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451 records in US in 1992
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1992
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H. Con. Res. 287 (congressional budget).
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1992
Youth Skills Training and Education Partnerships Act - Title I: Standards of Excellence in Workforce Training - Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to add a title II, Workforce Training, including: (1) subtitle A, Professional and Technical Standards for Workforce Training, to establish a voluntary system of occupational certification; and (2) subtitle B, Youth Skills Training and Education Programs, to encourage the formation of youth skills training and education partnerships by allowing certain business contributions to such programs to qualify for specified tax exemptions and augmented deductions. (Provides that the current provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act shall be under a title I, Federal Employment Service.) Establishes a National Board for Professional and Technical Standards (the National Board). Directs the National Board to establish advisory committees for each major industry and for major occupations that involve more than one industry. Requires the National Board to: (1) by December 1, 1993, identify at least 30 industrial or occupational categories and develop proficiency standards, curricula, and assessments for such industries or occupations; and (2) develop a program to ensure that proficiency standards, curricula, and assessments for all remaining identified industrial or occupational categories are completed by January 1, 1997. Requires that such proficiency standards be applied so that their attainment is likely to meet requirements for transferable credit and enable students to continue their education and training. Requires that such proficiency standards, curricula, and assessments for an industry or occupation be made available for voluntary use by postsecondary education institutions offering professional and technical education, labor organizations, trade and technical associations, employers and labor-management organizations providing formalized training, and other organizations. Authorizes appropriations for the National Board's activities. Sets forth requirements under which youth skills training and education programs, as defined under the Wagner-Peyser Act provisions added by this Act, shall qualify for purposes of specified tax exemptions and deductions for business contributions under the Internal Revenue Code. Requires such a program to: (1) give students in grades 11 and 12 the opportunity to voluntarily enter into such programs that integrate academic and workplace instruction leading to a high school diploma and qualifying the student for further education or an advanced technical or professional training program; (2) provide each student, upon program completion, with assistance in seeking post-program employment and further education and training in the student's program field; and (3) be certified by a State or local educational agency as meeting its educational standards; and (4) be certified by a State agency for occupational training as meeting specified requirements relating to training standards, school coordinator, written training agreement, review and evaluation, labor standards, nondiscrimination, nondisplacement, nonduplication, and qualified use of contributions. Title II: Youth Skills Training and Education Partnerships - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for: (1) a tax exemption for youth skills training and education partnerships (which meet program qualifications under the Wagner-Peyser Act); and (2) an augmented deduction for contributions by businesses to such partnerships. Title III: Study - Directs the Secretaries of Labor, of Education, and of the Treasury, or their delegates, to jointly study the effects of the amendments made by this Act and report results and recommendations to specified congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1992
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to subject real property that has been forfeited, but not yet seized, to the Government under the Act to taxation by a State, Commonwealth, territory, possession, district, and local political subdivision in the same manner as other real property.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1992
Campaign Finance System Reform Act - Title I: Control of House of Representatives Campaign Spending - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to prohibit House of Representatives candidates from accepting contributions from: (1) multicandidate political committees and other sources except individuals; or (2) persons other than individual residents of the candidate's congressional district. Adds new FECA title V, Expenditure Limitations and Contribution Limitations For Eligible House of Representatives Candidates. Prohibits eligible House candidates from: (1) making expenditures in an election cycle that total more than $600,000, of which not more than $500,000 may be expended in the general election period; or (2) accepting contributions in an election cycle that total more than $600,000. Exempts from such limitations certain legal and accounting costs and taxes. Sets forth special rules governing: (1) expenditures in runoff, special, and closely contested primary elections and expenditures for fundraising activities; and (2) contribution in runoff elections, transfers of contributions to later election cycles, and contributions from the personal funds of the candidate. Provides that the limitations imposed above on eligible House candidates shall not apply in cases where the other candidate: (1) is not an eligible House candidate; and (2) makes expenditures in excess of 80 percent of the general election period limitation or receives contributions in excess of 50 percent of such limitation. Imposes certain reporting requirements on such non-eligible House candidates. Title II: Provisions Relating To Soft Money Of Political Parties - Amends FECA to limit the amount of contributions individuals and multicandidate political committees may make each year to political committees established and maintained by a State committee of a political party (political party committees). Increases the overall limit on individual contributions (but not by more than $5,000) by the amount of contributions made by an individual during the year to poltical party committees. Limits the amount of expenditures which a State party committee may make in connection with the general election campaign of a candidate for President affiliated with such party. Modifies contribution and expenditure exceptions. Subjects to FECA reporting requirements any amount received or expended by party committees (including "soft money") with respect to an election for Federal office. Provides that a national party committee may not solicit or accept contributions not subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements under FECA, except with respect to contributions that are to be: (1) transferred to a State party committee for use directly for specified activities treated by this Act as not in connection with an election for Federal office; or (2) used by the committee primarily to support such activities. Limits the amount of expenditures national, State, and local party committees may make each year for specified activities treated by this Act as in connection with an election for Federal office. Sets forth limitations on fundraising activities of Federal candidates and officeholders and certain political committees. Requires national party committees and congressional campaign committees to report all receipts and disbursements during certain periods whether or not they are connected to an election for Federal office. Title III: Independent Expenditures - Amends FECA to revise the definitions of independent expenditure and contribution. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends FECA to prohibit the use of Government-owned or -operated aircraft in connection with elections for Federal office, except with respect to travel provided to the President and Vice President. Expresses the sense of Congress that House candidates should comply with the contribution and expenditure limitations under new FECA title V added above. Title V: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1992
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Amendments of 1992 - Title I: Amendments to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) to include within the policy enunciated under such Act to: (1) encourage parental involvement in treatment and alternative disposition programs; and (2) provide for coordination of services between State, local, and community-based agencies, and promote interagency cooperation in providing such services. Revises the definition of "valid court order" to mean a court order given by a juvenile court judge to a juvenile: (1) who was brought before the court and made subject to such order (as under current law); (2) who received, before the issuance of such order, the full due process rights guaranteed to such juvenile by the Constitution; and (3) with respect to whom an appropriate public agency (other than a court or law enforcement agency), before the issuance of such order, reviewed the behavior of the juvenile and circumstances under which the juvenile was brought before the court and made subject to such order, determined the reasons for such behavior, determined that all dispositions (including treatment), other than placement in a secure detention or correctional facility had been exhausted or were clearly inappropriate, and submitted to the court a written report stating the results of the review and the determinations made. Specifies that there shall be a direct reporting relationship between the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Attorney General, that the Administrator shall be directly responsible to the Attorney General, and that the Attorney General may not delegate specified powers, duties, or functions. (Under current law, the Administrator reports to the Attorney General through the Assistant Attorney General who heads the Office of Justice Programs under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.) Directs the Administrator to develop objectives, priorities, and a long-term plan, and implement overall policy and a strategy to carry out such plan (currently, to implement overall policy and develop objectives and priorities). Specifies that such plan shall: (1) contain specific goals and criteria for making grants and contracts, conducting research, and carrying out other activities under such Act; and (2) provide for coordinating the administration of programs and activities under such Act with the administration of all other Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities. Requires the Administrator to review such plan annually, revise it as appropriate, and publish it in the Federal Register. Repeals certain provisions with respect to: (1) the transfer of funds to other agencies; and (2) grants and contracts to other agencies, institutions, and individuals. Revises provisions with respect to the composition, functions, and administration of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Provides for the appointment of specified numbers of members appointed from among individuals who are practitioners in the field of juvenile justice who are not officers or employees of the United States, from members selected by the Congress, and from members appointed by the President. Directs the Council to examine how the separate programs can be coordinated among Federal, State, and local governments to better serve at-risk children and juveniles. Specifies that, in addition to performing their functions as members of the Council, members shall collectively: (1) make recommendations regarding the development of the objectives, priorities, and long-term plan, and the implementation of overall policy and strategy to carry out such plan; and (2) submit recommendations to the Administrator and the chairmen of specified congressional committees. Requires the Administrator's annual report to include a summary and analysis of: (1) the types of facilities used to hold juveniles treated as adults for purposes of prosecution; and (2) the educational status of juveniles. Makes a portion of any State allotment under such Act available to pay for one full-time staff position. Revises State plan requirements to provide for: (1) representation by recreation departments on the advisory group appointed by the chief executive of the State; (2) an assessment of educational needs as part of the analysis of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention needs; (3) coordination and maximum utilization of existing juvenile-related recreation programs within the State; (4) home-based alternative services; (5) community-based programs and services designed to work with juveniles during their incarceration, and with their families, to ensure the safe return of such juveniles to their homes and to strengthen the family unit; (6) enhanced coordination with the local schools such juveniles would otherwise attend to ensure that the instruction such juveniles receive outside, is closely aligned with the instruction provided in, such schools, and that information regarding any learning problems identified in such alternative learning situations are communicated to such schools; (7) juvenile initiated programs and outreach programs to assist juveniles with limited English-speaking ability; (8) special emphasis on involving parents with limited English-speaking ability; (9) programs relating to juveniles who have educational problems; (10) programs (including referral to literacy and social service programs) to assist families with limited English-speaking ability that include delinquent juveniles to overcome language and cultural barriers that may prevent the complete treatment of such juveniles and the preservation of the family unit; (11) programs designed to prevent and reduce hate crimes committed by juveniles; (12) a prohibition on detention or confinement in institutions in which juveniles alleged or found to be delinquent have contact (currently, regular contact) with adult convicts or with adults awaiting trial on criminal charges, or with the security staff or direct-care staff of a jail or lockup for adults; (13) elimination of an exception to the requirement that no juvenile be detained or confined in any jail or lockup for adults; (14) family counseling during the incarceration of juvenile family members and coordination of family services when appropriate and feasible; and (15) an assurance that any specified excess funds received by the State shall be expended through or for programs that are part of a comprehensive and coordinated community system of services. Directs that such State plans contain an analysis of services available, and a plan for providing needed services, with respect to: (1) gender-specific services for the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency; (2) services for the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency in rural areas; and (3) mental health services available to juveniles in the juvenile justice system (including an assessment of the appropriateness of the particular placements of juveniles in order to receive such services) and of barriers to access to such services. Revises provisions with respect to the approval of State plans and the lack of a State plan. Provides for a reduction or termination of funds for noncompliance, subject to specified limitations. Specifies that the National Institute for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (the Institute) shall serve as a clearinghouse for information regarding juvenile delinquency, including State and local juvenile delinquency prevention and treatment programs (as under current law), and including drug and alcohol programs and gender-specific programs. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) support research related to achieving a better understanding of the commission, and designed to identify educational programs best suited to prevent and reduce the incidence, of hate crimes by juveniles; and (2) develop, conduct, and provide training programs for persons working with juveniles and their families (as under current law), including juveniles who commit hate crimes. Requires the Administrator to include within the Institute's training program methods and techniques specifically designed to prevent and reduce such incidence. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study of the incidence of violence committed by or against juveniles in urban areas of the United States. Sets forth study objectives, including: (1) identifying characteristics and patterns of behavior of juveniles who are at risk of becoming violent or victims of homicide, factors particularly indigenous to such areas that contribute to violence committed by or against juveniles, and existing and new diversion, prevention, and control programs to ameliorate conditions causing any increase in such violence; (2) determining the accessibility and use of firearms, and the conditions that cause any increase in violence committed, by or against juveniles; (3) using data available from Federal and State law enforcement agencies to make specified assessments with respect to hate crimes; (4) improving current systems to prevent and control violence by or against juveniles; and (5) developing a plan to assist State and local governments to establish viable ways to reduce homicide committed by or against juveniles. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Administrator, in making grants and contracts under Special Emphasis Prevention and Treatment Programs, to include: (1) home-based treatment programs in establishing or maintaining community-based alternatives to traditional forms of institutionalization of juvenile offenders; (2) self-help programs for parents in developing or supporting model programs to strengthen and maintain the family unit; (3) programs that work with families during the incarceration of juvenile family members and which take into consideration the special needs of families with limited English-speaking ability; (4) targeting juveniles who have had, or are likely to have, contact with the juvenile justice system in disseminating information regarding model, innovative, law-related education programs; and (5) establishing or supporting programs designed to prevent and reduce the incidence of hate crimes committed by juveniles, including model educational programs (designed to reduce such incidence by means such as addressing the specific prejudicial attitude of each offender, developing an awareness in such offender of the effect of the hate crime on the victim, and educating such offender about the importance of tolerance in our society) and sentencing programs (designed specifically for juveniles who commit hate crimes and that provide alternatives to incarceration). Authorizes the Administrator, in making such grants and contracts, to assist in identifying learning disabilities in developing and implementing model programs and methods to keep students in elementary and secondary schools, and in encouraging new approaches with respect to prevention of school violence and vandalism. Bars the Administrator from making any such grant or contract to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or to any administrative unit or other entity that is part of DOJ. Modifies provisions regarding the competitive process (and related reporting requirements) in approving applications for such grants or contracts. Specifies that such process shall not apply to programs to be carried out in areas with respect to which the President declares (under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act) that a major disaster or emergency exists. Revises provisions with respect to prevention and treatment programs relating to juvenile gangs and drug abuse and trafficking. Directs the Administrator to make grants to or enter into contracts with public agencies (including local educational agencies) and private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions to establish and support programs and activities that involve families and communities that are designed to carry out specified purposes, including to: (1) prevent and reduce the participation of juveniles in the activities of gangs that commit crimes (which may include individual, peer, family, and group counseling, education and social services designed to address the social and developmental needs of juveniles, the organization of neighborhood and community groups, and training and assistance to adults who have significant relationships with juveniles who are or may become members of gangs, in providing constructive alternatives to participating in gang activities); (2) promote and support the development of policies and activities in public elementary and secondary schools which will assist such schools in maintaining a safe environment conducive to learning; (3) assist juveniles who are or may become gang members to obtain appropriate educational instruction, in or outside a regular school program, including the provision of counseling and other services; (4) expand the availability of prevention and treatment services relating to the illegal use of controlled substances and controlled substance analogues by juveniles; (5) provide services to prevent juveniles from coming into contact with the juvenile justice system again as a result of gang-related activity; and (6) support activities to inform juveniles of the availability of treatment and services for which financial assistance is available. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants and enter into contracts with public agencies and private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions to: (1) conduct research on issues related to juvenile gangs; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of programs and activities funded under these provisions; and (3) increase the knowledge of the public by disseminating information on research and on effective programs and activities. Sets forth application requirements, including that applications: (1) provide an assurance that the proposed program or activity will supplement, not supplant, similar programs and activities already available in the community; (2) describe how such program or activity is coordinated with other specified programs, activities, and services available locally; and (3) certify that the applicant has requested the State planning agency (currently, any designated local agency) to review and comment on such application, and summarize the responses of such State planning agency to the request). Directs the Administrator, in reviewing applications, to give priority to specified applications, including those: (1) submitted by, or substantially involving, local educational agencies; and (2) for assistance for programs and activities that are broadly supported by public and private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions in the geographical area in which the applicants propose to carry out the programs and activities, and that will substantially involve the families of juvenile gang members in carrying out such programs or activities. Sets forth new provisions with respect to community-based gang intervention. Directs the Administrator to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, public and private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions to carry out programs and activities to: (1) reduce the participation of juveniles in illegal gang activities; (2) develop regional task forces involving State, local, and community-based organizations to coordinate enforcement, intervention, and treatment efforts for juvenile gang members and to curtail interstate gang activities; and (3) facilitate coordination and cooperation among local education, juvenile justice, employment, and social service agencies, and community-based programs with a proven record of effectively providing intervention services to juvenile gang members for the purpose of reducing the participation of juveniles in illegal gang activities. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Amendments to the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act - Amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide services to deal with the immediate needs of homeless youth and their families (as under current law) in a manner which is outside the law enforcement, child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice systems (current law specifies outside the law enforcement structure and juvenile justice system). Increases the allotment of grant funds. Amends the JJDPA to: (1) delete a provision authorizing the Secretary to provide on-the-job training to local runaway and homeless youth center personnel and coordinated networks of local law enforcement, social service, and welfare personnel to assist such personnel in recognizing and providing for learning disabled and other handicapped juveniles; and (2) authorize the Secretary, subject to specified appropriations-related limitations, to make grants to establish and operate street-based service projects for runaway, homeless, and street youth, and home-based service projects for families that are separated (or at risk of separation) as a result of the physical absence of a runaway youth or youth at risk of family separation. Amends the RHYA to provide that, to be eligible for assistance under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Grant Program, an applicant shall propose to establish, strengthen, or fund specified centers and services and a locally controlled facility providing temporary shelter (as under current law), including a family host home. Specifies that, to qualify for such assistance, the applicant shall submit a plan to the Secretary including assurances that such applicant shall: (1) use such assistance with respect to a facility that has a maximum capacity of not more than 25 youths (currently, not more than 25 children); (2) develop an adequate plan for assuring proper relations with law enforcement, social service, school system, and welfare personnel (as under current law), and health care personnel, as well as coordination with personnel of the schools to which runaway and homeless youth will return, to assist such youth to stay current with the curricula of such schools; (3) develop an adequate plan for providing counseling and aftercare services to such youth, and for encouraging the involvement of their parents or legal guardians in counseling (current law specifies aftercare counseling involving such youth and their families within the State in which the runaway and homeless youth center is located); (4) keep adequate statistical records profiling the children and parents which it serves, except that records maintained on individual youth shall not be disclosed without consent of the individual youth and family members (as under current law) whom it serves, including youth who are not referred to out-of-home shelter services; and (5) develop an adequate plan for establishing outreach programs designed to attract individuals (including minorities and those with limited English-speaking ability) who are eligible to receive services for which a grant may be expended. Amends the JJDPA to provide that, to be eligible for street-based services assistance, an applicant shall propose to establish, strengthen, or fund a street-based service project for runaway and homeless youth and street youth, and shall submit to the Secretary a plan in which such applicant agrees, as part of such project: (1) to provide qualified supervision of staff, backup personnel for on-street staff, informational and health educational material to runaway and homeless youth and street youth in need of services, and initial and periodic training of staff who provide services under such project; (2) to carry out outreach activities for, and collect statistical information on, such youth; (3) to develop referral relationships with agencies and organizations that provide services or assistance to such youth; (4) to submit to the Secretary an annual report, an annual budget, and such other information as the Secretary may reasonably require; (5) to implement such accounting procedures and fiscal control devices as the Secretary may require; (6) to keep adequate statistical records that profile such youth whom it serves and not disclose their identity in reports or other documents based on such records; and (7) not to disclose records maintained on individual youth without their consent to anyone other than an agency compiling statistical records. Requires an applicant, to be eligible for home-based services assistance, to propose to establish, strengthen, or fund a home-based service project for runaway youth or youth at risk of family separation and submit to the Secretary a plan in which the applicant agrees, as part of such project: (1) to provide counseling and information services needed by runaway youth, youth at risk of family separation, and the family (including unrelated individuals in the family household) of such youth, 24-hour service to respond to family crises (including immediate access to temporary shelter for such youth affected by family crises), informational and health educational material to such youth in need of services, and initial and periodic training of staff who provide services under such project; (2) to establish in partnership with the families of such youth objectives and measures of success to be achieved as a result of participating in such project; (3) to carry out outreach activities for, and collect statistical information on, such youth; (4) to ensure that caseloads remain sufficiently low to allow for intensive involvement with each family participating in, and that qualified supervision will be provided to staff who provide services under, such project; (5) to submit to the Secretary an annual report, an annual budget, and such other information as the Secretary may reasonably require; (6) to implement such accounting procedures and fiscal control devices as the Secretary may require; (7) to keep adequate statistical records that profile such youth whom it serves and not disclose the identity of such youth in reports or other documents based on such records; and (8) not to disclose records maintained on individual youth without their consent to anyone other than an agency compiling statistical records. Makes conforming amendments with respect to grants to private entities and approval by the Secretary of specified grant funds. Gives priority to grants smaller than $200,000 (currently, $150,000). Provides that, to be eligible for assistance under the Transitional Living Grant Program, an applicant must agree not to disclose records maintained on individual homeless youth without the consent of such individual (current law also requires consent of a parent or legal guardian) to anyone other than an agency compiling statistical records or a government agency involved in the disposition of criminal charges against youth. Directs the Secretary to include in its annual report to the Congress a summary of the results of Federal evaluation of the programs, projects, and activities carried out under the RHYA, and a description of the training provided to the individuals who carry out such evaluation. Specifies that, as part of such evaluation, the Secretary shall require such individuals to visit each grantee on-site not less frequently than at three-year intervals. Authorizes appropriations for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Grant Program and the Transitional Living Grant Program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) give priority to grant applicants (with respect to grants, as provided for under current law, for a national communication system to assist runaway and homeless youth in communicating with their families and with service providers) that have experience in providing telephone services to such youth; (2) coordinate the activities of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services with those of other Federal and eligible non-Federal entities (currently, with respect to matters relating to communicable diseases); and (3) make grants to statewide and regional nonprofit organizations to provide technical assistance and training to eligible public and private entities (as under current law) for the purpose of carrying out the programs, projects, or activities for which such grants are made pursuant to this Act. Sets forth additional criteria for the Secretary to use in selecting applicants with respect to grants (provided for under current law) to States, localities, and private entities to carry out research, demonstration, and service projects designed to increase knowledge concerning, and to improve services for, runaway and homeless youth. Title III: Amendment to the Missing Children's Assistance Act - Amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to authorize appropriations. Title IV: General Provisions - Sets forth effective dates of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1992
Small Business Equity Enhancement Act of 1992 - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to revise provisions with respect to debentures issued by small business investment companies (SBICs) to specify that: (1) the total amount of debentures and participating securities that may be guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and outstanding from an SBIC licensed under the Act shall not exceed 300 percent of the private capital of such SBIC; and (2) in no event shall the aggregate amount of outstanding debentures and participating securities purchased or guaranteed by the SBA of any such SBIC which are commonly controlled (as determined by the SBA) exceed $90,000,000. Provides that: (1) nothing under such provisions shall require any such SBIC that on March 31, 1993, has outstanding debentures in excess of 300 percent of its private capital to repay such excess; and (2) any such SBIC may apply for additional debenture guarantee or participating security with the proceeds to be used solely to pay the amount due on such maturing debenture, but the maturity date of the new debenture or security shall not be later than September 30, 2002. Sets forth a formula for determining the maximum amount of outstanding guaranteed debentures and participating securities made available to an SBIC licensed under the Act, to be effective after March 31, 1993. Directs the SBA, not later than December 15, 1994, and in each subsequent calendar year, to apply an inflationary adjustment to the dollar amounts specified in the leverage formula which shall be the percentage (if any) by which the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the preceding calendar year exceeds the CPI for calendar year 1993. Authorizes the SBA to guarantee the payment of the redemption price and dividends or interest on participating securities issued by SBICs licensed pursuant to the Act, and of a trust or pool acting on behalf of the SBA to purchase such securities. Sets forth: (1) restrictions with respect to redemption of, dividend and interest payments on, and other issues regarding, such securities; and (2) terms and conditions regarding the computation of amounts due the SBA under such securities. Revises provisions of the Act related to the issuance and guarantee of trust certificates to provide for the redemption, whether voluntary or involuntary, of all participating securities residing in the pool, as well as debentures. Bars any Federal, State, or local law from precluding or limiting the exercise by the SBA of its ownership rights in participating securities residing in a trust or pool against which trust certificates are issued. Directs the SBA to contract with an agent or agents to carry out on behalf of the SBA pooling and central registration functions (currently, with an agent to carry out central registration functions), including maintenance on behalf of and under the direction of the SBA of such commercial bank accounts as necessary to facilitate trusts or pools backed by debentures or securities guaranteed or purchased under the Act and the issuance of trust certificates to facilitate such pooling. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the SBA, prior to licensing and approving any request for financing, to determine the ability of an SBIC to make periodic payments on any debt of the SBIC which is interest bearing, taking into consideration the income which the SBIC anticipates on its contemplated investments, the experience of its owners and managers, its history as an entity, and its financial resources. Requires each SBIC to adopt written guidelines for determination of the value of its investments. Makes the board of directors of corporations, the general partners of partnerships, and the owners of proprietorships solely responsible for making a good faith determination of the fair market value of the investments made by such SBIC. Requires that such determinations be made and reported to the SBA at least semiannually or at more frequent intervals as the SBA determines appropriate (but any SBIC which does not have outstanding financial assistance under the Act shall be required to make such determinations and reports annually, unless the SBA determines otherwise). Subjects each SBIC to examinations made by the Investment Division of the SBA (currently, by SBA examiners). Transfers resources related to the examination function under the Act from the Inspector General of the SBA to the SBA's Investment Division. Specifies that if any SBIC has obtained SBA financing which remains outstanding, the aggregate amount of obligations and securities acquired and for which commitments may be issued by such SBIC under the provisions of the Act for any single enterprise shall not exceed 20 percent of the private capital of such SBIC without SBA approval. Permits SBICs with outstanding financings (currently, SBICs) to invest funds, subject to specified conditions. Directs the SBA to: (1) complete a review of regulations intended to provide for the safety and soundness of those SBICs which obtain SBA financing under the Act; and (2) exempt from such regulations, or separately regulate, those SBICs which do not obtain such financing. Sets forth reporting requirements. Increases minimum capital requirements for SBICs licensed on or after October 1, 1992 (currently, 1979). Defines "private capital" to mean the private paid-in capital and paid-in surplus of a corporate licensee, or the private partnership capital of an unincorporated licensee, inclusive of any funds invested in the licensee by a public or private pension fund, and commitments from institutional investors that meet SBA criteria which are funded by such investors prior to the licensee obtaining financing from the SBA based on such commitments, but exclusive of any funds borrowed by the licensee from any source, obtained from the SBA through the sale of preferred securities, or derived directly or indirectly from any Federal source. Directs the SBA to permit those SBICs which have obtained financings pursuant to the Act to charge a maximum rate of interest based upon the cost of such financings determined on an annual basis. Amends the Small Business Act to provide that, subject to approval in appropriations Acts, amounts authorized for preferred stock, debentures, or participating securities under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 may be obligated in one fiscal year and disbursed or guaranteed in the following fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1992
Water Resources Development Act of 1992 - Title I: Project Authorization - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army (the Secretary) to carry out public works projects in the following locations for improvements to navigation, flood control, and ecosystem restoration: (1) Southeast Alaska Harbors of Refuge, Alaska; (2) Whiteman's Creek, Arkansas; (3) American River Watershed, California; (4) Morro Bay Harbor, California; (5) Sacramento Metro Area, California; (6) Rio Grande Alamosa, Colorado; (7) Delaware River Mainstem and Channel Deepening, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; (8) Canaveral Harbor, Florida; (9) Kissimee River, Florida; (10) Port Everglades Harbor, Florida; (11) Savannah Harbor, Georgia and South Carolina; (12) Kentucky Lock Addition, Kentucky; (13) Amite River and Tributaries, Louisiana; (14) Saugus River and Tributaries, Massachusetts; (15) Las Vegas Wash and Tributaries, Nevada; (16) Morehead City Harbor, North Carolina; (17) West Onslow and New River Inlet, North Carolina; (18) Lackawanna River at Scranton, Pennsylvania; (19) Locks and Dams 2, 3, and 4 Monongahela River, Pennsylvania; (20) Rio Grande De Loiza, Puerto Rico; (21) Sargent Beach, Texas; and (22) Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas. Modifies projects at the following locations with respect to coastal storm protection, storm water collection, flood control beach erosion control and hurricane protection, navigation, and water quality improvement: (1) Virginia Beach, Virginia; (2) South Fork of the Zumbro River, Rochester, Minnesota; (3) Moorefield and Petersburg, West Virginia; (4) Buena Vista, Virginia; (5) Westhampton Beach, New York; (6) Jones inlet, New York; (7) Buffomville Lake, Massachusetts; (8) French River, Connecticut and Massachusetts; and (9) Clear Creek, Texas. Reauthorizes the project for flood control at: (1) Perry Creek, Sioux City, Iowa; and (2) Green Bay Levee District, Iowa. Title II: Project Related Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to develop and implement a plan for modifying the channel bypass element of the Levisa Fork, Kentucky, project for water quality improvement in and restoration of Pikeville Lake, Kentucky. Authorizes appropriations. Bars the Secretary from proceeding with the divestiture of locks and dams five through 14 on the Kentucky River, Kentucky, until the Secretary has complied with the terms of a specified Memorandum of Understanding. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a comprehensive five-year and 20-year sediment management strategy for the Toledo River (and authorizes the Secretary to conduct the engineering and construction activities necessary to implement the five-year strategy); and (2) establish the William B. Hoyt II Visitor Center at Mount Morris Dam, Mount Morris, New York. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to proceed with the project for the Richmond, Virginia, Filtration Plant. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) maintain navigation access to, and berthing areas at, all currently operating public and private commercial dock facilities associated with or having access to the Federal navigation project on the Columbia, Snake, and Clearwater Rivers from Bonneville Dam to and including Lewiston, Idaho, at a depth commensurate with the Federal navigation project; (2) complete the shore protection measures on Cliff Walk, Newport, Rhode Island; and (3) reconstruct the Allendale Dam in North Providence, Rhode Island. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to make specified modifications with respect to the effective date of the local cooperation agreement with the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia and reimbursement for the Federal share of beach nourishment at the Virginia Beach periodic nourishment project. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to correct the design deficiency associated with the project for flood control at Ellenville, New York. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) undertake an environmental restoration project along the banks of the White River in Indianapolis, Indiana; and (2) design and construct projects for combined sewer overflow (CSO) prevention for specified areas across the country. Sets forth provisions regarding project design and costs for the latter. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to maintain the authorized Federal navigation channel at Port Orford, Oregon. Title III: General Provisions - Amends the Water Resources Development Act of: (1) 1986 to authorize appropriations for dam safety; and (2) 1974 to provide that up to half the non-Federal contribution for the cost-sharing program may be made by the provision of in-kind services, and to define "State" to include Indian tribes. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a program to share the cost of managing recreation facilities and natural resources at water resource development projects under the Secretary's jurisdiction; (2) enter into cooperative agreements with non-Federal public and private entities to provide for operation and management of recreation facilities and natural resources at civil works projects under the Secretary's jurisdiction where such facilities and resources are being maintained at complete Federal expense; and (3) accept contributions of funds, materials, and services from such entities for purposes of this provision. Amends the Flood Control Act of 1968 to authorize the Secretary to charge fees (to be deposited into the special Treasury account for the Corps of Engineers) for the use of developed recreation sites and facilities, but not for the use or provision of drinking water, way side exhibits, general purpose roads, overlook sites, toilet facilities, or general visitor information. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to repeal a provision barring a Federal agency, at each lake or reservoir under the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers where camping is permitted, from charging a user fee for providing at least one primitive campground containing designated campsites, sanitary facilities, and vehicular access. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out projects for the protection, restoration, and creation of aquatic and ecologically-related habitats, including wetlands, in connection with dredging for construction, operation, or maintenance of an authorized navigation project. Specifies that such projects shall be undertaken, subject to appropriations and Federal cost-sharing limitations, in any case where the Secretary finds that: (1) the environmental, economic, and social benefits of the project justify the cost; and (2) such project will not result in any further environmental degradation. Specifies that any such project shall be initiated only after non-Federal interests have entered into a cooperative agreement, according to specified provisions of the Flood Control Act of 1970, under which such interests agree to: (1) provide 25 percent of the cost associated with the project, including provision of all lands, easements, rights-of-way, and necessary relocations; and (2) pay 100 percent of the cost of operation, maintenance, replacement, and rehabilitation costs associated with the project. Authorizes appropriations. Sets limits on the Federal share of the cost of each project. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1976 to revise provisions with respect to cost-sharing for disposal of dredged sand on beaches. Requires the Secretary to give consideration to the schedule of the State or political subdivision in providing its share of funds for the placing of such sand on the beaches of such State or subdivision and, to the maximum extent practicable, to accommodate such schedule. Makes the political subdivision responsible for providing payments required under such Act in lieu of the State. Specifies that amounts recovered under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 for any response action taken by the Secretary in support of the Army Civil Works Program shall be credited to the principal appropriation from which the costs of such action has been paid or will be charged. Authorizes the Secretary, in accomplishing the maintenance, rehabilitation, and modernization of hydroelectric power generating facilities at water resources projects under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army, to increase the efficiency of energy production or the capacity of these facilities if, after consulting with other appropriate Federal agencies, the Secretary determines that such uprating: (1) is economically justified and financially feasible; (2) will not result in significant adverse environmental impacts or effects on the purposes for which the project is authorized; and (3) will not involve major structural or operational changes in the project. Authorizes the Secretary, at a water resources project where the non-Federal interest is responsible for performing the operation, maintenance, replacement, and rehabilitation of the project and the Government is responsible for paying a portion of such costs, to: (1) provide a payment of the estimated total Federal share of such costs (based on a specified formula) to the non-Federal interest after completion of project construction; and (2) make a payment only if the non-Federal interest has entered into a binding agreement with the Secretary to perform the operation, maintenance, replacement, and rehabilitation of the project, subject to specified requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to accept contributions of cash, funds, materials, and services from nonprofit private and non-Federal public entities for environmental protection and restoration. Extends the jurisdiction of the Mississippi River Commission to include Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Authorizes the Secretary to remove a sunken barge from waters off the shore of the Narragansett Town Beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island, subject to specified requirements. Authorizes the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide financial assistance to: (1) pay the costs of construction and equipment for an Upper Mississippi River Environmental Education Center to be located in Winona, Minnesota; and (2) share the costs of planning, engineering design, construction, and equipment for the North American Wildlife and Prairie Wetlands Interpretive Center to be constructed near Medina, North Dakota. Sets forth additional requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the use of flood emergency funds to repair and restore protective beaches damaged or destroyed by wind, wave, or water action other than of an ordinary nature when such repair and restoration is necessary to provide a level of protection equivalent to that provided prior to such damage or destruction and when requested by the Governor. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to require that credits for project lands, easements, relocations, and rights-of-way include full value of foregone royalties on subsurface minerals, such as sand, where State royalty schedules have been established on the commercial mining of such resources. Limits design and construction costs assigned to projects under such Act for purposes of cost-sharing by non-Federal interests to the direct costs of such projects (and excludes any departmental overhead or general and administrative overhead costs). Makes this provision applicable to projects authorized in this or subsequent Acts and to cost-sharing agreements for projects not specifically authorized by the Congress entered into after the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary and the Assistant Administrator for Research and Development at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to coordinate an annual review of the environmental research activities conducted at their respective research facilities. Extends the time of transfer of lands and management responsibilities with respect to specified portions of the Cross Florida Barge Canal project. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to investigate and carry out saltmarsh restoration projects along the coastline of the State of Connecticut, subject to specified cost-sharing requirements. Directs the Secretary, for purposes of formulating, evaluating, and displaying the benefits and costs of any water resources project that involves beach renourishment, or that involves inlet dredging or other navigation improvements that are likely to affect erosion patterns on beaches adjacent to such project, to address: (1) economic costs to the State of not placing beach-quality sand on eroded or eroding beaches; and (2) cost savings, if any, that may be achieved by restoring or renourishing eroded or eroding beaches during a dredging or other navigation project as compared to performing such restoration or renourishment at a later date as a separate project. Specifies that the Secretary shall consider the protection of coastal resources through placement of beach quality sand on beaches as being in the public interest whenever such sand would otherwise be disposed of offshore. Requires the Secretary to establish by regulation a process for development of long-range plans for financing and execution of projects for beach nourishment and inlet management within each affected State. Sets forth minimum requirements with respect to such process and the amendment or termination of such plans. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Infrastructure Technology, Research and Development - Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) engage in research, development, and technology transfer activities with respect to water and related land resources and water transportation, and test, develop, or assist non-Federal entities in development of new technology; (2) engage in activities to inform the U.S. Maritime Industry and Port Authorities of technological innovations abroad that could significantly improve waterborne transportation in the United States, both inland and deep draft; and (3) coordinate water resources-related research efforts with those national centers and institutes focused on the development of new technology and solutions to the problems associated with the nation's infrastructure. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a cooperative agreement with the National Center for Infrastructure Studies, Columbia University, New York City, and its consortium of universities, to accelerate the development of new technology in infrastructure; and (2) contract with the National Center for implementation of such a cooperative agreement. Specifies that: (1) such cooperation between the National Center, the Army Corps of Engineers, and its research facilities shall focus on the development of solutions to national water and waterway related infrastructure problems, including the disposal of dredged material; and (2) cooperative activities shall include an assessment of high-speed commercial water transportation, vessels, and infrastructure needs, and that in addition to general cargo carriers, high-speed water passenger transport at and in the vicinity of congested coastal urban areas shall be included. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct such studies as necessary to provide a report to the Congress on the state of the National Ports and Harbors system of the United States. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator of the EPA and the Secretary: (1) based upon a review of specified decontamination technologies, to jointly select removal, pre- and post-treatment and decontamination technologies for contaminated marine sediments for a decontamination project in the New York/New Jersey Harbor; and (2) upon selection, to jointly implement a four-year program of selected technologies to assess their effectiveness in rendering sediments acceptable for unrestricted ocean disposal, beneficial reuse, or both. Provides for continuous review and evaluation of selected technologies, the joint development of an outyear management program, and reevaluation and updating of the program each year in light of the findings of the Administrator and Secretary and the comments of an advisory panel (established pursuant to this Act). Requires the Administrator and the Secretary to jointly recommend three additional sites and select appropriate technologies for marine sediment decontamination projects to be implemented on the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, and the West Coasts during FY 1995 through 1997. Provides for the establishment of an advisory panel (comprised of academic and agency scientists) for each decontamination project to advise the Administrator and the Secretary on technology review, technology selection, and decontamination program implementation. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Environmental Infrastructure Facilities for Economically Distressed Areas - Environmental Infrastructure Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of Community Environmental Infrastructure Assistance (the Office) within the Directorate of Civil Works of the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Department of the Army, to: (1) manage projects pursuant to this title; and (2) provide information and guidance to communities in economically distressed areas with respect to financial analysis and planning, assessment of feasibility of eligible projects under this title, and such economic and organizational issues as regionalization of environmental infrastructure facilities, reform of existing rate structures, and operation of special management districts (and, in cooperation with the Administrator, provide information and guidance to communities on issues related to construction, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of environmental infrastructure facilities). Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish an environmental infrastructure assistance program administered through the Office; (2) use funds under this title for the construction of wastewater treatment works, public water systems, and solid waste management facilities; and (3) use funds under this title for an eligible project only if the project is publicly owned. Specifies that funds provided for the implementation of this title shall be available only for environmental infrastructure projects located in an economically distressed area serving a population of less than 25,000. Authorizes the Governor of any State to submit to the Secretary a State priority project plan, which shall include a list of: (1) economically distressed areas in the State, other than a Federal Indian reservation, including such information qualifying such areas as the Secretary deems necessary and appropriate; (2) specific projects eligible for financial assistance and information concerning the nature, benefits, costs, and expected long-term operations of the projects; and (3) eligible projects ranked in priority order for the fiscal year with respect to which assistance is sought. Requires: (1) the Administrator to submit to the Secretary a priority project plan for eligible projects on Federal Indian reservations; and (2) the Secretary to establish by regulation such additional requirements for a State priority project plan as appropriate. Directs the Secretary to develop and submit to the Congress a national economically distressed area environmental infrastructure assistance plan, which shall include: (1) for any plan that is not an initial plan, a description of the efforts of the Secretary to implement the provisions of this title in the preceding year; (2) a list of all State environmental infrastructure priority projects; (3) such list, ranked in an order which, in the judgment of the Secretary, gives highest priority to projects with the greatest public health and environmental benefits, serving communities facing the greatest financial hardships associated with the project, and ranked highest by the Governor; and (4) a status report of any projects in progress or under construction. Bars the Secretary from listing such a project if, in the judgment of the Secretary, the project does not meet the eligibility requirements of this title. Requires the Secretary, subject to the availability of funds, to enter into local cooperation agreements with appropriate local governments for the planning, design, and construction of such environmental infrastructure projects. Sets forth requirements with respect to such agreements, project priorities, project management, and consistency with planning requirements. Directs the Administrator to publish guidelines for the design of wastewater treatment works, public water systems, and solid waste disposal facilities which: (1) describe the basic design standards to be applied in the planning of environmental infrastructure facilities; (2) identify appropriate engineering specifications for construction of environmental infrastructure facilities based on an expected operational life of 20 years; (3) establish such minimum standards of planning, engineering, design, and construction as are considered appropriate by the Administrator; and (4) assure that any facility constructed will comply with all applicable Federal and State environmental laws. Requires the Administrator to periodically review and revise the guidelines. Authorizes appropriations. Title VI: Contaminated Sediment and Ocean Dumping - National Contaminated Sediment Assessment and Management Act - Establishes a National Contaminated Sediment Task Force. Directs the Administrator to conduct: (1) a comprehensive national survey of data regarding aquatic sediment quality in the United States, including compilation of all existing information on the quantity, chemical and physical composition, and geographic location of pollutants in aquatic sediment; and (2) a comprehensive and continuing program to assess aquatic sediment quality. Sets forth reporting requirements. Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) to: (1) include a declaration by the Congress that it is the goal of the United States to eliminate the dumping of dredged materials containing contaminants in excess of marine water or sediment standards under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) into ocean waters; and (2) specify that no permit or dumping authorization shall be issued for a dumping of material that, in the case of a dump site located in the territorial sea, will violate water quality standards or contains contaminants in quantities in excess of sediment quality standards adopted pursuant to the FWPCA, or, in the case of any other dump site, will violate water quality criteria or contains contaminants in quantities in excess of sediment quality criteria published pursuant to the FWPCA. (Current law states that no permit shall be issued for a dumping of material which will violate applicable water quality standards.) Specifies that: (1) in any case in which the Administrator disagrees with the Secretary's determination as to compliance with the criteria or restrictions (currently, criteria) established pursuant to the MPRSA relating to the effects of the dumping or specified restrictions relating to critical areas and site management plans (currently, critical areas), the determination of the Administrator shall prevail; and (2) if the Secretary finds that, in the disposition of dredged material, there is no economically feasible method or site available other than a dumping site the utilization of which would result in noncompliance with such criteria or restrictions (currently, criteria), he shall so certify and request a special permit from the Administrator (currently, a waiver of the specific requirements involved). Requires the Administrator: (1) within 90 (currently, 30) days of the receipt of the special permit (currently, waiver) request, to grant such permit (currently, waiver), subject to specified conditions; and (2) in reviewing a request for such a permit, to provide for public notice and comment. Authorizes States to adopt only such criteria, standards, rules, or regulations (to be transmitted to the Administrator and Secretary, who shall assure compliance) relating to the dumping of materials into ocean waters within the jurisdiction of the State which are more stringent and protective of such waters and sediment than those adopted under the MPRSA. (Under current law, no State shall adopt or enforce any rule or regulation relating to such activity, but may propose to the Administrator criteria related to ocean dumping, which the Administrator may adopt if not inconsistent with such Act, subject to specified requirements.) Directs the Administrator: (1) to designate sites or time periods for dumping that will mitigate the adverse impact on the environment to the greatest extent practicable (current law authorizes the Secretary to designate recommended sites or times); and (2) in any case where the Administrator determines that, with respect to certain materials, it is necessary to prohibit dumping at a site or during a time period, to prohibit the dumping during such time period (under current law, when necessary to protect critical areas, sites or times within which certain materials may not be dumped). Specifies that this prohibition shall apply to any dumping at the site or during such time period. Requires the Administrator to develop and implement a site management plan for each site designated, including: (1) baseline assessment of environmental conditions at the site and in adjacent areas that may be affected by the dumping activity as if dumping had never occurred; (2) special management conditions or practices to be implemented at each site that are necessary for the protection of the environment; (3) a program of monitoring for each site; (4) the anticipated use and management of the site over the 20-year period following the date of preparation of the plan; (5) a schedule of review and revision of the plan; and (6) such other requirements and conditions as the Administrator considers necessary. Specifies that: (1) after January 1, 1993, no site shall receive a final designation unless a management plan has been developed pursuant to the MPRSA; and (2) beginning on January 1, 1995, no permit or authorization for dumping shall be issued for a site designated pursuant to such Act unless a site management plan has been adopted for such site. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop a site management plan for any site designated prior to January 1, 1993, as expeditiously as practicable, giving consideration to development plans for designated sites that are considered to have the greatest impact on the environment; and (2) provide for public review and comment on site designation actions, and hold a public hearing on any proposed designation or management plan development, revision, or redesignation in the region in which the site that is the subject of the management plan is located. Requires that permits issued with respect to the dumping permit program for dredged material: (1) designate and include such requirements, limitations, or conditions as necessary to assure consistency with any site management plan approved pursuant to the MPRSA (currently, the length of time for which the permits are valid and their expiration date), and special provisions that the Administrator or the Secretary determines to be reasonable and necessary to control and prevent pollution of waters and sediment in the area of the dredging project from on-shore and related facilities subject to the control of the entity seeking a permit; and (2) be issued for a period of up to three years. Specifies that any person who: (1) knowingly violates any provision of, or regulation promulgated or permit issued under, this title shall be fined under the Federal criminal code, imprisoned for not more than five years, or both (currently, fined up to $50,000, imprisoned for up to one year, or both); and (2) is convicted of such a violation shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting or derived from any proceeds that the person obtained as a result of such violation, and any of the property of the person which was used, or intended to be used, to commit or facilitate the commission of the violation. Provides that any vessel used to commit an act for which such a penalty is imposed under the MPRSA shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture to the United States under procedures established for seizure and forfeiture of conveyances under the Controlled Substances Act, with exceptions. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Studies - Authorizes and directs the Secretary to review the report of the Chief of Engineers on the Ohio River and Tributaries and other pertinent reports to determine whether modifications of the recommendations contained therein are advisable at the present time, with particular reference to improvements for water and related land resource needs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the economic benefits of Federal and significant non-Federal shore protection activities in the Mid-Atlantic region from New York to Virginia, assessing: (1) the public investment in such activities; (2) damage incurred by such shore protection activities by the coastal storms of October 1991 and January 1992; (3) the prevention of damage by such storms to coastal and upland resources as a result of such shore protection activities; and (4) the extent to which the prevention of damage to coastal and upland resources is considered in benefit-cost ratios for shore protection activities. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Agriculture to study problems associated with flooding in Harrison County, Mississippi. Specifies that such Secretaries shall jointly conduct a reconnaissance study of such county and specified bodies of water and associated watersheds. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to study the need for navigation improvements in Reynolds Channel and the connecting State Boat Channel between Captree Island and Oak Beach. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to review the reports of the Chief of Engineers and other pertinent documents pertaining to Orchard Beach, Bronx, New York, and to make recommendations concerning storm damage prevention, recreation, environmental restoration, and other purposes. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to study the need for erosion protection along the East River, New York, in the vicinity of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, with a view toward mitigating the deleterious effects of drift removal on protecting the adjacent shoreline from erosion. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a reconnaissance and feasibility study of remediation of contaminated sediments in Lake Champlain and the Narrows of Lake Champlain. Specifies that: (1) such activities shall be coordinated with the State of Vermont and the Water Resources Research Center at the University of Vermont; and (2) funds previously expended by such State and the Water Resources Research Institute in investigating sediment contamination shall be considered toward any joint funding requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a reconnaissance and feasibility study of providing additional: (1) boat access points on Lake Champlain; and (2) flood protection for Montpelier, Vermont. Directs the Board of Engineers to conduct an evaluation of long-term coastal dredged material disposal needs along the Maine and New Hampshire coasts. Specifies that, beginning in 1995, any dredged material resulting from a project proposed as a result of this study shall be disposed of at a site permanently designated by the EPA pursuant to the MPRSA. Authorizes funds to conduct this study. Authorizes and directs the Secretary, in studying the feasibility of Federal improvements to the St. John's River Channel, to: (1) examine the commercial and military uses of the Channel in those areas traversed by both military and commercial vessels; and (2) coordinate their efforts with the Department of the Navy to utilize available studies and resources which project future military dredging needs in the Channel. Requests the Chief of Engineers to review his report on central and southern Florida and other pertinent reports, with a view to determining whether modifications to the existing project are advisable at the present time due to significantly changed physical, biological, demographic, or economic conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Mathematics and Science Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of $1,000 for certain full-time, public elementary and secondary school teachers who complete at an institution of higher education six credit hours in mathematics, science, or any other subject area for which the Secretary of Education determines there is a critical national need for additional teachers. Allows qualified science, mathematics, and critical-need teachers a deduction for education expenses at institutions of higher education relating to their certification. Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants available to any State for the purpose of conducting a mathematics or science secondary school feasibility study (to examine the costs and benefits of establishing a secondary school dedicated to the instruction of mathematics or science) if such State provides funds or other support in an amount of at least twice the amount of grant funds. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Medicare Program Protection Act of 1992 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to authorize adjustments to discretionary spending limits to allow additional spending for the administration of the Medicare program by fiscal intermediaries and carriers for FY 1993, 1994, and 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Health Insurance Market Reform Act of 1992 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new title XXI, Requirements Concerning Health Insurance. States under part A of new SSA title XXI that the purposes of such title are to increase the availability, portability, and affordability of health insurance, particularly to small employers and their employees and dependents, by seeking to ensure, among other things, that: (1) affordable health insurance is available to individuals and groups, and premiums do not vary substantially, regardless of health status or claims experience; (2) States regulating health insurance do not place an undue burden on small employers; and (3) insurers, providers, purchasers, and consumers are encouraged to contain costs of health care and health insurance. Applies the provisions of new SSA title XXI to health insurance plans offered in any State and to insurers offering such plans. Provides for the establishment of Federal and State regulatory programs implementing the requirements of parts B and C of new SSA title XXI. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) request the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to recommend model standards for compliance with such requirements; and (2) using such model standards, with revisions as necessary, publish implementing regulations. Requires the Secretary to determine whether each State has established a regulatory program adequate to ensure compliance with such requirements. Allows State programs to establish standards more stringent than those required under new title XXI, if the Secretary finds them consistent with its purposes. Provides that an approved State program shall take effect, in lieu of the above mentioned implementing regulations, as of a specified date: (1) with respect to all insurers and health insurance plans subject to part B of new SSA title XXI; and (2) with respect to all insurers and health insurance plans subject to part C, except for employee welfare benefit plans which are not multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs). Requires the Secretary to implement a program: (1) under part C in all States with respect to those insurers and health insurance plans not subject to State regulation; and (2) under both parts B and C with respect to all insurers and health insurance plans in each State without an approved program. Authorizes the Secretary to waive, with respect to one or all States, any provision of new SSA title XXI, or of Medicare or Medicaid (SSA titles XVIII and XIX, respectively), to the extent and for the period he or she finds likely to promote the purposes of facilitate the administration of new title XXI. Provides for Federal oversight over State programs. Makes the requirements of parts A, B, and C of new SSA title XXI generally effective with respect to health insurance plans offered, issued, or renewed in a State on or after January 1, 1994 (or certain later dates necessary to allow for enactment of State legislation). Provides that certain provisions concerning variations in premiums among and within blocks of business, and the rate of premium increases shall not apply, until two years after the general effective date, to a renewal of a health insurance plan that was in effect before the effective date. Provides that under part B of new SSA title XXI each insurer must register with the Secretary and the appropriate official for each State in which it issues or offers any health insurance plan to a small employer. Requires, subject to specified exceptions, any insurer offering a health insurance plan to any small employer in a State (or to any small employer in a local service area within the State, in the case of an insurer offering health insurance only within such an area) to: (1) make such plan available to every small employer in the State or local service area; (2) make available to every small employer any basic insurance plan a State may require; and (3) not cancel or refuse to renew any small employer health insurance plan. Requires an insurer providing small employer health insurance to notify the employer, at least 60 days before expiration, of the terms for renewal, and the extent to which any premium increase is based on actual or expected claims experience of covered individuals. Requires, subject to specified exceptions, that each health insurance plan offered to a small employer accept for enrollment, on the same terms as any other enrollee, every eligible employee and (in the case of a family plan) the employee's spouse and any dependent child under age 19 or, if older, under age 25 and a full-time student. Prohibits a small employer that made health insurance available to employees from using criteria related to health status or claims experience to determine eligibility for, benefits under, or terms of such health insurance for individual employees. Permits a State to define a basic benefit plan and to require that it be offered to small employers in the State by insurers (other than health insurance networks (HINs) or MEWAs) offering heatlh insurance plans to small employers in the State. Subjects the plan to review and approval by the Secretary to ensure that it is affordable by small employers. Requires that the regulatory program established with respect to a State require all insurers offering health insurance plans to small employers, during a specified period, to: (1) participate in an interim risk pooling mechanism; and (2) comply with requirements designed to limit variations among and increases in premium rates for such health insurance plans. Permits the interim risk pooling mechanism to be either a reinsurance program or an assigned risk program. Provides for funding such a mechanism. States that no Federal entity shall be at risk, as a guarantor of the solvency of a reinsurance fund or otherwise, for all or any part of the cost of health insurance plans subject to interim risk pooling. Provides that, for any rating period, no base premium rate for any small employer block of business may exceed the equivalent base premium rate for any other block of the insurer by more than 20 percent. Provides that the highest premium rate for a specific health insurance plan that an insurer can charge any small employer in a block of business for a rating period shall not exceed the corresponding base premium rate by more than: (1) 50 percent for a period ending before January 1, 1997; and (2) 35 percent for a period thereafter. Limits annual percentage increases in the premium rate charged to a small employer. Sets forth requirements concerning rate-setting methodology, including requirements for full disclosure of rating practices and actuarial certification. Establishes requirements for the permanent health risk pool system in a State. Provides continued health insurance coverage for certain college students. Provides under part C of new SSA title XXI that, except to the extent permitted under an assigned risk program, an insurer may not refuse to offer, refuse to renew, cancel, or condition the coverage under any employment-based health insurance plan on the basis of the health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, or lack of evidence of insurability, of one or more individuals. Sets limits on exclusions under employment-based health insurance plans for pre-existing conditions. Preempts certain State laws relating to health insurance. Sets forth requirements an entity must meet in order to be entitled to certification as a health insurance network (HIN). Permits the Secretary to fund health risk pooling demonstrations in as many as four States. Authorizes the Secretary to develop model health risk pooling systems. Requires the Secretary to develop methods for measuring the health risk differential of individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax of $1000 per covered employee on insurers for noncompliance with the requirements of part B or C of SSA new title XXI.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Nonconventional Fuels Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the limitation on the use of the credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source. Permits carryforwards of unused credits. Makes such credit permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Health Benefits for Self-Employed Individuals Act of 1992 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions governing the income tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to: (1) make the deduction permanent (under current law it will expire after June 30, 1992); and (2) phase in an increase in the allowable deduction, reaching 100 percent for taxable years beginning in 1996 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Small Business Revitalization and Job Growth Act of 1992 - Title I: Amendments to Securities Acts - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 to increase from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 the aggregate amount of an issue of securities that may be exempted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from the regulatory requirements of such Act. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the ICA) to exempt from the definition of an investment company any securities issuer whose outstanding securities are owned exclusively by persons who, at the time of acquisition, are qualified purchasers, except that such issuer shall be deemed an investment company for purposes of limitations governing the purchase by such issuer of any security issued by a registered investment company and the sale of any security issued by a registered open-end investment company to such issuer. Defines as a "qualified purchaser" under the ICA any person whom the SEC has determined does not need the protections of the ICA, taking into consideration financial sophistication, net worth, and certain other financial knowledge and experience. Revises the definition of the beneficial ownership of securities for purposes of the ICA. Provides an additional exemption from the definition of an investment company under the ICA in the case of any company that is not engaged in the business of issuing redeemable securities and the operations of which are subject to regulation by the State in which it is organized under statutes governing entities that provide financial or managerial assistance to enterprises doing or proposing to do business primarily in such State if: (1) the purpose of such company is limited to the provision of such assistance; (2) at least 80 percent of the securities being offered for sale by such company represent persons who reside or have a substantial business presence in such State; (3) the securities are sold to accredited investors or other persons that the SEC may permit to purchase such securities; and (4) the company does not purchase any security issued by an investment company, or by a company that would be an investment company except for the exclusions from the definition of an investment company, other than investment-grade securities or securities required by its investment policies to invest in investment-grade or comparable securities. Requires any company proposing to meet such exemption to file with the SEC a notification of intent to do so, subject to SEC approval. Amends the ICA to: (1) increase from $100,000 to $10,000,000 the aggregate sums received by a closed-end investment company for the sale of its securities plus the value of remaining securities allowed to be held while still being exempted from provisions regulating investment companies; (2) include within the definition of "eligible portfolio company" any issuer that has total assets of not more than $4,000,000, and capital and surplus in excess of $2,000,000, allowing the SEC to adjust such figures to reflect changes in generally accepted indices for small businesses; (3) provide that a business development company, in order to be so considered, need not make available significant managerial assistance with respect to eligible portfolio companies or to any other company that meets such criteria as the SEC may permit; (4) allow acquisition by business development companies of the securities of eligible portfolio companies; (5) allow business development companies to issue without condition more than one class of senior securities representing indebtedness; (6) allow such companies to issue warrants, options, or other rights to convert securities to voting securities either alone or accompanied by securities; and (7) prohibit such warrants, options, or other rights of business development companies from being separately transferable unless no class of such rights and the securities (currently, senior securities) representing them has been publicly distributed. Title II: Credit Relief - Amends the Small Business Act to provide that the amount of deferred participation loans authorized under such Act shall: (1) mean the net amount of the loan principal guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and does not include any amount not guaranteed; and (2) be available for a national program, except that the SBA may use up to ten percent of the amount authorized each year for special or pilot programs directed to identified sectors of the small business community or to specific U.S. geographic regions. Increases the amount the SBA is authorized to make in deferred participation loans and other financings to small businesses, and, from such authorized sums, the amount authorized to make general business loans for specified purposes under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, and the Chairman of the SEC, in consultation with the SBA Administrator, to conduct a study of the potential benefits of, and legal, regulatory, and market-based barriers to, developing a secondary market for commercial real estate mortgage loans and loans to small businesses. Outlines study consideration requirements. Requires a report. Directs the chief executive officer of the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) to conduct a study and report to the Congress on the impact of its commercial real estate loan securitization program and the impact of the RTC's programs on the commercial real estate mortgage loan and small business loan secondary market. Directs the SBA Administrator to simplify the application process for a small business concern to receive a loan guarantee under the Small Business Act, including loan applications in connection with an additional loan guarantee application that is filed not later than two years after the initial application is filed. Title III: Capital Formation - Enterprise Capital Formation Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for gain on investments in new small business stock (seed capital) held for at least five years. Establishes special rules for such investments. Provides for determining the maximum capital gains rate for small business net capital gain or seed capital gain. Treats capital gains on the sale of such stock as a preference item for purposes of the minimum tax. Title IV: Health Care Provisions - Subtitle A: Small Business Purchasing Groups - Defines a "qualified small employer purchasing group," for purposes of this subtitle, as an entity that the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines: (1) is administered solely under authority and control of its member employers; (2) has as its membership solely small employers; (3) with respect to each State in which its members are located, consists of no fewer than 100 employers; (4) has member employers whose health care insurance plans are in compliance with applicable State law and model benefits plans and are not self-insured plans; (5) will be a nonprofit entity; and (6) has a board of directors with full authority to act on the part of the group. Directs the board of directors of the small employer purchasing group to: (1) establish geographic areas within which participating carriers may offer health care insurance coverage to eligible employees and dependents; and (2) enter into contracts with qualified carriers for providing health insurance coverage to eligible employees and dependents, and to pay such carriers on at least a monthly basis at the contracted rates. Outlines provisions relating to: (1) general qualifications of carriers, including financial solvency; (2) program standards, including review of the quality and appropriateness of care covered; (3) uniformity of benefits; (4) the collection of insurance premiums from small employers; (5) notification from the board to employers of the availability of sponsored health insurance coverage from the program; and (6) conditions of participation in the program, including a requirement that an entity is a valid small employer and not formed solely to secure health insurance coverage. Finds that qualified small employer purchasing groups organized to obtain health insurance for its employer members affect interstate commerce, and that no State law shall preempt provisions of the model benefit health insurance plan as outlined above. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to define the amount of the employer health insurance credit for a taxable year for Federal income tax purposes. Prohibits the taking of both a credit and a deduction for health insurance premiums paid under the model plan. Subtitle B: Deductible Health Insurance Costs for Self-Employed Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 25 to 100 percent the allowable deduction of health insurance costs for self-employed individuals and their spouses and dependents. Makes such increased deduction permanent (currently ends December 31, 1992). Subtitle C: Improvements in Health Insurance for Small Employers - Adds a new Title XXI to the Social Security Act entitled "Standards for Small Employer Health Insurance and Certification of Managed Care Plans." Treats as meeting the requirements of title XXI an insurer offering a health insurance plan to a small employer in a State on or after January 1, 1994, if: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that the State has established a regulatory program that provides for the application and enforcement of appropriate requirements under this title; and (2) the State has not established such a program or if the program has been decertified by the Secretary, the health plan has been certified by the Secretary as meeting the requirements of part B of title XXI. Provides an extension of the date by which a regulatory program must be adopted by a State for States requiring legislation to be passed and which has a legislature which does not meet in 1993 in a legislative session. States that requirements under title XXI shall not apply to pre-existing health insurance plans. Requires each State to report to the Secretary on the implementation and enforcement of standards with respect to health insurance plans offered to small employers. Allows State standards more stringent than the requirements of title XXI. Directs the Secretary to require the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to: (1) develop specific standards for small employer health insurance plans; and (2) report to the Secretary on implementation. Directs the Secretary to develop appropriate standards if the NAIC fails to do so. Requires such standards to provide alternative standards for guaranteeing the availability of health insurance plans for all small employers in a State. Directs the Secretary to periodically review State regulatory programs, allow a State to adopt a plan of correction if necessary, and to decertify a State program and assume program responsibility, if necessary. Directs the Comptroller General to periodically audit sample State regulatory programs. Defines a "small employer" for purposes of title XXI as an employer who employs more than one but less than 51 employees on a typical business day. Requires each health insurer to register with the applicable regulatory authority for each State in which it issues or offers a health insurance plan to small employers. Prohibits such insurer from excluding any eligible employee, or their spouse or dependent, under a plan, with the exception of waiting periods required generally under health insurance coverage. Requires insurers offering a health insurance plan to small employers in a State to meet the standards for such insurance adopted by such State. Outlines provisions concerning: (1) State standards on the guaranteed availability of small employer health insurance; (2) the State adoption of a regulatory program for such standards; (3) standards for guaranteed insurance availability for States not adopting such standards; (4) appropriate grounds for refusal by an insurer to renew, and for termination of, a health insurance plan (including nonpayment of premiums, fraud or misrepresentation, or failure to maintain minimum participation rates); (5) authority of an insurer to require minimum participation rates; (6) guaranteed renewability of such insurance unless reasons enumerated in (4), above, occur; (7) nonrenewability of health insurance by an insurer who elects to terminate all of the health insurance plans issued to small employers in a State; and (8) a prohibition against an insurer denying, limiting, or conditioning health insurance coverage based on health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, or lack of evidence of insurability of an individual. Allows a plan offered to a small employer under this title to exclude coverage with respect to a preexisting condition, but limits the period of such exclusion to six months. Reduces such authorized preexisting condition exclusionary period by one month for each month in which an individual was already in a plan of continuous coverage with respect to particular services on the date of initial coverage of the new plan. Prohibits the base premium rate charged by an insurer for any block of business (all of the small employers within a health insurance plan issued by the insurer) from exceeding by more than 20 percent the base premium rate charged for any other block of business, with exceptions. Limits similarly the variation of rates charged during a rating period to small employers within the same block of business of an insurer when such employers have similar demographic characteristics. Provides that, in establishing premium rates for health insurance plans offered to small employers: (1) an insurer making adjustments with respect to age, sex, or geography must apply such adjustments consistently across all small employers; and (2) no insurer may use a geographic area smaller than a county or a certain zip code area. Places limitations on the transfer by an insurer of employers among blocks of business, requiring employer consent. Limits to five percent over the base premium rate the percentage increase in the premium rate authorized to be charged to a small employer for a new rating period. Requires an insurer, at the time of offering a health insurance plan to a small employer, to fully disclose specified information relating to the insurer's rating practices with respect to small employers under a plan, and the insurer's right to change premium rates. Requires at least 60 days' prior notice of the renewal terms of a plan about to expire. Requires each participating insurer to file with the applicable regulatory authority a written actuarial certification of insurer compliance with standards and requirements of this title. Outlines the basic medical benefits which must be included in a benefits package offered by an insurer to small employers in a State as part of the health insurance plan. Requires such insurer to offer a managed care plan to such small employers if the insurer offers a managed care plan in such State to employers that are not small employers. Provides for cost sharing (premiums, deductibles, copayments) and out-of-pocket limits for health insurance plans containing basic benefit packages. Preempts State-mandated benefit packages in favor of the benefits package described in the small employer health insurance plan. Amends the Internal Revenue Code relating to taxes on group health plans to impose upon any person issuing a health insurance plan to a small employer a tax on the failure to meet at any time the applicable requirements of title XXI of the Social Security Act (as added by this Act). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine whether a person meets such requirements. States that such tax shall be 25 percent of the gross premiums on health insurance plans issued to a small employer during a taxable year. Treats corporations which are members of the same controlled group of corporations as one person for purposes of such tax, as well as partnerships and proprietorships under common control. Waives the application of such tax where the failure to meet such requirements: (1) could not have reasonably been discovered; and (2) is corrected within 30 days of discovery. Allows the Secretary to waive all or part of such tax in the case of a failure due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect. Makes nondeductible for income tax purposes any tax so imposed. Direct the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the standards for rating practices and the requirements for benefit packages established under the new title XXI of the Social Security Act, as well as on certain other aspects of insurance offered to small employers under this Act. Requires the Comptroller General to include as part of such report any recommendations for adjusting rating standards under title XXI to eliminate variation in premiums. Subtitle D: Improvements in Portability of Private Health Insurance - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on any person or group health plan that fails to satisfy the preexisting condition requirements of group health insurance plans as enumerated under title XXI of the Social Security Act. Makes such tax $100 for each day of noncompliance. Outlines actions to be taken in order for a failed requirement to be considered corrected. Waives the application of such excise tax where the failure to meet such requirements: (1) could not have reasonably been discovered; and (2) is corrected within 30 days of discovery. Allows the Secretary to waive all or part of such tax in the case of a failure due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect. States that group health plans: (1) may not deny, limit, or condition coverage based on health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, or lack of evidence of insurability of an individual; and (2) may exclude coverage with respect to the treatment of a preexisting condition, limiting the period of exclusion to six months. Reduces such authorized preexisting condition exclusionary period by one month for each month in which an individual was already in a plan of continuous coverage with respect to particular services on the date of initial coverage in the group health plan. Requires any person who had provided previous coverage during a period of continuous coverage with respect to a covered individual to disclose to the group health plan the coverage and benefits provided to such individual. Subtitle E: Health Care Cost Containment - Amends title XXI of the Social Security Act to add a new Part entitled "Federal Certification of Managed Care Plans." Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a process for certification of managed care plans and utilization review programs meeting the requirements of this Part. Defines a "utilization review program" as a system of reviewing the medical necessity, appropriateness, or quality of health care services and supplies provided under a health insurance plan or a managed care plan using specified guidelines. Defines a "managed care plan" as a plan operated by a managed care entity that provides for the financing and delivery of health care services to persons enrolled in such plan through: (1) arrangements with selected providers; (2) explicit standards for the selection of participating providers; (3) organizational arrangements for ongoing quality assurance and utilization review programs; and (4) financial incentives for persons enrolled in the plan to use the participating providers and procedures provided for by the plan. Defines related terms. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish procedures for the periodic review and recertification of qualified managed care plans and qualified utilization review programs; and (2) terminate such certification when such plan or program no longer meets the applicable requirements for certification. Permits certification through the recognition of a State licensure program or national accreditation body that establishes requirements at least equivalent to the requirements under this part. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Health Care Cost Commission, to establish Federal standards for the certification of qualified managed care plans and qualified utilization review programs. Requires such standards to first be established within two years after enactment of this Subtitle. Directs the Secretary to periodically review and update such standards, as appropriate. Prohibits the imposition by State law or regulation of specified limitations and restrictions on qualified managed care plans and qualified utilization review programs, with exceptions. Extends to January 1, 1992, the date by which the Administrator of Health Care Policy and Research must develop an initial set of guidelines and standards with respect to treatments and conditions that constitute a significant portion of national health expenditures. Directs the Administrator, in consultation with the National Institute of Mental Health and mental health providers, to develop outcomes research and practice parameters for mental health services, including diagnosis and treatment of childhood attention deficit syndrome disorders and manic depression. Amends the Social Security Act with respect to research on outcomes of health care services to change from 70 to 50 percent of authorized FY 1993 and 1994 funds for such research the amount to be obtained from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Increases the general authorization of FY 1992 through 1994 funds under such Act for such purpose. Subtitle F: Medical Liability Reform - Chapter 1: Definitions and Findings - Finds that the health care and insurance industries are industries affecting interstate commerce, and that the medical malpractice litigation system throughout the United States affects interstate commerce by contributing to the high cost of health care and premiums for malpractice insurance purchased by health care providers. Chapter 2: Expedited Medical Malpractice Settlements - Allows any claimant to bring a civil action for damages for harm caused during the provision of medical care pursuant to applicable State law, except to the extent that such law is superseded by this Chapter. Allows any claimant to file with the claim for damages a settlement offer for a specific amount. Directs the defendant, within 60 days or the time permitted by State law to respond to pleadings, whichever is longer, to make a settlement offer of a specific amount, except that if such pleadings include a motion to dismiss under applicable State law, the defendant may tender such relief to the claimant within ten days after the determination of the court regarding such motion. Provides for time extensions in certain cases. Outlines procedures for the rejection of settlement offers by the claimant and defendant in such cases. Provides for the calculation of attorney's fees in such cases by an hourly rate. Chapter 3: Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution Board of Advisors to make recommendations to the Secretary concerning the establishment of a model voluntary alternative dispute resolution program (dispute program). Directs the Secretary to approve a model dispute program submitted by the Board, with any modifications that the Secretary deems appropriate. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a program to encourage States to develop and implement voluntary alternative dispute resolution procedures that meet the requirements of this Subtitle. Requires each State to adopt its own dispute program or the Federal program submitted by the Board to the Secretary within two years after enactment of this Act. Provides that, with respect to a State that has a dispute program in effect, in lieu of or in addition to making a settlement offer a claimant or defendant may offer to proceed pursuant to the dispute program and its procedures. Creates a rebuttable presumption that a refusal by an offeree to proceed under a dispute program was unreasonable or not in good faith if the verdict is rendered in favor of the offeror. Chapter 4: Uniform Standards for Medical Malpractice Cases - Applies provisions of this chapter to any medical malpractice case brought in Federal or State court and any such case resolved through a dispute program. Provides that in either such action, no person may be required to pay more than $100,000 in a single payment for future losses, but such person shall be permitted to make such payments on a periodic basis. Limits in a civil medical malpractice action the total amount of damages that may be awarded for noneconomic losses resulting from an injury to $250,000, regardless of the number of health care professionals and providers against whom the claim is brought. Reduces the total amount of damages received under such limits by any other payment that has been made to the injured individual (i.e., other insurance). Places specified limits on attorney's fees authorized to be collected under Chapter 4 actions. Provides that in either such action, the liability of each defendant for noneconomic damages shall be several only and not joint (requiring each such defendant to be liable only for their specific percentage of responsibility for the damages). Provides a statute of limitations with respect to such cases. Provides special medical malpractice liability provisions with respect to services provided during the delivery of a baby. Chapter 5: Uniform Disciplinary Reforms - Requires a State to comply with requirements of this chapter within two years after enactment of this Act. Directs each State to: (1) allocate the total amount of fees paid to the State in each year for the licensing or certification of each type of health care practitioner, or State funds equal to such amount, to the agencies responsible for the conduct of licensing and disciplinary actions with respect to such practitioners; and (2) permit the general public to be represented on State health care practitioner disciplinary boards. Provides immunity from liability for any member, consultant, witness, or other individual serving or having served on such a disciplinary board for either the board's operation or duties performed in good faith. Requires each State to have in effect within two years after enactment of this Act a Statewide risk management program to reduce the incidence of medical malpractice which meets any promulgated regulations. Directs each State to establish a health care disciplinary trust fund to provide resources to disciplinary boards for their functions and to provide additional resources for State consumer protection activities. Chapter 6: Medical Products - Provides that punitive damages otherwise permitted by law shall not be awarded in an action against a health care producer of a drug or device that caused the harm complained of if the drug or device: (1) was subject to approval or premarket approval under applicable Federal regulations with respect to the safety of the formulation or performance of the drug or device, or the adequacy of the packaging or labeling of the drug or device; and (2) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (3) is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to conditions established by the FDA. States that such provision shall not apply when the defendant: (1) withheld from, or misrepresented to, the FDA or other Federal agency official material and relevant information as to the performance of the drug or device; or (2) made an illegal payment to an FDA official to secure approval of the drug or device. Outlines provisions with respect to evidence, punitive damages, and positive defense to strict liability against the health care producers of the drug or device. Subtitle G: Uniform Claims Criteria - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, after consultation with group health plan entities and health care providers, to develop uniform claims criteria for use by beneficiaries and health care providers in submitting claims under this Act and under title XXI of the Social Security Act. Provides a claims criteria deadline. Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to prepare an estimate, for that fiscal year and the succeeding four fiscal years, of the cost which would be incurred by small business in carrying out or complying with any bill or resolution which is likely to result in an average annual cost to a small business of $1,000 or more. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that Federal provisions with respect to general notice requirements of proposed rule making shall apply to all rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary under the Code. Directs the SBA Administrator to establish a panel to provide recommendations to the Congress for a uniform statutory definition of the terms "small business" and "small business concern." Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress on the panel's findings and recommendations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each Federal agency that issues rules, regulations, or orders which affect small business concerns or otherwise has some relationship with or affects small business should appoint one individual to serve as a small business ombudsman for that agency. Requires such ombudsman to represent the issues of small business to such agency, assist in the arbitration of disputes between agencies and small business concerns, and make certain reports to the Congress and the SBA Administrator. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA should be permitted to appear as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in any action or case brought in a U.S. court for the purpose of reviewing a rule.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
BasiCare Health Access and Cost Control Act - Title I: Immediate Reforms - Subtitle A: Small Employer Health Insurance Market Reform - Regulates accident and health insurance issued to small employers (defined as having fewer than 51 employees) regarding: (1) price; (2) sales practices; (3) guaranteed issue; (4) core benefits (requiring the same benefits as title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act); (5) deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses, and copayments; and (6) preventive benefits for children under 23. Preempts inconsistent State and local laws. Regulates: (1) guaranteed eligibility; (2) limited exclusion of preexisting conditions; (3) guaranteed renewability; (4) waiting periods; and (5) rating requirements. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to agree with a State to apply the standards set by that State's laws instead of these requirements, provided the core benefits and sales practices requirements are met. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to prohibit tax deductions for the tax imposed by title II, subtitle E, of this Act on insurers offering plans that do not qualify as BasiCare plans. Subtitle B: Community Health Services Expansion - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to establish a program of allotments to States for grants for community-based primary health services to low-income or medically underserved populations regarding infant mortality and referrals for the health management of infants and pregnant women. Links the amount of the allotment to population and need. Describes the services to be included. Earmarks for the allotments specified percentages of appropriations under certain provisions added by this Act. Mandates grants to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and other entities for providing access to services, as described in specified provisions of title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, for medically underserved populations or in high impact areas not currently being served by a FQHC. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Expansion of Tax Incentives for Self-Employed Individuals - Amends the IRC to increase to 100 percent (currently 25 percent) the portion of health insurance costs self-employed individuals may deduct. Removes provisions ending the deduction on a specified date. Subtitle D: Expanding the Supply of Health Professionals in Rural Areas - Amends the PHSA to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions relating to the National Health Service Corps scholarship and loan repayment program. Earmarks certain portions to carry out provisions of this Act relating to FQHCs. Amends the IRC to allow a tax credit for service by a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who: (1) provides primary health services to individuals in a rural health professional shortage area; and (2) is not receiving a National Health Service Corps scholarship or loan repayment and not fulfilling service obligations under such programs. Excludes National Health Service Corps loan repayments from gross income. Allows, with regard to elections to expense depreciable business assets, a higher aggregate cost to be taken into account for rural health care property in a rural health professional shortage area. Allows a deduction for a limited amount of the interest paid on medical education loans by an individual performing services under an agreement with an applicable rural community to perform professional services in the community. Authorizes use of the deduction in computing adjusted gross income. Subtitle E: Malpractice Reform - Part I: Definitions - Sets forth definitions for purposes of this subtitle. Part II: Tort Reform of Health Care Liability Actions - Declares that this part applies to any health care liability action brought in any Federal or State court. Limits the dollar amount of: (1) recovery by an individual and the individual's family members in a health care liability action, regardless of the number of providers or the number of actions; and (2) single payments which may be required. Requires offset for damages paid by a collateral source. Prohibits punitive damages from exceeding the sum of economic and non-economic damages. Regulates the award of attorney's fees and joint and several liability. Sets forth time limits on initiation of actions. Preempts State laws in certain circumstances. Subtitle F: Joint Ventures - Amends provisions of the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 allowing, notwithstanding antitrust laws, certain cooperative research agreements to add references to joint health care provider ventures, defined as a group of activities by two or more hospitals for the provision or delivery of health care services. Title II: Long-Term Reforms - Subtitle A: Establishment of Commission and Advisory Board - Establishes the Commission on National Health Care Access and Reform and the National Advisory Board. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Reform and Standardization of Private Insurance - Requires the Commission to submit to the Congress a legislative proposal with specified elements, including: (1) a uniform national health benefits package (BasiCare); (2) a national health care insurance reform plan applicable to all carriers of health insurance in the United States; (3) self-insured plan requirements; and (4) a program to assist low-income individuals in the transfer from coverage under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to BasiCare coverage and financial assistance in obtaining BasiCare coverage. Sets forth the continuing duties and responsibilities of the Commission, including: (1) submission of a new legislative proposal annually for the next two years if the Congress does not approve the Commission's recommendation; (2) annual review and revision, subject to congressional recision, of benefits and premiums; (3) oversight of provider participation and billing; (4) oversight of the supplemental health insurance market; (5) submission to the Congress of plans for the long-term disposition of Medicaid benefits not covered or subsumed by BasiCare and assimilation of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act), the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), and the Federal employees' health benefits program into the BasiCare system; and (6) submission to the Congress of a legislative proposal for affordable and easy access to prescription drugs. Includes in BasiCare coverage basic hospitalization, basic outpatient services, prescription drugs, protection against catastrophic out-of-pocket costs, coverage against extraordinary long-term care costs, and coverage for preventive care. Requires each carrier to offer BasiCare. Preempts inconsistent State and local laws. Prohibits duplication, in whole or part, of BasiCare benefits. Prohibits discrimination based on health status, including preexisting conditions. Requires guaranteed issue, a minimum plan period, guaranteed renewability, and community-wide ratings. Applies these standards to reinsurance policies. Regulates premiums. Prohibits employment-related BasiCare plans from imposing waiting periods. Requires: (1) such plans to apply equally to employees of all income levels; and (2) total contributions for an employer for low-income employees to equal or exceed the total for other employees. Regulates self-insured plans. Mandates development of recommended managed care plan standards regarding benefits, coverage, and delivery systems. Establishes the Managed Care Advisory Committee. Preempts certain State laws regarding managed care plans. Subtitle C: Low-Income Assistance - Requires the Commission to provide for the termination of Medicaid program coverage which duplicates BasiCare. Terminates, after five years, any remaining Medicaid benefits. Mandates financial assistance, through a voucher system, to low-income individuals for BasiCare premiums, deductibles, and other cost-sharing. Subtitle D: Congressional Consideration of Commission Recommendation - Declares that these provisions are enacted as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives and the Senate with recognition of the right of either House to change the rules as any other rule of that House. Provides for the introduction and consideration of a joint resolution approving of the Commission's legislative proposal under subtitle B of this title. Subtitle E: Enforcement Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove provisions relating to a tax on any employer or employee organization that contributes to a group health plan or large group health plan that does not comply with certain Medicare provisions. Imposes a tax on: (1) insurers offering plans that do not qualify as BasiCare plans; (2) the failure of any service provider under a BasiCare plan to comply with specified provisions of this Act; and (3) the failure of any person to comply with provisions of this Act relating to employer responsibilities and self-insured plan requirements under this Act. Disallows personal exemptions unless the individual's BasiCare policy number is included in the individual's tax return. Subtitle F: Financial Provisions - Creates the BasiCare Trust Fund and transfers to the Fund: (1) a specified percentage of wages and self-employment income; (2) all of the taxes imposed by this Act; (3) additional revenues received as the result of amendments made by this Act; (4) the State's Medicaid share; and (5) all unobligated amounts in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Appropriates to the Fund: (1) the Federal Medicaid share; and (2) amounts equal to appropriations for CHAMPUS and the Federal employees' health benefits program. Authorizes appropriations for additional sums as required to make expenditures under specified provisions of this act. Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to exclude amounts under certain provisions of this Act from appropriation to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude from gross income employer-provided coverage under a BasiCare plan (currently, under an accident or health plan); (2) prohibit deductions for employer expenses for a group health plan unless the plan qualifies as a BasiCare plan; and (3) include amounts paid for a BasiCare plan (currently, for insurance) in the definition of "medical care" for provisions relating to medical and dental expenses. Subtitle G: Definitions - Defines various terms as used in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the income tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to: (1) increase the allowable deduction from 25 percent to 100 percent; and (2) make the deduction permanent (under current law it will expire after June 30, 1992).
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a five-year recovery period for purposes of the depreciation deduction for any grapevine replanted in a vineyard after December 31, 1992, as a direct result of a phylloxera infestation in such vineyard. Allows a ten-year recovery period for such replanted grapevines under the alternative depreciation system.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase (from $10 million to $25 million) the amount of tax-exempt qualified small issue bonds permitted for facilities to be used by related principal users.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Small Business Cost Estimate Act of 1992 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to prepare for each public measure reported by a congressional committee (except the Committee on Appropriations of each House) and to submit to that committee for inclusion in the committee report: (1) an estimate of the costs in each of the first five fiscal years of carrying out such measure and of small business compliance with such measure, if significant; and (2) a comparison of those estimates with estimates made by such committee or by a Federal agency.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1992
Sets forth the rule for the consideration of H.R. 4691 (authorizing appropriations for specified aviation safety and airport improvement projects).
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Authorizes appropriations for the Maritime Administration for: (1) operating-differential subsidies; (2) manpower, education, and training; (3) operating programs; (4) national security support capabilities; and (5) the Ready Reserve Force. Amends the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 to read as though a specified provision had not been repealed. (The provision in question authorized certain uses of vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.)
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Military Health Care Reform Act of 1992 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) members and former members of the uniformed services and their dependents should have access to health care under the uniformed services regardless of age or health care status; (2) such system should include a comprehensive managed care plan; (3) such plan should involve medical personnel of the uniformed services, civilian health care professionals of the executive agency of such services, medical treatment facilities of such services, contract health care personnel, and the Medicare system; (4) the Secretaries of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Transportation (appropriate Secretaries) should provide active duty personnel with free care in medical treatment facilities of the uniformed services and provide other personnel referred to in (1) with health care at minimal cost; and (5) the Secretaries should offer additional health care options to such personnel, including specified options for persons eligible for Medicare. Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a joint services working group on the provision of military health care to persons who rely on health care facilities at military installations being closed or realigned. Requires such groups, after meeting with persons entitled to military health care, to submit recommendations to the Congress and the Secretary regarding the alternative means for continuing to provide accessible health care to such persons. Requires the administering Secretaries to: (1) provide a system for such persons to obtain prescription pharmaceuticals from mail-order suppliers; and (2) enter into contracts for the supply of such pharmaceuticals. Directs the Secretaries to pay 80 percent of the cost of generic pharmaceuticals for a person (also authorizes payment for pharmaceuticals for which no generic exists) if the person: (1) is under 65 years of age; or (2) is 65 or older and obtained prescription pharmaceuticals at a military health facility within 18 months before closure of such facility. Directs the administering Secretaries to conduct annual surveys of persons receiving military health care to determine their level of satisfaction with the health care system. Lowers the maximum annual amount to be paid by members or former members or covered individuals or family groups for health care under Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) health benefit contract plans. Permits CHAMPUS coverage for end-stage renal disease. Prohibits the administering Secretaries from recouping the cost of any health care furnished to a person who was erroneously determined to be eligible for such care. Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services to conduct a four-year demonstration project that provides for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reimburse the Department of Defense (DOD) for health care services furnished to Medicare-eligible persons at a DOD health facility. Limits such reimbursement to 85 percent of the amount that would be paid to a provider of services under Medicare. Directs such Secretaries to conduct a five-year demonstration project under which the Secretary of Defense enters into risk-sharing contracts with eligible organizations described in the Social Security Act (health maintenance organizations or other specified health care providers) to furnish health care to members or former members (or their dependents) who are eligible for retired pay. Applies Medicare provisions concerning risk-sharing contracts to contracts under the project. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, under such contracts, to pay eligible organizations for services furnished to such persons in an amount not to exceed the per capita rate of payment that the Secretary pays for a relevant class of persons receiving health care under a risk-sharing contract under Medicare. Requires payments for such projects to be made out of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 to require the Secretary of Defense, in a study of the military medical care system, to include a review of: (1) the Federal employees health benefits program to determine whether a similar program would be effective for persons eligible for military medical care; and (2) the DOD system for processing health care claims. Requires the Secretary of Defense to test a broad array of reform options for furnishing health care and to conduct a study of the tested options during FY 1994. Requires the study to compare the cost effectiveness of such options and the extent to which the persons are satisfied with the health care. Prohibits the Secretary from limiting the eligibility of any member, former member, or dependent or survivor to receive health care on the basis of an election by the individual not to participate in the DOD Coordinated Care Management Initiative. Sets forth location requirements for the Initiative. Establishes as goals of the Initiative reductions in the administrative paperwork associated with health care and in the average period that dependents must wait for such care. Requires the Secretary to ensure that a replacement contract for the CHAMPUS Reform Initiative contract applicable to California and Hawaii is awarded in sufficient time for the contractor to provide health care in such states no later than August 1, 1993. Provides for an evaluation of such contract. Prohibits the provision of health care services under CHAMPUS Reform Initiative contract number MDA903-R-0047 unless: (1) the prime contractor is the contractor that was the prime contractor under such contract on January 1, 1992; and (2) the subcontractors include each of the subcontractors under the subcontract on that date. Excludes certain incapacitated dependent children from CHAMPUS coverage. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Defense Industry Conversion Tax Incentives Act of 1992 - Title I: Job Creation - Allows the use of the targeted jobs credit for hiring a long-term unemployed defense industry or aerospace worker. Describes such worker as an individual certified by the designated local agency as having been unemployed in such industry who: (1) has been receiving unemployment compensation at all times during the six-month period prior to the hiring date; or (2) has been receiving unemployment compensation but has exhausted all rights to such compensation and has remained unemployed beginning on the date such rights were exhausted and ending on the date before the hiring date. Requires the individual to be employed by the employer for at least 120 days and the employer to certify that: (1) the individual was hired after the employer took reasonable actions to specifically recruit such workers; and (2) the individual was not hired to replace an employee who was involuntarily separated from employment by the employer without cause. Allows an investment tax credit for nondefense production and manufacturing equipment of ten percent of the aggregate bases of such properties placed in service during the taxable year. Allows any qualified defense facility to establish an industrial diversification account for the purpose of providing qualified plant and equipment in the United States or the retraining of employees in order to diversify qualified defense facilities from predominantly relying on defense contracts to nondefense lines of business. Restricts deposits to such accounts to the average of the sum of: (1) depreciation allowances with respect to eligible plant and equipment; (2) net proceeds from the sale or other disposition of such plant and equipment, or insurance or indemnity attributable to such plant and equipment; and (3) receipts from investment of amounts in such accounts. Restricts deposits after the fifth taxable year to receipts from investments. Provides for the nontaxability of earnings deposited into such accounts. Allows withdrawals over a ten-year period for: (1) acquisition, construction, or reconstruction of qualified plant and equipment; (2) the payment of principal or indebtedness incurred in connection with plant and equipment acquisition, construction, or reconstruction; or (3) the retraining or continued education of employees. Provides for taxation of nonqualified withdrawals. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to the Secretary of Defense annually on such accounts. Provides for computing the alternative minimum tax on earnings deposited in such accounts. Makes the credit for increasing research activities permanent law. Title II: Capital Formation - Allows a deduction for gain on investments in new small business stock (seed capital) held for at least five years. Establishes special rules for such investments. Provides for determining the maximum capital gains rate for small business net capital gain or seed capital gain. Treats capital gains on the sale of such stock as a preference item for purposes of the minimum tax. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans by individuals who are involuntarily unemployed. Excludes from gross income interest received during a taxable year up to $2,500 ($5,000 in the case of a joint return). Makes such exclusion applicable to distributions from regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts. Makes certain nonresident aliens ineligible for such exclusion.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Earth Summit Leadership Act of 1992 - Title I: Foundation for Sustainable Development - Establishes the Foundation for Sustainable Development to: (1) encourage the growth of development institutions indigenous to developing countries which respond to the needs of the poor and promote environmental protection and conservation of natural resources; (2) support efforts to increase the productivity of the poor; (3) support self-help activities at the local level to enlarge opportunities for community development; (4) support efforts at community-based, environmentally sustainable management of natural resources; (5) stimulate and assist the process of people participating in the processes that affect their lives; (6) replicate successful projects promoting sustainable and equitable development funded by specified foundations; and (7) disseminate insights gained in the Foundation's work to the American public and citizens in developing countries. Authorizes the Foundation to provide grant assistance to indigenous organizations in developing countries or entities working in partnership with such organizations to carry out it purposes. Limits the total amount of assistance for a single project. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Regional Development Foundations - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1969 to increase the authorization amount for the Inter-American Foundation for FY 1993 and to authorize appropriations for FY 1994. Amends the African Development Foundation Act to authorize appropriations for the African Development Foundation for FY 1993 and 1994. Makes available an additional amount of economic support fund assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for Appropriate Technology International to enable it to emphasize large-scale replication of successful projects and partnerships with major development and financial institutions. Title III: Reduction in International Security Assistance - Places a ceiling on the total amount of international security assistance provided by the United States for FY 1993 and 1994. Expresses the sense of the Congress that international security assistance for FY 1995 and 1996 should be further reduced to promote global demilitarization and make available additional resources for sustainable development programs. Title IV: Multilateral Organizations - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of specified multilateral development banks to promote the following actions: (1) to make available to the public information on physical, institutional, and economic details and the environmental, public health, and sociocultural impacts of proposed bank operations; (2) to ensure that poverty reduction becomes a higher priority, including increases for lending for health care and basic education to at least five percent of the bank's lending; (3) to ensure that all structural adjustment loans after July 1993 are presented with documentation on how such loans will affect incomes of the poor, the diversification of industrial and agricultural production, the delivery to low-income people of essential social and technical services, and the integrity of the natural resource base; (4) to ensure the development of sustainable energy systems by ensuring that all energy sector loans are based on end-use efficiency and renewable energy applications; (5) to establish a comprehensive water resource policy that will require a least-cost approach to planning for and investing in water resource development projects; and (6) to purchase commercial debt obligations of developing countries on the secondary market and forgive those debts in return for adoption of sustainable development policies. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should follow up U.S. participation in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) by taking an active role during the General Assembly session to ensure full implementation of UNCED recommendations on institutional reform issues. Title V: Domestic Environmental Policies - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) all budgetary subsidies and tax advantages for unsustainable exploitation of natural resources should be eliminated as long as adequate provision is made to retrain displaced individuals and to assist poor people who are least able to bear the cost implied by such eliminations; (2) the director of the Office of Management and Budget should identify all current budgetary subsidies and tax advantages for the exploitation of nonrenewable energy, forest, and water resources and should estimate their cost to taxpayers as the basis for future congressional action to eliminate them; and (3) each Federal agency should conduct a survey of cost-effective renewable energy technologies which it could adopt for the conduct of its work and should begin conversion to those technologies as soon as possible. Directs the President to: (1) design a plan for reducing, by 2005, U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide to a level no greater than 80 percent of the 1990 level; and (2) formulate a national strategy for sustainable development.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Social Security Individual Retirement Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce old age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) taxes on employees, employers, and the self-employed. Reduces OASDI taxes to zero percent for employees enrolled in a social security payroll deduction plan. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to require covered employers to establish a social security payroll deduction plan for eligible employees under which prescribed social security contributions will be deducted from employee wages and paid to a social security individual retirement account. Sets forth rules applicable to such accounts. Requires deducted amounts to be shown on wage statements. Exempts social security payroll deductions from requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Makes this Act effective with respect to wages paid after February 1, 1993. Sets forth notification requirements for the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Establishes a formula for computing the primary insurance amounts of employees who own a social security individual retirement account. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for treating social security individual retirement accounts in a similar manner as any individual retirement plan. Allows a tax exclusion for qualified distributions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for a percentage of the aggregate interest received or accrued by a retirement plan on any qualified tax-exempt bond. Defines such bond as one issued after December 31, 1992, and the interest on which is not includible in gross income other than any private activity bond and any refunding bond issued before January 1, 1993. Authorizes the payment of refunds for such tax-exempt interest collected by the Secretary of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Tax Extension Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the low-income housing credit permanent law. Modifies the rule for unused housing credit carryovers allocated among certain States. Expands the ten-year anti-churning rule waiver to certain projects substantially assisted, financed, or operated under the National Housing Act. Allows units occupied by certain full-time students to qualify for such credit. Authorizes the Treasury Department to waive penalties for certain de minimis errors and recertifications. Excludes assistance under the HOME Investment Partnerships Act from the definition whether a building is federally subsidized. Permits the use of tax-exempt bond financing for such purposes. Provides for State housing credit agencies to designate difficult development areas (in lieu of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development). Allows the use of the rehabilitation investment credit for qualified low-income buildings without regard to whether interior walls are preserved. Prohibit discrimination against section 8 voucher holders in leasing units in qualified low-income buildings. Requires notice before termination of tenancy in such buildings. Allows certain building owners to elect to use apartment size or family size in determining the low-income credit gross rent limitation. Extends the following provisions from June 30, 1992, until December 31, 1993: (1) the authority to issue qualified mortgage bonds and qualified mortgage credit certificates; (2) the authority to issue qualified small issue bonds to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property; (3) employer-provided educational assistance; (4) the tax credit for increasing research activities; (5) the tax exclusion for employer-provided group legal services plans; (6) the targeted jobs credited; and (7) the credit for clinical testing expenses for certain drugs for rare diseases or conditions. Provides for the tax treatment of resale price control and subsidy lien programs under mortgage revenue bond provisions. Excludes from the five-year occupancy requirement under the tax-exempt mortgage revenue bond program any two-family residence which: (1) is a targeted area residence; or (2) is located in an area designated as an economic development zone or enterprise zone by Federal or State law. Suspends, for 1992 and 1993, the tax preference for the appreciated property charitable deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
First-time Homebuyer Affordability Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the tax on prohibited transactions inapplicable to a home equity participation arrangement. Describes such arrangement as one in which the eligible participant in an individual retirement plan directs the trustee of such plan to acquire an ownership interest in all or part of any dwelling unit which within a reasonable period of time (determined at the time the arrangement is executed) is to be used as the principal residence for a first-time homebuyer. Requires such ownership interest to be a fee interest which requires full repayment. Describes the first-time homebuyer as an eligible participant or a qualified family member (child, parent, grandparent, or spouse) who had no present ownership interest in a principal residence during the 36-month period before the date of the arrangement. Allows the use of amounts in an individual retirement plan to make loans to purchase a home for a first-time homebuyer on behalf of an eligible participant or a qualified family member. Requires the repayment of first-time homebuyer loans within 15 years.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate the authority for individuals to designate income tax payments to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Allows individual taxpayers to designate a portion of any tax overpayment (not less than one dollar) and to make cash contributions with their tax returns to reduce the public debt. Allows individuals who do not itemize deductions a deduction for contributions to reduce the public debt.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1993 - Title I: 1993 Fiscal Year Authorization - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for: (1) general administration, salaries, and expenses; (2) the Office of Inspector General; (3) the United States Parole Commission; (4) general legal activities; (5) the Antitrust Division; (6) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission; (7) the United States Attorneys; (8) the United States Marshals Service; (9) the support of United States prisoners in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service; (10) fees and expenses of witnesses; (11) the Community Relations Service; (12) the United States Trustees System Fund; (13) the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (14) organized crime drug enforcement; (15) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (16) the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); (17) the Immigration and Naturalization Service; and (18) the Federal Prison System. Authorizes Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated, to make expenditures necessary to carry out the program set forth in its budget for the current fiscal year. Title II: General Provisions - Allows up to $95,000 of the funds authorized to DOJ to be made available for official reception and representation expenses. Authorizes the Attorney General to transfer limited funds among appropriations, with exceptions. Requires each organization of DOJ, during FY 1993, to notify specified congressional committees and Members at least 15 days before: (1) reprogramming funds, subject to specified monetary and other limitations; (2) increasing personnel or funds by any means for any project or program from which funds or other resources have been restricted; (3) creation of new programs or significant augmentation of existing programs; (4) reorganization of offices or programs; and (5) significant relocation of offices or employees. Bars the Attorney General from delegating any power, duty, or function expressly conferred by this Act on the Attorney General. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the use of sums authorized to be appropriated for, and the proceeds of, undercover investigative operations of the FBI or DEA; (2) the deposit of proceeds from such operations to the Treasury (when they are no longer necessary for the conduct of such operations); and (3) the disposition of business entities established or acquired as part of an undercover operation. Requires the FBI or DEA, as the case may be, to: (1) conduct a detailed financial audit of each undercover investigative operation which is closed in FY 1993; (2) submit the results of such audit in writing to the Attorney General; and (3) report to the Congress within 180 days after such operation is closed concerning such audit. Sets forth additional reporting requirements by such agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1992
Sets forth the rule for the consideration of H.R. 5132 (dire supplemental emergency appropriations).
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1992
Defense Workers Bill of Rights Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide each person determined to be a displaced defense worker (a defense facility employee laid off or terminated due to the reduction or elimination of defense contracts) with written certification of such displaced status. Prohibits an eviction or distress from being made with respect to the premises of a displaced defense worker for which the rent does not exceed $1,200 per month for a period of one year after termination or layoff, or the date on which the displaced worker returns to that or comparable employment, except upon leave of court granted in an action affecting the right of possession. Provides for an automatic stay of such proceedings for up to three months, unless the court determines that the ability of the defense worker to pay the rent is not materially affected by being displaced. Provides penalties for violation of the eviction and distress prohibitions. Provides that, in the case of a displaced defense worker who has paid a deposit or an installment under a contract or lease, no person shall exercise any right or option to rescind or terminate the contract or resume possession of the property for nonpayment by the displaced defense worker, except by action of a court of competent jurisdiction. Provides penalties for violations and judicial remedies for breach of such installment contracts, including repayment of installment payments or a stay of proceedings. Provides that, in the case of an existing mortgage or trust deed for real or personal property owned by a displaced defense worker on the date of his or her termination or layoff, a court, in an action to enforce payment obligations, may stay the proceedings or make such other disposition of the case as may be equitable to conserve the interests of all parties. Provides penalties for violations and judicial remedies in such actions, including payment to the displaced defense worker of his or her equitable interest in the property before foreclosure. Prohibits an appropriate Federal banking agency from taking any action, or maintaining or enforcing any regulation, which causes an insured depository institution to: (1) violate provisions of the foreclosure protection requirements of this Act; or (2) enforce an obligation for which the displaced defense worker is entitled to protection. Provides that no sale of real or personal property and property owned for dwelling, business, or agricultural purposes shall be made until: (1) one year after the worker's termination or layoff; or (2) the date on which the displaced worker returns to his or her original or comparable employment, unless the court determines that the ability of the defense worker to pay such taxes or assessments is not materially affected by being displaced. Allows the court to stay a proceeding for the sale of property for collection of taxes or assessments for up to six months after the end of the required waiting period. Provides that when, by law, such property may be sold or forfeited for collection purposes, the displaced defense worker shall have the right to redeem such property for up to six months after the waiting period. Provides an interest limit of six percent on taxes or assessments allowed to remain unpaid during the required waiting period.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1992
Title I: Extension of Unemployment Benefits - Amends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-164, as amended) to extend the emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) program. Changes the EUC program termination date (currently July 4, 1992) to March 6, 1993. Provides for phaseout reductions of such benefits for weeks beginning after June 12, 1992, and for weeks beginning after January 3, 1993. (Provides, therefore, up to: (1) 33 weeks of EUC benefits in certain high-unemployment States and 26 weeks in all other States, respectively, for claimants for weeks beginning prior to June 13, 1992; (2) 20 or 13 weeks, respectively, for new claimants for weeks beginning on or after such date; and (3) 10 or 7 weeks, respectively, for new claimants for weeks beginning on or after January 3, 1993, until March 6, 1993.) Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to authorize certain advances to the extended unemployment compensation account to pay for emergency unemployment compensation benefits. Amends SSA to require the first Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation to study and report with recommendations (by February 1, 1993) on certain proposed permanent changes in the extended benefits program under the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970. Title II: Revenue Provisions - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to apply mark-to-market accounting method rules for certain securities held by dealers in securities (with specified exceptions for certain types of securities such as those held for investment or as a hedge). Requires taking into account for tax deduction determinations: (1) certain Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) assistance as compensation for loss; and (2) any FSLIC assistance for any debt for determining whether such debt is worthless and in determining the amount of any addition to a reserve for bad debts arising from such worthlessness or partial worthlessness. Revises the IRC for individual estimated tax payments. Changes (for taxable year years 1993 through 1996) from 100 to 115 percent of the preceding year's tax liability the amount of the timely estimated payaments which an individual must make to qualify for a "safe harbor" alternative in making such estimated payments. Repeals special rules which denied the use of such last year's liability safe harbor for certain individuals with significant increases in tax liability from one year to the next. Subtitle B: Alternative Taxable Years - Revises the IRC with respect to electing alternative taxable years. Allows a partnership, S corporation, or personal service corporation to elect a taxable year other than the required taxable year if the annual financial statements (if any) of the entity used for credit purposes or provided to the partners, shareholders, or other proprietors of the entity are based on a fiscal year ending in the same month as the taxable year elected. Increases the amount of the required payment that must be made by a partnership or S corporation that elects a taxable year other than the required taxable year. Requires an additional payment for any taxable year that a partnership or S corporation first makes or changes a taxable year election to increase the deferral period.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1992
Bank Examination and Appraisal Improvement Act of 1992 - Directs the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the agencies) to study commercial bank examination standards and procedures. Directs the agencies to: (1) provide commercial banks, as part of the study, with an opportunity to share their experiences, with particular emphasis on differences in the application of examination standards by the different agencies; and (2) jointly submit annual implementation reports to the Congress. Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to authorize the Appraisal Subcommittee to permit a financial institution to use any real property appraisal made by a State or local government for purposes of tax assessments if the Subcommittee determines that there is a scarcity of licensed or certified appraisers to make appraisals in connection with federally related transactions involving such institution. Directs the Subcommittee to report to the Congress: (1) the extent to which it has authorized the use of tax appraisals in lieu of appraisals made by certified or licensed appraisers; and (2) the advantages and disadvantages of using tax appraisals as a substitute for appraisals made by such appraisers.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include employment of certain economically disadvantaged elderly individuals who have attained age 65 as eligible for the targeted jobs tax credit. Makes such tax credit permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Economic Equity Act - Title I: Employment Opportunities - Subtitle A: Women in Apprenticeship Occupations and Nontraditional Occupations Act - Women in Apprenticeship Occupations and Nontraditional Occupations Act - Mandates: (1) a program to provide technical assistance to employers and labor unions to assist in preparing the workplace to employ women in apprenticeable occupations and other nontraditional occupations. Authorizes grants to community-based organizations to deliver the technical assistance; and (2) an outreach program to employers to inform employers of the availability of the technical assistance. Mandates a report to the appropriate congressional committees on the participation of women in apprenticeable and nontraditional occupations. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and Engineering Work Forces Act - Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and Engineering Work Forces Act - Establishes the Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and Engineering Work Forces. Subtitle C: Women and Minorities in Science and Mathematics - Women and Minorities in Science and Mathematics Act of 1992 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 with regard to women and minorities who are underrepresented in science and mathematics to mandate grants and contracts for education programs. Modifies existing provisions regarding: (1) off-campus programs; (2) adult and continuing education staff development; (3) research and research application in adult and continuing education; (4) the "talent search" and "upward bound" programs; (5) midcareer teacher retraining; (6) school, college, and university partnerships; (7) professional development resource centers; (8) congressional teacher scholarships; (9) model and cooperative education; (10) graduate education program; (11) Harris fellowships; (12) graduate assistance in areas of national needs; (13) the Minority Science Improvement Program; and (14) science and engineering access programs. Subtitle D: Worker Retraining - Worker Retraining Act of 1992 - Mandates grants to not more than ten States to plan, establish, and operate retraining initiatives to allow low-income individuals to advance from low skill to higher skill positions. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Women in Business - Subtitle A: Act for Microenterprise - Act for Microenterprise - Amends the Social Security Act to exclude business assets from consideration in determining: (1) eligibility for aid and services to needy families with children (AFDC); and (2) income and resources in connection with provisions relating to supplemental security income (SSI). Excludes income from a business with five or fewer employees, during the first year of the business, from consideration in determining the amount of aid under AFDC and SSI. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to require approval of any State law making unemployment compensation payable to individuals starting microenterprises. Requires State law to entitle an individual performing services in a microenterprise to receive regular or extended unemployment compensation. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to allow assistance under certain provisions of the Act to be used for: (1) loans to commercial enterprises with five or fewer employees, one or more of whom own the enterprise; and (2) counseling, technical assistance, educational programs, planning, and training to facilitate such commercial enterprises. Amends the Small Business Act to set forth congressional findings regarding microenterprises and implementation of loan programs under specified provisions of the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to add references to microenterprise loans to provisions defining "qualified thrift investments." Requires each appropriate Federal banking agency to establish a division to be known as the Microenterprise Technical and Operations Office to offer technical assistance, training, outreach, and other support. Subtitle B: Microlend for the Future Act - Microlend for the Future Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to make loans and grants to community-based organizations for the startup and expansion of microenterprises, with the organizations using the loans to make loans and the grants to provide technical assistance to microenterprises. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Women's Business Procurement Assistance Act of 1992 - Women's Business Procurement Assistance Act of 1992 - Amends the Small Business Act to add references to small businesses owned and controlled by women to provisions concerning: (1) Government-wide goals for participation of small businesses in procurement; (2) U.S. policy on small business participation in Federal procurement and on timely payment by prime contractors to small business subcontractors; and (3) a clause required to be included in Federal agency contracts. Requires that each Federal agency having procurement powers: (1) designate a specialist responsible for programs to assist small businesses owned and controlled by women; and (2) engage in affirmative efforts to identify and solicit offers from such businesses and from small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Establishes in the Small Business Administration the Office of Women's Business Ownership. Subtitle D: Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act - Equal Surety Bond Opportunity Act of 1992 - Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from approving a company as a surety unless it complies with the requirements of Federal law, as amended by this subtitle. Requires a surety company to notify a bond applicant of the reasons for an adverse action on the application. Prohibits discrimination against applicants: (1) on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, or age; (2) because the applicant exercised any right under Federal law relating to sureties and surety bonds; or (3) because the applicant previously obtained a bond through specified means. Provides for civil penalties. Subtitle E: Small Business Access to Surety Bonding Survey Act of 1992 - Small Business Access to Surety Bonding Survey Act of 1992 - Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a survey and report to specified congressional committees on the experiences of businesses, especially small businesses, in obtaining surety bonds from corporate surety firms. Title III: Economic Justice - Subtitle A: Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to carry out a continuing program regarding reducing or eliminating, conducting research on, and providing technical assistance concerning wage disparities based on sex, race, or national origin. Subtitle B: Legislative Pay Equity Study - Declares that it is congressional policy that persons employed in the legislative branch shall receive equal pay for comparable work. Establishes the Commission on Employment Discrimination in the Legislative Branch. Subtitle C: Federal Council on Women Act - Federal Council on Women Act - Establishes in the legislative branch the Federal Council on Women to make recommendations on a wide range of issues and concerns relating to women. Subtitle D: Assured Minimum Child Support Projects - Child Support Assurance Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to not more than six States to establish or improve a system of assured minimum child support payments. Requires the custodial parent to have, or be in the process of obtaining, a child support award, or to have "good cause" in order to qualify for the program. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Social Services Block Grants - Social Services Block Grant Restoration Act of 1992 - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to authorize increased appropriations under such title. Title IV: Retirement Equity - Subtitle A: Military Retired Pay - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 to apply amendments relating to retired pay to any divorces, dissolutions of marriage, annulments, and legal separations (currently, to any such events that occur more than 90 days after enactment of this Act). Subtitle B: Social Security Equity - Social Security Equity Act of 1992 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require, subject to certain requirements, that the combined earnings of an individual and his or her spouse, during their marriage, be divided equally for determining OASDI benefits. Title V: Equal Remedies Act of 1992 - Equal Remedies Act of 1992 - Amends Federal law relating to damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination to remove provisions limiting certain compensatory damages.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
States that the Senate must quickly act to bring about: (1) reform of social programs toward rewarding the working poor; (2) creation of a tax code that provides incentives to the poor disadvantaged to work, save, and invest and to keep families together; (3) expansion of homeownership opportunities; (4) reduction of taxes on the working poor; (5) elimination of the capital gains tax for investments in inner cities; and (6) creation of more educational choice.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 - Title I: Intelligence Activities - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 for the conduct of the intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the following elements of the U.S. Government: (1) the Central Intelligence Agency; (2) the Department of Defense; (3) the Defense Intelligence Agency; (4) the National Security Agency; (5) the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; (6) the Department of State; (7) the Department of the Treasury; (8) the Department of Energy; (9) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and (10) the Drug Enforcement Administration. Specifies that the amounts authorized to be appropriated and the authorized personnel ceilings as of September 30, 1993, for the conduct of such activities are those specified in the classified Schedule of Authorizations. Authorizes the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to authorize employment of civilian personnel in excess of the numbers authorized for FY 1993 when necessary to the performance of important intelligence functions, subject to specified limitations. Requires the DCI to promptly notify the House and Senate intelligence committees whenever the Director exercises the authority granted under this title. Title II: Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System - Authorizes appropriations for the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund for FY 1993. Title III: General Provisions - Specifies that: (1) appropriations authorized by this Act for salary, pay, retirement, and other benefits for Federal employees may be increased by such additional amounts as necessary for increases in such compensation or benefits authorized by law; and (2) such authorization of appropriations shall not be deemed to constitute authority for the conduct of any intelligence activity which is not otherwise authorized by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Trade Expansion Act of 1992 - Title I: Market Access Provisions - Subtitle A: Enforcement of United States Rights Under Trade Agreements and Response to Certain Foreign Trade Practices - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend through calendar year 1997 the requirement that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) identify U.S. trade liberalization priorities. Expresses the sense of the Congress that foreign countries that have substantial trade surpluses with the United States, and maintain acts, policies, or practices that are major barriers to, or distortions of, potential U.S. export trade, should be identified (for purposes of "Super 301" under the Trade Act of 1974) as priority foreign countries, and such acts, policies, or practices identified as priority practices. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize any interested person to request the USTR to review to determine whether a foreign country is in material compliance with the terms of a trade agreement. Defines an "interested person" as any person with a significant economic interest that is being or has been adversely affected by a foreign country's failure to comply materially with terms of a trade agreement. Requires the USTR to determine what action to take if a foreign country is found not in material compliance with such agreement. Directs the USTR to initiate an investigation of all acts, policies, and practices of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan that affect the access of U.S. rice to their markets. Requires the USTR to negotiate the elimination of such acts, policies, and practices, and report to the Congress on the progress of such negotiations. Subtitle B: International Trade in Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Parts - Directs the USTR to initiate an investigation of all acts, policies, and practices of Japan that affect the access of U.S. motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts to its market, including but not limited to: (1) acts, policies, and practices utilized in the Japanese automotive distribution system; (2) toleration of anticompetitive activities by private Japanese firms (including "Keiretsu"); (3) exclusionary business practices; and (4) testing requirements and other government regulations. Requires the USTR to negotiate with Japan for a trade agreement that: (1) eliminates such acts, policies, and practices; (2) provides enforcement of Japan's commitments under the Structural Impediments Initiative, the Market -Oriented Sector Specific agreements, and the Action Plan announced at the Tokyo Summit in January 1992 with respect to trade in, and purchase of, motor vehicles and motor vehicles parts; (3) establishes long term goals for the purchase by Japanese motor vehicle manufacturers of high value-added motor vehicle parts and accessories; and (4) establishes procedures for the exchange of information between the United States and Japan that will permit the accurate assessment of the bilateral trade in motor vehicle parts. Requires the USTR to report to the Congress if such negotiations prove unsuccessful. Directs the President to negotiate with Japan for a voluntary restraint agreement that will provide for the imposition of limitations on the aggregate number of Japanese passenger automobiles and light trucks that may be exported to the United States between 1992 and 2000. Authorizes the President to enforce such agreements. Requires specified reports with respect to such negotiations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the USTR should refer to the U.S. Government all information pertaining to Japanese acts, policies, and practices that adversely affect access to the purchasing by Japanese motor vehicle manufacturers in the United States of U.S. motor vehicle parts by Japanese-owned or-controlled producers. Requires the Board established by the Foreign-Trade Zones Act to: (1) review the operations of U.S. and foreign motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts producers to determine any positive economic effect on the United States of such Act; and (2) take appropriate action, including revocation or modification of a foreign-trade zone or subzone grant, with respect to any producer whose operations in such zone are determined not to have a net positive effect on the U.S. economy. Title II: Customs Modernization - Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act - 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 unlading or transshipment; (10) public access to Customs Service interpretative rulings and decisions; and (11) seizure of imported merchandise. Subtitle B: National Customs Automation Program - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to establish the National Customs Automation Program which shall be an automated and electronic system for the processing of commercial imports. Provides for electronic data transmission relating to: (1) remote location filing; (2) effective date of rates of duty on imported merchandise; (3) merchandise manifests; (4) imported merchandise invoices; (5) entry and release of imported merchandise; (6) admissibility in administrative and judicial proceedings of electronically transmitted information; (7) appraisement and liquidations of imported merchandise; (8) the payment of duties; (9) abandonment and damage to imported merchandise; (10) protests of Customs Service decisions; (11) refunds and errors; (12) bonds and other security; and (13) customs house brokers. 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. Sets forth provisions with respect to customs officer's 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. Authorizes the Secretary to admit duty-free: (1) gifts from persons in foreign countries to persons in the United States whose value does not exceed $100 (currently, $50), or $200 (currently, $100) in the case of gifts from persons in the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa; (2) articles accompanying persons for personal or household use whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, $25); or (3) articles whose value does not exceed $200 (currently, five dollars) in other cases. Authorizes the Secretary to waive collection of duties due on merchandise that are worth less than $20, or such greater amount as prescribed by him or her. Requires masters of vessels that have visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise while outside the U.S. territorial sea to report their arrival to the nearest customs facility. Provides for the electronic transmission of vessel documentation to the Customs Service. Requires the following vessels to report to the nearest Customs Service facility within 24 hours (or other period of time) as provided after arrival to a U.S. port: (1) vessels from a foreign port; (2) foreign vessels from a domestic port; (3) U.S. vessels having bonded or foreign merchandise for which entry has not been made; or (4) vessels which visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise outside the U.S. territorial sea. Authorizes the Secretary to permit masters of vessels to make preliminary entry of their vessel with the Customs Service in lieu of or before formal entry is made. 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. Exempts from entry and clearance requirements certain passenger vessels on excursion from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the British Virgin Islands and returning, U.S. documented vessels with recreational endorsement, or (as under current law) undocumented U.S. pleasure vessels not engaged in trade, except such vessels must comply upon arrival with specified customs reporting requirements and navigation laws and must not have visited any hovering vessel. Prohibits merchandise, passengers, or baggage from being unladen from any vessel required to make entry or vehicle required to report its arrival until such entry or report of arrival is made and a permit for unlading has been issued by the Customs Service. Authorizes the issuance of such permits through electronic data transmission. Requires every importer of record of merchandise to make and file electronically or otherwise a declaration stating whether such merchandise is imported pursuant to a purchase or purchase agreement and that all other required documents are true and correct. Requires persons who gained any benefit from, or met any obligation to the United States as the result of the prior exportation of merchandise that has returned as undeliverable to inform the Customs Service of the return of such merchandise within a reasonable time. Provides for electronic data transmission of entry information to complete any incomplete entry of imported merchandise. Declares entered or unentered merchandise that remains in customs custody for six months, with an extension at the importer's request of up to a year (currently, for merchandise that remains in custody for one year), and in which duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges have not been paid, to be unclaimed merchandise which shall be appraised and sold by the Customs Service at public auction. Authorizes the sale of imported gunpowder and other explosive merchandise that if permitted to remain in a bonded warehouse for six months (currently, one year) would depreciate in value to the extent that its sale would be insufficient to pay such duties, taxes, fees, storage, and other charges. Authorizes the Customs Service, in lieu of sale, to provide notice to interested parties that, unless, within 30 days of such notice, the subject merchandise is entered or withdrawn for consumption and payment made of all duties, taxes, and fees, transfer and storage charges and other expenses that title to such merchandise shall be deemed to vest in the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to pay to a party that has lost a substantial interest in merchandise by virtue of title vesting in the United States, and can establish that it did not receive a vesting notice, an amount from the Customs Forfeiture Fund equal to what such party would have received if such merchandise had been sold and a proper claim filed. Requires any surplus of the proceeds from the sale of such merchandise to be deposited into the Fund if a claim for such surplus is not filed with the Customs Service. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the declaration and entry of merchandise whose value does not exceed a certain amount, not more than $2,500 (currently not greater than $1,250), and/or when different commercial facilitation and risk considerations that may vary for different classes or kinds of merchandise or different classes of transactions may dictate. Requires the Secretary upon seizure and forfeiture of imported merchandise bearing a counterfeit mark to dispose of such merchandise more than 90 days (currently, one year) after such forfeiture. Authorizes withdrawal of imported merchandise from a warehouse for transfer to a foreign trade zone. Authorizes the Customs Service to order the destruction or other appropriate disposition of vessels, vehicles, aircraft, merchandise, or baggage that has been seized under the customs laws if it determines that the expense of keeping such items is disportionate to their value (currently applies only to items of less than $1,000 in value). Authorizes the use of funds from the Customs Forfeiture Fund for the payment of: (1) certain transfer and storage charges and expenses; and (2) claims against Customs Service employees. Requires actions for fraud, gross negligence, and negligence, false drawback or refund claims, and restoration of lawful duties with respect to imported merchandise to be instituted within five years after the alleged violation or discovery of such fraud. Requires the Customs Service to be reimbursed the administrative cost and expense incurred in collecting fees on behalf of other Federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to settle, for no more than $50,000 in each case, claims for personal injury, death, or damage to, or loss of, privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer of the Customs Service. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with persons for collection services to recover indebtedness arising under the customs laws, provided the Customs Service has exhausted all administrative efforts to collect such indebtedness. 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. Prohibits such exportations from satisfying any requirement for exportation in order to receive a benefit from, or meet an obligation, to the United States as a result of such exportation. Declares that certain railway locomotives and railway freight cars on which no duty is owed are not subject to the entry or release requirements for imported merchandise under the Tariff Act of 1930. Exempts instruments of international trade, such as containers, lift vans, rail cars and locomotives, truck cabs and trailers, etc., from formal entry procedures. Requires them to be accounted for however, when imported to and exported from the United States through the manifesting procedures required for international carriers by the U.S. Customs Service. Amends the Internal Revenue Code and other specified Federal law with respect to: (1) certain expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund; and (2) coastwise trade vessels and U.S. vessels visiting foreign ports. Amends Federal law to grant the Court of International Trade exclusive jurisdiction of any civil action for review decisions of the Customs Service that deny, suspend, or revoke accreditation of private customs laboratories. Bars the commencement of such actions unless brought before such Court within 60 days of such decisions. Repeals specified provisions of Federal law. Requires the Commissioner of Customs to report to the Congress each fiscal year after FY 1992 on the collection of duties imposed under the antidumping and countervailing duty laws. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to authorize the Commissioner of Customs to obtain from the operators of centralized cargo examination stations information on fees paid for the provision of services at such stations. Requires the Commissioner to report to specified congressional committees on the payment of such fees. Amends the Customs and Trade Act of 1990 to require the Commissioner of Customs to: (1) devise a methodology for estimating the level of compliance with the U.S. customs laws; and (2) evaluate the extent to which such compliance was obtained during the 12-month period preceeding the 60th day before each fiscal year 1993 through 1995. Directs the Commissioner to initiate, and submit to the Congress, a compliance review of certain carrier services. Title III: Customs and Trade Agency Authorizations for Fiscal Years 1993 and 1994 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize appropriations to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) for FY 1993 and 1994. Earmarks a specified amount for reception and entertainment expenses. Prohibits use of such funds for any special study, investigation, or report requested by an agency of the executive branch unless such agency reimburses the ITC for its costs. Amends the Customs Procedural Reform and Simplification Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations to the United States Customs Service for FY 1993 and 1994 for: (1) noncommercial operations; (2) commercial operations; and (3) the air interdiction program. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriaitons to the Office of the United States Trade Representative for FY 1993 and 1994. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize apropriations for FY 1993 and 1994 for certain expenditures from the Customs Forfeiture Fund relating to purchases by the Customs Service of evidence of smuggling of controlled substances. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to eliminate the East-West Trade Statistics Monitoring System. Title IV: Miscellaneous Trade Provisions - Subtitle A: Nontariff Provisions - Directs the President to negotiate trade agreements that eliminate the adverse effects of anticompetitive practices on international trade. Requires the President to report to the Congress on the status of such negotiations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President, with respect to ensuring the effectiveness of the U.S. embargo of Cuba, should seek negotiations with countries that trade with Cuba to seek their agreement to restrict trade relations with it. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to require the Secretary of the Treasury, at the request of the Secretary of Commerce (currently, authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury): (1) to take necessary action to ensure the attainment of the objectives of the machine tool decision of the President on May 20, 1986, and on December 27, 1991; and (2) to enforce any imported machine tool quantitative limitations, restrictions, or other terms contained in related bilateral arrangements. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce the quantitative limitations and other provisions of bilateral arrangements negotiated with Taiwan on December 31, 1991, pursuant to the President's machine tool decision of May 20, 1986, until bilateral agreements are negotiated with such country pursuant to the President's December 27, 1991, decision. Directs the ITC to report to the Congress propsals for consolidating and simplifying U.S. international trade laws. Requires the Director of the Congressional Research Service to make recommendations to the Congress about establishment of a special unit that would: (1) integrate the resources of the Service, the ITC, and other appropriate agencies; and (2) serve as a central and objective source of information for the Congress on data and trends in trade between the United States and foreign countries. Subtitle B: Foreign Subsidies and Countervailing and Antidumping Duty Amendments - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require completion of reviews by the administering authority of the amount of duty with respect to countervailing and antidumping duty orders by the 270th day after the day on which a request for review was received. (Currently, there is no such deadline for completion of such a review.) Requires the ITC to consider contracts with long lead time as a factor when making material injury determinations with respect to an affected domestic industry in countervailing and antidumping duty investigations. Declares that the presence or absence of any factor the ITC is required to consider shall not give decisive guidance with respect to any threat of material injury determinations. Provides that, with respect to the determination of foreign market value of imported merchandise under investigation, no allowance shall be made to account for differences in input costs that are based on whether the end product made from the input is sold in the home market or exported. Requires the United States Customs Service to report annually to the administering authority on the amount of duties collected during each year under each countervailing and antidumping duty order. Requires the administering authority to make such data available to interested parties. Requires the administering authority, when determining whether imported parts or components are circumventing an antidumping or countervailing duty order or finding, and whether to include such parts or components in such order or finding, to consider: (1) the pattern of trade; (2) the value and sources of supply of parts or components historically used in completion or assembly of the merchandise subject to such order; (3) whether the manufacturer or exporter of such parts or components is related to the person who assembles or completes the merchandise sold in the United States from the parts or components produced in the foreign country with respect to which the order or finding applies; and (4) whether imports into the United States of the parts or components produced in such foreign country have increased after the issuance of such order or finding. Authorizes the administering authority to include within the scope of such order or finding imported parts or components that are used in the completion or assembly of certain merchandise sold in the United States and subject to such order or finding, provided: (1) such merchandise is completed or assembled in the United States from parts or components supplied by the exporter or producer with respect to which such order or finding applies, from suppliers that have historically supplied the parts or components to that exporter or producer, or from any party in the exporting country supplying parts or components on behalf of such exporter or producer; (2) the value of such imported parts and components is significant in relation to the total value of all parts and components used in the assembly or completion operation, excluding packing, of the imported merchandise covered by such order or finding; or (3) consideration of specified factors establishes a pattern of circumvention of a countervailing and antidumping duty order or finding. Enables the administering authority to base such a decision on any of such factors by itself, rather than on all of them together. Sets forth similar provisions for merchandise completed or assembled in other foreign countries. Directs the Secretary of Commerce and the ITC to study and report to the Congress on modification of standards applicable to the initiation of countervailing and antidumping duty actions in order to make petitioning for such initiations less costly and more accessible for domestic petitioners. Requires the USTR to report to the Congress on the operation of the Agreement Concerning the Application of the GATT Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft between the United States and the European Community. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should not enter into any international trade agreement on antidumping requiring changes in U.S. antidumping laws that would reduce the effectiveness of such laws as a remedy against injurious dumped imports. Urges the President to review antidumping provisions contained in the Draft Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations dated December 21, 1991 and seek changes to strengthen the effectiveness of U.S. antidumping laws, including, but not limited to, changes in provisions dealing with cumulation of injury and dispute settlement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. Government should not condone the use by foreign governments of trade distorting subsidies, including development subsidies, that cause material injury to U.S. industries. Subtitle C: Other Tariff Provisions - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to remove the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from the list of countries ineligible for designation as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to create a new tariff classification to cover imports of motor fuel blending stocks. Imposes a duty on such stocks. Revises the classification of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates and linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acids. Revises a specified subheading relating to nonalloy iron and steel pipes and tubes to include non-galvanized forms of such products. Increases the duty on certain other iron and steel pipes and tubes. Imposes a duty on galvanized nonalloy iron and steel pipes and tubes having a specified thickness. Increases the duty on certain stainless steel pipes and tubes. Authorizes the USTR to negotiate compensation for claims made pursuant to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or any other trade agreement to which the United States is a party, as a result of the amendments made by this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to producers of watches in the insular possessions of the United States who are wage certificate holders, to pay to such a holder, at the holder's election, the face value of such certificates less the value of: (1) any duty refunds claimed by the holder under the certificate; and (2) any duty refunds under such certificate that are sold by such holder. Grants duty-free treatment of articles (not over $600 in value) acquired in Bermuda. Grants duty-free treatment to sweaters in which the number of U.S. citizens, nationals, or resident aliens who perform the assembly operations (in Guam) comprise at least 50 percent of the total number of assembly production workers. Sets forth specified exceptions. Provides that stuffed dolls and doll skins that are imported into the United States on or after December 31, 1985, and before October 1, 1988, shall be liquidated as duty free as of October 1, 1988. Declares that a specified production incentive certificate shall be deemed to have been reissued on the 15th day after the enactment of this Act, and shall expire one year after such day. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to exempt semiconductors from the country of origin marking requirements under such Act. Amends the Foreign Trade Zones Act to extend until December 31, 1994, the exclusion of bicycle component parts from the exemption from customs laws provided by such Act. Treats certain entries of fabric wholly of polyamide as having been exported from the United States in accordance with and in satisfaction of the temporary importation bond and obligations of The Umbrellas: Joint Project for Japan and U.S.A. Corporation if specified conditions are met. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to authorize the extension of time (not to exceed five years) for the exportation of articles to be repaired, altered, or processed, including processes which result in articles manufactured or produced in the United States, that are imported duty-free under bond, provided that any extension beyond the third year must be accompanied by the importer's certification that such articles are to be incorporated into a communications satellite. Subjects to liquidated damages any such articles imported after January 1, 1983, and before the effective date of this Act, that are certified by the importer as having been dedicated for incorporation into a communications satellite, and as not having been exported within the time required because of launch schedule delays. Limits such liquidated damages to a maximum one percent of the liquidated damages established under the bond.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Airfare Advertising Reform Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent domestic and foreign air carriers from disseminating, or causing dissemination of, false, misleading, or deceptive advertisements. Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit the Civil Aeronautics Board (sic) from taking action with respect to deceptive advertisement violations committed by such air carriers if such violation also constitutes a violation under the Federal Trade Commission Act and this Act. Requires the FTC to issue a final rule which at a minimum provides that dissemination of any advertisement for air transportation between two points by an air carrier which contains a rate for such transportation shall constitute an unfair or deceptive practice affecting commerce, unless: (1) the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses all material restrictions governing the rate offered; (2) the rate includes all costs for obtaining such air transportation (including taxes, fees, fuel, and other surcharges) and is the round trip rate (if a round-trip ticket must be purchased to obtain such rate); and (3) the advertisement also contains the minimum number of seats per flight to which such rate applies.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for a percentage of child support payments. Imposes an additional tax on individuals with substantial unpaid child support obligations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include dislocated defense workers as eligible for the targeted jobs credit.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain defense contractors a credit for expenses of retraining of employees. Expresses the sense of the Congress that any reduction in revenues by reason of such credit be offset by a reduction in defense spending.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude any benefit which consists of the providing of medical care from the restrictions on welfare benefit funds.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Directs the Secretary of Education (Secretary), for purposes of computing the amount which a local educational agency (LEA) is entitled to receive from the Government for military-connected children in each fiscal year, to determine: (1) for each LEA receiving assistance, the number of children who reside on military installations, have parents employed on such installations, and had a parent who was on active duty in the uniformed services; and (2) the total amount of payments all LEAs are entitled to receive. Requires the Secretary of Defense to transfer (from any amounts available to him) to the Secretary in each fiscal year the total amount of funds necessary for the Secretary to make all required payments to LEAs for such fiscal year, subject to specified limitations (including that funds distributed to such LEAs be consistent with shifting only the funding responsibility for such military-connected children from the Department of Education to the Department of Defense). Sets forth formulas for determining the amount of the entitlement of an LEA for a fiscal year with respect to: (1) children with disabilities (currently, and children with specific learning disabilities for whom a determination is made under provisions related to children who had a parent who was on active duty in the uniformed services); and (2) military-connected children with disabilities and for whom such LEA is providing a program designed to meet the special and related needs of such children.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Omnibus Congressional and Presidential Coverage and Accountability Act - Title I: Senate Spending Reduction and Control - Prohibits the amounts appropriated for the Senate: (1) for FY 1993 from exceeding 87 percent of the Senate's budget authority for FY 1992; and (2) for FY 1994 from exceeding 75 percent of such budget authority for FY 1992. Prohibits an annual increase in the amounts appropriated for the Senate for any fiscal year after FY 1994 that exceeds the cost of living adjustment for such fiscal year. Title II: Congressional and Presidential Accountability - Applies to the Congress: (1) specified Federal employment laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and (if enacted) the Indoor Air Quality Act of 1991; (2) the rights and protections provided pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 with respect to conduct regarding matters other than employment; (3) the Privacy Act of 1974; and (4) Title VI of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. Applies the same Federal employment laws to the employment of presidential appointees. Title III: Wage Garnishment Equalization - Subjects the pay of elected U.S. officers, Federal employees, presidential appointees, and congressional officials or employees to garnishment in the manner applicable to the pay of non-Federal employees. Title IV: Income Tax Disclosure - Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require the President, the Vice President, Members of Congress, and candidates for such offices to include a copy of his or her most recent Federal income tax return with each report required to be filed under such Act. Title V: Congressional Pay Accountability - Requires legislative salary adjustments for Members of Congress to take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after the election of the House of Representatives following the enactment of the law making such adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Constitutional Amendment - Requires, prior to each fiscal year, that the estimated total receipts for that year be determined by enactment of a law devoted solely to that subject. Prohibits Federal outlays from exceeding estimated receipts in a fiscal year, and prohibits any increase in the public debt limit, unless three-fifths of the whole number of each House of Congress provide for a specific excess of outlays, or for an increase, by rollcall vote. Requires the President to transmit to the Congress before each fiscal year a proposed Federal budget in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts. Prohibits any bill to increase revenue from becoming law unless approved by a majority of the whole number of each House by rollcall vote. Provides for waiver of this Amendment for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. Declares that Federal receipts exclude those derived from borrowing and that Federal outlays exclude those for repayment of debt principal.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Amends the Standing Rules of the Senate to establish a point of order against the consideration of a measure to increase the pay of Senators, the President pro tempore of the Senate, or the majority and minority leaders of the Senate unless the Committee on the Budget has determined that the most recent Federal budget passed by the Congress will be balanced for the applicable fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
DeLauro-Lowey Water Pollution Control and Estuary Restoration Financing Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for the State water pollution control revolving fund program through FY 1999. Requires a specified percentage (increasing with each succeeding fiscal year) of such appropriations to be used by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make capitalization grants for estuary plans to qualified States. Requires States to submit estimates of the need for assistance for implementing and monitoring such plans. Prohibits the submission of such estimates unless the estimates are approved by the appropriate management conference under the National Estuary Program. Makes States that fail to submit approved estimates ineligible for assistance. Directs States to establish separate Estuary Accounts in their water pollution control revolving funds, to be used for implementing approved estuary plans. Permits loans made with amounts in such Accounts to be for terms of up to 40 years or for the useful life of a facility constructed with the loan, whichever is less, if the borrower demonstrates financial hardship. Allows States to use interest earned on amounts in such Accounts to subsidize up to 90 percent of the principal portion of debt service of certain entities that are financially unable to carry out a necessary project for an estuary plan. Establishes a State matching requirement for deposits into Accounts. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants for the implementation of estuary conservation and management plans. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of the total cost of implementation. Authorizes appropriations. Permits certain grants under the National Estuary Program to be used for interim actions adopted by management conferences to protect the water and sediment quality of estuaries. Extends the authorization of appropriations for management conferences, grants, conservation and management plans, and research under the National Estuary Program through FY 1999. Revises provisions concerning the purposes of management conferences. Directs the Administrator to issue a guidance document that establishes requirements for: (1) management conferences to follow in developing, implementing, and monitoring conservation and management plans; and (2) approving and implementing interim actions to protect water quality of estuaries for which plans are developed. Requires management conferences to be convened for periods of at least five years (currently, up to five years). Permits the extension of a conference for an additional five years if the affected Governors concur in the extension and the extension is necessary to meet requirements. Revises approval and implementation procedures for estuary conservation and management plans and establishes such procedures for interim actions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Directs the Secretary of Defense to earmark specified funds currently available for FY 1993 for economic conversion or defense reinvestment for: (1) new employment assistance and training programs for recently separated veterans, to be administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs; (2) services under the armed forces transition assistance program; and (3) personnel expenses relating to such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 to earmark specified funds made available under such Act for counter-drug activities for use by the Secretary of Defense to provide counter-drug training of civilian law enforcement personnel at the Military Police School at Fort McClellan, Alabama.