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Bill· SS. 1700 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the deduction for corporate interest payments by 20 percent. Excepts small corporations and farming businesses from such reduction. Allows corporations a deduction of 50 percent of the dividends paid during a taxable year. Limits such deduction to the amount in the qualified dividend account established by the corporation for the payment of such dividends. Prohibits the following corporations from using such deduction: (1) regulated investment companies; (2) real estate investment trusts; (3) an S corporation (certain small business corporations); (4) cooperative organizations; and (5) foreign sales corporations and domestic international sales corporations. Provides for an increase in the withholding tax on dividends paid to nonresident aliens or foreign corporations to reflect the dividend paid deduction. Requires, in the case of the acquisition of assets of a corporation by another corporation, that the acquiring corporation carryover the qualified dividend account.
Bill· SS. 1688 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the issuance of exempt facility bonds to provide spaceports.
Bill· HRH.R. 3566 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Expenditure Limitations, Contribution Limitations, Matching Funds, and Reduced Third-Class Mail Rate for Eligible House of Representatives Candidates Title II: Elimination of Multicandidate Political Committee Contributions in House of Representatives Elections; Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Contributions Under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 Title III: Requirement of Budget Neutrality Title IV: Independent Expenditures Title V: Contributions Through Intermediaries and Conduits; Provisions Relating to Political Party Committees Title VI: Prohibitions Relating to Political Committees and Foreign Nationals Title VII: Limitation on Carryover of Campaign Funds Title VIII: Campaign Advertising Title IX: Contribution Solicitation Title X: Reporting Requirements Title XI: Effective Date Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform Act - Title I: Expenditure Limitations, Contribution Limitations, Matching Funds, and Reduced Third-Class Mail Rate for Eligible House of Representatives Candidates - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to set forth limitations regarding House of Representatives (House) election expenditures, contributions, and matching funds. Limits aggregate expenditures made by an eligible House of Representatives candidate in an election cycle to $500,000, with specified limitations in primary, special, and runoff elections. Sets forth graduated civil penalties for excess expenditures and contributions. Establishes the Make Democracy Work Fund (the Fund) for payment of matching funds and initial expenditures incurred by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in the administration of this Act. Outlines FEC examination, audit, and repayment procedures. Subjects FEC actions to judicial review. Precludes a House candidate from receiving Fund assistance without prior certification that any television commercial prepared or distributed by the candidate permits closed captioning. Amends Federal Postal Service law to provide reduced third-class mailing rates to eligible House of Representatives candidates during a general election period. Title II: Elimination of Multicandidate Political Committee Contributions in House of Representatives Elections; Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Contributions Under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 - Amends FECA to prohibit a House candidate from accepting any multicandidate political committee (PAC) contributions. (Sec. 202) Treats contributions by dependents not of voting age as contributions of the persons upon whom they are dependent. (Sec. 203) Aggregates, for contribution limit purposes, contributions from State and local party committees with all contributions from such political party. (Sec. 204) Excludes from the meaning of "contribution" certain reimbursed campaign expenses voluntarily paid for by a campaign worker as an advance to the campaign. (Sec. 205) Reduces the maximum Federal election contribution permitted to be made by a person other than a PAC. Title III: Requirement of Budget Neutrality - Provides that the net costs of providing certain benefits under this Act must be fully offset by specified measures that either raise revenues or reduce spending by a specified deadline (thus achieving budget neutrality). Title IV: Independent Expenditures - Sets forth reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures. Title V: Contributions Through Intermediaries and Conduits; Provisions Relating to Political Party Committees - Amends FECA to delineate circumstances where a person's contribution shall be considered as being made through an intermediary or a conduit (and therefore treated as contributions from such person). (Sec. 502) Defines "State Party Grassroots Fund." (Sec. 503) Subjects national, State, and local party committees to "soft money" limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements. (Sec. 504) Prohibits Federal office holders or candidates from soliciting contributions from tax-exempt organizations significantly involved in voter registration or get-out-the-vote campaigns. Title VI: Prohibitions Relating to Political Committees and Foreign Nationals - Prohibits the use of leadership committees and establishes a deadline for their disbursement of funds. Prohibits an unauthorized political committee from using the name of any candidate in any fundraising activity on its behalf in a context which suggests that the committee is the candidate's authorized committee. (Sec. 602) Prohibits a foreign national from controlling, influencing, or participating in election-related activities, including making contributions or expenditures. Title VII: Limitation on Carryover of Campaign Funds - Amends FECA to limit the carryover of surplus House campaign funds for a subsequent election. Title VIII: Campaign Advertising - Amends FECA to prescribe guidelines for print and broadcast campaign advertising. (Sec. 802) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require equal candidate broadcasting time. (Sec. 803) Revises broadcast rate determinations. Prohibits licensee preemption of a candidate's broadcast time except in an emergency. Title IX: Contribution Solicitation - Amends FECA to prohibit the solicitation of contributions by false representation by any person as a candidate or as a representative of a candidate or of a political party or committee. Title X: Reporting Requirements - Amends FECA to require certain reports to identify any person (other than a committee) who contributes more than $50 (currently, more than $200). Directs the FEC to: (1) require that operating expenditures be reported on an election cycle basis, by category; and (2) maintain computerized indices of contributions of $50 or more. Title XI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 3550 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Consolidation of Information on Technologies Title II: Technology Transfer and Commercialization Financing Corporation Title III: Commercialization Financing Title IV: Alternative Minimum Tax on Corporations Importing Products Into the United States Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions Federal Technology Commercialization and Credit Enhancement Act of 1993 - Title I: Consolidation of Information on Technologies - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a standardized, accessible data base describing all patents, licenses, technologies, and processes owned in whole or in part by the Federal Government. Provides for data base access by: (1) the Technology Transfer and Commercialization Financing Corporation (established by this Act); and (2) the public. Directs the Secretary to review current Federal technology transfer efforts. Title II: Technology Transfer and Commercialization Financing Corporation - Establishes a public/private Technology Transfer and Commercialization Financing Corporation (Corporation) to foster U.S. economic growth by providing credit for businesses and facilitating the transfer and commercialization of federally owned or developed patents, licenses, processes, and technologies. Title III: Commercialization Financing - Establishes in the Treasury the Technology Transfer Investment Fund. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Corporation to provide outreach activities to areas that: (1) have a depressed economy or chronically high unemployment; (2) have been adversely affected by the North American Free Trade Agreement; or (3) are designated as Federal empowerment zones or enterprise communities. Title IV: Alternative Minimum Tax on Corporation's Importing Products into the United States - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an alternative minimum tax on certain corporations importing products into the United States. Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth effective date and separability provisions.
Bill· HRH.R. 3555 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1993
Environmental Technology Research Integration and Coordination Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to take any action necessary to: (1) ensure the coordinated, interagency promotion of the research, development, and adoption of environmental technologies; and (2) develop priorities for Federal environmental technology research, development, and adoption efforts. Requires the Director to: (1) assess the budget estimate of each relevant Federal agency for consistency with plans, reviews, and priorities on an annual basis; (2) make assessment results available to the Executive Office of the President for use in the preparation of the President's budget; (3) report annually to the Congress on the progress of Federal efforts to advance the research, development, and adoption of environmental technologies; and (4) establish mechanisms to ensure the participation of non-Federal entities. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), acting through the EPA Office of Research and Development, to use existing information network capabilities to provide access to data on environmental technologies developed, tested, or verified by programs under this Act and by other appropriate sources. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into partnership agreements ("alliances") with State or local government agencies and other specified entities to: (1) facilitate access to information incorporated in the networks; and (2) transfer to such entities other information that would enhance the development and adoption of environmental technologies. Encourages alliances to disseminate information, and provide technical assistance, to U.S. companies on opportunities for the more efficient use of materials and energy and for waste minimization, materials conversion, and recycling. Authorizes the Administrator to provide financial assistance to alliances under certain conditions. Directs the President to establish a program for evaluating and approving Federal Government purchases of environmental technology products. Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the effect of current environmental regulations upon innovation in environmental technologies and the introduction of new environmental products, including actions that could be taken to increase the regulatory incentives for industrial use of new environmental technologies. Directs the President to study the potential for efficiently encouraging the development and use of environmental technologies through tax incentives.
Bill· HRH.R. 3549 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business expense deduction to employers for the transportation of their employees to the former Soviet Union to participate in a professional or technical program.
Bill· SS. 1677 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1993
Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers Act of 1993 - Prohibits U.S. military assistance and arms transfers to a foreign government unless the President certifies to the Congress that the government: (1) meets specified conditions regarding democracy, including that it was chosen in free and fair elections and promotes civilian control of the military, the rule of law, and respect for individual rights; (2) does not engage in human rights violations, investigates and prosecutes those responsible for human rights violations, permits access to political prisoners by international organizations, and provides access to such organizations in situations of conflict or famine; (3) is not engaged in acts of armed aggression in violation of international law; and (4) is participating in the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms by annually reporting to the Register the number and type of conventional weapons possessed by, and transferred to and from, the country during the preceding year. Authorizes an exemption from such prohibition for a fiscal year if: (1) the President requests an exemption from the Congress stating that it is in the national security interest to provide military assistance and arms transfers to a government; and (2) the Congress enacts a law approving such request. Requires the President to submit initial certifications and requests for exemptions in conjunction with the submission of the annual request for enactment of authorizations and appropriations for foreign assistance. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should hold hearings on controversial certifications and all requests for exemptions.
Bill· SS. 1672 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Policy of Frienship and Cooperation Title II: Trade and Business Relations Title III: Cultural, Educational, and Other Exchange Programs Title IV: Arms Control Title V: Diplomatic Relations Title VI: Oceans and the Environment Title VII: Regional and General Diplomatic Issues Title VIII: Internal Security; Worldwide Communist Conspiracy Title IX: Miscellaneous Act for Reform in Emerging New Democracies and Support and Help for Improved Partnership with Russia, Ukraine, and Other New Independent States or the FRIENDSHIP Act - Title I: Policy of Friendship and Cooperation - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to amend or repeal numerous statutory provisions that restrict or impede normal relations between the United States and the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the other independent states of the former Soviet Union. Affirms that certain existing statutory provisions that impose limitations on the Soviet Union or utilize language that reflect the tension that existed between the Soviet Union and the United States should not be construed as being directed against the independent states, connoting an adversarial relationship between the United States and these states, or implying unfriendliness toward such states. Title II: Trade and Business Relations - Sets forth U.S. policy concerning the shooting down of Korean Airlines Flight 7. (Sec. 202) Amends the Federal criminal code to consider persons engaged in legal commercial transactions as agents of Cuba or any other country determined by the President to pose a threat to national security interests to be foreign agents subject to notification requirements. (Current law considers agents of the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania as foreign agents for such purposes.) (Sec. 203) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 to prohibit military technology developed with funds for the Ballistic Missile Defense Program from being transferred to any independent state unless the President certifies to the Congress that such transfer is in the national interest and is for purposes of maintaining peace. (Sec. 204) Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Authorization Act, 1975 to repeal provisions that restrict exports of Department of Defense-funded items to controlled countries. Title III: Cultural, Educational, and Other Exchange Programs - Changes references in specified laws concerning exchanges from the Soviet Union to the independent states. Title IV: Arms Control - Changes certain references to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact in the Arms Control and Disarmament Act and the Arms Export Control Act to the independent states, Russia, and Eastern Europe. Title V: Diplomatic Relations - Repeals specified provisions concerning: (1) personnel restrictions on Soviet national employees of foreign missions or international organizations; and (2) Soviet embassies and consulates (particularly with regard to security measures) and U.S. embassies in the former Soviet Union. (Sec. 503) Repeals a provision of the Foreign Service Buildings Act, 1926 which authorizes appropriations to carry out such Act in the Soviet Union. Title VI: Oceans and Environment - Replaces references to the Soviet Union in specified provisions of the Fur Seal Act of 1966 and the Global Climate Protection Act of 1987 with Russia and the independent states. Title VII: Regional and General Diplomatic Issues - Repeals specified provisions concerning U.S. policy toward Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and Angola and removes references to Communist countries under policy provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Title VIII: Internal Security; Worldwide Communist Conspiracy - Repeals provisions of law concerning: (1) reports on Soviet press manipulation in the United States; and (2) findings on Communism and prohibitions on communications with members of Communist parties and on attempting to establish a totalitarian dictatorship. Title IX: Miscellaneous - Repeals provisions of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 concerning: (1) Soviet missile tests near Hawaii; (2) emigration from the Soviet Union; and (3) delivery of international mail within the Soviet Union. Removes references to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in provisions concerning persecution of Christians. (Sec. 903) Repeals provisions of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987 concerning: (1) the murder of a specified U.S. army officer; and (2) Soviet policy toward pentecostal Christians. (Sec. 905) Authorizes the National Captive Nations Committee, Inc., to construct an international memorial in the District of Columbia to honor victims of communism.
Bill· SS. 1684 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1993
Environmental Protection Encouragement Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the expensing of the cost of environmental improvement property.
Bill· HRH.R. 3538 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1993
Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers Act of 1993 - Prohibits U.S. military assistance and arms transfers to a foreign government unless the President certifies to the Congress that the government: (1) meets specified conditions regarding democracy, including that it was chosen in free and fair elections and promotes civilian control of the military, the rule of law, and respect for individual rights; (2) does not engage in human rights violations, investigates and prosecutes those responsible for human rights violations, permits access to political prisoners by international organizations, and provides access to such organizations in situations of conflict or famine; (3) is not engaged in acts of armed aggression in violation of international law; and (4) is participating in the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms by annually reporting to the Register the number and type of conventional weapons possessed by, and transferred to and from, the country during the preceding year. Authorizes an exemption from such prohibition for a fiscal year if: (1) the President requests an exemption from the Congress stating that it is in the national security interest to provide military assistance and arms transfers to a government; and (2) the Congress enacts a law approving such request. Requires the President to submit initial certifications and requests for exemptions in conjunction with the submission of the annual request for enactment of authorizations and appropriations for foreign assistance. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should hold hearings on controversial certifications and all requests for exemptions.
Bill· HRH.R. 3533 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that in the case of oil and gas wells, the tax treatment which applies to intangible drilling and development costs shall also apply to surface casing costs and to geological and geophysical costs for the purpose of ascertaining the existence, location, extent, or quality of any deposit of oil or gas within the United States or a possession of the United States.
Bill· SS. 1666 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to elect to deduct either State and local income taxes or State and local general sales taxes.
Bill· SS. 1669 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain spouses a full deduction for contributions to an individual retirement account.
Bill· SS. 1668 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Medicare Provisions Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Part A Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Part B Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B Subtitle D: Provisions Relating to Medicare Supplemental Insurance Policies Title II: Medicaid Provisions Subtitle A: Substantive Provisions Subtitle B: Miscellaneous and Technical Corrections Relating to OBRA-90 Subtitle C: Miscellaneous and Technical Corrections Relating to OBRA-1993 Title III: Income Security, Human Resources, and Related Programs Subtitle A: Child Welfare, Foster Care, Adoption Subtitle B: Child Support Enforcement Subtitle C: Supplemental Security Income Subtitle D: Aid to Families With Dependent Children Subtitle E: Jobs Program Subtitle F: Unemployment Insurance Subtitle G: Other Provisions Social Security Act Amendments of 1993 - Title I: Medicare Provisions - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Part A - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take occupational mix into account in developing Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board (MGCRB) guidelines for determining the area wage index; (2) provide that if labor markets are no longer based on Metropolitan Statistical Areas, the method of calculating the wage index for reclassification would not apply and the MGCRB guidelines may be revised; and (3) require the Secretary to set the labor and non-labor portion of each standardized amount equal to the national average beginning in FY 1995. (Sec. 102) Revises the essential access community hospital (EACH) program, with changes: (1) increasing the number of participating States; (2) providing for treatment of inpatient hospital services provided in rural primary care hospitals; (3) extending the authorization of appropriations for grants to States and hospitals; and (4) addressing adjoining State hospital designation, rural primary care hospital skilled nursing services, payment for inpatient and outpatient hospital services, and physician staffing. (Sec. 103) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OMBRA' 87) to: (1) authorize appropriations for the rural health transition grant program; and (2) make rural primary care hospitals eligible for program grants. (Sec. 104) Revises requirements with regard to hospital psychology services, Medicare-dependent, small rural and sole community hospitals, notification of hospice services availability, qualifications for service on the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission, budget neutral adjustments for changes in payment amounts for transfer cases, and DRG payment window expansion. (Sec. 106) Requires the Secretary to begin collecting the data necessary to compute a wage index based on wages specific to skilled nursing facilities. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Part B - Part I: Physicians' Services - Requires the Secretary to develop and report to the Congress on a methodology for implementing a resource-based system for determining practice expense relative value units for each physicians' service. Repeals the existing payment methodology when the new payment methodology takes effect for services provided in years beginning with 1997. (Sec. 122) Requires the Secretary to: (1) review and revise the geographic practice cost indices; (2) use the most recent available data on practice and malpractice expenses and physician work effort in establishing such indices; and (3) study and report to the Congress on index construction, data used for indices revision, and other related specified matters. (Sec. 123) Revises rules for billing Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) beneficiaries for physician services in excess of the applicable limiting charge involved (extra-billing limits). Imposes new obligations on carriers before making payment. Provides for refunds of excess amounts billed. (Sec. 124) Requires the Secretary to: (1) fully develop and refine the relative values for the full range of pediatric physicians' services; and (2) study and report to the Congress on such values to determine whether there are significant variations in the resources used for similar services to different populations. (Sec. 125) Prohibits the Secretary or a carrier from imposing fees for filing claims for physicians' services, claims errors or denials, administrative appeals, obtaining unique identifiers, or responding to inquiries concerning physicians' services. Permits the Secretary to recognize substitute billing arrangements between two physicians under specified conditions. Part II: Durable Medical Equipment - Requires suppliers of medical equipment and supplies to have a certified supplier number, except with regard to medical equipment and supplies furnished as incident to a physician's service, in order to be reimbursed under Medicare. Prohibits a supplier from having a number without meeting prescribed standards. Prohibits the issuance of more than one supplier number, except in certain circumstances. (Sec. 131) Requires the Secretary to develop one or more standardized certificates of medical necessity for medical equipment and supplies. Allows suppliers to distribute to physicians or beneficiaries a certificate of medical necessity containing certain limited information. Requires that any supplier distributing a certificate with such information must also list the fee schedule amount and charge involved before distributing it to the physician for completion. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop and establish uniform national coverage and utilization review criteria for select items of medical equipment and supplies; (2) review annually and determine whether to subject to such criteria any items not already subject; (3) study and report to the Congress on the effects of the methodology for determining payments for items of durable medical equipment (DME) on the ability of persons entitled to disability benefits to obtain such items; and (4) report to the Congress on prosthetic devices or orthotics and prosthetics that do not require individualized or custom fitting and adjustment. (Sec. 132) Prohibits suppliers from submitting claims to any carrier other than the one having jurisdiction over the geographic area where the patient to whom the item is furnished resides, unless otherwise permitted by the Secretary. (Sec. 133) Places restrictions on certain telephone marketing and sales activities by DME suppliers. (Sec. 134) Amends SSA title XI to exclude certain clerical, warehousing, and stock inventory tasks from the exemption from anti-kickback penalties for employees in bona-fide employment relationships with covered service providers and suppliers. (Sec. 135) Specifies the circumstances under which Medicare beneficiaries are not financially liable for covered items furnished by a supplier. (Sec. 136) Requires the Secretary to: (1) determine whether the payment amounts for decubitus care equipment, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators, and any other items considered appropriate are inherently reasonable; and (2) adjust payments for such items if the amounts are not inherently reasonable. (Sec. 137) Requires the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to collect and report to the Congress on data on DME supplier costs and analyze them to determine costs attributable to service and product components and the extent to which they vary by type of equipment and geographic region. Part III: Other Items and Services - Addresses payment adjustments for ambulatory surgical center services and new technology intraocular lenses. (Sec. 142) Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on: (1) patient care costs for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in clinical trials of new cancer therapies; and (2) continuation of the annual limitation on the payment amount for outpatient services of independently practicing physical and occupational therapists. (Sec. 144) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with the States for allowing them to pay the penalties applicable to individuals for late enrollment premium payments under Medicare part B. (Sec. 145) Provides that rural health clinics (RHC) and federally qualified health centers (FQHC) are not limited to providing services solely to outpatients. Covers diagnostic x-ray services as RHC and FQHC services. (Sec. 146) Requires mammography facilities providing covered screening or diagnostic mammograms to Medicare beneficiaries to hold a certificate (or provisional certificate) issued under the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 147) Changes the terms "speech therapy" and "speech pathology services" to "speech-language pathology services." (Sec. 148) Makes miscellaneous and technical amendments, among other things, to: (1) apply outpatient payment limits to diagnostic services; (2) exclude the services of nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists from the definition of inpatient hospital services; and (3) allow individuals who have employer group health coverage to enroll in part B at any time they are enrolled in the group health plan, rather than after they leave the plan. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Makes various specified changes with regard to Medicare as secondary payer. (Sec. 152) Modifies reporting requirements under physician ownership and self-referral prohibitions to require physicians to report investment and compensation arrangements (in addition to ownership) with respect to designated health services provided. Includes magnetic resonance imaging, computerized axial tomography scans, and ultrasound services among those subject to such prohibitions. (Sec. 153) Allows the Secretary to recognize any successor exam to the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in the Medical Sciences for payment of direct graduate medical education. (Sec. 154) Requires the Secretary to establish and implement a method for obtaining information from newly eligible Medicare beneficiaries that may be used to determine eligibility for Medicaid payment of their out-of-pocket Medicare expenses. (Sec. 155) Amends SSA title XI to require hospitals and rural primary care hospitals to enter into an agreement with the organ procurement agency designated by the Secretary for the service area in which the facility is located, unless it has obtained a waiver, in order to participate in Medicare or Medicaid. Requires an Office of Technology Assessment study and report to the Congress with respect to such hospital agreements and organ procurement and distribution. (Sec. 156) Amends SSA title XI to: (1) repeal the requirement that peer review organizations (PROs) precertify selected surgical procedures; and (2) revise provisions on the notification of State licensing boards by PROs. (Sec. 157) Requires the Secretary to: (1) treat as a separate class Medicare beneficiaries with respect to whom there is a primary group health plan in defining classes to be used in determining the annual per capita rate of payment to an eligible health maintenance organization with a risk-sharing contract; and (2) submit a proposal to the Congress providing for revisions to the payment method. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on the proposed revisions. (Sec. 158) Requires use of the most recent hospital wage data in constructing the home health wage index for cost reporting periods beginning July 1, 1996. Extends the limits on liability under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 for claims disallowed by a lack of medical necessity. (Sec. 159) Makes permanent the authority provided under the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 for the Secretary to enter into agreements with fiscal intermediaries and carriers on other than a cost basis. (Sec. 160) Provides that user fees imposed under the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act of 1967 are not subject to Medicare's general ban on user fees. Modifies the phase-in schedule under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OMBRA '93) for Medicare beneficiaries who receive immunosuppressive drugs following an organ transplant. Subtitle D: Provisions Relating to Medicare Supplemental Insurance Policies - Makes various technical corrections to provisions relating to Medicare supplemental policies. Title II: Medicaid Provisions - Subtitle A: Substantive Provisions - Part I: Managed Care Provisions - Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to prohibit Medicaid managed care entities from having: (1) as a director, officer, or partner any person with a beneficial ownership greater than five percent of the organization's equity if that person (or an affiliate) has been debarred or suspended from Government contracting; and (2) business affiliations with such a person for the provision of goods and services that are significant and material to the entity's obligations under its contract with the State. (Sec. 201) Requires a State to certify to the Secretary that it has safeguards against conflicts of interest between State employees responsible for Medicaid managed care contracting and Medicaid managed care contractors. Requires Medicaid managed care contractors to: (1) report financial information specified by the Secretary and the States related to fiscal solvency; (2) agree to make available certain specified information to its enrollees upon request; and (3) provide annually to the Secretary and the State an audited financial statement and a report on any benefits provided to Medicaid clients in excess of what was required under the contract. Requires the Secretary to prescribe: (1) procedures on marketing for enrollment and re-enrollment purposes in order to provide prospective clients with information adequate for an informed decision; and (2) solvency standards for Medicaid managed care contractors. (Sec. 202) Extends various waivers for certain managed care organizations in Tennessee, the District of Columbia, and Wisconsin. (Sec. 205) Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to extend the Minnesota Prepaid Demonstration Project and provides authority and conditions for the imposition of premium charges on project participants. Part II: Home and Community-Based Services Waiver Provisions - Eliminates the prior institutionalization requirement for habilitation services provided under a home and community-based waiver program. (Sec. 212) Relieves States of the obligation to pursue payment from third parties for the costs of Medicaid case management services when cost-effective. (Sec. 223) Revises the home- and community-based services waiver formula for medical assistance. Part III: Other Provisions - Permits State employees to make presumptive eligibility determinations for pregnant women with regard to prenatal care available under Medicaid, under certain conditions. (Sec. 222) Allows States to make a showing of certain factors for the Secretary and the Departmental Appeals Board to consider in determining the amount of a Medicaid disallowance. (Sec. 223) Amends SSA title XI to provide for intermediate sanctions for kickback violations involving Medicare or State health care program providers. Allows the Secretary to impose civil monetary penalties if the Attorney General does not initiate action in district court within one year after the Secretary presents the Attorney General for consideration a case involving a State health care program provider. (Sec. 224) Amends SSA title XIX to prohibit double taxation of certain health maintenance organization (HMO) services. (Sec. 225) Requires a Medicaid mammography facility to be certified (provisionally or otherwise) under the Public Health Service Act in order to be paid for mammography screening. (Sec. 226) Makes various specified changes with regard to nursing facility care under Medicaid. (Sec. 227) Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to increase the authorization of appropriations for the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous and Technical Corrections Relating to OBRA-90 - Makes various technical corrections to OBRA-1990 provisions regarding: (1) the Medicaid drug rebate program; (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 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 for family assistance; (14) medically needy income levels for certain one member families; (15) the Medicaid spend-down option; (16) optional State disability determinations; (17) special rules for HMOs; (18) coverage of HIV-positive individuals; (19) advanced directives; (20) physicians' services; and (21) nursing home reform. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous and Technical Corrections Relating to OBRA-1993 - Makes various technical corrections to OBRA-1993 provisions regarding: (1) personal care services; (2) emergency services for aliens; (3) transfers of assets and treatment of certain trusts; (4) Medicaid estate recoveries; (5) liability for third parties to pay for care and services; (6) medical child support; (7) physician referrals; and (8) Medicaid pediatric immunization. (Sec. 280) Makes technical corrections to OBRA-1990 Medicaid provisions on demonstration projects to study the effect of allowing States to extend Medicaid coverage to certain low-income families not otherwise qualified to receive Medicaid benefits. Title III: Income Security, Human Resources, and Related Programs - Subtitle A: Child Welfare, Foster Care, Adoption - Amends SSA title IV part B (Child-Welfare Services) to repeal provisions requiring foster care protection for additional Federal payments and require instead that the State part B plan provide for such protections. Requires: (1) State review of its policies and administrative and judicial procedures in effect for children abandoned at or shortly after birth; and (2) implementation of those policies and procedures determined necessary to enable permanent decisions to be made expeditiously regarding the placement of such children. (Sec. 301) Prohibits reallotment among other States of any funds withheld or recovered from a State due to its failure to provide the above protections. (Sec. 302) Amends SSA title XI part A to require the Secretary to promulgate regulations to determine whether programs under SSA title IV parts B and E are in substantial conformity with State plan requirements, implementing regulations, and the relevant approved State plans. (Sec. 303) Requires a State part B plan to describe specific measures taken by the State to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act. (Sec. 304) Specifies the assurances that grant applications for child welfare traineeships must provide in order to win approval. (Sec. 305) Amends SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to: (1) require each foster child's case plan to be designed not only to achieve placement in the least restrictive (most family-like) setting available, but in the most appropriate setting available as well; (2) require subsequent dispositional hearings to take place not less frequently than every 12 months after the first one, rather than periodically; (3) eliminate foster care ceiling and fund transfer provisions; (4) provide for accountability in cases of children placed in foster care a substantial distance from the home of their parents, or outside the State; and (5) codify the regulations for the treatment of State claims for foster care and adoption assistance. (Sec. 307) Amends SSA title XI part A to: (1) authorize the Secretary to permit up to ten States to conduct demonstration projects which the Secretary finds likely to promote the objectives of SSA title IV parts B or E; and (2) overturn certain limitations in Suter v. Artist M. on private enforceability of State plan requirements. Subtitle B: Child Support Enforcement - Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to require State child support enforcement agencies to report periodically the names of obligors who are at least two months delinquent in support payments as well as the amount of the delinquency to consumer reporting agencies choosing to receive such information. Repeals provisions on payment of fees by consumer reporting agencies. (Sec. 313) Requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Attorney General under which the services of the Parent Locator Service shall be made available to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, upon request, for the purpose of locating any parent or child. Subtitle C: Supplemental Security Income - Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to extend the SSI childhood definition of disability to any person under 18. (Sec. 322) Requires the Secretary to appoint a Commission on the Evaluation of Disability in Children to study and report to the Congress on the effects of the current SSI definition of disability as it applies to children under 18 and their receipt of SSI benefits. (Sec. 323) Provides that, for the purpose of determining under the aggregate spending level option whether a State's expenditures for SSI payments during a specified 12-month period are not less than its expenditures for such payments in the preceding 12-month period, retroactive SSI payments required to be made in connection with the retroactive SSI benefits referred to in OBRA-1990 may, pursuant to a State's one-time election, be excluded from the computation of the State's expenditures. Subtitle D: Aid to Families with Dependent Children - Amends SSA title XI to allow any adult member of a family or household to sign a declaration, under penalty of perjury, on behalf of other adults in the household for purposes of receiving welfare payments. Provides that in the case of a newborn child, an adult member of the family or household may sign a declaration on behalf of the child no later than the next redetermination of the eligibility of the family or household. (Sec. 332) Welfare Indicators Act of 1993 - Declares certain policies of the United States, among them: (1) reducing the rate at and the degree to which families depend on welfare and its duration; (2) strengthening families; (3) improving the education and job skills of welfare recipients and individuals at risk of welfare receipt; and (4) providing the public with generally accepted measures of welfare receipt so that it can track it over time and determine whether progress is being made in reducing family dependency on welfare. Requires the Secretary to develop indicators and predictors of welfare receipt for a report to the Congress. Creates an Advisory Board on Welfare Indicators to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary on the development of indicators, and on the development and presentation of annual reports on welfare receipt by the Secretary. (Sec. 333) Requires the Secretary to provide for a demonstration project for a qualified program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, operated by The New Hope Project, Inc., a private not-for-profit corporation offering low-income Milwaukee residents employment, wage supplements, health and child care, and counseling and training for job retention or advancement. (Sec. 334) Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to delay the requirement for implementation of the Unemployed Parent program in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa until repeal of the limitations on Federal matching payments to these jurisdictions for making Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and other maintenance payments. (Sec. 335) Extends the New York State operated Child Assistance Program demonstration for an additional five years. (Sec. 336) Gives States the option to decide, with respect to categories of families, whether or not to use monthly reporting, retrospective budgeting, or a combination of the two. Subtitle E: Jobs Program - Amends SSA title IV part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) to count all Indians who live on a reservation, regardless of whether they are members of the tribe, in determining the tribe's allocation of JOBS funds. (Sec. 342) Delays the submission date for the Secretary's recommendations to the Congress with regard to JOBS performance standards. Requires the Secretary to develop criteria for the performance standards, rather than the standards themselves. Subtitle F: Unemployment Insurance - Postpones for one year the report of the Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation. (Sec. 352) Repeals language (inadvertently included in the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992) that relates to the transfer of funds from the State administration account to the extended unemployment compensation account, within the Federal Unemployment Trust Fund. Subtitle G: Other Provisions - Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to reauthorize and extend for two additional years certain demonstration projects to create employment opportunities for low-income individuals. (Sec. 362) Authorizes appropriations for early childhood development projects. (Sec. 363) Reallocates to the States certain funds received by an empowerment zone or enterprise community but not used, for use under SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services).
Bill· HRH.R. 3523 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain spouses a full deduction for contributions to an individual retirement account.
Bill· HRH.R. 3511 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1993
Fiscal Year 1994 Rescission Act - Rescinds certain budget authority made to the following entities: (1) the Department of Agriculture; (2) the Department of Commerce; (3) the Department of State; (4) judicial defender services; (5) the Board for International Broadcasting; (6) the United States Information Agency; (7) the Civil Corps of Engineers; (8) the Department of the Interior; (9) the Department of Energy; (10) certain economic assistance funds and military assistance funds appropriated to the President; (11) the Department of the Treasury; (12) the Department of Labor; (13) the Department of Health and Human Services; (14) the Department of Education; (15) the House of Representatives and certain congressional agencies; (16) Department of Defense military construction; (17) the Department of Transportation; (18) the General Services Administration; (19) the Department of Veterans Affairs; (20) the Department of Housing and Urban Development; (21) the Environmental Protection Agency; (22) the Federal Emergency Management Agency; (23) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; (24) the National Science Foundation; and (25) the National Service Initiative.
Bill· HRH.R. 3507 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to recognize as a tax-exempt organization any legal entity created by a State or political subdivision to establish a risk pool to provide health insurance coverage for certain persons who are unable to obtain private health insurance.
Resolution· HCONRESH.Con.Res. 180 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1993
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) it is in the national interest for the United States to remain actively engaged in the South Pacific region as a means of supporting important U.S. commercial and strategic interests and to encourage the consolidation of democratic values; and (2) notwithstanding current fiscal constraints, the executive branch, particularly the Department of State, should work actively with the Congress to at least maintain (and, if possible, increase) foreign assistance provided to the region and to encourage the active participation in the region of other international donors. Declares that the United States: (1) should encourage economic, trade, and investment relationships with the countries of the South Pacific; (2) should seek to maintain its diplomatic presence in the South Pacific region; (3) has interests in preserving the natural resources and biodiversity of the region and is uniquely positioned to promote sustainable development; (4) should cooperate closely with regional governments to strengthen sustainable management principles and practices as they apply to the region's fisheries resources; (5) should avail itself of the opportunity for contact with leaders of all South Pacific countries through regular ministerial/cabinet level meetings; and (6) should take an active interest in the proposed Joint Declaration of Cooperation between the United States and certain Pacific Island governments.
Bill· SS. 1655 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to exclude from the customs and tax exemption under tort claims procedures a claim based on the negligent destruction, injury, or loss of goods or merchandise (including real property) while in the possession of a customs or other law enforcement officer. Extends the period for filing claims in certain in rem proceedings. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to provide that: (1) in all suits or actions brought for the forfeiture of any vessel, vehicle, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage seized under the provisions of any law relating to the collection of duties on imports or tonnage, with exceptions, and for the recovery of the value of any forfeited property because of violation of any such law, the burden of proof is on the Government to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the property was subject to forfeiture; (2) any person claiming such property may at any time within 60 days from the date of the first publication of the notice of seizure file a claim with the appropriate customs officer, who shall transmit such claim to the U.S. attorney for the district in which seizure was made; and (3) if the person filing such claim (or a claim regarding seized property under any other provision of law that incorporates by reference the seizure, forfeiture, and condemnation procedures of the customs laws) is financially unable to obtain representation, the court may appoint counsel, subject to specified requirements. Specifies that a claimant is entitled to immediate release of seized property if continued possession by the Government would cause the claimant substantial hardship. Sets forth procedures regarding the request for release, return of property, and time for decision by the court on a complaint for such return. Makes sums in the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund available for the payment of court-awarded compensation for representation of claimants under the Tariff Act, with respect to seizure claims by individuals financially unable to obtain representation of counsel.
Bill· SS. 1649 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
Veterans Adjudication Procedures Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide that under the work rate standards that apply to Department of Veterans Affairs employees who adjudicate claims for benefits that have been submitted to the Secretary, such employees shall not receive credit for work on a claim until the claim decision becomes final. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress the status of claims for benefits before the Department during the preceding fiscal year, including the average length of time required for such adjudications. Requires a rating official to make the initial determination of the Secretary on all original and reopened claims filed with the Secretary. Allows a single member (currently three) of the Board of Veterans' Appeals to be assigned to and make a determination on a proceeding before such Board. Makes such decision final unless the Chairman of such Board orders reconsideration, in which case three other Board members must hear the proceeding. Subjects decisions made by the Secretary or the Board to revision or reversal on the grounds of clear and unmistakable error.
Law· HRH.R. 3485 (103rd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
Amends the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 to authorize appropriations for FY 1994 through 1996. Requires entities appropriated funds under this Act to comply with the Buy American Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress to such effect.
Bill· HRH.R. 3489 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
Infrastructure Reinvestment and Economic Revitalization Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Secretary of the Treasury to pay from time to time from the Highway Trust Fund into the Infrastructure Reinvestment Fund Reinvestment Fund amounts equivalent to 2.5 cents per gallon of the taxes imposed on diesel and special motor fuels and on the removal, entry, or sale of gasoline between September 30, 1994, and October 1, 2024. Establishes the Infrastructure Reinvestment Fund. Makes the Fund off-budget. Authorizes appropriations from such Fund for surface transportation programs.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 305 (103rd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 2401 (Department of Defense authorization of appropriations).
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 309 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
Amends rule XLIX of the Rules of the House of Representatives to make it out of order to pass or adopt any bill, joint resolution, or conference report thereon increasing the statutory limit on the public debt except by an affirmative two-thirds roll call vote. Authorizes the House to waive these provisions for any fiscal year during which a declaration of war is in effect.
Bill· HRH.R. 3472 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1993
Child Care Availability Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit (as part of the general business credit) for employers who provide qualified day care centers for the use of their employees.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 288 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1993
Extends the law making further continuing appropriations for FY 1994.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 301 (103rd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1993
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 3116 (Department of Defense appropriations).
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 304 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1993
Sets forth the rule for the consideration of H.J. Res. 288 (making further continuing appropriations for FY 1994).
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 300 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1993
Sets forth the rule for the consideration of H.R. 3266 (providing for automatic downward adjustments in the discretionary spending limits for FY 1994).
Bill· SS. 1627 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Approval of, and General Provisions Relating to, the North American Free Trade Agreement Title II: Customs Provisions Title III: Application of Agreement to Sectors and Services Subtitle A: Safeguards Subtitle B: Agriculture Subtitle C: Intellectual Property Subtitle D: Temporary Entry of Business Persons Subtitle E: Standards Subtitle F: Corporate Average Fuel Economy Subtitle G: Government Procurement Title IV: Dispute Settlement in Antidumping and Countervailing Cases Subtitle A: Organizational, Administrative, and Procedural Provisions Regarding the Implementation of the Agreement Subtitle B: Conforming Amendments and Provisions Title V: NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance and Other Provisions Subtitle A: NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance Program Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Performance Under the Agreement Subtitle C: Funding Subtitle D: Implementation of NAFTA Supplemental Agreements Title VI: Customs Modernization Subtitle A: Improvements in Customs Automation Program Subtitle B: National Customs Automation Program Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions and Consequential and Conforming Amendments to Other Laws North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act - Title I: Approval of, and General Provisions Relating to, the North American Free Trade Agreement - Declares that the Congress, pursuant to the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and the Trade Act of 1974, approves: (1) the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into on December 17, 1992, with Canada and Mexico and submitted to it on November 4, 1993; and (2) the statement of administrative action proposed to implement the Agreement that was submitted to it on November 4, 1993. Sets forth conditions for entry into force of NAFTA. (Sec. 102) Declares that U.S. laws shall prevail over provisions of NAFTA that conflict. Requires the President to consult with the States in order to achieve conformity of State laws with NAFTA. Requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to establish within the Office of the USTR a Federal-State consultation process to address issues relating to NAFTA that directly affect the States. Prohibits any person other than the United States from having a cause of action with respect to NAFTA. (Sec. 105) Authorizes the President to establish within any U.S. agency a U.S. Section of the Secretariat to facilitate the operation of NAFTA. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 106) Requires the United States to encourage the selection of individuals with expertise in environmental issues for service on the Chapter 20 panel to hear any challenge to a U.S. or State environmental law. (Sec. 107) Sets forth provisions governing the termination or suspension of NAFTA. (Sec. 108) Declares that the congressional approval of NAFTA may not be construed as applying to any countries other than Canada and Mexico. Sets forth provisions outlining future free trade area negotiations with other foreign countries. Title II: Customs Provisions - Authorizes the President to proclaim such modifications or continuation of any duty, continuation of duty-free or excise treatment, or additional duties as are necessary to carry out specified provisions of NAFTA. (Sec. 201) Requires the President to terminate Mexico's designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Trade Act of 1974 upon entry into force of NAFTA. Prohibits the President from considering a request to accelerate the staging of duty reductions for an article for which the United States tariff phaseout period is more than ten years if such request for such article has been denied in the preceding three years. Authorizes the President to convert the base rate of certain textiles imported from Mexico to an ad valorem rate. (Sec. 202) Sets forth, for purposes of implementing tariff treatment and quantitative restrictions provided in NAFTA, rules of origin with respect to goods from NAFTA countries. (Sec. 203) Defines the term "good subject to NAFTA drawback." Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to prohibit an article manufactured in a bonded warehouse from materials that are goods subject to NAFTA drawback (refund) from being withdrawn from such warehouse for exportation to a NAFTA country without assessment of a duty on the materials in their condition and quantity, and at their weight, at the time of importation into the United States. Sets forth similar provisions with respect to articles from bonded smelting and refining warehouses. Authorizes merchandise, under specified conditions, to be cleaned, sorted, repacked, or otherwise changed in condition in bonded warehouses and be withdrawn: (1) for export to a NAFTA country if such merchandise consists of goods subject to NAFTA drawback (refund) and certain duties are assessed; and (2) without the payment of duties for export to NAFTA and, in certain cases, non-NAFTA countries. Amends the Foreign Trade Zones Act to provide that, if Canada ceases to be a NAFTA country and the U.S.-Canada Free-Trade Agreement terminates, no article manufactured or otherwise changed in condition (except a change by cleaning, testing, or repacking) shall be exported to Canada without the payment of a duty unless a certain privilege has been requested and no manipulation (change of condition) has occurred. Prohibits merchandise consisting of goods subject to NAFTA drawback that is manufactured or otherwise changed in condition from being exported to a NAFTA country without an assessment of a duty on it. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) from, on the condition of export, refunding or reducing fees imposed under the Agricultural Adjustment Act with respect to "goods subject to NAFTA drawback" that are exported to Canada after December 31, 1995, or Mexico after December 31, 2000, for so long as they are NAFTA countries. Declares that none of the amendments made under this Act shall be considered to authorize the refund, waiver, or reduction of countervailing duties or antidumping duties imposed on an imported good. (Sec. 204) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to prohibit customs user fees with respect to goods qualifying under the rules of origin from being: (1) charged with respect to goods that qualify to be marked as Canadian goods; and (2) increased after December 31, 1993, and charged after June 29, 1999, with respect to goods that qualify to be marked as Mexican goods. (Sec. 205) Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require persons who sign a NAFTA Certificate of Origin for a good for which preferential treatment is claimed to keep and render for inspection all records relating to the origin of the good. Sets forth penalties for violation of such recordkeeping requirements. Sets forth provisions regarding incorrect and false Certificates of Origin. (Sec. 206) Authorizes the United States Customs Service to reliquidate an entry to refund excess duties paid on a good qualifying under the rules of origin under the NAFTA for which no claim for preferential tariff treatment was made or protest filed at the time of importation if the importer, within one year after the importation, files a claim that includes specified information. (Sec. 207) Revises country of origin marking requirements with respect to certain pipe and steel products and manhole rings or frames and covers from NAFTA countries to include continuous paint stenciling, or an equally permanent method of marking, as methods for satisfying such requirements. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) adverse marking and origin determinations by the U.S. Customs Service; and (2) the judicial review of such determinations. (Sec. 209) Declares the Secretary of Commerce may authorize the U.S. Customs Service to exchange information with any government agency of a NAFTA country provided certain safeguards are met. (Sec. 210) Prohibits duties from being refunded (drawnback) on imported color cathode-ray television picture tubes, including video monitor cathode-ray tubes, when such items are nonoriginating goods and are: (1) exported to a NAFTA country; (2) used as a material in the production of other goods that are exported to a NAFTA country; or (3) substituted for by goods of the same kind and quality used as a material in the production of other goods that are exported to a NAFTA country. (Sec. 211) Requires the U.S. Customs Service to monitor television and picture tube imports for a five-year period. Directs the U.S. Customs Service to make the results of such monitoring, including verification of the rules of origin, available to the President and the USTR. Title III: Application of Agreement to Sectors and Services - Subtitle A: Safeguards - Part 1: Relief From Imports Benefitting From the Agreement - Authorizes an entity, trade association, firm, certified or recognized union, or group of workers that is representative of an industry to file with the International Trade Commission (ITC) a petition requesting the adjustment of U.S. obligations under NAFTA. Requires the ITC to investigate, and make a determination, whether as a result of the reduction or elimination of a duty under NAFTA, a Canadian or Mexican article is being imported in such increased quantities as to constitute a substantial case of serious injury, or except in the case of a Canadian article, a threat of serious injury to a domestic industry producing an article that is like, or directly competitive with, such article. (Sec. 303) Requires the ITC, if it makes an affirmative determination, to recommend to the President the amount of import relief that is necessary to remedy or prevent such injury. (Sec. 308) Amends the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act to require the Secretary to decide whether to recommend to the President the imposition of a temporary duty on Canadian fresh fruits and vegetables. (Sec. 309) Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to determine each period of five consecutive business days in which the daily price for frozen concentrated orange juice is less than the trigger price and the first period occurring thereafter of five consecutive business days in which the daily price for frozen concentrated orange juice is greater than the trigger price. Sets forth a formula for determining the rate of duty on certain quantities of imported Mexican articles of frozen concentrated orange juice. Part 2: Relief From Imports From All Countries - Requires the ITC, if it makes an affirmative determination for import relief under the Trade Act of 1974 (or a determination which the President may treat as an affirmative determination under the Tariff Act of 1930), to also find (and report to the President) whether: (1) imports from a NAFTA country, considered individually, account for a substantial share of total imports; and (2) imports from a NAFTA country, considered individually, or, in exceptional circumstances considered collectively, contribute importantly to the serious injury, or threat of serious injury, caused by imports. (Sec. 312) Requires the President, in determining whether to take import relief action under the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to imports from a NAFTA country, to determine whether: (1) imports from such country, considered individually, account for a substantial share of total imports; or (2) imports from such a country, considered individually, or in exceptional circumstances considered collectively, contribute importantly to the serious injury, or threat of serious injury, found by the ITC. Requires the President to take specified actions with respect to such imports. Part 3: General Provisions - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize an entity representing a domestic industry that produces a citrus product that is like or directly competitive with an imported citrus product to file a request with the USTR for monitoring of such imports. Requires the ITC, upon the filing of a petition alleging import injury and a request for provisional import relief, to make a determination whether increased imports of such citrus products are a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic industry producing such product. Defines "citrus product" to mean any processed oranges or grapefruit, or any orange or grapefruit juice, including concentrate. (Sec. 316) Requires the ITC, with respect to expediting an investigation concerning provisional import relief, to monitor, until January 1, 2009, imports of fresh or chilled tomatoes and peppers (other than chili peppers) as if proper requests for such monitoring have been made. (Sec. 317) Requires the ITC to adopt certain rules and procedures with respect to the release of confidential business information under the Tariff Act of 1930 and apply them in import injury investigations under NAFTA. Subtitle B: Agriculture - Amends the Meat Import Act of 1979 to redefine the term "meat articles." Authorizes the President to exclude meat articles originating in a NAFTA country, Canada, or Mexico from quantitative import limitations. (Sec. 321) Requires the President to take such action as may be necessary to ensure that imports of agricultural goods do not disrupt the orderly marketing of commodities in the United States. Declares that nothing in NAFTA reduces or eliminates: (1) any penalty required under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938; or (2) any requirement under Marketing Agreement No. 146, Regulating the Quality of Domestically Produced Peanuts, on peanuts in the domestic market, pursuant to the Agricultural Act of 1949. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to express the sense of the Congress that the United States should request consultations in the Working Group on Emergency Action if imports of peanuts exceed the in-quota quantity under a tariff rate quota set out in NAFTA concerning whether: (1) the increased imports of peanuts constitute a substantial cause of, or contribute importantly to, serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic peanut industry; and (2) recourse under NAFTA or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to designate an office within the United States Department of Agriculture to be responsible for maintaining and disseminating data accumulated for verifying citrus, fruit, vegetable, and cut flower trade between the United States and Mexico. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a program requiring that end-use certificates be included in the documentation covering the entry into, or withdrawal from a warehouse for consumption in, the U.S. customs territory of any wheat or barley from a foreign country that requires end-use certificates of U.S. wheat or U.S. barley. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to suspend such requirements when making a determination that the program has resulted in: (1) the reduction of income to U.S. producers of agricultural products; or (2) the reduction of the competitiveness of such U.S. producers in the world export markets. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to suspend such requirements if a foreign country that requires end-use certificates for U.S. wheat and U.S. barley eliminates the requirement. Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to grant fellowships to individuals from NAFTA countries to study agriculture in the United States, and individuals in the United States to study agriculture in other NAFTA countries. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to public agencies or private organizations with tax-exempt status that have experience in providing emergency services to low-income migrant or seasonal farmworkers if it is determined that implementation of the NAFTA has caused such farmworkers to lose income. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare, and submit to specified congressional committees, a biennial report on the effects of the NAFTA on U.S. producers of agricultural commodities and on U.S. rural communities. Subtitle C: Intellectual Property - Amends Federal patent law to extend U.S. intellectual property protections to inventions that are made in other countries by persons who are domiciled in a NAFTA country and serving in any other country in connection with operations by or on behalf of the United States or a NAFTA country. (Sec. 332) Amends the Record Rental Amendment of 1984 to repeal a provision of such Act with respect to rental rights in sound recordings. (Sec. 333) Amends the Trademark Act of 1946 to provide that nothing in such Act shall prevent the registration before enactment of the NAFTA: (1) of a mark which, when used on or in connection with the goods of an applicant for a trademark, is primarily geographically deceptively misdescriptive of them, and which became distinctive of the applicant's goods in commerce; or (2) on the supplemental register of a mark, capable of distinguishing the applicant's goods or services and not registrable on the principal register under such Act, that is declared to be unregistrable, if such mark has been in lawful use in commerce by the owner, on or in connection with any goods or services. (Sec. 334) Amends Federal copyright law to grant copyright protection to motion pictures that are first fixed or published in a NAFTA country, including any work in such pictures, that enter the U.S. public domain and are first published on or after January 1, 1978, and before March 1, 1989, even though certain required notice has not been given. Subtitle D: Temporary Entry of Business Persons - Classifies as nonimmigrants, if otherwise eligible for a visa and admissible into the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, any alien trader or investor who is a citizen of Canada or Mexico, including any accompanying spouse and children of such alien. (Sec. 341) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the admittance of aliens who are citizens of Canada or Mexico, including any spouse and children of such alien, into the United States to engage in business activities as professionals. Requires the Attorney General to establish annual numerical limits on such admissions. Prohibits such aliens from being classified as nonimmigrants if there is a strike or lockout in the course of a labor dispute in the applicable occupational classification, unless such aliens establish that their entry will not adversely affect the settlement of such strike or lockout or the employment of any person involved in the strike or lockout. Subtitle E: Standards - Part 1: Standards and Measures - Amends the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to provide that nothing under such Act shall be construed to: (1) prohibit a Federal or State agency from engaging in activity related to sanitary or phytosanitary measures to protect human, animal, or plant life or health; (2) limit the authority of such agencies to determine the level of protection of human, animal, or plant life or health the agency considers appropriate; (3) prohibit a Federal agency from engaging in activity related to standards-related measures, including any such measure relating to safety, the protection of human, animal, or plant life or health, the environment or consumers; or (4) limit the authority of a Federal agency to determine the level it considers appropriate of safety or the protection of human, animal, or plant life or health, the environment or consumers. Requires the standards information center of the Department of Commerce, among other things, to make available to the public documents and information regarding: (1) general application of sanitary or phytosanitary measures by Federal or State agencies; and (2) participation of Federal and State governments and nongovernmental bodies in international and regional standardizing bodies and conformity assessment systems, and in bilateral and multilateral arrangements regarding standards-related measures. Part 2: Agricultural Standards - Amends the Federal Seed Act to declare that provisions of such Act requiring certain seeds to be stained shall not apply to alfalfa or clover seed from Mexico. (Sec. 361) Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to permit the importation: (1) of cattle, sheep, or other ruminants, and swine, from Canada or Mexico; and (2) from the British Virgin Islands into the U.S. Virgin Islands, for slaughter only, of cattle that have been infested with or exposed to ticks on being freed from such ticks. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to waive provisions requiring the inspection of imported animals for contagious diseases and infections with respect to shipments between the United States and Canada or Mexico. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to permit the importation of cattle, sheep, other ruminants, or swine (including their embryos), or the fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of such animals, from a region that the Secretary of Agriculture has determined to be, and is likely to remain, free from rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease. Amends the Honeybee Act to authorize the importation into the United States of honeybees from Canada or Mexico if the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the region from which such honeybee originated is, and is likely to remain, free of diseases or parasites harmful to honeybees, and undesirable species or subspecies of honeybees. Amends the Poultry Products Inspection Act to require all poultry, or parts or products of poultry, that are intended as human food and imported into the United States from Canada and Mexico to meet inspection, sanitary, and processing standards that are equivalent to those in the United States. Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to specified congressional committees a report that includes, among other things, a certification by the Secretary of Agriculture that foreign plants in Canada and Mexico that export carcasses or meat or meat products have complied with requirements that are equivalent to U.S. requirements with regard to inspection and building construction standards. Requires all domestic peanut butter and peanut paste to be processed from peanuts that meet the quality standards established for peanuts under Marketing Agreement No. 146. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to a land grant college or university for the construction of a facility (to be known as the Southwest Regional Animal Health Biocontainment Facility) at such college or university to do research in animal health, disease-transmitting insects, and toxic chemicals that requires the use of biocontainment facilities and equipment. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare, and submit to specified congressional committees, annual reports on the impact of the NAFTA on the inspection of imported meat, poultry, other foods, animals, or plants. Subtitle F: Corporate Average Fuel Economy - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to provide that, for purposes of calculating the corporate average fuel economy of certain passenger automobiles, such automobiles shall be considered domestically manufactured in a model year if at least 75 percent of the manufacturer's cost is attributable to value added in the United States, Canada, or Mexico, unless the assembly of the automobile is completed in Canada or Mexico and such automobile is not imported into the United States prior to the expiration of 30 days following the end of that model year. Subtitle G: Government Procurement - Amends the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to revise provisions regarding the waiver of discriminating purchasing requirements with respect to Government contracting to apply to countries that are parties to the NAFTA. Declares that the President's authority to waive such requirements does not authorize the waiver of any small business or minority preference. Title IV: Dispute Settlement in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Cases - Subtitle A: Organizational, Administrative, and Procedural Provisions Regarding the Implementation of Chapter 19 of the Agreement - Sets forth organizational and administrative provisions regarding the selection of individuals to serve on binational panels and extraordinary challenge committees. (Sec. 402) Establishes within the interagency trade organization an interagency group, which shall be chaired by the USTR and consist of appropriate officers, to annually prepare, and submit to appropriate congressional committees, lists of individuals who are qualified to serve on such panels and committees. (Sec. 407) Authorizes an entity, including a trade association, firm, certified or recognized union, or group of workers, that is representative of a U.S. industry to file with the USTR a petition requesting that the industry be appropriately identified whenever it has reason to believe that: (1) as a result of implementation of NAFTA, the industry is likely to face increased competition from subsidized imports from a NAFTA country, or such industry is likely to face increased competition from subsidized imports from any other country designated by the President as benefitting from a reduction of tariffs or other trade barriers under a trade agreement that enters into force with the United States after January 1, 1994; and (2) the industry is likely to experience a deterioration of its competitive position before more rules relating to the use of government subsidies have been developed with respect to the subject country. Requires the USTR upon receipt of a petition to decide whether to identify the industry on the basis of both the subsidization and deterioration of its competitive position. Requires the USTR, if there is an identification, to take appropriate action, including: (1) compiling and making available to the industry certain trade information; and (2) recommending to the President that the ITC commence an investigation under the Tariff Act of 1930. Subtitle B: Conforming Amendments and Provisions - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to apply provisions of such Act regarding time limits for commencing judicial review in antidumping duty and countervailing duty actions to cases involving merchandise from a free trade area (NAFTA) country. Title V: NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance and Other Provisions - Subtitle A: NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance Program - NAFTA Worker Security Act - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require a group of workers, including workers in any agricultural firm or subdivision of an agricultural firm, to be certified as eligible for adjustment assistance if the Secretary of Labor determines that a significant number of workers in such firm or subdivision have become totally or partially separated, or are threatened to become totally or partially separated, and either that: (1) the sales or production, or both, of such firm or subdivision have decreased, imports from Mexico or Canada of articles like or directly competitive with the firm's articles have increased, and such increase in imports contributed to such workers' separation or threat of separation and to the decline in the firm's sales or production; or (2) there has been a shift in production by such workers' firm or subdivision to Mexico or Canada of articles like or directly competitive with the firm's articles. (Sec. 502) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the filing of petitions for worker adjustment assistance; (2) petition findings; and (3) review of petitions by the Secretary of Labor. (Sec. 503) Prohibits a worker from receiving duplicative assistance. (Sec. 504) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 507) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a self-employment assistance program which makes certain qualified individuals eligible to receive an allowance in lieu of regular unemployment compensation under State law in order to assist such an individual in establishing a business and becoming self-employed. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Performance Under the Agreement - Expresses the sense of the Congress that a State, province, or other governmental entity of a NAFTA country that discriminatorily enforces sales or other taxes so as to afford protection to its domestic production or domestic service providers shall be considered in violation of the NAFTA. Requires the USTR to pursue all appropriate remedies when such discriminatory enforcement adversely affects U.S. producers of goods or U.S. service providers. (Sec. 512) Requires the President, by not later than July 1, 1997, to provide the Congress a comprehensive study on the operation and effects of NAFTA. (Sec. 513) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the USTR, no later than 30 days after a specified report is submitted to specified congressional committees, to identify any act, policy, or practice of Canada which: (1) affects cultural industries; (2) is adopted or expanded after December 17, 1992; and (3) is actionable under the NAFTA. (Sec. 514) Requires the USTR to annually submit to specified congressional committees a report on how effective the NAFTA is on increasing U.S. exports of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts to Mexico. (Sec. 515) Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to authorize and direct the Commissioner of Customs to make grants to an institution (or consortium of such institutions) to assist it in establishing in Texas a Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade in order to promote and study trade between the Western Hemisphere countries. Subtitle C: Funding - Part 1: Customs User Fees - Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to increase for FY 1994 through 1997 the customs user fees for the arrival of each passenger aboard a commercial vessel or commercial aircraft from outside the U.S. customs territory. Maintains for FY 1998 and thereafter the current five dollar customs user fee for the arrival of each passenger aboard such vessel or aircraft from a place outside the United States. Part 2: Internal Revenue Code Amendments - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary to disclose to officers and employees of the Department of the Treasury (particularly the Customs Service) certain tax information. (Sec. 523) Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the development of an electronic fund transfer system for the collection of depository taxes. Subtitle D: Implementation of NAFTA Supplemental Agreements - Part 1: Agreements Relating to Labor and Environment - Authorizes the United States to participate in: (1) the Commission for Labor Cooperation in accordance with the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation; (2) the Commission for Environmental Cooperation in accordance with the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation; and (3) the Border Environment Cooperation Commission in accordance with the Border Environment Cooperation Agreement. Authorizes appropriations. Part 2: North American Development Bank and Related Provisions - Authorizes the President to accept membership for the United States in the North American Development Bank. (Sec. 541) Amends Federal banking law to exempt the Bank from the securities laws with respect to the issuance of certain securities by such Bank. (Sec. 543) Authorizes the President to enter into agreements with the Bank for implementation of a community adjustment and investment program pursuant to the Border Environment Cooperation Agreement. Requires the President to establish the Community Adjustment and Investment Program Advisory Committee to provide advice to the President with respect to the implementation of such program. Authorizes appropriations. Title VI: Customs Modernization - Subtitle A: Improvements in Customs Enforcement - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 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 unloading or transshipment; (10) public access to Customs Service interpretive rulings and decisions; and (11) seizure of imported merchandise. Subtitle B: National Customs Automation Program - Directs the Secretary to establish the National Customs Automation Program which shall be an automated and electronic system for the processing of commercial imports. (Sec. 631) 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) customhouse brokers. (Sec. 632) Requires a refund (drawback) of duties (less one per cent 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. (Sec. 644) Sets forth provisions with respect to customs officers' immunity in regard to the appraisement of or collection of duties on imported merchandise. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 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. Increases specified ceiling amounts of duty-free gifts and articles. (Sec. 652) 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. (Sec. 653) Requires specified kinds of vessels to report to the nearest Customs Service facility within 24 hours (or other period of time as provided) after arrival at a U.S. port. (Sec. 655) 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. (Sec. 656) 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. (Sec. 659) Reduces from one year to six months the length of time merchandise may remain in customs custody with fees unpaid before it may be treated as unclaimed. (Sec. 662) Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the declaration and entry of merchandise whose value does not exceed a designated amount, but not more than $2,500 (currently not greater than $1,250), 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. (Sec. 663) Reduces from one year to 90 days the minimum length of time after forfeiture the Secretary must wait before selling at public auction any seized imported merchandise with a counterfeit mark. (Sec. 664) Sets forth certain recordkeeping requirements for merchandise transported by pipeline. (Sec. 665) Authorizes the withdrawal from warehouse of turbine fuel without the payment of duties provided certain requirements are met. (Sec. 667) 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). (Sec. 668) 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. (Sec. 669) Requires the Customs Service to be reimbursed for costs incurred in collecting fees on behalf of Government agencies. (Sec. 670) Authorizes the Secretary to settle, for no more than $50,000 in each case, claims for damage to, or loss of, privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer of the Customs Service. (Sec. 671) Provides for the use of private collection agencies to recover money owed the United States under customs laws. Subtitle D: 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. (Sec. 681) 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. States that instruments of international trade, such as containers, lift vans, rail cars and locomotives, truck cabs and trailers, etc., are exempt from formal entry procedures, but must be accounted for when imported to and exported from the United States through the manifesting procedures required for international carriers. (Sec. 683) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the payment from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund of administrative expenses incurred by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Commerce, not to exceed $5 million for any fiscal year. (Sec. 684) 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 within 60 days of such decisions. (Sec. 685) Authorizes the payment of certain claims against Customs Service employees out of the Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund. Authorizes (currently mandates) unobligated amounts in such Fund to be kept on deposit or invested in U.S. bonds. (Sec. 686) 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. (Sec. 687) Repeals specified provisions of Federal law. (Sec. 691) Requires the Commissioner of Customs to report to the Congress each fiscal year after FY 1994 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 regarding fees paid to them for the provision of services at such stations. 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 fiscal year 1994 through 1996.
Bill· SS. 1622 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that in the case of oil and gas wells, the tax treatment which applies to intangible drilling and development costs shall also apply to surface casing costs and to geological and geophysical costs for the purpose of ascertaining the existence, location, extent, or quality of any deposit of oil or gas within the United States or a possession of the United States.
Bill· HRH.R. 3456 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1993
Surviving Spouses' Benefits Act of 1993 - Provides for the surviving spouse of a veteran who has remarried where that marriage has subsequently been terminated by death or divorce: (1) a special death gratuity, subject to reduction due to the receipt of various other benefits; and (2) restoration of pension eligibility that was terminated due to remarriage. Limits the FY 1995 cost of living adjustments in the rates of veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) to an increase equal to the percentage increase in benefits payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act as of December 1, 1994. Limits FY 1995 DIC increases to 50 percent of the new law increase for such fiscal year.
Law· HRH.R. 3450 (103rd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Approval of, and General Provisions Relating to, the North American Free Trade Agreement Title II: Customs Provisions Title III: Application of Agreement to Sectors and Services Subtitle A: Safeguards Subtitle B: Agriculture Subtitle C: Intellectual Property Subtitle D: Temporary Entry of Business Persons Subtitle E: Standards Subtitle F: Corporate Average Fuel Economy Subtitle G: Government Procurement Title IV: Dispute Settlement in Antidumping and Countervailing Cases Subtitle A: Organizational, Administrative, and Procedural Provisions Regarding the Implementation of the Agreement Subtitle B: Conforming Amendments and Provisions Title V: NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance and Other Provisions Subtitle A: NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance Program Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Performance Under the Agreement Subtitle C: Funding Subtitle D: Implementation of NAFTA Supplemental Agreements Title VI: Customs Modernization Subtitle A: Improvements in Customs Enforcement Subtitle B: National Customs Automation Program Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions and Consequential and Conforming Amendments to Other Laws North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act - Title I: Approval of, and General Provisions Relating to, the North American Free Trade Agreement - Declares that the Congress, pursuant to the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and the Trade Act of 1974, approves: (1) the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into on December 17, 1992, with Canada and Mexico and submitted to it on November 4, 1993; and (2) the statement of administrative action proposed to implement the Agreement that was submitted to it on November 4, 1993. Sets forth conditions for entry into force of NAFTA. (Sec. 102) Declares that U.S. laws shall prevail over provisions of NAFTA that conflict. Requires the President to consult with the States in order to achieve conformity of State laws with NAFTA. Requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to establish within the Office of the USTR a Federal-State consultation process to address issues relating to NAFTA that directly affect the States. Prohibits any person other than the United States from having a cause of action with respect to NAFTA. (Sec. 105) Authorizes the President to establish within any U.S. agency a U.S. Section of the Secretariat to facilitate the operation of NAFTA. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 106) Requires the United States to encourage the selection of individuals with expertise in environmental issues for service on the Chapter 20 panel to hear any challenge to a U.S. or State environmental law. (Sec. 107) Sets forth provisions governing the termination or suspension of NAFTA. (Sec. 108) Declares that the congressional approval of NAFTA may not be construed as applying to any countries other than Canada and Mexico. Sets forth provisions outlining future free trade area negotiations with other foreign countries. Title II: Customs Provisions - Authorizes the President to proclaim such modifications or continuation of any duty, continuation of duty-free or excise treatment, or additional duties as are necessary to carry out specified provisions of NAFTA. (Sec. 201) Requires the President to terminate Mexico's designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Trade Act of 1974 upon entry into force of NAFTA. Prohibits the President from considering a request to accelerate the staging of duty reductions for an article for which the United States tariff phaseout period is more than ten years if such request for such article has been denied in the preceding three years. Authorizes the President to convert the base rate of certain textiles imported from Mexico to an ad valorem rate. (Sec. 202) Sets forth, for purposes of implementing tariff treatment and quantitative restrictions provided in NAFTA, rules of origin with respect to goods from NAFTA countries. (Sec. 203) Defines the term "good subject to NAFTA drawback." Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to prohibit an article manufactured in a bonded warehouse from materials that are goods subject to NAFTA drawback (refund) from being withdrawn from such warehouse for exportation to a NAFTA country without assessment of a duty on the materials in their condition and quantity, and at their weight, at the time of importation into the United States. Sets forth similar provisions with respect to articles from bonded smelting and refining warehouses. Authorizes merchandise, under specified conditions, to be cleaned, sorted, repacked, or otherwise changed in condition in bonded warehouses and be withdrawn: (1) for export to a NAFTA country if such merchandise consists of goods subject to NAFTA drawback (refund) and certain duties are assessed; and (2) without the payment of duties for export to NAFTA and, in certain cases, non-NAFTA countries. Amends the Foreign Trade Zones Act to provide that, if Canada ceases to be a NAFTA country and the U.S.-Canada Free-Trade Agreement terminates, no article manufactured or otherwise changed in condition (except a change by cleaning, testing, or repacking) shall be exported to Canada without the payment of a duty unless a certain privilege has been requested and no manipulation (change of condition) has occurred. Prohibits merchandise consisting of goods subject to NAFTA drawback that is manufactured or otherwise changed in condition from being exported to a NAFTA country without an assessment of a duty on it. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) from, on the condition of export, refunding or reducing fees imposed under the Agricultural Adjustment Act with respect to "goods subject to NAFTA drawback" that are exported to Canada after December 31, 1995, or Mexico after December 31, 2000, for so long as they are NAFTA countries. Declares that none of the amendments made under this Act shall be considered to authorize the refund, waiver, or reduction of countervailing duties or antidumping duties imposed on an imported good. (Sec. 204) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to prohibit customs user fees with respect to goods qualifying under the rules of origin from being: (1) charged with respect to goods that qualify to be marked as Canadian goods; and (2) increased after December 31, 1993, and charged after June 29, 1999, with respect to goods that qualify to be marked as Mexican goods. (Sec. 205) Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require persons who sign a NAFTA Certificate of Origin for a good for which preferential treatment is claimed to keep and render for inspection all records relating to the origin of the good. Sets forth penalties for violation of such recordkeeping requirements. Sets forth provisions regarding incorrect and false Certificates of Origin. (Sec. 206) Authorizes the United States Customs Service to reliquidate an entry to refund excess duties paid on a good qualifying under the rules of origin under the NAFTA for which no claim for preferential tariff treatment was made or protest filed at the time of importation if the importer, within one year after the importation, files a claim that includes specified information. (Sec. 207) Revises country of origin marking requirements with respect to certain pipe and steel products and manhole rings or frames and covers from NAFTA countries to include continuous paint stenciling, or an equally permanent method of marking, as methods for satisfying such requirements. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) adverse marking and origin determinations by the U.S. Customs Service; and (2) the judicial review of such determinations. (Sec. 209) Declares the Secretary of Commerce may authorize the U.S. Customs Service to exchange information with any government agency of a NAFTA country provided certain safeguards are met. (Sec. 210) Prohibits duties from being refunded (drawnback) on imported color cathode-ray television picture tubes, including video monitor cathode-ray tubes, when such items are nonoriginating goods and are: (1) exported to a NAFTA country; (2) used as a material in the production of other goods that are exported to a NAFTA country; or (3) substituted for by goods of the same kind and quality used as a material in the production of other goods that are exported to a NAFTA country. (Sec. 211) Requires the U.S. Customs Service to monitor television and picture tube imports for a five-year period. Directs the U.S. Customs Service to make the results of such monitoring, including verification of the rules of origin, available to the President and the USTR. Title III: Application of Agreement to Sectors and Services - Subtitle A: Safeguards - Part 1: Relief From Imports Benefitting From the Agreement - Authorizes an entity, trade association, firm, certified or recognized union, or group of workers that is representative of an industry to file with the International Trade Commission (ITC) a petition requesting the adjustment of U.S. obligations under NAFTA. Requires the ITC to investigate, and make a determination, whether as a result of the reduction or elimination of a duty under NAFTA, a Canadian or Mexican article is being imported in such increased quantities as to constitute a substantial case of serious injury, or except in the case of a Canadian article, a threat of serious injury to a domestic industry producing an article that is like, or directly competitive with, such article. (Sec. 303) Requires the ITC, if it makes an affirmative determination, to recommend to the President the amount of import relief that is necessary to remedy or prevent such injury. (Sec. 308) Amends the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act to require the Secretary to decide whether to recommend to the President the imposition of a temporary duty on Canadian fresh fruits and vegetables. (Sec. 309) Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to determine each period of five consecutive business days in which the daily price for frozen concentrated orange juice is less than the trigger price and the first period occurring thereafter of five consecutive business days in which the daily price for frozen concentrated orange juice is greater than the trigger price. Sets forth a formula for determining the rate of duty on certain quantities of imported Mexican articles of frozen concentrated orange juice. Part 2: Relief From Imports From All Countries - Requires the ITC, if it makes an affirmative determination for import relief under the Trade Act of 1974 (or a determination which the President may treat as an affirmative determination under the Tariff Act of 1930), to also find (and report to the President) whether: (1) imports from a NAFTA country, considered individually, account for a substantial share of total imports; and (2) imports from a NAFTA country, considered individually, or, in exceptional circumstances considered collectively, contribute importantly to the serious injury, or threat of serious injury, caused by imports. (Sec. 312) Requires the President, in determining whether to take import relief action under the Trade Act of 1974 with respect to imports from a NAFTA country, to determine whether: (1) imports from such country, considered individually, account for a substantial share of total imports; or (2) imports from such a country, considered individually, or in exceptional circumstances considered collectively, contribute importantly to the serious injury, or threat of serious injury, found by the ITC. Requires the President to take specified actions with respect to such imports. Part 3: General Provisions - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize an entity representing a domestic industry that produces a citrus product that is like or directly competitive with an imported citrus product to file a request with the USTR for monitoring of such imports. Requires the ITC, upon the filing of a petition alleging import injury and a request for provisional import relief, to make a determination whether increased imports of such citrus products are a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic industry producing such product. Defines "citrus product" to mean any processed oranges or grapefruit, or any orange or grapefruit juice, including concentrate. (Sec. 316) Requires the ITC, with respect to expediting an investigation concerning provisional import relief, to monitor, until January 1, 2009, imports of fresh or chilled tomatoes and peppers (other than chili peppers) as if proper requests for such monitoring have been made. (Sec. 317) Requires the ITC to adopt certain rules and procedures with respect to the release of confidential business information under the Tariff Act of 1930 and apply them in import injury investigations under NAFTA. Subtitle B: Agriculture - Amends the Meat Import Act of 1979 to redefine the term "meat articles." Authorizes the President to exclude meat articles originating in a NAFTA country, Canada, or Mexico from quantitative import limitations. (Sec. 321) Requires the President to take such action as may be necessary to ensure that imports of agricultural goods do not disrupt the orderly marketing of commodities in the United States. Declares that nothing in NAFTA reduces or eliminates: (1) any penalty required under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938; or (2) any requirement under Marketing Agreement No. 146, Regulating the Quality of Domestically Produced Peanuts, on peanuts in the domestic market, pursuant to the Agricultural Act of 1949. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to express the sense of the Congress that the United States should request consultations in the Working Group on Emergency Action if imports of peanuts exceed the in-quota quantity under a tariff rate quota set out in NAFTA concerning whether: (1) the increased imports of peanuts constitute a substantial cause of, or contribute importantly to, serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic peanut industry; and (2) recourse under NAFTA or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to designate an office within the United States Department of Agriculture to be responsible for maintaining and disseminating data accumulated for verifying citrus, fruit, vegetable, and cut flower trade between the United States and Mexico. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a program requiring that end-use certificates be included in the documentation covering the entry into, or withdrawal from a warehouse for consumption in, the U.S. customs territory of any wheat or barley from a foreign country that requires end-use certificates of U.S. wheat or U.S. barley. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to suspend such requirements when making a determination that the program has resulted in: (1) the reduction of income to U.S. producers of agricultural products; or (2) the reduction of the competitiveness of such U.S. producers in the world export markets. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to suspend such requirements if a foreign country that requires end-use certificates for U.S. wheat and U.S. barley eliminates the requirement. Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to grant fellowships to individuals from NAFTA countries to study agriculture in the United States, and individuals in the United States to study agriculture in other NAFTA countries. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to public agencies or private organizations with tax-exempt status that have experience in providing emergency services to low-income migrant or seasonal farmworkers if it is determined that implementation of the NAFTA has caused such farmworkers to lose income. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare, and submit to specified congressional committees, a biennial report on the effects of the NAFTA on U.S. producers of agricultural commodities and on U.S. rural communities. Subtitle C: Intellectual Property - Amends Federal patent law to extend U.S. intellectual property protections to inventions that are made in other countries by persons who are domiciled in a NAFTA country and serving in any other country in connection with operations by or on behalf of the United States or a NAFTA country. (Sec. 332) Amends the Record Rental Amendment of 1984 to repeal a provision of such Act with respect to rental rights in sound recordings. (Sec. 333) Amends the Trademark Act of 1946 to provide that nothing in such Act shall prevent the registration before enactment of the NAFTA: (1) of a mark which, when used on or in connection with the goods of an applicant for a trademark, is primarily geographically deceptively misdescriptive of them, and which became distinctive of the applicant's goods in commerce; or (2) on the supplemental register of a mark, capable of distinguishing the applicant's goods or services and not registrable on the principal register under such Act, that is declared to be unregistrable, if such mark has been in lawful use in commerce by the owner, on or in connection with any goods or services. (Sec. 334) Amends Federal copyright law to grant copyright protection to motion pictures that are first fixed or published in a NAFTA country, including any work in such pictures, that enter the U.S. public domain and are first published on or after January 1, 1978, and before March 1, 1989, even though certain required notice has not been given. Subtitle D: Temporary Entry of Business Persons - Classifies as nonimmigrants, if otherwise eligible for a visa and admissible into the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, any alien trader or investor who is a citizen of Canada or Mexico, including any accompanying spouse and children of such alien. (Sec. 341) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the admittance of aliens who are citizens of Canada or Mexico, including any spouse and children of such alien, into the United States to engage in business activities as professionals. Requires the Attorney General to establish annual numerical limits on such admissions. Prohibits such aliens from being classified as nonimmigrants if there is a strike or lockout in the course of a labor dispute in the applicable occupational classification, unless such aliens establish that their entry will not adversely affect the settlement of such strike or lockout or the employment of any person involved in the strike or lockout. Subtitle E: Standards - Part 1: Standards and Measures - Amends the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to provide that nothing under such Act shall be construed to: (1) prohibit a Federal or State agency from engaging in activity related to sanitary or phytosanitary measures to protect human, animal, or plant life or health; (2) limit the authority of such agencies to determine the level of protection of human, animal, or plant life or health the agency considers appropriate; (3) prohibit a Federal agency from engaging in activity related to standards-related measures, including any such measure relating to safety, the protection of human, animal, or plant life or health, the environment or consumers; or (4) limit the authority of a Federal agency to determine the level it considers appropriate of safety or the protection of human, animal, or plant life or health, the environment or consumers. Requires the standards information center of the Department of Commerce, among other things, to make available to the public documents and information regarding: (1) general application of sanitary or phytosanitary measures by Federal or State agencies; and (2) participation of Federal and State governments and nongovernmental bodies in international and regional standardizing bodies and conformity assessment systems, and in bilateral and multilateral arrangements regarding standards-related measures. Part 2: Agricultural Standards - Amends the Federal Seed Act to declare that provisions of such Act requiring certain seeds to be stained shall not apply to alfalfa or clover seed from Mexico. (Sec. 361) Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to permit the importation: (1) of cattle, sheep, or other ruminants, and swine, from Canada or Mexico; and (2) from the British Virgin Islands into the U.S. Virgin Islands, for slaughter only, of cattle that have been infested with or exposed to ticks on being freed from such ticks. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to waive provisions requiring the inspection of imported animals for contagious diseases and infections with respect to shipments between the United States and Canada or Mexico. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to permit the importation of cattle, sheep, other ruminants, or swine (including their embryos), or the fresh, chilled, or frozen meat of such animals, from a region that the Secretary of Agriculture has determined to be, and is likely to remain, free from rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease. Amends the Honeybee Act to authorize the importation into the United States of honeybees from Canada or Mexico if the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the region from which such honeybee originated is, and is likely to remain, free of diseases or parasites harmful to honeybees, and undesirable species or subspecies of honeybees. Amends the Poultry Products Inspection Act to require all poultry, or parts or products of poultry, that are intended as human food and imported into the United States from Canada and Mexico to meet inspection, sanitary, and processing standards that are equivalent to those in the United States. Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to specified congressional committees a report that includes, among other things, a certification by the Secretary of Agriculture that foreign plants in Canada and Mexico that export carcasses or meat or meat products have complied with requirements that are equivalent to U.S. requirements with regard to inspection and building construction standards. Requires all domestic peanut butter and peanut paste to be processed from peanuts that meet the quality standards established for peanuts under Marketing Agreement No. 146. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to a land grant college or university for the construction of a facility (to be known as the Southwest Regional Animal Health Biocontainment Facility) at such college or university to do research in animal health, disease-transmitting insects, and toxic chemicals that requires the use of biocontainment facilities and equipment. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare, and submit to specified congressional committees, annual reports on the impact of the NAFTA on the inspection of imported meat, poultry, other foods, animals, or plants. Subtitle F: Corporate Average Fuel Economy - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to provide that, for purposes of calculating the corporate average fuel economy of certain passenger automobiles, such automobiles shall be considered domestically manufactured in a model year if at least 75 percent of the manufacturer's cost is attributable to value added in the United States, Canada, or Mexico, unless the assembly of the automobile is completed in Canada or Mexico and such automobile is not imported into the United States prior to the expiration of 30 days following the end of that model year. Subtitle G: Government Procurement - Amends the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to revise provisions regarding the waiver of discriminating purchasing requirements with respect to Government contracting to apply to countries that are parties to the NAFTA. Declares that the President's authority to waive such requirements does not authorize the waiver of any small business or minority preference. Title IV: Dispute Settlement in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Cases - Subtitle A: Organizational, Administrative, and Procedural Provisions Regarding the Implementation of Chapter 19 of the Agreement - Sets forth organizational and administrative provisions regarding the selection of individuals to serve on binational panels and extraordinary challenge committees. (Sec. 402) Establishes within the interagency trade organization an interagency group, which shall be chaired by the USTR and consist of appropriate officers, to annually prepare, and submit to appropriate congressional committees, lists of individuals who are qualified to serve on such panels and committees. (Sec. 407) Authorizes an entity, including a trade association, firm, certified or recognized union, or group of workers, that is representative of a U.S. industry to file with the USTR a petition requesting that the industry be appropriately identified whenever it has reason to believe that: (1) as a result of implementation of NAFTA, the industry is likely to face increased competition from subsidized imports from a NAFTA country, or such industry is likely to face increased competition from subsidized imports from any other country designated by the President as benefitting from a reduction of tariffs or other trade barriers under a trade agreement that enters into force with the United States after January 1, 1994; and (2) the industry is likely to experience a deterioration of its competitive position before more rules relating to the use of government subsidies have been developed with respect to the subject country. Requires the USTR upon receipt of a petition to decide whether to identify the industry on the basis of both the subsidization and deterioration of its competitive position. Requires the USTR, if there is an identification, to take appropriate action, including: (1) compiling and making available to the industry certain trade information; and (2) recommending to the President that the ITC commence an investigation under the Tariff Act of 1930. Subtitle B: Conforming Amendments and Provisions - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to apply provisions of such Act regarding time limits for commencing judicial review in antidumping duty and countervailing duty actions to cases involving merchandise from a free trade area (NAFTA) country. Title V: NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance and Other Provisions - Subtitle A: NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance Program - NAFTA Worker Security Act - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require a group of workers, including workers in any agricultural firm or subdivision of an agricultural firm, to be certified as eligible for adjustment assistance if the Secretary of Labor determines that a significant number of workers in such firm or subdivision have become totally or partially separated, or are threatened to become totally or partially separated, and either that: (1) the sales or production, or both, of such firm or subdivision have decreased, imports from Mexico or Canada of articles like or directly competitive with the firm's articles have increased, and such increase in imports contributed to such workers' separation or threat of separation and to the decline in the firm's sales or production; or (2) there has been a shift in production by such workers' firm or subdivision to Mexico or Canada of articles like or directly competitive with the firm's articles. (Sec. 502) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the filing of petitions for worker adjustment assistance; (2) petition findings; and (3) review of petitions by the Secretary of Labor. (Sec. 503) Prohibits a worker from receiving duplicative assistance. (Sec. 504) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 507) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a self-employment assistance program which makes certain qualified individuals eligible to receive an allowance in lieu of regular unemployment compensation under State law in order to assist such an individual in establishing a business and becoming self-employed. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Performance Under the Agreement - Expresses the sense of the Congress that a State, province, or other governmental entity of a NAFTA country that discriminatorily enforces sales or other taxes so as to afford protection to its domestic production or domestic service providers shall be considered in violation of the NAFTA. Requires the USTR to pursue all appropriate remedies when such discriminatory enforcement adversely affects U.S. producers of goods or U.S. service providers. (Sec. 512) Requires the President, by not later than July 1, 1997, to provide the Congress a comprehensive study on the operation and effects of NAFTA. (Sec. 513) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the USTR, no later than 30 days after a specified report is submitted to specified congressional committees, to identify any act, policy, or practice of Canada which: (1) affects cultural industries; (2) is adopted or expanded after December 17, 1992; and (3) is actionable under the NAFTA. (Sec. 514) Requires the USTR to annually submit to specified congressional committees a report on how effective the NAFTA is on increasing U.S. exports of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts to Mexico. (Sec. 515) Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to authorize and direct the Commissioner of Customs to make grants to an institution (or consortium of such institutions) to assist it in establishing in Texas a Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade in order to promote and study trade between the Western Hemisphere countries. Subtitle C: Funding - Part 1: Customs User Fees - Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to increase for FY 1994 through 1997 the customs user fees for the arrival of each passenger aboard a commercial vessel or commercial aircraft from outside the U.S. customs territory. Maintains for FY 1998 and thereafter the current five dollar customs user fee for the arrival of each passenger aboard such vessel or aircraft from a place outside the United States. Part 2: Internal Revenue Code Amendments - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary to disclose to officers and employees of the Department of the Treasury (particularly the Customs Service) certain tax information. (Sec. 523) Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the development of an electronic fund transfer system for the collection of depository taxes. Subtitle D: Implementation of NAFTA Supplemental Agreements - Part 1: Agreements Relating to Labor and Environment - Authorizes the United States to participate in: (1) the Commission for Labor Cooperation in accordance with the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation; (2) the Commission for Environmental Cooperation in accordance with the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation; and (3) the Border Environment Cooperation Commission in accordance with the Border Environment Cooperation Agreement. Authorizes appropriations. Part 2: North American Development Bank and Related Provisions - Authorizes the President to accept membership for the United States in the North American Development Bank. (Sec. 541) Amends Federal banking law to exempt the Bank from the securities laws with respect to the issuance of certain securities by such Bank. (Sec. 543) Authorizes the President to enter into agreements with the Bank for implementation of a community adjustment and investment program pursuant to the Border Environment Cooperation Agreement. Requires the President to establish the Community Adjustment and Investment Program Advisory Committee to provide advice to the President with respect to the implementation of such program. Authorizes appropriations. Title VI: Customs Modernization - Subtitle A: Improvements in Customs Enforcement - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 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 unloading or transshipment; (10) public access to Customs Service interpretive rulings and decisions; and (11) seizure of imported merchandise. Subtitle B: National Customs Automation Program - Directs the Secretary to establish the National Customs Automation Program which shall be an automated and electronic system for the processing of commercial imports. (Sec. 631) 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) customhouse brokers. (Sec. 632) Requires a refund (drawback) of duties (less one per cent 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. (Sec. 644) Sets forth provisions with respect to customs officers' immunity in regard to the appraisement of or collection of duties on imported merchandise. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Amendments to the Tariff Act of 1930 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 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. Increases specified ceiling amounts of duty-free gifts and articles. (Sec. 652) 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. (Sec. 653) Requires specified kinds of vessels to report to the nearest Customs Service facility within 24 hours (or other period of time as provided) after arrival at a U.S. port. (Sec. 655) 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. (Sec. 656) 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. (Sec. 659) Reduces from one year to six months the length of time merchandise may remain in customs custody with fees unpaid before it may be treated as unclaimed. (Sec. 662) Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the declaration and entry of merchandise whose value does not exceed a designated amount, but not more than $2,500 (currently not greater than $1,250), 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. (Sec. 663) Reduces from one year to 90 days the minimum length of time after forfeiture the Secretary must wait before selling at public auction any seized imported merchandise with a counterfeit mark. (Sec. 664) Sets forth certain recordkeeping requirements for merchandise transported by pipeline. (Sec. 665) Authorizes the withdrawal from warehouse of turbine fuel without the payment of duties provided certain requirements are met. (Sec. 667) 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). (Sec. 668) 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. (Sec. 669) Requires the Customs Service to be reimbursed for costs incurred in collecting fees on behalf of Government agencies. (Sec. 670) Authorizes the Secretary to settle, for no more than $50,000 in each case, claims for damage to, or loss of, privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer of the Customs Service. (Sec. 671) Provides for the use of private collection agencies to recover money owed the United States under customs laws. Subtitle D: 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. (Sec. 681) 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. States that instruments of international trade, such as containers, lift vans, rail cars and locomotives, truck cabs and trailers, etc., are exempt from formal entry procedures, but must be accounted for when imported to and exported from the United States through the manifesting procedures required for international carriers. (Sec. 683) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the payment from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund of administrative expenses incurred by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Commerce, not to exceed $5 million for any fiscal year. (Sec. 684) 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 within 60 days of such decisions. (Sec. 685) Authorizes the payment of certain claims against Customs Service employees out of the Department of the Treasury Forfeiture Fund. Authorizes (currently mandates) unobligated amounts in such Fund to be kept on deposit or invested in U.S. bonds. (Sec. 686) 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. (Sec. 687) Repeals specified provisions of Federal law. (Sec. 691) Requires the Commissioner of Customs to report to the Congress each fiscal year after FY 1994 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 regarding fees paid to them for the provision of services at such stations. 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 fiscal year 1994 through 1996.
Bill· HRH.R. 3451 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1993
Social Security Equity Act of 1993 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a cost-of-living adjustment in thresholds used to determine social security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.
Bill· HRH.R. 3449 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual income tax deduction for contributions to a savings account established to pay the educational expenses (tuition, supplies, meals, and lodging) of the taxpayer's child or certain other relatives at an institution of higher education or a vocational school. Limits the deduction to $1,500 annually (adjusted for inflation) for each account. Disallows the deduction for contributions to an account maintained for any individual aged 19 or older. Requires any account balance to be distributed after the beneficiary attains age 30. Permits an exclusion from the gross income of the contributor or the beneficiary of account distributions used to pay educational expenses of the latter. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization), unless a contributor or the beneficiary engages in specified prohibited transactions. Imposes a ten percent surtax on distributions not used for educational purposes. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Imposes a penalty for failure to report. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize deductions to deduct for contributions to an education savings account. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account. Exempts from annual contribution limitations distributions from education savings accounts into individual retirement accounts. Excludes from gross income distributions from individual retirement accounts into education savings accounts.
Bill· SS. 1615 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to apply the special treatment of livestock sold or involuntarily converted on account of drought conditions to livestock sold or converted because of drought, flood, or other weather-related conditions.
Bill· SS. 1616 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1993
Real Cost of Handgun Ammunition Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the excise tax on certain ammunition. Imposes a special (occupational) tax on importers and manufacturers of certain handgun ammunition for each place of business.
Bill· HRH.R. 3442 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code (as amended by the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993) to repeal: (1) the increase in the earned income tax credit; and (2) the increase in the presidential election campaign fund checkoff. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 to repeal the moratorium on the collection of disallowances under the child welfare services provisions of the Social Security Act. Amends the Food Stamp Act (as amended by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993) to repeal and reverse certain provisions which would increase the costs of the food stamp program.
Bill· HRH.R. 3429 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Review of Intergovernmental Regulations Title II: Compensation of State and Local Governments for Additional Direct Costs Unfunded Federal Mandates Relief Act of 1993 - Title I: Review of Intergovernmental Regulations - Requires the President, after submitting the annual Federal budget, to submit to the Congress a report specifying and evaluating the costs to State and local governments of complying with intergovernmental regulations during the most recently completed fiscal year, the fiscal year in progress, and the next two fiscal years. Specifies the contents of such report. Authorizes the President to delegate the responsibility of preparing such report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or the head of any other Federal agency. Directs the responsible official to prescribe standards to be used by agencies in estimating the compliance costs and benefits of intergovernmental regulations. Directs each agency to furnish such official with required information pertaining to agency regulations. Title II: Compensation of State and Local Governments for Additional Direct Costs - Prohibits any Federal agency or U.S. court from requiring such governments, in any fiscal year, to comply with any intergovernmental regulation unless sufficient funds have been provided to reimburse them for additional compliance costs estimated for the fiscal year. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to transmit annually to the President and the Congress a report specifying an estimate of the total amount of additional direct costs that will be incurred in upcoming fiscal years by such governments in complying with each intergovernmental regulation promulgated pursuant to a significant law. Directs the chairmen of the congressional committees having jurisdiction over any significant law under which an intergovernmental regulation is promulgated to propose, to a bill providing funds for each fiscal year in which such regulation will be in effect, an amendment to appropriate funds to reimburse such governments for the additional direct costs they will incur in complying with such regulation. Sets forth procedures for reimbursements of such additional direct costs by Federal agencies to States, and by States to local governments.
Bill· HRH.R. 3421 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1993
Federal Mandate Reduction, Reform, and Budget Act of 1993 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to set forth reporting requirements for the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) with respect to reducing the direct costs to States and local governments of complying with Federal mandates. Requires concurrent resolutions on the budget to provide for such reductions until such costs do not exceed three percent of the estimated gross national product for the same fiscal year as the costs will be incurred. Requires CBO to prepare an analysis of mandated costs for States and local governments for each public bill or resolution reported in the Congress (except those from Appropriations Committees). Requires a similar analysis in the President's annual budget submissions. Requires initial regulatory flexibility analyses for proposed rules that establish or implement new Federal mandates to contain a description of the nature and amount of monetary costs to be incurred by State and local governments. Requires Federal agencies to prepare a cost estimate and cost benefit analysis of such mandates that would cost State and local governments at least $10 million for a fiscal year.
Bill· HRH.R. 3419 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Provisions Relating to Individuals Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Rollover of Gain on Sale of Principal Residence Subtitle B: Other Provisions Title II: Pension Simplification Subtitle A: Simplified Distribution Rules Subtitle B: Increased Access to Pension Plans Subtitle C: Nondiscrimination Provisions Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Simplification Title III: Treatment of Large Partnerships Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Provisions Related to TEFRA Partnership Proceedings Title IV: Foreign Provisions Subtitle A: Simplification of Treatment of Passive Foreign Corporations Subtitle B: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations Subtitle C: Other Provisions Title V: Other Income Tax Provisions Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Subchapter S Corporations Subtitle B: Accounting Provision Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Regulated Investment Companies Subtitle D: Tax-Exempt Bond Provisions Subtitle E: Insurance Provisions Subtitle F: Other Provisions Title VI: Estate And Gift Tax Provisions Title VII: Excise Tax Simplification Subtitle A: Provisions Related to Distilled Spirits, Wines, and Beer Subtitle B: Other Excise Tax Provisions Title VIII: Administrative Provisions Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Tax Court Procedures Subtitle C: Authority for Certain Cooperative Agreements Subtitle D: Administrative Practice and Procedural Simplification Title IX: Financing Provisions Title X: Technical Corrections Subtitle A: Revenue Provisions Subtitle B: Income Security and Human Resource Amendments Subtitle C: Tariff and Customs Tax Simplification and Technical Corrections Act of 1993 - Title I: Provisions Relating to Individuals - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Rollover of Gain on Sale of Principal Residence - Allows gain to be rolled over from one residence to another in the order the residences are purchased and used, regardless of reasons for the sale of the old residence. (Sec. 102) Sets forth a two-year residence rule for taxpayers who sell a residence pursuant to a divorce or marital separation for purposes of determining the rollover of gain on the sale of a principal residence. Subtitle B: Other Provisions - Provides an exception to the passive loss rules if the loss does not exceed $200. (Sec. 112) Permits the payment of taxes by credit cards to the extent provided by regulations. (Sec. 113) Modifies the election to claim a child's unearned income on the parent's return. (Sec. 114) Establishes a foreign tax credit limitation for individuals whose gross income is from sources outside the United States, consists entirely of qualified passive income, and the amount of creditable foreign taxes does not exceed $200. (Sec. 115) Excludes certain personal transactions from foreign currency rules. (Sec. 116) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees on expanded access to simplified individual income tax returns and other actions taken to simplify them. (Sec. 117) Provides that the amount allowed as a deduction to rural mail carriers for the business expense of a vehicle shall be equal to qualified reimbursements. Amends the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 to repeal the rule on the business use of automobiles by rural mail carriers. (Sec. 118) Limits the exclusion of combat pay from withholding to the amount excludable from gross income. Title II: Pension Simplification - Subtitle A: Simplified Distribution Rules - Repeals: (1) the $5,000 limitation on the exclusion of employees' death benefits; and (2) the five-year forward income averaging for lump-sum distributions. (Sec. 203) Establishes a method of taxing annuity payments by taking into account the investment in the contract and the number of anticipated payments. (Sec. 204) Requires qualified plans to allow participants to elect to have distributions transferred directly to another qualified plan. Subtitle B: Increased Access to Pension Plans - Modifies certain simplified employee pensions with respect to allowable participants and participation requirements. (Sec. 212) Allows local governments and tax-exempt organizations to participate in cash or deferred arrangements. (Sec. 213) Authorizes the Secretary, as a condition of sponsorship, to prescribe rules defining the duties and responsibilities of certain master and prototype retirement plans. Subtitle C: Nondiscrimination Provisions - Redefines the term "highly compensated employee" for pension, profitsharing, stock bonus plan, etc. purposes. Makes such an employee one who is a five-percent owner or who has compensation from the employer in excess of $50,000. Provides a special rule where no employees are treated as highly compensated. (Sec. 222) Provides alternative methods of satisfying the special nondiscrimination requirements applicable to elective deferrals and employer matching contributions. (Sec. 223) Modifies the two-part nondiscrimination test for elective contributions under cash or deferred arrangements by permitting the use of the average deferral percentage for nonhighly compensated employees for the preceding year to be used in determining the permitted average deferral percentage for highly compensated employees for the current year. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Simplification - Revises the definition of a leased employee to mean one whose services are performed under the control of a service recipient, instead of one whose services are historically performed by employees. (Sec. 232) Provides that the cost-of-living adjustment with respect to any calendar year is based on the increase in the applicable index as of the close of the calendar quarter ending September of the preceding calendar year. Requires the rounding of such amounts. (Sec. 233) Establishes a contribution limit for owner-employees of retirement plans. (Sec. 234) Eliminates the special vesting rule for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 236) Permits certain employers to elect an alternative full funding limitation with respect to any defined benefit plan based solely on the accrued liability under such plan. Requires the Secretary to adjust the 150-percent current liability full funding limit for other plans if there is a revenue shortfall. (Sec. 237) Allows rural cooperative plans which include cash or deferred arrangements to make distributions to participants after attainment of age 59 1/2. (Sec. 238) Modifies the treatment of governmental plans with respect to limits on contributions and benefits. (Sec. 239) Makes the social security retirement age the uniform retirement age for purposes of discrimination testing. (Sec. 240) Makes uniform the penalty provisions applicable to certain pension reporting requirements. (Sec. 242) Treats certain nonunion air pilots as a separate class of employees for nondiscrimination testing purposes. (Sec. 243) Provides special rules for distributions of deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 244) Provides that, for purposes of the excise tax, an employer reversion does not include certain amounts paid to the Federal Government by reason of certain government contracting regulations. (Sec. 245) Requires continuation of health coverage for employees, including retired employees, of failed financial institutions. Title III: Treatment of Large Partnerships - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Establishes special rules for large partnerships (250 or more partners) with respect to: (1) determining the income tax of a partner; and (2) computing the taxable income of a large partnership. Provides that a large partnership does not include one where: (1) substantially all of the activities involve the performance of personal services by individuals owning interests in such partnerships; or (2) 25 percent or more of partnership assets consist of oil or gas properties. (Sec. 302) Establishes simplified audit procedures for large partnerships. Requires a partner's return to be consistent with the partnership return. Allows partnerships to take adjustments into account through an imputed underpayment procedure or a flow-through-to-partners procedure. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to make adjustments at the partnership level in any partnership item to the extent necessary to have such item treated in the manner required, after notifying the partnership of such adjustment through certified or registered mail. Specifies certain restrictions on such adjustments. Provides for judicial review of such adjustment with the Tax Court, the appropriate district court, or the Claims Court. Prohibits any adjustments from being made three years after the later of the date on which the return was filed, or the last day for filing such return, except in specified cases. Allows a partnership to file a request for an administrative adjustment of partnership items during such time periods and provides for judicial review where such request is not allowed in full. (Sec. 303) Requires large partnerships to furnish information returns to partners by the first March 15 following the close of the partnership's tax year. (Sec. 304) Authorizes the Secretary to require large partnerships, or any other partnership with 250 or more partners, to file their returns on magnetic media. Subtitle B: Provisions Related to TEFRA Partnership Proceedings - Revises and sets forth new provisions relating to TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982) partnership proceedings. (Sec. 311) Provides for a declaratory judgment procedure in the Tax Court for treatment of non-partnership items with respect to an oversheltered return. Describes an oversheltered return as one which above no taxable income and a net loss from partnership items. (Sec. 312) Provides for the partnership return to be determinative of the audit procedure to be followed. (Sec. 313) Suspends the period of limitation for making assessments for a partner who is named in a bankruptcy petition. Provides a special rule for a tax matters partner in bankruptcy. (Sec. 314) Permits a small partnership to have a C corporation as a partner. (Sec. 315) Excludes a partial settlement agreement from the one-year limitation on assessment. (Sec. 316) Provides that if a TEFRA statute extension agreement is entered into, that agreement also extends the statute of limitations for filing refund claims until six months after the expiration of the limitations period for assessments. (Sec. 317) Provides a prepayment forum and a refund forum for raising the innocent spouse defense in TEFRA cases. (Sec. 318) Provides that partnership level proceedings include a determination of the applicability of penalties at the partnership level. Allows partners to raise any partner-level defenses in a refund forum. (Sec. 319) Specifies that an action to enjoin premature assessments of deficiencies attributable to partnership items may be brought in the Tax Court. Permits a party to appear before a court for the sole purpose of assessing that the period of limitations for assessing any tax attributable to partnership items has expired for that person. (Sec. 320) Provides for the treatment of premature petitions filed by notice partners or five-percent groups. (Sec. 321) Provides that the amount of the bond to stay assessment and collection should be based on the Tax Court's estimate of the aggregate liability of the parties to the action (and not all of the partners in the partners in the partnership). (Sec. 322) Suspends interest where there is a delay in computational adjustment resulting from TEFRA settlements. (Sec. 323) Grants a partner seven years (in lieu of three years) to request an administrative adjustment with respect to bad debts or worthless securities. Title IV: Foreign Provisions - Subtitle A: Simplification of Treatment of Passive Foreign Corporations - Repeals foreign personal holding company rules and foreign investment company rules. Exempts foreign corporations from the accumulated earnings tax and personal holding company rules. Provides for the treatment of personal service contracts under controlled foreign corporation rules. (Sec. 402) Replaces repealed provisions with revised rules for passive foreign corporations. Provides for taxing U.S. income on stock in passive foreign corporations through three alternative methods: (1) mark-to-market: (2) current inclusion; and (3) interest charge on excess distributions. Subjects less-than-25-percent shareholders of passive foreign corporations that are not U.S.-controlled, and who do not elect current inclusion, to the mark-to-market method or the interest-charge method for taxing income. Provides that if a passive foreign corporation is U.S.-controlled then every U.S. person owning stock in such corporation is subject to income inclusions under a modified version of controlled foreign corporation rules. Declares with regard to the mark-to-market method that: (1) if the fair market value of stock exceeds its adjusted basis, then the U.S. person shall include in gross income an amount equal to the amount of the excess; and (2) if the adjusted basis of stock exceeds the fair market value then the person shall be allowed a deduction equal to the lesser of the amount of such excess, or the unreversed inclusions. Describes a passive foreign corporation as any foreign corporation if: (1) 60 percent or more of its gross income is passive income; (2) the average percentage of assets which produce passive income or which are held for the production of passive income is at least 50 percent; or (3) such corporation is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, either as a management company or as a unit investment trust. Provides for the treatment of mark-to-market gain for purposes of the excise tax on undistributed income of regulated investment companies. Subtitle B: Treatment of Controlled Foreign Corporations - Provides that if a controlled foreign corporation sells or exchanges stocks in other foreign corporations, then gain recognized on such sale or exchange shall be included in the gross income of such corporation as a dividend to the same extent that it would have been included if such corporation were a U.S. person. (Sec. 412) Revises provisions concerning: (1) determining pro rata share of gain from certain sales or exchanges of stock in certain foreign corporations; (2) basis adjustments in stock held by lower-tier foreign corporations; (3) determination of previously taxed income in redemptions through use of related corporations; and (4) treatment of branch profits tax exemptions or reductions. (Sec. 413) Extends the application of the indirect foreign tax credit to certain controlled corporations below the third tier. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Establishes new rules for the translation of certain accrued foreign taxes. Modifies present rules for translating all other foreign taxes. (Sec. 422) Permits the use of the simplified limitation on the foreign tax credit in determining the alternative minimum tax foreign tax credit. (Sec. 423) Modifies the excise tax on outbound transfers to avoid income tax. Title V: Other Income Tax Provisions - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Subchapter S Corporations - Allows the Secretary to validate an invalid S corporation election by a small business corporation where the failure to properly elect S status was inadvertent or untimely. (Sec. 502) Requires that adjustments for distributions by an S corporation during a taxable year be taken into account before applying the loss for a year in determining the amount in the accumulated adjustment account. (Sec. 503) Allows a small business trust to be an S corporation shareholder. (Sec. 504) Repeals the rule that treats an S corporation in its capacity as a shareholder of another corporation as an individual. Repeals the rule that an S corporation may not be a member of an affiliated group of corporations. Eliminates the need to keep records of certain generally small amounts of earnings arising before 1983. Provides for the treatment of inherited stock. Subtitle B: Accounting Provision - Revises the look-back method for long-term contracts and provides that for purposes of such method, only one rate of interest is to apply for each accrual period. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Regulated Investment Companies - Repeals the requirement that less than 30 percent of the gross income of a regulated investment company be derived from the sale or disposition of any of the following which were held for less than three months: (1) stock or securities; (2) options, futures, or forward contracts (other than those on foreign currencies); or (3) certain foreign currencies. (Sec. 522) Requires a broker to include on an information return with respect to gross proceeds from any disposition of stock in an open-end regulated investment company: (1) the basis of the stock disposed of; and (2) the portion of gross proceeds attributable to stock held for more than one year and the portion not so attributable (using a first-in, first-out basis). Defines an open-end regulated investment company as one which offers for sale or has outstanding any redeemable security of which it is the issuer. Sets forth special rules for determining the basis of stock in such companies. Modifies the load basis deferral rule for certain acquisitions. (Sec. 523) Permits a common trust fund to transfer substantially all of its assets to a regulated investment company without gain or loss being recognized by the fund or its participants under specified circumstances. Subtitle D: Tax-Exempt Bond Provisions - Repeals the $100,000 limitation on unspent proceeds under the one-year exception from arbitrage rebate requirements. (Sec. 532) Exempts earnings on bond proceeds invested in bona fide debt service funds from the arbitrage rebate requirements and the penalty requirement of the 24-month exception if the spending requirements of that exception are otherwise satisfied. (Sec. 533) Repeals the debt service-based limitation on investment in certain nonpurpose investments. Subtitle E: Insurance Provisions - Provides for the treatment of life insurance variable contracts on retired lives and sets forth special rules for modified guaranteed contracts. Subtitle F: Other Provisions - Provides that the taxable year of a partnership closes with respect to a partner whose entire interest in the partnership terminates, whether by death, liquidation, or otherwise. (Sec. 552) Modifies the credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source. Title VI: Estate and Gift Tax Provisions - Allows the right of recovery with respect to qualified terminable interest property (for which a marital deduction is allowed) to be waived in a will only by specific reference. (Sec. 602) Provides that a transfer from a revocable trust within three years of death does not result in the inclusion of the transfer in the gross estate. (Sec. 603) Revises the qualified terminable interest rules with respect to a trust and the marital deduction. (Sec. 604) Provides that a trust created before the enactment of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990 is treated as satisfying the withholding requirement if its trust instrument require that all trustees be U.S. citizens or domestic corporations. (Sec. 605) Directs the Secretary to prescribe procedures which provide that executors will have the opportunity to submit subsequent information on a recapture agreement in the filing of an estate tax return. Title VII: Excise Tax Simplification - Subtitle A: Provisions Related to Distilled Spirits, Wines, and Beer - Makes refunds available for imported bottled distilled spirits returned to distilled spirits plants. (Sec. 702) Permits records of exportation to be maintained by the exporter for purposes of canceling or crediting bonds furnished when distilled spirits are removed from bonded premises. (Sec. 703) Permits distilled spirits plants to maintain records of their activities at locations other than the premises where the operations covered by the records are performed. (Sec. 704) Allows beer to be transferred without payment of tax from a brewery to a distilled spirits plant to be used in the production of distilled spirits regardless of whether the brewery is contiguous to the distilled spirits plant. (Sec. 705) Repeals the requirement that wholesale liquor dealers post a sign outside their place of business indicating that they are wholesale liquor dealers. (Sec. 706) Repeals the requirement that wine returned to bonded premises be unmerchantable in order for tax to be refunded to the proprietor of the bonded wine cellar to which the wine is delivered. (Sec. 707) Allows the use of ameliorating material in certain wines made exclusively from a fruit or berry. (Sec. 708) Allows domestically-produced beer to be withdrawn from the place of production without payment of tax for the official or family use of representatives of foreign governments or public international organizations. (Sec. 709) Allows beer to be removed from a brewery without payment of tax for purposes of destruction. (Sec. 711) Provides for imported beer to be withdrawn from customs custody for transfer to a brewery without payment of tax. Subtitle B: Other Excise Tax Provisions - Authorizes the exemption from registration requirements of certain tax-free sales. Title VIII: Administrative Provisions - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Allows reproductions of returns in digital image format by the Internal Revenue Service. Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study of available digital image technology and report to a specified congressional committees. (Sec. 802) Repeals: (1) the authority to disclose whether a prospective juror has been audited; and (2) special audit provisions regarding the tax treatment of subchapter S corporations. (Sec. 804) Provides an explanation of the statute of limitations with respect to the return of a taxpayer. (Sec. 805) Allows corporations to disregard any letter or notice of assessment or proposed assessment of tax if the deficiency or proposed deficiency is less than $100,000. Subtitle B: Tax Court Procedures - Provides that an order to refund an overpayment is appealable in the same manner as a decision of the Tax Court. Declares that the Tax Court shall not have jurisdiction over the validity or merits of the credits or offsets that reduce or eliminate the refund to which the taxpayer was otherwise entitled. (Sec. 812) Provides that a taxpayer who seeks an award of administrative costs must apply for such costs within 90 days of the date on which the taxpayer was determined to be a prevailing party. Provides that a taxpayer who appeals a denial of administrative costs must petition the Tax Court within 90 days after the date that the IRS mails the denial notice. (Sec. 813) Provides that a taxpayer must file a motion (rather than a petition) to seek a redetermination of interest in the Tax Court. (Sec. 814) Provides that the net worth limitations applicable to individuals also apply to estates and trusts. Provides that individuals who file a joint tax return shall be treated as one individual for purposes of computing the net worth limitations. Subtitle C: Authority for Certain Cooperative Agreements - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with State tax authorities for purposes of enhancing joint tax administration. Subtitle D: Administrative Practice and Procedural Simplification - Requires prior notification to taxpayers under an installment agreement to pay tax liability before altering, modifying, or terminating such an agreement. Provides for administrative review of denials of requests for, or termination of, installment agreements. (Sec. 832) Removes limitations on filing a joint return after filing separate returns. (Sec. 833) Authorizes the Secretary to offer compromises in civil or criminal cases. (Sec. 834) Establishes preliminary notice requirements for failure to pay tax. (Sec. 835) Exempts unpaid, volunteer board members of tax-exempt organizations from collection penalties if they do not have actual knowledge of the failure on which penalties are imposed. (Sec. 836) Revises provisions on the required content of tax due, deficiency, and other notices. (Sec. 837) Requires notice to a taxpayer of payments that the Secretary cannot associate with any outstanding tax liability of such taxpayer. (Sec. 838) Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide improved procedures for taxpayers to notify the Secretary of changes in names and addresses; and (2) include in the IRS publication entitled "Your Rights As a Taxpayer" a section on the rights and responsibilities of divorced individuals. Title IX: Financing Provisions - Treats as unrelated business taxable income: (1) certain dividends paid by foreign corporations to tax-exempt entities; and (2) certain income derived from controlled foreign corporations that would be included in the income of such tax-exempt entities. (Sec. 902) Applies the special rule for the rental use of a dwelling for less than 15 days per year to certain rental use where the community holding the event cannot provide sufficient commercial accommodations. (Sec. 904) Repeals the exemption from the withholding tax for bingo and keno for winnings of more than $10,000. Title X: Technical Corrections - Subtitle A: Revenue Provisions - Makes technical corrections to amendments related to: (1) the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Title XI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990); and (2) the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Title XIV of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993). Subtitle B: Income Security and Human Resource Amendments - Makes technical corrections to the Social Security Act and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 relating to the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program (OASDI). (Sec. 1012) Eliminates certain dollar rounding requirements with respect to OASDI benefits, the earnings test exemption, and adjustments to the health insurance tax contribution base. (Sec. 1016) Makes technical corrections to the Social Security Act, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 to make technical corrections related to income security and human resources provisions. Subtitle C: Tariff and Customs - Makes technical amendments to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, the Customs and Trade Act of 1990, the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, the Andean Preference Act, and the Tariff Act of 1930.
Bill· SS. 1600 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Long-Term Care Provisions Title II: Long-Term Care Tax Provisions Secure Choice Act of 1993 - Title I: Long-Term Care Provisions - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a new Federal program to provide grants to States for furnishing long-term care assistance, which includes nursing facility as well as home and community based services, to eligible low-income functionally impaired individuals (including children) and their spouses under an approved State plan which provides for nominal cost-sharing, nondenial of care, and general freedom of provider choice. (Sec. 101) Allows the use of grants to enable each State to establish a Secure Choice Insurance Program that ensures access of residents to qualified long-term care insurance policies at special premiums which provide certain minimum benefits subsidized by Federal and State funding. Provides for: (1) maximum lifetime benefits after which policyholders may become eligible for assistance under the State plan above; and (2) portability in the case of qualified policies which are group policies. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) provide that individuals eligible for services under SSA title XIX (Medicaid) which, effective upon the enactment of this Act, are provided under the new Federal program above shall continue to be eligible to receive such services in the same manner as previously provided; (2) establish, in collaboration with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and report to the Congress on, a system for collecting data on public and private long-term care services for making certain service-related predictions; (3) establish a new organizational unit to administer the new Federal program established above; and (4) submit to appropriate congressional committees a legislative proposal for such amendments as are required by this Act. (Sec. 103) Amends Medicaid to repeal provisions concerning home and community care for functionally disabled elderly individuals. (Sec. 104) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the appropriateness and adequacy of using the Federal medical assistance percentage used under Medicaid for payment of services provided under such new program. Title II: Long-Term Care Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an individual an itemized deduction for qualified long-term care services; (2) provide for the treatment of long-term care insurance or plans; (3) set forth specified consumer protection provisions to be satisfied by qualified long-term care insurance contracts, including the NAIC model Act; and (4) impose an excise tax on persons for failing to meet specified requirements for long-term care insurance policies, including certain requirements of the model Act and regulation and those involving disclosure. (Sec. 214) Requires NAIC to promulgate standards for the use of uniform language and definitions in such policies, with certain variations permitted.
Bill· HRH.R. 3396 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Pension Plan Funding Subtitle A: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Subtitle B: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Title II: Amendments Related to Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Title III: Participant Services Title IV: Miscellaneous Amendments Title V: Effective Dates Retirement Protection Act of 1993 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to revise provisions for pension plan funding, compliance, premiums, and participant protection and services. Title I: Pension Plan Funding - Subtitle A: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends IRC requirements for pension plan funding, including: (1) minimum funding, revising additional funding requirements for single-employer plans; (2) limitation on changes in current liability assumptions; (3) recognition of already bargained changes in liability; (4) modification of the quarterly contribution requirement; and (5) exceptions to the excise tax on nondeductible contributions. Subtitle B: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends ERISA requirements for pension plan funding, including: (1) minimum funding, revising additional funding requirements for single-employer plans; (2) limitation on changes in current liability assumptions; (3) recognition of already bargained changes in liability; and (4) modification of the quarterly contribution requirement. Title II: Amends Relating to Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends title IV (Plan Termination Insurance) of ERISA to revise requirements relating to reportable events. Authorizes the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to apply for judicial review other than involuntary termination. Requires that specified additional information be furnished to the PBGC. Adds provisions relating to liability upon liquidation of a contributing sponsor or controlled group member where a single-employer plan remains ongoing. Revises provisions for: (1) enforcement of minimum funding requirements; and (2) remedies for noncompliance with requirements for standard termination. Prohibits benefit increases or other changes which increase plan liabilities where a plan sponsor is in bankruptcy. Revises provisions relating to substantial owner benefits to modify the phase-in of guarantee and the allocation of assets. Phases out the variable rate premium cap. Title III: Participant Services - Amends ERISA to require the plan administrator of a plan subject to a specified additional premium to notify plan participants and beneficiaries of the plan's funding status and the limits on the PBGC's guaranty should the plan terminate while underfunded. Adds provisions relating to missing participants. Revises provisions relating to modification of the maximum guarantee for disability benefits. Title IV: Miscellaneous Amendments - Amends IRC and ERISA with respect to: (1) citation of this Act; (2) definition of contributing sponsor; (3) recovery ratio; (4) distress termination criteria for banking institutions; (5) single sum distributions; (6) adjustments to the lien for missed minimum funding contributions; (7) rounding rules for cost of living adjustments; (8) limitation on cross-testing in defined contribution plans; and (9) funding of restored plans. Title V: Effective Dates - Sets forth effective dates for this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 3400 (103rd)open
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Agriculture Title II: Department of Commerce Title III: Department of Defense Title IV: Department of Energy Title V: Department of Health and Human Services Title VI: Department of Housing and Urban Development Title VII: Department of the Interior Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions Title IX: Department of Labor Title X: Department of State and United States Information Agency Title XI: Department of Transportation Title XII: Department of Veterans Affairs Title XIII: Human Resource Management Title XIV: Reinventing Support Services Title XV: Streamlining Management Control Title XVI: Financial Management Title XVII: Year-End Spending Government Reform and Savings Act of 1993 - Title I: Department of Agriculture - Subtitle A: Department of Agriculture Reorganization - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to reduce and reorganize the Department of Agriculture, including specified levels of personnel reduction. Subtitle B: Eliminate Federal Support for Wool and Mohair - Repeals the National Wool Act as of December 31, 1995. Reduces 1994 and 1995 wool and mohair support levels. Subtitle C: Eliminate Federal Support for Honey - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to eliminate the honey price support program as of December 31, 1995. Reduces 1994 and 1995 support levels. (Sec. 1203) Reduces honey loan forfeiture limitations. Title II: Department of Commerce - Directs the Departments of Commerce and of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to propose a single operational polar environmental and weather satellite system which meets national needs. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to submit to the Congress by a certain date an implementation plan designed to result in specified savings in budget authority and outlays between FY 1994 and 1999. Title III: Department of Defense - Subtitle A: Create Incentives for the Department of Defense to Generate Revenues - Allows the commander of a military installation, at his discretion, to credit proceeds from the sale of recyclable materials to the nonappropriated morale and welfare account of such installation for use for morale and welfare activities. Subtitle B: Closure of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences - Repeals Federal provisions establishing the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Phases out such University beginning in FY 1995, with closure no later than September 30, 1998. Subtitle C: Streamline and Reorganize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Directs the Secretary of the Army to reorganize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through the reorganization and reduction of offices and the restructuring of functions in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs, with a goal of achieving $50 million in net annual savings by FY 1998. Title IV: Department of Energy - Subtitle A: Alaska Power Administration Sale Authorization Act - Alaska Power Administration Sale Authorization Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy, in accordance with specified purchase agreements, to sell: (1) the Snettisham Hydroelectric Project to the State of Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority; and (2) the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project to the Anchorage Municipal Light and Power, the Chugach Electric Association, Inc., and the Matanuska Electric Association Inc. Directs the Secretary to: (1) close out the Alaska Power Administration; and (2) assess alternative options for maximizing the return to the Treasury from the sale of the Alaska Power Marketing Administration before taking any of the sales action authorized by this Title. Subtitle B: Federal-Private Cogeneration of Electricity - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to modify the definition of "energy savings" to include increased efficiency from cogeneration processes for other than federally owned buildings or other federally owned facilities. Subtitle C: Power Marketing Administration Debt Buyout - Part 1: Bonneville Power Administration Debt Buyout - Bonneville Power Administration Repayment Bonds Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration to sell bonds according to prescribed procedures. (Sec. 4203) Amends the Federal Columbia River Transmission System Act to authorize the Administrator to make expenditures from the Bonneville Power Administration fund to pay the financing and debt service costs of such bonds. (Sec. 4204) Amends the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act to authorize the Administrator to base power and transmission rates upon a single, combined generation and transmission repayment study which demonstrates that all indebtedness is repaid by its due date. Part 2: Other Power Marketing Administrations Debt Buyout - Power Marketing Administrations Financing Act - Sets forth procedural guidelines for the Administrators of the Southeastern, Southwestern and Western Area Power Administrations to repay the discounted present value of existing indebtedness to the United States. (Sec. 4209) Establishes a Power Marketing Administration Sinking Fund. (Sec. 4210) Authorizes each Administrator to issue revenue bonds and other instruments of indebtedness to refinance existing indebtedness. Title V: Department of Health and Human Services - Subtitle A: Increased Flexibility in Contracting for Medicare Claims Processing - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make various changes with respect to the contractor system under Medicare, including eliminating the authority of the Railroad Retirement Board to contract for processing the Medicare claims of railroad retirees. Subtitle B: Workers' Compensation Data Exchange Pilot Projects - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct pilot projects with up to three States for studying the ways of obtaining workers' compensation data for the Secretary. Reimburses participating States out of the social security trust funds for the costs of participation. Subtitle C: Federal Clearinghouse on Death Information - Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) to restructure the current program for the exchange of death information to, for example, use a Federal Clearinghouse on Death Information as the vehicle for all such exchanges and, in the case of individuals with respect to whom federally funded benefits are provided by (or through) a Federal or State agency other than under SSA, require such agency to pay a set fee to cover all costs connected with the provision of such information for them. Requires any contract requiring a State to furnish death information to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to authorize the Secretary to use such information and redisclose it to any Federal, State, or local agency in accordance with certain SSA information sharing requirements. Subtitle D: Continuing Disability Reviews - Amends SSA title II to earmark specified levels of administrative funding for continuing disability reviews of disabled beneficiaries for FY 1994 through 1999. Title VI: Department of Housing and Urban Development - Subtitle A: Multifamily Property Disposition - Amends the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 to revise provisions regarding the management and disposition of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) - held multifamily properties and mortgages. Subtitle B: Merger of the Certificate and Voucher Programs - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to merge the public housing certificate and voucher programs. Subtitle C: Streamline HUD - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out HUD reorganization and reduction activities. Subtitle D: Refinance Section 235 Mortgages - Amends the National Housing Act to cover mortgage refinancing costs under the lower-income family homeownership assistance program. Subtitle E: Section 8 Rents for New Construction and Rehabilitation Projects - Prohibits temporarily the adjustment of maximum monthly public housing (section 8) rents for new construction and rehabilitation projects. Title VII: Department of the Interior - Subtitle A: Improve the Federal Helium Program - Amends the Helium Act Amendments of 1960 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to: (1) reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies; and (2) establish and adjust fees charged private industry for storage, transmission, and withdrawal of privately-owned helium from government storage facilities to compensate fully for all costs incurred. Directs the Secretary to: (1) avoid disruptions of the helium market when making helium sales; (2) sell helium at prices comparable to those of private industry; and (3) develop a long-term, comprehensive plan to cancel the outstanding debt owed to the Treasury by the Department of the Interior related to the Federal helium program, and improve Federal helium program operations. Subtitle B: Improve Minerals Management Service Royalty Collection - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to require the Minerals Management Service, Royalty Management Program, to develop and implement: (1) an automated business information system to provide its auditors with a lease history according to prescribed guidelines; (2) the optimum methods to identify and resolve anomalies and verify that royalties are paid correctly; (3) a more efficient and cost-effective royalty collection process; and (4) any other actions necessary to reduce royalty underpayment and increase revenue by a certain amount. Amends the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 to prescribe penalty assessment guidelines for substantial underreporting of lease royalties. Subtitle C: Phase Out the Mineral Institute Program - Directs the Secretary to phase out the Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute Act of 1984. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits appropriations after September 30, 1998. Title VIII: Department of Justice - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the Attorney General to: (1) assess a nominal fee against a Federal prison inmate's trust fund account for any health services provided the inmate; and (2) waive or refund all or part of such fees for good cause at any time. Declares that no inmate shall be denied health services treatment because of inability to pay a health services fee. Title IX: Department of Labor - Subtitle A: Deterrence of Fraud and Abuse in the FECA Program - Amends the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) to add provisions to deter fraud and abuse in the FECA program. Subtitle B: Enhancement of Reemployment Programs for Federal Employees Disabled in the Performance of Duty - Amends FECA to authorize the Secretary of Labor, as part of the vocational rehabilitation effort, to assist permanently disabled individuals in seeking and/or obtaining employment. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse an employer (including a Federal employer), who was not the employer at the time of injury and who agrees to employ a disabled beneficiary, for portions of the salary, through payments from the Employees' Compensation Fund. (Sec. 9101) Authorizes the Secretary to expand the FECA Periodic Roll Management Project to all offices of the Office of Workers' Compensation Program of the Department of Labor. Subtitle C: Wage Determinations: McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act - Amends the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act to authorize the Secretary of Labor to develop and implement electronic data interchange systems to request and obtain wage determinations required under such Acts. Subtitle D: Elimination of Filing Requirement for Plan Descriptions, Summary Plan Descriptions, and Descriptions of Material Modifications to a Plan - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to eliminate certain filing requirements for routine disclosure to employee benefit plan participants and beneficiaries of plan descriptions, summary plan descriptions, and descriptions of material modifications to a plan. Provides for such disclosures by plan administrators through written requests to the Secretary of Labor. Title X: Department of State/United States Information Agency - Directs the Secretary of State to reduce costs of providing marine guard and other security at diplomatic missions overseas by a specified amount by the end of FY 1999. (Sec. 10002) Requires the Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) to improve the efficiency of USIA's public diplomacy activities and save a specified amount by the end of FY 1999. Title XI: Department of Transportation - Subtitle A: Authority to Charge Tuition for Attendance at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to require the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to impose a system of tuition and fees on individuals attending the Academy equal to an amount that is up to one-half the total operating costs of the Academy during the preceding fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary to impose reasonable fees on cadets at the Academy for all required uniforms and textbooks. (Currently, the Academy is required to provide for such items.) Subtitle B: Reform of the Essential Air Service Program - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to provide that in order for a point to be eligible for basic essential air service it must not require a rate of subsidy per passenger in excess of $200, and may not be located fewer than 70 highway miles from the nearest hub airport or small hub airport. Decreases the amount of funds from the Airway Trust Fund for the essential air service program for FY 1994 through 1998. Authorizes amounts from such Fund for FY 1999. Subtitle C: Repeal of Authorizations for the Airway Science Program, Collegiate Training Initiative, and Air Carrier Maintenance Technician Training Facility Grant Program - Repeals all authority for: (1) the Airway Science Program; (2) the Collegiate Training Initiative; and (3) the Air Carrier Maintenance Technician Training Facility Grant Program. Title XII: Department of Veterans Affairs - Subtitle A: Remove Certain Limitations and Restrictions Contained in Veterans Law - Eliminates: (1) Department of Veterans Affairs (Department) hospital and nursing home bed capacity requirements; (2) a required increase in the number of full-time personnel in the Office of the Inspector General of the Department; (3) required reports to the Congress concerning Department administrative reorganizations; (4) the requirement of certain services and offices within the Veterans Health Administration of the Department; and (5) the requirement of a Deputy, Associate Deputy, and various assistant medical directors within the Office of the Chief Medical Director of the Department. Subtitle B: Closure of Supply Depots and Transfer of Revolving Supply Fund Money - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) phase out and close Department supply depots in Somerville, New Jersey, Hines, Illinois, and Bell, California; and (2) transfer to the General Fund of the Treasury in FY 1994 and 1995 specified amounts from the Department Revolving Supply Fund. Subtitle C: Provision of Information from the Medicare and Medicaid Coverage Data Bank to the Department of Veterans Affairs - Provides as an additional purpose of the Medicare and Medicaid Coverage Data Bank the provision of information to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs concerning the collection of payments from third parties for health care items and services furnished to veterans. Subtitle D: Veterans' Appeals Improvement Act of 1993 - Veterans' Appeals Improvement Act of 1993 - Provides for the appointment by the Chairman of the Board of Veterans Appeals of any necessary number of Deputy Vice Chairmen. Removes current limitations on the authorized period of service for acting Board members. Requires the Chairman to include in an annual report information with respect to activities of acting Board members during the previous year. (Sec. 12303) Authorizes the Chairman to decide alone, or to assign to another Board member, any matter or motion before the Board. (Current law requires a minimum three-member Board determination of such matters.) Prohibits judicial review of any such assignments. (Sec. 12304) Authorizes the Board to: (1) dismiss appeals which allege no specific error of fact or law or in which the determination being appealed has become moot; (2) remand cases for which additional developments require appropriate disposition; and (3) render a written final Board decision on issues not dismissed or remanded. Revises provisions concerning situations under which the Chairman shall exclude himself from the reconsideration of an appeal. Provides for the reconsideration of a case based on a difference of opinion as to how the evidence should be evaluated rather than on a specific error in the prior decision. (Sec. 12307) Authorizes Board member to: (1) collect medical opinions from Board employees, Department employees, or employees of other Federal departments and agencies, as long as such employees are licensed to practice medicine in any State; and (2) secure advisory medical opinions from independent medical experts when the case warrants such opinions. Requires opinions to be in writing and to be made part of the record, with an opportunity for the appellant to respond. Revises provisions concerning appellant hearing procedures. Title XIII: Human Resource Management - Subtitle A: Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1993 - Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1993 - Amends Federal civil service law to eliminate various restrictions on employee training and authorize certain Federal agencies to establish temporary programs to offer a lump sum financial incentive (the lesser of $25,000 or the amount of an employee's severance pay) to selected groups of employees in order to encourage them to voluntarily separate from an agency, whether by retirement or resignation, in order to assist agency heads in restructuring their workforce. Provides for repayment of separation incentives if any employee rejoins the Federal Government within two years. Requires Federal agencies to pay a specified contribution to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund based on the final rate of basic pay of each agency employee who retires early. (Sec. 13003) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) employment in the Executive Branch should be reduced by not less than one full-time equivalent position for each two employees who are paid voluntary separation incentives under this Act; and (2) each agency should adjust its employment levels to achieve this result. Subtitle B: SES Annual Leave Accumulation - Repeals the authorization for unlimited accumulation of annual leave by members of the Senior Executive Service. Title XIV: Reinventing Support Services - Government Information Dissemination and Printing Improvement Act of 1993 - Directs the President to establish policy for the acquisition of printing by executive agencies and promulgate appropriate Government-wide regulations. Requires such policy to ensure that the Government Printing Office (GPO) has the opportunity to compete on an equal basis for executive agency printing acquisitions. (Sec. 14005) Requires GPO to remain the mandatory source for certain executive agency printing for two years after the enactment of this Act, except that during such period executive agencies may obtain printing services costing under $2500 from other sources. (Sec. 14006) Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to develop policies and practices for agency dissemination of public information to ensure, among other things, that agencies: (1) avoid establishing, or permitting others to establish, exclusive, restricted, or other distribution arrangements that interfere with the availability of information dissemination products on a timely and equitable basis; and (2) set user charges for information dissemination products no higher than sufficient to recover the cost of dissemination, except where required by statute or specifically authorized by the Director. (Sec. 14007) Specifies Federal agency responsibilities for information dissemination. (Sec. 14008) Requires the Director of OMB to propose amendments to Federal law to ensure the distribution of government information dissemination products to depository libraries. (Sec. 14009) Requires the Director to: (1) maintain a publicly accessible comprehensive inventory of all approved Federal agency information collection requests in order to assist agencies and the public in reducing the burden of agency information and collection requests by minimizing duplication; (2) cause to be established and maintained an agency-based electronic Government Information Locator Service in order to assist agencies and the public in locating information; (3) require each agency having significant information dissemination products to establish and maintain a comprehensive inventory of such products; and (4) establish an interagency committee to develop technical standards for agency inventory systems. Abolishes the old Federal Information Locator System. Title XV: Streamlining Management Control - Authorizes the Director of OMB to publish annually in the President's Budget any recommendations for the consolidation, elimination, or adjustments in frequency and due dates of statutorily required periodic reports to the Congress or its committees. Title XVI: Financial Management - Federal Financial Management Act of 1993 - Subtitle A: Electronic Payments - Amends Federal law to require direct deposit of Federal wage, salary, and retirement payments by electronic funds transfer for recipients who begin such payments on or after January 1, 1995. Subtitle B: Franchise Funds and Innovation Funds - Authorizes the establishment of a franchise fund in an executive agency for expenses and equipment necessary for the maintenance and operations of administrative services that may be performed more advantageously on a centralized basis. Authorizes the establishment of an innovation fund in an executive agency to provide a self-sustaining source of financing to invest in projects designed to produce measurable improvements in agency efficiency and significant taxpayer savings. Requires such funds to be made available without further appropriation action by the Congress. Subtitle C: Simplifying the Management Reporting Process - Authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to publish annually in the President's budget recommendations for consolidation, elimination, or adjustments in frequency and due dates of statutorily required periodic reports of agencies to the OMB or the President and of agencies or the OMB to the Congress under any laws for which the OMB has general management or financial management responsibility. Subtitle D: Annual Financial Reports - Requires the annual financial statements of executive agencies to be audited prior to submission to OMB. Subtitle E: Strengthening Debt Collection Programs - Authorizes appropriations from debt collection payments to improve debt collection activities. (Sec. 16502) Makes provisions governing contracts for collection services inapplicable to certain claims or debts under the Social Security Act or the Internal Revenue Code. Subtitle F: Improving Department of Justice Debt Collection - Establishes a Debt Collection Fund to reimburse executive agency expenses incurred in conducting or providing support to debt collection litigation, enforcing judgments, and related activities. Subtitle G: Adjusting Civil Monetary Penalties for Inflation - Amends the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 to require adjustment to the civil monetary penalties for inflation every four years (currently, every five years). Title XVII: Year-End Spending - Limits the amount of appropriations for salaries and expenses that can remain available for successive fiscal years. Limits the amount of such carried-over funds for employee cash awards and training programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 3413 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Medical Savings Accounts Title II: Development and Distribution of Comparative Value Information Health Care Savings Plan Act of 1993 - Title I: Medical Savings Account - 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. Excludes employer contributions to such accounts from employment taxes. 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. Allows the full deduction for medical and dental expenses for amounts paid for qualified catastrophic coverage health plans. Title II: Development and Distribution of Comparative Value Information - Requires each State to develop and implement information programs regarding comparative health values for purchasers of health care. Makes grants available for the development of such programs. Requires Federal implementation of a program for any State that does not develop or continue to implement such a program. Requires the dissemination of comparative value information relative to Federal programs of health insurance and health care services. Requires the development of model systems to facilitate the gathering and analyzing of data on health care cost, quality, and outcome with respect to health insurance plans and hospitals. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 3407 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1993
Home Office Deduction Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide qualifications for a home office as a principal place of business for purposes of the deductibility of expenses.
Bill· SS. 1594 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1993
Deficit Reduction Assurance Act of 1993 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to require the budget submitted for FY 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 to reduce discretionary spending limits by the amount of any reductions made in existing programs, projects, and activities during the previous fiscal year.
Bill· SS. 1591 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the reduction in the tax deductible portion of business meal and entertainment expenses.
Bill· SS. 1592 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Legislative Reform Title II: Federal Intergovernmental Relations Fiscal Accountability and Intergovernmental Reform Act (FAIR Act) - Title I: Legislative Reform - Provides that, with certain exceptions, whenever a committee of either House reports a bill or resolution of a public character (excluding resolutions of ratification of a treaty) to its House mandating unfunded requirements upon State or local governments or the private sector, the report accompanying that bill or resolution shall analyze the effect of the new requirements on: (1) State and local government expenditures necessary to comply with Federal mandates; (2) private businesses; and (3) economic growth and competitiveness. Requires the Congressional Budget Office to prepare such economic analyses. Title II: Federal Intergovernmental Relations - Provides that, whenever an agency publishes a general notice of proposed rulemaking or promulgates a final rule, the agency shall prepare and make available for public comment an Intergovernmental and Economic Impact Assessment. Specifies the contents of such an assessment.
Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 148 (103rd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits the Federal Government from requiring States or local governments to take any action that requires them to engage in additional or expanded activities or services, unless they receive from the Federal Government compensation equal to the net additional costs. Waives provisions of this Act during a fiscal emergency of up to 180 days that is declared in a joint resolution adopted by a two-thirds vote of each House of Congress and signed by the President.