Records whose title is actually about this topic. Use a country filter if the list is still too broad.
Records
Bill· HRH.R. 1810 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Higher Education and Learning Promotion Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish nontaxable education investment accounts which shall permit annual contributions of not more than $1,500 for the account holder's qualified higher education costs. Subjects account distributions used for nonqualifying purposes to taxation, including an additional ten percent tax. Sets forth related reporting requirements. Makes the employer-provided educational assistance program exclusion permanent. Excludes from gross income distributions from a qualified state tuition program used for qualified higher education expenses (including room and board).
Bill· HRH.R. 1796 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense Chapter 1: Department of Defense - Military Chapter 2: Rescissions Chapter 3: General Provisions - This Title Title II: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery from Natural Disasters Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture Chapter 2: Department of Commerce Chapter 3: Department of Defense - Civil Chapter 4: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Chapter 5: Department of the Interior Chapter 6: Department of Health and Human Services Chapter 7: Congressional Operations Chapter 8: Department of Transportation Chapter 9: Department of the Treasury Chapter 10: Department of Veterans Affairs Chapter 11: Offsets and Rescissions Title III: General Provisions - This Act Title IV: Cost of Higher Education Review Title V: Depository Institution Disaster Relief Title VI: Technical Amendments With Respect To Education Title VII: Food Stamp Program 1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from Natural Disasters, and for Overseas Peacekeeping Efforts, Including Those in Bosnia - Title I: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense - Chapter 1: Department of Defense - Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) - Military for: (1) military personnel, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M), Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (3) OPLAN 34A-35 prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) payments to individuals; and (4) the Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Fund. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer specified funds to reimburse costs incurred for repairing damage caused by hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters during 1996 and 1997 to real property and facilities at Marine Corps facilities (including Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, North Carolina; and the Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California). (Sec. 102) Makes additional appropriations for: (1) direct patient care at military treatment facilities; (2) force protection and counter-terrorism activities; and (3) a grant to the American Red Cross for armed forces emergency services. (Sec. 105) Requires the President to submit to the Congress a report on the estimated cumulative cost of all U.S. activities relating to Bosnia after December 1, 1995, and a detailed accounting of the source of funds to meet such costs. (Sec. 106) Makes additional appropriations to cover incremental O&M costs from hurricane damage to family housing units at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. Chapter 2: Rescissions - Rescinds specified funds provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 for: (1) military personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) O&M for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force as well as defense-wide O&M; (3) environmental restoration by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as defense-wide environmental restoration and environmental restoration of formerly used defense sites; (4) former Soviet Union threat reduction; (5) the National Defense Sealift Fund; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities. Rescinds funds made available in such Act and certain other defense appropriations Acts for: (1) various types of procurement, including aircraft, missile, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, shipbuilding and conversion, and ammunition, by various branches of the armed forces; (2) National Guard and reserve equipment; (3) armed forces research, development, test and evaluation; and (4) chemical agents and munitions destruction. (Sec. 201) Rescinds specified amounts of the funds appropriated in specified categories in: (1) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1996, including the Base Realignment and Closure Account; (2) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1997; and (3) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1995. Chapter 3: General Provisions - This Title - Directs DOD to report to the congressional defense committees prior to transferring management, development, and acquisition authority over the National Missile Defense Program from the military services. Requires the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to submit recommendations to such committees on the future roles of the military services with respect to such program. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the incumbent to continue to serve as the Secretary of Defense designee on the Board of the Panama Canal Commission if he retires as an officer of DOD, until and unless the Secretary designates another person to serve in this position. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement, which meets certain requirements, for the lease of a specified building at the Lexington Blue Grass Station, Lexington, Kentucky, and any associated real property, for use by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. (Sec. 304) Authorizes the continuing obligation and expenditure of certain funds appropriated for Navy weapons procurement that were obligated and expended to settle claims on the MK-50 torpedo program. (Sec. 305) Prohibits the use of any DOD funds to pay the cost of operating a National Missile Defense Joint Program Office which includes more than 55 military and civilian personnel located in the National Capital Region. (Sec. 306) Requires the merger of certain National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Air Force funds for obligation only on Titan IV vehicles and related activities. Title II: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery From Natural Disasters - Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs to the Department of Agriculture for: (1) the Farm Service Agency's Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for the additional cost of certain emergency insured and operating loans (including loan modifications); (2) the Emergency Conservation Program for expenses, including carcass removal; (3) the Tree Assistance Program for assistance to small orchardists to replace or rehabilitate disaster-damaged trees and vineyards; and (4) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund, Disaster Reserve Assistance Program, to implement a livestock indemnity program. Makes such appropriations to: (1) the Natural Resources Conservation Service, for watershed and flood prevention operations to repair damages to the waterways and watersheds; (2) the Rural Housing Service, Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account, for the cost of specified loans and domestic farm labor grants for emergency expenses; and (3) the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Utilities Assistance Program, for the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants for emergency expenses. Bars the use of watershed and flood prevention funds for the salmon memorandum of understanding. Authorizes the use of certain community facility grants for the Rural Housing Assistance Program for expenses resulting from natural disasters. Makes additional funds available for the Food and Consumer Service's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. (Sec. 1001) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect and disseminate weekly statistically reliable information on bulk cheese prices. Chapter 2: Department of Commerce - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of Commerce for: (1) the Economic Development Administration's economic development assistance programs for emergency infrastructure expenses; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for new grants for industrial technology services under the Advanced Technology Program; and (3) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for disaster assistance related to recent flooding and red tide and for emergency construction expenses resulting from flooding and other natural disasters. Makes additional amounts available to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Makes additional appropriations for the Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement. (Sec. 2001) Earmarks a specified amount from the Counterterrorism Fund of the Department of Justice for allocation to the appropriate unit or units of government in Ogden, Utah, for necessary expenses to counter any potential terrorism threat related to the 2002 Winter Olympic games. (Sec. 2002) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to extend to the end of FY 1997 the authorization of the program for expanding small business participation in dredging. (Sec. 2003) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to establish certain Good Samaritan exemptions from specified violations. (Sec. 2004) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to reprogram a limited amount of funds provided for NOAA satellite observing systems for other NOAA programmatic and operational requirements, provided certain notification requirements are met. Chapter 3: Department of Defense - Civil - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to emergency expenses due to flooding and other natural disasters, to DOD, Army Corps of Engineers - Civil for: (1) flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; (2) general O&M (with earmarked funds for an interagency management plan and other activities related to water allocation in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basins, subject to certain restrictions); and (3) flood control and coastal emergencies. Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs, to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BLM) for O&M. (Sec. 3001) Makes the U.S. members and the alternate members, appointed under the Susquehanna River Basin Compact and the Delaware River Basin Compact, officers of the Army Corps of Engineers, who hold presidential appointments as regular Army officers with Senate confirmation, and serve without additional compensation, and at the President's pleasure. (Sec. 3002) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to obligate a limited amount of funds for carrying out construction for safety purposes to modify the Willow Creek Dam, Sun River Project, Montana. (Sec. 3003) Defers specified consultation and conferencing requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for certain emergency flood control projects. Chapter 4: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Authorizes the President to waive certain minimum funding requirements under provisions of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 with respect to assistance for Ukraine if he reports to the Appropriations Committees that Ukraine: (1) has not made progress toward comprehensive economic reform; (2) is not taking steps to ensure that U.S. businesses and individuals are able to operate according to generally accepted business principles; or (3) is not taking steps to cease the illegal dumping of steel plate. Chapter 5: Department of the Interior - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of the Interior for: (1) BLM flood damage repair and other activities for Oregon and California Grant Lands; (2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management, construction, and land acquisition; (3) National Park Service emergency expenses and construction; (4) the U.S. Geological Survey; and (5) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Makes such appropriations for emergency expenses of the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service. (Sec. 5001) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (part of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996) to revise the formula for distribution of amounts collected under the recreational fee demonstration program. (Sec. 5003) Amends the San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 to extend its expiration date from June 30, 1997, through March 31, 1999, or, if before that date a Settlement Agreement between the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Phelps Dodge Corporation is submitted for approval to the Superior Court of Arizona in and for Maricopa County, through December 31, 1999. Extends the Tribe's Central Arizona Project water lease authority to Gila, Graham, and Greenlee Counties. Makes the Gila Valley and Franklin Irrigation Districts parties to the Settlement Agreement. Directs the United States, through the BLM, to operate and maintain the Black River facilities, and to contract for delivery of water at Eagle Creek to Phelps Dodge for a specified monthly fee in addition to a specified monthly power line right-of-way fee. Sets forth provisions for a final agreement between Phelps Dodge and the San Carlos Apache Tribe under which the Tribe will operate the facilities and receive payment for leased water. Ratifies the agreement between the Tribe, Phelps Dodge, and the Secretary of the Interior. (Sec. 5004) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to modify requirements for the importation of polar bear parts from polar bears legally harvested in Canada before the date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994. Chapter 6: Department of Health and Human Services - Amends specified Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for additional amounts for: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Health Resources and Services Administration's Health Education Assistance Loans Program; (2) the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for priority health research; and (3) the Department of Education, Education for the Disadvantaged programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Makes funds available for the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education. (Sec. 6001) Extends through FY 1998 the availability, to recipients in presidentially-declared disaster areas declared during FY 1997, of certain funds awarded for State-administered programs of the Department of Education for FY 1995 (and for FY 1996, with respect to such programs under the Rehabilitation Act). (Sec. 6002) Authorizes the Secretary of Education, with respect to student aid awards for award years 1996-1997 and 1997-1998, to waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial aid programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist individuals and other program participants who suffered financial harm from natural disasters. (Sec. 6003) Prohibits the use of any funds to administer or implement in Denver, Colorado, a Medicare Competitive Pricing-Open Enrollment Demonstration program. (Sec. 6004) Provides for emergency use of certain child care funds. Authorizes eligible State Governors, for a limited time period, to use amounts received for the provision of child care assistance or services under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provide emergency child care services to eligible individuals. Bases State eligibility on the President's determination, pursuant to specified provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, that a major disaster exists, or that an area within the State is determined to be eligible for disaster relief under other Federal law by reason of damage related to flooding in 1997. Bases individual eligibility on: (1) residence within such an area where a major disaster exists, or which is so eligible for disaster relief; and (2) involvement in unpaid work activities (including the cleaning, repair, restoration, and rebuilding of homes, businesses, and schools) resulting from such flood emergency. Sets forth limitations and priorities with respect to such assistance. (Sec. 6005) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend certain redetermination provisions for the supplementary security income (SSI) program. Chapter 7: Congressional Operations - Makes supplemental appropriations for an additional amount for expenses of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, to carry out specified provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1997. Provides an amount for payment to the children of Frank Tejeda, the late Representative from the State of Texas. Makes additional amounts available for salaries and expenses of the Botanic Garden for emergency repair and renovation of the conservatory. (Sec. 7001) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1968 to make a specified limitation on the minimum rate of gross compensation inapplicable to any member or civilian employee of the Capitol Police whose compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 7002) Authorizes the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate, with the approval of the Committee on Rules and Administration, to provide additional facilities, services, equipment, and office space for use by a Senator in that Senator's State in connection with a presidentially-declared disaster or emergency. (Sec. 7003) Allows the transfer of a limited amount of funds for the expense allowance of the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 7004) Authorizes the Comptroller General to use available funds to enter into contracts for the acquisition of severable services for periods that begin in one fiscal year and end in another and to enter into specified multiyear contracts to the same extent as agencies under the authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. Chapter 8: Department of Transportation - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of Transportation for: (1) Coast Guard retired pay and for operating expenses directly related to support activities in the TWA Flight 800 crash investigation; (2) Federal Highway Administration, Federal-Aid Highways and for the Emergency Relief Program; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration, to repair and rebuild freight rail lines of regional and short line railroads damaged by floods (with earmarks for West Virginia and the northern Plains States). Makes such appropriations to the National Transportation Safety Board for: (1) emergency expenses resulting from the crashes of TWA Flight 800, ValuJet 592, and Comair Flight 3272; and (2) assistance to families of victims of aviation accidents. (Sec. 8003) Authorizes additional appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY 1997 for grants to States for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures. (Sec. 8004) Extends through FY 1997 the authorization of appropriations for the National Driver Register. Chapter 9: Department of Treasury - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of the Treasury. Authorizes the Secretary of Treasury to use the law enforcement services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the State of Colorado and of the county and city of Denver for security arrangements for the Denver Summit of Eight. Makes supplemental appropriations to: (1) the Customs Service for the automated targeting system with respect to counterterrorism and drug law enforcement; and (2) the Postal Service Fund, for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail for specified purposes. (Sec. 9001) Authorizes the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to obligate specified appropriations for construction of the Montgomery, Alabama courthouse. (Sec. 9002) Prohibits the use of funds by GSA to implement certain cooperative purchasing provisions of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 prior to the adjournment of the first session of the 105th Congress. (Sec. 9003) Prohibits the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from awarding a contract for the procurement of distinctive currency paper until the General Accounting Office has completed an analysis of the optimum circumstances for procuring such paper. Limits the term of the bridge contract with respect to such paper to 24 months and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make certain certifications concerning the price and terms of the agreement. (Sec. 9004) Amends specified Federal civil service law to authorize and establish a leave transfer program in disasters and emergencies. Chapter 10: Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes additional amounts available for: (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions; and (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for preserving existing housing investment, capacity building for community development and affordable housing, and for community development block grants for activities in communities affected by disasters in the upper Midwest. Authorizes appropriations for the construction of a parking garage at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland, Ohio. Earmarks amounts of assisted housing special purpose grants for acquiring parking and restoring a theater in Ashland, Kentucky. Requires the HUD Secretary to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for an evaluation of HUD's management systems. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from previous appropriations for the Center for Ecology Research and Training (CERT), to obligate the maximum amount of funds necessary to settle all outstanding CERT-related claims against the EPA pursuant to the Uniform Relocation and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Authorizes EPA, from any unobligated balances then remaining, to make grants to Bay City, Michigan, for the purpose of EPA-approved environmental remediation and rehabilitation of publicly owned real property included in the boundaries of the CERT project. Authorizes the use of a specified amount of funds for grants to States and federally recognized tribes for multi-media or single media pollution prevention, control, and abatement for direct implementation by the Federal Government of programs required in absence of acceptable State or tribal programs. Makes additional funds available to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster relief. Conditions the availability of a portion of such funds on the submission by the FEMA Director of a legislative proposal to control disaster relief expenditures, including the elimination of funding for certain revenue producing facilities. Authorizes transfer of a specified amount of FEMA disaster relief funds to the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program for the cost of direct loans under certain provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, under specified conditions. (Sec. 10001) Directs the HUD Secretary to submit semi-annually to the Appropriations Committees a list of all contracts and task orders in excess of $250,000 entered into by HUD, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in the preceding six months. (Sec. 10002) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to revise certain time periods relating to notice requirements for terminating section 8 housing contracts. (Sec. 10003) Amends the Multifamily Housing Finance Improvement Act, under specified provisions of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, to revise limitations on the Secretary of HUD's mortgage insurance authority to allow commitments with respect to a limited number of additional units during FY 1997. (Sec. 10005) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize HUD mortgage insurance for condominiums in an amount up to 100 percent of appraised value where a mortgagor establishes that the home was destroyed or damaged as a result of a major disaster. Chapter 11: Offsets and Rescissions - Sets forth offsets with respect to the Fund for Rural America and the Food and Consumer Service's emergency food assistance program. Prohibits the use of Department of Agriculture funds under the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to pay the personnel salaries and expenses above specified levels to carry out: (1) a combined program for export credit guarantees, supplier credit guarantees, and emerging democracies facilities guarantees; and (2) an export enhancement program. Rescinds specified funds available for: (1) the Department of Justice for the Working Capital Fund, the Assets Forfeiture Fund, and Immigration and Naturalization Service construction; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Advanced Technology Program; (3) the Federal Communications Commission; (4) the Ounce of Prevention Council; (5) the Department of Energy for energy supply and research and development activities, power marketing administrations, clean coal technology, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; (6) the Department of HHS for job opportunities and basic skills; (7) the Department of Transportation for grants-in-aid for airports, highway traffic safety grants, and other Highway Trust Fund monies; (8) GSA presidential transition expenses; (9) HUD assisted housing programs; and (10) NASA. Title III: General Provisions - This Act - Provides that no appropriation made in this Act shall remain available beyond the current fiscal year unless otherwise provided. (Sec. 30002) Sets forth Buy-American requirements. Title IV: Cost of Higher Education Review - Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997 - Establishes a National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education to study and make recommendations regarding: (1) the increase in tuition compared with other commodities and services; (2) innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing tuition; (3) the impact on tuition of specified trends in college and university costs, student financial aid, and government mandates and fiscal policies; (4) mechanisms for a more timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges and universities; and (5) the adequacy of existing Federal and State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attending colleges and universities. (Sec. 40006) Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Title V: Depository Institution Disaster Relief - Depository Institutions Disaster Relief Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to make exceptions, during specified limited periods, to the Truth in Lending Act for transactions, and to the Expedited Funds Availability Act for depository institution offices, within a major disaster area or an area eligible for disaster relief because of the recent flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. (Sec. 50003) Authorizes the appropriate Federal banking agency to permit, for a specified time period, certain insured depository institutions, in or involved with such area, to subtract from the institution's total assets, in calculating compliance with the leverage limit prescribed under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, an amount not exceeding the qualifying amount attributable to insurance proceeds. (Sec. 50004) Authorizes qualifying regulatory agencies to take specified actions with respect to depository institutions or other regulated entities whose principal place of business is within, or with respect to transactions or activities within such area. (Sec. 50005) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration should encourage depository institutions to meet the financial services needs of their communities and customers located in areas affected by the 1997 flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal financial institutions regulatory agency should make exceptions to the appraisal standards prescribed by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 for transactions involving institutions located in disaster areas if the exceptions can be expected to alleviate hardships to the public resulting from such disasters. Title VI: Technical Amendments With Respect to Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain technical corrections relating to graduation rates data disclosures. (Sec. 60002) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to extend from January 1, 1998, to January 1, 1999, the deadline for a final report by the Secretary of Education on a national assessment of programs assisted under ESEA title I, Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards. (Sec. 60003) Directs the Secretary to deem Kansas and New Mexico as having timely submitted certain written notices of intent to consider specified impact aid payments under ESEA in providing State aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school year 1997-1998. Authorizes the Secretary to require these States to submit appropriate additional information, which shall be considered part of such notice. (Sec. 60004) Provides that no eligible LEA shall receive less than 85 percent of the FY 1996 amount in a specified hold-harmless impact aid payment for each of FY 1997 through 2000. (Sec. 60005) Revises requirements for the Secretary's use of data in providing additional assistance for heavily impacted LEAs, to specify that the student and revenue data used be expenditure data. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary use the most recent data available adjusted to the fiscal year in question. Title VII: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to grant States an option to issue food stamp benefits to certain individuals made ineligible by welfare reform.
Bill· HRH.R. 1809 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit (as part of the general business credit) for employers who provide qualified day care centers for the use of their employees.
Bill· HRH.R. 1795 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to defined benefit plans to modify special limitations applicable to qualified police and fire fighters.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 162 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 1469 (emergency supplemental appropriations).
Bill· HRH.R. 1783 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Treatment of Passive Foreign Investment Companies Title II: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations Title III: Other Provisions International Tax Simplification for American Competitiveness Act - Title I: Treatment of Passive Foreign Investment Companies - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt U.S. shareholders of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) from passive foreign investment company (PFIC) inclusion. (Sec. 102) Allows a U.S shareholder of a PFIC to elect to include the difference between such stock's fair market value and adjusted basis as income, or the difference between adjusted basis and fair market value or unreversed inclusions as a deduction. (Sec. 103) Modifies the definition of "passive income." Title II: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations - Amends the Code to treat the gain on certain CFC stock sales as dividends. (Sec. 203) Revises specified indirect (deemed taxes paid) foreign tax credit provisions. (Sec. 204) Excludes certain active finance-related income from inclusion as foreign personal holding company income. (Sec. 205) Applies, for foreign tax credit purposes, income category "look-through" rules to dividends earned by certain noncontrolled U.S.-foreign corporations providing specified information. Applies a single foreign tax credit limitation where such information is not provided. (Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study on the feasibility of treating all European Union countries as one country for purposes of certain same-country exceptions with respect to controlled foreign corporations. (Sec. 207) Increases the amount of income used to determine the taxability of foreign base company income or insurance income with respect to CFCs. (Sec. 208) Permits use of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles with respect to CFCs. (Sec. 209) Excludes income from the transportation of oil or gas within a foreign country from the definition of "foreign base company oil related income." (Sec. 210) Provides a deduction for dividends received from certain foreign corporations. Applies constructive ownership provisions to certain foreign ownership requirements with respect to post-1986 undistributed U.S. earnings. Title III: Other Provisions - Amends the Code with respect to certain foreign tax credit determinations to provide that accrued taxes shall be translated into dollars by using the average exchange rate for the year to which such taxes relate. (Sec. 302) Allows a taxpayer to elect a specified alternative minimum foreign tax credit limitation. (Sec. 303) Provides for recognition of taxable gain with respect to certain property transfers by a U.S. person to a foreign corporation. (Sec. 306) Applies uniform capitalization rules to foreign taxpayers with respect to income connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business. (Sec. 307) Extends the excess foreign tax carryover or carryback period. (Sec. 308) Provides for recharacterization of overall domestic loss by treating certain U.S. source income as non-U.S. source income. (Sec. 309) Includes computer software within the category of foreign sales corporation property. Eliminates the special 50 percent rule relating to foreign sales corporation transactions of military property. (Sec. 310) Provides special rules with respect to financial services income and interest. (Sec. 311) Excludes from consideration as U.S. property certain assets acquired by securities or commodities dealers. (Sec. 312) Exempts from taxation certain regulated investment company dividends received by nonresident aliens. Treats certain regulated investment company stock owned by nonresident noncitizens as non-U.S.property for estate tax purposes. (Sec. 313) Excludes nonenforceable preliminary agreements from the definition of "intangible property." (Sec. 314) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study of the interest allocation rules.
Bill· HRH.R. 1778 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Defense Personnel Reforms Title II: Defense Business Practices Reforms Subtitle A: Competitive Procurement Requirements Subtitle B: Reform of Conversion Process Subtitle C: Other Reforms Title III: Environmental Reforms Subtitle A: Superfund Reforms Generally Subtitle B: Superfund and Other Environmental Law Reforms Applicable to Department of Defense or Department of Energy Title IV: Miscellaneous Additional Defense Reforms Title V: Commission on Defense Organization and Streamlining Defense Reform Act of 1997 - Title I: Defense Personnel Reforms - Amends Federal armed forces provisions to provide a phased reduction in the number of Department of Defense (DOD) personnel assigned to management headquarters and headquarters support activities. Provides that the number of such personnel as of October 1, 1998, may not exceed 90 percent of the number of such personnel on October 1, 1997. Decreases such percentage by an additional 5 percent as of October 1 of each subsequent year through 2001. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to waive such requirement if he determines and certifies to the Congress that such limitation would adversely affect U.S. national security. Requires an implementation report from the Secretary to the Congress containing a plan to achieve such reductions. (Sec. 102) Requires a similar phased reduction in the number of DOD acquisition workforce personnel, to achieve a total reduction of 124,000 by October 1, 2001. Requires an implementation report. (Sec. 103) Decreases the required percentage reduction in monthly retirement annuity amounts under an alternative annuity plan paid to certain DOD acquisition personnel who are separated from service before age 55. Requires an initial and final report from the Secretary to the Congress concerning alternative plan participants. (Sec. 104) Authorizes the Secretary to offer separation pay to DOD civilian personnel who: (1) are covered by the definition of "defense acquisition personnel"; (2) are separated from service during FY 1998 after meeting Federal age plus years in service requirements; and (3) do not receive any other separation pay. Requires a report. (Sec. 105) Requires, by October 1, 1998, a reduction in the number of personnel assigned to the United States Transportation Command to no more than 66,238. Provides authorized personnel sources for such reduction. Title II: Defense Business Practices Reforms - Subtitle A: Competitive Procurement Requirements - Requires the Secretary, no later than October 1, 1998, to use competitive procurement requirements in the purchase of: (1) finance and accounting services; (2) services for the disposal of surplus property; (3) information services currently performed by the Defense Information Systems Agency; and (4) opthalmic services related to the provision of eyeware for current and retired military personnel and their beneficiaries (with an exception). Requires various reports concerning the services provided under (2) and (3), above. (Sec. 204) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to extend through FY 1998 the required competitive procurement by DOD of printing and duplication services. Prohibits the Defense Automation and Printing Service from imposing a surcharge on any such service for DOD that is procured from outside of DOD. (Sec. 206) Requires, in each fiscal year beginning after 1999, no less than 33 percent of the commercial and industrial type functions of the defense agencies to be performed by private contractors. Requires an implementation plan from the Secretary to the Congress. Subtitle B: Reform of Conversion Process - Directs the Secretary, no later than October 1, 1998, to develop standard forms to be used in the consideration for conversion to contractor performance of those commercial services and functions at military installations that have been converted to contractor performance at a rate of 50 percent or more. (Sec. 212) Requires the Secretary, in the case of a commercial or industrial type DOD function that on October 1, 1980, was being performed by DOD civilian employees, to notify the Congress of any decision to study such function for possible conversion to performance by a private contractor. Requires further notification if a decision is made to convert such function. Makes such notification requirements inapplicable to a function currently being performed by 20 (currently 45) or fewer DOD civilian employees. (Sec. 213) Directs the Secretary, with respect to each contract converting the performance of a DOD service or function to contractor performance, to collect, during the term of the contract (but not to exceed five years), cost information data regarding performance by private contractor employees. Subtitle C: Other Reforms - Directs the Secretary to reduce the annual overhead costs of the supply management activities of the Defense Logistics Agency and the military departments so that such costs are not more than eight percent of annual net sales at standard price. Requires such reduction by September 30, 2000. Requires an implementation plan. (Sec. 222) Amends the DOD procurement technical assistance cooperative agreement program to: (1) authorize the provision of electronic commerce technical assistance; (2) require the Secretary to use competitive procedures in entering into cooperative agreements; and (3) allow the Secretary to expend only funds specifically appropriated for such program. (Sec. 223) Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to convey a utility system (or part thereof) under his jurisdiction to a municipal, private, regional, district, or cooperative utility company or other entity. Requires notification of any such conveyances to the appropriate congressional committees. Title III: Environmental Reforms - Subtitle A: Superfund Reforms Generally - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to require environmental remedies undertaken at Superfund cleanup sites to be protective of human health and the environment and to provide a cost-effective treatment to achieve a remediation level that permits reasonably anticipated future land uses at the facility. Requires the President to identify and select an appropriate remedy that minimizes exposures by comparing alternative remedies and balancing specified factors (effectiveness, reliability, cost, risks) with respect to each remedy. Authorizes the President to defer the selection of a remedial action if he determines that: (1) the hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant can be contained in a manner sufficient to protect human health and the environment; and (2) an innovative technology is expected to be available in the near future that will provide a more cost-effective remedy. Directs the President to determine the appropriate remedy for "hot spots" (areas within a facility that contain hazardous substances in high concentrations, that are highly mobile, and that cannot be contained or areas that would present a significant risk to human health or the environment). Directs the President to establish cost-effective generic remedies for categories of facilities, together with expedited procedures (including community involvement) for selecting generic remedies at an individual facility. Requires the President, whenever he selects a remedial action which relies on land, water, or other resource restrictions, to specify the nature of such restrictions and to ensure that such restrictions are incorporated into a hazardous substance easement. (Sec. 302) Directs the President, before selecting a remedy, to identify the reasonably anticipated future uses of land at a facility, taking into consideration specified factors, including views expressed by the local community, recommendations of review committees, and the land's use history. (Sec. 303) Prohibits criminal liability for Federal officers, employees, and agents failing to comply with an environmental action response requirement at a federally owned facility unless: (1) such individual has not fully performed any direct or delegated responsibility to ensure that a request for sufficient funding for such action was included in the President's budget request; or (2) appropriated funds were available for such action. (Sec. 304) Authorizes a State to apply to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to exercise vested authorities of the Administrator with respect to remediation actions at Federal facilities, including review and approval of documents prepared in connection with remedial investigations and studies, review and selection of remediation remedies, and entering into appropriate remediation agreements. Provides for the transfer of authority in such cases from the Administrator to the State, with specified conditions. Requires the Administrator to make a determination on an application from a State within 90 days after its receipt. Provides for: (1) withdrawal of authorities for improper use or activities (with a requirement of written notice to such State at least 90 days prior to such withdrawal); (2) the enforcement of interagency agreements and remedy selection; (3) procedures to be undertaken upon failure to concur in a remedy selection; and (4) authority transfer limitations. Subtitle B: Superfund and Other Environmental Law Reforms Applicable to Department of Defense or Department of Energy - Makes certain CERCLA standards relating to the attainment of a relevant and appropriate environmental standard inapplicable to a remedial action undertaken at a DOD facility if the facility is not listed on the CERCLA national priorities list. (Sec. 312) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense or Energy, with respect to any site or facility under his or her jurisdiction, to terminate the long-term operation and maintenance of a completed remedial or corrective action in any case in which such Secretary determines, with the concurrence of the Administrator or appropriate State or local authorities, that the release or threatened release of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants at such site or facility is no longer a threat to human health and the environment. (Sec. 313) Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from entering into or agreeing to a major modification of an environmental compliance agreement until after such Secretary submits to the Congress specified cost and budget information. (Sec. 314) Provides for the continued effect of any exemptions from Clean Air Act standards which were in effect with respect to ozone or particulate matter at property owned or operated by the armed forces. (Sec. 315) Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize the EPA Administrator to provide for unexpended military munitions in storage to not be considered hazardous waste under such Act. Title IV: Miscellaneous Additional Defense Reforms - Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to enter into contracts for the long-term lease or charter of newly built surface vessels, or for the provision of a service through use by a contractor of such vessels, for: (1) the Navy combat logistics force; (2) the Navy strategic sealift program; or (3) other auxiliary support vessels for DOD. Requires such contracts to be authorized by law. Outlines provisions concerning: (1) funds for contract payments; (2) contract terms (including an option to buy leased or chartered vessels); (3) the required crewing of such vessels by private sector commercial mariners; and (4) contract termination liability. (Sec. 402) Directs the Secretary, in at least one U.S. metropolitan area containing multiple military installations, to provide for the installation of fiber-optics based telecommunications technology to link as many of the installations in such area as practicable in a privately dedicated telecommunications network. Requires an implementation report. (Sec. 403) Repeals a Federal provision requiring specified contractor guarantees to the appropriate defense agency head with respect to major weapon systems being produced and delivered by such contractor. (Sec. 404) Provides contracting officer requirements relating to the purchase of commercial items in an amount less than or equal to the micro-purchase threshold. (Sec. 406) Terminates the Armed Services Patent Advisory Board. Transfers Board functions to the Defense Technology Security Administration. (Sec. 407) Establishes in DOD a Board on Criminal Investigations to provide for coordination and cooperation between the military department criminal investigative organizations in order to avoid duplication of effort and maximize available resources. Directs the Board to establish regional working groups to address and resolve issues of jurisdictional responsibility, with final determination of such issues by the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). (Sec. 408) Terminates on December 31, 1998, any existing DOD advisory committee that was not established or expressly continued by law after January 1, 1995. Requires: (1) a report from the Secretary to the Congress with respect to committees for which continuance is requested; and (2) an annual report from the Secretary to the Congress identifying each committee that the Secretary proposes to support during the next fiscal year. Title V: Commission on Defense Organization and Streamlining - Establishes the Commission on Defense Organization and Streamlining to: (1) examine the missions, functions, and responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the management headquarters and headquarters support activities of the military departments and defense agencies, and the various DOD acquisition organizations; (2) propose alternative organizational structures and alternative allocations of authorities; (3) identify areas of duplication and recommend options to streamline, reduce, and eliminate redundancies; and (4) submit an interim and final report to the Congress.
Bill· HRH.R. 1775 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Intelligence Activities Title II: Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System Title III: General Provisions Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 - Title I: Intelligence Activities - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 for the conduct of intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the: (1) Central Intelligence Agency; (2) Department of Defense; (3) Defense Intelligence Agency; (4) National Security Agency; (5) Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; (6) Departments of State, the Treasury, and Energy; (7) Federal Bureau of Investigation; (8) Drug Enforcement Administration; (9) National Reconnaissance Office; and (10) National Imagery and Mapping Agency. Specifies that the amounts authorized to be appropriated and the authorized personnel ceilings as of September 30, 1998, for such activities are those specified in the classified Schedule of Authorizations, which shall be made available to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees and the President. Allows the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), with the approval of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to authorize employment of civilian personnel in excess of the number authorized for FY 1998 when the DCI determines that such action is necessary to the performance of important intelligence functions, subject to specified limitations. Requires notification of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees whenever such authority is exercised. Authorizes appropriations for the Community Management Account of the DCI for FY 1998. Authorizes full-time personnel for the Community Management Staff of the DCI as of September 30, 1998. Provides for the reimbursement of any U.S. officer or employee, or member of the armed forces, who is detailed to such Staff. Title II: Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 for the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund. Title III: General Provisions - Permits appropriations authorized by this Act for salary, pay, retirement, and other benefits for Federal employees to be increased by such additional amounts as may be necessary for increases in such compensation or benefits authorized by law. Specifies that the authorization of appropriations by this Act shall not be deemed to constitute authority for the conduct of any intelligence activity which is not otherwise authorized by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
Bill· HRH.R. 1792 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
Small Business Owners' Health Insurance Deductibility Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the deduction allowed for health insurance costs for self-employed individuals to 100 percent.
Bill· HRH.R. 1784 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify pension rules governing nondiscrimination and participation requirements for State judicial retirement plans for judges and justices.
Bill· HRH.R. 1780 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Promoting Disclosure of Information on Campaign Spending Title II: Encouraging Participation in Campaigns Subtitle A: Enforcement of Federal Campaign Laws by Attorney General Subtitle B: Facilitating Dissemination of Information Title III: Reform of Federal Election Commission Title IV: Termination of Presidential Election Campaign Fund Voter Empowerment Act of 1997 - Title I: Promoting Disclosure of Information on Campaign Spending - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require disclosure to the Federal Election Commission of: (1) expenditures in excess of specified amounts for issue advocacy communications (as described by this Act); (2) expenditures in excess of specified amounts for certain permissible activities of banks, corporations, and labor unions; and (3) State or local political party expenditure information required to be reported under State or local law. (Sec. 104) Requires: (1) (currently authorizes) certain filings with the Commission to be done electronically; (2) such information to be made available on the Internet and at Commission offices. Permits Commission waiver of specified acquisition rules to expedite electronic access. (Sec. 105) Revises specified reporting provisions. (Sec. 106) Waives the "best effort" political committee compliance standard with respect to the identification of annual contributors of more than $200. (Sec. 107) Requires disclosure to the Commission by a contributor to a political committee of a national party, and by such committee, with respect to annual amounts of $250,000 or more. Title II: Encouraging Participation in Campaigns - Amends the Act to set forth contribution indexing provisions. (Sec. 202) Permits trade association corporate members to approve contribution solicitations by more than one trade association. (Sec. 203) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual tax credit of up to $200 ($400 joint) for one-half of the Federal political contributions made during the taxable year. Title III: Reform of Federal Election Commission - Subtitle A: Enforcement of Federal Campaign Laws by Attorney General - Directs the Attorney General to establish an office within the Department of Justice to enforce specified election provisions under the Act and the Internal Revenue Code. (Sec. 302) Terminates Commission enforcement authority. (Sec. 303) Reduces Commission membership upon establishment of such enforcement office. Subtitle B: Facilitating Dissemination of Information - Amends the Act to direct the Commission to: (1) maintain an index of advisory opinions and provide written responses to questions; and (2) publish the names of candidates whose authorized committees have accepted prohibited contributions. Title IV: Termination of Presidential Election Campaign Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate: (1) the Presidential Election Campaign Fund; (2) the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account; and (3) the designation of income tax payments for presidential elections.
Bill· HRH.R. 1785 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
Provides for an automatic continuing appropriation for the U.S. Government whenever a regular appropriation bill or continuing resolution for a fiscal year does not become law prior to the beginning of such fiscal year. Appropriates such sums as may be necessary to continue any project or activity for which funds were provided in the preceding fiscal year: (1) in the amount provided in the corresponding regular appropriation Act or continuing resolution for such preceding fiscal year; or (2) if such corresponding appropriation bill or continuing resolution did not become law, then as provided by this Act. Sets forth the terms and conditions relating to such continuing appropriations. Prohibits funding for any project or activity: (1) for which there is no authorization of appropriations for such fiscal year; or (2) during a fiscal year if any other provision of law makes an appropriation, makes funds available, grants continuation authority, or specifically prohibits funding or authority for such project or activity.
Bill· HRH.R. 1791 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
Home Office Equality Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for a portion of a dwelling unit exclusively used to carry out, on a consistent basis, essential administrative and managerial functions regarding the taxpayer's trade or business, regardless of the amount of time spent on those functions in that location.
Bill· HRH.R. 1781 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
Amends the Revenue Act of 1987 to require treatment of a bond issued by any political subdivision of the State referred to in specified transitional rule provisions as issued by the authority referred to in those provisions.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 160 (105th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1997
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H. Con. Res. 84 (congressional budget).
Bill· SS. 828 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
NO Tobacco for Kids Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct annual surveys to determine the number of children who used each manufacturer's tobacco products. Requires each such manufacturer to make specified annual reductions in child tobacco use and provides penalties based upon total consumer use for failure to meet such requirements (with reductions for near compliance). Sets forth performance standards for new manufacturers. Directs that specified amounts of fiscal year penalties shall go to a Tobacco Enforcement and Education Fund in the Treasury, with any excess to go to the Treasury. Sets forth judicial review provisions.
Bill· SS. 829 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Clean-Fuel Vehicle Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the tax treatment of electric and other clean-fuel motor vehicles.
Bill· SS. 827 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Adoption Promotion Act of 1997 - Amends the Social Security Act to provide that in cases of aggravated circumstances (including abuse, abandonment, and torture), the States are not required to first make reasonable efforts to retain children in their own homes as a prerequisite to placing a child in foster care. (Sec. 3) Requires a State to initiate or join proceedings to terminate parental rights for children under age ten who have been in foster care under State responsibility for 18 months. (Sec. 4) Entitles each incentive-eligible State for a fiscal year to receive from the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the immediately succeeding fiscal year a grant in an amount equal to the adoption incentive payment. Makes appropriations for such grants. (Sec. 5) Provides for earlier status reviews and permanency hearings, notice of reviews and hearings, and opportunity to be heard for foster parents and pertinent relatives. (Sec. 7) Mandates State documentation of the steps taken to find and finalize permanent child placement. (Sec. 8) Requires the Secretary to: (1) report and make recommendations to specified congressional committees on the extent to which children in foster care are placed in the care of a relative (kinship care); and (2) establish an advisory panel to review such report. (Sec. 9) Authorizes use of the parent locator service in termination of parental rights proceedings. (Sec. 10) Instructs the Secretary to: (1) develop a set of outcome measures to assess the performance of States in operating child protection programs; and (2) report annually to the Congress on the performance of each State on each outcome measure. (Sec. 11) Increases from 10 to 15 the authorized number of State child protection demonstration projects. (Sec. 12) Prescribes guidelines for technical assistance to help States and local communities reach their targets for increased numbers of adoptions and alternative permanent placements for children in foster care (including development of programs that place children into pre-adoptive families without waiting for termination of parental rights). (Sec. 13) Instructs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees regarding the scope of substance abuse in the child welfare population, and the outcomes resulting from the services provided to such population. (Sec. 14) Modifies the eligibility criteria for Independent Living Services.
Bill· HRH.R. 1757 (105th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Division A: Consolidation of Foreign Affairs Agencies Title I: General Provisions Title II: United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Title III: United States Information Agency Title IV: United States International Development Cooperation Agency Title V: Agency for International Development Title VI: Transition Division B: State Department and Related Agencies Authorization Act Title X: General Provisions Title XI: Authorization of Appropriations for Department of State and Certain International Affairs Functions and Activities Title XII: Department of State Authorities and Activities Title XIII: Organization of the Department of State; Department of State Personnel; the Foreign Service Title XIV: United States Public Diplomacy: Authorities and Activities for United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs Title XV: International Organizations; United Nations and Related Agencies Title XVI: Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Title XVII: Foreign Policy Provisions Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Division A: Consolidation of Foreign Affairs Agencies - Title I: General Provisions - Foreign Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1997 - Specifies findings and purposes of this division, including to: (1) consolidate and reinvent U.S. foreign affairs agencies within the Department of State; and (2) assist congressional efforts to balance the Federal budget and reduce the Federal debt. Title II: United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency - Abolishes the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) as of August 17, 1998, (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the reorganization plan required by this Act), and transfers all functions of the ACDA Director to the Secretary of State. (Sec. 213) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish in the Department of State: (1) an Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security; (2) an Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Transfer and Export Control Policy; and (3) an Assistant Secretary for Arms Control and Nonproliferation. Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to authorize the Under Secretary to attend and participate in meetings of the National Security Council. Title III: United States Information Agency - Abolishes the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) as of August 17, 1999, (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the reorganization plan required by this Act), and transfers all functions of the USIA Director to the Secretary. Declares that the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau shall continue to carry out their duties. (Sec. 313) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish in the Department of State: (1) an Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy; (2) an Assistant Secretary for International Exchanges; and (3) an Assistant Secretary for International Information Programs. (Sec. 315) Abolishes the Office of the Inspector General of the USIA, and transfers all its functions to the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State. (Sec. 323) Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 and other specified Federal law to make conforming amendments with respect to the transfer of functions to the Department of State. Title IV: United States International Development Cooperation Agency - Abolishes the United States International Development Cooperation Agency (IDCA) (except for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)) as of August 17, 1998, (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the reorganization plan required by this Act), and transfers all functions of the Agency Director to the Secretary. Title V: Agency for International Development - Mandates reorganization of the Agency for International Development (AID), according to a specified plan required by this Act, as of August 17, 1999, (or, if earlier, the date mandated in the plan), and transfers specified functions to the Department of State. Title VI: Transition - Directs the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a reorganization plan for: (1) the abolition, and transfer of functions, of ACDA, USIA, and IDCA; and (2) the consolidation, and transfer of specified functions, of AID. Sets forth transition administrative provisions regarding: (1) the Secretary's reorganization authorities; (2) the transfer and allocation of appropriations and personnel; (3) specified incidental transfers of personnel, liabilities, records,and funds; and (4) effects of terminations and transfers of functions on personnel. (Sec. 615) Establishes the Foreign Affairs Reorganization Transition Fund to provide funds for the orderly transfer of functions and personnel. (Sec. 620) Requires the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a final accounting of the finances and operations of the agencies abolished under this Act. Division B: State Department and Related Agencies Authorization Act - Title X (sic): General Provisions - State Department and Related Agencies Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 - Sets forth the legislative history of this division. Title XI: Authorization of Appropriations for Department of State and Certain International Affairs Functions and Activities - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of State for FY 1998 and 1999 for: (1) the administration of foreign affairs; (2) contributions to international organizations and international peacekeeping activities; (3) international conferences and contingencies; (4) purposes of offsetting adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; (5) international commissions; (6) migration and refugee assistance (including Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal, refugees resettling in Israel, humanitarian assistance for displaced Burmese); (7) the Asia Foundation; (8) specified international information activities and educational and cultural exchange programs; and (9) activities carrying out the Arms Control and Disarmament Act. (Sec. 1102) Specifies limits on the U.S. voluntary contribution to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with respect to UNDP programs and activities in Burma unless the President certifies that certain conditions are met. Title XII: Department of State Authorities and Activities - Revises the program of Department of State rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any individual in connection with acts of international terrorism against U.S. persons or property or with certain narcotics-related offenses. Adds conspiracy, attempt to commit such acts, and aiding or abetting to the list of crimes for which information rewards may be paid. Requires Secretary approval of all rewards (currently, only those over $100,000). (Sec. 1201) Authorizes appropriations for such awards, with limitations. Authorizes the President to retain a specified percentage of earnings accruing on all assets of foreign countries blocked by the President pursuant to the International Emergency Powers Act for such award program. (Sec. 1202) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 to allow use of the Capital Investment Fund for enhancement of information technology and other related capital investments. (Sec. 1203) Repeals specified reporting requirements. (Sec. 1205) Amends the International Claims Settlement Act to grant jurisdiction to the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States to adjudicate claims included in a category of claims against a foreign government upon referral by the Secretary. (Sec. 1206) Amends the Department of State Appropriation Act, 1937 to authorize the Secretary to accept, in certain cases, reimbursement from private sector claimants for ordinary (currently, only extraordinary) expenses incurred in pursuing a claim on their behalf against a foreign government or other foreign entity. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize the Secretary to procure personal services in prosecuting such a claim or a proceeding before an international tribunal. (Sec. 1207) Establishes a special fee account for use in paying certain expenses of the Department of State and the Foreign Service. Earmarks funds for the provision, without charge, of passport information services to U.S. citizens. (Sec. 1208) Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 to require deposit in a special fund of the Treasury of a certain amount of fees collected from processing machine readable visas. Makes funds available for certain costs of the Department's border security program. Repeals the prohibition against the charging of fees to citizens of countries that are signatories to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (Sec. 1209) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to change from $700,000 to all the amount of registration fees collected by the Office of Defense Trade Controls of the Department of State which shall be credited for each fiscal year to a Department of State account, without limitation. Adds to the permissible expenses payable from such account the enhancement of specified defense trade export compliance and enforcement activities. (Sec. 1210) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to authorize the Secretary to provide training through the Foreign Service Institute on a reimbursable basis to U.S. company employees (and their families) who are engaged in business abroad, as well as Members of Congress, congressional staff, the judiciary, and their employees. Authorizes the Secretary to charge fees for use of the Department's National Foreign Affairs Training Center Facility and diplomatic reception rooms. (Sec. 1213) Directs the Secretary to include in the annual Congressional Presentation Document and the Budget in Brief an accounting of the total collections received from all sources, including fees. (Sec. 1214) Authorizes a Federal agency to make grants to the Department, or otherwise reimburse or credit it with advance payment, for funds used in providing assistance to overseas educational facilities attended by children of agency employees. (Sec. 1215) Amends the International Child Abduction Remedies Act to authorize the U.S. Central Authority to make grants to, or contract with, any individual, corporation, or other Federal, State, or local agency, or U.S. private organization for the purpose of helping it remedy international child abductions (returning wrongfully removed children, as well as securing the exercise of visitation rights). (Sec. 1241) Makes 30 percent of the fees collected in FY 1998 and 1999 for expedited passport processing available only for enhancing passport services, investigating passport fraud, and deterring entry into the United States by terrorists and other criminals. (Sec. 1242) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize any U.S. citizen employee of the Department of State designated to adjudicate nationality abroad to issue reports of birth of U.S. citizens abroad, authenticate certain foreign documents, and administer oaths. (Sec. 1261) Directs the Secretary to include in the monthly report to the Congress entitled "Update on Monitoring of Cuban Migrant Returnees" information on: (1) the methods employed by the Cuban Government to enforce the United States-Cuba Immigration Agreement of September 1994 to restrict the emigration of Cuban people to the United States; and (2) the Cuban Government's treatment of persons who have returned to Cuba pursuant to the United States-Cuba Agreement of May 1995. (Sec. 1262) Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize the Secretary to waive certain congressional notification requirements with respect to the reprogramming of Department funds if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human health or welfare. Requires such notification to specified congressional committees, with an explanation of the emergency circumstances, not later than three days after such reprogramming is done. Title XIII: Organization of the Department of State; Department of State Personnel; The Foreign Service - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to establish a Coordinator for Counterterrorism within the office of the Secretary. (Sec. 1302) Repeals the establishment of: (1) an Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs; (2) a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Burdensharing; and (3) a Bureau and Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. (Sec. 1303) Establishes within the Department of State: (1) an Assistant Secretary for Human Resources; (2) an Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security; and (3) a U.S. Special Envoy for Tibet. (Sec. 1306) Declares that the Bureau of Migration and Refugee Assistance: (1) shall be charged with principal responsibility for carrying out the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962; but (2) shall not be charged with responsibility for assisting the Secretary in matters relating to family planning or population policy. (Sec. 1321) Establishes limits on the number of Foreign Service personnel in the Department of State, USIA, and AID during FY 1998 and 1999, subject to waiver as necessary to carry out foreign affairs functions. (Sec. 1323) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to authorize the Secretary to separate from the Foreign Service without a hearing a member of the Service convicted of a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment of more than one year may be imposed. (Currently, a Foreign Service member can be separated without a hearing only if convicted of a crime related to the cause of separation). (Sec. 1325) Directs the Secretary report annually to the Congress on minorities and the Foreign Service officer corps. (Sec. 1326) Provides for certain retirement benefits under the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System and the Foreign Service Pension System for employees who are involuntarily separated from the Foreign Service. (Sec. 1327) Makes qualified criminal investigators within the Diplomatic Security Service eligible for availability pay. (Sec. 1329) Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require the Inspector General of the Foreign Service to provide an employee who is a target of a criminal investigation notice of his or her rights, including the right to retain counsel and the right to remain silent, as well as the identification of those attending a formal interview. Directs the Inspector General to report to the appropriate congressional committees on internal guidance used with respect to public disclosure of information concerning the investigation of any Department of State, USIA, or ACDA employee. Title XIV: United States Public Diplomacy: Authorities and Activities for United States Informational, Educational, and Cultural Programs - Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 to decrease the fiscal year authorization of appropriations for the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between North and South. (Sec. 1405) Revises the Muskie Fellowship Program for graduate students from the independent states of the former Soviet Union, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to require selection of participants on the basis of academic and leadership potential in the additional fields of journalism and communications, education administration, public policy, and library and information science. (Sec. 1406) Establishes within USIA, in order to improve the coordination and effectiveness of U.S. Government sponsored international exchanges and training, a senior-level interagency Working Group on United States Government Sponsored International Exchanges and Training. (Sec. 1407) Requires the USIA Director to establish programs of educational and cultural exchange between the United States and the people of Tibet, including scholarships to Tibetan and Burmese students and professionals who are outside their countries. (Sec. 1408) Amends the Japan-United States Friendship Act to authorize the investment of amounts from the United States-Japan Trust Fund, as redesignated, in interest-bearing obligations of Japan, or in obligations guaranteed by Japan. Renames: (1) the Japan-United States Friendship Commission as the United States-Japan Commission; and (2) the Japan-United States Friendship Trust Fund as the United States-Japan Trust Fund. (Sec. 1409) Urges USIA and the Board of Broadcasting Governors to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on the appropriateness, feasibility, and projected costs of: (1) providing surrogate broadcasting service to Africa; and (2) a Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty broadcasting service to Iran. (Sec. 1410) Authorizes the Director of USIA to administer summer travel-work programs without regard to preplacement requirements. (Sec. 1411) Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to make permanent certain administrative authorities regarding appropriations for the USIA. (Sec. 1412) Amends the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 to revise the authorities of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Director of the Board. Amends the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Acts to replace the Voice of America with the International Broadcasting Bureau. Title XV: International Organizations; United Nations and Related Agencies - Amends Federal civil service law with respect to employment benefits due to Federal employees who are reemployed by a Federal agency after a temporary transfer to an international organization. Repeals the employee's entitlement, upon reemployment, to the difference between the pay and benefits he or she received from the international organization and the pay and benefits that would have been paid by the Federal agency had he or she been detailed to the international organization instead of transferred. Repeals such an employee's entitlement to such pay and benefits even if unable to exercise reemployment rights because of disability or death. (Sec. 1502) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should make every effort to pay the U.S. assessed funding levels for the Organization of American States. (Sec. 1521) Authorizes the President to withhold 20 percent of the funds appropriated for the U.S. assessed contribution to the United Nations if the United Nations has failed to implement consensus-based decisionmaking procedures on budgetary matters which assure that sufficient attention is paid to the views of the United States and other member states who are major financial contributors. (Sec. 1522) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States must help promote an end to the persistent inequity experienced by Israel in the United Nations whereby it is denied acceptance into any of the United Nations's regional blocs. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on steps carried out to encourage the nations of the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG) to accept Israel. (Sec. 1523) Limits the U.S. contribution to the United Nations Population Fund for FY 1998 and 1999. Prohibits the use of such contributions for any country program in China. Sets forth certain conditions on the availability of amounts from the fund. (Sec. 1524) Amends the International Organizations Immunities Act to continue extension of the privileges, exemptions, and immunities of such Act to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Title XVI: Arms Control and Disarmament Agency - Amends the Arms Control and Disarmament Act to repeal the mandate for the Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency to report annually to the Congress a comprehensive compilation of studies relating to arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament issues concluded during the previous calendar year. Title XVII: Foreign Policy Provisions - Bars the use of funds for the involuntary return by the United States of a person to a country in which the person has a well founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, except on grounds recognized as precluding protection as a refugee under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of July 28, 1951, and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees of January 31, 1967. (Sec. 1701) Bars the use of migration and refugee assistance funds for the involuntary return of a person to any country unless the Secretary first notifies the appropriate congressional committees. (Sec. 1702) Prohibits the United States from expelling, extraditing, or otherwise effecting the involuntary return of a person to a country in which there are reasonable grounds for believing the person would be in danger of subjection to torture. (Sec. 1703) Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on specific actions taken by the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Commerce in resolving certain commercial disputes between U.S. firms and the Saudi Arabia Government. (Sec. 1704) Amends Federal law to requires the Secretary's annual report to the Congress on human rights to include the status of child labor practices in each country. Changes the deadline for such report from January 31 to February 25. (Sec. 1705) Amends the LIBERTAD Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary to report every three months to specified congressional committees on implementation (including an unclassified list of entities and individuals) of the mandate to exclude from the United States any aliens who have confiscated property of U.S. nationals in Cuba, or who traffic in such property. (Sec. 1706) Directs the Secretary of State to report annually to the Congress on: (1) the number of persons and aliens residing in the United States entitled to diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution, including each case involving such an alien whom appropriate law enforcement authorities reasonably believe to have committed a serious crime within the United States; and (2) the number of U.S. citizens residing in a receiving state who are entitled to diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution there, including each case in which the United States has been requested by the government of the state to waive immunity. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should explore, in appropriate fora, whether states should enter into agreements and adopt legislation to provide: (1) jurisdiction in the sending state to prosecute crimes committed in the receiving state by persons entitled to diplomatic immunity; and (2) that where there is probable cause to believe that an individual with such immunity committed a serious crime, the sending state will waive immunity or will prosecute the individual. (Sec. 1707) Declares the sense of the Congress that the Secretary should submit to the Congress a plan to consolidate some or all of the functions currently performed by the Department of State, AID, and ACDA, in order to increase efficiency and accountability in the conduct of the foreign policy of the United States. (Sec. 1708) Expresses the sense of the Congress that Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty should continue surrogate broadcasting beyond the year 2000 to countries (including Serbia, Belarus, Slovakia, and other countries) whose people do not yet fully enjoy freedom of expression. (Sec. 1709) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to withhold the U.S. share of assistance for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) projects in Cuba, except those for the discontinuation, dismantling, or safety inspection of nuclear facilities or related materials. Declares that such exception shall not apply to the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant near Cienfuegos, or the Pedro Pi Nuclear Research Center, unless Cuba: (1) ratifies the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (commonly known as the Treaty of Tlatelolco); and (2) incorporates internationally accepted nuclear safety standards. Directs the Secretary to instruct the U.S. representative to the IAEA to use the U.S. vote to oppose IAEA projects at: (1) the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant, Cuba; and (2) any other IAEA project in Cuba that is, or could become, a threat to the security of the United States. (Sec. 1710) Earmarks specified funds for construction of a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel. Bars use of funds for the publication of any official government document which lists countries and their capitals unless it identifies Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (Sec. 1711) Directs the Secretary to report semi-annually to the appropriate congressional committees on the compliance of its signatories with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. (Sec. 1712) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) recognize the Ecumenical Patriarchate (in Turkey) and its nonpolitical, religious mission; and (2) encourage the reopening of the Halki Patriarchal School of Theology. (Sec. 1713) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the return of Hong Kong to China. (Sec. 1714) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the international community should continue to press the Government of Serbia to ensure free, fair, and honest presidential and parliamentary elections in 1997; (2) the United States, the OSCE, the international community, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector should continue to promote the building of democratic institutions in Serbia; and (3) the normalization of relations between Yugoslavia and the United States requires, among other things, that President Milosevic and the leadership of Serbia ensure and promote such objectives. (Sec. 1715) Declares the sense of the Congress about relations with Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the extent to which: (1) Vietnam cooperates with the United States in an accounting of all POW-MIA cases; (2) it has made progress toward the release of all political and religious prisoners; (3) it cooperates with U.S. requests to obtain access to persons of humanitarian interest to the United States for interviews under the Orderly Departure (ODP) and Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Refugees (ROVR) programs, and provide exit visas for such persons; (4) it has taken action to end extortion, bribery, and other corrupt practices in connection with such visas; and (5) the United States has made efforts to resettle former reeducation camp victims and their families. (Sec. 1716) Urges post-Communist countries to return to their owners or compensate such owners for wrongly confiscated properties. Urges foreign financial institutions, and the states having legal authority over their operation, that possess wrongfully and illegally obtained property confiscated from Holocaust victims, from certain residents of former Warsaw Pact states, and from states that were occupied by Nazi, Fascist, or Communist forces, to assist and to cooperate fully with efforts to restore this property to its rightful owners.
Bill· HRH.R. 1774 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Families Educational Opportunity Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a deduction for the amount of qualified higher education expenses paid by the individual. Limits the amount allowed to $10,000. Provides for a limitation based on modified adjusted gross income.
Bill· HRH.R. 1772 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
NO Tobacco for Kids Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct annual surveys to determine the number of children who used each manufacturer's tobacco products. Requires each such manufacturer to make specified annual reductions in child tobacco use and provides penalties based upon total consumer use for failure to meet such requirements (with reductions for near compliance). Sets forth performance standards for new manufacturers. Directs that specified amounts of fiscal year penalties shall go to a Tobacco Enforcement and Education Fund in the Treasury, with any excess to go to the Treasury. Sets forth judicial review provisions.
Bill· HRH.R. 1769 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Reduction In Medicare Overpayment Costs Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for the imposition of administrative fees for the failure of a Medicare provider to refund to the Secretary of Health and Human Services any amount by which prospective payment to the provider has exceeded actual costs by 30 percent or more (overpayment collection); and (2) require automated prepayment screening by fiscal intermediaries and carriers of a select portion of Medicare diagnoses that the Health Care Financing Administration has determined frequently result in overpayment under the program.
Bill· HRH.R. 1761 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Protecting Program Integrity Title II: Sanctions for Fraud and Abuse Title III: Technical Clarifications and Corrections Title IV: Coordination of Benefits Medicare Antifraud Act of 1997 - Title I: Protecting Program Integrity - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from issuing or renewing the provider number of a durable medical equipment (DME) supplier unless the supplier provides information on ownership or control interests and a surety bond of at least $50,000; (2) require home health agencies to provide such a surety bond; and (3) authorize application of such disclosure and surety bond requirements to suppliers of ambulance services and clinics that furnish medical and other health services (other than physicians' services) under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). (Sec. 102) Amends SSA title XI to condition provider payment under the Medicare, Medicaid (SSA title XIX), and Maternal and Child Health Services (SSA title V) programs on the disclosure to the Secretary of certain applicable employer identification and social security numbers, including those of individuals with an ownership or control interest in the provider. Requires verification of such information, and correction if necessary, by the Social Security Administration. (Sec. 103) Requires non-physician practitioners to provide diagnostic codes for furnished items or services. Requires both physicians and non-physician practitioners to provide diagnostic information to another entity when ordering from it certain items or services if the Secretary requires such entity to provide such information in order to be paid. (Sec. 104) Replaces the reasonable charge methodology for the payment of Medicare benefits with a methodology that uses fee schedules developed by the Secretary. (Sec. 105) Requires the Secretary to describe by regulation the factors to be used in determining the cases or particular items in which application of special DME payment rules results in inherently unreasonable amounts. Applies such regulations to payment for surgical dressings. (Sec. 106) Amends SSA title XI to authorize the Secretary to exclude from the Medicare program an entity controlled by a family or household member of a sanctioned individual. (Sec. 107) Amends SSA title XVIII to make Medicare carriers, States, and fiscal intermediaries liable to the Secretary for any payment of claims submitted by excluded providers after the Secretary notifies the organization or agency of such exclusion. (Sec. 108) Amends SSA titles XVIII and XIX (Medicaid) to authorize the Secretary or a State to refuse to enter into Medicare or Medicaid agreements with individuals or entities convicted of felonies. (Sec. 109) Amends part A (General Provisions) of SSA title XI to provide that Medicare- and Medicaid-related actions are not stayed by bankruptcy proceedings, and Medicare- and Medicaid-related debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the use of Medicare standards and procedures in bankruptcy proceedings. (Sec. 110) Amends the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 to: (1) authorize the availability of National Practitioner Data Bank information to the Inspectors General of the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), of Defense, and of Labor, of the Office of Personnel Management, and of the Railroad Retirement Board; and (2) exempt the HHS Inspector General from fees for such information. (Sec. 111) Amends SSA title XIX to extend the authority of State Medicaid Fraud Control Units to investigate and prosecute: (1) fraud in other Federal health care programs, upon the approval of the relevant Federal agency; and (2) patient abuse in non-Medicaid board and care facilities. (Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to take certain steps jointly to ensure that the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is fully reimbursed for any expenditures (unrelated to Medicare administration) made from its account, in excess of enforcement collections, to combat health care waste, fraud, and abuse. (Sec. 113) Amends SSA title XVIII to change from biennial to annual the General Accounting Office report on the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund's Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Account. (Sec. 114) Makes it out of order in the Senate to consider any legislation that diverts savings achieved through Medicare waste, fraud, and abuse enforcement activities for purposes other than improving the solvency of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Title II: Sanctions for Fraud and Abuse - Amends SSA title XI to permit the Secretary to impose civil monetary penalties for kickback violations, and for persons that contract with individuals excluded from participation in a Federal health care program, as well as for services ordered or prescribed by an excluded individual or entity. Title III: Technical Clarifications and Corrections - Makes technical amendments to SSA title XI. Title IV: Coordination of Benefits - Amends SSA title XVIII to repeal the termination dates of, thus extending permanently, certain Medicare secondary payer provisions with respect to the working disabled, individuals with end-stage renal disease, and the IRS-SSA-HCFA data match. (Sec. 402) Makes technical changes concerning minimum sizes of group health plans. (Sec. 403) Requires group health plans to provide the Secretary, and employers and employee organizations to provide plan administrators, certain information pertaining to employers, employees, and employee family members with current or former employment status. (Sec. 404) Makes certain technical revisions to time and filing limitations, the liability of third party administrators, and requirements for reimbursement for Medicare secondary payer payments.
Bill· HRH.R. 1755 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense Chapter 1: Department of Defense - Military Chapter 2: Rescissions Chapter 3: General Provisions - This Title Title II: Other Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Chapter 1: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Chapter 2: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Chapter 3: Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Chapter 4: Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Chapter 5: Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies Chapter 6: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Chapter 7: Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch Chapter 8: Subcommittee on the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Chapter 9: Subcommittee on Treasury and General Government Chapter 10: Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Title III: Depository Institution Disaster Relief Title IV: Cost of Higher Education Review Title V: Technical Amendments with Respect to Education Title VI: General Provisions - This Act Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act of 1997- Title I: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense - Chapter 1: Department of Defense - Military - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) - Military for: (1) military personnel, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) operation and maintenance (O&M), Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (3) OPLAN 34A-35 prisoner-of-war (P.O.W.) payments to individuals; and (4) the Reserve Mobilization Income Insurance Fund. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to transfer specified funds to reimburse costs incurred for repairing damage caused by hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters during 1996 and 1997 to real property and facilities at Marine Corps facilities (including Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point, North Carolina; and the Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, California). (Sec. 102) Makes additional appropriations for: (1) direct patient care at military treatment facilities; (2) force protection and counter-terrorism activities; and (3) a grant to the American Red Cross for armed forces emergency services. (Sec. 105) Requires the President to submit to the Congress a report on the estimated cumulative cost of all U.S. activities relating to Bosnia after December 1, 1995, and a detailed accounting of the source of funds to meet such costs. (Sec. 106) Makes additional appropriations to cover incremental O&M costs from hurricane damage to family housing units at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. Chapter 2: Rescissions - Rescinds specified funds provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1997 for: (1) military personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; (2) O&M for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force as well as defense-wide O&M; (3) environmental restoration by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as defense-wide environmental restoration and environmental restoration of formerly used defense sites; (4) former Soviet Union threat reduction; (5) the National Defense Sealift Fund; (6) the Defense Health Program; and (7) drug interdiction and counter-drug activities. Rescinds funds made available in such Act and certain other defense appropriations Acts for: (1) various types of procurement, including aircraft, missile, weapons, tracked combat vehicles, shipbuilding and conversion, and ammunition, by various branches of the armed forces; (2) National Guard and reserve equipment; (3) armed forces research, development, test and evaluation; and (4) chemical agents and munitions destruction. (Sec. 201) Rescinds specified amounts of the funds appropriated in specified categories in: (1) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1996, including the Base Realignment and Closure Account; (2) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1997; and (3) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1995. Chapter 3: General Provisions - This Title - Requires the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to conduct an analysis and submit recommendations to the congressional defense committees as to the future roles of the military services with respect to the National Missile Defense Program. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the incumbent to continue to serve as the Secretary of Defense designee on the Board of the Panama Canal Commission if he retires as an officer of DOD, until and unless the Secretary designates another person to serve in this position. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement, which meets certain requirements, for the lease of a specified building at the Lexington Blue Grass Station, Lexington, Kentucky, and any associated real property, for use by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. (Sec. 304) Authorizes the continuing obligation and expenditure of certain funds appropriated for Navy weapons procurement that were obligated and expended to settle claims on the MK-50 torpedo program. (Sec. 305) Prohibits the use of any DOD funds to pay the cost of operating a National Missile Defense Joint Program Office which includes more than 55 military and civilian personnel located in the National Capital Region. (Sec. 306) Requires the merger of certain National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Air Force funds for obligation only on Titan IV vehicles and related activities. Title II: Other Emergency Supplemental Appropriations - Chapter 1: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs to the Department of Agriculture for: (1) the Farm Service Agency's Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account for the additional cost of certain emergency insured and operating loans (including loan modifications); (2) the Emergency Conservation Program for expenses, including carcass removal; (3) the Tree Assistance Program for assistance to small orchardists to replace or rehabilitate disaster-damaged trees and vineyards; and (4) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund, Disaster Reserve Assistance Program, to implement a livestock indemnity program. Makes such appropriations to: (1) the Natural Resources Conservation Service, for watershed and flood prevention operations to repair damages to the waterways and watersheds; (2) the Rural Housing Service, Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account, for the cost of specified loans and domestic farm labor grants for emergency expenses; and (3) the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Utilities Assistance Program, for the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants for emergency expenses. Bars the use of watershed and flood prevention funds for the salmon memorandum of understanding. Authorizes the use of certain community facility grants for the Rural Housing Assistance Program for expenses resulting from natural disasters. Makes additional funds available for the Food and Consumer Service's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect and disseminate weekly statistically reliable information on bulk cheese prices. (Sec. 102) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to grant States an option to issue food stamp benefits to certain individuals made ineligible by welfare reform. Sets forth offsets with respect to the Fund for Rural America and the Food and Consumer Service's emergency food assistance program. Prohibits the use of Department of Agriculture funds under the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to pay the personnel salaries and expenses above specified levels to carry out: (1) a combined program for export credit guarantees, supplier credit guarantees, and emerging democracies facilities guarantees; and (2) an export enhancement program. Chapter 2: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of Commerce for: (1) the Economic Development Administration's economic development assistance programs for emergency infrastructure expenses; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for new grants for industrial technology services under the Advanced Technology Program; and (3) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for disaster assistance for emergency construction expenses resulting from flooding and other natural disasters. Makes additional appropriations for the Commission on the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement. (Sec. 201) Earmarks a specified amount from the Counterterrorism Fund of the Department of Justice for allocation to the appropriate unit or units of government in Ogden, Utah, for necessary expenses to counter any potential terrorism threat related to the 2002 Winter Olympic games. (Sec. 202) Prohibits the use of any funds made available in an appropriations Act for FY 1997 by the Department of Commerce to make irreversible plans for the use of sampling or any other statistical method in taking the 2000 decennial census for purposes of the apportionment of Representatives in the Congress. (Sec. 203) Amends the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to extend to the end of FY 1997 the authorization of the program for expanding small business participation in dredging. (Sec. 204) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to establish certain Good Samaritan exemptions from specified violations. Rescinds specified funds available for: (1) the Department of Justice for the Working Capital Fund, the Assets Forfeiture Fund, and Immigration and Naturalization Service construction; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Advanced Technology Program; (3) the Federal Communications Commission; and (4) the Ounce of Prevention Council. Chapter 3: Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to emergency expenses due to flooding and other natural disasters, to DOD, Army Corps of Engineers - Civil for: (1) flood control, Mississippi River and tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee; (2) general O&M (with earmarked funds for an interagency management plan and other activities related to water allocation in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basins, subject to certain restrictions); and (3) flood control and coastal emergencies. Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997, with respect to flood and other natural disaster costs, to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (BLM) for O&M. (Sec. 301) Makes the U.S. members and the alternate members, appointed under the Susquehanna River Basin Compact and the Delaware River Basin Compact, officers of the Army Corps of Engineers, who hold presidential appointments as regular Army officers with Senate confirmation, and serve without additional compensation, and at the President's pleasure. (Sec. 302) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to obligate a limited amount of funds for carrying out construction for safety purposes to modify the Willow Creek Dam, Sun River Project, Montana. (Sec. 303) Defers specified consultation and conferencing requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 for certain emergency flood control projects. Rescinds specified funds available to the Department of Energy for energy supply, research and development activities and for construction, rehabilitation, and O&M for the Western Area Power Administration. Chapter 4: Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs - Authorizes the President to waive certain earmarks under provisions of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 with respect to assistance for Ukraine if he reports to the Appropriations Committees that Ukraine is not: (1) making progress toward economic reform and the elimination of corruption; (2) permitting American firms and individuals to operate according to generally accepted business principles; or (3) assisting American firms and individuals in their efforts to enforce commercial contracts and resist extortion and other corrupt demands. Chapter 5: Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies - Makes emergency appropriations for FY 1997 to the Department of the Interior for: (1) BLM flood damage repair and other activities for Oregon and California Grant Lands; (2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management, construction, and land acquisition; (3) National Park Service emergency expenses and construction; (4) the U.S. Geological Survey; and (5) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Makes such appropriations for emergency expenses of the Forest Service and the Indian Health Service. (Sec. 501) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (part of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996) to revise the formula for distribution of amounts collected under the recreational fee demonstration program. (Sec. 503) Amends the San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 to extend its expiration date from June 30, 1997, through March 31, 1999, or, if before that date a Settlement Agreement between the San Carlos Apache Tribe and Phelps Dodge Corporation is submitted for approval to the Superior Court of Arizona in and for Maricopa County, through December 31, 1999. Extends the Tribe's Central Arizona Project water lease authority to Gila, Graham, and Greenlee Counties. Makes the Gila Valley and Franklin Irrigation Districts parties to the Settlement Agreement. Directs the United States, through the BLM, to operate and maintain the Black River facilities, and to contract for delivery of water at Eagle Creek to Phelps Dodge for a specified monthly fee in addition to a specified monthly power line right-of-way fee. Sets forth provisions for a final agreement between Phelps Dodge and the San Carlos Apache Tribe under which the Tribe will operate the facilities and receive payment for leased water. Ratifies the agreement between the Tribe, Phelps Dodge, and the Secretary of the Interior. (Sec. 504) Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to modify requirements for the importation of polar bear parts from polar bears legally harvested in Canada before the date of enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994. Rescinds specified funds made available to the Department of Energy for clean coal technology and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Chapter 6: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies - Amends specified Federal law relating to appropriations to provide for additional amounts for: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Health Resources and Services Administration's Health Education Assistance Loans Program; (2) the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for priority health research; and (3) the Department of Education, Education for the Disadvantaged programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Makes funds available for the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education. (Sec. 601) Extends through FY 1998 the availability, to recipients in presidentially-declared disaster areas declared during FY 1997, of certain funds awarded for State-administered programs of the Department of Education for FY 1995 (and for FY 1996, with respect to such programs under the Rehabilitation Act). (Sec. 602) Authorizes the Secretary of Education, with respect to student aid awards for award years 1996-1997 and 1997-1998, to waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial aid programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to assist individuals and other program participants who suffered financial harm from natural disasters. (Sec. 603) Prohibits the use of any funds to administer or implement in Denver, Colorado, a Medicare Competitive Pricing-Open Enrollment Demonstration program. (Sec. 604) Provides for emergency use of certain child care funds. Authorizes eligible State Governors, for a limited time period, to use amounts received for the provision of child care assistance or services under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to provide emergency child care services to eligible individuals. Bases State eligibility on the President's determination, pursuant to specified provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, that a major disaster exists, or that an area within the State is determined to be eligible for disaster relief under other Federal law by reason of damage related to flooding in 1997. Bases individual eligibility on: (1) residence within such an area where a major disaster exists, or which is so eligible for disaster relief; and (2) involvement in unpaid work activities (including the cleaning, repair, restoration, and rebuilding of homes, businesses, and schools) resulting from such flood emergency. Sets forth limitations and priorities with respect to such assistance. (Sec. 605) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend certain redetermination provisions for the supplementary security income (SSI) program. Rescinds specified funds available to the Department of HHS for job opportunities and basic skills. Chapter 7: Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch - Makes supplemental appropriations for an additional amount for expenses of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, to carry out specified provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1997. Provides an amount for payment to the children of Frank Tejeda, the late Representative from the State of Texas. Makes additional amounts available for salaries and expenses of the Botanic Garden for emergency repair and renovation of the conservatory. (Sec. 701) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1968 to make a specified limitation on the minimum rate of gross compensation inapplicable to any member or civilian employee of the Capitol Police whose compensation is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 702) Allows the transfer of a limited amount of funds for the expense allowance of the Secretary of the Senate. (Sec. 703) Authorizes the Comptroller General to use available funds to enter into contracts for the acquisition of severable services for periods that begin in one fiscal year and end in another and to enter into specified multiyear contracts to the same extent as agencies under the authority of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. Chapter 8: Subcommittee of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of Transportation for: (1) Coast Guard retired pay and for operating expenses directly related to support activities in the TWA Flight 800 crash investigation; (2) Federal Highway Administration, Federal-Aid Highways and for the Emergency Relief Program; and (3) the Federal Railroad Administration, to repair and rebuild freight rail lines of regional and short line railroads damaged by floods (with earmarks for West Virginia and the northern Plains States). Makes such appropriations to the National Transportation Safety Board for: (1) emergency expenses resulting from the crashes of TWA Flight 800, ValuJet 592, and Comair Flight 3272; and (2) assistance to families of victims of aviation accidents. (Sec. 803) Authorizes additional appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY 1997 for grants to States for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures. (Sec. 804) Extends through FY 1997 the authorization of appropriations for the National Driver Register. Rescinds specified funds available to the Department of Transportation for grants-in-aid for airports, highway traffic safety grants, and Highway Trust Fund contract authority. Chapter 9: Subcommittee on Treasury and General Government - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of the Treasury. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to use the law enforcement services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the State of Colorado and of the county and city of Denver for security arrangements for the Denver Summit of Eight. Makes supplemental appropriations to: (1) the Customs Service for the automated targeting system with respect to counterterrorism and drug law enforcement; and (2) the Postal Service Fund, for revenue foregone on free and reduced rate mail for specified purposes. (Sec. 901) Authorizes the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to obligate specified appropriations for construction of the Montgomery, Alabama courthouse. (Sec. 902) Prohibits the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from awarding a contract for the procurement of distinctive currency paper until the General Accounting Office has completed an analysis of the optimum circumstances for procuring such paper. Limits the term of the bridge contract with respect to such paper to 24 months and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make certain certifications concerning the price and terms of the agreement. (Sec. 903) Amends specified Federal civil service law to authorize and establish a leave transfer program in disasters and emergencies. (Sec. 904) Prohibits the use of funds by GSA to implement certain cooperative purchasing provisions of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 prior to the adjournment of the first session of the 105th Congress. Rescinds specified funds available for GSA presidential transition expenses. Chapter 10: Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies - Makes additional amounts available for: (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions; and (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for preserving existing housing investment, capacity building for community development and affordable housing, and for community development block grants for activities in communities affected by disasters in the upper Midwest. Authorizes appropriations for the construction of a parking garage at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland, Ohio. Earmarks amounts of assisted housing special purpose grants for acquiring parking and restoring a theater in Ashland, Kentucky. Requires the HUD Secretary to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for an evaluation of HUD's management systems. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), from previous appropriations for the Center for Ecology Research and Training (CERT), to obligate the maximum amount of funds necessary to settle all outstanding CERT-related claims against the EPA pursuant to the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Authorizes EPA, from any unobligated balances then remaining, to make grants to Bay City, Michigan, for the purpose of EPA-approved environmental remediation and rehabilitation of publicly owned real property included in the boundaries of the CERT project. Authorizes the use of a specified amount of funds for grants to States and federally recognized tribes for multi-media or single media pollution prevention, control, and abatement for direct implementation by the Federal Government of programs required in absence of acceptable State or tribal programs. Makes additional funds available to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for disaster relief. Conditions the availability of a portion of such funds on the submission by the FEMA Director of a legislative proposal to control disaster relief expenditures, including the elimination of funding for certain revenue producing facilities. Authorizes transfer of a specified amount of FEMA disaster relief funds to the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program for the cost of direct loans under certain provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, under specified conditions. (Sec. 1001) Directs the HUD Secretary to submit semi-annually to the Appropriations Committees a list of all contracts and task orders in excess of $250,000 entered into by HUD, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in the preceding six months. (Sec. 1002) Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to revise certain time periods relating to notice requirements for terminating section 8 housing contracts. (Sec. 1003) Amends the Multifamily Housing Finance Improvement Act, under specified provisions of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, to revise limitations on the Secretary of HUD's mortgage insurance authority to allow commitments with respect to a limited number of additional units during FY 1997. (Sec. 1005) Amends the National Housing Act to authorize HUD mortgage insurance for condominiums in an amount up to 100 percent of appraised value where a mortgagor establishes that the home was destroyed or damaged as a result of a major disaster. Rescinds specified funds made available for HUD assisted housing programs and for NASA. Title III: Depository Institution Disaster Relief - Depository Institutions Disaster Relief Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to make exceptions, during specified limited periods, to the Truth in Lending Act for transactions, and to the Expedited Funds Availability Act for depository institution offices, within a major disaster area or an area eligible for disaster relief because of the recent flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. (Sec. 3003) Authorizes the appropriate Federal banking agency to permit, for a specified time period, certain insured depository institutions, in or involved with such area, to subtract from the institution's total assets, in calculating compliance with the leverage limit prescribed under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, an amount not exceeding the qualifying amount attributable to insurance proceeds. (Sec. 3004) Authorizes qualifying regulatory agencies to take specified actions with respect to depository institutions or other regulated entities whose principal place of business is within, or with respect to transactions or activities within such area. (Sec. 3005) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration should encourage depository institutions to meet the financial services needs of their communities and customers located in areas affected by the 1997 flooding of the Red River of the North, the Minnesota River, and their tributaries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal financial institutions regulatory agency should make exceptions to the appraisal standards prescribed by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 for transactions involving institutions located in disaster areas if the exceptions can be expected to alleviate hardships to the public resulting from such disasters. Title IV: Cost of Higher Education Review - Cost of Higher Education Review Act of 1997 - Establishes a National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education to study and make recommendations regarding: (1) the increase in tuition compared with other commodities and services; (2) innovative methods of reducing or stabilizing tuition; (3) the impact on tuition of specified trends in college and university costs, student financial aid, and government mandates and fiscal policies; (4) mechanisms for a more timely and widespread distribution of data on tuition trends and other costs of operating colleges and universities; and (5) the adequacy of existing Federal and State financial aid programs in meeting the costs of attending colleges and universities. (Sec. 40006) Authorizes appropriations for the Commission. Title V: Technical Amendments With Respect to Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make certain technical corrections relating to graduation rates data disclosures. (Sec. 50002) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to extend from January 1, 1998, to January 1, 1999, the deadline for a final report by the Secretary of Education on a national assessment of programs assisted under ESEA title I, Helping Disadvantaged Children Meet High Standards. (Sec. 50003) Directs the Secretary to deem Kansas and New Mexico as having timely submitted certain written notices of intent to consider specified impact aid payments under ESEA in providing State aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school year 1997-1998. Authorizes the Secretary to require these States to submit appropriate additional information, which shall be considered part of such notice. (Sec. 50004) Provides that no eligible LEA shall receive less than 85 percent of the FY 1996 amount in a specified hold-harmless impact aid payment for each of FY 1997 through 2000. (Sec. 50005) Revises requirements for the Secretary's use of data in providing additional assistance for heavily impacted LEAs, to specify that the student and revenue data used be expenditure data. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary use the most recent data available adjusted to the fiscal year in question. Title VI: General Provisions - This Act - Provides that no appropriation made in this Act shall remain available beyond the current fiscal year unless otherwise provided. (Sec. 60002) Sets forth Buy-American requirements.
Bill· HRH.R. 1763 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Agricultural Land Preservation Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross estate, if the executor so elects, the value of land subject to a qualified conservation easement, except for any debt-financed portion and reduced by any deduction taken under provisions relating to transfers for public, charitable, and religious use. Provides for the treatment of any retained development right. Adds references to such property to provisions controlling the basis of property acquired from a decedent. Prohibits treating the transfer by gift of land subject to a qualified conservation easement as a transfer of property by gift for purposes of provisions relating to gift taxes. Amends provisions relating to the valuation of certain farm and other real property to prohibit a qualified conservation contribution (as defined in provisions relating to charitable contributions) from being deemed a disposition unless it is subject to a conservation easement. Declares that, if property is otherwise qualified real property, being subject to a conservation easement does not disqualify it. Allows a contribution to be treated as exclusively for conservation purposes if the surface estate and mineral interests have been and remain separated (currently, if the surface estate and mineral interests were separated before June 13, 1976, and remain separated) and if the probability of surface mining is so remote as to be negligible.
Bill· HRH.R. 1759 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: General Provisions Title II: Consolidation of Certain International Affairs Agencies Title III: Foreign Assistance Reform Title IV: Defense and Security Assistance Title V: Economic Assistance Title VI: Trade and Development Agency Title VII: Special Authorities and Other Provisions Title VIII: Funding Levels Title I: General Provisions - Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 1997 - Declares that: (1) U.S. leadership overseas must be maintained to support America's vital national security, economic, and humanitarian overseas interests; and (2) with the end of the Cold War, foreign assistance programs must be reformed to take advantage of the opportunities for the United States in the 21st century. Title II: Consolidation of Certain International Affairs Agencies - International Affairs Agency Consolidation Act of 1997 - Abolishes the United States International Development Cooperation Agency, and transfers all functions of the agency Director to the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). (Sec. 221) Provides for: (1) the continuation of USAID as a Federal agency; and (2) subordination of the Administrator of USAID to the direction of the Secretary of State. Title III: Foreign Assistance Reform - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise requirements for the annual report to the Congress on foreign assistance programs. Shifts responsibility for such report from the Chairman of the Development Coordination Committee to the President. (Sec. 301) Directs the President, as part of the annual requests for foreign assistance program authorizations and appropriations, to submit to the Congress presentation documents that, among other things, declare: (1) the rationale and direct U.S. national interest for the allocation of assistance under such Act and the Arms Export Control Act to each foreign country, regional, or centrally-funded program, or organization; and (2) an estimate of the year in which each country will no longer receive bilateral development assistance. (Sec. 302) Urges the President for FY 1998 and 1999 to allocate foreign assistance funds to private and voluntary organizations and cooperatives (as opposed to foreign governments) in a manner that reflects the increase in the funding of such entities since FY 1995. (Sec. 303) Replaces the Private Sector Revolving Fund with a program of assistance (including loans, guarantees, and training) to increase the availability of credit to micro- and small enterprises. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 304) Authorizes the Administrator of USAID to provide grant assistance for programs of credit and other assistance for microenterprises in developing countries. Directs the Administrator to establish a monitoring system establishing performance goals for such assistance. (Sec. 305) Authorizes the President to provide funds and support to private sector Enterprise Funds for countries eligible to receive development assistance on the same basis as such funds and support are provided to Enterprise Funds for Poland and Hungary under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989. (Sec. 306) Authorizes the President to use certain development credit authority to promote: (1) micro- and small enterprise development; and (2) certain urban and environmental activities. Authorizes appropriations. Requires, to the maximum extent practicable, the use of U.S. technology, firms, and equipment with respect to such activities. (Sec. 307) Requires the withholding from obligation for a foreign country of an amount equivalent to 110 percent of the total unpaid fully adjudicated parking fines owed to the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and New York City by the government of such country in a fiscal year, until the Secretary of State certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such fines are fully paid. (Sec. 308) Directs the President to withhold U.S. assistance to any foreign country providing economic, development, or security assistance for, or engaging in nonmarket based trade with, the Government of Cuba. Allows waiver of such requirements if the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the provision of such assistance is important to U.S. national security. Title IV: Defense and Security Assistance - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for U.S. antinarcotics assistance to foreign countries. (Sec. 403) Directs the President for each major illicit drug producing, major drug-transit, or major money laundering country to do one or more of the following: (1) withhold U.S. bilateral assistance; or (2) instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to vote against any loan or other assistance to or for such country. (Sec. 411) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to establish the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund to promote bilateral and multilateral nonproliferation and disarmament activities with specified goals. Prohibits the use of the Fund to implement U.S. obligations under bilateral or multilateral arms control treaties or nonproliferation accords. Earmarks funds for: (1) nonproliferation and disarmament activities; (2) demining activities; (3) voluntary contributions to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO); and (4) antiterrorism. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 421) Authorizes appropriations for grant assistance and direct loans for the procurement of defense articles and services by countries and international organizations friendly to the United States. (Sec. 422) Earmarks specified amounts of military assistance for: (1) Israel and Egypt; (2) the transition of countries to NATO membership; (3) direct loans for Greece and Turkey; and (4) administrative expenses. (Sec. 431) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for military education and training for civilian personnel in foreign countries. (Sec. 432) Makes Panama and Haiti eligible for assistance under the international military education and training (IMET) program. (Sec. 441) Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to transfer certain naval vessels to: (1) Brazil; (2) Chile; (3) Egypt; (4) Israel; (5) Malaysia; (6) Mexico; (7) Taiwan; and (8) Thailand. (Sec. 444) Directs the Secretary of the Navy to require recipient countries to have such vessels repaired or refurbished at U.S. shipyards. Indonesia Military Assistance Accountability Act - Prohibits U.S. military assistance and arms transfers to the Government of Indonesia unless the President certifies to the Congress that it: (1) provides official accreditation to independent election-monitoring organizations to observe national elections without Government or military interference; (2) protects certain nongovernmental organizations from the Indonesian police and military; (3) has accounted for the attack on the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Indonesia (PDI) on July 27, 1996; (4) has taken specified steps to resolve the conflict in East Timor; and (5) has taken specified steps to improve labor rights. Provides for a waiver of such requirements in emergencies or in the U.S. national interest. (Sec. 461) Amends Federal law to extend the authorization for the transfer of excess defense articles to countries eligible to participate in the Partnership for Peace program and for assistance under the SEED Act of 1989. (Sec. 462) Authorizes the President, in return for specified concessions, to transfer to the Republic of Korea certain obsolete or surplus defense articles in the war reserve allies stockpile. (Sec. 463) Limits to no more than $60 million for FY 1998 the value of additions to the stockpiles of defense articles in foreign countries. Sets forth limits for stockpiles in the Republic of Korea and Thailand. (Sec. 466) Directs the President to convene, and report to specified congressional committees on, negotiations with all Wassenaar Arrangement countries for the purpose of establishing a multinational arms sales code of conduct. Title V: Economic Assistance - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for economic support funds (ESF) assistance. (Sec. 502) Earmarks amounts for Israel, Egypt, the International Fund for Ireland, programs under the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 and the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, and assistance and training for civilian personnel of the Ministry of Defense of the Government of Nicaragua. Declares that future U.S. assistance to Egypt will depend on whether it fulfills its obligations to develop peace with Israel and other critical U.S. interests both in Egypt and the wider Arab world. (Sec. 511) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for specified development assistance, including: (1) the Development Fund for Africa; (2) assistance for the independent states of the former Soviet Union (independent states); (3) assistance for Eastern Europe; (4) debt relief for Bosnia and Herzegovina; (5) the Inter-American Foundation; and (6) the African Development Foundation. (Sec. 512) Earmarks certain foreign assistance funds for specified child survival, health, basic education for children, and disease prevention programs. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 513) Limits the amount of foreign assistance funds available to the Russian Federation unless the President reports to the Congress that the Government of the Russian Federation has terminated assistance to the ballistic missile or nuclear programs of Iran and nuclear reactor projects of Cuba. Prohibits the availability of such funds to the Russian Federation if it transfers an SS-N-22 missile system to China, unless the President determines that making such funds available is important to U.S. national security. (Sec. 514) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should seek cooperation from the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to ensure that humanitarian assistance is made available to their needy citizens, including those in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. (Sec. 515) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) U.S. investment in international agricultural development and research advances food security, reduces poverty, increases political stability, and promotes U.S. exports; and (2) the USAID should increase emphasis on agricultural development and research and expand its role in poverty relief, child survival, and environmental programs. (Sec. 516) Specifies a desired proportion of certain development assistance for activities and programs in Latin America and the Caribbean region and the Asia and the Pacific region. (Sec. 517) Urges the President to allocate for FY 1998 and 1999 an aggregate level of agricultural development assistance in amounts equal to the level provided in FY 1997. Urges the President to increase amounts for agricultural, rural development, and nutrition programs if appropriation levels for development assistance programs increase in FY 1998 and 1999 above FY 1997 levels. (Sec. 521) Authorizes appropriations for operating expenses of USAID and its Office of the Inspector General. (Sec. 531) Revises the authority for the urban and environmental credit program to repeal: (1) minimum annual program levels; (2) authority for agricultural and productive credit and self-help community development programs; and (3) certain requirements for guaranties for housing projects (including face amounts for Egypt and Israel). (Sec. 541) Amends the Peace Corps Act to authorize appropriations for the Peace Corps. (Sec. 542) Earmarks certain foreign assistance funds for Peace Corps activities in the independent states of the former Soviet Union and Mongolia. Prohibits the use of funds to pay for abortions. (Sec. 551) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise congressional policy to affirm U.S. willingness to provide international disaster assistance for the reconstruction of foreign countries. (Sec. 552) Authorizes appropriations for international disaster assistance. (Sec. 561) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to replace the Central America Democracy, Peace, and Development Initiative with a program of special debt relief for poor countries. Authorizes the President to reduce amounts owed to the U.S. Government as a result of loans or guarantees issued under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or credits or guarantees extended under the Arms Export Control Act. Makes eligible for such debt reduction countries with a heavy debt burden that: (1) are eligible to borrow from the International Development Association but not from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank); and (2) meet other specified conditions concerning military expenditures, terrorism, narcotics control, and human rights. States that such authority may be exercised only to implement multilateral official debt relief ad referendum agreements (the Paris Club Agreed Minutes), and only to the extent that appropriations for the modifications are made in advance. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 562) Authorizes the President, subject to certain conditions, to sell to an eligible purchaser concessional loans made before January 1, 1995, to the government of an eligible country or reduce or cancel such loans on receipt of payment from an eligible purchaser for purposes of facilitating debt-for-equity, debt-for-development, or debt-for-nature swaps or debt buybacks by eligible countries to support specified activities. (Sec. 571) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to declare that restrictions on assistance for a country shall not be construed to restrict assistance in support of programs of nongovernmental organizations. (Sec. 572) Repeals authority to waive the requirement that U.S. private and voluntary organizations to which assistance is made available obtain at least 20 percent of their total annual financial support for international activities from sources other than the U.S. Government. (Sec. 573) Prohibits the availability of foreign assistance funds to private and voluntary organizations which: (1) fail to provide documents to meet auditing requirements of the USAID; or (2) are not registered with such agency. (Sec. 575) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the utilization of U.S. cooperatives and credit unions in developing countries. (Sec. 576) Prohibits the availability of foreign assistance funds for food assistance to North Korea unless the President certifies to the Congress that certain conditions are met. (Sec. 577) Directs the President to withhold funds made available under this Act equal to the aggregate value of nuclear fuel and related assistance and credits provided by a foreign country, or an entity in that country, to Cuba during the preceding fiscal year, with specified exceptions. Title VI: Trade and Development Agency - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for the Trade and Development Agency. Title VII: Special Authorities and Other Provisions - Increases from ten to 20 percent the amount authorized to be transferred between specified accounts under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act. (Sec. 702) Increases the amount of emergency assistance the President may use in any fiscal year for unanticipated contingencies. (Sec. 703) Authorizes the President to provide otherwise restricted assistance, sales, or other action under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Arms Export Control Act, or any annual (or periodic) foreign assistance authorization or appropriations legislation, if the Speaker of the House and a specified congressional committee are notified that to do so is vital to national interests. Increases annual ceilings with respect to such assistance. (Sec. 704) Authorizes the President, in order to make an equitable settlement of termination claims under extraordinary contractual relief standards, to adopt as a contract or other U.S. obligation and assume any liabilities under it, any contract with a U.S. or third-country contractor to carry out any program of foreign assistance that was subsequently terminated. (Sec. 705) Amends the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to authorize the use of foreign assistance provided to independent nongovernmental human rights organizations and individuals in Cuba for local costs in delivering such assistance. (Sec. 711) Repeals specified foreign assistance laws. Title VIII: Funding Levels - Authorizes appropriations.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 159 (105th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Sets forth the rule (open) for the consideration of H.R. 1757 (Department of State and related agencies authorization). Sets forth the rule (closed) for the consideration of H.R. 1758 (North Atlantic Treaty Organization enlargement). Directs the Clerk of the House, in the engrossment of H.R. 1757, to await the disposition of H.R. 1758, add its text at the end of H.R. 1757, and make appropriate conforming changes.
Bill· HRH.R. 1753 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 1997
Amends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 to require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, for FY 1997 through 2001, to make grants to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) to establish and extend club facilities where needed, with particular emphasis on establishing clubs in and extending services to public housing projects and distressed areas. Directs the Attorney General to accept and approve an application for such a grant submitted by BGCA if the application: (1) includes a long-term strategy to establish 1,000 additional clubs and a detailed summary of those areas in which new facilities will be established or existing facilities expanded to serve additional youths during the next fiscal year; (2) includes a plan to insure that there are a total of not less than 2,500 BGCA facilities in operation before January 1, 2000; (3) certifies that there will be appropriate coordination with those communities where clubs will be located; and (4) explains the manner in which new facilities will operate without additional, direct Federal financial assistance. Earmarks specified funds to provide a grant to BGCA for administrative, travel, and other costs associated with a national role-model speaking tour program.
Bill· HRH.R. 1752 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the nonrecognition of gain on sales of stock of a qualified refiner or processor to an eligible farmer's cooperative.
Bill· HRH.R. 1751 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that properly disclosed gifts for which the gift tax assessment period has expired may not be reevaluated for estate tax purposes.
Bill· SS. 817 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1997
Rural Health Care Protection Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to a hospital which has ever been classified as a rural referral center, to prohibit denial of a request for its reclassification on the basis of any comparison between its average hourly wage and the average hourly wages of hospitals in the area in which it is located. Declares that any hospital classified as a rural referral center by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for FY 1991 shall be so classified for FY 1998 and each subsequent fiscal year. Permits hospital geographic reclassification for purposes of disproportionate share payment adjustments. Permits rebasing of Medicare payment for sole community hospitals using FY 1994 and 1995 costs.
Bill· SS. 806 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1997
Indian Reservation Jobs and Investment Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an Indian reservation investment credit based on specified amounts. Includes qualified personal property and qualified real property used or located outside an Indian reservation which is connected to existing tribal infrastructure in the reservation, including roads, power lines, water systems, railroad spurs, and communication facilities as a reservation infrastructure investment. Limits the credit based on the Indian unemployment rate. Provides for recapture of the credit in certain cases.
Bill· SS. 808 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1997
Tribal Government Tax-Exempt Bond Authority Amendments Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the issuance of tax-exempt bonds by an Indian tribal government if at least 95 percent of the net proceeds are used to finance tribal facilities. Provides for the tax-exempt treatment of any private activity bond issued by an Indian tribal government or subdivision as a qualified bond. Prescribes specific ownership restrictions and an employment test. Exempts from the exclusion any bond issued by such tribal government or subdivision unless it is federally guaranteed. Amends the Securities Act of 1933 to exempt obligations issued by an Indian tribal government or subdivision from registration requirements.
Bill· SS. 809 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1997
Treatment of Indian Tribal Natural Resource Income Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from Federal income tax income derived from a natural resources-related activity by Indians or a qualified Indian entity. Prohibits a tax on remuneration paid for services performed in a natural resources-related activity by one member of a tribe for another member of such tribe. Defines natural resources-related activity and qualified Indian entity.
Bill· SS. 815 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1997
Investment Competitiveness Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends received from a regulated investment company from the 30 percent tax on the income of nonresident aliens and foreign corporations not connected with a U.S. business, subject to exception. Revises provisions concerning: (1) the estate tax treatment of stock in certain regulated investment companies owned by a nonresident; and (2) the distribution of U.S. property by a qualified investment entity (currently, a real estate investment trust).
Bill· SS. 807 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1997
Indian Tribal Government Unemployment Compensation Act Tax Relief Amendments of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat employment by federally recognized tribal governments, for unemployment compensation tax purposes, in the same manner as employment by State or local units of government or nonprofit organizations.
Bill· SS. 790 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow Indian tribes to receive charitable contributions of inventory and other property for purposes of a donor qualifying for the tax deduction under the Code.
Bill· SS. 792 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that cash rental of farmland to a member of the decedent's family for a qualified use will not cause recapture of the special estate tax valuation.
Bill· SS. 791 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the tax-exempt status of a mutual or cooperative telephone company to provide that 50 percent of the income received from a nonmember telephone company for services by the cooperative shall be treated as collected from members of the cooperative for the sole purpose of meeting the losses and expenses of the cooperative. Excludes, in determining the income of a cooperative: (1) billing and collection services performed for a nonmember telephone company; and (2) certain reserve income that does not exceed 35 percent of the company's total income. Subjects a portion of such reserve income to unrelated business income tax.
Law· HRH.R. 1702 (105th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Promotion of Commercial Space Opportunities Title II: Remote Sensing Title III: Federal Acquisition of Space Transportation Services Commercial Space Act of 1997 - Title I: Promotion of Commercial Space Opportunities - Requires the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to deliver to the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate: (1) a specified study that identifies and examines the opportunities for commercial providers to play a role in International Space Station activities, including operation, use, servicing, and augmentation; and (2) an independently-conducted market study that examines and evaluates potential industry interest in providing commercial goods and services for the operation, servicing, and augmentation of the International Space Station, and in the commercial use of the International Space Station (including updates to the cost savings and revenue estimates made in the preceding study, based on the external market assessment). Requires the Administrator to deliver to the Congress, no later than the submission of the President's annual budget request for FY 1999, a report detailing how many proposals (whether solicited or not) NASA received during 1997 regarding commercial operation, servicing, utilization, or augmentation of the International Space Station, and specifying how many agreements NASA has entered into in response to these proposals. (Sec. 102) Amends Federal law to include reentry vehicles and reentry operations within the scope of commercial space launch activities. Mandates an annual report. (Sec. 103) Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1993 to: (1) discontinue funding of the commercial launch voucher demonstration program through the Office of Commercial Programs within NASA (continues funding such program directly through NASA); and (2) extend the program indefinitely. (Sec. 104) Encourages the President to promote U.S. Global Positioning System standards. (Sec. 105) Directs NASA to purchase, to the maximum extent possible, space science data from a commercial provider. Title II: Remote Sensing - Makes amendments to the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 respecting the commercialization of land remote sensing space systems. Modifies license application and issuance requirements to allow U.S. Government agencies to enter into agreements for utilization of a private land remote sensing space system if such remote sensing space system will be licensed by the Secretary of Commerce before commencing its commercial operation. Prohibits duplication of U.S. commercial space science data collection or distribution activities by the Federal Government unless such activities would result in significant cost savings to the Federal Government. Repeals the technology demonstration program. (Sec. 202) Directs the Administrator to: (1) acquire space-based and airborne Earth remote sensing data provided by a commercial provider for purposes of meeting Government goals for Mission to Planet Earth; and (2) conduct a study to determine the extent to which baseline scientific requirements of Mission to Planet Earth can be met by commercial providers, and how NASA will meet such requirements which cannot be met by commercial providers. Requires that the study be carried out as part of the Commercial Remote Sensing Program at the Stennis Space Center. Title III: Federal Acquisition of Space Transportation Services - Requires the Federal Government to procure space transportation services from U.S. commercial providers whenever such services are required in the course of its activities, subject to exception. (Sec. 303) Makes conforming amendments to the Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990. Maintains the prohibition for the launching of commercial payloads as primary payloads on the space shuttle.
Bill· HRH.R. 1728 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
National Park Service Administrative Amendment of 1997 -Title I: New Area Establishment - Amends Federal law to repeal provisions which require the Secretary of the Interior to report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President of the Senate on areas of national significance that have been studied for potential inclusion in the National Park System (NPS) and requiring, within such report, a listing of not less than 12 such areas. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Committee on Resources of the House and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, along with the annual budget, a list of areas recommended for study for potential inclusion in the NPS. Requires the Secretary to give: (1) consideration to those areas that have the greatest potential to meet the established criteria of national significance, suitability, and feasibility; and (2) special consideration to themes, sites, and resources not already adequately represented in the NPS as identified in the NPS Plan to be developed under the National Park System Reform Act of 1995. Prohibits studies of potential areas for inclusion in the NPS from being initiated after the enactment of this Act, except as specifically authorized by an Act of Congress. Provides that nothing in this Act shall: (1) limit the authority of the National Park Service to conduct preliminary resource assessments, gather data on potential study areas, provide technical and planning assistance, prepare or process nominations for administrative designations, update previous studies, or complete reconnaissance surveys of individual areas requiring a total expenditure of less than $25,000; or (2) be construed to apply to the study of any river segment or any trail for potential addition to the national wild and scenic rivers system or the national trails system. Directs the Secretary to complete the study for each area for potential inclusion in the NPS within three complete fiscal years following the date of enactment of specific legislation providing for the study. Requires: (1) each study to consider specified factors, including similar resources already protected, costs, public support, and alternatives for protecting the area; (2) each study to be completed in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; and (3) the letter transmitting each completed study to the Congress to contain a recommendation regarding the Secretary's preferred management option for the area. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a single office to be assigned to prepare all new area studies and to implement other new area functions; and (2) submit to such Committees, along with the annual budget, a list of areas which have been previously studied which contain primarily historical resources, and a list of areas which have been previously studied which contain primarily natural resources, in numerical order of priority for addition to the NPS. (Sec. 102) Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 1745 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Administrative Forfeitures Title II: Judicial Forfeitures Title III: Property Subject to Forfeiture Title IV: Miscellaneous Forfeiture Amendments Title V: Criminal Forfeiture Forfeiture Act of 1997 - Title I: Administrative Forfeitures - Rewrites provisions regarding seizures, claims, and judicial condemnation under the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act). Allows any person claiming seized property to file a claim with the appropriate customs officer at any time after the seizure if filed within 30 days after the final publication of notice of seizure. Directs that the claim be signed by the claimant under penalty of perjury and contain a statement of the nature and extent of the claimant's ownership interest in the property and how and when it was acquired. Specifies that no bond shall be required if the property is seized by the Attorney General and consists of monetary instruments, or if the claim is filed in forma pauperis with the required supporting information. Authorizes the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury to waive or reduce the bond requirement under specified circumstances. Provides for condemnation in the manner prescribed in the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims (Rules). (Sec. 102) Modifies a provision regarding summary forfeiture and sale to require the appropriate customs officer, if any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage is not subject to seizure provisions of the Act, to transmit specified information to the United States attorney for a district in which a forfeiture action could be filed under the Federal judicial code. (Sec. 103) Amends the Act to provide that where no timely claim to seized property is filed and a declaration of forfeiture is entered pursuant to the Act by the seizing agency, the declaration shall be final and not subject to judicial review, with an exception where a claimant establishes that: (1) the seizing agency failed to take reasonable steps to provide the claimant with notice of the forfeiture; and (2) the claimant had no actual notice of the forfeiture proceeding within the period for filing a claim. Directs the district court, in such case, to order that the declaration of forfeiture be set aside pending forfeiture proceedings in accordance with the Act. Sets guidelines for what constitute "reasonable steps." Requires that an action to set aside a forfeiture declaration be filed within two years of the last date of publication of notice of the forfeiture of the property. (Sec. 104) Requires that all forfeitures of real property and interests therein proceed as judicial forfeitures. (Sec. 105) Amends: (1) the Rules to provide for the preservation of attached or arrested real property; and (2) the Federal Tort Claims Act to make an exception to such Act applicable to claims arising out of the assessment or collection of any tax or customs duty, or the detention of any property by any law enforcement officer performing any official law enforcement function, and certain cases based on the loss of, or negligent destruction or injury to, tangible property in the possession, custody, or control of a law enforcement agency. (Sec. 107) Makes the United States liable for post-judgment interest upon entry of judgment for the claimant in any proceeding to condemn or forfeit property seized or arrested under any Act of Congress. Specifies that the United States shall not be liable for pre-judgment interest, with exceptions. (Sec. 108) Modifies civil forfeiture provisions under the Federal criminal code (the code) to direct that seizures be made pursuant to a warrant obtained in the same manner as provided for a search warrant under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (FRCrP), except that a seizure may be made without a warrant if: (1) a complaint for forfeiture has been filed in the district court and the court has issued an arrest warrant in rem pursuant to the Rules; (2) the seizure is made pursuant to a lawful arrest or search, or if there is probable cause to believe that the property is subject to forfeiture and another exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement would apply; or (3) the property was lawfully seized by a State or local law enforcement agency and has been transferred to a Federal agency in accordance with State law. Sets forth additional procedures. Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to conform drug forfeiture procedures under that Act with forfeiture procedures under the code. Title II: Judicial Forfeitures - Amends the code to authorize the Attorney General to file a civil forfeiture complaint in the manner set forth in the Rules. Grants the Attorney General discretion, in cases where the applicable law authorizes the institution of civil and criminal forfeiture proceedings in connection with an offense, to determine whether to file a civil complaint, a criminal complaint, indictment or information including a forfeiture count in accordance with the applicable criminal forfeiture statute, or both civil and criminal actions. Sets forth provisions with respect to civil forfeiture complaints regarding: (1) time for filing; (2) filing a claim and answer; (3) standing; (4) affirmative defenses; (5) a motion to suppress seized evidence; (6) use of hearsay at pretrial hearings; (7) adverse inferences; (8) stipulations; (9) preservation of property subject to forfeiture; (10) release of property to pay criminal defense costs; (11) excessive fines; (12) applicability of this Act to judicial forfeiture under other Federal laws; (13) non-abatement of civil forfeiture actions or judgments because of the death of any person; and (14) rebuttable presumptions. (Sec. 202) Provides that an innocent owner's interest in property shall not be forfeited in any judicial action under any civil forfeiture provision of the code, the CSA, or the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952. Sets forth guidelines for determining if a person is an innocent owner and for handling situations involving an innocent owner with a partial interest in property subject to forfeiture. (Sec. 203) Modifies code provisions to direct the court, upon motion of the United States, to stay a civil forfeiture proceeding if it determines that civil discovery or trial could adversely affect the Government's ability to conduct a related criminal investigation or the prosecution of a related criminal case. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary to jointly promulgate guidelines governing the preservation of the value of property subject to forfeiture in a case that has been stayed. (Sec. 204) Specifies procedures that apply when a statute under the code provides for civil or criminal forfeiture without designating the procedures governing the forfeitures. (Sec. 205) Grants the Attorney General authority, for the purpose of conducting an investigation in contemplation of civil forfeiture proceedings, to administer oaths, take evidence, and subpoena witnesses and require the production of records deemed relevant or material to the inquiry. Makes provisions regarding civil investigative demands under the code applicable to this Act. (Sec. 206) Directs that a claimant's refusal to provide records in response to a discovery request or to take action necessary to make the records available in a civil forfeiture case, or in certain ancillary proceedings in a criminal forfeiture case under the CSA, result in the dismissal of the claim with prejudice where: (1) financial records located in a foreign country may be material to any claim or the ability of the Government to respond to such claim or, in a civil forfeiture case, to the Government's ability to establish the forfeitability of the property; and (2) it is within the claimant's capacity to waive his or her rights under such secrecy laws or to obtain the records him or herself so that the records can be made available. (Sec. 207) Amends: (1) the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide for the disclosure of returns and information related to civil forfeitures; and (2) the code to expand the circumstances under which grand jury information may be disclosed to Federal prosecutors. (Sec. 209) Amends the CSA to create a presumption that property subject to forfeiture is the proceeds of a CSA violation if, at trial, the Government establishes that the property is currency or other monetary instruments: (1) that was found in close proximity to a measurable quantity of a controlled substance; or (2) in excess of $10,000 that was being transported at a port of entry, on an interstate, or on U.S. coastal waters and the person in possession disclaims knowledge or ownership of the property or offers an explanation of possession that is false. Title III: Property Subject to Forfeiture - Expands the categories of offenses for which property which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the violation may be subject to civil or criminal forfeiture. (Sec. 302) Revises civil and criminal forfeiture provisions of the code, the CSA, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to provide for a uniform definition of "proceeds." (Sec. 303) Provides for the forfeiture of firearms used to commit or facilitate the commission of a Federal felony or crime of violence. Authorizes the Secretary to seize and forfeit property otherwise forfeitable under Federal law that was involved in or derived from the crime of violence or drug trafficking crime in which the forfeited firearm was used or carried. (Sec. 304) Amends the CSA to provide for the forfeiture of proceeds traceable to facilitating specified violations involving property in drug cases. (Sec. 305) Modifies or establishes provisions regarding forfeiture: (1) for alien smuggling; (2) of proceeds of certain foreign crimes; (3) of property used to facilitate foreign drug crimes; (4) for specified IRC violations; (5) for money laundering conspiracies; (6) under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979; (7) of instrumentalities of terrorism, telemarketing fraud, and other offenses; (8) of vehicles used for gun running; (9) of criminal proceeds transported in interstate commerce; (10) of proceeds of Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act violations; (11) for food stamp fraud; and (12) for odometer tampering offenses. Title IV: Miscellaneous Forfeiture Amendments - Revises civil forfeiture provisions under the code to provide for the use of forfeited funds to pay restitution to crime victims and regulatory agencies. (Sec. 402) Establishes procedures whereby certain foreign nations may submit a request to the Attorney General to have a final order of such nation compelling a defendant, as a consequence of his or her criminal conviction for a specified offense under the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, to pay a sum of money or property representing the proceeds of such offense registered and enforced by a United States district court. (Sec. 403) Revises provisions regarding civil forfeiture of fungible property to make such provisions applicable only if the forfeiture action was commenced by a seizure or an arrest in rem within two years of the offense that is the basis for the forfeiture. Makes such provisions inapplicable to an action against funds held by a financial institution in an interbank account unless the account holder knowingly engaged in the offense that is the basis for the forfeiture. Includes a foreign bank within the definition of "financial institution." (Sec. 404) Provides for the civil forfeiture of coins and currency in confiscated gambling devices. (Sec. 406) Modifies code provisions to authorize: (1) the sharing of forfeited property with cooperating foreign governments; and (2) the forfeiture of counterfeit paraphernalia, subject to specified requirements. (Sec. 408) Amends the CSA to provide for criminal forfeiture irrespective of any bankruptcy proceeding instituted after or in contemplation of a prosecution of the violation. (Sec. 409) Sets statutes of limitations of five years and ten years, respectively, from discovery for civil forfeiture actions under the Act and under code provisions pertaining to financial institutions. (Sec. 410) Revises Federal judicial code provisions to authorize the Attorney General, following the completion of procedures for the forfeiture of property pursuant to any law enforced or administered by the Department of Justice and subject to such terms and conditions as the Attorney General shall specify, to take specified actions, such as to destroy the property if it is unsuitable for public use or sale, or uneconomical to market. Requires the Attorney General to provide for the property rights of innocent persons in disposing of forfeited property. (Sec. 411) Makes judicial review provisions under the CSA inapplicable to certain findings, conclusions, rulings, decisions, or declarations of the Attorney General relating to the seizure, forfeiture, or disposition of forfeited property. (Sec. 412) Authorizes deposits or credits to the Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund in lieu of forfeiture. Amends the Federal judicial code to make certain amounts transferred by the Secretary pursuant to such provision, or by the Postmaster General, available to the Attorney General for Federal law enforcement and criminal prosecution purposes. (Sec. 414) Amends the Act to authorize the Secretary, whenever property is civilly or criminally forfeited by or for the United States Customs Service, including administrative forfeiture, to dispose of the property in accordance with law. (Sec. 416) Amends the Federal judicial code to: (1) prohibit any person who, in order to avoid criminal prosecution, purposely leaves the jurisdiction of the United States, declines to enter or reenter the United States to submit to its jurisdiction, or otherwise evades the jurisdiction of the court where a criminal case is pending against the person, from using the resources of the U.S. courts in furtherance of a claim in any related civil forfeiture action or a claim in third-party proceedings in any related criminal forfeiture action; and (2) provide for the admissibility of foreign business records. (Sec. 418) Amends the code to include seizures for forfeiture within provisions regarding destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure. (Sec. 419) Makes all amendments in this Act applicable to forfeiture proceedings commenced on or after its effective date, unless otherwise specified in this Act. Specifies effective dates for administrative, civil judicial, and criminal forfeitures, and for changes in substantive forfeiture law. Title V: Criminal Forfeiture - Modifies provisions under the code (including regarding obscenity, child pornography, espionage, firearms, and immigration provisions), RICO, and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to establish uniform procedures for criminal forfeiture. (Sec. 502) Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that, whenever a forfeiture of property is authorized in connection with a violation of an Act of Congress, and any person is charged in an indictment or information with such violation but no specific statutory provision is made for criminal forfeiture upon conviction, the Government may include the forfeiture in the indictment or information in accordance with the FRCrP and, upon conviction, the court shall order the forfeiture of the property in accordance with procedures established in this title. (Sec. 503) Establishes a new FRCrP (32.2) which sets forth provisions regarding: (1) indictment and information; (2) hearing and entry of preliminary order of forfeiture after verdict; (3) authority of the Attorney General to seize property and finality of the order; (4) ancillary proceedings; (5) stays of forfeiture pending appeal; and (6) substitute property. (Sec. 504) Modifies or establishes provisions regarding: (1) pretrial restraint of substitute assets; (2) repatriation of property placed beyond the court's jurisdiction; (3) hearings on pretrial restraining orders; (4) criminal seizure warrants; (5) the standard of proof for criminal forfeiture; (6) discovery procedure for locating forfeited assets; (7) collection of criminal forfeiture judgments; (8) appeals in criminal forfeiture cases; (9) nonabatement of forfeiture when a defendant dies pending appeal; (10) standing of third parties to contest criminal forfeiture orders; (11) motion and discovery procedures for ancillary hearings; (12) intervention by the defendant in an ancillary proceeding; (13) in personam judgments; (14) rights of third parties to contest forfeiture of substitute assets; (15) forfeitable property transferred to third parties; (16) forfeiture of third party interests in criminal cases; (17) severance of jointly held property; (18) victim restitution; and (19) delivery of property to the Marshals Service.
Bill· HRH.R. 1726 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Healthy Future Title II: Caring for Families Title III: Family Safety Title IV: Economic Security Title V: Educating Our Children Title VI: Budgeting Provisions Children's National Security Act - Title I: Healthy Future - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow State plans to provide for making Medicaid assistance available to low-income children. (Sec. 102) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to provide guaranteed availability of individual health insurance coverage to uninsured children. (Sec. 103) Authorizes additional appropriations for diabetes-related research by the National Institutes of Health, particularly the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (Sec. 104) Amends PHSA to extend the authorization of appropriations for the bone marrow program. Requires the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry to increase the representation in the pool of potential donors of children of mixed ancestry. (Sec. 105) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, PHSA, SSA title XVIII (Medicare), and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information in group health insurance plans, individual market health insurance policies, and Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies. Prohibits such plans or their issuers from requiring participants, beneficiaries, or applicants to disclose genetic information. Requires participant, beneficiary, or applicant authorization before such plans or insurers may disclose such genetic information. Makes violators of such prohibitions and requirements liable for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages. (Sec. 106) Amends PHSA to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), to carry out, through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, a public information and education program on eating disorders, including toll-free telephone information and referral services. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 107) Amends SSA to set forth a special rule for Medicare reimbursement for primary care combined residency programs, including obstetrics and gynecology. (Sec. 108) Amends SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation to exempt families headed by an adult nonparental relative caregiver from certain welfare assistance work requirements and time limits. Requires work participation rates to be determined without regard to such families. Prohibits States from imposing work requirements or time limits on such families, and reduces a State's grant if it violates such prohibitions. Entitles eligible States to grants for assistance to adult nonparental caregivers. Makes appropriations for such grants. Title II: Caring for Families - Directs the Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development and of HHS to carry out a program of grants to demonstrate the effectiveness of providing assistance to private nonprofit organizations for development of intergenerational foster care housing and for providing foster care services in such housing. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 202) Amends the IRC with respect to the child care tax credit to increase the amount of employment-related expenses taken into account and the amount at which phase-down of percentage begins. Offsets the cost of such changes by eliminating the following tax provisions regarding foreign sales corporations: (1) an exclusion for certain exempt foreign trade income; and (2) a deduction for dividends received from certain foreign corporations. (Sec. 203) Requires an employer to provide an employee who is a parent of an adopted child or a foster child with the same leave the employer provides (in addition to leave required by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993) an employee who is on parental leave for the birth of a child. (Sec. 204) Amends SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to require States to have certain standby guardianship laws and procedures as a condition of eligibility for Federal funds for foster care and adoption assistance. (Sec. 205) Amends SSA title IV part E to require States to: (1) administer qualifying examinations to all State employees with new authority to make decisions regarding child welfare services; and (2) establish certain procedures to expedite the permanent placement of foster children. Provides for placement of foster children in permanent kinship care arrangements. Gives States an option, for adoption assistance payment purposes, to deem kinship placement as adoption. Provides for consideration of the kinship placement option at the dispositional hearing. Makes Federal funds for foster care and adoption assistance available only to States that require State agencies to give preference to adoption applications of a foster parent or caretaker relative of the child. (Sec. 206) Amends the Child Care Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize appropriations for FY 1997 through 2002 for: (1) child care for low-income working families; and (2) child care supply shortages. Requires States and the Secretary of HHS to report on access to child-care by low-income working families. Title III: Family Safety - Directs the Attorney General, as part of the prevention of date rape, to: (1) reschedule Gamma y-hydroxybutyrate in schedule I and Ketamine in schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act; (2) establish nationwide programs and disseminate materials to provide young people in high school and college with education about the use of controlled substances in the furtherance of rape and sexual assault; and (3) assist law enforcement personnel in the prevention of abuse of controlled substances for such purpose. (Sec. 302) Amends ERISA and the IRC to allow the creation or assignment of rights to employee pension benefits, under a qualified child abuse order, if this is necessary to satisfy a judgment against an employee benefit plan participant or beneficiary for physically, sexually, or emotionally abusing a child. (Sec. 303) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to protection from sexual predators. Amends Federal criminal law relating to punishment of sexual predators. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to condition State eligibility for certain grants on a State's having in effect laws which allow the court to impose a sentence of life in prison without parole on a criminal defendant convicted of a State offense for specified types of sexually predatory conduct. Requires the National Institute of justice to study and report to the Congress and the President on persistent sexual predators. (Sec. 304) Establishes requirements relating to child safety locks for firearms. Sets forth prohibitions, and civil penalties, against: (1) the manufacture of handguns as well as the transfer of firearms without locking devices attached; (2) and (2) the transfer of firearms by licensees without notice and warning. Includes loss of a Federal dealer's license among civil penalties for such violations. Sets forth criminal penalties for an adult's leaving a firearm and ammunition with an unsupervised minor. Directs the National Institute of Justice and the Consumer Product Safety Commission each to study, and report to the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury on, the feasibility of developing minimum quality standards for locking devices for firearms. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control to study and report on the results. Authorizes appropriations to the Attorney General and the Secretary of HHS for public service announcements and counter advertisements designed to educate the public on the proper storage of firearms. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations which prescribe minimum quality standards for locking devices. (Sec. 305) Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of the funds authorized for Federal aid highway programs for FY 2001, and ten percent of such amounts for subsequent fiscal years, from any State that has not enacted and is not enforcing: (1) a law that considers as intoxicated an individual with an alcohol concentration level of 0.08 percent or greater while operating a motor vehicle; and (2) a law that provides, for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, revocation of driver's license for at least six months for a first conviction, revocation for at least one year for a second conviction, and permanent revocation for a third or subsequent conviction. (Sec. 307) Amends Federal criminal law to define firearm locking device. Makes it unlawful for a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun (with law enforcement and government exceptions) without a locking device or a specified related warning. Sets forth civil (in addition to any administrative) penalties for related violations, including suspension or loss of license. Title IV: Economic Security - Amends the IRC to provide for a refundable credit for household and dependent care services necessary for gainful employment. Increases the amount of a taxpayer's employment-related expenses taken into account and the amount at which phase-down of percentage begins. (Sec. 401) Allows an employer-provided child care credit for businesses. Amends the Child Care Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to extend the authorization of appropriations for grants to States for child care services for low-income working families. Authorizes appropriations for child care supply shortages, and requires States to use such funds in certain areas for specified types of activities. Requires States and the Secretary of HHS to report on access to child- care by low-income working families. (Sec. 402) Amends the IRC to allow an individual an income tax credit equal to the unpaid child support such individual is entitled to receive for the taxable year. Requires the taxpayer to identify each individual required to pay support. Increases by the amount of such credit the tax of the individual failing to make required support payments. Prohibits treating any such increase in tax as a tax for purposes of determining a credit or the minimum tax. Title V: Educating Our Children - Establishes a program to provide Federal interest subsidies, or similar assistance, to States and localities to help them bring all public school facilities up to an acceptable construction standard and build the additional public schools needed in the next decade. (Sec. 503) Makes appropriations to the Secretary of Education to carry out this title. (Sec. 504) Reserves specified funds for Indian school construction by the Secretary of the Interior and for grants to outlying areas. (Sec. 511) Sets forth requirements for formula grants to States and for direct grants to local educational agencies (LEAs). (Sec. 531) Sets forth general requirements relating to technical employees, wage rates, non-liability of the Federal Government, and consultation with Secretary of the Treasury. Title VI: Budgeting Provisions - Provides for: (1) an increase in budget functions for domestic programs resulting from this Act; and (2) offsetting reductions in the defense budget function.
Bill· HRH.R. 1749 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Managed Care Plan Accountability Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) with respect to accountability for violations of requirements for managed care group health plans, especially failure to provide health benefits due to improper cost-driven delivery policy decisions. Imposes joint and several liability for actual (including compensatory and consequential) damages, and, in the court's discretion, for punitive damages, on a group health plan, or a plan health insurance issuer, for failure to provide a benefit in accordance with plan terms, insofar as such failure occurs pursuant to a clinically or medically inappropriate decision or determination resulting from application of any cost containment technique, related utilization review, or any other medical care delivery policy decision which restricts the ability of medical care providers to use their full discretion for treatment of patients. Provides for an action for damages in either a State or Federal court. Requires managed care group health plans to provide for full indemnification of medical care providers bound by plan restrictions for any liability incurred for such a failure if it is the direct result of a plan restriction on medical communications. Amends the IRC to establish an excise tax for such cost-driven violations of plan terms.
Bill· HRH.R. 1722 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Bank Regulation Adjustment Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to establish a criminal penalty for specified activities pertaining to fraudulent use of credit cards, including obtaining a credit card by fraudulent means. Amends Federal monetary law to mandate annual inflation adjustments with respect to specified transactions for which a domestic financial institution is required to file currency transaction reports. Permits filers of infrequent currency transaction reports to file on a quarterly basis. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to repeal: (1) the "due on demand" requirement for "insider loans" to executive bank officers; (2) reporting requirements pertaining to such loans; and (3) the authority of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to assess examination fees against State depository institutions. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to restrict to Federal depository institutions the assessment of examination fees by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. States that the effective date for banking regulations shall be at the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date the regulation is published in final form in the Federal Register (unless Federal law specifically prescribes otherwise). Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to expand Federal credit union membership from groups having a common bond to groups having common bonds. Declares that any regulation prescribed by the National Credit Union Administration which requires a vote by the membership to approve or disapprove a proposal to transfer credit union deposits to an insured depository institution shall allow the credit union to provide notice of such vote up to 90 days before the date of the vote. Excludes from the gross income of a depository institution, for Federal tax purposes, the fees and income it receives which are attributable to the first $350 million of its total assets.
Bill· HRH.R. 1733 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area Act - Establishes the Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area, upon conveyance of such Island to the United States, to preserve and protect its outstanding resources and values and to provide for the conservation, protection, and enhancement of primitive recreation opportunities, fish and wildlife habitat, vegetation, and historical and cultural resources of such Island. Requires the boundaries of the Hiawatha National Forest to be extended to include such Area. Requires lands acquired by the United States under this Act to be treated as entitlement lands solely for purposes of payments in lieu of taxes to local governments. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a management plan for the Area as an amendment to the Land and Resources Management Plan for the Hiawatha National Forest. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities of Michigan with respect to fish and wildlife in the Area. Withdraws the lands within the Area from U.S. mining laws and from disposition under mineral and geothermal leasing laws. Prohibits the Secretary from allowing any mineral development on federally-owned land within the Area, except for construction and maintenance of roads and facilities within the Area. Allows the Secretary to acquire land and structures: (1) within the Area to further the purposes of this Act; and (2) on the mainland to the extent necessary for access to, and administrative facilities for, the Area. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 1729 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the work opportunity credit to: (1) extend the credit; (2) increase the credit wage percentage; (3) revise minimum employment requirements; and (4) revise the definition of a targeted welfare (IV-A) recipient.
Bill· HRH.R. 1746 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to provide that if, in any calendar year beginning after the enactment of this Act and before the start of FY 2002, the Congress does not complete action on a balanced budget resolution before June 16th, no Member of Congress shall be entitled to pay for service performed during any month in such year that begins after that date. Requires that the amount of such forfeited pay be returned to the Treasury for deficit reduction.
Bill· HRH.R. 1741 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers in the process of adopting a child to use specified alternative information in lieu of the TIN (taxpayer information number) to claim the dependency exemption for the child.
Bill· HRH.R. 1730 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the reduction of any tax credit or refund due a taxpayer in order to collect past-due, legally enforceable State tax obligations. Provides for the disclosure of information to States requesting such a reduction. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to treat as though they had never been enacted specified amendments of that Act requiring tax overpayment offsets against overpayments to the taxpayer under State plans relating to title IV (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) of the Social Security Act (and related disclosures of information to States).
PreviousPage 10 of 11Next