In the Senate of the United States,

September 5, 1996.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 3666) entitled ‘‘An Act making appropriations for

the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban

Development, and for sundry independent agencies, boards,

commissions, corporations, and offices for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other purposes.’’, do pass

with the following

AMENDMENTS:

1 Ω1æPage 3, line 3, strike out ø$18,497,854,000¿ and in2 sert: $18,671,259,000

3 Ω2æPage 3, line 22, strike out ø$1,227,000,000¿ and in4 sert: $1,377,000,000

5 Ω3æPage 6, line 22, strike out ø$1,964,000¿ and insert:

6 $2,822,000

7 Ω4æPage 8, line 12, strike out ø$570,000,000¿ and insert:

8 $596,000,000
2

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1 Ω5æPage 8, line 21, strike out ø$257,000,000¿ and insert:

2 $262,000,000

3 Ω6æPage 9, line 9, strike out ø$59,207,000¿ and insert:

4 $62,207,000

5 Ω7æPage 10, line 10, strike out ø$823,584,000¿ and in6 sert: $813,730,000

7 Ω8æPage 10, line 10, strike out øfurther¿

8 Ω9æPage 11, line 19, strike out ø$245,358,000¿ and in9 sert: $178,250,000

10 Ω10æPage 13, line 8, strike out ø$160,000,000¿ and in11 sert: $190,000,000

12 Ω11æPage 13, line 21, strike out ø$12,300,000, together

13 with¿

14 Ω12æPage 18, after line 12 insert:

15 SEC. 108. (a) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may

16 convey, without consideration, to the City of Tuscaloosa,

17 Alabama (in this section referred to as the ‘‘City’’), all

18 right, title, and interest of the United States in and to a

19 parcel of real property, including any improvements there20 on, in the northwest quarter of section 28, township 21

21 south, range 9 west, of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, com22 prising a portion of the grounds of the Department of Veter-
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1 ans Affairs medical center, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and con2 sisting of approximately 9.42 acres, more or less.

3 (b) The conveyance under subsection (a) shall be sub4 ject to the condition that the City use the real property con5 veyed under that subsection in perpetuity solely for public

6 park or recreational purposes.

7 (c) The exact acreage and legal description of the real

8 property to be conveyed pursuant to this section shall be

9 determined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary of Vet10 erans Affairs. The cost of such survey shall be borne by the

11 City.

12 (d) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may require such

13 additional terms and conditions in connection with the con14 veyance under this section as the Secretary considers appro15 priate to protect the interests of the United States.

16 Ω13æPage 18, strike out all after line 16, over to and in17 cluding line 9 on page 27

18 Ω14æPage 27, after line 9 insert:

19 DEVELOPMENT OF ADDITIONAL NEW SUBSIDIZED HOUSING

20 For assistance for the purchase, construction, acquisi21 tion, or development of additional public and subsidized

22 housing units for low income families under the United

23 States Housing Act of 1937, as amended (‘‘the Act’’ herein)

24 (42 U.S.C. 1437), not otherwise provided for, $969,464,442,

25 to remain available until expended: Provided, That of the
4

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1 total amount provided under this head, $595,000,000 shall

2 be for capital advances, including amendments to capital

3 advance contracts, for housing for the elderly, as authorized

4 by section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959, as amended,

5 and for project rental assistance, and amendments to con6 tracts for project rental assistance, for supportive housing

7 for the elderly under section 202(c)(2) of the Housing Act

8 of 1959; and $174,000,000 shall be for capital advances,

9 including amendments to capital advance contracts, for

10 supportive housing for persons with disabilities, as author11 ized by section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Af12 fordable Housing Act; and for project rental assistance, and

13 amendments to contracts for project rental assistance, for

14 supportive housing for persons with disabilities as author15 ized by section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Af16 fordable Housing Act: Provided further, That the Secretary

17 may designate up to 25 percent of the amounts earmarked

18 under this paragraph for section 811 of the Cranston-Gon19 zalez National Affordable Housing Act for tenant-based as20 sistance, as authorized under that section, which assistance

21 is five years in duration: Provided further, That the Sec22 retary may waive any provision of section 202 of the Hous23 ing Act of 1959 and section 811 of the National Affordable

24 Housing Act (including the provisions governing the terms

25 and conditions of project rental assistance and tenant-based
5

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1 assistance) that the Secretary determines is not necessary

2 to achieve the objectives of these programs, or that otherwise

3 impedes the ability to develop, operate or administer

4 projects assisted under these programs, and may make pro5 vision for alternative conditions or terms where appro6 priate: Provided further, That of the total amount provided

7 under this head, $200,000,000 shall be for the development

8 or acquisition cost of public housing for Indian families,

9 including amounts for housing under the mutual help

10 homeownership opportunity program under section 202 of

11 the Act (42 U.S.C. 1437bb): Provided further, That of the

12 total amount provided under this head, the Secretary shall

13 provide $464,442 to the Utah Housing Finance Agency, in

14 lieu of amounts lost to such agency in bond refinancings

15 during 1994, for its use in accordance with the immediately

16 preceding proviso.

17 PREVENTION OF RESIDENT DISPLACEMENT

18 For activities and assistance to prevent the involun19 tary displacement of low-income families, the elderly and

20 the disabled because of the loss of affordable housing stock,

21 expiration of subsidy contracts or expiration of use restric22 tions, or other changes in housing assistance arrangements,

23 $4,775,000,000, to remain available until expended: Pro24 vided, That of the total amount provided under this head,

25 $3,800,000,000 shall be for assistance under the United

26 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437) for use in
6

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1 connection with expiring or terminating section 8 subsidy

2 contracts: Provided further, That the Secretary may deter3 mine not to apply section 8(o)(6)(B) of the Act to housing

4 vouchers during fiscal year 1997: Provided further, That

5 of the total amount provided under this head, $800,000,000

6 shall be for amendments to section 8 contracts other than

7 contracts for projects developed under section 202 of the

8 Housing Act of 1959, as amended: Provided further, That

9 of the total amount provided under this head, $175,000,000

10 shall be for assistance under the United States Housing Act

11 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437) for nonelderly disabled families

12 relocating pursuant to designation of a public housing de13 velopment under section 7 of such Act, for a demonstration

14 linking housing assistance to State welfare reform initia15 tives to help families make the transition from welfare to

16 work and for housing assistance for relocating residents of

17 properties (i) that are owned by the Secretary and being

18 disposed of; (ii) that are discontinuing section 8 project19 based assistance; or (iii) subject to special workout assist20 ance team intervention compliance actions: Provided, That

21 of the total amount made available under this head,

22 $50,000,000 shall be made available to nonelderly disabled

23 families affected by the designation of a public housing de24 velopment under section 7 of such Act or the establishment

25 of preferences in accordance with section 651 of the Housing
7

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1 and Community Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C.

2 13611).

3 PRESERVING EXISTING HOUSING INVESTMENT

4 For operating, maintaining, revitalizing, rehabilitat5 ing, preserving, and protecting existing housing develop6 ments for low income families, the elderly and the disabled,

7 $6,740,000,000, to remain available until expended: Pro8 vided, That of the total amount made available under this

9 head, $2,900,000,000 shall be available for payments to

10 public housing agencies and Indian housing authorities for

11 operating subsidies for low-income housing projects as au12 thorized by section 9 of the United States Housing Act of

13 1937, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1437g): Provided further,

14 That of the total amount made available under this head,

15 $2,500,000,000 shall be available for modernization of exist16 ing public housing projects as authorized under section 14

17 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended (42

18 U.S.C. 1437l): Provided further, That of the total amount

19 made available under this head, $550,000,000 shall be for

20 grants to public housing agencies for assisting in the demo21 lition of obsolete public housing projects or portions thereof,

22 the revitalization (where appropriate) of sites (including re23 maining public housing units) on which such projects are

24 located, replacement housing which will avoid or lessen con25 centrations of very low-income families, and tenant-based

26 assistance in accordance with section 8 of the United States
8

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1 Housing Act of 1937; and for providing replacement hous2 ing and assisting tenants to be displaced by the demolition,

3 of which the Secretary may use up to $2,500,000 for tech4 nical assistance, to be provided directly or indirectly by

5 grants, contracts or cooperative agreements, including

6 training and cost of necessary travel for participants in

7 such training, by or to officials and employees of the De8 partment and of public housing agencies and to residents:

9 Provided further, That of the total amount provided under

10 this head, $500,000,000 shall be available for use in con11 junction with properties that are eligible for assistance

12 under the Low Income Housing Preservation and Resident

13 Homeownership Act of 1990 (LIHPRHA) or the Emergency

14 Low-Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987 (ELIHPA):

15 Provided further, That amounts recaptured from interest

16 reduction payment contracts for section 236 projects whose

17 owners prepay their mortgages during fiscal year 1997 shall

18 be rescinded: Provided further, That the Secretary may con19 tinue to impose a moratorium on the acceptance of initial

20 notices of intent by potential recipients of such funding:

21 Provided further, That funding shall be limited to: (1) ten22 ant-based assistance under the terms of the tenth and elev23 enth provisos of the second undesignated paragraph under

24 the ‘‘Annual Contributions for Assisted Housing’’ head of

25 the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and
9

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1 Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropria2 tions Act, 1996; (2) plans of action for sales of projects to

3 nonprofit organizations, tenant-sponsored organizations

4 and other priority purchasers; (3) projects that are subject

5 to a repayment or settlement agreement that was executed

6 between the owner and the Secretary prior to September

7 1, 1995; (4) projects for which submissions were delayed

8 as a result of their location in areas that were designated

9 as a Federal disaster area in a Presidential Disaster Dec10 laration; and (5) projects whose processing was, in fact, or

11 in practical effect, suspended, deferred, or interrupted for

12 a period of nine months or more because of differing inter13 pretations, by the Secretary and an owner concerning the

14 timing of the ability of an uninsured section 236 property

15 to prepay or by the Secretary and a State or local rent

16 regulatory agency, concerning the effect of a presumptively

17 applicable State or local rent control law or regulation on

18 the determination of preservation value under section 213

19 of LIHPRHA, as amended, if the owner of such project filed

20 a notice of intent to extend the low-income affordability re21 strictions of the housing, or transfer to a qualified pur22 chaser who would extend such restrictions, on or before No23 vember 1, 1993: Provided further, That priority shall be

24 given to funding tenant-based assistance under the terms

25 of the tenth and eleventh provisos of the second undesignated
10

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1 paragraph under the ‘‘Annual Contributions for Assisted

2 Housing’’ head of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and

3 Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agen4 cies Appropriations Act, 1996, and plans of action for sales

5 of projects to nonprofit organizations, tenant-sponsored or6 ganizations, and other priority purchasers: Provided fur7 ther, That the Secretary may give priority to funding ap8 proved plans of action for the following projects: (1) projects

9 that are subject to a repayment or settlement agreement that

10 was executed between the owner and the Secretary prior to

11 September 1, 1995; (2) projects for which submissions were

12 delayed as a result of their location in areas that were des13 ignated as a Federal disaster area in a Presidential Disas14 ter Declaration; and (3) projects whose processing was, in

15 fact, or in practical effect, suspended, deferred, or inter16 rupted for a period of nine months or more because of differ17 ing interpretations, by the Secretary and an owner concern18 ing the timing of the ability of an uninsured section 236

19 property to prepay or by the Secretary and a State or local

20 rent regulatory agency, concerning the effect of a presump21 tively applicable State or local rent control law or regula22 tion on the determination of preservation value under sec23 tion 213 of LIHPRHA, as amended, if the owner of such

24 project filed a notice of intent to extend the low-income af25 fordability restrictions of the housing, or transfer to a quali-
11

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1 fied purchaser who would extend such restrictions, on or

2 before November 1, 1993: Provided further, That section

3 241(f) of the National Housing Act is repealed and insur4 ance under such section shall not be offered as an incentive

5 under LIHPRHA and ELIHPA: Provided further, That a

6 capital loan may be provided as an incentive under

7 LIHPRHA or ELIHPA on such terms and conditions as

8 the Secretary may prescribe: Provided further, That the fol9 lowing provisos under the second undesignated heading

10 under the ‘‘Annual Contributions for Assisted Housing’’

11 head of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing

12 and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appro13 priations Act, 1996 shall continue in effect: the fourth pro14 viso, the sixth proviso, the seventh proviso, the ninth pro15 viso, the tenth proviso, the eleventh proviso, and the twelfth

16 proviso: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other

17 provision of law, effective October 1, 1997, the Secretary

18 shall suspend further funding of plans of action: Provided

19 further, That of the total amount provided under this head

20 $290,000,000 shall be for grants to public and Indian hous21 ing agencies for use in eliminating crime in public housing

22 projects authorized by 42 U.S.C. 11901–11908, for grants

23 for federally assisted low-income housing authorized by 42

24 U.S.C. 11909, and for drug information clearinghouse serv25 ices authorized by 42 U.S.C. 11921–11925, of which
12

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1 $10,000,000 shall be for grants, technical assistance, con2 tracts and other assistance training, program assessment,

3 and execution for or on behalf of public housing agencies

4 and resident organizations (including the cost of necessary

5 travel for participants in such training), up to $5,000,000

6 of which may be used in connection with efforts to combat

7 violent crime in public and assisted housing under the Op8 eration Safe Home program administered by the Inspector

9 General of the Department of Housing and Urban Develop10 ment, and up to $5,000,000 of which may be provided to

11 the Office of Inspector General for Operation Safe Home:

12 Provided further, That the term ‘‘drug-related crime’’, as

13 defined in 42 U.S.C. 11905(2), shall also include other types

14 of crime as determined by the Secretary: Provided further,

15 That notwithstanding section 5130(c) of the Anti-Drug

16 Abuse Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 11909(c)), the Secretary may

17 determine not to use any such funds to provide public hous18 ing youth sports grants.

19 Ω15æPage 28, line 5, strike out all after ‘‘1999,’’ down

20 to and including ‘‘and’’ in line 7

21 Ω16æPage 28, line 7, strike out ø$61,400,000¿ and insert:

22 $68,500,000

23 Ω17æPage 28, line 11, strike out ø$1,000,000¿ and insert:

24 $1,500,000
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1 Ω18æPage 29, after line 6 insert:

2 Of the amount provided under this heading, the Sec3 retary of Housing and Urban Development may use up to

4 $50,000,000 for grants to public housing agencies (includ5 ing Indian housing authorities), nonprofit corporations,

6 and other appropriate entities for a supportive services pro7 gram to assist residents of public and assisted housing,

8 former residents of such housing receiving tenant-based as9 sistance under section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1437f), and

10 other low-income families and individuals to become self11 sufficient: Provided, That the program shall provide sup12 portive services, principally for the benefit of public housing

13 residents, to the elderly and the disabled, and to families

14 with children where the head of household would benefit

15 from the receipt of supportive services and is working, seek16 ing work, or is preparing for work by participating in job

17 training or educational programs: Provided further, That

18 the supportive services shall include congregate services for

19 the elderly and disabled, service coordinators, and coordi20 nated educational, training, and other supportive services,

21 including academic skills training, job search assistance,

22 assistance related to retaining employment, vocational and

23 entrepreneurship development and support programs,

24 transportation, and child care: Provided further, That the

25 Secretary shall require applications to demonstrate firm
14

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1 commitments of funding or services from other sources: Pro2 vided further, That the Secretary shall select public and In3 dian housing agencies to receive assistance under this head

4 on a competitive basis, taking into account the quality of

5 the proposed program (including any innovative ap6 proaches), the extent of the proposed coordination of sup7 portive services, the extent of commitments of funding or

8 services from other sources, the extent to which the proposed

9 program includes reasonably achievable, quantifiable goals

10 for measuring performance under the program over a three11 year period, the extent of success an agency has had in car12 rying out other comparable initiatives, and other appro13 priate criteria established by the Secretary.

14 Ω19æPage 29, after line 6 insert:

15 Of the amount made available under this heading, not16 withstanding any other provision of law, $20,000,000 shall

17 be available for grants to entities managing or operating

18 public housing developments, federally-assisted multifam19 ily-housing developments, or other multifamily-housing de20 velopments for low-income families supported by non-Fed21 eral governmental entities or similar housing developments

22 supported by nonprofit private sources, to reimburse local

23 law enforcement entities for additional police presence in

24 and around such housing developments; to provide or aug25 ment such security services by other entities or employees
15

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1 of the recipient agency; to assist in the investigation and/

2 or prosecution of drug related criminal activity in and

3 around such developments; and to provide assistance for the

4 development of capital improvements at such developments

5 directly relating to the security of such developments: Pro6 vided, That such grants shall be made on a competitive

7 basis as specified in section 102 of the HUD Reform Act.

8 Ω20æPage 29, line 8, strike out ø$20,000,000¿ and insert:

9 $40,000,000

10 Ω21æPage 30, line 8, after ‘‘for’’ insert: departmental

11 Ω22æPage 32, line 19, strike out ø$341,595,000¿ and in12 sert: $350,595,000

13 Ω23æPage 32, line 22, strike out ø$334,483,000¿ and in14 sert: $343,483,000

15 Ω24æPage 34, line 16, strike out ø$202,470,000, of which

16 $198,299,000¿ and insert: $207,470,000, of which

17 $203,299,000

18 Ω25æPage 34, line 17, after ‘‘for’’ insert: departmental

19 Ω26æPage 35, line 5, strike out ø$9,101,000¿ and insert:

20 $9,383,000

21 Ω27æPage 35, line 7, strike out ø$9,101,000¿ and insert:

22 $9,383,000
16

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1 Ω28æPage 35, line 8, after ‘‘for’’ insert: departmental

2 Ω29æPage 36, line 13, strike out all after ‘‘penses,’’ down

3 to and including ‘‘$42,00,000)’’ in line 14 and insert:

4 $976,840,000

5 Ω30æPage 36, line 14, strike out ø$532,782,000¿ and in6 sert: $546,782,000

7 Ω31æPage 36, line 16, strike out ø$9,101,000¿ and insert:

8 $9,383,000

9 Ω32æPage 37, line 1, strike out øprovided¿ and insert:

10 transferred

11 Ω33æPage 37, line 8, strike out ø$14,895,000¿ and insert:

12 $15,751,000

13 Ω34æPage 37, strike out all after line 14, over to and in14 cluding line 11 on page 38 and insert:

15 SEC. 201. EXTENDERS.—(a) PUBLIC HOUSING FUND16 ING FLEXIBILITY.—Section 201(a)(2) of the Departments of

17 Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and

18 Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 is amended

19 by striking ‘‘1996’’ and inserting ‘‘1997’’.

20 (b) ONE-FOR-ONE REPLACEMENT OF PUBLIC AND IN21 DIAN HOUSING.—Section 1002(d) of Public Law 104–19 is

22 amended by striking ‘‘before September 30, 1996’’ and in23 serting ‘‘on or before September 30, 1997’’.
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1 (c) PUBLIC AND ASSISTED HOUSING RENTS, INCOME

2 ADJUSTMENTS, AND PREFERENCES.—(1) Section 402(a) of

3 the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I is amended by

4 inserting after ‘‘1995’’ the following: ‘‘, and effective for fis5 cal year 1997’’.

6 (2) Section 402(f) of such Act is amended by striking

7 ‘‘fiscal year 1996’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 1996 and

8 1997’’.

9 (3) The second sentence of section 230 of the Depart10 ments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Develop11 ment, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996

12 is amended by inserting before the period the following:

13 ‘‘during the entire time the family receives assistance under

14 the United States Housing Act of 1937’’.

15 (d) APPLICABILITY TO IHAS.—In accordance with

16 section 201(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937,

17 the amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall

18 apply to public housing developed or operated pursuant to

19 a contract between the Secretary of Housing and Urban De20 velopment and an Indian housing authority.

21 (e) STREAMLINING SECTION 8 TENANT-BASED ASSIST22 ANCE.—Section 203(d) of the Departments of Veterans Af23 fairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independ24 ent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 is amended by strik-
18

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1 ing ‘‘fiscal year 1996’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 1996 and

2 1997’’.

3 (f) SECTION 8 FAIR MARKET RENTALS AND DELAY IN

4 REISSUANCE.—(1) The first sentence of section 403(a) of

5 the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I, is amended by

6 striking ‘‘1996’’ and inserting ‘‘1997’’.

7 (2) Section 403(c) of such Act is amended—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 1996’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘fiscal years 1996 and 1997’’; and

10 (B) by inserting before the semicolon the follow11 ing: ‘‘for assistance made available during fiscal year

12 1996 and October 1, 1997 for assistance made avail13 able during fiscal year 1997’’.

14 (g) SECTION 8 RENT ADJUSTMENTS.—Section

15 8(c)(2)(A) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 is

16 amended—

17 (1) in the third sentence by inserting ‘‘, fiscal

18 year 1996 prior to April 26, 1996, and fiscal year

19 1997’’ after ‘‘1995’’;

20 (2) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘For’’ and

21 inserting ‘‘Except for assistance under the certificate

22 program, for’’;

23 (3) after the fourth sentence, by inserting the fol24 lowing new sentence: ‘‘In the case of assistance under

25 the certificate program, 0.01 shall be subtracted from
19

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1 the amount of the annual adjustment factor (except

2 that the factor shall not be reduced to less than 1.0),

3 and the adjusted rent shall not exceed the rent for a

4 comparable unassisted unit of similar quality, type,

5 and age in the market area.’’; and

6 (4) in the last sentence, by—

7 (A) striking ‘‘sentence’’ and inserting ‘‘two

8 sentences’’; and

9 (B) inserting ‘‘, fiscal year 1996 prior to

10 April 26, 1996, and fiscal year 1997’’ after

11 ‘‘1995’’.

12 Ω35æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

13 SEC. 205. USE OF AVAILABLE FUNDING FOR HOME14 OWNERSHIP.—Up to $20,000,000 of amounts of unobligated

15 balances that are or become available from the Nehemiah

16 Housing Opportunity Grant program, repealed under sec17 tion 289(b) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable

18 Housing Act, Public Law 101–625, shall be available for

19 use for activities relating to promotion and implementation

20 of homeownership in targeted geographic areas, as deter21 mined by the Secretary.

22 Ω36æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

23 SEC. 206. DEBT FORGIVENESS.—The Secretary of

24 Housing and Urban Development shall cancel the indebted25 ness of the Greene County Rural Health Center relating to
20

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1 a loan received under the Public Facility Loan program

2 to establish the health center (Loan #Mis–22–PFL0096).

3 The Greene County Rural Health Center is hereby relieved

4 of all liability to the Federal Government for such loan and

5 any fees and charges payable in connection with such loan.

6 Ω37æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

7 SEC. 207. FLEXIBLE SUBSIDY FUND.—From the fund

8 established by section 236(g) of the National Housing Act,

9 as amended, all uncommitted balances of excess rental

10 charges as of September 30, 1996, and any collection during

11 fiscal year 1997, shall be transferred, as authorized under

12 such section, to the fund authorized under section 201(j)

13 of the Housing and Community Development Amendments

14 of 1978, as amended.

15 Ω38æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

16 SEC. 208. RENTAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—The limi17 tation otherwise applicable to the maximum payments that

18 may be required in any fiscal year by all contracts entered

19 into under section 236 of the National Housing Act (12

20 U.S.C. 1715z–1) is reduced in fiscal year 1997 by not more

21 than $2,000,000 in uncommitted balances of authorizations

22 provided for this purpose in appropriations Acts.

23 Ω39æPage 41, after line 8 insert:
21

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1 SEC. 209. D.C. MODERNIZATION FUNDING.—Notwith2 standing the provisions of section 14(k)(5)(D) of the United

3 States Housing Act of 1937, the withheld modernization

4 funds that became credited in fiscal years 1993, 1994 and

5 1995, due to the troubled status of the former Department

6 of Public and Assisted Housing of the District of Columbia,

7 shall be made available without diminution to its successor,

8 the District of Columbia Housing Authority, at such time

9 between the effective date of this Act and the end of fiscal

10 year 1998 as the District of Columbia Housing Authority

11 is no longer deemed ‘‘mod-troubled’’ under section

12 6(j)(2)(A)(i) of such Act; after fiscal year 1998, the District

13 of Columbia Housing Authority shall become subject to the

14 provisions of section 14(k)(5)(D) of such Act should it re15 main mod-troubled.

16 Ω40æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

17 SEC. 210. FINANCING ADJUSTMENT FACTORS.—Fifty

18 per centum of the amounts of budget authority, or in lieu

19 thereof 50 per centum of the cash amounts associated with

20 such budget authority, that are recaptured from projects de21 scribed in section 1012(a) of the Stewart B. McKinney

22 Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law

23 100–628, 102 Stat. 3224, 3268) shall be rescinded, or in

24 the case of cash, shall be remitted to the Treasury, and such

25 amounts of budget authority or cash recaptured and not
22

HR 3666 EAS

1 rescinded or remitted to the Treasury shall be used by State

2 housing finance agencies or local governments or local hous3 ing agencies with projects approved by the Secretary of

4 Housing and Urban Development for which settlement oc5 curred after January 1, 1992, in accordance with such sec6 tion.

7 Ω41æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

8 SEC. 211. SECTION 8 CONTRACT RENEWAL AUTHORITY.

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

10 (1) the term ‘‘expiring contract’’ means a con11 tract for project-based assistance under section 8 of

12 the United States Housing Act of 1937 that expires

13 during fiscal year 1997;

14 (2) the term ‘‘family’’ has the same meaning as

15 in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of

16 1937;

17 (3) the term ‘‘multifamily housing project’’

18 means a property consisting of more than 4 dwelling

19 units that is covered in whole or in part by a con20 tract for project-based assistance under section 8 of

21 the United States Housing Act of 1937;

22 (4) the term ‘‘owner’’ has the same meaning as

23 in section 8(f) of the United States Housing Act of

24 1937;
23

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1 (5) the term ‘‘project-based assistance’’ means

2 rental assistance under section 8 of the United States

3 Housing Act of 1937 that is attached to a multifam4 ily housing project;

5 (6) the term ‘‘public agency’’ means a State

6 housing finance agency, a local housing agency, or

7 other agency with a public purpose and status;

8 (7) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

9 Housing and Urban Development; and

10 (8) the term ‘‘tenant-based assistance’’ has the

11 same meaning as in section 8(f) of the United States

12 Housing Act of 1937.

13 (b) SECTION 8 CONTRACT RENEWAL AUTHORITY.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section

15 405(a) of the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I,

16 upon the request of the owner of a multifamily hous17 ing project that is covered by an expiring contract,

18 the Secretary shall use amounts made available for

19 the renewal of assistance under section 8 of the Unit20 ed States Housing Act of 1937 to renew the expiring

21 contract as project-based assistance for a period of not

22 more than 1 year, at rent levels that are equal to

23 those under the expiring contract as of the date on

24 which the contract expires, only if those rent levels do
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1 not exceed 120 percent of fair market rent for the

2 market area in which the project is located.

3 (2) EXEMPTION FOR STATE AND LOCAL HOUSING

4 AGENCY PROJECTS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1),

5 upon the expiration of an expiring contract with rent

6 levels that exceed the percentage described in that

7 paragraph, if the Secretary determines that the pri8 mary financing or mortgage insurance for the multi9 family housing project that is covered by that expir10 ing contract was provided by a public agency, the

11 Secretary shall, upon the request of the public agency,

12 renew the expiring contract—

13 (A) for a period of not more than 1 year;

14 and

15 (B) at rent levels that are equal to those

16 under the expiring contract as of the date on

17 which the contract expires.

18 (3) INELIGIBLE CONTRACTS.—

19 (A) PARTICIPATION IN DEMONSTRATION.—

20 For contracts covering a multifamily housing

21 project that expire during fiscal year 1997 with

22 rent levels that exceed the percentage described in

23 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, at the request

24 of the owner of the project, include that multi25 family housing project in the demonstration pro-
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1 gram under section 212 of this Act. The Sec2 retary shall ensure, to the maximum extent prac3 ticable, that a project in the demonstration is

4 maintained as affordable for low-income families

5 for the maximum feasible period of time.

6 (B) EFFECT OF MATERIAL ADVERSE AC7 TIONS OR OMISSIONS.—Notwithstanding para8 graph (1) or any other provision of law, the Sec9 retary shall not renew an expiring contract if

10 the Secretary determines that the owner of the

11 multifamily housing project has engaged in ma12 terial adverse financial or managerial actions or

13 omissions with regard to the project (or with re14 gard to other similar projects if the Secretary de15 termines that such actions or omissions con16 stitute a pattern of mismanagement that would

17 warrant suspension or debarment by the Sec18 retary).

19 (C) TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.—For prop20 erties disqualified from the demonstration pro21 gram because of actions by an owner or pur22 chaser in accordance with subparagraph (B), the

23 Secretary shall establish procedures to facilitate

24 the voluntary sale or transfer of the property,

25 with a preference for tenant organizations and
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1 tenant-endorsed community-based nonprofit and

2 public agency purchasers meeting such reason3 able qualifications as may be established by the

4 Secretary.

5 (4) TENANT PROTECTIONS.—To the extent pro6 vided in advance in an appropriations Act, any fam7 ily residing in an assisted unit in a multifamily

8 housing project that is covered by an expiring con9 tract that is not renewed, shall be offered tenant-based

10 assistance before the date on which the contract ex11 pires or is not renewed.

12 SEC. 212. FHA MULTIFAMILY DEMONSTRATION AUTHORITY.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—

14 (1) REPEAL.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 210 of the De16 partments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and

17 Urban Development and Independent Agencies

18 Appropriations Act, 1996 (110 Stat. 1321) is re19 pealed.

20 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the re21 peal under subparagraph (A), amounts made

22 available under section 210(f) the Departments

23 of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban De24 velopment and Independent Agencies Appropria25 tions Act, 1996 shall remain available for the
27

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1 demonstration program under this section

2 through the end of fiscal year 1997.

3 (2) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Nothing in this sec4 tion shall be construed to affect any commitment en5 tered into before the date of enactment of this Act

6 under the demonstration program under section 210

7 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing

8 and Urban Development and Independent Agencies

9 Appropriations Act, 1996.

10 (3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec11 tion—

12 (A) the term ‘‘affordable’’ means, with re13 spect to a dwelling unit, a unit for which the

14 rents are restricted to the rent levels established

15 under a mortgage restructuring;

16 (B) the term ‘‘demonstration program’’

17 means the program established under subsection

18 (b);

19 (C) the term ‘‘designee’’ means a third20 party public agency that enters into an arrange21 ment with the Secretary under subsection (b)(3);

22 (D) the term ‘‘expiring contract’’ means a

23 contract for project-based assistance under sec24 tion 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937

25 that expires during fiscal year 1997;
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1 (E) the term ‘‘family’’ has the same mean2 ing as in section 3(b) of the United States Hous3 ing Act of 1937;

4 (F) the term ‘‘multifamily housing project’’

5 means a property consisting of more than 4

6 dwelling units that is covered in whole or in

7 part by a contract for project-based assistance;

8 (G) the term ‘‘owner’’ has the same meaning

9 as in section 8(f) of the United States Housing

10 Act of 1937;

11 (H) the term ‘‘project-based assistance’’

12 means rental assistance under section 8 of the

13 United States Housing Act of 1937 that is at14 tached to a multifamily housing project;

15 (I) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec16 retary of Housing and Urban Development; and

17 (J) the term ‘‘tenant-based assistance’’ has

18 the same meaning as in section 8(f) of the Unit19 ed States Housing Act of 1937.

20 (b) DEMONSTRATION AUTHORITY.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin22 ister a demonstration program with respect to multi23 family projects—

24 (A) whose owners agree to participate;
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1 (B) with rents on units assisted under sec2 tion 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937

3 that are, in the aggregate, in excess of 120 per4 cent of the fair market rent of the market area

5 in which the project is located; and

6 (C) the mortgages of which are insured

7 under the National Housing Act.

8 (2) PURPOSE.—The demonstration program

9 shall be designed to test the feasibility and desirabil10 ity of—

11 (A) ensuring, to the maximum extent prac12 ticable, that the debt service and operating ex13 penses, including adequate reserves, attributable

14 to such multifamily projects can be supported at

15 the comparable market rent with or without

16 mortgage insurance under the National Housing

17 Act and with or without additional subsidies;

18 (B) utilizing project-based assistance, while

19 taking into account the capital needs of the

20 projects and the need for assistance to low- and

21 very low-income families in such projects; and

22 (C) preserving low-income rental housing

23 affordability and availability while reducing the

24 long-term cost of project-based assistance.
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1 (3) DESIGNEES.—In carrying out the dem2 onstration program, the Secretary may enter into ar3 rangements with one or more third-party public enti4 ties, under which the Secretary may provide for the

5 assumption by the designee (by delegation, by con6 tract, or otherwise) of some or all of the functions, ob7 ligations, and benefits of the Secretary.

8 (c) GOALS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out

10 the demonstration program in a manner that will

11 protect the financial interests of the Federal Govern12 ment through debt restructuring and subsidy reduc13 tion and, in the least costly fashion, address the goals

14 of—

15 (A) maintaining existing affordable housing

16 stock in a decent, safe, and sanitary condition;

17 (B) minimizing the involuntary displace18 ment of tenants;

19 (C) taking into account housing market

20 conditions;

21 (D) encouraging responsible ownership and

22 management of property;

23 (E) minimizing any adverse income tax

24 impact on property owners; and
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1 (F) minimizing any adverse impacts on

2 residential neighborhoods and local communities.

3 (2) BALANCE OF COMPETING GOALS.—In deter4 mining the manner in which a mortgage is to be re5 structured or a subsidy reduced under this subsection,

6 the Secretary may balance competing goals relating to

7 individual projects in a manner that will further the

8 purposes of this section.

9 (d) JOINT VENTURE ARRANGEMENTS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the dem11 onstration program, the Secretary may enter into

12 joint venture arrangements with designees, under

13 which the Secretary may provide for the assumption

14 by the third parties (by delegation, by contract, or

15 otherwise) of some or all of the functions, obligations,

16 and benefits of the Secretary.

17 (2) PREFERENCE.—In entering into any ar18 rangement under this subsection, the Secretary shall

19 give preference to State housing finance agencies and

20 local housing agencies to act as designees to the extent

21 such agencies are determined to be qualified by the

22 Secretary.

23 (3) PUBLIC AGENCIES.—Each joint venture ar24 rangement entered into under this subsection shall in25 clude a public agency as the primary partner.
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1 (4) DESIGNEE PARTNERSHIPS.—For purposes of

2 any joint venture arrangement under this subsection,

3 designees are encouraged to develop partnerships with

4 each other, and to contract or subcontract with other

5 entities, including—

6 (A) public housing agencies;

7 (B) financial institutions;

8 (C) mortgage servicers;

9 (D) nonprofit and for-profit housing orga10 nizations;

11 (E) the Federal National Mortgage Associa12 tion;

13 (F) the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Cor14 poration;

15 (G) Federal Home Loan Banks; and

16 (H) other State or local mortgage insurance

17 companies or bank lending consortia.

18 (e) LONG-TERM AFFORDABILITY.—After the renewal of

19 a section 8 contract pursuant to a restructuring under this

20 section, the owner shall accept each offer to renew the section

21 8 contract, for a period of 20 years from the date of the

22 renewal under the demonstration, if the offer to renew is

23 on terms and conditions, as agreed to by the Secretary or

24 designee and the owner under a restructuring.

25 (f) PROCEDURES.—
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1 (1) NOTICE OF PARTICIPATION IN DEMONSTRA2 TION.—Not later than 45 days before the date of expi3 ration of an expiring contract (or such later date, as

4 determined by the Secretary, for good cause), the

5 owner of the multifamily housing project covered by

6 that expiring contract shall notify the Secretary or

7 designee of the owner’s intent to participate in the

8 demonstration program.

9 (2) DEMONSTRATION CONTRACT.—Upon receipt

10 of a notice under paragraph (1), the owner and the

11 Secretary or designee shall enter into a demonstration

12 contract, which shall provide for initial section 8

13 project-based rents at the same rent levels as those

14 under the expiring contract or, if practical, the budg15 et-based rent to cover debt service, reasonable operat16 ing expenses (including reasonable and appropriate

17 services), and a reasonable return on equity, as deter18 mined solely by the Secretary. The demonstration

19 contract shall be for the minimum term necessary for

20 the rents and mortgages of the multifamily housing

21 project to be restructured under the demonstration

22 program.

23 (g) HUD-OWNED AND HUD-HELD MORTGAGES.—For

24 purposes of carrying out the demonstration program—
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1 (1) the Secretary may manage and dispose of

2 multifamily properties owned by the Secretary and

3 multifamily mortgages held by the Secretary, on such

4 terms and conditions as the Secretary may determine,

5 without regard to any other provision of law; and

6 (2) as provided under subsection (b)(3), the Sec7 retary may delegate to one or more designees the au8 thority to carry out some or all of the functions and

9 responsibilities of the Secretary in connection with

10 mortgages held by the Secretary under the National

11 Housing Act.

12 (h) DEMONSTRATION ACTIONS.—For purposes of car13 rying out the demonstration program, and in order to en14 sure that contract rights are not abrogated, subject to such

15 third party consents as are necessary (if any), including

16 consent by the Government National Mortgage Association

17 if it owns a mortgage insured by the Secretary, consent by

18 an issuer under the mortgage-backed securities program of

19 the Association, subject to the responsibilities of the issuer

20 to its security holders and the Association under such pro21 gram, and consent by parties to any contractual agreement

22 which the Secretary proposes to modify or discontinue, the

23 Secretary or, except with respect to paragraph (2), designee,

24 shall take not less than 1 of the actions specified in para-
35

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1 graphs (6), (7), and (8) and may take any of the following

2 actions:

3 (1) REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any

5 other provision of law, and subject to the agree6 ment of the owner of the project and after con7 sultation with the tenants of the project, the Sec8 retary or designee may remove, relinquish, extin9 guish, modify, or agree to the removal of any

10 mortgage, regulatory agreement, project-based as11 sistance contract, use agreement, or restriction

12 that had been imposed or required by the Sec13 retary, including restrictions on distributions of

14 income which the Secretary or designee deter15 mines would interfere with the ability of the

16 project to operate without above-market rents.

17 (B) ACCUMULATED RESIDUAL RECEIPTS.—

18 The Secretary or designee may require an owner

19 of a property assisted under the section 8 new

20 construction/substantial rehabilitation program

21 under the United States Housing Act of 1937 to

22 apply any accumulated residual receipts toward

23 effecting the purposes of this section.

24 (2) REINSURANCE.—With respect to not more

25 than 5,000 units during fiscal year 1997, the Sec-
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1 retary may enter into contracts to purchase reinsur2 ance, or enter into participations or otherwise trans3 fer economic interest in contracts of insurance or in

4 the premiums paid, or due to be paid, on such insur5 ance to the designee, on such terms and conditions as

6 the Secretary may determine.

7 (3) INDUCE PARTICIPATION OF THIRD PAR8 TIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

9 of amounts made available under appropriations

10 Acts, including amounts made available under this

11 section, the Secretary or designee may enter into such

12 agreements, provide such concessions, incur such costs,

13 make such grants (including grants to cover all or a

14 portion of the rehabilitation costs for a project) and

15 other payments, and provide other valuable consider16 ation, as may reasonably be necessary to induce par17 ticipation of owners, lenders, servicers, third parties,

18 and other entities in the demonstration program, in19 cluding the use of fees for contract administration

20 under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of

21 1937 for purposes of any contract restructured or re22 newed under the demonstration program.

23 (4) FULL OR PARTIAL PAYMENT OF CLAIM.—Not24 withstanding any other provision of law, the Sec-
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1 retary may make a full payment of claim or partial

2 payment of claim prior to default.

3 (5) CREDIT ENHANCEMENT.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or des5 ignee may provide FHA multifamily mortgage

6 insurance, reinsurance, or other credit enhance7 ment alternatives, including retaining the exist8 ing FHA mortgage insurance on a restructured

9 first mortgage at market value or using the mul10 tifamily risk-sharing mortgage programs, as pro11 vided under section 542 of the Housing and

12 Community Development Act of 1992.

13 (B) EFFECT OF LIMITATIONS.—Any limita14 tions on the number of units available for mort15 gage insurance under section 542 shall not apply

16 to insurance issued for purposes of the dem17 onstration program.

18 (C) MAXIMUM PERCENTAGE.—During fiscal

19 year 1997, not more than 10 percent of multi20 family housing projects with expiring contracts

21 may be restructured without FHA insurance,

22 unless otherwise agreed by the owner of a project.

23 (D) CREDIT SUBSIDY.—Subject to the fund24 ing restrictions under subsection (l), any credit

25 subsidy costs of providing mortgage insurance
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1 shall be paid from the General Insurance Fund

2 and the Special Risk Insurance Fund.

3 (6) MORTGAGE RESTRUCTURING.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or des5 ignee may restructure mortgages to provide a re6 structured first mortgage to cover debt service

7 and operating expenses at the market rent, and

8 a second mortgage equal to the difference between

9 the restructured first mortgage and the mortgage

10 balance of the eligible multifamily housing

11 project at the time of restructuring.

12 (B) INTEREST RATE ON SECOND MORT13 GAGE.—The second mortgage shall bear interest

14 at a rate not to exceed the applicable Federal

15 rate for a term not to exceed 40 years.

16 (C) TIMING OF PAYMENTS.—If the first

17 mortgage remains outstanding, payments of in18 terest and principal on the second mortgage shall

19 be made from all excess project income only after

20 the payment of all reasonable and necessary op21 erating expenses (including deposits in a reserve

22 for replacement), debt service on the first mort23 gage, and such other expenditures as may be ap24 proved by the Secretary.
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1 (D) ASSUMPTION OF SECOND MORTGAGE.—

2 The second mortgage shall be assumable by any

3 subsequent purchaser of the multifamily housing

4 project.

5 (E) DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY.—The bal6 ance of the principal and accrued interest due

7 under the second mortgage shall be fully payable

8 upon disposition of the property, unless the

9 mortgage is assumed under subparagraph (D).

10 (F) SECOND MORTGAGE REPAYMENT.—The

11 owner shall begin repayment of the second mort12 gage upon full payment of the first mortgage in

13 equal monthly installments in an amount equal

14 to the monthly principal and interest payments

15 formerly paid under the first mortgage.

16 (G) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—The principal

17 and interest of a second mortgage shall be imme18 diately due and payable upon a finding by the

19 Secretary that an owner has failed to materially

20 comply with this section or any applicable re21 quirement of the United States Housing Act of

22 1937 in relation to the project at issue.

23 (H) CREDIT SUBSIDY.—Subject to the fund24 ing restrictions under subsection (l), any credit

25 subsidy costs of providing a second mortgage
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1 shall be paid from the General Insurance Fund

2 and the Special Risk Insurance Fund.

3 (7) DEBT FORGIVENESS.—The Secretary or des4 ignee, for good cause and at the request of the owner

5 of a multifamily housing project, may forgive at the

6 time of the restructuring of a mortgage any portion

7 of a debt on the project that exceeds the market value

8 of the project. In exchange for debt forgiveness under

9 this paragraph, the project shall remain affordable to

10 low-income families for a period of 20 years, unless

11 otherwise provided by the Secretary.

12 (8) BUDGET-BASED RENTS.—During fiscal year

13 1997, the Secretary or designee may renew an expir14 ing contract, for a period of not more than 1 year,

15 at a budget-based rent that covers debt service, reason16 able operating expenses (including all reasonable and

17 appropriate services), and a reasonable return on eq18 uity, as determined solely by the Secretary, but that

19 does not exceed the rent levels under the expiring con20 tract. The Secretary may establish a preference under

21 the demonstration program for budget-based rents for

22 unique housing projects, such as projects designated

23 for occupancy by elderly families in rural areas.

24 (i) COMMUNITY AND TENANT INPUT.—In carrying out

25 this section, the Secretary shall develop procedures to pro-
41

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1 vide appropriate and timely notice, including an oppor2 tunity for comment, to officials of the unit of general local

3 government affected, the community in which the project

4 is situated, and the tenants of the project.

5 (j) LIMITATION ON DEMONSTRATION AUTHORITY.—

6 The Secretary shall carry out the demonstration program

7 with respect to mortgages not to exceed 50,000 units.

8 (k) PRIORITY FOR PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary or

9 designee shall give priority for participation in the dem10 onstration program to any owner of an eligible multifamily

11 housing project with an expiring contract for project-based

12 assistance.

13 (l) FUNDING.—In addition to the $30,000,000 made

14 available under section 210 of the Departments of Veterans

15 Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and Inde16 pendent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (110 Stat.

17 1321), for the costs (including any credit subsidy costs asso18 ciated with providing direct loans or mortgage insurance)

19 of modifying and restructuring loans held or guaranteed

20 by the Federal Housing Administration, as authorized

21 under this section, $10,000,000, are hereby appropriated,

22 to remain available until September 30, 1998.

23 (m) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (A) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—Not less than bi2 annually, the Secretary shall submit to the Con3 gress a report describing and assessing the pro4 grams carried out under the demonstration pro5 gram.

6 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6

7 months after the end of the demonstration pro8 gram, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress

9 a final report on the demonstration program.

10 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under

11 paragraph (1) shall include—

12 (A) any findings and recommendations for

13 legislative action; and

14 (B) a description of the status of each mul15 tifamily housing project selected for the dem16 onstration program.

17 (3) CONTENTS OF FINAL REPORT.—The report

18 submitted under paragraph (1)(B) may include—

19 (A) with respect to each multifamily hous20 ing project participating in the demonstration

21 program, information relating to—

22 (i) the size of the project;

23 (ii) the geographic locations of the

24 project, by State and region;
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1 (iii) the physical and financial condi2 tion of the project;

3 (iv) the occupancy profile of the

4 project, including the income, family size,

5 race, and ethnic origin of the tenants, and

6 the rents paid by those tenants;

7 (v) a description of actions undertaken

8 pursuant to this section, including a de9 scription of the effectiveness of such actions

10 and any impediments to the transfer or sale

11 of the projects;

12 (vi) a description of the extent to

13 which the demonstration program has dis14 placed tenants of the project;

15 (vii) a description of the impact to

16 which the demonstration program has af17 fected the localities and communities in

18 which the projects are located; and

19 (viii) a description of the extent to

20 which the demonstration program has af21 fected the owners of the projects; and

22 (B) a description of any of the functions

23 performed in connection with this section that

24 are transferred or contracted out to public or

25 private entities or to State entities.
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1 Ω42æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

2 SEC. 213. HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.—Section 282 of

3 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42

4 U.S.C. 12832) is amended by adding at the end the follow5 ing new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary may waive this section

6 in connection with the use of funds made available under

7 this title on lands set aside under the Hawaiian Homes

8 Commission Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108).’’.

9 Ω43æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

10 SEC. 214. INVOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS.—In order to

11 avoid or minimize the need for involuntary separations due

12 to a reduction in force, departmental restructuring, reorga13 nization, transfer of function, or similar action affecting

14 the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the

15 Secretary shall establish a program under which separation

16 pay, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, may

17 be offered to encourage employees to separate from service

18 voluntarily, whether by retirement or resignation: Provided,

19 That payments to individual employees shall not exceed

20 $25,000: Provided further, That in addition to any other

21 payments which it is required to make under subchapter

22 III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United States

23 Code, HUD shall remit to the Office of Personnel Manage24 ment for deposit in the Treasury of the United States to

25 the credit of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability
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1 Fund on amount equal to 15 percent of the final basic pay

2 of each employee who is covered under subchapter III of

3 chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5 to whom a voluntary

4 separation incentive has been paid under this paragraph.

5 Ω44æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

6 SEC. 215. REQUIREMENT FOR HUD TO MAINTAIN

7 PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT RULEMAKING.—The Sec8 retary of Housing and Urban Development shall maintain

9 all current requirements under part 10 of the Department

10 of Housing and Urban Development’s regulations (24 CFR

11 part 10) with respect to the Department’s policies and pro12 cedures for the promulgation and issuance of rules, includ13 ing the use of public participation in the rulemaking proc14 ess.

15 Ω45æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

16 SEC. 216. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS.

17 Section 102(a)(6)(D) of the Housing and Community

18 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(6)(D)) is

19 amended—

20 (1) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end;

21 (2) in clause (v), by striking the period at the

22 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following new

24 clause:
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1 ‘‘(vi) has entered into a local cooperation

2 agreement with a metropolitan city that received

3 assistance under section 106 because of such clas4 sification, and has elected under paragraph (4)

5 to have its population included with the popu6 lation of the county for the purposes of qualify7 ing as an urban county, except that to qualify

8 as an urban county under this clause, the county

9 must—

10 ‘‘(I) have a combined population of not

11 less than 210,000, excluding any metropoli12 tan city located in the county that is not re13 linquishing its metropolitan city classifica14 tion, according to the 1990 decennial census

15 of the Bureau of the Census of the Depart16 ment of Commerce;

17 ‘‘(II) including any metropolitan cities

18 located in the county, have had a decrease

19 in population of 10,061 from 1992 to 1994,

20 according to the estimates of the Bureau of

21 the Census of the Department of Commerce;

22 and

23 ‘‘(III) have had a Federal naval instal24 lation that was more than 100 years old

25 closed by action of the Base Closure and Re-
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1 alignment Commission appointed for 1993

2 under the Base Closure and Realignment

3 Act of 1990, directly resulting in a loss of

4 employment by more than 7,000 Federal

5 Government civilian employees and more

6 than 15,000 active duty military personnel,

7 which naval installation was located within

8 1 mile of an enterprise community des9 ignated by the Secretary pursuant to section

10 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,

11 which enterprise community has a popu12 lation of not less than 20,000, according to

13 the 1990 decennial census of the Bureau of

14 the Census of the Department of Com15 merce.’’.

16 Ω46æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

17 SEC. 217. FAIR HOUSING AND FREE SPEECH.

18 None of the amounts made available under this Act

19 may be used during fiscal year 1997 to investigate or pros20 ecute under the Fair Housing Act any otherwise lawful ac21 tivity engaged in by one or more persons, including the fil22 ing or maintaining of a nonfrivolous legal action, that is

23 engaged in solely for the purpose of achieving or preventing

24 action by a government official or entity, or a court of com25 petent jurisdiction.
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1 Ω47æPage 41, after line 8 insert:

2 SEC. 218. MORTGAGE INSURANCE.

3 None of the funds appropriated under this Act may

4 be used to give final approval to any proposal to provide

5 mortgage insurance having a value in excess of

6 $250,000,000 for any project financing for which may be

7 guaranteed under section 220 of the National Housing Act

8 (12 U.S.C. 1715k), unless the Secretary has transmitted to

9 the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker

10 of the House the Secretary’s justification for such guarantee

11 and no final approval shall be given until the justification

12 has laid before the Congress for a period of not less than

13 30 days.

14 Ω48æPage 44, line 2, strike out ø$365,000,000¿ and in15 sert: $400,500,000

16 Ω49æPage 44, line 10, strike out ø$40,000,000¿ and in17 sert: $59,000,000

18 Ω50æPage 44, line 14, strike out ø$201,000,000¿ and in19 sert: $215,000,000

20 Ω51æPage 44, line 19, after ‘‘program)’’ insert: , of which

21 not more than $40,000,000 may be used to administer, re22 imburse or support any national service program author23 ized under section 121(d)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

24 12581(d)(2))
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1 Ω52æPage 44, line 20, strike out ø$5,000,000¿ and insert:

2 $5,500,000

3 Ω53æPage 45, line 7, strike out ø$17,500,000¿ and insert:

4 $18,000,000

5 Ω54æPage 45, line 12, strike out ø$41,500,000¿ and in6 sert: $43,000,000

7 Ω55æPage 46, lines 21 and 22, strike out ø(increased by

8 $1,411,000)¿

9 Ω56æPage 46, line 22, strike out ø$634,000¿ and insert:

10 $700,000

11 Ω57æPage 48, lines 3 and 4, strike out ø$540,000,000 (re12 duced by $1,500,000)¿ and insert: $545,000,000

13 Ω58æPage 48, lines 21 and 22, strike out

14 ø$1,703,000,000 (increased by $1,500,000)¿ and insert:

15 $1,713,000,000

16 Ω59æPage 49, line 11, strike out ø$107,220,000¿ and in17 sert: $27,220,000

18 Ω60æPage 49, line 11, strike out all after ‘‘expended’’

19 down to and including ‘‘limitation’’ in line 24
50

HR 3666 EAS

1 Ω61æPage 50, line 9, strike out ø$2,201,200,000¿ and in2 sert: $1,394,245,000 (of which $100,000,000 shall not be3 come available until September 1, 1997)

4 Ω62æPage 50, line 10, strike out ø$1,951,200,000¿ and

5 insert: $1,144,245,000

6 Ω63æPage 50, line 24, strike out ø$59,000,000¿ and in7 sert: $64,000,000

8 Ω64æPage 51, line 13, strike out all after ‘‘1997’’ down

9 to and including ‘‘obligation’’ in line 17

10 Ω65æPage 51, line 17, strike out all after ‘‘obligation’’

11 down to and including ‘‘Jersey’’ in line 22

12 Ω66æPage 52, lines 8 and 9, strike out ø$46,500,000 (in13 creased by $20,000,000)¿ and insert: $60,000,000

14 Ω67æPage 53, line 5, strike out ø$2,768,207,000¿ and in15 sert: $2,815,207,000

16 Ω68æPage 53, line 6, strike out ø$1,800,000,000¿ and in17 sert: $1,976,000,000

18 Ω69æPage 53, line 19, after ‘‘address’’ insert: water sup19 ply and

20 Ω70æPage 53, line 20, strike out all after ‘‘Villages;’’ down

21 to and including ‘‘Act;’’ in line 24
51

HR 3666 EAS

1 Ω71æPage 54, line 7, after ‘‘programs’’ insert: : Provided

2 further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law,

3 beginning in fiscal year 1997 the Administrator may make

4 grants to States, from funds available for obligation in the

5 State under title II of the Federal Water Pollution Control

6 Act, as amended, for administering the completion and

7 closeout of the State’s construction grants program, based

8 on a budget annually negotiated with the State

9 Ω72æPage 54, line 8, strike out ø$1,800,000,000¿ and in10 sert: $1,976,000,000

11 Ω73æPage 54, line 10, strike out ø$450,000,000¿ and in12 sert: $1,275,000,000

13 Ω74æPage 54, line 11, strike out all after ‘‘funds’’ down

14 to and including ‘‘amended’’ in line 15

15 Ω75æPage 54, line 15, after ‘‘amended’’ insert: : Provided

16 further, That the funds made available in Public Law 103–

17 327 for a grant to the City of Bangor, Maine, in accordance

18 with House Report 103–715, shall be available for a grant

19 to that city for meeting combined sewer overflow require20 ments

21 Ω76æPage 54, line 15, after ‘‘amended’’ insert: : Provided

22 further, That, notwithstanding any other provision of law,

23 a State that did not receive, in fiscal year 1996, grants
52

HR 3666 EAS

1 under title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act,

2 as amended, that obligated all the funds allotted to it from

3 the $725,000,000 that became available for that purpose on

4 August 1, 1996, may receive reallotted funds from the fiscal

5 year 1996 appropriation, provided the State receives such

6 grants in fiscal year 1997

7 Ω77æPage 56, strike out lines 3 through 9

8 Ω78æPage 57, line 2, strike out ø$2,250,000¿ and insert:

9 $2,436,000

10 Ω79æPage 57, line 7, strike out ø$1,120,000,000¿ and in11 sert: $1,320,000,000

12 Ω80æPage 57, line 10, after ‘‘expended’’ insert: : Provided,

13 That no money appropriated for the Federal Emergency

14 Management Agency may be expended for the repair of

15 yacht harbors or golf courses except for debris removal: Pro16 vided further, That no money appropriated for the Federal

17 Emergency Management Agency may be expended for tree

18 or shrub replacement except in public parks: Provided fur19 ther, That any funds used for repair of any recreational

20 facilities shall be limited to debris removal and the repair

21 of recreational buildings only

22 Ω81æPage 58, line 12, strike out ø$168,000,000¿ and in23 sert: $166,733,000
53

HR 3666 EAS

1 Ω82æPage 58, line 16, strike out ø$4,533,000¿ and insert:

2 $4,673,000

3 Ω83æPage 59, line 5, strike out ø$209,101,000¿ and in4 sert: $199,101,000

5 Ω84æPage 59, line 21, after ‘‘1998.’’ insert: The first sen6 tence of section 1376(c) of the National Flood Insurance Act

7 of 1968, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4026), is amended by strik8 ing all after ‘‘this subchapter’’ and inserting ‘‘such sums

9 as may be necessary through September 30, 1997 for studies

10 under this title.’’.

11 Ω85æPage 60, line 4, after ‘‘1994.’’ insert: Section 1319

12 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended

13 (42 U.S.C. 4026), is amended by striking out September

14 30, 1996.’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 1997.’’.

15 Ω86æPage 62, strike out lines 18 and 19

16 Ω87æPage 62, line 23, strike out all after ‘‘Acts’’ over to

17 and including ‘‘Acts’’ in line 8 on page 63 and insert: :

18 Provided further, That notwithstanding any other provision

19 of law, the Consumer Information Center may accept and

20 deposit to this account, during fiscal year 1997 and here21 after, gifts for the purpose of defraying its costs of printing,

22 publishing, and distributing consumer information and

23 educational materials and undertaking other consumer in-
54

HR 3666 EAS

1 formation activities; may expend those gifts for those pur2 poses, in addition to amounts appropriated or otherwise

3 made available; and the balance shall remain available for

4 expenditure for such purpose

5 Ω88æPage 64, line 10, strike out ø$5,662,100,000¿ and

6 insert: $5,762,100,000

7 Ω89æPage 66, after line 19 insert:

8 In order to avoid or minimize the need for involuntary

9 separations due to a reduction in force, installation closure,

10 reorganization, transfer of function, or similar action af11 fecting the National Aeronautics and Space Administra12 tion, the Administrator shall establish a program under

13 which separation pay, subject to the availability of appro14 priated funds, may be offered to encourage employees to sep15 arate from service voluntarily, whether by retirement or res16 ignation: Provided, That payments to individual employees

17 shall not exceed $25,000: Provided further, That in addition

18 to any other payments which it is required to make under

19 subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, United

20 States Code, NASA shall remit to the Office of Personnel

21 Management for deposit in the Treasury of the United

22 States to the credit of the Civil Service Retirement and Dis23 ability Fund an amount equal to 15 percent of the final

24 basic pay of each employee who is covered under subchapter

25 III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5 to whom a vol-
55

HR 3666 EAS

1 untary separation incentive has been paid under this para2 graph.

3 Ω90æPage 67, lines 16 and 17, strike out

4 ø$2,422,000,000 (increased by $9,110,000)¿ and insert:

5 $2,432,000,000

6 Ω91æPage 68, line 20, strike out ø$612,000,000¿ and in7 sert: $624,000,000

8 Ω92æPage 69, line 13, strike out ø(reduced by

9 $9,110,000)¿

10 Ω93æPage 70, line 7, strike out ø$50,000,000¿ and insert:

11 $49,900,000

12 Ω94æPage 71, line 4, after ‘‘Provided,’’ insert: That this

13 provision does not apply to accounts that do not contain

14 an object classification for travel: Provided further,

15 Ω95æPage 78, after line 15 insert:

16 SEC. 421. (a) The purpose of this section is to provide

17 for the special needs of certain children of Vietnam veterans

18 who were born with the birth defect spina bifida, possibly

19 as the result of the exposure of one or both parents to herbi20 cides during active service in the Republic of Vietnam dur21 ing the Vietnam era, through the provision of health care

22 and monetary benefits.
56

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1 (b)(1) Part II of title 38, United States Code, is

2 amended by inserting after chapter 17 the following new

3 chapter:

4 ‘‘CHAPTER 18—BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN

5 OF VIETNAM VETERANS WHO ARE

6 BORN WITH SPINA BIFIDA

‘‘Sec.

‘‘1801. Definitions.

‘‘1802. Spina bifida conditions covered.

‘‘1803. Health care.

‘‘1804. Vocational training and rehabilitation.

‘‘1805. Monetary allowance.

‘‘1806. Effective date of awards.

7 ‘‘§ 1801. Definitions

8 ‘‘For the purposes of this chapter—

9 ‘‘(1) The term ‘child’, with respect to a Vietnam

10 veteran, means a natural child of the Vietnam vet11 eran, regardless of age or marital status, who was

12 conceived after the date on which the veteran first en13 tered the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam

14 era.

15 ‘‘(2) The term ‘Vietnam veteran’ means a vet16 eran who performed active military, naval, or air

17 service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Viet18 nam era.

19 ‘‘§ 1802. Spina bifida conditions covered

20 ‘‘This chapter applies with respect to all forms and

21 manifestations of spina bifida except spina bifida occulta.
57

HR 3666 EAS

1 ‘‘§ 1803. Health care

2 ‘‘(a) In accordance with regulations which the Sec3 retary shall prescribe, the Secretary shall provide a child

4 of a Vietnam veteran who is suffering from spina bifida

5 with such health care as the Secretary determines is needed

6 by the child for the spina bifida or any disability that is

7 associated with such condition.

8 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may provide health care under this

9 section directly or by contract or other arrangement with

10 any health care provider.

11 ‘‘(c) For the purposes of this section—

12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘health care’—

13 ‘‘(A) means home care, hospital care, nurs14 ing home care, outpatient care, preventive care,

15 habilitative and rehabilitative care, case man16 agement, and respite care; and

17 ‘‘(B) includes—

18 ‘‘(i) the training of appropriate mem19 bers of a child’s family or household in the

20 care of the child; and

21 ‘‘(ii) the provision of such pharma22 ceuticals, supplies, equipment, devices, ap23 pliances, assistive technology, direct trans24 portation costs to and from approved

25 sources of health care, and other materials

26 as the Secretary determines necessary.
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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘health care provider’ includes

2 specialized spina bifida clinics, health care plans, in3 surers, organizations, institutions, and any other en4 tity or individual who furnishes health care that the

5 Secretary determines authorized under this section.

6 ‘‘(3) The term ‘home care’ means outpatient

7 care, habilitative and rehabilitative care, preventive

8 health services, and health-related services furnished

9 to an individual in the individual’s home or other

10 place of residence.

11 ‘‘(4) The term ‘hospital care’ means care and

12 treatment for a disability furnished to an individual

13 who has been admitted to a hospital as a patient.

14 ‘‘(5) The term ‘nursing home care’ means care

15 and treatment for a disability furnished to an indi16 vidual who has been admitted to a nursing home as

17 a resident.

18 ‘‘(6) The term ‘outpatient care’ means care and

19 treatment of a disability, and preventive health serv20 ices, furnished to an individual other than hospital

21 care or nursing home care.

22 ‘‘(7) The term ‘preventive care’ means care and

23 treatment furnished to prevent disability or illness,

24 including periodic examinations, immunizations, pa25 tient health education, and such other services as the
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HR 3666 EAS

1 Secretary determines necessary to provide effective

2 and economical preventive health care.

3 ‘‘(8) The term ‘habilitative and rehabilitative

4 care’ means such professional, counseling, and guid5 ance services and treatment programs (other than vo6 cational training under section 1804 of this title) as

7 are necessary to develop, maintain, or restore, to the

8 maximum extent practicable, the functioning of a dis9 abled person.

10 ‘‘(9) The term ‘respite care’ means care furnished

11 on an intermittent basis for a limited period to an

12 individual who resides primarily in a private resi13 dence when such care will help the individual to con14 tinue residing in such private residence.

15 ‘‘§ 1804. Vocational training and rehabilitation

16 ‘‘(a) Pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary

17 may prescribe, the Secretary may provide vocational train18 ing under this section to a child of a Vietnam veteran who

19 is suffering from spina bifida if the Secretary determines

20 that the achievement of a vocational goal by such child is

21 reasonably feasible.

22 ‘‘(b) Any program of vocational training for a child

23 under this section shall be designed in consultation with

24 the child in order to meet the child’s individual needs and
60

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1 shall be set forth in an individualized written plan of voca2 tional rehabilitation.

3 ‘‘(c)(1) A vocational training program for a child

4 under this section—

5 ‘‘(A) shall consist of such vocationally oriented

6 services and assistance, including such placement and

7 post-placement services and personal and work ad8 justment training, as the Secretary determines are

9 necessary to enable the child to prepare for and par10 ticipate in vocational training or employment; and

11 ‘‘(B) may include a program of education at an

12 institution of higher education if the Secretary deter13 mines that the program of education is predomi14 nantly vocational in content.

15 ‘‘(2) A vocational training program under this sub16 section may not include the provision of any loan or sub17 sistence allowance or any automobile adaptive equipment.

18 ‘‘(d)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) and sub19 ject to subsection (e)(2), a vocational training program

20 under this section may not exceed 24 months.

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may grant an extension of a voca22 tional training program for a child under this section for

23 up to 24 additional months if the Secretary determines that

24 the extension is necessary in order for the child to achieve

25 a vocational goal identified (before the end of the first 24
61

HR 3666 EAS

1 months of such program) in the written plan of vocational

2 rehabilitation formulated for the child pursuant to sub3 section (b).

4 ‘‘(e)(1) A child who is pursuing a program of voca5 tional training under this section and is also eligible for

6 assistance under a program under chapter 35 of this title

7 may not receive assistance under both such programs con8 currently. The child shall elect (in such form and manner

9 as the Secretary may prescribe) the program under which

10 the child is to receive assistance.

11 ‘‘(2) The aggregate period for which a child may re12 ceive assistance under this section and chapter 35 of this

13 title may not exceed 48 months (or the part-time equivalent

14 thereof).

15 ‘‘§ 1805. Monetary allowance

16 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall pay a monthly allowance

17 under this chapter to any child of a Vietnam veteran for

18 any disability resulting from spina bifida suffered by such

19 child.

20 ‘‘(b)(1) The amount of the allowance paid to a child

21 under this section shall be based on the degree of disability

22 suffered by the child, as determined in accordance with such

23 schedule for rating disabilities resulting from spina bifida

24 as the Secretary may prescribe.
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1 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, in prescribing the rating

2 schedule for the purposes of this section, establish three levels

3 of disability upon which the amount of the allowance pro4 vided by this section shall be based.

5 ‘‘(3) The amounts of the allowance shall be $200 per

6 month for the lowest level of disability prescribed, $700 per

7 month for the intermediate level of disability prescribed,

8 and $1,200 per month for the highest level of disability pre9 scribed. Such amounts are subject to adjustment under sec10 tion 5312 of this title.

11 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, re12 ceipt by a child of an allowance under this section shall

13 not impair, infringe, or otherwise affect the right of the

14 child to receive any other benefit to which the child may

15 otherwise be entitled under any law administered by the

16 Secretary, nor shall receipt of such an allowance impair,

17 infringe, or otherwise affect the right of any individual to

18 receive any benefit to which the individual is entitled under

19 any law administered by the Secretary that is based on the

20 child’s relationship to the individual.

21 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

22 allowance paid to a child under this section shall not be

23 considered income or resources in determining eligibility for

24 or the amount of benefits under any Federal or federally

25 assisted program.
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1 ‘‘§ 1806. Effective date of awards

2 ‘‘The effective date for an award of benefits under this

3 chapter shall be fixed in accordance with the facts found,

4 but shall not be earlier than the date of receipt of applica5 tion for the benefits.’’.

6 (2) The tables of chapters before part I and at the be7 ginning of part II of such title are each amended by insert8 ing after the item referring to chapter 17 the following new

9 item:

‘‘18. Benefits for Children of Vietnam Veterans Who Are

Born With Spina Bifida .......................................... 1801’’.

10 (c) Section 5312 of title 38, United States Code, is

11 amended—

12 (1) in subsection (a)—

13 (A) by striking out ‘‘and the rate of in14 creased pension’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘,

15 the rate of increased pension’’; and

16 (B) by inserting after ‘‘on account of chil17 dren,’’ the following: ‘‘and each rate of monthly

18 allowance paid under section 1805 of this title,’’;

19 and

20 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking out ‘‘and

21 1542’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘1542, and 1805’’.

22 (d) This section and the amendments made by this sec23 tion shall take effect on January 1, 1997.
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HR 3666 EAS

1 SEC. 422. (a) Section 1151 of title 38, United States

2 Code, is amended—

3 (1) by striking out the first sentence and insert4 ing in lieu thereof the following:

5 ‘‘(a) Compensation under this chapter and dependency

6 and indemnity compensation under chapter 13 of this title

7 shall be awarded for a qualifying additional disability or

8 a qualifying death of a veteran in the same manner as if

9 such additional disability or death were service-connected.

10 For purposes of this section, a disability or death is a quali11 fying additional disability or qualifying death if the dis12 ability or death was not the result of the veteran’s willful

13 misconduct and—

14 ‘‘(1) the disability or death was caused by hos15 pital care, medical or surgical treatment, or examina16 tion furnished the veteran under any law adminis17 tered by the Secretary, either by a Department em18 ployee or in a Department facility as defined in sec19 tion 1701(3)(A) of this title, and the proximate cause

20 of the disability or death was—

21 ‘‘(A) carelessness, negligence, lack of proper

22 skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of

23 fault on the part of the Department in furnish24 ing the hospital care, medical or surgical treat25 ment, or examination; or
65

HR 3666 EAS

1 ‘‘(B) an event not reasonably foreseeable; or

2 ‘‘(2) the disability or death was proximately

3 caused by the provision of training and rehabilitation

4 services by the Secretary (including by a service-pro5 vider used by the Secretary for such purpose under

6 section 3115 of this title) as part of an approved re7 habilitation program under chapter 31 of this title.’’;

8 and

9 (2) in the second sentence—

10 (A) by redesignating that sentence as sub11 section (b);

12 (B) by striking out ‘‘, aggravation,’’ both

13 places it appears; and

14 (C) by striking out ‘‘sentence’’ and sub15 stituting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection’’.

16 (b)(1) The amendments made by subsection (a) shall

17 take effect on October 1, 1996.

18 (2) Section 1151 of title 38, United States Code (as

19 amended by subsection (a)), shall govern all administrative

20 and judicial determinations of eligibility for benefits under

21 such section that are made with respect to claims filed on

22 or after the effective date set forth in paragraph (1), includ23 ing those based on original applications and applications

24 seeking to reopen, revise, reconsider, or otherwise readju25 dicate on any basis claims for benefits under such section
66

HR 3666 EAS

1 1151 or any provision of law that is a predecessor of such

2 section.

3 Ω96æPage 78, strike out lines 16 through 25

4 Ω97æPage 79, strike out lines 1 through 5

5 Ω98æPage 79, strike out all after line 5, over to and in6 cluding line 9 on page 80

7 Ω99æPage 80, strike out all after line 9, over to and in8 cluding line 14 on page 81

9 Ω100æPage 81, strike out all after line 14, over to and

10 including line 4 on page 82

11 Ω101æPage 82, strike out lines 5 through 17

12 Ω102æPage 82, strike out all after line 17, over to and

13 including line 4 on page 83

14 Ω103æPage 83, strike out lines 5 through 16

15 Ω104æPage 83, strike out lines 17 through 22

16 Ω105æPage 85, strike out lines 18 through 20 and insert:

17 SEC. 432. CALCULATION OF DOWNPAYMENT.

18 Section 203(b) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C.

19 1709(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new

20 paragraph:

21 ‘‘(10) ALASKA AND HAWAII.—
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HR 3666 EAS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any

2 other provision of this subsection, with respect to

3 a mortgage originated in the State of Alaska or

4 the State of Hawaii, involve a principal obliga5 tion not in excess of the sum of—

6 ‘‘(i) the amount of the mortgage insur7 ance premium paid at the time the mort8 gage is insured; and

9 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a mortgage for a

10 property with an appraised value equal to

11 or less than $50,000, 98.75 percent of the

12 appraised value of the property;

13 ‘‘(II) in the case of a mortgage for a

14 property with an appraised value in excess

15 of $50,000 but not in excess of $125,000,

16 97.65 percent of the appraised value of the

17 property;

18 ‘‘(III) in the case of a mortgage for a

19 property with an appraised value in excess

20 of $125,000, 97.15 percent of the appraised

21 value of the property; or

22 ‘‘(IV) notwithstanding subclauses (II)

23 and (III), in the case of a mortgage for a

24 property with an appraised value in excess

25 of $50,000 that is located in an area of the
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1 State for which the average closing cost ex2 ceeds 2.10 percent of the average, for the

3 State, of the sale price of properties located

4 in the State for which mortgages have been

5 executed, 97.75 percent of the appraised

6 value of the property.

7 ‘‘(B) AVERAGE CLOSING COST.—For pur8 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘average closing

9 cost’ means, with respect to a State, the average,

10 for mortgages executed for properties that are lo11 cated within the State, of the total amounts (as

12 determined by the Secretary) of initial service

13 charges, appraisal, inspection, and other fees (as

14 the Secretary shall approve) that are paid in

15 connection with such mortgages.’’.

16 SEC. 433. DELEGATION OF SINGLE FAMILY MORTGAGE

17 INSURING AUTHORITY TO DIRECT ENDORSEMENT MORTGA18 GEES.—Title II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C.

19 1707 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following

20 new section:

21 ‘‘DELEGATION OF INSURING AUTHORITY TO DIRECT

22 ENDORSEMENT MORTGAGEES

23 ‘‘SEC. 256.(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may dele24 gate, to one or more mortgages approved by the Secretary

25 under the direct endorsement program, the authority of the

26 Secretary under this Act to insure mortgages involving
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HR 3666 EAS

1 property upon which there is located a dwelling designed

2 principally for occupancy by 1 to 4 families.

3 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining whether to

4 delegate authority to a mortgagee under this section, the

5 Secretary shall consider the experience and performance of

6 the mortgagee compared to the default rate of all insured

7 mortgages in comparable markets, and such other factors

8 as the Secretary determines appropriate to minimize risk

9 of loss to the insurance funds under this Act.

10 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT OF INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines

12 that a mortgage insured by a mortgagee pursuant to

13 delegation of authority under this section was not

14 originated in accordance with the requirements estab15 lished by the Secretary, and the Secretary pays an in16 surance claim with respect to the mortgage within a

17 reasonable period specified by the Secretary, the Sec18 retary may require the mortgagee approved under

19 this section to indemnify the Secretary for the loss.

20 ‘‘(2) FRAUD OR MISREPRESENTATION.—If fraud

21 or misrepresentation was involved in connection with

22 the origination, the Secretary may require the mort23 gagee approved under this section to indemnify the

24 Secretary for the loss regardless of when an insurance

25 claim is paid.
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HR 3666 EAS

1 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION OF MORTGAGEE’S AUTHORITY.—If

2 a mortgagee to which the Secretary has made a delegation

3 under this section violates the requirements and procedures

4 established by the Secretary or the Secretary determines

5 that other good cause exists, the Secretary may cancel a

6 delegation of authority under this section to the mortgagee

7 by giving notice to the mortgagee. Such a cancellation shall

8 be effective upon receipt of the notice by the mortgagee or

9 at a later date specified by the Secretary. A decision by

10 the Secretary to cancel a delegation shall be final and con11 clusive and shall not be subject to judicial review.

12 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES.—Before ap13 proving a delegation under this section, the Secretary shall

14 issue regulations establishing appropriate requirements and

15 procedures, including requirements and procedures govern16 ing the indemnification of the Secretary by the Mortgagee.’’.

17 Ω106æPage 85, strike out lines 21 through 24

18 Ω107æPage 85, after line 24 insert:

19 SEC. 434. SENSE OF THE SENATE WITH REGARD TO COMPLI20 ANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

22 (1) in response to a dispute settlement finding

23 against the United States by the World Trade Orga24 nization, the United States informed the World Trade

25 Organization on June 19, 1996, that the United
71

HR 3666 EAS

1 States intends to meet its international obligations to

2 the World Trade Organization with respect to the En3 vironmental Protection Agency’s requirements on im4 ported reformulated and conventional gasoline;

5 (2) the Environmental Protection Agency has

6 initiated an open process to examine any and all op7 tions for compliance with international obligations of

8 the United States in which a key criterion will be

9 fully protecting public health and the environment;

10 and

11 (3) many United States environmental and in12 dustrial organizations are concerned about the ‘‘Regu13 lation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: Individual For14 eign Refinery Baseline Requirements for Reformu15 lated Gasoline’’ proposed on May 3, 1994 (59 Fed.

16 Reg. 84).

17 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen18 ate that, in evaluating any option for compliance with

19 international obligations, the Administrator of the Envi20 ronmental Protection Agency should—

21 (1) take fully into account the protection of pub22 lic health and the environment and the international

23 obligations of the United States as a member of the

24 World Trade Organization;
72

HR 3666 EAS

1 (2) ensure that the compliance review process not

2 result in the degradation of the gasoline quality re3 quired by the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.)

4 with respect to conventional and reformulated gaso5 line;

6 (3) not recognize individual foreign refiner base7 lines unless the Administrator determines that the is8 sues of auditing, inspection of foreign facilities, and

9 enforcement have been adequately addressed; and

10 (4) provide a full and open administrative proc11 ess in the formulation of any final rule.

12 Ω108æPage 85, after line 24 insert:

13 SEC. 435. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE CON14 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLANS.

15 Notwithstanding section 320(g) of the Federal Water

16 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(g)), funds made

17 available pursuant to authorization under such section for

18 fiscal year 1997 and prior fiscal years may be used for im19 plementing comprehensive conservation and management

20 plans.

21 Ω109æPage 85, after line 24 insert:

22 SEC. 436. (a) PLAN.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans

23 Affairs shall develop a plan for the allocation of health care

24 resources (including personnel and funds) of the Depart25 ment of Veterans Affairs among the health care Networks
73

HR 3666 EAS

1 of the Department so as to ensure that veterans who have

2 similar economic status and eligibility priority and who

3 are eligible for medical care have similar access to such care

4 regardless of the region of the United States in which such

5 veterans reside.

6 (2) The plan shall—

7 (A) reflect, to the maximum extent possible, the

8 Veterans Integrated Service Network developed by the

9 Department to account for forecasts in expected work10 load and to ensure fairness to facilities that provide

11 cost-efficient health care; and

12 (B) include—

13 (i) procedures to identify reasons for vari14 ations in operating costs among similar facilities

15 where Network allocations are based on similar

16 unit costs for similar services and workload;

17 (ii) ways to improve the allocation of re18 sources so as to promote efficient use of resources

19 and provision of quality health care;

20 (iii) adjustments to unit costs in subsection

21 (a) to reflect factors which directly influence the

22 cost of health care delivery within each Network

23 and where such factors are not under the control

24 of Network or Department management; and
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1 (iv) include forecasts in expected workload

2 and consideration of the demand for VA health

3 care that may not be reflected in current work4 load projections.

5 (3) The Secretary shall prepare the plan in consulta6 tion with the Under Secretary of Health of the Department

7 of Veterans Affairs.

8 (b) PLAN ELEMENTS.—The plan under subsection (a)

9 shall set forth—

10 (1) milestones for achieving the goal referred to

11 in paragraph (1) of that subsection; and

12 (2) a means of evaluating the success of the Sec13 retary in meeting the goal.

14 (c) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall

15 submit to Congress the plan developed under subsection (a)

16 not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of

17 this Act.

18 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall imple19 ment the plan developed under subsection (a) not later than

20 60 days after submitting the plan to Congress under sub21 section (c), unless within that time the Secretary notifies

22 Congress that the plan will not be implemented in that time

23 and includes with the notification an explanation why the

24 plan will not be implemented in that time.

25 Ω110æPage 85, after line 24 insert:
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1 SEC. 437. GAO AUDIT ON STAFFING AND CONTRACT2 ING.—The Comptroller General shall audit the operations

3 of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight con4 cerning staff organization, expertise, capacity, and con5 tracting authority to ensure that the office resources and

6 contract authority are adequate and that they are being

7 used appropriately to ensure that the Federal National

8 Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage

9 Corporation are adequately capitalized and operating safe10 ly.

11 Ω111æPage 85, after line 24 insert:

12 SEC. 438. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise

13 made available to the National Aeronautics and Space Ad14 ministration by this Act, or any other Act enacted before

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, may be used by the

16 Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad17 ministration to relocate aircraft of the National Aero18 nautics and Space Administration to Dryden Flight Re19 search Center, California, for purposes of the consolidation

20 of such aircraft.

21 Ω112æPage 85, after line 24 insert:

22 SEC. 439. REVISION OF NAME OF JAPAN–UNITED

23 STATES FRIENDSHIP COMMISSION.—(1)(A) The first sen24 tence of section 4(a) of the Japan–United States Friendship

25 Act (22 U.S.C. 2903(a)) is amended by striking out
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1 ‘‘Japan–United States Friendship Commission’’ and in2 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘United States–Japan Commission’’.

3 (B) The section heading of such section is amended to

4 read as follows:

5 ‘‘UNITED STATES–JAPAN COMMISSION’’.

6 (2) Subsection (c) of section 3 of that Act (22 U.S.C.

7 2902) is amended by striking out ‘‘Japan–United States

8 Friendship Commission’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

9 ‘‘United States–Japan Commission’’.

10 (3) Any reference to the Japan–United States Friend11 ship Commission in any Federal law, Executive order, reg12 ulation, delegation of authority, or other document shall be

13 deemed to refer to the United States–Japan Commission.

14 Ω113æPage 85, after line 24 insert:

15 SEC. 440. (a) Subject to the concurrence of the Admin16 istrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) and

17 notwithstanding section 707 of Public Law 103–433, the

18 Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad19 ministration may convey to the city of Downey, California,

20 all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to

21 a parcel of real property, including improvements thereon,

22 consisting of approximately 60 acres and known as Parcels

23 III, IV, V, and VI of the NASA Industrial Plant, Downey,

24 California.
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1 (b)(1) DELAY IN PAYMENT OF CONSIDERATION.—After

2 the end of the 20-year period beginning on the date on

3 which the conveyance under subsection (a) is completed, the

4 City of Downey shall pay to the United States an amount

5 equal to fair market value of the conveyed property as of

6 the date of the conveyance from NASA.

7 (2) EFFECT OF RECONVEYANCE BY THE CITY.—If the

8 City of Downey reconveys all or any part of the conveyed

9 property during such 20-year period, the City shall pay to

10 the United States an amount equal to the fair market value

11 of the reconveyed property as of the time of the reconvey12 ance, excluding the value of any improvements made to the

13 property by the City.

14 (3) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The

15 Administrator of NASA shall determine fair market value

16 in accordance with Federal appraisal standards and proce17 dures.

18 (4) TREATMENT OF LEASES.—The Administrator of

19 NASA may treat a lease of the property within such 20-

20 year period as a reconveyance if the Administrator deter21 mines that the lease is being used to avoid application of

22 paragraph (b)(2).

23 (5) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—The Administrator of

24 NASA shall deposit any proceeds received under this sub25 section in the special account established pursuant to sec-
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1 tion 204(h)(2) of the Federal Property and Administrative

2 Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 485(h)(2)).

3 (c) The exact acreage and legal description of the real

4 property to be conveyed under subsection (a) shall be deter5 mined by a survey satisfactory to the Administrator. The

6 cost of the survey shall be borne by the City of Downey,

7 California.

8 (d) The Administrator may require such additional

9 terms and conditions in connection with the conveyance

10 under subsection (a) as the Administrator considers appro11 priate to protect the interests of the United States.

12 (e) If the City at any time after the conveyance of the

13 property under subsection (a) notifies the Administrator

14 that the City no longer wishes to retain the property, it

15 may convey the property under the terms of subsection (b),

16 or, it may revert all right, title, and interest in and to the

17 property (including any facilities, equipment, or fixtures

18 conveyed, but excluding the value of any improvements

19 made to the property by the City) to the United States, and

20 the United States shall have the right of immediate entry

21 onto the property.

22 Ω114æPage 85, after line 24 insert:

23 TITLE V

24 SUPPLEMENTAL

25 Ω115æPage 85, after line 24 insert:
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1 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

2 VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION

3 COMPENSATION AND PENSIONS

4 For an additional amount for ‘‘Compensation and

5 Pensions’’, $100,000,000, to be made available upon enact6 ment of this Act, to remain available until expended.

7 Ω116æPage 85, after line 24 insert:

8 DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN

9 DEVELOPMENT

10 GOVERNMENT NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION

11 GUARANTEES OF MORTGAGE BACKED SECURITIES LOAN

12 GUARANTEE PROGRAM ACCOUNT

13 During fiscal year 1996 and in addition to commit14 ments previously provided, additional commitments to issue

15 guarantees to carry out section 306 of the National Housing

16 Act, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1721(g)), shall not exceed

17 $20,000,000,000.

18 Ω117æPage 85, after line 24 insert:

19 TITLE VI—NEWBORNS’ AND

20 MOTHERS’ HEALTH PROTEC21 TION ACT OF 1996

22 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

23 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Newborns’ and Mothers’

24 Health Protection Act of 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 602. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the length of post-delivery inpatient care

4 should be based on the unique characteristics of each

5 mother and her newborn child, taking into consider6 ation the health of the mother, the health and stability

7 of the newborn, the ability and confidence of the

8 mother and father to care for the newborn, the ade9 quacy of support systems at home, and the access of

10 the mother and newborn to appropriate follow-up

11 health care; and

12 (2) the timing of the discharge of a mother and

13 her newborn child from the hospital should be made

14 by the attending provider in consultation with the

15 mother.

16 SEC. 603. REQUIRED COVERAGE FOR MINIMUM HOSPITAL

17 STAY FOLLOWING BIRTH.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

19 (b), a health plan or an employee health benefit plan that

20 provides maternity benefits, including benefits for child21 birth, shall ensure that coverage is provided with respect

22 to a mother who is a participant, beneficiary, or policy23 holder under such plan and her newborn child for a mini24 mum of 48 hours of inpatient length of stay following a

25 normal vaginal delivery, and a minimum of 96 hours of

26 inpatient length of stay following a caesarean section, with-
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1 out requiring the attending provider to obtain authoriza2 tion from the health plan or employee health benefit plan.

3 (b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a

4 health plan or an employee health benefit plan shall not

5 be required to provide coverage for post-delivery inpatient

6 length of stay for a mother who is a participant, bene7 ficiary, or policyholder under such plan and her newborn

8 child for the period referred to in subsection (a) if—

9 (1) a decision to discharge the mother and her

10 newborn child prior to the expiration of such period

11 is made by the attending provider in consultation

12 with the mother; and

13 (2) the health plan or employee health benefit

14 plan provides coverage for post-delivery follow-up care

15 as described in section 604.

16 SEC. 604. POST-DELIVERY FOLLOW-UP CARE.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—

18 (1) GENERAL RULE.—In the case of a decision to

19 discharge a mother and her newborn child from the

20 inpatient setting prior to the expiration of 48 hours

21 following a normal vaginal delivery or 96 hours fol22 lowing a caesarean section, the health plan or em23 ployee health benefit plan shall provide coverage for

24 timely post-delivery care. Such health care shall be

25 provided to a mother and her newborn child by a reg-
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1 istered nurse, physician, nurse practitioner, nurse

2 midwife or physician assistant experienced in mater3 nal and child health in—

4 (A) the home, a provider’s office, a hospital,

5 a birthing center, an intermediate care facility,

6 a federally qualified health center, a federally

7 qualified rural health clinic, or a State health

8 department maternity clinic; or

9 (B) another setting determined appropriate

10 under regulations promulgated by the Secretary,

11 in consultation with the Secretary of Health and

12 Human Services.

13 The attending provider in consultation with the

14 mother shall decide the most appropriate location for

15 follow-up care.

16 (2) CONSIDERATIONS BY SECRETARY.—In pro17 mulgating regulations under paragraph (1)(B), the

18 Secretary shall consider telemedicine and other inno19 vative means to provide follow-up care and shall con20 sider care in both urban and rural settings.

21 (b) TIMELY CARE.—As used in subsection (a), the term

22 ‘‘timely post-delivery care’’ means health care that is pro23 vided—

24 (1) following the discharge of a mother and her

25 newborn child from the inpatient setting; and
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1 (2) in a manner that meets the health care needs

2 of the mother and her newborn child, that provides for

3 the appropriate monitoring of the conditions of the

4 mother and child, and that occurs not later than the

5 72-hour period immediately following discharge.

6 (c) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE LAW.—The Secretary

7 shall, with respect to regulations promulgated under sub8 section (a) concerning appropriate post-delivery care set9 tings, ensure that, to the extent practicable, such regulations

10 are consistent with State licensing and practice laws.

11 SEC. 605. PROHIBITIONS.

12 In implementing the requirements of this title, a health

13 plan or an employee health benefit plan may not—

14 (1) deny enrollment, renewal, or continued cov15 erage to a mother and her newborn child who are

16 participants, beneficiaries or policyholders based on

17 compliance with this title;

18 (2) provide monetary payments or rebates to

19 mothers to encourage such mothers to request less than

20 the minimum coverage required under this title;

21 (3) penalize or otherwise reduce or limit the re22 imbursement of an attending provider because such

23 provider provided treatment to an individual patient

24 in accordance with this title; or
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1 (4) provide incentives (monetary or otherwise) to

2 an attending provider to induce such provider to pro3 vide treatment to an individual policyholder, partici4 pant, or beneficiary in a manner inconsistent with

5 this title.

6 SEC. 606. NOTICE.

7 (a) EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN.—An em8 ployee health benefit plan shall provide conspicuous notice

9 to each participant regarding coverage required under this

10 Act not later than 120 days after the date of enactment

11 of this title, and as part of its summary plan description.

12 (b) HEALTH PLAN.—A health plan shall provide notice

13 to each policyholder regarding coverage required under this

14 title. Such notice shall be in writing, prominently posi15 tioned, and be transmitted—

16 (1) in a mailing made within 120 days of the

17 date of enactment of this title by such plan to the pol18 icyholder; and

19 (2) as part of the annual informational packet

20 sent to the policyholder.

21 SEC. 607. APPLICABILITY.

22 (a) CONSTRUCTION.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A requirement or standard

24 imposed under this title on a health plan shall be

25 deemed to be a requirement or standard imposed on
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1 the health plan issuer. Such requirements or stand2 ards shall be enforced by the State insurance commis3 sioner for the State involved or the official or officials

4 designated by the State to enforce the requirements of

5 this title. In the case of a health plan offered by a

6 health plan issuer in connection with an employee

7 health benefit plan, the requirements or standards im8 posed under this title shall be enforced with respect to

9 the health plan issuer by the State insurance commis10 sioner for the State involved or the official or officials

11 designated by the State to enforce the requirements of

12 this title.

13 (2) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in section

14 608(c), the Secretary shall not enforce the require15 ments or standards of this title as they relate to

16 health plan issuers or health plans. In no case shall

17 a State enforce the requirements or standards of this

18 title as they relate to employee health benefit plans.

19 (b) ERISA.—Nothing in this title shall be construed

20 to affect or modify the provisions of section 514 of the Em21 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.

22 1144).

23 (c) EFFECT ON MOTHER.—Nothing in this title shall

24 be construed to require that a mother who is a participant,

25 beneficiary, or policyholder covered under this title—
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1 (1) give birth in a hospital; or

2 (2) stay in the hospital for a fixed period of time

3 following the birth of her child.

4 (d) LEVEL AND TYPE OF REIMBURSEMENTS.—Nothing

5 in this title shall be construed to prevent a health plan or

6 an employee health benefit plan from negotiating the level

7 and type of reimbursement with an attending provider for

8 care provided in accordance with this title.

9 SEC. 608. ENFORCEMENT.

10 (a) HEALTH PLAN ISSUERS.—Each State shall require

11 that each health plan issued, sold, renewed, offered for sale

12 or operated in such State by a health plan issuer meet the

13 standards established under this title. A State shall submit

14 such information as required by the Secretary demonstrat15 ing effective implementation of the requirements of this

16 title.

17 (b) EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS.—With re18 spect to employee health benefit plans, the standards estab19 lished under this title shall be enforced in the same manner

20 as provided for under sections 502, 504, 506, and 510 of

21 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29

22 U.S.C. 1132, 1134, 1136, and 1140). The civil penalties

23 contained in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 502(c) of

24 such Act (29 U.S.C. 1132(c)(1) and (2)) shall apply to any
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1 information required by the Secretary to be disclosed and

2 reported under this section.

3 (c) FAILURE TO ENFORCE.—In the case of the failure

4 of a State to substantially enforce the standards and re5 quirements set forth in this title with respect to health

6 plans, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of

7 Health and Human Services, shall enforce the standards

8 of this title in such State. In the case of a State that fails

9 to substantially enforce the standards set forth in this title,

10 each health plan issuer operating in such State shall be sub11 ject to civil enforcement as provided for under sections 502,

12 504, 506, and 510 of the Employee Retirement Income Se13 curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132, 1134, 1136, and 1140).

14 The civil penalties contained in paragraphs (1) and (2) of

15 section 502(c) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1132(c)(1) and (2))

16 shall apply to any information required by the Secretary

17 to be disclosed and reported under this section.

18 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, in consultation

19 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, may

20 promulgate such regulations as may be necessary or appro21 priate to carry out this title.

22 SEC. 609. DEFINITIONS.

23 As used in this title:

24 (1) ATTENDING PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘attend25 ing provider’’ shall include—
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1 (A) the obstetrician-gynecologists, pediatri2 cians, family physicians, and other physicians

3 primarily responsible for the care of a mother

4 and newborn; and

5 (B) the nurse midwives and nurse practi6 tioners primarily responsible for the care of a

7 mother and her newborn child in accordance

8 with State licensure and certification laws.

9 (2) BENEFICIARY.—The term ‘‘beneficiary’’ has

10 the meaning given such term under section 3(8) of the

11 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

12 (29 U.S.C. 1002(8)).

13 (3) EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employee

15 health benefit plan’’ means any employee welfare

16 benefit plan, governmental plan, or church plan

17 (as defined under paragraphs (1), (32), and (33)

18 of section 3 of the Employee Retirement Income

19 Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002 (1), (32),

20 and (33))) that provides or pays for health bene21 fits (such as provider and hospital benefits) for

22 participants and beneficiaries whether—

23 (i) directly;
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1 (ii) through a health plan offered by a

2 health plan issuer as defined in paragraph

3 (4); or

4 (iii) otherwise.

5 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—An em6 ployee health benefit plan shall not be construed

7 to be a health plan or a health plan issuer.

8 (C) ARRANGEMENTS NOT INCLUDED.—Such

9 term does not include the following, or any com10 bination thereof:

11 (i) Coverage only for accident, or dis12 ability income insurance, or any combina13 tion thereof.

14 (ii) Medicare supplemental health in15 surance (as defined under section

16 1882(g)(1) of the Social Security Act).

17 (iii) Coverage issued as a supplement

18 to liability insurance.

19 (iv) Liability insurance, including

20 general liability insurance and automobile

21 liability insurance.

22 (v) Workers compensation or similar

23 insurance.

24 (vi) Automobile medical payment in25 surance.
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1 (vii) Coverage for a specified disease or

2 illness.

3 (viii) Hospital or fixed indemnity in4 surance.

5 (ix) Short-term limited duration insur6 ance.

7 (x) Credit-only, dental-only, or vision8 only insurance.

9 (xi) A health insurance policy provid10 ing benefits only for long-term care, nursing

11 home care, home health care, community12 based care, or any combination thereof.

13 (4) GROUP PURCHASER.—The term ‘‘group pur14 chaser’’ means any person (as defined under para15 graph (9) of section 3 of the Employee Retirement In16 come Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(9)) or en17 tity that purchases or pays for health benefits (such

18 as provider or hospital benefits) on behalf of partici19 pants or beneficiaries in connection with an employee

20 health benefit plan.

21 (5) HEALTH PLAN.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘health plan’’

23 means any group health plan or individual

24 health plan.
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1 (B) GROUP HEALTH PLAN.—The term

2 ‘‘group health plan’’ means any contract, policy,

3 certificate or other arrangement offered by a

4 health plan issuer to a group purchaser that pro5 vides or pays for health benefits (such as pro6 vider and hospital benefits) in connection with

7 an employee health benefit plan.

8 (C) INDIVIDUAL HEALTH PLAN.—The term

9 ‘‘individual health plan’’ means any contract,

10 policy, certificate or other arrangement offered to

11 individuals by a health plan issuer that provides

12 or pays for health benefits (such as provider and

13 hospital benefits) and that is not a group health

14 plan.

15 (D) ARRANGEMENTS NOT INCLUDED.—Such

16 term does not include the following, or any com17 bination thereof:

18 (i) Coverage only for accident, or dis19 ability income insurance, or any combina20 tion thereof.

21 (ii) Medicare supplemental health in22 surance (as defined under section

23 1882(g)(1) of the Social Security Act).

24 (iii) Coverage issued as a supplement

25 to liability insurance.
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1 (iv) Liability insurance, including

2 general liability insurance and automobile

3 liability insurance.

4 (v) Workers compensation or similar

5 insurance.

6 (vi) Automobile medical payment in7 surance.

8 (vii) Coverage for a specified disease or

9 illness.

10 (viii) Hospital or fixed indemnity in11 surance.

12 (ix) Short-term limited duration insur13 ance.

14 (x) Credit-only, dental-only, or vision15 only insurance.

16 (xi) A health insurance policy provid17 ing benefits only for long-term care, nursing

18 home care, home health care, community19 based care, or any combination thereof.

20 (E) CERTAIN PLANS INCLUDED.—Such term

21 includes any plan or arrangement not described

22 in any clause of subparagraph (D) which pro23 vides for benefit payments, on a periodic basis,

24 for—

25 (i) a specified disease or illness, or
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1 (ii) a period of hospitalization,

2 without regard to the costs incurred or services

3 rendered during the period to which the pay4 ments relate.

5 (6) HEALTH PLAN ISSUER.—The term ‘‘health

6 plan issuer’’ means any entity that is licensed (prior

7 to or after the date of enactment of this title) by a

8 State to offer a health plan.

9 (7) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘participant’’ has

10 the meaning given such term under section 3(7) of the

11 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

12 (29 U.S.C. 1002(7)).

13 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ unless

14 otherwise specified means the Secretary of Labor.

15 SEC. 610. PREEMPTION.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of sections 603, 605,

17 and 606 relating to inpatient care shall not preempt a State

18 law or regulation—

19 (1) that provides greater protections to patients

20 or policyholders than those required in this title;

21 (2) that requires health plans to provide coverage

22 for at least 48 hours of inpatient length of stay fol23 lowing a normal vaginal delivery, and at least 96

24 hours of inpatient length of stay following a caesar25 ean section;
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1 (3) that requires health plans to provide coverage

2 for maternity and pediatric care in accordance with

3 guidelines established by the American College of Ob4 stetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy

5 of Pediatrics, or other established professional medical

6 associations; or

7 (4) that leaves decisions regarding appropriate

8 length of stay entirely to the attending provider, in

9 consultation with the mother.

10 (b) FOLLOW-UP CARE.—The provisions of section 604

11 relating to follow-up care shall not preempt those provisions

12 of State law or regulation that provide comparable or great13 er protection to patients or policyholders than those re14 quired under this title or that provide mothers and

15 newborns with an option of timely post delivery follow-up

16 care (as defined in section 604(b)) in the home.

17 (c) EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS.—Nothing in

18 this section affects the application of this title to employee

19 health benefit plans, as defined in section 609(3).

20 SEC. 611. REPORTS TO CONGRESS CONCERNING CHILD21 BIRTH.

22 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

23 (1) childbirth is one part of a continuum of ex24 perience that includes prepregnancy, pregnancy and

25 prenatal care, labor and delivery, the immediate
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1 postpartum period, and a longer period of adjustment

2 for the newborn, the mother, and the family;

3 (2) health care practices across this continuum

4 are changing in response to health care financing and

5 delivery system changes, science and clinical research,

6 and patient preferences; and

7 (3) there is a need to—

8 (A) examine the issues and consequences as9 sociated with the length of hospital stays follow10 ing childbirth;

11 (B) examine the follow-up practices for

12 mothers and newborns used in conjunction with

13 shorter hospital stays;

14 (C) identify appropriate health care prac15 tices and procedures with regard to the hospital

16 discharge of newborns and mothers;

17 (D) examine the extent to which such care

18 is affected by family and environmental factors;

19 and

20 (E) examine the content of care during hos21 pital stays following childbirth.

22 (b) ADVISORY PANEL.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after

24 the date of enactment of this title, the Secretary of

25 Health and Human Services shall establish an advi-
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1 sory panel (hereafter referred to in this section as the

2 ‘‘advisory panel’’) to—

3 (A) guide and review methods, procedures,

4 and data collection necessary to conduct the

5 study described in subsection (c) that is intended

6 to enhance the quality, safety, and effectiveness

7 of health care services provided to mothers and

8 newborns;

9 (B) develop a consensus among the members

10 of the advisory panel regarding the appropriate11 ness of the specific requirements of this title; and

12 (C) prepare and submit to the Secretary of

13 Health and Human Services, as part of the re14 port of the Secretary submitted under subsection

15 (d), a report summarizing the consensus devel16 oped under subparagraph (B) if any, including

17 the reasons for not reaching such a consensus.

18 (2) PARTICIPATION.—

19 (A) DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES.—The

20 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall

21 ensure that representatives from within the De22 partment of Health and Human Services that

23 have expertise in the area of maternal and child

24 health or in outcomes research are appointed to
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1 the advisory panel established under paragraph

2 (1).

3 (B) REPRESENTATIVES OF PUBLIC AND PRI4 VATE SECTOR ENTITIES.—

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of

6 Health and Human Services shall ensure

7 that members of the advisory panel include

8 representatives of public and private sector

9 entities having knowledge or experience in

10 one or more of the following areas:

11 (I) Patient care.

12 (II) Patient education.

13 (III) Quality assurance.

14 (IV) Outcomes research.

15 (V) Consumer issues.

16 (ii) REQUIREMENT.—The panel shall

17 include representatives from each of the fol18 lowing categories:

19 (I) Health care practitioners.

20 (II) Health plans.

21 (III) Hospitals.

22 (IV) Employers.

23 (V) States.

24 (VI) Consumers.

25 (c) STUDIES.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

2 Human Services shall conduct a study of—

3 (A) the factors affecting the continuum of

4 care with respect to maternal and child health

5 care, including outcomes following childbirth;

6 (B) the factors determining the length of

7 hospital stay following childbirth;

8 (C) the diversity of negative or positive out9 comes affecting mothers, infants, and families;

10 (D) the manner in which post natal care

11 has changed over time and the manner in which

12 that care has adapted or related to changes in

13 the length of hospital stay, taking into account—

14 (i) the types of post natal care avail15 able and the extent to which such care is

16 accessed; and

17 (ii) the challenges associated with pro18 viding post natal care to all populations,

19 including vulnerable populations, and solu20 tions for overcoming these challenges; and

21 (E) the financial incentives that may—

22 (i) impact the health of newborns and

23 mothers; and

24 (ii) influence the clinical decisionmak25 ing of health care providers.
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1 (2) RESOURCES.—The Secretary of Health and

2 Human Services shall provide to the advisory panel

3 the resources necessary to carry out the duties of the

4 advisory panel.

5 (d) REPORTS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

7 Human Services shall prepare and submit to the

8 Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the

9 Senate and the Committee on Commerce of the House

10 of Representatives a report that contains—

11 (A) a summary of the study conducted

12 under subsection (c);

13 (B) a summary of the best practices used in

14 the public and private sectors for the care of

15 newborns and mothers;

16 (C) recommendations for improvements in

17 prenatal care, post natal care, delivery and fol18 low-up care, and whether the implementation of

19 such improvements should be accomplished by

20 the private health care sector, Federal or State

21 governments, or any combination thereof; and

22 (D) limitations on the databases in exist23 ence on the date of enactment of this title.
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1 (2) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—The Secretary of

2 Health and Human Services shall prepare and sub3 mit to the Committees referred to in paragraph (1)—

4 (A) an initial report concerning the study

5 conducted under subsection (c) and the report re6 quired under subsection (d), not later than 18

7 months after the date of enactment of this title;

8 (B) an interim report concerning such

9 study and report not later than 3 years after the

10 date of enactment of this title; and

11 (C) a final report concerning such study

12 and report not later than 5 years after the date

13 of enactment of this title.

14 (e) TERMINATION OF PANEL.—The advisory panel

15 shall terminate on the date that occurs 60 days after the

16 date on which the last report is submitted under this sec17 tion.

18 SEC. 612. SALE OF GOVERNORS ISLAND, NEW YORK.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law, the Administrator of General Services shall dis21 pose of by sale at fair market value all rights, title, and

22 interests of the United States in and to the land of, and

23 improvements to, Governors Island, New York.

24 (b) RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.—Before a sale is made

25 under subsection (a) to any other parties, the State of New
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1 York and the city of New York shall be given the right of

2 first refusal to purchase all or part of Governors Island.

3 Such right may be exercised by either the State of New York

4 or the city of New York or by both parties acting jointly.

5 (c) PROCEEDS.—Proceeds from the disposal of Gov6 ernors Island under subsection (a) shall be deposited in the

7 general fund of the Treasury and credited as miscellaneous

8 receipts.

9 SEC. 613. SALE OF AIR RIGHTS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law, the Administrator of General Services shall sell,

12 at fair market value and in a manner to be determined

13 by the Administrator, the air rights adjacent to Washington

14 Union Station described in subsection (b), including air

15 rights conveyed to the Administrator under subsection (d).

16 The Administrator shall complete the sale by such date as

17 is necessary to ensure that the proceeds from the sale will

18 be deposited in accordance with subsection (c).

19 (b) DESCRIPTION.—The air rights referred to in sub20 section (a) total approximately 16.5 acres and are depicted

21 on the plat map of the District of Columbia as follows:

22 (1) Part of lot 172, square 720.

23 (2) Part of lots 172 and 823, square 720.

24 (3) Part of lot 811, square 717.
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1 (c) PROCEEDS.—Before September 30, 1997, proceeds

2 from the sale of air rights under subsection (a) shall be de3 posited in the general fund of the Treasury and credited

4 as miscellaneous receipts.

5 (d) CONVEYANCE OF AMTRAK AIR RIGHTS.—

6 (1) GENERAL RULE.—As a condition of future

7 Federal financial assistance, Amtrak shall convey to

8 the Administrator of General Services on or before

9 December 31, 1996, at no charge, all of the air rights

10 of Amtrak described in subsection (b).

11 (2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—If Amtrak does not

12 meet the condition established by paragraph (1), Am13 trak shall be prohibited from obligating Federal funds

14 after March 1, 1997.

15 SEC. 614. EFFECTIVE DATE.

16 Except as otherwise provided for in this title, the pro17 visions of this title shall apply as follows:

18 (1) With respect to health plans, such provisions

19 shall apply to such plans on the first day of the con20 tract year beginning on or after January 1, 1998.

21 (2) With respect to employee health benefit plans,

22 such provisions shall apply to such plans on the first

23 day of the first plan year beginning on or after Janu24 ary 1, 1998.

25 Ω118æPage 85, after line 24 insert:
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1 TITLE VII—MENTAL HEALTH

2 PARITY

3 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE.

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Mental Health Parity

5 Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 702. PLAN PROTECTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH A

7 MENTAL ILLNESS.

8 (a) PERMISSIBLE COVERAGE LIMITS UNDER A GROUP

9 HEALTH PLAN.—

10 (1) AGGREGATE LIFETIME LIMITS.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a group

12 health plan offered by a health insurance issuer,

13 that applies an aggregate lifetime limit to plan

14 payments for medical or surgical services covered

15 under the plan, if such plan also provides a

16 mental health benefit such plan shall—

17 (i) include plan payments made for

18 mental health services under the plan in

19 such aggregate lifetime limit; or

20 (ii) establish a separate aggregate life21 time limit applicable to plan payments for

22 mental health services under which the dol23 lar amount of such limit (with respect to

24 mental health services) is equal to or greater

25 than the dollar amount of the aggregate life-
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1 time limit on plan payments for medical or

2 surgical services.

3 (B) NO LIFETIME LIMIT.—With respect to a

4 group health plan offered by a health insurance

5 issuer, that does not apply an aggregate lifetime

6 limit to plan payments for medical or surgical

7 services covered under the plan, such plan may

8 not apply an aggregate lifetime limit to plan

9 payments for mental health services covered

10 under the plan.

11 (2) ANNUAL LIMITS.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a group

13 health plan offered by a health insurance issuer,

14 that applies an annual limit to plan payments

15 for medical or surgical services covered under the

16 plan, if such plan also provides a mental health

17 benefit such plan shall—

18 (i) include plan payments made for

19 mental health services under the plan in

20 such annual limit; or

21 (ii) establish a separate annual limit

22 applicable to plan payments for mental

23 health services under which the dollar

24 amount of such limit (with respect to men25 tal health services) is equal to or greater
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1 than the dollar amount of the annual limit

2 on plan payments for medical or surgical

3 services.

4 (B) NO ANNUAL LIMIT.—With respect to a

5 group health plan offered by a health insurance

6 issuer, that does not apply an annual limit to

7 plan payments for medical or surgical services

8 covered under the plan, such plan may not apply

9 an annual limit to plan payments for mental

10 health services covered under the plan.

11 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section shall

13 be construed as prohibiting a group health plan of14 fered by a health insurance issuer, from—

15 (A) utilizing other forms of cost contain16 ment not prohibited under subsection (a); or

17 (B) applying requirements that make dis18 tinctions between acute care and chronic care.

19 (2) NONAPPLICABILITY.—This section shall not

20 apply to—

21 (A) substance abuse or chemical dependency

22 benefits; or

23 (B) health benefits or health plans paid for

24 under title XVIII or XIX of the Social Security

25 Act.
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1 (3) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this section shall be

2 construed to preempt any State law that provides for

3 greater parity with respect to mental health benefits

4 than that required under this section.

5 (c) SMALL EMPLOYER EXEMPTION.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall not apply

7 to plans maintained by employers that employ less

8 than 26 employees.

9 (2) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN RULES IN DETER10 MINATION OF EMPLOYER SIZE.—For purposes of this

11 subsection—

12 (A) APPLICATION OF AGGREGATION RULE

13 FOR EMPLOYERS.—All persons treated as a sin14 gle employer under subsection (b), (c), (m), or

15 (o) of section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code

16 of 1986 shall be treated as 1 employer.

17 (B) EMPLOYERS NOT IN EXISTENCE IN PRE18 CEDING YEAR.—In the case of an employer which

19 was not in existence throughout the preceding

20 calendar year, the determination of whether such

21 employer is a small employer shall be based on

22 the average number of employees that it is rea23 sonably expected such employer will employ on

24 business days in the current calendar year.
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1 (C) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference in this

2 subsection to an employer shall include a ref3 erence to any predecessor of such employer.

4 SEC. 703. DEFINITIONS.

5 For purposes of this title:

6 (1) GROUP HEALTH PLAN.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘group health

8 plan’’ means an employee welfare benefit plan

9 (as defined in section 3(1) of the Employee Re10 tirement Income Security Act of 1974) to the ex11 tent that the plan provides medical care (as de12 fined in paragraph (2)) and including items and

13 services paid for as medical care) to employees or

14 their dependents (as defined under the terms of

15 the plan) directly or through insurance, reim16 bursement, or otherwise.

17 (B) MEDICAL CARE.—The term ‘‘medical

18 care’’ means amounts paid for—

19 (i) the diagnosis, cure, mitigation,

20 treatment, or prevention of disease, or

21 amounts paid for the purpose of affecting

22 any structure or function of the body,

23 (ii) amounts paid for transportation

24 primarily for and essential to medical care

25 referred to in clause (i), and
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1 (iii) amounts paid for insurance cover2 ing medical care referred to in clauses (i)

3 and (ii).

4 (2) HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE.—The term

5 ‘‘health insurance coverage’’ means benefits consisting

6 of medical care (provided directly, through insurance

7 or reimbursement, or otherwise and including items

8 and services paid for as medical care) under any hos9 pital or medical service policy or certificate, hospital

10 or medical service plan contract, or health mainte11 nance organization contract offered by a health insur12 ance issuer.

13 (3) HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUER.—The term

14 ‘‘health insurance issuer’’ means an insurance com15 pany, insurance service, or insurance organization

16 (including a health maintenance organization, as de17 fined in paragraph (4)) which is licensed to engage

18 in the business of insurance in a State and which is

19 subject to State law which regulates insurance (with20 in the meaning of section 514(b)(2) of the Employee

21 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974), and in22 cludes a plan sponsor described in section 3(16)(B) of

23 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

24 1974 in the case of a group health plan which is an

25 employee welfare benefit plan (as defined in section
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1 3(1) of such Act). Such term does not include a group

2 health plan.

3 (4) HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION.—The

4 term ‘‘health maintenance organization’’ means—

5 (A) a federally qualified health maintenance

6 organization (as defined in section 1301(a) of the

7 Public Health Service Act),

8 (B) an organization recognized under State

9 law as a health maintenance organization, or

10 (C) a similar organization regulated under

11 State law for solvency in the same manner and

12 to the same extent as such a health maintenance

13 organization.

14 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the

15 several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,

16 the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the

17 Northern Mariana Islands.

18 SEC. 704. SUNSET.

19 Sections 701 through 703 shall cease to be effective on

20 September 30, 2001.

21 SEC. 705. FEDERAL EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFIT PROGRAM.

22 For the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program,

23 sections 701 through 703 will take effect on October 1, 1997.
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1 SEC. 706. EXEMPTION.

2 Notwithstanding the provisions of this title, if the pro3 visions of this title result in a 1 percent or greater increase

4 in the cost of a group health plan’s premiums, the purchaser

5 is exempt from the provisions of this title.

Attest:

Secretary.
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3666

AMENDMENTS
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