103rd Congress > Senate > Vote 169
Clerk session vote number: 169
Description: To eliminate the increase in the taxation of social security benefits.
Bill summary: TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Title I: Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Subtitle A: Commodity Programs
Subtitle B: Restructuring of Loan Programs
Subtitle C: Food Stamp Program
Subtitle D: Agricultural Trade
Subtitle E: Miscellaneous
Title II: Committee on Armed Services
Title III: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Title IV: Communications and Transportation
Title V: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Subtitle A: Recreation and Commercial Use Fees
Subtitle
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B: Hardrock Mining Claim Maintenance Fee
Subtitle C: Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
Agreement
Subtitle D: Mineral Receipts
Title VI: Committee on Environment and Public Works
Title VII: Finance Committee Reconciliation Provisions
Relating to Medicare, Medicaid, and Other Programs
Subtitle A: Medicare
Subtitle B: Medicaid Program
Subtitle C: Income Security Programs
Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions
Title VIII: Finance Committee Revenue Provisions
Subtitle A: Training and Investment Incentives
Subtitle B: Revenue Increases
Title IX: Committee on Foreign Relations
Title X: Committee on Governmental Affairs
Subtitle A: Civil Service
Subtitle B: Postal Service
Title XI: Judiciary
Title XII: Committee on Labor and Human Resources
Subtitle A: Student Loan Provisions
Subtitle B: Public Health Service Act Provisions
Subtitle C: Improved Immunization Delivery and
Monitoring
Subtitle D: ERISA Amendments
Title XIII: Veterans' Programs
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 -
Title I: Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
- Agricultural Reconciliation Act of 1993 -
Subtitle A: Commodity Programs
- Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to reduce, with specified exceptions, the acreage eligible for deficiency payments from 92 percent to 85 percent for wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, and rice.
(Sec. 1105) Extends the dairy support program. Sets forth purchase price ceilings for butter and nonfat dry milk. Reduces milk prices by ten cents per hundredweight for 1996. Prohibits the sale of bovine growth hormone during a specified time period.
(Sec. 1106) Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to require domestic cigarette manufacturers to certify the amount of U.S.-produced tobacco in their products. Establishes a domestic marketing assessment. Requires domestic cigarette manufacturers to purchase specified amounts of Burley and Flue-cured tobacco from producer-owned cooperatives.
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to require importers of foreign tobacco to pay: (1) specified marketing assessments; and (2) specified assessments to the No Net Cost Tobacco Fund.
Amends the Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983 to subject imported tobacco to inspection fees on the same basis as domestic tobacco.
Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to extend quota reduction floor authority (with waiver authority to avoid excess inventories) for Burley and Flue-cured tobacco.
(Sec. 1107) Increases 1995 and 1996 sugarcane and sugarbeet marketing assessment rates.
(Sec. 1108) Reduces 1994 and 1995 loan levels for soybeans and oilseeds. Revises loan maturation provisions. Eliminates loan origination fees for post-1993 crop years.
(Sec. 1109) Increases 1994 and 1995 peanut marketing assessment and first purchaser-producer assessment rates.
(Sec. 1110) Reduces 1994 through 1997 honey price support levels and individual payment ceilings.
(Sec. 1111) Amends the National Wool Act of 1954 to reduce 1995 through 1997 wool and mohair individual payment ceilings. Maintains the 1993 support price for shorn wool through 1997. Eliminates specified marketing assessments.
Subtitle B: Restructuring of Loan Programs
- Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to restructure Rural Electrification Administration electric and telephone loan programs, including the establishment of: (1) electric hardship loans and cost-of-money loans; and (2) telephone hardship loans and cost-of-money loans.
Revises the definition of "rural area" for purposes of rural electrification and telephone service.
Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to permit electric and telephone borrowers to qualify for: (1) water and waste disposal loans; and (2) rural economic development assistance.
Subtitle C: Food Stamp Program
- Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to reduce to 50 percent Federal cost-sharing expenses for: (1) food stamp investigations and prosecutions; and (2) immigration status verifications under the Social Security Act. Includes automated data processing and information retrieval systems among eligible cost-sharing activities.
Subtitle D: Agricultural Trade
- Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to eliminate required FY 1994 and 1995 additional funding levels for the market promotion program and obligate certain sums for specified categories of exporters.
(Sec. 1402) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to: (1) remove specified acreage reduction requirements for grain sorghum and barley; and (2) eliminate certain support level adjustment provisions.
(Sec. 1403) Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to prohibit the entry into or the withdrawal from a warehouse of any imported wheat or barley that it is not covered by an end-use certificate.
(Sec. 1404) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Agriculture should aggressively promote the export of vegetable oil.
Subtitle E: Miscellaneous
- Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to direct the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to take specified actions to improve the actuarial soundness of Federal crop insurance coverage.
(Sec. 1502) Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 with regard to the conservation reserve program to: (1) make the current discretionary enrollment provision mandatory; and (2) reduce acreage requirements.
Extends the wetlands reserve program and revises acreage enrollment provisions.
(Sec. 1503) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to charge admission, entrance, and recreation fees at appropriate sites, and public or recreation areas.
(Sec. 1504) Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) farmers should pay no more than their fair share of any budget reduction necessary to achieve deficit reduction; and (2) the level of budget reduction should take into account taxes, interest rates, and user fees.
Title II: Committee on Armed Services
- Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a limited increase in the military retired pay of former military personnel who became members of the armed forces before August 1, 1986. Specifies the month for which such increases becoming effective on December 1 of FY 1994 through 1998 shall be payable as part of retired pay.
Title III: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDICA) to prescribe an order of priority for the distribution of amounts realized from the resolution of any insured depository institution.
(Sec. 3002) Amends the Federal Reserve Act to mandate for FY 1997 and FY 1998 the transfer into the Treasury of specified percentages of the surplus fund of any Federal reserve bank. Prohibits a Federal reserve bank from replenishing its surplus fund by the amount of such transfer.
(Sec. 3003) Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 to: (1) include certain Indian housing programs within the parameters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development program; (2) require submission of certain income disclosure consent forms to verify applicant eligibility for benefits; and (3) revise applicant, participant, and public housing agency protections.
Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to declare that adjustments to a public housing agency's operating subsidy shall reflect actual changes in rental income collections resulting from application of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988.
(Sec. 3004) Amends the National Housing Act to direct the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) to: (1) charge fees in connection with its multiclass securities guarantee program (the program); (2) take steps to assure that a certain portion of the benefit resulting from the program accrues to mortgagors who execute eligible mortgages; (3) summarize program activities in its annual report; and (4) report to certain congressional committees on specified risk minimization aspects of the program.
(Sec. 3005) Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to increase the rate at which the Secretary earns the single premium payment collected at the time of insurance of a mortgage that is an obligation of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.
Title IV: Communications and Transportation - Subtitle A: Spectrum Allocation and Auction
- Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1993 - Directs the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to meet at least biannually to conduct joint spectrum planning with respect to: (1) future spectrum requirements for public and private uses and the allocation actions to accommodate those uses; and (2) actions to promote the efficient use of the spectrum. Directs the Assistant Secretary and the Chairman to report jointly to specialized congressional committees on their recommendations.
Requires the FCC to develop procedures to ensure that minority-owned businesses and small businesses are given the opportunity to provide spectrum-based services. Directs the FCC to report to the Congress a study of current and future spectrum needs of State and local government public safety agencies through the year 2010.
(Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary of Commerce to identify radio band frequencies that are allocated on a primary basis for Federal use, are not currently required for Federal needs, can easily be made available for other uses, and have the greatest potential for productive uses and public benefits. Directs the Secretary to recommend to the President and the Congress the immediate reallocation of no less than 30 megahertz of such frequencies. Requires a preliminary and final report on other reallocable frequencies, with an opportunity for public comment.
(Sec. 405) Directs the President, after receipt of the Secretary's recommendation, to: (1) withdraw the assignment of appropriate frequencies no longer needed by the Government; (2) assign other frequencies to Federal stations; (3) reallocate for public or mixed use appropriate frequencies; and (4) provide notice of his actions to the FCC and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 406) Directs the FCC to issue rules for the allocation of all frequencies made available for immediate reallocation under this Act. Authorizes the President to reclaim reassigned frequencies for reassignment to Federal stations.
(Sec. 408) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the FCC, during FY 1994 through 1998, to use competitive bidding procedures to grant all radio spectrum licenses for which two or more mutually exclusive applications have been filed. Requires a report on such procedures. Provides rural program license procedures. Provides for the State and local tax treatment of radio licenses and permits.
(Sec. 409) Revises the FCC's regulatory authority in the management of mobile communications services. Considers a person engaged in the provision of commercial mobile services to be a common carrier and, therefore, required to establish physical connections with such service as required under the Communications Act.
Prohibits a person engaged in private land mobile service from being considered to be a common carrier for such purposes. Prohibits any State or local government from imposing any rate or entry regulation upon any commercial or private land mobile service, but allows a State to regulate other terms and conditions of commercial mobile service, under certain conditions. Provides certain FCC deadlines with respect to rules, licenses, and permits for personal communications services.
Subtitle B: Vessel Tonnage Duties
- Amends Federal law relating to shipping to extend the years during which certain tonnage duties are imposed.
Title V: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources - Subtitle A: Recreation and Commercial Use Fees
- Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to: (1) authorize the charging of admission fees for FY 1994 through 1998 at Bureau of Land Management (BLM) national monuments and scenic areas and areas of concentrated public use; (2) strike a provision prohibiting a recreation fee for the use of visitors' centers, picnic tables, or boat ramps; (3) authorize the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to withhold from a special account made up of user fees an amount determined to be equal to the additional fee collection costs for each fiscal year; (4) direct the Secretary of the Interior, for FY 1994 through 1998, to establish and collect fees on commercial tour vehicles entering units of the National Park System in which fees are authorized; and (5) authorize the Secretaries to allow businesses and other organizations to sell and collect fees for the Golden Eagle Passport (an admission passport valid for an entire year).
(Sec. 5003) Directs the Secretaries to assess and collect charges for utilization of radio and television communication sites located on Federal lands administered by the Forest Service or BLM. Requires such users to provide the Forest Service or BLM with a list identifying all additional site users and all revenues received from such users.
Requires the Secretaries to establish a broad based advisory group to determine the market value for radio and television communication site users. Requires a report to specified congressional committees.
Subtitle B: Hardrock Mining Claim Maintenance Fee
- Mandates payment for maintenance fees of $100 per claim by each claimant of an unpatented mining claim, mill or tunnel site on federally-owned lands in order to hold such claims for the assessment year. Declares that such fee is in lieu of assessment work and related filing requirements contained in certain Federal laws. Waives such fees under certain conditions.
(Sec. 5102) Mandates the payment of a location fee for every unpatented mining claim, mill or tunnel site located after the date of enactment of this Act and before September 30, 1998. Replaces certain assessment requirements and expenditures with the annual maintenance fee.
Subtitle C: Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands Agreement
- Limits the payments to the Northern Mariana Islands for FY 1994 through 1998 to the amounts and for the purposes set forth in the Agreement of the Special Representatives on Future Financial Assistance of the Northern Mariana Islands of December 1992. Continues funding after 1998 at a specified annual amount.
Subtitle D: Mineral Receipts
- Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to provide that in calculating the amount to be paid to States of revenues derived from Federal onshore mineral and geothermal steam leasing receipts, 50 percent of the portion of the appropriation allocable for administration and enforcement shall be deducted from those receipts in approximately equal amounts each month before their division and distribution between the States and the United States.
Title VI: Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconcilitation Act of 1990 to extend from 1995 to 1998 the authority of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to assess and collect annual charges.
(Sec. 6002) Amends the Flood Control Act of 1968 to authorize the Secretary of the Army to charge fees for the use of developed recreation sites and facilities with specified exceptions. Mandates deposit of such fees into a certain account established for the Army Corps of Engineers.
Title VII: Finance Committee Reconciliation Provisions Relating to Medicare, Medicaid, and Other Programs - Subtitle A: Medicare - Part I: Provisions Relating to Part A
- Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) provide for a reduction in payment updates for inpatient hospital services; (2) provide for a reduction in payment for the indirect costs of medical education; (3) extend payments for Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals; (4) repeal the requirement for a return on equity for proprietary skilled nursing facilities; (5) extend the ten percent reduction in payments for capital-related costs of inpatient hospital services; (6) lower the per diem limits with respect to payments for routine service costs of extended care services; and (7) change the update formula for hospice care payment starting in 1994.
(Sec. 7103) Provides for continuation of the other urban payment rate through 1994.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) permit hospitals that fail to qualify as rural referral centers due to their urban reclassification to decline their reclassification and retain their former status; and (2) make lump-sum retroactive payments to such hospitals.
Part II: Provisions Relating to Part B: Subpart A - Physician Services
- Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) reduce the default update for the conversion factor otherwise applicable to surgical and non-surgical services (except primary care services) in 1994; (2) increase the performance standard factor starting in 1994; (3) double the maximum reduction in the default update allowed for 1994 starting in 1995; (4) provide for classification of primary care services as a separate category of services for purposes related to the application of volume performance standards and updates in conversion factors for physicians' services; (5) directs the Secretary to phase-in reductions to the practice expense relative value units for certain services; (6) revise the payment policy for anesthesia care teams; (7) repeal the prohibition on separate billing for the interpretation of electrocardiograms (EKGs); (8) repeal payment reductions for new physicians and practitioners; (9) require adjustments in the relative value units for services provided by physicians and other practitioners in order to ensure budget neutrality; (10) revise the application of the limiting charge policy with respect to claims submitted on a nonassignment basis; (11) add payment and billing rules for services furnished by certain practitioners; (12) set forth requirements for Medicare carriers to provide limiting charge information on the explanation of benefits form furnished to Medicare beneficiaries and screen unassigned claims by service providers before making payment to determine whether the amount billed exceeds the applicable limiting charge; and (13) require the Secretary's report to the Congress on changes in expenditures for physician services to reflect information on charges in excess of the applicable limiting charge.
Subpart B: Outpatient Hospital Services and Ambulatory Surgical Services
- Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) extend the ten percent reduction in payments for capital-related costs of outpatient hospital services; (2) extend the reduction in payments for other costs of outpatient hospital services; and (3) make changes to payment formulae for outpatient hospital services.
(Sec. 7224) Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OMBRA '90) to reduce payments for intraocular lenses.
Subpart C: Durable Medical Equipment
- Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) revise the payment rules for durable medical equipment (DME); (2) provide for the treatment of nebulizers and aspirators and payment for accessories relating to such items; (3) provide a method for determining payment for surgical dressings; and (4) reduce payments for TENS devices.
Subpart D: Part B Premium
- Amends SSA title XVIII to revise current law establishing the monthly part B premium for Medicare beneficiaries.
Subpart E: Other Provisions
- Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) provide for a freeze, then reduction, in updates for certain items and services covered under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), including DME and ambulatory surgical center services; and (2) lower the cap on payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests performed after December 31, 1993.
Part III: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B
- Amends SSA title XVIII to: (1) revise weighting factors and other criteria used in determining payments for direct graduate medical education costs; (2) include preventive care services as part of the initial residency period; (3) include successor exams in the definition of an FMGEMS examination; (4) modify home health agency cost limits; (5) extend the ban on certain referrals by physicians to cover additional specified health services and include new exceptions as well as modified ones related to its application; and (6) reduce payments for erythropoietin.
(Sec. 7303) Amends SSA title XVIII and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to make numerous changes with respect to Medicare as secondary payer.
Subtitle B: Medicaid Program - Part I: Program Savings Provisions - Subpart A: Repeal of Mandate
- Amends SSA title XIX to: (1) repeal the mandate that States cover personal care services under their Medicaid programs for all individuals entitled to nursing facility benefits; and (2) give States the option of covering personal care services furnished in a home or other location.
Subpart B: Outpatient Prescription Drugs
- Amends SSA title XIX to: (1) allow States, under certain conditions, to establish formularies limiting coverage of prescription drugs under their Medicaid programs; (2) eliminate the prohibition on a State's subjecting covered outpatient drugs to prior authorization during the first six months after the drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration; and (3) make modifications to the Medicaid prescription drug program.
Subpart C: Restrictions on Divestiture of Assets and Estate Recovery
- Amends SSA title XIX to: (1) revise provisions regarding adjustments and recoveries and transfers of assets; and (2) set forth rules for the treatment of trusts for purposes of determining an individual's eligibility for, and amount of, benefits under a State's Medicaid plan.
Subpart D: Improvement in Identification and Collection of Third Party Payments
- Amends SSA title XIX to: (1) address the liability of third parties to pay for care and services under Medicaid; and (2) require States to have in effect certain specified laws relating to medical child support.
(Sec. 7433) Amends IRC and SSA title XIX to provide for collection of payment obligations relating to medical assistance from State and Federal tax refunds.
Subpart E: Assuring Proper Payments to Disproportionate Share Hospitals
- Amends SSA title XIX to make changes with regard to payments for disproportionate share hospitals.
Subpart F: Anti-Fraud and Abuse Provisions
- Amends SSA title XIX to prohibit payment with respect to any amount expended for an item or service for which payment would be denied under the Medicare ban on certain physician referrals if the item or service were furnished to an individual entitled to benefits under Medicare.
Part II: Other Medicaid Provisions
- Amends OMBRA '90 to revise : (1) the limits on expenditures and funding for demonstration projects to study the effect of allowing States to extend Medicaid coverage to certain low-income families not otherwise qualified to receive Medicaid benefits; and (2) project reporting requirements.
Subtitle C: Income Security Programs
- Amends SSA title IV part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) to make changes with regard to Federal matching of State AFDC administrative expenditures.
Amends SSA titles I (Old Age Assistance), X (Aid to the Blind), XIV (Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled), and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) to revise the formula for determining Federal payments to the States for expenses incurred in administering their State plans under such SSA titles.
Amends SSA title XI to change the requirements for attesting to citizenship status.
(Sec. 7602) Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to: (1) modify performance standards for State paternity establishment programs; and (2) modify existing, and require certain additional, procedures under State law with respect to child support enforcement.
(Sec. 7603) Amends SSA title XVI (SSI) and other Federal law to: (1) require the Social Security Administration to charge States fees for the Federal cost of administering State supplemental SSI payments; and (2) require the Secretary to charge fees for additional services requested by the State that are beyond the level customarily provided in administering a State's supplemental SSI payments.
Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Part I: Trade Provisions
- Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to extend authority for levying customs user fees.
(Sec. 7702) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to provide for an extension of, and authorization of appropriations for, the trade adjustment assistance program.
Part II: Improved Access to Childhood Immunizations
- Amends SSA title XIX to direct the Secretary to promulgate a list of vaccines that provide immunization against naturally occurring infectious diseases and are recommended for universal use in children. Provides for immunization outreach through the EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Services) Program. Requires Medicaid managed care plans to comply with specified requirements relating to EPSDT. Allows State plans to make payments directly to the manufacturer of the vaccine under a voluntary replacement program.
Requires the Secretary to provide for demonstration projects designed to improve the rate and timeliness of immunization against childhood diseases in the case of any Medicaid-eligible child up to age two who is part of a family eligible for AFDC.
(Sec. 7803) Amends SSA to add a new title XXI entitled "Central Bulk Purchasing Program For Pediatric Vaccines" under which the Secretary shall provide for the purchase and delivery on behalf of the applicant State of such quantities of pediatric vaccines as may be necessary for the immunization of each eligible child in the State.
Part III: Disclosure Provisions
- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the authority to disclose return information for the administration of certain veterans programs.
(Sec. 7902) Authorizes the disclosure of such information: (1) in the administration of repayments of certain student loans; and (2) for income verification under certain housing assistance programs.
(Sec. 7904) Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to provide for the establishment of a Third Party Liability Clearinghouse to identify third parties responsible for payment for health care items and services furnished to beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid.
Authorizes the disclosure of certain taxpayer return information for purposes of identifying health insurance coverage of certain individuals and spouses.
Requires employers to report whether a group health plan is available to an employee on wage statements.
Part IV: Other Provisions
- Expands the 45-day interest-free period for refunding tax overpayments to all returns, as well as to amended returns and claims for refunds. Provides that if interest is not refunded within 45 days after the taxpayer files an amended return or claim for refund, interest will be paid only for periods after the date on which the return or claim is filed.
(Sec. 7951) Requires the establishment of a program requiring the payment of user fees for the processing of applications for certificates of alcohol label approval and exemption, formula reviews, and statements of process (including laboratory tests and analyses).
(Sec. 7952) Removes authority to use the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for administrative expenses of certain customs fee collections.
(Sec. 7953) Increases the amount that individuals may designate to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund on their tax returns.
(Sec. 7954) Increases the public debt limit and repeals the temporary limit on such increases.
Title VIII: Revenue Provisions
- Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 -
Subtitle A: Training and Investment Incentives
- Extends until June 30, 1994, the tax exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance and the targeted jobs credit.
(Sec. 8111) Suspends the credit for increasing research activities from July 1, 1992, through June 30, 1993, and any period after June 30, 1994. Modifies the fixed base percentage of such credit for startup companies for taxable years after 1993.
(Sec. 8115) Eliminates the depreciation adjustment for computing adjusted current earnings for such property placed in service after December 31, 1993.
(Sec. 8119) Increases the dollar limitation on the election to expense certain depreciable small business assets.
(Sec. 8121) Extends until June 30, 1994, the authority to issue qualified small issue bonds to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property.
(Sec. 8131) Repeals certain interaction rules of the earned income credit with respect to the medical expense deduction, the deduction for health insurance, and the dependent care credit. Revises credit and phaseout percentages for 1994.
(Sec. 8141) Extends the authority to issue qualified mortgage bonds and qualified mortgage credit certificates until June 30, 1994. Makes permanent the low-income housing credit.
(Sec. 8143) Provides for the treatment of rental real estate activities under the limitations on losses from passive activities.
(Sec. 8144) Modifies exceptions to the exclusion of real property acquired by a qualified organization from the meaning of acquisition indebtedness. Makes certain exceptions inapplicable to sales out of foreclosure by a financial institution.
(Sec. 8145) Repeals the special rule for publicly traded partnerships with respect to the treatment of unrelated business taxable income.
(Sec. 8146) Permits a tax-exempt title-holding company to receive unrelated business taxable income if the unrelated income is incidentally derived from the holding of real property.
(Sec. 8147) Excludes from unrelated business taxable income: (1) gains from the sale, exchange or other disposition of real property acquired from financial institutions that are in conservatorship or receivership; and (2) loan commitment fees and certain option premiums. Provides for the tax treatment of pension fund investments in real estate investment trusts.
(Sec. 8151) Increases the depreciation recovery period for nonresidential real property.
(Sec. 8161) Repeals the luxury excise tax on boats, aircraft, jewelry, and furs.
Modifies the luxury excise tax on automobiles to index the threshold for inflation occurring after 1990 and make such tax applicable to the first retail sale.
(Sec. 8162) Exempts from the luxury excise tax parts or accessories installed for use of passenger vehicles by disabled individuals.
(Sec. 8163) Extends the current diesel fuel excise tax to diesel fuel used by noncommercial motorboats. Retains such taxes in the General Fund of the Treasury.
(Sec. 8171) Repeals the tax preference for the appreciated property charitable deduction. Disallows an adjustment related to the earnings and profits effects of any charitable contribution from being made in computing adjusted current earnings.
(Sec. 8172) Establishes substantiation requirements for charitable contributions of $250 or more.
(Sec. 8173) Sets forth disclosure requirements for an organization that receives a quid pro quo contribution (payment made partly as a contribution and partly in consideration for goods or services provided to the payor by the donee organization). Imposes a penalty for failure to make such disclosure.
(Sec. 8174) Amends the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 to make permanent the treatment of certain railroad retirement benefits as received under employer plans.
(Sec. 8175) Provides for the temporary extension of the deduction of health insurance costs of self-employed individuals.
Subtitle B: Revenue Increases
- Lowers the tax rates for certain taxpayers and increases the tax rate for certain higher incomes. Imposes a surtax on certain higher incomes.
(Sec. 8203) Increases the tentative minimum tax for taxpayers other than corporations.
(Sec. 8204) Makes permanent the overall limitation on itemized deductions and the phaseout of personal exemptions for high-income taxpayers.
(Sec. 8206) Sets forth provisions to prevent the conversion of ordinary income to capital gain in certain financial transactions.
Repeals certain exceptions to market discount rules.
Provides for the treatment of purchases of stripped preferred stock after April 30, 1993.
Revises the methods of : (1) computing the limitation on the deductibility of investment interest; and (2) determining substantial appreciation of partnership inventory items.
(Sec. 8207) Repeals the limitation on the amount of wages subject to the health insurance employment tax.
(Sec. 8208) Increases and makes permanent the highest estate and gift tax rate.
(Sec. 8209) Reduces the deduction for business meals and entertainment expenses.
(Sec. 8210) Disallows a tax deduction for social membership dues, except for employee recreational expenses.
(Sec. 8211) Disallows a deduction as a trade or business expense for remuneration to certain employees in excess of $1 million.
(Sec. 8212) Reduces the compensation taken into account in determining contributions and benefits under qualified retirement plans.
(Sec. 8213) Removes qualified residence sales, purchases, or leases and meals from the deduction for moving expenses.
Places a dollar limitation on the deduction for moving expenses.
(Sec. 8214) Revises the limitation on using the preceding year's tax to calculate an individual's estimated tax payments.
(Sec. 8215) Increases the amount of social security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits to be included in the gross income of certain taxpayers.
(Sec. 8221) Increases the tax rate for corporate income in excess of $10 million and the tax rate on personal service corporations.
(Sec. 8222) Denies a tax deduction for lobbying expenses. Subjects lobbying organizations to special reporting requirements.
(Sec. 8223) Requires any security which is inventory in the hands of the dealer to be included in inventory at its fair market value. Requires any dealer in securities that holds any security which is not in inventory at the close of any taxable year to: (1) recognize gain or loss as if the security were sold on the last business day of the taxable year; and (2) take into account any such gain or loss for such year (the mark-to-market requirement).
(Sec. 8224) Requires taking into account: (1) certain Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) assistance as compensation for loss; and (2) any FSLIC assistance for any debt for determining whether such debt is worthless and in determining the amount of any addition to a reserve for bad debts arising from such worthlessness or partial worthlessness.
(Sec. 8225) Increases the required annual payment for corporations that fail to pay estimated income tax. Modifies the periods for applying such annualization.
(Sec. 8226) Repeals the stock for debt exception in determining income from discharge of indebtedness.
(Sec. 8227) Limits the Puerto Rico and possession tax credit to 40 percent of the possession corporation's qualified possession wages by 1998 and thereafter.
(Sec. 8228) Modifies the limitation on corporate deductions for interest paid to related persons to take into account disqualified guarantees of indebtedness and the imposition of a gross basis tax.
(Sec. 8231) Requires U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporations to include in gross income a pro rata share of the corporations' excess passive assets. Sets forth rules for determining such amounts. Modifies the rule on taxation of investment in United States property and takes into account excessive passive assets.
(Sec. 8233) Excepts from foreign personal holding income dividends attributable to earnings and profits of the distributing corporation accumulated during any period during which the person receiving such dividend did not hold such stock.
Requires the establishment of an excess limitation account by taxpayers who receive foreign tax credits in a year they receive previously taxed earnings and profits.
(Sec. 8234) Reduces the amount allowed as allocation and apportionment of research and experimental expenditures from sources within the United States.
(Sec. 8235) Excludes passive dividends or interest income from foreign oil and gas income.
(Sec. 8236) Modifies accuracy-related penalties for tax underpayments.
(Sec. 8237) Denies the inclusion of certain contingent interest in the exemption for portfolio interest for nonresident aliens.
(Sec. 8238) Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations recharacterizing any multiple-party financing transaction as a transaction directly among any two or more such parties where appropriate to prevent any tax avoidance.
(Sec. 8239) Provides that export property eligible for certain tax incentives does not include any unprocessed softwood timber for purposes of: (1) taxation of foreign sales corporations (FSCs); and (2) taxation of domestic international sales corporations (DISCs).
Requires any income from the sale of such unprocessed timber which was cut from an area in the United States to be sourced in the United States.
Repeals the deferral for income of the controlled foreign corporation from sales or milling (outside the United States) of unprocessed softwood timber to the extent that any controlled foreign corporation is owned by ten percent or more U.S. shareholders.
(Sec. 8241) Increases the excise tax on gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, and other transportation fuels.
(Sec. 8242) Imposes an excise tax on fuel (separate from the gasoline tax and the tax on aviation). Exempts from such tax diesel fuel: (1) used by trains and intercity, local, or school buses; and (2) which is dyed or marked in accordance within regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.
Provides that the Airport and Airway Trust Fund financing rate does not apply to aviation fuel sold by a producer or importer for use by the purchaser in a nontaxable use.
Imposes a civil penalty on persons who use reduced-rate fuel for a taxable use.
(Sec. 8243) Imposes a floor stocks tax on any person holding diesel fuel on April 1, 1994.
(Sec. 8224) Increases the tax on gasoline and diesel fuels for purposes of the Highway Trust Fund financing rate. Increases the amount to be transferred to the Mass Transit Account from such Fund.
(Sec. 8251) Requires information reporting on payments to corporations for services.
(Sec. 8252) Modifies provisions concerning substantial understatement and return-preparer penalties to allow reasonable cause exceptions.
(Sec. 8253) Requires certain financial entities (including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration, and their successors or subunits) to file information returns regarding discharges of indebtedness of $600 or more.
(Sec. 8261) Allows an amortization deduction with respect to certain intangible property, including goodwill, that is acquired and held by a taxpayer in connection with the conduct of a trade or business or an activity engaged in for the production of income.
(Sec. 8271) Denies the business travel expense deduction for spouses, dependents, or others.
(Sec. 8272) Increases the withholding rate for supplemental wage payments.
(Sec. 8273) Makes permanent the excise tax on certain vaccines.
Title IX: Committee on Foreign Relations
- Delays cost-of-living adjustments in Foreign Service retirement benefits during FY 1994 through 1996.
(Sec. 9002) Eliminates the lump sum retirement option for certain Foreign Service employees.
Title X: Committee on Governmental Affairs - Subtitle A: Civil Service
- Delays cost-of-living adjustments in Federal employee retirement benefits during FY 1994 through 1996.
(Sec. 1002) Eliminates permanently the lump sum retirement option for certain Federal employees.
(Sec. 1003) Amends Federal law to make changes regarding District of Columbia government contributions for specified periods for certain employee and annuitant health benefits.
Subtitle B: Postal Service
- Directs the United States Postal Service to make a specified additional payment into the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Employee Health Benefits Fund to cover increases due to retirement cost-of-living adjustments and increases in health benefits costs.
Subtitle C: Miscellaneous
- Makes changes under the Civil Service and Federal Employees Retirement Systems regarding survivor annuities.
Title XI: Judiciary
- Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to extend through FY 1998 the surcharge fees for Patent and Trademark Office users.
Title XII: Committee on Labor and Human Resources - Subtitle A: Student Loan Provisions
- Student Loan Reform Act of 1993 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to replace the Federal Family Education Loan Program, under which loans made by private lenders are guaranteed by the Government, with a Federal Direct Student Loan Program, over a four-year transition period.
Chapter 1: Federal Direct Student Loan Program
- Amends HEA to change the Federal Direct Loan Demonstration Program to the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSL).
(Sec. 12011) Sets forth program authority for making necessary sums available to make FDSL loans to all eligible students (and parents) at participating higher education institutions selected by the Secretary of Education (Secretary), for the period beginning July 1, 1994. Requires such loans to be made by participating institutions that also have agreements with the Secretary to originate loans, or by alternative originators designated by the Secretary.
Directs the Secretary to provide funds for such student and parent loans either directly to a participating institution that also has an origination agreement or to a designated alternative originator, on the basis of need and eligibility of students and parents at each participating institution. Requires the Secretary to pay fees to assist in meeting costs of loan origination to participating institutions or alternative originators. Declares that no institution shall have a right to participate in FDSL programs.
Provides for phase-in of the program, and application of the requirements of the Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990 on a transition schedule.
Sets forth selection criteria for an institution's participation in the FDSL program and in origination agreements. Allows consortia of eligible participating institutions to apply to originate FDSL loans as consortia.
Sets forth FDSL program participation and origination agreement requirements for institutions.
Sets forth terms and conditions for FDSL loans, including certain parallels with Stafford, supplemental, parent, and unsubsidized Stafford loans under the FFEL program. Sets interest rates according to different formulas for loans made before rather than on or after July 1, 1997. Sets minimum and maximum loan fees to be charged to borrowers.
Provides for standard, extended, graduated, and income contingent repayment plan options.
Sets forth deferment and forbearance possibilities (including national service). Sets forth provisions for consolidation, borrower defenses, optically imaged records, and nondischargeability in bankruptcy.
Authorizes the Secretary to award contracts under the FDSL program for: (1) alternative origination of loans; (2) servicing and collection of loans; (3) data systems for records maintenance; and (4) services to assist in orderly transition from FFEL to FDSL programs.
Authorizes the Secretary to use funds for research on, or demonstration or evaluation of, any FDSL program aspects, including flexible repayment plans.
Provides funds for specified administrative expenses of the FDSL program and the transition from the FFEL program, including certain transition expenses of guaranty agencies.
Establishes a bipartisan National Student Loan Reform Commission to study the advisability of replacing the FFEL program with direct lending. Authorizes appropriations.
Chapter 2: Student Loan Savings
- (Sec. 12022) Revises interest rates for new student loans after July 1, 1994.
(Sec. 12023) Reduces student loan origination fees paid by students. Requires lenders to pay fees.
(Sec. 12024) Requires the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) to pay an offset fee to the Secretary.
(Sec. 12025) Reduces the amount of the tax exemption granted to holders of certain student loans.
(Sec. 12026) Reduces the interest rate for consolidation loans. Requires holders of consolidation loans to pay a rebate fee to the Secretary.
(Sec. 12027) Reduces certain maximum interest premiums and eliminates certain reinsurance fees.
(Sec. 12028) Requires the transferee to pay the Secretary a loan transfer fee.
(Sec. 12030) Establishes a $10,000 annual limit on PLUS loans, still subject to the limitation based on need. Requires multiple disbursement.
Chapter 3: Conforming Amendments - Subchapter A: Conforming Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965
- Amends HEA to provide for access to FFEL program student and parent loans during the transition to the FDSL program.
Provides for advances to guaranty agencies for lender-of-last-resort services.
Requires Sallie Mae or its designated agent to begin making FFEL loans as lender-of-last-resort, subject to certain limitations, upon the Secretary's request, and to cease such lending when the triggering conditions have ceased.
(Sec. 12043) Modifies terms of loans under the FFEL program. Authorizes requiring a defaulted borrower to make income contingent repayments.
Subchapter B: Amendments to Other Laws
- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to add or revise provisions relating to disclosure of tax return information with respect to income contingent repayment of student loans, individuals who owe on overpayment of Federal Pell Grants, and collection of payments on Federal Direct Student Loans.
Chapter 4: Cost Sharing by States
- Amends HEA to require any State in which there are higher education institutions with cohort default rates exceeding 20 percent to pay the Secretary specified portions of costs related to such loan defaults. Allows States to charge institutions fees based on their cohort default rate and the State's risk of loss.
Chapter 5: General Effective Date
- Sets forth the effective dates of subtitle A.
Subtitle B: Public Health Service Act Provisons
- Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to create a new title establishing the Health Coverage Clearinghouse to identify third parties which may be liable for payment for health care items and services furnished by a covered health program (defined as certain entities under the PHSA, a non-Federal entity under the Indian Self-Determination Act, or any other federally funded program providing payments for medical services that may be covered under a private health insurance policy). Requires: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury to furnish tax information to the Clearinghouse on the identity and employer of the spouse or parents; and (2) employers to furnish information on group health plan coverage of the individual, spouse, or parents.
Requires the Clearinghouse to maintain a data bank containing such information. Authorizes disclosure of any information in the data bank to: (1) the Secretary, administrators of covered health programs (CHPs), employers, insurers; and (2) Federal and State law enforcement officials in connection with proceedings relating to a CHP.
Mandates service fees to cover Clearinghouse costs.
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require the administrator of each employee benefit plan to comply with the amendments made by these provisions.
(Sec. 12102) Mandates a study on referral of a patient by a health care provider to an entity in which the provider has a financial interest or from which the provider receives a financial benefit for the referral.
(Sec. 12103) Delays, during specified fiscal years, cost-of-living increases for National Health Service Corps retiree annuitants.
(Sec. 12104) Allows a members of the Corps who is covered by provisions of Federal law relating to retirement or the Federal Employees' Retirement System and has a critical medical condition to elect annuity benefits under specified provisions.
(Sec. 12105) Amends the PHSA to allow malpractice coverage, in certain circumstances, for officers, employees, and contractors of entities that are migrant or community health centers or that provide health services for the homeless or for residents of public housing when they provide services to individuals who are not patients of the entities.
Subtitle C: Improved Immunization Delivery and Monitoring
- Comprehensive Child Immunization Act of 1993 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate establishment of a list of the vaccines that the Secretary of Health and Human Services recommends for administration to all children and a recommended administration schedule. Requires that the list and schedule be subordinate to State law.
Mandates allotments to States. Provides for the establishment of State registries to monitor the immunization status of all children. Requires States to monitor and enforce compliance with these provisions by health care providers. Authorizes appropriations.
Establishes a national immunization surveillance program to assess the effects of these provisions, provide technical assistance to States, and receive aggregate epidemiologic data collected by States. Authorizes appropriations.
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the distribution, without charge, of pediatric vaccines purchased by the Secretary to health care providers who are: (1) members of a uniformed service; (2) U.S. officers or employees; (3) federally qualified health centers; (4) migrant or community health centers; (5) entities providing health services for the homeless or for residents of public housing; or (6) public or nonprofit entities receiving funds under provisions of the Social Security Act relating to special projects of regional and national significance. Prohibits a provider receiving the vaccine from imposing a charge for the vaccine but allows a charge for the actual costs of the administration of the vaccine.
Mandates activities to improve Federal, State, and local vaccine delivery systems and immunization outreach and education efforts, including a National Immunization Public Awareness Campaign and incorporation of immunization status assessment and referral in the application process for various types of Federal assistance. Authorizes grants to States to develop, revise, and implement immunization improvement plans. Requires States to establish child immunization rate goals. Authorizes appropriations.
Mandates: (1) a biennial report on the costs, efficiency, and effectiveness of procedures established to deliver vaccine to health care providers; and (2) a report by the National Academy of Sciences on the role of the National Vaccine Program established under this title in achieving progress toward the established immunization goals for the year 2000.
(Sec. 12203) Requires that the Vaccine Injury Table of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program include any vaccine on the list established under this subtitle. Allows a special master to award reasonable attorney's fees whether or not an election has been made to file a civil action regarding a vaccine injury compensation petition. Requires that compensation under the Program be used as determined by the special master to be in the best interests of the petitioner. (Current law requires that the compensation be used, with the consent of the petitioner, as determined by the special master to be in the best interests of the petitioner.) Sets time limits regarding applications for attorney's fees and costs. Authorizes appropriations for payment of compensation under the Program regarding vaccines administered before the effective date of the Program. Revises requirements regarding: (1) time limits on actions when the Table is revised; and (2) extensions of time limits for decisions. Mandates an annual report on amounts collected under provisions regarding subrogation of petitioners' rights. Requires the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines to monitor the balance of the Vaccine Injury Trust Fund and recommend changes in the tax per dose. Revises requirements regarding vaccine information materials. Authorizes appropriations from the Trust Fund for administering the National Vaccine Program.
(Sec. 12204) Removes provisions authorizing grants for research on the prevention and control of diseases through vaccination and related demonstration projects, public information programs, and health professionals training and clinical skills improvement.
Subtitle D: ERISA Amendments - Chapter 1: Group Health Amendments
- Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to modify requirements regarding supersedure of State laws in connection with title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act requirements.
(Sec. 12302) Prohibits a group health plan from reducing its coverage of pediatric vaccine costs below the coverage it provided on a specified date.
Chapter 2: Liabilities and Penalties
- Mandates joint and several liability for any person who participates in an act or omission of a fiduciary, knowing that the act or omission was a breach of fiduciary responsibility.
(Sec. 12312) Changes requirements regarding civil enforcement actions brought by a participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary or by the Secretary of Labor and requires amounts recovered to be subject to a civil penalty. Limits awards of punitive damages and monetary relief. Modifies civil penalty requirements. Allows waiving or reducing penalties if the person will not be able to restore all losses to the plan, participants, or beneficiaries (currently, to the plan) without severe financial hardship. Requires reduction of penalties by the amount of any penalty or tax imposed by provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to minimum funding standards and prohibited transactions.
Chapter 3: Public Health Service Act
- Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit any health insurance policy in effect before a specified date from reducing coverage for pediatric vaccine costs below the coverage on the date of enactment of this provision. Mandates civil money penalties for violations.
Title XIII: Veterans' Programs
- Extends permanently (currently, ends September 30, 1997) the $90 monthly pension limitation for veterans having neither spouse nor child and being furnished domiciliary care by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(Sec. 13002) States that the FY 1994 cost of living increases in veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation shall be no more than the percentage increases under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
(Sec. 13003) Requires an increased reduction in the monthly basic pay of active duty and reserve personnel entering into service after FY 1993 for participation in the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program. Provides similar increases for those enrolled in such program before either voluntary or involuntary separation from the armed forces.
(Sec. 13004) Extends permanently (currently terminated as of December 31, 1992) certain procedures applicable to liquidation sales on defaulted home loans to veterans which were guaranteed by the Department. Increases the home loan fees charged to such veterans for such guarantee loans.
(Sec. 13006) Extends permanently: (1) the authority of the United States to recover from third party insurers the cost of certain care and services provided to veterans through the Department; (2) a required minimum copayment for medication received by certain veterans on an outpatient basis; and (3) the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to obtain, and the Secretary of the Treasury to provide, certain financial information of veterans for income verification purposes.
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Bill titles: An original bill to provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 7 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1994.
Links for more info on the vote: congress.gov
