United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act of 1995 - Amends Federal natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety transportation law to revise the exclusion from the meaning of the term "transporting gas" (thus from coverage by such law) of the gathering of gas in a rural area outside a populated, non-rural area to specified locations outside the limits of any incorporated or unincorporated city, town, or village. Extends coverage, however, to the movement of gas through regulated lines, regardless of location. (Sec. 4) Repeals the mandate that Federal minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities to include a requirement that all individuals responsible for the operation and maintenance of pipeline facilities be tested for their qualifications. Requires only that they be qualified. Requires such qualifications to address the ability to recognize and react to abnormal operating conditions that may indicate a dangerous situation or a condition exceeding design limits. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, in prescribing minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities, to: (1) consider compliance costs and any comments and recommendations received; (2) prepare a risk assessment document assessing costs and benefits under such standards; and (3) submit each such document to either the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee or the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, as appropriate. Requires such committees, serving as peer review panels, to evaluate and report to the Secretary on such documents. Directs the Secretary to review such evaluations and certify that the incremental benefits of a standard will likely justify its incremental costs. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend the application of a standard during an emergency. Requires a report from the Secretary to the Congress on the implementation of the risk assessment requirements of this section. Directs the Secretary, to the extent appropriate and practicable, to update incorporated industry standards that have been adopted as part of the Federal pipeline safety regulatory program. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to establish risk management demonstration projects under which owners and operators of gas pipeline and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities voluntarily demonstrate applications of risk management. Authorizes the Secretary, during a demonstration project, to waive the applicability of all or a portion of safety standards that would otherwise apply. Outlines demonstration project requirements. (Sec. 6) Eliminates the application of certain inspection and maintenance requirements to persons who transport gas or hazardous liquids. Repeals the requirement of biennial pipeline facility inspections (leaving their frequency to the Secretary's discretion). (Sec. 7) Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations that establish criteria by which operators of hazardous liquid pipeline facilities and gathering lines shall identify each such facility or line that crosses waters where a substantial likelihood of commercial navigation exists. (Currently, such requirement applies to all navigable waters, regardless of such likelihood.) Requires the Secretary, when identifying an area as unusually sensitive to environmental damage if there is a hazardous liquid pipeline accident, to consider including locations that are critical to drinking water, as well as critical wetlands, national parks, wilderness and wildlife preservation areas, wild and scenic rivers, and critical habitat areas for threatened or endangered species. Repeals the mandate to consider earthquake and landslide zones, freshwater lakes, rivers and waterways, and river deltas and other areas subject to soil erosion or subsidence from flooding. (Sec. 8) Authorizes the Secretary to adopt industry accepted performance standards for the performance of excess flow valves used to protect lines in a natural gas distribution system. (Sec. 9) Repeals the requirement that the Secretary promote the adoption of measures to improve the safety of customer-owned natural gas service lines. (Sec. 10) Redesignates the one-call notification system as the underground facility damage prevention program. Repeals the requirement for criminal penalties in regulations establishing a one-call notification system with respect to the safety of pipeline facilities. (Sec. 11) Requires the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee and the Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee to serve as peer review committees. Deems such service to be in compliance with the requirements of other applicable Federal statutes. Requires committee members to be experienced in risk management. Requires at least one of the individuals selected for each committee from the natural gas or hazardous liquid industry and from the general public to have education, background, or experience in risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis. Requires the Secretary, when presenting each committee each standard proposed for transporting gas and hazardous liquid and for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities, to include a risk assessment document and other supporting analyses. Requires each committee to meet with the Secretary at least four times (currently, twice) annually. (Sec. 12) Requires each owner or operator of a natural gas pipeline facility to provide a program for educating the public on the use of an underground facility damage prevention program prior to excavation. Repeals the requirement that persons transporting gas conduct public education programs. (Sec. 13) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into grants and other cooperative agreements with any State, local government, or private entity to carry out pipeline safety programs, including the development, improvement, and promotion of "one-call" damage prevention programs, research, risk assessment, and mapping. (Sec. 14) Deems owners and operators of pipeline facilities who participate in risk management demonstration projects to be in compliance with safety standards or regulatory requirements prescribed under such project. (Sec. 15) Subjects to civil and criminal penalties any person who knowingly and willfully excavates and subsequently damages a pipeline facility and does not report such damage promptly to the operator of the pipeline facility and other appropriate authorities. (Sec. 16) Changes from annual to biennial certain required reports from the Secretary to the Congress concerning gas and hazardous liquid transportation safety requirements. (Sec. 17) Directs the Secretary to make available to the appropriate official of each State the land use recommendations contained in the special report entitled "Pipelines and Public Safety." Requires the evaluation and implementation of recommendations contained in such report. (Sec. 18) Directs the Secretary to analyze and report to the Congress on the assessment of pipeline safety user fees based solely on mileage and the Secretary's determinations with respect to such assessment. (Sec. 19) Prohibits any person from excavating for unauthorized disposal (dumping) of solid waste within the right-of-way of an interstate gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility. (Sec. 20) Authorizes the Secretary to conduct promotional activities relating to prevention of damage to gas and hazardous liquid pipelines. (Sec. 22) Extends and increases annually through FY 1999 the authorization of appropriations for gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs and activities carried out through the Department of Transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Parole Commission Phaseout Act of 1995 - Amends the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 to extend by five years the term of the United States Parole Commission. Authorizes the Commission to perform its functions with any quorum of Commissioners as the Commission may prescribe. Repeals a provision extending the term of office of a Commissioner who is in office on the effective date of such Act to the end of the five-year period after such date (thus reducing the size of the Commission).
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Title II: District of Columbia Title I: Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Foster Care and Adoption Assistance - Makes continuing appropriations for FY 1996, at a level that is to be no more than the current level, for the following: (1) all projects and activities funded under the account heading "Family support payment to States" (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) under the Administration For Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services; (2) all projects and activities funded under the account heading "Payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance" (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) under the Administration for Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services; and (3) all administrative activities necessary to carry out the above projects and activities. (Sec. 106) Makes appropriations in this title available, unless otherwise provided for in this title or an applicable appropriations Act, until the first of the following events: (1) enactment of an appropriation for any project or activity of this title; (2) enactment of the applicable appropriations Act without any provision for such project or activity; or (3) January 3, 1996. Title II: District of Columbia - Makes continuing appropriations for FY 1996, at a level that is to be no more than the current level, for the District of Columbia. (Sec. 206) Makes appropriations in this title available, unless otherwise provided for in this title or an applicable appropriations Act, until the first of the following events: (1) enactment of an appropriation for any project or activity of this title; (2) enactment of the applicable appropriations Act without any provision for such project or activity; or (3) January 3, 1996. (Sec. 211) Provides that if funding is not provided for an ongoing project or the project's rate of operations is significantly reduced it may be continued at a minimal level. Defines minimal level as the current rate reduced by 25 percent. (Sec. 216) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this title to implement any system of registration of unmarried cohabiting couples, whether homosexual, lesbian, or heterosexual.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2025
Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1995 - Extends through FY 1996: (1) section 8 (United States Housing Act of 1937) contract assistance authority for one-year renewals at current rent levels; and (2) the homeownership program under the community development block grant program. Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to extend the following rural housing programs through FY 1996: (1) underserved areas set-aside; (2) multifamily rental housing; and (3) funds for nonprofit entities. Amends the National Housing Act to extend the Federal Housing Administration home equity conversion mortgage program through FY 1996. Increases program mortgages from 25,000 to 30,000. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to extend through FY 1996 the risk-sharing and housing finance agency pilot programs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reinstate effective September 25, 1993, at the licensee's request, a license for a specified Ohio hydroelectric project and extend the time during which such licensee is required to commence construction so as to terminate on September 24, 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Makes appropriations, in any case during FY 1996 in which appropriations are not otherwise available for the programs and activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to ensure payment of the following: (1) existing veterans' benefits; and (2) Veterans Health Administration contractors when due for services provided that relate directly to patient health.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Amends the Middle East Peace Facilitation Act of 1994, as contained in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995, and as amended by other Federal law, to extend, from December 31, 1995, through March 31, 1996, the President's authority to suspend specified prohibitions against foreign and United Nations assistance to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the receipt or expenditure of PLO funds, and PLO membership in the International Monetary Fund, upon certification to specified congressional committees that: (1) such waiver is in the national interest; and (2) the PLO continues to abide by commitments made in letters to Israel and the Foreign Minister of Norway and under the Declaration of Principles signed in September 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Anti-Car Theft Improvements Act of 1995 - Revises provisions regarding the National Automobile Title Information System (NATIS) to define "motor vehicle" to have the same meaning as "passenger motor vehicle." Makes the Attorney General (currently, the Secretary of Transportation) responsible for carrying out specified functions with respect to NATIS. Directs the Attorney General no later than: (1) October 1, 1997, to establish a NATIS that will provide specified individuals and entities with instant and reliable access to information maintained by the States relating to motor vehicle titling; and (2) October 1, 1998, to report to the Congress on which States have met requirements with respect to NATIS. Grants immunity from any civil action seeking money damages or equitable relief in any Federal or State court for any person performing activities, in good faith and with the reasonable belief that such activities were in accordance with Federal provisions, relating to NATIS and the National Stolen Passenger Motor Vehicle Information System (NSPMVIS). Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to participating States to be used in making titling information available to the operator. Authorizes appropriations to carry out provisions regarding State participation in NATIS.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Savings in Construction Act of 1995 - Amends the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 to define specified terms, including "hard-metric conversion" and "soft-metric conversion." Prohibits Federal agencies from: (1) using construction or procurement guidelines that require the use of hard-metric products if a majority of the related contracts would be likely to result in a certification under this Act; and (2) establishing bidding requirements or preferences for federally-assisted construction contracts that specify the use of hard-metric products if soft-metric production is feasible, and, as certified by an industry representative, hard-metric alternatives are not readily available, would exceed specified capital costs, and would result in negligible benefits, or would reduce competition or create special hardships.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Provides that any individual who performs Operation Joint Endeavor services (United Nations-sponsored peacekeeping activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina) shall be entitled to the same tax benefits under specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that are provided to U.S. military personnel who perform service in an area designated by the President as a combat zone. Makes this Act effective for periods beginning on or after December 4, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, upon request of the respective licensees, to extend for a maximum of five consecutive two-year periods the time required for commencing construction of two specified hydroelectric projects in North Carolina.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2026
Fort Peck Rural County Water Supply System Act of 1995 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon request of the Fort Peck Rural County Water District, Inc., in Montana, to enter into a cooperative agreement with the District for the planning, design, and construction by the District of the Fort Peck Rural County Water Supply System. Requires the System to provide for safe and adequate rural water supplies under the District's jurisdiction in Valley County, northeastern Montana. Requires the Secretary, under such agreement, to pay: (1) 80 percent, without reimbursement, of costs associated with the planning, design, and construction of the System (as described in the Final Engineering Report and Alternative Evaluation for the Fort Peck Rural County Water District, dated September 1994); and (2) such sums as are necessary to defray increases in the budget. Prohibits the amount of the Federal funds made available under the agreement from exceeding the authorized appropriations under this Act. Allows not more than five percent of such funds to be used by the Secretary for activities associated with: (1) compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; and (2) oversight of the planning, design, and construction by the District of the System. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Amends the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Act of 1990 to repeal its mandate for United States Information Agency (USIA) implementation of certain au pair programs until another Federal agency is authorized to implement them. Authorizes the USIA Director to continue to administer an au pair program on a world-wide basis through FY 1999. Requires the Director to report to specified congressional committees regarding continued extension of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2026
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Provisions Relating to Allowances and Accounts in the House of Representatives Title II: Technical and Conforming Amendments and Repeals Relating to Administrative Reforms in the House of Representatives Title I: Provisions Relating to Allowances and Accounts in the House of Representatives - Establishes for the House of Representatives a single allowance, the Members' Representational Allowance (MRA), to be used to support the conduct of official and representational duties of House Members with respect to the district from which they are elected. Merges into the MRA the Clerk Hire Allowance, the Official Expenses Allowance, and the Official Mail Allowance. Makes such changes effective as of September 1, 1995. (Sec. 102) Authorizes the Committee on House Oversight to fix and adjust the MRA (currently, all allowances of the House) for Members and various House leadership. (Sec. 103) Allows the adjustment of MRAs for reasons other than those currently specified (price or technological changes or increases in the General Schedule) only by House resolution. (Sec. 104) Allows each House Member to employ under the MRA no more than 18 permanent clerks and four additional clerk hire employees in specified categories. Excludes interns and temporary employees from the operation of certain Federal employment provisions and requirements. (Sec. 105) Prohibits any payments from being made from applicable House accounts unless sanctioned by the Oversight Committee. (Sec. 106) Directs the Chief Administrative Officer of the House to submit semiannually to the House a detailed, itemized report of the disbursements for House operations. Outlines information required in such reports, with an exception in the case of vouchers of payments to individuals for attendance as witnesses before a congressional committee in executive session. (Sec. 107) Directs the Clerk of the House, at the request of a Member, to furnish to such Member for official use only one set of a privately published annotated version of the United States Code, including appropriate supplements and pocket parts. (Sec. 108) Authorizes the Chief of the Capitol Police to designate a member of such Police to be responsible for citation release with respect to bonds for persons arrested on Capitol grounds. Provides appropriate authority for D.C.'s Superior and U.S. District courts with respect to bond or collateral proceedings after such arrests. Title II: Technical and Conforming Amendments and Repeals Relating to Administrative Reforms in the House of Representatives - Makes various technical and conforming amendments and appropriate repeals to specified Federal provisions as necessitated by administrative reforms adopted in the House, including provisions concerning: (1) the election of representatives; (2) congressional organization; (3) Member compensation and allowances; (4) House officers and employees; (5) membership on the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library under the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946; (6) congressional and committee procedure and investigations; (7) the classification of employees; (8) payroll administration; (9) contested elections; (10) the Joint Committee on Congressional Operations; (11) the Congressional Budget Office; (12) Federal Government organization and employees; (13) commerce and trade, foreign relations and intercourse, money and finance, and the postal service; (14) public buildings and related property and public works; (15) public health and welfare; (16) public printing and documents; (17) territories and insular possessions; and (18) miscellaneous uncodified provisions relating to the House. Replaces in many cases functions and duties of: (1) the Committee on House Administration with the Committee on House Oversight; and (2) the Doorkeeper or Sergeant-at-Arms with the Chief Administrative Officer.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Makes technical amendments to the following Acts: (1) an Act restoring Federal services to the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians; (2) the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Act; (3) the Indian Dams Safety Act of 1994; (4) an Act extending Federal benefits to the Pascua Yaqui Indians of Arizona; (5) the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act of 1994; (6) the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994; (7) the Indian Self- Determination Contract Reform Act of 1994; (8) the Auburn Indian Restoration Act; (9) the Crow Boundary Settlement Act of 1994; (10) the Tlingit and Haida Status Clarification Act; and (11) the Native American Languages Act. (Sec. 12) Amends: (1) the Ponca Restoration Act to include within the tribal service area Sarpy, Burt, Platte, Stanton, Holt, Hall, and Wayne counties in Nebraska and Woodbury and Pottawattomie counties in Iowa; and (2) the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1994 to extend the agreement and publication deadline. (Sec. 14) Provides for revocation of the incorporation charter of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe under the Indian Reorganization Act. (Sec. 15) Amends: (1) the Advisory Council on California Indian Policy Act of 1992 to extend a specified reporting deadline; and (2) the San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 to extend a specified settlement agreement deadline. (Sec. 17) Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to transfer funds to the Department of the Interior for operation of certain Columbia River fishing sites for the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakima Tribes. (Sec. 18) Authorizes: (1) the Ponca Indian Tribe of Nebraska to use specified funds for an adolescent transitional living facility; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior to reprogram, in accordance with resolutions approved by the Mescalero Apache Tribal Council on January 24, 1995, all remaining funds regarding specific changes in the secretarial plans for the use of specified funds awarded in satisfaction of the judgments by the Indian Claims Commission. (Sec. 20) Amends the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Act to authorize the Band to amend its base membership roll if certain conditions are met.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Designates the U.S. Post Office building that is to be located on the 2600 block of East 75th Street in Chicago, Illinois, as the Charles A. Hayes Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend the time required for commencement of construction of specified hydroelectric projects in the State of Pennsylvania until April 15, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2026
Amends the Social Security Act to repeal the mandate for the Medicare and Medicaid Coverage Data Bank (added by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993).
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Terminates the secondary jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over specified land at the North Platte National Wildlife Refuge in Nebraska. Revokes Executive Order Number 2446, dated August 21, 1916, with respect to the lands.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Increases the authorization of appropriations to the Department of the Interior for FY 1996 for the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana.
United States · United States Congress · 2 January 2025
Authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Billy and Ruth Graham in recognition of their outstanding and enduring contributions toward faith, morality, and charity. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such medal. Directs the Secretary to transfer from the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund to the Library of Congress the amount by which the sum of any gifts and donations received by the Secretary to carry out this Act and any proceeds from the sale of bronze duplicates exceeds the total amount of the costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Makes further continuing appropriations for FY 1996 for such amounts as may be necessary for the following activities: (1) necessary for the expenses of Medicare contractors under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act under the account heading "Program management" under the Health Care Financing Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services; (2) funded under the account heading "Limitation on administrative expenses" under the Social Security Administration; and (3) necessary to process and provide for veterans' compensation, pension payments, dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) payments, and to provide veterans' medical care under the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sets the amount of such funding. (Sec. 105) Provides that, unless otherwise provided for in this joint resolution or in the applicable appropriations Act, appropriations and funds made available and authority granted pursuant to this joint resolution shall be available until whichever of the following occurs first: (1) enactment into law of an appropriation for any project or activity provided for in this joint resolution; (2) the enactment of the applicable appropriations Act by both Houses without any provision for such project or activity; or (3) September 30, 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Continuing Appropriations Title II: (Unnamed) Title III: Commitment to a Seven-Year Balanced Budget Title I: Continuing Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Makes further continuing appropriations for FY 1996 for continuing projects and activities, including the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees, conducted in 1995 and for which appropriations or other authority would be available in the following Acts: (1) the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996; (2) the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1996; (3) the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1996; (4) the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1996; (5) the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996; (6) the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996; (7) the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996; (8) the Department of Transportation Appropriations Act, 1996; (9) the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1996; and (10) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996. Sets the rates of such funding. Sets forth limitations on the use of such funds. (Sec. 106) Provides that, unless otherwise provided for in this joint resolution or in the applicable appropriations Act, appropriations and funds made available and authority granted pursuant to this joint resolution shall be available until: (1) enactment of an appropriation for any project or activity provided for in this joint resolution; (2) the enactment of the applicable appropriations Act by both Houses without any provision for such project or activity; or (3) December 5, 1995, whichever first occurs. (Sec. 111) Provides in specified circumstances, except for section 106, for the maintenance of a minimum level of funding for projects or activities under any Act listed in section 101. Defines minimum level. (Sec. 112) Requires, except for section 106 and under specified conditions, that whenever the rate for operations for any continuing project or activity would result in a furlough of Government employees, that rate for operations may be increased to a minimum level that would enable the furlough to be avoided. (Sec. 113) Requires, except for sections 106, 111, and 112, that for those programs that had high initial rates of operation or complete distribution of funding at the beginning of FY 1995 because of distributions of funding to States, foreign countries, grantees, or others, similar distributions of funds for FY 1996 shall not be made and no grants shall be awarded for such programs funded by this resolution that would impinge on final funding prerogatives. (Sec. 115) Provides that section 132 of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act of 1988 (which provides that amounts appropriated for the Federal Payment to the District of Columbia shall not be subject to apportionment) shall not apply for this joint resolution. Provides for including in the apportionment for the Federal Payment to the District of Columbia an additional $15 million for certain capital construction loan repayments. (Sec. 116) Requires, except for section 106, that the authority and conditions for the application of appropriations of the Office of Technology Assessment as contained in House Report 104-212, shall be followed when applying the funding made available by this joint resolution. (Sec. 119) Requires, except for section 106, the Securities and Exchange Commission's Salaries and Expenses amount to include, in addition to direct appropriations, the amount it collects under the fee rate and offsetting collection authority. (Sec. 120) Requires that funding be made available for the necessary expenses of the Bureau of Mines for: (1) continuing limited health and safety and related research, materials partnerships, and minerals information activities; (2) mineral assessments in Alaska; and (3) terminating all other activities of the Bureau of Mines. (Sec. 121) Requires, except for section 106, that funds for the Environmental Protection Agency shall be made available in the appropriation accounts which are provided in H.R. 2099 as reported on September 13, 1995. (Sec. 122) Sets forth a special formula for determining the rate of operations for projects and activities that would be funded under the heading "International Organizations and Conferences, Contributions to International Organizations" in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996. (Sec. 123) Provides, except for section 106, that the rate for operations of the following projects or activities shall be only the minimum necessary to accomplish orderly termination: (1) Administrative Conference of the United States; (2) Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (with an exception); (3) Interstate Commerce Commission; (4) Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation; (5) Land and Water Conservation Fund, State Assistance; and (6) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Rural Abandoned Mine Program. Title II: - Waives parchment printing requirements of the enrollment of: (1) a continuing resolution; (2) a debt limit extension measure; and (3) a reconciliation bill. (Sec. 202) Sets forth the definitions of terms used in this joint resolution. Title III: Commitment to a Seven-Year Balanced Budget - States that the President and the Congress shall enact legislation in the 104th Congress to achieve a unified balanced budget not later than FY 2002 as scored by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Requires such unified balanced budget to be based on the most current economic and technical assumptions of the Congressional Budget Office.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, upon the request of a specified licensee, to extend until October 15, 2001, the time required to commence construction of a certain hydroelectric project in Illinois. Directs the Commission to reinstate any expired license for such project.
United States · United States Congress · 2 January 2025
Smithsonian Institution Sesquicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the scientific, educational, and cultural significance of the Smithsonian Institution. Mandates that: (1) all but a certain portion of surcharges received from coin sales be paid by the Secretary to the Smithsonian Institution for such purposes as its Board of Regents determines to be appropriate; and (2) a certain portion of such surcharges be dedicated to supporting the operation and activities of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Railroad Unemployment Insurance Amendments Act of 1995 - Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to revise and reduce the waiting period for unemployment benefits. Repeals the prohibition against payment of benefits for days of unemployment during the first 13-day period of unemployment registration within a benefit year in which the employee has more than four days of unemployment. Permits payment of such benefits to an employee after seven days of unemployment during such first registration period during a time of continued unemployment, if such period is the employee's initial period of continuing unemployment in that benefit year. Prohibits payment of benefits during a registration period in excess of an employee's monthly compensation base for the applicable base year. Applies the seven-day waiting period allowance and requirements, where a period of continuing employment is due to a strike-related work stoppage, to an employee's first registration period following exhaustion of benefit rights in a new period of continuing employment based upon the same work stoppage. (Currently, such waiting period would be 14 days.) Defines period of continuing unemployment. (Sec. 3) Makes similar revisions to, and reductions in, the waiting period for sickness benefits. Repeals the prohibition against payment of benefits for days of sickness during the first 13-day registration period within a benefit year in which the employee has both four consecutive days of sickness and more than four days of sickness. Permits payment of such benefits to an employee for each day in excess of seven during such first registration period in a period of continuing sickness if that registration period begins with four consecutive days of sickness and includes more than four days of sickness. Waives such waiting period for the first registration period in any subsequent period of continuing sickness beginning in the same benefit year. Defines period of continuing sickness. (Sec. 4) Repeals the current formula for calculating the maximum daily benefit rate to make such rate five percent of the monthly compensation base. (Sec. 5) Repeals the eligibility for extended unemployment benefits of employees with less than ten years of service. Reduces from 13 14-week periods to 65 days the maximum number of extended unemployment or sickness benefit days for employees with 15 or more years of service (thus limiting to 65 the maximum number of such extended benefit days for all employees with ten or more years of service). Repeals the entitlement to supplemental unemployment benefits of certain employees with less than ten years of service.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Amends the Middle East Peace Facilitation Act of 1994, as contained in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995, and as amended by other Federal law, to extend, from November 1, 1995, through December 31, 1995, the President's authority to suspend specified prohibitions against foreign and United Nations assistance to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the receipt or expenditure of PLO funds, and PLO membership in the International Monetary Fund, upon certification to specified congressional committees that: (1) such waiver is in the national interest; and (2) the PLO continues to abide by commitments made in letters to Israel and the Foreign Minister of Norway and under the Declaration of Principles signed in September 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Travel and Tourism Partnership Act of 1995 - Establishes the National Tourism Board to develop a national travel and tourism strategy for increasing U.S. travel and tourism. Establishes the National Tourism Organization as a non-Federal non-profit organization to implement the national travel and tourism strategy. Directs the Secretary of State and the Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) to: (1) place priority on implementing recommendations by the National Tourism Board; and (2) cooperate with the National Tourism Organization. Authorizes the President to transfer up to 25 staff members of the United States Travel and Tourism Administration to the Foreign Service or the Commercial Service for two years to assist the Organization in its start-up activities. Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to require the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee's (TPCC) Federal trade promotion plan to reflect, among other things, recommendations by the National Tourism Board. Makes the President of the National Tourism Organization a member of the TPCC.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Redesignates the Federal building located at 345 Middlefield Road in Menlo Park, California, known as the Earth Sciences and Library Building as the Vincent E. McKelvey Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Abolition of Interstate Commerce Commission Title II: Transportation Adjudication Panel Title III: Conforming Amendments Subtitle A: Amendments to United States Code Subtitle B: Other Amendments ICC Termination Act of 1995 - Title I: Abolition of Interstate Commerce Commission - Abolishes the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). (Sec. 102) Amends Federal transportation law to declare that remedies provided under this Act are exclusive and preempt any Federal or State remedies. Revises provisions to transfer jurisdiction over rail carrier transportation from the ICC to the Transportation Adjudication Panel established by this Act. Requires the Panel to exempt a person, class of persons, or a transaction or service from its jurisdiction whenever: (1) application of this Act is not necessary to carry out U.S. rail transportation policy; and (2) either the transaction or service is of limited scope, or jurisdiction is not needed to protect shippers from the abuse of market power. Requires rail carriers subject to the jurisdiction of the Panel to establish rates, classifications, through routes, rules and practices for rail transportation that are reasonable and that do not unreasonably discriminate against a participating carrier. Authorizes the Panel to prescribe maximum rates, classifications, rules, practices, through routes, joint classifications, joint rates, and division of joint rates when it decides that: (1) the ones proposed by a rail carrier violate this Act; or (2) it is in the public interest. Revises rail carrier provisions to provide for: (1) Panel approval of rail carrier rate agreements; (2) Panel market dominance determinations in rail rate proceedings; (3) rail carrier service contracts; (4) reduced rail rates for Government transportation and during emergencies; (5) prohibitions against unreasonable discrimination by rail carriers; (6) rail carrier licensing for the construction and operation of railroad lines; (7) rail carrier procedures for the abandonment or discontinuance of railroad lines or railroad transportation; (8) requirements regarding the provision of rail carrier service and the use of terminal facilities; (9) a uniform accounting system, including depreciation charges; (10) records inspections; (11) special reports by rail carriers; (12) railroad cost accounting; (13) filing of equipment trusts and security interests with the Panel; (14) Panel approval over certain rail carrier transactions, including consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions; and (15) Panel enforcement, including civil and criminal penalties for violations committed under this Act by rail carriers. Declares that in order to ensure the development, coordination, and preservation of a transportation system that meets the transportation needs of the United States, it is U.S. policy to provide for the impartial regulation of motor carrier transportation and the transportation of passengers by motor carrier. Revises, for purposes of this Act, the term "carrier" to mean a motor carrier, a water carrier, a freight forwarder, and a foreign motor carrier and a foreign motor private carrier. Grants the Secretary of Transportation (currently, the ICC) and the Panel jurisdiction over motor carriers and freight forwarders, with specified exceptions, and the Secretary alone jurisdiction over water carriers. Sets forth administrative provisions with respect to: (1) certain requirements for rates, rules, classifications, through routes, and practices with respect to the transportation of household goods or passengers by motor carrier or transportation by water carrier; (2) procedures for resolving claims by a motor carrier of property (other than a household goods carrier) or freight forwarder with respect to unfiled, negotiated transportation rates; (3) Government traffic and food and grocery transportation; (4) certain registration requirements for motor carriers, freight forwarders, and motor carrier brokers; (5) restrictions on acts, policies, or practices of a foreign country that are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. transportation companies providing motor carrier transportation; (6) replacement of certain registration and financial responsibility information programs; (7) general operation requirements with respect to motor carriers; (8) inspection of records of carriers and brokers (excluding lessors); (9) security interests in motor carrier vehicles; (10) pooling or division of transportation services or earnings by motor carriers; (11) Federal jurisdiction (to the exclusion of any State or local jurisdiction) over interstate and intrastate transportation of passengers by motor carrier and transportation by freight forwarders and brokers; (12) prohibition of State and local income taxation of motor carrier employees except the State and locality of the employee's residence; (13) single State registration of motor carriers; (14) enforcement, investigations, rights, and remedies; (15) civil and criminal penalties; and (16) motor carrier insurance requirements. Title II: Transportation Adjudication Panel - Establishes the Panel within the Department of Transportation. Transfers jurisdiction currently held by the ICC to the Panel. Directs the Panel to report annually to the Congress on its activities. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Conforming Amendments - Amends and repeals specified Federal laws to conform them to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Charitable Gift Annuity Antitrust Relief Act of 1995 - Declares that it shall not be unlawful under any Federal antitrust law, or a similar State law, for two or more persons that are exempt (as a corporation or community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, educational, or other specified purposes) from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code to use, or agree to use, the same annuity rate for the purpose of issuing one or more charitable gift annuities, except where expressly provided otherwise by a State law enacted within three years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Philanthropy Protection Act of 1995 - Exempts from the jurisdiction of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 any security issued by or any interest or participation in any pooled income fund, collective trust fund, collective investment fund, or similar fund maintained by a charitable organization exclusively for the collective investment and reinvestment of certain assets. Includes among such assets those of: (1) a charitable remainder trust or of any other trust the remainder interests of which are irrevocably dedicated to any charitable organization; or (2) a trust the remainder interests of which are revocably dedicated to a charitable organization, subject to specified conditions. Deems such a charitable income fund, in specified circumstances, not to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to set forth disclosure requirements for exempt charitable organizations. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require solicitors of funds for such exempt charitable organizations to be volunteers or to be engaged in overall fund-raising activities of the organization but receiving no commission or other special compensation based on the amount of donations collected. Exempts such charitable organizations from State regulation in general, and such securities from State registration or qualification requirements in particular. Permits a State to enact a statute that specifically refers to this Act and provides prospectively that this Act does not preempt the laws of such State.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2025
Saddleback Mountain-Arizona Settlement Act of 1995 - Approves and ratifies the Settlement Agreement providing for the transfer of certain lands by the Resolution Trust Corporation to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (to be held in trust by the Department of the Interior) and the City of Scottsdale, Arizona. Directs the Corporation to make such land transfer. Sets forth land use limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2026
Animal Drug Availability Act of 1995 - Amends Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act provisions relating to new animal drugs to redefine "substantial evidence" to mean evidence from one or more scientifically sound studies including, as appropriate, in vitro studies, studies in laboratory animals, bioequivalence studies, and any studies voluntarily undertaken by or for the applicant that provide some assurance that the drug will have the intended effect. Excludes a claim for the use of a drug in a minor species or a minor use of a drug from disapproval, if there is an application filed for the drug which is approved prior to the submission of the claim. Allows consideration, when a new animal drug contains more than one active ingredient or its labeling suggests use of the drug in combination with another animal drug, only of whether any of the active ingredients or any of the drugs in the combination, at the longest withdrawal time of any of the active ingredients or drugs in the combination, exceeds its established tolerance or interferes with the methods of analysis for another of the active ingredients or drugs in the combination. Requires the Secretary to issue proposed regulations implementing the provisions of this section which: (1) further define "substantial evidence;" (2) take into account the proposals contained in the citizen petition submitted by the American Veterinary Association and the Animal Health Institute; and (3) provide for the opportunity for a conference to make a decision establishing a submission or an investigational requirement. (Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary to approve or disapprove the application within 90 (currently 180) days of receipt of the application. (Sec. 5) Requires: (1) the Secretary to refer disputed issues received in writing from an applicant to an advisory committee or to a special Government employee; and (2) the committee or employee to submit a report containing recommendations regarding the matter. (Sec. 6) Requires the Secretary to refuse approval of an application if information submitted with respect to the drug indicates that any use suggested in labeling proposed for that drug will result in a unsafe amount of residue. (Sec. 7) Permits the export of an unsafe (as defined in the Act) new animal drug, if it is not in conflict with the laws of the country to which it is exported. (Currently, such export is prohibited.)
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2025
Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Infrastructure Development Trust Fund Act of 1995 - Establishes in the Treasury the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Infrastructure Development Trust Fund, which shall receive funds from the programs of the Eastern Division of the Missouri River basin Pick- Sloan program until a specified Fund aggregate is attained. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan for the socioeconomic recovery and cultural preservation of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, upon request of a certain licensee, to extend for a maximum of three consecutive two-year periods the time required to commence construction of a specified hydroelectric project in Kentucky.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Designates the Federal building at the corner of Patton Avenue and Otis Street, and the United States Courthouse located on Otis Street, in Asheville, North Carolina, as the Veach-Baley Federal Complex.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Congressional Operations Title II: Other Agencies Title III: General Provisions Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996 - Title I: Congressional Operations - Congressional Operations Appropriations Act, 1996 - Appropriates funds for FY 1996 for the Senate, the House of Representatives, and joint items between the House and the Senate. Prohibits the use of any funds appropriated for House Members' representational allowances, including official mail, to send unsolicited mass mailings within 90 days before an election in which the Member is a candidate. Makes FY 1996 appropriations for the: (1) Office of Compliance; (2) Office of Technology Assessment (to carry out its orderly closure); (3) Congressional Budget Office; (5) Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress; and (6) Government Printing Office for congressional printing and binding. (Sec. 114) Directs the Architect of the Capitol to submit a proposal on how to transfer Office of Technology Assessment records and property to appropriate support agencies of the legislative branch, subject to approval of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Title II: Other Agencies - Appropriates FY 1996 funds for the: (1) Botanic Garden; (2) Library of Congress (with administrative limitations), including the Copyright Office and the Books for the Blind and Handicapped program; (3) Architect of the Capitol; (4) Government Printing Office; and (5) General Accounting Office. (Sec. 209) States that the purpose of this section is to reduce the cost of information support for the Congress by eliminating duplication among systems which provide electronic access by Congress to legislative information. Directs the Library to develop a plan for creation of a single legislative information retrieval system to serve the entire Congress. Requires the plan (which must be approved by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, the House Oversight Committee, and the House and Senate Appropriations Committees) to include an examination of the issues regarding efficient ways to make this information available to the public. (Sec. 210) Requires the FY 1997 budget submission by the Public Printer for the Government Printing Office to include appropriations requests and recommendations to the Congress that are consistent with specific strategic plans, that assure progress toward electronic information dissemination, and that are formulated so as to require that any government entity that does not make such progress shall bear from its own resources the cost of its information dissemination by other than electronic means. (Sec. 212) Directs the Comptroller General to prescribe regulations designed to effect a reduction in force of officers and employees of the General Accounting Office. Requires the regulations, to the extent feasible, to minimize disruption and promote efficiency in the Office. Title III: General Provisions - Prohibits any funds appropriated in this Act from being used for maintenance or care of private vehicles, except for emergencies. (Sec. 304) Limits the expenditure of any appropriation under this Act for consulting services to those contracts that are a matter of public record, except as provided under existing law or executive order. (Sec. 305) Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent possible, all equipment and products purchased with funds under this Act should be American-made. (Sec. 307) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for the relocation of the office of any House member within the House office buildings.
United States · United States Congress · 2 January 2025
Amends the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990 to provide that the first vacancy in the office of district judge occurring in the western district of Michigan after December 1, 1995, or in each of other specified judicial districts five years or more after the confirmation date of the judge named to fill a temporary judgeship created by such Act, shall not be filled.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Implementation Act of 1995 - Declares it to be U.S. policy that: (1) Jerusalem remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic religious group are protected; (2) Jerusalem be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and (3) the U.S. Embassy in Israel be relocated to Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. States that not more than 50 percent of the funds appropriated for FY 1999 to the Department of State for "Acquisition and Maintenance of Buildings Abroad" may be obligated in the fiscal year until the Secretary of State determines, and reports to the Congress, that the Embassy has opened. Makes specified amounts of such funds available until expended in certain fiscal years only for construction and other costs associated with relocating the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on: (1) the Department of State's plan to implement this Act; and (2) progress made toward opening the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Designates the Federal Triangle Project under construction at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, in the District of Columbia, as the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2025
Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1995 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make capitalization grants to States to establish State drinking water treatment revolving loan funds. Authorizes State Governors to transfer amounts between such funds and water pollution control revolving funds established under the Clean Water Act. Requires the Administrator to reserve one and one-half percent of drinking water funds for capitalization grants to Indian tribes for the improvement of public water systems. Authorizes the Administrator to make such grants to the District of Columbia and specified U.S. territories. Authorizes: (1) States to reserve a certain amount of such grants for technical assistance for small public water systems; and (2) the Administrator to make grants to Alaska for the benefit of Alaska Native villages. Requires the Administrator, beginning in FY 1999, to withhold a specified percentage (five percent for FY 1999, ten percent for FY 2000, and 15 percent for each subsequent fiscal year) of each capitalization grant made to a State unless the State has met specified requirements under this Act regarding new system capacity. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) projects eligible for assistance, including assistance for disadvantaged communities, and source water quality protection and capacity development; and (2) State loan fund administration, technical assistance, and management. Requires: (1) States to prepare annual intended use plans for funds; (2) priority for the use of funds to be given to projects that address the most serious risk to human health, that are necessary to ensure compliance with specified requirements (including filtration requirements), and that assist most in need on a per household basis according to State affordability criteria; and (3) each State, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to publish and periodically update a list of projects in the State that are eligible for assistance, including the priority assigned to each project and the expected funding schedule for each project. Directs the Administrator to: (1) conduct annual reviews and audits as the Administrator considers appropriate, or require each State to have the reviews and audits independently conducted, in accordance with specified single audit requirements; (2) submit to the Congress a periodic survey and assessment of the needs for facilities in each State eligible for assistance; (3) conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the State loan funds through FY 1999; and (4) publish such regulations and guidance as necessary. Specifies that the failure or inability of any public water system to receive funds, or a delay in obtaining the funds, shall not alter the obligation of the system to comply in a timely manner with all applicable drinking water standards and requirements under the Act. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to reserve: (1) $10 million for health effects research on specified drinking water contaminants, giving priority to research concerning the health effects of cryptosporidium, disinfection byproducts, and arsenic and for the implementation of a research plan for subpopulations at greater risk of adverse effects; (2) $2 million to pay the costs of monitoring for unregulated contaminants; and (3) specified sums for small system technical assistance. (Sec. 4) Requires the Administrator to publish a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) and promulgate a national primary drinking water (NPDW) regulation for each contaminant (with exceptions) for which a NPDW regulation has been promulgated as of the date of this Act's enactment if the Administrator determines, based on adequate data and appropriate peer-reviewed scientific information and an assessment of health risks, that the contaminant may have an adverse effect on the health of persons and the contaminant is known to occur, or there is a substantial likelihood that it will occur, in public water systems with a frequency and at levels of public health concern. Directs the Administrator: (1) not later than July 1, 1996, to publish and periodically update a list of contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in drinking water provided by public water systems that may warrant regulation; and (2) at such time as such list is published, to describe available and needed information and research regarding the health effects of the contaminants, their occurrence in drinking water, and treatment techniques and other feasible means to control the contaminants. Requires (with exceptions) the Administrator, by July 1, 2001, and every five years thereafter, to take one of the following actions for not fewer than five contaminants: (1) publish a determination that information available to the Administrator does not warrant the issuance of an NPDW regulation; (2) publish a determination that an NPDW regulation is warranted and proceed to propose an MCLG and NPDW regulation not later than two years after the date of publication of the determination; and (3) propose an MCLG and NPDW regulation. Sets forth provisions regarding insufficient information to make, and the basis for, such determinations. Requires the Administrator to give priority to those contaminants not currently regulated that are associated with the most serious adverse health effects and that present the greatest potential risk to human health due to their presence in drinking water provided by public water systems. Sets forth provisions regarding public comment and judicial review. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate an interim NPDW regulation for a contaminant to address an urgent threat to public health. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) schedules for publication of MCLGs and NPDW regulations; (2) substitution of contaminants; and (3) promulgation, by December 31, 1995, of an information collection rule to facilitate further revisions to the NPDW regulation for disinfectants and disinfectant byproducts, including information on microbial contaminants such as cryptosporidium. (Sec. 5) Requires the Administrator, in carrying out the Act, to: (1) use the best available, peer-reviewed science and supporting studies conducted in accordance with sound and objective scientific practices, and data collected by accepted or best available methods; and (2) ensure that the presentation of information on public health effects is comprehensive, informative, and understandable. Directs the Administrator to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each NPDW regulation containing a maximum contaminant level (MCL) or treatment technique before it is proposed, including consideration of alternative MCLs or treatment requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 6) Permits the MCLG for contaminants that are known or likely to cause cancer in humans to be set at a level other than zero if the Administrator determines, based on the best available, peer- reviewed science, that there is a threshold level below which there is unlikely to be any increase in cancer risk and the Administrator sets the MCLG at that level with an adequate margin of safety. Requires the Administrator, at the time he or she proposes an NPDW regulation, to publish a determination as to whether the benefits of the MCL justify, or do not justify, the costs. Authorizes the Administrator to establish an MCL for a contaminant at a level other than the feasible level if the technology, treatment techniques, and other means used to determine the feasible level would result in an increase in the health risk from drinking water by: (1) increasing the concentration of other contaminants in drinking water; or (2) interfering with the efficacy of drinking water treatment techniques or processes that are used to comply with other NPDW regulations. Authorizes the Administrator, if he or she determines that the benefits of an MCL would not justify the cost of complying with the level, to promulgate an MCL for the contaminant that maximizes health risk reduction benefits at a cost that is justified by the benefits, with an exception. Prohibits the Administrator from establishing an MCL in a Stage I or Stage II NPDW regulation for contaminants that are disinfectants or disinfection byproducts, or to establish an MCL or treatment technique requirement for the control of cryptosporidium. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) disinfectants and disinfectant byproducts; and (3) review of standards. (Sec. 7) Requires the Administrator to promulgate NPDW regulations for: (1) arsenic according to a specified schedule and develop and carry out a comprehensive plan for research in support of drinking water rulemaking and take other specified steps regarding assessment, proposed regulation, and final regulation for arsenic; (2) radon, providing for an MCL of 3,000 picocuries per liter; and (3) sulfates. (Sec. 10) Directs the Administrator to propose a regulation that describes treatment techniques that meet the requirements for filtration that are feasible for community water systems serving a population of 3,300 or fewer and noncommunity water systems. (Sec. 12) Directs the Administrator to issue guidance or regulations regarding system treatment technologies. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to institutions of higher learning to establish and operate not fewer than five small public water system technology assistance centers in the United States. (Sec. 13) Revises the variance provisions of the Act to: (1) allow public water systems to receive a variance on the condition that they install and operate best available treatment technology; and (2) authorize the Administrator (or a State with primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems) to grant to public water systems serving a population of 10,000 or fewer a variance for compliance with a requirement specifying an MCL or treatment technique contained in an NPDW regulation if a system cannot afford to comply with the regulation and adequate protection of public health is ensured. (Sec. 15) Requires each State to: (1) obtain the legal authority or other means to ensure that all new community water systems and new nontransient, noncommunity water systems commencing operation after October 1, 1996, demonstrate technical, managerial, and financial capacity with respect to each NPDW regulation in effect, or likely to be in effect, on the date of commencement of operations; (2) prepare, periodically update, and submit to the Administrator a list of community water systems and nontransient, noncommunity water systems that have a history of significant noncompliance and report to the Administrator; and (3) develop and implement a strategy to assist public water systems in acquiring and maintaining technical, managerial, and financial capacity. Directs the Administrator to support: (1) the States in developing capacity development strategies; and (2) the network of university-based Environmental Finance Centers in providing training and technical assistance to State and local officials in developing the capacity of public water systems, including the establishment of a national public water systems capacity development clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 16) Requires public water systems receiving assistance from a State Revolving Loan Fund to be operated by a trained and certified operator. Authorizes the Administrator to withhold funds that would otherwise be allocated to the State, or require the repayment of an amount equal to the amount of any such assistance, for noncompliance. (Sec. 17) Directs each State to: (1) delineate the source water protection areas for community water systems in the State using hydrogeologic information considered to be reasonably available and appropriate by the State; and (2) conduct vulnerability assessments in source water areas determined to be a priority by the State. Authorizes States to establish source water quality partnership petition programs to assist in the local development of a voluntary, incentive-based partnership to reduce the presence in drinking water of contaminants and to obtain Federal and State financial or technical assistance. (Sec. 18) Extends the date for submitting State regulations to retain primacy for new or revised drinking water standards. Grants States interim primary enforcement authority. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 19) Requires the Administrator to review existing monitoring requirements for not fewer than 12 contaminants within two years. Authorizes: (1) States to establish alternative monitoring programs, except for regulations applicable to a microbial contaminant or an indicator of such a contaminant, subject to specified requirements; and (2) the Administrator or a State to suspend quarterly monitoring requirements applicable to small systems for any contaminant (other than a microbial contaminant or such an indicator that causes an acute effect or a contaminant formed in the treatment process or distribution system) that is not detected during the first quarterly sample in a monitoring cycle. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing the criteria for a monitoring program for unregulated contaminants and to list up to 20 contaminants. Requires all systems serving more than 10,000 people to monitor for such contaminants. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to establish a national database containing information on the occurrence of regulated and unregulated contaminants. (Sec. 20) Requires each owner or operator of a public water system to give notice to those served by the system: (1) of any failure of the system to comply with an applicable maximum contaminant level or treatment technique requirement of, or a testing procedure prescribed by, an NPDW regulation or to perform required monitoring; (2) if the system is subject to a variance granted for an inability to meet a maximum contaminant level requirement or is subject to a granted exemption, of the existence of the variance or exemption and of any failure to comply with the requirements of any schedule prescribed pursuant to the variance or exemption; and (3) of the concentration level of any unregulated contaminant for which the Administrator has required public notice. Directs the Administrator to prescribe the manner, frequency, form, and content for giving notice. Specifies that such regulations shall provide for different frequencies of notice based on the differences between violations that are intermittent or infrequent and violations that are continuous or frequent and shall take into account the seriousness of any potential adverse health effects that may be involved. Permits a State to establish alternative notification requirements. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 21) Revises enforcement provisions of the Act to permit enforcement actions to be taken by both EPA and a State with primary enforcement responsibility. Directs the Administrator to notify local elected officials before taking enforcement actions against public water systems in nonprimacy States. Authorizes the Administrator or a State to suspend enforcement action with respect to a violation for a two-year period if the violation is to be corrected through a consolidation or restructuring during that period. Requires States to adopt administrative penalties of at least $1,000 per violation for large systems. Increases the maximum amount for an administrative penalty imposed by EPA from $5,000 to $25,000 per violation, but only after a hearing on the record. (Sec. 22) Waives the sovereign immunity of Federal agencies, subject to specified limitations. Allows citizens and States to seek penalties for all violations of the Act at Federal facilities. (Sec. 23) Authorizes appropriations for research with respect to the safe supply of drinking water. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop and periodically update an integrated risk characterization strategy for drinking water quality; and (2) develop and carry out a research plan to support the development and implementation of rules regarding enhanced surface water treatment, disinfectant and disinfection byproducts, and ground water disinfection. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 24) Revises the definition of "public water system" to include water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances. Excludes from regulation connections to non-piped systems where alternative water supplies or treatment to levels that are equivalent to NPDW regulations is provided before the water is used for drinking or cooking. (Sec. 25) Authorizes the Administrator to makes grants to States for the development and implementation of State programs for the protection of groundwater resources. Prohibits any such grant from being used for more than half of the cost of the program. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the extent and seriousness of contamination of private sources of drinking water that are not regulated under this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to reestablish a partnership between the Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory and the National Center for Ground Water Research, a university consortium, to conduct research, training, and technology transfer for groundwater quality protection and restoration. (Sec. 26) Prohibits the use (after June 19, 1986, in the installation or repair of any public water system or in any plumbing in a facility providing water for human consumption) or sale (effective two years after this Act's enactment) of any pipe, or plumbing fitting or fixture, that is not lead free, with exceptions. Directs the Administrator to: (1) provide accurate and timely technical information and assistance to qualified third-party certifiers in the development of voluntary standards and testing protocols for the leaching of lead from new plumbing fittings and fixtures that are intended by the manufacturer to dispense water for human ingestion; and (2) promulgate regulations setting a health effects-based performance standard establishing maximum leaching levels from new plumbing fittings and fixtures that are intended by the manufacturer to dispense water for human ingestion if a voluntary standard is not established within a year. Repeals Federal law encouraging the use of geothermal heat pumps that return water to the distribution lines of public water systems. (Sec. 27) Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a regulation establishing a quality level for each contaminant in bottled water or make a finding that a regulation is unnecessary to protect the public health because the contaminant is contained in water in the public water systems and not in water used for bottled drinking water. (Sec. 28) Directs the Administrator to: (1) identify and rank sources of pollution with respect to the relative degree of risk of adverse effects on human health, the environment, and public welfare; (2) estimate the private and public costs associated with each source of pollution and the costs and benefits of complying with regulations designed to protect against risks associated with such sources and those associated with major Federal actions selected by the Administrator that have the most significant impact on human health or the environment; (3) identify reasonable opportunities to achieve significant risk reduction through modifications in environmental regulations and programs and other Federal actions with impacts on human health, the environment, or public welfare; (4) identify, explain, and determine research that would reduce uncertainties associated with the risks; and (5) consider and estimate the monetary and other values of the benefits associated with reducing risk to human health and the environment. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Science Advisory Board to conduct a technical review of Administrator's report in public session before submission to the Congress. (Sec. 29) Authorizes the Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers to modernize the Washington Aqueduct. Authorizes appropriations. Modifies the membership of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council to include two members representing small, rural water systems.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 2026
Interstate Compact - Grants congressional consent to the Vermont-New Hampshire Interstate Public Water Supply Compact entered into between the States of Vermont and New Hampshire to erect and maintain joint public water supply facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2026
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to Lake Gulch, Inc., a Colorado corporation, specified lands in Gilpin County, Colorado, in exchange for: (1) certain lands comprising approximately 40 acres located in Larimer County, Colorado, within the boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park; (2) certain lands located within and adjacent to the United States Bureau of Land Management San Luis Resource Area in Conejos County, Colorado; and (3) certain lands located within the United States Bureau of Land Management Royal Gorge Resource Area in Huerfano County, Colorado. Allows the Secretary of the Interior and Lake Gulch to agree to substitute alternative lands if one or more of the precise offered land parcels is unable to be conveyed. Directs the Secretary to notify and consult with the County and City and afford such units of local government the opportunity to acquire or reserve easements or rights-of-way parallel to North Clear Creek in Gilpin, Colorado, prior to transferring any lands which are contiguous to North Clear Creek out of public ownership. Expresses that the exchange will be contingent upon Lake Gulch executing an agreement with the United States: (1) containing terms which are acceptable to the Secretary of the Interior; (2) granting the United States a covenant that none of the selected lands (which currently lie outside the legally approved gaming area) will ever be used for gaming; and (3) permanently holding the United States harmless for liability and indemnifying the United States against all costs arising from activities, operations, or other acts conducted by Lake Gulch or its employees, agents, successors or assigns on the selected lands after their transfer to Lake Gulch.