Housing

To authorize jurisdictions receiving funds for fiscal year 1992 under the HOME Investment Partnerships Act that are allocated for new construction to use the funds, at the discretion of the jurisdiction, for other eligible activities under such Act and to amend the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 to authorize local governments that have financed housing projects that have been provided a section 8 financial adjustment factor to use recaptured amounts available from refinancing of the projects for housing activities.

United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1992

Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to authorize jurisdictions receiving FY 1992 HOME Investment Partnership funds allocated for new construction to use the funds for other eligible activities. (Applies such authorization only to funds provided under the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992 which suspends the contribution requirement for participating jurisdictions.) Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 to permit local governments or local housing agencies to retain and use funds recaptured from refinanced projects after January 1, 1992.

Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992

Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 - Title I: Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide grants to State and local entities for lead-based paint hazard reduction activities (including testing of children) in private target housing. Authorizes appropriations, including a technical assistance set-aside. Establishes a ten percent minimum matching requirement. Amends specified Federal housing Acts to require assessments of lead-based paint hazards. Amends the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act to require the inspection and abatement of lead-based paint hazards in all pre-1978 federally owned residential properties prior to disposition. Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to require State and local comprehensive housing affordability strategies to include estimates of housing units with lead paint problems and outline hazard abatement activities. Directs the Secretary to: (1) assess and reduce lead-based paint hazards as part of the National Housing Act mortgage insurance programs; and (2) establish a task force on private sector financing of lead-based paint hazard reduction. Title II: Assessment and Reduction Infrastructure - Requires Federal assessment and reduction of lead-based paint hazards to be conducted by federally certified contractors and laboratories. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue lead-based paint hazard assessment and reduction guidelines; and (2) establish related monitoring systems. Subjects a contractor to contract disqualification (in addition to other remedies) for certification noncompliance or negligent compliance. Directs the Secretary to establish a National Clearinghouse on Residential Lead-Based Paint Poisoning. Sets aside specified funds for Clearinghouse activities. Title III: Public Information and Technical Assistance - Provides for the disclosure of information concerning lead-based paint hazards in contracts for purchase, sale, or leasing of target housing. Sets forth required contract Lead Warning Statements. Requires the Secretary to publish a related lead hazard information pamphlet. Sets forth penalties for disclosure violations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a public awareness campaign regarding the dangers of childhood lead poisoning; and (2) establish a lead hazard hotline. Sets aside specified funds for such activities. Requires: (1) the Secretary to develop consumer information to be distributed by home improvement retailers regarding potential lead hazards of remodeling or renovation; and (2) manufacturers of hand tools used in such remodeling to affix a related warning label (to be developed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission). Title IV: Formulation of a National Strategy - Directs the Secretary to formulate a national strategy for eliminating lead-based paint hazards in housing. Title V: Research and Development - Subtitle A: HUD Research - Directs the Secretary to conduct research on: (1) lead exposure from non-paint sources such as exterior soil and lead dust; and (2) lead testing technologies. Sets aside specified funds for such activities. Subtitle B: GAO Report - Directs the General Accounting Office to assess the availability of liability insurance for owners of residential housing that contains lead-based paint and persons engaged in assessment and reduction activities. Title VI: Reports - Sets forth reporting requirements.

Improvement of Housing for the Elderly and Disabled Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992

Improvement of Housing for the Elderly and Disabled Act - Title I: Authority to Provide Housing Under United States Housing Act of 1937 for Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to authorize public housing authorities to provide designated (such as only elderly or only handicapped) low-income housing, and make units available only to families so designated. Requires that current waiting lists be observed before initiating designated housing options. Prohibits forced tenant moves based upon amendments made by this title. Considers central dining facility expenditures made in connection with congregate housing as an operating cost. Title II: Standards and Obligations of Residency and Coordination of Services in Federally Assisted Housing - Requires federally assisted housing owners and public housing authorities to select only tenants who comply with specified occupancy criteria. Permits refusal of occupancy because of: (1) criminal activity; (2) prior evictions; (3) a history of disturbing other neighbors or destroying property; (4) intentional misrepresentations; or (5) failure to meet financial obligations. Requires leases to enumerate such criteria and state that their violation shall be sufficient grounds for eviction. Requires the appointment of service coordinators in federally assisted housing to coordinate services for older or disabled residents, which may include safety, social, health, and nutritional services. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to direct public housing agencies to assist elderly or disabled families in funding nonpublic housing.

Homeowners' Equity Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992

Homeowners' Equity Protection Act - Requires a federally regulated institution to notify and offer a person defaulting on a federally related home mortgage a one-year period of forbearance (with interest but not principal payable during such period). Prohibits foreclosure during such period. Provides for foreclosure and sale upon the period's expiration. Requires foreclosing institutions to supply specified foreclosure and sale information to the appropriate Federal banking agencies for submission to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. States that a federally related mortgage shall not be classified as a substandard asset for Federal banking purposes unless the forebearance period has expired, the mortgage default has not been corrected, and the remaining principal balance is at least 80 percent of the home's appraised value. Applies such notice, forbearance, and foreclosure provisions to federally related mortgages held by nonfederally regulated institutions.

Dire Emergency Job Creation Appropriations Act, 1992

United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1992

Dire Emergency Job Creation Appropriations Act, 1992 - Makes dire emergency appropriations for FY 1992 to stimulate the economy and to create and retain productive jobs. Title I: Immediate Job Creation Through Vital Public Investments - Appropriates funds for the following investments in transportation to: (1) accelerate the resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation of the nation's interstate highway system; (2) accelerate the construction, reconstruction, restoration, and rehabilitation of highways and transit systems; (3) accelerate the construction, alteration, and rehabilitation of runways, taxiways, aprons, and roads within airport boundaries; and (4) accelerate the construction and rehabilitation of National Park Service roads and parkways and the completion of the Appalachian Development Highway System. Declares the Federal share payable for highway projects to be 95 percent. Provides for the apportionment to the States of such funds and exempts such funds from specified limitations. Makes additional funds available for: (1) community development grants; (2) community services block grants to encourage the creation of business and employment opportunities; and (3) child care and development block grants to improve the availability and quality of child care services. Makes additional funds available for investments in: (1) wastewater treatment facilities; (2) water resource, hydroelectric power, irrigation, and reclamation projects; (3) natural resource protection and enhancement; (4) urban forest maintenance; and (5) park and recreation area improvements. Appropriates additional funds for investments in: (1) public housing modernization; (2) rural housing improvements; (3) energy conservation home improvements for low-income households; and (4) military family housing improvements in the United States. Appropriates an additional amount to restore the prior level of Federal support for economic development purposes as in effect immediately before September 30, 1982. Appropriates additional amounts to create jobs and promote economic development in the Appalachian and Tennessee Valley regions. Makes additional new and direct guaranteed loan authority available to increase small business opportunities. Makes available additional loan authority and additional funding for investments in: (1) rural electrification and telephone system upgrades; (2) watershed and conservation development; and (3) rural water and sewer improvements. Appropriates additional funds for: (1) maintaining and protecting public investment in Federal buildings; (2) improving facilities for veterans; (3) expanding and modernizing correctional facilities; (4) improving Indian health/reservation facilities; (5) constructing Federal biomedical research facilities; and (6) accelerating library construction. Appropriates funds to the Department of Labor to establish the emergency job creation program to provide productive jobs in an expeditious manner. Sets forth administrative provisions for such program. Requires the use of such funds to provide unemployed individuals with temporary employment for not more than six months for the repair, maintenance, and rehabilitation of publicly-owned facilities or for the conservation, rehabilitation, and improvement of public lands. Provides for allocating such funds to the territories, native Americans, and the States. Title II: Short-Term Assistance for Those Adversely Affected by the Economic Downturn - Makes additional funds available for: (1) the emergency food and shelter program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; (2) retraining displaced workers who have been adversely affected by the recession; (3) the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC); and (4) the emergency food assistance program. Title III: Investments for Long-Term Economic Expansion - Appropriates additional funds for certain research and development and advanced technology programs concerning: (1) high energy physics; (2) advanced technology and technology transfer; (3) research facility upgrades; and (4) oceanic and atmospheric research. Appropriates additional funds for investments in education through: (1) the Head Start program; (2) vocational skills improvement; (3) construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of academic and residential facilities; and (4) science and engineering education and human resources programs. Title IV: General Provisions - Prohibits appropriations contained in this Act from remaining available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year unless expressly so provided. Designates all funds in this Act as emergency requirements for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).

Veterans' Survivors' Benefits Improvement Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992

Veterans' Survivors' Benefits Improvement Act of 1992 - Revises the rate of monthly dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) payable to the surviving spouses of service-disabled veterans whose deaths occur before October 1, 1992. Makes such monthly amount $650 plus ten percent of the average monthly compensation paid to the veteran during the five years before the veteran's death, plus an additional amount which varies depending on the veteran's length of active military service. Provides a transitional rule for the payment of DIC for the first full month following the veteran's death. Provides payment of a full month's disability compensation for the month during which the veteran died. (Current law terminates such compensation at the beginning of the month during which the veteran died.) Increases, for each of FY 1993, 1994, and thereafter, the amount of additional DIC paid to a surviving spouse with dependent children. Provides eligibility for up to $15,000 in additional Service Disabled Veterans' Insurance (SDVI) for totally disabled veterans who qualify for a waiver of premiums for coverage under SDVI due to the total disability rating. Requires eligible veterans to apply for such additional coverage within one year after: (1) enactment of this Act; or (2) being notified by the Department of Veterans Affairs of their eligibility for a waiver of premiums. Prohibits the waiver of premiums for any supplemental insurance granted to such veterans. Limits to $90 the monthly pension payable to Medicaid-eligible veterans or their survivors while in nursing homes participating in Medicaid if such veterans have neither spouse nor child or if such survivor has no child. Makes such limitations permanent (currently terminate at the end of FY 1992). Extends through September 30, 1993, the authority of the Department to obtain data from the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service in order to verify the income of those applying for or receiving veterans' pensions on a needs basis. Makes an identical extension under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

To reauthorize the emergency homeownership counseling program under section 106(c) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 for fiscal years 1993 and 1994.

United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1992

Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to extend statutory authority and authorization of appropriations for the emergency homeownership counseling program (including toll-free telephone assistance).

To ensure that single family properties leased from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for use by the homeless have been marketed for sale for at least 60 days.

United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1992

Requires Department of Housing and Urban Development properties to be marketed for sale for at least 60 days before they may be leased for use by the homeless.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that the treatment of tenant-stockholders in cooperative housing corporations also shall apply to stockholders of corporations that only own the land on which the residences are located.

United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1992

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the treatment of tenant-stockholders in cooperative housing corporations also shall apply to stockholders of corporations that only own the land on which the residences are located.

Crime Control Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1992

Crime Control Act of 1992 - Title I: Death Penalty - Federal Death Penalty Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, or at such time thereafter as the court may permit upon a showing of good cause, that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits evidence to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. Permits the Government to present information concerning the effect of the offense on the victim and the victim's family, including oral testimony, a victim impact statement, and other relevant information. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must provide beyond a reasonable doubt. Sets forth special aggravating factors for: (1) treason, espionage, homicide, and the attempted murder of the President; and (2) drug offenses punishable by the death penalty (such factors include previous serious drug felony convictions, use of a firearm in committing or furthering certain continuing criminal enterprises, use of minors in trafficking, and lethal adulteration of controlled substances). Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to recommend the death penalty upon a finding of at least one aggravating factor and no mitigating factor, or one or more aggravating factors which outweigh any mitigating factors. States that no person who was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense or who is mentally retarded may be sentenced to death. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of the defendant or victim in its consideration of the sentence. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the court of appeals, upon consideration of the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor; (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors; and (3) the proceedings did not involve any other prejudicial error requiring reversal of the sentence that was properly preserved for and raised on appeal. Specifies that the court of appeals, in a case in which the sentence is not affirmed, shall remand the case for reconsideration or for imposition of another authorized sentence as appropriate, subject to specified requirements. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Sets forth procedures for the implementation of a sentence of death. Prohibits a sentence of death from being carried out upon a person who lacks the mental capacity to understand the death penalty and why it was imposed on that person, or upon a woman while she is pregnant. Prohibits requiring any employee of any State department of corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the U.S. Marshals Service, or any employee providing services to that department, bureau, or service under contract to be in attendance or to participate in any execution if such participation is contrary to such employee's moral or religious convictions. Provides for the appointment of counsel in Federal cases where a defendant against whom a sentence of death is sought, or on whom such sentence has been imposed, for an offense against the United States, is or becomes financially unable to obtain adequate representation. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to: (1) representation before and after review of judgment; (2) standards for competence of counsel; and (3) claims of ineffectiveness of counsel. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) deadlines for collateral attacks on judgments imposing a sentence of death; and (2) stays of execution. Limits the circumstances under which a person subject to the criminal jurisdiction of an Indian tribal government may be executed under this Act. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for specified Federal crimes, including: (1) treason; (2) delivering defense information to aid a foreign government; (3) specified Controlled Substances Act (CSA) offenses committed as part of a continuing criminal enterprise; (4) certain felony violations of the CSA, the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (CSIEA), or the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act; (5) murders committed by prisoners in Federal correctional institutions; (6) certain offenses relating to drive-by shootings; (7) kidnappings which result in the death of any person; (8) attempting to kill the President of the United States (if such attempt results in bodily injury or comes dangerously close to causing the President's death); (9) murder in the aid of a racketeering activity; (10) civil rights murders and certain murders involving damage to religious property or obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious belief; (11) genocide; (12) murder of Federal law enforcement officers, or of State or local law enforcement officers assisting Federal officers; (13) torture, if death results; (14) murder of Federal witnesses in the Witness Protection Program; (15) gun murders during Federal crimes of violence and drug trafficking crimes; (16) rape and child molestation murders; (17) causing death in the sexual exploitation of children; (18) specified offenses under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (FAA); (19) using, or attempting or conspiring to use, a weapon of mass destruction, if death results; (20) first-degree murders involving the use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a Federal facility; (21) murder by escaped prisoners; and (22) murders in the District of Columbia. Increases penalties for obstruction of justice offenses against court officers and jurors, and for retaliatory killings of witnesses, victims, and informants. Sets forth penalties for: (1) performing or attempting an act of violence against a person at an airport serving international civil aviation which causes or is likely to cause serious injury or death; (2) destroying or seriously damaging the facilities of, or a civil aircraft not in service at, such airport; or (3) disrupting the services of such airport, if such an act endangers or is likely to endanger safety. Amends the FAA to delete a limitation on the applicability of aircraft piracy provisions to situations where the place of takeoff or of actual landing of the aircraft on board which the offense is committed is situated outside the territory of the State of registration of such aircraft. Establishes penalties for acts of violence against maritime navigation, such as seizing control of a ship by force, threat, or intimidation, and performing acts of violence against persons on board a ship that are likely to endanger safe navigation. Sets forth analogous provisions with respect to maritime fixed platforms. Sets forth provisions with respect to U.S. jurisdiction over the territorial sea and over crimes against U.S. nationals on foreign vessels. Title II: Habeas Corpus Reform - Subtitle A: General Habeas Corpus Reform - Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal judicial code to establish a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a petition for habeas corpus with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings. Sets forth provisions with respect to the appointment of counsel. Subtitle B: Death Penalty Litigation Procedures - Death Penalty Litigation Procedures Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Applies such procedures to Federal habeas corpus cases brought by prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence. Makes the applicability of such procedures contingent upon a State establishing a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in State post-conviction proceedings brought by indigent prisoners whose capital convictions and sentences have been upheld on direct appeal to the court of last resort in the State or have otherwise become final for State law purposes. States that the rule of court on statutes establishing such mechanism must provide standards of competency for the appointment of such counsel. Specifies that any such mechanism must offer counsel to all State prisoners under capital sentence and must provide for the entry of an order by a court of record: (1) appointing counsel to represent the prisoner upon a specified finding; (2) finding that the prisoner has rejected the offer of counsel and made the decision with an understanding of its legal consequences; or (3) denying the appointment of counsel upon a finding that the prisoner is not indigent. Provides for a mandatory stay of execution during the post-conviction review initiated pursuant to this Act. Details conditions which will cause such stay to expire. Prohibits a Federal court, if one of such conditions has occurred, from entering a stay of execution or granting relief in a capital case unless: (1) the basis for the stay and request for relief is a claim not previously presented in the State or Federal courts; (2) the failure to raise the claim was the result of State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, was the result of a recognition by the Supreme Court of a new Federal right that is retroactively applicable, or is due to the fact that the claim is based on facts that could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence in time to present the claim for State or Federal post-conviction review; and (3) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court's confidence in the jury's determination of guilt of the offense for which the death penalty was imposed. Imposes time limits on filing for habeas corpus relief. Requires such time limits to be tolled under specified conditions. Requires the district court, upon the development of a complete evidentiary record, to rule on the merits of the claims properly before it. Makes the requirement for a certificate of probable cause inapplicable, with exceptions, where: (1) a second or successive petition is filed; and (2) certain requirements under a unitary review procedure (i.e., a State procedure that authorizes a person under sentence of death to raise, in the course of direct review of judgment, such claims as could be raised on collateral attack) are met. Sets forth time limits for determining petitions. Specifies that the adjudication of petitions or motions involving habeas corpus in capital cases shall be granted priority by the district court and court of appeals over all noncapital matters. Directs the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts to report annually to the Congress on court compliance with the time limits established under this subtitle. Subtitle C: Equalization of Capital Habeas Corpus Litigation Funding - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Omnibus Act) to require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to provide grants to the States to support litigation pertaining to Federal habeas corpus petitions in capital cases. Specifies that the total funding available for such grants within any fiscal year shall be equal to the funding provided to capital resource centers, pursuant to Federal appropriation, in the same fiscal year. Title III: Exclusionary Rule - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure shall not be excluded in a court of the United States as being in violation of the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution if such search or seizure was carried out in circumstances justifying an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment. Makes the fact that evidence was obtained pursuant to and within the scope of a warrant prima facie evidence of the existence of such circumstances. Bars the exclusion of evidence in such a proceeding on the ground that it was obtained in violation of a statute, administrative rule or regulation, or rule of procedure unless exclusion is expressly authorized by statute or by rule prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority. Title IV: Firearms and Related Amendments - Revises firearms-related provisions to establish the following penalties, in addition to the punishment provided for the underlying crime, for engaging in specified activities during and in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime for which the perpetrator may be prosecuted in a State court. Provides that whoever: (1) knowingly uses, carries, or otherwise possesses a firearm shall be sentenced to imprisonment for ten years; (2) discharges a firearm with intent to injure another person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for 20 years; or (3) knowingly uses, carries, or otherwise possesses a firearm that is a machine gun or destructive device or is equipped with a firearm silencer or muffler shall be sentenced to imprisonment for 30 years. Sets penalties for second, third, and subsequent convictions. Specifies that a term of imprisonment under such provision shall run concurrently with any other term of imprisonment imposed for the underlying crime. Sets forth penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking and for theft of firearms and explosives. Increases penalties for making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer. Authorizes the summary destruction of explosives subject to forfeiture under specified circumstances. Sets forth requirements for reimbursement of the value of destroyed property. Makes persons sentenced under enhanced penalty provisions related to the use of firearms or destructive devices during and in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime ineligible for parole during the term of imprisonment imposed under such provisions. Provides enhanced penalties for the use of a firearm in the commission of counterfeiting or forgery. Provides for a mandatory five-year penalty for firearms possession by violent felons and serious drug offenders, and a ten- to twenty-year penalty (or fine, or both) in cases of two previous convictions for a violent felony or a serious drug offense committed on different occasions. Bars the court from suspending the sentence of, or granting a probationary sentence to, such persons with two prior convictions. Prohibits the transfer of firearms to non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides, unless such receipt is for lawful sporting purposes. Subjects individuals who conspire to commit a firearms or explosives offense to the same penalties as those prescribed for the underlying offense. Provides for a fine or up to ten years imprisonment, or both, for stealing a firearm or explosive from specified individuals, such as a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer. Makes it unlawful for any person (current law specifies licensee) to distribute explosive materials to specified classes of individuals. Increases penalties for interstate gun trafficking. Prohibits: (1) the possession of explosives by felons and specified others; and (2) transactions involving stolen firearms which have moved in interstate or foreign commerce. Establishes penalties for possessing (current law covers only using and carrying) an explosive during the commission of a felony. Provides for 20 years imprisonment for using, carrying, or possessing an explosive, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 regarding the disposition of forfeited firearms. Revises the definition of: (1) "serious drug offense" under the Federal criminal code (to include an offense under State law that, if it had been prosecuted as a CSA violation as that Act provided at the time of the offense, would have been punishable by a maximum term of ten years or more); and (2) "burglary" under the Armed Career Criminal Statute (to mean a crime that consists of entering or remaining surreptitiously within a building that is the property of another person with intent to engage in conduct constituting a Federal or State offense and that is punishable by one year's imprisonment). Title V: Juveniles and Gangs - Subtitle A: Increased Penalties for Employing Children to Distribute Drugs Near Schools and Playgrounds - Amends the CSA to increase the penalty for employing, using, inducing, or coercing individuals under age 18 to violate provisions of such Act, or to assist in avoiding detection or apprehension for certain offenses under such Act by Federal, State, or local law enforcement officials. Subtitle B: Antigang Provisions - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to authorize the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to make grants to States and units of local government to assist them in planning, coordinating, and evaluating projects to reduce the formation or continuation of juvenile gangs and the use and sale of illegal drugs by juveniles. Specifies the allocation (50-50) of funds available to each State for juvenile drug supply and drug demand reduction programs. Directs the Administrator to give priority to programs aimed at juvenile involvement in organized gang- and drug-related activities. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants if the beneficiaries are juveniles residing at or near international border communities. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth provisions with respect to application, and review and approval, procedures. Establishes penalties, in addition to the punishment otherwise provided for a crime, for the commission of a felony crime of violence, felony involving a controlled substance, felony violation of the CSA, the CSIEA, or the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, and a conspiracy to commit such offenses, in, for, or in association with any criminal street gang, subject to specified conditions. Specifies that any term of imprisonment imposed under this provision shall run consecutively to any other sentence imposed for the underlying crime. Subtitle C: Juvenile Penalties - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) add certain firearms offenses to the offenses over which the United States has juvenile delinquency jurisdiction; and (2) provide for the treatment of violent juveniles who commit firearms offenses as adults under certain circumstances. Specifies factors to be considered in transferring a juvenile to adult status. Classifies as serious drug offenses for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 serious drug offenses committed by juveniles. Amends the Omnibus Act to require the Director of the BJA to make grants to States, for use by States and units of local governments, to develop alternatives to incarceration and probation for young offenders which promote reduced recidivism, crime prevention, and victim assistance, including boot camp prison programs, community service programs, and demonstration restitution projects. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) State and local applications; (2) application review; (3) the allocation and distribution of funds to State and local governmental units; (4) evaluation; and (5) limitations on administrative costs. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Other Provisions - Includes among permissible uses of drug control and system improvement grants (under the Omnibus Act) programs that address the need for effective bindover systems for the prosecution of violent 16- and 17-year-olds in courts with jurisdiction over adults for first- and second-degree murder, attempted murder, specified crimes when armed with a firearm, and drive-by shootings. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) develop a national strategy to coordinate gang-related investigations by Federal law enforcement agencies (LEAs); and (2) prepare a report on national gang violence to be submitted to the President and the Congress. Requires the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to acquire and collect information on incidents of gang violence for inclusion in an annual uniform crime report. Authorizes appropriations. Specifies that a juvenile shall not be transferred to adult prosecution nor shall a hearing be held under section 5037 (disposition after a finding of juvenile delinquency) until any prior juvenile court records have been received by the court or other specified conditions are met. (Current law states that "any proceedings against a juvenile under this chapter or as an adult shall not be commenced" until such conditions are met.) Title VI: Terrorism and International Matters - Repeals the Antiterrorism Act of 1990. Amends the Federal criminal code to define the term "international terrorism" to include activities that: (1) involve violent acts that are a violation of Federal or State laws, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State; (2) appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping; and (3) occur primarily outside U.S. territorial jurisdiction or transcend national boundaries. Authorizes any U.S. national injured in his or her person, property, or business by reason of an act of international terrorism to bring a civil action in U.S. district court and recover treble damages and the cost of the suit, including attorney's fees. Specifies that a final judgment or decree rendered in favor of the United States in certain classes of criminal proceedings (such as those involving the murder of a foreign official, kidnapping, hostage taking, killing of a U.S. national, or an aircraft piracy-related offense), or in favor of any foreign state in a criminal proceeding to the extent that such judgment or decree may be accorded full faith and credit under U.S. law, shall estop the defendant from denying the essential allegations of the criminal offense in a subsequent civil proceeding under this title. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) jurisdiction and venue for, and limitation of, such civil actions; (2) limitations on discovery; (3) stays of action for civil remedies (where such action will substantially interfere with a criminal prosecution which involves the same subject matter and in which an indictment has been returned, or with national security operations related to the terrorist incident that is the subject of the civil action); and (4) prohibitions on suits against U.S. Government and foreign officials. Makes it a Federal criminal offense for an individual, within the United States and acting as an agent of a foreign power, to provide material support or resources (including currency, securities, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, personnel, and other physical assets), or to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, or ownership of such support or resources, knowing that such resources or support are intended to be used to commit a terrorist act. Provides for the civil and criminal seizure and forfeiture of any real or personal property used or intended for use for, or constituting or derived from the gross profits or other proceeds obtained from, specified violations related to terrorist acts, or to facilitate the concealment or an escape from the commission of such violations. Authorizes the Attorney General to waive immigration admission, and other legal, requirements and grant permanent resident status for alien witnesses who cooperate with the Government in Federal or State prosecutions. Bars the granting of such status to an alien who would be excluded because of felony convictions unless the Attorney General determines that the granting of such status to such alien is necessary in the interests of justice and comports with the safety of the community. Limits the number of aliens and members of their immediate families entering the United States under such authority to 200 persons in any single fiscal year. Makes the decision to grant or deny permanent resident status under this Act at the discretion of the Attorney General and not subject to judicial review. Declares that all the territorial sea of the United States, as defined by Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988: (1) is part of the United States, subject to its sovereignty; and (2) for purposes of Federal criminal jurisdiction, is within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to U.S. jurisdiction over the territorial sea and over crimes against U.S. nationals on foreign vessels. Increases penalties for manslaughter and aggravated assault committed abroad by terrorists against U.S. nationals. Authorizes appropriations for counter-terrorist operations and programs. Amends: (1) the International Economic Emergency Powers Act to increase penalties for violations of such Act; and (2) the Federal criminal code to increase penalties regarding the issuance and verification of a passport without lawful authority, false statements in the application for and use of a passport, and forgery, false use, or misuse of a passport. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend its sentencing guidelines to provide an increase of not less than three levels in the base offense level for any felony, whether committed within or outside the United States, that involves or is intended to promote international terrorism, unless such involvement or intent is itself an element of the crime. Extends the statute of limitations for specified terrorism offenses, including airport and maritime violence, hostage taking, use of weapons of mass destruction, and torture, to ten years after the commission of the offense. Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for removing a child from, or retaining a child outside, the United States with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights. Authorizes appropriations to carry out (under the State Justice Institute Act of 1984) national, regional, and in-State training and educational programs dealing with criminal and civil aspects of interstate and international parental child abduction. Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for the prosecution of individuals who murder U.S. nationals abroad. Bars such a prosecution: (1) if prosecution has been previously undertaken by a foreign country for the same act or omission; and (2) unless the Attorney General determines that the act or omission took place in a country in which the person is no longer present and the country lacks the ability to lawfully secure the person's return. Specifies that the Attorney General's determination is not subject to judicial review. Authorizes the Attorney General, in the course of enforcement of such provision, to request assistance from any Federal, State, local, or foreign agency. Permits in the exercise of comity, the surrender of persons who have committed crimes of violence against U.S. nationals in foreign countries without regard to the existence of any extradition treaty with such foreign government if the Attorney General certifies that: (1) evidence has been presented by such foreign government which indicates that had the offenses been committed in the United States they would constitute crimes of violence; and (2) the offense charged are not of a political nature. Amends Federal law (commonly referred to as the Johnson Act) to modify the circumstances under which a gambling device may be repaired, transported, used, or possessed on a vessel. Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the Director of the FBI or his designee in a position not lower than Deputy Assistant Director (Director) to request: (1) the name, address, length of service, and toll billing records of a person or entity (person) if the Director certifies in writing to the wire or electronic communication service provider to which the request is made (provider) that such records are relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation and there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the information pertains is a foreign power or a foreign agent; and (2) the name, address, and length of service of a person if the Director certifies in writing to such provider that the information is relevant to such an investigation and there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that communication facilities registered in the name of the person have been used, through the services of such provider, in communication with an individual who is engaging in or has engaged in international terrorism or clandestine activities that involve or may involve a violation of U.S. criminal statutes, or a foreign power or foreign agent under circumstances giving reason to believe that the communication concerned international terrorism or such clandestine activities. Requires that the House and Senate Judiciary Committees be informed regarding all such requests for certification. (Current law authorizes the Director or his designee to request telephone toll and transactional records upon written certification to the provider that the information sought is relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation and there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person is a foreign power or foreign agent.) Title VII: Sexual Violence, Child Abuse, and Victims' Rights - Subtitle A: Sexual Violence and Child Abuse - Amends the Federal criminal code to include within the definition of "sexual act" the intentional touching, not through the clothing, of the genitalia of another person who has not attained the age of 16 with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. Increases penalties for recidivist sex offenses. Authorizes the court to order a defendant convicted of a sex offense to pay restitution to the victim. Requires a judicial officer, at the time of the pretrial release determination, to include in any order a requirement that the defendant be tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and that follow-up tests for the virus be performed six and 12 months thereafter, unless the judicial officer determines that the defendant's conduct created no risk of transmission of the virus to the victim. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to HIV testing and disclosure of test results. Directs the Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to enhance the sentence of a sex offender if such offender knew or had reason to know that the offender was infected with HIV, except where the offender did not engage or attempt to engage in conduct creating a risk of transmission of the virus to the victim. Amends the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 to require the Attorney General or the head of another department or agency that conducts an investigation of a sexual assault to pay the cost of up to two tests of the victim for HIV during the 12 months following the assault. Subtitle B: Victims' Rights - Authorizes the court to: (1) order that the defendant reimburse the victim for necessary child care, transportation, and other expenses related to participation in the investigation or prosecution of, or attendance at proceedings related to, the offense; and (2) suspend the defendant's eligibility for all Federal benefits (after a hearing, if the defendant is delinquent in making restitution) until such time as the defendant demonstrates to the court good-faith efforts to return to any required schedule of payments or requirement of immediate payment. Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to authorize the court: (1) before imposing sentence for a crime of violence or sexual abuse, to address the victim personally if the victim is present at the sentencing hearing and determine if the victim wishes to make a statement and present any information in relation to the sentence; and (2) upon a motion that is filed jointly by the defendant and the attorney for the Government, to hear in camera such a statement by the victim. Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to entitle each side to six (currently, the Government is entitled to six and the defendant or defendants jointly to ten) peremptory challenges if the offense charged is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year. Requires (current law authorizes) the court to order restitution payments for specified violations of the Federal criminal code and the FAA. Authorizes the court, in addition to ordering restitution of the victim for the offense of which a defendant is convicted, to order restitution of persons harmed physically, emotionally, or pecuniarily by the defendant's unlawful conduct during which the offense occurred or during the course of a scheme, conspiracy, or pattern of unlawful activity related to the offense. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to determination of amounts owed to the victim, set-offs, enforcement of restitution orders, and procedures for issuing such orders. Subtitle C: Crime Victims Fund - Repeals: (1) the current $150,000,000 cap on the Crime Victims Fund under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984; and (2) sunset provisions under such Act. Modifies the formula for the distribution of sums deposited into the Fund to provide that: (1) the first $10,000,000 of the total funds deposited in a fiscal year shall be available for child abuse prevention and treatment grants; (2) the next sums deposited, up to the reserved portion (specified below), shall be made available to the judicial branch for administrative costs to carry out the functions of the branch; (3) of the sums remaining, four percent shall be available for training and technical services to victim assistance programs and for financial support of services to victims of crime by victim assistance programs, and 96 percent be available for crime victim compensation and victim assistance programs. (Current law provides a complex formula for the distribution of funds depending on the amount deposited in the Fund.) Authorizes the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime to retain any amount in excess of 110 percent of the total deposited in the previous fiscal year as a reserve for those years in which there is a shortfall in the Fund, provided that the reserve does not exceed $20,000,000. Specifies that: (1) the reserved portion shall be $6,200,000 in each of FY 1992 through 1995 and $3,000,000 for each fiscal year thereafter; and (2) sums awarded as part of a grant under this Act that remain unspent at the end of a fiscal year in which such grant is made may be expended for the purpose for which such grant is made at any time during the two succeeding fiscal years (under current law, during the succeeding fiscal year). Increases the Federal share of victim compensation programs from 40 to 45 percent of the amounts awarded by each program during the preceding fiscal year. Specifies that if the compensation paid by an eligible crime victim compensation program would cover costs that a Federal program, or a federally financed State or local program would otherwise pay: (1) such victim compensation program shall not pay such compensation; and (2) the other program shall make its payments without regard to the existence of the crime victim compensation program. Authorizes the Director to use unspent compensation funds for assistance programs in either the year such funds are not spent or in the following year. Requires crime victim assistance chief executives to give particular attention to children who are victims of violent street crime. Authorizes the use of grants under this Act for demonstration projects. Allows the Director to permit up to five percent of a victim assistance program grant to be used by the chief executive of each State for administrative costs. Makes biannual reports under such Act due on May 31 (currently, such reports are due December 31). Requires grantees to certify that no grant funds will be used to supplant State and local funds, but rather will supplement those otherwise available funds. Delays the effective date for specified provisions to make the allocations required by such provisions without reducing the funding levels of programs supported by the Victim Assistance Fund and the Victims Compensation Fund. Subtitle D: National Child Protection Act - National Child Protection Act of 1992 - Establishes a national criminal background check system to which a designated agency in each State is required to report child abuse crime information, for purposes of background checks of child care providers. Directs the Attorney General to establish: (1) guidelines for the reporting of such information; and (2) timetables for each State to report such information to such system (with a three-year deadline for all States to be reporting at a specified level of currency). Requires State agencies to maintain close liaison for information exchange and technical assistance in cases of child abuse with the National Centers: (1) on Child Abuse and Neglect; (2) for Missing and Exploited Children; and (3) for the Prosecution of Child Abuse. Directs the Attorney General to publish annually: (1) a statistical summary of the child abuse crime information reported under this Act; and (2) a summary of each State's progress in reporting child abuse crime information to the national criminal background check system. Requires the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to conduct a study to determine various factors relating to potential child abuse crimes and offenders, based on a statistically significant sample of convicted child abuse offenders and other relevant information. Requires a report on such study to be submitted to specified congressional committee officials. Provides for background check procedures. Allows entities that provide child care or child care placement services (including businesses or organizations that license or certify others to provide such services) may request State agencies to review State and Federal records through the national system, and other criminal justice recordkeeping systems, to determine if a child care provider is under indictment for, or has been convicted of, a background check crime. (Defines provider as one who is now or seeks to be: (1) employed by or a volunteer with a qualified entity; (2) an owner or operator of a qualified entity; or (3) having unsupervised access to any child to whom the qualified entity provides child care.) Directs the Attorney General to establish guidelines for such State background check procedures, permitting equivalent procedures under specified conditions. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) exchange FBI identification records with authorized agencies for purposes of such background checks; and (2) authorize by regulation further dissemination of such records by authorized agencies for such purposes. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) prescribe by regulation any other measures necessary to carry out this Act; and (2) encourage use of the best technology available in conducting background checks. Amends the Omnibus Act to provide for the use of certain formula grants to improve State record systems and the sharing of records of child abuse crime information to implement this Act. Directs the Attorney General to make additional grants to States to improve specified aspects of the child abuse crime information system, subject to appropriations and with preference to States having the lowest percent currency of case dispositions in computerized criminal history files. Authorizes appropriations for such additional grants. Authorizes the Attorney General, beginning one year after enactment of this Act, to reduce by up to ten percent the allocation to a State for a fiscal year under title I of the Omnibus Act if the State is not in compliance with the child abuse crime information timetable established for it under this Act. Subtitle E: Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act - Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act - Directs the Attorney General to establish a State program and guidelines requiring persons convicted of a criminal offense against a minor to register a current address with a designated State LEA for ten years after release from prison, or being placed on parole or supervised release. Sets forth requirements for an approved State registration program, including: (1) requirements that a State prison officer inform a released person of the duty to register and provide a designated State LEA with any new address in writing within ten days, obtain a fingerprint card and photograph if not already obtained, require the person to read and sign a form stating that the duty to register has been explained, and forward such information to a designated State LEA (which shall immediately enter the information into the appropriate State law enforcement record system, notify the appropriate LEA having jurisdiction where the person expects to live, and transmit the conviction data and fingerprints to the Identification Division of the FBI); (2) annual address verification by the designated State LEA; and (3) notification of LEAs having jurisdiction over a released person's new address. Provides that: (1) a person required to register who violates any requirement of a State program established by this Act shall be subject to criminal penalties in such State (recommends at least six months' imprisonment); and (2) the information provided under this Act is private and may be used for law enforcement purposes and confidential background checks conducted with fingerprints for child care services providers. Specifies that the allocation of BJA grant funds (under the Omnibus Act) received by a State not complying with the provisions of this Act three years after its enactment shall be reduced by 25 percent. Requires such unallocated funds to be reallocated to the States in compliance with this Act. Subtitle F: Domestic Violence - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the Director of the BJA to make grants to ten States to assist in implementing a civil and criminal response to domestic violence. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) use of grant funds; (2) application requirements; (3) limitations on grants and grant renewal; (4) criteria in awarding grants; and (5) reporting requirements. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report to the Congress on the medical and psychological basis of "battered women's syndrome" and the extent to which evidence of the syndrome has been held to be admissible as evidence of guilt or as a defense in a criminal trial. Subtitle G: Other Provisions - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful to induce a minor to commit an offense against the United States, subject to specified limitations. Directs the court to consider as an aggravating circumstance the severity of the offense sought by the adult. Amends the General Education Provisions Act to exclude from the definition of "education records" records maintained by a law enforcement unit of the education agency or institution that were created by such unit for law enforcement purposes. Directs the Attorney General, by contract with an appropriate entity with expertise in college campus security, to provide for a baseline study of the effectiveness of campus sexual assault policies for institutions of postsecondary education. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in determining child custody and visitation rights, the courts should take into consideration the history of drunk driving of any person involved in the determination. Title VIII: Equal Justice Act - Equal Justice Act - Requires that: (1) the death penalty and all other penalties be administered by the United States and by every State without regard to the race or color of the defendant or victim; and (2) neither the United States nor any State prescribe any racial quota or statistical test for the imposition or execution of the death penalty or any other penalty. Directs that, in a criminal trial in any Federal or State court, on motion of the defense attorney or prosecutor: (1) the risk of racial prejudice or bias be examined on voir dire if there is a substantial likelihood in the circumstances of the case that such prejudice or bias will affect the jury either against or in favor of the defendant; and (2) a change of venue be granted if an impartial jury cannot be obtained in the original venue because of racial prejudice or bias. Bars the prosecutor or the defense attorney from making any appeal to racial prejudice or bias in statements before the jury. Requires: (1) the judge in a Federal capital case before a jury to instruct the jury not to be influenced by prejudice or bias relating to the race or color of the defendant or victim in considering whether a sentence of death is justified, and that the jury is not to recommend the imposition of such sentence unless it has concluded that it would recommend the same sentence for such crime regardless of the race or color of the defendant or victim; and (2) the jury, upon the return of a recommendation of a sentence of death, to also return a certificate, signed by each juror, that the juror's individual decision was not affected by prejudice or bias relating to the race or color of the defendant or victim and that the individual juror would have made the same recommendation regardless of the race or color of the defendant or victim. Makes the fact that the killing of a victim was motivated by racial prejudice or bias an aggravating factor whose existence permits consideration of the death penalty, in a prosecution for an offense against the United States for which a sentence of death is authorized. Amends specified civil rights provisions to cover conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law, of any person (currently, inhabitant of) in a State, territory, or district. Title IX: Funding, Grant Programs, and Studies - Subtitle A: Safer Streets and Neighborhoods - Safer Streets and Neighborhoods Act of 1992 - Amends the Omnibus Act to: (1) authorize appropriations ($1,000,000,000 for FY 1992 and such sums as necessary in FY 1993 and 1994) for grants to State and local LEAs; (2) continue the Federal-State funding formula for such agencies for FY 1992; and (3) permit the use of grants to State and local governments for participation in multi-jurisdictional drug task forces. Subtitle B: Retired Public Safety Officer Death Benefit - Amends the Omnibus Act to provide death benefits to retired public safety officers who become permanently and totally disabled as the direct result of a catastrophic injury sustained while responding to a fire, rescue, or police emergency. Designates the program under such Act pertaining to the payment of death benefits to retired public safety officers as the Irwin Rutman Retired Safety Officer's Benefit Program. Subtitle C: Study on Police Officers' Rights - Directs the Attorney General to conduct a study of the procedures followed in internal, noncriminal investigations of State and local law enforcement officers to determine if such investigations are conducted fairly and effectively. Sets forth reporting requirements. Subtitle D: Community Policing - Chapter 1: Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education Act - Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education Act - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) an Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education, to be headed by a Director. Requires a State that desires to participate in the Police Corps Program or the Law Enforcement Scholarship Program to designate a lead agency and submit a State plan containing assurances with respect to: (1) lead agency cooperation with other State and local agencies; (2) the State advertising of the assistance available; (3) State screening and selection of law enforcement personnel for participation in the program; and (4) compliance with other specified requirements. Subchapter A: Police Corps Program - Authorizes the Director to award scholarships (including direct payments to institutions and reimbursement of educational costs) to participants who agree to work for four years in a State or local police force after completion of an educational course of study and receipt of a baccalaureate degree (in the case of undergraduate study) or the reward of credit to the participant for having completed one or more graduate courses (in the case of graduate study) and police corps training, subject to specified conditions. Specifies that scholarships shall only be used to pay educational expenses incurred while in attendance at an institution of higher education in a course of education leading to the award of a baccalaureate degree and for graduate and professional study. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) scholarship assistance for dependent children of law enforcement officers; (2) the selection of participants; (3) minority recruitment (which requires each State to seek and recruit among members of all racial, ethnic, or gender groups); and (4) leaves of absence (including a provision allowing the granting of a leave of absence from study or training for a participant requesting leave for up to 30 months to serve on an official church mission). Requires the Director to establish up to three training centers to provide basic law enforcement training to State Police Corps Program participants. Requires participants to attend two eight-week training sessions at such training centers and to meet certain performance standards in order to remain in the program. Requires the Director to pay participants a weekly stipend during training. Requires a State, in order to participate in the Police Corps Program, to submit a plan for implementing such program to the Director for approval. Requires such plan to: (1) include assurances that participants will receive additional State or local training after completing Federal training which shall count toward the four-year service obligation; and (2) provide that program participants shall be assigned to community and preventive patrol in geographic areas with the greatest need for additional law enforcement personnel. Provides for the swearing in of participants as members of the police force to which they are assigned after completing Federal training and meeting the requirements of that police force. Specifies that, if the police force of which the participant is a member lays off the participant in a manner that would preclude the participant from completing four years of service and result in the denial of educational assistance under this subchapter, the Director may permit the participant to complete the service obligation in an equivalent alternative law enforcement service without requiring the participant to repay the scholarship or interest. Authorizes appropriations. Subchapter B: Law Enforcement Scholarship Program - Law Enforcement Scholarships and Recruitment Act - Directs each State to pay from funds under this Act the Federal share (not more than 60 percent) of the cost of awarding scholarships to in-service law enforcement personnel for further education providing full-time employment in the summer or part-time employment for up to one year. Specifies that such employment shall: (1) be provided by State and local LEAs for students who are juniors or seniors in high school or are enrolled in an accredited institution of higher education and who demonstrate an interest in undertaking a career in law enforcement; (2) not be in a law enforcement position; and (3) consist of performing meaningful tasks that inform such students of the nature of the tasks performed by LEAs. Sets forth requirements with respect to: (1) the designation of a lead agency; (2) administrative expenses; and (3) ineligibility for student employment (by an individual who has been employed as a law enforcement officer). Sets forth State and local application requirements. Grants priority in awarding scholarships to members of underrepresented groups, to those pursuing an undergraduate degree, and to those not receiving financial assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Requires each individual awarded a scholarship to work in a law enforcement position in the State which made the award for a period of one month for each credit hour for which funds are received under such scholarship (with a six-month minimum and two-year maximum). Authorizes appropriations. Specifies that 75 percent of funds appropriated under this subchapter shall be available to provide scholarships and 25 percent to provide employment. Subchapter C: Reports - Sets forth provisions requiring: (1) annual reports by the Director to the Attorney General, the President, and specified Members of Congress; and (2) a special report by the Attorney General to the Congress on a plan to expand scholarship assistance to eligible Federal law enforcement officers. Chapter 2: Cop-On-The Beat Grants - The Cop-on-the-Beat Act of 1992 - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the Director of the BJA to make grants to units of general local government and community groups to establish or expand cooperative efforts between police and the community to increase the police presence in the community. Requires the Director to develop a written model that informs community members regarding: (1) how to identify the existence of a drug or gang house; (2) what civil remedies are available; and (3) what mediation techniques are available between community members and individuals who have established a drug or gang house in such community. Sets forth application requirements. Requires each application to include a comprehensive plan containing: (1) a description of the crime problems within the areas targeted for assistance, the projects to be developed, community resources and gaps in the plan that cannot be filled with existing resources, and the system the applicant will establish to prevent and reduce crime; (2) an explanation of how the requested grant will be used to fill such gaps; and (3) an evaluation component. Requires the Director to allocate not less than 75 percent of the funds available to units of local government or combinations of such units and not more than 20 percent to community groups. Provides for grant renewal. Limits: (1) costs of administration, technical assistance, and evaluation to five percent of available funds; and (2) the Federal share to 75 percent of total project costs. Requires the Director, in awarding grants, to consider: (1) demonstrated need and ability to provide the services described in the plan; (2) evidence of the ability to coordinate a community-wide response to crime; (3) ability to maintain the program after funding is no longer available; and (4) geographic distribution of grant awards. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Rural Crime Prevention Strategy - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to conduct a national assessment of the nature and extent of rural crime in the United States, the needs of law enforcement and criminal justice professionals in rural States and communities, and promising strategies to respond effectively to those challenges, including: (1) the problem of clandestine drug laboratories; (2) other environmental crimes, such as the dumping of toxic waste; (3) the cultivation of illegal crops, such as marihuana; (4) the problems of drug and alcohol abuse in rural communities; (5) the problems of family violence and child abuse; (6) the problems of juvenile delinquency and vandalism; (7) the access of law enforcement and criminal justice professionals in rural communities to the services of crime laboratories, the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, and other technological support, and to professional training and development; and (8) the special problems of drug abuse in jurisdictions with populations of 50,000 or less. Requires the Director to: (1) submit the national assessment to the President and the Congress within 12 months; and (2) disseminate the results through programs of training and technical assistance, as well as through reports, publications, and clearinghouse services. Authorizes the Director to make grants to local LEAs for pilot programs and field tests of particularly promising strategies and models, which could then serve as the basis for demonstration and educational programs under the BJA discretionary grant program, such as programs to develop and demonstrate new or improved approaches or techniques for rural criminal justice systems. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: National Commission to Support Law Enforcement - National Commission to Support Law Enforcement Act - Establishes the National Commission to Support Law Enforcement to study and recommend changes regarding LEAs and law enforcement issues on the Federal, State, and local levels. Repeals provisions of the Crime Control Act of 1990 and the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1991, with respect to the establishment of such a Commission. Subtitle G: Other Provisions - Directs the Attorney General to award a grant to an eligible organization in paying for the costs of a Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program. Sets forth application and related requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for BJA discretionary grants under the Omnibus Act. Amends the Omnibus Act to require the Director of the BJA to: (1) establish guidelines and oversee the implementation of family-friendly policies within law enforcement-related offices and divisions of DOJ; (2) study the effects of stress on law enforcement personnel and family well-being, and disseminate the findings of such studies to Federal, State, and local LEAs, related organizations, and other interested parties; (3) identify and evaluate model programs that provide support services to law enforcement personnel and families; (4) provide technical assistance and training programs to State and local LEAs to develop stress reduction and family support; (5) collect and disseminate information regarding family support, stress reduction, and psychological services to Federal, State, and local LEAs, law enforcement-related organizations, and other interested entities; and (6) determine issues to be researched by the BJA and by grant recipients. Authorizes the Director to make grants to States and local LEAs to provide family support services to law enforcement personnel. Directs State or local law enforcement grant recipients to use sums provided to establish or improve training and support programs for law enforcement personnel, including providing at least one of the following services: (1) counseling for law enforcement family members; (2) child care on a 24-hour basis; (3) marital and adolescent support groups; (4) stress reduction programs; and (5) stress education for law enforcement recruits and families. Authorizes such recipients to provide services such as: (1) post-shooting debriefings for officers and their spouses; (2) group therapy; (3) hypertension clinics; (4) counseling for families of personnel killed in the line of duty; and (5) seminars regarding alcohol, drug abuse, gambling, and overeating. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) application requirements; (2) geographic distribution of assistance among the States; (3) duration of the grant (not to exceed five years); and (4) limitations on the use of grant funds (not more than ten percent) for administrative purposes. Authorizes the Director to reserve ten percent of appropriated funds for discretionary research grants. Sets forth reporting requirements (by grant recipients and by the Director). Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the chief correctional officer of each State correctional system to establish a demonstration or system-wide functional literacy program. Sets forth program and reporting requirements. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to State correctional agencies which elect to establish such programs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to State and local correctional agencies to assist them in establishing and operating programs designed to reduce recidivism through the development and improvement of life skills necessary for reintegration into society. Sets forth application and reporting requirements. Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to authorize the Secretary of HHS to make grants for the operating expenses of trauma-care centers with substantial uncompensated costs in areas with significant violence arising from drug abuse. Gives priority to centers: (1) receiving State or political subdivision support not connected to any Federal program; or (2) in areas where a trauma center has ceased participation, or because of uncompensated costs will be unable to participate, in the trauma care system. Limits: (1) support for a center to three fiscal years, subject to extension by the Secretary for one additional year; and (2) the grant amount to any single center to $2,000,000,000 in any fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director of NIJ to conduct: (1) a study comparing the recidivism rates of individuals under the influence of alcohol or alcohol in combination with other drugs at the time of their offense who participated in a residential treatment program while in the custody of the State with those who did not participate; and (2) a nationwide assessment regarding the use of alcohol and alcohol in combination with other drugs as a factor in violent, domestic, and general criminal activity. Requires the BOP, at least five days prior to the release of a prisoner convicted of a drug trafficking crime or crime of violence on supervised release (or, in the case of a prisoner on supervised release, at least five days prior to the date on which the prisoner changes residence to a new jurisdiction), to provide written notice of the release (or change of residence) to the chief law enforcement officer of the State and of the local jurisdiction in which the prisoner will reside, with exceptions. Specifies that, in the case of a prisoner convicted of an offense committed prior to November 1, 1987, the reference to supervised release in such provision shall be deemed to be a reference to probation or parole. Title X: Illegal Drugs - Subtitle A: Drug Testing - Requires: (1) the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a program of drug testing (including such standards and guidelines as the Director determines necessary to ensure reliability and accuracy of the drug testing programs) of criminal defendants on post-conviction release; and (2) the chief probation officer in each district (where feasible) to arrange for the drug testing of such defendants. Requires, as an explicit condition of probation, parole, or supervised release of a defendant involving a felony or a specified violent or drug offense, that the defendant refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance and submit to periodic drug tests. Permits the court to decline to impose such condition for probation if the defendant's presentence report or other reliable sentencing information indicates a low risk of future substance abuse by the defendant. Specifies that a defendant who tests positive may be detained pending verification of a drug test result. Requires the revocation of parole if a prisoner unlawfully uses a controlled substance or refuses to cooperate in drug testing imposed as a condition of parole. Amends the Omnibus Act to condition State eligibility for justice system improvement grants on State implementation of a drug testing program for targeted classes of persons confined in, or subject to supervision in, the criminal justice systems of such State. Specifies that: (1) such program must meet criteria specified by the Attorney General; and (2) no State shall be required to expend an amount for drug testing in excess of ten percent of the minimum amount that the State is eligible to receive under such Act. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations to implement such requirements which: (1) ensure reliability and accuracy of drug test results; and (2) include such other guidelines for drug testing programs in State criminal justice systems as the Attorney General determines are appropriate, as well as provisions by which a State may apply for a waiver of such requirements on the grounds that compliance would impose excessive financial or other burdens on such State or would otherwise be impractical or contrary to State policy. Subtitle B: Precursor Chemicals - Chemical Control and Environmental Responsibility Act of 1992 - Amends the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (Comprehensive Act) to: (1) replace references to "listed precursor chemicals" with "list I chemicals" and "listed essential chemicals" with "list II chemicals"; and (2) revise the definition of "regulated person" to include individuals who act as brokers or traders for international transactions involving a listed chemical, tableting machine, or encapsulating machine. Redefines "regulated transaction" to: (1) include international transactions which do not involve the importation or exportation of a listed chemical into or out of the United States if a broker or trader located in the United States participates in the transaction; (2) include, in the case of a listed chemical that is contained in a drug that may be marketed or distributed lawfully in the United States under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, transactions involving ephedrine or any other listed chemical which the Attorney General may designate as not subject to exemption after finding that such action would prevent diversion and the total quantity of such chemical included in the transaction equals or exceeds the threshold established for that chemical by the Attorney General; and (3) exclude any transaction in a chemical mixture (current law) which the Attorney General has designated as exempt based on a finding that the mixture is formulated in such a way that it cannot be easily used in the illicit production of a controlled substance and that the listed chemical or chemicals contained in the mixture cannot be readily recovered. Requires every person who manufactures or distributes, or who proposes to engage in the manufacture or distribution of, a list I chemical to obtain annually a registration issued by the Attorney General. Authorizes and directs the Attorney General to register an applicant to distribute a list I chemical unless he determines that the issuance of such registration is inconsistent with the public interest, taking into consideration the following factors: (1) maintenance of effective controls against diversion of listed chemicals into other than legitimate channels; (2) compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local law; (3) prior conviction record of the applicant under Federal or State laws relating to controlled substances or chemicals; (4) past experience in the manufacture and distribution of chemicals; and (5) such other factors as may be relevant to and consistent with the public health and safety. Makes provisions with respect to the denial, revocation, and suspension of registration relating to the manufacture, distribution, or dispensation of controlled substances explicitly applicable to list I chemicals. Directs the Attorney General to register an applicant to import or export a list I chemical unless he determines that the issuance of such registration is inconsistent with the public interest. Makes it unlawful for a regulated person to distribute, import, or export a list I chemical without the registration required under the Comprehensive Act. Requires each regulated person who manufactures a listed chemical to report annually to the Attorney General information concerning listed chemicals manufactured by such regulated person. Makes any person located in the United States who is a broker or trader for an international transaction in a listed chemical which is a regulated transaction solely because of that person's involvement as a broker or trader, with respect to that transaction, subject to all of the notification, reporting, record-keeping, and other requirements placed upon exporters of listed chemicals by the Comprehensive Act. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) require that the 15 day advance notice requirement with respect to the importation and exportation of listed chemicals apply to all exports of specific listed chemicals to specified nations, regardless of the status of certain customers in such country as "regular customers," if he finds that such action is necessary to support effective diversion control programs or is required by treaty or other international agreement to which the United States is a party; and (2) waive the 15 day advance notice requirement for exports of specific listed chemicals to specified countries, and for the importation of specific listed chemicals, if he determines that such advance notice is not required for effective chemical control, subject to specified requirements. Establishes penalties for: (1) exporting, or serving as a broker or trader for an international transaction involving, a listed chemical, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the chemical will be used to manufacture a controlled substance in violation of the laws of the country to which the chemical is exported; and (2) importing or exporting a listed chemical with intent to evade reporting or record-keeping requirements under the Comprehensive Act by falsely representing to the Attorney General that the importation or exportation qualifies for a waiver of the advance notice requirement by misrepresenting either the actual country of final destination of the listed chemical or the actual listed chemical being imported or exported, or both. Amends list I to add benzaldehyde and nitroethane, and delete D-lysergic acid, N-ethylephedrine, and N-ethylpseudoephedrine. Eliminates "regular supplier" status and creates "regular importer" status. Modifies the definition of "controller premises" to include places where listed chemicals or records relating to the manufacture, distribution, or disposition of listed chemicals are maintained. Makes it a felony for a person who possesses a listed chemical with intent that it be used in the illegal manufacture of a controlled substance to manage the listed chemical or waste from such manufacture other than as required under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Specifies that, in addition to any penalty that may be imposed for the illegal manufacture, possession, or distribution of a listed chemical or toxic residue of a clandestine laboratory, a person who violates such prohibition shall be assessed costs of the initial cleanup and disposal of the listed chemical and contaminated property and the cost of restoring property damaged by exposure to such chemical. Expresses the sense of the Congress that guidelines issued by the Sentencing Commission should recommend that the term of imprisonment for such a violation be not less than five (or in the case of a willful violation, not less than ten) years. Authorizes: (1) the court to order that all or a portion of the earnings from work performed by a defendant in prison be withheld for payment of such costs; and (2) the Attorney General to direct that assets forfeited in connection with a prosecution under this Act be shared with State agencies that participated in the seizure or cleanup of the contaminated site. Specifies that a discharge in bankruptcy does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt for costs assessed with respect to the management of listed chemicals under the Comprehensive Act. Amends the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 to provide for access by the Attorney General to information in the National Practitioner Data Bank. Subtitle C: Interdiction - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for the pilot, operator, or person in charge (pilot) of any aircraft which has crossed the border of the United States, or any aircraft subject to U.S. jurisdiction operating outside the United States, to refuse to obey the order of an authorized Federal law enforcement officer to land (in enforcing controlled substances or money laundering provisions). Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Commissioner of Customs to prescribe regulations governing the means by which an order to land may be communicated to the pilot by Federal law enforcement officers. Makes it unlawful for any master, operator, or person in charge (master) of a U.S. vessel or vessel under U.S. jurisdiction to fail to bring to upon being ordered to do so by a Federal law enforcement officer authorized to issue such an order. Specifies that consent or waiver of objection by a foreign nation to the enforcement of U.S. law by the United States under this Act may be obtained by radio, telephone, or similar oral or electronic means and may be proved by certification of the Secretary of State or the Secretary's designee. Sets forth penalties for violation of this subtitle. Authorizes the seizure and forfeiture of any vessel or aircraft that is used in violation of this subtitle. Allows the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Transportation to delegate Federal law enforcement officer seizure and forfeiture responsibilities under these provisions to other law enforcement officers. Provides for the immediate revocation of the registration of an aircraft upon the failure of the operator to follow the order of a Federal law enforcement officer to land the aircraft. Directs the Administrator to: (1) notify the owner of the aircraft that such person no longer holds U.S. registration for such aircraft; and (2) establish procedures for the owner of the aircraft to show cause why the registration was not revoked as a matter of law by operation of such provision, or why circumstances existed pursuant to which the Administrator should determine that it would be in the public interest to issue a new certificate of registration to the owner, effective concurrent with the revocation. Amends the FAA to require the Administrator to issue an order revoking the airman certificate of any person that the Administrator finds, while acting as the operator of an aircraft, knowingly failed to follow the order of a law enforcement officer to land, with exceptions. Authorizes the Coast Guard to issue orders and make inquiries, searches, seizures, and arrests with respect to violations of U.S. laws occurring aboard any aircraft subject to U.S. jurisdiction over the high seas and waters over which the U.S. has jurisdiction. Establishes a civil penalty of up to $25,000 for any master of a vessel or pilot or operator of an aircraft who intentionally fails to comply with an order of a Coast Guard commissioned officer, warrant officer, or petty officer relating to the boarding of a vessel or landing of an aircraft for specified purposes (and up to $5,000 for negligently failing to comply with such order), as well as in rem liability with respect to the vessel or aircraft. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to establish analogous civil penalties with respect to intentional and negligent failures to obey an order to land or bring to. Authorizes the Coast Guard: (1) to exchange information with international organizations (currently limited to foreign governments); (2) to suggest to the Secretary of State international collaboration and conferences on all matters dealing with maritime law enforcement and maritime environmental protection (currently limited to safety of life and property at sea); and (3) when so requested by the Secretary, to utilize its personnel and facilities to assist any foreign government or international organization to perform any activity for which such personnel and facilities are especially qualified. Authorizes the President, upon application from foreign governments or international organizations (current law excludes the latter) to utilize officers and enlisted members (under current law, to detail members) of the Coast Guard to assist such governments or organizations in matters concerning which the Coast Guard may be of assistance. Amends the Mansfield Amendment to permit maritime law enforcement operations in archipelagic waters. Subtitle D: Rural Drug Crime - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize appropriations, and increase the base allocation, for rural drug enforcement assistance. Directs the Attorney General to establish a Rural Drug Enforcement Task Force in each of the Federal judicial districts which encompass significant rural lands. Specifies the membership of such task forces. Authorizes the Attorney General to cross-designate up to 100 Federal officers with jurisdiction to enforce CSA provisions on non-Federal lands to the extent necessary to effect the purposes of this subtitle. Requires the Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to develop a specialized course of instruction devoted to training law enforcement officers from rural agencies in the investigation of drug trafficking and related crimes. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the PHSA to require the Director of the Office for Treatment Improvement to establish a program to provide grants to hospitals, community health centers, and other appropriate entities that serve nonmetropolitan areas to assist in developing and implementing projects that provide, or expand the availability of, substance abuse treatment services. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the alcohol and drug abuse information clearinghouse (required to be established under the PHSA) to: (1) gather information pertaining to Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration and other rural drug treatment and education projects operating throughout the United States; and (2) disseminate information to rural hospitals, community health centers, community mental health centers, treatment facilities, community organizations, and other interested individuals. Subtitle E: Grant Programs - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to authorize the President to declare a State or part of a State to be a drug emergency area. Requires requests for such a declaration to be made, in writing, by the Governor or chief executive officer (CEO) of any affected State or local government and forwarded to the President through the Director of Policy. Allows cities, counties, or States to submit a joint request. Requires requests to be based on a written finding that the emergency is of such severity and magnitude that Federal assistance is necessary to ensure an effective response. Prohibits the President from limiting declarations made under this Act to highly-populated centers of drug trafficking, drug use, or drug-related violence. Requires the President to consider applications from governments of less populated areas where the magnitude and severity of such activities are beyond the capability of the State or local government to respond. Requires Governors or CEOs, as part of such requests and as a prerequisite to such assistance, to: (1) take appropriate action under State or local law to respond to the crisis and furnish information on the nature and amount of State and local resources which have been or will be committed to alleviating the emergency; (2) certify that State and local government obligations and expenditures will comply with all applicable cost-sharing requirements; and (3) submit a detailed plan outlining the State or local government's short- and long-term plans to respond to the emergency. Requires the Director to review requests submitted and forward the application to the President, along with a recommendation. Authorizes the President to make grants to State or local governments of up to $50,000,000 for any single emergency. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of the costs necessary to implement the short- and long-term plans. Limits the duration of assistance to a drug disaster area to one year, except that the President, on application of a Governor of a State or CEO of a local government, may extend Federal assistance for up to 180 days. Requires a State or local government receiving Federal assistance to balance the allocation of such assistance evenly between drug supply and demand reduction efforts, unless State or local conditions dictate otherwise. Authorizes the President to: (1) direct any Federal agency to utilize its authorities and resources to support State and local efforts; and (2) provide technical and advisory assistance. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct an audit of any Federal assistance beyond a specified amount. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Omnibus Act to require the Attorney General to make grants to eligible community coalitions to implement comprehensive long-term strategies for substance abuse prevention, assess existing programs, identify and solicit funding sources, develop priorities, and coordinate substance abuse services and activities. Requires coalitions to encourage voluntary participation and community involvement and submit reports to the Attorney General and the appropriate State agency. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Director of the BJA to make grants for use by States in developing and implementing residential substance abuse treatment programs within State correctional facilities. Sets forth application requirements, including: (1) assurances that Federal funds received will be used to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds for funded activities; (2) that the application coordinate the design and implementation of treatment programs between State correctional representatives and the State Alcohol and Drug Abuse agency; (3) agreement by the State to implement or continue to require urinalysis or similar testing of individuals in correctional residential substance abuse programs, including testing of individuals released from such programs who remain in State custody; and (4) provisions regarding aftercare services. Sets forth requirements with respect to: (1) duties of the designated State office under the Omnibus Act (application preparation and grant administration); (2) the review of State applications by the BJA; (3) the allocation and distribution of funds; and (4) evaluation. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of total project costs. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Director of the BJA to make grants to States, for use by States and units of local government, to develop, implement, or continue drug testing projects when individuals are arrested and during the pretrial period. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) State applications, including a requirement that the State agree to develop or maintain programs of urinalysis or similar drug testing of individuals upon arrest and on a regular basis pending trial for the purpose of making pretrial detention decisions; (2) local applications; (3) the allocation and distribution of funds to State and local governmental units; and (4) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Other Provisions - Amends the CSA to: (1) increase penalties for specified offenses involving crystalline methamphetamine; and (2) prohibit any published advertisement knowing that it has the purpose of seeking or offering illegally to receive, buy, or distribute a schedule I controlled substance. Amends the CSA to impose mandatory minimum criminal penalties for the unlawful distribution or possession of controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a truck stop or safety rest area. Prohibits the granting of probation for any person who violates this provision after a prior conviction under such provision has become final. Requires the Sentencing Commission to promulgate specified sentencing guidelines for violation of such provisions. Bars multiple enhancements. Provides for enhanced penalties for drug trafficking in prisons. Amends the Anti-Smuggling Act to provide that prima facie evidence that a vessel, vehicle, or other conveyance is being, has been, or is attempted to be employed in smuggling or to defraud the revenue of the United States shall be that a vessel fails to display lights under specified circumstances and that, in the case of a vehicle or other conveyance, the fact that it has a compartment or equipment that is built or fitted for smuggling. (Current law specifies only "a vessel", employed in "smuggling", and excludes the provision regarding compartments or equipment found in a vehicle or other conveyance.) Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to make the penalty for failure to declare a controlled substance 1,000 percent of the value of the article (as under current law) or $500, whichever is greater. Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act to make amendments with respect to certain Internal Revenue Service (IRS) undercover operations effective from the date of the enactment of this Act through December 31, 1994. Amends the CSA to authorize the Attorney General to bring a civil action against any person who violates drug paraphernalia provisions of such Act and to assess a civil penalty of up to $100,000 and grant other appropriate (including injunctive) relief. Specifies that if a defendant is found by the court to be in possession of a controlled substance, thereby violating such defendant's probation, the court shall resentence such person to a sentence that includes a term of imprisonment (under current law, to not less than one-third of the original sentence). Amends the CSIEA: (1) and the CSA to make penalties applicable to offenses involving less than 50 kilograms of marihuana applicable with respect to less than 50 kilograms of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marihuana; and (2) to reduce from 100 to 50 the number of marihuana plants needed to qualify for specified penalties. Adds certain drug offenses as requiring fingerprinting and records for recidivist juveniles under the CSA and CSIEA. Amends the CSA and CSIEA to require that persons violating specified CSA provisions after two or more prior convictions for a felony drug offense have become final be sentenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment without release and be fined under such Act. Increases penalties for a second offense of distributing drugs to a minor. Provides for life imprisonment without release for criminals convicted of a third felony drug offense, crime of violence, or combination thereof. Increases prison sentences and bars release for individuals who: (1) sell illegal drugs to persons under age 18; and (2) employ persons under age 18 in drug trafficking activities. Amends the CSA to expand the definition of "drug paraphernalia" (such as to include scales and balances designed for measuring, and containers intended for storing and concealing, controlled substances, and hypodermic syringes and needles). Declares that it is Government policy that the use or distribution of illegal drugs in the nation's Federal prisons shall not be tolerated and that such crimes shall be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Amends the CSA to: (1) provide mandatory penalties for illegal drug use in Federal prisons; and (2) provide for enhanced penalties for drug distribution to pregnant women. Amends the Assimilative Crimes Statute to require the imposition of a Federal penalty (if not already imposed by a State) of one year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine, or both, in addition to any term of imprisonment under State law, for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, if a minor (other than the offender) was present in the vehicle at the time of the offense. Amends the common carrier provisions of the Federal criminal code to increase the penalty for operating a common carrier under the influence of drugs or alcohol if a minor (other than the offender) is present in the vehicle by up to one year's imprisonment (or if serious bodily injury of a minor is caused, five years; or if death of a minor is caused, ten years) and an additional $1,000 fine, or both. Defines "minor" as a person less than 18 years of age. Amends the CSA to: (1) provide penalties for the distribution of controlled substances in public housing authority facilities; (2) authorize the Attorney General to bring a civil action against violators of prohibitions against maintaining places for the manufacture, distribution, or use of controlled substances, (and the court to assess a civil penalty of up to $100,000 and grant such other relief, including injunctions and evictions, as appropriate); (3) increase penalties for drug dealing in "drug-free" zones; and (4) establish penalties for any physical trainer or adviser who persuades or induces an individual to possess or use anabolic steroids in violation of such Act. Directs the Attorney General to implement a program of national awareness of specified provisions of law that condition portions of a State's Federal highway funding on such State's enactment of legislation requiring the revocation of the driver's licenses of convicted drug abusers. Amends the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 to authorize the use of certain grant funds for drug abuse resistance education programs for local governments with the concurrence of local educational agencies (currently, limited to use for such agencies). Amends the Federal criminal code to provide penalties for misuse of the words "Drug Enforcement Administration" or the initials "DEA". Title XI: Public Corruption - Anti-Corruption Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prescribe criminal penalties to be imposed against anyone who uses any facility of, or affects, interstate or foreign commerce to deprive or defraud the inhabitants of a State or political subdivision of a State of: (1) the honest services of a government official or employee; or (2) a fair and impartially conducted election process through the use of fraudulent ballots or voter registration forms, paying or offering to pay any person for voting, or the filing of fraudulent campaign reports. Prescribes criminal penalties to be imposed against anyone who deprives or defrauds the inhabitants of the United States of the honest services of a public official. Prescribes criminal penalties to be imposed upon any official or person who has been selected to be a public official, in order to carry out or conceal any scheme or artifice to defraud, discriminate, harass, or take adverse action against any employee or official of the United States or any State or political subdivision. Authorizes such an adversely affected employee or official to obtain relief through a civil action, provided such person did not participate in the scheme or artifice. Amends mail fraud provisions to prohibit the use of any facility of interstate or foreign commerce in the execution of a scheme or artifice to defraud. Makes it a class B felony for: (1) a public official to corruptly demand, seek, receive, accept, or agree to receive or accept anything of value in return for being influenced in the performance or nonperformance of an official act, or to commit, aid in committing, collude in, or allow or make opportunity for the commission of any offense against the United States or any State; and (2) any person to corruptly give, or promise anything of value with intent to influence any official act, such official to commit, collude in, or allow or make opportunity for the commission of such offense, or such official to do or omit any act in violation of such official's lawful duty. Makes such provisions applicable with respect to any such offense which involves, is part of, or is intended to further or conceal the illegal possession, importation, manufacture, transportation, or distribution of any controlled substance or controlled substance analogue. Title XII: General Provisions - Subtitle A: Violent Crimes - Amends the Federal criminal code to set penalties for specified robbery, kidnapping, smuggling, and property damage offenses. Increases the maximum penalty for: (1) assaults against specified classes of individuals; (2) manslaughter; (3) interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises; and (4) conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Establishes a mandatory sentence for the commission of a felony against an individual age 65 or older. Sets limitations on the discretion of the court with respect to authorizing probation, allowing the defendant to serve consecutive sentences, and accepting plea agreements. Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to: (1) preclude either the defendant or the court from waiving a presentence investigation and report unless there is sufficient information in the record for the court to determine whether a mandatory sentence must be imposed; (2) require such report to contain verified information as to whether any victim of the offense had attained age 65 on the date that the offense was committed; and (3) make an exception to the general rule authorizing plea bargain discussions in cases involving the commission of a felony against individuals age 65 and older. Subtitle B: Civil Right Offenses - Increases the maximum penalty for certain civil rights violations, including damage to religious property. Subtitle C: White Collar and Property Crimes - Establishes penalties for knowingly receiving the proceeds of: (1) a postal robbery; (2) extortion; and (3) a kidnapping. Sets forth penalties for obstructing a proceeding made under the civil investigative demand provisions of: (1) the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute; and (2) a specified Federal law relating to monetary transactions. Makes violations of provisions with respect to continuing financial crimes enterprises and obstructing examination of a financial institution predicate offenses to the financial institutions reward statute. Defines "savings and loan association" under bank robbery-related provisions of the Federal criminal code to mean: (1) any Federal or State savings association having accounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and (2) any corporation meeting specified requirements under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, which is operating under U.S. law. Makes it unlawful for a governmental entity, or a person acting in conjunction with such entity, to operate, sponsor, advertise, promote, license, or authorize a lottery sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based, directly or indirectly, on one or more competitive games in which amateur or professional athletes participate, or intend to participate, or on one or more performances of such athletes in such games. Authorizes the commencement of a civil action in district court to enjoin violations. Amends the Federal criminal code to impose criminal sanctions for copyright violations involving the reproduction or distribution, during any 180-day period, of specified numbers of copies infringing the copyright in one or more computer programs. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to bar any exceptions from the ten-year ban on participation in specified activities with respect to insured depository institutions for individuals convicted of the following offenses: (1) obstructing examination of a financial institution; and (2) engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to prohibit, except with the prior consent of the Federal Credit Union Board: (1) any person who has been convicted of a criminal offense involving dishonesty or a breach of trust (as under current law) or has agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion or similar program in connection with a prosecution for such offense, from participating, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of the affairs of any insured credit union (as under current law), or becoming or continuing as an institution-affiliated party with respect to any insured credit union; and (2) any insured credit union from permitting any such person from engaging in any such conduct or continuing in any such relationship. Establishes a minimum ten-year ban on such participation for specified offenses, with exceptions. Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to encourage the Attorney General to submit a report to the Congress with respect to the financial institutions fraud task forces established under such Act as they relate to the collapse of private deposit insurance corporations. Establishes penalties or subjects to lawsuits individuals who intentionally disclose the contents of certain wire, oral, or electronic communications knowing that the information was obtained through the interception of such a communication in connection with a criminal investigation, having obtained or received the information in connection with a criminal investigation, with intent to improperly interfere with a duly authorized criminal investigation. Exempts from the prohibition on the use as evidence of intercepted wire or oral communications the admission into evidence of the contents of such a communication, or evidence derived therefrom, which has been disclosed in violation of such provision. Establishes penalties for: (1) the theft of major art works from museums; and (2) the exhibition or storage by a museum of any such stolen work. Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) delete the $250 cap on the maximum fine for the unauthorized wearing, manufacturing, or selling of military decorations or medals; and (2) include trades, barters, or exchanges for anything of value as sales. Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act - Directs the Attorney General to develop a national voluntary motor vehicle theft prevention program under which: (1) the owner of a motor vehicle may voluntarily sign a consent form with a participating State or locality in which the motor vehicle owner states that the vehicle is normally operated under certain specified conditions and agrees to display program decals or devices on the owner's vehicle and permit law enforcement officials in any State to stop the vehicle and take reasonable steps to determine whether such vehicle is being operated by the owner or with the owner's permission, if the vehicle is being operated under such conditions; (2) participating States and localities authorize law enforcement officials in the State or locality to stop motor vehicles displaying program decals or devices under such conditions and take reasonable steps to determine whether the vehicle is being operated by or with the permission of the owner; and (3) Federal law enforcement officials are authorized to stop such vehicles under such conditions and make such determination. Requires such program to include a uniform design or designs for decals or other devices to be displayed by motor vehicles participating in the program which shall: (1) be highly visible; and (2) explicitly state that the motor vehicle to which it is affixed may be stopped under the specified conditions without additional grounds for establishing a reasonable suspicion that the vehicle is being operated unlawfully. Sets forth requirements with respect to the voluntary consent form. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate rules establishing the conditions under which participating motor vehicles may be authorized to be stopped under this Act, such as the operation of the vehicle during certain hours of the day or under circumstances which would provide a sufficient basis for establishing a reasonable suspicion that the vehicle was not being operated by, or with the consent of, the owner. Sets forth provisions with respect to the establishment of more than one set of conditions under which participating motor vehicles may be stopped. Requires the notification of lessees of motor vehicles for hire of participation in the program, as specified. Sets forth penalties for failure to comply with such notice provisions. Authorizes a State or locality to participate in the program by filing an agreement to comply with the terms and conditions of the program with the Attorney General. Specifies that, as a condition of participation, a State or locality must agree to take reasonable steps to ensure that law enforcement officials throughout the State or locality are familiar with the program and with the conditions under which motor vehicles may be stopped under the program. Authorizes appropriations. Includes within the scope of a provision setting penalties for the removal of or tampering with an identification number for a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part the removal of or tampering with a decal or device affixed pursuant to this Act, with exceptions. Sets forth penalties for the unauthorized application of a theft prevention decal or device, or a replica thereof. Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that, wherever it is an element of an offense that property was stolen or counterfeited and that the defendant knew that the property was of such character, such element may be established by proof that the defendant, after or as a result of an official representation as to the nature of the property, believed the property to be stolen or counterfeited. Includes within mail fraud provisions depositing specified matter to be sent by any private or commercial interstate carrier (current law applies only to matter sent by the Postal Service). Establishes penalties for knowingly and with intent to defraud: (1) affecting transactions with one or more access devices (ADs) issued to another person to receive any thing of value aggregating $1,000 or more during any one-year period; (2) without the authorization of the issuer of the AD, soliciting a person for the purpose of offering, or selling information regarding or an application to obtain, an AD; or (3) without the authorization of the credit card system member or its agent, causing or arranging for another person to present to the member or its agent for payment evidence or records of transactions made by an AD. Establishes penalties for persons engaged in the business of insurance whose activities affect commerce, who: (1) knowingly make a materially false statement or report or willfully overvalue land, property, or security in connection with reports or documents presented to an insurance regulatory official or agency, or to any agent or examiner (official) appointed to examine the affairs of such person for the purpose of influencing in any way the actions of such official; (2) embezzle or willfully misappropriate funds or property while acting as an officer, director, agent, or employee (officer) of such person; (3) knowingly make a false entry of material fact in any book, report, or statement of such person with intent to deceive any person about the financial condition or solvency of such business, or to deceive any officer of such person or any insurance regulatory official; and (4) by threats or force, corruptly influence, obstruct, or endeavor corruptly to influence or obstruct the proper administration of the law under which a proceeding (involving the business of insurance whose activities affect interstate commerce) is pending before an insurance regulatory official to examine the affairs of such person. Authorizes the Attorney General to seek civil penalties and injunctions for violations of such provisions. Sets forth penalties for obstructing criminal investigations with respect to the prosecution of cases of insurance fraud. Increases penalties for trafficking in counterfeit goods and services. Computer Abuse Amendments Act of 1992 - Amends the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to make it a felony to knowingly transmit an unauthorized program or code that alters the information stored in a computer with the intent to damage the system or information contained within the affected computer or computer system, or to withhold or deny the use of such system or information, if the transmission: (1) occurred without the authorization of the person responsible for the computer system receiving the program; and (2) causes damage exceeding $1,000 in any one-year period or modifies or impairs the medical care of one or more individuals. Makes such offense punishable by a fine and up to five years in prison. Sets forth parallel provisions with respect to recklessly transmitting a destructive computer program or code. Makes such offense a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine and imprisonment for up to one year. Creates a civil cause of action for compensatory or injunctive relief for persons suffering damage or loss by virtue of a violation of this Act. Limits damages to economic damages, except for medical records violations. Sets a statute of limitation of two years from the date of the act complained of, or from the date of discovery of the damage. Requires the Attorney General to report to the Congress annually during the first three years following the date of enactment of this Act concerning prosecution under this Act. Repeals provisions which exclude automated typewriters and typesetters, portable hand held calculators, and similar devices from the definition of "computer." Modifies the prohibition against accessing a Government computer where such conduct affects the use of the Government's operation of such computer to cover only actions that "adversely" affect such use. Amends the FAA to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to issue regulations requiring employees and agents to report to appropriate Federal and State law enforcement officers incidents in which the employee or agent, in the course of conducting screening procedures, discovers a controlled substance, or an amount of cash in excess of $10,000, the possession of which may be a violation of Federal or State law. Subtitle D: Sentencing and Procedure - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) require the court, in sentencing a defendant for a violation of probation or supervised release, to consider applicable guidelines or policy statements issued by the U.S. Sentencing Commission; and (2) permit the court, if a defendant violates a condition of probation, to resentence the defendant (Under current law, the court may impose any other sentence that was available at the time of the initial sentencing.) Provides for the mandatory revocation of probation for possession of a controlled substance or firearm (currently, applies only to actual possession of a firearm). Requires the court, under such circumstances, to resentence the defendant to a sentence that includes a term of imprisonment. (Current law directs the court to impose any other sentence that was available at the time of the initial sentencing.) Directs the court to require, as an explicit condition of probation or supervised release, that the defendant not unlawfully possess a controlled substance. (Current law specifies that the defendant not possess illegal controlled substances.) Specifies that a defendant whose term of supervised release is revoked may not be required to serve more than five years in prison if the offense that resulted in the term of release is a class A felony, more than three years if such offense is a class B felony, more than two years for a class C or D felony, or more than one year in any other case. (Current law specifies only no more than three years for a class B felony or more than two years for a class C or D felony.) Requires the court to revoke the term of supervised release and require the defendant to serve a term of imprisonment not to exceed the maximum authorized if the defendant possesses a controlled substance in violation of a condition of supervised release, or possesses a firearm in violation of Federal law or otherwise violates a condition of supervised release prohibiting the defendant from possessing a firearm, or refuses to cooperate in drug testing imposed as a condition of supervised release. (Current law states that if the defendant is found to be in possession of a controlled substance, the court shall terminate the term of supervised release and require the defendant to serve in prison not less than one-third of the term of release.) Provides that: (1) when a term of supervised release is revoked and the defendant is required to serve a term of imprisonment less than the maximum authorized, the court may require that the defendant be placed on a term of supervised release after imprisonment (for a length of time not to exceed the term of release authorized by statute for the offense that resulted in the original term of supervised release, less any term of imprisonment imposed upon revocation of such release); and (2) the power of the court to revoke a term of supervised release for violation of a condition of such release and to order the defendant to serve a term of imprisonment and a further term of such release extends beyond the expiration of the term of such release for any period reasonably necessary for the adjudication of matters arising before its expiration, subject to specified conditions. Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) authorize probation for a petty offense if the defendant has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment at the same time for another such offense; (2) provide for trial by a magistrate in petty offense cases; (3) authorize a magistrate who has sentenced a person to a term of supervised release in a misdemeanor case to revoke or modify the term or conditions of such release; and (4) permit supervised release for juvenile offenders, subject to specified conditions. Permits a U.S. attorney to request an order requiring an individual to give testimony or provide other information which such individual refuses to give or provide based on the privilege against self-incrimination under specified circumstances with the approval of an officer or employee of the Criminal Division of DOJ designated by the Attorney General (currently, only with the approval of specified officials). Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize a voting member of the Sentencing Commission whose term has expired to continue to serve until the earlier of the date on which: (1) a successor has taken office; or (2) the Congress adjourns sine die to end the session of Congress that commences after the date on which the member's term expired. Subtitle E: Immigration-Related Offenses - Establishes civil penalties for: (1) inducing an alien to commit an aggravated felony; and (2) the commission of an aggravated felony by an alien. Directs the court to consider the severity of the offense sought or committed by the offender as a circumstance in aggravation. Sets forth provisions with respect to enforcement of such provision. Establishes in the Treasury the Criminal Alien Identification and Removal Fund. Specifies that: (1) 90 percent of the monies in the Fund in a fiscal year may be used by the Attorney General to assist the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to identify, investigate, detain, and deport aliens who have committed an aggravated felony and to fund specified additional immigration judge positions; and (2) ten percent of such monies may be distributed as grants to the States by the Attorney General to assist the States in implementing or expanding specified immigration-related provisions of the Omnibus Act. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the deportation of aliens convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of, or impaired by, alcohol or a controlled substance arising in connection with a fatal traffic accident or traffic accident resulting in serious bodily injury to an innocent party. Subtitle F: United States Marshals - United States Marshals Association Establishment Act - Establishes the United States Marshals Association as a charitable, nonprofit corporation to strengthen public knowledge of law enforcement and of the U.S. Marshals Service, to promote the exchange of information among private and public institutions and individuals about, and research of, law enforcement and justice systems issues, and to promote an effective justice system and the general welfare of law enforcement. Authorizes the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service to provide personnel, facilities, and other administrative services to the Association and to accept voluntary services of the Association. Specifies that no part of the income or assets of the Association shall inure to any member or officer of the Association or Director of the Board or be distributed to any such person, with exceptions for reasonable compensation or reimbursement for actual necessary expenses. Bars the Association from making loans to any Director or officer or employee of the Association, or from issuing stock or declaring or paying dividends. Specifies that the Association and any agent of the Association shall be considered an employer for purposes of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 if the Association is engaged in an industry affecting commerce and meets the minimum employee requirements set forth in such Acts. Makes it unlawful for the Association, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability, to: (1) fail or refuse to accept an individual into membership; (2) expel such individual from membership; (3) suspend such individual's membership; or (4) discriminate against such individual with respect to any of the benefits or obligations of membership. Authorizes: (1) a right of action to enforce such prohibition; and (2) the court to grant injunctive or other equitable relief. Authorizes the Association to acquire the assets of the United States Marshals Association, a nonprofit organization organized under the laws of the State of Virginia before the enactment of this Act. Subtitle G: Other Provisions - Designates the venue for espionage and related offenses as the District of Columbia or any other district authorized by law. Defines "livestock" (under the Federal criminal code) to mean any domestic animals raised for home use, consumption, or profit. Amends the Federal judicial code to: (1) authorize court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to be held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and (2) provide for the reimbursement of attorney's fees for current and former DOJ employees who were the subject of a criminal or disciplinary investigation related to such employee's discharge of official duties, where the investigation resulted in neither disciplinary action nor criminal indictment against such employee (but permits the Attorney General to make an inquiry into the reasonableness of the sum requested, based on specified guidelines). Authorizes appropriations for the construction of a U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Requires each clerk of a Federal or State criminal court to: (1) report to the IRS the name and taxpayer identification number of any individual charged with a criminal offense who posts cash bail, or on whose behalf cash bail is posted, in an amount exceeding $10,000, and any individual or entity (other than a licensed bail bonding individual or entity) posting such cash bail for or on behalf of such individual; and (2) submit a copy of each such report to the offices of the U.S. Attorney and the local prosecuting attorney. Amends the Federal judicial code to require the Attorney General to: (1) mandate that any State or local LEA receiving funds from the DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund conduct an annual audit and report the results of the audit to the Attorney General; (2) include all such audit reports within the Attorney General's report to the Congress; and (3) report for each fiscal year a description of the administrative and contracting expenses paid from the Fund. Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the use of drug control and system improvement grants to develop or improve in a forensic laboratory a capability to analyze DNA for identification purposes. Requires State applications for grant funds to certify, if any part of such grant is to be used to develop or improve a DNA analysis capability in a forensic laboratory, that: (1) DNA analyses performed at such laboratory will satisfy or exceed then current standards for a quality assurance program for DNA analysis issued by the Director of the FBI; (2) DNA samples obtained by, and DNA analyses performed at, such laboratory will be accessible only to criminal justice agencies for law enforcement identification purposes, to a defendant for criminal defense purposes, who shall have access to samples and analyses in connection with the case in which the defendant is charged, and to others, if identifiable information is removed, for a population statistics database, for identification research and protocol development purposes, or for quality control purposes; and (3) such laboratory and each analyst performing DNA analyses at such laboratory will undergo, at regular intervals of not to exceed 180 days, external proficiency testing by a DNA proficiency testing program meeting the standards issued under this subtitle. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director of the FBI: (1) within 180 days, to appoint an advisory board on DNA quality assurance methods (and appoint members of the board from among nominations proposed by the head of the National Academy of Sciences and professional societies of criminal laboratory directors) to develop, and if appropriate, periodically revise, recommended standards for quality assurance, including standards for testing the proficiency of forensic laboratories in conducting such analyses. Mandates that such standards: (1) specify criteria for quality assurance and proficiency tests to be applied to the various types of DNA analyses used by forensic laboratories; and (2) include a system for grading proficiency testing performance to determine whether a laboratory is performing acceptably. Authorizes the Director of the FBI to establish an index of DNA identification records of persons convicted of crimes, analyses of DNA samples recovered from crime scenes, and analyses of DNA samples recovered from unidentified human remains. Specifies that such index shall include only information on DNA identification records and analyses that are: (1) based on analyses performed in accordance with publicly available standards that satisfy or exceed specified guidelines for the quality assurance program for DNA analysis; (2) prepared by labs and DNA analysts that undergo regular external proficiency testing; and (3) maintained by Federal, State, and local criminal justice agencies pursuant to rules that restrict disclosure of stored DNA samples and analyses. Makes the exchange of DNA identification records subject to cancellation if the quality control and privacy requirements of this subtitle are not met. Requires: (1) FBI personnel who perform DNA analyses to undergo, at regular intervals of not exceeding 180 days, external proficiency testing by a DNA proficiency testing program meeting the standards issued pursuant to this Act; and (2) the Director of the FBI to submit an annual report on the results of such tests to House and Senate Judicial Committees for five years after the enactment of this Act and arrange for periodic blind external tests to determine the proficiency of DNA analysis performed at the FBI laboratory within one year. Restricts disclosure of DNA tests performed for a Federal LEA to: (1) criminal justice agencies for law enforcement identification purposes; or (2) for criminal defense purposes, a defendant, who shall have access to samples and analyses performed in connection with the case in which the defendant is charged. Authorizes disclosure of test results for a population statistics database, for identification research and protocol development purposes, or for quality control purposes if personally identifiable information is removed. Sets fines of up to $100,000 for individuals: (1) having access to individually identifiable DNA information indexed in a database created or maintained by a Federal LEA by virtue of employment or official position who willfully disclose such information to any person or agency not entitled to receive it; and (2) who, without authorization, willfully obtain DNA samples or such individually identifiable DNA information. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Omnibus Act to: (1) authorize the Director of the BJA to make grants to local educational agencies to provide assistance to such agencies most directly affected by crime and violence; and (2) require the Director to develop a written safe schools model (in English and in Spanish) in a timely fashion and make such model available to any such agency that requests such information. Earmarks such grants: (1) to fund anticrime and safety measures, and to develop education and training programs for the prevention of crime, violence, illegal drugs, and alcohol; and (2) for counseling programs for victims of crime within schools, crime prevention equipment, and the prevention and reduction of youth participation in organized crime and drug- and gang-related activities in schools. Sets forth application requirements, provisions with respect to limits on administrative costs and grant renewal, factors in the Director's consideration in awarding grants, and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title XIII: Technical Corrections - Makes technical corrections to the Omnibus Act, CSA, Federal criminal code, and other statutes. Title XIV: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies - Federal Law Enforcement Act of 1992 - Authorizes appropriations for the Drug Enforcement Agency, FBI, INS, U.S. attorneys, U.S. marshals, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, U.S. courts, and defender services. Title XV: Federal Prisons - Authorizes appropriations for new prison construction.

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1992 - Provides that not later than 30 days after a lobbyist first makes a lobbying contact with a covered legislative or executive branch official, such lobbyist, or as provided below, the organization employing such lobbyist, shall register with the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). Defines "lobbyist" as any individual who is employed or retained by another for financial or other compensation to perform services that include lobbying contacts, other than an individual whose lobbying activities are only incidental to, and not a significant part of, the services for which such individual is paid. Specifies that such registration shall contain: (1) the name, address, business telephone number, and principal place of business of the registrant, and a general description of its business or activities; (2) the name, address, and principal place of business of the registrant's client, and a general description of its business or activities if different than those of the registrant; (3) the name of any organization, other than the client, that contributes more than $5,000 toward lobbying activities in a semiannual period, significantly participates in the supervision or control of lobbying activities, and has a direct financial interest in the outcome of lobbying activities; (4) the name, principal place of business, and approximate percentage of equitable ownership in the client of any foreign entity that supervises or subsidizes client activities, and any other foreign affiliate of the client that has a direct interest in the outcome of the lobbying activity; (5) a general statement of issues on which the registrant expects to engage in lobbying activities on behalf of the client and, to the extent practicable, a list of specific issues that have already been, or are likely to be addressed; and (6) the name of each employee of the registrant whom the registrant expects to engage in lobbying contacts on behalf of the client. Provides that, for purposes of registration, a foreign entity shall be deemed to control the activities of a client in major part if the entity holds at least ten percent equitable ownership in the client. Requires registrants to terminate their registrations when they cease to represent a client. Provides that in the case of a registrant representing more than one client, a separate registration shall be filed for each client represented. Requires any organization that has one or more employees who are lobbyists to file a single registration for each client on behalf of its employees who engage in lobbying activities on behalf of such client. Requires each registrant to file with OGE a report on its lobbying activities during a semiannual period. Specifies the contents of such reports which include: (1) a list of specific issues upon which the registrant engaged in significant lobbying activities on behalf of the client during such period; and (2) an estimate of total receipts from the client, or, in the case of a registrant lobbying on its own behalf, an estimate of total costs incurred in connection with lobbying activities during such period. Requires estimates of such receipts or costs to be made according to specified guidelines. Provides for an extension to file such semiannual reports. Sets forth OGE administrative duties, which include: (1) prescribing such rules, forms, penalty schedules, and procedural regulations as are necessary for implementation of this Act; (2) making copies of each registration and report filed under this Act available to the public; and (3) transmitting to the President and the Congress periodic reports describing implementation of this Act. Establishes procedures for: (1) informal resolution of alleged noncompliance with the requirements of this Act; (2) determinations of noncompliance in cases where information provided to OGE through the procedures established above indicates that a noncompliance may exist; and (3) addressing registrations and filings that are more than 30 days late and failures to provide such information. Provides for judicial review of written decisions issued by OGE under the last two procedures enumerated above. Repeals the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act. Amends the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to: (1) revise the definition of "foreign principal" to limit the applicability of such Act to representatives of a foreign government and foreign political parties; (2) eliminate references to political propaganda and, in certain cases, replace such references with references to informational materials; and (3) modify the exemption for lawyers with respect to registration filing to make such exemption applicable to communications with agency officials only in the course of agency proceedings required by statute or regulation to be conducted on the record. Revises the limitation on the use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal contracting and financial transactions to: (1) eliminate certain disclosure provisions; (2) require declarations by applicants for Federal contracts, grants, loans, or cooperative agreements to name any registrant under this Act who has made lobbying contacts on behalf of such applicant with respect to that Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement; and (3) require similar declarations with respect to Federal loan guarantees. Repeals provisions under the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act relating to housing lobbyist activities. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.

Investment Growth and Anti-Recession Supplemental Appropriations Act of1992

United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992

Investment Growth and Anti-Recession Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1992 - Declares that any new budget authority or outlays provided for in this Act shall not be counted for purposes of determining any spending limits provided in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1992 to carry out this Act. Title I: Transportation - Makes supplemental appropriations to: (1) the Federal Highway Administration; (2) the Federal Aviation Administration; and (3) the Federal Transit Administration. Title II: Housing and Community Development - Makes supplemental appropriations for: (1) a community development grants program under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; (2) the modernization of certain public housing projects; (3) certain direct and guaranteed loans and rental assistance agreements; and (4) the weatherization assistance program for low-income persons and the Institutional Conservation Program. Title III: Public Works - Makes supplemental appropriations for: (1) certain construction grants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Water Quality Act of 1987; (2) direct and guaranteed loans under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act; and (3) Farmers Home Administration rural water and waste disposal grants. Title IV: Facilities Renovation - Makes supplemental appropriations to renovate: (1) National Science Foundation academic facilities; (2) Job Corps facilities; (3) Head Start facilities; (4) local educational agency facilities; and (5) certain library facilities. Title V: Worker Training - Makes supplemental appropriations for employment and training services under the Job Training Partnership Act. Title VI: Economic Conversion - Civilian and Military - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce to provide planning and adjustment assistance to communities that are affected by closures or reductions of major employers (including military and other government employers). Makes supplemental appropriations to the Small Business Administration for assistance to small businesses affected by such closures or reductions. Makes supplemental appropriations to the National Institute of Standards and Technology to assist scientists, engineers, and technicians in converting skills from the defense sector to the civilian sector. Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of Labor to provide demonstration projects to encourage and promote innovative responses to workers dislocated by reductions in defense expenditures and military base closures. Title VII: Aid to Recession Victims - Makes supplemental appropriations to: (1) the Federal Emergency Management Agency for emergency assistance grants; and (2) support social services for low-income families under the Community Services Block Grant Act.

Target FHA to 1st Time Homebuyers Act

United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992

Target FHA to 1st-Time Homebuyers Act - Amends the National Housing Act to authorize a mortgage limit increase for first-time homebuyers. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to increase mortgage programs for low-income, minority, and first-time homebuyers.

Real Estate Market Improvement Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992

Real Estate Market Improvement Act of 1992 - Title I: Incentives for Real Estate Investment - Subtitle A: Incentives for Acquisition of Capital Assets - Part I: Reduction in Capital Gains Tax for Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a capital gains deduction for noncorporate taxpayers (primarily individuals) for assets held from one to three years. (Provides for an exclusion from gross income of certain gains in the case of estates and trusts.) Provides special rules for the gain or loss from the sale or exchange of collectibles and sales of interests in partnerships. Disallows such deduction in computing the alternative minimum tax, except with respect to gains realized on the sale, exchange, or other disposition of a direct or indirect interest in real estate or a closely held business. Part II: Inflation Adjustment for Investments - Requires indexing, based on the consumer price index, and solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset or property used in a trade or business after the date of enactment of this Act) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer. Provides for the inflation adjustment treatment of: (1) short sales; (2) regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts; and (3) partnerships, S corporations, and common trust funds. Prohibits gain from the sale or other disposition of an indexed asset from being taken into account under the limitation on investment interest. Subtitle B: First-Time Homebuyers - Allows penalty-free withdrawals from qualified retirement plans during the period beginning on February 1, 1992, and ending on December 31, 1992, to pay the acquisition costs of a first-time homebuyer who is the taxpayer or the taxpayer's child or grandchild. Restricts such withdrawals to individuals whose adjusted gross income for 1991 does not exceed: (1) $100,000 in the case of married individuals filing a joint return; (2) $50,000 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return; or (3) $75,000 in the case of any other taxpayer. Limits to $10,000 the aggregate amount which may be treated as qualified withdrawals with respect to all plans of an individual. Requires the inclusion of withdrawn amounts in gross income ratably over a four-year period. Allows a first-time homebuyer who purchases a principal residence a tax credit of ten percent of the purchase price of such residence, limited to $5,000. Applies such credit to property acquired between February 1, 1992, and January 1, 1993. Allows a deduction for losses from the sale of a principal residence to the extent they exceed $100. Increases the basis of a new principal residence purchased by the taxpayer by the amount of such loss. Provides for permanent extensions of the following: (1) the low-income housing credit; and (2) the authority to issue mortgage revenue bonds and mortgage credit certificates. Title II: Incentives to Encourage a Strengthened Real Estate Market and to Encourage Finance - Subtitle A: Reforms to End Discrimination Against Real Estate Professionals - Excludes certain rental real estate activities from treatment as a passive activity for purposes of determining passive activity losses and credits. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Real Estate Investments by Pension Funds to Provide Capital and Credit for Long-Term Real Estate Investment - Modifies exceptions to the exclusion of real property acquired by a qualified organization from the meaning of acquisition indebtedness. Makes certain exceptions inapplicable to sales out of foreclosure by a financial institution. Applies the meaning of acquisition indebtedness investments in certain large partnerships where the principal purpose of partnership allocations is not tax avoidance. Repeals the special rule for publicly traded partnerships with respect to the treatment of unrelated business taxable income. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Modifies the corporate income tax exclusion of contributions to the capital of the taxpayer. Includes as a qualifying contribution any amount of money or property received by a regulated public utility (a utility required to provide electric energy, gas, water, or sewage disposal services) that: (1) is a contribution in aid of construction (as defined by regulations to be promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury); (2) meets certain expenditure requirements; and (3) is not included in the taxpayer's rate base. Excludes amounts paid as customer connection fees. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to take necessary action to provide for the uniform treatment of nonaccruing loans for tax purposes and Federal regulatory and financial accounting.

Anti-Recession Loan Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992

Anti-Recession Loan Act of 1992 - Amends Federal law with respect to General Assistance Administration to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to extend no-interest loans to State and local governments to assist them to combat public service reductions and deferment of essential public works projects as a consequence of the 1990-1992 recession. Prescribes loan guidelines. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) loan guarantees for FY 1992 - 1993; and (2) State and local interest subsidies and potential defaults for FY 1992 - 1996. Sets forth allocation guidelines for State and local governments, and for school districts. Prescribes loan qualifications, limits, and repayment terms for such entities. Requires any unit of government applying for a loan to hold a public hearing on the application. Prescribes anti-discrimination guidelines for local governments receiving loans under this Act. Provides for supervision or termination of loan payments for violation of such guidelines, as well as compliance agreements. Authorizes the Attorney General to enforce such guidelines. Permits any person adversely affected by a prohibited pratice to bring a civil action in Federal court. Provides for judicial review of loan payment suspensions. Requires periodic independent audits of any governmental entity expecting to receive a loan under this Act. Directs the Comptroller General to review the activities of the Secretary and the loan recipients to enable the Congress to evaluate compliance with this Act. Directs the Secretary to submit a status report to the Congress. Requires each recipient governmental entity to report to the Secretary the amounts and purposes for which loans were expended or obligated at the end of each fiscal year during which such funds were expended. Terminates the loan-making authority under this Act on December 31, 1992. Directs the Secretary to study and report to certain congressional committees on the economic impact of the 1990-92 recession upon the ability of State and local governments to maintain their economic stability, provide essential public services, and provide for the human and capital infrastructure to maintain and expand commerce and industry within their jurisdictions.

State and Local Anti-Recession Fiscal Assistance Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992

State and Local Anti-Recession Fiscal Assistance Act of 1992 - Establishes a program for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make anti-recession grants to State and local governments. Authorizes decreasing appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for such grants. Requires the return of any funds not expended by January 31, 1993, to the general fund of the Treasury. Sets forth requirements for State and local governments to qualify for such payments. Establishes a general formula for the allocation of payments based upon the need factor of States. Provides for making allocations to State, county, and other local governments. Requires the Secretary, in determining allocations, to use the most recent available information from the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor provided before the beginning of a payment period. Requires hearings at which the public is given an opportunity to present views on the possible uses of the payments. Requires a State or local government to notify the public at least ten days in advance of such hearings on the proposed use of the payments. Waives such requirements for unreasonably burdensome cost considerations and provides exceptions to the ten-day limitation. Prohibits discrimination by a State or local government in the use of payments because of race, color, national origin, sex, age, handicap, or religion. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to try to make agreements with heads of Federal and State agencies to investigate noncompliance with such prohibition. Provides procedures for a finding or holding of discrimination. Provides for: (1) suspension and termination of payments in discrimination proceedings; (2) compliance agreements; (3) enforcement by the Attorney General of prohibitions on discrimination; (4) civil actions by persons adversely affected by discrimination practices; and (5) judicial review by affected States or local governments. Requires a State or local government grant recipient to have an independent audit made of financial statements by January 1, 1994. Grants a waiver to governments receiving less than $25,000 and certain local governments. Requires the Secretary to investigate administrative complaints of persons claiming to be adversely affected by discrimination practices. Requires the Comptroller General to carry out reviews of the activities of the Secretary, State governments, and local governments necessary for the Congress to evaluate compliance and operations under this Act. Requires a report by the Secretary to the Congress by March 31, 1993, on the status, operation, and administration of the anti-recession grant program. Requires reports by States and local governments to the Secretary by June 30, 1993. Prohibits the making of anti-recession grants for any payment period beginning after December 31, 1992.

Secondary Market for Commercial Real Estate Mortgages Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992

Secondary Market For Commercial Real Estate Mortgages Act of 1992 - Directs the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and the Federal Housing Finance Board to each study and report to the Congress with regard to the development of a secondary commercial real estate mortgage market. Directs the Resolution Trust Corporation to study and report to the Congress with regard to the impact of its commercial real estate securitization program.

To make technical corrections regarding the effect of provisions relating to the eligibility of certain insular areas for assistance under the HOME Investment Partnerships Act, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992

Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act with regard to HOME investment partnership assistance for certain insular areas.

Spending Priority Reform Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992

Spending Priority Reform Act of 1992 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that any money returned to the Treasury as a result of this Act should be deposited in the General Fund to be applied against the Federal budget deficit. Title I: Agriculture Appropriations - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for certain special research grants which were not authorized, not awarded on a competitive basis, or not subjected to congressional hearings ("unauthorized"). Title II: Commerce, Justice, State and Related Agencies Appropriations - Subtitle A: Department of Justice - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Justice for: (1) an unauthorized grant to the National College of District Attorneys for a move into a permanent facility with the latest technology; and (2) an unauthorized grant to SEARCH Group, Inc. for continued support to State and local criminal justice agencies to improve their use of computers and information technology. Subtitle B: Department of Commerce - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for unauthorized funding of: (1) construction, the National Ocean Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, oceanic and atmospheric research, program support, and miscellaneous projects; (2) a specified fresh-water fish hatchery; (3) a project for fish oil research; and (4) special research grants for the International Trade Administration. Subtitle C: Related Agencies - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Small Business Administration for unauthorized grants for specified miscellaneous projects. Amends the Small Business Act to rescind appropriations and repeal the authorization for a tree planting program. Subtitle D: Department of State - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of State for an unauthorized grant for the North/South Center at the University of Miami, Miami, Florida. Title III: Department of Defense Appropriations - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations made under the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1992, for certain unauthorized: (1) university grants; (2) miscellaneous projects; (3) Army operation and maintenance projects; (4) Navy operation and maintenance projects; and (5) Defense Agencies grants for the World University and 1996 Summer Olympic games. Title IV: Energy and Water Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1992 appropriations made under the Energy and Water Appropriations Act, 1992, for unauthorized funding of: (1) a Corps of Engineers project in West Virginia; (2) a Shoshone irrigation project in Wyoming; (3) certain energy supply, research, and development activities; (4) a specified solar and renewable energy project in Hawaii; (5) certain biological and environmental research projects; (6) a certain research and technical analysis project for the University of Connecticut; and (7) a grant to complete the Center of Advanced Electronics Technology at Spartes State Technical College in Eufala, Alabama. Title V: Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations made under the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992, for unauthorized funding of: (1) certain National Park System projects; (2) certain construction projects involving anadromous fish; and (3) certain National Forest System projects. Title VI: Transportation Appropriations - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Transportation for unauthorized funding of: (1) certain motor carrier safety grants; (2) certain Federal Highway Administration demonstration projects; (3) certain highway feasibility studies; and (4) certain feasibility, design, environmental, and engineering projects. Title VII: Treasury, Postal Service and General Government - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the General Services Administration for certain unauthorized grants for projects funded through the Federal Buildings Fund for the construction of a Federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. Title VIII: Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations - Subtitle A: Department of Veterans Affairs - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Veterans Affairs for certain unauthorized construction projects. Subtitle B: Department of Housing and Urban Development - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for unauthorized funding of: (1) certain housing projects and assistance programs; and (2) certain policy development and research grants. Subtitle C: Independent Agencies - Rescinds 1992 appropriations to: (1) the Environmental Protection Agency for certain unauthorized construction grants and other specified projects; (2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency for certain unauthorized emergency management planning and assistance projects; and (3) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for certain unauthorized research and development and construction projects. Title IX: Blue Smoke and Mirrors - Expresses the sense of the Congress that, with regard to the appropriations process, "forward funding" tactics should no longer be utilized and the Congress should operate within the funding limits prescribed for each fiscal year.

Rural Jobs and Investment Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992

Rural Jobs and Investment Act of 1992 - Title I: Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Agencies - Subtitle A: Farmers Home Administration - Makes supplemental FY 1992 appropriations for: (1) rural housing loans; (2) rural housing repair loans; (3) rural rental housing loans; (4) rural rental multifamily housing loans; (5) rural water and sewer facility loans; (6) community facility loans; (7) the rural development loans program account; (8) rural water and waste disposal grants; (9) very low-income housing repair grants; (10) supervisory and technical assistance grants; (11) rural housing preservation grants; (12) rural development grants; and (13) local technical assistance grants. Subtitle B: Rural Electrification Administration - Provides supplemental FY 1992 appropriations for insured rural electrification loans. Subtitle C: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Science and Education - Provides supplemental FY 1992 appropriations for alternative agricultural research and commercialization. Title II: Interior - Makes supplemental FY 1992 appropriations for Department of Energy programs of: (1) low-income weatherization assistance; and (2) institutional energy conservation and the State energy conservation programs. Title III: Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development - Provides supplemental FY 1992 appropriations for: (1) community development grants; (2) home investment partnerships; (3) water treatment works; and (4) State water pollution control revolving funds. Title IV: Commerce, Justice, and State - Provides supplemental FY 1992 appropriations for the Small Business Administration microloan demonstration program.

Resolution Trust Corporation Accountability and Efficiency Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992

Resolution Trust Corporation Accountability and Efficiency Act of 1992 - Title I: Improvement of the Resolution Trust Corporation - Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to require the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) to: (1) develop a profit participation plan under which it shall propose methods to increase Federal profit participation in RTC disposition of commercial real estate; and (2) report to specified congressional committees regarding such plan. Prescribes plan contents. Directs the Oversight Board to contract with an independent certified public accountant to perform an annual audit of the RTC's financial statement. Prohibits the RTC from protecting: (1) depositors for more than the insured portion of their deposits; or (2) creditors other than depositors. Directs the RTC to implement procedures which: (1) minimize the costs of procuring legal, accounting, and investment banking services; (2) provide sufficient geographic distribution of firms providing those services; and (3) assure that RTC real estate assets shall be managed and disposed of through the nearest RTC office. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of privatizing RTC functions. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to: (1) prohibit the use of brokered deposits by conservators of insured depository institutions; and (2) modify the statute of limitations with respect to receivership claims. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to prohibit RTC contracts with debarred or suspended contractors. Directs the RTC to review and improve its: (1) commercial mortgages securitization program; (2) asset management contracting process; (3) procedures to preserve the economic value of partially completed real estate projects under its jurisdiction; and (4) dispute resolution procedures with borrowers in its capacity as conservator or receiver of insured depository institutions. Requires reports to the Congress on such reviews and any consequent actions taken. Requires the RTC to study the feasibility of using liquidating trusts to sell real property assets under its jurisdiction. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to: (1) urge the RTC to use seller financing when marketing receivership assets if that will maximize the return on such assets, and where traditional arrangements or offers have not been forthcoming or acceptable to the RTC prior to receivership; and (2) direct the RTC to establish standard contracting procedures for all conservatorship and receivership sales of real estate. Title II: Real Estate Provisions - Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to require the RTC to establish an intergovernmental affairs branch to: (1) maintain aggressive outreach and liaison with State and local governmental associations; (2) inform such entities of real property assets for sale within their jurisdictions; and (3) facilitate efforts by those governments to purchase real estate assets of institutions under RTC jurisdiction. Authorizes seller financing for sales to State and local governments. Mandates that the RTC maintain a separate, updated inventory of real property of special significance held under its jurisdiction, and sets forth guidelines for its disposition. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to reflect such guidelines. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to set forth RTC foreclosure powers. Directs the RTC to use real estate brokers and agents (including those from the private sector) for the disposition of its assets. Outlines expedited title clearance procedures for purchasers for value of RTC real property. Subjects occupied residential real property under RTC conservatorship or receivership to the relevant State or local housing law regarding safety and habitability. Directs the RTC to consolidate representation on its behalf in connection with single-asset transactions to as few entities as is consistent with minimizing administrative costs.

To amend the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to prohibit the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from making lump sum relocation assistance payments, except under certain circumstances.

United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992

Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to prohibit the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from making lump sum relocation assistance payments except for moving expenses or a purchase down payment.

Spending Priority Reform Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992

Spending Priority Reform Act of 1992 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that any money returned to the Treasury as a result of this Act should be deposited in the General Fund to be applied against the Federal budget deficit. Title I: Agriculture Appropriations - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for certain special research grants which were not authorized, not awarded on a competitive basis, or not subjected to congressional hearings ("unauthorized"). Title II: Commerce, Justice, State and Related Agencies Appropriations - Subtitle A: Department of Justice - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Justice for: (1) an unauthorized grant to the National College of District Attorneys for a move into a permanent facility with the latest technology; and (2) an unauthorized grant to SEARCH Group, Inc. for continued support to State and local criminal justice agencies to improve their use of computers and information technology. Subtitle B: Department of Commerce - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for unauthorized funding of: (1) construction, the National Ocean Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, oceanic and atmospheric research, program support, and miscellaneous projects; (2) a specified fresh-water fish hatchery; (3) a project for fish oil research; and (4) special research grants for the International Trade Administration. Subtitle C: Related Agencies - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Small Business Administration for unauthorized grants for specified miscellaneous projects. Amends the Small Business Act to rescind appropriations and repeal the authorization for a tree planting program. Subtitle D: Department of State - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of State for an unauthorized grant for the North/South Center at the University of Miami, Miami, Florida. Title III: Department of Defense Appropriations - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations made under the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1992, for certain unauthorized: (1) university grants; (2) miscellaneous projects; (3) certain Army operations and maintenance projects; (4) Navy operations and maintenance projects; and (5) Defense Agencies grants for World University and 1996 Summer Olympics games. Title IV: Energy and Water Appropriations - Rescinds unauthorized FY 1992 appropriations made under the Energy and Water Appropriations Act, 1992, for unauthorized funding of: (1) a Corps of Engineers project in West Virginia; (2) a Shoshone Irrigation project in Wyoming; (3) certain energy supply, research, and development activities; (4) a specified solar and renewable energy project in Hawaii; (5) certain biological and environmental research projects; (6) a certain research and technical analysis project for the University of Connecticut; and (7) a grant to complete the Center of Advanced Electronics Technology at Spartes State Technical College in Eufala, Alabama. Title V: Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations made under the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992, for unauthorized funding of: (1) certain National Park System projects; (2) certain construction projects involving anadromous fish; and (3) certain National Forest System projects. Title VI: Transportation Appropriations - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Transportation for unauthorized funding of: (1) certain motor carrier safety grants; (2) certain Federal Highway Administration demonstration projects; (3) certain highway feasibility studies; and (4) certain feasibility, design, environmental, and engineering projects. Title VII: Treasury, Postal Service and General Government - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the General Services Administration for certain unauthorized grants for projects funded through the Federal Buildings Fund for the construction of a Federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. Title VIII: Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations - Subtitle A: Department of Veterans Affairs - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Veterans Affairs for certain unauthorized construction projects. Subtitle B: Department of Housing and Urban Development - Rescinds FY 1992 appropriations to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for unauthorized funding of: (1) certain housing projects and assistance programs; and (2) certain policy development and research grants. Subtitle C: Independent Agencies - Rescinds 1992 appropriations to: (1) the Environmental Protection Agency for certain unauthorized construction grants and specified other projects; (2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency for certain unauthorized emergency management planning and assistance projects; and (3) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for certain unauthorized research and development projects and construction projects. Title IX: Blue Smoke and Mirrors - Expresses the sense of the Congress that, with regard to the appropriations process, "forward funding" tactics should no longer be utilized and Congress should operate within the funding limits prescribed for each fiscal year.

Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1992

Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1992 - Title I: General Provisions - States that the provisions of this Act shall not be construed to provide new budget authority. Title II: Interagency Council on the Homeless - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney Act) to extend: (1) authorization of appropriations for the Interagency Council on the Homeless; and (2) the Council's sunset date. Title III: Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Program - Amends the McKinney Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Federal emergency management food and shelter program. Title IV: Housing Assistance - Subtitle A: Existing FEMA and HUD Programs - Amends the McKinney Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the emergency shelter grants program; (2) the supportive housing demonstration program; (3) supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless; and (4) the shelter plus care program (rental housing and rental housing for the elderly or handicapped). Increases budget authority for single room occupancy assistance. Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to extend the transition period for homeless housing programs under title IV of the McKinney Act. Subtitle B: New FmHA Programs - Amends the McKinney Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out programs: (1) for disposing of single family Farmers Home Administration properties to house homeless individuals and families; and (2) of rural homelessness grants. Authorizes appropriations for such grants. Title V: Health Care for the Homeless - Subtitle A: Categorical Grants for Primary Health Services and Substance Abuse Services - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for health care grants for the homeless. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for programs of substance abuse prevention and treatment among the homeless. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Formula Grants to States for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for State formula grants for homelessness transition. Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations for Community Demonstration Projects - Amends the McKinney Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for mental health services for homeless persons with chronic mental illness. Title VI: Education, Training, and Community Services Program - Amends the McKinney Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for: (1) adult education for the homeless; (2) education for homeless children and youth; (3) the emergency community services homeless grant program; (4) family support centers; and (5) job training for the homeless, including homeless veterans' reintegration projects. Title VII: Veterans Programs - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 to extend the authorization of appropriations for veterans' medical care. Provides for disposition of single family Department of Veterans Affairs properties to house homeless individuals and families. Title VIII: National Homeless Advocate Demonstration Grant Program - Amends the McKinney Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a homeless advocate demonstration grant program. Authorizes appropriations.

A bill to amend the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to prohibit the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from making lump sum relocation assistance payments, except under certain circumstances.

United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1992

Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to prohibit the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from making lump sum relocation assistance payments except for moving expenses or a purchase down payment.

Health Care Choice and Access Improvement Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1992

Health Care Choice and Access Improvement Act of 1992 - Title I: Family Health and Wellness Savings Plan - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a tax deduction for contributions made to a medical care savings account established for the benefit of an eligible individual. Defines an eligible individual as one who: (1) is not covered by an employer-provided group health plan; or (2) is covered by a qualified employer-provided catastrophic coverage health plan but not by any other health plan. Allows such deduction in arriving at adjusted gross income. Includes any non-medical distributions from such an account in gross income and assesses an additional tax. Establishes an excise tax for excess contributions to medical care savings accounts. Allows the transfer of unused amounts in flexible spending accounts of cafeteria plans to medical savings accounts. Allows the full deduction for medical, dental, etc., expenses for amounts paid for qualified catastrophic coverage health plans. Title II: Tax Treatment of Long-Term Care Insurance and Plans - Subtitle A: Treatment of Long-Term Care Insurance - Provides for the treatment of qualified long-term care insurance as accident and health insurance for purposes of taxation of life insurance companies. Allows employers to offer employees qualified long-term care insurance as a tax-free fringe benefit. Excludes from gross income amounts withdrawn from individual retirement accounts or qualified pension plans with cash or deferred arrangements for purposes of purchasing long-term care insurance. Permits the non-taxable exchange of life insurance policies for long-term care insurance in the case of an individual who has attained age 59 1/2. Subtitle B: Employer Funding of Medical Benefits - Revises provisions governing medical benefits for retired employees and their spouses and dependents. Provides a tax deduction for employer contributions to health benefits accounts. Defines funded reserve accounts and vesting requirements to qualify for such tax deduction. Establishes a 50-percent tax penalty on early distributions of medical benefits and a 100-percent excise tax on allocated assets that are not used to provide retiree health benefits. Subtitle C: Reverse Mortgage Insurance for Older Americans - Amends the National Housing Act to limit the total number of mortgages to be insured and the amount of such insurance (up to 95 percent of the value of median housing values) under the demonstration program of insurance of home equity conversion mortgages for elderly homeowners. Subtitle D: Income Tax Credits - Allows a $2,000 per qualified person tax credit for taxpayers who maintain a household which includes a parent, grandparent, dependent, or spouse who requires specified custodial care. Allows a tax credit for 25 percent of the long-term care expenses of certain independent persons (not in excess of $2,000 per qualified person per taxable year). Subtitle E: Treatment of Accelerated Death Benefits - Allows: (1) gross income-excludable payment of accelerated death benefits from a life insurance policy to an individual who is terminally ill or confined to a nursing home; and (2) insurance companies to treat qualified accelerated death benefits as life insurance. Subtitle F: Federal National Long-Term Care Reinsurance Corporation - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the incorporation of the Federal National Long-Term Care Reinsurance Corporation (Corporation), which shall not be an agency or establishment of the U.S. Government. Requires the Corporation to confine its activities to reinsuring insurance companies for extraordinary loss in the issuance or payment of qualified long-term care insurance benefits. Title III: Malpractice Liability Reform - Declares that a State meets the requirements of these provisions if it has enacted laws or regulations: (1) regarding health care liability actions, allowing several but not joint liability for noneconomic damages, limiting the dollar amount of noneconomic damages, mandating offsets for collateral source payments, regulating the treatment of payments for future economic losses, limiting attorney's fees, and providing special rules for certain obstetric services; (2) implementing at least one mediation or pretrial screening panel; and (3) taking specified steps regarding quality assurance reform. Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to reduce by a specified percentage certain payments to hospitals (with regard to Medicare) and States (with regard to Medicaid) in States not in compliance and makes additional payments to hospitals in States in compliance. Amends Federal law relating to tort claims against the United States to set forth special rules applicable to health care liability actions, including allowing several but not joint liability for noneconomic damages, limiting the dollar amount of noneconomic damages, mandating offsets for collateral source payments, and regulating the treatment of payments for future economic losses. Amends the Public Health Service Act to include entities receiving Federal funds under provisions relating to migrant health centers, community health centers, or health services for the homeless, and officers, employees, or contractors of such entities who are licensed health care practitioners, in the coverage of provisions regulating civil actions for injury resulting from medical or related functions against commissioned officers or employees of the Public Health Service. Subrogates to the United States any insurance claim such an entity or person has. Prohibits grants under provisions relating to migrant or community health centers or health services for the homeless unless the applicant has: (1) implemented policies and procedures to assure against malpractice; (2) reviewed the professional credentials, claims history, and other information regarding its licensed health care practitioners; and (3) no history of claims against it under such provisions relating to officers and employees of the Public Health Service, or has cooperated with the Attorney General in defending against such claims and has taken corrective action. Empowers the Attorney General, if certain conditions are met, to determine that an individual practitioner shall not be deemed a Public Health Service employee for purposes of these provisions. Prohibits hospitals from denying admitting privileges to an otherwise qualified health care provider who is an officer, employee, or contractor of such an entity. Title IV: Working Americans Access to Health Care - Subtitle A: Increase in Small Employer Access to Affordable Health Insurance - Provides for the development by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) of model standards regarding certain requirements of this title. Allows more stringent State standards. Preempts State law concerning a small employer health benefit plan that meets portions of those standards relating to initial writing, premium increases, and market reentry. Requires each small employer carrier to offer a MedEquity plan, defined as: (1) providing only basic benefits; (2) being guaranteed issue; (3) meeting initial writing, premium increase, and market reentry standards; and (4) providing for cost containment. Sets forth special rules for health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Requires each MedEquity plan to: (1) accept every small employer that applies; and (2) enroll every full time employee that applies and their spouse and dependents. Sets forth special rules for HMOs. Provides for development by NAIC of models for cost containment features in MedEquity plans, including a managed care plan. Requires each State to specify the model that will be applied to MedEquity plans in the State. Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) initial writing of policies (including regarding pre-existing conditions, premiums, disclosures of rating practices, actuarial certification, requirements to register with the State, and minimum participation); and (2) renewal (including renewability, premium increases, and market reentry). Provides for development by NAIC of models for reinsurance mechanisms for individuals and small employers. Requires establishment in each State of one or more mechanisms. Allows each State insurance commissioner to require each employer health benefit plan to be registered with that official. Defines "small employer" as having three to 49 employees. Considers an association to be a qualified small employer purchasing group if certain requirements are met, including that: (1) its membership consist solely of employers with not more than 100 employees; and (2) the association have not fewer than 100 employers. Preempts, with regard to such groups and their employer members: (1) State mandates regarding health plan offerings; (2) State or local taxes on premiums received from the employers; and (3) certain provisions of State law relating to managed care. Subtitle B: Equalization of Tax Benefits for Self-employed Persons Under Certain Plans - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 25 percent to 100 percent the business expense deduction of health insurance costs for self-employed individuals participating in small employer purchasing groups. Makes such deduction permanent law. Subtitle C: Managed Care Rights - Preempts State law relating to reimbursement rates, selective contracting, differential financial incentives, and utilization review methods. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on the benefits and cost effectiveness of managed care. Subtitle D: Study and Report - Mandates a report to the Congress on the impact of this title on access to health care, the number of employees of small employers without health coverage, small employer health plan costs, and MedEquity plan effectiveness.

Tax Fairness and Economic Growth Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1992

Tax Fairness and Economic Growth Act of 1992 - Declares that any change in budget authority, outlays, or receipts resulting from this Act shall not be considered for sequestration or pay-as-you-go calculations under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Title I: Middle Class Tax Relief - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit for 20 percent of a taxpayer's social security taxes, limited to $200 ($400 in the case of a joint return) and applicable to years beginning after December 31, 1991, and before January 1, 1994. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit for interest paid or incurred on a qualified education loan for a six-year period (whether or not consecutive). Limits such credit to $300 per individual whose education expenses are being financed by such loan. Allows higher limits for taxpayers with large amounts of education loan interest (not to exceed $500). Sets forth limits on the gross income of taxpayers eligible for such credit. Allows the carryover of unused credit limited to the fifth taxable year for which the credit was originally determined. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans for a first-home purchase. Limits such distribution to $10,000, or other applicable amount if previous distributions have been made. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from qualified retirement plans for qualified higher education expenses and deductible medical expenses. Declares that for purposes of medical expenses all children, grandchildren, and ancestors of the employee or the employee's spouse are to be treated as dependents. Allows the one-time exclusion on gain from the sale of a principal residence to be taken if the taxpayer is permanently and totally disabled. Indexes the exclusion amount for inflation. Allows a taxpayer to include farm property contiguous to such principal residence in the exclusion, if such property is being actively farmed. Excludes from the gross income of an individual the following qualified employer-provided transportation fringe benefits: (1) the value of transportation in a commuter highway vehicle between the employee's residence and workplace; and (2) up to $60 per month of the value of any transit pass entitling the employee to transportation on mass transit facilities. Provides that the exclusion from gross income for the working condition fringe benefit includes employer-provided parking on or near a location from which the employee commutes to work by mass transportation, by vanpool, or by carpool. Extends the deduction for health insurance costs for self-employed individuals from June 30, 1992, to December 31, 1992. Title II: Job Creation, Growth, and Investment Incentives - Subtitle A: Temporary Investment Incentives - Increases the amount of certain depreciable business assets by small business for taxable years 1992 and 1993. Permits an additional depreciation allowance for the purchase of new equipment as investment property after February 1, 1992, and before January 1, 1993, which is placed in service before July 1, 1993. Reduces the basis adjustment of such property by the amount of the additional allowance. Allows such deduction in determining the alternative minimum tax. Subtitle B: Capital Gain Provisions - Requires indexing, based on the consumer price index, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset or property used in a trade or business) acquired on or after February 1, 1992, and held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain. Provides that gains and losses from the disposition of indexed assets are not taken into account as investment income in computing the limitation on the deductibility of investment interest. Sets forth a special rule to recapture the entire amount of depreciation for such indexed property. Allows noncorporate taxpayers to elect to recognize gain on readily tradable securities held on February 1, 1992. Permits both corporate and noncorporate taxpayers an income tax exclusion of 50 percent of the net capital gain from an investment in the stock of a qualified small business if the stock is issued after February 1, 1992, and held for at least five years. Adds the amount of the exclusion for capital gain from such investments as a tax preference item for purposes of determining alternative minimum tax liability. Subtitle C: Real Estate Provisions - Part I: Modification of Passive Loss Rules - Provides for the treatment of rental and nonrental real estate activities under the limitations on losses from passive activities. Part II: Provisions Relating to Real Estate Investments by Pension Funds - Modifies exceptions to the exclusion of real property acquired by a qualified organization from the meaning of acquisition indebtedness. Makes certain exceptions inapplicable to sales out of foreclosure by a financial institution. Applies the meaning of acquisition indebtedness to investments in certain large partnerships where the principal purpose of partnership allocation is not tax avoidance. Repeals the special rule for publicly traded partnerships with respect to the treatment of unrelated business taxable income. Permits a tax-exempt title-holding company to receive unrelated business taxable income of up to ten percent of its gross income, if the unrelated income is incidentally derived from the holding of real property. Excludes from unrelated business taxable income any gains from the sale, exchange or other disposition of real property acquired from financial institutions that are in conservatorship or receivership. Provides for the tax treatment of pension fund investments in real estate investment trusts. Subtitle D: Extension of Certain Expiring Tax Provisions - Makes permanent after June 30, 1992, the tax credit for increasing research activities and the low-income housing credit. Allows certain building owners to elect to use apartment size or family size in determining the credit's gross rent limitation. Makes permanent after June 30, 1992: (1) the targeted jobs credit; and (2) the authority to issue qualified mortgage bonds and qualified mortgage credit certificates. Provides for the tax treatment of resale price control and subsidy lien programs. Makes permanent after June 30, 1992: (1) the authority to issue qualified small issue bonds to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property; and (2) the tax exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance. Postpones the termination date of the excise tax on certain vaccines and the authority to make expenditures from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study certain aspects of the Trust Fund and report to specified congressional committees. Amends the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 to make permanent the transfer of proceeds from the tax on certain railroad retirement benefits from the general fund of the Treasury to the Railroad Retirement Account. Subtitle E: Modifications to Minimum Tax - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the alternative minimum tax provision which treats as a preference item the amount by which the value of contributed capital gain property exceeds the basis of the property. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to develop and implement a procedure to determine the value of donated property for income tax purposes prior to the charitable transfer. Restricts the determination of adjusted current earnings for purposes of computing alternative minimum taxable income to property placed in service after 1989 and before February 1, 1992. Subtitle F: Repeal of Certain Luxury Excise Taxes; Imposition of Tax on Diesel Fuel Used in Noncommercial Motorboats - Repeals the luxury excise tax on boats, aircraft, jewelry, and furs. Modifies the luxury excise tax on automobiles to index the $30,000 threshold for inflation occurring after 1990 and make such tax applicable to the first retail sale. Terminates such tax after 1999. Extends the current diesel fuel excise tax to diesel fuel used by motorboats. Exempts vessels used for commercial fishing, transportation for compensation or hire, or for business use other than predominantly for entertainment, amusement, or recreation. Retains excise taxes for diesel fuels used in motor boats in the General Treasury. (Current law requires transfer of such amounts to the Highway Trust Fund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund). Subtitle G: Urban Tax Enterprise Zones and Rural Development Investment Zones - Declares it to be the purpose of this Act to establish a demonstration program of providing incentives for the creation of tax enterprise zones in order to: (1) revitalize economicaly and physically distressed areas; (2) promote meaningful employment for zone residents; and (3) encourage individuals to reside in the zones in which they are employed. Part I: Designation and Tax Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the designation of tax enterprise zones during calendar years 1993 through 1995: (1) by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in the case of an urban tax enterprise zone; and (2) by the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, in the case of a rural development investment zone. Sets forth the eligibility criteria for designation of urban tax enterprise zones, including: (1) a population of not less than 4,000; (2) pervasive poverty, unemployment, and general distress; (3) a specified size; (4) a high unemployment rate and poverty rate; and (5) a required course of action designed to reduce the various burdens borne by employers or employees in the area. Sets forth the eligibility criteria for designation of rural development investment zones, including: (1) a population of not less than 1,000; (2) an area of general distress; (3) a specified size; (4) a high unemployment rate, poverty rate, and job loss rate; and (5) a required course of action designed to reduce the various burdens borne by employers or employees in the area. Provides that a course of action, which may not be federally funded, may include: (1) a reduction of tax rates or fees; (2) an increase in public services; (3) a reduction in government paperwork requirements; (4) business community commitments to provide jobs and job training; (5) special preference to minority contractors; (6) gifts of land for the operation of neighborhood businesses; (7) pooled health insurance; (8) loans by local financial institutions for business start-ups; and (9) special preference to low-income housing projects and private activity bonds. Allows an enterprise zone employment credit to small employers as a general business credit of 7.5 percent of the qualified zone wages. Allows such credit for the first five years of the employee's employment. Allows a deduction for the purchase of enterprise zone stock paid in cash. Limits such amount to: (1) $25,000 for any taxable year; (2) the overall limitation on zone incentives; or (3) $250,000 during the taxpayer's lifetime. Provides an additional depreciation allowance for the first taxable year that the property is placed in service. Establishes an annual overall limitation on the amount of tax incentives that can be provided with respect to an enterprise zone. Part II: Studies - Requires the Secretary and the Comptroller General each to report to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance on the effectiveness of the incentives provided by this subtitle in achieving its purposes. Title III: Revenue Increases - Subtitle A: Treatment of Wealthy Individuals - Creates a 35 percent tax bracket for certain higher incomes. Increases the tentative minimum tax for taxpayers other than corporations. Increases the individual minimum tax rate. Imposes a surtax on incomes in excess of $1,000,000, including estates and trusts. Delays for two years the expiration date of the overall limitation on itemized deductions and the phaseout of personal exemptions for high-income taxpayers. Disallows a deduction as a trade or business expense remuneration to certain employees in excess of $1,000,000. Subtitle B: Administrative Provisions - Modifies rules with respect to the failure of individuals and corporations to pay estimated income tax. Expands the 45-day interest-free period for refunding tax overpayments to all returns, as well as to amended returns and claims for refunds. Provides that if interest is not refunded within 45 days after the taxpayer files an amended return or claim for refund, interest will be paid only for periods after the date on which the return or claim is filed. Subtitle C: Other Revenue Provisions - Requires taking into account: (1) certain Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) assistance as compensation for loss; and (2) any FSLIC assistance for any debt for determining whether such debt is worthless and in determining the amount of any addition to a reserve for bad debts arising from such worthlessness or partial worthlessness. Requires the depreciation deduction for certain residential rental property to be determined by using a recovery period of 31 years. Requires such deduction for nonresidential real property to be determined by using a recovery period of 40 years. Increases the mileage requirement for the moving expense deduction. Requires a partner who contributes appreciated property to a partnership to include pre-contribution gain in income to the extent that the value or other property distributed by the partnership exceeds his adjusted basis in his partnership interest. Requires any dealer in securities that holds any security or hedge at the close of any taxable year to: (1) recognize gain or loss as if the security or hedge were sold on the last business day of the taxable year; and (2) take into account any such gain or loss in determining gross income for such year (the mark-to-market requirement). Provides that the uniform cost capitalization rules do not apply to any security or hedge to which the mark-to-market requirement applies. Title IV: Simplification Provisions - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Individuals - Repeals the supplemental young child credit and the supplemental health insurance credit. Increases the earned income credit for taxpayers with two or more qualifying children. Allows gain to be rolled over from one residence to another in the order the residences are purchased and used, regardless of reasons for the sale of the old residence. Sets forth a two-year residence rule for taxpayers who sell a residence pursuant to a divorce or marital separation for purposes of determining the rollover of gain on the sale of a principal residence. Provides an exception to the passive loss rules if the loss does not exceed $200. Permits the payment of taxes by credit cards to the extent provided by regulations. Provides for inflation adjustment of the dollar amounts involved in the election to claim a child's unearned income on the parent's return. Establishes a foreign tax credit limitation for individuals whose gross income is from sources outside the United States, consists entirely of qualified passive income, and the amount of creditable foreign taxes does not exceed $200. Excludes certain personal transactions from foreign currency rules. Limits the exclusion of combat pay from withholding to the amount excludable from gross income. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on expanded access to simplified individual income tax returns and other actions taken to simplify them. Provides that the amount allowed as a deduction to rural mail carriers for the business expense of a vehicle shall be equal to qualified reimbursements. Amends the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 to repeal the rule on the business use of automobiles by rural mail carriers. Exempts from the luxury excise tax parts or accessories installed for use of passenger vehicles by disabled individuals. Subtitle B: Pension Simplification - Part I: Simplified Distribution Rules - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow distributions from qualified pension plans to be rolled over tax-free to an individual retirement account or another qualified plan or annuity. Repeals: (1) the $5,000 limitation on the exclusion of employees' death benefits; (2) the five-year forward income averaging for lump-sum distributions; and (3) the exclusion of net unrealized appreciation of employer securities. Establishes a method of taxing annuity payments by taking into account the investment in the contract and the number of anticipated payments. Requires qualified plans to allow participants to elect to have distributions transferred directly to another qualified plan. Part II: Increased Access to Pension Plans - Establishes a simplified employee pension plan that allows salary reduction arrangements for employers of fewer than 100 employees. Allows nongovernmental and tax-exempt organizations to participate in cash or deferred arrangements. Authorizes the Secretary, as a condition of sponsorship, to prescribe rules defining the duties and responsibilities of sponors of certain master and prototype retirement plans. Part III: Miscellaneous Simplification - Revises the definition of a leased employee to mean one whose services are performed under the control of a service recipient, instead of one whose services are historically performed by employees. Modifies the two-part nondiscrimination test for elective contributions under cash or deferred arrangements by permitting the use of the average deferral percentage for nonhighly compensated employees for the preceding year to be used in determining the permitted average deferral percentage for highly compensated employees for the current year. Provides alternative methods of satisfying the special nondiscrimination requirements applicable to elective deferrals and employer matching contributions. Redefines the term "highly compensated employee" for pension, profit sharing, stock bonus plan, etc. purposes. Makes such an employee one who is a five-percent owner (as under current law) or who has compensation from the employer in excess of $50,000 (or $62,345, as adjusted for 1992). Provides a special rule where no employees are treated as highly compensated. Provides that the cost-of-living adjustment with respect to any calendar year is based on the increase in the applicable index as of the close of the calendar quarter ending September of the preceding calendar year. Requires the rounding of such amounts to the nearest $1,000, except that elective deferrals and elective contributions to simplified employee pensions are rounded to the nearest $100. Permits certain employers to elect an alternative full funding limitation with respect to any defined benefit plan based solely on the accrued liability under such plan. Requires the Secretary to adjust the 150-percent current liability full funding limit for other plans if there is a revenue shortfall. Allows rural cooperative plans which include cash or deferred arrangements to make distributions to participants after attainment of age 59 1/2. Expands current rules treating union air pilots as a separate class of employees for minimum coverage requirements to include nonunion air pilots as well. Excludes from such special treatment air pilots whose principal duties are not customarily performed aboard aircraft in flight. Eliminates the special full vesting rule after ten years of service for employees subject to collective bargaining agreements under multiemployer plans. Provides special rules for distributions of deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Permits in-service distributions of accounts that do not exceed a specified amount if no amount has been deferred under such account for two years and there has been no prior distribution under the cash-out rule. Increases the number of elections that can be made with respect to the time distributions must begin. Provides for the indexing of the dollar limit on deferrals. Modifies the treatment of governmental plans with repect to limits on contributions and benefits. Allows excess assets in qualified black lung benefit trusts to be used to pay accident and health benefits or premiums for insurance for such benefits for retired coal miners and their spouses and dependents. Provides that, for purposes of the excise tax, an employer reversion does not include certain amounts paid to the Federal Government by reason of certain government contracting regulations. Requires continuation of health coverage for employees, including retired employees, of failed financial institutions. Subtitle C: Treatment of Large Partnerships - Part I: General Provisions - Establishes special rules for large partnerships (250 or more partners) with respect to: (1) determining the income tax of a partner; (2) computing the taxable income of a large partnership; and (3) treatment of contributed property. Provides that a large partnership does not include one where: (1) substantially all of the partners (including retired partners, spouses, and certain personal service corporations) perform substantial services in addition to partnership activities; or (2) 25 percent or more of the average percentage of partnership assets consist of oil or gas properties. Establishes special rules for partnerships holding oil and gas properties. Establishes simplified audit procedures for large partnerships. Requires a partner's return to be consistent with the partnership return. Allows partnerships to take adjustments into account through an imputed underpayment procedure or a flow-through-to-partners procedure. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to make adjustments at the partnership level in any partnership item to the extent necessary to have such item treated in the manner required, after notifying the partnership of such adjustment through certified or registered mail. Specifies certain restrictions on such adjustments. Provides for judicial review of such adjustment with the Tax Court, the appropriate district court, or the Claims Court. Prohibits any adjustments from being made three years after the later of the date on which the return was filed, or the last day for filing such return, except in specified cases. Allows a partnership to file a request for an administrative adjustment of partnership items during such time periods and provides for judicial review where such request is not allowed in full. Requires large partnerships to furnish information returns to partners by the first March 15 following the close of the partnership's tax year. Authorizes the Secretary to require large partnerships, or any other partnership with 250 or more partners, to file their returns on magnetic media. Part II: Provisions Related to TEFRA Partnership Proceedings - Revises and sets forth new provisions relating to TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982) partnership proceedings. Provides for a declaratory judgment procedure in the Tax Court for treatment of non-partnership items with respect to an oversheltered return. Describes an oversheltered return as one which shows no taxable income and shows a net loss from partnership items. Provides for the partnership return to be determinative of the audit procedure to be followed. Suspends the period of limitations for making assessments for a partner who is named in a bankruptcy petition. Provides a special rule for a tax matters partner in bankruptcy. Permits a small partnership to have a C corporation as a partner and remain exempt from unified audit rules. Excludes a partial settlement agreement from the one-year limitation on assessment. Provides that if a TEFRA statute extension agreement is entered into, that agreement also extends the statute of limitations for filing refund claims until six months after the expiration of the limitations period for assessments. Provides a prepayment forum and a refund forum for raising the innocent spouse defense in TEFRA cases. Provides that partnership level proceedings include a determination of the applicability of penalties at the partnership level. Allows partners to raise any partner-level defenses in a refund forum. Specifies that an action to enjoin premature assessments of deficiencies attributable to partnership items may be brought in the Tax Court. Permits a party to appear before a court for the sole purpose of asserting that the period of limitations for assessing any tax attributable to partnership items has expired for that person. Provides for the treatment of premature petitions filed by notice partners or five-percent groups. Provides that the amount of the bond to stay assessment and collection should be based on the Tax Court's estimate of the aggregate liability of the parties to the action (and not all of the partners in the partnership). Suspends interest where there is a delay in computational adjustment resulting from TEFRA settlements. Subtitle D: Foreign Provisions - Part I: Simplification of Treatment of Passive Foreign Corporations - Repeals foreign personal holding company rules and foreign investment company rules. Exempts foreign corporations from the accumulated earnings tax and personal holding company rules. Provides for the treatment of personal service contracts under controlled foreign corporation rules. Replaces repealed provisions with revised rules for passive foreign corporations. Provides for taxing U.S. income on stock in passive foreign corporations through three alternative methods: (1) mark-to-market; (2) current inclusion; and (3) interest charge on excess distributions. Subjects less-than-25-percent shareholders of passive foreign corporations that are not U.S.-controlled, and who do not elect current inclusion, to the mark-to-market method or the interest-charge method for taxing income. Provides that, if a passive foreign corporation is U.S.-controlled, then every U.S. person owning stock in such corporation is subject to income inclusions under a modified version of controlled foreign corporation rules. Declares with regard to the mark-to-market method that: (1) if the fair market value of stock exceeds its adjusted basis, then the U.S. person shall include in gross income an amount equal to the amount of the excess; and (2) if the adjusted basis of stock exceeds the fair market value then the person shall be allowed a deduction equal to the lesser of the amount of such excess, or the unreversed inclusions. Describes a passive foreign corporation as any foreign corporation if: (1) 60 percent or more of its gross income is passive income; (2) the average percentage of assets which produce passive income or which are held for the production of passive income is at least 50 percent; or (3) such corporation is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, either as a management company or as a unit investment trust. Provides for the treatment of mark-to-market gain for purposes of the excise tax on undistributed income of regulated investment companies. Part II: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations - Provides that if a controlled foreign corporation sells or exchanges stocks in other foreign corporations, then gain recognized on such sale or exchange shall be included in the gross income of such corporation as a dividend to the same extent that it wold have been included if such corporation were a U.S. person. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe simplified methods for determining the amount of increase of limitations on the foreign tax credit. Revises provisions concerning: (1) determining pro rata share of gain from certain sales or exchanges of stock in certain foreign corporations; (2) basis adjustments in stock held by lower-tier foreign corporations; (3) determination of previously taxed income in redemptions through use of related corporations; and (4) treatment of branch profits tax exemptions or reductions Extends the application of the indirect foreign tax credit to certain controlled corporations below the third tier. Part III: Other Provisions - Establishes new rules for the translation of certain accrued foreign taxes. Modifies present rules for translating all other foreign taxes. Permits the use of the simplified limitation on the foreign tax credit in determining the alternative minimum tax foreign tax credit. Repeals the excise tax on outbound transfers to avoid income tax. Requires the full recognition of gain on a transfer of property by a U.S. person to a foreign corporation as paid-in surplus, or as a contribution to capital, or to a foreign estate, trust, or partnership. Allows the Secretary, in lieu of applying the full recognition rule, to provide regulations with principles similar to the principles for foreign corporations transferring property from the United States. Requires recognition of income under regulations issued to prevent Federal tax avoidance in the case of any corporate organization, reorganization or liquidation in which the status of a foreign corporation as a corporation is a condition for nonrecognition by a party to the transaction. Subtitle E: Treatment of Intangibles - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an amortization deduction with respect to certain intangible property that is acquired and held by a taxpayer in connection with the conduct of a trade or business or an activity engaged in for the production of income. Provides for determining such deduction by amortizing the adjusted basis (for purposes of determining gain) of such intangible ratably over the 14-year period beginning with the month in which the intangible was acquired. Disallows any other depreciation or amortization deduction with respect to such intangible. Describes an amortizable intangible as: (1) goodwill; (2) going concern value; (3) certain specified types of intangible property that generally relate to workforce, information base, know-how, customers, suppliers, or other similar items; (4) any license, permit, or other right granted by a governmental unit, agency, or instrumentality; (5) any covenant not to compete (or other arrangement to the extent that the arrangement has substantially the same effect as a covenant not to compete) entered into in connection with the direct or indirect acquisition of an interest in a trade or business or substantial portion thereof; and (6) any franchise, trademark, or trade name. Excludes from treatment as an amortizable intangible: (1) any interest in a corporation, partnership, trust, or estate; (2) any interest under an existing futures contract, foreign currency contract, notional principal contract, interest rate swap, or other similar financial contract; (3) any interest in land; (4) certain computer software; (5) certain interests in films, sound recordings, video tapes, books, or other similar property; (6) certain rights to receive tangible property or services; (7) certain interests in patents or copyrights; (8) any interest under an existing lease of tangible property; (9) any interest under an existing indebtedness (except for the deposit base and similar items of a financial institution); and (10) a franchise to engage in any professional sport, and any item acquired in connection in such a franchise. Sets forth special rules governing the application of the amortization deduction. Provides for the treatment of certain computer software and leased property depreciation deductions excluded from the amortization rules. Continues the present-law treatment of certain contingent amounts that are paid or incurred on account of the transfer of a franchise, trademark, or trade name. Provides for the treatment of assumption reinsurance transactions of insurance companies. Provides for the treatment of certain payments to retired or deceased partners. Subtitle F: Other Income Tax Provisions - Part I: Provisions Relating to Subchapter S Corporations - Provides for determining whether a corporation has one class of stock, thus qualifying as an S corporation. Allows the Secretary to validate an invalid S corporation election by a small business corporation where the failure to properly elect S status was inadvertent or untimely. Provides that adjustments for distributions by an S corporation during a taxable year are taken into account before applying the loss for a year in determining the amount in the accumulated adjustment account. Repeals the rule that treats an S corporation in its capacity as a shareholder of another corporation as an individual. Repeals the rule that an S corporation may not be a member of an affiliated group of corporations. Eliminates the need to keep records of certain generally small amounts of earnings arising before 1983. Provides for the treatment of inherited stock. Part II: Accounting Provisions - Revises the look-back method for long-term contracts and provides that for purposes of such method, only one rate of interest is to apply for each accrual period. Provides a method for capitalizing certain indirect costs. Part III: Provisions Relating to Regulated Investment Companies - Repeals the requirement that less than 30 percent of the gross income of a regulated investment company be derived from the sale or disposition of any of the following which were held for less than three months: (1) stocks or securities; (2) options, futures, or forward contracts (other than those on foreign currencies); or (3) certain foreign currencies. Requires a broker to include on an information return with respect to gross proceeds from any disposition of stock in an open-end regulated investment company: (1) the basis of the stock disposed of; and (2) the portion of gross proceeds attributable to stock held for more than one year and the portion not so attributable (using a first-in, first-out basis). Defines an open-end regulated investment company as one which offers for sale or has outstanding any redeemable security of which it is the issuer. Sets forth special rules for determining the basis of stock in such companies. Permits a common trust fund to transfer substantially all of its assets to a regulated investment company without gain or loss being recognized by the fund or its participants under specified circumstances. Part IV: Tax-Exempt Bond Provisions - Repeals the $100,000 limitation on unspent proceeds under the one-year exception from arbitrage rebate requirements. Exempts earnings on bond proceeds invested in bona fide debt service funds from the arbitrage rebate requirements and the penalty requirement of the 24-month exception if the spending requirements of that exception are otherwise satisfied. Extends the initial temporary period for construction bonds for a period of 12 months if at least 85 percent of the available construction proceeds are spent within the original temporary period and the issuer reasonably expects to spend the remaining proceeds within the 12-month extension period. Provides for the treatment of tax or revenue anticipation bonds as separate issues. Repeals the five-percent disproportionate private business use test for private activity bonds. Increases the annual issuance limit for small issuers whose governmental bonds are not subject to rebate. Repeals the debt service-based limitation on investment in certain nonpurpose investments. Repeals certain expirated provisions. Part V: Election of Alternative Taxable Years - Revises provisions with respect to electing alternative taxable years. Allows a partnership, S corporation, or personal service corporation to elect a taxable year other than the required taxable year if the annual financial statements (if any) of the entity used for credit purposes or provided to the partners, shareholders, or other proprietors of the entity are based on a fiscal year ending in the same month as the taxable year elected. Increases the amount of the required payment that must be made by a partnership or S corporation that elects a taxable year other than the required taxable year. Requires an initial payment for any taxable year that a partnership or S corporation first makes or changes a taxable year election to increase the deferral period. Modifies the minimum distribution requirement for personal service corporations that elect a taxable year other than the required taxable year. Part VI: Other Provisions - Provides for treating certain revocable trusts as estates. Revises the provision that the taxable year of a partnership closes with respect to a partner whose entire interest in the partnership terminates, whether by death, liquidation or otherwise. Repeals the adjusted current earnings rule relating to the treatment of built-in-losses after a change of ownership. Subtitle G: Estate and Gift Tax Provisions - Allows the right of recovery with respect to qualified terminable interest property (for which a marital deduction is allowed) to be waived in a will only by specific reference. Provides that a transfer from a revocable trust within three years of death does not result in the inclusion of the transfer in the gross estate if it is a gift worth $10,000 or less. Revises the qualified terminable interest rules with respect to a trust and the marital deduction. Revises provisions concerning estate bequests to a surviving spouse to declare that a "specific portion" of such estate only includes a portion determined on a fractional or percentage basis. Provides that a trust created before the enactment of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990 is treated as satisfying the withholding requirement if its trust instrument requires that all trustees be U.S. citizens or domestic corporations. Directs the Secretary to prescribe procedures which provide that executors will have the opportunity to submit subsequent information on a recapture agreement in the filing of an estate tax return with respect to the special use valuation of farm property. Subtitle H: Excise Tax Simplification - Part I: Fuel Tax Provisions - Consolidates diesel and aviation fuel tax provisions. Consolidates the user credit and refund provisions for the fuels excise taxes. Combines the three refund procedures for fuels taxes into a uniform refund procedure. Eliminates the waiver requirement for fuels tax refunds for cropdusters and other fertilizer applicators. Provides exceptions to the mandatory information return requirement for certain sales of diesel and aviation fuels. Part II: Provisions Related to Distilled Spirits, Wines, and Beer - Makes tax refunds available for imported bottled distilled spirits returned to distilled spirits plants. Permits records of exportation to be maintained by the exporter for purposes of canceling or crediting bonds furnished when distilled spirits are removed from bonded premises. Permits distilled spirits plants to maintain records of their activities at locations other than the premises where the operations covered by the records are performed. Allows beer to be transferred without payment of tax from a brewery to a distilled spirits plant to be used in the production of distilled spirits regardless of whether the brewery is contiguous to the distilled spirits plant. Repeals the requirement that wholesale liquor dealers post a sign outside their place of business indicating that they are wholesale liquor dealers. Repeals the requirement that wine returned to bonded premises be unmerchantable in order for tax to be refunded to the proprietor of the bonded wine celler to which the wine is delivered. Allows the use of ameliorating material in certain wines made exclusively from a fruit or berry. Allows domestically-produced beer to be withdrawn from the place of production without payment of tax for the official or family use of representatives of foreign governments or public international organizations. Allows beer to be removed from a brewery without payment of tax for purposes of destruction. Allows drawback on exported beer without submission of records. Provides for imported beer in bulk containers to be withdrawn from customs custody for transfer to a brewery without payment of tax. Part III: Other Excise Tax Provisions - Authorizes the exemption from registration requirements of certain tax-free sales. Repeals expired provisions concerning piggy-back trailers and deep seabed mining. Subtitle I: Administrative Provisions - Part I: General Provisions - Includes railroad retirement taxes under rules for deposits of social security and withheld income taxes. Revises such rules to change required days of deposits, take into account small depositors, and provide a safe harbor for depositors with a shortfall. Amends the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 to conform to such revisions. Changes the threshold for withholding and paying social security taxes from $50 a quarter to $300 a year for domestic service in a private home. Requires employers of household employees only to report any social security or Federal unemployment tax obligation for wages paid to such employees on their income tax returns. Includes a household employer's social security and employment taxes in the estimated tax provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with States to collect State unemployment taxes in the same manner. Revises the rules on required installments of estimated income tax by small corporations where such corporations have no tax liability for a preceding year. Allows corporations to disregard any letter or notice of assessment or proposed assessment of tax if the deficiency or proposed deficiency is less than $100,000. Incorporates into the general penalty structure the penalties for failure to provide information reports relating to pension payments. Allows reproductions of returns in digital image format by the Internal Revenue Service. Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study of available digital image technology and report to specified congressional committees. Repeals: (1) the requirement to register tax shelters; (2) the authority to disclose whether a prospective juror has been audited; and (3) special audit provisions regarding the tax treatment of subchapter S corporations. Provides that the statute of limitations with respects to the return of a taxpayer begins running from the time the taxpayer's return is filed, not someone else's return (where the taxpayer has received an item of income, gain, loss, credit or deduction from that other person). Part II: Tax Court Procedures - Provides that an order to refund an overpayment is appealable in the same manner as a decision of the Tax Court. Declares that the Tax Court shall not have jurisdiction over the validity or merits of the credits or offsets that reduce or eliminate the refund to which the taxpayer was otherwise entitled. Provides that a taxpayer who seeks an award of administrative costs must apply for such costs within 90 days of the date on which the taxpayer was determined to be a prevailing party. Provides that a taxpayer who appeals a denial of administrative costs must petition the Tax Court within 90 days after the date that the IRS mails the denial notice. Provides that a taxpayer must file a motion (rather than a petition) to seek a redetermination of interest in the Tax Court. Provides that the net worth limitations applicable to individuals also apply to estates and trusts. Provides that individuals who file a joint tax return shall be treated as one individual for purposes of computing the net worth limitations. Part III: Authority for Certain Cooperative Agreements - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with State tax authorities for purposes of enhancing joint tax administration. Title V: Taxpayer Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Additional Safeguards to Protect Taxpayers' Rights - Part I: Taxpayers' Advocate - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the Office of Taxpayers' Advocate, headed by the Taxpayers' Advocate, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Office to: (1) assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS; (2) identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the IRS; (3) propose changes in the administrative practices of the IRS to mitigate such problems; and (4) identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems. Requires the Taxpayers' Advocate to report annually to specified congressional committees on Office activities. Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to establish procedures requiring a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the Commissioner by the Taxpayers' Advocate. Authorizes the terms of a Taxpayer Assistance Order to require the Secretary to take certain actions (currently, only to cease or refrain from taking such actions). Part II: Modifications to Installment Agreement Provisions - Requires prior notification to taxpayers under an installment agreement to pay tax liability before altering, modifying, or terminating such an agreement. Provides for administrative review of denials of requests for installment agreements. Suspends the failure to pay penalty during any period an installment agreement is in effect. Part III: Interest - Extends from ten days to 21 days the period for which interest will not be imposed after notice and demand for payment, if such payment is less than $100,000. Provides for the abatement of interest in the case of an assessment due to the error or delay of an IRS managerial act. Part IV: Joint Returns - Allows the disclosure of collection activities to an individual requesting such information in the case of a joint return where such individual is no longer married to or residing in the same household as the other joint filer. Removes limitations on filing a joint return after filing separate returns. Part V: Collection Activities - Authorizes the Secretary, if it is determined to be in the best interest of the taxpayer and the United States, to: (1) withdraw a notice of a lien; (2) return property that has been levied upon; and (3) offer compromises in civil or criminal cases. Requires the Secretary, at the request of the taxpayer, to make reasonable efforts to notify credit reporting agencies and financial institutions of a withdrawal notice. Part VI: Erroneous and Fraudulent Information Returns - Requires payee statements to provide the phone number of the person providing payment. Establishes civil damages for the fraudulent filing of information returns. Requires the Secretary, when determining a deficiency based on an information return filed by a third party, to take reasonable steps to corroborate the accuracy of such information, when such return is disputed by the taxpayer. Part VII: Modifications to Penalty for Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax - Declares that a person shall not be liable for any penalty for failure to collect and pay over tax if such person: (1) is not a significant owner, or highly compensated employee of the trade or business; (2) notifies the Secretary within ten days after such failure; and (3) such notification was given before any notice by the Secretary with respect to such failure. Requires the Secretary to disclose certain information where more than one person is liable for a penalty. Part VIII: Awarding of Costs and Certain Fees - Makes IRS employees personally liable in certain cases in which the prevailing party is awarded a judgment for legal costs if the court determines that such proceedings resulted from the arbitrary, capricious, or malicious act of such employee. Provides that any failure to agree to an extension of time for the assessment of any tax shall not be taken into account in determining whether a prevailing party has exhausted all administrative remedies. Part IX: Other Provisions - Revises provisions on the required content of tax due, deficiency, and other notices. Provides for the treatment of returns prepared for or executed by the Secretary for purposes of certain tax penalties. Subtitle B: Form Modifications; Studies - Part I: Form Modifications - Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that taxpayers are aware of Internal Revenue Code permission to pay tax in installments, extensions of time for payment of tax, and compromises of tax liability; (2) improve procedures for taxpayers to notify the Secretary of changes in names and addresses; (3) include in a specified publication a section on the rights and responsibilities of divorced individuals; (4) ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities under the Federal tax depository system and that the public is aware of penalties for failure to collect and pay over tax; and (5) notify taxpayers of any payments that cannot be associated with any outstanding tax liability. Part II: Studies - Requires the Secretary to report to the congressional tax-writing committees on: (1) a pilot program for appeals of certain enforcement actions (including lien, levy, and seizure actions); (2) a study of ways to assist the elderly, physically impaired, foreign-language speaking, and other taxpayers with special needs to comply with tax laws; (3) the scope and content of the IRS taxpayer-rights education program for its officers and employees; and (4) cases involving complaints about misconduct of IRS employees and the disposition of such complaints. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a study of notices of deficiency; (2) the accuracy and clarity of 25 of the most commonly used IRS forms, notices, and publications; and (3) a study of IRS employee-suggestion programs.

Tax Fairness and Economic Growth Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1992

Title I: Accelerated Growth - Economic Growth Acceleration Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Capital Gains - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a capital gains deduction for noncorporate taxpayers for assets held from one to three years. Provides special rules for the gain or loss from the sale or exchange of collectibles and sales of interest in partnerships. Disallows such deduction in computing the alternative minimum tax. Revises the formula for determining gain from the dispositions of certain depreciable realty to take into account depreciation adjustments (adjustments allowed or allowable for exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence, or certain amortization). Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Passive Losses and Depreciation - Treats the real estate development activity of a taxpayer as a single trade or business activity that is not a rental activity. Allows an additional depreciation allowance for the purchase of new equipment as investment property after February 1, 1992, which is placed in service before July 1, 1993. Reduces the basis adjustment of such property by the amount of the additional allowance. Requires application of such allowance in determining the alternative minimum tax. Restricts the determination of adjusted current earnings for purposes of computing alternative minimum taxable income to property placed in service after 1989 and before February 1, 1992. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Real Estate Investments by Pension Funds - Modifies exceptions to the exclusion of real property acquired by a qualified organization from the meaning of acquisition indebtedness. Makes certain exceptions inapplicable to sales out of foreclosure by a financial institution. Applies the meaning of acquisition indebtedness to investments in certain large partnerships where the principal purpose of partnership allocation is not tax avoidance. Repeals the special rule for publicly traded partnerships with respect to the treatment of unrelated business taxable income. Subtitle D: Provisions Affecting Homebuyers - Allows a first-time homebuyer who purchases a principal residence a tax credit of ten percent of the purchase price, not to exceed $5,000. Limits such credit to one residence and requires acquisition between February 1, 1992, and January 1, 1993. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans for a first-home purchase. Limits such distribution to $10,000, or other applicable amount if previous distributions have been made. Title II: Tax Relief for Families - Tax Relief for Families Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Education and Savings - Allows a deduction for interest on education loans for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or child. Requires such loans to be for tuition and related expenses at certain higher education institutions. Reduces such deduction by any amount excludable from gross income by reason of the redemption of U.S. bonds for higher education expenses. Coordinates such deduction with the home equity indebtedness provision. States that investment interest does not include qualified educational interest. Requires persons who receive interest payments to report them on an information return, and to furnish written statements to the payors on receipt of such payments. Allows the establishment of flexible individual retirement accounts (FIRA) for the exclusive benefit of an individual and the individual's beneficiaries. Limits annual contributions to the lesser of $2,500, or the compensation includable in the individual's gross income. Prohibits contributions to FIRAs maintained for a taxpayer if the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds: (1) $120,000, in the case of a joint return; (2) $100,000, in the case of a surviving spouse or head of household; and (3) $60,000, in any other case. Prohibits the establishment of FIRAs for dependents. Exempts FIRAs from taxation, except the tax on unrelated business income of charitable, etc. organizations. Allows pooling arrangements for such accounts. Excludes from gross income distributions out of FIRA held for at least seven years. Imposes the ten-percent additional penalty tax on distributions made during the first three years. Provides for the transfer from individual retirement plans to FIRAs. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from qualified retirement plans for qualified higher education expenses and financially devastating medical expenses. Subtitle B: Other Provisions - Allows a deduction for loss incurred from the sale of a principal residence. Provides for an increase in the basis of a new principal residence purchased by a taxpayer who realized a loss on the sale of the old residence. Increases the personal exemption for a child who has not attained aged 19. Extends the deduction for health insurance cost for self-employed individuals from June 30, 1992, to December 31, 1993. Allows a deduction for qualified adoption expenses of up to $3,000. Denies the use of such deduction for any expense for which a deduction or credit is already allowable and for which reimbursements have been made. Defines qualified adoption expenses as those: (1) directly related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs; (2) that are not incurred in violation of State or Federal law; and (3) that are of a type eligible for reimbursement under the adoption assistance program under title IV of the Social Security Act (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services). Allows such deduction whether or not the taxpayer itemizes deductions. Includes as a working condition fringe benefit excluded from gross income any passes, tokens, fare cards, tickets or similar instruments for commuting by public transit provided to an employee at a discount by the employer, or reimbursements by the employer to cover all or part of the costs of such instruments, to the extent that such amounts do not exceed $60 per month. Title III: Long Term Growth - Long Term Growth Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Extension of Expiring Provisions - Makes permanent the tax credit for increasing research activities and for clinical testing expenses for certain drugs for rare diseases or conditions (orphan drugs). Postpones the termination dates of the following provisions: (1) the rules of allocating research and experimental expenditures; (2) the low-income housing credit; (3) the targeted jobs credit; and (4) the solar and geothermal investment credit. Extends the authority to issue qualified small issue bonds to finance farm property. Extends the authority to issue qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Enterprise Zones - Enterprise Zone-Jobs Creation Act of 1992 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every four years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of any wages earned up to a specified amount. Provides for phase-out of such credit. Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property. Allows an individual a deduction on the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Excludes enterprise zone capital gain from computation of the alternative minimum tax. Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite the processing of applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. Subtitle C: Excise Tax Provisions - Repeals the luxury excise tax on boats and aircraft. Repeals the exemption from the tax on disesel fuel and special motor fuels for the use of diesel fuel in pleasure boats, unless such boats are used in a boat business. States that excise taxes for diesel fuels used in pleasure boats shall be retained in the General Treasury. (Current law requires transfer of such amounts to the Highway Trust Fund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.) Subjects certain digital data transmissions to the communications excise tax. Repeals the exemption of certain coin-operated telephone services from such tax. Subtitle D: Provisions Related to Retirement Savings and Pension Distributions - Allows any portion of a distribution from a qualified pension plan to be rolled over tax-free to an individual retirement account or another qualified plan or annuity, unless it is part of a stream of periodic payments payable over a period of ten years or the lives or life expectancies of the participant and/or his or her beneficiary. Repeals: (1) the $5,000 limitation on the exclusion from gross income of employees' death benefits; (2) the five-year forward income averaging for lump-sum distributions; and (3) the exclusion of net unrealized appreciation in employer securities. Eliminates alternative methods of determining the tax on annuity payments. Sets forth a single method (currently provided in a special Internal Revenue Service Notice) which excludes from gross income, as at present, the employees investment in the contract, divided by the number of anticipated payments, but without the additional exclusion of $5,000 (repealed by this Act). Changes from discretionary to mandatory a qualified plan's authority to offer a participant the option of having a distribution transferred directly to another qualified plan. Establishes a simplified employee pension plan (a Small Business Model Retirement Plan) that allows salary reduction arrangements for employers of fewer than 100 employees (currently, fewer than 25 employees). Requires employers to contribute one percent of pay (up to $100,000) to an account for each eligible employee. Permits an employee to elect to contribute up to $3,000 per year. Requires the employer to match such contribution according to a specified formula. Prohibits State and local governments from participating in cash or deferred arrangements. Permits nongovernmental tax-exempt employers to maintain qualified cash or deferred arrangements for their employees. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, as a condition of sponsorship, to prescribe rules defining the duties and responsibilities of certain master and prototype retirement plans. Replaces the two-part nondiscrimination test for elective contributions under cash or deferred arrangements with a single test of whether: (1) the actual deferral percentage (ADP) of highly compensated employees exceeds 200 percent of the average deferral percentage of nonhighly compensated employees for a plan year; and (2) the actual deferral percentage of such employees exceeds the average deferral percentage of nonhighly compensated employees for the preceding plan year by more than three percentage points. Redefines the term "highly compensated employee" for pension, profit sharing, stock bonus plan, etc. purposes. Makes such an employee one who meets several criteria in addition to five-percent ownership or compensation from the employer in excess of $50,000. Eliminates special rules for officers and employees in the top 20 percent by compensation. Provides a special rule where no employees are treated as highly compensated except the one with the highest compensation. Eliminates the rule requiring ten years of service for vesting for employees subject to collective bargaining agreements under multiemployer plans. Subtitle E: Other Provisions - Repeals the appreciated property charitable deduction as a tax preference item under the alternative minimum tax. Requires a charitable contribution allowable as a deduction in computing taxable income (whether from domestic or foreign sources) to be allocated and apportioned solely to gross income from sources within the United States. Requires the donee of any large charitable donation (over $500 in cash or property from any individual) to make an information return relating to such donation. Provides for the application of the Medicare hospital insurance tax to State and local employees. Amends the Social Security Act to provide for the entitlement of such employees to hospital insurance benefits. Requires dealers in stock or securities to use the mark to market inventory accounting method (thus including such securities in inventory at fair market value instead of cost value, or the lower of cost or market value). Disallows interest deduction on life insurance owned by a corporation and covering its officers or employees. Prohibits a deduction for certain losses on the disposition of property to the extent that the taxpayer has a right to be reimbursed for the loss with assistance from the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). Limits the tax exemption for credit unions to small credit unions with assets of less than $50,000,000. Restricts the deduction for dividends paid on deposits and the deduction for additions to reserves for bad debts to credit unions that are not small credit unions. Provides that certain life insurance contracts will be treated as annuity contracts only if the purchaser irrevocably chooses as a settlement option a series of substantially equal periodic payments made for the life of the annuitant or the joint lives of the annuitants. Expands the 45-day interest-free period for refunding tax overpayments to all returns, as well as to amended returns and claims for refunds. Provides for the permanent use of Internal Revenue Service and Social Security data by the Department of Veterans Affairs for income verification.

A bill to amend section 1012 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 to authorize local governments that have financed a housing project that has been provided a financial adjustment factor under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 to use 50 percent of any recaptured amounts available from refinancing of the project for housing activities.

United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1992

Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 to permit local housing authorities to share the funds recaptured from refinancing certain housing bonds.

Economic Growth Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1992

Economic Growth Act of 1992 - Title I: Enhanced Economic Recovery Act of 1992 - Enhanced Economic Recovery Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Capital Gains - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a capital gains deduction for noncorporate taxpayers for assets held from one to three years. Provides special rules for the gain or loss from the sale or exchange of collectibles and sales of interest in partnerships. Disallows such deduction in computing the alternative minimum tax, except with respect to gains realized on the sale, exchange, or other disposition of a direct or indirect interest in real estate or in a closely held business. Revises the formula for determining gain from the dispositions of certain depreciable realty to take into account depreciation adjustments (adjustments allowed or allowable for exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence, or certain amortization). Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Passive Losses and Depreciation - Treats the real estate development activity of a taxpayer as a single trade or business activity that is not a rental activity. Allows an additional depreciation allowance for the purchase of new equipment as investment property after February 1, 1992, and placed in service before July 1, 1993. Reduces the basis adjustment of such property by the amount of the additional allowance. Requires application of such allowance in determining the alternative minimum tax. Restricts the determination of adjusted current earnings for purposes of computing alternative minimum taxable income to property placed in service after 1989 and prior to February 1, 1992. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Real Estate Investments by Pension Funds - Modifies exceptions to the exclusion of real property acquired by a qualified organization from the meaning of acquisition indebtedness. Makes certain exceptions inapplicable to sales out of foreclosure by a financial institution. Applies the meaning of acquisition indebtedness investments to certain large partnerships where the principal purpose of partnership allocation is not tax avoidance. Repeals the special rule for publicly traded partnerships with respect to the treatment of unrelated business taxable income. Subtitle D: Provisions Affecting Homebuyers - Allows a first-time homebuyer who purchases a principal residence a tax credit of ten percent of the purchase price, not to exceed $5,000. Limits such credit to one residence and requires acquisition on or after February 1, 1992, and January 1, 1993. Allows such credit to be carried forward for up to five years. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans for a first-home purchase. Limits such distribution to $10,000, or other applicable amount if previous distributions have been made. Title II: Tax Relief for Families - Tax Relief for Families Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Education and Savings - Allows a deduction for interest on education loans for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or child. Requires such loans to be for tuition and related expenses at certain higher education institutions. Reduces such deduction by any amount excludable from gross income by reason of the redemption of U.S. bonds for higher education expenses. Coordinates such deduction with the home equity indebtedness provision. Provides that investment interest does not include qualified educational interest. Requires persons who receive interest payments to report such information on an information return, and to furnish written statements to the payors on receipt of such payments. Allows the establishment of flexible individual retirement accounts (FIRA) for the exclusive benefit of an individual and the individual's beneficiaries. Limits annual contributions to the lesser of $2,500, or the compensation includable in the individual's gross income. Prohibits contributions to FIRAs maintained for a taxpayer if the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds: (1) $120,000, in the case of a joint return; (2) $100,000, in the case of a surviving spouse or head of household; and (3) $60,000, in any other case. Prohibits the establishment of FIRAs for dependents. Makes FIRAs exempt from taxation, except the tax on unrelated business income of charitable, etc. organizations. Allows pooling arrangements for such accounts. Excludes from gross income distributions out of a FIRA held for at least seven years. Imposes the ten-percent additional penalty tax on distributions made during the first three years. Provides for transfer from individual retirement plans to FIRAs. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from qualified retirement plans for qualified higher education expenses and financially devastating medical expenses. Subtitle B: Other Provisions - Allows a deduction for loss incurred from the sale of a principal residence. Provides for an increase in the basis of a new principal residence purchased by a taxpayer who realized a loss on the sale of the old residence. Increases the personal exemption for a child who has not attained age 19. Extends the deduction for health insurance costs for self-employed individuals from June 30, 1992, to December 31, 1993. Allows a deduction for qualified adoption expenses of up to $3,000. Denies the use of such deduction for any expense for which a deduction or credit is already allowable and for which reimbursements have been made. Defines qualified adoption expenses as those: (1) directly related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs; (2) that are not incurred in violation of State or Federal law; and (3) that are of a type eligible for reimbursement under the adoption assistance program under title IV of the Social Security Act (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services). Allows such deduction whether or not the taxpayer itemizes deductions. Includes as a working condition fringe benefit excluded from gross income any passes, tokens, fare cards, tickets or similar instruments for commuting by public transit provided to an employee at a discount by the employer, or reimbursements by the employer to cover all or part of the costs of such instruments, to the extent that such amounts do not exceed $60 per month. Title III: Long Term Growth - Long Term Growth Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Extension of Expiring Provisions - Makes permanent the tax credit for increasing research activities and for clinical testing expenses for certain drugs for rare diseases or conditions (orphan drugs). Postpones the termination dates of the following provisions: (1) the rules for allocating research and experimental expenditures; (2) the low-income housing credit; (3) the targeted jobs credit; and (4) the solar and geothermal investment credit. Extends the authority to issue qualified small issue bonds to finance farm property. Extends the authority to issue qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Enterprise Zones - Enterprise Zone-Jobs Creation Act of 1992 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every four years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of any wages earned up to a specified amount. Provides for phaseout of such credit. Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property. Allows an individual a deduction on the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Excludes enterprise zone capital gain from computation of the alternative minimum tax. Amends Federal law to revise the definition of small entity for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a nominating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety. Authorizes the Secretary to convene regional and local coordinating councils of any appropriate agencies to assist State and local governments to achieve the objectives agreed to in the course of action entered to reduce specified burdens borne by employers and employees in designated enterprise zones. Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite the processing of applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. Repeals title VII (Enterprise Zone Development) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987. Subtitle C: Excise Tax Provisions - Repeals the luxury excise tax on boats and aircraft. Repeals the exemption from the tax on diesel fuel and special motor fuels for the use of diesel fuel in pleasure boats, unless such boats are used in a boat business. States that excise taxes for diesel fuels used in pleasure boats shall be retained in the General Treasury. (Current law requires transfer of such amounts to the Highway Trust Fund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.) Subjects certain digital data transmissions to the communications excise tax. Repeals the exemption of certain coin-operated telephone services from such tax. Subtitle D: Provisions Related to Retirement Savings and Pension Distributions - Allows any portion of a distribution from a qualified pension plan to be rolled over tax-free to an individual retirement account or another qualified plan or annuity, unless it is part of a stream of periodic payments payable over a period of ten years or the lives or life expectancies of the participant and/or his or her beneficiary. Repeals: (1) the $5,000 limitation on the exclusion from gross income of employees' death benefits; (2) the five-year forward income averaging for lump-sum distributions; and (3) the exclusion of net unrealized appreciation in employer securities. Eliminates alternative methods of determining the tax on annuity payments. Sets forth a single method (currently provided in a special Internal Revenue Service Notice) which excludes from gross income, as at present, the employee's investment in the contract, divided by the number of anticipated payments, but without the additional exclusion of $5,000 (repealed by this Act). Changes from discretionary to mandatory a qualified plan's authority to offer a participant the option of having a distribution transferred directly to another qualified plan. Establishes a simplified employee pension plan (a Small Business Model Retirement Plan) that allows salary reduction arrangements for employers of fewer than 100 employees (currently, fewer than 25 employees). Requires employers to contribute one percent of pay (up to $100,000) to an account for each eligible employee. Permits an employee to elect to contribute up to $3,000 per year. Requires the employer to match such contribution according to a specified formula. Prohibits State and local governments from participating in cash or deferred arrangements. Permits nongovernmental tax-exempt employers to maintain qualified cash or deferred arrangements for their employees. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, as a condition of sponsorship, to prescribe rules defining the duties and responsibilities of certain master and prototype retirement plans. Replaces the two-part nondiscrimination test for elective contributions under cash or deferred arrangements with a single test of whether: (1) the actual deferral percentage of highly compensated employees exceeds 200 percent of the average deferral percentage of nonhighly compensated employees for a plan year; and (2) the actual deferral percentage of such employees exceeds the average deferral percentage of nonhighly compensated employees for the preceding plan year by more than three percentage points. Redefines the term "compensated employee" for pension, profit sharing, stock bonus plan, etc. purposes. Makes such an employee one who meets several criteria in addition to five-percent ownership or compensation from the employer in excess of $50,000. Eliminates special rules for officers and employees in the top 20 percent by compensation. Provides a special rule where no employees are treated as highly compensated. Eliminates the rule requiring ten years of service for employees subject to collective bargaining agreements under multiemployer plans. Subtitle E: Other Provisions - Repeals the appreciated property charitable deduction as a tax preference item under the alternative minimum tax. Requires a charitable contribution allowable as a deduction in computing taxable income (whether from domestic or foreign sources to be allocated and apportioned solely to gross income from sources within the United States. Requires the donee of any large charitable donation (over $500 in cash or property from any individual) to make an information return relating to such donation. Provides for the application of the Medicare hospital insurance tax to State and local employees. Amends the Social Security Act to provide for the entitlement of such employees to hospital insurance benefits. Requires dealers in stock or securities to use market inventory accounting method (thus including such securities in inventory at fair market value instead of cost value, or the lower of cost or market value). Disallows interest deductions on life insurance owned by a corporation and covering its officers or employees. Prohibits a deduction for certain losses on the disposition of property to the extent that the taxpayer has a right to be reimbursed for the loss with assistance from the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). Limits the tax exemption for credit unions to small credit unions with assets of less than $50,000,000. Restricts the deduction for dividends paid on deposits and the deduction for additions to reserves for bad debts to credit unions that are not small credit unions. Provides that certain life insurance contracts will be treated as annuity contracts only if the purchaser irrevocably chooses as a settlement option a series of substantially equal periodic payments made for the life of the annuitant or the joint lives of the annuitants. Expands the 45-day interest-free period for refunding tax overpayments to all returns, as well as to amended returns and claims for refunds. Title IV: Financial Institutions Safety and Consumer Choice Act of 1992 - Financial Institutions Safety and Consumer Choice Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Financial Services Modernization - Chapter 1: Financial Services Holding Companies - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act to define financial services holding companies and diversified holding companies. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to specify additional financial entities prohibited from acquiring control or ownership of certain financial services organizations. Prohibits any insured depository institution (except foreign banks with insured branches in the United States) from becoming a financial services holding company or a diversified holding company. Sets forth expedited procedures for acquisition of additional banks by well capitalized financial services holding companies. Sets forth guidelines for acquisitions involving diversified holding companies. Provides that financial services holding companies (except certain foreign banks) cannot be banks. Modifies the guidelines for ownership interests in nonbanking organizations. Replaces the current "closely related" standard for permissible activities with a "financial nature" standard. Sets forth the permissible parameters for insurance and securities affiliates. Sets a deadline by which a financial services holding company must notify the appropriate Federal banking agency with respect to its ownership or control of the shares of a company engaged in qualified financial activities. Outlines permissible nonbanking activities and acquisitions for well capitalized financial services holding companies. Sets forth additional capital requirements for a financial services holding company that intends to engage in, or acquire, or retain the shares of a company engaged in, a new financial activity. Sets forth certain restrictions on the activities of financial services holding companies. Prescribes guidelines for acquisition activities by diversified holding companies and their affiliates. Sets forth Federal administrative procedures for financial services holding companies and diversified holding companies (including their subsidiaries and affiliates). Prohibits the States from preventing or impeding certain acquisition or affiliation activities undertaken by: (1) insured depository institutions; (2) diversified holding companies; and (3) financial services holding companies. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 to prohibit a financial services holding company or a diversified holding company from: (1) engaging in certain tying arrangements; or (2) transacting insider loans. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to exempt from its coverage financial services holding companies and diversified holding companies. Chapter 2: Financial Activities of National Banks - Amends the Banking Act of 1933 to provide that its limitations and restrictions with respect to certain securities activities conducted by a national bank for its own account shall not apply to the distribution of securities issued by investment companies if the association is not an affiliate of a securities affiliate. Amends the Banking Act of 1933 to repeal the proscription against: (1) the affiliation of member banks with organizations engaged principally in securities; and (2) member bank personnel serving simultaneously as employees or officers of securities organizations. Authorizes national banking associations located in certain small-sized population areas to sell insurance to residents of the State in which the association is located. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to: (1) set forth conditions under which a loan or extension of credit by a member bank shall not be deemed to be made to an affiliate; (2) require prior notification to the appropriate Federal banking agency before a financial services holding company may permit an insured depository institution under its control to engage in a covered transaction which exceeds five percent of its capital stock and surplus; and (3) revise definitions related to affiliates of member banks. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to require customer disclosure by an insured depository institution with respect to the non-insured status of its non-banking products. Chapter 3: Non-Banking Activities of Foreign Banks in the United States - Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to set forth circumstances under which a foreign bank that maintains a branch or agency in the United States (or owns or controls a commercial lending company organized under State law) shall be subject to the provisions of this Act. Chapter 4: Amendments to the Securities Acts - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 to: (1) subject to its provisions certain bank-issued securities and certain savings association-issued securities; (2) exempt from its provisions certain bank and savings association instruments functioning as securities in a secured transaction; (3) exempt from its provisions equity securities transactions with respect to bank acquisition by a financial services holding company, or acquisition of a financial services holding company by a diversified holding company. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to: (1) revise definitions relating to bank broker activities and bank dealer activities; (2) prohibit any bank from acting as broker or dealer except in the course of an exclusively intrastate business; and (3) prohibit certain securities transactions, with specified exceptions, taking place on bank premises which are commonly accessible to the general public for deposit-making purposes. Repeals the Federal agency administration provisions with respect to disclosure requirements for securities issued by insured depository institutions. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to mandate that the custody of investment company assets or unit investment trusts by affiliates of either the registered management company or the registered unit investment trust must be in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules prescribed for investor protection. Prohibits a registered investment company from having a majority of its board of directors consisting of personnel of any one bank and its subsidiaries, or any one financial services holding company and its affiliates and subsidiaries. Grants the SEC additional rulemaking authority regarding bank affiliated mutual funds. Prohibits registered investment company securities from being represented as: (1) guaranteed, sponsored, recommended or approved by any Federal agency; (2) insured by the FDIC; or (3) guaranteed or an obligation of any bank or insured institution. Provides that any person issuing or selling securities of an investment company whose name is similar to that of a bank may be required to disclose prominently that the investment company and its securities are neither FDIC-insured, nor guaranteed by an affiliated bank or insured institution, nor otherwise an obligation of such bank or insured institution. Authorizes the SEC to determine by order that use of a name similar to a bank is deceptive and misleading, and to take action accordingly. Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to include within the meaning of "investment adviser" any bank or financial services holding company which acts as investment adviser to a registered investment company (unless it performs such services through a separately identifiable division). Requires the SEC to give notice to the appropriate Federal banking agency prior to initiating any investigative or enforcement proceedings against a financial services holding company bank, or bank division acting as registered investment adviser. Amends the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act of 1940 to exempt certain bank common trust funds from their coverage. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the transfer to a regulated investment company of all or substantially all of the assets of a common trust fund shall not result in a gain or loss to the common trust fund participants if the transfer is the result of a merger, conversion, reorganization, transfer or similar transaction. (Thus, if a bank were to transfer a common trust fund to a mutual fund, such transfer per se would not be considered a taxable event for the fund participants). Directs the SEC to examine and report to the Congress on the appropriate treatment of: (1) bank collective investment funds and separate accounts under the securities laws and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); and (2) common trust funds under the securities laws. Chapter 5: Amendments to Prompt Corrective Action - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to set forth: (1) definitional guidelines; and (2) permissible activities for banks within various capital levels (including financial services holding companies). Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the Bank Conservation Act, the Federal Reserve Act, and the Home Owners' Loan Act to set forth additional grounds for appointing conservators and receivers for specified undercapitalized depository institutions. Chapter 6: Nationwide Banking and Branching - Amends the Financial Services Holding Company Act to authorize nationwide banking, notwithstanding certain State laws, by: (1) a diversified holding company; (2) a financial services holding company; or (3) a foreign bank. Amends Federal banking law to permit a national banking association to establish and operate new branches at an initial location within any State in which a financial services holding company or State bank having the same home State (or chartered in the same home State as such association) could establish a branch. Provides for the interstate consolidation or merger of national banks, or State banks with national banks, and for the subsequent retention of pre-existing branches subject to regulatory approval. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prohibit State proscription against interstate branching by State banks. Permits a host State to determine compliance by interstate branches with its regulations, and to coordinate regulatory supervision with other State bank authorities regarding branches of State-chartered banks. Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to provide that during the three-year period starting on the date of enactment of this Act the Director may authorize foreign banks to establish and operate federally-chartered branches in the United States if such establishment is not prohibited by the law of the relevant State. Revises the limitations placed upon interstate branching by foreign banks to more closely conform with the limitations placed upon interstate branching by domestic banks. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to authorize approval by the appropriate Federal banking agency for a savings and loan holding company or a foreign bank to acquire interstate interests in savings associations. Permits the consummation of such approved acquisitions even though State law would otherwise prohibit or limit them. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Provisions - Chapter I: Reduction in Regulatory Burden - Prohibits an appropriate Federal banking agency from requiring any institution under it jurisdiction to prepare or maintain data to comply with the Fair Housing Act, other than the data prescribed pursuant to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Chapter 2: Expedited Funds Availability - Amends the Expedited Funds Availability Act with respect to the frequency of notices when funds will be held beyond statutory schedules to provide that no further notice is required after the required notice has been furnished until one year later or such other time as the exception for which the notice was provided ceases to apply, whichever is earlier. Subtitle C: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Chapter 1: Severability; Transition References - Sets forth severability and transition provisions. Chapter 2: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Makes technical and conforming amendments to specified Federal Acts. Chapter 3: Repeal of Obsolete Provisions of Law - Repeals specified provisions of Federal law. Chapter 4: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of amendments made by this title. Title V: Pension Security Act - Pension Security Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Amendments to Pension Plan Funding Requirements - Part 1: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the additional funding requirements for pension plans that are not multiemployer plans to provide for an underfunding reduction requirement and a solvency maintenance requirement. Part 2: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to revise the additional funding requirements for pension plans that are not multiemployer plans to provide for an underfunding reduction requirement and a solvency maintenance requirement. Subtitle B: Amendments to Title IV of ERISA - Amends title IV (Plan Termination Insurance) of ERISA to set forth limitations on the benefits guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Revises provisions relating to: (1) enforcement of minimum funding requirements; (2) definition of contributing sponsor; (3) recovery ratio payable under PBGC guaranty; (4) distress termination criteria for banking institutions; and (5) variable rate premium exemption. Eliminates a specified seventh revolving fund and transfers its assets and liabilities to the first revolving fund (i.e. the single-employer basic benefits guaranty fund). Subtitle C: Employer Liability, Lien and Priority - Part 1: Amendments to Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends title IV of ERISA to revise limitations on employer liability liens and priority amounts. Provides that, in the case of plan terminations initiated on or after January 1, 1992, the lien of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for employer liability shall be determined according to a specified formula. Makes similar revisions relating to the amount of liability to the PBGC which is entitled to priority treatment in insolvency and bankruptcy cases. Amends the Pension Protection Act with respect to bankruptcy and insolvency claims. Provides that specified amendments under this Act shall be effective as if included under the Single-Employer Pension Plan Amendments of 1986 and the Pension Protection Act. Amends ERISA to provide for liability upon liquidation of a contributing sponsor of a single-employer plan. Makes such sponsor liable as though the plan had terminated in a distress termination, even if the sponsor's controlled group remains a contributing sponsor of the plan or is liable for payment of specified contributions or installments. Directs the PBGC to transfer such liability payments to the ongoing plans. Part 2: Amendments to Title 11, United States Code - Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to permit the PBGC to be a member of an unsecured creditors' committee. Revises priority payment provisions with respect to: (1) unpaid contributions to pension plans under ERISA; and (2) certain liability arising from pension plan terminations under ERISA. (Classifies these priorities as expenses arising before, or administrative expenses arising after, the commencement of the case, depending on whether such unpaid contributions are attributable, or such plan termination occurs, before or after the filing of the petition for bankruptcy.) Amends one of specified Bankruptcy Rules to require the bankruptcy court to give the PBGC notice of a bankruptcy petition filed (and all other notices required to be served on creditors and interested parties), in any case in which the debtor or an affiliate maintains a pension plan to which title IV of ERISA applies. Title VI: Federal Insurance Accounting Act of 1992 - Federal Insurance Accounting Act of 1992 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require accrual accounting to measure the cost of Federal insurance programs. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to coordinate the development of methods of estimating the costs of Federal insurance programs. Provides for the budgetary treatment of such programs. Prohibits the modification of an insurance program in a manner that increases its accrual cost unless budget authority for such additional cost is appropriated in advance, or is available out of existing appropriations or from other budgetary resources. Provides for the display of administrative expenses as distinct and separately identified subaccounts within the insurance program account. Authorizes appropriations as necessary to each Federal agency authorized to conduct insurance programs to pay associated accrued and accrual costs. Authorizes the President, in order to implement this title, to establish non-budgetary accounts as appropriate. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make transactions as necessary for non-budget insurance financing accounts. Declares that the changes made by this title are to be considered changes in budget concepts and definitions for purposes of the Balanced Budget And Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Title VII: Medicare Premium Equity Amendments of 1992 - Medicare Premium Equity Amendments of 1992 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase the monthly part B premium in the case of: (1) an individual with an adjusted gross income in excess of $125,000 who is married and files a joint income tax return or is a surviving spouse or a head of household; (2) an individual with an adjusted gross income in excess of $62,500 who is married but does not file a joint income tax return; and (3) any other individual with an adjusted gross income in excess of $100,000. Title VIII: Medicare Budget Amendments of 1992 - Medicare Budget Amendments of 1992 - Amends Medicare part B to: (1) provide that payment under part B for anesthesia physicians' services, when a separate charge (on a fee schedule basis) is also made for the services of a certified registered nurse anesthetist, may not, when added to the payment made for the services of the nurse anesthetist, exceed the amount that would be paid for the anesthesia physicians' services if a separate payment were not made for the services of the nurse anesthetist; (2) revise payment rates for medically and non-medically directed certified registered nurse anesthetists to change the conversion factors used for services furnished starting in 1993; (3) redefine "covered item update" as used with respect to payments after 1992 for durable medical equipment and "applicable percentage increase" as used with respect to payments after 1992 for prosthetic devices, orthotics, and prosthetics (items) as a percentage change (or no change), which may be different for different kinds of equipment or items, as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services after taking into consideration market factors and technological change; (4) set the payment limitation amount for a clinical diagnostic laboratory test performed after September 30, 1992, at 76 percent of the median of all the fee schedules established for that test for that laboratory setting; (5) provide similar Secretarial discretion with respect to determining annual updates in payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests; (6) move the prospective payment system hospital update to January 1 of each year; and (7) set the annual update for other hospitals in FY 1993 at 75 percent of the market basket percentage increase, and the updates for subsequent fiscal years at the market basket percentage increase. Title IX: Aid To Families With Dependent Children Savings Set-Aside Amendments of 1992 - AFDC Saving Set-Aside Amendments of 1992 - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act to modify State plan provisions to give States the option of disregarding, with respect to a family already receiving AFDC benefits, resources the value of which do not exceed $10,000, but only if the State plan provides that: (1) the State agency will determine that any such disregarded resources are being retained for later expenditure for a purpose directly related to improving the education, training, or employability of a family member or for the purchase of a home for the family; (2) the value of any resources so disregarded will not be taken into consideration for purposes of determining eligibility for food stamp benefits; and (3) the State agency will not disregard any resource (or interest therein) owned by a family member within the preceding 12 months, if such resource (or interest) was disposed of at less than fair market value for the purpose of establishing eligibility for AFDC benefits. Allows AFDC employability plans, at the option of the State, to provide for the retention and set-aside of such amounts of income and resources as the State agency determines necessary for carrying out an approved plan which includes self-employment as its employment goal. Requires that the State agency must find that the specific form of self-employment for which the set-aside is intended is practical and attainable in light of all surrounding circumstances. Title X: Food Stamp Amendments of 1992 - Food Stamp Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to require the parent of a minor child with an absent parent to cooperate with State child support enforcement agencies in order to participate in the food stamp program (program). Makes permanent: (1) the 25 percent Federal cost-sharing of State administrative program costs. (Current law authorizes 25 percent through FY 1995 and 50 percent thereafter); and (2) the ten percent State fund retention. (Current law authorizes ten percent through FY 1995 and 25 percent thereafter). Title XI: Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1992 - Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Child Support Enforcement Act (the Act, which is part D of title IV of the Social Security Act) to provide that certain support collection and paternity determination application fees and collection services fees shall be set at $25 each (but gives the State an option to set such fees at $50 each, in which case no fee may be charged to individuals for such applications, or to families for such services, if their income is not more than 185 percent of the poverty line). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish a schedule of performance-based incentive payments to encourage and reward States for activities to increase paternity establishment and lead to increased child support collections; and (2) determine the amount of such payments with respect to specified categories of performance. Limits the amount of any such payment to a State for a fiscal year to not more than ten percent of the State's total child support collections for such year with respect to children receiving aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act. Revises the formula for certain other incentive payments (to States for cost-effective and efficient performance) to reduce their amount. Requires that incentive payments to States be used to improve or protect the welfare of children within the State. Requires States to provide paternity determination and child support collection services for recipients of certain need-based Federal or federally assisted programs. Title XII: Incentives for Families with Absent Parents to Cooperate with State Agencies under the Social Security Act in Securing Child Support for Dependents - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide, for purposes of public housing, that any family (with an absent parent) that has failed, without good cause, to cooperate in securing support for the dependent member of the family with the State agency administering the program for collection of child and spousal support may: (1) have certain spousal support imputed to its income; and (2) be ineligible for certain exclusions from its income. (Applies such provisions also to public housing under the Indian Housing Authority.) Title XIII: Purposes and Duration of Emergency Assistance Under The Aid to Families With Dependent Children Program - Amends the AFDC program to limit AFDC emergency assistance to one period of 30 consecutive days in any 12-month period. Provides that such emergency assistance may include amounts necessary to: (1) satisfy shelter and utility arrearages for no more than three months in order to prevent evictions and utility shut-offs; and (2) pay an initial month's shelter charges and security deposit necessary to secure permanent housing for homeless families. Requires any such amounts to be authorized by the State agency during the single 30-day period described above. Title XIV: Enhance Health Insurance Coverage For Children Under the Aid To Families With Dependent Children Program - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require State plans to provide satisfactory assurances that the State has in effect laws applicable to health insurers and insurance policies or programs subject to the laws of the State that: (1) require insurers to permit enrollment at any time under the health insurance of a non-custodial parent of any child for whom such parent is required to provide support; and (2) in any case where a child is covered under the non-custodial parent's health insurance, require insurers, at the option of the custodial parent, to permit such parent to submit claims for covered services without the non-custodial parent's approval and to make payment on such claims submitted directly to the custodial parent or service provider. Requires plan assurances that State laws authorize garnishment of the employment income of, and withholding of amounts from State tax refunds to, any person who is required by court or administrative order to cover a Medicaid-eligible individual's medical costs and has received, but not used for appropriate reimbursement, payment from a third party for the costs of medical services to such individual, to the extent necessary to reimburse the State for expenditures for such costs. Title XV: Child Nutrition Amendments of 1992 - Child Nutrition Amendments of 1992- Subtitle A: Budget-Related Provisions - Amends the National School Lunch Act to provide for increased cash subsidies for reduced price meals in the national school lunch program. Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to provide for increased cash subsidies for reduced price meals in the school breakfast program. Amends CNA to provide for increased research funds under the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) to determine such program's effect on children. Subtitle B: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates of various provisions of this title. Title XVI: Social Security Cross Program Recovery Amendments of 1992 - Social Security Act Cross Program Recovery Amendments of 1992 - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to recover overpayments made under the Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI) under title XVI of the Social Security Act from any amounts payable under the Federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program under title II of that Act if the Secretary is unable to recover such overpayments through the means currently provided under SSI. Provides that in any case in which the Secretary takes action to recover such an overpayment from any person, neither that person, nor any individual whose eligibility or benefit amount is based on that person's income, shall, as a result of such action, become eligible for SSI benefits or, if already so eligible, become eligible for increased SSI benefits. Title XVII: America 2000 Excellence in Education Act - AMERICA 2000 Excellence in Education Act - Part A: New American Schools - Authorizes financial assistance for creating New American Schools (NAS) in communities that have been designated AMERICA 2000 Communities (A2Cs). Provides that such NAS shall reflect the best thinking about teaching and learning, employ the highest-quality instructional materials and technologies, and be designed to meet the National Educational Goals as well as the particular needs of their students and communities. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to reserve certain funds for a national program evaluation. Directs the Secretary to allocate the remaining funds among the States (and specified territories) in proportion to their respective numbers of Members of Congress. Directs the Governor to nominate A2Cs to create NAS, for at least as many communities as there are members in the State's congressional delegation and at least one community in each congressional district of the State. Requires the Governor's nominations to be based on criteria established by the Secretary on the basis of expert panel advice, including: (1) the community's level of commitment and activity in the A2C initiative; (2) the community's schools' need for new and innovative educational programs; and (3) the quality of their application to the Governor. Sets forth conditions for the Secretary's approval, and for alternative nominations. Directs the Secretary to make NAS grants to selected agencies, organizations, and institutions on behalf of the selected communities. Limits any award to $1,000,000. Encourages grantees to adapt and implement one or more NAS designs developed by research and development teams funded by the NAS Development Corporation. Restricts use of such grant funds to certain special start-up costs associated with the creation and establishment of a NAS. Prohibits the use of such funds for construction or for the grantee's general administrative expenses. Requires each NAS to have obtained necessary State recognition or accreditation and to be fully operating by the start of the 1996-97 school year. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days, to convene an expert panel of educators, representatives of private business, and public representatives to advise on NAS program administration, including criteria for nomination of communities. Directs the Secretary to use reserved funds to conduct a national evaluation of NAS program impact on schools and communities and on education generally. Requires reports to the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Merit Schools - Authorizes appropriations for Merit School awards to reward public and private elementary and secondary schools and faculties that make documented progress in attaining the National Education Goals, particularly the goal of increasing students' mastery of the core academic subjects. Directs the Secretary to allocate specified funds among the States on the same basis as allocations for education of disadvantaged children under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (the ESEA chapter 1 program). Requires Governors to submit State grant applications for a three-year period, which may be followed by an application for a two-year period. Makes specified provisions of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) inapplicable to this title. Specifies State use of funds for administrative costs (five percent) and Merit School awards (95 percent), with at least 20 percent of the latter earmarked for schools that demonstrate exceptional progress in improving students' performance in mathematics and science. Requires each Governor to: (1) establish a State review panel to assist in selection of Merit Schools; (2) submit annual program reports to the Secretary; and (3) apply specified national and State criteria in selecting schools. Requires each Merit School to use its award for activities to further its educational program, including special programs, equipment and materials acquisition, staff bonus payments, college scholarships for secondary school students, parental involvement, community outreach, and program replication. Prohibits State or local reduction of other assistance to the Merit School or its local educational agency. Part C: Teachers and School Leaders - Subpart 1: Governors' Academies for Teachers - Directs the Secretary to make a one-time, five-year grant to each State to establish and operate Governors' Academies for Teachers and to recognize outstanding teachers. Requires a Governor to use the State's grant to make competitive awards to the State educational agency (SEA), local education agencies (LEAs), institutions of higher education, and other public and private organizations or consortia, to establish and operate such Academies. Allows such Academies to be operated in cooperation or consortium with those of other States. Requires each Academy to conduct a program of intensive instruction for current elementary and secondary school teachers, during the summer or the school year, focusing on the core academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, history, and geography. Directs the Governor to allocate to each Academy funds for a program of cash awards and recognition to outstanding teachers in the core academic subject or subjects covered by the Academy program. Requires Academies to select such teachers from nominations received from various groups. Limits any such award to $5,000, but allows the recipient to choose how to use it. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart 2: Governors' Academies for School Leaders - Directs the Secretary to make a one-time, five-year grant to each State to establish and operate a Governor's Academy for School Leaders. Requires the Governor to make competitive awards to the SEA, LEAs, institutions of higher education, and other public and private organizations or consortia, to establish and operate such an Academy. Allows such academies to be operated in cooperation or consortium with those of other States. Directs each Academy to carry out specified activities relating to school leadership training and development. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart 3: Alternative Certification of Teachers and Principals - Authorizes appropriations to assist States to develop and implement alternative certification requirements to improve the supply of well-qualified elementary and secondary school teachers and principals. Makes certain GEPA provisions inapplicable to this part. Requires States to use such funds to support programs, projects, or activities that develop and implement new, or expand and improve existing, alternative teacher and principal certification requirements. Authorizes States to do so directly, through contracts, or through subgrants to LEAs, intermediate educational agencies, institutions of higher education, or consortia of such agencies. Part D: Educational Reform and Flexibility - Subpart 1: Educational Reform Through Flexibility and Accountability - Amends the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to establish a program for flexibility and accountability in education and related services. Directs the Secretary to assist projects for elementary and secondary schools and other service providers to improve achievement of all students and other participants, but particularly disadvantaged individuals, by authorizing waivers by which Governors, SEAs, LEAs, and other service providers can improve performance of schools and programs by increasing their flexibility in use of resources while holding them accountable for achieving educational gains. Authorizes the Secretary, in support of such projects, to waive, with specified exceptions, any statutory or regulatory requirement applicable to any program administered by the Department of Education that may impede a school or service provider from meeting the special needs of such students and other individuals. Authorizes other Federal agency heads, with the Secretary's agreement, to make similar waivers for their programs. Limits duration of projects and associated waivers to a maximum of three years, but authorizes the Secretary to extend a project and any associated waivers for an additional two years if it is making substantial progress in meeting its goals. Requires the Secretary to terminate a project and its associated waivers at any time if acceptable progress is not being made. Grants other Federal agency heads authority to determine extension or termination of their waivers. Grants the Secretary exclusive authority to extend or terminate a project. Requires each project that involves elementary or secondary schools to include participation of an SEA and at least one LEA and two schools. Requires, to the extent possible, project participation by each grade and academic program, including ESEA chapter 1 programs, in a participating school. Prohibits unreasonable concentration of available resources in participating schools, if fewer than all schools in an LEA participate. Requires each project that does not involve elementary or secondary schools to involve at least two programs, at least one of which is administered by the Secretary. Prohibits waiver of requirements: (1) in awarding new competitive grants to agencies participating in such projects; (2) relating to maintenance of effort, comparability, or equitable participation of private school students; and (3) under specified provisions of GEPA, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Sets forth requirements for reports and evaluations. Provides for the budget neutrality of such program. Subpart 2: Amendments to Chapter 2 - Amends chapter 2 (Federal, State, and Local Partnership for Educational Improvement) of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA chapter 2) to provide that part A funding for educational reform and improvement shall be divided equally between State and local programs (50 percent to each, while the current allocation formula requires at least 80 percent to go to local programs and not more than 20 percent to State programs). Reduces the portions of such State-level funds which: (1) may be used for State administration (from 25 to ten percent); and (2) must be used for the effective schools programs (from 20 to eight percent). Revises State application requirements to require approval by the Governor before submission to the Secretary. Includes educational choice programs among local targeted assistance programs of SEAs and LEAs. Includes, among authorized activities of such programs, any activities or expenses directly related to planning, implementing, operating, evaluating, and disseminating information about the LEA's educational choice program, including expenses of parents and children resulting from their program participation. Part E: Parental Choice of Schools - Subpart 1: Findings - Sets forth congressional findings relating to parental choice in education. Subpart 2: Parental Choice and Chapter 1 - Amends chapter 1 (Financial Assistance to Meet Special Educational Needs of Children) of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA chapter 1) to provide for chapter 1 services for children participating in educational choice programs. Requires the LEA to provide such services in the form of: (1) supplementary compensatory education services; or (2) if that is not feasible or efficient, payment to parents of a per-child share of the LEA's basic chapter 1 grant. Allows parents to use such funds only for: (1) purchase of supplementary compensatory education services that meet the child's special educational needs from any elementary or secondary school, or any other public or private agency, organization, or institution that the LEA designates; and/or (2) transportation costs related to the child's participation in the educational choice program. Excludes such payments from the gross income of parents for Federal income tax purposes. Allows an LEA to use chapter 1 funds for the additional transportation costs of children receiving chapter 1 services who are in an educational choice program. Requires LEAs with educational choice programs to explain to parents of chapter 1 participating children: (1) the availability of compensatory education services under various available options; and (2) options available under the educational choice program and the chapter 1 program. Subpart 3: Assistance for Parental Choice Programs - Directs the Secretary to make one-year grants to LEAs that carry out educational choice programs. Authorizes appropriations. Makes an LEA eligible for such a grant if it: (1) will carry out an educational choice program during the year for which assistance is sought; and (2) carried out such a program during the preceding year. Defines an educational choice program, as one adopted by a State or an LEA under which: (1) parents select the school, including private schools, in which their children will be enrolled; and (2) sufficient financial support is provided to enable a significant number or percentage of parents to enroll their children in a variety of schools and educational programs, including private schools. Requires LEAs to use grant funds only for student educational services and parental involvement activities in addition to those that would otherwise be provided from State or local funds. Prohibits use of grant funds for LEA general administrative expenses. Subpart 4: Parental Choice Programs of National Significance - Directs the Secretary to make five-year grants to SEAs, LEAs, and other agencies, institutions, and organizations to conduct and demonstrate nationally significant model programs of educational choice. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, in any fiscal year for which funds are available to make new awards, to announce the approaches to educational choice that will be considered in the competition for such funding. Requires grant recipients to use such funds only for activities directly related to planning, implementing, operating and evaluating, and disseminating information about, the educational choice demonstration program. Allows such funds to be used to meet expenses of parents and children resulting from their participation in such program. Part F: National Assessment of Educational Progress - Amends the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to extend through FY 1996 the authorization of appropriations for the National Center for Educational Statistics and its programs, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Requires the NAEP to collect representative data on a national and State basis for those States that choose to participate. Repeals a requirement for data collection on a regional basis. Requires the NAEP to collect and report data: (1) at least once every four years in the core academic areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and (2) annually on students at specified ages and in specified grade levels. (Current law varies such deadlines for the different academic subjects and sets a biennial deadline for the age and grade levels.) Removes a confidentiality restriction on NAEP information with respect to individual schools. Removes a prohibition against use of NAEP test items and data to rank, compare, or otherwise evaluate individual students, schools, or school districts. Requires States which choose to enter NAEP agreements to conduct such Assessment at the school level for all schools in the State sample and coordinate within the State, subject to a minimum State contribution of $100,000. Directs the Secretary to pay the State a certain amount for the costs of conducting such Assessment in excess of the minimum State contribution. Part G: National Commission on Time, Study, Learning, and Teaching - Establishes a National Education Commission on Time, Study, Learning, and Teaching (the Commission). Requires the Commission to examine the quality and adequacy of the study and learning time of U.S. elementary and secondary students in an era when World Class Standards of achievement need to be met, including issues regarding: (1) the length of the school day and year; (2) the extent and role of homework; (3) how time is currently being used for academic subjects (especially the five core subjects of English, mathematics, science, history, and geography); (4) year-round professional opportunities for teachers; and (5) the use of school facilities for extended learning programs. Directs the Commission, within one year after it concludes its first meeting, to submit a final report to the Congress and the President. Requires such report, in addition to the primary issues, to analyze and make recommendations about: (1) use of incentives for students to increase educational achievement in available instructional time; (2) how children spend time outside school; and (3) if appropriate, a model plan for adopting a longer academic day and year for U.S. elementary and secondary schools by the end of this decade, including mechanisms to assist in such transition. Terminates the Commission 90 days after it submits its final report. Authorizes appropriations. Part H: Regional Literacy Resource Centers - Amends the Adult Education Act to direct the Secretary to make grants or contracts for operation of regional literacy resource centers in appropriate regions. Makes eligible for such grants or contracts SEAs, LEAs, State literacy offices, volunteer organizations, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, or other nonprofit entities. Provides that the Federal share of activity costs shall decline over a five-year period from a maximum of 80 percent to 60 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Part I: General Provisions - Sets forth definitions for this title. Makes specified provisions of Federal law permitting consolidation of grants to the Insular Areas inapplicable to funds received by such an area under this title. Title XVIII: Student Financial Assistance Improvements Act of 1992 - Student Financial Assistance Improvements Act of 1992 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to extend Pell Grant program authority through FY 1993. Revises requirements for the amount of Pell Grants. Sets the amount of an award to a student at the lesser of: (1) the specified maximum award less the expected family contribution; or (2) the percentage (based on family-income level) of the amount of the student's need for financial assistance (i.e., cost of attendance minus expected family contribution). Increases the maximum award amount to $3,700 for 1992-93 and the four succeeding award years. Sets forth a table of percentages of student need for award computation. Revises the period of eligibility for Pell Grants. Limits such period to the full-time equivalent of three academic years in the aggregate in the case of all undergraduate degree or certificate programs normally requiring two years or less. Specifies that longer eligibility periods for longer programs are cumulative and include periods for which the student received a Pell Grant under shorter programs. Repeals specified provisions for a separate need analysis formula for Pell grants. Extends the period for specified limitations on amounts of student loans covered by Federal insurance. Increases the annual and aggregate loan limits under the Stafford loan and the Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) programs. Requires lenders to offer Stafford loan borrowers the option of repaying such loans on a graduated repayment schedule under specified conditions. Eliminates a provision which allowed an institution to refuse to certify a student's eligibility for a loan, or allowed it to certify a lesser amount, under specified conditions. Revises loan deferment provisions. Retains deferment while the borrower is in specified courses of study. Replaces the various current categorical deferments with a hardship deferment of up to three years in the aggregate. Requires the lender to grant specified forbearance if the borrower is a Peace Corps or VISTA volunteer and does not qualify for such hardship deferment. Revises provisions for Federal reinsurance coverage. Revises the period in which guaranty agencies must file reinsurance claims. Revises requirements for calculation and payment of such reinsurance. Requires a 60-day delayed disbursement of Stafford or SLS loans to first-year undergraduates at institutions with default rates of 30 percent or greater. (Retains the current 30-day delayed disbursement for first-year undergraduates at institutions with default rates less than 30 percent.) Revises provisions for eligibility limitations, suspensions, terminations, other hearing procedures, and fines for lenders or institutions that violate program requirements. Sets forth conflict-of-interest restrictions on guaranty agency officers and employers. Prohibits any guaranty agency from permitting any of its officers or employees, or any member of their immediate families, to have a direct financial interest in, or serve as an officer or employee of, any lender, secondary market, contractor, or servicer with which the guaranty agency does business. Includes financial information among the information the Secretary may reasonably require from a guaranty agency to carry out the student loan programs and protect the U.S. financial interest. Revises the administrative cost and collection retention allowances for guaranty agencies. Revises provisions for oversight of guaranty agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to require a guaranty agency to submit and implement a management plan if the ratio of its reserve funds to outstanding guarantees is less than a set level, or if its administrative or financial condition jeopardizes its continued ability to perform its responsibilities under its guaranty agreement. Authorizes the Secretary to terminate the guaranty agreement with any agency that fails to submit an acceptable management plan or fails to improve substantially its condition in accordance with such a plan. Authorizes the Secretary to assume guaranty agency functions of agencies whose agreements are terminated by the Secretary or themselves. Limits the Secretary's liability for any outstanding liabilities of a guaranty agency, the functions of which the Secretary has assumed, to the fair market value of assets assigned by the agency to the Secretary, minus any necessary liquidation or administrative costs. Requires State backing of designated guaranty agencies. Requires each State to guarantee, with its full faith and credit or the equivalent, all student loans guaranteed by the guaranty agency designated for that State for borrowers attending eligible institutions in that State. Provides that a State may elect to guarantee, in addition, student loans guaranteed by any other guarantee agency for borrowers who are attending eligible institutions in that State. Requires the State, if such a guaranty agency backed by the State is unable to discharge its insurance obligation, to be responsible for discharging them, as well as administrative costs associated with transferring the guaranty agency's operations to another entity. Directs the Secretary, if a State discharges such insurance obligations, to pay the State the amount the guaranty agency would otherwise have received as reimbursement. Directs the Secretary, unless a State demonstrates by January 1, 1994, that it is backing the designated guaranty agency, to assess institutions of higher education participating in the student loan program that are located in that State a fee based on the risk of financial loss to the Federal Government that the State would otherwise assume. Requires such fees to be deposited in the student loan insurance fund. Requires States to pay a share of default costs in specified circumstances. Allows a State to charge a fee to an institution of higher education in the State participating in the loan program, to an approved fee structure based on the institution's cohort default rate and the State's risk of loss under such requirement. Eliminates the student loan program eligibility of foreign institutions (but not of study abroad that is part of the curriculum of U.S. institutions). Revises the definition of cohort default rate. Reduces the special allowance rates for holders of loans for which the cohort default rate exceeds 20 percent. Revises provisions for need analysis to apply them to all need-based student assistance programs, including Pell Grants (which currently have a separate need analysis system). Revises the definitions of cost of attendance and family contribution, as well as provisions for data elements used in determining expected family contribution. Revises the formula for calculation of the expected family contribution for a dependent student to eliminate references to the students' spouse. Allows application of any parent's negative available income: (1) to reduce the parent's income supplement amount from assets; and (2) if there is any negative amount remaining after that is reduced to zero, to increase the allowances against the dependent student's income. Revises the minimum dependent student contribution to be the greater of: (1) specified amounts that vary according to family total income; or (2) 70 percent of the student's total income, minus the adjustment to student income. Eliminates certain exceptions to the general need analysis calculation for dislocated workers and displaced homemakers. Revises the tables for determination of standard maintenance allowance, employment expense allowance, adjusted net worth of business and of farm, asset protection allowance, and parents' assessment from available income. Revises the asset protection allowance to provide for consideration of the average age of both parents. Revises provisions for family contribution for married or single independent students without dependents (including various revisions similar to those described for dependent students). Includes married, as well as unmarried, students under this category of independent students without dependents. Revises provisions for minimum student contribution under this category. Revises tables for determining various allowances and other factors. Revises provisions relating to the family contribution for married or single independent students with dependents (including provisions similar to those in other categories). Revises tables for determining various allowances and other factors. Eliminates certain restrictions on the Secretary's authority to prescribe regulations to carry out need analysis requirements. Revises provisions relating to development of revised tables of assessment rates for purposes of such need analysis. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations specifying situations in which the data elements considered in determining a student's expected family contribution may be modified to accommodate the special circumstances of the student. Provides a special rule for the determination of the net value of the principal place of residence. Makes ineligible for student assistance program participation for specified periods any institution whose cohort default rate equals or exceeds a specified threshold percentage. Revises provisions for proprietary institutions of higher education. Authorizes the Secretary, if a particular category of proprietary institution does not meet specified student assistance program requirements because there is no nationally recognized accrediting agency or association qualified to accredit such institutions, to: (1) appoint an advisory committee to recommend qualifying standards; and (2) determine whether the particular schools meet them. Provides for reduction of student assistance loan award maximums for short-term programs. Requires students, in order to remain eligible for assistance, to satisfy specified minimum academic achievement standards. Directs the Secretary to implement a system of verification of immigration status. Eliminates certain provisions for training in financial aid and student support services. Requires any institution participating in any student assistance program to have in effect a fair and equitable refund policy and to provide a written statement of it, with examples, to prospective students. Revises provisions for student assistance program participation agreements. Requires the institution to acknowledge the authority of the Secretary, guaranty agencies, accrediting agencies, and State licensing bodies to share with each other any information pertaining to the institution's eligibility to participate in such programs. Eliminates the requirement that hearings be on the record, with respect to program participation limitation, suspension, or termination procedures. Provides for data matching. Authorizes the Secretary to obtain from Federal or State agencies specified information relating to an individual for student loan collection purposes. Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into an agreement to provide prompt access for the Secretary to wage and unemployment compensation claims information and data maintained by or for the Department of Labor or State employment security agencies. Amends the Higher Education Technical Amendments of 1991 (Public Law 102-26) to make permanent the elimination of limitations on actions to collect defaulted student loans or grant overpayments. Revises the HEA definition of institution of higher education. Requires such institutions, in order to be eligible to participate in HEA programs, to comply with such minimum State licensing standards as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation and which the relevant State licensing body is to impose upon institutions it licenses. Revises the alternative accreditation process. Authorizes the Secretary, if a particular category of institutions is not accredited because no nationally recognized accrediting agency or association is qualified to do so, to appoint an advisory committee to: (1) recommend standards to qualify institutions in such category to participate in HEA programs; and (2) review whether particular institutions meet such standards. Includes as an institution of higher education for HEA title IV student assistance programs any institution that provides programs of at least six months (or 600 clock hours) that prepare students for gainful employment in recognized occupations, and that has been in existence for at least two years. Requires an institution, if it is accredited by more than one accrediting body, to designate, for HEA eligibility purposes, one such body as its primary accreditor, on either an institutionwide or program basis. Deems such an institution no longer accredited for purposes of HEA eligibility for a 24-month period if its accreditation is terminated for cause by the primary accreditor, or if it withdraws from such accreditation voluntarily under a show cause or suspension order, unless such accreditation is restored by the same accreditor during such 24-month period. Provides for sharing of institutional eligibility information by the Secretary, guaranty agencies, accrediting agencies, and State licensing bodies. Makes ineligible for any HEA assistance any individual who is in default on any loan made, insured, or guaranteed by the Federal Government, unless satisfactory repayment arrangements are made. Title XIX: National Energy Strategy Act - Subtitle A: Residential, Commercial, and Federal Energy Use - Part 1: Consumer and Commercial Products - Amends the Energy Policy Conservation Act to expand the list of commercial products covered by the Act. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for such products. Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from prescribing energy conservation standards for certain electric lights or commercial products listed in the Act. Part 2: Federal Energy Management - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to authorize Federal agency participation in private sector energy demand management or application of conservation measures to Federal buildings. Subtitle B: Natural Gas - Part I: Natural Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform - Amends the Natural Gas Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to direct a natural-gas entity (pipeline) to interconnect physically with other facilities at the applicant's expense, in order to receive natural gas from the other facilities for transportation in the pipeline. Declares that for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, a FERC certification of public convenience and necessity with respect to a natural gas facility is the only major Federal action requiring a detailed environmental impact statement. Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978: (1) to authorize an interstate pipeline to construct facilities incidental to transportation service upon 30 days notice to the affected State commission; and (2) require FERC to authorize any interstate pipeline to transport natural gas on behalf of any person. Amends the Natural Gas Act to declare that a mutually agreed-upon natural gas transportation rate between a natural-gas company and its customer is deemed just and reasonable, and in compliance with such Act. Sets forth expedited certification procedures for natural gas transportation and related facilities construction. Provides for the construction and operation of natural gas transportation facilities with an option not to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity (thus taking such facility out of the Act's jurisdiction). Authorizes FERC to issue an order finding that if a natural-gas company's market is competitive and its transportation or sales services charges are not unduly discriminatory such charges are not subject to its jurisdiction. Part 2: Natural Gas Import/Export Deregulation - States that neither FERC nor a State may prohibit or condition the importation or exportation of natural gas or treat exported or imported natural gas differently from any other natural gas while it is within the United States. Authorizes the President to: (1) waive any law relating to natural gas importation or exportation upon finding that the national interest requires it; or (2) specify when such natural gas importation or exportation law is considered satisfied if the appropriate Federal or State agency has not taken final action. Part 3: Structural Reform of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to abolish FERC and establish within the Department of Energy the Natural Gas and Electricity Administration to be headed by an Administrator appointed by the President. Transfers to the Secretary of Energy the functions of the Federal Power Commission and FERC. Sets forth rulemaking procedures for rates and charges with respect to natural gas and electricity. Subtitle C: Oil - Part I: Naval Petroleum Reserve Leasing - Naval Petroleum Reserve Leasing Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to lease Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1 (California) if it is not necessary for national defense purposes. Sets forth leasing and antitrust guidelines. Mandates the use of competitive leasing procedures, minimum royalty payments, and crude oil set-asides for sale to small refiners by Reserve lessees. Authorizes the Secretary to take certain steps to arrange and conduct a leasing action. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire privately owned lands or physical improvements within a Naval Petroleum Reserve if a lease of Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1 cannot be arranged. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize the Secretary to store within the Strategic Petroleum Reserve a Defense Petroleum Inventory of petroleum products (in addition to any other acquisition and storage for such Reserve required by law). Directs the Secretary to obligate the United States share of funds available in the Naval Petroleum Reserve Lease Proceeds Special Account (created by this Act) for the acquisition of 10,000,000 barrels of crude oil for the Defense Petroleum Inventory. Declares that upon request of the Secretary of Defense: (1) crude oil acquired for or dedicated to the Defense Petroleum Inventory shall be drawn down and distributed by the Secretary of Energy for the Department of Defense for use, sale, or exchange; and (2) the Secretary of Energy shall replace in the Defense Petroleum Inventory crude oil drawn down on behalf of the Department of Defense. Requires the Department of Defense to reimburse the Department of Energy for services rendered under this Act. Establishes the Naval Petroleum Reserve Lease Proceeds Special Account in the Treasury to implement this Act. Funds such Special Account with amounts realized from the lease of any United States interest in Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1. Sets forth a payment scheme under which lease proceeds shall be used to make payments to the State of California. Declares that: (1) the authority to lease under this Act extends to specified sections within Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1; and (2) this Act does not affect the withdrawal of lands provided for in certain school land grants. Part 2: Oil Pipeline Deregulation - Oil Pipeline Regulatory Reform Act - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to terminate FERC jurisdiction over oil and other pipelines except the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Authorizes the Attorney General to petition the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) for an adjudication of whether FERC rate regulation of an existing pipeline in any market is in the public interest. Prescribes adjudication guidelines. Provides that pipeline rates for service to markets which are not identified in a mandatory published adjudications list will no longer be subject to FERC regulatory jurisdiction. Prescribes adjudication guidelines under which the Secretary shall find that regulation of a pipeline is in the public interest only if it is demonstrated that such regulation is necessary to constrain the exercise of substantial market power in the supply and demand of products transported by the pipeline in that market. States that new pipelines shall not be subject to existing Commission regulatory jurisdiction or rate regulation, but shall be subject to common carrier regulation under such Act. States that Commission rate regulation shall be prospective only. Prohibits terminated Commission regulatory jurisdiction from reverting to any other Federal agency. Confers exclusive, original jurisdiction over any petition for judicial review upon the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Precludes from such judicial review any action of the Attorney General under this Act, including adjudication petitions. Outlines the parameters within which pipelines are required to operate as common carriers. Requires pipelines to file terms of carriage schedules (except carriage rates) with the Commission. Sets forth guidelines for maximum FERC rates on a market by market basis, subject to price cap regulation based on base rates and cumulative changes in a Competitive Pipeline Price Index. Precludes a pipeline from conditioning its services upon entering into other transactions or on taking or refraining from any action. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the results of this Act five years after the conclusion of all adjudications. Retains the applicability of antitrust laws to pipeline transportation of crude oil or refined oil products. Subtitle D: Electricity Generation and Use - Part 1: Public Utility Holding Company Act Reform - Sets forth regulatory guidelines for exempt wholesale generators and qualifying facilities. Subtitle E: Nuclear Power - Part 1: Licensing Reform - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide procedural guidelines for issuance by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of a combined construction and operating license. Mandates that such combined license applications include a State, local, or utility emergency plan. Requires the NRC to propose implementing regulations under this Act within one year of its enactment. Part 2: Nuclear Waste Management - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to declare that, for purposes of site characterization activities, the appropriate Federal agency shall administer the pertinent rules and regulations without regard to whether such administration has been or could be, delegated to a State or superseded by comparable State law. Declares State, local or tribal laws inapplicable to site characterization activities under this Act. Directs the Secretary to implement site characterization activities in spite of any refusal by either State, local or tribal authorities to act upon requested authorizations to proceed with related site characterization activities. Sets forth a 60-day deadline within which actions to contest the constitutionality of this Act must be brought. Prohibits a court from enjoining site characterization activities in such actions except as part of a final judgment. Subtitle F: Renewable Energy - Part 1: PURPA Size Cap and Co-Firing Reform - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to direct FERC to prescribe rules requiring electric utilities to offer to purchase electric capacity from alternative power production facilities only through competitive acquisition. Makes alternative power production facilities eligible for exemptions from PURPA, the Federal Power Act, and State law if they meet certain requirements. Part 2: Hydroelectric Power Regulatory Reform - Amends the Federal Power Act to include as part of the hydroelectric power licensing procedure an applicant's plan concerning studies to be undertaken in connection with the licensing process, and a summary of the applicant's consultation activities with Federal and State agencies and Indian tribes. Sets forth guidelines for additional licensing procedures. Directs FERC to coordinate a single, consolidated licensing review (including review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) of a hydropower project license application that is subject to Federal, State, or Indian tribal review. Removes from FERC jurisdiction hydropower projects with installed capacities of five megawatts or less that have not received a license by the date of enactment of this Act. Subtitle G: Alternative Fuel - Part 1: Alternative and Dual Fuel Vehicle Credits - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to eliminate limits on the credit toward complying with the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards available to manufacturers for the production of light duty alternative fuel vehicles and certain dual fuel vehicles. Part 2: Alternative Transportation Fuels - Sets forth acquisition and credit allocation guidelines for alternative fuel vehicles. Requires persons who own or otherwise control a fleet of motor vehicles of different types and sizes to make a specified percentage of annual vehicle acquisitions alternative fuel vehicles. Prescribes civil and administrative penalties for noncompliance with this Act. Subtitle H: Innovation and Technology Transfer - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to allow each Federal agency to: (1) secure copyrights on behalf of the United States in any computer software prepared in whole or in part by U.S. employees under a cooperative research and development agreement or other authority, notwithstanding provisions of Federal copyright law; and (2) grant in advance to a collaborating party licenses or assignments for the copyrights, or options thereto, retaining specified rights. Adds references to software and its author to provisions governing the distribution of royalties received by Federal agencies. Subtitle I: Tax Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend the time period for the energy investment tax credit from June 30, 1992 to December 31, 1993; and (2) make permanent the research activities tax credit. Mandates that certain oil and gas revenues be deposited into: (1) the miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury; and (2) a special Treasury fund for immediate availability without fiscal year limitation to the State of Alaska. Title XX: Arctic Coastal Plain Competitive Oil and Gas Leasing Act - Subtitle A: Short Title and Statement of Purpose - Arctic Coastal Plain Competitive Oil and Gas Leasing Act - Declares the purpose of this Act is to authorize competitive oil and gas leasing and development on the Coastal Plain in a manner consistent with environmental concerns and the interests of the area's subsistence users. Subtitle B: Definitions - Sets forth definitions used in this Act. Subtitle C: Coastal Plain Competitive Leasing Program - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain. Declares that this Act is the Secretary's sole legislative authority for authorizing and conducting such a program (whether competitive or noncompetitive). Requires the Secretary to issue regulations encompassing environmental protection of the Coastal Plain. Declares that the Department of the Interior's Legislative Environmental Impact Statement is compatible and consistent with the major purposes and policies of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and therefore no further environmental analysis or documentation is required for the issuance of regulations. Prescribes procedural guidelines for land lease sales on the Coastal Plain, and for exploration, development and production plans. Sets forth bonding requirements, and lease suspension and cancellation guidelines. Directs the Secretary to require lessees to unite with each other in collectively adopting and operating under a unit plan of development, including the construction of a common carrier pipeline to transport oil and gas to the exterior boundary of the Coastal Plain. Requires lessees and permittees to provide the Secretary with certain geological and geophysical data obtained from exploration or development activities. Sets forth remedies and penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress about the leasing program. Repeals certain limitations applicable to subsurface interests owned by certain Alaskan corporations. Provides for expedited judicial consideration of any claims for relief by them. Subtitle D: Coastal Plain Environmental Protection - Directs the Secretary to promulgate environmental protection regulations which ensure that Coastal Plain activities will avoid significant adverse effects on fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment. Requires site-specific assessment and mitigation. Designates the Sadlerochit Spring Special Area as a special area for wildlife conservation and environmental protection. Authorizes the Secretary to exclude such area from leasing and to designate other Coastal Plain areas as special areas requiring protection. Directs the Secretary to prepare and periodically update a facilities construction and siting plan for oil and gas development and transportation. Authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain in a manner that does not adversely affect fish, wildlife, and the environment. Requires the Secretary to conduct additional studies to monitor the human, marine, and coastal environments. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations providing for bi-annual facility inspections for compliance with environmental and safety regulations. Subtitle E: Land Reclamation and Reclamation Liability Fund - Makes leaseholders fully responsible and liable for land reclamation within the Coastal Plan and other Federal lands adversely affected by lease activities. Requires establishment of the Coastal Plan Liability and Reclamation Fund within six months of a commercial discovery within the Coastal Plain. Subtitle F: Disposition of Oil and Gas Revenues - Prescribes revenue collection and expenditure procedures. Mandates that oil and gas revenues be deposited into the Treasury. Title XXI: Coastal Communities Impact Assistance Act of 1992 - Coastal Communities Impact Assistance Act of 1992 - Establishes the "Coastal Communities Impact Assistance Fund" to provide impact assistance to eligible coastal States and counties for infrastructure, services, competing uses, and natural resources from revenues derived from proximate Outer Continental Shelf natural gas and oil production activities. Title XXII - Alaska Power Administration Sale Authorization Act - Alaska Power Administration Sale Authorization Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to sell: (1) the Snettisham Hydroelectric Project to the State of Alaska Power Authority; and (2) the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project to the Municipality of Anchorage. Directs the Secretary to deposit sale proceeds into the miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury. Declares that both Projects shall continue to be exempt from Federal Power Act requirements (subject to a certain Memorandum of Agreement). Grants the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska jurisdiction to review and enforce such Memorandum, (including the remedy of specific performance). Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) issue rights-of-way with respect to certain Eklutna lands to the Alaska Power Administration for subsequent reassignment to the Eklutna Purchasers; and (2) convey to the State of Alaska (with respect to certain Snettisham lands) improved lands under certain statutory selection entitlements. Title XXIII: Access to Justice Act of 1992 - Access to Justice Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that, in determining whether a matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $50,000 for purposes of Federal diversity of citizenship jurisdiction, the amount of damages for pain and suffering or mental anguish, punitive or exemplary damages, and attorneys' fees or costs shall not be included. Requires that on February 1 of each year the threshold amount for diversity jurisdiction (currently, $50,000) be adjusted to the nearest thousand dollars to reflect change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, United States City Average, All Items, under its current official reference base as designated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor (CPI-U). Entitles the prevailing party in a diversity action to attorneys' fees only to the extent that such party prevails on any position or claim advanced during the litigation. Specifies that the sum of entitled attorneys' fees shall be paid by the nonprevailing party but shall not exceed the attorneys' fees of the nonprevailing party with regard to such position or claim; and that, if the nonprevailing party receives services under a contingent fee agreement, the sum of the entitled attorneys' fees shall not exceed the reasonable value of such services. Requires counsel of record in any such action to maintain accurate, complete records of hours worked on the matter regardless of the fee arrangement with his client. Authorizes the court to limit fees recovered if it finds special circumstances that make payment of such fees unjust. Makes provisions of this Act (with respect to attorneys' fees in diversity cases) inapplicable to actions removed from State court or to the United States or any State, agency of the United States or any State, or any official, officer, or employee of a Federal or State agency. Amends the Equal Access to Justice Act to bar the award of attorneys' fees in excess of $75 per hour unless the court determines that an increase in the cost of living, as reflected by the change in the CPI-U (currently, unless the court determines that such an increase, or a special factor, such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys for the proceedings involved) justifies a higher fee. Sets forth provisions with respect to the calculation of the cost of living adjustment in such cases. Amends the Federal judicial code to require a claimant, at least 30 days before filing suit, to transmit written notice to the intended defendant or defendants: (1) of the specific claims involved, including the amount of actual damages and expenses incurred and to be incurred; and (2) at an address reasonably calculated to provide actual notice to each such party. Requires that a certificate of service evidencing compliance with such provision be filed with the court at the commencement of the action. Provides for a 30-day extension of any applicable statute of limitations (SL), in the event that such SL would expire during the period of such notice. Makes the requirements of this provision inapplicable under specified circumstances, such as in bankruptcy proceedings and where the defendant (or the assets that are the subject of the action or would satisfy the judgement) is subject to flight. Specifies that in the event that the district court finds that such requirements have not been fulfilled by the claimant, and such defect is asserted by the defendant within 60 days of service of the summons or complaint upon such defendant, the claim shall be dismissed without prejudice and the costs of such action, including attorneys' fees, shall be imposed upon the claimant. Permits the claimant, under such circumstances, to refile such claim within 60 days after dismissal regardless of any statutory limitations period if, during the 60 days after dismissal, notice is effected as provided by this Act, and the original action was timely filed. Authorizes the United States, except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, to enter into an agreement which provides that attorneys' fees may be awarded against the United States or any other party to the litigation: (1) where the United States commenced the suit; (2) in civil litigation involving disputes pursuant to the Contract Disputes Act of 1978; or (3) where the United States and another party have agreed to use outcome-determinative mediation, subject to specified requirements. Sets forth further requirements with respect to the award of attorneys' fees, including the handling of such awards received by Federal agencies. Directs: (1) the chief judge of each Federal judicial circuit (other than the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit) to designate one district within the circuit to be a pilot Multi-Door Courthouse (MDC) district; and (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to designate the U.S. Claims Court to be a pilot MDC. Specifies that such designation, and the program established by this provision, shall terminate at the expiration of a three-year period following such designation, unless renewed by an Act of the Congress. Requires every court which has been designated as a MDC, within six months, to establish an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) plan, including: (1) procedures for limited discovery; (2) confidentiality of proceedings as to possible subsequent pretrial and trial actions; and (3) the selection, use, and payment of nonjudicial personnel who may be selected to conduct ADR procedures. Specifies that such plan shall also establish standards for determining which cases are appropriate for ADR, considering such factors as whether factual issues predominate over legal issues, whether the case involves complex or novel legal issues requiring judicial action, and any other factors the court considers relevant. Requires that each plan: (1) provide that each Federal judge or, in a case assigned to a magistrate judge, magistrate judge in a MDC conduct a conference with counsel within 120 days after a complaint is filed to review nonbinding, voluntary ADR procedures that may be used in lieu of litigation to resolve the claims in controversy; and (2) authorize the parties, if they agree, to utilize nonbinding ADR procedures that may be used in lieu of litigation to resolve the claims in controversy, such as early neutral evaluation, traditional mediation, outcome-determinative mediation, minitrials, summary jury trials, and arbitration. Sets forth additional plan requirements. Authorizes: (1) the district courts, in carrying out their plans, to use the volunteer services of nonjudicial personnel to conduct ADR procedures; and (2) the courts to establish and pay, subject to limits set by the Judicial Conference of the United States, the amount of compensation, if any, that each neutral shall receive for services rendered in each case. Authorizes the Chief Justice of the United States to designate and assign temporarily a district judge of one circuit for service in another circuit, either in a district court or court of appeals, whenever the business of that court so requires (under current law, upon presentation of a certificate of necessity by the chief judge or circuit justice of the circuit wherein the need arises). Includes among the duties of the Director of the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts to secure information regarding the courts' need for temporary judicial resources to ease overcrowded dockets (including information on delays being encountered in the maintenance of civil suits) and prepare and transmit annually to the Chief Justice, the chief judges of the circuits, the Congress, and the Attorney General, statistical data, reports, and recommendations summarizing the results of this inquiry. Provides that: (1) no State judicial officer shall be held liable for any costs, including attorneys' fees, in any proceeding in vindication of civil rights brought against such officer for an act or omission taken in an official capacity (act); and (2) in any civil action for deprivation of rights brought against a judicial officer for such an act committed in such officer's official capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. Amends the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act to provide that, in actions brought by any adult convicted of a crime confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility, the court shall (under current law, if the court believes that such a requirement would be appropriate and in the interests of justice) continue such case for a period not to exceed 180 (currently, 90) days in order to require exhaustion of remedies. Requires the Attorney General, upon request of a State or local corrections agency, to provide such agency with technical advice and assistance in establishing plain, speedy, and effective administrative remedies for inmate grievances. Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize the court, with regard to proceedings in forma pauperis, to dismiss the case if satisfied that the action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Directs the Board of the Federal Judicial Center to study and determine ways in which case and docket management (including ADR) techniques may be applied to improve the cost-effectiveness of litigation and to eliminate unjustified expense and delay, and include in the annual report of the activities of the Center details of the results of the studies and determinations made pursuant to this provision. Provides that a court en banc shall consist of all circuit judges in regular service (currently, or such number as may be prescribed in accordance with P.L. 95-486 (regarding appointments of district and circuit judges)), with exceptions. Repeals a provision of P.L. 95-486 which authorizes any court of appeals having more than 15 active judges to perform its en banc function by such number of members of its en banc courts as may be prescribed by rule of the court of appeals. Title XXIV: Health Care Liability Reform and Quality of Care Improvement Act - Health Care Liability Reform and Quality of Care Improvement Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Findings and Purpose - Sets forth: (1) findings regarding this title; and (2) the purpose of this title. Subtitle B: Health Care Liability Reforms - Requires, in order to be eligible to participate in the incentive program provided for in this subtitle, that States have in effect the health care liability reforms set forth in this subtitle. Requires, in any health care liability action, the liability of each defendant for non-economic damages to be several and not joint, with each defendant liable only for the proportion of that defendant's fault and a separate judgment against that defendant in that amount. Prohibits awarding non-economic damages over a certain dollar amount in any health care liability action, subject to waiver. Reduces the total damages received by a plaintiff by the amount of any collateral source benefits. Allows: (1) future economic damage awards to be paid periodically based on when the damages are likely to occur or at the time the damages accrue; and (2) in certain circumstances, the court to require the health care provider to purchase an annuity or fund a reversionary trust to make such periodic payments. Prohibits reopening a judgment awarding periodic payments to contest, amend, or modify the schedule or amount in the absence of fraud or any ground permitting relief after entry of a final judgment. Declares it U.S. policy to encourage alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Requires each State to establish at least one ADR mechanism. Requires each State to: (1) cooperate with Federal research efforts regarding patient outcomes, clinical effectiveness, and clinical practice guidelines; (2) collect, analyze, and supply the Secretary of Health and Human Services with information regarding the performance of State medical boards; and (3) impose continuing education requirements on disciplined physicians. Allows alternatives to these requirements regarding medical boards and continuing education if the Secretary finds the alternatives at least as effective in reducing the incidence of negligence as compliance with the requirements. Allows States three years from the adoption of this title to enact, adopt, or otherwise comply with the requirements of this subtitle. Requires withholding two percent of payments to States computed under specified provisions of title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act and one percent of payments to hospitals computed under specified provisions of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and redistribution of the withheld funds to those States and hospitals which have complied with the provisions of this subtitle. Allows waiver of the requirements of this title for any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project which is likely to assist in promoting the objectives of this title. Subtitle C: Federal Implementation of Health Care Liability Reforms - Amends Federal law to prohibit, in a health care liability action, finding the United States jointly and severally liable for non-economic damages. Allows liability only for those non-economic damages directly attributable to its pro rata share of fault. Reduces damages paid by the United States by the amount of any collateral source benefits. Prohibits awarding non-economic damages, in an action against the United States, over a certain dollar amount. Requires, at the request of the United States when future economic damages are awarded in excess of a specified amount, an order that such damages be paid by periodic payments based on when the damages are likely to occur. Allows the United States, in such cases, to pay the judgment periodically or purchase an annuity or fund a reversionary trust. Prohibits reopening the judgment to contest, amend, or modify the schedule or amount in the absence of fraud or any ground permitting relief after entry of a final judgment. Subtitle D: Construction of Provisions - Provides for construction of this title, severability, and the effective date of this title. Title XXV: Product Liability Fairness Act - Subtitle A - Product Liability Fairness Act - Declares that this title governs any product liability action brought against a manufacturer or product seller, on any theory, for harm caused by a product. States that a civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for loss or damage to a product itself or commercial loss shall be governed by applicable commercial or contract law. Supersedes any inconsistent State law regarding recovery in such actions. Lists specific laws not superseded, including: (1) defense of sovereign immunity asserted by any State or by the United States; (2) any Federal law (except the Federal Employees Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act); (3) the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976; (4) State choice-of-law rules; (5) the right of any court to transfer venue or to apply the law of a foreign nation or to dismiss a claim of a foreign nation or citizen on the ground of inconvenient forum; and (6) any statutory or common law cause of action, including an action to abate a nuisance, that authorizes a State or person to institute an action for civil damages or civil penalties, clean up costs, injunctions, restitution, cost recovery, punitive damages, or any other form of relief from contamination or pollution of the environment or the threat of it. Declares that U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over any civil action under this title, based on specified provisions of Federal law relating to district court jurisdiction. Declares that, if any provision of this title would shorten the period during which a manufacturer or seller would otherwise be exposed to liability, the claimant may, notwithstanding that period, bring any civil action under this title within one year after the effective date of this title. Subtitle B - Allows any claimant to bring a civil action for damages against a person for harm caused by a product under applicable State law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Sets forth expedited settlement measures, including: (1) an option to include an offer of settlement, for a specific dollar amount, by the plaintiff in the complaint and by the defendant in a responsive pleading; and (2) awarding attorney's fees and costs, in certain circumstances, to the prevailing party if the other party does not accept the settlement offer. Sets forth alternative dispute resolution procedures, including: (1) an option, in lieu of or in addition to a settlement offer, for a claimant or a defendant to offer to proceed under any voluntary alternative dispute resolution procedure established or recognized under the law of the State in which the action is brought or maintained; and (2) awarding of attorney's fees and costs to the offering party if the court determines that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable or not in good faith. Creates a rebuttable presumption that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable, or not in good faith, if a verdict is rendered in favor of the offeror. Subtitle C - Allows a person seeking to recover for harm caused by a product to bring a civil action against the manufacturer or seller under applicable State or Federal law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Establishes a standard of product seller liability for proximate causes of harm, established by a preponderance of the evidence, which fall under the categories of negligence or express warranty. Allows the trier of facts, in a negligence action, to consider the conduct of the seller with respect to: (1) the construction, inspection, or condition of the product; and (2) failure to pass on warnings or instructions from the manufacturer. Deems the seller not liable for failure to provide warnings or instructions unless the claimant establishes that the seller failed to: (1) provide warnings or instructions received while the product was in the seller's possession and control; or (2) make reasonable efforts to provide users with warnings and instructions which it received after the product left its possession and control. Deems a seller not liable except for breach of warranty where there was no opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which would or should, in the exercise of reasonable care, have revealed the aspect which allegedly caused the harm. Declares that the seller shall be treated as the manufacturer and be liable for harm caused by a product as if it were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process in any State in which the action might have been brought; or (2) the court determines that the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows punitive damages, if otherwise permitted by applicable law, to be awarded in any civil action under this subtitle to any claimant who establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the result of conduct manifesting a manufacturer's or product seller's conscious, flagrant indifference to the safety of those persons who might be harmed by a product. Declares that a failure to exercise reasonable care in choosing among alternative product designs, formulations, instructions, or warnings is not of itself such conduct. Prohibits awarding punitive damages in the absence of a compensatory award, subject to exception. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller of a drug or medical device where: (1) the drug or device was subject to pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (2) the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective under conditions established by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer of an aircraft where: (1) the aircraft was subject to pre-market certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and (2) the manufacturer complied, after delivery, with FAA requirements and obligations with respect to continuing airworthiness. Provides for separate proceedings, if requested by the manufacturer or seller, with regard to punitive damages. Lists factors the trier of fact is allowed to consider in determining the amount of punitive damages. Bars any civil action under this subtitle: (1) unless filed within two years after the claimant discovered or should have discovered the harm and its cause, subject to exception; and (2) if the product involved is a capital good that is alleged to have caused harm which is not a toxic harm unless filed within twenty-five years after delivery of the product, provided the claimant has received or would be eligible for State or Federal workers' compensation. Excludes a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or railroad used primarily to transport passengers for hire from these time limitations. States that nothing in these provisions affects the right of any person who is subject to liability under this title to obtain contribution or indemnity from any other person who is responsible for the harm. Requires reduction in the damages awarded by the sum of all State or Federal workers' compensation benefits to which the employee is or would be entitled. Requires a claimant in a civil action under this subtitle who is or may be eligible to receive State or Federal workers' compensation to notify the claimant's employer of the civil action. Requires an action to be stayed, at the sole discretion of the claimant, until a final determination is made on the amount payable as workers' compensation benefits. Declares that, unless the manufacturer or seller has expressly agreed to indemnify or hold an employer harmless, neither the employer nor the workers' compensation insurance carrier shall have a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery, except if the claimant's harm was not in any way caused by the fault of the claimant's employer or co-employees. Allows the employer or workers' compensation insurer to intervene in the action to prove that fact. Prohibits a third party tortfeasor, where workers' compensation is involved, from maintaining any action for implied indemnity or contribution against the employer, any coemployee, or the exclusive representative of the injured person. Prohibits, for a person who is or would have been entitled to receive workers' compensation, any other action, unless a State or Federal workers' compensation law permits recovery based on a claim of an intentional tort. Makes these provisions inapplicable and declares that applicable State law shall control if the employer or the workers' compensation insurer asserts a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Declares that, in any product liability action, the liability of each defendant for noneconomic damages shall be several and not joint. Requires the trier of fact to determine the proportion of responsibility of each party for the claimant's harm. Establishes a complete defense, in any civil action under this title in which all defendants are manufacturers or sellers, that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol or any drug and that, as a result, the claimant was more than 50 percent responsible for the event which resulted in the harm. Defines "drug" to mean any non-over-the-counter drug which has not been prescribed by a physician. Title XXVI: Civil Liberties Act Amendments of 1992 - Civil Liberties Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 to increase the authorization of appropriations to the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. Includes non-Japanese spouses and parents who were interned with their spouses or children during World War II in the definition of the term "of Japanese ancestry." Modifies requirements regarding payments made in the case of deceased persons. Regulates judicial review of denial of compensation. Alters the maximum termination date for the Fund. Removes provisions requiring any refused payment to remain in the Fund. Removes provisions establishing and generally providing for the Fund's Board of Directors. Title XXVII: Federal Credit and Debt Management Act of 1992 - Federal Credit and Debt Management Act of 1992 - Amends Federal law to provide that for certain collections procedures "a person" includes an individual and a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, non-profit organization, or other form of business association. Requires the head of an executive or legislative agency to take all appropriate and cost-effective actions to collect aggressively all claims of the U.S. Government. Expands agency debt-collection authorities. Prohibits any person from obtaining any Federal financial assistance in the form of a loan (except for a Commodity Credit Corporation price support loan) or loan guarantee if such person has an outstanding debt with an executive agency which is in a delinquent status. Allows the agency head to waive such prohibition. Requires persons doing business with the Federal Government in any loan program, as grant recipients, insurance or license recipients, or contractors to furnish their taxpayer identifying number. Requires agency disclosure on the use of such number to include the intent to use it for purposes of collecting or reporting on delinquent amounts arising out of the persons' relationship with the Federal Government. Sets forth requirements for the head of each Federal agency guaranteeing or insuring loans with respect to program management. Requires the charge of a late fee, in addition to scheduled principal and interest, on claims that are in delinquent status. Requires the assessment, in addition to the late fee, of any amounts necessary to cover the charges levied by another agency or private collector for collecting delinquent claims through Federal salary offset, tax refund offset, private debt collection contractors, or other such explicit fees or charges. Authorizes agencies to retain one-half of collected fees to be used for specified purposes. Sets forth requirements for agency disclosures of information to credit reporting agencies. Removes restrictions on legal fees charged for contracts for collection services in cases of claims of indebtedness owed to the United States. Title XXVIII: Reduce Certain Commodity Credit Corporation Subsidies of Those with Off-Farm Income of $100,000 or More - Prohibits specified Commodity Credit Corporation payments to persons with off-farm adjusted gross income of $100,000 or more. Reduces payments to an entity in proportion to the ownership interest of any such person. Title XXIX: Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation Repayment Act of 1992 - Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation Repayment Act of 1992 - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to require each Farm Credit System (FCS) bank to make annual payments to the Financial Assistance Corporation (Corporation) in order to maintain specified capital levels. Requires the Corporation (currently each FCS institution) to repay Treasury-paid interest. Title XXX: Recover Costs of Carrying Out Federal Marketing Agreements and Orders - Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 to provide for Federal marketing order cost recovery through handler fees. Title XXXI: Eliminate Provisions for Permanent Annual Appropriations to Support Land Grant Universities - Amends Federal law (the "Second Morrill Act") to replace permanent annual appropriation provisions with permanent annual authorization of appropriation provisions with regard to land grant university funding. Title XXXII: Power Marketing Administration Timely Payment Act - Power Marketing Administration Timely Payment Act - Mandates that each power marketing administration provide for timely repayment to the Treasury of principal and interest for power investments. Prescribes repayment guidelines. Title XXXIII: Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1992 - Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), at least semiannually, to conduct joint spectrum planning meetings with respect to: (1) future spectrum needs; (2) the spectrum allocations necessary to accommodate those needs; and (3) actions necessary to promote the efficient use of the spectrum. Directs the Secretary and the Chairman to report annually to the President on the joint spectrum planning meetings and any resulting recommendations. Directs the Secretary to submit to the President a report identifying bands of frequencies that: (1) are allocated on a primary basis for Federal Government use and eligible for licensing pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act); (2) are not required for the present or identifiable future needs of the Government; (3) can feasibly be made available during the next fifteen years for use under the Act for non-Government users; (4) will not result in excessive losses to the Government in relation to benefits that may be obtained through non-Government users; and (5) are likely to have significant value for non-Government users under the Act. Sets forth criteria for identifying, and recommending for reassignment, such frequencies. Requires the Secretary to submit to the President a report which makes a preliminary identification of reallocable bands of frequencies. Directs the Secretary to convene a private sector advisory committee to: (1) revise the bands of frequencies identified in the preliminary report; (2) advise the Secretary with respect to the bands of frequencies which should be included in the final report; (3) receive public comment on the reports; and (4) prepare and submit such report. Directs the advisory committee to submit to the Secretary, the FCC, and specified congressional committees recommendations for the reform of the process of allocating the electromagnetic spectrum between Federal and non-Federal use. Directs the Secretary, as part of the final report, to include a time-table for the effective dates by which the President shall, within 15 years, withdraw or limit assignments on frequencies specified in the report. Directs the President, after receiving the final report from the Secretary, to: (1) withdraw or limit the assignment to a Government station of any frequency which such report recommends for reallocation; (2) withdraw or limit the assignment to a Government station of any frequency which such report recommends to be reallocated or made available for mixed use; (3) assign or reassign other frequencies to Government stations as necessary to adjust to such withdrawal or limitation of assignments; and (4) publish in the Federal Register a notice and description of all such actions taken. Authorizes the President to substitute alternative frequencies in the interest of national security, important Governmental needs, public health or safety, or Federal financial considerations. Provides for the reimbursement to non-Government licensees, or non-Government entities operating on behalf of a Government licensee, for the incremental costs directly attributable to the loss of the use of the frequency reassigned or otherwise limited under this Act. Authorizes appropriations to provide such reimbursements. Directs the FCC, at specified intervals, to: (1) complete a public notice and comment proceeding regarding the allocation of the initial spectrum to be reassigned, and to formulate a plan to assign such spectrum pursuant to competitive bidding procedures; and (2) complete a public notice and comment proceeding, and prepare and report to the President a plan for the distribution under the Act, of the frequency bands reallocated pursuant to this Act. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to officially authorize the FCC to assign the frequencies reallocated from Government to non-Government use under this Act. Makes certain frequency reassignments available only to the extent provided in appropriations Act. Authorizes the President to reclaim reassigned frequencies for reassignment to Government stations. Sets forth procedures for reclaiming frequencies. Directs the FCC to use competitive bidding procedures during spectrum reallocation pursuant to this Act. Outlines other procedures to be followed by the FCC with regard to permits and licenses relating to such frequency reallocation awards. Outlines specified instances when competitive bidding procedures shall not be required. Title XXXIV: Enterprise for the Americas Act of 1992 - Enterprise for the Americas Initiative Act of 1991 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to contribute a grant to the Enterprise for the Americas Investment Fund to be administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Fund to: (1) provide grants to advance market-oriented policy initiatives and reforms to encourage investment in Latin America and the Caribbean; and (2) finance technical assistance for privatizing government-owned industries, enterprise development and business infrastructure, and worker training and education programs. Permits the Secretary to seek contributions to the Fund from other countries. Establishes in the Department of the Treasury the Enterprise for the Americas Facility to support improvement in the lives of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean through market-oriented reforms and economic growth with actions to promote debt reduction, investment reforms, trade liberalization, and community based conservation and sustainable use of the environment. Makes eligible for Facility benefits Latin American or Caribbean countries that: (1) have in effect, received approval for, or are making progress toward, specified International Monetary Fund arrangements and structural or sectoral adjustment loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the International Development Association; (2) have put in place major investment reforms in conjunction with an IDB loan or are implementing or making progress toward an open investment regime; and (3) have agreed with commercial bank lenders on a financing program for debt or debt service reduction. Authorizes the President to reduce the amount owed to the United States (as a result of concessional loans made pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or predecessor foreign economic assistance legislation) by any country eligible for Facility benefits. Declares that this title may be exercised notwithstanding provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the International Development and Food Assistance Act of 1975 concerning repayments of loans outstanding after September 19, 1966, and the settlement of debts owed to the United States. Sets forth requirements with respect to the exchange of obligations, repayment of principal, and interest on new obligations issued by beneficiary countries. Requires beneficiary countries that enter into Environmental Framework Agreements to establish Enterprise for the Americas Environmental Funds. Authorizes the President to enter into Environmental Framework Agreements concerning the operation and use of Environmental Funds with countries eligible for Facility benefits. Directs administering bodies in each beneficiary country to administer the Environmental Funds and to make grants for environmental activities. Requires grants from the Funds to be used for activities that link the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources with local community development. Subjects grants of more than $100,000 to veto by the U.S. Government or the government of the beneficiary country. Establishes an Environment for the Americas Board to: (1) advise the Secretary on the negotiations of Environmental Framework Agreements; (2) ensure that a suitable administering body is identified for each Environmental Fund; and (3) review the programs, operations, and fiscal audits of administering bodies. Declares that the President should: (1) encourage other official creditors of beneficiary countries whose debt is reduced under this Act to provide debt reduction to such countries; and (2) ensure that Environmental Funds are able to receive donations from private and public entities and private creditors of beneficiary countries. Authorizes the President to: (1) sell to any eligible purchaser any loan of an eligible country made pursuant to the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945; (2) sell to any eligible purchaser any asset acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation in connection with export sales to an eligible country or specified export credit guarantee programs; and (3) reduce or cancel any loans or assets made or acquired before 1991 upon receipt of payment from an eligible purchaser. Permits loans or assets to be sold only to purchasers who present plans to the President for using such loans or assets to engage in debt-for-equity, debt-for-development, or debt-for-nature swaps. Authorizes loans or assets to be reduced or canceled only for purposes of facilitating such swaps. Directs the President to report annually to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate on the Facility. Title XXXV: Repeal the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to terminate worker trade adjustment assistance under the Act's trade adjustment assistance program after September 30, 1992. Title XXXVI: VA Medical Care Cost Recovery Amendment of 1992 - Medical Care Cost Recovery Amendment of 1992 - Amends Federal provisions which authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recover from a third party insurer the cost of care and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to a veteran for a non-service-connected disability for which such third party would otherwise have been responsible to provide to eliminate the October 1, 1993, delimiting date by which such care and services must have been received in order to be recovered by the Department, in the case of a veteran who also has a service-connected disability and is entitled to care under a health-plan contract. Title XXXVII: Veterans' Home Loan Improvement Act of 1992 - Veterans' Home Loan Improvement Act of 1992 - Revises the loan fee required to be paid by a veteran to the Department of Veterans Affairs in the case of a loan made, guaranteed, or insured by the Department to set such fee at the following percentages of the total amount of the loan: (1) two percent, in the case of loans made for the purchase of manufactured homes and lots; and (2) two and one-half percent, in the case of a veteran who has previously obtained a guaranteed loan, without respect to the loan purpose or the amount of down payment. Waives the two and one-half percent fee in some instances. Waives a specified percentage increase in the amount of such loan fee for loans closed between November 1, 1990, and September 30, 1991. Reduces from 95 to 90 percent of the total purchase price of the property securing the loan the amount which will be guaranteed by the Department in the case of loans made for the purchase of manufactured homes and lots. Makes such guaranteed loan amount also 90 percent of the reasonable value of the dwelling or farm residence in the case of a veteran who has previously obtained a guaranteed loan without respect to the loan purpose or the amount of down payment. Waives the later 90-percent limitation in some instances. Title XXXVIII: Permanent Extension of Certain Veterans-Related Income Verification and Pension Provisions in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of Veterans to permanently (currently ends September 30, 1992) utilize Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration data for income verification purposes. Makes permanent (also currently expires on such date) the authority to obtain such information from the Secretaries of the Treasury or Health and Human Services. Makes permanent (currently expires on September 30, 1992) the $90 maximum monthly pension authorized for a veteran having neither spouse nor child and being furnished domiciliary care by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Title XXXIX: Target Entitlement for Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits to Veterans with Service-Connected Disabilities Rated 30 Percent or More; and Adjust Military Pay Reduction for Montgomery GI Bill Participants - Entitles a veteran to a veterans' rehabilitation program if such veteran has a service-connected disability rated at 30 (currently, 20) percent or more and which was incurred in service after September 16, 1940. Provides that certain reductions from basic pay taken to allow for coverage of basic educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill shall include only those individuals who first entered onto active duty before October 1, 1992 (currently, such reduction applies to all service members). Makes identical changes with regard to entitlement for reserve personnel and for certain active-duty personnel enrolling in the basic education assistance program before being involuntarily separated from service. Title XL: Retirement Modification Act of 1992 - Retirement Modification Act of 1992 - Increases Federal employee contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System by one percent on January 1, 1993, and by an additional one percent on January 1, 1994. Repeals provisions under the Civil Service Retirement System, Federal Employees' Retirement System, Foreign Service Act of 1980, and Central Intelligence Agency Retirement Act of 1964 for Certain Employees providing for alternative forms of annuities. Title XLI: Conform the Definition of Compensation Under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act to That Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to conform the definition of employee compensation under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act and the Railroad Retirement Act to that under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Title XLII: Extend the Duration of the Patent and Trademark Office User Fee Surcharge Through 1997 - Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to extend from 1995 to 1997 the authority of the Patent and Trademark Office to impose user fee surcharges. Sets forth permissible surcharge revisions for FY 1996 and 1997. Title XLIII: Expanding Existing Army Corps of Engineers User Fees for Use of Developed Recreation Sites - Amends the Flood Control Act of 1968 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to charge fees for use of developed recreation sites and facilities, including, but not limited to, campsites, swimming beaches, and boat launching ramps. (Current law prohibits fees for such sites and facilities.) Prohibits the Secretary from charging fees for use or provision of drinking water, wayside exhibits, general purpose roads, overlook sites, toilet facilities, or general visitor information. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to repeal the requirement that at lakes or reservoirs under jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers where camping is permitted, at least one primitive campground be provided free of charge (thus permitting user fees for all such campsites and facilities). Title XLIV: Extend Authority to Collect Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fees - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to extend from 1995 to 1997 the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to collect abandoned mine reclamation fees. Title XLV: FCC User Fees - Federal Communications Commission User Fee Act of 1992 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission, in FY 1993 and thereafter, to collect user fees from users of Commission services to recover the total nonapplication processing operational costs of the Commission. Title XLVI: Limitation on Mandatory Spending - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to set forth limitations on direct spending. Requires an offsetting sequestration whenever any increase in the annual amount of direct spending exceeds the amount resulting from the increase in beneficiary population, and changes in the consumer price index, plus 2.5 percent per year (1.6 percent after enactment of comprehensive health reform). Requires any amount required to be sequestered to be obtained from direct spending accounts. Requires the use of the special reconciliation process whenever an update report indicates that a sequester would be necessary. Title XLVII: Extension of Budget Enforcement Act and Application to Credit Programs - Amends the Congressional Budget Act to set forth the maximum deficit amounts for FY 1996 and 1997. Revises the discretionary spending limits for FY 1994 and 1995 and sets forth such amounts in the defense, international, and budget categories. Establishes such amounts for FY 1996 and 1997. Declares that such amounts reflect adjustments through the OMB FY 1993 sequestration preview report in the President's FY 1993 Budget. Sets forth aggregate credit limits for subsidy costs, direct loan obligations, and loan guarantee commitments for FY 1993 through FY 1997. Extends certain pay-as-you-go provisions through FY 1997. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to extend enforcement authorities until 1997. Title XLVIII: Congressional Budget Reform Act of 1992 - Congressional Budget Reform Act of 1992 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to change concurrent budget resolutions into joint budget resolutions. Makes technical and conforming amendments to the Rules of the House of Representatives and the Deficit Control Act of 1985. Title XLIX: Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1992 - Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1992 - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President line item veto rescission authority. Establishes congressional procedure for consideration of such rescissions.

Trade Enforcement Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992

Trade Enforcement Act of 1992 - Title I: Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise the method of determining the exporter's sales price, for purposes of assessing antidumping duties, to include reduction for reasonable profits from selling the particular merchandise under investigation. Prohibits the administering authority from deducting indirect selling expenses (as an offset of the exporter's expenses) from foreign market value. Revises the authority of the administering authority and the International Trade Commission (ITC) to make proprietary information available to interested parties to antidumping duty or countervailing duty investigations under a protective order. Authorizes an interested party to apply to the U.S. Customs Court for an order directing the ITC to make such information available to the party if the ITC denies its request for information about the domestic price or cost of production of a like product. Declares that "downstream dumping" means a course of conduct in which a product is routinely used as a significant part in the manufacture of merchandise subject to an antidumping duty investigation and such product is purchased at a price that: (1) is lower than the generally available price of the product in the country of manufacture; or (2) is lower than the price at which the product would be generally available in the country of manufacture but for the artificial depression of such generally available price by reason of any subsidy or other sales at below foreign market value. Requires the administering authority to include the amount attributable to the downstream dumping in calculating the amount of any antidumping duty on such merchandise. Requires the administering authority to consider, when deciding whether to impose an antidumping duty on imported merchandise, any determination that an industry producing a product used in the manufacture of such merchandise has been materially injured or threatened with material injury, or the establishment of such an industry in the United States has been materially retarded. Redefines "interested party" to include manufacturers of the product that is used in the manufacture or production of a like product. States that a "resource input subsidy" exists if: (1) (a) a product is provided or sold by a government-regulated entity for input use within such country at a domestic price that is lower than the fair market value of the input product and is not freely available to U.S. producers; and (b) a product would, if sold at the fair market value, constitute a significant portion of the total cost of the merchandise in or for which the input product is used; or (2) under specified circumstances, the right to remove such product is provided by that country's government. Sets forth the method of calculating the amount of a resource input subsidy. Requires injury determinations by the ITC to be made in all countervailing duty investigations relating to the existence of resource input subsidies. Includes in the definition of "subsidy" (for antidumping and countervailing duty purposes) any resource input subsidy. Requires benefits that would constitute a countervailable subsidy to be treated as a subsidy if provided to an enterprise or industry, or group of enterprises or industries, in a nonmarket economy country. Sets forth the method for determining the amount of such subsidy. Revises factors to be considered by the ITC with respect to imports subject to an antidumping duty or countervailing duty investigation. Revises provisions regarding mechandise that is assembled in the United States or other foreign country with foreign imported parts which is the subject of an antidumping or countervailing duty order. Amends such antidumping provision of the Unfair Competition Act of 1916 to allow any person who is injured in her or his property or business by the sale or importation of an article made in a foreign country to bring a civil action against the manufacturer, exporter, or related importer of such article if: (1) the article is imported or sold in the United States at less than its foreign market or constructed value; and (2) such sale or importation causes or threatens material injury to U.S. industry or labor or prevents the establishment or modernization of U.S. industry. (Currently, the cause of such an action is predicated on the intent of the importer to injure or prevent the establishment of U.S. industry or to monopolize trade.) Restricts the court jurisdiction of such an action to the district court of the District of Columbia or the Court of International Trade. Entitles a prevailing plaintiff in such an action to appropriate equitable relief or, if such relief is inadequate, to compensatory damages, and legal expenses (currently, treble damages and legal expenses). Declares that the standard of proof in such an action is a preponderance of the evidence. Places the burden of proof for rebutting a prima facie case on the defendant. Includes within the meaning of prima facie case a finding by the ITC that dumping exists. Authorizes the court to: (1) issue subpoenas to be enforced in any judicial district; (2) enjoin importation of articles allegedly dumped pending the defendant's compliance with any court order; (3) review, in camera, confidential or privileged material; (4) accept material under seal; and (5) disclose such material. Requires expedited treatment of such actions. Sets a four-year statute of limitations for actions under this Act. Requires the foreign market value or constructed value of an article to include the amount of any subsidy provided to the manufacturer, producer, or exporter of the article. Allows any person who is injured in his or her business or property by the fraudulent, grossly negligent, or negligent entry or introduction of merchandise into U.S. commerce to bring a civil action in the district court of the District of Columbia or the Court of International Trade, without respect to the amount in controversy. Entitles a person prevailing in such an action to appropriate equitable relief or, if such relief is inadequate, compensatory damages, and legal expenses. Permits the United States to intervene in an action under this Act as a matter of right. Requires the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to report annually to the Congress on the antidumping and countervailing duty program. Prescribes the contents of such report. Title II: Adjustment to Import Competition - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize a petitioner for import relief to consult with the ITC (currently, the United States Trade Representative (USTR)) before submitting to it a plan to facilitate positive adjustment to import competition. Revises the method by which the ITC makes "substantial cause" and "affected domestic injury" determinations to add other specified factors that it must consider with respect to whether an article is being imported in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause or threat of serious injury to a domestic industry. Revises factors the ITC must take into account when recommending action to relieve the industry from such injury and help it make a positive adjustment to import competition. Prohibits an investigation for import relief from being initiated with respect to articles that have been given relief under an orderly marketing agreement. Directs the President to take necessary (currently, "appropriate and feasible") action to implement ITC recommendations and determinations with respect to facilitating efforts by a domestic industry to make a positive adjustment to import competition. Eliminates a specified presidential report to the Congress. Eliminates the requirement of congressional approval by joint resolution for implementation of action recommended by the ITC in cases where the President takes action different from that recommended by it, or where no action will be taken with respect to the domestic industry. Authorizes the ITC (currently, President) to negotiate orderly marketing agreements with foreign countries, and, after such agreements take effect, suspend or terminate any action it had previously taken. Makes similar changes with respect to the reduction, modification, and termination of import relief action. Amends the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to require the President (who is currently, merely authorized) to sell import licenses at public auctions, when taking action to facilitate efforts of an affected domestic industry to make a positive adjustment to import competition. Title III: Unfair International Trade Practices - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the ITC (currently, USTR) to make certain determinations and take certain actions to enforce U.S. rights being denied under any trade agreement, and to eliminate any act, policy, or practice of a foreign country that is unreasonable, or discriminatory to U.S. commerce. Requires the USTR to report the results of consultations with foreign countries under investigation to the ITC. Requires the ITC (currently, USTR) to consult with interested persons, including holding a public hearing if requested, and to obtain advice from appropriate advisory committees before making such determinations. Requires the ITC (currently, the USTR) to publish such determinations in the Federal Register. Requires the ITC to transmit notice of such determinations to the President. Requires the President, upon an affirmative determination with respect to a foreign country, to impose duties or other import restrictions on the goods of, and fees or restrictions on the services of, such foreign country. Directs the President (currently, USTR) to implement action the ITC (currently, USTR) determines to take to enforce U.S. rights under a trade agreement, or to eliminate an unfair trade act, policy, or practice of a foreign country. Requires the ITC (currently, the USTR) to take specified actions if it makes an affirmative determination with respect to export targeting by a foreign country. Requires the ITC (currently, USTR) to monitor implementation of each measure taken, or agreement entered into, by a foreign country to enforce U.S. rights under a trade agreement, or to eliminate an unfair trade act, policy, or practice of a foreign country. Requires the ITC (currently, USTR) to determine what further action it shall recommend to be taken (currently, what action to take) if, on the basis of such monitoring, it considers that a foreign country is not satisfactorily implementing such measure or agreement. Authorizes the ITC (currently, USTR) to modify or terminate trade relief action if the burden or restriction on U.S. commerce of the denial of rights under a trade agreement, or of the acts, policies, and practices of a foreign country, that are the subject of such action has increased or decreased. Requires the ITC (currently, USTR), upon the request of any person, to make available to such person information (other than confidential information) concerning: (1) the nature of the unfair trade practice or policy of the foreign country involved; (2) U.S. rights under any trade agreement and the remedies which may be available under such agreement and under the U.S. laws; and (3) past and present domestic and international proceedings with respect to such policy or practice. Directs the ITC (currently, USTR) to issue regulations concerning the filing of petitions and the conduct of investigations and hearings with respect to actions for trade relief under this section. Requires the USTR to identify U.S. trade liberalization priorities no later than September 30 of each calendar year (currently, no later than 30 days after a specified report is to be submitted to appropriate congressional committees in calendar years 1989 and 1990). Adds the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committees on Energy and Commerce, on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, and on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives as committees that the USTR must report to about such priorities. Requires any of a specified number of congressional committees to file a petition with respect to import barriers and market distorting practices of foreign countries whenever that committee determines (by adopting a resolution) that an investigation should be initiated. Requires the ITC to take specified trade relief action if it determines that a priority practice constitutes an act, policy, or practice of a foreign country that is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce. Requires the USTR to provide an explanation in cases where an estimate of barriers to foreign market access (National Trade Estimates) is not feasible. Authorizes an interested person to file with the USTR a request for a review to determine whether a foreign country is in compliance with any trade agreement it has with the United States. Requires the USTR to make certain determinations and to take specified actions with respect to a foreign country's noncompliance with an agreement. Title IV: Provisions Relating to Imports - Authorizes any interested party to file with the United States Committee for Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) a petition to correct market disruption. Requires CITA, upon receiving a petition, to determine whether to commence an investigation to determine whether a product subject to such petition has been or is being imported in such quantities as to cause a market disruption. Requires CITA, if it decides to commence an investigation, to notify the USTR and the Congress. Requires CITA, if a call for consultation is issued about the article concerned, to correct the market disruption by imposing quotas on the importation of such product unless the USTR has negotiated an appropriate bilateral agreement with the exporting country. Directs the Customs Service to monitor all imports covered by such agreement and to deny entry to any that exceed the limits set in it. Prohibits an article from being entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption in a U.S. customs territory unless an import license has been issued by the Customs Service. Specifies exceptions to such prohibition. Urges the President to propose to the United Nations Economic and Social Rights Committee that the Convention for the Rights of the Child, which is to be submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations, include a worldwide ban on trade in products of child labor (employment of children under 15). Requires the Secretary of Labor to make periodic reviews to identify any foreign country that: (1) is not enforcing prohibitions against the use of child labor in the production of products within such country; and (2) is on a continuing basis exporting such products to the United States. Authorizes any person to file a petition with the Secretary of Labor requesting that a particular foreign country be so identified. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from permitting the entry of any product from such country during the effective identification period. Specifies exceptions to such prohibition. Makes it unlawful for any person during such period to attempt to enter any product from such country. Sets forth civil penalties. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to set forth congressional findings and policies with respect to the manufacture of products by forced labor in foreign countries. Prohibits: (1) the transport of such products (except products vital to national security) in interstate commerce; and (2) U.S. nationals from investing in, or making loans to, a foreign joint venture involving the use of forced labor. Sets forth civil penalties. Authorizes any person to whom prohibited products have been offered for purchase, or in reasonable likelihood will be offered for purchase, or any public interest group or human rights organization, to commence a civil suit in U.S. district court to: (1) enjoin any persons, including the U.S. Government or any other governmental entity, from violating such prohibitions; or (2) compel the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce such prohibitions. Authorizes actions to be brought in district court for the award of treble damages as a result of such violations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should terminate the bilateral textile agreement between the United States and China, prohibit further imports of textiles and apparel from there, and redistribute to Mexico and Caribbean Basin Initiative beneficiary countries China's textile and apparel quota entitlements. Directs the President to negotiate limits on automobile imports from Japan equivalent to the limits set by the European Community with respect to automobile imports from Japan. Title V: Negotiating Authority - Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to repeal provisions authorizing the President to proclaim modification or continuance of existing duties, continuance of existing duty-free or excise treatment, or such additional duties with respect to the negotiation of trade agreements regarding unfair trade barriers by foreign countries. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to repeal provisions relating to congressional procedures with respect to bills implementing trade agreements on nontariff barriers and resolutions approving commercial agreements with Communist countries. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to repeal provisions relating to: (1) congressional "fast track" procedures with respect to the implementation of trade agreements regarding tariff and nontariff barriers; and (2) bilateral trade agreements regarding such barriers. Establishes in the Executive Office of the President the National Trade Council which shall advise the President with respect to the integration of national and international policies relating to trade so that the President and Federal agencies can cooperate more effectively in matters involving international trade. Requires the Council to appoint specified advisory committees. Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require Federal agencies to include an environmental impact statement in every recommendation or report on proposals for legislation and other major Federal actions significantly affecting bilateral and multilateral negotiations with other countries on trade or other matters. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the inclusion of representatives of environmental, consumer, and health and safety interests on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, specified general policy advisory committees, and certain sectoral or functional advisory committees. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to prohibit for three years any multiple customs law offender from: (1) introducing or attempting to introduce foreign goods into U.S. commerce; and (2) engaging or attempting to engage any other person to introduce, on such offender's behalf, foreign goods into U.S. commerce. Provides for identifying such multiple offenders. Sets the penalty for violations of such prohibition. Amends the Foreign Trade Zones Act to prohibit the Board from establishing manufacturing subzones unless it finds that establishment of such a subzone will result in: (1) significant net public benefits, taking into account significant adverse effects; (2) additional substantial exports from the United States; (3) the encouragement of activity related to import displacement or substitution; (4) the generation of employment and investment in the United States; (5) no negative effect on a remedial action or program instituted by the United States to counter an international unfair trade practice; and (6) no material harm to an existing U.S. industry. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to prohibit the President from designating any article as eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) if such article is determined by the ITC (currently, President) to be import-sensitive in the context of the GSP. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to require the President or the head of a Federal agency to include in every recommendation or report made to the Congress on legislation a statement of the impact of such legislation on U.S. competitiveness in foreign or domestic markets. (Currently, such statement is required only on legislation which may affect the ability of U.S. firms to compete in domestic and international commerce.) Amends the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to repeal a provision relating to congressional disapproval of presidential action to adjust imports of petroleum that threaten to impair national security. Amends the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to provide that a foreign principal shall be considered to control a person in major part if such principal holds at least 50 percent equitable ownership in such person. Replaces references to: (1) "agent" with "representative"; and (2) "propaganda" with "promotional material." Requires representatives of foreign principals engaging in private and nonpolitical activities who are relying on exemptions to registration requirements to notify the Attorney General. Prescribes civil penalties for violations with respect to registration statements. Establishes within the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice a section to enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, provisions of the Federal criminal code added by this Act, and all other laws relating to lobbying activities in the United States. Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the President, Vice President, specified Federal officials, members of the uniformed services, and Members of the Congress, for specified time periods after such persons' service as officials has ceased, to act as agents or attorneys for compensation, in matters in which the United States is a party or has a direct and substantial interest for: (1) a foreign government or political party; (2) a person outside of the United States, unless such person is a U.S. citizen; or (3) a combination of persons organized under the laws of, or having its principal place of business in, a foreign country. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the extent such official is engaging only in: (1) the soliciting or collecting of funds to be used for specified humanitarian assistance; (2) activities in furtherance of religious, charitable, scholastic, or scientific pursuits or of the fine arts; or (3) activities in furtherance of an international organization of which the United States is a member. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of this title. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the President to implement the ITC's recommendations for trade relief in response to an affirmative determination of market disruption from imports of a foreign country. (Currently, authorizes the President to take such action only with respect to imports from countries to which such determination has been made.) Repeals provisions relating to: (1) market disruption from imports from Communist countries; and (2) the filing of petitions requesting the President to initiate consultations under bilateral commercial agreements providing for nondiscriminatory treatment to products of countries that have been denied such treatment because of a finding of market disruption. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to include the Committees on Energy and Commerce, on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, and on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and on Foreign Relations of the Senate as committees to which the ITC, when requested, must make available certain information, investigations, and reports with respect to unfair trade practices by foreign countries. Adds specified factors to be considered in determining the "transaction value" and "computed value" of imported merchandise with regard to the imposition of customs duties on such products.

Community Infrastructure Assistance Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992

Community Infrastructure Assistance Act of 1992 - Makes supplemental appropriations from the Mass Transit Account (and other than the Mass Transit Account) of the Highway Trust Fund for the Department of Transportation for FY 1992 for: (1) urban transportation formula grants and operating assistance; (2) major capital investment programs, including assistance to grantees in meeting requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the purchase and repair of bus equipment, and modernization of fixed guideway systems that meet certain criteria; (3) surface transportation programs; (4) congestion mitigation and air quality improvement programs; and (5) bridge replacement and rehabilitation programs. Makes supplemental appropriations for FY 1992 for housing and urban development under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.

Rural Homelessness Assistance Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1992

Rural Homelessness Assistance Act - Title I: Rural Homelessness Grant Program - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide rural homelessness grants to eligible institutions for: (1) direct emergency assistance to homeless persons and families; (2) homelessness prevention; and (3) access to permanent housing and supportive services. Provides for: (1) small community set-asides; and (2) priority for communities without significant Federal assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Rural Housing Amendments - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to lease or sell inventory properties for transitional and turnkey housing for the homeless and other inadequately housed families.

Economic Growth Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1992

Economic Growth Act of 1992 - Title I: Enhanced Economic Recovery Act of 1992 - Enhanced Economic Recovery Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Capital Gains - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a capital gains deduction for noncorporate taxpayers for assets held from one to three years. Provides special rules for the gain or loss from the sale or exchange of collectibles and sales of interest in partnerships. Disallows such deduction in computing the alternative minimum tax, except with respect to gains realized on the sale, exchange, or other disposition of a direct or indirect interest in real estate or in closely held business. Revises the formula for determining gain from the dispositions of certain depreciable realty to take into account depreciation adjustments (adjustments allowed or allowable for exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence, or certain amortization). Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Passive Losses and Depreciation - Treats the real estate development activity of a taxpayer as a single trade or business activity that is not a rental activity. Allows an additional depreciation allowance for the purchase of new equipment as investment property after February 1, 1992, and placed in service before July 1, 1993. Reduces the basis adjustment of such property by the amount of the additional allowance. Requires application of such allowance in determining the alternative minimum tax. Restricts the determination of adjusted current earnings for purposes of computing alternative minimum taxable income to property placed in service after 1989 and prior to February 1, 1992. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Real Estate Investments by Pension Funds - Modifies exceptions to the meaning of acquisition indebtedness. Makes certain exceptions inapplicable to sales out of foreclosure by a financial institution. Makes exceptions to acquisition indebtedness inapplicable to certain large partnerships where the principal purpose of partnership allocations is not tax avoidance. Repeals the special rule for publicly traded partnerships under provisions concerning unrelated business taxable income. Subtitle D: Provisions Affecting Homebuyers - Allows a tax credit to a first-time homebuyer who purchase a principal residence of ten percent of the purchase price, not to exceed $5,000. Limits such credit to one residence and requires acquisition on or after February 1, 1992, and January 1, 1993. Allow such credit to be carried forward for up to five years. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans for a first-home purchase. Limits such distribution to $10,000, or other applicable amount if previous distributions have been made. Title II: Tax Relief for Families - Tax Relief for Families Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Education and Savings - Allows a deduction for interest on education loans for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or child. Requires such loans to be for tuition and related expenses at certain higher education institutions. Reduces such deduction by any amount excludable from gross income by reason of the redemption of U.S. bonds for higher education expenses. Coordinates such deduction with the home equity indebtedness provision. Provides that investment interest does not include qualified educational interest. Requires persons who receive interest payments to report such information on an information return, and to furnish written statements to the payors on receipt of such payments. Allows the establishment of flexible individual retirement accounts (FIRA) for the exclusive benefit of an individual and the individual's beneficiaries. Limits annual contributions to the lesser of $2,500, or the compensation includable in the individual's gross income. Prohibits contributions to FIRAs maintained for a taxpayer if the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds: (1) $120,000, in the case of a joint return; (2) $100,000, in the case of a surviving spouse or head of household; and (3) $60,000, in any other case. Prohibits the establishment of FIRAs for dependents. Makes FIRAs exempt from taxation, except the tax on unrelated business income of charitable, etc. organizations. Allows pooling arrangements for such accounts. Excludes from gross income distributions out of a FIRA held for at least seven years. Imposes the ten-percent additional penalty tax on distributions made during the first three years. Allows the use of FIRA as security for a loan. Provides for the transfer from individual retirement plans to FIRAs. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from qualified retirement plans for qualified higher education expenses and financially devastating medical expenses. Subtitle B: Other Provisions - Allows a deduction for loss incurred from the sale of a principal residence. Provides for an increase in the basis of a new principal residence purchased by a taxpayer who realized a loss on the sale of the old residence. Increases the personal exemption for a child who has not attained aged 19. Extends the deduction for health insurance cost for self-employed individuals from June 30, 1992, to December 31, 1993. Allows a deduction for qualified adoption expenses of up to $3,000. Denies the use of such deduction for any expense for which a deduction or credit is already allowable and for which reimbursements have been made. Defines qualified adoption expenses as those: (1) directly related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs; (2) that are not incurred in violation of State or Federal law; and (3) that are of a type eligible for reimbursement under the adoption assistance program under title IV of the Social Security Act (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services. Allows such deduction whether or not the taxpayer itemizes deductions. Includes as a working condition fringe excluded from gross income any passes, tokens, fare cards, tickets or similar instruments for commuting by public transit provided to an employee at a discount by the employer, or reimbursements by the employer to cover all or part of the costs of such instruments, to the extent that such amounts do not exceed $60 per month. Title III: Long Term Growth - Long Term Growth Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Extension of Expiring Provisions - Makes permanent the tax credit for increasing research activities and for clinical testing expenses for certain drugs for rare diseases or conditions. Extends the termination dates of the following provisions: (1) the rules of allocating research and experimental expenditures; (2) the low-income housing credit; (3) the targeted jobs credit; and (4) the solar and geothermal investment credit. Extends the authority to issue qualified small issue bonds to finance farm property. Extends the authority to issue qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Enterprise Zones - Enterprise Zone-Jobs Creation Act of 1992 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every four years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of any wages earned do not exceed specified amount. Phase-out such credit. Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property. Allows a taxpayer a deduction on the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Amends Federal law to revise the definition of small entity for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a nominating government to waive or modify rules and regulation pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety. Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite the processing of applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. Subtitle C: Excise Tax Provisions - Repeals the luxury excise tax on boats and aircraft. Repeals the exemption from the tax on diesel fuel and boats, unless such boats are used in a boat business. Retains excise taxes for diesel fuels used in pleasure boats shall be retained in the General Treasury. (Current law requires transfer of such amounts to the Highway Trust Fund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.) Subjects certain digital data transmissions to the communications excise tax. Repeals the exemption of certain coin-operated telephone services from such tax. Subtitle D: Provisions Related to Retirement Savings and Pension Distributions - Allows distributions from qualified pension plan to be rolled over tax-free to an individual retirement account or another qualified plan or annuity. Repeals: (1) the $5,000 limitation on the exclusion from gross income of employees' death benefits; (2) the five-year forward income averaging for lump-sum distributions; and (3) the exclusion of net unrealized appreciation in employer securities. Establishes a method of taxing annuity payments by taking into account the investment in the contract and the number of anticipated payments. Requires qualified plans to allow participants to elect to have distributions transferred directly to another qualified plan. Establishes a simplified employee pension plan that allows salary reduction arrangements for employers of fewer than 100 employees. Prohibits State and local governments from participating in cash or deferred arrangements. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, as a condition of sponsorship, to prescribe rules defining the duties and responsibilities of certain master and prototype retirement plans. Replaces the two-part nondiscrimination test for elective contributions under cash or deferred arrangements with a single test of whether: (1) the actual deferral percentage of highly compensated employees exceeds 200 percent of the average deferral percentage of nonhighly compensated employees for a plan year; and (2) the actual deferral percentage of such employees exceeds the average deferral percentage of nonhighly compensated employees for the preceding plan year by more than three percentage points. Redefines the term "compensated employee" for pension, profit sharing, stock bonus plan, etc. purposes. Makes such an employee one who is five-percent owner or compensation from the employer in excess of $50,000. Provides a special rule where no employees are treated as highly compensated. Eliminates the rule requiring ten years of service for employees subject to collective bargaining agreements under multiemployer plans. Subtitle E: Other Provisions - Repeals the appreciated property charitable deduction. Requires a charitable contribution allowable as a deduction in computing taxable income to be allocated and apportioned solely to gross income from sources within the United States. Requires the donee of any large charitable donation to make an information return relating to such donation. Provides for the application of the Medicare hospital insurance tax to State and local employees. Amends the Social Security Act to provide for the entitlement of such employees to hospital insurance benefits. Requires dealers in stock or securities to use the mark to market inventory accounting method. Disallows interest deduction on corporate owned life insurance. Prohibits a deduction for certain losses on the disposition of property to the extent that the taxpayer has a right to be reimbursed for the loss with assistance from the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). Limits the tax exemption for credit unions to small credit unions with assets of less than $50,000,000. Restricts the deduction for dividends paid on deposits and the deduction for additions to reserves for bad debts to credit unions that are not small credit unions. Provides that certain life insurance contracts will be treated as annuity contracts only if the purchaser irrevocably chooses as a settlement option a series of substantially equal periodic payments made for the life of the annuitant or the joint lives of the annuitants. Expands the 45-day interest-free period for refunding tax overpayments in case the right to the refund arises other than pursuant to the original filing of a tax return. Title IV: Financial Institutions Safety and Consumer Choice Act of 1992 - Financial Institutions Safety and Consumer Choice Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Financial Services Modernization - Chapter 1: Financial Services Holding Companies - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act to define financial services holding companies and diversified holding companies. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to specify additional financial entities prohibited from acquiring control or ownership of certain financial services organizations. Prohibits any insured depository institution (except foreign banks with insured branches in the United States) from becoming a financial services holding company or a diversified holding company. Sets forth expedited procedures for acquisition of additional banks by well capitalized financial services holding companies. Sets forth guidelines for acquisitions involving diversified holding companies. Provides that financial services holding companies (except certain foreign banks) cannot be banks. Modifies the guidelines for ownership interests in nonbanking organizations. Replaces the current "closely related" standard for permissible activities with a "financial nature" standard. Sets forth the permissible parameters for insurance and securities affiliates. Sets a deadline by which a financial services holding company must notify the appropriate Federal banking agency with respect to its ownership or control of the shares of a company engaged in qualified financial activities. Outlines permissible nonbanking activities and acquisitions for well capitalized financial services holding companies. Sets forth additional capital requirements for a financial services holding company that intends to engage in, or acquire, or retain the shares of a company engaged in a new financial activity. Sets forth certain restrictions on the activities of financial services holding companies. Prescribes guidelines for acquisition activities by diversified holding companies and their affiliates. Sets forth Federal administrative procedures for financial services holding companies and diversified holding companies (including their subsidiaries and affiliates). Prohibits the States from preventing or impeding certain acquisition or affiliation activities undertaken by: (1) insured depository institutions; (2) diversified holding companies; and (3) financial services holding companies. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 to prohibit a financial services holding company or a diversified holding company from: (1) engaging in certain tying arrangements; or (2) transacting insider loans. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to exempt from its coverage financial services holding companies and diversified holding companies. Chapter 2: Financial Activities of National Banks - Amends the Banking Act of 1933 to provide that its limitations and restrictions with respect to certain securities activities conducted by a national bank for its own account shall not apply to the distribution of securities issued by investment companies if the association is not an affiliate of a securities affiliate. Amends the Banking Act of 1933 to repeal the proscription against: (1) the affiliation of member banks with organizations engaged principally in securities; and (2) member bank personnel serving simultaneously as employees or officers of securities organizations. Authorizes national banking associations located in certain small-sized population areas to sell insurance to residents of the State in which the association is located. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to: (1) set forth conditions under which a loan or extension of credit by a member bank shall not be deemed to be made to an affiliate; (2) require prior notification to the appropriate Federal banking agency before a financial services holding company may permit an insured depository institution under its control to engage in a covered transaction which exceeds five percent of its capital stock and surplus; and (3) revise definitions related to affiliates of member banks. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to require customer disclosure by an insured depository institution with respect to the non-insured status of its non-banking products. Chapter 3: Non-Banking Activities of Foreign Banks in the United States - Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to set forth circumstances under which a foreign bank that maintains a branch or agency in the United States (or owns or controls a commercial lending company organized under State law) shall be subject to the provisions of this Act. Chapter 4: Amendments to the Securities Acts - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 to: (1) subject to its provisions certain bank-issued securities and certain savings association-issued securities; (2) exempt from its provisions certain bank and savings association instruments functioning as securities in a secured transaction; (3) exempt from its provisions equity securities transactions with respect to bank acquisition by a financial services holding company, or acquisition of a financial services holding company by a diversified holding company. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to: (1) revise definitions relating to bank broker activities and bank dealer activities; (2) prohibit any bank from acting as broker or dealer except in the course of an exclusively intrastate business; and (3) prohibit certain securities transactions, with specified exceptions, taking place on bank premises which are commonly accessible to the general public for deposit-making purposes. Repeals the Federal agency administration provisions with respect to disclosure requirements for securities issued by insured depository institutions. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to mandate that the custody of investment company assets or unit investment trusts by affiliates of either the registered management company or the registered unit investment trust must be in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules prescribed for investor protection. Prohibits a registered investment company from having a majority of its board of directors consisting of personnel of any one bank and its subsidiaries, or any one financial services holding company and its affiliates and subsidiaries. Grants the SEC additional rulemaking authority regarding bank affiliated mutual funds. Prohibits registered investment company securities from being represented as: (1) guaranteed, sponsored, recommended or approved by any Federal agency; (2) insured by the FDIC; or (3) guaranteed or an obligation of any bank or insured institution. Provides that any person issuing or selling securities of an investment company whose name is similar to that of a bank may be required to disclose prominently that the investment company and its securities are neither FDIC-insured, nor guaranteed by an affiliated bank or insured institution, nor otherwise an obligation of such bank or insured institution. Authorizes the SEC to determine by order that use of a name similar to a bank is deceptive and misleading, and to take action accordingly. Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to include within the meaning of "investment adviser" any bank or financial services holding company which acts an investment adviser to a registered investment company (unless it performs such services through a separately identifiable division). Requires the SEC to give notice to the appropriate Federal banking agency prior to initiating any investigative or enforcement proceedings against a financial services holding company bank, or bank division acting as registered investment adviser. Amends the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act of 1940 to exempt certain bank common trust funds from their coverage. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the transfer to a regulated investment company of all or substantially all of the assets of a common trust fund shall not result in a gain or loss to the common trust fund participants if the transfer is the result of a merger, conversion, reorganization, transfer or similar transaction. (Thus, if a bank were to transfer a common trust fund to a mutual fund, such transfer per se would not be considered a taxable event for the fund participants). Directs the SEC to examine and report to the Congress on the appropriate treatment of: (1) bank collective investment funds and separate accounts under the securities laws and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); and (2) common trust funds under the securities laws. Chapter 5: Amendments to Prompt Corrective Action - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to set forth: (1) definitional guidelines; and (2) permissible activities for banks within various capital levels including financial services holding companies). Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the Bank Conservation Act, the Federal Reserve Act, and the Home Owners' Loan Act to set forth additional grounds for appointing conservators and receivers for specified undercapitalized depository institutions. Chapter 6: Nationwide Banking and Branching - Amends the Financial Services Holding Company Act to authorize nationwide banking, notwithstanding certain State laws, by: (1) a diversified holding company; (2) a financial services holding company; or (3) a foreign bank. Amends Federal banking law to permit a national banking association to establish and operate new branches at an initial location within any State in which a financial services holding company or State bank having the same home State (or chartered in the same home State as such association) could establish a branch. Provides for the interstate consolidation or merger of national banks, or State banks with national banks, and for the subsequent retention of pre-existing branches subject to regulatory approval. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prohibit State proscription against interstate branching by State banks. Permits a host State to determine compliance by interstate branches with its regulations, and to coordinate regulatory supervision with other State bank authorities regarding branches of State-chartered banks. Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to provide that during the three-year period starting on the date of enactment of this Act the Director may authorize foreign banks to establish and operate federally-chartered branches in the United States if such establishment is not prohibited by the law of the relevant State. Revises the limitations placed upon interstate branching by foreign banks to more closely conform with the limitations placed upon interstate branching by domestic banks. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to authorize approval by the appropriate Federal banking agency for a savings and loan holding company or a foreign bank to acquire interstate interests in savings associations. Permits the consummation of such approved acquisitions even though State law would otherwise prohibit or limit them. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Provisions - Chapter I: Reduction in Regulatory Burden - Prohibits an appropriate Federal banking agency from requiring any institution under it jurisdiction to prepare or maintain data to comply with the Fair Housing Act, other than the data prescribed pursuant to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Chapter 2: Expedited Funds Availability - Amends the Expedited Funds Availability Act with respect to the frequency of notices when funds will be held beyond statutory schedules to provide that no further notice is required after the required notice has been furnished until one year later or such other time as the exception for which the notice was provided ceases to apply, whichever is earlier. Subtitle C: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Chapter I: Severability; Transition References - Sets forth severability and transition provisions. Chapter 2: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Makes technical and conforming amendments to specified Federal Acts. Chapter 3: Repeal of Obsolete Provisions of Law - Repeals specified provisions of Federal law. Chapter 4: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of amendments made by this title. Title V: Pension Security Act - Pension Security Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Amendments to Pension Plan Funding Requirements - Part 1: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the additional funding requirements for pension plans that are not multiemployer plans to provide for an underfunding reduction requirement and a solvency maintenance requirement. Part 2: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to revise the additional funding requirements pension plans that are not multiemployer plans to provide for an underfunding reduction requirement and a solvency maintenance requirement. Subtitle B: Amendments to Title IV of ERISA - Amends title IV (Plan Termination Insurance) of ERISA to set forth limitations on the benefits guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Revises provisions relating to: (1) enforcement of minimum funding requirements; (2) definition of contributing sponsor; (3) recovery ratio payable under PBGC guaranty; (4) distress termination criteria for banking institutions; and (5) variable rate premium exemption. Eliminates a specified seventh revolving fund and transfer its assets and liabilities to the first revolving fund (i.e. the single-employer basic benefits guaranty fund). Subtitle C: Employer Liability, Lien and Priority - Part 1: Amendments to Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends title IV of ERISA to revise limitations on employer liability liens and priority amounts. Provides that, in the case of plan terminations initiated on or after January 1, 1992, the lien of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for employer liability shall be determined according to a specified formula. Makes similar revisions relating to the amount of liability to the PBGC which is entitled to priority treatment in insolvency and bankruptcy cases. Amends the Pension Protection Act with respect to bankruptcy and insolvency claims. Provides that specified amendments under this Act shall be effective as if included under the Single-Employer Pension Plan Amendments of 1986 and the Pension Protection Act. Amends ERISA to provide for liability upon liquidation of a contributing sponsor of a single-employer plan. Makes such sponsor liable as though the plan had terminated in a distress termination, even if the sponsor's controlled group remains a contributing sponsor of the plan or is liable for payment of specified contributions or installments. Directs the PBGC to transfer such liability payments to the ongoing plans. Part 2: Amendments to Title 11, United States Code - Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to permit the PBGC to be a member of an unsecured creditors' committee. Revises priority payment provisions with respect to: (1) unpaid contributions to pension plans under ERISA; and (2) certain liability arising from pension plan terminations under ERISA. (Classifies these priorities as expenses arising before, or administrative expenses arising after, the commencement of the case, depending on whether such unpaid contributions are attributable, or such plan termination occurs, before or after the filing of the petition for bankruptcy.) Amends one of specified Bankruptcy Rules to require the bankruptcy court to give the PBGC notice of a bankruptcy petition filed (and all other notices required to be served on creditors and interested parties), in any case in which the debtor or an affiliate maintains a pension plan to which title IV of ERISA applies. Title VI: Federal Insurance Accounting Act of 1992 - Federal Insurance Accounting Act of 1992 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require accrual accounting to measure the cost of Federal insurance programs. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to coordinate the development of methods of estimating the costs of Federal insurance programs. Provides for the budgetary treatment of such programs. Prohibits the modification of an insurance program in a manner that increases its accrual cost unless budget authority for such additional cost is appropriated in advance, or is available out of existing appropriations or from other budgetary resources. Provides for the display of administrative expenses as distinct and separately identified subaccounts within the insurance program account. Authorizes appropriations as necessary to each Federal agency authorized to conduct insurance programs to pay associated accrued and accrual costs. Authorizes the President, in order to implement this subtitle, to establish non-budgetary accounts as appropriate. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make transactions as necessary for non-budget insurance financing accounts. Declares that the changes made by this subtitle are to be considered changes in budget concepts and definitions for purposes of the Balanced Budget And Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Title VII: Medicare Premium Equity Amendments of 1992 - Medicare Premium Equity Amendments of 1992 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase the monthly part B premium in the case of: (1) an individual with an adjusted gross income in excess of $125,000 who is married and files a joint income tax return or is a surviving spouse or a head of household; (2) an individual with an adjusted gross income in excess of $62,500 who is married but does not file a joint income tax return; and (3) any other individual with an adjusted gross income in excess of $100,000. Title VIII: Medicare Budget Amendments of 1992 - Medicare Budget Amendments of 1992 - Amends Medicare part B to: (1) provide that payment under part B for anesthesia physicians' services, when a separate charge (on a fee schedule basis) is also made for the services of a certified registered nurse anesthetist, may not, when added to the payment made for the services of the nurse anesthetist, exceed the amount that would be paid for the anesthesia physicians' services if a separate payment were not made for the services of the nurse anesthetist; (2) revise payment rates for medically and non-medically directed certified registered nurse anesthetists to change the conversion factors used for services furnished starting in 1993; (3) redefine "covered item update" as used with respect to payments after 1992 for durable medical equipment and "applicable percentage increase" as used with respect to payments after 1992 for prosthetic devices, orthotics, and prosthetics (items) as a percentage change (or no change), which may be different for different kinds of equipment or items, as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services after taking into consideration market factors and technological change; (4) set the payment limitation amount for a clinical diagnostic laboratory test performed after September 30, 1992, at 76 percent of the median of all the fee schedules established for that test for that laboratory setting; (5) provide similar Secretarial discretion with respect to determining annual updates in payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests; (6) move the prospective payment system hospital update to January 1 of each year; and (7) set the annual update for other hospitals in FY 1993 at 75 percent of the market basket percentage increase, and the updates for subsequent fiscal years at the market basket percentage increase. Title IX: Aid To Families With Dependent Children Savings Set-Aside Amendments of 1992 - AFDC Saving Set-Aside Amendments of 1992 - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act to modify State plan provisions to give States the option of disregarding, with respect to a family already receiving AFDC benefits, resources the value of which do not exceed $10,000, but only if the State plan provides that: (1) the State agency will determine that any such disregarded resources are being retained for later expenditure for a purpose directly related to improving the education, training, or employability of a family member or for the purchase of a home for the family; (2) the value of any resources so disregarded will not be taken into consideration for purposes of determining eligibility for food stamp benefits; and (3) the State agency will not disregard any resource (or interest therein) owned by a family member within the preceding 12 months, if such resource (or interest) was disposed of at less than fair market value for the purpose of establishing eligibility for AFDC benefits. Allows AFDC employability plans, at the option of the State, to provide for the retention and set-aside of such amounts of income and resources as the State agency determines necessary for carrying out an approved plan which includes self-employment as its employment goal. Requires that the State agency must find that the specific form of self-employment for which the set-aside is intended is practical and attainable in light of all surrounding circumstances. Title X: Food Stamp Amendments of 1992 - Food Stamp Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to require the parent of a minor child with an absent parent to cooperate with State child support enforcement agencies in order to participate in the food stamp program (program). Makes permanent: (1) the 25 percent Federal cost-sharing of State administrative program costs. (Current law authorizes 25 percent through FY 1995 and 50 percent thereafter); and (2) the ten percent State fund retention (Current law authorizes ten percent through FY 1995 and 25 percent thereafter). Title XI: Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1992 - Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Child Support Enforcement Act (the Act, which is part D of title IV of the Social Security Act) to provide that certain support collection and paternity determination application fees and collection services fees shall be set at $25 each (but gives the State an option to set such fees at $50 each, in which case no fee may be charged to individuals for such applications, for to families for such services, if their income is not more than 185 percent of the poverty line). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish a schedule of performance-based incentive payments to encourage and reward States for activities to increase paternity establishment and lead to increased child support collections; and (2) determine the amount of such payments with respect to specified categories of performance. Limits the amount of any such payment to a State for a fiscal year to not more than ten percent of the State's total child support collections for such year with respect to children receiving aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act. Revises the formula for certain other incentive payments (to States for cost-effective and efficient performance) to reduce their amount. Requires that incentive payments to States be used to improve or protect the welfare of children within the State. Requires States to provide paternity determination and child support collection services for recipients of certain need-based Federal or federally assisted programs. Title XII: Incentives for Families with Absent Parents to Cooperate with State Agencies under the Social Security Act in Securing Child Support for Dependents - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide, for purposes of public housing, that any family (with an absent parent) that has failed, without good cause, to cooperate in securing support for the dependent member of the family with the State agency administering the program for collection of child and spousal support may: (1) have certain spousal support imputed to its income; and (2) be ineligible for certain exclusions from its income. (Applies such provisions also to public housing under the Indian Housing Authority.) Title XIII: Purposes and Duration of Emergency Assistance Under The Aid to Families With Dependent Children Program - Amends the AFDC program to limit AFDC emergency assistance to one period of 30 consecutive days in any 12-month period. Provides that such emergency assistance may include amounts necessary to: (1) satisfy shelter and utility arrearages for no more than three months in order to prevent evictions and utility shut-offs; and (2) pay an initial month's shelter charges and security deposit necessary to secure permanent housing for homeless families. Requires any such amounts to be authorized by the State agency during the single 30-day period described above. Title XIV: Enhance Health Insurance Coverage For Children Under the Aid To Families With Dependent Children Program - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require State plans to provide satisfactory assurances that the State has in effect laws applicable to health insurers and insurance policies or programs subject to the laws of the State that: (1) require insurers to permit enrollment at any time under the health insurance of a non-custodial parent of any child for whom such parent is required to provide support; and (2) in any case where a child is covered under the non-custodial parent's health insurance, require insurers, at the option of the custodial parent, to permit such parent to submit claims for covered services without the non-custodial parent's approval and to make payment on such claims submitted directly to the custodial parent or service provider. Requires plan assurances that State laws authorize garnishment of the employment income of, and withholding of amounts from State tax refunds to, any person who is required by court or administrative order to cover a Medicaid-eligible individual's medical costs and has received, but not used for appropriate reimbursement, payment from a third party for the costs of medical services to such individual, to the extent necessary to reimburse the State for expenditures for such costs. Title XV: Child Nutrition Amendments of 1992 - Child Nutrition Amendments of 1992- Subtitle A: Budget-Related Provisions - Amends the National School Lunch Act to provide for increased cash subsidies for reduced price meals in the national school lunch program. Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to provide for increased cash subsidies for reduced price meals in the school breakfast program. Amends CNA to provide for increased research funds under the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) to determine such program's effect on children. Subtitle B: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates of various provisions of this title. Title XVI: Social Security Cross Program Recovery Amendments of 1992 - Social Security Act Cross Program Recovery Amendments of 1992 - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to recover overpayments made under the Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI) under title XVI of the Social Security Act from any amounts payable under the Federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program under title II of that Act if the Secretary is unable to recover such overpayments through the means currently provided under SSI. Provides that in any case in which the Secretary takes action to recover such an overpayment from any person, neither that person, nor any individual whose eligibility or benefit amount is based on that person's income, shall, as a result of such action, become eligible for SSI benefits or, if already so eligible, become eligible for increased SSI benefits. Title XVII: America 2000 Excellence in Education Act - AMERICA 2000 Excellence in Education Act - Part A: New American Schools - Authorizes financial assistance for creating New American Schools (NAS) in communities that have been designated AMERICA 2000 Communities (A2Cs). Provides that such NAS shall reflect the best thinking about teaching and learning, employ the highest-quality instructional materials and technologies, and be designed to meet the National Educational Goals as well as the particular needs of their students and communities. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to reserve certain funds for a national program evaluation. Directs the Secretary to allocate the remaining funds among the States (and specified territories) in proportion to their respective numbers of members of Congress. Directs the Governor to nominate A2Cs to create NAS, for at least as many communities as there are members in the State's congressional delegation and at least one community in each congressional district of the State. Requires the Governor's nominations to be based on criteria established by the Secretary on the basis of expert panel advice, including: (1) the community's level of commitment and activity in the A2C initiative; (2) the community's schools' need for new and innovative educational programs; and (3) the quality of their application to the Governor. Sets forth conditions for the Secretary's approval, and for alternative nominations. Directs the Secretary to make NAS grants to selected agencies, organizations, and institutions on behalf of the selected communities. Limits any award to $1,000,000. Encourages grantees to adapt and implement one or more NAS designs developed by research and development teams funded by the NAS Development Corporation. Restricts use of such grant funds to certain special start-up costs associated with the creation and establishment of a NAS. Prohibits the use of such funds for construction or for the grantee's general administrative expenses. Requires each NAS to have obtained necessary State recognition or accreditation and to be fully operating by the start of the 1996-97 school year. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days, to convene an expert panel of educators, representatives of private business, and public representatives to advise on NAS program administration, including criteria for nomination of communities. Directs the Secretary to use reserved funds to conduct a national evaluation of NAS program impact on schools and communities and on education generally. Requires reports to the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Merit Schools - Authorizes appropriations for Merit School awards to reward public and private elementary and secondary schools and faculties that make documented progress in attaining the National Education Goals, particularly the goal of increasing students' mastery of the core academic subjects. Directs the Secretary to allocate specified funds among the States on the same basis as allocations for education of disadvantaged children under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (the ESEA chapter 1 program). Requires Governors to submit State grant applications for a three-year period, which may be followed by an application for a two-year period. Makes specified provisions of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) inapplicable to this title. Specifies State use of funds for administrative costs (five percent) and Merit School awards (95 percent), with at least 20 percent of the latter earmarked for schools that demonstrate exceptional progress in improving students' performance in mathematics and science. Requires each Governor to: (1) establish a State review panel to assist in selection of Merit Schools; (2) submit annual program reports to the Secretary; and (3) apply specified national and State criteria in selecting schools. Requires each Merit School to use its award for activities to further its educational program, including special programs, equipment and materials acquisition, staff bonus payments, college scholarships for secondary school students, special programs, equipment and materials, parental involvement, community outreach, and program replication. Prohibits State or local reduction of other assistance to the Merit School or its local educational agency. Part C: Teachers and School Leaders - Subpart 1: Governor's Academies for Teachers - Directs the Secretary, to make a one-time, five-year grant to each State to establish and operate Governor's Academies for Teachers and to recognize outstanding teachers. Requires a Governor to use the State's grant to make competitive awards to the State educational agency (SEA), local education agencies (LEAs), institutions of higher education, and other public and private organizations or consortia, to establish and operate such Academies. Allows such Academies to be operated in cooperation or consortium with those of other States. Requires each Academy to conduct a program of intensive instruction for current elementary and secondary school teachers, during the summer or the school year, focusing on the core academic disciplines of English, mathematics, science, history, and geography. Directs the Governor to allocate to each Academy funds for a program of cash awards and recognition to outstanding teachers in the core academic subject or subjects covered by the Academy program. Requires Academies to select such teachers from nominations received from various groups. Limits any such award to $5,000, but allows the recipient to choose how to use it. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart 2: Governors' Academies for School Leaders - Directs the Secretary to make a one-time, five-year grant to each State to establish and operate a Governor's Academy for School Leaders. Requires the Governor to make competitive awards to the SEA, LEAs, institutions of higher education, and other public and private organizations or consortia, to establish and operate such an Academy. Allows such academies to be operated in cooperation or consortium with those of other States. Directs each Academy to carry out specified activities relating to school leadership training and development. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart 3: Alternative Certification of Teachers and Principals - Authorizes appropriations to assist States to develop and implement alternative certification requirements to improve the supply of well-qualified elementary and secondary school teachers and principals. Makes certain GEPA provisions inapplicable to this part. Requires States to use such funds to support programs, projects, or activities that develop and implement new, or expand and improve existing, alternative teacher and principal certification requirements. Authorizes States to do so directly, through contracts, or through subgrants to LEAs, intermediate educational agencies, institutions of higher education, or consortia of such agencies. Part D: Educational Reform and Flexibility - Subpart 1: Educational Reform Through Flexibility and Accountability - Amends the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to establish a program for flexibility and accountability in education and related services. Directs the Secretary to assist projects for elementary and secondary schools and other service providers to improve achievement of all students and other participants, but particularly disadvantaged individuals, by authorizing waivers by which Governors, SEAs, LEAs, and other service providers can improve performance of schools and programs by increasing their flexibility in use of resources while holding them accountable for achieving educational gains. Authorizes the Secretary, in support of such projects, to waive, with specified exceptions, any statutory or regulatory requirement applicable to any program administered by the Department of Education that may impede a school or service provider from meeting the special needs of such students and other individuals. Authorizes other Federal agency heads, with the Secretary's agreement, to make similar waivers for their programs. Limits duration of projects and associated waivers to a maximum of three years; but authorizes the Secretary to extend a project and any associated waivers for an additional two years if it is making substantial progress in meeting its goals. Requires the Secretary to terminate a project and its associated waivers at any time if acceptable progress is not being made. Grants other Federal agency heads authority to determine extension or termination of their waivers. Grants the Secretary exclusive authority to extend or terminate a project. Requires each project that involves elementary or secondary schools to include participation of an SEA and at least one LEA and two schools. Requires, to the extent possible, project participation by each grade and academic program, including ESEA chapter 1 programs, in a participating school. Prohibits unreasonable concentration of available resources in participating schools, if fewer than all schools in an LEA participate. Requires each project that does not involve elementary or secondary schools to involve at least two programs, at least one of which is administered by the Secretary. Prohibits waiver of requirements: (1) in awarding new competitive grants to agencies participating in such projects; (2) relating to maintenance of effort, comparability, or equitable participation of private school students; and (3) under specified provisions of GEPA, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Sets forth requirements for reports and evaluations. Provides for the budget neutrality of such program. Subpart 2: Amendments to Chapter 2 - Amends chapter 2 (Federal, State, and Local Partnership for Educational Improvement) of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA chapter 2) to provide that part A funding for educational reform and improvement shall be divided equally between State and local programs (50 percent to each, while the current allocation formula requires at least 80 percent to go to local programs and not more than 20 percent to State programs). Reduces the portions of such State-level funds which: (1) may be used for State administration (from 25 to ten percent); and (2) must be used for the effective schools programs (from 20 to eight percent). Revises State application requirements to require approval by the Governor before submission to the Secretary. Includes educational choice programs among local targeted assistance programs of SEAs and LEAs. Includes, among authorized activities of such programs, any activities or expenses directly related to planning, implementing, operating, evaluating, and disseminating information about the LEA's educational choice program, including expenses of parents and children resulting from their program participation. Part E: Parental Choice of Schools - Subpart 1: Findings - Sets forth congressional findings relating to parental choice in education. Subpart 2: Parental Choice and Chapter 1 - Amends chapter 1 (Financial Assistance to Meet Special Educational Needs of Children) of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA chapter 1) to provide for chapter 1 services for children participating in educational choice programs. Requires the LEA to provide such services in the form of: (1) supplementary compensatory education services; or (2) if that is not feasible or efficient, payment to parents of a per-child share of the LEA's basic chapter 1 grant. Allows parents to use such funds only for: (1) purchase of supplementary compensatory education services that meet the child's special educational needs from any elementary or secondary school, or any other public or private agency, organization, or institution that the LEA designates; and/or (2) transportation costs related to the child's participation in the educational choice program. Excludes such payments from the gross income of parents for Federal income tax purposes. Allows an LEA to use chapter 1 funds for the additional transportation costs of children receiving chapter 1 services who are in an educational choice program. Requires that LEAs with educational choice programs to explain to parents of chapter 1 participating children: (1) the availability of compensatory education services under various available options; and (2) options available under the educational choice program and the chapter 1 program. Subpart 3: Assistance for Parental Choice Programs - Directs the Secretary to make one-year grants to LEAs that carry out educational choice programs. Authorizes appropriations. Makes an LEA eligible for such a grant if it: (1) will carry out an educational choice program during the year for which assistance is sought; and (2) carried out such a program during the preceding year. Defines an educational choice program, as one adopted by a State or an LEA under which: (1) parents select the school, including private schools, in which their children will be enrolled; and (2) sufficient financial support is provided to enable a significant number or percentage of parents to enroll their children in a variety of schools and educational programs, including private schools. Requires LEAs to use grant funds only for student educational services and parental involvement activities in addition to those that would otherwise be provided from State or local funds. Prohibits use of grant funds for LEA general administrative expenses. Subpart 4: Parental Choice Programs of National Significance - Directs the Secretary to make five-year grants to SEAs, LEAs, and other agencies, institutions, and organizations to conduct and demonstrate nationally significant model programs of educational choice. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, in any fiscal year for which funds are available to make new awards, to announce the approaches to educational choice that will be considered in the competition for such funding. Requires grant recipients to use such funds only for activities directly related to planning, implementing, operating and evaluating, and disseminating information about, the educational choice demonstration program. Allows such funds to be used to meet expenses of parents and children resulting from their participation in such program. Part F: National Assessment of Educational Progress - Amends the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) to extend through FY 1996 the authorization of appropriations for the National Center for Educational Statistics and its programs, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Requires the NAEP to collect representative data on a national and State basis for those States that choose to participate. Repeals a requirement for data collection on a regional basis. Requires the NAEP to collect and report data: (1) at least once every four years in the core academic areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and (2) annually on students at specified ages and in specified grade levels. (Current law varies such deadlines for the different academic subjects and sets a biennial deadline for the age and grade levels.) Removes a confidentiality restriction on NAEP information with respect to individual schools. Removes a prohibition against use of NAEP test items and data to rank, compare, or otherwise evaluate individual students, schools, or school districts. Requires States which choose to enter NAEP agreements to conduct such Assessment at the school level for all schools in the State sample and coordinate within the State, subject to a minimum State contribution of $100,000. Directs the Secretary to pay the State a certain amount for the costs of conducting such Assessment in excess of the minimum State contribution. Part G: National Commission on Time, Study, Learning, and Teaching - Establishes a National Education Commission on Time, Study, Learning, and Teaching (the Commission). Requires the Commission to examine the quality and adequacy of the study and learning time of U.S. elementary and secondary students in an era when World Class Standards of achievement need to be met, including issues regarding: (1) the length of the school day and year; (2) the extent and role of homework; (3) how time is currently being used for academic subjects (especially the five core subjects of English, mathematics, science, history, and geography); (4) year-round professional opportunities for teachers; and (5) the use of school facilities for extended learning programs. Directs the Commission, within one year after it concludes its first meeting, to subject a final report to the Congress and the President. Requires such report, in addition to the primary issues, to analyze and make recommendations about: (1) use of incentives for students to increase educational achievement in available instructional time; (2) how children spend time outside school; and (3) if appropriate, a model plan for adopting a longer academic day and year for U.S. elementary and secondary schools by the end of this decade, including mechanisms to assist in such transition. Terminates the Commission 90 days after it submits its final report. Authorizes appropriations. Part H: Regional Literacy Resource Centers - Amends the Adult Education Act to direct the Secretary to make grants or contracts for operation of regional literacy resource centers in appropriate regions. Makes eligible for such grants or contracts SEAs, LEAs, State literacy offices, volunteer-organizations, community-based, organizations, institutions of higher education, or other nonprofit entities. Provides that the Federal share of activity costs shall decline over a five-year period from a maximum of 80 percent to 60 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Part I: General Provisions - Sets forth definitions for this title. Makes specified provisions of Federal law permitting consolidation of grants to the Insular Areas inapplicable to funds received by such an area under this title. Title XVIII: Student Financial Assistance Improvements Act of 1992 - Student Financial Assistance Improvements Act of 1992 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to extend Pell Grant program authority through FY 1993. Revises requirements for the amount of Pell Grants. Sets the amount of an award to a student at the lesser of: (1) the specified maximum award less the expected family contribution; or (2) the percentage (based on family-income level) of the amount of the student's need for financial assistance (i.e. cost of attendance minus expected family contribution). Increases the maximum award amount to $3,700 for 1992-3 and the four succeeding award years. Sets forth a table of percentages of student need for award computation. Revises the period of eligibility for Pell Grants. Limits such period to the full-time equivalent of three academic years in the aggregate in the case of all undergraduate degree or certificate programs normally requiring two years or less. Specifies that longer eligibility periods for longer programs are cumulative and include periods for which the student received a Pell Grant under shorter programs. Repeals specified provisions for a separate need analysis formula for Pell grants. Extends the period for specified limitations on amounts of student loans covered by Federal insurance. Increases the annual and aggregate loan limits under the Stafford loan and the Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) programs. Requires lenders to offer Stafford loan borrowers the option of repaying such loans on a graduated repayment schedule under specified conditions. Eliminates a provision which allowed an institution to refuse to certify a student's eligibility for a loan, or allowed it to certify a lesser amount, under specified conditions. Revises loan deferment provisions. Retains deferment while the borrower is in specified courses of study. Replaces the various current categorical deferments with a hardship deferment of up to three years in the aggregate. Requires the lender to grant specified forbearance if the borrower is a Peace Corps or VISTA volunteer does not qualify for such hardship deferment. Revises provisions for Federal reinsurance coverage. Revises the period in which guaranty agencies must file reinsurance claims. Revises requirements for calculation and payment of such reinsurance. Requires a 60-day delayed disbursement of Stafford or SLS loans to first-year undergraduates at institutions with default rates of 30 percent or greater. (Retains the current 30-day delayed disbursement for first-year undergraduates at institutions with default rates less than 30 percent.) Revises provisions for eligibility limitations, suspensions, terminations, other hearing procedures, and fines for lenders or institutions that violate program requirements. Sets forth conflict-of-interest restrictions on guaranty agency officers and employers. Prohibits any guaranty agency from permitting any of its officers or employees, or any member of their immediate families, to have a direct financial interest in, or serve as an officer or employee of, any lender, secondary market, contractor, or servicer with which the guaranty agency does business. Includes financial information among the information the Secretary may reasonably require from a guaranty agency to carry out the student loan programs and protect the U.S. financial interest. Revises the administrative cost and collection retention allowances for guaranty agencies. Revises provisions for oversight of guaranty agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to require a guaranty agency to submit and implement a management plan if the ratio of its reserve funds to outstanding guarantees is less than a set level, or if its administrative or financial condition jeopardizes its continued ability to perform its responsibilities under its guaranty agreement. Authorizes the Secretary to terminate the guaranty agreement with any agency that fails to submit an acceptable management plan or fails to improve substantially its condition in accordance with such a plan. Authorizes the Secretary to assume guaranty agency functions of agencies whose agreements are terminated by the Secretary or themselves. Limits the Secretary's liability for any outstanding liabilities of a guaranty agency, the functions of which the Secretary has assumed, to the fair market value of assets assigned by the agency to the Secretary, minus any necessary liquidation or administrative costs. Requires State backing of designated guaranty agencies. Requires each State to guarantee, with its full faith and credit or the equivalent, all student loans guaranteed by the guaranty agency designated for that State for borrowers attending eligible institutions in that State. Provides that a State may elect to guarantee, in addition, student loans guaranteed by any other guarantee agency for borrowers who are attending eligible institutions in that State. Requires the State, if such a guaranty agency backed by the State is unable to discharge its insurance obligation, to be responsible for discharging them, as well as administrative costs associated with transferring the guaranty agency's operations to another entity. Directs the Secretary, if a State discharges such insurance obligations, to pay the State the amount the guaranty agency would otherwise have received as reimbursement. Directs the Secretary, unless a State demonstrates by January 1, 1994, that it is backing the designated guaranty agency, to assess institutions of higher education participating in the student loan program that are located in that State a fee based on the risk of financial loss to the Federal Government that the State would otherwise assume. Requires such fees to be deposited in the student loan insurance fund. Requires State to pay a share of default costs in specified circumstances. Allows a State to charge a fee to an institution of higher education in the State participating in the loan program, to an approved fee structure based on the institution's cohort default rate and the State's risk of loss under such requirement Eliminates the student loan program eligibility of foreign institutions (but not of study abroad that is part of the curriculum of U.S. institutions). Revises the definition of cohort default rate. Reduces the special allowance rates for holders of loans for which the cohort default rate exceeds 20 percent. Revises provisions for need analysis to apply them to all need-based student assistance programs, including Pell Grants (which currently have a separate need analysis system). Revises the definitions of cost of attendance and family contribution, as well as provisions for data elements used in determining expected family contribution. Revises the formula for calculation of the expected family contribution for a dependent student to eliminate references to the students' spouse. Allows application of any parents' negative available income: (1) to reduce the parents' income supplement amount from assets; and (2) if there is any negative amount remaining after that is reduced to zero, to increase the allowances against the dependent student's income. Revises the minimum dependent student contribution to be the greater of: (1) specified amounts that vary according to family total income; or (2) 70 percent of the student's total income, minus the adjustment to student income. Eliminates certain exceptions to the general need analysis calculation for dislocated workers and displaced homemakers. Revises the tables for determination of standard maintenance allowance, employment expense allowance, adjusted net worth of business and of farm, asset protection allowance, and parents' assessment from available income. Revises the asset protection allowance to provide for consideration of the average age of both parents. Revises provisions for family contribution for married or single independent students without dependents (including various revisions similar to those described for dependent students). Includes married, as well as unmarried, students under this category of independent students without dependents. Revises provisions for minimum student contribution under this category. Revises tables for determining various allowances and other factors. Revises provisions relating to the family contribution for married or single independent students with dependents (including provisions similar to those in other categories). Revises tables for determining various allowances and other factors. Eliminates certain restrictions on the Secretary's authority to prescribe regulations to carry out need analysis requirements. Revises provisions relating to development of revised tables of assessment rates for purposes of such need analysis. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations specifying situations in which the data elements considered in determining a student's expected family contribution may be modified to accommodate the special circumstances of the student. Provides a special rule for the determination of the net value of the principal place of residence. Makes ineligible for student assistance program participation for specified periods any institution whose cohort default rate equals or exceeds a specified threshold percentage. Revises provisions for proprietary institutions of higher education. Authorizes the Secretary, if a particular category of proprietary institution does not meet specified student assistance program requirements because there is no nationally recognized accrediting agency or association qualified to accredit such institutions, to: (1) appoint an advisory committee to recommend qualifying standards; and (2) determine whether the particular schools meet them. Provides for reduction of student assistance loan award maximums for short-term programs. Requires students, in order to remain eligible for assistance, to satisfy specified minimum academic achievement standards. Directs the Secretary to implement a system of verification of immigration status. Eliminates certain provisions for training in financial aid and student support services. Requires any institution participating in any student assistance program to have in effect a fair and equitable refund policy and to provide a written statement of it, with examples, to prospective students. Revises provisions for student assistance program participation agreements. Requires the institution to acknowledge the authority of the Secretary, guaranty agencies, accrediting agencies, and State licensing bodies to share with each other any information pertaining to the institution's eligibility to participate in such programs. Eliminates the requirement that hearings be on the record, with respect to program participation limitation, suspension, or termination procedures. Provides for data matching. Authorizes the Secretary to obtain from Federal or State agencies specified information relating to an individual for student loan collection purposes. Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into an agreement to provide prompt access for the Secretary to wage and unemployment compensation claims information and data maintained by or for the Department of Labor or State employment security agencies. Amends the Higher Education Technical Amendments of 1991 (Public Law 102-26) to make permanent the elimination of limitations on actions to collect defaulted student loans or grant overpayments. Revises the HEA definition of institution of higher education. Requires such institutions, in order to be eligible to participate in HEA programs, to comply with such minimum State licensing standards as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation and which the relevant State licensing body is to impose upon institutions it licenses. Revises the alternative accreditation process. Authorizes the Secretary, if a particular category of institutions is not accredited because no nationally recognized accrediting agency or association is qualified to do so, to appoint an advisory committee to: (1) recommend standards to qualify institutions in such category to participate in HEA programs; and (2) review whether particular institutions meet such standards. Includes as an institution of higher education for HEA title IV student assistance programs any institution that provides programs of at least six months (or 600 clock hours) that prepare students for gainful employment in recognized occupations, and that has been in existence for at least two years. Requires an institution, if it is accredited by more than one accrediting body, to designate, for HEA eligibility purposes, one such body as it primary accreditor, on either an institution-wide or program basis. Deems such an institution no longer accredited for purposes of HEA eligibility for a 24-month period if its accreditation is terminated for cause by the primary accreditor, or if it withdraws from such accreditation voluntarily under a show cause or suspension order, unless such accreditation is restored by the same accreditor during such 24-month period. Provides for sharing of institutional eligibility information by the Secretary, guaranty agencies, accrediting agencies, and State licensing bodies. Makes ineligible for any HEA assistance any individual who is in default on any loan made, insured, or guaranteed by the Federal Government, unless satisfactory repayment arrangements are made. Title XIX: National Energy Strategy Act - Subtitle A: Residential, Commercial, and Federal Energy Use - Part 1: Consumer and Commercial Products - Amends the Energy Policy Conservation Act to expand the list of commercial products covered by the Act. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for such products. Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from prescribing energy conservation standards for certain electric lights or commercial products listed in the Act. Part 2: Federal Energy Management - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to authorize Federal agency participation in private sector energy demand management or application of conservation measures to Federal buildings. Subtitle B: Natural Gas - Part I: Natural Gas Pipeline Regulatory Reform - Amends the Natural Gas Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to direct a natural-gas entity (pipeline) to interconnect physically with other facilities at the applicants expense, in order to receive natural gas from the other facilities for transportation in the pipeline. Declares that for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, a FERC certification of public convenience and necessity with respect to a natural gas facility is the only major Federal action requiring a detailed environmental impact statement. Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978: (1) to authorize an interstate pipeline to construct facilities incidental to transportation service upon 30 days notice to the affected State commission; and (2) require FERC to authorize any interstate pipeline to transport natural gas on behalf of any person. Amends the Natural Gas Act to declare that a mutually agreed-upon natural gas transportation rate between a natural-gas company and its customer is deemed just and reasonable, and in compliance with such Act. Sets forth expedited certification procedures for natural gas transportation and related facilities construction. Provides for the construction and operation of natural gas transportation facilities with an option not to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity (thus taking such facility out of the Act's jurisdiction). Authorizes FERC to issue an order finding that if a natural-gas company's market is competitive and its transportation or sales services charges are not unduly discriminatory such charges are not subject to its jurisdiction. Part 2: Natural Gas Import/Export Deregulation - States that neither FERC nor a State may prohibit or condition the importation or exportation of natural gas or treat exported or imported natural gas differently from any other natural gas while it is within the United States. Authorizes the President to: (1) waive any law relating to natural gas importation or exportation upon finding that the national interest requires it; or (2) specify when such natural gas importation or exportation law is considered satisfied if the appropriate Federal or State agency has not taken final action. Part 3: Structural Reform of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to abolish FERC and establish within the Department of Energy the Natural Gas and Electricity Administration to be headed by an Administrator appointed by the President. Transfers of the Secretary of Energy the functions of the Federal Power Commission and FERC. Sets forth rulemaking procedures for rates and charges with respect to natural gas and electricity. Subtitle C: Oil - Part I: Naval Petroleum Reserve Leasing - Naval Petroleum Reserve Leasing Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to lease Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1 (California) if it is not necessary for national defense purposes. Sets forth leasing and antitrust guidelines. Mandates the use of competitive leasing procedures, minimum royalty payments, and crude oil set asides for sale to small refiners by Reserve lessees. Authorizes the Secretary to take certain steps to arrange and conduct a leasing action. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire privately owned lands or physical improvements within a Naval Petroleum Reserve if a lease of Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1 cannot be arranged. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize the Secretary to store within the Strategic Petroleum Reserve a Defense Petroleum Inventory of petroleum products (in addition to any other acquisition and storage for such Reserve required by law). Directs the Secretary to obligate the United States share of funds available in the Naval Petroleum Reserve Lease Proceeds Special Account (created by this Act) for the acquisition of 10,000,000 barrels of crude oil for the Defense Petroleum Inventory. Declares that upon request of the Secretary of Defense: (1) crude oil acquired for or dedicated to the Defense Petroleum Inventory shall be drawn down and distributed by the Secretary of Energy for the Department of Defense for use, sale, or exchange; and (2) the Secretary of Energy shall replace in the Defense Petroleum Inventory crude oil drawn down on behalf of the Department of Defense. Requires the Department of Defense to reimburse the Department of Energy for services rendered under this Act. Establishes the Naval Petroleum Reserve Lease Proceeds Special Account in the Treasury to implement this Act. Funds such Special Account with amounts realized from the lease of any United States interest in Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1. Sets forth a payment scheme under which lease proceeds shall be used to make payments to the State of California. Declares that: (1) the authority to lease under this Act extends to specified sections within Naval Petroleum Reserve Numbered 1; and (2) this Act does not affect the withdrawal of lands provided for in certain school land grants. Part 2: Oil Pipeline Deregulation - Oil Pipeline Regulatory Reform Act - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to terminate FERC jurisdiction over oil and other pipelines except the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Authorizes the Attorney General to petition the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) for an adjudication of whether FERC rate regulation of an existing pipeline in any market is in the public interest. Prescribes adjudication guidelines. Provides that pipeline rates for service to markets which are not identified in a mandatory published adjudications list will no longer be subject to FERC regulatory jurisdiction. Prescribes adjudication guidelines under which the Secretary shall find that regulation of a pipeline is in the public interest only if it is demonstrated that such regulation is necessary to constrain the exercise of substantial market power in the supply and demand of products transported by the pipeline in that market. States that new pipelines shall not be subject to existing Commission regulatory jurisdiction or rate regulation, but shall be subject to common carrier regulation under such Act. States that Commission rate regulation shall be prospective only. Prohibits terminated Commission regulatory jurisdiction from reverting to any other Federal agency. Confers exclusive, original jurisdiction over any petition for judicial review upon the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Precludes from such judicial review any action of the Attorney General under this Act, including adjudication petitions. Outlines the parameters within which pipelines are required to operate as common carriers. Requires pipelines to file terms of carriage schedules (except carriage rates) with the Commission. Sets forth guidelines for maximum FERC rates on a market by market basis, subject to price cap regulation based on base rates and cumulative changes in a Competitive Pipeline Price Index. Precludes a pipeline from conditioning its services upon entering into other transactions or on taking or refraining from any action. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the results of this Act five years after the conclusion of all adjudications. Retains the applicability of antitrust laws to pipeline transportation of crude oil or refined oil products. Subtitle D: Electricity Generation and Use - Sets forth regulatory guidelines for exempt wholesale generators and qualifying facilities. Subtitle E: Nuclear Power - Part I: Licensing Reform - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide procedural guidelines for issuance by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of a combined construction and operating license. Mandates that such combined license applications include a State, local, or utility emergency plan. Requires the NRC to propose implementing regulations under this Act within one year of its enactment. Part 2: Nuclear Waste Management - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to declare that, for purposes of site characterization activities, the appropriate Federal agency shall administer the pertinent rules and regulations without regard to whether such administration has been or could be, delegated to a State or superseded by comparable State law. Declares State, local or tribal laws inapplicable to site characterization activities under this Act. Directs the Secretary to implement site characterization activities in spite of any refusal by either State, local or tribal authorities to act upon requested authorizations to proceed with related site characterization activities. Sets forth a 60-day deadline within which actions to contest the constitutionality of this Act must be brought. Prohibits a court from enjoining site characterization activities in such actions except as part of a final judgment. Subtitle F: Renewable Energy - Part I: PURPA Size Cap and Co-Firing Reform - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to direct FERC to prescribe rules requiring electric utilities to offer to purchase electric capacity from alternative power production facilities only through competitive acquisition. Makes alternative power production facilities eligible for exemptions from PURPA, the Federal Power Act, and State law if they meet certain requirements. Part 2: Hydroelectric Power Regulatory Reform - Amends the Federal Power Act to include as part of the hydroelectric power licensing procedure an applicant's plan concerning studies to be undertaken in connection with the licensing process, and a summary of the applicant's consultation activities with Federal and State agencies and Indian tribes. Sets forth guidelines for additional licensing procedures. Directs FERC to coordinate a single, consolidated licensing review (including review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) of a hydropower project license application that is subject to Federal, State, or Indian tribal review. Removes from FERC jurisdiction hydropower projects with installed capacities of five megawatts or less that have not received a license by the date of enactment of this Act. Subtitle G: Alternative Fuel - Part I: Alternative and Dual Fuel Vehicle Credits - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to eliminate limits on the credit toward complying with the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards available to manufacturers for the production of light duty alternative fuel vehicles and certain dual fuel vehicles. Part 2: Alternative Transportation Fuels - Sets forth acquisition and credit allocation guidelines for alternative fuel vehicles. Requires persons who own or otherwise control a fleet of motor vehicles of different types and sizes to make a specified percentage of annual vehicle acquisitions alternative fuel vehicles. Prescribes civil and administrative penalties for noncompliance with this Act. Subtitle H: Innovation and Technology Transfer - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to allow each Federal agency to: (1) secure copyright on behalf of the United States in any computer software prepared in whole or in part by U.S. employees under a cooperative research and development agreement or other authority, notwithstanding provisions of Federal copyright law; and (2) grant in advance to a collaborating party licenses or assignments for the copyrights, or options thereto, retaining specified rights. Adds references to software and its author to provisions governing the distribution of royalties received by Federal agencies. Subtitle I: Tax Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: extend the time period for the energy investment tax credit is from June 30, 1992 to December 31, 1993; and (2) make permanent the research activities tax credit. Mandates that certain oil and gas revenues be deposited into: (1) the miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury; and (2) a special Treasury fund for immediate availability without fiscal year limitation to the State of Alaska. Title XX: Arctic Coastal Plain Competitive Oil and Gas Leasing Act - Subtitle A: Short Title and Statement of Purpose - Arctic Coastal Plain Competitive Oil and Gas Leasing Act - Declares the purpose of this Act is to authorize competitive oil and gas leasing and development on the Coastal Plain in manner consistent with environmental concerns and the interests of the area's subsistence users. Subtitle B: Definitions - Sets forth definitions used in this Act. Subtitle C: Coastal Plain Competitive Leasing Program - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain. Declares that this Act is the Secretary's sole legislative authority for authorizing and conducting such a program (whether competitive or noncompetitive). Requires the Secretary to issue regulations encompassing environmental protection of the Coastal Plain. Declares that the Department of the Interior's Legislative Environmental Impact statement is compatible and consistent with the major purposes and policies of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and therefore no further environmental analysis or documentation is required for the issuance of regulations. Prescribes procedural guidelines for land lease sales on the Coastal Plain, and for exploration, development and production plans. Sets forth bonding requirements, and lease suspension and cancellation guidelines. Directs the Secretary to require lessees to unite with each other in collectively adopting and operating under a unit plan of development, including the construction of a common carrier pipeline to transport oil and gas to the exterior boundary of the Coastal Plan. Requires lessees and permittees to provide the Secretary with certain geological and geophysical data obtained from exploration or development activities. Sets forth remedies and penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress about the leasing program. Repeals certain limitations applicable to subsurface interests owned by certain Alaskan corporations. Provides for expedited judicial consideration of any claims for relief by them. Subtitle D: Coastal Plain Environmental Protection - Directs the Secretary to promulgate environmental protection regulations which ensure that Coastal Plain activities will avoid significant adverse effects on fish and wildlife, their habitat, and the environment. Requires site-specific assessment and mitigation. Designates the Sadlerochit Spring Special Area as a special area for wildlife conservation and environmental protection. Authorizes the Secretary to exclude such area from leasing and to designate other Coastal Plain areas as special areas requiring protection. Directs the Secretary to prepare and periodically update a facilities construction and siting plan for oil and gas development and transportation. Authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain in a manner that does not adversely affect fish, wildlife, and the environment. Requires the Secretary to conduct additional studies to monitor the human, marine, and coastal environments. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations providing for bi-annual facility inspections for compliance with environmental and safety regulations. Subtitle E: Land Reclamation and Reclamation Liability Fund - Makes leaseholders fully responsible and liable for land reclamation within the Coastal Plan and other Federal lands adversely affected by lease activities. Requires establishment of the Coastal Plan Liability and Reclamation Fund within six months of a commercial discovery within the Coastal Plain. Subtitle F: Disposition of Oil and Gas Revenues - Prescribes revenue collection and expenditure procedures. Mandates that oil and gas revenues be deposited into the Treasury. Title XXI: Coastal Communities Impact Assistance Act of 1992 - Coastal Communities Impact Assistance Act of 1992 - Establishes the Coastal Communities Impact Assistance Fund to provide impact assistance to eligible coastal States and counties for infrastructure, services, competing uses, and natural resources from revenues derived from proximate Outer Continental Shelf natural gas and oil production activities. Title XXII: Alaska Power Administration Sale Authorization Act - Alaska Power Administration Sale Authorization Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to sell: (1) the Snettisham Hydroelectric Project to the State of Alaska Power Authority; and (2) the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project to the Municipality of Anchorage. Directs the Secretary to deposit sale proceeds into the miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury. Declares that both Projects shall continue to be exempt from Federal Power Act requirements (subject to a certain Memorandum of Agreement). Grants the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska jurisdiction to review and enforce such Memorandum, (including the remedy of specific performance). Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) issue rights-of-way with respect to certain Eklutna lands to the Alaska Power Administration for subsequent reassignment to the Eklutna Purchasers (SIC); and (2) convey to the State of Alaska (with respect to certain Snettisham lands) improved lands under certain statutory selection entitlements. Title XXIII: Access to Justice Act of 1992 - Access to Justice Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that, in determining whether a matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $50,000 for purposes of Federal diversity of citizenship jurisdiction, the amount of damages for pain and suffering or mental anguish, punitive or exemplary damages, and attorneys' fees or costs shall not be included. Requires that on February 1 of each year the threshold amount for diversity jurisdiction (currently, $50,000) be adjusted to the nearest thousand dollars to reflect change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, United States City Average, All Items, under its current official reference based as designated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor (CPI-U). Entitles the prevailing party in a diversity action to attorneys fees only to the extent that such party prevails on any position or claim advanced during the litigation. Specifies that the sum of entitled attorneys' fees shall be paid by the nonprevailing party but shall not exceed the attorneys' fees of the nonprevailing party with regard to such position or claim; and that, if the nonprevailing party with receives services under a contingent fee agreement, the sum of the entitled attorneys' fees shall not exceed the reasonable value of such services. Requires counsel of record in any such action to maintain accurate, complete records of hours worked on the matter regardless of the fee arrangement with his client. Authorizes the court to limit fees recovered if it finds special circumstances that make payment of such fees unjust. Makes provisions of this Act (with respect to attorneys' fees in diversity cases) inapplicable to actions removed from State court or to the United States or any State, agency of the United States or any State, or any official, officer, or employee of a Federal or State agency. Amends the Equal Access to Justice Act to bar the award of attorney fees in excess of $75 per hour unless the court determines that an increase in the cost of living, as reflected by the change in the CPI-U (currently, unless the court determines that such an increase, or a special factor, such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys for the proceedings involved) justifies a higher fee. Sets forth provisions with respect to the calculation of the cost of living adjustment in such cases. Amends the Federal judicial code to require a claimant, at least 30 days before filing suit, to transmit written notice to the intended defendant or defendants: (1) of the specific claims involved, including the amount of actual damages and expenses incurred and to be incurred; and (2) at an address reasonably calculated to provide actual notice to each such party. Requires that a certificate of service evidencing compliance with such provision be filed with the court at the commencement of the action. Provides for a 30-day extension of any applicable statute of limitations (SL), in the event that such SL would expire during the period of such notice. Makes the requirements of this provision inapplicable under specified circumstances, such as in bankruptcy proceedings and where the defendant (or the assets that are the subject of the action or would satisfy the judgement) is subject to flight. Specifies that in the event that the district court finds that such requirements have not been fulfilled by the claimant, and such defect is asserted by the defendant within 60 days of service of the summons or complaint upon such defendant, the claim shall be dismissed without prejudice and the costs of such action, including attorneys fees, shall be imposed upon the claimant. Permits the claimant, under such circumstances, to refile such claim within 60 days after dismissal regardless of any statutory limitations period if, during the 60 days after dismissal, notice is effected as provided by this Act, and the original action was timely filed. Authorizes the United States, except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, to enter into an agreement which provides that attorneys fees may be awarded against the United States or any other party to the litigation: (1) where the United States commenced the suit; (2) in civil litigation involving disputes pursuant to the Contract Disputes Act of 1978; or (3) where the United States and another party have agreed to use outcome-determinative mediation, subject to specified requirements. Sets forth further requirements with respect to the award of attorneys' fees, including the handling of such awards received by Federal agencies. Directs: (1) the chief judge of each Federal judicial circuit (other than the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit) to designate one district within the circuit to be a pilot Multi-Door Courthouse (MDC) district; and (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to designate the U.S. Claims Court to be a pilot MDC. Specifies that such designation, and the program established by this provision, shall terminate at the expiration of a three-year period following such designation, unless renewed by an Act of the Congress. Requires every court which has been designated as a MDC, within six months, to establish an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) plan, including: (1) procedures for limited discovery; (2) confidentiality of proceedings as to possible subsequent pretrial and trial actions; and (3) the selection, use, and payment of nonjudicial personnel who may be selected to conduct ADR procedures. Specifies that such plan shall also establish standards for determining which cases are appropriate for ADR, considering such factors as whether factual issues predominate over legal issues, whether the case involves complex or novel legal issues requiring judicial action, and any other factors the court considers relevant. Requires that each plan: (1) provide that each Federal judge or, in a case assigned to a magistrate judge, magistrate judge in a MDC conduct a conference with counsel within 120 days after a complaint is filed to review nonbinding, voluntary ADR procedures that may be used in lieu of litigation to resolve the claims in controversy; and (2) authorize the parties, if they agree, to utilize nonbinding ADR procedures that may be used in lieu of litigation to resolve the claims in controversy, such as early neutral evaluation, traditional mediation, outcome-determinative mediation, minitrials, summary jury trials, and arbitration. Sets forth additional plan requirements. Authorizes: (1) the district courts, in carrying out their plans, to use the volunteer services of nonjudicial personnel to conduct ADR procedures; and (2) the courts to establish and pay, subject to limits set by the Judicial Conference of the United States, the amount of compensation, if any, that each neutral shall receive for services rendered in each case. Authorizes the Chief Justice of the United States to designate and assign temporarily a district judge of one circuit for service in another circuit, either in a district court or court of appeals, whenever the business of that court so requires (under current law, upon presentation of a certificate of necessity by the chief judge or circuit justice of the circuit wherein the need arises). Includes among the duties of the Director of the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts to secure information as the courts' need for temporary judicial resources to ease overcrowded dockets (including information on delays being encountered in the maintenance of civil suits) and prepare and transmit annually to the Chief Justice, the chief judges of the circuits, the Congress, and the Attorney General, statistical data, reports, and recommendations summarizing the results of this inquiry. Provides that: (1) no State judicial officer shall be held liable for any costs, including attorneys' fees, in any proceeding in vindication of civil rights brought against such officer for an act or omission taken in an official capacity (act); and (2) in any civil action for deprivation of rights brought against a judicial officer for such an act committed in such officer's official capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. Amends the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act to provide that, in actions brought by any adult convicted of a crime confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility, the court shall (under current law, if the court believes that such a requirement would be appropriate and in the interests of justice) continue such case for a period not to exceed 180 (currently, 90) days in order to require exhaustion of remedies. Requires the Attorney General, upon request of a State or local corrections agency, to provide such agency with technical advice and assistance in establishing plain, speedy, and effective administrative remedies for inmate grievances. Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize the court, with regard, to proceedings in forma pauperis, to dismiss the case if satisfied that the action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Directs the Board of the Federal Judicial Center to study and determine ways in which case and docket management (including ADR) techniques may be applied to improve the cost-effectiveness of litigation and to eliminate unjustified expense and delay, and include in the annual report of the activities of the Center details of the results of the studies and determinations made pursuant to this provision. Provides that a court en banc shall consist of all circuit judges in regular service (currently, or such number as may be prescribed in accordance with P.L. 95-486 (regarding appointments of district and circuit judges)), with exceptions. Repeals a provision of P.L. 95-486 which authorizes any court of appeals having more than 15 active judges to perform its en banc function by such number of members of its en banc courts as may be prescribed by rule of the court of appeals. Title XXIV: Health Care Liability Reform and Quality of Care Improvement Act - Health Care Liability Reform and Quality of Care Improvement Act of 1992 - Subtitle A: Findings and Purpose - Sets forth: (1) findings regarding this title and (2) the purpose of this title. Subtitle B: Health Care Liability Reforms - Requires, in order to be eligible to participate in the incentive program provided for in this subtitle, that States have in effect the health care liability reforms set forth in this subtitle. Requires, in any health care liability action, the liability of each defendant for non-economic damages to be several and not joint, with each defendant liable only for the proportion of that defendant's fault and a separate judgment against that defendant in that amount. Prohibits awarding non-economic damages over a certain dollar amount in any health care liability action, subject to waiver. Reduces the total damages received by a plaintiff by the amount of any collateral source benefits. Allows: (1) future economic damage awards to be paid periodically based on when the damages are likely to occur or at the time the damages accrue; and (2) in certain circumstances, the court to require the health care provider to purchase an annuity or fund a reversionary trust to make such periodic payments. Prohibits reopening a judgment awarding periodic payments to contest, amend, or modify the schedule or amount in the absence of fraud or any ground permitting relief after entry of a final judgment. Declares it U.S. policy to encourage alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Requires a State to establish at least one ADR mechanism. Requires a State to: (1) cooperate with Federal research efforts regarding patient outcomes, clinical effectiveness, and clinical practice guidelines; (2) collect, analyze, and supply the Secretary of Health and Human Services with information regarding the performance of State medical boards; and (3) impose continuing education requirements on a disciplined physician. Allows alternatives to these requirements regarding medical boards and continuing education if the Secretary finds the alternatives at least as effective in reducing the incidence of negligence as compliance with the requirements. Allows States three years from the adoption of this title to enact, adopt, or otherwise comply with the requirements of this subtitle. Requires withholding two percent of payments to States computed under specified provisions of title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act and one percent of payments to hospitals computed under specified provisions of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and redistribution of the withheld funds to those States and hospitals which have complied with the provisions of this subtitle. Allows waiver of the requirements of this title for any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project which is likely to assist in promoting the objectives of this title. Subtitle C: Federal Implementation of Health Care Liability Reforms - Amends Federal law to prohibit, in a health care liability action, finding the United States jointly and severally liable for non-economic damages. Allows liability only for those non-economic damages directly attributable to its pro rata share of fault. Reduces damages paid by the United States by the amount of any collateral source benefits. Prohibits awarding non-economic damages, in an action against the United States, over a certain dollar amount. Requires, at the request of the United States when future economic damages are awarded in excess of a specified amount, an order that such damages be paid by periodic payments based on when the damages are likely to occur. Allows the United States, in such cases, to pay the judgment periodically or purchase an annuity or fund a reversionary trust. Prohibits reopening the judgment to contest, amend, or modify the schedule or amount in the absence of fraud or any ground permitting relief after entry of a final judgment. Subtitle D: Construction of Provisions - Provides for construction of this title, severability, and the effective date of this title. Title XXV: Product Liability Fairness Act - Subtitle A - Product Liability Fairness Act - Declares that this title governs any product liability action brought against a manufacturer or product seller, on any theory, for harm caused by a product. States that a civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for loss or damage to a product itself or commercial loss shall be governed by applicable commercial or contract law. Supersedes any inconsistent State law regarding recovery in such actions. Lists specific laws not superseded, including: (1) defense of sovereign immunity asserted by any State or by the United States; (2) any Federal law (except the Federal Employees Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act); (3) the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976; (4) State choice-of-law rules; (5) the right of any court to transfer venue or to apply the law of a foreign nation or to dismiss a claim of a foreign nation or citizen on the ground of inconvenient forum; and (6) any statutory or common law cause of action, including an action to abate a nuisance, that authorizes a State or person to institute an action for civil damages or civil penalties, clean up costs, injunctions, restitution, cost recovery, punitive damages, or any other form of relief from contamination or pollution of the environment or the threat of it. Declares that U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over any civil action under this title, based on specified provisions of Federal law relating to district court jurisdiction. Declares that, if any provision of this title would shorten the period during which a manufacturer or seller would otherwise be exposed to liability, the claimant may, notwithstanding that period, bring any civil action under this title within one year after the effective date of this title. Subtitle B - Allows any claimant to bring a civil action for damages against a person for harm caused by a product under applicable State law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Sets forth expedited settlement measures, including: (1) an option to include an offer of settlement, for a specific dollar amount, by the plaintiff in the complaint and by the defendant in a responsive pleading; and (2) awarding attorney's fees and costs, in certain circumstances, to the prevailing party if the other party does not accept the settlement offer. Sets forth alternative dispute resolution procedures, including: (1) an option, in lieu of or in addition to a settlement offer, for a claimant or a defendant to offer to proceed under any voluntary alternative dispute resolution procedure established or recognized under the law of the State in which the action is brought or maintained; and (2) awarding of attorney's fees and costs to the offering party if the court determines that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable or not in good faith. Creates a rebuttable presumption that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable, or not in good faith, if a verdict is rendered in favor of the offeror. Subtitle C - Allows a person seeking to recover for harm caused by a product to bring a civil action against the manufacturer or seller under applicable State or Federal law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Establishes a standard of product seller liability for proximate causes of harm, established by a preponderance of the evidence, which fall under the categories of negligence or express warranty. Allows the trier of facts, in a negligence action, to consider the conduct of the seller with respect to: (1) the construction, inspection, or condition of the product; and (2) failure to pass on warnings or instructions from the manufacturer. Deems the seller not liable for failure to provide warnings or instructions unless the claimant establishes that the seller failed to: (1) provide warnings or instructions received while the product was in the seller's possession and control; or (2) make reasonable efforts to provide users with warnings and instructions which it received after the product left its possession and control. Deems a seller not liable except for breach of warranty where there was no opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which would or should, in the exercise of reasonable care, have revealed the aspect which allegedly caused the harm. Declares that the seller shall be treated as the manufacturer and be liable for harm caused by a product as if it were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process in any State in which the action might have been brought; or (2) the court determines that the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows punitive damages, if otherwise permitted by applicable law, to be awarded in any civil action under this subtitle to any claimant who establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the result of conduct manifesting a manufacturer's or product seller's conscious, flagrant indifference to the safety of those persons who might be harmed by a product. Declares that a failure to exercise reasonable care in choosing among alternative product designs, formulations, instructions, or warnings is not of itself such conduct. Prohibits awarding punitive damages in the absence of a compensatory award, subject to exception. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller of a drug or medical device where: (1) the drug or device was subject to pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (2) the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective under conditions established by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer of an aircraft where: (1) the aircraft was subject to pre-market certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and (2) the manufacturer complied, after delivery, with FAA requirements and obligations with respect to continuing airworthiness. Provides for separate proceedings, if requested by the manufacturer or seller, with regard to punitive damages. Lists factors the trier of fact is allowed to consider in determining the amount of punitive damages. Bars any civil action under this subtitle: (1) unless filed within two years after the claimant discovered or should have discovered the harm and its cause, subject to exception; and (2) if the product involved is a capital good that is alleged to have caused harm which is not a toxic harm unless filed within twenty-five years after delivery of the product, provided the claimant has received or would be eligible for State or Federal workers' compensation. Excludes a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or railroad used primarily to transport passengers for hire from these time limitations. States that nothing in these provisions affects the right of any person who is subject to liability under this title to obtain contribution or indemnity from any other person who is responsible for the harm. Requires reduction in the damages awarded by the sum of all State or Federal workers' compensation benefits to which the employee is or would be entitled. Requires a claimant in a civil action under this subtitle who is or may be eligible to receive State or Federal workers' compensation to notify the claimant's employer of the civil action. Requires an action to be stayed, at the sole discretion of the claimant, until a final determination is made on the amount payable as workers' compensation benefits. Declares that, unless the manufacturer or seller has expressly agreed to indemnify or hold an employer harmless, neither the employer nor the workers' compensation insurance carrier shall have a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery, except if the claimant's harm was not in any way caused by the fault of the claimant's employer or co-employees. Allows the employer or workers' compensation insurer to intervene in the action to prove that fact. Prohibits a third party tortfeasor, where workers' compensation is involved, from maintaining any action for implied indemnity or contribution against the employer, any coemployee, or the exclusive representative of the injured person. Prohibits, for a person who is or would have been entitled to receive workers' compensation, any other action, unless a State or Federal workers' compensation law permits recovery based on a claim of an intentional tort. Makes these provisions inapplicable and declares that applicable State law shall control if the employer or the workers' compensation insurer asserts a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Declares that, in any product liability action, the liability of each defendant for noneconomic damages shall be several and not joint. Requires the trier of fact to determine the proportion of responsibility of each party for the claimant's harm. Establishes a complete defense, in any civil action under this title in which all defendants are manufacturers or sellers, that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol or any drug and that, as a result, the claimant was more than 50 percent responsible for the event which resulted in the harm. Defines "drug" to mean any non-over-the-counter drug which has not been prescribed by a physician. Title XXVI: Civil Liberties Act Amendments of 1992 - Civil Liberties Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 to increase the authorization of appropriations to the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. Includes non-Japanese spouses and parents who were interned with their spouses or children during World War II in the definition of the term "of Japanese ancestry." Modifies requirements regarding payments made in the case of deceased persons. Regulates judicial review of denial of compensation. Alters the maximum termination date for the Fund. Removes provisions requiring any refused payment to remain in the Fund. Removes provisions establishing and generally providing for the Fund's Board of Directors. Title XXVII: Federal Credit and Debt Management Act of 1992 - Federal Credit and Debt Management Act of 1992 - Amends Federal law to provide that for certain collections procedures "a person" includes an individual and a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, non-profit organization, or other form of business association. Requires the head of an executive or legislative agency to take all appropriate and cost-effective actions to collect aggressively all claims of the U.S. Government. Expands agency debt-collection authorities. Prohibits any person from obtaining any Federal financial assistance in the form of a loan (except for a Commodity Credit Corporation price support loan) or loan guarantee if such person has an outstanding debt with an executive agency which is in a delinquent status. Allows the agency head to waive such prohibition. Requires persons doing business with the Federal Government in any loan program, as grant recipients, insurance or license recipients, or contractors to furnish their taxpayer identifying number. Requires agency disclosure on the use of such number to include the intent to use it for purposes of collecting or reporting on delinquent amounts arising out of the persons' relationship with the Federal Government. Sets forth requirements for the head of each Federal agency guaranteeing or insuring loans with respect to program management. Requires the charge of a late fee, in addition to scheduled principal and interest, on claims that are in delinquent status. Requires the assessment, in addition to the late fee, of any amounts necessary to cover the charges levied by another agency or private collector for collecting delinquent claims through Federal salary offset, tax refund offset, private debt collection contractors, or other such explicit fees or charges. Authorizes agencies to retain one-half of collected fees to be used for specified purposes. Sets forth requirements for agency disclosures of information to credit reporting agencies. Removes restrictions on legal fees charged for contracts for collection services in cases of claims of indebtedness owed to the United States. Title XXVIII: Reduce Certain Commodity Credit Corporation Subsidies of Those with Off-Farm Income of $100,000 or More - Prohibits specified Commodity Credit Corporation payments to persons with off-farm adjusted gross income of $100,000 or more. Reduces payments to an entity in proportion to the ownership interest of any such person. Title XXIX: Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation Repayment Act of 1992 - Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation Repayment Act of 1992 - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to require each Farm Credit System (FCS) bank to make annual payments to the Financial Assistance Corporation (Corporation) in order to maintain specified capital levels. Requires the Corporation (currently each FCS institution) to repay Treasury-paid interest. Title XXX: Recover Costs of Carrying Out Federal Marketing Agreements and Orders - Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 to provide for Federal marketing order cost recovery through handler fees. Title XXXI: Eliminate Provisions for Permanent Annual Appropriations to Support Land Grant Universities - Amends Federal law (the "Second Morrill Act") to replace permanent annual appropriation provisions with permanent annual authorization of appropriation provisions with regard to land grant university funding. Title XXXII: Power Marketing Administration Timely Payment Act - Power Marketing Administration Timely Payment Act - Mandates that each power marketing administration provide for timely repayment to the Treasury of principal and interest for power investments. Prescribes repayment guidelines. Title XXXIII: Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1992 - Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), at least semiannually, to conduct joint spectrum planning meetings with respect to : (1) future spectrum needs; (2) the spectrum allocations necessary to accommodate those needs; and (3) actions necessary to promote the efficient use of the spectrum. Directs the Secretary and the Chairman to report annually to the President on the joint spectrum planning meetings and any resulting recommendations. Directs the Secretary to submit to the President a report identifying bands of frequencies that: (1) are allocated on a primary basis for Federal Government use and eligible for licensing pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act); (2) are not required for the present or identifiable future needs of the Government; (3) can feasibly be made available during the next fifteen years for use under the Act for non-Government users; (4) will not result in excessive losses to the Government in relation to benefits that may be obtained through non-Government users; and (5) are likely to have significant value for non-Government users under the Act. Sets forth criteria for identifying, and recommending for reassignment, such frequencies. Requires the Secretary to submit to the President a report which makes a preliminary identification of reallocable bands of frequencies. Directs the Secretary to convene a private sector advisory committee to: (1) revises the bands of frequencies identified in the preliminary report; (2) advise the Secretary with respect to the bands of frequencies which should be included in the final report; (3) receive public comment on the reports; and (4) prepare and submit such report. Directs the advisory committee to submit to the Secretary, the FCC, and specified congressional committees recommendations for the reform of the process of allocating the electromagnetic spectrum between Federal and non-Federal use. Directs the Secretary, as part of the final report, include a time-table for the effective dates by which the President shall, within 15 years, withdraw or limit assignments on frequencies specified in the report. Directs the President, after receiving the final report from the Secretary, to: (1) withdraw or limit the assignment to a Government station of any frequency which such report recommends for reallocation; (2) withdraw or limit the assignment to a Government station of any frequency which such report recommends to be reallocated or made available for mixed use; (3) assign or reassign other frequencies to Government stations as necessary to adjust to such withdrawal or limitation of assignments; and (4) publish in the Federal Register a notice and description of all such actions taken. Authorizes the President to substitute alternative frequencies in the interest of national security, important Governmental needs, public health or safety, or Federal financial considerations. Provides for the reimbursement to non-Government licensees, or non-Government entities operating on behalf of a Government licensee, for the incremental costs directly attributable to the loss of the use of the frequency reassigned or otherwise limited under this Act. Authorizes appropriations to provide such reimbursements. Directs the FCC, at specified intervals, to: (1) complete a public notice and comment proceeding regarding the allocation of the initial spectrum to be reassigned, and to formulate a plan to assign such spectrum pursuant to competitive bidding procedures; and (2) complete a public complete notice and comment proceeding, and prepare and report to the President a plan for the distribution under the Act, of the frequency bands reallocated pursuant to this Act. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to officially authorize the FCC to assign the frequencies reallocated from Government to non-Government use under this Act. Makes certain frequency reassignments available only to the extent provided in appropriations Act. Authorizes the President to reclaim reassigned frequencies for reassignment to Government stations. Sets forth procedures for reclaiming frequencies. Directs the FCC to use competitive bidding procedures during spectrum reallocation pursuant to this Act. Outlines other procedures to be followed by the FCC with regard to permits and licenses relating to such frequency reallocation awards. Outlines specified instances when competitive bidding procedures shall not be required. Title XXXIV: Enterprise for the Americas Act of 1992 - Enterprise for the Americas Initiative Act of 1991 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to contribute a grant to the Enterprise for the Americas Investment Fund to be administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Fund to: (1) provide grants to advance market-oriented policy initiatives and reforms to encourage investment in Latin America and the Caribbean; and (2) finance technical assistance for privatizing government-owned industries, enterprise development and business infrastructure, and worker training and education programs. Permits the Secretary to seek contributions to the Fund from other countries. Establishes in the Department of the Treasury the Enterprise for the Americas Facility to support improvement in the lives of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean through market-oriented reforms and economic growth with actions to promote debt reduction, investment reforms, trade liberalization, and community based conservation and sustainable use of the environment. Makes eligible for Facility benefits Latin American or Caribbean countries that: (1) have in effect, received approval for, or are making progress toward, specified International Monetary Fund arrangements and structural or sectoral adjustment loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the International Development Association; (2) have put in place major investment reforms in conjunction with an IDB loan or are implementing or making progress toward an open investment regime; and (3) have agreed with commercial bank lenders on a financing program for debt or debt service reduction. Authorizes the President to reduce the amount owed to the United States (as a result of concessional loans made pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or predecessor foreign economic assistance legislation) by any country eligible for Facility benefits. Declares that this title may be exercised notwithstanding provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the International Development and Food Assistance Act of 1975 concerning repayments of loans outstanding after September 19, 1966, and the settlement of debts owed to the United States. Sets forth requirements with respect to the exchange of obligations, repayment of principal, and interest on new obligations issued by beneficiary countries. Requires beneficiary countries that enter into Environmental Framework Agreements to establish Enterprise for the Americas Environmental Funds. Authorizes the President to enter into Environmental Framework Agreements concerning the operation and use of Environmental Funds with countries eligible for Facility benefits. Directs administering bodies in each beneficiary country to administer the Environmental Funds and to make grants for environmental activities. Requires grants from the Funds to be used for activities that link the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources with local community development. Subjects grants of more than $100,000 to veto by the U.S. Government or the government of the beneficiary country. Establishes an Environment for the Americas Board to: (1) advise the Secretary on the negotiations of Environmental Framework Agreements; (2) ensure that a suitable administering body is identified for each Environmental Fund; and (3) review the programs, operations, and fiscal audits of administering bodies. Declares that the President should: (1) encourage other official creditors of beneficiary countries whose debt is reduced under this Act to provide debt reduction to such countries; and (2) ensure that Environmental Funds are able to receive donations from private and public entities and private creditors of beneficiary countries. Authorizes the President to: (1) sell to any eligible purchaser any loan of an eligible country made pursuant to the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945; (2) sell to any eligible purchaser any asset acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation in connection with export sales to an eligible country or specified export credit guarantee programs; and (3) reduce or cancel any loans or assets made or acquired before 1991 upon receipt of payment from an eligible purchaser. Permits loans or assets to be sold only to purchasers who present plans to the President for using such loans or assets to engage in debt-for-equity, debt-for-development, or debt-for-nature swaps. Authorizes loans or assets to be reduced or canceled only for purposes of facilitating such swaps. Directs the President to report annually to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate on the Facility. Title XXXV: Repeal the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to terminate worker trade adjustment assistance under the Act's trade adjustment assistance program after September 30, 1992. Title XXXVI: VA Medical Care Cost Recovery Amendment of 1992 - Medical Care Cost Recovery Amendment of 1992 - Amends Federal provisions which authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recover from a third party insurer the cost of care and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to a veteran for a non-service-connected disability for which such third party would otherwise have been responsible to provide to eliminate the October 1, 1993, delimiting date by which such care and services must have been received in ordered to be recovered by the Department, in the case of a veteran who also has a service-connected disability and is entitled to care under a health-plan contract. Title XXXVII: Veterans' Home Loan Improvement Act of 1992 - Veterans' Home Loan Improvement Act of 1992 - Revises the loan fee required to be paid by a veteran to the Department of Veterans Affairs in the case of a loan made, guaranteed, or insured by the Department to set such fee at the following percentages of the total amount of the loan: (1) two percent, in the case of loans made for the purchase of manufactured homes and lots; and (2) two and one-half percent, in the case of a veteran who has previously obtained a guaranteed loan, without respect to the loan purpose or the amount of down payment. Waives the two and one-half percent fee in some instances. Waives a specified percentage increase in the amount of such loan fee for loans closed between November 1, 1990, and September 30, 1991. Reduces from 95 to 90 percent of the total purchase price of the property securing the loan the amount which will be guaranteed by the Department in the case of loans made for the purchase of manufactured homes and lots. Makes such guaranteed loan amount also 90 percent of the reasonable value of the dwelling or farm residence in the case of a veteran who has previously obtained a guaranteed loan without respect to the loan purpose or the amount of down payment. Waives the later 90-percent limitation in some instances. Title XXXVIII: Permanent Extension of Certain Veterans-Related Income Verification and Pension Provisions in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of Veterans to permanently (currently ends September 30, 1992) utilize Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration data for income verification purposes. Makes permanent (also currently expires on such date) the authority to obtain such information from the Secretaries of the Treasury or Health and Human Services. Makes permanent (currently expires on September 30, 1992) the $90 maximum monthly pension authorized for a veteran having neither spouse nor child and being furnished domiciliary care by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Title XXXIX: Target Entitlement for Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits to Veterans with Service-Connected Disabilities Rated 30 Percent or More; and Adjust Military Pay Reduction for Montgomery GI Bill Participants - Entitles a veteran to a veterans' rehabilitation program if such veteran has a service-connected disability rated at 30 (currently, 20) percent or more and which was incurred in service after September 16, 1940. Provides that certain reductions from basic pay taken to allow for coverage of basic educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill shall include only those individuals who first entered onto active duty before October 1, 1992 (currently, such reduction applies to all service members). Makes identical changes with regard to entitlement for reserve personnel and for certain active-duty personnel enrolling in the basic education assistance program before being involuntarily separated from service. Title XL - Retirement Modification Act of 1992 - Retirement Modification Act of 1992 - Increases Federal employee contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System by one percent on January 1, 1993, and by an additional one percent on January 1, 1994. Repeals provisions under the Civil Service Retirement System, Federal Employees' Retirement System, Foreign Service Act of 1980, and Central Intelligence Agency Retirement Act of 1964 for Certain Employees providing for alternative forms of annuities. Title XLI: Conform the Definition of Compensation Under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act to That Under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to conform the definition of employee compensation under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act and the Railroad Retirement Act to that under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Title XLII - Extend the Duration of the Patent and Trademark Office User Fee Surcharge Through 1997 - Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to extend from 1995 to 1997 the authority of the Patent and Trademark Office to impose user fee surcharges. Sets forth permissible surcharge revisions for FY 1996 and 1997. Title XLIII: Expanding Existing Army Corps of Engineers User Fees for Use of Developed Recreation Sites - Amends the Flood Control Act of 1968 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to charge fees for use of developed recreation sites and facilities, including, but not limited to, campsites, swimming beaches, and boat launching ramps. (Current law prohibits fees for such sites and facilities.) Prohibits the Secretary from charging fees for use or provision of drinking water, wayside exhibits, general purpose roads, overlook sites, toilet facilities, or general visitor information. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to repeal the requirement that at lakes or reservoirs under jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers where camping is permitted, at least one primitive campground be provided free of charge. (Thus permitting user fees for all such campsites and facilities. Title XLIV - Extend Authority to Collect Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fees - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to extend from 1995 to 1997 the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to collect abandoned mine reclamation fees. Title XLV: FCC User Fees - Federal Communications Commission User Fee Act of 1992 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission, in FY 1993 and thereafter, to collect user fees from users of Commission services to recover the total nonapplication processing operational costs of the Commission. Title XLVI: Limitation on Mandatory Spending - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm Rudman-Hollings Act) to set forth limitations on direct spending. Requires an offsetting sequestration whenever any increase in the annual amount of direct spending exceeds the amount resulting from the increase in beneficiary population, and changes in the consumer price index, plus 2.5 percent per year (1.6 percent after enactment of comprehensive health reform). Requires any amount required to be sequestered to be obtained from direct spending accounts. Requires the use of the special reconciliation process whenever an update report indicates that a sequester would be necessary. Title XLVII: Extension of Budget Enforcement Act and Application to Credit Programs - Amends the Congressional Budget Act to sets forth the maximum deficit amounts for FY 1996 and 1997. Revises the discretionary spending limits for FY 1994 and 1995 and sets forth such amounts in the defense, international, and budget categories. Establishes such amounts for FY 1996 and 1997. Declares that such amounts reflect adjustments through the OMB FY 1993 sequestration preview report in the President's FY 1993 Budget. Sets forth aggregate credit limits for subsidy costs, direct loan obligations, and loan guarantee commitments for FY 1993 through FY 1997. Extends certain pay-as-you-go provisions through FY 1997. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to extend enforcement authorities until 1997. Title XLVIII: Congressional Budget Reform Act of 1992 - Congressional Budget Reform Act of 1992 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to change concurrent budget resolutions into joint budget resolutions. Makes technical and conforming amendments to the Rules of the House of Representatives and the Deficit Control Act of 1985. Title XLIX: Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1992 - Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1992 - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President line item veto rescission authority. Establishes congressional procedure for consideration of such rescissions.

To prohibit grants under the community development block grant program to communities that fail to enforce laws preventing the use or threat of force against individuals for exercise of abortion rights.

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1992

Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to prohibit community development block grant awards to communities that fail to enforce antiharassment laws with regard to the exercising of abortion rights.

Distressed Urban Areas Assistance Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1992

Distressed Urban Areas Assistance Act of 1992 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize grants for qualifying distressed urban areas. Authorizes FY 1992 through 1994 appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. cities should be given additional time or funds in order to comply with Federal program mandates.

National Energy Security Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1992

National Energy Security Act of 1991 - Title I: Finding and Purposes - Subtitle A: Findings and Purposes - Sets forth the energy efficiency and development purposes of this Act. Subtitle B: Goals, Least-Cost Energy Strategy, and Director of Climate Protection - Enumerates the goals of this Act, including establishment in 1992 of an international framework convention on global climate change and international commitment to such convention. Requires the first National Energy Policy Plan submitted by the President to the Congress to include a least-cost energy strategy prepared by the Secretary of Energy according to specified guidelines. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Director of Climate Protection, who shall participate annually in the formulation of such strategy. Title II: Definitions - Sets forth definitions used in this Act. Title IV (sic): Fleets and Alternative Fuels - Subtitle A: Alternative Fuel Fleets - Sets forth a schedule according to which Federal agencies, when buying, leasing, or otherwise acquiring vehicles for a Federal fleet, must increase the percentage of alternative fuel vehicles in such fleet from ten percent in 1995 up to 90 percent in 2000 and each year following. Directs the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) to work with the Administrator of General Services and each Federal agency head to plan effective coordination of such acquisitions. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates State acquisition of alternative fuel vehicles according to the same schedule if specified circumstances prevail. Sets forth a different schedule for private and municipal fleets, rising from 30 percent in 1998 to 70 percent in 2000 and after. Provides for exemptions from such requirements in specified circumstances. Requires the Secretary to allocate credits to States or private persons for any vehicles acquired in excess of requirements. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this subtitle. Authorizes the Secretary to request the Attorney General to bring civil actions to enforce it. Authorizes the Secretary to delegate administration and enforcement of this subtitle within any State to its Governor if a State program exists. Authorizes appropriations to provide financial assistance to States to which the Secretary delegates such authority. Subtitle B: Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Demonstration, Infrastructure, Development, and Conforming Amendments - Part A: Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Demonstration - Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary to conduct a program to demonstrate electric vehicles, electric-hybrid vehicles, and their assorted equipment. Provides for solicitation and selection of proposals to negotiate up to ten cooperative agreements to receive financial assistance to conduct such demonstrations. Provides for discount payments to reimburse proposers for giving discounts to vehicle purchasers or lessees. Requires 50 percent of the costs of a cooperative agreement to be provided from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations. Part B: Electric and Electric-Hybrid Vehicle Infrastructure Development - Electric Vehicle and Electric-Hybrid Infrastructure Development Act - Directs the Secretary to establish a program for the collection and dissemination of information and data which would be useful to persons seeking to manufacture, sell, lease, own or operate electric and electric-hybrid vehicles. Requires the Secretary to issue guidelines for States and local governmental entities to use in developing comprehensive infrastructure plans to support the deployment of such vehicles. Requires the Secretary to offer State Governors the opportunity to request and receive technical and financial assistance in formulating comprehensive State infrastructure plans. Directs the Secretary to undertake cooperative agreements with non-Federal persons, including fleet operators, to provide the infrastructure necessary to support the use of such vehicles. Requires at least 50 percent of costs to be provided from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations. Part C: Amendment to the Alternative Motor Fuels Act - Makes conforming amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act. Subtitle C: Alternative Fuels - Replacement and Alternative Fuels Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary to establish a program to promote the development and use of domestically produced replacement and alternative fuels (including liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas, "neat" alcohol, hydrogen, coal-derived liquid fuels, and electricity) to replace conventional petroleum motor fuels. Requires the Secretary to study and determine the feasibility of domestically producing enough such fuels by the year 2010 to replace at least 30 percent of the projected consumption of motor fuel in the United States for that year. Requires annual demand estimates of the number and geographic distribution of each type of alternative fuel vehicle and the amount of each type of alternative fuel needed. Requires the Secretary to obtain voluntary commitments from providers of domestic replacement and alternative fuels to produce and offer for public sale sufficient amounts of such fuels to meet demand. Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify the Congress if the amount of such fuels in any area of the United States is insufficient to meet demand; and (2) submit a plan of action to require such providers to make adequate supplies available. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Mass Transit and Training - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to enter into cooperative agreements and joint ventures with local or regional transit authorities in urban areas of over 100,000 population to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of using natural gas or other alternative fuels for mass transit. Mandates that as a prerequisite to such a cooperative agreement or joint venture at least 25 percent of the demonstration costs be borne by the local or regional transit authority. Authorizes the Secretary to grant priority to any entity that demonstrates that the use of alternative fuels for mass transit would have a significant effect on the ability of an air quality region to comply with regulations governing ambient air quality. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Department of Labor to implement a technician training and certification program for the vehicle installation of equipment that converts gasoline or diesel-fueled vehicles to run solely on alternative fuels. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Renewable Energy - Subtitle A: CORECT and COEECT - Amends the EPCA to name certain interagency working groups the Committee on Renewable Energy Commerce and Trade (CORECT) and the Committee on Energy Efficiency Commerce and Trade (COEECT). Requires: (1) CORECT to promote the development and application in lesser-developed countries of renewable energy resource products and technologies that promote the use of hybrid fossil-renewable energy systems; (2) COEECT to promote the development and application in such countries of energy efficiency resource products and technologies; and (3) both organizations to provide in-country technical training and financial assistance. Authorizes CORECT and COEECT to establish renewable energy and energy efficiency industry outreach offices in the Pacific Rim and in the Caribbean Basin. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the Congress on the range of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies available to meet the energy needs of developing countries. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Renewable Energy Initiatives - Amends the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 (REEETCA) to direct the Secretary to solicit proposals and provide financial assistance for joint ventures with respect to: (1) oil and diesel fuel displacement using specified renewable energy sources; and (2) training individuals from developing countries in the United States in the operation and maintenance of renewable energy equipment and energy efficiency equipment. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to solicit proposals and provide financial assistance for at least one joint venture for a utility-scale photovoltaic project of at least ten megawatts. Amends REEETCA to direct the Secretary to enter into buy-down agreements with private lenders to pay the Federal share of the interest on loans to certain qualified borrowers to finance the manufacture, construction, or acquisition of equipment that principally utilizes a renewable energy technology. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees an evaluation of opportunities to minimize waste from processes in the U.S. industries. Establishes certain facilities and equipment located at Keahole Point, Hawaii as the Spark M. Matsunaga Renewable Energy and Ocean Technology Center to carry out research, development, and technology transfer activities on solar and renewable energy, energy storage, and related matters. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a program to reward outstanding achievements in specified renewable energy technologies with awards of up to $5,000,000; and (2) a milestone for technical achievement for the year 2010 for each such technology. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Hydropower - Amends the Federal Power Act to eliminate certain mandatory conditioning powers of Federal land mangers with respect to Government dams. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to give hydroelectric license applicants earliest practicable notice of studies that will be required to accompany a license application. Provides for a single consolidated review of project licensing under the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969 (NEPA). Makes FERC the lead agency for NEPA compliance activities associated with hydroelectric licensing. Grants States exclusive authority to license hydropower projects of five megawatts or less, under certain conditions. Requires the Secretary to study and report to certain congressional committees on cost-effective opportunities to increase hydropower production at existing federally-owned or -operated water regulations, storage, and conveyance facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study and implement water use efficiency measures at Federal reclamation projects in order to increase hydropower production, make more efficient use of project power, and provide more water for fish and wildlife. Removes Federal licensing jurisdiction over: (1) hydroelectric projects on fresh waters in Hawaii; and (2) two specified hydroelectric projects in Alaska. Extends the time for project development for two specified hydropower projects in Arkansas. Title VI: Energy Efficiency - Subtitle A: Industrial, Commercial and Residential - Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA) to require the Secretary of Energy to issue a Federal building code to assure that all new Federal buildings and buildings receiving Federal mortgages include energy efficiency measures that are technologically feasible and economically justified. Requires the Secretary to support the upgrading of an industry voluntary building energy code for new residential and commercial buildings. Directs the Secretary to provide incentive funding to States which adopt building energy codes at least as stringent as those of the industry voluntary building codes. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to direct the Secretary to issue voluntary guidelines for use by States, local organizations and others to develop energy rating systems for residential buildings. Requires the Secretary to provide technical assistance to State and local organizations to encourage adoption of residential energy efficiency rating systems based on such guidelines. Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to provide for notifying homebuyers of the availability of energy efficient mortgages providing financial incentives for the purchase of energy efficient homes at the time of mortgage application. Requires the Secretary to assess the energy performance of manufactured housing and make recommendations to the National Commission on Manufactured Housing about thermal insulation and technically feasible and economically justified energy efficiency improvements applicable to such housing. Requires the Commission to make its own recommendations to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Requires the Secretary of Energy to test the performance and cost-effectiveness of manufactured housing built according to established energy efficiency standards. Directs the Secretary to pursue a research and development program and a joint venture program to improve efficiency in energy-intensive industries and industrial processes. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to make triennial reports to the Congress evaluating energy efficiency policy options and their potential to decrease overall U.S. energy use and oil consumption per unit of GNP. Directs the Secretary to establish voluntary guidelines for the conduct of energy audits and the installation of insulation to achieve cost-effective increases in energy efficiency in industrial facilities. Authorizes appropriations for a program of education and technical assistance to promote the use of such guidelines. Requires the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support the voluntary development of a national window rating program to establish energy efficiency ratings for windows and window systems. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to expand the scope and frequency of data collection under the National Energy Information System in order to improve the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of energy efficiency policies and programs. Directs the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to support voluntary development of a national energy efficiency rating program for lamps and luminaires. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for them. Authorizes appropriations. Adds lamps, commercial air conditioning and heating equipment, and utility distribution transformers to the appliance efficiency program. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the practicability and cost-effectiveness of upgrading utility distribution transformers at the time of their routine maintenance. Directs: (1) the Secretary to support the development of a voluntary labeling system for commercial office equipment; or (2) the Federal Trade Commission to develop such a program if one is not developed voluntarily within two years. Authorizes appropriations. Amends EPCA to establish a specified standard for showerheads manufactured after July 1, 1992, unless the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) publishes a different standard before March 1, 1992, in which case the ANSI standard shall apply. Preempts State and local showerhead flow rate standards and labeling requirements. Subtitle B: Federal Energy Management - Amends NECPA to prescribe energy management requirements for energy conservation and efficiency in Federal buildings. Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration: (1) to conduct an analysis of significant energy consuming products in the Federal Supply Schedule; and (2) to develop a method to identify products which offer cost-effective opportunities to reduce energy consumption and costs. Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to consider fuel efficiency and cost savings when evaluating bids for the purchase of passenger vehicles and light trucks. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) the funding of Federal energy efficiency projects; and (2) a biennially updated demonstration plan for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in Federal-owned facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a financial bonus program, not to exceed $5,000 per award, to reward facility energy managers for outstanding energy savings in Federal agencies. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a plan for demonstrating in Federal facilities, or by Federal agencies, energy efficiency technologies that have received Federal assistance for research and development and are now ready for commercialization. Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the potential of using Federal purchasing power to encourage the development and commercialization of new energy efficiency products. Subtitle C: Utilities - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to permit State-regulated electric utilities to charge rates that will make their investments in energy efficiency and conservation measures as profitable as their investments in new facilities construction. Requires the Secretary to report to the President and the Congress on: (1) the extent to which State-regulated electric utility rates reflect least-cost planning; (2) specified effects of least-cost planning; and (3) the extent to which ratemaking methodologies implementing least-cost planning take into account the impact of such measures upon electric utilities' rate of return on investment. Prescribes guidelines for conservation grants to State regulatory authorities. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Southwestern Power Administration (SWPA) and the Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA) (known collectively as PMAs) to consider, as a condition of any future power contract with a nonregulated utility customer, to require such a customer to implement integrated resource planning. Requires the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to employ integrated resource planning in exercising its functions. Subtitle E (sic): State, Local Insular, and Tribal Energy Assistance - Sets forth guidelines for Federal financial assistance to Insular area governments for renewable energy and energy and energy efficiency measures to reduce their dependence on imported fuels. Amends EPCA to authorize the Secretary to provide up to $1,000,000 to States to capitalize a State revolving fund to undertake energy efficiency projects in State and local government buildings in those States which have demonstrated a commitment to improve building energy codes. Amends ECPA to authorize the Secretary to provide supplemental grants to Weatherization Program grant recipients to cover: (1) the costs of arranging private sector contributions to the program; and (2) the costs of evaluating performance measures, producing and exchanging information, and conducting training programs (technical transfer grants). Authorizes appropriations. Amends EPCA to authorize existing State Energy Conservation Programs to use Federal funds to assist in training building designers and contractors in energy system, energy efficiency, and renewable energy technologies. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive supplemental grants under the existing State Energy Conservation Programs to increase public understanding of energy issues or to provide teacher training in energy education. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to grant financial assistance to tribal governments to plan and implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Amends EPCA to require State Energy Conservation Plans to provide for vehicles to turn left from a one-way street into a one-way street at a red light as a condition for receipt of Federal funding. Subtitle F: LIHEAP Options Pilot Program - Energy Options Study Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study and report to the Congress on the advantages and disadvantages of using futures and options contracts for fuel as a means of protecting funds under the Low-Income Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (LIHEAP funds) from large price increases in fuels. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct: (1) a pilot program in cooperation with one or more governmental or tribal fund recipients in which the recipient uses futures and futures options in its fuel assistance program; and (2) a pilot program to educate governmental entities and consumer cooperatives on the prudent and effective use of such futures and futures options to increase their protection against unexpected fuel price surges. Authorizes appropriations. Title VIII (sic): Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization - Civilian Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a comprehensive advanced nuclear reactor research, development, and demonstration program that will lead to commercialization of advanced reactor technologies after 1996. Requires the Secretary of Energy to submit to the Congress a detailed five-year plan to carry out such program. Directs the Secretary to conduct a program of technical and financial assistance to encourage the development and submission for certification of advanced light water reactor designs which can be certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by the end of 1995. Provides for cooperative and cost-sharing agreements with private parties which seek such certification. Requires annual progress reports to the Congress from the Secretary and the NRC. Requires the Secretary to solicit proposals to carry out the preliminary engineering design of one or more prototype advanced nuclear reactor technologies (other than an advanced light water reactor) necessary to support a decision on whether to recommend construction of a full-scale prototype demonstration using such a technology. Requires the Secretary to make a recommendation by January 31, 1996, on whether to build such a prototype demonstration reactor. Authorizes the Secretary to solicit proposals to implement such recommendation 180 days following its submission to the Congress. Title IX: Nuclear Reactor Licensing - Nuclear Reactor Licensing Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require the NRC to hold a hearing before granting a combined license to construct and operate a nuclear reactor. Requires a combined license to set forth all the inspections, tests, analyses, and acceptance criteria necessary to establish that the plant, once built, is safe to operate. Requires the NRC to ensure that all such requirements are satisfied. Provides for post-construction hearings on combined licenses to determine whether requirements have been met. Authorizes the NRC to allow a plant to operate under a combined licensed pending a post-construction hearing unless it appears unsafe to do so. Requires post-construction hearings to be informal unless the NRC determines formal proceedings are necessary to resolve factual disputes. Authorizes the NRC to amend a combined license and permit a plant to operate pending a hearing on the amended license if the amendment does not raise significant safety issues. Title X: Uranium - Subtitle A: Uranium Enrichment - Uranium Enrichment Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to repeal the existing statutory contracting requirements applicable to uranium enrichment enterprises. Establishes the United States Enrichment Corporation as a wholly-owned Government corporation to conduct uranium marketing and enrichment activities as a commercial, profitable, self-financing enterprise. Sets forth the Corporation's corporate office and powers and vests its management in an Administrator (appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate). Grants the Secretary of Energy general supervision over such Administrator only with respect to national security and health and environmental concerns. Establishes a Corporate Board whose members shall be appointed by the President, and who shall advise the Administrator and the Secretary regarding Corporation matters. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) Corporation personnel; (2) certain property transfers from the Department of Energy; (3) the Corporation's capital structure; and (4) Corporation pricing policies, including user charges for decommissioning, decontamination, and remedial activities. Requires the Corporation to make annual status reports to certain congressional committees, the President, and the Secretary. Prescribes licensing and taxation guidelines for the Corporation. Sets guidelines for payments in lieu of taxes by the Corporation to States and local governments. Requires the Administrator to make recommendations to the President and the Congress by specified dates regarding the transfer of the Corporation's functions and assets to private ownership. Establishes the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund to cover the Corporation's decommission and decontamination expenses. Applies Federal environmental and occupational safety and health law to the Corporation as though it were privately owned. Exempts the Corporation from sequestration because the maximum deficit amount has been exceeded under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Prohibits the Corporation's total FY 1991 expenditures from exceeding its total FY 1991 receipts. Subtitle B: Uranium - Part 1: Short Title, Findings and Purpose, Definitions - Uranium Security and Tailings Reclamation Act of 1991 - Sets forth findings, purposes, and definitions of this title. Part 2: Uranium Revitalization - Directs the Corporation to establish for a minimum five-year period a voluntary overfeeding program to be made available to its enrichment services customers. ("Overfeeding" means the use of uranium in the enrichment process in excess of the amount required at the transactional tails assay, thus reducing customers' power costs). Provides that the resultant savings shall be credited to such customers. Establishes the National Strategic Uranium Reserve, consisting of 50,000,000 pounds of natural uranium, to be restricted to military purposes and Government research under the control of the Secretary. Confers continuing responsibility upon the Secretary for promotion of the domestic uranium industry, but without using any supervisory authority over the Corporation. Directs the Secretary to develop recommendations and implement Government programs promoting domestic uranium exports. Restricts all uranium purchases by Federal entities to uranium purchased from domestic producers. Exempts the Tennessee Valley Authority from such restriction. Part 3: Remedial Action for Active Processing Sites - Provides that remedial action costs such as decontamination, decommissioning, and reclamation at an active uranium or thorium processing site shall be borne by specified licensees for any activity resulting in byproduct material. Sets forth a reimbursement schedule for: (1) individual active site uranium licenses; (2) all active site uranium licensees; and (3) thorium licensees. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations governing such reimbursement. Authorizes appropriations. Part 4: Import of Uranium, Enriched Uranium, and Uranium Enrichment Services - Directs the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to investigate and report to the President and the Congress on whether non-market economy countries are exporting uranium, enriched uranium, or offering uranium enrichment services at prices below the cost of production or provision. Requires the President, if the investigation results are positive, to report to the Congress on what actions the Federal Government is taking to discourage or end such pricing practices. Requires the owner or operator of any civilian nuclear power reactor to report annually to the Secretary on the country of origin and the seller of any uranium, enriched uranium, or enrichment services such owner or operator has imported or purchased during the previous fiscal year. Requires such information to be made available to specified congressional committees. Directs the Secretary to encourage States and utility regulatory authorities to consider the objectives of this part, including the national need to avoid dependence on imports, when considering whether to allow electric power plant owners or operators to recover in customer rates and charges any cost of domestic uranium, enriched uranium, or enrichment services from a non-affiliated seller greater than the cost of such items from non-domestic sources. Authorizes the Secretary or the United States Enrichment Corporation to buy enriched uranium from other sources of enriched uranium at prices below, respectively, Department of Energy or Corporation production costs if such purchases are necessary to reduce production costs and maintain competitive prices. Title XI: Natural Gas - Amends the Natural Gas Act to authorize an optional certificate (OC) of public convenience and necessity procedure for the construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines. Directs FERC to issue OCs without a hearing if applicants are willing to accept terms and conditions attached to the certificate, including a prohibition on the recovery of OC facility costs in the rates for other facilities or services. Replaces the ordinary rate review procedure with a special complaint procedure in such instances. Requires FERC to conduct a hearing on the record about a proposed OC construction if such construction would result in the displacement of sales or transportation service provided by a local distribution company (LDC). Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to authorize FERC to permit: (1) any interstate pipeline to transport natural gas; and (2) the construction of natural gas transportation facilities for interstate commerce. Outlines administrative procedures for FERC compliance with the requirements of the NEPA with respect to natural gas transportation. Requires FERC to conduct a hearing on the record about a proposed OC construction if such construction would result in the displacement of sales or transportation service provided by a local distribution company (LDC). Declares that FERC issuance of a construction certificate is the only Federal action that may be considered a major Federal action requiring a detailed environmental impact statement (EIS). Requires FERC to permit contractors or consultants selected from a FERC-approved list, and paid by the certificate applicant to prepare such required EISs and related documents. Sets forth administrative procedures for rates and charges, utilization of rulemaking procedures, and review of FERC orders. Declares that the formation or operation of an independent producer cooperative shall only be an illegal antitrust law violation if anticompetitive effects substantially outweigh the procompetitive effects. Declares that certain activities related to the sale and distribution of vehicular natural gas (VNG) shall not bring currently exempt entities under the the jurisdiction of the Natural Gas Act. Provides that persons not otherwise public utilities may sell or transport VNG without becoming subject to the jurisdiction of State laws in effect before January 1, 1989. States that VNG activities alone shall not subject a company to regulation under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) or change the status of companies already registered as gas utility companies. Provides for streamlining of the certificate issuance procedure, especially with respect to repair and replacement facilities, unopposed applications, evidence of need and of certificate applications. Authorizes FERC to order an interstate pipeline to interconnect with a production or gathering facility, or an intrastate or OC pipeline in the production area. Authorizes FERC, after a hearing, to exempt the natural gas cost component of a pipeline's rates from regulation after finding that the pipeline provided comparable transportation service and served a competitive market. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to provide that general policy discussions by all members of FERC do not constitute a meeting for Sunshine Act purposes. Title XII: Outer Continental Shelf - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to add a new title: the "Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Act". Establishes the Coastal State and Community Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund, to be funded by a specified percentage of all new revenue attributable to an Outer Continental Shelf lease any part of which is within 200 geographical miles of the coast line. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transmit impact assistance from such Fund annually to coastal States according to prescribed guidelines. Requires a recipient coastal State to prioritize allocation of such revenue among its subdivisions which are socially or economically impacted by Outer Continental Shelf mineral development. Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees on the availability of Outer Continental Shelf areas for oil and gas leasing, development and production. Title XIII: Research, Development, Demonstration and Commercialization Activities - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish priorities according to prescribed criteria for energy research and development and commercialization; and (2) submit to the Congress an accompanying management plan which shall be revised biennially. Requires the Secretary to implement a program: (1) promoting the development and commercialization of new and advanced natural gas utilization technologies; (2) of research and development to increase the recoverable natural gas resource base; (3) of research, development, and commercialization of specified high efficiency heat engines; (4) of research and development of oil shale; (5) of research on extracting oil from western oil shales (including, if appropriate, establishment of at least one field testing center); and (6) of research, development, and demonstration of a high-temperature superconducting electric power system. Authorizes appropriations. Amends REEETCA to repeal the authorization limitations for: (1) renewable energy research and development programs; and (2) energy efficiency research and development programs. Directs the Secretary to expand or institute programs of research, development, and demonstration for: (1) natural gas and electric heating and cooling technologies for residential and commercial buildings; (2) fusion energy that leads to electricity production after the year 2010; (3) techniques related to improving electric vehicles, electric-hybrid vehicles, and battery technology; and (4) increased economic recoverability of domestic oil resources including both advanced secondary oil recovery and tertiary oil recovery. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the development potential of domestic tar sands sources; (2) the potential costs and benefits of telecommuting; (3) the potential for minimizing the volume and toxic lifetime of nuclear waste; and (4) the adequacy of current programs and plans of nuclear waste management. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements with qualified entities to provide post-secondary science and mathematics education programs for low-income and first generation college students. Authorizes appropriations. Title XIV: Coal, Coal Technology, and Electricity - Subtitle A: Coal and Coal Technology - Requires the Secretary to conduct: (1) an advanced coal-based technology research and development program aimed at controlling sulfur and nitrogen oxides at greater proficiency levels (and report periodically to the Congress on the program's status); (2) a research and development program on technologies for non-fuel use of coal (after first submitting a plan to the Congress); (3) a research, development, demonstration, and commercialization program for coal refining technologies; (4) a research, development, and demonstration program for underground coal gasification technology for in-situ conversion of coal to a cleaner burning, easily transportable gaseous fuel; (5) a low-rank coal research and development program; (6) a proof-of-concept program in magnetohydrodynamics; and (7) a research, development, and demonstration program for using ultra-clean coal-water slurry in diesel locomotive engines. Requires the Secretary to submit to certain congressional committees a plan for the export of U.S. coal. Establishes the Clean Coal Technology Export Coordinating Council (Council) to: (1) expand the export and use of clean coal technologies (especially in lesser developed countries); and (2) develop a comprehensive data base and information dissemination system regarding their potential need and availability. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees regarding the status of technologies for combining coal with other materials, such as oil and water fuel mixtures. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a national clearing-house for the exchange and dissemination of technical information on technology relating to coal and coal-derived fuels; and (2) study and report to the Congress on the institutional, legal, and regulatory barriers to increased use of coal combustion byproducts by potential governmental and commercial users. Authorizes appropriations for the clearinghouse. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a data-base containing all transportation rates for specified modes of transporting domestic coal for a certain period; (2) study the rates and distribution patterns of domestic coal to determine the impact of Federal policies upon such patterns; and (3) report the data-base and study results to the Congress. Subtitle B: Electricity - Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on physical impediments to the transfer of excess electrical energy from regions with surplus electrical energy to regions experiencing shortages. Declares that State regulatory authorities are not required to base calculations of avoided cost under the Public Utility Policies Act (PURPA), on the rates for, or the costs of, demonstration projects under the Federal clean coal technology program. Directs FERC to complete a rulemaking to establish a demonstration program for regulatory incentives to promote the development of clean coal technologies and other innovative control technologies that limit power plant emissions. Requires FERC to establish a process for negotiating with potential developers of such technology projects to agree upon cost caps for future projects and preapproval of the prudence of expenses for those projects if the expenses fall within the agreed-upon cap. Encourages States to provide additional incentives for the implementation of clean coal technologies, and requires FERC to give priority in incentive rate treatment to units located in States with incentive programs. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on progress in encouraging State regulatory authorities to provide such incentives. Title XV: Public Utility Holding Company Act Reform - Defines an "exempt wholesale generator" (EWG) as a corporate entity: (1) engaged exclusively in the business of owning or operating all or part of one or more eligible facilities and selling electric energy at wholesale; and (2) exempt from corporate organizational restrictions under PUHCA. Permits registered utility holding companies, exempt utility holding companies, non-utilities, and other companies not currently subject to PUHCA to own EWGs without limitation. Declares that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shall continue to have jurisdiction over: (1) the issuance of securities by a registered utility holding company in order to finance the acquisition of an EWG; (2) the guarantee of securities of an EWG by such a holding company; and (3) service, sales and construction contracts between an EWG and such a holding company, including the creation or maintenance of any other relationship (except ownership). Prohibits FERC from approving a rate or charge for the sale of electricity by EWGs: (1) where a State commission would use the purchase of such electricity as the basis for not permitting recovery of existing capital investment by the purchasing utility (stranded investment); or (2) where the wholesale purchaser is merely a broker interposed for purposes of making an indirect sale to an industrial or other retail customer (sham wholesale transaction, also known as "cherry picking"). Declares that any rate or charge for the wholesale sale of electricity in interstate commerce by an EWG shall not be considered just and reasonable if it allows the EWG to receive undue advantage resulting from the fact that the purchaser is an affiliate or associate company of the EWG. Amends the Federal Power Act to grant State commissions in accordance with State law the authority to review the prudence of wholesale electricity purchases by utilities under their jurisdiction, except in certain instances involving allocation of power costs within registered utility holding company systems. Extends such authority even within such systems in instances involving purchase of power from EWGs. Amends PURPA to require State commissions to analyze the effects on reliability and utility purchasers of the use of leveraged capital structures by wholesale sellers of power (including ERGs) and the adequacy of fuel supplies employed by such sellers. Requires State commissions to consider reflecting the results of such analysis in approving or disapproving wholesale electricity purchases. Requires EWGs to make their books and records available to State commissions. Title XVI: Strategic Petroleum Reserve - Amends EPCA to add the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Enhancement Act of 1991. Directs the President to enlarge the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to 1,000,000,000 barrels as rapidly as possible. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to create a 10,000,000 barrel Defense Petroleum Inventory (DPI). Authorizes the President, acting through the Secretary, to: (1) acquire petroleum products for storage in the SPR or the DPI from foreign governments without competitive procurement; and (2) contract, without regard to certain provisions of EPCA and other Federal law, for storage in the SPR or the DPI of petroleum products owned by foreign governments.

Economic Revitalization and Federal Excess and Surplus Property Utilization Improvement Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1992

Economic Revitalization and Federal Excess and Surplus Property Utilization Improvement Act of 1992 - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Sets forth the purposes of this Act involving the utilization of excess and surplus Government heavy equipment and construction materials infrastructure and development. Title II: Definitions - Sets forth the definitions of terms used in this Act. Title III: Disposal of Defense Articles - Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to require the Secretary of Defense to: (1) evaluate inventories of heavy equipment and construction materials and ensure that those items which are not needed for an identifiable military mission will be classified as excess and disposed of; (2) declare as excess those inventory items which cost over a certain amount to store, maintain, and repair; (3) develop a cost-effective plan for returning excess items to the United States for disposal; (4) report to specified congressional committees on the status of, and disposal plans for, such inventory items; and (5) annually review and evaluate the utilization by recipients of excess nonlethal supplies and excess defense articles pursuant to programs administered by the Department of Defense in order to ensure that such items are being utilized accordingly. Requires the heads of Federal agencies overseeing Federal laboratories to evaluate their inventories of scientific equipment. Requires all such equipment not needed for current or anticipated Federal purposes to be disposed of. Requires appropriate reports to specified congressional committees. Directs the Administrator (Administrator) of the General Services Administration (GSA) to make available excess heavy equipment and construction materials to a Federal agency based on the agency's ability to use such items for official business. Prohibits Federal agencies receiving excess heavy equipment and construction materials from transferring such equipment to other Federal or non-Federal agencies or organizations. Requires excess heavy equipment and construction materials received by a Federal agency to be returned to GSA if the Administrator determines that the equipment is not being efficiently used or if the official business of the agency for which the equipment is being used has been completed. Excludes heavy equipment and construction materials from the definition of "nonlethal excess supplies" used under armed forces provisions, and from the definition of various terms used for excess property in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Title IV: Distribution Of Excess And Surplus Heavy Equipment And Construction Materials - Gives the Administrator authority over the disposal of all excess and surplus heavy equipment and construction materials. Requires such disposal to be done pursuant to this Act. Requires the Administrator to make all excess and surplus heavy equipment and construction materials available to the States after such items have been disposed of to Federal agencies. Requires the Administrator, after providing actual notice to the States of the availability of excess heavy equipment and construction materials, to deliver such items requested by the States on a fair and equitable basis according to public need and efficiency of utilization. Requires the Administrator to make the equipment and materials available without cost, except that if transportation is requested by the State, the Administrator may assess fees for transportation costs. States that for no less than 12 months after original delivery, the Administrator shall retain all right, title, and interest in heavy equipment and construction materials which have an acquisition cost greater than $10,000. Provides that if a State can show that the equipment or materials were well maintained and were efficiently used in the furtherance of public purposes and that the equipment can reasonably be expected to be maintained and used in the furtherance of public purposes, the Administrator shall transfer to the State all right, title, and interest in the equipment or materials. Requires States, within 12 months after regulations to implement this paragraph have been issued, to establish a program under which equipment and construction materials are allocated to eligible users in order to continue to be eligible to receive excess heavy equipment and construction materials. Allows such a program to be operated by the State or by State-Certified Equipment Centers. Requires the Administrator to offer grants for the establishment of such Centers. Sets forth provisions providing for disposals under specified conditions of urgency, such as when the President certifies that a foreign nation has dire need for particular pieces of heavy equipment and construction materials. States that Indian tribes and historically black colleges shall have equal standing with the States in acquiring excess heavy equipment and construction materials. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize the use of community development block grant funds to establish such Centers and to establish State infrastructure and economic development plans. Authorizes appropriations for GSA grants to establish such Centers. Title V: State And Community Infrastructure And Economic Development - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to establish a computerized database and standardized forms which States shall use to develop infrastructure and economic development plans utilizing priority lists of anticipated needs submitted to the States by counties and other units of local government, and which also utilize State-Certified Equipment Centers and advanced planning techniques. Requires the Secretary to make grants to States that want to establish such a plan, with priority to States with high long-term unemployment rates and pressing infrastructure needs. Requires the Secretary to establish a national infrastructure and economic development strategy to help States implement their plans to encourage cooperation among the States, and to coordinate Federal infrastructure and economic development programs and resources. Requires the Secretary to update such strategy every two years and to transmit a document containing such strategy to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations for grants to States that want to establish such a plan. Title VI: Effective Date And Applicability - Specifies the effective dates of this Act and requirements for the promulgation of regulations.

The following named persons to be Directors of the Federal Housing Finance Board, to which positions they were appointed during the last recess of the Senate: William C. Perkins, of Wisconsin, for a term of one year. (New Position) Lawrence U. Costiglio, of New York, for a term of three years. (New Position) Marilyn R. Seymann, of Arizona, for a term of five years. (New Position) Daniel F. Evans, Jr., of Indiana, for a term of seven years. (New Position)

United States · United States Senate · 28 January 1992

Infrastructure Improvement and Job Opportunity Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1992

Infrastructure Improvement and Job Opportunity Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to make grants to assist local job projects that: (1) may include renovation or rehabilitation of public buildings or facilities with commercial, industrial, public, service, housing, historic, or other value; and (2) provide employment to eligible participants. Requires eligible areas that desire such funds to establish District Executive Councils (DECs) to receive such grants. Allows the private industry council in any eligible area that is substantially the same as a service delivery area under the Job Training Partnership Act to petition the Governor to be designated a DEC if it meets specified requirements. Requires DECs to select projects to be assisted under the Secretary's criteria and to submit project plans and annual reports on their activities. Limits use of grant funds for administrative expenses to ten percent. Requires an eligible area to: (1) be a county or comparable general local government unit; and (2) have no more than 300,000 population, unless granted a waiver by the Secretary. Makes eligible for job project participation individuals who: (1) have a high school diploma or equivalent or are at least 18 years of age; (2) have resided in the eligible area for at least 30 days; (3) have been unemployed for 35 days prior to determination of employment for an assisted job project; (4) are U.S. citizens or nationals, lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens, refugees and parolees, or persons otherwise authorized by the Attorney General to work in the United States; (5) had an earned income in the year preceding the determination, and a family income in the year in which the determination is made, respectively, of less than $17,000; (6) work for not more than 16 hours per week in any compensated job other than the assisted project job; (7) demonstrate to the project manager that they sought private sector employment during the 35 days prior to their application for and will continue to do so during their period of assisted employment; and (8) are not eligible for retirement benefits. Limits a household to no more than two eligible participants. Requires testing for basic reading and writing competence prior to a job project employment. Requires that counseling and instruction be furnished to participants who fail to pass such basic competency test. Requires participants who have not received a high school diploma or equivalent to maintain satisfactory progress toward receiving one in order to continue employment. Allows participants with limited English-speaking ability to be furnished with instruction the DEC considers appropriate. Sets forth requirements for job projects. Prohibits selection of a project if an objection is filed by two DEC members appointed by the State Governor or Mayor, of the largest municipality or two appointed by the chief executives of local governments in the eligible area. Prohibits selection of DEC managers, officers, or employees or project participants on the basis of political affiliation (and limits the number of specified types of DEC members who may be from the same political party). Sets limits on job project: (1) expenses for transportation and equipment (ten percent); (2) number of supervisors (one-to-ten ratio); (3) individual workweek (32 hours); and (4) project duration (18 months). Requires project managers to submit monthly progress reports to the DEC. Requires participants to receive wages equal to the higher of: (1) the minimum wage under specified provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (2) the minimum wage established under the applicable State or local minimum wage law; or (3) the amount the participant receives in assistance under the State plan approved under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or in unemployment compensation, plus ten percent of that amount. Requires that participants be furnished benefits and employment conditions comparable to those of employees in similar occupations employed by a comparable employer, but prohibits any participant from being eligible for unemployment compensation during or on the basis of project employment. Requires participants to be eligible for supportive services necessary for participation. Requires DECs to establish for the eligible area, job clubs to assist participants to prepare resumes, develop interviewing techniques, and evaluate individual job search activities. Sets forth labor standards for job projects, including appropriate conditions of employment and training and health and safety. Prohibits the use of funds for contributions on behalf of any participant to retirement systems or plans. Sets forth displacement rules. Prohibits: (1) any displacing of current employees; (2) impairing of existing contracts or collective bargaining agreements; (3) filling of openings created by related layoffs or terminations; or (4) infringing on promotional opportunities of current employees. Requires that labor organizations representing a substantial number of employees engaged in similar work or training in the same area as that proposed to be funded be given an opportunity to comment on the project proposal at least 30 days before the project is approved. Applies Davis-Bacon Act wage rules to all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors for federally assisted construction and repair work, except with respect to eligible participants in projects assisted under this Act. Sets forth nondiscrimination provisions. Requires DECs to establish and maintain evaluation files for each individual employed on a project assisted under this Act, to be made available to the participant monthly but to no other person without the participant's consent. Provides for allotments to States and substate allocations to DECs for eligible areas. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the following program requirements: (1) testing, for individuals with handicaps; (2) participant maintenance of satisfactory progress toward a high school diploma or equivalent; and (3) the 32-hour per week individual maximum for project employment (for unusual circumstances, subject to a two-thirds vote of each DEC). Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on administration of this Act, with program summaries and recommendations. Provides for auditing by the General Accounting Office. Authorizes appropriations.

To amend section 1012 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 to authorize local governments that have financed a housing project that has been provided a financial adjustment factor under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 to use 50 percent of any recaptured amounts available from refinancing of the project for housing activities.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1992

Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 to permit local housing authorities to share the funds recaptured from refinancing certain housing bonds.

A resolution relating to capital standards for depository institutions.

United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1992

Expresses the sense of the Senate that regulators of depository institutions should consider making changes in the risk-based capital standards applicable to loans for the purchase or construction of housing.

A resolution to a make minority appointment to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1992

Adds Senator Specter to the minority party membership on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

A resolution relating to capital standards for depository institutions.

United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1992

Expresses the sense of the Senate that regulators of depository institutions should consider making changes in the risk-based capital standards applicable to loans for the purchase or construction of housing.

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify the tax treatment of certain cooperative housing corporations, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1992

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude cooperative housing corporations from the limitations on deductions incurred by certain membership organizations in transactions with their members. Prohibits patronage losses of an organization from being used to offset earnings which are not patronage earnings. Specifies earnings to be treated as patronage earnings in the case of cooperative housing corporations.

A bill to extend to the refinancing of mortgage loans certain protections of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act.

United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1992

Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act to include refinancing of a loan in the definition of "federally related mortgage loan." Amends the Consumer Credit Cost Disclosure Act to include refinancing of a transaction in the definition of "residential mortgage transaction."

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to the treatment of cooperative housing corporations.

United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1992

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude cooperative housing corporations from the limitations on deductions incurred by certain membership organizations in transactions with their members. Prohibits patronage losses of an organization from being used to offset earnings which are not patronage earnings. Specifies earnings to be treated as patronage earnings in the case of cooperative housing corporations.

Emergency Anti-Recession Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1992

Emergency Anti-Recession Act of 1992 - Title I: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations - Declares that sums in this title are appropriated, out of Treasury funds not otherwise appropriated, to provide emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 1992. Subtitle A: Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Agencies - Appropriates additional funds to the Department of Agriculture for: (1) the special supplemental food program; (2) the Farmers Home Administration (FHA) Rural Housing Insurance Fund; (3) the FHA Rural Development Insurance Fund; and (4) FHA rural water and waste disposal grants. Subtitle B: Defense - Appropriates additional amounts to the Department of Defense for: (1) transfer to the Department of Commerce for community planning and adjustment assistance due to adverse impacts of military installation closures or reductions and contract reductions; (2) transfer to the Small Business Administration for small business conversion assistance due to such adverse impacts; (3) transfer to the National Institute of Standards and Technology for civilian-oriented research and development and generic technology projects to aid scientists, engineers, and technicians in converting their skills from the defense sector to the civilian sector while creating new scientific and technological information; (4) transfer to the Department of Labor for demonstration projects for workers dislocated by reductions in Defense expenditures or military installation closures; and (5) the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health) to carry out the Defense Environmental Restoration Program. Subtitle C: Energy and Water Development - Appropriates additional amounts to: (1) enable the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management to carry out the Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program; and (2) the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to carry out the Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Programs. Subtitle D: Interior - Appropriates additional amounts for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, and certain energy conservation programs. Subtitle E: Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education - Appropriates additional funds to the Department of Labor for employment and training services. Appropriates additional funds to the Department of Health and Human Services for: (1) community service employment for older Americans; (2) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (3) the National Institutes of Health; (4) the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration; (5) low-income home energy assistance; (6) certain programs under the Community Services Block Grant Act; and (7) Head Start. Appropriates additional amounts to the Department of Education for compensatory education for the disadvantaged and student financial assistance. Subtitle F: Transportation - Appropriates additional funds to the Department of Transportation for: (1) the Federal Railroad Administration; (2) the Federal Transit Administration; (3) the Federal Aviation Administration; and (4) the Federal Highway Administration. Subtitle G: Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development - Appropriates additional amounts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for community development and planning, modernization of public housing projects, and low-income housing investments. Appropriates additional funds to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and the Water Quality Act of 1987. Appropriates additional funds to: (1) the National Science Foundation for academic facilities renovation; (2) the Commission on National and Community Service to carry out programs under the National and Community Service Act of 1990; and (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agency for emergency assistance grants. Title II: Food Stamp and Related Provisions - Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act to permit related adults living in the same household to apply for separate program benefits under specified conditions. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to adjust the basic benefit level upwards by specified increments at the beginning of each fiscal year until it reaches 105 percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan. Excludes from consideration as program income child support payments to non-household members and other child support payments. Removes the excess shelter deduction cap for program eligibility purposes. Permits a participating family made up of, or including, an elderly or disabled member to own $3,000 in allowable financial resources. (Current law refers to a family member 60 years of age or older). Increases annually the fair market value limit of vehicles that program recipients may own. Excludes third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless from consideration as program income. Directs the Secretary and authorizes States to conduct pilot projects to improve rural program participation. Authorizes grants for projects to improve homeless program participation. Subtitle B: Nutrition Programs - Amends the National School Lunch Act to permit schools to offer fluid milk in any form as part of a school lunch. (Current law permits only whole or unflavored lowfat milk to be offered.) Expands child and adult care food program participation to include private residential day care centers that serve at least 25 percent low-income children. Permits schools to receive meal supplement (snack) reimbursements for after-hours child care even if such schools do not participate in a specified child care food program. Establishes minimum funding amounts for each of FY 1992 through 1994 for assistance to homeless preschool children (in addition to amounts made available under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966). Subtitle C: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this title. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991 to extend Federal unemployment benefits and allowances until September 1992. (Current provisions terminate June 13, 1992.) Increases the matching rate for FY 1992 for: (1) Aid to Families with Dependent Children; and (2) Medicaid. Decreases the matching rate for FY 1992 for: (1) local freight assistance; (2) programs under the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964; (3) Federal-aid highway assistance; and (4) EPA State revolving loan funds. Authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to waive up to one-half of any matching rate requirement under title I. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to provide unemployed individuals and their families with health benefits either directly through a public program or indirectly through the continuation of an employer-based plan. Sets forth eligibility and other requirements for such program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1995.

Emergency Community Development Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992

Emergency Community Development Act of 1991 - Title I: Temporary Assistance for Community Development Activities - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to States, local governments, and Indian tribes for community development assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Housing Programs - Authorizes funds, in addition to other specified authorizations, for: (1) public housing vacancy reduction; (2) the National Homeownership Trust; and (3) the Flexible Subsidy Fund. Title III: Single Family Mortgage Insurance - Amends the National Housing Act with regard to single family mortgage insurance to prohibit a limitation on financed closing costs. Directs the Secretary to establish single premium payments for refinanced mortgages. Title IV: Rural Housing - Authorizes and increases funding for: (1) insured or guaranteed rural housing loans; (2) supplemental grants for remote rural housing; (3) housing improvement loans; (4) rural housing loans for elderly, handicapped, or low-income persons; (5) housing for rural homeless and migrant farmworkers; and (6) rental assistance payment contracts. Title V: Homeless Assistance - Authorizes and increases funding for: (1) Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency food and shelter grants; (2) emergency shelter grants; (3) the supportive housing demonstration program; (4) supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless; and (5) section 8 assistance for single room occupancy dwellings. Title VI: Department of Housing and Urban Development Administration - Exempts multifamily project assistance from certain certification of limitation provisions under specified circumstances. Authorizes appropriations for multifamily housing mortgage insurance regional, field, or zone staff. Title VII: Financial Institutions Housing Provisions - Authorizes appropriations for the Federal Home Loan Banks' affordable housing program.