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Bill· HRH.R. 6095 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1992
Excellence in Public Architecture Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to require the Administrator of the General Services Administration, no later than March 1, 1993, and no later than each March 1 thereafter, to submit to the Commission of Fine Arts and the Congress a list of all public building projects for which architectural and engineering services for building design or site planning will be procured for the fiscal year. Directs the Administrator, no later than October 1, 1993, to issue model rules under which competitions for such services will be conducted. Requires such rules to: (1) establish no fewer than three different model competition procedure formats; (2) require the submission of the competition program for each project to the Commission of Fine Arts for review and comment; (3) provide for appointment of a project competition adviser and appointment of a project competition jury by the National Endowment for the Arts, in consultation with the American Institute of Architects and the Administrator; (4) provide that each jury shall include a representative of the General Services Administration, the principal Federal agency that will occupy the project, and the American Institute of Architects; and (5) require the project jury to report its recommendations in writing with reasons for such recommendations. Increases from six percent to no more than eight percent of total contract costs that can be allocated for architectural and engineering services. Establishes a Supervisory Architect within the General Services Administration to supervise design activities.
Bill· SS. 3300 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
21st Century Health Care Act - Title I: Eligibility and Enrollment - Entitles every U.S. resident who is a citizen, national, or lawful resident alien to health care coverage purchased through a health insurance purchasing cooperative (HIPC) created under this Act in their State of primary residence. Authorizes the National Health Care Board created in this Act to also make eligible for health care services such nonimmigrant aliens and other individuals as the Board considers appropriate. Requires such State to provide a mechanism for the enrollment of individuals entitled to health benefits purchased through a HIPC, as well as the issuance of a State health insurance card for use in identification and claims processing. States that each State HIPC program: (1) shall not impose a minimum residency requirement for entitlement in excess of three months; (2) shall provide continuation of services for individuals moving to another State until a minimum period of residency is established in the latter State; and (3) shall provide for the payment of health care services to individuals temporarily absent from the State. Requires the Board to issue regulations to provide for the transition of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to the health benefits program established under this Act. Title II: Managed Competition in Health Plans - Subtitle A: National Health Care Board - Establishes a National Health Care Board to: (1) establish and oversee the various responsibilities for the Health Outcomes Management Standards Board, the Health Benefits Standards Board, the Health Insurance Standards Board, the Medicare Transition Board, and the National Health Data System (all created under this Act); (2) establish a uniform data system to designate qualified HIPCs and carriers; (3) determine and implement a system for the collection of relevant health outcomes data; (4) determine and revise minimum benefit requirements of a qualified health benefits plan; (5) establish a program for low-income assistance, including premium and cost-sharing assistance; (6) establish an assistance program for individuals employed by small businesses; and (7) make written recommendations at least annually to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the States with respect to the planning, development, and implementation of all components of the National Health Insurance Data System established under this Act. Requires the Board to provide for the initial organization of a Health Outcomes Management Standards Board (Outcomes Board) to make recommendations to the Board concerning: (1) the establishment of a national data system for patient outcomes and other quality measures; (2) the standards for information collection and reporting from Accountable Health Plans (AHPs); and (3) oversight of data centers and data evaluation. Provides funding to the Outcomes Board through establishment of an annual registration fee for AHPs. Requires the Board to provide for the initial organization of a Health Benefits Standards Board (Benefits Board) to make recommendations to the Board concerning: (1) the uniform set of effective benefits; (2) effective services for such benefits; and (3) auditing standards to ensure the accuracy of information collected from AHPs. Provides funding to the Benefits Board through an annual AHP registration fee. Requires the Board to provide for the initial organization of a Health Insurance Standards Board (Insurance Board) to make recommendations to the Board concerning the standards for AHPs and HIPCs, and the treatment of uniform effective health benefits and expenses in excess of accountable health plan costs. Requires the Insurance Board to also ensure the financial viability of AHPs and resolve conflicts between AHPs and consumers in the delivery of the uniform set of effective benefits. Provides funding to the Insurance Board through an annual AHP registration fee. Requires the Board to provide for the initial organization of a Medicare Transition Board (Transition Board) to make recommendations to the Congress concerning the integration of the Medicare health program with the health program established under this Act. Provides funding to the Transition Board through an annual AHP registration fee. Directs the Board to: (1) register AHPs that meet standards provided under this Act; (2) establish rules for the process of risk-adjustment of premiums among AHPs by HIPCs; (3) establish standards for the periodic reporting by AHPs of information on clinical health outcomes, status, well-being, plan satisfaction of enrolled individuals, health care expenditures, and volumes and prices of procedures; (4) analyze all information so reported; (5) provide for the distribution of its analysis on individual AHPs; (6) publish annual reports on collected information; and (7) distribute related information as appropriate. Provides procedural rules governing congressional consideration of Board actions, requiring specific disapproval by joint resolution in order to overturn such actions. Subtitle B: Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperatives - Requires each State to provide for the establishment as a not-for-profit corporation of a health insurance purchasing cooperative (HIPC) to implement a State coordinated buying program under specified procedures. Outlines HIPC requirements. Requires each HIPC to be governed by a Board of Directors to oversee the functioning of all HIPCs within such State, provide expertise, coordinate HIPC activities among districts, and resolve disputes arising in the implementation of this Act. Requires each HIPC to: (1) enter into agreements with AHPs and employers; (2) enroll individuals under AHPs; (3) receive and forward adjusted premiums for plan enrollment; (4) coordinate with other HIPCs; (5) engage in education and outreach efforts to inform the public about the HIPC coordinated buying program; (6) solicit bids and negotiate with AHPs to make available health benefit plans through the coordinated buying program and one or more HIPCs; and (7) prepare and disseminate the documentation required by Federal agencies to certify participation in the coordinated program. Provides similar local district activities of HIPCs. Outlines provisions concerning the agreement entered into between each HIPC and AHP, including agreement termination, offer of enrollment to individuals at applicable premium rates, and payment and receipt of premiums. States that each AHP retains the risk of nonpayment by enrolled individuals. Requires each HIPC to offer eligible individuals the opportunity to enroll in an AHP for the HIPC area in which such individual resides. Outlines provisions concerning the enrollment process, as well as the periods of coverage for the initial, general, and special enrollment periods. Provides for the receipt of premiums by a HIPC and the forwarding of such premiums to the AHP providing the health services, after the taking by the HIPC of a specified percentage to cover overhead expenses. Requires the Board to establish rules for coordination among HIPCs in cases where under an agreement with a HIPC eligible individuals are enrolled by an employer located in one State and the employees reside in a different State. Subtitle C: Accountable Health Plans - Part 1: Requirements for Accountable Health Plans - Requires the Board to provide a process whereby a health plan may be registered with the Board by its sponsor as an accountable health plan (AHP). Requires an AHP, in order to be eligible for registering, to: (1) provide for coverage of the uniform set of effective benefits specified by the Board; (2) provide for the collection and reporting to the Board of information concerning enrollees and the provision of services; (3) not discriminate in enrollment or benefits; (4) establish standard premiums for the uniform set of effective benefits; (5) meet financial solvency requirements; and (6) provide for effective grievance procedures and restrict certain physician incentive plans. Requires each AHP to also provide for the imposition of uniform cost-sharing (deductibles and coinsurance). Requires each AHP to provide at least annually to its HIPC necessary information to evaluate AHP cost and performance in meeting the needs of its enrollees. Prohibits an AHP from denying, limiting, or conditioning the coverage under its plan based on the health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, or lack of evidence of insurability of an individual. Allows an AHP to exclude coverage for a previous condition, but limits such exclusion to six months. Requires each AHP to establish standard premiums, for individual and family coverage, for the uniform set of effective benefits within each HIPC area in which the plan is offered. Provides with respect to each AHP: (1) financial solvency requirements; (2) grievance procedures; and (3) the acceptance of information electronically from the Board on the eligibility of individuals for low-income and small business assistance. Part 2: Preemption from State Laws for Accountable Health Plans - Preempts any State law which is different from the uniform set of effective benefits established by the Board under this Act, as well as any State law restricting network plans or utilization review programs. Subtitle D: Treatment of Areas of Ineffective Competition - Requires the Board, if it determines that there is ineffective price competition in the provision of health services within the uniform set of effective benefits in an area of a State, to authorize the State HIPC to establish reimbursement benchmarks to be used in the determination of rates to be charged by providers of services in such area until the Board finds that effective price competition exists. Subtitle E: Definitions - Provides definitions. Title III: Uniform Effective Health Benefits - Requires the Board to annually specify the uniform set of effective benefits for the next fiscal year to apply in all States. Requires such benefits to include the full range of legally authorized treatments for conditions, but allows for the exclusion of benefits for services and items that the Board determines have not been shown to reasonably improve or significantly ameliorate a health condition. Requires specific treatments, procedures, and care to be left up to the individual AHP. Provides for the inclusion and exclusion of specified services within the uniform set of effective benefits. Requires the Board to entitle every eligible individual under an AHP to payment for such covered services. Title IV: Application of Antitrust Laws - Exempts from the antitrust laws the action of two or more hospitals negotiating a proposed agreement to share expensive medical services or high technology equipment. Requires, for such exemption, such hospitals to submit an application to the Board describing the particulars of such agreement, Board approval, and Board issuance of a waiver from the antitrust laws for such agreement. Allows the revocation of such waiver in specified circumstances. Title V: Cost Control and Financing - Subtitle A: Health Budgets - Requires the Board to: (1) establish an annual fiscal year budget of expenditures; (2) compute the national average per capita cost for each of the health care services included in the expenditures; (3) designate a series of risk groups, by age, sex, and other factors, for health care services and costs; (4) develop for each State HIPC a factor to adjust the national average per capita costs for each risk group; (5) determine total projected expenditures for each State HIPC for each covered health service; (6) determine the appropriate Federal contribution for each State for total projected expenditures; and (7) make appropriate subsequent calculations to adjust the budgets, estimates, and contributions. Requires each State to raise the revenues necessary to cover its share specified in the national health budget established by the Board. Subtitle B: Funding - Directs the Board to develop a mechanism for determining and collecting revenues to fund Federal contributions, which shall be approved or disapproved under congressional joint resolution procedures. Amends the Public Health Service Act to impose on any employer a civil penalty equal to 34 percent of the excess health plan expenses of such employer. Defines the excess health plan expenses as those not covered under an AHP or paid to a HIPC for coverage under an AHP. Prohibits the amount of employer contribution from varying based on the AHP selected. Outlines employer obligations with respect to the enrollment of eligible individuals in an AHP through a State HIPC. Provides civil penalties for failing to meet such obligations. Establishes the National Health Care Trust Fund and appropriates to the Fund all of the premiums received by the Board for coverage under an AHP, along with any penalties collected. Requires each State to establish a funding program for the implementation of the State HIPC program in that State, requiring each program to include the enrollment and standard premium financing required under this Act. Entitles each State with an HIPC program approved by the Board to its appropriate per capita funding from the Board for implementation of the AHP.
Bill· SS. 3299 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Managed Competition Act of 1992 - Title I: Managed Competition in Employer-Based Health Plans: Incentives to Control Costs - Subtitle A: Use of Tax Incentives to Purchase Cost Effective Plans - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the excess health plan expenses of employers. Allows a full and permanent deduction for the health plan premium expenses of self-employed individuals, except with respect to excess health plan expenses. Excludes from gross income contributions by a partnership or S corporation to an accident or health plan covering its partners or shareholders. Subtitle B: Health Plan Purchasing Cooperatives (HPPCs - Provides for the establishment of health plan purchasing cooperatives as not-for-profit corporations in or among States to: (1) enter into agreements with accountable health plans; (2) enter into agreements with small employers; (3) enroll individuals in accountable health plans; (4) receive and forward adjusted premiums, including the reconciliation of low-income assistance among such plans; and (5) coordinate and carryout other functions as required by this title. Subtitle C: Accountable Health Plans (AHPs) - Sets forth requirements for accountable health plans with respect to: registration and qualifications, uniform benefits, cost-sharing for low-income individuals, standardized information, prohibition of discrimination based on health status, standard premiums, financial solvency, grievance mechanisms, and coordinating benefits. Preempts State laws for accountable health plans. Subtitle D: National Health Board - Establishes a National Health Board to: (1) specify a uniform set of effective benefits by October 1, 1993; (2) provide for an advisory Health Benefits and Data Standards Board and a Health Plan Standards Board; (3) register accountable health plans; (4) establish rules for the process of risk-adjustment premiums; (5) establish standards for a national health data system; (6) measure the quality of care in specialized centers; and (7) make specified reports to the Congress. Subtitle E: Treatment of Areas of Ineffective Competition - Authorizes States to develop plans for controlling growth in premiums of accountable health plans where there is ineffective price competition. Subtitle F: Repeal of COBRA Continuation Requirements - Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Public Health Service Act with respect to continuation coverage requirements of group health plans. Subtitle G: Definitions - Provides definitions for terms under this title. Title II: Low-Income Assistance for Health Coverage - Subtitle A: Low-Income Assistance - Provides assistance to low-income individuals enrolled under accountable health plans who are not eligible for Medicare through adjustments of premiums, cost-sharing assistance, and payments for certain items and services. Subtitle B: Long-Term Care Phase-Down Assistance to States - Phases down assistance to States for long-term care from 1994 through 1997. Subtitle C: Financing - Repeals the dollar limitation on the amount of wages subject to the hospital insurance tax. Subtitle D: Repeal of Medicaid Program - Repeals title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act. Requires the National Health Board to report to the Congress on changes in the laws needed to conform to such repeal. Title III: Improved Access in Rural and Undeserved Areas - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend authorizations of appropriations for migrant health centers, community health centers, scholarship and loan repayment programs of the National Health Service Corps, and area health education centers. Title IV: Preventive Health and Personal Responsibility - Subtitle A: Expansion of Public Health Programs - Extends authorized appropriations for: immunizations against vaccine-preventable diseases, lead poisoning prevention, preventive health measures with respect to breast and cervical cancers, health information and health promotion, and preventive health and health services block grants. Provides for the use of appropriated funds for the prevention, control, and elimination of tuberculosis and for grants for the early intervention regarding acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Authorizes appropriations for programs regarding the smoking of tobacco products. Subtitle B: Expansion of Medicare Coverage of Preventive Services - Amends the title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage for colorectal screening, certain immunizations, well-child care, annual mammography screenings, and certain additional benefits. Title V: Malpractice Reform - Subtitle A: Findings; Purpose; Definitions - Sets forth congressional findings with respect to the need for malpractice reforms. Subtitle B: Grants to States for Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for a two-year period for the implementation and evaluation of alternative dispute resolution systems. Sets forth eligibility requirements for States seeking such grants and standards and regulations for such program. Subtitle C: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims - Establishes uniform standards for health care liability actions brought in a Federal or State court and to medical malpractice claims subject to an alternative dispute resolution system, except in the case of an injury arising from the use of a medical product. Subtitle D: Liability Protections for Federally-Supported Health Centers - Provides liability protection for physicians or other licensed or certified health care practitioners deemed to be employees of the Public Health Service. Requires the Attorney General to report to the Congress on medical malpractice liability claims arising under this subtitle. Title VI: Paperwork Reduction and Administrative Simplification - Preempts State laws that require medical or health insurance records to be maintained in written, rather than electronic form. Requires the National Health Board to ensure the confidentiality of electronic health care information and establish standardization for the electronic receipt and transmission of health plan information. Requires the Board to establish goals and time frames for: (1) the use of uniform health claims forms and identification numbers; (2) achieving uniformity in determining the liability of insurers when benefits are payable under two or more health plans; and (3) achieving uniformity in the availability of information among health plans when benefits are payable under two or more health plans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the administrator of a health plan for failure to satisfy certain health plan requirments.
Bill· SS. 3291 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Interstate Child Support Enforcement Act - Title I: Locate and Case Tracking - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow the Federal Parent Locator System (FPLS) to be used for the purposes of parentage establishment, child support establishment, modification, and enforcement, and child visitation enforcement provided that safeguards are in place to prevent release of information when it may jeopardize the safety of the children or either parent. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement to provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) with access to the quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns filed by individuals with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Requires States to have in place procedures under which the State agency responsible for child support enforcement shall: (1) have access to data base information regarding residential addresses, employers and employer addresses, income and assets, and medical insurance benefits of absent parents; and (2) maintain child support order registries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the HHS Secretary should investigate accessing certain Federal data banks not already linked to FPLS. Requires the HHS Secretary to expand FPLS to provide a national network to State agencies and courts for locate and case tracking. Requires that private attorneys and pro se obligees be allowed access to State locate resources and other public enforcement techniques for the limited purpose of establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support and other orders. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) establish a system for reporting new employees and information on their W-4 forms to the appropriate State employment security agency; and (2) modify the W-4 form completed by new employees to include child support and health insurance information. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require employers to withhold from employee wages amounts owed for child support. Amends SSA title IV part D to establish procedures for verification of child support information by the State and for the imposition of monetary penalties on: (1) employees who fail to report to their employers amounts owed for child support; and (2) employers who fail to withhold such amounts and properly disburse them. Requires States to: (1) notify the employer in cases where the employee has not correctly reported information regarding his or her child support obligations on the W-4 form; (2) broadcast over FPLS to other States information based on the W-4 form that has been sent to the State employment security agency; and (3) notify an individual owed child support when there is a match between W-4 related information and information on file relating to support orders. Requires the heads of the National Criminal Information Center, the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications Network, and any other national or regional systems for tracking individuals to allow access to information to Federal, State and local child support agencies. Requires States to broadcast on their local and State crime information systems failure-to-appear warrants, capiases, and bench warrants issued by courts in civil and criminal parentage and chid support proceedings. Provides that if a defendant posts security after being arrested, the State shall remit any subsequent forfeiture to the individual owed the child support to the extent of any child support arrearage. Title II: Establishment - Amends SSA title IV part D to require States to pass long-arm statutes which provide for jurisdiction over a non-resident in an action to establish, enforce, or modify a child support order, or determine parentage if certain conditions are met. Requires States to promulgate procedures under which they shall treat out-of-State service of process in child support and parentage actions in the same manner as in-State service of process. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the courts of a State may, consistent with due process, exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident who is the parent or presumed parent of a resident child in order to establish, enforce, or modify a child support order or determine parentage. Requires States to recognize and enforce parentage and child support orders of other States where jurisdiction was properly asserted. Specifies the conditions under which a State court has personal jurisdiction over a nonresident contestant. Requires State courts to maintain continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a child support order for as long as the State remains the child's State or the residence of any contestant, unless another State court has modified such order. Specifies the conditions under which a State court may modify a parentage or child support order made by another State court. Provides that a court in a State shall not exercise jurisdiction in a parentage or child support proceeding during the pendency of a proceeding in a court of another Stte which has jurisdiction, except under certain circumstances. Requires State courts to apply the law of the forum State in a proceeding to adjudicate parentage or to establish a child support order except: (1) when they interpret an order issued by a court of another State; or (2) in permitting an action to collect child support arrearages, when the statute of limitations of the forum State would preclude the action but the statute of limitations of the issuing State would permit the action. Sets forth provisions regarding service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed forces relating to child support, alimony, and parentage obligations. Requires that parents' identification and locate information be filed with the State court adjudicating parentage and child support actions. Requires safeguards on such information where there is a court order for the physical protection of the child or one parent entered against the other parent. Requires State child support agencies to timely notify any individual owed child support of all hearings in which such support might be established, modified, or enforced, and promptly provided copies of any such orders. Requires States to allow parties seeking both parentage adjudication and child support establishment in a judicial proceeding to bring a joint action in a single cause of action. Sets forth guidelines for uniform State procedures regarding jurisdiction, venue, and Federal employee residential status. Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to allow State child support agencies to use credit reporting agencies for the purposes of obtaining information relevant to the setting of an initial or modified child support award, without the necessity of obtaining a court order. Creates a National Child Support Guidelines Commission to: (1) study and report to the President and the Congress on the desirability of national child support guidelines; and (2) if such guidelines are advisable, develop them for congressional consideration. Amends SSA title IV part D to specify certain principles to be included in State child support guidelines. Requires States to provide for a continuing support obligation by one or both parents until a child reaches age 18 or graduates from or is no longer enrolled in secondary school or its equivalent, whichever is later. Provides that a support order shall also cease when a child marries or is otherwise emancipated by a court. Requires States to give their courts with child support jurisdiction discretionary power to order: (1) child support payable at least up to age 22 for a child who is a student in good standing in an accredited post-secondary or vocational school or college; and (2) either or both parents to pay for post-secondary school support based on each parent's financial ability to pay. Requires States to provide for the continuation of child support beyond the child's age of majority provided the child is disabled, unable to be self-supportive, and the disability arose during the child's minority. Requires the Office of Child Support Enforcement (designated under title VI of this Act) to draft and distribute a national subpoena duces tecum for local and State child support agencies to use to reach income information pertaining to all private, Federal, State, and local government employees. Requires States to establish procedures with respect to out-of-State orders, decrees, or judgments related to parentage or child support, and other evidentiary documents. Requires HHS to develop a uniform abstract of a child support order for use by all State courts. Requires States to: (1) list on marriage licenses the applicants' social security numbers; and (2) use procedures that require individuals who have been issued subpoenas to produce and deliver documents to or to appear at a court or administrative agency on a certain date. Title III: Parentage - Amends SSA title IV part D to require States to provide for hospital-based paternity establishment and the establishment of paternity outreach programs. Provides for 90 percent Federal matching for State paternity outreach programs. Requires States to adopt various specified procedures for establishment of parentage. Title IV: Enforcement - Amends several anti-assignment provisions under SSA title IV part D to make it possible for child support to be withheld from certain governmental sources, including veterans' disability, military disability, railroad workers' disability and retirement, long shore and harbor workers' benefits, black lung benefits, and Federal health benefits. Requires States to mandate that any individual or entity engaged in commerce, as a condition of doing business in that State, honor income withholding notices or others issued by a court of any other State. Requires the HHS Secretary to develop a uniform withholding notice to be used in all income withholding cases. Requires State procedures setting the priority for applying proceeds withheld from income in the following manner: (1) payments on current support obligations; (2) payments of premiums for health insurance for dependent children; and (3) payments on past-due child support obligations and unreimbursed health-care expenses. Allows workers' compensation income to be subject to income withholding. Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act with respect to State laws and garnishments for the purpose of securing child support. Requires that Federal debts receive a lower priority than child support debts when the obligor's disposable income cannot satisfy both debts through withholding. Prohibits employers from discharging any employee whose earnings are subject to garnishment for additional indebtedness arising from a child support order. Requires States to: (1) provide that the election of remedies prohibition does not apply in child support cases; and (2) establish procedures for refusing issuance or renewal of the professional, occupational, or business licenses of noncustodial parents who are the subjects of outstanding failure-to-appear warrants, capiases, and bench warrants related to child support. Requires the Federal Government to withhold issuance or renewal of the professional, occupational, or business license of a delinquent child support obligor until the pro se obligee, the obligee's attorney, or State prosecutor involved in the case against the obligor consents to renewal, a court responsible for the enforcement of the child support order orders the release of the hold on the license, or an expedited inquiry and review is completed while the obligor is granted a temporary license. Requires States to develop procedures under which motor vehicle departments may not issue or renew, or may suspend, driver's licenses or vehicle registrations of noncustodial parents who are the subject of outstanding failure to appear warrants, capiases, or bench warrants related to a child support proceeding. Requires States to provide for the use of temporary licenses or registrations by the subjects of such warrants pending a specified show cause hearing or the removal of such warrants, whichever occurs firsts. Requires States to: (1) establish procedures for placing liens on vehicle titles for child support arrearages; (2) authorize post-judgment seizure of bank accounts in child support cases without the need to obtain a separate court attachment order; (3) establish procedures under which liens can be imposed against lottery or gambler's winnings, insurance settlements or policy payouts, awards, judgments or settlements resulting from lawsuits, and property seized or forfeited to the State if the beneficiary owes past-due child support; and (4) establish procedures that provide for badges of fraud creating a prima facie case that an obligor transferred income or property to avoid paying a child support creditor. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue should instruct Internal Revenue Service field officers and agents to give a high priority to requests for the use of full collection in child support arrearage cases. Requires the Secretary of Treasury to simplify the full collection process and reduce the amount of child support arrearage needed before an individual may apply for full collection. Requires States to develop procedures which allow the posting of a cash bond, security deposit, or personal undertaking with the State child enforcement agency in order to provide for timely child support payments. Makes it possible for individuals who are owed past-due child support, and do not receive assistance under SSA title IV part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC), to use Federal and State tax refund procedures to collect past-due child support, regardless of the child's age. Requires States to: (1) establish procedures under which a child support obligor may attach lump sum funds invested by the obligor or the employer of the obligor in public and private retirement funds; (2) mandate reporting to credit bureaus of overdue support equaling one month's child support payment; and (3) enact laws that provide for criminal penalties for non-support. Amends the Federal criminal code to make it illegal for individuals who owe child support arrearages to leave the State in which such arrearages are owed in order to avoid payment. Amends SSA title IV part D to require States to: (1) permit the enforcement of any child support order until at least the child's 30th birthday; (2) enact procedures to assess and collect interest on all child support judgments; and (3) provide for health care insurance for the child. Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to: (1) allow parentage and child support case establishment, modification, and enforcement to proceed without interruption after the filing of a bankruptcy petition; (2) treat the debt owed to child support creditors as debt outside chapter 11, 12, or 13 plans, except as specified; and (3) provide that a claim for payment of a debt for child support may be asserted by the filing in court of a claim form that describes the debt. Sets forth requirements applicable to parentage establishment with respect to child support obligations of military personnel. Requires that each State adopt verbatim the officially approved version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. Title V: Collection and Distribution - Amends SSA title IV part D to set priorities for State distribution of child support collections. Authorizes the Comptroller General to analyze the existing child support distribution system and authorize, under certain circumstances, pilot projects for the distribution of arrearages in a specified manner. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the Federal income tax refund offset mechanism. Amends SSA title IV part D to require States to enact laws limiting any claims they may have against a noncustodial parent for reimbursement of the child's portion of AFDC assistance to the amount specified as child support under a court or administrative order. Allows States to assess charges above the application fee for non-AFDC child support services against persons other than the custodial parent. Requires States to provide either one central, statewide collection, accounting, and disbursement point for child support cases, or several local or regional collection and disbursement points throughout the State for all cases. Title VI: Federal Role - Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) designate the separate organizational unit charged under current law with various child support and parentage responsibilities as the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE); and (2) change OCSE's organizational structure. Requires HHS to provide: (1) training assistance to the States; and (2) conduct staffing studies of each State's child support enforcement program. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the incentive formula operating with respect to State child support agencies. Defines "child support" to include periodic and lump sum payments for current and past-due economic support, payments of premiums for health insurance for children, payments for or provisions of child care, and payments for educational services. Requires the HHS Secretary to: (1) contract for a study of and report to the Congress on the audit process of OCSE to improve the criteria and methodology for auditing State child support enforcement agencies; and (2) provide for demonstration projects to determine the feasibility and utility of a child support assurance program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Treasury a Children's Trust Fund (Fund) funded by voluntary contributions of taxpayers as indicated on their Federal tax returns. Requires that Fund amounts be dedicated to programs regarding child support and parentage establishment. Title VII: State Role - Amends SSA title IV part D to require that States not deny establishment, enforcement, or modification services to applicants because of nonresidency. Makes it the mission of every State administrative agency to promote the greatest economic security possible for children, within the obligor's ability to pay. Requires such agencies to provide all custodial parents with certain information. Expresses the sense of the Congress that State and local child support enforcement agencies should provide: (1) offices in easily accessible locations near public transportation; (2) office hours that allow parents to meet with attorneys and caseworkers without taking time off from work; and (3) office environments conductive to discussion of legal and personal matters in privacy. Requires States to develop preocedures under which a change in child support payee does not require a court hearing or order to take effect and may be done administratively, as long as a statement by an official is included in the court or administrative file documenting the change. Title VIII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 6076 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Long-Term Care Family Security Act of 1992 - Title I: Community Care and Nursing Facility Care - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new title XXI, Community Care and Nursing Facility Care. Entitles U.S. citizens and resident aliens (eligible individuals) who are moderately or severely disabled to community and nursing facility care. Specifies the scope of community and nursing facility care coverage. Sets limits on the hours of community care on the basis of the level of impairment. Provides that additional hours of community care may be made available to individuals with greater needs from pooled benefit hours. Provides for adjustment in computation of hours of community care to account for variation in intensity of types of care. Sets limits on short-term nursing facility care. Provides for assessment agency: (1) determination of the level of impairment of eligible individuals and financial eligibility for community and nursing facility care benefits; and (2) review of the quality of care provided under new title XXI. Requires care managers to: (1) establish and periodically review and revise plans of care for community care; (2) arrange for and monitor the provision and quality of community care and authorize payment for care; and (3) allocate additional hours of community care among different individuals who have been certified moderately or severely disabled and whose plans of care are being monitored. Provides for payment for community and nursing facility care. Requires that payment rates for home- and community-based services be based on a fee schedule or other prospective payment methodology established and annually adjusted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Subjects such services to specified coinsurance requirements. Requires that payment rates for nursing facilities be based on a specified prospective payment system. Provides that payment for care under new title XXI may be made only to providers and facilities that meet specified conditions. Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to provide for appointment of a Long-Term Care Payment Assessment Commission to: (1) make annual recommendations to the Secretary and the Congress on appropriate payment rates for community and nursing facility care; and (2) provide for specified studies and reports to the Congress about them. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for assistance to low-income individuals for coinsurance for community and short-term nursing facility care and charges for assessments. Provides protected resource levels with respect to long-term nursing facility care. Provides for determination of the amount of the resident-specific deductible for nursing facility care. Creates in the Treasury the Federal Long-Term Care Trust Fund for financing the community and nursing facility care program established above. Authorizes appropriations. Makes miscellaneous and technical amendments to Medicare and Medicaid (SSA titles XVIII and XIX) provisions, with changes including: (1) limits on Federal financial participation under Medicaid for services covered under new title XXI; (2) prohibitions on duplication of Medicaid benefits with benefits under such title; and (3) limits on skilled nursing facility care under Medicare. Title II: Financing Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to fund the public program of long-term care insurance under new SSA title XXI through an increase in the amount of estimated income tax a corporation pays per quarter and a surtax on millionaires. Requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to increase IRS personnel involved in auditing foreign-owned domestic corporations. Authorizes appropriations. Requires States to maintain current levels of financial commitment under Medicaid for population groups and long-term care services covered under the public program. Title III: Treatment of Long-Term Care Insurance - Subtitle A: Establishment of Standards for Long-Term Care Insurance Policies - Amends new title XXI to require the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or, in its absence, the Secretary, to promulgate standards for State programs to regulate long-term care insurance policies that incorporate specified requirements with respect to issuers and policy content and sales. Requires standards relating to issuers to provide for: (1) examination of policy and full refund; (2) explanation of claims denials; and (3) limitations on agent compensation. Requires standards relating to policy content to provide for: (1) use of standard definitions and terminology and uniform format; (2) minimum benefits; (3) limitations on use of preexisting condition limits; (4) protection against inflation; (5) limits on premium increases; (6) guarantees of renewability, continuation, and conversion; and (7) upgrade rights. Requires standards relating to policy sales to provide for: (1) agent certification; and (2) prohibitions against sales of duplicate policies and sales to Medicaid beneficiaries and certain unfair sales practices. Sets forth enforcement provisions. Amends the Public Health Act to set forth provisions similar to those above providing for the establishment of standards for long-term care insurance policies. Requires the Secretary, after the enactment of this Act, to report to the Congress on standards for insurer solvency protection. Subtitle B: Clarification of Tax Treatment of Long-Term Care Services and Long-Term Care Insurance Policies - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to accord: (1) the community and nursing facility care provided under new SSA title XXI the same tax treatment (including expense deductions) as medical care; and (2) insurance policies for such community and nursing facility care the same tax treatment as accident and health insurance policies. Provides for the tax treatment of certain pre-death benefits and benefit riders. Amends SSA title XI to prohibit applicants or recipients under specified public assistance programs from being required to make an election respecting certain pre-death benefits under life insurance policies. Title IV: Additional Grants and Demonstration Projects - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants to community care agencies to assist them in providing community care to low-income individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to make grants to public and private entities to develop programs to train individuals to provide home health, homemaker, and personal assistance services for which payment may be made under SSA new title XXI. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize additional appropriations for long-term care ombudsman programs. Includes within the jurisdiction of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman the investigation of complaints by recipients of community care under new SSA title XXI. Amends the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act to authorize additional appropriations for information and referral services for the community and nursing facility care program under new SSA title XXI. Amends the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986 to expand information and counseling services to include information and referral to such community and nursing facility care program. Title V: Review of Pharmaceutical Benefits - Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to provide for the appointment of a Pharmaceutical Payment Assessment and Policy Review Commission. Requires the Commission to report annually to the Congress on prescription drug costs and on issues with respect to coverage of prescription drugs under Federal health care programs. Makes appropriations for the Commission. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) demonstration projects to assess the impact on cost, quality of care, and access to prescription drugs and pharmaceutical services of developing a prescription drug benefit for individuals receiving benefits for long-term care under new SSA title XXI; and (2) a Long-Term Care Prescription Drug Use Review Committee to advise about such demonstration projects. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6085 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Lifelong Learning Act of 1992 - Title I: Grant Program to Establish Training Programs for Teachers - Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to eligible consortia to establish training programs to upgrade the skills of teachers at elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, and institutions of higher education. Sets the maximum period of such a grant at not more than three fiscal years, subject to the Secretary's annual approval and the availability of appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications, authorized uses of funds, reports, and allocations. Requires an eligible consortium to be made up of: (1) local educational agencies or institutions of higher education, or both; (2) a teacher association; (3) representatives of business and industry associations; and (4) labor organizations. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Grant Program to Provide School to Work Transition Services for Students in Elementary and Secondary Schools - Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to: (1) assist elementary and secondary school students to become familiar with the workplace; and (2) prepare secondary school students for a smooth transition from school to work. Sets a three-year maximum grant period, subject to the Secretary's annual approval and availability of appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications, authorized uses of funds, reports, and allocation. Requires an eligible entity to be a local educational agency, community college, community-based organization, or labor union. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Grant Program to Establish Job Training Programs for Business and Industry - Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to provide job training for businesses, particularly in new industries, in order to create and retain jobs. Sets a three-year maximum grant period, subject to the Secretary's annual approval and the availability of apppropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications, authorized uses of funds, reports, and allocation. Requires an eligible entity to be a community college, labor union, industry-based or occupation-specific association, or an agency or organization that provides training services under the Job Training Partnership Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Grant Program to Establish Job Training Courses at Community Colleges - Directs the Secretary to make grants to community colleges to establish job training courses at such colleges. Sets a three-year maximum grant period, subject to the Secretary's annual approval and availability of appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications, authorized uses of funds, reports, and allocation. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6091 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Interstate Child Support Enforcement Act - Title I: Locate and Case Tracking - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow the Federal Parent Locator System (FPLS) to be used for the purposes of parentage establishment, child support establishment, modification, and enforcement, and child visitation enforcement provided that safeguards are in place to prevent release of information when it may jeopardize the safety of the children or either parent. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement to provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) with access to the quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns filed by individuals with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Requires States to have in place procedures under which the State agency responsible for child support enforcement shall: (1) have access to data base information regarding residential addresses, employers and employer addresses, income and assets, and medical insurance benefits of absent parents; and (2) maintain child support order registries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the HHS Secretary should investigate accessing certain Federal data banks not already linked to FPLS. Requires the HHS Secretary to expand FPLS to provide a national network to State agencies and courts for locate and case tracking. Requires that private attorneys and pro se obligees be allowed access to State locate resources and other public enforcement techniques for the limited purpose of establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support and other orders. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) establish a system for reporting new employees and information on their W-4 forms to the appropriate State employment security agency; and (2) modify the W-4 form completed by new employees to include child support and health insurance information. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require employers to withhold from employee wages amounts owed for child support. Amends SSA title IV part D to establish procedures for verification of child support information by the State and for the imposition of monetary penalties on: (1) employees who fail to report to their employers amounts owed for child support; and (2) employers who fail to withhold such amounts and properly disburse them. Requires States to: (1) notify the employer in cases where the employee has not correctly reported information regarding his or her child support obligations on the W-4 form; (2) broadcast over FPLS to other States information based on the W-4 form that has been sent to the State employment security agency; and (3) notify an individual owed child support when there is a match between W-4 related information and information on file relating to support orders. Requires the heads of the National Criminal Information Center, the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications Network, and any other national or regional systems for tracking individuals to allow access to information to Federal, State and local child support agencies. Requires States to broadcast on their local and State crime information systems failure-to-appear warrants, capiases, and bench warrants issued by courts in civil and criminal parentage and chid support proceedings. Provides that if a defendant posts security after being arrested, the State shall remit any subsequent forfeiture to the individual owed the child support to the extent of any child support arrearage. Title II: Establishment - Amends SSA title IV part D to require States to pass long-arm statutes which provide for jurisdiction over a non-resident in an action to establish, enforce, or modify a child support order, or determine parentage if certain conditions are met. Requires States to promulgate procedures under which they shall treat out-of-State service of process in child support and parentage actions in the same manner as in-State service of process. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the courts of a State may, consistent with due process, exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident who is the parent or presumed parent of a resident child in order to establish, enforce, or modify a child support order or determine parentage. Requires States to recognize and enforce parentage and child support orders of other States where jurisdiction was properly asserted Specifies the conditions under which a State court has personal jurisdiction over a nonresident contestant. Requires State courts to maintain continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a child support order for as long as the State remains the child's State or the residence of any contestant, unless another State court has modified such order. Specifies the conditions under which a State court may modify a parentage or child support order made by another State court. Provides that a court in a State shall not exercise jurisdiction in a parentage or child support proceeding during the pendency of a proceeding in a court of another Stte which has jurisdiction, except under certain circumstances. Requires State courts to apply the law of the forum State in a proceeding to adjudicate parentage or to establish a child support order except: (1) when they interpret an order issued by a court of another State; or (2) in permitting an action to collect child support arrearages, when the statute of limitations of the forum State would preclude the action but the statute of limitations of the issuing State would permit the action. Sets forth provisions regarding service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed forces relating to child support, alimony, and parentage obligations. Requires that parents' identification and locate information be filed with the State court adjudicating parentage and child support actions. Requires safeguards on such information where there is a court order for the physical protection of the child or one parent entered against the other parent. Requires State child support agencies to timely notify any individual owed child support of all hearings in which such support might be established, modified, or enforced, and promptly provided copies of any such orders. Requires States to allow parties seeking both parentage adjudication and child support establishment in a judicial proceeding to bring a joint action in a single cause of action. Sets forth guidelines for uniform State procedures regarding jurisdiction, venue, and Federal employee residential status. Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to allow State child support agencies to use credit reporting agencies for the purposes of obtaining information relevant to the setting of an initial or modified child support award, without the necessity of obtaining a court order. Creates a National Child Support Guidelines Commission to: (1) study and report to the President and the Congress on the desirability of national child support guidelines; and (2) if such guidelines are advisable, develop them for congressional consideration. Amends SSA title IV part D to specify certain principles to be included in State child support guidelines. Requires States to provide for a continuing support obligation by one or both parents until a child reaches age 18 or graduates from or is no longer enrolled in secondary school or its equivalent, whichever is later. Provides that a support order shall also cease when a child marries or is otherwise emancipated by a court. Requires States to give their courts with child support jurisdiction discretionary power to order: (1) child support payable at least up to age 22 for a child who is a student in good standing in an accredited post-secondary or vocational school or college; and (2) either or both parents to pay for post-secondary school support based on each parent's financial ability to pay. Requires States to provide for the continuation of child support beyond the child's age of majority provided the child is disabled, unable to be self-supportive, and the disability arose during the child's minority. Requires the Office of Child Support Enforcement (designated under title VI of this Act) to draft and distribute a national subpoena duces tecum for local and State child support agencies to use to reach income information pertaining to all private, Federal, State, and local government employees. Requires States to establish procedures with respect to out-of-State orders, decrees, or judgments related to parentage or child support, and other evidentiary documents. Requires HHS to develop a uniform abstract of a child support order for use by all State courts. Requires States to: (1) list on marriage licenses the applicants' social security numbers; and (2) use procedures that require individuals who have been issued subpoenas to produce and deliver documents to or to appear at a court or administrative agency on a certain date. Title III: Parentage - Amends SSA title IV part D to require States to provide for hospital-based paternity establishment and the establishment of paternity outreach programs. Provides for 90 percent Federal matching for State paternity outreach programs. Requires States to adopt various specified procedures for establishment of parentage. Title IV: Enforcement - Amends several anti-assignment provisions under SSA title IV part D to make it possible for child support to be withheld from certain governmental sources, including veterans' disability, military disability, railroad workers' disability and retirement, long shore and harbor workers' benefits, black lung benefits, and Federal health benefits. Requires States to mandate that any individual or entity engaged in commerce, as a condition of doing business in that State, honor income withholding notices or others issued by a court of any other State. Requires the HHS Secretary to develop a uniform withholding notice to be used in all income withholding cases. Requires State procedures setting the priority for applying proceeds withheld from income in the following manner: (1) payments on current support obligations; (2) payments of premiums for health insurance for dependent children; and (3) payments on past-due child support obligations and unreimbursed health-care expenses. Allows worker's compensation income to be subject to income withholding. Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act with respect to State laws and garnishments for the purpose of securing child support. Requires that Federal debts receive a lower priority than child support debts when the obligor's disposable income cannot satisfy both debts through withholding. Prohibits employers from discharging any employee whose earnings are subject to garnishment for additional indebtedness arising from a child support order. Requires States to: (1) provide that the election of remedies prohibition does not apply in child support cases; and (2) establish procedures for refusing issuance or renewal of the professional, occupational, or business licenses of noncustodial parents who are the subjects of outstanding failure-to-appear warrants, capiases, and bench warrants related to child support. Requires the Federal Government to withhold issuance or renewal of the professional, occupational, or business license of a delinquent child support obligor until the pro se obligee, the obligee's attorney, or State prosecutor involved in the case against the obligor consents to renewal, a court responsible for the enforcement of the child support order orders the release of the hold on the license, or an expedited inquiry and review is completed while the obligor is granted a temporary license. Requires States to develop procedures under which motor vehicle departments may not issue or renew, or may suspend, driver's licenses or vehicle registrations of noncustodial parents who are the subject of outstanding failure to appear warrants, capiases, or bench warrants related to a child support proceeding. Requires States to provide for the use of temporary licenses or registrations by the subjects of such warrants pending a specified show cause hearing or the removal of such warrants, whichever occurs firsts. Requires States to: (1) establish procedures for placing liens on vehicle titles for child support arrearages; (2) authorize post-judgment seizure of bank accounts in child support cases without the need to obtain a separate court attachment order; (3) establish procedures under which liens can be imposed against lottery or gambler's winnings, insurance settlements or policy payouts, awards, judgments or settlements resulting from lawsuits, and property seized or forfeited to the State if the beneficiary owes past-due child support; and (4) establish procedures that provide for badges of fraud creating a prima facie case that an obligor transferred income or property to avoid paying a child support creditor. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue should instruct Internal Revenue Service field officers and agents to give a high priority to requests for the use of full collection in child support arrearage cases. Requires the Secretary of Treasury to simplify the full collection process and reduce the amount of child support arrearage needed before an individual may apply for full collection. Requires States to develop procedures which allow the posting of a cash bond, security deposit, or personal undertaking with the State child enforcement agency in order to provide for timely child support payments. Makes it possible for individuals who are owed past-due child support, and do not receive assistance under SSA title IV part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC), to use Federal and State tax refund procedures to collect past-due child support, regardless of the child's age. Requires States to: (1) establish procedures under which a child support obligor may attach lump sum funds invested by the obligor or the employer of the obligor in public and private retirement funds; (2) mandate reporting to credit bureaus of overdue support equaling one month's child support payment; and (3) enact laws that provide for criminal penalties for non-support. Amends the Federal criminal code to make it illegal for individuals who owe child support arrearages to leave the State in which such arrearages are owed in order to avoid payment. Amends SSA title IV part D to require States to: (1) permit the enforcement of any child support order until at least the child's 30th birthday; (2) enact procedures to assess and collect interest on all child support judgments; and (3) provide for health care insurance for the child. Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to: (1) allow parentage and child support case establishment, modification, and enforcement to proceed without interruption after the filing of a bankruptcy petition; (2) treat the debt owed to child support creditors as debt outside chapter 11, 12, or 13 plans, except as specified; and (3) provide that a claim for payment of a debt for child support may be asserted by the filing in court of a claim form that describes the debt. Sets forth requirements applicable to parentage establishment with respect to child support obligations of military personnel. Requires that each State adopt verbatim the officially approved version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. Title V: Collection and Distribution - Amends SSA title IV part D to set priorities for State distribution of child support collections. Authorizes the Comptroller General to analyze the existing child support distribution system and authorize, under certain circumstances, pilot projects for the distribution of arrearages in a specified manner. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the Federal income tax refund offset mechanism. Amends SSA title IV part D to require States to enact laws limiting any claims they may have against a noncustodial parent for reimbursement of the child's portion of AFDC assistance to the amount specified as child support under a court or administrative order. Allows States to assess charges above the application fee for non-AFDC child support services against persons other than the custodial parent. Requires States to provide either one central, statewide collection, accounting, and disbursement point for child support cases, or several local or regional collection and disbursement points throughout the State for all cases. Title VI: Federal Role - Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) designate the separate organizational unit charged under current law with various child support and parentage responsibilities as the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE); and (2) change OCSE's organizational structure. Requires HHS to provide: (1) training assistance to the States; and (2) conduct staffing studies of each State's child support enforcement program. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the incentive formula operating with respect to State child support agencies. Defines "child support" to include periodic and lump sum payments for current and past-due economic support, payments of premiums for health insurance for children, payments for or provisions of child care, and payments for educational services. Requires the HHS Secretary to: (1) contract for a study of and report to the Congress on the audit process of OCSE to improve the criteria and methodology for auditing State child support enforcement agencies; and (2) provide for demonstration projects to determine the feasibility and utility of a child support assurance program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Treasury a Children's Trust Fund (Fund) funded by voluntary contributions of taxpayers as indicated on their Federal tax returns. Requires that Fund amounts be dedicated to programs regarding child support and parentage establishment. Title VII: State Role - Amends SSA title IV part D to require that States not deny establishment, enforcement, or modification services to applicants because of nonresidency. Makes it the mission of every State administrative agency to promote the greatest economic security possible for children, within the obligor's ability to pay. Requires such agencies to provide all custodial parents with certain information. Expresses the sense of the Congress that State and local child support enforcement agencies should provide: (1) offices in easily accessible locations near public transportation; (2) office hours that allow parents to meet with attorneys and caseworkers without taking time off from work; and (3) office environments conductive to discussion of legal and personal matters in privacy. Requires States to develop preocedures under which a change in child support payee does not require a court hearing or order to take effect and may be done administratively, as long as a statement by an official is included in the court or administrative file documenting the change. Title VIII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 6089 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act of 1992 - Title I: Balanced Budget with Enforcement; Mandatory Consideration of President's Budget - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable, beginning in the 103d Congress. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Title II: Biennial Budget - Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases. Changes relevant deadlines as follows to conform to the biennial scheme: (1) from April 1 to March 31 for the Senate Budget Committee's report on the concurrent resolution on the budget; (2) from June 15 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on reconciliation legislation; and (3) from June 30 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on appropriations bills. Adds the reporting dates for OMB to report on the surplus/deficit. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to deadlines of: (1) May 15 for the submission of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report to the Budget Committees; (2) OMB surplus/deficit reporting dates; and (3) the last day of the session for completion of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing new budget authority for the next biennium. Changes from January 15 to February 15 of each year the date by which the CBO Director must submit to the Congress a report on authorizations. Requires the Director of the CBO to issue four-year projections of congressional budget action. (Current projections are on a five-year basis.) Amends provisions relating to the reconciliation process to: (1) increase from 20 to 100 hours the time of debate permitted in the Senate with respect to reconciliation measures; and (2) make it out of order in both the House and the Senate to consider any reconciliation legislation changing any provision of law other than one relating to new budget or spending authority, revenues, or the public debt limit. Revises the extent of projections to be included in CBO analyses of reported bills. Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. Directs the heads of Federal executive agencies, the Comptroller General, and the Directors of the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Congressional Research Service to provide studies, analyses, reports, and other documentation concerning program administration to assist the standing committees of the House and the Senate having jurisdiction over the programs in question. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to conform to the biennial framework. Title III: Unified Operating and Capital Budget - Amends Federal law to require that the budget the President submits to the Congress be a unified budget comprising an operating budget and a capital budget, each presented separately for total funds, Federal funds, and trust funds. Restricts the capital budget to the major activities, projects, and programs supporting the acquisition, construction, alteration, and rehabilitation of capital assets. Includes all other items in the operating budget. Directs the Comptroller General to review and report to the Congress, as necessary, on the implementation of this Act. Requires the following reports to the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on capital activities and operating activities associated with: (1) roadways and bridges, airports and airway facilities, and mass transportation systems; (2) waste water treatment and related facilities; (3) water resource projects; and (4) public buildings. Requires OMB to promulgate regulations requiring: (1) each department and agency to establish standards to compare the advantages and disadvantages of leasing versus purchasing any proposed real estate or equipment with a cost in excess of $10 million; and (2) the completion of such analysis before any purchase or lease is made. Title IV: Sunset Authority - Subtitle A: Reauthorization of Government Programs - Requires each Government program to be reauthorized at least once during each sunset reauthorization cycle. (Sunset reauthorization cycle means the period of five Congresses beginning with the 103d Congress and with each sixth Congress following the 103d Congress.) Sets forth the procedure in the House of Representatives and the Senate for the consideration of any legislation which authorizes new budget authority. Exempts from the requirements of this Act specified items, such as interest on Federal debts, certain programs related to the administration of the Federal judiciary, and certain payments of refunds of internal revenue collections. Expresses the sense of the Congress that all programs should be considered and reauthorized in program categories which constitute major areas of legislative policy. Provides for such reauthorizations. Subtitle B: Program Inventory - Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to prepare an inventory of Federal programs. Declares that the purpose of such program inventory is to advise and assist the Congress in carrying out reauthorization and reexamination requirements and to link such reauthorization and review process with the budget process. Requires the Comptroller General to submit such program inventory to each House of Congress no late than January 1, 1993. Directs the congressional committees, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research Service to review the program inventory and to suggest revisions. Requires that the program inventory be revised at the end of each session of the Congress and that such revisions be reported to each House. Subtitle C: Program Reexamination - Requires each committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives to reexamine selected programs or groups of programs over which it has jurisdiction. Sets forth procedures for such review and criteria for selection of program areas for evaluation. Subtitle D: Tax Expenditures - Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, after consultation with the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Congress, to prepare an inventory of tax expenditure provisions and to submit a report on such inventory to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House and the Senate Finance Committee by July 1, 1993. Directs the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance to prepare a reauthorization schedule for all tax provisions similar to the schedule set out for Federal programs in title I of this Act. Requires the Congress to take final action on the reauthorization schedule for tax provisions before the end of the 103d Congress. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous - Sets forth miscellaneous provisions to carry out the purposes of this Act. Directs the President, with the cooperation of the head of each appropriate agency, to submit to the Congress a Regulatory Duplication and Conflicts Report for all programs scheduled for reauthorization in the next Congress. Requires specified congressional committees to report on a review of the procedures established under this Act by December 31, 1998, and every five years thereafter. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2002. Title V: Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President line item veto rescission authority if he determines, within ten days of the date of enactment of a law, that such a rescission: (1) would help balance the Federal budget, reduce the Federal budget deficit, or reduce the public debt; (2) will not impair essential Government functions; and (3) will not harm the national interest. Requires the President to notify the Congress of such rescission by a special line item veto message. Requires a message for each item of rescission of budget authority. Makes such rescission effective unless the Congress enacts a resolution of disapproval. Sets forth procedures for congressional review and disapproval of such messages. Title VI: Performance-Based Budgeting - Amends Federal law to include in the Federal budget a performance standards and goals plan for the overall budget. Directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue regulations requiring each Federal department and agency to establish such a plan for each major expenditure category of its budget. Requires OMB to review and adjust such plans and establish an overall performance standards and goals plan for the Federal Government. Requires OMB by December 31 of each odd-numbered year, to report to the President and the Congress on all tax expenditures that reduced revenues by at least $2 billion. Requires each bill or resolution which provides for the authorization of appropriations or for the appropriation of funds to specify performance standards and goals for such authorization or appropriation. Title VII: Incremental-Based Budgeting - Requires the head of each department or agency to submit to OMB at least one budget that sets forth spending at least ten percent lower than the prior biennium's budget. Requires the President, when OMB reports an estimated budget deficit, to recommend to the Congress specific changes in outlays or revenues to eliminate that deficit or recommend waiver of the requirement to eliminate such deficit.
Bill· HRH.R. 6088 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Senior Citizen Capital Gain Rate Reduction Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the individual capital gains rate for the sale of retirement assets by a taxpayer who has attained the age of 60 or older. Reduces the alternative minimum tax rate on capital gains for such taxpayers. Provides for indexing the such retirement assets held for more than five years before their disposition for purposes of determining gain or loss. Declares that the deduction for depreciation, depletion, and amortization shall be determined without regard to the indexed basis. Provides for determining the indexed amount based upon the gross national product deflator. Provides for indexing the limitation on capital losses of such taxpayers. Makes this Act generally applicable to sales or exchanges occurring after March 7, 1991.
Bill· HRH.R. 6080 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Employee Leasing Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide an additional safe harbor of retirement protection for employees of leasing organizations. Specifies the circumstances under which a leasing organization is treated as the sole employer of a leased employee. Provides that if a recipient utilizes a leased employee of an organization that maintains a retirement plan with a funding deficiency, then the recipient is treated as the employer for retirement purposes. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations to ensure prompt reporting and deposits of withholding and payroll taxes by qualified leasing organizations, including procedures for registering such organizations.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 588 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 5006 (armed forces funding).
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 587 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 5095 (intelligence activities funding).
Bill· HRH.R. 6063 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Comprehensive Long-Term Care Act of 1992 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) extend Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) coverage of extended care services to chronically dependent individuals; and (2) provide for coverage of home care services and outpatient prescription drugs under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Sets forth payment provisions for outpatient prescription drugs covered under Medicare part B, which provide for application of a deductible in determining the amount of an individual's payment for such drugs. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish a program for assuring appropriate prescribing and dispensing practices for prescription drugs covered under Medicare part B; (2) develop, and update annually, an information guide for physicians concerning the comparative average wholesale prices of at least 500 of the most commonly prescribed drugs covered under Medicare part B; and (3) report to the Congress on manufacturers' and pharmacists' prescription drug prices and on the use of prescription drugs by individuals eligible for Medicare part B benefits (Medicare-eligible individuals). Requires pharmacies to enter into an agreement with the Secretary in order to receive payment for prescription drugs dispensed to Medicare-eligible individuals. Specifies agreement terms and conditions, including those prohibiting pharmacies from charging Medicaid-eligible individuals more than the general public for prescription drugs covered under Medicare part B. Requires the Secretary to: (1) periodically audit pharmacies that have entered into such an agreement; and (2) establish a point-of-sale electronic system for use by carriers and pharmacies in the submission of information on prescription drugs dispensed to Medicare-eligible individuals. Authorizes sanctions against pharmacies that violate their agreement with the Secretary. Limits the length of prescriptions. Provides for the role of carriers, fiscal intermediaries, and other entities in the administration of the electronic claims system established above. Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to provide for the appointment of a Prescription Drug Payment Review Commission. Requires the Commission to report annually to the Congress on methods of determining payment for prescription drugs covered under Medicare part B. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to develop a standard prescription drugs claims form for use under Medicare and by other third-party payors.
Bill· HRH.R. 6075 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
American Jobs Retention Act of 1992 - Prohibits the use of funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to finance: (1) the establishment of an export processing zone in a foreign country in which the tariff, commercial, tax, labor, environmental, and safety laws of such country do not apply to such zone; (2) any activity carried on by any foreign business within the United States to encourage U.S. businesses to locate or relocate outside of the United States; or (3) activities of a foreign country that contribute to the violation of laws to protect internationally recognized worker rights, including activities within any export processing zone.
Law· HRH.R. 6056 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Title I: Fiscal Year 1993 Appropriations - District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1993 - Appropriates funds to the District of Columbia for FY 1993 for: (1) the Federal payment to the District of Columbia; (2) the Federal contribution to retirement funds; (3) expenses incurred in connection with presidential inauguration activities; and (4) the Federal contribution to establish the Trauma Care Fund. Appropriates specified sums out of the District of Columbia general fund for the current fiscal year for: (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) public education; (5) human support services; (6) public works; (7) the Washington Convention Center Fund; (8) repayments of specified loans and interest; (9) repayment of the general fund deficit; (10) employees' optical and dental benefits; (11) inaugural expenses; (12) the rental and leasing of facilities for governmental purposes; (13) the Trauma Care Fund; (14) furlough adjustments; (15) within-grade salary adjustments; (16) capital outlay; (17) the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund and water construction projects; (18) the Lottery and Charitable Games Enterprise Fund; (19) the Cable Television Enterprise Fund; and (20) the Starplex Fund. Prohibits the use of funds to implement or enforce: (1) any registration system for unmarried, cohabitating couples whether they are homosexual, lesbian, or heterosexual, including registration for the extension of employment, health, or governmental benefits to such couples on the same basis as that extended to legally married couples; or (2) the District Domestic Partner Act (also called the District of Columbia Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992). Requires the District of Columbia to operate and maintain a telephone hotline for Lorton-area residents to receive information concerning escapes, fires, and riots at Lorton prison. Directs the District of Columbia Mayor to reduce appropriations and expenditures for personal and nonpersonal services by a specified amount. Sets forth certain uses of and restrictions on the expenditure of appropriations made by this Act. Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) activities which permit or encourage partisan political activities; (2) the salary of any District of Columbia government employee whose name, title, grade, salary, or work and salary history are not available for inspection by specified congressional committees and the District of Columbia Council, or whose name and salary are not available for public inspection; (3) publicity or propaganda purposes; (4) abortions, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term; (5) reprogramming, unless the reprogramming was approved according to specified procedures; or (6) the operation, after June 1, 1993, of the Cedar Knoll Facility. Requires that the annual budget for the District of Columbia government for FY 1994 be transmitted to the Congress by April 15, 1993. Requires the Mayor to develop an annual plan for capital outlay borrowings. Prohibits the Mayor from: (1) borrowing funds for capital projects without the prior approval of the District of Columbia Council; or (2) using money borrowed for capital projects for operating expenses of the District of Columbia government. Directs the Mayor to submit to the D.C. Council, within 30 days after the end of the first quarter of FY 1993, the FY 1993 revenue estimates. Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to extend, for one year, the District's authority to sell its general obligation bonds through negotiated sales. Prohibits the renewal or extension of any sole source contract with the District of Columbia government without opening that contract to the competitive bidding process, subject to exception. Requires any sequestration order under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to be applied to each account appropriating Federal funds in this Act (rather than to the aggregate total of those accounts) which is not specifically exempted from sequestration by specified Federal law. Provides for repayment to the Federal Treasury of any amounts appropriated and paid to the District of Columbia before a sequestration order is issued, applying the sequestration percentage proportionately to each account not specifically exempted from sequestration. Requires the District of Columbia to pay interest on its quarterly payments to the United States that are made more than 60 days after its receipt of an itemized statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons of amounts due for housing D.C. convicts in Federal penitentiaries. Authorizes an entity of the District of Columbia government to accept and use a gift or donation during FY 1993 if: (1) the Mayor approves; and (2) the entity uses such gift or donation to carry out its authorized functions or duties. Requires the entity to keep accurate and detailed records of acceptance and use of any gift or donation and to make them available for audit and public inspection. Authorizes the Board of Education to accept gifts to the public schools without prior approval by the Mayor. Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to issue or renew a registration certificate or identification tag for any motor vehicle if unpaid fines for traffic violations are outstanding against any registered owner (or authorized user) of the vehicle. Provides for waivers of such prohibition, subject to certain conditions. Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to impose, collect, transfer, or enforce a payment in lieu of taxes on the Water and Sewer Utility Administration that would increase payments in Maryland or Virginia under the Blue Plains Intermunicipal Agreement of 1985. Mandatory Life Imprisonment or Death Penalty for Murder in the District of Columbia - Requires the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics to place the Mandatory Life Imprisonment or Death Penalty for Murder in the District of Columbia initiative on the ballot. Declares that such measure, if passed, would provide for the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole for persons convicted of first degree murder in the District of Columbia. Amends the District of Columbia Code to establish mitigating and aggravating factors to be considered by the jury before recommending the death sentence. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) governmental notification of intent to seek the death penalty; (2) capital sentencing hearings; (3) proof of mitigating and aggravating factors; (4) findings by the jury of such factors or concerning a sentence of death; (5) precautions to assure against discrimination; (6) imposition of a death sentence; (7) death sentence appeal rights; (8) implementation of a death sentence; (9) a prohibition on the execution of pregnant women; (10) conscientious objection to participation in execution; (11) appointment of counsel for indigent capital defendants; (12) representation for the defendant after finality of judgment; (13) standards for competence of counsel; (14) claims of ineffectiveness of counsel in collateral proceedings; (15) time for collateral attack on death sentences; (16) stays of execution; and (17) finality of the appeal decision. Grants the Mayor the power to commute a death sentence to a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Title II: Fiscal Year 1992 Supplemental District of Columbia Funds - District of Columbia Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act, 1992 - Makes supplemental appropriations (including rescissions) to the District of Columbia for FY 1992 for: (1) governmental direction and support; (2) economic development and regulation; (3) public safety and justice; (4) public education; (5) human support services; (6) repayment of the general fund deficit; (7) resizing; (8) the rental and leasing of facilities for governmental purposes; (9) capital outlay; (10) the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund; and (11) the Starplex Fund. Rescinds specified FY 1992 funds earmarked for public works, the Washington Convention Center Fund, and repayment of certain loans and interest. Amends the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1992 to authorize the District of Columbia Board of Education to accept and use gifts to the public schools without prior approval by the Mayor. Declares that appropriations made and authority granted under this title shall be deemed available for FY 1992.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 582 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 5678 (FY 1993 appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies).
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 583 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 5488 (FY 1993 appropriations for the Department of the Treasury, the United States Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and certain Independent Agencies.) Directs the Clerk of the House to make certain corrections in the enrollment of such bill.
Law· HRH.R. 6047 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1992
Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to authorize the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) to enter into contracts for the construction of Voice of America facilities in Sri Lanka, Sao Tome, and Kuwait. Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to permit funds authorized to be appropriated for any account of USIA in the Department of State and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, for the second fiscal year of any two-year authorization cycle, to be appropriated for the second fiscal year for any other USIA account. Prohibits amounts appropriated for the salaries and expenses and educational and cultural exchange programs accounts from exceeding by more than five percent (ten percent for any other account) the amount authorized to be appropriated for such accounts in a fiscal year. Terminates such amendments after September 30, 1993. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require deductions from the basic pay of Foreign Service criminal investigators/inspectors of the Office of Inspector General of the Agency for International Development (AID) in amounts equal to amounts deducted for retirement purposes from the pay of civil service law enforcement officers. Provides for the deposit of deducted amounts, along with an equivalent amount contributed by the Department of State, into the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund. Requires a special contribution for past service as an AID investigator/inspector which would have been creditable toward civil service law enforcement retirement and for which a contribution has not been made to equal the difference between the amount actually contributed under Foreign Service retirement provisions and the amount that should have been contributed under civil service provisions. Increases the mandatory retirement age for AID criminal investigators/inspectors to 57 (currently, 55). Includes premium pay for irregular, unscheduled overtime in the definition of "basic pay" for purposes of computing annuities for AID criminal investigators/inspectors.
Law· HRH.R. 6049 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1992
Congressional Award Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Congressional Award Act to require the Director of the Congressional Award Board to ensure that: (1) appropriate procedures for fiscal control and fund accounting are established for the financial operations of the Congressional Award Program; and (2) such operations are administered by personnel with expertise in accounting and financial management. Authorizes the personnel to be retained under contract. Requires the Director to ensure that the Board's liabilities do not exceed its assets for any calendar year. Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) determine if the Director has substantially complied with this Act for calendar years 1993 and 1994; and (2) submit such findings in the annual report to the Congress on audit results for calendar year 1995. Requires the Board to take such necessary actions for the orderly cessation of the Board's activities if the Director fails to substantially comply with this Act. Extends the Board through October 1, 1995.
Bill· HRH.R. 6048 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1992
Financial Institutions Enforcement Improvements Act - Title I: Termination of Charters, Insurance, and Offices - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union Act to authorize the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Credit Union Administration Board to accept conservatorship or receivership of an institution upon written notification by the Attorney General that it has been found guility of certain money laundering offenses. Amends the Revised Statutes, the Home Owners' Loan Act, and the Federal Credit Union Act to prescribe guidelines for the revocation of depository insitutions' charters and the forfeiture of their franchises upon conviction for money laundering offenses or cash transaction reporting offenses. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union Act to prescribe guidelines: (1) for the termination of the insured status of State depository institutions, including State chartered credit unions, convicted of money laundering or cash transaction reporting offenses; and (2) authorize the removal of any party from office, or its suspension from participation in the affairs of the institution, if the party is determined to have committed certain currency reporting violations or money laundering violations. Amends Federal law regarding monetary transactions to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury (the Secretary) to make information in monetary transaction reports available to any State financial institutions regulatory agency upon its request. Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to issue notice of its intention to commence a termination proceeding upon written notification from the Attorney General that the State branch or agency of a foreign bank has been convicted of a money laundering offenses. Title II: Nonbank Financial Institutions and General Provisions - Amends Federal law regarding money transactions to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) prescribe regulations requiring each depository institution to file identification reports regarding certain financial institution customers; and (2) make such reports available to State financial institution supervisory agencies for supervisory purposes. Sets forth civil money penalties for financial institution identification violations. Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criminal penalties for persons participating in an illegal money transmitting business. Prohbits a financial institution or its personnel from disclosing the existence of a Federal information targeting order, except as prescribed by the Secretary. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to direct the Secretary and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) to jointly prescribe regulations requiring insured depository institutions and businesses involved in domestic and international funds transfers to maintain records of certain kinds of payment orders as will have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations or proceedings. Mandates that such records be made available to the Secretary or the Board upon request. Amends the Right to Financial Privacy Act to provide that financial records transferred by a regulatory agency to the Secretary of the Treasury for possible criminal violations shall be used only for criminal investigative or prosecutive purposes relating to money laundering by the Department of the Treasury. Prohibits a financial institution or associated personnel from disclosing the fact to any person that it is the subject of information provided to Federal officials concerning possible Federal violations or suspicious transactions. Authorizes the Secretary to require financial institutions to implement programs to guard against money laundering through financial institutions. Requires the Secretary and the Attorney General to jointly establish an anti-money laundering training team to assist foreign governments and agencies to expand their capabilities for investigating and prosecuting money laundering violations. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 regarding international narcotics control to require the President to include in his annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report to certain congressional committees: (1) the status of certain cooperative efforts between the United States and countries identified as major money laundering centers; (2) findings on such countries' adoption of laws and regulations considered essential to prevent narcotics-related money laundering; (3) instances of refusal by such countries to cooperate with foreign governments and the U.S. response (including any sanctions or penalties); and (4) information on bilateral and multilateral strategies pursued by certain Federal agencies to ensure the cooperation of foreign governments with respect to narcotics-related money laundering, and to demonstrate that all Federal agencies are pursuing a common strategy with respect to major money laundering countries. Title III: Money Laundering Improvements - Amends the judicial code to confer jurisdiction upon Federal district courts in cases of property subject to civil forefeiture under Federal laws but either located in a foreign country or seized pursuant to foreign leagal process. Amends Federal criminal law to preclude the use of certain defenses in civil forfeiture actions with respect to fungible property that is in the form of cash or specified monetary instruments. Outlines the procedure to subpoena bank records. Amends Federal law relating to international monetary instrument transaction reporting requirements to prohibit: (1) failure to file the requisite reports; (2) filing material omissions or misstatements of facts in such reports; and (3) participation in structuring any importation or exportation of monetary instruments. Makes the penalty for conspiracy to commit a money laundering offense the same as the penalty for the substantive offense itself. Amends the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 to prohibit certain personnel connected with a financial institution from disclosing the existence of a grand jury subpoena to a person named in such subpoena for bank records related to money laundering and controlled substance investigations. Amends Federal criminal law to repeal the restriction placed upon the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postal Service regarding the disposal of forfeited property. Includes among money laundering predicate offenses certain food stamp fraud and any felony violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Amends specified Federal laws to establish civil penalties for willfully causing violations of regulations regarding: (1) foreign financial agency transactions; and (2) certain financial recordkeeping requirements. Amends Federal criminal law to redefine "specified unlawful activity" to mean, with respect to a financial transaction occurring wholly or partly in the United States, an offense against a foreign nation involving kidnaping, robbery, or extortion, or fraud, or any scheme or attempt to defraud, by or against a foreign bank. Title IV: Reports and Miscellaneous - Directs the Attorney General to study and report to the Congress on the effect of allowing reimbursement to financial institutions for assembling or providing financial reocrds of entities not currently covered under the Right to Financial Privacy Act. Requires the study to analyze the effect of allowing nondepositor licensed transmitters of funds to be reimbursed to the same extent as financial institutions. Requires the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the head of any other Federal agency or instrumentality to disclose to the appropriate Federal banking agency any information raising significant concerns regarding the safety and soundness of any depository institution doing business in the United States. Provides for special disclosure procedures in the case of intelligence information or information regarding certain civil or criminal matters under the Attorney General. Requires the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to certain congressional committees regarding their utilization of such exceptions. Amends Federal criminal law to include the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as a Federal agency for purposes of compelling testimony from witnesses in return for immunity from criminal prosecution. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to provide that specified agencies, including Federal banking agencies, shall not be deemed to have waived any privilege relating to information that is subsequently shared with certain other Federal agencies. Title V: Counterfeit Deterrence - Counterfeit Deterrence Act of 1992 - Amends Federal criminal law to subject to a class C felony unauthorized control or possession of: (1) any plate, stone, or other artifact for counterfeiting United States obligations or securities, including electronic methods involved in such activities; (2) distinctive paper adopted for U.S. obligations and securities; and (3) any feature or device essentially identical to a distinctive counterfeit deterrent adapted to the making of any United States obligation or security by the Secretary of the Treasury. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to permit color illustrations of U.S. currency. Delcares it is impermissible to reproduce illustrations of U.S. obligations or other securities via electronic methods used for acquisition, recording, retrieval, transmission, or reproduction, unless such use is authorized by the Secretary. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends Federal law regarding monetary transactions to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) impose civil money penalties upon a financial institution for negligent violations of this Act or for a pattern of negligent violations; and (2) order a depository institution to request that its customers submit cash transaction reports. Amends Federal law regarding monetary transactions to prohibit a financial institution from discriminating against an employee who has provided Federal agencies with information regarding possible Federal violations. Grants such employees the right to file a civil action in Federal court seeking specified remedies for any such discrimination. Requires the Secretary to establish a Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group to serve as a conduit between the Federal and private sectors regarding the status of currency transaction reporting activities. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of a "Financial Crimes Enforcement Network" proposed to be established among other Federal agencies and Federal banking agencies.
Bill· SS. 3278 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to exempt as an employer any person engaged in locomotive and freight car repair services and activities from the railroad retirement tax, but only if such person was so engaged before July 1, 1988, is not subject to the direct jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and is not (and never was) a division or part of a carrier with which such person is currently affiliated. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to exempt such employers from the railroad unemployment tax.
Bill· SS. 3274 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Medicare and Medicaid Amendments Act of 1992 - Title I: Amendments to Medicare Program - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Part A - Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1989 to provide that all hospitals classified as regional referral centers on September 30, 1992 shall retain such status through September 30, 1994. Provides that hospitals which fail to qualify as regional referral centers for FY 1993 as a result of a decision by the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board shall be provided by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) with an opportunity to decline the reclassification. Prohibits the Secretary from revising standardized amounts to account for hospitals which decline the reclassification. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital payment provisions. Sets forth provisions analogous to those above with respect to Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals and: (1) reclassification declination; and (2) standardized amount adjustment. Amends the OBRA of 1987 to authorize appropriations for the rural health transition grant program. Amends Medicare to authorize appropriations for the Essential Access Community Hospital program. Modifies the length of stay requirement for State designation of rural primary care hospitals. Amends the OBRA of 1989 to extend additional payments for hemophilia clotting factor furnished through September 30, 1994. Amends the OBRA of 1990 to require the Secretary to continue any rural hospital demonstration project at least through December 31, 1995. Amends Medicare to provide that: (1) a change in classification of hospitals from one area to another may not result in a reduction in the wage index for an urban area if the area has a wage index below the rural wage index for the State, or if the urban area is located in a State without any rural areas; (2) for discharges occurring on or after the effective date of this paragraph and before October 1, 1993, the Secretary shall adjust the urban standardized amount by a factor of 0.999321; and (3) if a hospital was previously reclassified based on standards for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) (and New England County Metropolitan Areas) published in the Federal Register on January 3, 1980, and the hospital is located in a rural county under the most recently available standards for designating MSAs, the Secretary shall treat the hospital as being located in the urban metropolitan statistical area to which the greatest number of workers in the country commute. Allows the care of hospital inpatients receiving qualified psychologist services to be supervised by a clinical psychologist to the extent such supervision is permitted under State law. Requires the Secretary to: (1) delay until April 1, 1993, recoupment of any amounts paid to hospitals under a State hospital reimbursement control system that exceed amounts that would have otherwise been paid under Medicare payment rules; and (2) make available to the State and the hospitals in it all relevant information used in determining the amount of such excess payments before undertaking a recoupment. Directs the Secretary to begin collecting data on employee compensation and paid hours of employment in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to compute a wage index to adjust Medicare SNFs payments. Requires the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission to study and report to the Congress on the impact of applying routine cost limits for skilled nursing facilities on a regional basis. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Part B - Amends Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) to reinstate separate payment for electrocardiogram (EKG) interpretations performed or ordered to be performed as part of or in conjunction with a visit to or consultation with a physician. Repeals provisions providing reduced Medicare payments to new physicians and other practitioners during their first four years of practice. Prohibits the Secretary from modifying the methodology for determining the amount of time that may be billed for anesthesia services until January 1, 1997. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report to the Physician Payment Review Commission and specified congressional committees on time reported for anesthesia services. Provides that the initial review and revision of the geographic cost of practice index (GCPI) shall apply to services furnished on or after January 1, 1994 and shall be based on the most recent data on practice and malpractice expenses and physicians' work effort. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust GCPI to account for unique local circumstances. Requires the Secretary to study and report to specified congressional committees on the data necessary to review and revise geographical indices. Requires the Physician Payment Review Commission to study and report to specified congressional committees on the feasibility and desirability of providing for a special adjustment to the index value of the medical equipment and supplies input component of the index used with respect to services: (1) furnished by a physician who practices in an isolated area; (2) requiring the presence of expensive medical equipment and supplies in the physician's office; and (3) with respect to which the cost per service of operating the equipment is increased because of such physician's low volume of patients. Prohibits nonparticipating physicians and suppliers from billing or collecting an actual charge in excess of the Medicare limiting charge. Provides that no person is liable for payment of any amount billed in excess of the limiting charge. Requires that excess charges be refunded on a timely basis. Authorizes sanctions against physicians and suppliers who knowingly and willfully bill in excess of the limiting charge or fail to refund excess charges as required by this Act. Requires carriers to: (1) notify physicians and suppliers within 30 days if they have billed in excess of the limiting charge; and (2) include limiting charge information in the mailing explaining an individual's Medicare benefits after the submission of an unassigned claim on the individual's behalf which exceeds the limiting charge. Specifies the nonphysician practitioners that may only bill for services on an assignment-related basis. Provides that no person is liable for amounts billed in violation of such mandatory assignment rule. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the extent to which actual charges exceed Medicare limiting charges, the number and types of services involved, and the average amount of excess charges. Directs the Secretary to appoint a Medicare Beneficiary Advisory Council to discuss proposed regulations, carrier manual instructions, and any other issues with an impact on delivery, cost, quality, or expansion of Medicare services. Requires the Secretary to provide for national standards which suppliers of medical equipment and supplies must meet in order to receive payment for items furnished. Prohibits payment unless a supplier also possesses a valid supplier number. Requires the Secretary to revise such standards to include specified requirements. Requires suppliers to meet such revised standards in order to receive a supplier number. Requires the Secretary to develop one or more standardized certificates of medical necessity for: (1) durable medical equipment (DME); (2) prosthetic devices; (3) orthotics and prosthetics; and (4) surgical dressings, and certain other devices. Modifies the OBRA of 1990 prohibition against the distribution of certificates of medical necessity by DME suppliers to extend its application, with certain exceptions, to suppliers of the other items directly listed above. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop and establish uniform national coverage and utilization review criteria for 200 items of medical equipment and supplies selected in accordance with standards specified by this Act; (2) publish the criteria as part of the instructions provided to fiscal intermediaries and carriers; (3) review annually the coverage and utilization of such items to determine whether items not included among those selected should be subjected to such criteria (and, if appropriate, develop and apply such criteria to such additional items); and (4) report to specified congressional committees on the effect of uniform criteria on utilization of items. Prohibits the Secretary from issuing more than one supplier number to any supplier of medical equipment and supplies unless such issuance is appropriate to identify subsidiary or regional entities under the supplier's ownership or control. Amends SSA title XI to modify anti-kickback provisions. Amends Medicare to specify the circumstances under which Medicare beneficiaries are not financially liable for covered items furnished by suppliers on an unassigned basis. Removes aspirators and nebulizers from the category of DME items requiring frequent and substantial servicing, and includes supplies relating to aspirators and nebulizers in the category of inexpensive and other routinely purchased equipment. Adds payment rules for ostomy supplies, tracheostomy supplies, urologicals, surgical dressings, and other medical supplies. Provides for a freeze in reasonable charges for parenteral and enteral nutrients, supplies, and equipment during 1993. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees on: (1) the types, volume, and utilization of services and supplies furnished to Medicare-eligible nursing facility residents; and (2) changes made to descriptions relating to the codes for certain medical equipment and supplies. Modifies the definition of "certified nurse-midwife" by eliminating language that limits reimbursable services to those related to the care of mothers and babies during the maternity cycle. Revises payments provisions for services furnished by a certified registered nurse anesthetist who is medically directed. Amends the OBRA of 1986 to extend Alzheimer's disease demonstration projects for an additional year. Extends eligibility for designation as eye or eye and ear hospitals to hospitals that otherwise meet current law criteria but on October 1, 1987, operated as an eye or eye and ear specialty hospital or as a separate eye or eye and ear unit of a general acute care hospital which operates less than 20 percent of the beds that it operated on such date and has discontinued a substantial portion of its other acute care operations. Extends the OBRA of 1990's cap on payments for intraocular lenses through 1994. Expends the settings in which nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and physicians' assistants may bill Medicare part B for services performed. Provides for Medicare coverage of: (1) off-label cancer drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, appeared in specified medical journals, or are included in one of three specified major medical compendia; and (2) oral cancer drugs that contain the same active ingredients as anticancer drugs covered by Medicare when administered intravenously. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Permits Medicare Select policies to be offered in all States. Revises current law requirements applicable to Medicare Supplemental policies. Provides that a Medicare Select policy may be canceled or not renewed in the case of an individual who leaves the service area of the policy, except that if the individual moves to an area for which the issuer of the Medicare Select policy (or an affiliate) offers a Medicare Supplemental (Medigap) policy, the individual must be permitted to enroll in such policy if the benefits are comparable to or less than the benefits in the canceled or non-renewed policy. Authorizes sanctions against issuers of Medicare Supplemental policies who make misrepresentations or provide false information regarding such policies to the Secretary. Reduces Medicare payments for erythropoietin provided during 1993. Adds renal dialysis facilities to the list of institutions required under Medicare and Medicaid (SSA title XIX) to furnish patients with advanced directive information. Extends the periods during which Medicare: (1) is secondary to other payors for end stage renal disease beneficiaries; and (2) covers immunosuppressive drug therapy following a transplant procedure. Modifies general exceptions to prohibited physician referrals. Requires the Secretary to provide for an approved full-time equivalent (FTE) resident amount as the Secretary determines to be appropriate in the case of hospitals that in FY 1984 operated a primary care residency training program as their only approved residency program and had a base year per FTE resident amount of less than $10,000. Requires home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities to notify Medicare beneficiaries of the hospice benefit under Medicare, under certain conditions. Modifies hospital conditions of participation with respect to discharge planning to include an evaluation of a patient's need for hospice services. Amends the OBRA of 1987 to require the Secretary to extend the waivers for social health maintenance organization (SHMO) demonstration projects for an additional three years. Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to expand SHMO demonstrations. Requires, for FY 1993, interest payments on clean claims if payment is not made within 30 days of the claim's receipt. Title II: Amendments to Medicaid Program - Subtitle A: Technical Corrections - Amends Medicaid to make technical corrections and, in certain instances, such as in item 1 of the list below, technical changes as well, to Medicaid provisions included in the OBRA of 1990 regarding: (1) reimbursement for prescribed drugs; (2) enrollment under group health plans; (3) low-income Medicare beneficiaries; (4) child health; (5) outreach locations; (6) payment for hospital services for children under age six; (7) payment adjustments for disproportionate share hospitals; (8) federally-qualified health centers; (9) substitute physicians; (10) home and community care for frail elderly; (11) community supported living arrangements; (12) COBRA continuation coverage; (13) Medicaid transition provisions for family assistance; (14) personal care services; (15) the Medicaid spend-down option; (16) optional State disability determinations; (17) special rules for health maintenance organizations (HMOs); (18) frail elderly waivers; (19) a certain demonstration project for low-income families; (20) coverage of HIV-positive individuals; (21) advanced directives; (22) physician services; and (23) nursing home reform. Makes other technical corrections to various Medicaid and Medicare provisions added or redesignated by the OBRA of 1990. Subtitle B: Other Amendments to Medicaid Provisions - Amends Medicaid to create an exception to the IMD (institution for mental diseases) exclusion for Medicaid-eligible individuals (of any age) who participate in a qualified comprehensive substance abuse treatment program under SSA title IV (thus allowing States to provide medical services to such individuals). Requires the Secretary to waive the requirements that all Medicaid services be provided on a statewide basis and in comparable amount, duration, and scope to all Medicaid beneficiaries where the Secretary determines that a waiver of such requirements is necessary and appropriate to enable a State to establish such a program. Gives State Medicaid programs the option of covering alcoholism and drug dependency residential treatment services for Medicaid-eligible pregnant women, caretaker parents, and their children. Requires States to operate a vaccine replacement system (VRS) under which childhood vaccines are purchased at the Centers for Disease Control price, or a lower price, if available, and provided free of charge to Medicaid providers unless the State already operates a universal vaccine distribution system or demonstrates to the Secretary's satisfaction that a VRS would not be appropriate or cost-effective. Gives States the option of reimbursing vaccine manufacturers directly when the manufacturer distributes childhood vaccines to Medicaid providers free-of-charge under a contract with the State. Requires the Secretary to establish a demonstration program to enable States to establish innovative immunization outreach demonstration programs. Extends the duration of the waivers used by States to establish primary care case-management systems (PCCMSs). Prohibits the Secretary from granting such a waiver to restrict an individual's freedom of choice of provider with respect to a comprehensive risk-based managed care plan unless the individual has a choice of at least two such plans in an area. Modifies the enrollment composition rule (ECR) which permits the Secretary to waive or modify the requirement that Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries constitute less than 75 percent of the membership of any prepaid medical provider to: (1) allow a State to contract with a private (currently only a public) entity; (2) change the circumstances under which the Secretary may waive or modify such requirement; (3) require the Secretary to review annually the financial stability of any private entity that is granted a waiver or modification and revoke it if such entity is not financially stable; and (4) set limits on the duration of such waivers. Provides that if an individual enrolled in a Federally qualified HMO or PCCMS becomes ineligible for Medicaid benefits as a result of excess income or resources, such individual shall, at the option of the State, continue to be eligible for such benefits through the end of the month in which such benefits would have otherwise terminated. Provides that the enhanced match for expenditures related to external reviews of the quality of care furnished by entities with Medicaid managed care contracts shall be made available for external quality reviews performed by any organization approved by the Secretary which is unaffiliated with the State or with any entity with a Medicaid managed care contract. Authorizes the Secretary to approve waivers to authorize a State to approve managed care plans to be operated by political subdivisions of the State. Specifies conditions for approval. Authorizes the Secretary to extend retroactively the waiver of ECR granted to the District of Columbia Chartered Health Plan, Inc., if the Secretary determines that such entity continues to make progress toward achieving compliance with ECR. Provides that habilitation services shall be available for an individual participating in a home- and community-based services waiver program regardless of whether the individual was previously institutionalized. Permits public and nonprofit case management entities to pay providers directly, under certain conditions. Requires such entities to have a contract with the State under which they are required to maintain claims records and provide information to the Secretary or State agency about such claims. Allows States to restrict an individual's freedom of choice of case managers under home- and community-based waiver programs, under certain conditions. Provides that States are no longer required to bill third parties for case management services where the State demonstrates to the Secretary's satisfaction that it is not cost-effective to do so. Changes the inflation factor used in determining State expenditures for medical assistance with respect to home- and community-based services provided under certain waivers. Gives States the option of extending Medicaid coverage to certain children who have been placed in foster care. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of demonstration projects to provide outreach services to individuals who are likely to be eligible for Medicaid payment of their Medicare out-of-pocket expenses. Amends the OBRAs of 1989 and 1990 to provide for the extension of certain demonstration projects extending Medicaid coverage to pregnant women, children, and certain low-income families not otherwise eligible for Medicaid. Requires the Secretary to provide that additional OBRA of 1990 demonstration projects extending Medicaid coverage to certain low-income families are conducted on a substate basis. Makes technical revisions in provisions for determining periods of ineligibility for Medicaid payment of nursing home expenses. Changes the methodology for determining the amount Medicaid pays for prescription drugs. Allows certified nurse midwives to be reimbursed for providing non-maternity related services, to the extent such practitioners are legally authorized under State law to provide such services. Requires HHS' Departmental Appeals Board to adjust the amount of a disallowance based on the nature of the State's violation. Amends SSA title XI to increase the annual cap on Federal Medicaid matching funds for Puerto Rico starting in FY 1994. Amends Medicaid to provide that beginning in FY 1993 any funds for community supported living arrangements services remaining available at the end of a fiscal year shall be available to be expended in the following fiscal year. Makes any Native Hawaiian Health Center a Federally Qualified Health Center under Medicaid. Title III: Miscellaneous Amendments - Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to increase the authorization of appropriations for FY 1993. Provides for a set-aside for evaluations of SSA title V programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 6034 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 to authorize the appointment of members of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe to serve as members of the U.S. delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Bill· HRH.R. 6036 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Monetary Policy and Treasury Finance Enhancement Act of 1992 - Requires at least ten percent of the aggregate face amount of longer-term public debt obligations (bonds or notes which mature at least five years after the date of issue) issued during a fiscal year to be in the form of indexed obligations. Specifies a higher requirement in certain cases. Allows the Secretary of the Treasury to issue bond and note obligations which mature at least 270 days but less than five years after the date of issue in the form of indexed obligations. Prohibits more than 50 percent of the aggregate face amount of bond or note obligations which mature on any day from being in the form of indexed obligations. Bases indexed obligations on the Consumer Price Index. Provides for the Secretary, in consultation with the Federal Reserve, to determine the amounts, maturities, and timing of issuances of indexed obligations. Requires the Secretary to monitor the ownership and trading activity of indexed and nonindexed obligations having the same maturity dates to assure liquidity and pricing reliability. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on provisions of this Act every two years until the tenth year after enactment. Expresses the intent of the Congress with respect to Federal income tax treatment of indexed and nonindexed obligations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6045 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow medical doctors an itemized deduction for the value of medical services provided: (1) without charge to an individual who is not covered by a health plan; and (2) without compensation pursuant to participation in a qualified health care organization. Provides that such deduction is not subject to the two-percent floor on miscellaneous itemized deductions.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 581 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 5503 (FY 1993 appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies).
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 580 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Sets forth the rule for the consideration of H.J. Res. 553 (continuing appropriations).
Bill· HRH.R. 6027 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Comprehensive Health Care and Cost Containment Act of 1992 - Title I: Federal and State Administration - Subtitle A: Federal Administration - Subtitle A: Federal Administration - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services a Federal Health Board. Requires the Board to: (1) determine national per capita spending rates for covered district health care services and for health care practitioner services; (2) establish a single national insurance premium for enrollment catgories; (3) make Federal payments to States and insurers; (4) certify State compliance with this Act; (5) enter into reciprocity agreements with foreign countries; and (6) report to the Congress on duplicative Federal health care programs. Requires an annual report to the Congress on the status of the health care system in the United States. Establishes within the Department of Education a Federal Health Education Commission to manage the Federal grant program to States for consumer education programs and for primary care practitioners. Subtitle B: State Administration - Requires each State to provide for a State Health Board to establish health districts to appoint district health care boards, set global budgets for each health care district, establish fee schedules for practitioner groups, and develop long-range plans for future health care infrastructure. Requires each State Health Board to establish a State Health Care Education Commission to be responsible for specified activities. Title II: Health Care Services - Subtitle A: National Health Insurance Program - Sets forth national standards for health insurance for district health care services or health care practitioner services, including enrollment requirements. Authorizes reduced premiums for low-income individuals. Subtitle B: Payment Amounts for Health Care Practitioner Services and for Covered District Health Care Services - Requires each State to provide for the chartering of practitioner associations with respect to fee schedules and medical malpractice insurance. Provides for the establishment of annual per capita rates for district health care costs and the development of State and district budgets for health care services. Requires the Board to disseminate Federal payments to States for such services. Title III: Malpractice Insurance Reform - Sets forth requirements for States with respect to physician medical malpractice liability in order to be eligible for Federal payments. Title IV: Provisions Relating to ERISA and Federal and State Antitrust Laws - Declares that provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act are superseded to the extent inconsistent with the requirements of this Act. Provides that the antitrust laws do not apply to health service entities covered under this Act. Title V: Health Care Education Trust Fund - Establishes the Health Care Education Trust Fund to be administered by the Federal Health Care Commission in making grants for health care consumer education. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the tax on cigarettes and distilled spirits. Title VI: Tax Treatment of Health Insurance Premiums - Allows a tax deduction for health insurance expenses, whether or not the taxpayer itemizes deductions. Title VII: Private Options - States that individuals are not precluded from obtaining insurance for services that are covered health care services. Title VIII: Pharmaceuticals and Other Health Care Devices - Limits manufacturers and marketers of pharmaceuticals and other health devices to prices charged in Canada by the Patented Medicine Review Board. Title IX: Termination of Programs - Amends the Social Security Act to repeal certain Federal health care programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 6020 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Bankruptcy Amendments of 1992 - Title I: Improved Bankruptcy Administration - Amends Federal bankruptcy law to provide that the final hearing on a motion to lift an automatic stay must conclude within 30 days of the conclusion of the preliminary hearing on such motion, unless the 30 day period is extended with the consent of the parties in interest, or for a specific time which the court finds is required by compelling circumstances. Limits a debtor's exclusive periods for filing a reorganization plan and soliciting acceptances to one year, and 425 days, respectively, unless the need for such an increase is attributable to circumstances for which the debtor should not justly be held accountable. Permits the bankruptcy court to extend the filing period for a debt adjustment plan of a family farmer with regular annual income if the need for an extension is attributable to circumstances for which the debtor should not justly be held accountable. Postpones from October 1, 1993, to October 1, 1995, the expiration date for Chapter 12 bankruptcy laws regarding family farmers. States that the reaffirmation of a dischargeable debt is enforceable only if: (1) the reaffirmation agreement contains a clear and conspicuous statement advising the debtor that the agreement is not required under bankruptcy law, nonbankruptcy law, or a under any agreement not in accordance with bankruptcy law; and (2) the agreement is filed with the court, accompanied by a declaration that the debtor's attorney has fully advised the debtor of its legal consequences, and of any default under it. Permits bankruptcy court judges to hold status conferences, and to issue case limitations and conditions at such conferences. Amends the Federal judicial code to mandate that the judicial council of a circuit establish a bankruptcy appellate service composed of district bankruptcy judges in the circuit who are appointed by the council to hear appeals, subject to the consent of all the parties (unless the judicial council finds that there are either insufficient judicial resources available in the circuit, or the creation of such services would not likelyt improve the administration of justice). Sets forth appeals guidelines. Amends the Bankruptcy Code to permit bankruptcy administrators (in States in which the bankruptcy system is administered by a Bankruptcy Administrator instead of a U.S. Trustee) to preside at meetings of creditors and equity security holders, and to examine the debtor at creditors' meetings. Amends the Bankruptcy Code to include within the definition of "pension benefit guarantors and certain pension plans (thus enabling State pension funds and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to serve on creditors' committees). Increases the incentive compensation guidelines for bankruptcy trustees. Increases the dollar limitation and debt limits applicable to specified bankruptcy procedures (thus expanding the range of debtors eligible to repay debts over a time from regular income--Chapter 13 debtors, and accounting for inflation since 1978). Amends the judicial code to prohibit bankruptcy fees revised by the Judicial Conference from taking effect until they have been reported to the Congress, and until the expiration of 180 days after they have been reported. Requires the Judicial Conference to report to certain congressional committees regarding the impact of waiving certain bankruptcy fees and costs for debtors who file a voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization case in forma pauperis . Amends the Bankruptcy Code to: (1) extend from one to two years the period in which fraudulent transfers may be reviewed and voided by a bankruptcy trustee; and (2) conform its premerger notification provisions to the requirements for antitrust review of transactions of the Clayton Act. Entitles members of Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization committees to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Title II: Consumer Bankruptcy Issues - Permits a Chapter 13 debtor to cure a mortgage default on a principal residence before its foreclosure sale. Declares that senior mortgage liens on a Chapter 13 debtor's principal residence may not be bifurcated to the extent they were not undersecured when they were originated. Declares criminal fines non-dischargeable under a Chapter 13 proceeding. Title III: Commercial Bankruptcy Issues - Declares that if a transfer made between 90 days and one year before the filing of a petition in bankruptcy is avoided by the bankruptcy trustee and was made for the benefit of a creditor that at the time of such transfer was an insider, the trustee may not recover from a transferee that is not an insider (thus shielding a non-insider transferee from treatment as an insider corporate creditor). Grants purchase-money security interest lenders a 20-day period in which to perfect their security interest (currently, ten days). Provides that a security interest agreement regarding real property and rents, which was created before the commencement of a bankruptcy case and extended to properties acquired before such commencement, also extends to rents acquired by the bankrupt estate after commencement of the case (unless the court orders otherwise). Amends Federal bankruptcy law to define "farmout agreement," and to articulate conditions udner which any interests in liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons which have been transferred pursuant to such an agreement are excluded from a debtor's estate. Extends from ten to 30 days the period in which a seller may make written demand upon an insolvent debtor to reclaim goods. Title IV: Governmental Bankruptcy Issues - Provides that the filing of a bankruptcy petition does not operate as an automatic stay of the creation, perfection, or enforcement of a statutory lien for an ad valorem property tax imposed by a governmental entity if such tax becomes due after the filing of a bankruptcy petition. Modifies the eligibility requirements for municipal bankruptcy filings to require that municipalities be specifically authorized by the State to file for bankruptcy. Title V: Technical Corrections - Makes technical and conforming corrections to the Bankruptcy Code. Title VI: Effective Date; Application of Amendments - Sets forth the effective date of this Act. Makes it inapplicable to bankruptcy cases commenced before its enactment.
Bill· HRH.R. 6024 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that graduated corporate tax rates apply in determining the tax imposed on the principal campaign committee of a candidate for Federal, State, or local elective office. (Currently, such tax is only imposed on such committees of candidates for congressional offices.)
Bill· HRH.R. 6019 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to require, on the 15th day after the last general appropriation bill is enacted into law for FY 1993 or a continuing resolution is enacted into law through the end of that fiscal year (whichever is applicable), that the President issue an order to sequester ten percent of the Office of Management and Budget's baseline for such fiscal year. Exempts social security and interest on the debt from such sequestration.
Law· HJRESH.J.Res. 553 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Makes continuing appropriations for FY 1993 for projects or activities including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees provided for in the following Acts: (1) the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993; (2) the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1993; (3) the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1993; (4) the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1993; (5) the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1993; (6) the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993; (7) the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993; (8) the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1993; (9) the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 1993; (10) the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993; (11) the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1993; and (12) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993. Sets forth limitations on the use of such funds. Requires each agency, office, and instrumentality of the District of Columbia government, except the District of Columbia Courts, to furlough each employee for one day in each month of FY 1993, or a proportional number of hours for part-time employees. Prohibits such employees from receiving within-grade salary increases during FY 1993 and prohibits time from accruing toward the waiting period for advancement to the following rate within the grade. Requires the Federal Communications Commission's Salaries and Expenses account to be maintained at the current rate of operations.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 579 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Waives points of order against the conference report on H.R. 5679 (appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and sundry independent entities) and against its consideration.
Bill· SS. 3265 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
Family Leave Tax Credit Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer an income tax credit for 20 percent of qualified employee compensation with respect to an employee who is on family leave. Defines family leave as leave in connection with the birth of a child, the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, the care of a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition, or the treatment of a serious health condition which makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position. Limits such credit to employers with 500 or fewer employees, the amount of qualified compensation, and the maximum period for the use of such leave.
Law· HRH.R. 5998 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
Requires a payment to a specified school district to satisfy claims relating to any overpayment of windfall profit tax for certain periods.
Bill· HRH.R. 6005 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
Prohibits States and localities from receiving certain Federal economic development assistance if the State or locality offers, permits, or grants any tax abatement, money payment, or payment of property for the location of businesses or other organizations within the State or locality. Creates an exception to such prohibition for enterprise zones.
Bill· HRH.R. 6002 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
Amends the Social Security Amendments of 1983 to treat as paid by a common paymaster for purposes of social security taxes any health professionals who: (1) are faculty members at a dental school; and (2) operate an intramural dental faculty practice plan at such school.
Bill· HRH.R. 6009 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
Voluntary Debt Reduction Check-Off Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers to designate a portion of any tax overpayment (not less that ten dollars) and to make cash contributions with their tax returns to reduce the public debt. Reduces such designation by the amount designated to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.
Bill· HRH.R. 6003 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
Family Leave Tax Credit Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer an income tax credit for 20 percent of qualified employee compensation with respect to an employee who is on family leave. Defines family leave as leave in connection with the birth of a child, the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, the care of a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition, or the treatment of a serious health condition which makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position. Limits such credit to employers with 500 or fewer employees, the amount of qualified compensation, and the maximum period for the use of such leave.
Bill· SS. 3261 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Environmental Aid and Trade Act of 1992 - Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Export Enhancement Act of 1988, and the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to: (1) declare U.S. policy to foster the export of U.S. goods and services to control or reduce pollution and to clean up existing pollution problems; and (2) direct the Secretary of State, the Agency for International Development, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Department of Commerce, and the Export-Import Bank of the United States to implement specified measures to foster such policies, including establishment of Environmental Business Centers and an Environmental Competitor Program Officer in U.S. embassies in countries that are important competitors for U.S. exports of environmental goods and services. Requires the President to establish the Environmental Trade Promotion Working Group as a subcommittee of the Trade Promotion Coordination Committee.
Bill· HRH.R. 5993 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
National American Youth Service Act - Title I: Imposition and Term of Mandatory National Service Obligation - Imposes an obligation to perform at least 1,000 hours of national service on each individual who: (1) is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; and (2) attains age 18 on or after October 1, 1995. Allows commencement of such service upon the individual's attaining age 18, but requires completion before the individual attains age 26. Provides that prior service shall not be counted if performed before October 1, 1995, or before registration as a participant under this Act. Provides for prorated amounts of service for new citizens and permanent residents after age 18 and before age 26. Requires registration with the local national service board within 90 days after the participant attains age 18 (or after naturalization or attainment of permanent resident status). Allows advanced registration at any time after age 16. Sets forth the types of national service to satisfy the obligation, including: (1) service as a (tax free) one dollar-per hour volunteer with an accredited sponsor organization or a Federal volunteer program established by a Federal agency pursuant to task force or identification; (2) service with the existing programs of the Peace Corps, the National Volunteer Antipoverty Program (VISTA, student community service programs, and special volunteer programs), the Urban Elementary School Literacy Corps, the American Conservation and Youth Corps and other programs of the Commission on National and Community Service, and the National Health Service Corps; (3) employment as a law enforcement officer or firefighter for at least two years before attaining age 26; (4) service in the armed forces (unless the member is separated under adverse conditions before attaining age 26); and (5) participation in the Job Corps or a job training program for the economically disadvantaged under the Job Training Partnership Act or a comparable State job training program (such participation counting toward the service obligation only if the participant successfully completes training). Makes individuals who fail to register or complete the national service obligation ineligible for: (1) appointment to a position in a Federal agency; (2) the Medicare program; (3) Federal old-age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits; (4) any student grant, loan, or work assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965; (5) student assistance under the Public Health Service Act; and (6) job training and employment assistance under the Job Training Partnership Act. Requires inclusion of an appeals process under rules to implement such eligibility requirements and to verify individual compliance with registration and service obligations. Provides for exemptions and deferments on the basis of unfitness to serve. Provides for temporary hardship deferments. Title II: Administration of National Service - Establishes in the executive branch and Office of National Service (ONS) to regulate and oversee registration and performance of national service participants. Requires ONS to be supervised by a Director appointed by the President, by and with Senate advice and consent. Requires ONS to be fully operational by October 1, 1995. Establishes a task force on national service (the task force), which shall consist of the Director and a representative of each Executive department. Requires the task force to: (1) identify existing opportunities in the Federal Government for volunteer services performance; (2) consider methods to expand opportunities for national service participants to satisfy their obligations through federally-operated programs; and (3) report to the President and the Congress within nine months after enactment of this Act. Requires the Director to: (1) establish a system to track and record national service performance by participants; (2) consider the feasibility of using Selective Service System personnel and facilities and certain Internal Revenue Code statement and records for such purpose; (3) notify each participant upon completion of the service obligation; and (4) carry out other duties relating to information services, promotion, and consultation. Requires the Director to establish a network, consisting of a State national service office for each State and a local national service board for each congressional district, to: (1) register participants; (2) assist participants to find and perform national service in satisfaction of their obligation; and (3) approve sponsor organizations. Authorizes the Director, with the cooperation of the Director of Selective Service, to use State headquarters and local boards of the Selective Service System as part of the network. Requires each State office and local board in the network to: (1) disseminate information on registration and national service obligations; (2) provide information and counseling to participants on service opportunities; and (3) investigate complaints between participants and sponsor organizations. Sets forth application procedures for nonprofit organizations to serve as sponsor organizations for national service participants in a State. Sets forth accreditation agreement requirements for such organizations. Requires the State office to establish and maintain a directory of accredited sponsor organizations. Requires that the actual selection of a participant to perform service with a sponsor organization be left to that organization's discretion. Authorizes appropriations for titles I and II. Title III: Miscellaneous National Service Programs - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to authorize appropriations to the Commission on National and Community Service for grants under the American Conservation and Youth Service Corps program. Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program. Increases the minimum number of years of VISTA volunteer service (including training and other support) for which funds must be made available first from appropriations for National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs for specified fiscal years. Amends the Peace Corps Act to authorize appropriations to carry out the Peace Corps program. Requires the President to endeavor to maintain a minimum Peace Corps enrollment of at least specified numbers of volunteers for specified fiscal years. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to establish the Urban Elementary School Literacy Corps (UESLC) to recruit, select, train, and assign volunteers to provide individual attention and instruction in reading and writing to first and second grade students in urban elementary schools. Sets forth UESLC program requirements for qualifying schools and volunteers, volunteer assignment and placement, terms and conditions of service, stipends, allowances and support services, notice and acceptance of terms and conditions, grievance procedures, and legal expenses. Sets forth requirements for UESLC preservice training, including support and allowances, and direct administrative authority or grants and contracts to various entities to carry out such training. Sets forth special limitations relating to UESLC volunteer activities, support costs, government assistance, and nondiscrimination. Makes Federal law relating to Federal employees inapplicable to UESLC volunteers, except as specifically provided in this Act for purposes of specific Federal laws, for credit in connection with subsequent employment in the Federal Government, and for eligibility for appointment to the competitive service in the same manner as Peace Corps volunteers. Authorizes appropriations for UESLC program. Requires the Secretary to establish the UESLC program within two years after enactment of this Act. Amends specified Federal law relating to Federal employees compensation for work injuries and civil service retirement to include provisions for UESLC volunteers. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for cancellation of certain student loans because of service as a UESLC volunteer. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to credit towards Foreign Service retirement any service as a UESLC volunteer. Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow a deferment of repayment of certain health education assistance while a borrower is in service as a UESLC volunteer.
Bill· HRH.R. 5989 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Family Choice and Universal Coverage Health Insurance Reform Act of 1992 - Title I: New Tax Credit for Health Expenses - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a limited tax credit for coverage of the taxpayer, spouse, and dependents under a qualified health plan. Adjusts such amount for inflation. Phases out the exclusion from gross income for employer-provided health coverage. Makes such exclusion applicable only to individuals covered before the date of enactment of this Act. Terminates the medical expense deduction, the deduction for health insurance costs of the self-employed, and the health insurance earned income credit. Title II: Standards for Qualified Health Plans - Subtitle A: General Standards Relating to Benefits and Cost-Sharing, Underwriting, and Premiums for Federally-Qualified Health Plans - Specifies the required coverages of federally-qualified health plans for inpatient and outpatient hospital services, physicians' services, prenatal and well-baby and well-child care, diagnostic tests, inpatient prescription drugs, and emergency services. Allows such plans to impose cost-sharing for covered services with limitations. Prohibits the issuer of such plans from canceling or refusing to renew a policy except in the case of willful fraud, failure to pay premiums, or nonavailability. Prohibits premiums on plan renewals from taking into account claims experience or changes in health status. Subtitle B: Requirements for Current Employer Health Benefit Plans - Sets forth requirements with respect to conversion offers. Title III: Requirements on Employers - Sets forth requirements for employers with respect to withholding and remitting premiums and employee notification of contribution amounts. Requires the addition to employee wages of employer health plan contributions. Title IV: Requirements for States; Preemption of Certain State Laws; Changes in Medicaid and Medicare Programs - Requires each State, as a condition of receiving Federal funds for health care programs, to: (1) establish a health insurance program; (2) enroll each uninsured individual residing in the State; and (3) establish an office of State government to carryout such program. Sets forth requirements and administrative responsibilities of such program. Preempts State laws regarding: (1) mandated insurance benefits; (2) anti-managed care plans; and (3) certificate of need. Waives Medicaid requirements for States with an alternative health care coverage plan. Sets forth requirements for such plans. Amends the Social Security Act to eliminate Federal Medicaid payments to States for uncompensated care. Repeals the Medicare disproportionate share of hospital payment provisions. Title V: Medical Malpractice Reform - Subtitle A: Grants to States for Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the implementation and evaluation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems. Sets forth eligibility requirements for States seeking such grants. Directs the Secretary to award not less than ten such grants each fiscal year, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary to: (1) designate each State receiving such a grant as a model ADR State (making such State eligible for a two-year extension); and (2) disseminate information on the ADR systems implemented by such States to other States, health care professionals and providers, and other interested parties. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and promulgate standards and regulations necessary to carry out the grant program, including qualification standards that States must meet to receive grants and regulations establishing State data gathering requirements; (2) take into account, in developing qualfication standards, specified factors such as the effectiveness of such systems in supporting access to health care, encouraging improvements in the quality of care, resolving claims promptly, and providing predictable outcomes; (3) provide States with technical assistance; and (4) report to the Congress, within four years of the first grant, describing and evaluating the ADR systems implemented. Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims - Specifies that, with respect to any health care liability action brought in a Federal or State court and any medical malpractice claim or medical product liability claim subject to an ADR system: (1) no person may be required to pay more than $100,000 in a single payment in damages (whether for economic or non-economic losses) for expenses to be incurred in the future, but shall be permitted to make periodic payments (as determined by the court); (2) the total amount of damages that may be awarded to an individual for non-economic losses may not exceed $250,000; (3) the total amount of damages received by an individual shall be reduced by any other payment that has been or will be made to the individual to compensate such individual for the injury that was the subject of the action or claim; (4) a claimant's attorney's fees may not exceed 25 percent of the first $150,000 of any award or settlement, or 15 percent of any additional amounts, paid to the claimant; (5) the total amount of punitive damages that may be assessed may not exceed twice the total amount of the damages awarded to compensate the claimant for losses resulting from the injury; and (6) the liability of each defendant for non-economic losses shall be several only and not joint, and each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of non-economic losses allocated to the defendant in direct proportion to the defendant's percentage of responsibility. Establishes a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice and product liability claims, beginning on the earlier of the date on which the injury that is the subject of the action was discovered or the date it should reasonably have been discovered. Specifies that, in the case of a medical malpractice or product liability claim relating to services provided during labor or the delivery of a baby, if the claimant was not previously treated for the pregnancy by the defendant health care professional or provider a court may not find that the defendant committed malpractice and assess damages against the defendant unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Bars a defendant from being found to have committed malpractice unless the defendant's conduct at the time of providing the health care services was not reasonable, except where the claimant asserts that the defendant is liable under a strict liability theory. Bars the award of punitive damages with respect to any medical product liability claim alleged against a medical product producer if the drug or device that is the subject of the claim: (1) was subject to approval or premarket approval under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with respect to the safety or performance of the drug or device or the adequacy of the packaging or labeling; (2) was approved by FDA; or (3) is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to conditions established by FDA and applicable regulations. Makes an exception in the case of withheld information, misrepresentation, or illegal payment to an FDA official for purposes of securing approval of the drug or device. Provides for a separate proceeding to determine punitive damages. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the admissibility of evidence; and (2) criteria for determining the amount of punitive damages. Provides that the U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over health care liability actions based on Federal questions or based on specified provisions concerning commerce and antitrust regulations. Specifies that this title preempts State law only to the extent that State law: (1) permits the recovery by a claimant or the assessment against a defendant of a greater amount of damages; (2) permits the awarding of a greater amount of attorneys' fees; (3) establishes a longer period during which medical malpractice or product liability claims may be initiated; or (4) establishes a less strict standard of proof for determining whether a defendant has committed malpractice.
Bill· HRH.R. 5995 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Federal Credit and Debt Management Act of 1992 - Amends Federal law to require the head of an executive or legislative agency to take all appropriate and cost-effective actions to collect aggressively all claims of the U.S. Government. Expands agency debt-collection authorities. Makes businesses eligible for the Internal Revenue Service tax refund offset program. Prohibits any person from obtaining any Federal financial assistance in the form of a loan (except for a Commodity Credit Corporation price support loan) or loan guarantee if such person has an outstanding debt with an executive agency which is in a delinquent status. Allows the agency head to waive such prohibition. Requires each Federal agency to develop a data base of information on outstanding debt which is in a delinquent status. Allows the sharing of such information among Federal agencies. Requires persons doing business with the Federal Government in any loan program, as grant recipients, insurance or license recipients, or contractors to furnish their taxpayer identifying number. Requires agency disclosure on the use of such number to include the intent to use it for purposes of collecting or reporting on delinquent amounts arising out of the persons' relationship with the Federal Government. Sets forth requirements for the head of each Federal agency guaranteeing or insuring loans with respect to program management. Requires the charge of a late fee, in addition to scheduled principal and interest, on claims that are in delinquent status. Requires the assessment, in addition to the late fee, of any amounts necessary to cover the charges levied by another agency or private collector for collecting delinquent claims through Federal salary offset, tax refund offset, private debt collection contractors, or other such explicit fees or charges. Authorizes agencies to retain one-half of collected fees to be used for specified purposes. Removes restrictions on legal fees charged for contracts for collection services in cases of claims of indebtedness owed to the United States. Revises requirements for agency disclosures of information to credit reporting agencies. Removes certain limitations on contracting out legal services for the collection of indebtedness. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Secretary of the Treasury to determine on an annual or more frequent basis whether any employee of the Federal Government or the District of Columbia neglects or refuses to pay any tax after being notified of a levy. Amends Federal law to provide that administrative offset collections do not apply to contracts subject to the Contract Disputes Act of 1978.
Bill· HRH.R. 5992 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Weather Service Modernization Act of 1992 - Requires the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to include as part of the Department of Commerce's annual budget request justification material a National Implementation Plan (National Plan) of actions needed to accomplish the objectives of the ten-year Strategic Plan currently required under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1989 (NASA Act) for modernization of the National Weather Service (NWS). Specifies national plan contents. Requires the Secretary to: (1) transmit a copy of each annual national plan to the Modernization Transition Committee (established by this Act); and (2) consult with it in developing such plan. Requires the Secretary to: (1) contract with the National Research Council (NRC) for a review of the scientific and technical modernization criteria by which the Secretary proposes to certify action to close, consolidate, automate, or relocate NWS field offices; and (2) publish in the Federal Register final modernization criteria based on such NRC review. Changes requirements for certification that the closing, consolidation, automation, or relocation of any field office will not result in service degradation. Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) changing operations at an NWS field office pursuant to implementation of the Strategic Plan unless the Secretary has provided appropriate notification; (2) removing or permanently decommissioning any NWS radar until the Secretary has prepared radar commissioning and decommissioning reports documenting that such action would be consistent with the final modernization criteria established above; (3) commissioning an automated surface observing system located at an airport unless the weather services provided after commissioning will continue to be in full compliance with applicable flight aviation rules; (4) closing, before January 1, 1996, any NWS field office pursuant to implementation of the Strategic Plan; (5) closing or relocating any NWS field office located at an airport unless the Secretary determines that such action will not result in degradation of service that affects aircraft safety; (6) closing or relocating any NWS field office which is the only office in a State unless the Secretary determines that a comparable level of weather services provided to in-State users will remain; or (7) closing, consolidating, automating, or relocating a NWS field office until arrangements have been made to maintain at least one person in the service area to act as a liaison officer with area weather service users with respect to the provision of information regarding NWS modernization and restructuring activities and weather warnings and forecasts. Establishes the Modernization Transition Committee. Specifies Committee duties, which include reviewing proposed certifications and advising the Congress and the Secretary on implementation and development of the Strategic and National Plans and establishment of modernization criteria. Requires the Secretary to prepare a report for the Congress on the proposed NWS modernization. Specifies report contents. Repeals provisions of the NASA Act with respect to NWS modernization.
Bill· SS. 3249 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1992
Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act - Title I: Improvements in Customs Enforcement - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act) to revise customs procedures with respect to: (1) electronic transmission of forged, altered, or false data to the United States Customs Service with regard to the entry of imported merchandise; (2) penalties for failure to declare imported controlled substances; (3) examination and detention of imported merchandise; (4) certain recordkeeping requirements; (5) examination of books and witnesses; (6) review of protests by the Customs Service; (7) a repeal of a provision relating to the reliquidation on account of fraud; (8) penalties relating to manifests, false drawback or refund claims, and for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence; (9) unlawful unlading or transshipment; (10) public access to Customs Service interpretive rulings and decisions; and (11) seizure of imported merchandise. Title II: National Customs Authorization Program - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to establish the National Customs Automation Program which shall be an automated and electronic system for the processing of commercial imports. Provides for electronic data transmission relating to: (1) remote location filing; (2) effective date of rates of duty on imported merchandise; (3) merchandise manifests; (4) imported merchandise invoices; (5) entry and release of imported merchandise; (6) admissibility in administrative and judicial proceedings of electronically transmitted information; (7) appraisement and liquidations of imported merchandise; (8) the payment of duties; (9) abandonment and damage to imported merchandise; (10) protests of Customs Service decisions; (11) refunds and errors; (12) bonds and other security; and (13) customshouse brokers. Requires a refund (drawback) of duties (less one percent of such duties) on articles produced in the United States with imported merchandise that have been destroyed under Customs Service supervision, provided such articles have not been used prior to such destruction. Sets forth provisions with respect to customs officer's immunity in regard to the appraisement of or collection of duties on imported merchandise. Title III: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 - Amends the Act to authorize the Secretary to disregard the difference, but not less than $20 (currently ten dollars), between the total estimated duties deposited with respect to imported merchandise and the total amount actually due on such merchandise. Authorizes the Secretary to admit duty-free: (1) gifts from persons in foreign countries to persons in the United States whose value does not exceed $100 (currently, $50), or $200 (currently, $100) in the case of gifts from persons in the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa; (2) articles accompanying persons for personal or household use whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, $25); or (3) articles whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, five dollars) in other cases. Authorizes the Secretary to waive collection of duties due on merchandise that are worth less than $20, or such greater amount as prescribed by him or her. Requires masters of vessels that have visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise while outside the U.S. territorial sea to report their arrival to the nearest customs facility. Provides for the electronic transmission of vessel documentation to the Customs Service. Requires the following vessels to report to the nearest Customs Service facility within 24 hours (or other period of time as provided) after arrival to a U.S. port: (1) vessels from a foreign port; (2) foreign vessels from a domestic port; (3) U.S. vessels having bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (4) vessels which visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise outside the U.S. territorial sea. Permits masters of vessels to make preliminary entry of their vessel with the Customs Service in lieu of or before formal entry is made. Exempts from entry and clearance requirements certain passenger vessels on excursion from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the British Virgin Islands and returning, U.S. documented vessels with recreational endorsement, or (as under current law) undocumented U.S. pleasure vessels not engaged in trade, except such vessels must comply upon arrival with specified customs reporting requirements and navigation laws and must not have visited any hovering vessel. Prohibits merchandise, passengers, or baggage from being unladen from any vessel required to make entry or vehicle required to report its arrival until such entry or report of arrival is made and a permit for unlading has been issued by the Customs Service. Authorizes the issuance of such permits through electronic data transmission. Requires every importer of record of merchandise to make and file electronically or otherwise a declaration stating whether such merchandise is imported pursuant to a purchase or purchase agreement and that all other required documents are true and correct. Requires persons who gained any benefit from, or met any obligation to the United States as the result of the prior exportation of merchandise that has returned as undeliverable to inform the Customs Service of the return of such merchandise within a reasonable time. Provides for electronic data transmission of entry information to complete any incomplete entry of imported merchandise. Declares entered or unentered merchandise that remains in customs custody for six months, with an extension at the importer's request of up to a year (currently, for merchandise that remains in custody for one year), and in which duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges have not been paid, to be unclaimed merchandise which shall be appraised and sold by the Customs Service at public auction. Authorizes the sale of imported gunpowder and other explosive merchandise that if permitted to remain in a bonded warehouse for six months (currently, one year) would depreciate in value to the extent that its sale would be insufficient to pay such duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges. Authorizes the Customs Service, in lieu of sale, to provide notice to interested parties that, unless, within 30 days of such notice, the subject merchandise is entered or withdrawn for consumption and payment made of all duties, taxes, and fees, transfer and storage charges and other expenses that title to such merchandise shall be deemed to vest in the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to pay to a party that has lost a substantial interest in merchandise by virtue of title vesting in the United States, and can establish that it did not receive a vesting notice, an amount from the Customs Forfeiture Fund equal to what such party would have received if such merchandise had been sold and a proper claim filed. Requires any surplus of the proceeds from the sale of such merchandise to be deposited into the Fund if a claim for such surplus is not filed with the Customs Service. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the declaration and entry of merchandise whose value does not exceed a certain amount, not more than $2,500 (currently not greater than $1,250), and/or when different commercial facilitation and risk considerations that may vary for different classes or kinds of merchandise or different classes of transactions may dictate. Requires the Secretary upon seizure and forfeiture of imported merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark to dispose of such merchandise more than 90 days (currently, one year) after such forfeiture. Authorizes withdrawal of imported merchandise from a warehouse for transfer to a foreign trade zone. Authorizes the Customs Service to order the destruction or other appropriate disposition of vessels, vehicles, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage that has been seized under the customs laws if it determines that the expense of keeping such items is disproportionate to their value (currently applies only to items of less than $1,000 in value). Authorizes the use of funds from the Customs Forfeiture Fund for the payment of: (1) certain transfer and storage charges and expenses; and (2) claims against Customs Service employees. Requires actions for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence, false drawback, or refund claims with respect to imported merchandise to be instituted within five years after the alleged violation or discovery of such fraud. Requires the Customs Service to be reimbursed the administrative cost and expense incurred in collecting fees on behalf of other Federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to settle, for no more than $50,000 in each case, claims for personal injury, death, or damage to, or loss of, privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer of the Customs Service. Requires the Secretary to contract with persons for collection services to recover indebtedness arising under the customs laws, provided the Customs Service has exhausted all administrative efforts to collect such indebtedness. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions and Consequential and Conforming Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to exempt from such Schedule articles which are returned within 45 days after being exported from the United States as undeliverable and which have not left the custody of the carrier or foreign customs service. Prohibits such exportations from satisfying any requirement for exportation in order to receive a benefit from, or meet an obligation, to the United States as a result of such exportation. Declares that certain railway locomotives and railway freight cars on which no duty is owed are not subject to the entry or release requirements for imported merchandise under the Tariff Act of 1930. Exempts instruments of international trade, such as containers, lift vans, rail cars and locomotives, truck cabs and trailers, etc., from formal entry procedures. Requires them to be accounted for, however, when imported to and exported from the United States through the manifesting procedures required for international carriers by the U.S. Customs Service. Amends the Internal Revenue Code and other specified Federal law with respect to: (1) certain expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund; and (2) coastwise trade vessels and U.S. vessels visiting foreign ports. Amends Federal law to grant the Court of International Trade exclusive jurisdiction of any civil action for review of decisions of the Customs Service that deny, suspend, or revoke accreditation of private customs laboratories. Bars the commencement of such actions unless brought before such Court within 60 days of such decisions. Requires U.S. and foreign vessels to obtain clearance from the Customs Service before proceeding from a U.S. port for: (1) a foreign port; (2) another U.S. port (for foreign vessels only), or (for U.S. vessels only) another U.S. port if the vessel has bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (3) outside the U.S. territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or to receive merchandise. Repeals specified provisions of Federal law. Requires the Commissioner of Customs to report to the Congress each fiscal year after FY 1992 on the collection of duties imposed under the antidumping and countervailing duty laws. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to authorize the Commissioner of Customs to obtain from the operators of centralized cargo examination stations information on fees paid for the provision of services at such stations. Requires the Commissioner to report to specified congressional committees on the payment of such fees. Amends the Customs and Trade Act of 1990 to require the Commissioner of Customs to: (1) devise a methodology for estimating the level of compliance with the U.S. customs laws; and (2) evaluate the extent to which such compliance was obtained during the 12-month period preceding the 60th day before each of FY 1993 through 1995. Directs the Commissioner to initiate, and submit to the Congress, a compliance review of certain courier services.
Bill· SS. 3252 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow as an income tax credit for a custodial parent the amount of any child support payments that remain unpaid to such parent as of the close of the taxable year. Increases the tax liability of individuals failing to make child support payments by 125 percent of any taxable unpaid child support payments of a taxpayer. Reduces the tax liability of such individuals if payments are subsequently made.
Bill· HRH.R. 5980 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1992
Veterans' Job Training Act of 1992 - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act to direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out a veterans' job training program to assist eligible veterans in obtaining employment through employer job training programs. Makes eligible for such program qualified veterans who: (1) are unemployed at the time of application to the program; and (2) have been unemployed for at least ten of the 15 weeks preceding the date of application for participation in the program. Defines a "qualified veteran" as: (1) a veteran who has served in the active military, naval, or air service for a period of more than 180 days, any part of which was after June 27, 1950; or (2) a disabled veteran who served after such date. Sets forth application requirements. Directs the Secretary to issue eligible veterans certificates of eligibility for presentation to employers offering job training programs. Authorizes employers to establish job training programs to provide training and retraining to veterans with approved applications. Requires such programs to be for periods of at least six months for occupations in growth industries, requiring new technological skills, or for which demand for labor exceeds supply. Sets forth application requirements for employers, including certifications concerning: (1) maximum periods of job training to be provided; (2) equivalent wages and benefits; (3) prohibitions on displacement of workers in order to employ a veteran; (4) prohibitions on training veterans who are already qualified for the job for which the training is to be provided; (5) full-time employment for veterans; (6) appropriate length of training programs; (7) records on participating veterans; and (8) permanent employment for veterans after completion of training. Bars approval of employer applications if they contain a program: (1) for employment of seasonal or temporary jobs; (2) for employment under which commissions are a primary source of income; (3) for employment which involves political or religious activities; (4) for employment with any Federal agency; or (5) in which the training will not be carried out in a State. Authorizes the Secretary to withhold approval of a veteran's entry into a program if there are insufficient funds to make payments to the employer offering the program. Requires payments to employers for the costs of training programs to equal 50 percent of a veteran's wages and benefits up to a limit of $15,000 per year. Permits employers to enter into agreements with educational institutions approved for enrollment of veterans to provide training programs. Provides for counseling and information and outreach programs for veterans with respect to job training programs. Considers veterans to be members of a targeted group for purposes of the targeted jobs tax credit. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3247 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1992
Amends the Social Security Act to: (1) add a new title XXI, State Welfare Reform Demonstration Projects; and (2) establish the Welfare Reform Commission. Requires the Commission to: (1) award grants to enable States to establish demonstration projects to reduce welfare dependency in the State; and (2) report annually to the President and the Congress on any welfare reforms resulting from such grants. Specifies grant application requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3243 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1992
Family Investment Act of 1992 - Title I: Family and Medical Leave - Subtitle A: Short Title; Findings and Purposes - Family and Medical Leave Act of 1992 - Sets forth the short title of this title I, along with findings and purposes. Subtitle B: General Requirements for Leave - Establishes certain requirements for family and medical leave for permanent employees. Makes employees eligible for such leave if they have been employed, by the employer from whom leave is sought, for at least: (1) a total of 12 months; and (2) 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12-month period. (Excludes from such coverage: (1) employees at worksites at which the employer employs less than 50 persons, if the total number of employees of that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is less than 50; and (2) Federal officers and employees covered under subtitle C of this title.) Entitles employees to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period because of: (1) the birth and care of their child; (2) the placement of a child for their adoption or foster care; (3) their care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition; or (4) their own serious health condition which makes them unable to perform the functions of their position. Conditions such leave for the birth or placement of a child as follows: (1) the entitlement ends 12 months after the birth or placement; and (2) such leave may not be taken intermittently unless employee and employer agree otherwise. Allows intermittent leave for necessary medical treatment of an employee or family member. Allows the employer to require a temporary transfer to an equivalent alternative position that better accommodates such intermittent leave. Allows all leave to which an employee is entitled under this subtitle: (1) to be taken on a reduced leave schedule, upon agreement with the employer; and (2) to consist of unpaid leave, except under specified conditions when substitution of certain types of paid leave may be elected or required. Declares that nothing in this Act shall require an employer to provide paid sick or medical leave in any situation in which the employer would not normally provide any such paid leave. Requires employees to: (1) give at least 30 days' notice of the need for leave to which they are entitled under this Act, when foreseeable; and (2) make a reasonable effort to schedule medical treatment or supervision so as not to disrupt unduly the employer's operations, subject to approval of the health care provider. Allows limitation of the dual aggregate leave entitlement to 12 weeks in any 12-month period, in the case of spouses employed by the same employer, if such leave is for the birth or placement of a child or for the care of a sick parent. Sets forth conditions of certification for leave entitlements under this title, including provisions relating to: (1) sufficient certification; (2) explanation of inability to perform job functions; (3) dates and duration of planned medical treatment in the case of intermittent leave; (4) second opinion; (5) resolution of conflicting opinions; and (6) subsequent recertification. Sets forth employment and benefits protections relating to leave entitlements under this title. Requires restoration of the employee to his or her position or an equivalent position upon return from such leave. Allows an employer to deny such restoration to certain highly compensated employees (i.e. those among the highest paid ten percent of the employer's employees within 75 miles of the facility at which the employee works), under specified conditions, if necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the employer's operations. Requires maintenance of employee health benefits during such leave. Allows the employer to recover premiums paid for such coverage if the employee fails to return to work after the leave period has expired for reasons other than a certified serious health condition or other circumstances beyond the employee's control. Prohibits employers or other persons from: (1) interfering with employee rights under this title; or (2) from discriminating against any individual because of participation in proceedings or inquiries under this subtitle, or because the individual opposes any practice made unlawful by this subtitle. Sets forth the investigative authority of the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) under this subtitle. Provides for enforcement of this title. Provides for administrative action by the Secretary to resolve complaints of violations under this subtitle in the same manner as under specified provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Provides for civil actions by employees, and by the Secretary on their behalf. Makes an employer who violates this subtitle's prohibitions against interfering with employee exercise of rights or discriminating against employees liable for damages in the amount of: (1) any wages, salary, employment benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to the employee by reason of the violation; (2) (in any case where such compensation has not been denied or lost) any actual monetary losses sustained by the employee as a direct result of the violation, such as the cost of providing care, up to the amount of 12 weeks' wages or salary; (3) interest on such losses; and (4) an additional amount of liquidated damages equal to the sum of such losses and the interest (except that the court may reduce or eliminate such additional liquidated damages in cases where the employer can show good faith and reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation). Makes such employers also liable for appropriate equitable relief, including, without limitation, employment, reinstatement, and promotion. Requires the court to allow attorney's fees and other costs of the action to be paid by the defendant in addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff. Sets forth provisions for limitations of such civil actions. Sets forth provisions for action for injunction by the Secretary. Sets forth special rules concerning employees of local educational agencies and of private elementary and secondary schools, including provisions relating to intermittent leave for instructional employees, periods near the completion of an academic term, and reduction of liability. Requires employers to post notice of the pertinent provisions of this subtitle. Requires fines for willful violations of such requirement. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this subtitle. Subtitle C: Leave for Civil Service Employees - Amends specified Federal law to entitle civil service employees to family and temporary medical leave for specified periods. Makes such employees eligible for such leave if they have been employed by an employing agency for at least 12 months on other than a temporary or intermittent basis. Allows such employees up to 12 administrative workweeks in any 12-month period for: (1) family leave (i.e., leave because of the birth or placement of a child or care of a sick spouse, child, or parent), but such leave may not be used at a time more than 12 months after such birth or placement; or (2) temporary medical leave for a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of their position. Provides that such leave shall be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave for any part of such leave. Sets forth requirements for employees to give prior notice of the need for such leave, when foreseeable, and to schedule medical treatments, if possible, so as to not unduly disrupt the employing agency's operations. Sets forth certification provisions. Provides for protection for job position and health insurance benefits of employees using such leave. Sets forth prohibitions against coercion. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for administration of this title which are consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under subtitle B of this title. Subtitle D: Commission on Leave - Establishes the Commission on Leave. Requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of: (1) existing and proposed policies relating to leave; (2) the potential costs, benefits, and impact on productivity of such policies on employers; and (3) alternative and equivalent State enforcement of this title with respect to employees of local educational agencies and private schools. Requires the Commission to report on such study to the Congress within two years after the Commission first meets. Terminates the Commission within 30 days after its report to the Congress. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth the effect of this title on other laws and existing employment benefits. Provides that nothing in this title shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting more generous leave policies. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this subtitle within 60 days. Subtitle F: Coverage of Congressional Employees - Applies the rights and protections established under specified provisions of subtitle B of this title to Senate employees and any employing office of the Senate. Makes specified provisions of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 applicable, with certain exceptions including limitations on the period for requests for counseling. Provides that allegations shall be considered by the Office of Senate Fair Employment Practices or another entity designated by the Senate. Requires such Office to ensure that Senate employees are informed of their rights under this title. Applies the rights and protections under subtitle B of this title to employees of the House of Representatives, except for the exemption concerning highly compensated employees. Requires that the remedies and procedures under the Fair Employment Practices Resolution be applied in administering such coverage. Title II: Head Start, Child Immunization, and Other Assistance for Children - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to treat as emergency funding requirements not subject to discretionary spending limits the costs of carrying out Head Start programs under the Head Start Act, child immunizations under the Public Health Service Act, and the special supplemental food program (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Title III: Family Involvement in Education - Parents as Teachers: The Family Involvement in Education Act of 1992 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Parents as Teachers program. Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to States for parents as teachers programs, with special consideration for hard-to-serve populations. Makes eligible for such a grant any State which operates a parents as teachers program associated with the Parents as Teachers National Center in Missouri. Sets forth program requirements, limiting services to families during the period from the last three months of a mother's pregnancy to the child's attaining age three. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Parents as Teachers National Center for information dissemination and technical and training assistance for States with such programs; and (2) evaluate such programs within four years. Provides for a declining Federal share in such program from 100 percent in the first year to 25 percent in the fifth year. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Child Welfare - Subtitle A: Foster Care, Adoption, and Child Welfare Services - Amends part B (Child-Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to create a permanent capped entitlement program for innovative child and family services designed to preserve and strengthen families and prevent the need for unnecessary placement in foster care. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to authorize up to 15 States to conduct demonstration projects to improve the coordination of services and benefits provided by child and family services programs with others such as the women, infants, and children (WIC), the job opportunities and basic skills (JOBS) and Medicaid (SSA title XIX) programs which provide such services. Directs the Secretaries of HHS, of Agriculture, of Education, and the Attorney General to: (1) review department policies and regulations to determine whether changes can be made without statutory changes to improve the funding and delivery of such services; and (2) issue a report to the Congress that includes recommendations for both legislative and nonlegislative changes to improve the coordination of the funding and delivery of such services. Amends SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to require that a court or administrative body conducting a periodic case review of a child who is legally eligible for adoption determine and document: (1) for the child the specific measures taken by the State child welfare agency to find an adoptive family; or (2) that adoption placement would be inappropriate for the child. Gives State part E plans the option of continuing foster care maintenance and adoption assistance payments to children whose adoptions have set aside by a court. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a tax deduction of up to $3,000 for families who adopt a child with special needs. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee on Foster Care Placement to study and report to the Secretary and the Congress with respect to reasonable efforts requirements under State part E plan provisions. Revises the definition of case review system. Directs the HHS Secretary to provide for demonstration projects to test whether family reunification can be facilitated by allowing a family to receive assistance under SSA title IV part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) for the month prior to the child's return home from a foster care placement. Provides for Federal payment of specified percentages of State costs in developing, installing, and operating statewide mechanized data collection and information retrieval systems which: (1) the Secretary determines are likely to enhance the administration of programs under parts B and E; and (2) meet other specified requirements. Modifies the independent living program to permit States to allow foster children making the transition from foster care to independent living to accumulate assets for the purpose of establishing a household while preserving such child's eligibility for Medicaid. Makes such program permanent. Directs the HHS Secretary to provide for: (1) child welfare traineeships under part B for the education and training of students in child welfare services programs; and (2) guidelines for States to use Federal funds for training State and local child welfare agency employees in order to improve agency capacity to administer programs under parts B and E and to provide services accordingly. Provides for an extension of the increase in reimbursement for foster and adoptive parent training made under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989. Adds to the list of information comprising the health and education records of foster children: (1) the telephone numbers of the child's health and educational providers; and (2) a record that the foster care provider was advised of the child's eligibility for Medicaid services. Permits the HHS Secretary to authorize up to ten States to conduct and evaluate specified types of child welfare demonstration projects. Allows the State of New York, after its application has been approved by the HHS Secretary as meeting specified requirements, to conduct a demonstration project for the purpose of testing how to enhance the practices and procedures that will expedite the discharge of children from foster care or the adoption of children by suitable parents. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 to modify the prohibition against penalizing States before FY 1991 for noncompliance with foster care protections. Directs the HHS Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees recommendations for legislation to establish a system for the review of State child welfare programs and the provision of technical assistance to any such program. Requires the HHS Secretary to pay a State claim for foster care and adoption assistance within 90 days of its receipt unless the Secretary issues a deferral or a disallowance of such claim prior to the expiration of such 90 day period. Directs the HHS Secretary to appoint a Commission on the Evaluation of Disability in Children to study and report to the Congress on the effects of the definition of "disability" under the Supplemental Security Income program (SSA title XVI) as it applies to determining whether a child under age 18 is eligible to receive benefits under such program. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Comprehensive Substance Abuse Programs for Pregnant Women and Caretaker Parents with Children - Amends SSA title IV part B to authorize appropriations to enable States to establish comprehensive programs of substance abuse treatment for certain low-income pregnant women, caretaker parents, and their children. Title V: Safe Children and Communities - Safe Children and Communities Act of 1992 - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for projects to improve the safety of families with children in low-income, violent communities. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 5970 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1992
American Health Care Access Improvements Act of 1992 - Title I: Health Care Access Improvements - Subtitle A: Health Insurance Deduction Fairness - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent and increase from 25 to 100 percent the health insurance tax deduction for the self-employed. Subtitle B: Extension of Special Treatment Rules for Medicare-Dependent, Small Rural Hospitals - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend for one year special treatment rules for Medicare-dependent small rural hospitals. Subtitle C: Benefits and Services Requirements for Exemption From Tax for Hospitals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth requirements for hospitals to maintain tax-exempt status, including: (1) the provision of certain emergency medical care; (2) the acceptance of Medicaid and Medicare patients; and (3) the provision of community health centers and clinics in medically underserved areas. Title II: Insurance Availability - Requires eligible uninsured individuals to register with the Secretary of Health and Human Services for enrollment in a qualified Federal health plan. Provides for the collection of premiums through the income tax system. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Health Care Cost Containment - Subtitle A: Paperwork and Administrative Expense Reduction - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to: (1) identify, inventory, and assess the Federal paperwork burden associated with health care services; and (2) establish a goal for reducing such burden in each of the fiscal years 1993 through 1998 by at least five percent of the preceding fiscal year's paperwork burden. Provides a bonus for providers who initiate the use of electronic claims under the Medicare program. Subtitle B: Medical Malpractice Liability Reform - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the implementation and evaluation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems. Sets forth eligibility requirements for States seeking such grants. Directs the Secretary to award not less than ten such grants each fiscal year, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary to: (1) designate each State receiving such a grant as a model ADR State (making such State eligible for a two-year extension); and (2) disseminate information on the ADR systems implemented by such States to other States, health care professionals and providers, and other interested parties. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and promulgate standards and regulations necessary to carry out the grant program, including qualification standards that States must meet to receive grants and regulations establishing State data gathering requirements; (2) take into account, in developing qualification standards, specified factors such as the effectiveness of such systems in supporting access to health care, encouraging improvements in the quality of care, resolving claims promptly, and providing predictable outcomes; (3) provide States with technical assistance; and (4) report to the Congress, within four years of the first grant, describing and evaluating the ADR systems implemented. Specifies that, with respect to any health care liability action brought in a Federal or State court and any medical malpractice claim or medical product liability claim subject to an ADR system: (1) no person may be required to pay more than $100,000 in a single payment in damages (whether for economic or non-economic losses) for expenses to be incurred in the future, but shall be permitted to make periodic payments (as determined by the court); (2) the total amount of damages that may be awarded to an individual and the family members of such individual for non-economic losses may not exceed $250,000; (3) the total amount of damages received by an individual shall be reduced by any other payment that has been or will be made to the individual to compensate such individual for the injury that was the subject of the action or claim; (4) a claimant's attorney's fees may not exceed 25 percent of the first $150,000 of any award or settlement, or 15 percent of any additional amounts, paid to the claimant; (5) the total amount of punitive damages that may be assessed may not exceed twice the total amount of the damages awarded to compensate the claimant for losses resulting from the injury; and (6) the liability of each defendant for non-economic losses shall be several only and not joint, and each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of non-economic losses allocated to the defendant in direct proportion to the defendant's percentage of responsibility. Establishes a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice and product liability claims, beginning on the earlier of the date on which the injury that is the subject of the action was discovered or the date it should reasonably have been discovered. Specifies that, in the case of a medical malpractice or product liability claim relating to services provided during labor or the delivery of a baby, if the claimant was not previously treated for the pregnancy by the defendant health care professional or provider a court may not find that the defendant committed malpractice and assess damages against the defendant unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Bars a defendant from being found to have committed malpractice unless the defendant's conduct at the time of providing the health care services was not reasonable, except where the claimant asserts that the defendant is liable under a strict liability theory. Bars the award of punitive damages with respect to any medical product liability claim alleged against a medical product producer if the drug or device that is the subject of the claim: (1) was subject to approval or premarket approval under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with respect to the safety or performance of the drug or device or the adequacy of the packaging or labeling; (2) was approved by FDA; or (3) is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to conditions established by FDA and applicable regulations. Makes an exception in the case of withheld information, misrepresentation, or illegal payment to an FDA official for purposes of securing approval of the drug or device. Provides for a separate proceeding to determine punitive damages. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the admissibility of evidence; and (2) criteria for determining the amount of punitive damages. Provides that the U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over health care liability actions based on Federal questions or based on specified provisions concerning commerce and antitrust regulations. Specifies that this title preempts State law only to the extent that State law: (1) permits the recovery by a claimant or the assessment against a defendant of a greater amount of damages; (2) permits the awarding of a greater amount of attorney's fees; (3) establishes a longer period during which medical malpractice or product liability claims may be initiated; or (4) establishes a less strict standard of proof for determining whether a defendant has committed malpractice. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to encourage the establishment of a nationwide risk retention group (RRG) for community and migrant health centers receiving assistance under such Act. Defines an RRG for purposes of this title as an entity defined in the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 that: (1) provides professional liability insurance and other types of profitable insurance approved for issuance by the Secretary to community and migrant health centers; (2) provides insurance that applies to all claims filed against a community or migrant health center after the entity initiates insurance coverage and to claims arising from acts that occurred prior to the initiation of coverage if the claims are not covered by other insurance; and (3) meets such other requirements as the Secretary may establish. Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a tax deduction for contributions made to a medical care savings account established for the benefit of an eligible individual. Defines an eligible individual as: (1) one who is not covered by an employer-provided group health plan; or (2) one who is covered by such a plan which is a qualified catastrophic coverage health plan and is not covered by any other health plan. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from such accounts to the extent that amounts in such accounts exceed $15,000. Allows such deduction in arriving at adjusted gross income. Establishes an excise tax for excess contributions to medical care savings accounts and makes such accounts subject to the tax on prohibited transactions. Allows the transfer of unused amounts in flexible spending accounts of cafeteria plans to medical savings accounts. Subtitle D: Estimates of Expenses Prior to Treatment - Requires providers of health care items or services to disclose to individuals prior to their treatment the price to be charged for such items or services, except in cases of emergencies. Subtitle E: Limitation on Exclusion for Employer Provided Health Coverage - Limits the amount excludable from the gross income of an employee for employer-provided health care coverage. Subjects such amount to an inflation adjustment.