at the time of review, evidence demonstrating that the recipient is, and has been, receiving treatment, to the extent considered medically necessary and available, for the condition which was the basis for providing benefits under the SSI program. Provides that if the representative payee refuses to comply without good cause with such requirement, the Commissioner shall, if in the individual's best interest, promptly suspend payment of benefits to the representative payee, and provide for payment of benefits to an alternative representative payee or, if the interest of the individual would be served thereby, to the individual. Provides that if an individual is eligible for SSI benefits by reason of disability for the month preceding the month in which the individual attains age 18, the Commissioner shall redetermine such eligibility: (1) during the one-year period beginning on the individual's 18th birthday; and (2) by applying the criteria used in determining the initial eligibility for applicants who have attained age 18. Specifies requirements governing continuing disability reviews for low-birth-weight babies. (Sec. 4213) Revises provisions regarding the disposal of resources for less than fair market value by certain individuals and appropriate notification of Medicaid. Provides for the treatment of assets held in trust by individuals who have not attained age 18 and any earnings resulting from such trust. Requires representative payees of eligible individuals below age 18 to establish financial institution accounts on their behalf into which SSI payments shall be paid. Allows representative payees to use funds in the account to pay for certain allowable expenses. Directs the Commissioner to establish a system for accountability monitoring whereby a representative payee shall report on activities respecting funds in the account. (Sec. 4214) Reduces cash SSI payments to institutionalized children whose medical costs are covered by private insurance. (Sec. 4221) Provides for installment payment of large amounts of past-due SSI benefits, and the recovery of SSI overpayments from social security benefits. (Sec. 4225) Repeals maintenance of effort requirements applicable to optional State programs for supplementation of SSI benefits. (Sec. 4231) Requires the Commissioner to prepare an annual report for the President and the Congress on the SSI program, and make appropriate arrangements for a study of the disability determination process under SSA titles II and XVI for any needed changes. (Sec. 4233) Outlines the requirements for a General Accounting Office study and report on the impact of this subtitle on the SSI program and on the extra expenses incurred by families of children receiving benefits under such program that are not covered by other Federal, State, or local programs. (Sec. 4241) Establishes the National Commission on the Future of Disability to develop and carry out a comprehensive study of all matters related to the nature, purpose, and adequacy of all Federal programs serving individuals with disabilities in order to develop appropriate recommendations for any needed legislation or administrative action. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Child Support - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive AFDC. (Sec. 4302) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 4303) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. (Sec. 4311) Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 4312) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. Expresses the sense of the Congress that in determining whether to comply with the Social Security Act by either establishing a single, centralized unit for support payment collection and disbursement, or by linking together automation local units, a State should choose the method of compliance which best meets the needs of parents, employers, and children. (Sec. 4313) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 4314) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 4315) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 4316) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and of HHS to jointly develop cost-effective methods of accessing information in the various State directories of new hires and the National Directory of New Hires (established under this Act). (Sec. 4317) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). (Sec. 4321) Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 4323) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. (Sec. 4331) Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 4333) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. (Sec. 4341) Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 4342) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec. 4344) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 4345) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. (Sec. 4347) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to require procedures to ensure that any person delinquent in child support payments is liable to the State for a penalty of ten percent of the amount in arrears. (Sec. 4351) Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 4352) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 4353) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for any person knowingly or negligently violating such prohibition. (Sec. 4361) Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 4362) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces. (Sec. 4364) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 4365) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures: (1) to ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) to report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) to provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of a non-custodial parent; and (4) to implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 4370) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 4371) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of Health and Human Services as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 4372) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter into agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each non-custodial parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 4373) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 4374) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. (Sec. 4376) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 4377) Amends SSA title IV part D to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. (Sec. 4381) Amends SSA title IV part D to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate non-custodial parents' access to their children. Subtitle D: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens - Prohibits Federal public benefits to aliens who are not qualified aliens. Excludes from such prohibition: (1) emergency medical services; (2) certain emergency disaster relief; (3) public health immunizations and treatment of communicable diseases; (4) housing assistance; (5) certain in-kind community services; and (6) SSA benefits under specified circumstances. (Sec. 4402) Makes qualified aliens ineligible (with limited exceptions for refugees, asylees, certain permanent residents, veterans and active duty personnel, aliens whose deportation is withheld, and aliens currently receiving benefits) for: (1) SSI; (2) food stamps; (3) TANF; (4) social services block grants; and (5) Medicaid. (Sec. 4403) Makes qualified aliens ineligible (with limited exceptions for refugees, asylees, and veterans and active duty personnel) for Federal means-tested public benefits for the first five years after U.S. entry. (Sec. 4404) Requires each Federal agency administering a program covered by this title to notify the public and program recipients, either directly or through the States, of alien eligibility requirements. Amends the SSA and the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide for State reporting of certain illegal alien information to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). (Sec. 4411) Makes an alien who is not a qualified alien, a nonimmigrant, or a parolee ineligible for all State or local benefits except: (1) emergency medical services; (2) certain emergency disaster relief; (3) public health immunizations and treatment of communicable diseases; and (4) certain in-kind community services. (Sec. 4412) Authorizes States to determine eligibility for State public means-tested benefits for qualified aliens, nonimmigrants, or parolees. Makes refugees, asylees, certain permanent residents, and veterans and active duty personnel eligible for all State public benefits. (Sec. 4421) Provides that in determining the eligibility and the amount of benefits of any alien for any Federal means-tested public benefits program the income and resources of the alien shall be deemed to include: (1) the income and resources of any person who executed an affidavit of support on the alien's behalf; and (2) the income and resources of the person's spouse (if any). Applies such requirement with respect to an alien until such time as the alien achieves U.S. citizenship through naturalization or has worked without public assistance for a specified time. (Sec. 4422) Authorizes States to make similar attributions with respect to State programs, with specified exceptions. (Sec. 4423) Sets forth requirements for sponsor's affidavit of support. (Sec. 4424) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require sponsor cosignature of certain alien student loans. (Sec. 4431) Defines qualified alien as: (1) a lawful permanent resident; (2) an asylee; (3) a refugee; (4) a parolee; (5) an alien under withheld deportation; and (6) an alien granted conditional entry. (Sec. 4432) Requires the Attorney General to promulgate regulations regarding alien eligibility for Federal public benefits. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4441) Makes conforming amendments related to assisted housing under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 and the Housing Act of 1949. (Sec. 4451) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a taxpayer to provide his or her social security number in order to qualify for the earned income credit. Subtitle E: Reform of Public Housing - Prohibits an individual from receiving an increased benefit under a means-tested welfare or public assistance program because of a decrease in income owing to reduced benefits under another such program for which Federal funds are appropriated as a penalty for fraud. Subtitle F: Child Protection Block Grant Programs and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Independent Living Programs - Replaces SSA title IV part B (Child Welfare Services) with a program of block grants to the States to implement: (1) child protection programs regarding child abuse and neglect; and (2) child protection. (Sec. 4701) Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) shall: (1) establish a national data collection and analysis program to coordinate existing State child abuse and neglect reports; and (2) implement a data collection system regarding adoption and foster care. Appropriates funds for child welfare studies and for assessment of State courts improvement of foster care and adoption proceedings. (Sec. 4711) Makes conforming amendments to Title IV-E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance). Delineates requirements for State eligibility for Federal payments for foster care maintenance and adoption assistance. Sets forth guidelines for payments and allotments to the States for adoption assistance, foster care, and independent living programs (designed to assist children who have attained age 16 to make the transition from foster care to independent living). (Sec. 4722) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should: (1) allocate sufficient funds for adoption and medical assistance to encourage child adoption; (2) offer incentives to make adoption of special needs children more affordable for middle-class families; (3) provide a child who must be removed from its biological parents with a single foster care placement and single coordinated case team, including conclusion of adoption within one year of such child's foster care placement; and (4) participate in programs to enable maximum visibility of waiting children to potential parents. (Sec. 4723) Makes a prerequisite for Federal block grants State certification that it has laws and procedures in effect to ensure the removal of barriers to interethnic adoption. Requires reduction of Federal block grant payments to States failing to remove such barriers. Establishes a private cause of action for persons aggrieved by a denial of interethnic adoption opportunity. Deems such denial a violation of civil rights. States that these requirements shall not affect application of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Makes a conforming repeal to the Howard M. Metzenbaum Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994. (Sec. 4751) Renames the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act as the Child and Family Services Block Grant Act of 1996. Changes the purposes of the Act to emphasize assistance to each State in improving child protective service systems. Delineates criteria governing State eligibility for Federal block grants for: (1) child and family services; and (2) research, demonstrations, training, and technical assistance. Abolishes the current Federal program, including the Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, community-based family resource programs, temporary child care for children with disabilities, crisis nursery demonstration programs, certain preventive services for children of homeless families or families at risk of homelessness, and requirements for criminal background checks of child care providers. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) establish a national child abuse and neglect data collection and analysis program (in addition to the current national clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse); and (2) provide technical and training assistance to the States for child abuse and neglect programs and for adoption opportunities. Mandates peer review for such grants. Instructs the Secretary to conduct a national random sample study of children at risk of child abuse or neglect. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 2002, including grants for demonstration projects. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to assist them in developing programs related to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases. Requires any State requesting such assistance to establish a multidisciplinary task force on children's justice to study administrative, civil, and criminal judicial handling of such cases, and make recommendations which the State must adopt (or equivalent alternatives). Subtitle G: Reductions in Federal Government Positions - Outlines the mechanism for various specified Federal executive agency workforce reductions, requiring submission to specified congressional committees of certain determinations about the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions of their respective departments by the Secretaries of Agriculture, of Education, of Labor, of Housing and Urban Development, and of HHS. (Sec. 4801) Requires the Secretaries to make FTE reductions, including reductions-in-force, resulting from such determinations over the ensuing 14 months. Requires the Comptroller General to analyze and report to such committees on such determinations, with recommendations for further FTE reductions, if appropriate. (Sec. 4802) Requires the HHS Secretary to reduce the Federal workforce within HHS by: (1) 75 percent of the FTE positions relating to any direct spending program, or any program funded through discretionary spending, that has been converted into a block grant program by this Act; and (2) 75 percent of a proportionate number of the total FTE departmental management positions. Requires reduction of FTE positions in HHS by: (1) 245 FTE positions related to the program converted by this Act into TANF block grants; and (2) 60 FTE managerial positions. (Sec. 4803) Encourages the HHS Secretary to reduce personnel in the Washington, D.C., area office (agency headquarters) before reducing field personnel. Subtitle H: Miscellaneous - Subjects any funds received by a State under TANF or under the optional State food assistance or child care block grant programs to appropriation by the State legislature consistent with the terms and conditions required under such programs. (Sec. 4902) Provides that States shall not be prohibited by the Federal Government from testing welfare recipients for use of controlled substances nor from sanctioning welfare recipients who test positive for use of controlled substances. (Sec. 4903) Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to provide for a reduction in funding under such program.
Bill· SS. 1955 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1996
National Center for Pain Research Act of 1996 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish, in the National Institutes of Health, the National Center for Pain Research. Makes the National Pain Research Center Advisory Board the advisory council for the Center. Mandates establishment of not less than six regional pain research centers. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 1956 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Agriculture and Related Provisions Subtitle A: Food Stamps and Commodity Distribution Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Programs Title II: Committee on Finance Subtitle A: Welfare Reform Subtitle B: Restructuring Medicaid Personal Responsibility, Work Opportunity, and Medicaide Restructuring Act of 1996 - Title I: Agriculture and Related Provisions - Agricultural Reconciliation Act of 1996 - Subtitle A: Food Stamps and Commodity Disposition - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Act) to establish a maximum 24-month food stamp program (program) authorization period for households whose adult members are elderly or disabled. (Sec. 1112) Expands the definition of "coupon." (Sec. 1113) Treats children who are themselves parents living with their children and married children living with their spouses as part of an existing household rather than as a separate household. (Sec. 1114) Revises thrifty food plan adjustment requirements. (Sec. 1115) Revises the definition of "homeless individual" to limit the length of time a person may temporarily live in another person's residence. (Sec. 1117) Revises household income exclusion provisions regarding: (1) students; and (2) Federal energy assistance. (Sec. 1119) Revises household income deduction provisions regarding: (1) standard deductions; (2) earned income; (3) dependent care; (4) child support payments; (5) homeless shelter assistance; (6) excess medical expenses; and (7) excess shelter expenses. (Sec. 1120) Eliminates specified excludable auto value increases and establishes the maximum excludable auto value at $4600. (Sec. 1121) Includes as household income third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless. (Sec. 1122) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to develop a simplified procedure for calculating self-employment income. (Sec. 1123) Increases penalties for certain program violations. (Sec. 1124) Disqualifies permanently an individual convicted of specified coupon violations. (Sec. 1125) Revises work requirement and employment and training provisions. Extends employment and training funding authorizations. (Sec. 1129) Authorizes comparable program disqualification based upon means-tested public assistance disqualification. (Sec. 1130) Disqualifies for ten years an individual who participates in the program in two or more States. (Sec. 1131) Disqualifies a fleeing felon from program participation. (Sec. 1132) Requires at State option: (1) cooperation with child support agencies in order to maintain program eligibility; and (2) program disqualification for child support arrears. (Sec. 1134) Defines "work program." Makes nonexempt persons ineligible for program benefits if during the preceding 12-month period they received food stamps for four months or more without working at least 20 hours per week, or participating in a workfare program. Sets forth exempted persons and situations. (Sec. 1135) Directs States to implement electronic benefit transfer systems. (Sec. 1136) Eliminates annual minimum allotment adjustments. (Sec. 1138) Authorizes a combined allotment for expedited households. (Sec. 1139) Authorizes program reductions for failure to comply with a means-tested public assistance reduction requirement. (Sec. 1140) Authorizes program assistance for households residing in a homeless shelter or drug or alcohol treatment center. (Sec. 1141) Provides that no food store or wholesale food concern be approved for program participation without a prior visit by a Department of Agriculture employee, or a designated State or local official. (Sec. 1142) Directs the Secretary to establish authorization periods for retail food stores and wholesale food concerns to redeem food stamps or benefits through an electronic benefit transfer system. (Sec. 1143) Includes income and sales tax information among the types of eligibility verification information that may be requested. (Sec. 1144) Establishes a six-month reapplication waiting period for a store that does not meet participation requirements. (Sec. 1145) Revises: (1) food stamp office operating provisions; and (2) expedited coupon service requirements. (Sec. 1146) Eliminates certain certification personnel training requirements. (Sec. 1147) Provides for the exchange of information with law enforcement or Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel. (Sec. 1149) Authorizes a family to withdraw a fair hearing request. (Sec. 1150) Permits States to use income, and immigration eligibility verification systems other than a specified system under the Social Security Act. (Sec. 1151) Provides for disqualification of a store: (1) that knowingly submits a falsified application; and (2) that is disqualified from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). (Sec. 1153) Directs program overissuances to be collected by: (1) allotment reduction; (2) unemployment compensation withholding; or (3) Federal pay or Federal income tax refund recovery. (Sec. 1154) Authorizes suspension of a store pending administrative and judicial review. (States that the Secretary shall not be liable for lost sales during such period.) (Sec. 1155) Establishes criminal forfeiture penalties for specified program violations. (Sec. 1156) Terminates Federal matching requirements for program recruitment activities. (Sec. 1158) Authorizes States to use funds otherwise available to a participating household for a work supplementation or support program. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1159) Authorizes waiver of program requirements as necessary to conduct related pilot projects. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1161) Authorizes States to carry out private sector employment initiatives. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1162) Authorizes appropriations for program operations. (Sec. 1163) Authorizes States to carry out a Simplified Food Stamp Program in lieu of existing program requirements. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1164) Establishes an optional State food assistance block grant program in lieu of the food stamp program. Sets forth program provisions. Chapter 2: Commodity Distribution Programs - Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to combine the emergency food assistance program with the soup kitchen-food bank program. Amends the Act to direct the Secretary to purchase commodities for such combined programs. (Sec. 1172) Amends the Charitable Assistance and Food Bank Act of 1987 to repeal the food bank demonstration project. (Sec. 1173) Makes conforming and technical amendments to the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 and the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990. Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Programs - Amends the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to repeal specified authorities and requirements for the school lunch and related programs, including: (1) State educational authority to use resources from the nutrition and education (NET) program; (2) prohibition of State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (3) certain demonstration grants to private nonprofit organizations or educational institutions for elementary school curriculum food and nutrition projects; (4) aspects of summer food service programs, reducing payment rates and daily meals at camps, reducing the National Youth Sports Program, and revising nutritional standards compliance requirements; (5) certain commodity distribution program requirements, including State Advisory Councils; (6) expansion of the child care food program; (7) adult care food aid to adult day care centers and services for persons over 60; and (8) certain pilot projects, including one for paperwork reduction. (Sec. 1201) Includes in the definition of child any individual with one or more mental or physical disabilities, regardless of age, who attends a specified type of institution, or any nonresidential public or nonprofit private school of high school grade or under, in order to participate in a school program for such individuals. (Sec. 1202) Revises nutritional requirements. (Sec. 1205) Prohibits, in general, any waiver that will increase Federal costs. Requires that assistance or benefits under programs under the following Federal laws (relating to school meals and other nutrition programs) not be contingent on the citizenship or immigration status of any applicant or recipient: (1) the NSLA; (2) the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; (3) specified provisions of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973; (4) the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983; and (5) the food distribution program on Indian reservations established under specified provisions of Federal law. Chapter 2: Amendments to the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to revise the school breakfast program: (1) eliminating Federal assistance for food preparation training and program expansion and start-up costs; (2) repealing certain authorities and requirements relating to State administrative expenses (SAE); (3) repealing the prohibition against State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; and (4) repealing the program of cash grants for nutrition education. (Sec. 1259) Revises the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC), among other things repealing specified requirements and changing from mandatory to optional: (1) drug abuse education; and (2) provision of WIC information in languages other than English. (Sec. 1261) Revises provisions relating to the Nutrition and Education program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1262) Sets forth rounding rules for specified rates for special milk price and reduced price breakfast programs under CNA, and for commodity and lunch, breakfast, and supplement programs under NSLA. Title II: Committee on Finance - Subtitle A: Welfare Reform - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and reduction in out-of-wedlock births are important Government interests. (Sec. 2103) Replaces the current Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) with a single program of block grants to the States for operating statewide temporary assistance (TEA) programs with certain mandatory work, education, and job preparation requirements for needy families either already with or expecting a child, which are designed to assist such families in becoming self-sufficient. Limits such families generally to no more than five years of TEA cash assistance, with certain exceptions for minor children, battered family members, and hardship situations. Requires that families include either a minor child who resides with a custodial parent or other adult caretaker relative, or a pregnant individual, in order to receive TEA assistance. Prohibits additional cash TEA assistance for children born into families already on TEA assistance, with certain exceptions for children born into families with no other children, and for children born as a result of rape or incest, unless the particular State exempts itself from such prohibition. Denies TEA assistance in cases where an individual family member is a fugitive felon or a probation or parole violator, and in certain other specified situations as well. Requires States receiving TEA grants to ensure that certain other families becoming TEA-ineligible due to increased earnings from employment or collection of child support receive similar medical assistance during the immediately succeeding 12-month period, with certain exceptions. Requires, in addition, certain adult-supervised living arrangements for unmarried teenage parents. Provides for the exchange of certain TEA program information with law enforcement agencies under specified conditions. Establishes penalties for States and individual families for specified grant and program violations, respectively, through reduced grants and assistance payments, allowing States to terminate such payments to certain adult family members without small children needing child care who refuse to: (1) engage in work, educational, or job preparation activities (required program activities); or (2) cooperate with the State in establishing paternity or obtaining child support unless the member qualifies for a good cause or other exception. Provides for a separate reduction in State family assistance grant payments for States failing to comply with Federal requirements pertaining to paternity establishment and child support enforcement. Sets forth the mechanism for State appeal of Federal adverse decisions with respect to State plans or imposition of penalties, providing for advance notification of any program violation and the opportunity for a State to correct it before any such penalty is imposed. Limits the amount of any penalty reduction in the State's quarterly family assistance grant payment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that State TEA programs should: (1) assign the highest priority to requiring adults in two-parent families and in single-parent families with older preschool or school-age children to be engaged in required program activities; and (2) require noncustodial, nonsupporting parents under age 18 to fulfill community work obligations and attend appropriate parenting or money management classes after school. Specifies State TEA plan contents, including provisions for numerical goals for reducing illegitimacy in the State over a specified ten-year period beginning in 1996, and certain certifications by the State that it will operate child support enforcement and protection programs, in order for it to be eligible (according to certain other criteria as well) to receive Federal grants for its TEA programs (family assistance grants). Allows the States to decide in their TEA plans: (1) whether or not they intend on providing TEA assistance to aliens; and (2) how to treat families moving interstate. Provides for: (1) the allowable uses of quarterly family assistance grants for family planning services and assistance to low- income households in meeting home heating and cooling costs, but denies their use for medical services generally; (2) additional grants to States as rewards for reductions in illegitimate births and for high performance under the TEA program, as well as supplemental grants to certain States for population increases; and (3) a Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs (Contingency Fund) in the Treasury for payments to certain eligible States. Makes appropriations for such grants and the Contingency Fund. Sets up a Federal loan program for State TEA programs for anti-fraud and other specified activities, making necessary appropriations. Outlines specific program data collection and reporting requirements, as well as certain research, evaluation, and study requirements. Makes applicable appropriations. Provides for direct funding, by way of three-year tribal family assistance grants, to Indian tribes with approved tribal family assistance plans (with a special rule for Indian tribes in Alaska). Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement and evaluate demonstrations of innovative and promising strategies which: (1) provide one-time capital funds to establish, expand, or replicate programs; (2) test performance-based grant-to- loan financing in which programs meeting performance targets receive grants while programs not meeting such targets repay funding on a prorated basis; and (3) test strategies in multiple States and types of communities. Directs the Bureau of the Census to expand the Survey of Income and Program Participation to obtain information that will enable interested persons to evaluate the impact of the changes made by this title on a random national sample of State program recipients. Provides for the treatment of State AFDC waivers in effect on the date of enactment of this Act and of those granted subsequently. Makes the Assistant Secretary of HHS for Family Support the official responsible for administering SSA title IV parts A and D programs, and requires the Secretary to reduce, through reductions in force if necessary, the Federal workforce within HHS by a specified amount. Eliminates certain child care programs under SSA title IV part A, including the at-risk child care program. (Sec. 2104) Allows States to contract with charitable, religious, and private organizations to provide services and administer programs established or modified under titles I, II, and VI of this Act. Prohibits the expenditure of financial assistance under such programs for sectarian worship, instruction, or proselytization. (Sec. 2105) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to expand census data collection efforts to enable the Bureau of the Census to collect statistically significant data on grandparent caregivers. (Sec. 2106) Requires an HHS report to the Congress on State automated data processing systems used in administering SSA title IV part A programs to determine what would be required to establish a system for tracking public program participants and checking case records to determine if such participants are participating in public programs of two or more States. (Sec. 2107) Details requirements for a similar report, and study, on alternative outcomes measures for evaluating the success of the States in moving individuals off welfare through employment. (Sec. 2108) Establishes the Welfare Formula Fairness Commission to study and report to the Congress on the funding formulas applied, the bonus payments provided, and the work requirements established, under the TEA program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 2109) Makes conforming amendments to SSA, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and related provisions of other specified Federal laws. (Sec. 2112) Directs the Commissioner of Social Security (Commissioner) to: (1) develop a prototype counterfeit-resistant social security card; and (2) study and issue a report to the Congress with regard to improving the social security card application process. (Sec. 2113) Requires any organization accepting Federal funds under this subtitle to disclose that fact in any communication it makes that in any way intends to promote public support or opposition to any Federal, State, or local government policy through any broadcasting station, periodical, or other specified type of general public advertising. Makes any organization failing to make such a disclosure ineligible to receive Federal funds under this Act. (Sec. 2114) Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to remove the "demonstration" status of the Job Opportunities for Certain Low-Income Individuals (JOLI) program and give it an increased annual authorization for any fiscal year. (Sec. 2201) Amends SSA title XVI to deny Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSI) for ten years to individuals found to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in order to obtain benefits simultaneously in two or more States. Denies SSI for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators. Provides for the exchange of certain SSI information with law enforcement agencies under specified conditions. (Sec. 2203) Revises the treatment afforded prisoners with regard to SSI benefits to deny SSI benefits for ten years to a person found to have fraudulently obtained SSI benefits while in prison. Authorizes the Commissioner to: (1) contract with any interested State or local institutions used to confine prisoners for monthly reports of certain identifying information in order to enforce SSI and Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefit limitations; and (2) pay such institution a specified fee with regard to each SSI- or OASDI-eligible inmate identified who becomes ineligible for such benefit as a result of such reporting. Requires the Commissioner to study and report to the Congress on other specified potential improvements in the collection of information respecting public inmates. (Sec. 2204) Makes certain changes respecting the effective date of applications for SSI benefits. (Sec. 2211) Revises the rules with respect to childhood eligibility, with corresponding changes to childhood SSI regulations modifying the medical criteria for evaluation of mental and emotional disorders, and discontinuing the use of individualized functional assessments for children. Modifies medical improvement review standards, specifically dividing their applicability to, and creating separate criteria for, individuals aged 18 or older, and individuals under age 18, respectively. Requires the Commissioner annually to issue a request for comments in the Federal Register regarding improvements to the disability evaluation and determination procedures for individuals under age 18 to ensure their comprehensive assessment. Provides that once an eligible child meets the definition of disability, the amount of the individual's cash benefit will be based on whether or not the child meets criteria for needing personal assistance enabling the child to stay at home with his or her family. Authorizes additional appropriations for continuing disability reviews and redeterminations under SSA title XVI. (Sec. 2212) Provides that at least once every three years the Commissioner shall review the continued SSI eligibility of each individual who has not attained age 18 and is eligible for such benefits by reason of an impairment (or combination of impairments) which is likely to improve (or, at the Commissioner's option, is unlikely to improve). Requires a representative payee of a recipient whose case is so reviewed to present, at the time of review, evidence that the recipient is, and has been, receiving treatment, to the extent considered medically necessary and available, for the condition which was the basis for providing SSI benefits. Provides that, if the representative payee refuses without good cause to comply with such requirement, the Commissioner shall (if in the individual's best interest) promptly suspend payment of benefits to the representative payee, and provide for their payment to an alternative representative payee, or, if the interest of the individual would be served thereby, to the individual. Provides that, if an individual is eligible for SSI benefits by reason of disability for the month preceding the month in which the individual attains age 18, the Commissioner shall redetermine such eligibility: (1) during the one-year period beginning on the individual's 18th birthday; and (2) by applying the criteria used to determine the initial eligibility of applicants who have attained age 18. Specifies requirements governing continuing disability reviews for low-birth-weight babies. (Sec. 2213) Requires representative payees of eligible individuals under age 18 to establish financial institution accounts on their behalf into which SSI payments shall be paid. Allows representative payees to use account funds to pay for certain allowable expenses. Directs the Commissioner to establish a system for accountability monitoring whereby a representative payee shall report on activities involving account funds. (Sec. 2214) Reduces cash SSI payments to institutionalized children whose medical costs are covered by private insurance. (Sec. 2221) Provides for installment payment of large amounts of past-due SSI benefits. (Sec. 2225) Repeals maintenance of effort requirements applicable to optional State programs for supplementation of SSI benefits. (Sec. 2231) Requires the Commissioner to report annually to the President and the Congress on the SSI program. (Sec. 2232) Outlines the requirements for a study and report by the General Accounting Office on the impact of these amendments on the SSI program and on the extra expenses incurred by families of children receiving SSI benefits that are not covered by other Federal, State, or local programs. (Sec. 2301) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to require State plans for child and spousal support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive TEA assistance. (Sec. 2302) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 2303) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards for paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. (Sec. 2311) Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 2312) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. (Sec. 2313) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 2314) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 2315) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 2316) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and of HHS to jointly develop cost-effective methods of accessing information in the various State directories of new hires and the National Directory of New Hires, taking into account impact and cost to the States, and the need to insure authorized use of wage record information. (Sec. 2317) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). (Sec. 2321) Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 2323) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. (Sec. 2331) Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 2333) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. (Sec. 2341) Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 2342) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spousal support, and parent location. (Sec. 2344) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 2345) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. (Sec. 2351) Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 2352) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 2353) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for any person knowingly or negligently violating such prohibition. (Sec. 2361) Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 2362) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces. (Sec. 2364) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 2365) Requires a State plan for child and spousal support to include specified procedures: (1) to ensure that persons owing past-due support work or participate in work activities the court deems appropriate; (2) to report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) to provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of an absent parent; and (4) to implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 2370) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 2371) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of HHS as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 2372) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each absent parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender it. (Sec. 2373) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 2374) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. (Sec. 2376) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 2377) Amends part D of SSA title IV to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. (Sec. 2381) Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate absent parents' access to their children. (Sec. 2400) Declares that: (1) it is a compelling government interest to enact new rules for eligibility and sponsorship agreements in order to assure that aliens be self-reliant in accordance with national immigration policy; and (2) it is a compelling government interest to remove the incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of public benefits. (Sec. 2401) Prohibits Federal public benefits (as defined by this Act) to aliens who are not qualified aliens (as defined by this Act). Stipulates that such prohibition shall not apply to: (1) emergency medical services; (2) certain emergency disaster relief; (3) public health immunizations and treatment of communicable diseases; (4) housing assistance; (5) certain in-kind community services; and (6) Social Security Act benefits under specified circumstances. (Sec. 2402) Makes qualified aliens ineligible (with limited exceptions for refugees, asylees, certain permanent residents, veterans and active duty personnel, aliens whose deportation is withheld, and aliens currently receiving benefits) for: (1) supplemental security income (SSI); (2) food stamps; (3) temporary assistance for needy families; (4) social services block grants; and (5) Medicaid. (Sec. 2403) Makes qualified aliens ineligible (with limited exceptions for refugees, asylees, and veterans and active duty personnel) for Federal means-tested public benefits (as defined by this Act) for the first five years after U.S. entry. (Sec. 2404) Requires each Federal agency administering a program covered by this title to post information and provide general notification to the public and program recipients, either directly or through the States, of the requirements concerning alien eligibility for any such program pursuant to this title. Amends the Social Security Act and the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide for State reporting of certain illegal alien information to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). (Sec. 2411) Makes an alien who is not a qualified alien, a nonimmigrant, or a parolee ineligible for State or local benefits (as defined by this Act). Stipulates that such prohibition shall not apply to: (1) emergency medical services; (2) certain emergency disaster relief; (3) public health immunizations and treatment of communicable diseases; and (4) certain in-kind community services. (Sec. 2412) Authorizes States to determine eligibility for State public benefits for qualified aliens, nonimmigrants, or parolees. States that refugees, asylees, certain permanent residents, and veterans and active duty personnel shall be eligible for all State public benefits. Sets forth transition provisions for aliens currently receiving benefits. (Sec. 2421) Provides that in determining the eligibility and the amount of benefits of an alien for any Federal means-tested public benefits program the income and resources of the alien shall be deemed to include: (1) the income and resources of any person who executed an affidavit of support on the alien's behalf; and (2) the income and resources of the person's spouse (if any). Applies such requirement with respect to an alien until such time as the alien achieves U.S. citizenship through naturalization or has worked without public assistance for a specified time. (Sec. 2422) Authorizes States to make similar attributions with respect to State programs (with specified exceptions). (Sec. 2423) Sets forth requirements for sponsor's affidavit of support. (Sec. 2424) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require sponsor cosignature of certain alien student loans. (Sec. 2431) Defines qualified alien to be: (1) a lawful permanent resident; (2) an asylee; (3) a refugee; (4) a parolee; (5) an alien under withheld deportation; and (6) an alien granted conditional entry. (Sec. 2432) Requires the Attorney General to promulgate regulations regarding alien eligibility for Federal public benefits. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 2441) Makes conforming amendments related to assisted housing under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 and the Housing Act of 1949. (Sec. 2451) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a taxpayer to provide his or her social security number in order to qualify for the earned income credit. (Sec. 2501) Requires the Secretaries of Agriculture, Education, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services to make specified departmental personnel reductions. Encourages the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reduce personnel in Washington, D.C. before reducing field personnel. (Sec. 2601) Prohibits: (1) a family from receiving an increased benefit under a Federal, State, or local welfare or public assistance program due to noncompliance-reduced income under such program; and (2) an individual from receiving an increased benefit under a means-tested welfare or public assistance program due to fraud-reduced income under another such program. (Sec. 2701) Amends SSA title IV to provide for enhanced funding for the implementation of Statewide automated child welfare information systems. Child Care and Development Block Grant Amendments Act of 1996 - Revises and extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990. Sets forth goals for State child care assistance. (Sec. 2803) Amends Part A of title IV (AFDC) of the Social Security Act to entitle each State to payments for providing child care assistance. (Sec. 2804) Authorizes the State lead agency to administer the financial assistance it receives through other governmental or nongovernmental agencies. (Sec. 2805) Revises State application and plan requirements with respect to consumer education information, State licensing compliance, meeting the needs of AFDC or TEA recipients (especially those attempting through work activities to leave the assistance program) and those at risk of becoming dependent on assistance, and assistance for certain low-income working families. (Sec. 2807) Reduces from 20 percent to three percent the minimum amount of certain funds available for State activities to improve the quality of child care, limited to: (1) comprehensive consumer education to parents and the public; (2) activities increasing parental choice; and (3) activities designed to improve child care quality and availability. (Sec. 2808) Repeals a requirement that States expend a specified minimum amount of reserved funds for early childhood development and before- and after-school services. (Sec. 2813) Reduces the allotment reserved for Indian tribes or tribal organizations from three percent to one percent. Prescribes guidelines for the use of such allotment for facility repair and construction. (Sec. 2815) Repeals: (1) the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985; (2) the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act; (3) specified programs under title X (Programs of National Significance) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and (4) the Native Hawaiian Family-based Education Centers program under the Native Hawaiian Education Act. (Sec. 2901) Subjects any funds received by a State under TEA block grants under part A of SSA title IV, optional State food assistance block grant under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and block grants for child care under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to appropriation by the State legislature, consistent with the terms and conditions required under such provisions of law. (Sec. 2902) Provides that States shall not be prohibited by the Federal Government from testing welfare recipients for use of controlled substances nor from sanctioning welfare recipients who test positive for use of controlled substances. (Sec. 2903) Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to provide for a reduction in funding for such block grants. (Sec. 2904) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to eliminate housing assistance for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators. Provides for the exchange under such Act of certain information with law enforcement agencies under specified conditions. (Sec. 2905) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Congress should adopt enterprise zone legislation in the 104th Congress; and (2) such legislation should provide various specified incentives and provisions, including regulatory reforms that allow localities to petition Federal agencies for waivers or modifications of regulations to improve job creation, small business formation and expansion, community development, or economic revitalization objectives. (Sec. 2906) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) States should diligently continue their efforts to enforce child support payments by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent, regardless of employment status or location of the non-custodial parent; (2) States are encouraged to pursue pilot programs in which the parents of a non-adult, non-custodial parent who refuses or is unable to pay child support must pay or contribute to the child support owed by such non-custodial parent or otherwise fulfill all financial obligations and meet all conditions imposed on such parent, such as participation in a work program or other related activity; and (3) States and local jurisdictions should aggressively enforce statutory rape laws. (Sec. 2907) Directs the HHS Secretary to establish and implement a strategy for: (1) preventing out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancies; and (2) assuring that at least 25 percent of the communities in the United States have teenage pregnancy prevention programs in place. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on progress in meeting such goals. (Sec. 2909) Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to provide for an increase in funding under such title and authorize provision of abstinence education along with a separate funding set-aside for it. (Sec. 2910) Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to make certain amendments in order to encourage electronic benefit transfer systems for the distribution of needs-tested benefits by a government agency. (Sec. 2911) Amends Internal Revenue Code rules relating to denial of earned income credit for individuals having excessive investment income to: (1) provide for a reduction in the disqualified income threshold; (2) revise the adjustment for inflation; (3) modify the definitions of disqualified income and adjusted gross income for the earned income credit; and (4) suspend inflation adjustments for individuals with no qualifying children. Subtitle B: Restructuring Medicaid - Medicaid Restructuring Act of 1996 - Adds a new SSA title XV (Program of Medical Assistance for Low-Income Individuals and Families), whose purpose is to provide funds to States to enable them to provide medical assistance to low-income individuals and families in a more effective, efficient, and responsive manner. (Sec. 2923) Outlines program components, including: (1) certain guaranteed benefits for select individuals, including certain poor pregnant women, disabled and poor elderly individuals, and children receiving foster care or adoption assistance; (2) guaranteed coverage of Medicare premiums and cost-sharing for certain Medicare beneficiaries; (3) parity for mental health services; (4) limitations on cost-sharing; (5) solvency standards for capitated health care organizations; (6) prevention of spousal and family impoverishment with regard to long-term care; (7) State flexibility in benefits, provider payments, geographical coverage area, and selection of providers, as well as with respect to managed care; (8) limitations on payments for Medicaid services to nonlawful aliens, generally allowing treatment only for emergency situations; (9) coverage of abortions only for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or when a woman suffers from a physical disorder, illness, or injury that would place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed; (10) denial of State Medicaid plan payment for any item or service furnished for euthanasia purposes; (11) periodic, independent evaluations of the operation of the State Medicaid plan and annual audits of State Medicaid expenditures; (12) a separate fraud prevention program, as well as State fraud control units; (13) an information reporting system for sanctions taken by State licensing authorities against health care practitioners and providers; (14) quality assurance requirements for nursing facilities, as well as requirements relating to residents' rights; and (15) an optional master drug rebate agreement program for covered outpatient drugs of a manufacturer. (Sec. 2924) Terminates the current Medicaid program as of October 1, 1997. Limits Medicaid payments in FY 1997. (Sec. 2925) Directs the HHS Secretary to waive requirements of SSA titles XV and XVIII as necessary for States to conduct certain demonstration projects to use funds to develop and implement innovative programs for individuals dually eligible for benefits under both titles, including chronically ill individuals. (Sec. 2926) Establishes the National Commission on Medicaid and State-Based Health Care Reform to study and make recommendations to the Congress, the President, and the HHS Secretary with respect to the program under SSA title XIX (or SSA title XV, if applicable). Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 1950 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1996
Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure, and Health Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue water quality criteria for pathogens in coastal recreation waters. Requires States to adopt consistent water quality standards. Requires the Administrator to publish regulations specifying methods to be used by States to monitor coastal recreation waters during periods of use by the public for compliance with standards. Requires notification of local governments and the public of water quality standards violations. Directs the Administrator to: (1) issue guidance on uniform assessment and monitoring procedures for floatable materials in coastal recreation waters; and (2) specify the conditions under which the presence of floatable material constitutes a threat to public health and safety. Requires studies and reports to the Congress on developing better indicators for detecting harmful bacteria and viruses in coastal recreation waters. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to States to fulfill requirements under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 1944 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1996
Harold Hughes Commission on Alcoholism Act - Establishes the Harold Hughes Commission on Alcoholism to study: (1) existing Federal agencies and programs related to alcoholism; (2) public education, both directly by governmental agencies and by governmental agencies working with private sector groups; (3) physician instruction; (4) unmet research needs; and (5) treatment effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 3791 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1996
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.
Bill· HRH.R. 3789 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1996
Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure, and Health Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue water quality criteria for pathogens in coastal recreation waters. Requires States to adopt consistent water quality standards. Requires the Administrator to publish regulations specifying methods to be used by States to monitor coastal recreation waters during periods of use by the public for compliance with standards. Requires notification of local governments and the public of water quality standards violations. Directs the Administrator to: (1) issue guidance on uniform assessment and monitoring procedures for floatable materials in coastal recreation waters; and (2) specify the conditions under which the presence of floatable material constitutes a threat to public health and safety. Requires studies and reports to the Congress on developing better indicators for detecting harmful bacteria and viruses in coastal recreation waters. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to States to fulfill requirements under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 3796 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1996
Women's Health and Dioxin Act of 1996 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate research on the extent to which dioxin in tampons poses any health risks to women, including risks regarding cervical cancer.
Bill· HRH.R. 3787 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1996
Healthy Start Act of 1996 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new title XXI (Healthy Start), incorporating certain current SSA title XI peer review and fraud and abuse provisions. Establishes an entitlement program of health insurance for eligible children under age 13 and mothers-to-be who are not covered under a qualified health plan. Outlines the scope of benefits for such individuals, which generally consist of the same benefits that are available under SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to individuals entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), including well child services and pre- and post-natal care provided to such children and women, respectively, without the application of deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments. Entitles to benefits as both a child and a pregnant woman any individual entitled to program benefits as either the one or the other. Creates in the Treasury the Children Health Insurance Trust Fund. Makes necessary appropriations to it out of the premium tax imposed by this Act for use in financing the Healthy Start program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose: (1) a premium tax on certain individuals covered by the Healthy Start program, with exceptions for certain low-income families, in order to cover uninsured children and mothers-to-be; and (2) certain reporting requirements with regard to qualified health plans (and certain penalties to enforce them).
Bill· HRH.R. 3779 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1996
Tobacco Medicaid Recovery Act of 1996 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to reward States that recover by lawsuit from manufacturers of tobacco products Federal and State health care costs incurred under Medicaid for the treatment of individuals with diseases attributable to the use of tobacco products. Provides for: (1) attributing a portion of such recovered costs to the non-Federal share of expenditures under the Medicaid programs of such States; and (2) paying another portion to the National Institutes of Health for disease research.
Bill· SS. 1935 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1996
Public Trust and Environmental Accountability Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a plan to implement policies, programs, and methods for integrating and making publicly available information regarding the environment and public health policy concerns within EPA's jurisdiction. Requires coordination of these activities with those of other governmental agencies and allows integration and dissemination of publicly available information not collected by EPA. Allows the Administrator to set charges for providing information. Requires policies to include support services to encourage public use of EPA-maintained information. Requires the Administrator to establish an award program to recognize companies for source reduction programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 3757 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1996
Safe Medications for the Elderly Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) coverage of certain pharmaceutical care services; and (2) direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a relative value scale and fee schedules for the payment of such services.
Bill· HRH.R. 3755 (104th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Labor Title II: Department of Health and Human Services Title III: Department of Education Title IV: Related Agencies Title V: General Provisions Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 - Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 1997 - Makes appropriations for FY 1997 (including certain transfers of funds) for agencies, programs, and various trust funds, within the Department of Labor. Prescribes uses and limitations on the use of funds under this title. (Sec. 106) Provides that, in the administration of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 16- and 17-year-old individuals who are not apprentices or student-learners shall be permitted to load, but not operate or unload, materials into scrap paper balers or paper box compactors that: (1) meet the current safety standards of the American National Standards Institute; and (2) meet other specified standards regarding on-off switches and employee notification. (Sec. 107) Prohibits the use of funds to enforce and issue fines under a specified Hazardous Occupation Order with respect to incidental and occasional driving by minors under age 18, unless the Secretary of Labor finds that operation of a motor vehicle is the primary duty of the minor's employment. Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 1997 - Makes appropriations for FY 1997 (including certain transfers of funds) for agencies and programs within the Department of Health and Human Services. Prescribes limitations on the use of appropriated funds under this title. (Sec. 211) Prohibits the use of funds by the National Institutes of Health to provide grants or cooperative agreements under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for research proposals when the median of the evaluation scores for such proposals in the review cycle is higher than the median for investigator-initiated research (RO1) grant proposals. (Sec. 212) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, as amended by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, to extend through December 31, 2000, or until the first day of the first quarter on which the Medigrant plan for Michigan is effective, the moratorium on treating Kent and Saginaw Community Hospitals in Michigan as institutions for mental diseases. (Sec. 213) Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide for the relocation of the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center (located in Louisiana) and its patients, in accordance with specified requirements. Amends the Public Health Service Act with respect to such Center. Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1997 - Makes appropriations for FY 1997 (including certain transfers of funds) for agencies and programs within the Department of Education, subject to certain requirements for and limitations of their use. (Sec. 301) Prohibits the use of appropriated funds 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. (Sec. 304) Limits the amount of funds which may be used for specified student aid programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). Prohibits the Secretary of Education from using HEA funds for subsequent fiscal years for administrative expenses of the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program. Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1997 for the following agencies or programs: (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service (for domestic volunteer service programs); (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, for various trust funds and programs; (15) Railroad Retirement Board; and (16) United States Institute of Peace. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth provisions and limitations on the use of appropriated funds under this Act. (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 Secretary of HHS 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 products purchased under this Act should be American-made. (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. 510) Prohibits use of funds in this Act for the expenses of an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) task force. (Sec. 512) Prohibits use of funds in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under certain Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 513) Prohibits the National Labor Relations Board from using funds in this Act to assert jurisdiction over any labor dispute which does not involve any class or category of employer over which the Board would assert jurisdiction under the standards prevailing on August 1, 1959, with each financial threshold amount adjusted for inflation in a specified manner. (Sec. 514) Prohibits use of funds in this Act to provide any direct benefit or assistance to any individual in the United States when it is made known to the appropriate Federal official that: (1) the individual is not lawfully within the United States; and (2) the benefit or assistance to be provided is other than emergency medical assistance or a State-provided benefit mandated by the Federal courts.
Bill· SS. 1926 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Medicare Savings Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Part A Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Part B Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B Subtitle D: Medicare Part B Premium Title II: Expanded Medicare Choice Title III: National Commission on Medicare Reform Emergency Medicare Protection Act of 1996 - Title I: Medicare Savings - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Part A - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) part A of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise requirements for the Hospital Insurance program under it in order to achieve Medicare savings through measures involving, among other things: (1) adjustments for estimated case mix increase when recalibrating diagnosis-related group (DRG) prospective payment system (PPS) rates for inpatient hospital services; (2) temporary additional reduction in PPS capital and hospital-specific rates; (3) reduction in adjustment for indirect medical education (IME); (4) revisions in determination of amount of payment for medical education; (5) elimination of disproportionate share (DSH) adjustments and IME payments attributable to outlier payments; (6) changes in the treatment of certain transfer cases; (7) incentive payments for PPS-exempt hospitals; (8) reductions to capital payments for PPS-exempt hospitals; (9) updates to per diem cost limits effective for FY 1996 for skilled nursing facilities based on limits for FY 1993, with payment for such facilities made on an interim prospective basis until FY 1998 when a full prospective payment system is to be implemented; (10) salary equivalency guidelines for various specified therapy services; (11) additional payments to hospitals for graduate medical education programs and managed care enrollees; (12) expanding the choice of base years and eliminating the volume adjustment with regard to sole community hospitals; (13) expanding the essential access community hospital (EACH) program (renamed the rural primary care hospital program) to all States with an end to new EACH designations, a limitation on length of inpatient stays, and certain payment-related changes, among other modifications; (14) permanent grandfathering of rural referral center status; and (15) Medicare-dependent, small, rural hospital payment extension. (Sec. 11104) Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the National Commission on Medical Education and Workforce Priorities to develop and recommend to the HHS Secretary specific policies concerning health centers and the health care workforce. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 11118) Amends title XVII (Health Information and Health Promotion) of the Public Health Service Act to direct the HHS Secretary to establish a grant program for promoting the development of rural telemedicine networks under a newly added part B (Telemedicine Development). Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 11119) Amends title III (General Powers and Duties of Public Health Service) of the Public Health Service Act to provide for a Rural Health Outreach Grant Program under a newly added part O (Rural Health Outreach Grants). Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Part B - Revises requirements for Medicare's Supplementary Medical Insurance program under SSA title XVIII part B to achieve Medicare savings and provide for coverage of additional benefits through such measures involving, among other things: (1) new updates for physician services; (2) incentives to control high volume for in-hospital physicians' services; (3) reduced payment increases for ambulatory surgical center services for FY 1997 through 2002; (4) reductions in monthly payment amounts for oxygen and oxygen equipment; (5) freezes in the updates for durable medical equipment and orthotics and prosthetics for 1997 through 2002; (6) elimination of formula-driven overpayments for certain outpatient hospital services; (7) reduction in payments for capital-related costs, and for certain other costs, with regard to hospital outpatient services; (8) provision for a prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department services; and (9) program coverage of colorectal screening and of annual screening mammography for women over age 49. (Sec. 11130) Waives cost-sharing for mammography. (Sec. 11133) Establishes set payment amounts for certain vaccines and ties annual increases in them to increases in the yearly update for physicians' services for the particular year involved. Eliminates coinsurance and deductible for hepatitis B vaccine. (Sec. 11134) Provides program coverage of diabetes outpatient self-management training services. Includes as covered durable medical equipment blood glucose monitors for individuals with diabetes. (Sec. 11135) Provides limited program coverage of respite services (the temporary care provided to individuals for the purpose of ensuring periodic time-off for co-resident primary informal caregivers). (Sec. 11136) Revises payments to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Directs the HHS Secretary to use a competitive process to contract with centers of excellence for coronary artery bypass surgery or other heart procedures, knee surgery, hip surgery, and other appropriate services, with payment for such services on the basis of specified negotiated or all-inclusive rates. Requires the amount of payment made by the HHS Secretary to the center for covered services to be less than the aggregate amount of payments that would have otherwise been made to it had not such process been in effect. (Sec. 11142) Restructures payment policy for home health services, among other things: (1) temporarily basing updates to per visit cost limits on pre-July 1, 1994 levels; (2) providing interim reduced cost limits for FY 1997 through 1999; (3) directing the HHS Secretary, for cost reporting periods beginning on or after FY 2000, to provide for payments for home health services in accordance with a PPS which pays home health agencies on a per episode basis; (4) basing payment on the location where the home health service is furnished; and (5) elimination of periodic interim payments for home health agencies. (Sec. 11147) Provides for permanent extension of certain secondary payer provisions under Medicare, including those for the working disabled. Subtitle D: Medicare Part B Premium - Modifies Medicare part B premium provisions, directing the HHS Secretary, during each September, to determine and promulgate a monthly premium rate for the succeeding calendar year equal to 50 percent of the monthly actuarial rate for enrollees age 65 and over for that succeeding calendar year. Title II: Expanded Medicare Choice - Gives Medicare a managed care component under a new part C (Managed Care Organizations) under which every individual entitled to benefits under Medicare part A and enrolled under Medicare part B (or enrolled under part B only) shall be eligible to enroll with any eligible organization contracting with the HHS Secretary to serve the geographic area in which the individual resides. Extends to such individuals a broader choice of managed care coverage through qualified health maintenance organizations, competitive medical plans, preferred provider organizations, or provider sponsored organizations. Delineates the types of benefits offered by each managed care organization or plan, requiring certain minimum services, with supplemental benefits subject to the Secretary's approval and provided at the enrollees' option. Outlines other program particulars regarding internal quality assurance, payment for services, and sanctions for noncompliance with program requirements. (Sec. 11203) Directs the HHS Secretary to develop and promulgate interim final regulations for: (1) certification standards for eligible organizations; (2) standards for fiscal soundness and requirements against the risk of insolvency for provider sponsored organizations seeking certification as an eligible organization; (3) standards for monitoring eligible organizations under a risk or partial risk contract under this new part; and (4) any other standards or procedures required to implement provisions of part C. (Sec. 11204) Provides for the applicability of Medicare rates to enrollees who use an out-of-plan service provider. (Sec. 11205) Directs the HHS Secretary to provide for regulations requiring the collection, analysis, and reporting of data that will permit measurement of outcomes and other indices of the quality of managed care plans under contract with the Secretary. (Sec. 11206) Allows the HHS Secretary to waive certain HMO- and competitive medical plan (CMP)-related requirements under Medicare with regard to certain described experiments and demonstration projects under provisions for economy while maintaining or improving quality in health services (competitive pricing demonstrations). (Sec. 11207) Eliminates the health care prepayment plan option for entities eligible to participate under Medicare part C. (Sec. 11208) Provides various specified changes under the Medicare supplemental policy program, including uniform enrollment periods and community-rated premiums. (Sec. 11209) Directs the HHS Secretary to develop a standard package of benefits (in addition to those already covered under Medicare) that may be offered by eligible organizations under Medicare part C. Requires the HHS Secretary to request the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to examine the standard benefit packages for Medicare supplemental health insurance policies and recommend any restructuring needed in order to facilitate to the maximum extent feasible comparison across such policies and benefits offered by eligible organizations. Requires the HHS Secretary, after taking into account any such recommendations, to restructure such packages as needed. (Sec. 11210) Provides that in any action under the antitrust laws the conduct of an organization that provides health care services in negotiating, making, or performing a contract under Medicare part C, and the conduct of any member of such an organization in carrying out such a contract, shall not be deemed illegal per se if each member of the organization shares, directly or indirectly, substantial financial risk in connection with the organization's operations. (Sec. 11211) Revises the Public Health Service Act with regard to certain requirements for certificates and laboratory inspections. (Sec. 11212) Modifies the exceptions under Medicare's limitation on certain physician referrals to both ownership and compensation arrangement prohibitions, among other changes repealing the exception for physicians' services and adding a new exception for shared facility services. Title III: National Commission on Medicare Reform - Establishes the National Commission on Medicare Reform to: (1) review relevant analyses of the current and long-term financial condition of the Medicare trust funds; (2) identify problems that may threaten the long-term solvency of such funds; (3) analyze potential solutions to such problems that will both assure the financial integrity of the Medicare program and the provision of appropriate benefits under it; (4) provide appropriate recommendations to the HHS Secretary, the President, and the Congress; and (5) develop a legislative proposal to carry them out for submission to the Congress. Outlines the procedures for the Congress to consider such recommendations. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 1910 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
Women's Cardiovascular Diseases Research and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate 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.
Bill· HRH.R. 3753 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Equalization of Medicare Reimbursement Rates to Health Maintenance Organizations and Competitive Medical Plans Title II: Grants to Encourage Establishment of Community Rural Health Networks Title III: Medicare Rural Primary Care Hospitals and Rural Emergency Access Care Hospitals Subtitle A: Rural Primary Care Hospital Program Subtitle B: Rural Emergency Access Care Hospitals Title IV: Incentives for Health Professionals to Practice in Rural Areas Subtitle A: National Health Service Corps Subtitle B: Primary Care Services Furnished in Shortage Areas Title V: Classification of Rural Referral Centers Title VI: Promotion of Health Centers in Rural Regions Title VII: Medicare Payment Methodologies Title VIII: Antitrust Title IX: Financing Rural Health Improvement Act of 1996 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that this Act reflects the dedication of the late U.S. Representative Bill Emerson to ensuring health care access for all rural Americans. Title I: Equalization of Medicare Reimbursement Rates to Health Maintenance Organizations and Competitive Medical Plans - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise provisions for payments to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and competitive medical plans (CMPs) for the stated purpose of equalizing Medicare reimbursement rates to HMOs and CMPs. Title II: Grants to Encourage Establishment of Community Rural Health Networks - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide grants over a three year period to eligible States for development of plans to increase access to health care services for residents of areas in the State that are designated as chronically underserved. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 202) Directs the HHS Secretary to make funds available to provide technical assistance and advice for certain entities seeking to establish or enhance a community rural health network in an underserved rural area. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 203) Directs the HHS Secretary to provide financial assistance (development grants) to eligible entities for the development and implementation of community rural health networks, giving priority to eligible entities in States with developed plans to increase the access of residents of chronically underserved areas to health care services. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 205) Ends Federal financing for the grant program for rural health transition under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 and a certain program for rural outreach grants. Title III: Medicare Rural Primary Care Hospitals and Rural Emergency Access Care Hospitals - Subtitle A: Rural Primary Care Hospital Program - Replaces the Essential Access Community Hospital Program (EACH) under Medicare with the Medicare Rural Primary Care Hospital Program, while continuing payment to designated EACHs. Bases payment for inpatient and outpatient rural primary care hospital services on the reasonable costs of the hospital in providing such services. Lengthens from 72 to 96 hours the maximum period of permitted inpatient stay at a rural primary care hospital. Subtitle B: Rural Emergency Access Care Hospitals - Provides for a new Medicare Rural Emergency Access Care Hospital program, detailing coverage and payment for services. Title IV: Incentives for Health Professionals to Practice in Rural Areas - Subtitle A: National Health Service Corps - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude qualified National Health Service Corps scholarship payments and loan repayments from gross income. (Sec. 402) Requires the HHS Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the allocation of Corps members among shortage areas. (Sec. 403) Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary to give special priority to applications by community rural health networks for the assignment of Corps personnel for providing health services in or to a health professional shortage area. Subtitle B: Primary Care Services Furnished in Shortage Areas - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for an increase in the amount of additional Medicare payments for primary care services (currently, physicians' services) furnished in rural shortage areas, and for services that are furnished by a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or nurse midwife that would be physicians' services if furnished by a physician. Extends such payment for former shortage areas. Requires carriers to report on services provided. Title V: Classification of Rural Referral Centers - Amends SSA title XVIII to prohibit denial of a rural referral center's request for reclassification on the basis of comparability of wages. Provides for the continuing treatment of previously designated rural referral centers. Title VI: Promotion of Health Centers in Rural Regions - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the HHS Secretary, in making grants in rural areas for new or expanded services for each fiscal year, to give priority to projects that would be located in a State, or county or region of a State, that is not already serviced by an existing community health center. Requires also the Secretary to give special consideration to projects which have entered into a collaborative agreement with a community hospital meeting certain requirements. Title VII: Medicare Payment Methodologies - Directs the HHS Secretary to establish a methodology for making payments under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for telemedicine services furnished on an emergency basis to rural residents. Title VIII: Antitrust - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Federal Trade Commission, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, give special consideration to antitrust guidelines affecting physician and hospital networks located in rural areas during its ongoing review of such guidelines; and (2) the completion of the Commission's review be expedited to provide relief and clarification to physicians and hospitals working to develop alternative means of providing accessible, affordable, and quality health care services to all Americans, especially those living and working in rural areas. Title IX: Financing - Revises Medicare secondary payer requirements. Makes permanent the requirements for: (1) employer responses to fiscal intermediary or carrier inquiries about the coverage of an employee or employee's spouse under a group health plan of the employer; and (2) the prohibition against a large group health plan's taking into account that the employee or a dependent of the employee is entitled to Medicare or end stage renal disease benefits.
Law· HRH.R. 3734 (104th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Committee on Agriculture Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs Subtitle C: Electronic Benefit Transfer Systems Title II: Committee on Commerce Subtitle A: Restructuring Medicaid Subtitle B: Other Provisions Title III: Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities Subtitle A: Work Requirements Subtitle B: Child and Family Services Block Grant Subtitle C: Child Care Subtitle D: Child Nutrition Programs Subtitle E: Related Provisions Title IV: Committee on Ways and Means: Welfare Reform Subtitle A: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Subtitle B: Supplemental Security Income Subtitle C: Child Support Subtitle D: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens Subtitle E: Reform of Public Housing Subtitle F: Child Protection Block Grant Program and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance, and Independent Living Programs Subtitle G: Child Care Subtitle H: Miscellaneous Title I: Committee on Agriculture - Food Stamp Reform and Commodity Distribution Act of 1996 - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (Act) to establish a maximum 24- month food stamp program (program) authorization period for households whose adult members are elderly or disabled. (Sec. 1012) Expands the definition of "coupon." (Sec. 1013) Treats children who are themselves parents living with their children and married children living with their spouses as part of an existing household rather than as a separate household. (Sec. 1014) Authorizes States to establish additional criteria for separate household determinations. (Sec. 1015) Revises thrifty food plan adjustment requirements. (Sec. 1016) Revises the definition of "homeless individual" to limit the length of time a person may temporarily live in another person's residence. (Sec. 1018) Revises household income exclusion provisions regarding: (1) students; and (2) Federal energy assistance. (Sec. 1020) Revises household income deduction provisions regarding: (1) standard deductions; (2) earned income; (3) dependent care; (4) child support payments; (5) homeless shelter assistance; (6) excess medical expenses; and (7) excess shelter expenses. (Sec. 1021) Eliminates specified excludable auto value increases and establishes the maximum excludable auto value at $4600. (Sec. 1022) Includes as household income third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless. (Sec. 1023) Increases penalties for certain program violations. (Sec. 1024) Disqualifies permanently an individual convicted of specified coupon violations. (Sec. 1025) Revises work requirement and employment and training provisions. Extends employment and training funding authorizations. (Sec. 1028) Authorizes comparable program disqualification based upon means-tested public assistance disqualification. (Sec. 1029) Disqualifies for ten years an individual who participates in the program in two or more States. (Sec. 1030) Disqualifies a fleeing felon from program participation. (Sec. 1031) Requires at State option: (1) cooperation with child support agencies in order to maintain program eligibility; and (2) program disqualification for child support arrears. (Sec. 1033) Defines "work program." Makes nonexempt persons ineligible for program benefits if during the preceding 12-month period they received food stamps for four months or more without working at least 20 hours per week, or participating in a workfare program. Sets forth exempted persons and situations. (Sec. 1034) Directs States to implement electronic benefit transfer systems. (Sec. 1035) Eliminates annual minimum allotment adjustments. (Sec. 1037) Authorizes a combined allotment for expedited households. (Sec. 1038) Authorizes program reductions for failure to comply with a means-tested public assistance reduction requirement. (Sec. 1039) Authorizes program assistance for households residing in a homeless shelter or drug or alcohol treatment center. (Sec. 1040) Provides that no food store or wholesale food concern be approved for program participation without a prior visit by a Department of Agriculture employee, or a designated State or local official. (Sec. 1041) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish authorization periods for retail food stores and wholesale food concerns to redeem food stamps or benefits through an electronic benefit transfer system. (Sec. 1042) Includes income and sales tax information among the types of eligibility verification information that may be requested. (Sec. 1043) Establishes a six-month reapplication waiting period for a store that does not meet participation requirements. (Sec. 1044) Revises: (1) food stamp office operating provisions; and (2) expedited coupon service requirements. (Sec. 1045) Eliminates certain certification personnel training requirements. (Sec. 1046) Provides for the exchange of information with law enforcement or Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel. (Sec. 1048) Authorizes a family to withdraw a fair hearing request. (Sec. 1049) Permits States to use income, and immigration eligibility verification systems other than a specified system under the Social Security Act. (Sec. 1050) Provides for disqualification of a store: (1) that knowingly submits a falsified application; and (2) that is disqualified from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). (Sec. 1052) Directs program overissuances to be collected by: (1) allotment reduction; (2) unemployment compensation withholding; or (3) Federal pay or Federal income tax refund recovery. (Sec. 1053) Authorizes suspension of a store pending administrative and judicial review. (States that the Secretary shall not be liable for lost sales during such period.) (Sec. 1054) Establishes criminal forfeiture penalties for specified program violations. (Sec. 1055) Terminates Federal matching requirements for program recruitment activities. (Sec. 1057) Authorizes States to use funds otherwise available to a participating household for a work supplementation or support program. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1058) Authorizes waiver of program requirements as necessary to conduct related pilot projects. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1060) Authorizes States to carry out private sector employment initiatives. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1061) Authorizes appropriations for program operations. (Sec. 1062) Authorizes States to carry out a Simplified Food Stamp Program in lieu of existing program requirements. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1063) Establishes an optional State food assistance block grant program in lieu of the food stamp program. Sets forth program provisions. (Sec. 1064) Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the use of food stamps for vitamin and mineral purchases. (Sec. 1066) Authorizes States to consider all or part of the income and financial resources of a person rendered ineligible for program participation in determining the eligibility of such person's household. (Sec. 1068) Expresses the sense of the House Committee on Agriculture that reductions in outlays resulting from this title shall not be considered for certain budget reduction purposes under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Subtitle B: Commodity Distribution Programs - Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to combine the emergency food assistance program with the soup kitchen-food bank program. Amends the Act to direct the Secretary to purchase commodities for such combined programs. (Sec. 1072) Amends the Charitable Assistance and Food Bank Act of 1987 to repeal the food bank demonstration project. (Sec. 1073) Makes conforming and technical amendments to the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 and the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990. Subtitle C: Electronic Benefit Transfer Systems - Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to exempt (with exceptions) State and local government electronic benefit transfer systems from specified provisions of such Act. Title II: Committee on Commerce - Subtitle A: Restructuring Medicaid - Medicaid Restructuring Act of 1996 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new title XV (Program of Medical Assistance for Low-Income Individuals and Families), the stated purpose of which is to provide funds to States to enable them to provide medical assistance to low-income individuals and families in a more effective, efficient, and responsive manner. (Sec. 2003) Outlines program components, including key provisions for: (1) certain guaranteed benefits for select individuals, including certain poor pregnant women, disabled and poor elderly individuals, and children receiving foster care or adoption assistance; (2) guaranteed coverage of Medicare premiums and cost-sharing for certain Medicare beneficiaries; (3) only nominal cost-sharing for children, poor pregnant women, and certain elderly and disabled individuals with respect to covered items and services; (4) prevention of spacial and family impoverishment with regard to long-term and institutional care generally; (5) solvency standards for capitate health care organizations; (6) prohibiting States from denying coverage of any item or service on the basis of a preexisting condition; (7) prohibition of State denial of coverage for any item or service under its Medicaid program on the basis of a preexisting condition; (8) State flexibility in benefits, geographical coverage area, and selection of providers, as well as with regard to managed care; (9) coverage of abortions only for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or when a woman suffers from a physical disorder, illness, or injury that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed; (10) denial of payment under the State Medicaid plan for any item or service furnished for euthanasia purposes; (11) limitation on payments for Medicaid services to nonlawful aliens, generally allowing treatment only in emergency situations; (12) periodic, independent evaluations of the operation of the State Medicaid plan and annual audits of State expenditures under its Medicaid program; (13) a separate fraud prevention program, as well as, under certain conditions, State fraud control units; (14) an information reporting system with regard to sanctions taken by State licensing authorities against health care practitioners and providers; (15) quality assurance requirements for nursing facilities, as well as requirements relating to residents' rights; and (16) an optional master drug rebate agreement program for covered outpatient drugs of a manufacturer. Directs the Comptroller General to provide for a study and report to the Congress on the methods by which States provide for financing their share of expenditures under Medicaid, including an examination of the use of provider taxes and donations, as well as intergovernmental transfers. (Sec. 2004) Terminates the current Medicaid program as of October 1, 1997. Sets a limitation on Medicaid payments in FY 1997. (Sec. 2005) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to waive such requirements of SSA titles XV and XVIII as may be necessary for States to conduct certain demonstration projects to use funds to develop and implement innovative programs for individuals dually eligible for benefits under both titles, including such individuals who are chronically ill. Subtitle B: Other Provisions - Denies Federal public benefits (except certain emergency medical services and public health assistance) to non-qualified aliens. (Sec. 2212) Provides limited eligibility of qualified aliens for medical assistance. (Sec. 2213) Makes qualified aliens ineligible (with limited exceptions) for Federal means-tested public benefits for the first five years after U.S. entry. (Sec. 2214) Requires each Federal agency administering a program to which such restrictions on alien eligibility apply to post information, directly or through the States, and provide general notification to the public and to program recipients of these eligibility changes. (Sec. 2222) Requires the Attorney General to promulgate regulations requiring verification that an applicant for a restricted Federal public benefit is a qualified alien eligible to receive it. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 2131) Amends the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to repeal certain deeming requirements with respect to home energy assistance payments not considered household income for purposes of the excess shelter expense deduction under the food stamp program. Title III: Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 - Subtitle A: Work Requirements - Amends SSA title IV part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) to replace the current JOBS program with a mandatory work program under which States operating Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs shall achieve a certain minimum participation rate for each fiscal year from 1996 to 2002 and thereafter with respect to families on TANF. Requires such families, generally, to engage in certain work activities (including job search activities) and satisfy certain obligations in their individual responsibility plan with the State (such as immunizing their children and attending parenting and money management classes) in order to receive the full amount of TANF assistance, and in order to help the family member become and remain employed in the private sector. Gives States the option of requiring family members to undergo appropriate substance abuse treatment. (Sec. 3101) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) in complying with such mandatory program each State operating a TANF program is encouraged to assign the highest priority to requiring adults in two-parent families and adults in single-parent families that include older preschool or school-age children to be engaged in work activities; and (2) States should require non-custodial, nonsupporting parents who have not attained 18 years of age to fulfill community work obligations and attend appropriate parenting or money management classes after school. Sets up a program allowing eligible States in certain circumstances to receive supplemental grant funds for operation of a mandatory work program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 for such supplemental grants. Subtitle B: Child and Family Services Block Grant - Renames the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act as the Child and Family Services Block Grant Act of 1996. Changes the purposes of the Act to emphasize assistance to each State in improving child protective service systems. Delineates criteria governing State eligibility for Federal block grants for: (1) child and family services; and (2) research, demonstrations, training, and technical assistance. (Sec. 3201) Abolishes the current Federal program, including the Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, community-based family resource programs, temporary child care for children with disabilities, crisis nursery demonstration programs, certain preventive services for children of homeless families or families at risk of homelessness, and requirements for criminal background checks for child care providers. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) establish a national child abuse and neglect data collection and analysis program (in addition to the current national clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse); and (2) provide technical and training assistance to the States for child abuse and neglect programs and for adoption opportunities. Mandates peer review for such grants. Instructs the Secretary to conduct a national random sample study of children at risk of child abuse or neglect. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 2002, including grants for demonstration projects. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to assist them in developing programs related to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases. Requires any State requesting such assistance to establish a multidisciplinary task force on children's justice to study administrative, civil, and criminal judicial handling of such cases, and make recommendations which the State must adopt (or equivalent alternatives). Subtitle C: Child Care - Child Care and Development Block Grant Amendments Act of 1996 - Revises and extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (the Act, for purposes of this title). Sets forth goals for State child care assistance. (Sec. 3303) Amends Part A of title IV (Aid to Families With Dependent Children) (AFDC) of the Social Security Act to entitle each State to payments for providing child care assistance. (Sec. 3304) Authorizes the State lead agency to administer the financial assistance it receives through other governmental or nongovernmental agencies. (Sec. 3305) Revises State application and plan requirements with respect to consumer education information, State licensing compliance, meeting the needs of AFDC or TANF recipients (especially those attempting through work activities to leave the assistance program) and those at risk of becoming dependent on assistance, and assistance for certain low-income working families. (Sec. 3307) Reduces from 20 percent to four percent the minimum amount of certain funds available for State activities to improve the quality of child care, limited to: (1) comprehensive consumer education to parents and the public; (2) activities increasing parental choice; and (3) activities designed to improve child care quality and availability. (Sec. 3308) Repeals a requirement that States expend a specified minimum amount of reserved funds for early childhood development and before- and after-school services. (Sec. 3313) Reduces the allotment reserved for Indian tribes or tribal organizations from three percent to one percent. Prescribes guidelines for the use of such allotment for facility repair and construction. (Sec. 3315) Repeals: (1) the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985; (2) the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act; (3) specified programs under title X (Programs of National Significance) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (4) the Native Hawaiian Family-based Education Centers program under the Native Hawaiian Education Act; and (5) the AFDC and Transitional Child Care programs and the At-Risk Child Care program under SSA title IV. Subtitle D: Child Nutrition Programs - Amends the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to repeal specified authorities and requirements for the school lunch and related programs, including: (1) State educational authority to use resources from the nutrition and education (NET) program; (2) prohibition of State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; (3) certain demonstration grants to private nonprofit organizations or educational institutions for elementary school curriculum food and nutrition projects; (4) aspects of summer food service programs, reducing payment rates and daily meals at camps, reducing the National Youth Sports Program, and revising nutritional standards compliance requirements; (5) certain commodity distribution program requirements, including State Advisory Councils; (6) expansion of the child care food program; (7) adult care food aid to adult day care centers and services for persons over 60; (8) certain pilot projects, including one for paperwork reduction; and (9) an information clearinghouse. (Sec. 3401) Includes in the definition of child any individual with one or more mental or physical disabilities, regardless of age, who attends a specified type of institution, or any nonresidential public or nonprofit private school of high school grade or under, in order to participate in a school program for such individuals. (Sec. 3402) Revises nutritional and other program requirements. (Sec. 3423) Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to revise the school breakfast program: (1) eliminating Federal assistance for food preparation training and program expansion and start-up costs; (2) repealing certain authorities and requirements relating to State administrative expenses (SAE); (3) repealing the prohibition against State imposition of teaching personnel and curriculum requirements at any school; and (4) repealing the program of cash grants for nutrition education. (Sec. 3429) Revises the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC), among other things repealing specified requirements and changing from mandatory to optional: (1) drug abuse education; and (2) provision of WIC information in languages other than English. (Sec. 3431) Makes the Nutrition and Education program discretionary rather than mandatory. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Related Provisions - Requires the HHS Secretary to produce and publish specified types of data relating to the incidence of poverty in the United States at least every two years. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3502) Expresses the sense of the Congress that this title, and the amendments it makes, should not result in an increase in the number of children who are hungry, homeless, poor, or medically uninsured. (Sec. 3503) Requires the Congress, in the event that the above-mentioned increase results by the end of the FY 1997, to: (1) revisit this title, or the amendments it has made, which caused such increase; and (2) as soon as practicable thereafter, pass legislation that stops the continuation of such increase. Title IV: Committee on Ways and Means: Welfare Reform - Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (sic) - Subtitle A: Block Grants For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families - Expresses the sense of the Congress that prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and reduction in out-of-wedlock births are important Government interests. (Sec. 4103) Replaces the current Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) with a single program of block grants to the States for operating statewide temporary assistance (TANF) programs with certain mandatory work, education, and job preparation requirements for needy families either already with or expecting a child, which are designed to assist such families in becoming self-sufficient. Limits such families generally to no more than five years of TANF cash assistance, with certain exceptions for minor children, battered family members, and hardship situations. Requires that families include either a minor child who resides with a custodial parent or other adult caretaker relative or a pregnant individual in order to receive TANF assistance. Prohibits additional cash TANF assistance for children born into families already on TANF assistance (with certain exceptions for: (1) children born into families with no other children; (2) vouchers provided in lieu of cash benefits that are only good for particular goods and services suitable for child care; and (3) children born as a result of rape or incest), unless the particular State exempts itself from such prohibition. Denies TANF assistance in cases where an individual family member is a fugitive felon or a probation or parole violator, and in certain other specified situations as well. Requires States receiving TANF grants to ensure: (1) that each TANF recipient is eligible for Medicaid or other specified medical assistance, if applicable, to the extent that the recipient's health care costs are not covered by other health insurance; and (2) that certain other families becoming TEA-ineligible due to increased earnings from employment or collection of child support receive similar medical assistance during the immediately succeeding 12-month period. Allows States receiving TANF grants used to provide assistance for any individual who is receiving benefits, or on behalf of whom benefits are paid, under a State old-age, foster care, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) plan to disregard such assistance payment in determining the amount of TANF assistance to be provided under the State TANF program to the family of which the individuals a member. Requires, in addition, certain adult-supervised living arrangements for unmarried teenage parents. Provides for the exchange of certain TANF program information with law enforcement agencies under specified conditions. Establishes penalties for States and individual families for specified grant and program violations, respectively, through reduced grants and assistance payments, allowing States to terminate such payments to certain adult family members without small children needing child care who refuse to: (1) engage in work, educational, or job preparation activities (required program activities); or (2) cooperate with the State in establishing paternity or obtaining child support unless the member qualifies for a good cause or other exception. Provides for a separate reduction in State family assistance grant payments for States failing to comply with Federal requirements under SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) pertaining to paternity establishment and child support enforcement. Sets forth the mechanism for State appeal of Federal adverse decisions with respect to State plans or imposition of penalties, providing for advance notification of any program violation and the opportunity for a State to correct it before any such penalty is imposed. Limits the amount of any penalty reduction in the State's quarterly family assistance grant payment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that State TANF programs should: (1) assign the highest priority to requiring adults in two-parent families and in single-parent families with older preschool or school-age children to be engaged in required program activities; and (2) require noncustodial, nonsupporting parents under age 18 to fulfill community work obligations and attend appropriate parenting or money management classes after school. Specifies State TANF plan contents, including provisions for numeric goals for reducing illegitimacy in the State over a specified ten year period beginning in 1996, and certain certifications by the State that it will operate child support enforcement and protection programs, in order for it to be eligible (according to certain other criteria as well) to receive Federal grants for its TANF programs (family assistance grants). Allows the States to decide in their TANF plans: (1) whether or not they intend on providing TANF assistance to aliens; and (2) how to treat families moving interstate. Provides for: (1) the allowable uses of quarterly family assistance grants, family planning services and assistance to low income households in meeting home heating and cooling costs (but prohibiting their use for medical services generally); (2) additional grants to States as rewards for reductions in illegitimate births and for high performance under the TANF program, as well as supplemental grants to certain States for population increases; and (3) a Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs (Contingency Fund) in the Treasury for payments to certain eligible States. Makes appropriations for such grants and the Contingency Fund. Sets up a Federal loan program for State TANF programs for anti-fraud and other specified activities, making necessary appropriations. Outlines specific program data collection and reporting requirements, as well as certain research, evaluation, and study requirements. Makes applicable appropriations. Provides for direct funding, by way of three-year tribal family assistance grants, to Indian tribes (with a special rule for Indian tribes in Alaska) with approved tribal family assistance plans. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to implement and evaluate demonstrations of innovative and promising strategies which: (1) provide one-time capital funds to establish, expand, or replicate programs; (2) test performance-based grant-to-loan financing in which programs meeting performance targets receive grants while programs not meeting such targets repay funding on a prorated basis; and (3) test strategies in multiple States and types of communities. Directs the Bureau of the Census to expand the Survey of Income and Program Participation to obtain information that will enable interested persons to evaluate the impact of the changes made by this title on a random national sample of recipients of assistance under State programs. Provides for the treatment of existing State AFDC waivers in effect on the date of enactment of this Act and those granted subsequently. Makes the Assistant Secretary of HHS for Family Support the official responsible for administering SSA title IV part A and D programs. Eliminates certain child care programs under SSA title IV part A, including the at-risk child care program. (Sec. 4104) Allows States to contract with charitable, religious, and private organizations to provide services and administer programs established or modified under titles I, II, and VI of this Act. Prohibits the expenditure of financial assistance for sectarian worship, instruction, or proselytization. (Sec. 4105) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to expand census data collection efforts to enable the Bureau of the Census to collect statistically significant data on grandparent caregivers. (Sec. 4106) Requires an HHS report to the Congress on State automated data processing systems used in administering TANF programs to determine what would be required to establish a system for tracking public program participants and checking case records to determine if such participants are participating in public programs of two or more States. (Sec. 4107) Details requirements for a similar report, and study, on alternative outcomes measures for evaluating the success of the States in moving individuals off welfare through employment. (Sec. 4108) Makes conforming amendments to SSA, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and related provisions of other specified Federal laws. (Sec. 4111) Directs the Commissioner of Social Security (Commissioner) to: (1) develop a prototype counterfeit-resistant social security card; and (2) study and report to the Congress on improving the social security card application process. (Sec. 4112) Requires any organization accepting Federal funds under this title or any amendments made by it (other than funds provided under SSA titles IV, XVI, or XX) to disclose that fact in any communication it makes that in any way intends to promote public support or opposition to any Federal, State, or local government policy through any broadcasting station, periodical, or other specified type of general public advertising. Makes any organization failing to make such a disclosure ineligible to receive Federal funds under this Act. (Sec. 4113) Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to remove the "demonstration" status of the Job Opportunities for Certain Low-Income Individuals (JOLI) program and give it an increased annual authorization. Subtitle B: Supplemental Security Income - Amends SSA title XVI to deny SSI for ten years to individuals found to have fraudulently misrepresented residence in order to obtain benefits simultaneously in two or more States. Denies SSI for fugitive felons and probation and parole violators. Provides for the exchange of certain SSI information with law enforcement agencies under specified conditions. (Sec. 4203) Revises the treatment afforded prisoners with regard to SSI and (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance)OASDI benefits to: (1) deny SSI benefits for ten years to a person found to have fraudulently obtained SSI benefits while in prison; (2) eliminate the OASDI requirement that confinement stem from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; and (3) authorize the Commissioner to contract with any interested State or local institutions used to confine prisoners for monthly reports of certain identifying information in order to enforce SSI and OASDI benefit limitations, and pay such institution a specified fee with regard to each SSI- or OASDI-eligible inmate identified who becomes ineligible for such benefit as a result of such reporting. Requires the Commissioner to study and report to the Congress on other specified potential improvements in the collection of information respecting public inmates. (Sec. 4204) Makes certain changes respecting the effective date of applications for SSI benefits. (Sec. 4211) Revises the rules with respect to childhood eligibility, with corresponding changes to childhood SSI regulations modifying the medical criteria for evaluation of mental and emotional disorders, and discontinuing the use of individualized functional assessments for children. Modifies medical improvement review standards, specifically dividing their applicability to, and creating separate criteria for individuals aged 18 or older, and individuals under age 18, respectively. Provides that once an eligible child meets the definition of disability, the amount of the individual's cash benefit will be based on whether or not the child meets criteria for needing personal assistance enabling the child to stay at home with his or her family. Authorizes additional appropriations for continuing disability reviews and redeterminations under SSA title XVI. (Sec. 4212) Provides that at least once every three years the Commissioner shall review the continued SSI eligibility of each individual who has not attained age 18 and is eligible for such benefits by reason of an impairment (or combination of impairments) which is likely to improve (or, at the Commissioner's option, is unlikely to improve). Requires a representative payee of a recipient whose case is so reviewed to present, at the time of review, evidence demonstrating that the recipient is, and has been, receiving treatment, to the extent considered medically necessary and available, for the condition which was the basis for providing benefits under the SSI program. Provides that if the representative payee refuses to comply without good cause with such requirement, the Commissioner shall, if in the individual's best interest, promptly suspend payment of benefits to the representative payee, and provide for payment of benefits to an alternative representative payee or, if the interest of the individual would be served thereby, to the individual. Provides that if an individual is eligible for SSI benefits by reason of disability for the month preceding the month in which the individual attains age 18, the Commissioner shall redetermine such eligibility: (1) during the one-year period beginning on the individual's 18th birthday; and (2) by applying the criteria used in determining the initial eligibility for applicants who have attained age 18. Specifies requirements governing continuing disability reviews for low-birth-weight babies. (Sec. 4213) Revises provisions regarding the disposal of resources for less than fair market value by certain individuals and appropriate notification of Medicaid. Provides for the treatment of assets held in trust by individuals who have not attained age 18 and any earnings resulting from such trust. Requires representative payees of eligible individuals below age 18 to establish financial institution accounts on their behalf into which SSI payments shall be paid. Allows representative payees to use funds in the account to pay for certain allowable expenses. Directs the Commissioner to establish a system for accountability monitoring whereby a representative payee shall report on activities respecting funds in the account. (Sec. 4214) Reduces cash SSI payments to institutionalized children whose medical costs are covered by private insurance. (Sec. 4221) Provides for installment payment of large amounts of past-due SSI benefits, and the recovery of SSI overpayments from social security benefits. (Sec. 4225) Repeals maintenance of effort requirements applicable to optional State programs for supplementation of SSI benefits. (Sec. 4231) Requires the Commissioner to prepare an annual report for the President and the Congress on the SSI program, and make appropriate arrangements for a study of the disability determination process under SSA titles II and XVI for any needed changes. (Sec. 4233) Outlines the requirements for a General Accounting Office study and report on the impact of this subtitle on the SSI program and on the extra expenses incurred by families of children receiving benefits under such program that are not covered by other Federal, State, or local programs. (Sec. 4241) Establishes the National Commission on the Future of Disability to develop and carry out a comprehensive study of all matters related to the nature, purpose, and adequacy of all Federal programs serving individuals with disabilities in order to develop appropriate recommendations for any needed legislation or administrative action. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Child Support - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to require State plans for child and spacial support to provide: (1) certain services relating to paternity establishment or enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) continuation of services for families ceasing to receive assistance under Aid to Families with Dependent Children. (Sec. 4302) Revises payment distribution guidelines for support obligations collected by the State on behalf of a family. (Sec. 4303) Requires State plans to establish procedural guidelines for: (1) privacy safeguards regarding paternity and child support actions; and (2) notification to services applicants or recipients of all proceedings and orders affecting child support obligations. (Sec. 4311) Mandates that single statewide automated data systems include a State case registry containing records of: (1) each case in which services are provided by the State agency; and (2) each support order established on or after a specified date. Permits the linking of local registries. (Sec. 4312) Requires State plans to include a centralized, automated unit for the collection and disbursement of support payments. Permits the unit to be established by linking local disbursement units through an automated information network if the Secretary agrees that it will not cost more or take more time to establish or operate than a centralized system. Expresses the sense of the Congress that in determining whether to comply with the Social Security Act by either establishing a single, centralized unit for support payment collection and disbursement, or by linking together through automation local units, a State should choose the method of compliance which best meets the needs of parents, employers, and children. (Sec. 4313) Requires State plans to: (1) provide for a State-operated and automated State Directory of New Hires containing prescribed information furnished by employers on new personnel; and (2) transmit such information to the National Directory of New Hires. (Sec. 4314) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures: (1) for mandatory income withholding for support payments subject to enforcement; and (2) under which wages of a person with a support obligation imposed by a child support order issued before October 1, 1996, shall become subject to withholding if arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing. Revises the procedural guidelines for income withholding for child support enforcement. (Sec. 4315) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures to ensure that Federal and State agencies conducting income-withholding activities have access to State locator systems for motor vehicle or law enforcement purposes. (Sec. 4316) Revises the Federal Parent Locator Service to provide for additional information which may be transmitted to locate individuals and assets for purposes of: (1) establishing parentage; (2) establishing, setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations; and (3) enforcing child custody or visitation orders. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish in the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders and an automated National Directory of New Hires. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and of HHS to jointly develop cost-effective methods of accessing information in the various State directories of new hires and the National Directory of New Hires (established under this Act), taking into account impact and cost to the States, and the need to insure authorized use of wage record information. (Sec. 4317) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring recordation on such documents of the Social Security number of: (1) specified driver's, marriage, and occupational, and professional license applicants; (2) individuals subject to certain domestic relations orders; and (3) deceased persons (on death records). (Sec. 4321) Requires each State to have the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in effect as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the procedures for the court to apply when determining which State order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction and enforcement for child support orders. (Sec. 4323) Requires the States to have statutorily prescribed procedures requiring: (1) expedited administrative enforcement in interstate cases and support orders; and (2) expedited administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity and enforcing support obligations. (Sec. 4331) Revises the guidelines for State laws governing paternity establishment. Requires State procedures under which the name of the father shall be included on the birth certificate only: (1) if the mother and father have signed a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity; or (2) pursuant to a judicial or administrative order. (Sec. 4333) Requires State plans for child and spacial support to provide that the State agency administering the plan will make a determination as to whether a program recipient is cooperating in good faith with State efforts to establish paternity and secure support. (Sec. 4341) Directs the Secretary to develop a new incentive system to replace the current one. Revises the guidelines for Federal performance-based incentive payments to the States for effective child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 4342) Requires a State plan for child and spacial support to include prescribed procedures for State reviews and audits. Revises the guidelines for Federal evaluation and audit of State programs governing paternity, child and spacial support, and parent location. (Sec. 4344) Revises the automated data processing requirements for State plans to mandate a single statewide automated data processing and information retrieval system which can perform specified tasks. (Sec. 4345) Makes funds available to the Secretary for: (1) training of Federal and State staff, research and demonstration programs, and special projects of regional and national significance; and (2) operation of the Federal Parent Locator Service. (Sec. 4351) Revises the requirements for State plan procedures for the review and adjustment of support orders. (Sec. 4352) Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to authorize a consumer agency to furnish a consumer report: (1) in response to a request by a governmental child support enforcement agency; or (2) to the State administrative agency which sets child support awards. (Sec. 4353) Shields a depository institution from Federal or State liability for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency. Prohibits such agency from disclosing such a financial record except for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation. Sets forth civil penalties for any person knowingly or negligently violating such prohibition. (Sec. 4361) Amends Internal Revenue Code procedural guidelines for the collection of arrearages to provide that no additional fee may be assessed for adjustments to a previously certified amount. (Sec. 4362) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of SSA title IV to revise procedural guidelines for: (1) consent by the United States to income withholding, garnishment, and similar proceedings for enforcement of child support and alimony obligations of current and retired Federal employees; and (2) enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed Forces. (Sec. 4364) Requires a State plan for child and spacial support to have in effect the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act of 1981, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act of 1984, or a similar law, as well as certain procedures governing the voiding of fraudulent transfers by a child support debtor. (Sec. 4365) Requires a State plan for child and spacial support to include specified procedures: (1) to ensure that persons owing past-due support participate in appropriate work activities; (2) to report to credit bureaus the name of the parent in arrears for child support; (3) to provide for liens against real and personal property for the support arrearages of a non-custodial parent; and (4) to implement the restriction of driver's, professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals owing support arrearages. (Sec. 4370) Requires the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport upon certification of nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 4371) Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate reciprocal agreements with foreign nations: (1) regarding international enforcement of child support obligations; and (2) designating the Department of Health and Human Services as the central authority for such enforcement. (Sec. 4372) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which a State agency shall enter agreements with financial institutions doing business within the State to develop and operate a data match system to provide identifying information for each non-custodial parent targeted by the State who maintains an account at the institution, and to encumber or surrender such parent's assets at the institution pursuant to a lien or levy. (Sec. 4373) Requires States to have statutorily prescribed procedures under which child support orders relating to the child of minor parents, where the custodial parents are receiving assistance, are enforceable against the child's paternal or maternal grandparents. (Sec. 4374) Amends Federal bankruptcy law and the Social Security Act to declare a debt for child support nondischargeable in bankruptcy. (Sec. 4376) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to include within the definition of medical child support order an order issued through a State administrative process. (Sec. 4377) Amends part D of SSA title IV to mandate statutorily prescribed procedures under which all enforced child support orders shall include a provision for the health care coverage of the child. (Sec. 4381) Amends part D of SSA title IV to prescribe guidelines under which the Administration for Children and Families shall make grants to enable States to establish and administer access and visitation programs to facilitate non-custodial parents' access to their children. Subtitle D: Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens - Declares that: (1) it is a compelling government interest to enact new rules for eligibility and sponsorship agreements in order to assure that aliens be self-reliant in accordance with national immigration policy; and (2) it is a compelling government interest to remove the incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of public benefits. (Sec. 4401) Prohibits Federal public benefits (as defined by this Act) to aliens who are not qualified aliens (as defined by this Act). Stipulates that such prohibition shall not apply to: (1) emergency medical services; (2) certain emergency disaster relief; (3) public health immunizations and treatment of communicable diseases; (4) housing assistance; (5) certain in-kind community services; and (6) Social Security Act benefits under specified circumstances. (Sec. 4402) Makes qualified aliens ineligible (with limited exceptions for refugees, asylees, certain permanent residents, veterans and active duty personnel, aliens whose deportation is withheld, and aliens currently receiving benefits) for: (1) supplemental security income (SSI); (2) food stamps; (3) temporary assistance for needy families; (4) social services block grants; and (5) Medicaid. (Sec. 4403) Makes qualified aliens ineligible (with limited exceptions for refugees, asylees, and veterans and active duty personnel) for Federal means-tested public benefits (as defined by this Act) for the first five years after U.S. entry. (Sec. 4404) Requires each Federal agency administering a program covered by this title to post information and provide general notification to the public and program recipients, either directly or through the States, of the requirements concerning alien eligibility for any such program pursuant to this title. Amends the Social Security Act and the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide for State reporting of certain illegal alien information to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). (Sec. 4411) Makes an alien who is not a qualified alien, a nonimmigrant, or a parolee ineligible for State or local benefits (as defined by this Act). Stipulates that such prohibition shall not apply to: (1) emergency medical services; (2) certain emergency disaster relief; (3) public health immunizations and treatment of communicable diseases; and (4) certain in-kind community services. (Sec. 4412) Authorizes States to determine eligibility for State public means-tested benefits for qualified aliens, nonimmigrants, or parolees. States that refugees, asylees, certain permanent residents, and veterans and active duty personnel shall be eligible for all State public benefits. (Sec. 4421) Provides that in determining the eligibility and the amount of benefits of any alien for Federal any means-tested public benefits program the income and resources of the alien shall be deemed to include: (1) the income and resources of any person who executed an affidavit of support on the alien's behalf; and (2) the income and resources of the person's spouse (if any). Applies such requirement with respect to an alien until such time as the alien achieves U.S. citizenship through naturalization or has worked without public assistance for a specified time. (Sec. 4422) Authorizes States to make similar attributions with respect to State programs (with specified exceptions). (Sec. 4423) Sets forth requirements for sponsor's affidavit of support. (Sec. 4424) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require sponsor cosignature of certain alien student loans. (Sec. 4431) Defines qualified alien to be: (1) a lawful permanent resident; (2) an asylee; (3) a refugee; (4) a parolee; (5) an alien under withheld deportation; and (6) an alien granted conditional entry. (Sec. 4432) Requires the Attorney General to promulgate regulations regarding alien eligibility for Federal public benefits. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4441) Makes conforming amendments related to assisted housing under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 and the Housing Act of 1949. (Sec. 4451) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a taxpayer to provide his or her social security number in order to qualify for the earned income credit. Subtitle E: Reform of Public Housing - Prohibits an individual from receiving an increased benefit under a means-tested welfare or public assistance program due to fraud-reduced income under another such program. Subtitle F: Child Protection Block Grant Programs and Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Independent Living Programs - Replaces SSA title IV-B (Child Welfare Services) with a program of block grants to the States to implement: (1) child protection programs with respect to child abuse and neglect; and (2) child protection. (Sec. 4701) Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) shall: (1) establish a national data collection and analysis program to coordinate existing State child abuse and neglect reports; and (2) implement a data collection system regarding adoption and foster care. Authorizes appropriations for child welfare studies and for assessment of State courts improvement of foster care and adoption proceedings. (Sec. 4711) Makes conforming amendments to Title IV-E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance). Delineates requirements for State eligibility for Federal payments for foster care maintenance and adoption assistance. Sets forth guidelines for payments and allotments to the States for adoption assistance, foster care, and independent living programs (designed to assist children who have attained age 16 to make the transition from foster care to independent living). (Sec. 4722) Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should: (1) allocate sufficient funds for adoption and medical assistance to encourage child adoption; (2) offer incentives to make adoption of special needs children more affordable for middle-class families; (3) provide a child that must be removed from its biological parents with a single foster care placement and single coordinated case team, including conclusion of adoption within one year of such child's foster care placement; and (4) participate in programs to enable maximum visibility of waiting children to potential parents. (Sec. 4751) (This section is almost identical to Title III, Subtitle B.) Renames the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act as the Child and Family Services Block Grant Act of 1996. Changes the purposes of the Act to emphasize assistance to each State in improving child protective service systems. Delineates criteria governing State eligibility for Federal block grants for: (1) child and family services; and (2) research, demonstrations, training, and technical assistance. Abolishes the current Federal program, including the Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, community-based family resource programs, temporary child care for children with disabilities, crisis nursery demonstration programs, certain preventive services for children of homeless families or families at risk of homelessness, and requirements for criminal background checks for child care providers. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) establish a national child abuse and neglect data collection and analysis program (in addition to the current national clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse); and (2) provide technical and training assistance to the States for child abuse and neglect programs and for adoption opportunities. Mandates peer review for such grants. Instructs the Secretary to conduct a national random sample study of children at risk of child abuse or neglect. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 through 2002, including grants for demonstration projects. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to assist them in developing programs related to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases. Requires any State requesting such assistance to establish a multidisciplinary task force on children's justice to study administrative, civil, and criminal judicial handling of such cases, and make recommendations which the State must adopt (or equivalent alternatives). Subtitle G: Child Care (Almost identical to Title III, Subtitle C.) - Child Care and Development Block Grant Amendments Act of 1996 - Revises and extends through FY 2002 the authorization of appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (the Act, for purposes of this title). Sets forth goals for State child care assistance. (Sec. 4803) Amends Part A of title IV (TANF) of the Social Security Act to entitle each State to payments for providing child care assistance. (Sec. 4804) Authorizes the State lead agency to administer the financial assistance it receives through other governmental or nongovernmental agencies. (Sec. 4805) Revises State application and plan requirements with respect to consumer education information, State licensing compliance, meeting the needs of AFDC or TANF recipients (especially those attempting through work activities to leave the assistance program) and those at risk of becoming dependent on assistance, and assistance for certain low-income working families. (Sec. 4807) Reduces from 20 percent to three percent the minimum amount of certain funds available for State activities to improve the quality of child care, limited to: (1) comprehensive consumer education to parents and the public; (2) activities increasing parental choice; and (3) activities designed to improve child care quality and availability. (Sec. 4808) Repeals a requirement that States expend a specified minimum amount of reserved funds for early childhood development and before- and after-school services. (Sec. 4813) Reduces the allotment reserved for Indian tribes or tribal organizations from three percent to one percent. Prescribes guidelines for the use of such allotment for facility repair and construction. (Sec. 4815) Repeals: (1) the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985; (2) the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act; (3) specified programs under title X (Programs of National Significance) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and (4) the Native Hawaiian Family-based Education Centers program under the Native Hawaiian Education Act. Subtitle H: Miscellaneous - Subjects any funds received by a State under provisions of law relating to block grants for temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) under part A of SSA title IV, optional State food assistance block grant under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and block grants for child care under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to appropriation by the State legislature, consistent with the terms and conditions required under such provisions of law. (Sec. 4902) Provides that States shall not be prohibited by the Federal Government from testing welfare recipients for use of controlled substances nor from sanctioning welfare recipients who test positive for use of controlled substances. (Sec. 4903) Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to provide for a reduction in funding for block grants under such program. (Sec. 4904) Amends Internal Revenue Code rules relating to denial of earned income credit for individuals having excessive investment income to: (1) reduce from $2,350 to $2,250 the disqualified income threshold; (2) revise the adjustment for inflation; (3) make disqualified income any capital gain net income and aggregate gains from all passive activities; (4) modify adjusted gross income for the earned income credit to exclude specified losses;; and (5) revise the formula for the earned income credit amount and initial credit phaseout.
Bill· HRH.R. 3743 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: FHA Multifamily Housing Title II: Housing for Special Populations Title III: Extensions of Existing Authority FHA Multifamily Housing Reform Act of 1996 - Title I: FHA Multifamily Housing - Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to: (1) insure first (and second) mortgages secured by multifamily housing projects or health care facilities and engage in other credit enhancement activities; and (2) enter into risk-sharing arrangements with qualified participating entities and housing finance agencies. Sets forth program provisions. Title II: Housing for Special Populations - Amends the Housing Act of 1959 and the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to: (1) reduce the term of rental assistance contracts for supportive housing for the elderly and for supportive housing for persons with disabilities; and (2) establish environmental review requirements for such programs. Title III: Extensions of Existing Authority - Amends the National Housing Act to extend: (1) auction authority; and (2) authority to transfer excess receipts to the flexible subsidy program.
Bill· HRH.R. 3751 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
Managed Care Bill of Rights for Consumers Act of 1996 - Establishes certain requirements for managed care plans, including: (1) coverage for services furnished by a specialist not contracted with a managed care plan; (2) continued services of a specialist without pre-authorization; (3) assurance of equitable coverage with respect to emergency services; (4) availability on a continuous basis of translation bilingual resources in areas where enrollees speak English as a second language; (5) prohibition for payment of financial bonuses to physicians who reduce or limit medically necessary services; (6) submission of a plan outlining a proposal for service to a medically underserved population in an area a plan is seeking to provide services; (7) certification that a plan in an area provides a minimum number of doctors; (8) disclosure of information on certain financial arrangements; (9) geographical accessibility of items and services covered under the plan; and (10) right of an enrollee to seek care from an out of network provider. Establishes a civil money penalty. Applies provisions of the Social Security Act to civil money penalties in the same manner as they apply under such Act.
Bill· SS. 1904 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Effective Compassion Subtitle A: Charity Tax Credit Subtitle B: Other Provisions Title II: Community Empowerment Subtitle A: Education Subtitle B: Restitution and Responsibility Subtitle C: Independence Subtitle D: Housing Title III: Other American Renewal Incentives Subtitle A: Housing Subtitle B: Responsible Parenting Subtitle C: Character Development Subtitle D: Family Reconciliation Subtitle E: Mentor Schools Subtitle F: Role Models Academy Subtitle G: Kinship Care Project for American Renewal Act - Title I: Effective Compassion - Subtitle A: Charity Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a credit for charitable contributions, which shall be in lieu of any deduction for such contributions, equal to the sum of: (1) 100 percent of contributions not exceeding $100; and (2) 90 percent of contributions in excess of $100 up to a maximum dollar amount of $500. Provides for a study of such credit. (Sec. 111) Repeals the earned income credit for individuals without children. (Sec. 112) Requires reports from the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance on changes in laws which would reduce corporate tax subsidies sufficient to raise specified amounts of revenues. (Sec. 121) Provides for the authorization of appropriations under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 regardless of whether payments to the States provisions of part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act are repealed. (Sec. 131) Provides for reductions in amounts paid to each State under the AFDC program. (Sec. 132) Repeals title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 141) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to reduce community development block grants. (Sec. 142) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to repeal title II (HOME Investment Partnerships Act). Subtitle B: Other Provisions - Creates a tax credit of $500 for each eligible individual for the home care of: (1) unmarried pregnant women; (2) hospice care patients, including AIDS and cancer patients; (3) homeless individuals; and (4) battered women and battered women with children. (Sec. 152) Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) deem specified free clinic health professionals providing qualifying health services as employees of the Public Health Service; and (2) provide such health professionals with specified limited legal liability. Authorizes appropriations for making payment for judgments against the United States pursuant to this section for the acts or omissions of such professionals. Requires a report to the Congress concerning such judgments. (Sec. 153) Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and carry out a competitive grant program to provide funding to States and communities to: (1) establish an information network to enhance coordination of matches between various nonprofit organizations and electing AFDC families or nonviolent criminal offenders; (2) hire staff to coordinate such matches; and (3) disseminate information about such program. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for the establishment of a national information clearinghouse concerning such program. Title II: Community Empowerment - Subtitle A: Education - Educational Choice and Equity Act of 1995 - Authorizes appropriations for the Secretary of Education to award grants to eligible entities for at least 100 demonstration projects under which low-income parents receive education certificates for the costs of enrolling their eligible children in a choice school. Reserves funds for the Comptroller General to evaluate such projects. Requires each participating school to comply with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. (Sec. 206) Requires such projects to involve: (1) at least one local educational agency (LEA) that receives a concentration grant under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and meets other specified criteria; and (2) a sufficient number of public and private choice schools, in the Secretary's judgment, to allow for a valid demonstration project. Requires priority be given to projects: (1) in which choice schools offer an enrollment opportunity to the broadest range of eligible children; (2) that involve diverse types of choice schools; and (3) that will contribute to geographic diversity of grant awards. Subtitle B: Restitution and Responsibility - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide grants to enable the States to: (1) collect data on victim restitution over a specified period; (2) create or expand automated data systems to track restitution payments; (3) make improvements in the manner in which restitution is ordered and collected; and (4) enhance and expand methods of enforcement of restitution orders. (Sec. 211) Requires a State, to be eligible, to certify that it has a victim advocacy program that provides assistance to crime victims throughout the judicial process and provides courts with a victim impact statement prior to sentencing. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Independence - Provides for the establishment of demonstration projects designed to determine: (1) the social, civic, psychological, and economic effects of providing to individuals and families with limited means an incentive to accumulate assets; (2) the extent to which an asset-based welfare policy that promotes saving for education, home ownership, and microenterprises may be used to enable individuals and families with low income to achieve economic self-sufficiency; and (3) the extent to which an asset-based welfare policy improves the community in which participating individuals and families live. (Sec. 222) Requires each qualified not-for-profit organization or State or local government agency receiving a grant to establish a Reserve Fund. Specifies income and net worth tests for individuals eligible for assistance under a demonstration project. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 223) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for contributions to an individual development account by or on behalf of a qualified individual. Limits such contributions to $2,000 per year, and qualified expenses to: (1) postsecondary educational expenses; (2) a first-home purchase; and (3) business capitalization. Excludes distributions for such purposes from gross income. Exempts such accounts from taxation, except the tax on unrelated business income. Disregards funds in an individual development account of a demonstration project participant for purposes of all means-tested Federal programs. Subtitle D: Housing - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to transfer ownership (after satisfying any indebtedness) of unoccupied and substandard public housing units to the appropriate local governmental entities. Grants the appropriate community development corporations a six-month right of subsequent first purchase. (Sec. 233) Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide maternal health certificates to eligible pregnant women for maternity home expenses. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 237) Authorizes the Secretary to make demonstration grants for State maternity care programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 241) Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible nonprofit organizations for rehabilitation of structures for use as maternity housing and services facilities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 248) Directs the Secretary to evaluate and report on programs under this part. Prohibits funds under this part from being used to promote or perform abortions or abortion counseling. Title III: Other American Renewal Incentives - Subtitle A: Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to reserve a specified percentage of public housing units for legally married families. Subtitle B: Responsible Parenting - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to provide for various specified program changes, including: (1) an increase in funding, as well as a corresponding increase in Federal set-asides; (2) provision and promotion of sexual abstinence and adoption-related services; (3) prohibitions on the use of funds for family planning services in schools and for programs or projects that provide abortions or abortion counseling or referral; (4) additional application requirements related to maximizing the role of families and religious and charitable organizations in solving problems relating to parenthood or adolescent pregnancies; and (5) new reporting requirements for the State and the Secretary of Health and Human Services involving State activities in connection with program services relating to abstinence and adoption. (Sec. 318) Amends the Public Health Service Act to repeal certain programs and demonstration projects related to population research and voluntary family planning as well as adolescent family life. Subtitle C: Character Development - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award: (1) mentor program grants to eligible local educational agencies to establish mentoring programs designed to link individual at-risk youth with responsible, individual adults who serve as mentors; and (2) implementation and evaluation grants to national organizations or agencies serving youth to conduct a multisite demonstration project, involving five to ten project sites, develop and evaluate screening standards for school-linked mentoring programs, and develop and evaluate volunteer recruitment activities for school-linked mentoring programs. (Sec. 325) Sets forth permitted and prohibited uses of grant funds awarded under this Act. (Sec. 326) Directs the Secretary to develop and distribute to eligible local educational agencies receiving a mentor program grant specific model guidelines for the screening of mentors. (Sec. 330) Authorizes appropriations for Mentoring Program Grants and Implementation and Evaluation Grants. Subtitle D: Family Reconciliation - Amends part B (Child-Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act with regard to family preservation and support services to create certain set-asides for States with approved family reconciliation plans which require a minimum 60-day waiting period and participation in counseling programs before final dissolution of a marriage involving one or more children under age 12. (Sec. 332) Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to prohibit the use of funds under that Act for legal assistance in certain actions relating to divorces or separations except where there is court-determined spousal abuse. Subtitle E: Mentor Schools - Mentor Schools Act - Amends the Education Amendments Act of 1972 to provide that nothing in specified provisions of such Act shall be construed to prohibit the establishment or operation of a same gender public elementary or secondary school if: (1) comparable courses, services and facilities are available to students of each sex; and (2) the same policies and criteria for admission to such schools are used for both sexes. Subtitle F: Role Models Academy - Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a demonstration program under which a four-year, residential, military-style academy (the Role Models Academy) is established which: (1) shall offer at-risk youth secondary school coursework and vocational training (and may offer precollegiate coursework); (2) focuses on the education and vocational training of youth at risk of delinquency or dropping out of secondary school; (3) has a teaching staff primarily composed of former members of the armed forces or participants in the Troops to Teachers Program, if they are qualified and trained to teach at the Academy; (4) operates a mentoring program involving role models from all sectors of society; (5) may contain a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps unit; (6) is housed on the site of any military installation closed pursuant to a base closure law; and (7) if effective, serves as a model for similar military-style academies throughout the United States. (Sec. 354) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle G: Kinship Care - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States for demonstration projects to develop or implement procedures to use adult relatives as the preferred placement for children removed from their parents. Sets forth grant eligibility and program evaluation requirements. (Sec. 362) Requires States that receive grants under this Act to develop procedures to ensure that reasonable efforts will be made, prior to the placement of a child in foster care, to provide notice to a relative who might be available to care for the child. (Sec. 363) Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 3711 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1996
Women Veterans Health Assessment Act of 1996 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report to the congressional veterans' committees on the provision of health care services to, and the conduct of research carried out by the Secretary for, women veterans. Directs the Secretary to study and report to such committees on the needs of women veterans for health care services.
Bill· HRH.R. 3716 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Effective Compassion Subtitle A: Charity Tax Credit Subtitle B: Other Provisions Title II: Community Empowerment Subtitle A: Education Subtitle B: Restitution and Responsibility Subtitle C: Independence Subtitle D: Housing Title III: Other American Renewal Incentives Subtitle A: Housing Subtitle B: Responsible Parenting Subtitle C: Character Development Subtitle D: Family Reconciliation Subtitle E: Mentor Schools Subtitle F: Role Models Academy Subtitle G: Kinship Care Project for American Renewal Act - Title I: Effective Compassion - Subtitle A: Charity Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a credit for charitable contributions, which shall be in lieu of any deduction for such contributions, equal to the sum of: (1) 100 percent of contributions not exceeding $100; and (2) 90 percent of contributions in excess of $100 up to a maximum dollar amount of $500. Provides for a study of such credit. (Sec. 111) Repeals the earned income credit for individuals without children. (Sec. 112) Requires reports from the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance on changes in laws which would reduce corporate tax subsidies sufficient to raise specified amounts of revenues. (Sec. 121) Provides for the authorization of appropriations under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 regardless of whether payments to the States provisions of part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act are repealed. (Sec. 131) Provides for reductions in amounts paid to each State under the AFDC program. (Sec. 132) Repeals title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 141) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to reduce community development block grants. (Sec. 142) Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to repeal title II (HOME Investment Partnerships Act). Subtitle B: Other Provisions - Creates a tax credit of $500 for each eligible individual for the home care of: (1) unmarried pregnant women; (2) hospice care patients, including AIDS and cancer patients; (3) homeless individuals; and (4) battered women and battered women with children. (Sec. 152) Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) deem specified free clinic health professionals providing qualifying health services as employees of the Public Health Service; and (2) provide such health professionals with specified limited legal liability. Authorizes appropriations for making payment for judgments against the United States pursuant to this section for the acts or omissions of such professionals. Requires a report to the Congress concerning such judgments. (Sec. 153) Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and carry out a competitive grant program to provide funding to States and communities to: (1) establish an information network to enhance coordination of matches between various nonprofit organizations and electing AFDC families or nonviolent criminal offenders; (2) hire staff to coordinate such matches; and (3) disseminate information about such program. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for the establishment of a national information clearinghouse concerning such program. Title II: Community Empowerment - Subtitle A: Education - Educational Choice and Equity Act of 1995 - Authorizes appropriations for the Secretary of Education to award grants to eligible entities for at least 100 demonstration projects under which low-income parents receive education certificates for the costs of enrolling their eligible children in a choice school. Reserves funds for the Comptroller General to evaluate such projects. Requires each participating school to comply with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. (Sec. 206) Requires such projects to involve: (1) at least one local educational agency (LEA) that receives a concentration grant under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and meets other specified criteria; and (2) a sufficient number of public and private choice schools, in the Secretary's judgment, to allow for a valid demonstration project. Requires priority be given to projects: (1) in which choice schools offer an enrollment opportunity to the broadest range of eligible children; (2) that involve diverse types of choice schools; and (3) that will contribute to geographic diversity of grant awards. Subtitle B: Restitution and Responsibility - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide grants to enable the States to: (1) collect data on victim restitution over a specified period; (2) create or expand automated data systems to track restitution payments; (3) make improvements in the manner in which restitution is ordered and collected; and (4) enhance and expand methods of enforcement of restitution orders. (Sec. 211) Requires a State, to be eligible, to certify that it has a victim advocacy program that provides assistance to crime victims throughout the judicial process and provides courts with a victim impact statement prior to sentencing. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Independence - Provides for the establishment of demonstration projects designed to determine: (1) the social, civic, psychological, and economic effects of providing to individuals and families with limited means an incentive to accumulate assets; (2) the extent to which an asset-based welfare policy that promotes saving for education, home ownership, and microenterprises may be used to enable individuals and families with low income to achieve economic self-sufficiency; and (3) the extent to which an asset-based welfare policy improves the community in which participating individuals and families live. (Sec. 222) Requires each qualified not-for-profit organization or State or local government agency receiving a grant to establish a Reserve Fund. Specifies income and net worth tests for individuals eligible for assistance under a demonstration project. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 223) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for contributions to an individual development account by or on behalf of a qualified individual. Limits such contributions to $2,000 per year, and qualified expenses to: (1) postsecondary educational expenses; (2) a first-home purchase; and (3) business capitalization. Excludes distributions for such purposes from gross income. Exempts such accounts from taxation, except the tax on unrelated business income. Disregards funds in an individual development account of a demonstration project participant for purposes of all means-tested Federal programs. Subtitle D: Housing - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to transfer ownership (after satisfying any indebtedness) of unoccupied and substandard public housing units to the appropriate local governmental entities. Grants the appropriate community development corporations a six-month right of subsequent first purchase. (Sec. 233) Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide maternal health certificates to eligible pregnant women for maternity home expenses. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 237) Authorizes the Secretary to make demonstration grants for State maternity care programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 241) Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible nonprofit organizations for rehabilitation of structures for use as maternity housing and services facilities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 248) Directs the Secretary to evaluate and report on programs under this part. Prohibits funds under this part from being used to promote or perform abortions or abortion counseling. Title III: Other American Renewal Incentives - Subtitle A: Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to reserve a specified percentage of public housing units for legally married families. Subtitle B: Responsible Parenting - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to provide for various specified program changes, including: (1) an increase in funding, as well as a corresponding increase in Federal set-asides; (2) provision and promotion of sexual abstinence and adoption-related services; (3) prohibitions on the use of funds for family planning services in schools and for programs or projects that provide abortions or abortion counseling or referral; (4) additional application requirements related to maximizing the role of families and religious and charitable organizations in solving problems relating to parenthood or adolescent pregnancies; and (5) new reporting requirements for the State and the Secretary of Health and Human Services involving State activities in connection with program services relating to abstinence and adoption. (Sec. 318) Amends the Public Health Service Act to repeal certain programs and demonstration projects related to population research and voluntary family planning as well as adolescent family life. Subtitle C: Character Development - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award: (1) mentor program grants to eligible local educational agencies to establish mentoring programs designed to link individual at-risk youth with responsible, individual adults who serve as mentors; and (2) implementation and evaluation grants to national organizations or agencies serving youth to conduct a multisite demonstration project, involving five to ten project sites, develop and evaluate screening standards for school-linked mentoring programs, and develop and evaluate volunteer recruitment activities for school-linked mentoring programs. (Sec. 325) Sets forth permitted and prohibited uses of grant funds awarded under this Act. (Sec. 326) Directs the Secretary to develop and distribute to eligible local educational agencies receiving a mentor program grant specific model guidelines for the screening of mentors. (Sec. 330) Authorizes appropriations for Mentoring Program Grants and Implementation and Evaluation Grants. Subtitle D: Family Reconciliation - Amends part B (Child-Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act with regard to family preservation and support services to create certain set-asides for States with approved family reconciliation plans which require a minimum 60-day waiting period and participation in counseling programs before final dissolution of a marriage involving one or more children under age 12. (Sec. 332) Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to prohibit the use of funds under that Act for legal assistance in certain actions relating to divorces or separations except where there is court-determined spousal abuse. Subtitle E: Mentor Schools - Mentor Schools Act - Amends the Education Amendments Act of 1972 to provide that nothing in specified provisions of such Act shall be construed to prohibit the establishment or operation of a same gender public elementary or secondary school if: (1) comparable courses, services and facilities are available to students of each sex; and (2) the same policies and criteria for admission to such schools are used for both sexes. Subtitle F: Role Models Academy - Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a demonstration program under which a four-year, residential, military-style academy (the Role Models Academy) is established which: (1) shall offer at-risk youth secondary school coursework and vocational training (and may offer precollegiate coursework); (2) focuses on the education and vocational training of youth at risk of delinquency or dropping out of secondary school; (3) has a teaching staff primarily composed of former members of the armed forces or participants in the Troops to Teachers Program, if they are qualified and trained to teach at the Academy; (4) operates a mentoring program involving role models from all sectors of society; (5) may contain a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps unit; (6) is housed on the site of any military installation closed pursuant to a base closure law; and (7) if effective, serves as a model for similar military-style academies throughout the United States. (Sec. 354) Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle G: Kinship Care - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States for demonstration projects to develop or implement procedures to use adult relatives as the preferred placement for children removed from their parents. Sets forth grant eligibility and program evaluation requirements. (Sec. 362) Requires States that receive grants under this Act to develop procedures to ensure that reasonable efforts will be made, prior to the placement of a child in foster care, to provide notice to a relative who might be available to care for the child. (Sec. 363) Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 3715 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1996
LAM Disease Research Act of 1996 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that the National Heart, Blood Vessel, Lung, and Blood Diseases and Blood Resources Program conduct or support research on lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 3714 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1996
Medicare Hospice Benefit Amendments of 1996 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to hospice care to: (1) restructure the hospice care benefit period; (2) cover ambulance services, diagnostic tests, and anticancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy services; (3) permit contracting with independent physicians or physician groups for hospice care services; (4) allow waiver of certain staffing requirements for hospice care programs in non-urbanized areas; (5) define coverage denial, with respect to the limitation on the liability of beneficiaries and providers, to mean a determination that an individual is not terminally ill; and (6) extend the period for physician certification of an individual's terminal illness.
Bill· SS. 1901 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1996
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to repeal the requirement for annual resident review for mentally ill and mentally retarded nursing facility residents, and instead require a review in case of a significant change in the physical or mental condition of such a resident, as well as an appropriate, prompt notification to the applicable State authority after such change.
Bill· SS. 1900 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1996
Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to permit waiver of the prohibition on offering nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs in certain facilities.
Bill· SS. 1898 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Collection, Storage, and Analysis of DNA Samples Title II: Disclosure of Genetic information Title III: Discrimination Prohibited Title IV: Exceptions for Identification and Court-Ordered Genetic Analysis Title V: Research Activities Title VI: Minors Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions Title VIII: Enforcement Title IX: Effective Dates; Applicability; and Relationship to Other Laws Genetic Confidentiality and Nondiscrimination Act of 1996 - Title I: Collection, Storage, and Analysis of DNA Samples - Prohibits, except as allowed under title IV, collection or analysis of DNA samples without the consent of the individual. Regulates written consent. Makes a DNA sample the property of the individual and gives the individual the right (subject to title IV provisions) to order sample destruction. Mandates certain notice. Title II: Disclosure of Genetic information - Prohibits disclosure or redisclosure of genetic information except in accordance with a written authorization meeting certain requirements. Provides for information inspection, copying, and amendment. Prohibits compelling disclosure in any judicial, legislative, or administrative proceeding unless: (1) the request for compulsory disclosure is in accordance with title IV; (2) the individual is a party; or (3) the information is for use in a law enforcement matter in which the individual is the subject or party. Title III: Discrimination Prohibited - Prohibits employment and insurance discrimination regarding genetic information, specifying prohibited acts. Applies enforcement provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to violations by employers and provides for insurance enforcement. Title IV: Exceptions for Identification and Court-Ordered Genetic Analysis - Allows use of DNA samples to identify a dead body. Allows sample collection and use for identification of active duty armed forces members. Declares that this Act does not prohibit certain information use in law enforcement and paternity matters. Title V: Research Activities - Prohibits research analysis of DNA samples unless an Institutional Review Board (IRB) has made certain determinations. Prohibits disclosure for research purposes unless an IRB has approved the study and the individual has consented, but allows limited access for statistical use. Title VI: Minors - Prohibits collection, storage, or analysis of samples of individuals under 18 years old to determine the risk that does not produce signs of disease before the age of 18 unless: (1) there is an effective intervention; (2) the intervention is initiated before the individual reaches 18; and (3) the individual's parent or guardian has consented. Provides for sample destruction. Prohibits newborn screening except as authorized by State law or regulation. Title VII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires every person who maintains genetic information to annually notify their employees of responsibilities and penalties under this Act. Provides for the transfer of ownership and the discontinuance of a program, business, enterprise, or services involving DNA samples. Title VIII: Enforcement - Authorizes any person whose rights under this Act have been violated to bring a civil action for damages or equitable relief in Federal or State court. Mandates, for negligent violations: (1) the greater of actual damages or $50,000; (2) treble damages if the violation resulted in monetary gain; and (3) costs and attorney's fees. Mandates, for wilful violations: (1) the greater of actual damages or $100,000; (2) punitive damages; and (3) costs and attorney's fees. Allows the Attorney General to bring an action for a restraining order or injunction, with the court allowed to order a civil monetary penalty, costs, and attorney's fees. Title IX: Effective Dates; Applicability; and Relationship to Other Laws - Prohibits State laws or regulations except as they prohibit or further restrict the DNA sample collection, storage, analysis, or disclosure or provide additional privacy protections to the individual.
Bill· SS. 1897 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Provisions Relating to the National Institutes of Health Title II: Provisions Relating to the National Research Institutes Title III: Specific Institutes and Centers Subtitle A: National Cancer Institute Subtitle B: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Subtitle C: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Subtitle D: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Subtitle E: National Institute on Aging Subtitle F: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Subtitle G: National Institute on Drug Abuse Subtitle H: National Institute of Mental Health Subtitle I: National Center for Research Resources Subtitle J: National Library of Medicine Title IV: Awards and Training Title V: Research with Respect to AIDS Title VI: General Provisions Subtitle A: Authority of the Director of NIH Subtitle B: Office of Rare Disease Research Subtitle C: Certain Reauthorizations Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions Subtitle E: Repeals and Conforming Amendments National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1996 - Title I: Provisions Relating to the National Institutes of Health - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for: (1) the discretionary fund of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and (2) the development and improvement of vaccines. Title II: Provisions Relating to the National Research Institutes - Authorizes appropriations for research and related activities concerning osteoporosis, Paget's disease, and related bone disorders. (Sec. 202) Declares that the purpose of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is to characterize the structure and function of the human genome, including: (1) mapping and sequencing of genes; and (2) addressing related ethical, legal, and social issues. Transfers to NHGRI all functions of the National Center for Human Genome Research. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 203) Increases the dollar thresholds for requiring technical and scientific peer review and advisory council approval for contracts and cooperative agreements. (Sec. 204) Revises advisory council requirements. (Sec. 205) Eliminates (or reduces the frequency of) mandated reports by: (1) NIH; (2) various coordinating committees and advisory boards and a task force; and (3) the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Revises requirements regarding research on sudden infant death syndrome. Amends the International Health Research Act of 1960 to eliminate a mandated report by the President. Title III: Specific Institutes and Centers - Subtitle A: National Cancer Institute - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for the National Cancer Institute and for activities related to breast, gynecological, prostate, and other cancers. Authorizes appropriations regarding conditions associated with diethylstilbestrol (DES). Subtitle B: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute - Authorizes appropriations for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Subtitle C: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Authorizes appropriations for research and training regarding tuberculosis and for community-based clinical trials of treatments for infection with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Subtitle D: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - Authorizes appropriations for activities regarding contraception and infertility. Subtitle E: National Institute on Aging - Authorizes appropriations for the National Institute on Aging. Subtitle F: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - Authorizes appropriations for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Modifies requirements regarding grants to National Alcohol Research Centers. Subtitle G: National Institute on Drug Abuse - Authorizes appropriations for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (including the Medication Development Program). Modifies requirements regarding grants to Drug Abuse Research Centers. Subtitle H: National Institute of Mental Health - Authorizes appropriations for the National Institute of Mental Health. Subtitle I: National Center for Research Resources - Authorizes appropriations for biomedical and behavioral research facilities. Authorizes (currently, requires) reservation of an unspecified amount (currently, $5 million) for regional centers for primate research. (Sec. 382) Mandates grants: (1) for the establishment of general clinical research centers; (2) to support individual careers in clinical research; and (3) to support individual clinical research projects. Authorizes appropriations for each of the grants. (Sec. 384) Modifies: (1) the composition of the Scientific and Technical Review Board on Biomedical and Behavioral Research Facilities; and (2) requirements regarding biomedical and behavioral research facilities grants. Subtitle J: National Library of Medicine - Authorizes appropriations for the National Library of Medicine. Title IV: Awards and Training - Mandates expansion of the Medical Scientist Training Program to include fields that will contribute to training clinical investigators in the skills of performing patient-oriented clinical research. (Sec. 402) Increases the maximum annual educational loan repayment that may be made on behalf of health professionals (including, in some cases, those from disadvantaged backgrounds) conducting AIDS, contraception, infertility, or other research. Authorizes appropriations regarding the AIDS research loan repayments. (Sec. 403) Mandates a program of educational loan repayments for health professionals conducting research in areas identified by the NIH Director. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 404) Increases the aggregate limit on the number of undergraduate scholarships for professions needed by NIH and the number of loan repayment contracts regarding NIH clinical researchers. Replaces, in provisions authorizing those loan repayments, references to being from disadvantaged backgrounds with a requirement that a specified percentage of appropriated funds be used for such individuals. Authorizes appropriations for the loan repayments. Title V: Research with Respect to AIDS - Authorizes appropriations for: (1) carrying out a comprehensive plan for NIH AIDS activities; and (2) the AIDS emergency discretionary fund. Title VI: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Authority of the Director of NIH - Adds to the authorities of the NIH Director conducting and supporting research training and appointing health care professionals. Subtitle B: Office of Rare Disease Research - Establishes the Office for Rare Disease Research and a related advisory council. Subtitle C: Certain Reauthorizations - Authorizes appropriations for: (1) National Research Service Awards; and (2) the National Foundation for Biomedical Research. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Establishes the National Fund for Health Research. (Sec. 633) Requires, notwithstanding any other provision of law, that the Secretary of Health and Human Services be treated as a nonprofit entity for the purpose of making contributions to the retirement systems of Silvio O. Conte Senior Biomedical Research Service appointees in a manner that will permit the appointees to continue to be fully covered under the retirement systems they were members of immediately before their appointment. Subtitle E: Repeals and Conforming Amendments - Replaces, in provisions limiting administrative expenses, a reference to the National Center for Nursing Research with a reference to the National Institute of Nursing Research. Revises ex officio or other membership regarding various advisory councils and advisory boards. Repeals provisions establishing the National Diabetes Advisory Board, the National Digestive Diseases Advisory Board, the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Advisory Board, the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Board, and the National Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Advisory Board. Removes provisions requiring that the National Academy of Sciences be requested to conduct certain studies on biomedical and behavioral research personnel. Amends the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1979 to repeal provisions establishing the National Commission on Alcoholism and Other Alcohol-Related Problems. Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to remove provisions establishing an advisory council relating to hazardous substance research and training.
Bill· SS. 1894 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Military Personnel Title II: Operation and Maintenance Title III: Procurement Title IV: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Title V: Revolving and Management Funds Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs Title VII: Related Agencies Title VIII: General Provisions Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 - Title I: Military Personnel - Appropriates funds for FY 1997 for active-duty and reserve personnel in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force and for National Guard personnel in the Army and Air Force. Title II: Operation and Maintenance - Appropriates funds for FY 1997 for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Army, Navy, and Air Force (including a transfer of funds in each case), the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, the reserve components, and the Army and Air National Guards. Appropriates funds for: (1) overseas contingency operations (including a transfer of funds); (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; (3) environmental restoration for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and defense-wide (including a transfer of funds in each case); (4) environmental restoration at former defense sites (including a transfer of funds); (5) overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid; and (6) nuclear threat reduction programs with respect to republics of the former Soviet Union. Title III: Procurement - Appropriates funds for FY 1997 for procurement by the armed forces and its reserve components of aircraft, missiles, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and for other procurement. Appropriates funds for defense-wide procurement and for National Guard and reserve equipment. Title IV: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Appropriates funds for FY 1997 for research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) by the armed forces and defense agencies. Appropriates funds for the Directors of Test and Evaluation and Operational Test and Evaluation. Title V: Revolving and Management Funds - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Defense Business Operations Fund; and (2) programs under the National Defense Sealift Fund. Title VI: Other Department of Defense Programs - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) medical and health care programs; (2) the destruction of lethal chemical agents and munitions; (3) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities, defense (including a transfer of funds); and (4) expenses and activities of the Office of the Inspector General in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978. Title VII: Related Agencies - Appropriates funds for: (1) the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System Fund; (2) expenses of the Intelligence Community Management Account; (3) authorized payments to the Kaho'olawe Island Conveyance, Remediation, and Environmental Restoration Trust Fund; and (4) national security scholarships, fellowships, and grants (using funds derived from the National Security Education Trust Fund). Title VIII: General Provisions - Specifies authorized, restricted, and prohibited uses of appropriated funds. (Sec. 8010) Authorizes procurement funds appropriated under this Act to be used for multiyear procurement contracts for Javelin missiles, Arleigh Burke class destroyers, and certain machine guns, rifles, and automatic weapons. (Sec. 8011) Prohibits during FY 1997 the management by end strengths of DOD civilian personnel. (Sec. 8020) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to establish with host governments of NATO-member countries an account for the deposit of residual value amounts negotiated in the return of U.S. military installations to such countries. (Sec. 8033) Authorizes DOD to incur up to $350 million in obligations for DOD personnel compensation, military construction projects, and supplies and services in anticipation of receipts of contributions from the government of Kuwait. (Sec. 8034) Earmarks funds from this Act for the Civil Air Patrol. (Sec. 8041) Authorizes the payment of voluntary separation incentive payments to military personnel. (Sec. 8044) Authorizes funds available for defense drug interdiction and counter-drug activities to be used for the Young Marines program. (Sec. 8051) Prohibits the use of funds: (1) for the modification of an aircraft, weapon, ship, or other equipment that the military department concerned plans to retire or otherwise dispose of within five years after completion of the modification; (2) to transport chemical munitions to the Johnston Atoll for storage or demilitarization (with an exception and an authorized wartime waiver by the President); (3) by a DOD entity without compliance with the Buy American Act; (4) for assistance to or programs in the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea unless specifically appropriated for such purpose; and (5) to reduce the civilian medical and medical support personnel assigned to military treatment facilities below the September 30, 1996 level. (Sec. 8054) Earmarks funds appropriated under this Act for the mitigation of adverse environmental impacts on Indian lands resulting from DOD activities. (Sec. 8059) Earmarks $40 million from the funds authorized for chemical agents and munitions destruction, defense, to initiate a pilot program to identify alternatives to the current incineration process for demilitarized chemical munitions (requiring an evaluation and annual report to the defense committees with respect to such program). (Sec. 8061) Authorizes DOD to enter into interim leasing arrangements for the Adak Naval Air Facility. (Sec. 8062) Rescinds specified funds from various accounts under prior defense appropriations Acts. (Sec. 8075) Appropriates funds to DOD for transfer to the Coast Guard. (Sec. 8078) Directs the Secretary to report quarterly to specified congressional committees setting forth all costs incurred by DOD in implementing or supporting United Nations Security Council resolutions. (Sec. 8079) Directs the Secretary, to the extent authorized by law, to issue loan guarantees in support of U.S. defense exports not otherwise provided for, with a contingent liability limit of $15 billion. Requires quarterly reports to specified congressional committees on such loan guarantees. (Sec. 8083) Authorizes the use of DOD O&M funds for a pilot program to increase the use of Reserve personnel in support of U.S. missions and with eligible organizations and activities outside of DOD. (Sec. 8086) Authorizes specified amounts for Air Force aircraft procurement from prior-year defense appropriations Acts to remain available for expenditure until the end of FY 2002. (Sec. 8088) Directs the Secretary, upon the enactment of this Act, to make specified transfers between various DOD appropriation accounts.(Sec. 8089) Requires, no later than June 30, 1997, that DOD disbursements in excess of $3 million be matched to a particular obligation before the disbursement is made. (Sec. 8090) Directs the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) to submit to the defense committees a detailed report identifying any activity for which the FY 1998 budget was reduced because the Congress appropriated funds above the President's budget request for such activity for FY 1997. (Sec. 8092) Makes certain prior-year Air Force missile procurement funds available, until paid, for the payment of satellite on-orbit incentive fees. (Sec. 8095) Restricts the purchase of security locks used to protect critical national security information or other classified material. (Sec. 8096) Restricts the use of FY 1997 DOD funds for the modification of established reprogramming procedures. (Sec. 8097) Earmarks specified RDT&E funds appropriated under this Act for prostate cancer research through the Department of the Army. (Sec. 8098) Repeals a provision of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1996, which prohibits the use of Navy funds to develop or procure an emergency generator set for the New Attack Submarine unless such equipment is powered by a diesel engine manufactured in the United States by a U.S. entity.
Bill· HRH.R. 3699 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1996
Directs the Secretary of Defense to conduct a demonstration project in at least one region of the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) to provide beneficiaries covered under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) with the option to receive health care through the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, in addition to other health care options available to such covered beneficiaries. Outlines participation eligibility requirements, with a special rule for Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) participants. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to permit a project participant to take a tax credit of 25 percent of the amount paid on behalf of such participant to a medical savings account. Requires a report from the Secretary of Defense to the Congress containing a plan to implement the demonstration project and to permit participants to maintain and use medical savings accounts.
Bill· HRH.R. 3695 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1996
Health Care Accountability Act of 1996 - Prohibits a health plan (or a contract between an insurer and a health care provider) from including provisions holding the plan harmless from liability in any civil action arising out of medical care provided or withheld under the plan.
Bill· HRH.R. 3691 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1996
Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Act of 1996 - Establishes in the executive branch the Prescription Drug Price Review Board which shall review the prices of prescription drugs. Permits the Board, after notice and a hearing, to take such actions as may be necessary to revoke a drug patent, if the drug's manufacturer does not reduce the price of a drug found to have an excessive price.
Bill· HRH.R. 3694 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1996
Health Care Integrity Act of 1996 - Mandates regulations to ensure that insurers do not offer monetary rewards, penalties, or inducements to health care practitioners or condition the practitioner's continued participation in a plan on the basis of the practitioner's decisions to limit the availability of appropriate medical tests, services, or treatment.
Bill· SS. 1885 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1996
Prosthetic Limb Access Act of 1996 - Shields certain nonprofit providers, practitioners (health care professionals associated with such provider), or nonprofit organizations from liability for harm to a claimant caused by a recycled prosthetic device, except in cases of intentional wrongdoing that was the proximate cause of the harm. Makes this Act applicable to any civil action brought by a claimant in a Federal or State court against a nonprofit provider or practitioner for harm allegedly caused by a recycled prosthetic device or against a nonprofit organization that made a referral to a provider or practitioner that involved such a device that allegedly caused harm. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) preemption; and (2) procedures for dismissal of civil actions.
Bill· SS. 1892 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1996
Tobacco Medicaid Recovery Act of 1996 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to reward States that recover by lawsuit from manufacturers of tobacco products Federal and State health care costs incurred under Medicaid for the treatment of individuals with diseases attributable to the use of tobacco products. Provides for: (1) attributing a portion of such recovered costs to the non-Federal share of expenditures under the Medicaid programs of such States; and (2) paying another portion to the National Institutes of Health for disease research.
Bill· HRH.R. 3678 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1996
Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, as amended by the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, to extend the Medicare waiver of liability provisions (presumption of lack of knowledge of exclusion) for home health agencies, hospice programs, and skilled nursing facilities.
Bill· HRH.R. 3672 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1996
Repeals Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act provisions requiring the certification of drugs containing insulin or antibiotics.
Bill· SS. 1869 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Indian Health Care Improvement Technical Corrections Act of 1996 - Makes technical corrections to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, including revisions concerning: (1) the deferral of a health professional's active duty service obligation; and (2) the right of recovery against an insurance company for failure to provide reasonable assurances. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2000 for the: (1) California Contract Health Services Demonstration Program; (2) Medicare and Medicaid Demonstration Program; (3) Gallup Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center; (4) Substance Abuse Counselor Education Demonstration Program; and (5) Home and Community-Based Care Demonstration Program.
Bill· SS. 1870 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Medical Education Trust Fund Act of 1996 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new title XXI (Medical Education Trust Fund) establishing in the Treasury the Medical Education Trust Fund, consisting of various specified accounts. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make annual payments from the Fund to eligible medical schools and teaching hospitals applying for assistance to: (1) maintain and develop quality educational programs in an increasingly competitive health care system; and (2) meet the indirect and direct costs of graduate medical education. Outlines requirements for Fund investments and determination of payments. Amends SSA titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) to provide for annual transfers to the Fund. Makes specified appropriations to the Fund. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax equal to 1.5 percent of premiums received under accident or health insurance policies (including applicable self-insured plans), and equal to 1.5 percent of the amount received for certain health-related administrative services, payable by the policy issuer and the service provider, respectively. Makes specified appropriations and transfers of such to the Fund for allocation among the various specified accounts. Establishes the Medical Education Advisory Commission to study and report on Fund operations and other specified matters, including recommendations for demonstration projects. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the HHS Secretary to prescribe guidelines for the establishment and operation of such demonstration projects.
Bill· HRH.R. 3643 (104th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Makes herbicide-exposed veterans eligible for hospital and nursing home care for any disease among those for which the National Academy of Sciences has determined: (1) there is sufficient evidence to conclude a positive association between occurrence of the disease and exposure to a herbicide agent; (2) there is evidence which suggests such an association, though such evidence is limited in nature; or (3) available studies are insufficient to permit a conclusion about the presence or absence of such an association. Makes such veterans eligible for such care for a disease for which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines there is credible evidence suggestive of such an association. Makes radiation-exposed veterans eligible for such care for any disease currently listed among covered diseases or any other disease for which the Secretary determines there is credible evidence of a positive association between occurrence of the disease and exposure to such radiation. Extends through 1998 the authority to provide such care. Extends: (1) through 1998 the authority to provide outpatient care to herbicide-exposed veterans; and (2) permanently the authority to provide such care to radiation-exposed veterans. Authorizes the Secretary to establish in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs a Committee on Care of Severely Chronically Mentally Ill Veterans which shall continually assess the capability of VHA to meet the treatment and rehabilitation needs of mentally ill veterans whose mental illnesses are severe and chronic and who are eligible for health care furnished by the Department. Requires various reports with respect to such Committee and its assessments. Directs the Secretary to establish and operate centers for mental illness research, education and clinical activities to represent various U.S. geographic regions. Allows the designation of no more than five centers. Outlines requirements for proposals submitted for designation as a center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 through 2001 for basic support of center activities. Directs the Under Secretary of Health for VHA to allocate other Department funds for such centers. Requires annual reports. Requires at least one center to be designated by January 1, 1998. Authorizes the use of disbursement agreements for the administration of pay, benefits, and records of medical residents and interns serving in Department facilities furnishing hospital care or medical services (currently, only Department hospitals). Authorizes the Secretary to suspend special pay agreements in the case of Department physicians and dentists who enter residency training programs, such suspension to last for the duration of the program.
Bill· HRH.R. 3644 (104th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Just Say No Act - Prohibits the advertisement of distilled spirits on any medium of electronic communication subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission.