612
‘‘(2) PAYMENT BY SECRETARY OF THE TREAS-
URY.—The Secretary shall certify the amount of the
refund to be paid under paragraph (1) to the Sec-
retary of the Treasury who shall make such refund.
Such refund shall be paid from amounts received as
current receipts from sales, bonuses, royalties (in-
cluding interest charges collected under this section)
and rentals of the public lands and the Outer Con-
tinental Shelf under the provisions of the Mineral
Leasing Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act, which are not payable to a State or the Rec-
lamation Fund. The portion of any such refund at-
tributable to any amounts previously disbursed to a
State, the Reclamation Fund, or any recipient pre-
scribed by law shall be deducted from the next dis-
bursements to that recipient made under the appli-
cable law. Such amounts deducted from subsequent
disbursements shall be credited to miscellaneous re-
ceipts in the Treasury.
‘‘(3) PAYMENT PERIOD.—A refund under this
subsection shall be paid or denied (with an expla-
nation of the reasons for the denial) within 120 days
of the date on which the request for refund is re-
ceived by the Secretary. Such refund shall be subject
613
to later audit by the Secretary and subject to the
provisions of this Act.
‘‘(4) PROHIBITION AGAINST REDUCTION OF RE-
FUNDS
OR
CREDITS.—In no event shall the Sec-
retary directly or indirectly claim any amount or
amounts against, or reduce any refund or credit (or
interest accrued thereon) by the amount of any obli-
gation the enforcement of which is barred by section
115.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
in section 1 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1701) is amended by
adding after the item relating to section 111 the following
new item:
‘‘Sec. 111A. Adjustments and refunds.’’.
SEC. 9515. REQUIRED RECORDKEEPING.
Section 103 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man-
agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1713(b)) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) Records required by the Secretary for the pur-
pose of determining compliance with any applicable min-
eral leasing law, lease provision, regulation or order with
respect to oil and gas leases from Federal lands or the
Outer Continental Shelf shall be maintained for the same
period of time during which a judicial proceeding or de-
mand may be commenced under section 115(a). If a judi-
cial proceeding or demand is timely commenced, the
614
record holder shall maintain such records until the final
nonappealable decision in such judicial proceeding is
made, or with respect to that demand is rendered, unless
the Secretary authorizes in writing an earlier release of
the requirement to maintain such records. Notwithstand-
ing anything herein to the contrary, under no cir-
cumstance shall a record holder be required to maintain
or produce any record relating to an obligation for any
time period which is barred by the applicable limitation
in section 115.’’.
SEC. 9516. ROYALTY INTEREST, PENALTIES, AND PAY-
MENTS.
(a) PERIOD.—Section 111(f) of the Federal Oil and
Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C.
1721(f)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(f) Upon a determination that it will further the ef-
fective and efficient performance of his duties and respon-
sibilities, the Secretary may waive or forego such interest
in whole or in part. Interest shall be charged under this
section only for the number of days a payment is late.’’.
(b) LESSEE INTEREST.—Section 111 of the Federal
Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C.
1721) is amended by adding after subsection (g) the fol-
lowing:
615
‘‘(h) Interest shall be allowed and the Secretary shall
pay or credit such interest on any overpayment, with such
interest to accrue from the date such overpayment was
made, at the rate obtained by applying the provisions of
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 6621(a)(1) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Interest which has ac-
crued on any overpayment may be applied to reduce an
underpayment. This subsection applies to overpayments
made later than six months after the date of enactment
of this subsection or September 1, 1996, whichever is
later. Such interest shall be paid from amounts received
as current receipts from sales, bonuses, royalties (includ-
ing interest charges collected under this section) and rent-
als of the public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf
under the provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act, and the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which are not payable
to a State or the Reclamation Fund. The portion of any
such interest payment attributable to any amounts pre-
viously disbursed to a State, the Reclamation Fund, or
any other recipient designated by law shall be deducted
from the next disbursements to that recipient made under
the applicable law. Such amounts deducted from subse-
quent disbursements shall be credited to miscellaneous re-
ceipts in the Treasury.’’.
616
(c) LIMITATION ON INTEREST.—Section 111 of such
Act, as amended by subsection (b) of this Act, is further
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(i) Upon a determination by the Secretary that an
excessive overpayment (based upon all obligations of a les-
see for a given reporting month) was made for the sole
purpose of receiving interest, interest shall not be paid on
the excessive amount of such overpayment. For purposes
of this Act, an ‘excessive overpayment’ shall be the amount
that any overpayment a lessee pays for a given reporting
month (excluding payments for demands for obligations
as a result of judicial or administrative proceedings for
settlement agreements and for other similar payments) for
the aggregate of all of its Federal leases exceeds 25 per-
cent of the total royalties paid that month for those
leases.’’.
(d) ESTIMATED PAYMENT.—Section 111 of such Act,
as amended by subsections (b) and (c) of this Act, is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(j) A lessee may make a payment for the approxi-
mate amount of royalties (hereinafter in this subsection
‘estimated payment’) that would otherwise be due to the
Secretary for such lease to avoid underpayment or
nonpayment interest charges. When an estimated payment
is made, actual royalties become due at the end of the
617
month following the period covered by the estimated pay-
ment. If the lessee makes a payment for such actual royal-
ties, the lessee may apply the estimated payment to future
royalties. Any estimated payment may be adjusted, re-
couped, or reinstated at any time by the lessee.’’.
(e) VOLUME ALLOCATION OF OIL AND GAS PRODUC-
TION.—Section 111 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1721), as
amended by subsections (b) through (d) of this Act, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(k)(1) Except as otherwise provided by this sub-
section—
‘‘(A) a lessee of a lease in a unit or
communitization agreement which contains only
Federal leases with the same royalty rate and funds
distribution must report and pay royalties on oil and
gas production for each production month based on
the actual volume of production sold by or on behalf
of that lessee;
‘‘(B) a lessee of a lease in any other unit or
communitization agreement must report and pay
royalties on oil and gas production for each produc-
tion month based on the volume of oil and gas pro-
duced from such agreement and allocated to the
lease in accordance with the terms of the agreement;
and
618
‘‘(C) a lessee of a lease that is not contained in
a unit or communitization agreement must report
and pay royalties on oil and gas production for each
production month based on the actual volume of pro-
duction sold by or on behalf of that lessee.
‘‘(2) This subsection applies only to requirements for
reporting and paying royalties. Nothing in this subsection
is intended to alter a lessee’s liability for royalties on oil
or gas production based on the share of production allo-
cated to the lease in accordance with the terms of the
lease, a unit or communitization agreement, or any other
agreement.
‘‘(3) For any unit or communitization agreement, if
all lessees contractually agree to an alternative method of
royalty reporting and payment, the lessees may submit
such alternative method to the Secretary for approval and
make payments in accordance with such approved alter-
native method so long as such alternative method does not
reduce the amount of the royalty obligation.
‘‘(4) The Secretary shall grant an exception from the
reporting and payment requirements for marginal prop-
erties by allowing for any calendar year or portion thereof
royalties to be paid each month based on the volume of
production sold. Interest shall not accrue on the difference
for the entire calendar year or portion thereof between the
619
amount of oil and gas actually sold and the share of pro-
duction allocated to the lease until the beginning of the
month following calendar year or portion thereof. Any ad-
ditional royalties due or overpaid royalties and associated
interest shall be paid, refunded, or credited within six
months after the end of each calendar year in which royal-
ties are paid based on volumes of production sold. For
the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘marginal prop-
erty’ means a lease that produces on average the combined
equivalent of less than 15 barrels of oil per day or 90 thou-
sand cubic feet of gas per day, or a combination thereof,
determined by dividing the average daily production of do-
mestic crude oil and domestic natural gas from producing
wells on such lease by the number of such wells, unless
the Secretary, together with the State concerned, deter-
mines that a different production is more appropriate.
‘‘(5) Not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall issue any
appropriate demand for all outstanding royalty payment
disputes regarding who is required to report and pay roy-
alties on production from units and communitization
agreements outstanding on the date of the enactment of
this subsection, and collect royalty amounts owed on such
production.’’.
620
(f) PRODUCTION ALLOCATION.—Section 111 of such
Act (30 U.S.C. 1721), as amended by subsections (b)
through (e) of this Act, is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(l) The Secretary shall issue all determinations of
allocations of production for units and communitization
agreements within 120 days of a request for determina-
tion. If the Secretary fails to issue a determination within
such 120-day period, the Secretary shall waive interest
due on obligations subject to the determination until the
end of the month following the month in which the deter-
mination is made.’’.
SEC. 9517. LIMITATION ON ASSESSMENTS.
Section 111 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man-
agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721), as amended by
section 9516, is further amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(m)(1) After the date of enactment of this sub-
section, the Secretary shall not impose any assessment for
any late payment or underpayment. After the date of en-
actment of this subsection, the Secretary may impose an
assessment only for erroneous reports submitted by lessees
subject to the limitations of paragraph (2). Nothing in this
section shall prohibit the Secretary from imposing pen-
621
alties or interest under other sections of this Act for late
payments or underpayments.
‘‘(2) No assessment for erroneous reports shall be im-
posed for 18 months following the date of enactment of
this subsection, or until the Secretary issues a final rule
which provides for imposition of an assessment only on
a lessee who chronically submits erroneous reports and
which establishes what constitutes chronic errors for a les-
see, whichever is later. However, if the Secretary deter-
mines during that 18-month period that the reporting
error rate for all reporters for all Federal leases has in-
creased by one-third for three consecutive report months
for either production reporting or royalty reporting over
the 12 months preceding the date of enactment of this
subsection, the Secretary may impose an assessment for
erroneous reports only for the increased category of report
under regulations in effect on the date of enactment of
this subsection.’’.
SEC. 9518. ALTERNATIVES FOR MARGINAL PROPERTIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty
Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), as
amended by section 9513 of this Act, is further amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 116. ALTERNATIVES FOR MARGINAL PROPERTIES.
‘‘(a) SELLING THE REVENUE STREAM.—
622
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the provi-
sions of any lease to the contrary, upon request of
the lessee or a State under section 205(g), the Sec-
retary shall authorize a lessee for a marginal prop-
erty and for a lease, the administration of which is
not cost-effective for the Secretary to administer, to
make a prepayment in lieu of royalty payments
under the lease for the remainder of the lease term.
For the purposes of this section, the term ‘marginal
property’ has the same meaning given such term in
section 111(k)(4), unless the Secretary, together
with each State in which such marginal production
occurs, determines that a different definition of mar-
ginal property better achieves the purpose of this
section.
‘‘(2) MARGINAL
PROPERTIES.—For marginal
properties, prepayments under paragraph (1) shall
begin—
‘‘(A) in the case of those properties pro-
ducing on average $500 or less per month in
total royalties to the United States, two years
after the date of the enactment of this section;
‘‘(B) in the case of those properties pro-
ducing on average more than $500 but $1,000
or less per month in total royalties to the
623
United States, three years after the date of the
enactment of this section;
‘‘(C) in the case of those properties pro-
ducing on average more than $1,000 but
$1,500 or less per month in total royalties to
the United States, four years after the date of
the enactment of this section; and
‘‘(D) in the case of those properties not de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C), five
years after the date of the enactment of this
section.
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION NOT COST-EFFECTIVE.—
For a lease, the administration of which is not cost-
effective for the Secretary to administer, prepay-
ments under paragraph (1) shall begin on the date
of the enactment of this section.
‘‘(4) SATISFACTION
OF
ROYALTY
OBLIGA-
TION.—A lessee who makes a prepayment under this
section shall have satisfied in full its obligation to
pay royalty on production from the lease or a por-
tion of a lease and shall not be required to submit
any royalty reports to the Secretary. The prepay-
ment shall be shared by the Secretary with any
State or other recipient to the same extent as any
royalty payment for such lease.
624
‘‘(5) VALUATION.—The prepayment authorized
under this section shall only occur if the Secretary,
the State concerned, and the lessee determine that
such prepayment is based on the present value of
the projected remaining royalties from the produc-
tion from the lease, based on appropriate nominal
discount rate for a comparable term. Prior to ac-
cepting such prepayment, the Secretary and State
concerned shall agree that such prepayment is in the
best interest of the United States and the State con-
cerned.
‘‘(b) ALTERNATIVE ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING RE-
QUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within one year after the
date of the enactment of this section, for the mar-
ginal properties referenced in subsection (a)(1), the
Secretary shall provide accounting, reporting, and
auditing relief that will encourage lessees to continue
to produce and develop such properties: Provided,
That such relief will only be available to lessees in
a State that concurs. Prior to granting such relief,
the Secretary and the State concerned shall agree
that the type of marginal wells and relief provided
under this paragraph is in the best interest of the
United States and the State concerned.
625
‘‘(2) PAYMENT
DATE.—For leases subject to
this section, the Secretary may allow royalties to be
paid later than the time specified in the lease.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
in section 1 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1701) is amended by
adding after the item relating to section 115 the following
new item:
‘‘Sec. 116. Alternatives for marginal properties.’’.
SEC. 9519. ROYALTY IN KIND.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) OCS.—Section 27(a)(1) of the Outer Con-
tinental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1353(a)(1)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Any royalty or net profit share of oil or gas accruing
to the United States under any such lease, at the Sec-
retary’s option, may be taken in kind at or near the lease
(unless the lease expressly provides for delivery at a dif-
ferent location) upon prior written notice given reasonably
in advance by the Secretary to the lessee. Once the United
States has commenced taking royalty in kind, it shall con-
tinue to do so until a reasonable time after the Secretary
has provided written notice reasonably in advance to the
lessee that it will resume taking royalty in value. Delivery
of royalty in kind by the lessee shall satisfy in full the
lessee’s royalty obligation. Once the oil or gas is delivered,
626
the lessee shall not be subject to the reporting and record-
keeping requirements under section 103 for its share of
oil and gas production other than records necessary to ver-
ify the quantity of oil or gas delivered.’’.
(2) ONSHORE.—Section 36 of the Mineral
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 192) is amended by adding
at the end the following undesignated paragraph:
‘‘Notwithstanding the provisions of the previous para-
graph, any royalty or net profit share of oil or gas accru-
ing to the United States under any lease issued or main-
tained by the Secretary for the exploration, production
and development of oil and gas on Federal lands, at the
Secretary’s option, may be taken in kind at or near the
lease (unless the lease expressly provides for delivery at
a different location) after prior written notice given rea-
sonably in advance by the Secretary to the lessee. Once
the United States has commenced taking royalty in kind,
it shall continue to do so until a reasonable time after the
Secretary has provided written notice reasonably in ad-
vance to the lessee that it will resume taking royalty in
value. Delivery of royalty in kind by the lessee shall satisfy
in full the lessee’s royalty obligation. Once the oil or gas
is delivered, the lessee shall not be subject to the reporting
and recordkeeping requirements under section 103 for its
627
share of oil and gas production other than records nec-
essary to verify the quantity of oil or gas delivered.’’.
(b) SALE.—Sections 27(b)(1) and (c)(1) of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1353(c)(1)) are
each amended by striking ‘‘competitive bidding for not
more than its regulated price, or, if no regulated price ap-
plies, not less than its fair market value’’ and inserting
‘‘competitive bidding or private sale’’.
SEC. 9520. ROYALTY SIMPLIFICATION AND COST-EFFEC-
TIVE AUDIT AND COLLECTION REQUIRE-
MENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101 of the Federal Oil
and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C.
1711) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d)(1) For the purpose of reducing costs and in-
creasing net royalties to the United States and the States,
the Secretary, in consultation with States concerned, shall,
within one year after the date of the enactment of this
subsection, streamline and simplify current royalty man-
agement requirements and practices, including royalty re-
porting, instructions, audits and collections. This stream-
lining and simplification shall specifically include—
‘‘(A) elimination of all unnecessary royalty and
production reports;
628
‘‘(B) modification and simplification of remain-
ing reports and associated instructions to eliminate
redundant or unnecessary reports and information
that are provided or can be obtained from other re-
quired reports, forms, computer databases or gov-
ernment agencies;
‘‘(C) elimination or modifications of accounting,
reporting, audit and collection requirements that are
not cost-effective, particularly those associated with
de minimis monetary amounts;
‘‘(D) implementation of specific recommenda-
tions and comments contained in Secretarial spon-
sored teams, rulemakings, and studies or those par-
ticipated in by the Secretary to the extent these rec-
ommendations simplify and streamline royalty man-
agement requirements without adversely affecting
the Secretary’s ability to meet obligations under this
Act or other mineral leasing statutes;
‘‘(E) recommendations and comments submit-
ted by interested parties to the extent these rec-
ommendations and comments simplify and stream-
line royalty management requirements without ad-
versely affecting the Secretary’s ability to meet obli-
gations under this Act or other mineral leasing stat-
utes.
629
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall submit to the Congress a
progress report on the implementation of this section with-
in six months from date of enactment of this Act, and
a final report within 12 months from date of enactment
of this Act. These reports shall include—
‘‘(A) a description of the extent to which the
Secretary has implemented the requirements in
paragraph (1), including a list of specific initiatives
implemented;
‘‘(B) a list and description of additional initia-
tives identified by the Secretary to simplify and
streamline royalty management requirements and
practices; and
‘‘(C) cost savings of implemented initiatives in-
cluding impact on net-receipts sharing for States.
‘‘(3) If the Secretary and the State concerned deter-
mines that the cost of accounting and auditing for and
collecting of any obligation due for any oil and gas produc-
tion exceeds the amount of the obligation to be collected,
the Secretary shall waive such obligation.
‘‘(4) The Secretary and the State concerned shall not
perform accounting, reporting, or audit activities if the
Secretary and the State concerned determines that the
cost of conducting the activity exceeds the expected
amount to be collected by the activity.
630
‘‘(5) The Secretary and the State concerned shall de-
velop a reporting and audit strategy which eliminates mul-
tiple or redundant reporting of information.’’.
(b) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—Section 107 of the
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982
(30 U.S.C. 1717), as amended by section 9513(b) and (c),
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—Administrative ac-
tions and investigations (including, but not limited to, ac-
counting collection and audits) under this Act involving
obligations shall be subject to section 3518(c)(1)(B) of
title 44, United States Code.’’.
SEC. 9521. REPEALS.
(a) FOGRMA.—Section 307 of the Federal Oil and
Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1755),
is repealed. Section 1 of such Act (relating to the table
of contents) is amended by striking out the item relating
to section 307.
(b) OCSLA.—Effective on the date of the enactment
of this Act, section 10 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1339) is repealed.
SEC. 9522. DELEGATION TO STATES.
(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Section 205(a) of the
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982
(30 U.S.C. 1735(a)) is amended to read as follows:
631
‘‘(a) Upon written request of any State, the Secretary
is authorized to delegate, in accordance with the provisions
of this section, all or part of the authorities and respon-
sibilities of the Secretary under this Act to conduct inspec-
tions, such production and royalty accounting duties and
responsibilities as the Secretary determines are legally del-
egable, all audit coverage, and investigations to any State
with respect to all Federal lands within the State.’’.
(b) STANDARDIZED REPORTING.—Section 205(b) of
such Act (30 U.S.C. 1735(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(2);
(2) by striking the comma at the end of para-
graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(4) the State agrees to adopt Federal stand-
ardized reporting for Federal royalty accounting and
collection purposes,’’.
(c) COST EFFECTIVE COLLECTION OF DE MINIMIS
ROYALTY AMOUNTS.—Section 205 of such Act (30 U.S.C.
1735) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) Upon written request of any State, the Secretary
is authorized to delegate for any year the responsibility
to collect royalties from all Federal leases within the State
632
if the average amount per year of mineral revenues re-
ceived by the State on all such leases under all Federal
mineral leasing laws for the previous five years is less than
$100,000. The State may also request that the Secretary
sell the revenue stream from all or part of the Federal
leases within the State in accordance with section 116 of
the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of
1982, as added by section 9518 of the Federal Oil and
Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of 1995.’’.
SEC. 9523. PERFORMANCE STANDARD.
Section 109 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man-
agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1719) is amended in sub-
sections (c) and (d), by striking ‘‘knowingly or willfully’’
and inserting ‘‘by willful misconduct or gross negligence’’
each place it appears.
SEC. 9524. INDIAN LANDS.
The amendments made by this part shall not apply
with respect to Indian lands, and the provisions of the
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982
as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of
this Act shall continue to apply after such date with re-
spect to Indian lands.
SEC. 9525. PRIVATE LANDS.
This part shall not apply to any privately owned min-
erals.
633
SEC. 9526. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as provided by section 115(e), section 111(h),
section 111(k)(5), and section 116 of the Federal Oil and
Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (as added by this
part), this part, and the amendments made by this part,
shall apply with respect to the production of oil and gas
after the first day of the month following the date of the
enactment of this Act.
Subtitle F—Indian Gaming
SEC. 9601. INDIAN GAMING.
(a) COMMISSION FUNDING.—Section 18(a) of the In-
dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2717(a)) is
amended by striking out ‘‘$1,500,000’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘$2,500,000’’.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section
19(a) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C.
2718(a)) is amended by striking out all after ‘‘(a)’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding
the provisions of section 18, no funds may be authorized
to be appropriated for the operation of the Commission.’’.
Subtitle G—Consultation
SEC. 9701. CONSULTATION.
Section 7(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(16 U.S.C. 1536(d)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(d) 
LIMITATION
ON
COMMITMENT
OF
RE-
SOURCES.—After initiation of consultation required under
634
subsection (a)(2) of this section, the Federal agency and
the permit or license applicant shall not make any irre-
versible or irretrievable commitment of resources with re-
spect to the agency action which has the effect of foreclos-
ing the formulation or implementation of any reasonable
and prudent alternative measures which would not violate
subsection (a)(2) of this section. This limitation on the
commitment of resources is only applicable to consulta-
tions regarding site-specific projects and activities, and
shall not apply to any consultation regarding an agency’s
periodic or long-term planning activities, mission or policy
statements, programmatic documents, or general policies,
regulations, or activities, whether or not such consultation
has previously been initiated pursuant to a court order,
and regardless of the date on which consultation was or-
dered or initiated.’’.
Subtitle H—Mapping
SEC. 9801. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Department of the
Interior Surveying and Mapping Efficiency and Economic
Opportunity Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 9802. SURVEYING AND MAPPING CONTRACTING PRO-
GRAM.
In order to provide private firms, including small and
small disadvantaged businesses, ample opportunities to
635
provide quality services to the Department of the Interior
(hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Department’’), the Sec-
retary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall conduct a surveying and mapping contract-
ing program.
SEC. 9803. INVENTORY OF ACTIVITIES.
(a) PUBLICATION OF INVENTORY.—Not later than
90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Of-
fice of Federal Procurement Policy, the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration and the trade associa-
tion of private surveying and mapping firms, shall publish
an inventory of surveying and mapping activities in the
Department of the Interior for the last fiscal year com-
pleted prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) ITEMS INCLUDED.—The inventory shall include
each of the following:
(1) The total dollar value of surveying and
mapping activities in each agency of the Depart-
ment.
(2) The total dollar value of surveying and
mapping activities in each agency of the Department
performed by contract with private sector firms.
636
(3) The total dollar value of surveying and
mapping activities in each agency of the Department
performed by personnel of the Department.
(4) The total dollar value of surveying and
mapping activities in each agency of the Department
performed for any other department or agency of the
Federal Government.
(5) The total dollar value of surveying and
mapping activities in each agency of the Department
performed for any State or political subdivision
thereof, or for any foreign government.
(6) The total number of personnel involved in
surveying and mapping activities in each agency of
the Department.
SEC. 9804. PLAN TO INCREASE USE OF CONTRACTS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Based on the inventory con-
ducted pursuant to section 9803 of this Act, not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Of-
fice of Federal Procurement Policy, the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration and the trade associa-
tion of private surveying and mapping firms, shall develop
and implement a plan to increase the use of contracts with
private firms for surveying and mapping services.
637
(b) ITEMS INCLUDED IN PLAN.—The plan estab-
lished pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall in-
clude, but not be limited to each of the following:
(1) A reduction of surveying and mapping ac-
tivities by personnel in the Department that dupli-
cate capabilities available by contract from the pri-
vate sector.
(2) A reduction of acquisition and maintenance
of surveying and mapping equipment that duplicate
capabilities and capital investment already made by
the private sector.
(3) The elimination of unfair Government com-
petition in activities in which the Department uses
its personnel to perform surveying and mapping for
which it shares the cost with, is reimbursed for, or
makes a grant to any other agency of the Federal
Government, a State or political subdivision thereof,
or a foreign government, for such activities, when
such activities can be obtained by contract from the
private sector.
(4) The use of contracts to perform surveying
and mapping requirements of the Department cre-
ated through attrition.
(5) The enhancement of the leadership role of
the Department of the Interior in—
638
(A) the preparation of standards and spec-
ifications;
(B) research in surveying and mapping in-
strumentation and procedures, and the prompt
transfer of technology to the private sector;
(C) providing technical guidance, coordina-
tion, cost sharing, cooperative efforts and ad-
ministration in the use of Federal funds for
surveying and mapping activities, and the devel-
opment of geographic information systems, that
are performed by the private sector by the con-
tract to Federal, State, and local government
agencies;
(D) establishing a schedule with quantifi-
able goals for increasing the use of contracts
with private sector for current and future sur-
veying and mapping activities; and
(E) using Department personnel to per-
form only those surveying and mapping activi-
ties that are inherently governmental in nature,
necessary to keep current the skills of such per-
sonnel for evaluating contractor performance
and administering contracts, and to perform
basic research.
639
SEC. 9805. REPORTS.
The Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate
a report on implementation of the program not later than
January 15 of each year.
SEC. 9806. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this subtitle:
(1) The term ‘‘surveying and mapping’’ means
collecting, storing, retrieving, or disseminating
graphical or digital data depicting natural or man-
made physical features, phenomena and boundaries
of the earth and any information related thereto, in-
cluding but not limited to data shown on or in rela-
tion to surveys, maps, and charts.
(2) The ‘‘contract’’ means an instrument to re-
tain private firms with licensed, certified, or other-
wise qualified professionals in such fields as survey-
ing, photogrammetry, cartography, and geodesy,
which shall be awarded in accordance with the selec-
tion procedures in title IX of the Federal Property
and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C.
541 and following).
640
TITLE 
X—COMMITTEE 
ON
TRANSPORTATION 
AND 
IN-
FRASTRUCTURE
Subtitle A—Water Resources
SEC. 10001. COMMERCIAL CONCESSIONS AT CORPS OF EN-
GINEERS PROJECTS.
Notwithstanding part 1 of subtitle C of title IX of
this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall not modify any
concession service agreement, concession license, or simi-
lar instrument (or any policy or procedure relating to such
agreement, license, or agreement) except to the extent that
such modification is permitted under laws in effect on the
day before the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 10002. FEMA RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY PREPARED-
NESS FEES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency may assess and collect
fees applicable to persons subject to radiological emer-
gency preparedness regulations issued by the Director.
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The assessment and collection
of fees by the Director under subsection (a) shall be fair
and equitable and shall reflect the full amount of costs
to the Agency of providing radiological emergency plan-
ning, preparedness, response, and associated services.
Such fees shall be assessed by the Director in a manner
641
which reflects the use of resources of the Agency for class-
es of regulated persons and the administrative costs of col-
lecting such fees.
(c) AMOUNT OF FEES.—The aggregate amount of
fees assessed under subsection (a) in a fiscal year shall
approximate, but not be less than, 100 percent of the
amounts anticipated by the Director to be obligated for
the radiological emergency preparedness program of the
Agency for such fiscal year.
(d) DEPOSIT OF FEES IN TREASURY.—Fees received
pursuant to subsection (a) shall be deposited in the gen-
eral fund of the Treasury as offsetting receipts.
(e) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of
the Director to assess and collect fees under subsection
(a) shall expire on September 30, 2002.
Subtitle B—Ocean Shipping
Reform
SEC. 10201. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Ocean Shipping
Reform Act of 1995’’.
CHAPTER 1—OCEAN SHIPPING REFORM
SEC. 10211. PURPOSES.
Section 2 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.
App. 1701) is amended—
642
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(2);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) to permit carriers and shippers to develop
transportation arrangements to meet their specific
needs.’’.
SEC. 10212. DEFINITIONS.
Section 3 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.
App. 1702) is amended—
(1) effective January 1, 1997—
(A) by striking paragraph (9); and
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (10)
through (19) as paragraphs (9) through (18),
respectively; and
(2) effective June 1, 1997—
(A) by striking paragraph (4);
(B) in paragraph (7) by striking ‘‘a com-
mon tariff;’’ and inserting ‘‘a common schedule
of transportation rates, charges, classifications,
rules, and practices;’’;
(C) by striking paragraph (10) (as redesig-
nated by paragraph (1) of this section);
643
(D) by striking paragraph (13) (as redesig-
nated by paragraph (1) of this section);
(E) by striking paragraph (16) (as redesig-
nated by paragraph (1) of this section);
(F) by striking paragraph (18) (as redesig-
nated by paragraph (1) of this section) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(18) ‘ocean freight forwarder’ means a person
that—
‘‘(A)(i) in the United States, dispatches
shipments from the United States via a com-
mon carrier and books or otherwise arranges
space for those shipments on behalf of shippers;
or
‘‘(ii) processes the documentation or per-
forms related activities incident to those ship-
ments; or
‘‘(B) acts as a common carrier that does
not operate the vessels by which the ocean
transportation is provided, and is a shipper in
its relationship with an ocean common car-
rier.’’;
(G) by striking paragraph (21);
(H) in paragraph (23)—
644
(i) by striking ‘‘or’’ the second place
it appears and inserting a comma; and
(ii) by striking the period and insert-
ing ‘‘, a shippers’ association, or an ocean
freight forwarder that accepts responsibil-
ity for payment of the ocean freight.’’;
(I) by striking paragraph (24) and insert-
ing the following:
‘‘(24) ‘shippers’ association’ means a group of
shippers that consolidates or distributes freight, on
a nonprofit basis for the members of the group in
order to secure carload, truckload, or other volume
rates or ocean transportation contracts.’’; and
(J) by inserting after paragraph (18) (as
redesignated by paragraph (1) of this section)
the following:
‘‘(19) ‘ocean transportation contract’ means a
contract in writing separate from the bill of lading
or receipt between 1 or more common carriers or a
conference and 1 or more shippers to provide speci-
fied services under specified rates and conditions.’’.
SEC. 10213. AGREEMENTS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE ACT.
Effective June 1, 1997, section 4(a) of the Shipping
Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1703(a)) is amended—
645
(1) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘non-vessel-op-
erating common carriers’’ and inserting ‘‘ocean
freight forwarders’’; and
(2) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(7) discuss any matter related to ocean trans-
portation contracts, and enter ocean transportation
contracts and agreements related to those con-
tracts.’’.
SEC. 10214. AGREEMENTS.
Section 5 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.
App. 1704) is amended—
(1) effective January 1, 1997—
(A) in subsection (b)(4) by striking ‘‘at the
request of any member, require an independent
neutral body to police fully’’ and inserting
‘‘state the provisions, if any, for the policing
of’’;
(B) in subsection (b)(7) by striking ‘‘and’’
at the end;
(C) in subsection (b)(8) by striking the pe-
riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(D) by adding at the end of subsection (b)
the following:
646
‘‘(9) provide that a member of the conference
may enter individual and independent negotiations
and may conclude individual and independent service
contracts under section 8 of this Act.’’;
(2) effective June 1, 1997—
(A) by striking subsection (b)(8) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(8) provide that any member of the conference
may take independent action on any rate or service
item agreed upon by the conference for transpor-
tation provided under section 8(a) of this Act upon
not more than 3 business days’ notice to the con-
ference, and that the conference will provide the new
rate or service item for use by that member, effec-
tive no later than 3 business days after receipt of
that notice, and by any other member that notifies
the conference that it elects to adopt the independ-
ent rate or service item on or after its effective date,
in lieu of the existing conference provision for that
rate or service item;’’;
(B) in subsection (b)(9) by striking ‘‘serv-
ice’’ and inserting ‘‘ocean transportation’’ and
by striking the period at the end and inserting
‘‘; and’’;
647
(C) by adding at the end of subsection (b)
the following:
‘‘(10) prohibit the conference from—
‘‘(A) prohibiting or restricting the mem-
bers of the conference from engaging in individ-
ual negotiations for ocean transportation con-
tracts under section 8(b) with 1 or more ship-
pers; and
‘‘(B) issuing mandatory rules or require-
ments affecting ocean transportation contracts
that may be entered by 1 or more members of
the conference, except that a conference may
require that a member of the conference dis-
close the existence of an existing individual
ocean transportation contract or negotiations on
an ocean transportation contract, when the con-
ference enters negotiations on an ocean trans-
portation contract with the same shipper.’’; and
(D) in subsection (e) by striking ‘‘carrier
that are required to be set forth in a tariff,’’
and inserting ‘‘carrier,’’.
SEC. 10215. EXEMPTION FROM ANTITRUST LAWS.
Section 7 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.
App. 1706) is amended—
648
(1) by striking subsection (a)(6) and inserting
the following:
‘‘(6) subject to section 20(e)(2) of this Act, any
agreement, modification, or cancellation, in effect be-
fore the effective date of this Act and any tariff,
rate, fare, charge, classification, rule, or regulation
explanatory thereof implementing that agreement,
modification, or cancellation.’’; and
(2) in subsection (c)(1) by striking ‘‘agency’’
and inserting ‘‘agency, department,’’.
SEC. 10216. COMMON AND CONTRACT CARRIAGE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective June 1, 1997—
(1) section 502 of the High Seas Driftnet Fish-
eries Enforcement Act (46 U.S.C. App. 1707a) is re-
pealed; and
(2) section 8 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46
U.S.C. App. 1707) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 8. COMMON AND CONTRACT CARRIAGE.
‘‘(a) COMMON CARRIAGE.—
‘‘(1) A common carrier and a conference shall
make available a schedule of transportation rates
which shall include the rates, terms, and conditions
for transportation services not governed by an ocean
transportation contract, and shall provide the sched-
ule of transportation rates, in writing, upon the re-
649
quest of any person. A common carrier and a con-
ference may assess a reasonable charge for comply-
ing with a request for a rate, term, and condition,
except that the charge may not exceed the cost of
providing the information requested.
‘‘(2) A dispute between a common carrier or
conference and a person as to the applicability of the
rates, terms, and conditions for ocean transportation
services shall be decided in an appropriate State or
Federal court of competent jurisdiction, unless the
parties otherwise agree.
‘‘(3) A claim concerning a rate for ocean trans-
portation services which involves false billing, false
classification, false weighing, false report of weight,
or false measurement shall be decided in an appro-
priate State or Federal court of competent jurisdic-
tion, unless the parties otherwise agree.
‘‘(b) CONTRACT CARRIAGE.—
‘‘(1) 1 or more common carriers or a conference
may enter into an ocean transportation contract
with 1 or more shippers. A common carrier may
enter into ocean transportation contracts without
limitations concerning the number of ocean trans-
portation contracts or the amount of cargo or space
involved. The status of a common carrier as an
650
ocean common carrier is not affected by the number
or terms of ocean transportation contracts entered.
‘‘(2) A party to an ocean transportation con-
tract entered under this section shall have no duty
in connection with services provided under the con-
tract other than the duties specified by the terms of
the contract.
‘‘(3)(A) An ocean transportation contract or the
transportation provided under that contract may not
be challenged in any court on the grounds that the
contract violates a provision of this Act.
‘‘(B) The exclusive remedy for an alleged
breach of an ocean transportation contract is an ac-
tion in an appropriate State or Federal court of
competent jurisdiction, unless the parties otherwise
agree.
‘‘(4) The requirements and prohibitions con-
cerning contracting by conferences contained in sec-
tions 5(b) (9) and (10) of this Act shall also apply
to any agreement among one or more ocean common
carriers that is filed under section 5(a) of this Act.’’.
(b) CONFIDENTIALITY
OF CONTRACTS.—Effective
January 1, 1998, section 8(b) of the Shipping Act of 1984
(46 U.S.C. App. 1707(b)), as amended by subsection (a)
651
of this section, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(5) A contract entered under this section may
be made on a confidential basis, upon agreement of
the parties. An ocean common carrier that is a
member of a conference agreement may not be pro-
hibited or restricted from agreeing with 1 or more
shippers that the parties to the contract will not dis-
close the rates, services, terms, or conditions of that
contract to any other member of the agreement, to
the conference, to any other carrier, shipper, con-
ference, or to any other third party.’’.
SEC. 10217. PROHIBITED ACTS.
Section 10 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.
App. 1709) is amended—
(1) effective January 1, 1997, in subsection
(b)—
(A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert-
ing the following:
‘‘(1) except for service contracts, subject a per-
son, place, port, or shipper to unreasonable discrimi-
nation;’’; and
(B) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), (4),
and (8);
652
(2) effective June 1, 1997, by striking sub-
section (b) and inserting the following:
‘‘(b) COMMON CARRIERS.—No common carrier, ei-
ther alone or in conjunction with any other person, directly
or indirectly, may—
‘‘(1) except for ocean transportation contracts,
subject a person, place, port, or shipper to unreason-
able discrimination;
‘‘(2) retaliate against any shipper by refusing,
or threatening to refuse, cargo space accommoda-
tions when available, or resort to other unfair or un-
justly discriminatory methods because the shipper
has patronized another carrier or has filed a com-
plaint, or for any other reason;
‘‘(3) employ any fighting ship;
‘‘(4) subject any particular person, locality,
class, or type of shipper or description of traffic to
an unreasonable refusal to deal;
‘‘(5) refuse to negotiate with a shippers’ asso-
ciation;
‘‘(6) knowingly and willfully accept cargo from
or transport cargo for the account of an ocean
freight forwarder that does not have a bond, insur-
ance, or other surety as required by section 19;
653
‘‘(7) knowingly and willfully enter into an ocean
transportation contract with an ocean freight for-
warder or in which an ocean freight forwarder is
listed as an affiliate that does not have a bond, in-
surance, or other surety as required by section 19;
or
‘‘(8)(A) knowingly disclose, offer, solicit, or re-
ceive any information concerning the nature, kind,
quantity, destination, consignee, or routing of any
property tendered or delivered to a common carrier
without the consent of the shipper or consignee if
that information—
‘‘(i) may be used to the detriment or preju-
dice of the shipper or consignee;
‘‘(ii) may improperly disclose its business
transaction to a competitor; or
‘‘(iii) may be used to the detriment or prej-
udice of any common carrier;
except that nothing in this paragraph shall be con-
strued to prevent providing the information, in re-
sponse to legal process, to the United States, or to
an independent neutral body operating within the
scope of its authority to fulfill the policing obliga-
tions of the parties to an agreement effective under
this Act. Nor shall it be prohibited for any ocean
654
common carrier that is a party to a conference
agreement approved under this Act, or any receiver,
trustee, lessee, agent, or employee of that carrier, or
any other person authorized by that carrier to re-
ceive information, to give information to the con-
ference or any person, firm, corporation, or agency
designated by the conference or to prevent the con-
ference or its designee from soliciting or receiving
information for the purpose of determining whether
a shipper or consignee has breached an agreement
with a conference or for the purpose of determining
whether a member of the conference has breached
the conference agreement or for the purpose of com-
piling statistics of cargo movement, but the use of
that information for any other purpose prohibited by
this Act or any other Act is prohibited; and
‘‘(B) after December 31, 1997, the rates, serv-
ices, terms, and conditions of an ocean transpor-
tation contract may not be disclosed under this
paragraph if the contract has been made on a con-
fidential basis under section 8(b) of this Act.
The exclusive remedy for a disclosure under this para-
graph shall be an action for breach of contract as provided
in section 8(b)(3) of this Act.’’;
(3) effective June 1, 1997—
655
(A) by striking subsection (c)(1) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(1) boycott, take any concerted action re-
sulting in an unreasonable refusal to deal, or
implement a policy or practice that results in
an unreasonable refusal to deal;’’;
(B) in subsection (c)(5) by inserting ‘‘as
defined in section 3(14)(A) of this Act’’ after
‘‘freight forwarder’’; and
(C) in subsection (c)(6) by striking ‘‘a
service contract.’’ and inserting ‘‘an ocean
transportation contract.’’; and
(4) effective June 1, 1997, in subsection (d)(3)
by striking ‘‘subsection (b) (11), (12), and (16)’’
and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (4), and (8) of sub-
section (b)’’.
SEC. 10218. REPARATIONS.
Effective June 1, 1997, section 11(g) of the Shipping
Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1710(g)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘or counter-complainant’’ after
‘‘complainant’’ the second place it appears;
(2) by striking ‘‘10(b) (5) or (7)’’ and inserting
‘‘10(b) (2) or (3)’’; and
(3) by striking the last sentence.
656
SEC. 10219. FOREIGN LAWS AND PRACTICES.
Effective on June 1, 1997, section 10002 of the For-
eign Shipping Practices Act of 1988 (46 U.S.C. App.
1710a) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1)—
(A) 
by 
striking 
‘‘ ‘non-vessel-operating
common carrier’,’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘ ‘ocean freight for-
warder’,’’ after ‘‘ ‘ocean common carrier’,’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(4) by striking ‘‘non-vessel-
operating common carrier operations,’’;
(3) in subsection (e)(1) by striking subpara-
graphs (B), (C), and (D) and inserting the follow-
ing:
‘‘(B) suspension, in whole or in part, of the
right of an ocean common carrier to operate under
any agreement filed with the Secretary, including
agreements authorizing preferential treatment at
terminals, preferential terminal leases, space char-
tering, or pooling of cargo or revenues with other
ocean common carriers; and
‘‘(C) a fee, not to exceed $1,000,000 per voy-
age.’’; and
(4) in subsection (h) by striking ‘‘section
13(b)(5) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.
App. 1712(b)(5))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 13(b)(2)
657
of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. App.
1712(b)(2))’’.
SEC. 10220. PENALTIES.
Effective June 1, 1997, section 13 of the Shipping
Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1712) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)—
(A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (3) and
redesignating paragraphs (2), (4), (5), and (6)
as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), respec-
tively;
(B) by striking paragraph (1), as so redes-
ignated, and inserting the following:
‘‘(1) If the Secretary finds, after notice and an
opportunity for a hearing, that a common carrier
has failed to supply information ordered to be pro-
duced or compelled by subpoena under section 12 of
this Act, the Secretary may request that the Sec-
retary of the Treasury refuse or revoke any clear-
ance required for a vessel operated by that common
carrier. Upon request by the Secretary, the Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall, with respect to the ves-
sel concerned, refuse or revoke any clearance re-
quired by section 4197 of the Revised Statutes of
the United States (46 U.S.C. App. 91).’’; and
658
(C) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated,
by striking ‘‘finds appropriate,’’ and all that
follows through the period at the end and in-
serting ‘‘finds appropriate including the imposi-
tion of the penalties authorized under para-
graph (2).’’; and
(2) in subsection (f)(1) by striking ‘‘section 10
(a)(1), (b)(1), or (b)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘section
10(a)(1)’’.
SEC. 10221. REPORTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective January 1, 1997, sec-
tion 15 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. App.
1714) is amended—
(1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘AND
CERTIFICATES’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘(a) REPORTS.—’’; and
(3) by striking subsection (b).
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
contained in the first section of such Act (46 U.S.C. App.
1701) is amended by striking the item relating to section
15 and inserting the following:
‘‘Sec. 15. Reports.’’.
SEC. 10222. REGULATIONS.
Section 17 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.
App. 1716) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(a)’’; and
659
(2) by striking subsection (b).
SEC. 10223. REPEAL.
(a) REPEAL.—Section 18 of the Shipping Act of
1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1717) is repealed.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
contained in the first section of such Act (46 U.S.C. App.
1701) is amended by striking the item relating to section
18.
SEC. 10224. OCEAN FREIGHT FORWARDERS.
Effective June 1, 1997, section 19 of the Shipping
Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1718) is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(a) LICENSE.—No person in the United States may
act as an ocean freight forwarder unless that person holds
a license issued by the Commission. The Commission shall
issue a forwarder’s license to any person that the Commis-
sion determines to be qualified by experience and char-
acter to render forwarding services.’’;
(2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and
(d) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively;
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(b) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—
660
‘‘(1) No person may act as an ocean freight for-
warder unless that person furnishes a bond, proof of
insurance, or other surety in a form and amount de-
termined by the Commission to insure financial re-
sponsibility that is issued by a surety company
found acceptable by the Secretary of the Treasury.
‘‘(2) A bond, insurance, or other surety ob-
tained pursuant to this section shall be available to
pay any judgment for damages against an ocean
freight forwarder arising from its transportation-re-
lated activities under this Act or order for reparation
issued pursuant to section 11 or 14 of this Act.
‘‘(3) An ocean freight forwarder not domiciled
in the United States shall designate a resident agent
in the United States for receipt of service of judicial
and administrative process, including subpoenas.’’;
(4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para-
graph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘a bond in ac-
cordance with subsection (a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘a
bond, proof of insurance, or other surety in accord-
ance with subsection (b)(1)’’; and
(5) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para-
graph (2) of this section—
(A) by striking paragraph (3) and redesig-
nating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3); and
661
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) No conference or group of 2 or more ocean
common carriers in the foreign commerce of the
United States that is authorized to agree upon the
level of compensation paid to an ocean freight for-
warder, as defined in section 3(18)(A) of this Act,
may—
‘‘(A) deny to any member of the con-
ference or group the right, upon notice of not
more than 3 business days, to take independent
action on any level of compensation paid to an
ocean freight forwarder; or
‘‘(B) agree to limit the payment of com-
pensation to an ocean freight forwarder, as de-
fined in section 3(18)(A) of this Act, to less
than 1.25 percent of the aggregate of all rates
and charges which are applicable under a com-
mon schedule of transportation rates provided
under section 8(a) of this Act, and which are
assessed against the cargo on which the for-
warding services are provided.’’.
SEC. 10225. EFFECTS ON CERTAIN AGREEMENTS AND CON-
TRACTS.
Section 20(e) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.
App. 1719) is amended to read as follows:
662
‘‘(e) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—
‘‘(1) Each service contract entered into by a
shipper and an ocean common carrier or conference
before the date of the enactment of the Ocean Ship-
ping Reform Act of 1995 may remain in full force
and effect according to its terms.
‘‘(2) This Act and the amendments made by
this Act shall not affect any suit—
‘‘(A) filed before the date of the enactment
of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1995;
‘‘(B) with respect to claims arising out of
conduct engaged in before the date of the en-
actment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of
1995, filed within 1 year after the date of the
enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act
of 1995;
‘‘(C) with respect to claims arising out of
conduct engaged in after the date of the enact-
ment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of
1995 but before January 1, 1997, pertaining to
a violation of section 10(b) (1), (2), (3), (4), or
(8), as in effect before January 1, 1997, filed
by June 1, 1997;
‘‘(D) with respect to claims pertaining to
the failure of a common carrier or conference to
663
file its tariffs or service contracts in accordance
with this Act in the period beginning January
1, 1997, and ending June 1, 1997, filed by De-
cember 31, 1997; or
‘‘(E) with respect to claims arising out of
conduct engaged in on or after the date of the
enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act
of 1995 but before June 1, 1997, filed by De-
cember 31, 1997.’’.
SEC. 10226. REPEAL.
(a) REPEAL.—Effective June 1, 1997, section 23 of
the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1721) is re-
pealed.
(b) CLERICAL
AMENDMENT.—Effective June 1,
1997, the table of contents contained in the first section
of such Act (46 U.S.C. App. 1701) is amended by striking
the item relating to section 23.
SEC. 10227. MARINE TERMINAL OPERATOR SCHEDULES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective June 1, 1997, the Ship-
ping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1701 et seq.) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 24. MARINE TERMINAL OPERATOR SCHEDULES.
‘‘A marine terminal operator shall make available to
the public a schedule of rates, regulations, and practices,
including limitations of liability, pertaining to receiving,
664
delivering, handling, or storing property at its marine ter-
minal. The schedule shall be enforceable as an implied
contract, without proof of actual knowledge of its provi-
sions, for any activity by the marine terminal operator
that is taken to—
‘‘(1) efficiently transfer property between trans-
portation modes;
‘‘(2) protect property from damage or loss;
‘‘(3) comply with any governmental require-
ment; or
‘‘(4) store property in excess of the terms of
any other contract or agreement, if any, entered into
by the marine terminal operator.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents
contained in the first section of such Act (46 U.S.C. App.
1701) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Sec. 24. Marine terminal operator schedules.’’.
CHAPTER 2—CONTROLLED CARRIERS
AMENDMENTS
SEC. 10231. CONTROLLED CARRIERS.
Effective June 1, 1997, section 9 of the Shipping Act
of 1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1708) is amended—
(1)(A) in the first sentence of subsection (a)—
(i) by striking ‘‘in its tariffs or service con-
tracts filed with the Commission’’; and
665
(ii) by striking ‘‘in those tariffs or service
contracts’’; and
(B) in the last sentence of subsection (a) by
striking ‘‘filed by a controlled carrier’’;
(2) in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b)
by striking ‘‘filed’’ and inserting ‘‘published’’;
(3) in subsection (c) by striking the first sen-
tence;
(4) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(d) Within 120 days of the receipt of information
requested by the Secretary under this section, the Sec-
retary shall determine whether the rates, charges, classi-
fications, rules, or regulations of a controlled carrier may
be unjust and unreasonable. If so, the Secretary shall
issue an order to the controlled carrier to show cause why
those rates, charges, classifications, rules, or regulations
should not be approved. Pending a determination, the Sec-
retary may suspend the rates, charges, classifications,
rules, or regulations at any time. No period of suspension
may be greater than 180 days. Whenever the Secretary
has suspended any rates, charges, classifications, rules, or
regulations under this subsection, the affected carrier may
publish and, after notification to the Secretary, assess new
rates, charges, classifications, rules, or regulations—ex-
666
cept that the Secretary may reject the new rates, charges,
classifications, rules, or regulations if the Secretary deter-
mines that they are unreasonable.’’;
(5) in subsection (f) by striking ‘‘This’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (g), this’’; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) The rate standards, information submissions,
remedies, reviews, and penalties in this section shall also
apply to ocean common carriers that are not controlled,
but who have been determined by the Secretary to be
structurally or financially affiliated with nontransporta-
tion entities or organizations (government or private) in
such a way as to affect their pricing or marketplace behav-
ior in an unfair, predatory, or anticompetitive way that
disadvantages an ocean common carrier or carriers. The
Secretary may make such determinations upon request of
any person or upon the Secretary’s own motion, after con-
ducting an investigation and a public hearing.
‘‘(h) The Secretary shall issue regulations by June
1, 1997, that prescribe the procedures and requirements
that would govern how price and other information is to
be submitted by controlled carriers and carriers subject
to determinations made under subsection (g) when such
information would be needed to determine whether prices
667
charged by these carriers are unfair, predatory, or anti-
competitive.
‘‘(i) In any instance where information provided to
the Secretary under this section does not result in an af-
firmative finding or enforcement action by the Secretary
that information may not be made public and shall be ex-
empt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United
States Code, except as may be relevant to an administra-
tive or judicial action or proceeding. This section does not
prevent disclosure to either body of Congress or to a duly
authorized committee or subcommittee of Congress.’’.
SEC. 10232. NEGOTIATING STRATEGY TO REDUCE GOVERN-
MENT OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF COM-
MON CARRIERS.
Not later than January 1, 1997, the Secretary of
Transportation shall develop, submit to Congress, and
begin implementing a negotiation strategy to persuade for-
eign governments to divest themselves of ownership and
control of ocean common carriers (as that term is defined
in section 3(18) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.
App. 1702).
SEC. 10233. ANNUAL REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.
Not later than September 30, 1998, and annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall report to Congress on the
actions taken under the Foreign Shipping Practices Act
668
(46 U.S.C. App. 1708), section 9 of the Shipping Act of
1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1708), and section 10232 of this
Act and the effect on United States maritime employment
of laws, rules, regulations, policies, or practices of foreign
governments, or any practices of foreign carriers or other
persons providing maritime or maritime-related services in
a foreign country that result in the existence of conditions
that adversely affect the operations of United States car-
riers in United States oceanborne trade.
CHAPTER 3—ELIMINATION OF THE
FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION
SEC. 10241. PLAN FOR AGENCY TERMINATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—No later than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of-
fice of Management and Budget, in consultation with the
Secretary of Transportation, shall submit to Congress a
plan to eliminate the Federal Maritime Commission no
later than October 1, 1997. The plan shall include a time-
table for the transfer of remaining functions of the Fed-
eral Maritime Commission to the Secretary of Transpor-
tation beginning as soon as feasible in fiscal year 1996.
The plan shall also address matters related to personnel
and other resources necessary for the Secretary of Trans-
portation to perform the remaining functions of the Fed-
eral Maritime Commission.
669
(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Director of the Office of
Management and Budget shall implement the plan to
eliminate the Federal Maritime Commission submitted to
Congress under subsection (a) beginning as soon as fea-
sible in fiscal year 1996.
(c) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this subtitle and the amendments
made by this subtitle.
Subtitle C—Midewin National
Tallgrass Prairie
CHAPTER 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 10301. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Illinois Land Con-
servation Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 10302. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this subtitle, the following definitions
apply:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the United
States Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES.—The term ‘‘ag-
ricultural purposes’’ means the use of land for row
crops, pasture, hay, and grazing.
670
(3) ARSENAL.—The term ‘‘Arsenal’’ means the
Joliet Army Ammunition Plant located in the State
of Illinois.
(4) CERCLA.—The term ‘‘CERCLA’’ means
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.
9601 et seq.).
(5) DEFENSE
ENVIRONMENTAL
RESTORATION
PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Defense Environmental Res-
toration Program’’ means the program of environ-
mental restoration for defense installations estab-
lished by the Secretary of Defense under section
2701 of title 10, United States Code.
(6) ENVIRONMENTAL
LAW.—The term ‘‘envi-
ronmental law’’ means all applicable Federal, State,
and local laws, regulations, and requirements related
to protection of human health, natural and cultural
resources, or the environment, including CERCLA,
the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et
seq.), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
7401 et seq.), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.), the
Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et
671
seq.), and the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.
300f et seq.).
(7) HAZARDOUS WASTE.—The term ‘‘hazardous
substance’’ has the meaning given such term by sec-
tion 101(14) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9601(14)).
(8) MNP.—The term ‘‘MNP’’ means the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie established pur-
suant to section 10314 and managed as a part of
the National Forest System.
(9) NATIONAL CEMETERY.—The term ‘‘national
cemetery’’ means a cemetery established and oper-
ated as part of the National Cemetery System of the
Department of Veterans Affairs and subject to the
provisions of chapter 24 of title 38, United States
Code.
(10) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the
meaning given such term by section 101(21) of
CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9601(21)).
(11) POLLUTANT OR CONTAMINANT.—The term
‘‘pollutant or contaminant’’ has the meaning given
such term by section 101(33) of CERCLA (42
U.S.C. 9601(33)).
(12) RELEASE.—The term ‘‘release’’ has the
meaning given such term by section 101(22) of
CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9601(22)).
672
(13) RESPONSE ACTION.—The term ‘‘response
action’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘response’’
by section 101(25) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C.
9601(25)).
CHAPTER 2—CONVERSION OF JOLIET ARMY AM-
MUNITION PLANT TO MIDEWIN NATIONAL
TALLGRASS PRAIRIE
SEC. 10311. PRINCIPLES OF TRANSFER.
(a) LAND USE PLAN.—The Congress ratifies in prin-
ciple the proposals generally identified by the land use
plan which was developed by the Joliet Arsenal Citizen
Planning Commission and unanimously approved on May
30, 1995.
(b) TRANSFER WITHOUT REIMBURSEMENT.—The
area constituting the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
shall be transferred, without reimbursement, to the Sec-
retary of Agriculture.
(c) MANAGEMENT OF MNP.—Management by the
Secretary of Agriculture of those portions of the Arsenal
transferred to the Secretary under this subtitle shall be
in accordance with sections 10314 and 10315 regarding
the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
(d) SECURITY MEASURES.—The Secretary of the
Army and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each provide
and maintain physical and other security measures on
673
such portion of the Arsenal as is under the administrative
jurisdiction of such Secretary. Such security measures
(which may include fences and natural barriers) shall in-
clude measures to prevent members of the public from
gaining unauthorized access to such portions of the Arse-
nal as are under the administrative jurisdiction of such
Secretary and that may endanger health or safety.
(e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of
the Army, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Adminis-
trator are individually and collectively authorized to enter
into cooperative agreements and memoranda of under-
standing among each other and with other affected Fed-
eral agencies, State and local governments, private organi-
zations, and corporations to carry out the purposes for
which the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is estab-
lished.
(f) INTERIM ACTIVITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF AG-
RICULTURE.—Prior to transfer and subject to such rea-
sonable terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Army
may prescribe, the Secretary of Agriculture may enter
upon the Arsenal property for purposes related to plan-
ning, resource inventory, fish and wildlife habitat manipu-
lation (which may include prescribed burning), and other
such activities consistent with the purposes for which the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is established.
674
SEC. 10312. TRANSFER OF MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES AND JURISDICTION OVER ARSENAL.
(a) INITIAL TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION.—Within 6
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of the Army shall effect the transfer of those
portions of the Arsenal property identified for transfer to
the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to subsection (d).
The Secretary of the Army shall transfer to the Secretary
of Agriculture only those portions of the Arsenal for which
the Secretary of the Army and the Administrator concur
that no further action is required under any environmental
law and which therefore have been eliminated from the
areas to be further studied pursuant to the Defense Envi-
ronmental Restoration Program for the Arsenal. Within
4 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of the Army and the Administrator shall provide
to the Secretary of Agriculture all existing documentation
supporting such finding and all existing information relat-
ing to the environmental conditions of the portions of the
Arsenal to be transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture
pursuant to this subsection.
(b) ADDITIONAL TRANSFERS.—The Secretary of the
Army shall transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture in ac-
cordance with section 10316(c) any portion of the prop-
erty generally identified in subsection (d) and not trans-
ferred under subsection (a) after the Secretary of the
675
Army and the Administrator concur that no further action
is required at that portion of property under any environ-
mental law and that such portion is therefore eliminated
from the areas to be further studied pursuant to the De-
fense Environmental Restoration Program for the Arse-
nal. At least 2 months before any transfer under this sub-
section, the Secretary of the Army and the Administrator
shall provide to the Secretary of Agriculture all existing
documentation supporting such finding and all existing in-
formation relating to the environmental conditions of the
portion of the Arsenal to be transferred. Transfer of juris-
diction pursuant to this subsection may be accomplished
on a parcel-by-parcel basis.
(c) EFFECT ON CONTINUED RESPONSIBILITIES AND
LIABILITY OF SECRETARY OF THE ARMY.—Subsections
(a) and (b), and their requirements, shall not in any way
affect the responsibilities and liabilities of the Secretary
of the Army specified in section 10313.
(d) IDENTIFICATION OF PORTIONS FOR TRANSFER
FOR MNP.—The lands to be transferred to the Secretary
of Agriculture under subsections (a) and (b) shall be iden-
tified on a map or maps which shall be agreed to by the
Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Agriculture.
Generally, the land to be transferred to the Secretary of
Agriculture shall be all the real property and improve-
676
ments comprising the Arsenal, except for lands and facili-
ties described in subsection (e) or designated for transfer
or disposal under section 10316 or chapter 3.
(e) PROPERTY USED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEAN-
UP.—
(1) RETENTION.—The Secretary of the Army
shall retain jurisdiction, authority, and control over
real property at the Arsenal to be used for—
(A) water treatment;
(B) the treatment, storage, or disposal of
any hazardous substance, pollutant or contami-
nant, hazardous material, or petroleum prod-
ucts or their derivatives;
(C) other purposes related to any response
action at the Arsenal; and
(D) other actions required at the Arsenal
under any environmental law to remediate con-
tamination or conditions of noncompliance with
any environmental law.
(2) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of the Army
shall consult with the Secretary of Agriculture re-
garding the identification and management of the
real property retained under this subsection and en-
sure that activities carried out on that property are
consistent, to the extent practicable, with the pur-
677
poses for which the Midewin National Tallgrass
Prairie is established, as specified in section
10314(c), and with the other provisions of sections
10314 and 10315.
(3) PRIORITY OF RESPONSE ACTIONS.—In the
case of any conflict between management of the
property by the Secretary of Agriculture and any re-
sponse action, or any other action required under
any other environmental law, including actions to re-
mediate petroleum products of their derivatives, the
response action or other action shall take priority.
(f) SURVEYS.—All costs of necessary surveys for the
transfer of jurisdiction of Arsenal property from the Sec-
retary of the Army to the Secretary of Agriculture shall
be borne by the Secretary of Agriculture.
SEC. 10313. CONTINUATION OF RESPONSIBILITY AND LI-
ABILITY OF SECRETARY OF THE ARMY FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP.
(a) RESPONSIBILITY.—The liabilities and responsibil-
ities of the Secretary of the Army under any environ-
mental law shall not transfer under any circumstances to
the Secretary of Agriculture as a result of the property
transfers made under section 10312 or section 10316, or
as a result of interim activities of the Secretary of Agri-
culture on Arsenal property under section 10311(f). With
678
respect to the real property at the Arsenal, the Secretary
of the Army shall remain liable for and continue to carry
out—
(1) 
all 
response 
actions 
required 
under
CERCLA at or related to the property;
(2) all remediation actions required under any
other environmental law at or related to the prop-
erty; and
(3) all actions required under any other envi-
ronmental law to remediate petroleum products or
their derivatives (including motor oil and aviation
fuel) at or related to the property.
(b) LIABILITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to effect, modify, amend, repeal, alter,
limit, or otherwise change, directly or indirectly, the
responsibilities or liabilities under any environmental
law of any person (including the Secretary of Agri-
culture), except as provided in paragraph (3) with
respect to the Secretary of Agriculture.
(2) LIABILITY OF SECRETARY OF THE ARMY.—
The Secretary of the Army shall retain any obliga-
tion or other liability at the Arsenal that the Sec-
retary may have under CERCLA and other environ-
mental laws. Following transfer of any portions of
679
the Arsenal pursuant to this Act, the Secretary of
the Army shall be accorded all easements and access
to such property as may be reasonably required to
carry out such obligation or satisfy such liability.
(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR SECRETARY OF AGRI-
CULTURE.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall not
be responsible or liable under any environmental law
for matters which are in any way related directly or
indirectly to activities of the Secretary of the Army,
or any party acting under the authority of the Sec-
retary in connection with the Defense Environmental
Restoration Program, at the Arsenal and which are
for any of the following:
(A) Costs of response actions required
under CERCLA at or related to the Arsenal.
(B) Costs, penalties, or fines related to
noncompliance with any environmental law at
or related to the Arsenal or related to the pres-
ence, release, or threat of release of any hazard-
ous substance, pollutant, contaminant, hazard-
ous waste or hazardous material of any kind at
or related to the Arsenal, including contamina-
tion resulting from migration of hazardous sub-
stances, pollutants, contaminants, hazardous
materials, or petroleum products or their de-
680
rivatives disposed during activities of the De-
partment of the Army.
(C) Costs of actions necessary to remedy
such noncompliance or other problem specified
in subparagraph (B).
(c) PAYMENT OF RESPONSE ACTION COSTS.—Any
Federal department or agency that had or has operations
at the Arsenal resulting in the release or threatened re-
lease of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants
shall pay the cost of related response actions, or related
actions under other environmental laws, including actions
to remediate petroleum products or their derivatives.
(d) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture
shall consult with the Secretary of the Army with respect
to the Secretary of Agriculture’s management of real prop-
erty included in the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
subject to any response action or other action at the Arse-
nal being carried out by or under the authority of the Sec-
retary of the Army under any environmental law. The Sec-
retary of Agriculture shall consult with the Secretary of
the Army prior to undertaking any activities on the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie that may disturb the
property to ensure that such activities will not exacerbate
contamination problems or interfere with performance by
the Secretary of the Army of response actions at the prop-
681
erty. In carrying out response actions at the Arsenal, the
Secretary of the Army shall consult with the Secretary of
Agriculture to ensure that such actions are carried out in
a manner consistent with the purposes for which the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is established, as spec-
ified in section 10314(c), and the other provisions of sec-
tions 10314 and 10315.
SEC. 10314. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF
MIDEWIN NATIONAL TALLGRASS PRAIRIE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—On the effective date of the
initial transfer of jurisdiction of portions of the Arsenal
to the Secretary of Agriculture under section 10312(a),
the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish the Midewin
National Tallgrass Prairie. The MNP shall—
(1) be administered by the Secretary of Agri-
culture; and
(2) consist of the real property so transferred
and such other portions of the Arsenal subsequently
transferred under section 10312(b) or 10316.
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture
shall manage the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
as a part of the National Forest System in accord-
ance with this Act and the laws, rules, and regula-
tions pertaining to the National Forest System, ex-
682
cept that the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of
1937 (7 U.S.C. 1010–1012) shall not apply to the
MNP.
(2) INITIAL
MANAGEMENT
ACTIVITIES.—In
order to expedite the administration and public use
of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture may conduct management ac-
tivities at the MNP to effectuate the purposes for
which the MNP is established, as specified in sub-
section (c), in advance of the development of a land
and resource management plan for the MNP.
(3) 
LAND
AND
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
PLAN.—In developing a land and resource manage-
ment plan for the Midewin National Tallgrass Prai-
rie, the Secretary of Agriculture shall consult with
the Illinois Department of Conservation and local
governments adjacent to the MNP and provide an
opportunity for public comment. Any parcel trans-
ferred to the Secretary of Agriculture under this Act
after the development of a land and resource man-
agement plan for the MNP may be managed in ac-
cordance with such plan without need for an amend-
ment to the plan.
(c) 
PURPOSES
OF
THE
MIDEWIN
NATIONAL
TALLGRASS PRAIRIE.—The Midewin National Tallgrass
683
Prairie is established to be managed for National Forest
System purposes, including the following:
(1) To manage the land and water resources of
the MNP in a manner that will conserve and en-
hance the native populations and habitats of fish,
wildlife, and plants.
(2) To provide opportunities for scientific, envi-
ronmental, and land use education and research.
(3) To allow the continuation of agricultural
uses of lands within the MNP consistent with sec-
tion 10315(b).
(4) To provide a variety of recreation opportu-
nities that are not inconsistent with the preceding
purposes.
(d) OTHER LAND ACQUISITION FOR MNP.—
(1) LAND ACQUISITION FUNDS.—Notwithstand-
ing section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation
Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–9), monies ap-
propriated from the Land and Water Conservation
Fund established under section 2 of such Act (16
U.S.C. 460l–5) shall be available for acquisition of
lands and interests in land for inclusion in the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
(2) ACQUISITION OF PRIVATE LANDS.—Acquisi-
tion of private lands for inclusion in the Midewin
684
National Tallgrass Prairie shall be on a willing seller
basis only.
(e) COOPERATION WITH STATES, LOCAL GOVERN-
MENTS AND OTHER ENTITIES.—In the management of
the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, the Secretary of
Agriculture is authorized and encouraged to cooperate
with appropriate Federal, State, and local governmental
agencies, private organizations and corporations. Such co-
operation may include cooperative agreements as well as
the exercise of the existing authorities of the Secretary
under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978
and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Re-
search Act of 1978. The objects of such cooperation may
include public education, land and resource protection and
cooperative management among government, corporate,
and private landowners in a manner which furthers the
purposes for which the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
is established.
SEC. 10315. SPECIAL MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR
MIDEWIN NATIONAL TALLGRASS PRAIRIE.
(a) PROHIBITION AGAINST THE CONSTRUCTION OF
NEW THROUGH ROADS.—No new construction of any
highway, public road, or any part of the interstate system,
whether Federal, State, or local, shall be permitted
through or across any portion of the Midewin National
685
Tallgrass Prairie. Nothing herein shall preclude construc-
tion and maintenance of roads for use within the MNP
or the granting of authorizations for utility rights-of-way
under applicable Federal law or preclude such access as
is necessary. Nothing herein shall preclude necessary ac-
cess by the Secretary of the Army for purposes of restora-
tion and cleanup as provided in this subtitle.
(b) AGRICULTURAL LEASES AND SPECIAL USE AU-
THORIZATIONS.—Within the Midewin National Tallgrass
Prairie, use of the lands for agricultural purposes shall
be permitted subject to the following terms and conditions:
(1) If, at the time of transfer of jurisdiction
under section 10312, there exists any lease issued by
the Department of the Army, Department of De-
fense, or any other agency thereof, for agricultural
purposes upon the parcel transferred, the Secretary
of Agriculture, upon transfer of jurisdiction, shall
convert the lease to a special use authorization, the
terms of which shall be identical in substance to the
lease that existed prior to the transfer, including the
expiration date and any payments owed the United
States.
(2) The Secretary of Agriculture may issue spe-
cial use authorizations to persons for use of the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie for agricultural
686
purposes. Special use authorizations issued pursuant
to this paragraph shall include terms and conditions
as the Secretary of Agriculture may deem appro-
priate.
(3) No agricultural special use authorization
shall be issued for agricultural purposes which has
a term extending beyond the date 20 years from the
date of the enactment of this Act, except that noth-
ing in this Act shall preclude the Secretary of Agri-
culture from issuing agricultural special use author-
izations or grazing permits which are effective after
20 years from the date of the enactment of this Act
for purposes primarily related to erosion control,
provision for food and habitat for fish and wildlife,
or other resource management activities consistent
with the purposes of the Midewin National Tallgrass
Prairie.
(c) TREATMENT OF RENTAL FEES.—Monies received
pursuant to subsection (b) shall be subject to distribution
to the State of Illinois and affected counties pursuant to
the Acts of May 23, 1908, and March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C.
500). All such monies not distributed pursuant to such
Acts shall be deposited into the Treasury and shall con-
stitute a special fund, which shall be available to the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, in such amounts as are provided in
687
advance in appropriation Acts, to cover the cost to the
United States of such prairie-improvement work as the
Secretary may direct. Any portion of any deposit made
to the fund which the Secretary determines to be in excess
of the cost of doing such work shall be transferred, upon
such determination, to miscellaneous receipts, Forest
Service Fund, as a National Forest receipt of the fiscal
year in which such transfer is made.
(d) USER FEES.—The Secretary of Agriculture is au-
thorized to charge reasonable fees for the admission, occu-
pancy, and use of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
and may prescribe a fee schedule providing for reduced,
or a waiver of, fees for persons or groups engaged in au-
thorized activities including those providing volunteer
services, research, or education. The Secretary shall per-
mit admission, occupancy, and use at no additional charge
for persons possessing a valid Golden Eagle Passport or
Golden Age Passport.
(e) SALVAGE OF IMPROVEMENTS.—The Secretary of
Agriculture may sell for salvage value any facilities and
improvements which have been transferred to the Sec-
retary pursuant to this subtitle.
(f) TREATMENT OF USER FEES AND SALVAGE RE-
CEIPTS.—Monies collected pursuant to subsections (d)
and (e) shall be covered into the Treasury and constitute
688
a special fund to be known as the Midewin National
Tallgrass Prairie Restoration Fund. Deposits in the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Restoration Fund
shall be available to the Secretary of Agriculture, in such
amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts,
for restoration and administration of the Midewin Na-
tional Tallgrass Prairie, including construction of a visitor
and education center, restoration of ecosystems, construc-
tion of recreational facilities (such as trails), construction
of administrative offices, and operation and maintenance
of the MNP.
SEC. 10316. SPECIAL DISPOSAL RULES FOR CERTAIN ARSE-
NAL PARCELS INTENDED FOR MNP.
(a) DESCRIPTION OF PARCELS.—Except as provided
in subsection (b), the following areas are designated for
transfer or disposal pursuant to subsection (c):
(1) Manufacturing Area—Study Area 1—
Southern Ash Pile, Study Area 2—Explosive Burn-
ing Ground, Study Area 3—Flashing Grounds,
Study Area 4—Lead Azide Area, Study Area 10—
Toluene Tank Farms, Study Area 11—Landfill,
Study Area 12—Sellite Manufacturing Area, Study
Area 14—Former Pond Area, Study Area 15—Sew-
age Treatment Plant.
689
(2) Load Assemble Packing Area—Group 61:
Study Area L1, Explosive Burning Ground: Study
Area L2, Demolition Area: Study Area L3, Landfill
Area: Study Area L4, Salvage Yard: Study Area L5,
Group 1: Study Area L7, Group 2: Study Area L8,
Group 3: Study Area L9, Group 3A: Study Area
L10, Group 4: Study Area L14, Group 5: Study
Area L15, Group 8: Study Area L18, Group 9:
Study Area L19, Group 27: Study Area L23, Group
62: Study Area L25, PVC Area: Study Area L33,
including all associated inventoried buildings and
structures as identified in the Joliet Army Ammuni-
tion Plant Plantwide Building and Structures Re-
port and the contaminate study sites for both the
Manufacturing and Load Assembly and Packing
sides of the Joliet Arsenal as delineated in the
Dames and Moore Final Report, Proposed Future
Land Use Map, dated May 30, 1995.
(b) EXCEPTION.—The parcels described in subsection
(a) shall not include the property at the Arsenal des-
ignated for disposal under chapter 3.
(c) INITIAL
OFFER
TO
SECRETARY
OF
AGRI-
CULTURE.—Within 6 months after the construction and
installation of any remedial design approved by the Ad-
ministrator and required for any lands described in sub-
690
section (a), the Administrator shall provide to the Sec-
retary of Agriculture all existing information regarding
the implementation of such remedy, including information
regarding its effectiveness. Within 3 months after the Ad-
ministrator provides such information to the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of the Army shall offer the Sec-
retary of Agriculture the option of accepting a transfer
of the areas described in subsection (a), without reim-
bursement, to be added to the Midewin National Tallgrass
Prairie and subject to the terms and conditions, including
the limitations on liability, contained in this subtitle. In
the event the Secretary of Agriculture declines such offer,
the property may be disposed of as the Secretary of the
Army would ordinarily dispose of such property under ap-
plicable provisions of law. Any sale or other transfer of
property conducted pursuant to this subsection may be ac-
complished on a parcel-by-parcel basis.
CHAPTER 3—OTHER REAL PROPERTY DISPOSALS
INVOLVING JOLIET ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT
SEC. 10321. DISPOSAL OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY AT AR-
SENAL FOR A NATIONAL CEMETERY.
(a) TRANSFER
REQUIRED.—Subject to section
10331, the Secretary of the Army shall transfer, without
reimbursement, to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the
691
parcel of real property at the Arsenal described in sub-
section (b) for use as a national cemetery.
(b) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—The real property
to be transferred under subsection (a) is a parcel of real
property at the Arsenal consisting of approximately 982
acres, the approximate legal description of which includes
part of sections 30 and 31 Jackson Township, T34N
R10E, and part of sections 25 and 36 Channahon Town-
ship, T34N R9E, Will County, Illinois, as depicted in the
Arsenal Land Use Concept.
(c) SECURITY MEASURES.—The Secretary of Veter-
ans Affairs shall provide and maintain physical and other
security measures on the real property transferred under
subsection (a). Such security measures (which may include
fences and natural barriers) shall include measures to pre-
vent members of the public from gaining unauthorized ac-
cess to the portion of the Arsenal that is under the admin-
istrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
and that may endanger health or safety.
(d) SURVEYS.—All costs of necessary surveys for the
transfer of jurisdiction of Arsenal properties from the Sec-
retary of the Army to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall be borne solely by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
692
SEC. 10322. DISPOSAL OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY AT AR-
SENAL FOR A COUNTY LANDFILL.
(a) TRANSFER
REQUIRED.—Subject to section
10331, the Secretary of the Army shall transfer, without
compensation, to Will County, Illinois, all right, title, and
interest of the United States in and to the parcel of real
property at the Arsenal described in subsection (b), which
shall be operated as a landfill by the County.
(b) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—The real property
to be transferred under subsection (a) is a parcel of real
property at the Arsenal consisting of approximately 455
acres, the approximate legal description of which includes
part of sections 8 and 17, Florence Township, T33N
R10E, Will County, Illinois, as depicted in the Arsenal
Land Use Concept.
(c) CONDITION ON CONVEYANCE.—The conveyance
shall be subject to the condition that the Army (or its
agents or assigns) may use the landfill established on the
real property transferred under subsection (a) for the dis-
posal 
of 
construction 
debris, 
refuse, 
and 
other
nonhazardous materials from the restoration and cleanup
of the Arsenal property as provided for in this Act. Such
use shall be at no cost to the Federal Government.
(d) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—During the 5-year
period beginning on the date the Secretary of the Army
makes the conveyance under subsection (a), if the Sec-
693
retary of the Army determines that the conveyed real
property is not being operated as a landfill or that Will
County, Illinois, is in violation of the condition specified
in subsection (c), then, at the option of the United States,
all right, title, and interest in and to the property, includ-
ing improvements thereon, shall be subject to reversion to
the United States. In the event the United States exercises
its option to cause the property to revert, the United
States shall have the right of immediate entry onto the
property. Any determination of the Secretary of the Army
under this subsection shall be made on the record after
an opportunity for a hearing.
(e) SURVEYS.—All costs of necessary surveys for the
transfer of real property under this section shall be borne
by Will County, Illinois.
(f) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Sec-
retary of the Army may require such additional terms and
conditions in connection with the conveyance under this
section as the Secretary of the Army considers appropriate
to protect the interests of the United States.
SEC. 10323. DISPOSAL OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY AT AR-
SENAL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
(a) TRANSFER
REQUIRED.—Subject to section
10331, the Secretary of the Army shall transfer to the
State of Illinois, all right, title, and interest of the United
694
States in and to the parcel of real property at the Arsenal
described in subsection (b), which shall be used for eco-
nomic redevelopment to replace all or a part of the eco-
nomic activity lost at the Arsenal.
(b) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—The real property
to be transferred under subsection (a) is a parcel of real
property at the Arsenal consisting of—
(1) approximately 1,900 acres, the approximate
legal description of which includes part of section
30, Jackson Township, Township 34 North, Range
10 East, and sections or parts of sections 24, 25,
26, 35, and 36, Township 34 North, Range 9 East,
in Channahon Township, an area of 9.77 acres
around the Des Plaines River Pump Station located
in the southeast quarter of section 15, Township 34
North, Range 9 East of the Third Principal Merid-
ian, in Channahon Township, and an area of 511
feet by 596 feet around the Kankakee River Pump
Station in the Northwest Quarter of section 5,
Township 33 North, Range 9 East, east of the
Third Principal Meridian in Wilmington Township,
containing 6.99 acres, located along the easterly side
of the Kankakee Cut-Off in Will County, Illinois, as
depicted in the Arsenal Re-Use Concept, and the
connecting piping to the northern industrial site, as
695
described by the United States Army Report of
Availability, dated 13 December 1993; and
(2) approximately 1,100 acres, the approximate
legal description of which includes part of sections
16, 17, 18 Florence Township, Township 33 North,
Range 10 East, Will County, Illinois, as depicted in
the Arsenal Land Use Concept.
(c) CONSIDERATION.—The transfer under subsection
(a) shall be made without consideration. However, the
transfer shall be subject to the condition that, if the State
of Illinois reconveys all or any part of the transferred
property to a non-Federal entity, the State shall pay to
the United States an amount equal to the fair market
value of the reconveyed property. The Secretary of the
Army shall determine the fair market value of any prop-
erty reconveyed by the State as of the time of the
reconveyance, excluding the value of improvements made
to the property by the State. The Secretary may treat a
lease of the property as a reconveyance if the Secretary
determines that the lease was used in an effort to avoid
operation of this subsection. Amounts received under this
subsection shall be deposited in the general fund of the
Treasury for purposes of deficit reduction.
(d) OTHER CONDITIONS OF CONVEYANCE.—
696
(1) REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.—The trans-
fer under subsection (a) shall be subject to the fur-
ther condition that the Governor of the State of Illi-
nois establish a redevelopment authority to be re-
sponsible for overseeing the economic redevelopment
of the transferred land.
(2) TIME FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—To satisfy the
condition specified in paragraph (1), the redevelop-
ment authority shall be established within 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(e) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—During the 20-year
period beginning on the date the Secretary of the Army
makes the transfer under subsection (a), if the Secretary
determines that a condition specified in subsection (c) or
(d) is not being satisfied or that the transferred land is
not being used for economic development purposes, then,
at the option of the United States, all right, title, and in-
terest in and to the property, including improvements
thereon, shall be subject to reversion to the United States.
In the event the United States exercises its option to cause
the property to revert, the United States shall have the
right of immediate entry onto the property. Any deter-
mination of the Secretary under this subsection shall be
made on the record after an opportunity for a hearing.
697
(f) SURVEYS.—All costs of necessary surveys for the
transfer of real property under this section shall be borne
by the State of Illinois.
(g) ADDITIONAL TERMS
AND CONDITIONS.—The
Secretary of the Army may require such additional terms
and conditions in connection with the transfer under this
section as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect
the interests of the United States.
CHAPTER 4—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. 10331. DEGREE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be con-
strued to restrict or lessen the degree of cleanup at the
Arsenal required to be carried out under provisions of any
environmental law.
(b) RESPONSE ACTION.—The establishment of the
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie under chapter 2 and
the additional real property transfers and disposals re-
quired under chapter 3 shall not restrict or lessen in any
way any response action or degree of cleanup under
CERCLA or other environmental law, or any response ac-
tion required under any environmental law to remediate
petroleum products or their derivatives (including motor
oil and aviation fuel), required to be carried out under the
authority of the Secretary of the Army at the Arsenal and
698
surrounding areas, except to the extent otherwise allow-
able under such laws.
(c) ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF PROPERTY.—Any
contract for sale, deed, or other transfer of real property
under chapter 3 shall be carried out in compliance with
all applicable provisions of section 120(h) of CERCLA and
other environmental laws.
Subtitle D—Miscellaneous
Provisions
SEC. 10401. EXTENSION OF HIGHER VESSEL TONNAGE DU-
TIES.
(a) EXTENSION OF DUTIES.—Section 36 of the Act
of August 5, 1909 (36 Stat. 111; 46 App. U.S.C. 121),
is amended by striking ‘‘for fiscal years 1991, 1992, 1993,
1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,’’ each place it appears and
inserting ‘‘for fiscal years through fiscal year 2002,’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The Act entitled
‘‘An Act concerning tonnage duties on vessels entering
otherwise than by sea’’, approved March 8, 1910 (36 Stat.
234; 46 App. U.S.C. 132), is amended by striking ‘‘for
fiscal years 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997,
and 1998,’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal years through fiscal
year 2002,’’.
699
SEC. 10402. SALE OF GOVERNORS ISLAND, NEW YORK.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Administrator of General Services shall
dispose of by sale at fair market value all rights, title, and
interests of the United States in and to the land of, and
improvements to, Governors Island, New York.
(b) RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.—Before a sale is
made under subsection (a) to any other parties, the State
of New York and the city of New York shall be given the
right of first refusal to purchase all or part of Governors
Island. Such right may be exercised by either the State
of New York or the city of New York or by both parties
acting jointly.
(c) PROCEEDS.—Proceeds from the disposal of Gov-
ernors Island under subsection (a) shall be deposited in
the general fund of the Treasury and credited as mis-
cellaneous receipts.
SEC. 10403. SALE OF AIR RIGHTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Administrator of General Services shall
sell, at fair market value and in a manner to be deter-
mined by the Administrator, the air rights adjacent to
Washington Union Station described in subsection (b), in-
cluding air rights conveyed to the Administrator under
subsection (d). The Administrator shall complete the sale
by such date as is necessary to ensure that the proceeds
700
from the sale will be deposited in accordance with sub-
section (c).
(b) DESCRIPTION.—The air rights referred to in sub-
section (a) total approximately 16.5 acres and are depicted
on the plat map of the District of Columbia as follows:
(1) Part of lot 172, square 720.
(2) Part of lots 172 and 823, square 720.
(3) Part of lot 811, square 717.
(c) PROCEEDS.—Before September 30, 1996, pro-
ceeds from the sale of air rights under subsection (a) shall
be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury and cred-
ited as miscellaneous receipts.
(d) CONVEYANCE OF AMTRAK AIR RIGHTS.—
(1) GENERAL RULE.—As a condition of future
Federal financial assistance, Amtrak shall convey to
the Administrator of General Services on or before
December 31, 1995, at no charge, all of the air
rights of Amtrak described in subsection (b).
(2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—If Amtrak does not
meet the condition established by paragraph (1),
Amtrak shall be prohibited from obligating Federal
funds after March 1, 1996.
SEC. 10404. COLLECTION OF PARKING FEES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of General
Services shall issue regulations requiring each Executive
701
agency to collect fees for the use of all parking facilities
provided for the agency at Federal expense.
(b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations—
(1) shall include provisions under which any
such user fee shall be computed based on the fair
market value of the use of the parking facility in-
volved; and
(2) shall take effect on or before the 90th day
after the date of enactment of this Act.
(c) FEES TO BE DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY.—
All user fees collected under this section shall be deposited
in the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous re-
ceipts.
(d) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—No
Federal funds may be used to pay any user fee collected
under this section.
(e) EXECUTIVE AGENCY DEFINED.—In this section,
the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ has the meaning given such
term by section 105 of title 5, United States Code.
TITLE XI—COMMITTEE ON
VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
SEC. 11001. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the
‘‘Veterans Reconciliation Act of 1995’’.
702
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The contents of this title
are as follows:
TITLE XI—COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
Sec. 11001. Short title; table of contents.
Subtitle A—Extension of Temporary Authorities
Sec. 11011. Authority to require that certain veterans agree to make
copayments in exchange for receiving health-care benefits.
Sec. 11012. Medical care cost recovery authority.
Sec. 11013. Income verification authority.
Sec. 11014. Limitation on pension for certain recipients of medicaid-covered
nursing home care.
Sec. 11015. Home loan fees.
Sec. 11016. Procedures applicable to liquidation sales on defaulted home loans
guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Subtitle B—Other Matters
Sec. 11021. Revision to prescription drug copayment.
Sec. 11022. Rounding down of cost-of-living adjustments in compensation and
DIC rates.
Sec. 11023. Revised standard for liability for injuries resulting from Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs treatment.
Sec. 11024. Enhanced loan asset sale authority.
Sec. 11025. Withholding of payments and benefits.
Subtitle C—Health Care Eligibility Reform
Sec. 11031. Hospital care and medical services.
Sec. 11032. Extension of authority to priority health care for Persian Gulf vet-
erans.
Sec. 11033. Prosthetics.
Sec. 11034. Management of health care.
Sec. 11035. Improved efficiency in health care resource management.
Sec. 11036. Sharing agreements for specialized medical resources.
Sec. 11037. Personnel furnishing shared resources.
703
Subtitle A—Extension of
Temporary Authorities
SEC. 11011. AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE THAT CERTAIN VET-
ERANS AGREE TO MAKE COPAYMENTS IN EX-
CHANGE FOR RECEIVING HEALTH-CARE BEN-
EFITS.
(a) 
HOSPITAL
AND
MEDICAL
CARE.—Section
8013(e) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1990 (38 U.S.C. 1710 note) is amended by striking out
‘‘September 30, 1998’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Sep-
tember 30, 2002’’.
(b) OUTPATIENT MEDICATIONS.—Section 1722A(c)
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking
out ‘‘September 30, 1998’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘September 30, 2002’’.
SEC. 11012. MEDICAL CARE COST RECOVERY AUTHORITY.
Section 1729(a)(2)(E) of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘before October 1,
1998,’’ and inserting ‘‘before October 1, 2002,’’.
SEC. 11013. INCOME VERIFICATION AUTHORITY.
Section 5317(g) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by striking out ‘‘September 30, 1998’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘September 30, 2002’’.
704
SEC. 11014. LIMITATION ON PENSION FOR CERTAIN RECIPI-
ENTS 
OF 
MEDICAID-COVERED 
NURSING
HOME CARE.
Section 5503(f)(7) of title 38, United States Code,
is amended by striking out ‘‘September 30, 1998’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘September 30, 2002’’.
SEC. 11015. HOME LOAN FEES.
Section 3729(a) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking out ‘‘October
1, 1998’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘October 1,
2002’’; and
(2) in paragraph (5)(C), by striking out ‘‘Octo-
ber 1, 1998’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘October
1, 2002’’.
SEC. 11016. PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO LIQUIDATION
SALES ON DEFAULTED HOME LOANS GUAR-
ANTEED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS.
Section 3732(c)(11) of title 38, United States Code,
is amended by striking out ‘‘October 1, 1998’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘October 1, 2002’’.
705
Subtitle B—Other Matters
SEC. 
11021. 
REVISION 
TO 
PRESCRIPTION 
DRUG
COPAYMENT.
(a) INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF COPAYMENT.—Section
1722A(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘$2’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘$3’’;
(2) by striking out paragraph (2); and
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (2).
(b) RECOVERY
OF
INDEBTEDNESS.—(1) Section
5302 of such title is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
‘‘(f) The Secretary may not waive under this section
the recovery of any payment or the collection of any in-
debtedness owed under section 1722A of this title.’’.
(2) The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall
apply with respect to amounts that become due to the
United States under section 1722A of title 38, United
States Code, on or after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 11022. ROUNDING DOWN OF COST-OF-LIVING ADJUST-
MENTS IN COMPENSATION AND DIC RATES.
(a) FISCAL YEAR 1996 COLA.—(1) Effective as of
December 1, 1995, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
706
recompute any increase in an adjustment that is otherwise
provided by law to be effective during fiscal year 1996 in
the rates of disability compensation and dependency and
indemnity compensation paid by the Secretary as such
rates were in effect on November 30, 1995. The recom-
putation shall provide for the same percentage increase
as provided under such law, but with amounts so recom-
puted (if not a whole dollar amount) rounded down to the
next lower whole dollar amount (rather than to the nearest
whole dollar amount) and with each old-law DIC rate in-
creased by the amount by which the new-law DIC rate
is increased (rather than by a uniform percentage).
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1):
(A) The term ‘‘old-law DIC rate’’ means a dol-
lar amount in effect under section 1311(a)(3) of title
38, United States Code.
(B) The term ‘‘new-law DIC rate’’ means the
dollar amount in effect under section 1311(a)(1) of
title 38, United States Code.
(b) OUT-YEAR COMPENSATION COLAS.—(1) Chap-
ter 11 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by in-
serting after section 1102 the following new section:
‘‘§ 1103. Cost-of-living adjustments
‘‘(a) In the computation of cost-of-living adjustments
for fiscal years 1997 through 2002 in the rates of, and
707
dollar limitations applicable to, compensation payable
under this chapter, such adjustments shall be made by a
uniform percentage that is no more than the percentage
equal to the social security increase for that fiscal year,
with all increased monthly rates and limitations (other
than increased rates or limitations equal to a whole dollar
amount) rounded down to the next lower whole dollar
amount.
‘‘(b) For purposes of this section, the term ‘social se-
curity increase’ means the percentage by which benefit
amounts payable under title II of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) are increased for any fiscal year
as a result of a determination under section 215(i) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)).’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 1102 the following new item:
‘‘1103. Cost-of-living adjustments.’’.
(c) OUT-YEAR DIC COLAS.—(1) Chapter 13 of title
38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 1302 the following new section:
‘‘§ 1303. Cost-of-living adjustments
‘‘(a) In the computation of cost-of-living adjustments
for fiscal years 1997 through 2002 in the rates of depend-
ency and indemnity compensation payable under this
chapter, such adjustments (except as provided in sub-
708
section (b)) shall be made by a uniform percentage that
is no more than the percentage equal to the social security
increase for that fiscal year, with all increased monthly
rates (other than increased rates equal to a whole dollar
amount) rounded down to the next lower whole dollar
amount.
‘‘(b)(1) Cost-of-living adjustments for each of fiscal
years 1997 through 2002 in old-law DIC rates shall be
in a whole dollar amount that is no greater than the
amount by which the new-law DIC rate is increased for
that fiscal year as determined under subsection (a).
‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1):
‘‘(A) The term ‘old-law DIC rates’ means the
dollar amounts in effect under section 1311(a)(3) of
this title.
‘‘(B) The term ‘new-law DIC rate’ means the
dollar amount in effect under section 1311(a)(1) of
this title.
‘‘(c) For purposes of this section, the term ‘social se-
curity increase’ means the percentage by which benefit
amounts payable under title II of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) are increased for any fiscal year
as a result of a determination under section 215(i) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 415(i)).’’.
709
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 1302 the following new item:
‘‘1303. Cost-of-living adjustments.’’.
SEC. 11023. REVISED STANDARD FOR LIABILITY FOR INJU-
RIES RESULTING FROM DEPARTMENT OF
VETERANS AFFAIRS TREATMENT.
(a) REVISED STANDARD.—Section 1151 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended—
(1) by designating the second sentence as sub-
section (c);
(2) by striking out the first sentence and insert-
ing in lieu thereof the following:
‘‘(a) Compensation under this chapter and depend-
ency and indemnity compensation under chapter 13 of this
title shall be awarded for a qualifying additional disability
of a veteran or the qualifying death of a veteran in the
same manner as if such disability or death were service-
connected.
‘‘(b)(1) For purposes of this section, a disability or
death is a qualifying additional disability or a qualifying
death only if the disability or death—
‘‘(A) was caused by Department health care
and was a proximate result of—
710
‘‘(i) negligence on the part of the Depart-
ment in furnishing the Department health care;
or
‘‘(ii) an event not reasonably foreseeable;
or
‘‘(B) was incurred as a proximate result of the
provision of training and rehabilitation services by
the Secretary (including by a service-provider used
by the Secretary for such purpose under section
3115 of this title) as part of an approved rehabilita-
tion program under chapter 31 of this title.
‘‘(2) For purposes of this section, the term ‘Depart-
ment health care’ means hospital care, medical or surgical
treatment, or an examination that is furnished under any
law administered by the Secretary to a veteran by a De-
partment employee or in a Department facility (as defined
in section 1701(3)(A) of this title).
‘‘(3) A disability or death of a veteran which is the
result of the veteran’s willful misconduct is not a qualify-
ing disability or death for purposes of this section.’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d) Effective with respect to injuries, aggravations
of injuries, and deaths occurring after September 30,
2002, a disability or death is a qualifying additional dis-
ability or a qualifying death for purposes of this section
711
(notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b)(1)) if the
disability or death—
‘‘(1) was the result of Department health care;
or
‘‘(2) was the result of the pursuit of a course
of vocational rehabilitation under chapter 31 of this
title.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsection (c) of
such section, as designated by subsection (a)(1), is amend-
ed—
(1) by striking out ‘‘, aggravation,’’ both places
it appears; and
(2) by striking out ‘‘sentence’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘subsection’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to any administrative or judicial
determination of eligibility for benefits under section 1151
of title 38, United States Code, based on a claim that is
received by the Secretary on or after October 1, 1995, in-
cluding any such determination based on an original appli-
cation or an application seeking to reopen, revise, recon-
sider, or otherwise readjudicate any claim for benefits
under section 1151 of that title or any predecessor provi-
sion of law.
712
SEC. 11024. ENHANCED LOAN ASSET SALE AUTHORITY.
Section 3720(h)(2) of title 38, United States Code,
is amended by striking out ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘September 30, 1996’’.
SEC. 11025. WITHHOLDING OF PAYMENTS AND BENEFITS.
(a) NOTICE REQUIRED IN LIEU OF CONSENT OR
COURT ORDER.—Section 3726 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by striking out ‘‘unless’’ and all that
follows and inserting in lieu thereof the following: ‘‘unless
the Secretary provides such veteran or surviving spouse
with notice by certified mail with return receipt requested
of the authority of the Secretary to waive the payment
of indebtedness under section 5302(b) of this title. If the
Secretary does not waive the entire amount of the liability,
the Secretary shall then determine whether the veteran or
surviving spouse should be released from liability under
section 3713(b) of this title. If the Secretary determines
that the veteran or surviving spouse should not be released
from liability, the Secretary shall notify the veteran or sur-
viving spouse of that determination and provide a notice
of the procedure for appealing that determination, unless
the Secretary has previously made such determination and
notified the veteran or surviving spouse of the procedure
for appealing the determination.’’.
713
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5302(b) of
such title is amended by inserting ‘‘with return receipt re-
quested’’ after ‘‘certified mail’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply with respect to any indebtedness
to the United States arising pursuant to chapter 37 of
title 38, United States Code, before, on, or after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
Subtitle C—Health Care Eligibility
Reform
SEC. 11031. HOSPITAL CARE AND MEDICAL SERVICES.
(a) ELIGIBILITY FOR CARE.—Section 1710(a) of title
38, United States Code, is amended by striking out para-
graphs (1) and (2) and inserting the following:
‘‘(a)(1) The Secretary shall, to the extent and in the
amount provided in advance in appropriations Acts for
these purposes, provide hospital care and medical services,
and may provide nursing home care, which the Secretary
determines is needed to any veteran—
‘‘(A) with a compensable service-connected dis-
ability;
‘‘(B) whose discharge or release from active
military, naval, or air service was for a compensable
disability that was incurred or aggravated in the line
of duty;
714
‘‘(C) who is in receipt of, or who, but for a sus-
pension pursuant to section 1151 of this title (or
both a suspension and the receipt of retired pay),
would be entitled to disability compensation, but
only to the extent that such veteran’s continuing eli-
gibility for such care is provided for in the judgment
or settlement provided for in such section;
‘‘(D) who is a former prisoner of war;
‘‘(E) of the Mexican border period or of World
War I;
‘‘(F) who was exposed to a toxic substance, ra-
diation, or environmental hazard, as provided in sub-
section (e); and
‘‘(G) who is unable to defray the expenses of
necessary care as determined under section 1722(a)
of this title.
‘‘(2) In the case of a veteran who is not described
in paragraph (1), the Secretary may, to the extent re-
sources and facilities are available and subject to the pro-
visions of subsection (f), furnish hospital care, medical
services, and nursing home care which the Secretary deter-
mines is needed.’’.
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—(1) 
Section
1710(e) of such title is amended—
715
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘hospital
care and nursing home care’’ in subparagraphs (A),
(B), and (C) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘hospital
care, medical services, and nursing home care’’;
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and medical
services’’ after ‘‘Hospital and nursing home care’’;
and
(C) by striking out ‘‘subsection (a)(1)(G) of
this section’’ each place it appears and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (a)(1)(F)’’.
(2) Chapter 17 of such title is amended—
(A) by redesignating subsection (g) of section
1710 as subsection (h); and
(B) by transferring subsection (f) of section
1712 of such title to section 1710 so as to appear
after subsection (f), redesignating such subsection as
subsection (g), and amending such subsection by
striking out ‘‘section 1710(a)(2) of this title’’ in
paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sub-
section (a)(2) of this section’’.
(3) Section 1712 of such title is amended—
(A) by striking out subsections (a) and (i); and
(B) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (d),
(h) and (j), as subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e),
respectively.
716
SEC. 11032. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO PRIORITY
HEALTH CARE FOR PERSIAN GULF VETER-
ANS.
Section 1710(e)(3) of title 38, United States Code,
is amended by striking out ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘December 31, 1998’’.
SEC. 11033. PROSTHETICS.
(a) 
ELIGIBILITY
FOR
PROSTHETICS.—Section
1701(6)(A)(i) of title 38, United States Code, is amend-
ed—
(1) by striking out ‘‘(in the case of a person
otherwise receiving care or services under this chap-
ter)’’ and ‘‘(except under the conditions described in
section 1712(a)(5)(A) of this title),’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘(in the case of a person other-
wise receiving care or services under this chapter)’’
before ‘‘wheelchairs,’’; and
(3) by inserting ‘‘except that the Secretary may
not furnish sensori-neural aids other than in accord-
ance with guidelines which the Secretary shall pre-
scribe,’’ after ‘‘reasonable and necessary,’’.
(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veter-
ans Affairs shall prescribe the guidelines required by the
amendments made by subsection (a) and shall furnish a
717
copy of those guidelines to the Committees on Veterans’
Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives.
SEC. 11034. MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH CARE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 17 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1704
the following new sections:
‘‘§ 1705. Management of health care: patient enroll-
ment system
‘‘(a) In managing the provision of hospital care and
medical services under section 1710(a)(1) of this title, the
Secretary, in accordance with regulations the Secretary
shall prescribe, shall establish and operate a system of an-
nual patient enrollment. The Secretary shall manage the
enrollment of veterans in accordance with the following
priorities, in the order listed:
‘‘(1) Veterans with service-connected disabilities
rated 30 percent or greater.
‘‘(2) Veterans who are former prisoners of war
and veterans with service connected disabilities rated
10 percent or 20 percent.
‘‘(3) Veterans who are in receipt of increased
pension based on a need of regular aid and attend-
ance or by reason of being permanently housebound
and other veterans who are catastrophically disabled.
718
‘‘(4) Veterans not covered by paragraphs (1)
through (3) who are unable to defray the expenses
of necessary care as determined under section
1722(a) of this title.
‘‘(5) All other veterans eligible for hospital care,
medical services, and nursing home care under sec-
tion 1710(a)(1) of this title.
‘‘(b) In the design of an enrollment system under
subsection (a), the Secretary—
‘‘(1) shall ensure that the system will be man-
aged in a manner to ensure that the provision of
care to enrollees is timely and acceptable in quality;
‘‘(2) may establish additional priorities within
each priority group specified in subsection (a), as
the Secretary determines necessary; and
‘‘(3) may provide for exceptions to the specified
priorities where dictated by compelling medical rea-
sons.
‘‘§ 1706. Management of health care: other require-
ments
‘‘(a) In managing the provision of hospital care and
medical services under section 1710(a) of this title, the
Secretary shall, to the extent feasible, design, establish
and manage health care programs in such a manner as
719
to promote cost-effective delivery of health care services
in the most clinically appropriate setting.
‘‘(b) In managing the provision of hospital care and
medical services under section 1710(a) of this title, the
Secretary—
‘‘(1) may contract for hospital care and medical
services when Department facilities are not capable
of furnishing such care and services economically,
and
‘‘(2) shall make such rules and regulations re-
garding acquisition procedures or policies as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate to provide such needed
care and services.
‘‘(c) In managing the provision of hospital care and
medical services under section 1710(a) of this title, the
Secretary shall ensure that the Department maintains its
capacity to provide for the specialized treatment and reha-
bilitative needs of disabled veterans described in section
1710(a) of this title (including veterans with spinal cord
dysfunction, blindness, amputations, and mental illness)
within distinct programs or facilities of the Department
that are dedicated to the specialized needs of those veter-
ans in a manner that (1) affords those veterans reasonable
access to care and services for those specialized needs, and
(2) ensures that overall capacity of the Department to pro-
720
vide such services is not reduced below the capacity of the
Department, nationwide, to provide those services, as of
the date of the enactment of this section.
‘‘(d) In managing the provision of hospital care and
medical services under section 1710(a) of this title, the
Secretary shall ensure that any veteran with a service-con-
nected disability is provided all benefits under this chapter
for which that veteran was eligible before the date of the
enactment of this section.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter
17 of such title is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 1704 the following new items:
‘‘1705. Management of health care: patient enrollment system.
‘‘1706. Management of health care: other requirements.’’.
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS
TO
SECTION
1703.—(1) Section 1703 of such title is amended—
(A) by striking out subsections (a) and (b); and
(B) in subsection (c) by—
(i) striking out ‘‘(c)’’, and
(ii) striking out ‘‘this section, sections’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sections 1710,’’.
(2)(A) The heading of such section is amended to
read as follows:
721
‘‘§ 1703. Annual report on furnishing of care and
services by contract’’.
(B) The item relating to such section in the table of
sections at the beginning of chapter 17 of such title is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘1703. Annual report on furnishing of care and services by contract.’’.
SEC. 11035. IMPROVED EFFICIENCY IN HEALTH CARE RE-
SOURCE MANAGEMENT.
(a) REPEAL OF SUNSET PROVISION.—Section 204 of
the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–
585; 106 Stat. 4950) is repealed.
(b) COST RECOVERY.—Title II of such Act is further
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 207. AUTHORITY TO BILL HEALTH-PLAN CONTRACTS.
‘‘(a) RIGHT TO RECOVER.—In the case of a primary
beneficiary (as described in section 201(2)(B)) who has
coverage under a health-plan contract, as defined in sec-
tion 1729(i)(1)(A) of title 38, United States Code, and
who is furnished care or services by a Department medical
facility pursuant to this title, the United States shall have
the right to recover or collect charges for such care or
services from such health-plan contract to the extent that
the beneficiary (or the provider of the care or services)
would be eligible to receive payment for such care or serv-
ices from such health-plan contract if the care or services
had not been furnished by a department or agency of the
722
United States. Any funds received from such health-plan
contract shall be credited to funds that have been allotted
to the facility that furnished the care or services.
‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.—The right of the United
States to recover under such a beneficiary’s health-plan
contract shall be enforceable in the same manner as that
provided by subsections (a)(3), (b), (c)(1), (d), (f), (h),
and (i) of section 1729 of title 38, United States Code.’’.
SEC. 11036. SHARING AGREEMENTS FOR SPECIALIZED MED-
ICAL RESOURCES.
(a) REPEAL OF SECTION 8151.—(1) Subchapter IV
of chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, is amend-
ed—
(A) by striking out section 8151; and
(B) by redesignating sections 8152, 8153,
8154, 8155, 8156, 8157, and 8158 as sections 8151,
8152, 8153, 8154, 8155, 8156, and 8157, respec-
tively.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter
81 is amended—
(A) by striking out the item relating to section
8151; and
(B) by revising the items relating to sections
8152, 8153, 8154, 8155, 8156, 8157, and 8158 to
reflect the redesignations by paragraph (1)(B).
723
(b) REVISED AUTHORITY
FOR SHARING AGREE-
MENTS.—Section 8152 of such title, as redesignated by
subsection (a)(1)(B), is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘specialized medical re-
sources’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘health-
care resources’’; and
(B) by striking out ‘‘other’’ and all that
follows through ‘‘medical schools’’ and inserting
in lieu thereof ‘‘any medical school, health-care
provider, health-care plan, insurer, or other en-
tity or individual’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(2) by striking out ‘‘only’’
and all that follows through ‘‘are not’’ and inserting
in lieu thereof ‘‘if such resources are not, or would
not be,’’;
(3) in subsection (b), by striking out ‘‘reciprocal
reimbursement’’ in the first sentence and all that
follows through the period at the end of that sen-
tence and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘payment to the
Department in accordance with procedures that pro-
vide appropriate flexibility to negotiate payment
which is in the best interest of the Government.’’;
(4) in subsection (d), by striking out ‘‘preclude
such payment, in accordance with—’’ and all that
724
follows through ‘‘to such facility therefor’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘preclude such payment to
such facility for such care or services’’;
(5) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and
(6) by inserting after subsection (d) the follow-
ing new subsection (e):
‘‘(e) The Secretary may make an arrangement that
authorizes the furnishing of services by the Secretary
under this section to individuals who are not veterans only
if the Secretary determines—
‘‘(1) that such an arrangement will not result
in the denial of, or a delay in providing access to,
care to any veteran at that facility; and
‘‘(2) that such an arrangement—
‘‘(A) is necessary to maintain an accept-
able level and quality of service to veterans at
that facility; or
‘‘(B) will result in the improvement of
services to eligible veterans at that facility.’’.
(c) CROSS-REFERENCE AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section
8110(c)(3)(A) of such title is amended by striking out
‘‘8153’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘8152’’.
(2) Subsection (b) of section 8154 of such title (as
redesignated by subsection (a)(1)(B)) is amended by strik-
725
ing out ‘‘section 8154’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec-
tion 8153’’.
(3) Section 8156 of such title (as redesignated by
subsection (a)(1)(B)) is amended—
(A) in subsection (a), by striking out ‘‘section
8153(a)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section
8152(a)’’; and
(B) in subsection (b)(3), by striking out ‘‘sec-
tion 8153’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section
8152’’.
(4) Subsection (a) of section 8157 of such title (as
redesignated by subsection (a)(1)(B)) is amended—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking out ‘‘section 8157’’ and ‘‘section 8153(a)’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 8156’’ and
‘‘section 8152(a)’’, respectively; and
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘section
8157(b)(4)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section
8156(b)(4)’’.
SEC. 11037. PERSONNEL FURNISHING SHARED RESOURCES.
Section 712(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘the sum of—’’ and insert-
ing in lieu thereof ‘‘the sum of the following:’’;
726
(2) by capitalizing the first letter of the first
word of each of subparagraphs (A) and (B);
(3) by striking out ‘‘; and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (A) and inserting in lieu thereof a period;
and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(C) The number of such positions in the
Department during that fiscal year held by per-
sons involved in providing health-care resources
under section 8111 or 8152 of this title.’’.
TITLE XII—TRADE
Subtitle A—Technical Corrections
and Miscellaneous Trade Provi-
sions
SEC. 12001. PAYMENT OF DUTIES AND FEES.
(a) INTEREST ACCRUAL.—Section 505(c) of the Tar-
iff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1505(c)) is amended in the
second sentence by inserting after ‘‘duties, fees, and inter-
est’’ the following: ‘‘or, in a case in which a claim is made
under section 520(d), from the date on which such claim
is made,’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall apply to claims made pursuant to sec-
tion 520(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 on or after April
25, 1995.
727
SEC. 12002. OTHER TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND-
MENTS.
(a) EXAMINATION OF BOOKS AND WITNESSES.—Sec-
tion 509(a)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1509(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘(c)(1)(A)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(d)(1)(A)’’.
(b) REQUIREMENT FOR CERTIFICATE FOR IMPORTA-
TION OF ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS IN SMALL VESSELS.—Sec-
tion 7 of the Act of August 5, 1935 (19 U.S.C. 1707;
49 Stat. 520), is repealed.
(c) MANIFESTS.—Section 431(c)(1) of the Tariff Act
of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1431(c)(1)) is amended in the matter
preceding subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘such manifest’’
and inserting ‘‘a vessel manifest’’.
(d) DOCUMENTATION
FOR ENTRY
OF MERCHAN-
DISE.—Section 484(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19
U.S.C. 1484(a)(1)) is amended in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘553, and 336(j)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘and 553’’.
(e) PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.—Section
592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1592) is amend-
ed—
(1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘lawful
duty’’ and inserting ‘‘lawful duty, tax, or fee’’; and
(2) in subsections (b)(1)(A)(vi), (c)(2)(A)(ii),
(c)(3)(A)(ii), (c)(4)(A)(i), and (c)(4)(B) by striking
728
‘‘lawful duties’’ each place it appears and inserting
‘‘lawful duties, taxes, and fees’’.
(f) DEPRIVATION OF LAWFUL DUTIES, TAXES, OR
FEES.—Section 592(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19
U.S.C. 1592(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘or fees be re-
stored’’ and inserting ‘‘and fees be restored’’.
(g) RECONCILIATION TREATED AS ENTRY FOR REC-
ORDKEEPING.—
(1) Section 401(s) of the Tariff Act of 1930
(19 U.S.C. 1401(s)) is amended by inserting ‘‘rec-
ordkeeping,’’ after ‘‘reliquidation,’’.
(2) Section 508(c)(1) of such Act (19 U.S.C.
1508(c)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, filing of a
reconciliation,’’ after ‘‘entry’’.
(h) EXTENSION OF LIQUIDATION.—Section 504(d) of
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1504(d)) is amended
by inserting ‘‘, unless liquidation is extended under sub-
section (b),’’ after ‘‘shall liquidate the entry’’.
(i) EXEMPTION FROM DUTY FOR PERSONAL AND
HOUSEHOLD GOODS ACCOMPANYING RETURNING RESI-
DENTS.—Section 321(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930
(19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘,
9804.00.65,’’ after ‘‘9804.00.30’’.
(j) DEBT COLLECTION.—Section 631(a) of the Tariff
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1631(a)) is amended—
729
(1) by inserting after ‘‘law,’’ the following: ‘‘in-
cluding section 3302 of title 31, United States Code,
and subchapters I and II of chapter 37 of such
title,’’; and
(2) by inserting ‘‘and the expenses associated
with recovering such indebtedness,’’ after ‘‘Govern-
ment,’’.
(k) EXAMINATION OF BOOKS AND WITNESSES.—Sec-
tion 509(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1509(b))
is amended in paragraphs (3) and (4) by striking ‘‘appro-
priate regional commissioner’’ and inserting ‘‘officer des-
ignated pursuant to regulations’’.
(l) REVIEW OF PROTESTS.—Section 515(d) of the
Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1515(d)) is amended by
striking ‘‘district director’’ and inserting ‘‘port director’’.
(m) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section apply as of December 8, 1993.
SEC. 12003. CLARIFICATION REGARDING THE APPLICATION
OF CUSTOMS USER FEES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (D) of section
13031(b)(8) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Rec-
onciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(b)(8)(D)) is
amended—
(1) in clause (iv)—
730
(A) by striking ‘‘subparagraph 9802.00.80
of such Schedules’’ and inserting ‘‘heading
9802.00.80 of such Schedule’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause
(iv);
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause
(v) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by inserting after clause (v) the following
new clause:
‘‘(vi) in the case of merchandise entered from
a foreign trade zone (other than merchandise to
which clause (v) applies), be applied only to the
value of the privileged or nonprivileged foreign sta-
tus merchandise under section 3 of the Act of June
18, 1934 (commonly known as the Foreign Trade
Zones Act, 19 U.S.C. 81c).’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
subsection (a) apply to—
(1) any entry made from a foreign trade zone
on or after the 15th day after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act; and
(2) any entry made from a foreign trade zone
after November 30, 1986, and before such 15th day
if liquidation of the entry was not final before such
15th day.
731
(c) APPLICATION OF FEES TO CERTAIN AGRICUL-
TURAL PRODUCTS.—The amendment made by section
111(b)(2)(D)(iv) of the Customs and Trade Act of 1990
shall apply to—
(1) any entry made from a foreign trade zone
on or after the 15th day after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act; and
(2) any entry made from a foreign trade zone
after November 30, 1986, and before such 15th day
if the liquidation of the entry was not final before
such 15th day.
SEC. 12004. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO THE CUSTOMS
AND TRADE ACT OF 1990.
Subsection (b) of section 484H of the Customs and
Trade Act of 1990 (19 U.S.C. 1553 note) is amended by
striking ‘‘, or withdrawn from warehouse for consump-
tion,’’ and inserting ‘‘for transportation in bond’’.
SEC. 12005. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS REGARDING CER-
TAIN BENEFICIARY COUNTRIES.
(a) CARIBBEAN BASIN ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT.—
Section 213(h)(1) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Re-
covery Act (19 U.S.C. 2703(h)(1)) is amended by adding
at the end thereof the following flush sentence:
732
‘‘The duty reductions provided for under this paragraph
shall not apply to textile and apparel articles which are
subject to textile agreements.’’.
(b) ANDEAN TRADE PREFERENCE ACT.—Section
204(c)(1) of the Andean Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C.
3203(c)(1)) is amended by adding at the end thereof the
following flush sentence:
‘‘The duty reductions provided for under this paragraph
shall not apply to textile and apparel articles which are
subject to textile agreements.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section apply with respect to—
(1) articles entered, or withdrawn from ware-
house for consumption, on or after the 15th day
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and
(2) articles entered after December 31, 1991,
and before such 15th day, if the liquidation of the
entry of such articles was not final before such 15th
day.
SEC. 12006. CLARIFICATION OF FEES FOR CERTAIN CUS-
TOMS SERVICES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13031(b)(9)(A) of the
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
(19 U.S.C. 58c(b)(9)(A)) is amended—
733
(1) by striking ‘‘centralized hub facility or’’ in
clause (i); and
(2) in clause (ii)—
(A) by striking ‘‘facility—’’ and inserting
‘‘facility or centralized hub facility—’’,
(B) by striking ‘‘customs inspectional’’ in
subclause (I), and
(C) by striking ‘‘at the facility’’ in
subclause (I) and inserting ‘‘for the facility’’.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 13031(b)(9)(B)(i) of the
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
(19 U.S.C. 58c(b)(9)(B)(i)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘, as in effect on July 30,
1990’’, and
(2) by adding at the end thereof the following
new sentence: ‘‘Nothing in this paragraph shall be
construed as prohibiting the Secretary of the Treas-
ury from processing merchandise that is informally
entered or released at any centralized hub facility or
express consignment carrier facility during the nor-
mal operating hours of the Customs Service, subject
to reimbursement and payment under subparagraph
(A).’’.
(c) CITATION.—Section 13031(b)(9)(B)(ii) of the
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
734
(19 U.S.C. 58c(b)(9)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 236 of the Tariff and Trade Act of 1984’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘section 236 of the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984’’.
SEC. 12007. SPECIAL RULE FOR EXTENDING TIME FOR FIL-
ING DRAWBACK CLAIMS.
Section 313(r) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1313(r)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(3)(A)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the Customs
Service may, notwithstanding the limitation set forth
in paragraph (1), extend the time for filing a draw-
back claim for a period not to exceed 18 months,
if—
‘‘(I) the claimant establishes to the satis-
faction of the Customs Service that the claim-
ant was unable to file the drawback claim be-
cause of an event declared by the President to
be a major disaster on or after January 1,
1994; and
‘‘(II) the claimant files a request for such
extension with the Customs Service within one
year from the last day of the 3-year period re-
ferred to in paragraph (1).
‘‘(ii) In the case of a major disaster occurring
on or after January 1, 1994, and before the date of
the enactment of this paragraph—
735
‘‘(I) the Customs Service may extend the
time for filing the drawback claim for a period
not to exceed 1 year; and
‘‘(II) the request under clause (i)(II) must
be filed not later than 1 year from the date of
the enactment of this paragraph.
‘‘(B) If an extension is granted with respect to
a request filed under this paragraph, the periods of
time for retaining records set forth in subsection (t)
of this section and section 508(c)(3) shall be ex-
tended for an additional 18 months or, in a case to
which subparagraph (A)(ii) applies, for a period not
to exceed 1 year from the date the claim is filed.
‘‘(C) For purposes of this paragraph, the term
‘major disaster’ has the meaning given that term in
section 102(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5122(2)).’’.
SEC. 12008. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN ENTRIES.
(a) LIQUIDATION OR RELIQUIDATION OF ENTRIES.—
Notwithstanding sections 514 and 520 of the Tariff Act
of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1514 and 1520), and any other provi-
sion of law, the United States Customs Service shall liq-
uidate or reliquidate those entry numbers made at New
York, New York, which are listed in subsection (c), in ac-
736
cordance with the final results of the administrative re-
view, covering the period from May 1, 1984, through
March 31, 1985, undertaken by the International Trade
Administration of the Department of Commerce for such
entries (case number A–580–008).
(b) PAYMENT OF AMOUNTS OWED.—Any amounts
owed by the United States pursuant to the liquidation or
reliquidation of an entry under subsection (a) shall be paid
by the Customs Service within 90 days after such liquida-
tion or reliquidation.
(c) ENTRY LIST.—The entries referred to in sub-
section (a) are the following:
Entry Number
Date of Entry
84–4426808 ...............................................................
August 29, 1984
84–4427823 ...............................................................
September 4, 1984
84–4077985 ...............................................................
July 25, 1984
84–4080859 ...............................................................
August 3, 1984
84–4080817 ...............................................................
August 3, 1984
84–4077723 ...............................................................
August 1, 1984
84–4075194 ...............................................................
July 10, 1984
84–4076481 ...............................................................
July 17, 1984
84–4080930 ...............................................................
August 9, 1984.
SEC. 12009. TEMPORARY DUTY SUSPENSION FOR PER-
SONAL EFFECTS OF PARTICIPANTS IN CER-
TAIN WORLD ATHLETIC EVENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 99 of
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is
amended by inserting in numerical sequence the following
new heading:
737
‘‘
9902.98.05
Any of the follow-
ing articles not in-
tended for sale or
distribution to the
public: personal ef-
fects of aliens who
are participants in,
officials of, or ac-
credited members
of delegations to,
the 1998 Goodwill
Games, and of per-
sons who are im-
mediate family
members of or
servants to any of
the foregoing per-
sons; equipment
and materials im-
ported in connec-
tion with the fore-
going event by or
on behalf of the
foregoing persons
or the organizing
committee of such
event; articles to be
used in exhibitions
depicting the cul-
ture of a country
participating in
such event; and, if
consistent with the
foregoing, such
other articles as
the Secretary of
the Treasury may
allow ......................
Free
No change
Free
On or before
2/1/99
’’.
(b) TAXES AND FEES NOT TO APPLY.—The articles
described in heading 9902.98.05 of the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (as added by subsection (a))
shall be free of taxes and fees which may be otherwise
applicable.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
this section applies to articles entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse for consumption, on or after the 15th day after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
738
SEC. 12010. MISCELLANEOUS TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
(a) 
DRAWBACK
AND
REFUNDS.—Section
313(s)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1313(s)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘successor’’ the
first place it appears and inserting ‘‘predecessor’’.
(b) TRADE ACT OF 1974.—Section 301(c)(4) of the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411(c)(4)) is amended by
striking ‘‘(1)(C)(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)(D)(iii)’’.
SEC. 12011. URUGUAY ROUND AGREEMENTS ACT.
Section 405(b) of the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act (19 U.S.C. 3602(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘1(a)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘1(b)’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘1(b)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘1(a)’’.
SEC. 12012. FILING OF CERTIFICATIONS FOR CIVIL AIR-
CRAFT PARTS.
General Note 6 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘or electronic’’ after ‘‘shall file
a written’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘with the appropriate customs
officer’’ and inserting ‘‘with the United States Cus-
toms Service’’.
739
SEC. 12013. EXEMPTION REGARDING CERTAIN VESSEL RE-
PAIRS.
(a) TEMPORARY EXEMPTION EXTENDED.—Section
484E(b)(2)(B) of the Customs and Trade Act of 1990 (19
U.S.C. 1466 note) is amended by striking ‘‘December 31,
1992’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 1994’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
this section applies to any entry made after December 31,
1992, and before January 1, 1995.
SEC. 12014. FEES FOR CERTAIN CUSTOMS SERVICES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13031(a)(5) of the Con-
solidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19
U.S.C. 58c(a)(5)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘a place’’
after ‘‘aircraft from’’; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sub-
section 
(b)(1)(A)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘subsection
(b)(1)(A)(i)’’.
(b) LIMITATION ON FEES.—Section 13031(b)(1) of
the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(b)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON FEES.—(1)(A) No fee may be
charged under subsection (a) of this section for customs
services provided in connection with—
‘‘(i) the arrival of any passenger whose jour-
ney—
740
‘‘(I) originated in—
‘‘(aa) Canada,
‘‘(bb) Mexico,
‘‘(cc) a territory or possession of the
United States, or
‘‘(dd) any adjacent island (within the
meaning of section 101(b)(5) of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(b)(5))), or
‘‘(II) originated in the United States and
was limited to—
‘‘(aa) Canada,
‘‘(bb) Mexico,
‘‘(cc) territories and possessions of the
United States, and
‘‘(dd) such adjacent islands;
‘‘(ii) the arrival of any railroad car the journey
of which originates and terminates in the same
country, but only if no passengers board or dis-
embark from the train and no cargo is loaded or un-
loaded from such car while the car is within any
country other than the country in which such car
originates and terminates;
‘‘(iii) the arrival of any ferry; or
741
‘‘(iv) the arrival of any passenger on board a
commercial vessel traveling only between ports which
are within the customs territory of the United
States.
‘‘(B) The exemption provided for in subparagraph
(A) shall not apply in the case of the arrival of any pas-
senger on board a commercial vessel whose journey origi-
nates and terminates at the same place in the United
States if there are no intervening stops.
‘‘(C) The exemption provided for in subparagraph
(A)(i) shall not apply to fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996,
and 1997.’’.
(c) 
FEE
ASSESSED
ONLY
ONCE.—Section
13031(b)(4) of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Rec-
onciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(b)(4)) is amend-
ed—
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and
(B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;
(2) by striking ‘‘No fee’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) No
fee’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph:
‘‘(B) In the case of a commercial vessel making a
single voyage involving 2 or more United States ports with
respect to which the passengers would otherwise be
742
charged a fee pursuant to subsection (a)(5), such fee shall
be charged only 1 time for each passenger.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect as if included in the amend-
ments made by section 521 of the North American Free
Trade Agreement Implementation Act.
SEC. 12015. TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO CERTAIN CHEMI-
CAL DESCRIPTION.
(a) AMENDMENT TO SUBHEADING 2933.90.02.—The
article description for subheading 2933.90.02 of the Har-
monized Tariff Schedule of the United States is amended
by striking ‘‘(Quizalofop ethyl)’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) GENERAL RULE.—The amendment made by
this section applies to articles entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse for consumption, on or after the
15th day after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) RETROACTIVE
PROVISION.—Notwithstand-
ing section 514 of the Tariff Act of 1930 or any
other provision of law, upon proper request (which
includes sufficient information to identify and locate
the entry) filed with the Customs Service on or be-
fore the date that is 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, any entry, or withdrawal
743
from warehouse for consumption, of an article that
occurred—
(A) after December 31, 1994, and before
the date that is 15 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and
(B) with respect to which there would have
been no duty or a lesser duty if the amendment
made by subsection (a) applied to such entry or
withdrawal,
shall be liquidated or reliquidated as though such
amendment applied to such entry or withdrawal.
SEC. 12016. MARKING OF IMPORTED ARTICLES AND CON-
TAINERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 304 of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C.1304) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), (h),
and (i) as subsections (i), (j), (k), and (l), respec-
tively, and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the follow-
ing new subsections:
‘‘(f) MARKING OF METAL FORGINGS.—The marking
requirements of subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply
to—
‘‘(1) metal forgings that—
744
‘‘(A) are imported for processing into fin-
ished hand tools in the United States, and
‘‘(B) have not been improved in condition
beyond rough burring, trimming, grinding,
turning, hammering, chiseling, or filing; and
‘‘(2) hand tools made from metal forgings de-
scribed in paragraph (1).
‘‘(g) MARKING OF CERTAIN COFFEE AND TEA PROD-
UCTS.—The marking requirements of subsections (a) and
(b) shall not apply to articles described in subheading
0901.21, 0901.22, 0902.10, 0902.20, 0902.30, 0902.40,
2101.10, or 2101.20 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States, as in effect on January 1, 1995.
‘‘(h) MARKING OF SPICES.—The marking require-
ments of subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to articles
provided for under subheadings 0904.11, 0904.12,
0904.20, 0905.00, 0906.10, 0906.20, 0907.00, 0908.10,
0908.20, 0908.30, 0909.10, 0909.20, 0909.30, 0909.40,
0909.50, 0910.10, 0910.20, 0910.30, 0910.40, 0910.50,
0910.91, 0910.99, 1106.20, 1207.40, 1207.50, 1207.91,
1404.90, and 3302.10, and items classifiable in categories
0712.90.60, 0712.90.8080, 1209.91.2000, 1211.90.2000,
1211.90.8040, 
1211.90.8050, 
1211.90.8090,
2006.00.3000, 
2918.13.2000, 
3203.00.8000,
3301.90.1010, 3301.90.1020, and 3301.90.1050 of the
745
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, as in
effect on January 1, 1995.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section apply to goods entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse for consumption, on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 12017. RELIQUIDATING ENTRY OF WARP KNITTING
MACHINES.
Notwithstanding section 514 of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1514) or any other provision of law, upon
proper request filed with the Customs Service before the
180th day after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of the Treasury shall—
(1) liquidate or reliquidate as duty free Entry
No. 100–3022436–3, made on July 12, 1989, at the
port of Charleston, South Carolina; and
(2) refund any duties and interest paid with re-
spect to such entry.
SEC. 12018. IDENTIFICATION OF TRADE EXPANSION PRIOR-
ITIES.
Section 310(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
U.S.C. 2420(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘calendar year
1995’’ and inserting ‘‘each of calendar years 1995 through
2000’’.
746
Subtitle B—Generalized System of
Preferences
SEC. 12101. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘GSP Renewal Act
of 1995’’.
SEC. 12102. GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Trade Act of 1974
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘TITLE V—GENERALIZED
SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES
‘‘SEC. 501. AUTHORITY TO EXTEND PREFERENCES.
‘‘The President may provide duty-free treatment for
any eligible article from any beneficiary developing coun-
try in accordance with the provisions of this title. In tak-
ing any such action, the President shall have due regard
for—
‘‘(1) the effect such action will have on further-
ing the economic development of developing coun-
tries through the expansion of their exports;
‘‘(2) the extent to which other major developed
countries are undertaking a comparable effort to as-
sist developing countries by granting generalized
preferences with respect to imports of products of
such countries;
747
‘‘(3) the anticipated impact of such action on
United States producers of like or directly competi-
tive products; and
‘‘(4) the extent of the beneficiary developing
country’s competitiveness with respect to eligible ar-
ticles.
‘‘SEC. 502. DESIGNATION OF BENEFICIARY DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES.
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE COUNTRIES.—
‘‘(1) BENEFICIARY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.—
The President is authorized to designate countries
as beneficiary developing countries for purposes of
this title.
‘‘(2) LEAST-DEVELOPED BENEFICIARY DEVEL-
OPING COUNTRIES.—The President is authorized to
designate any beneficiary developing country as a
least-developed beneficiary developing country for
purposes of this title, based on the considerations in
section 501 and subsection (c) of this section.
‘‘(b) COUNTRIES INELIGIBLE FOR COUNTRY DES-
IGNATION.—
‘‘(1) 
SPECIFIC
COUNTRIES.—The 
following
countries may not be designated as beneficiary devel-
oping countries for purposes of this title:
‘‘(A) Australia.
748
‘‘(B) Canada.
‘‘(C) European Union member states.
‘‘(D) Iceland.
‘‘(E) Japan.
‘‘(F) Monaco.
‘‘(G) New Zealand.
‘‘(H) Norway.
‘‘(I) Switzerland.
‘‘(2) OTHER BASES FOR INELIGIBILITY.—The
President shall not designate any country a bene-
ficiary developing country under this title if any of
the following applies:
‘‘(A) Such country is a Communist coun-
try, unless—
‘‘(i) the products of such country re-
ceive nondiscriminatory treatment,
‘‘(ii) such country is a WTO Member
(as such term is defined in section 2 of the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act,) and a
member of the International Monetary
Fund, and
‘‘(iii) such country is not dominated
or controlled by international communism.
‘‘(B) Such country is a party to an ar-
rangement of countries and participates in any
749
action pursuant to such arrangement, the effect
of which is—
‘‘(i) to withhold supplies of vital com-
modity resources from international trade
or to raise the price of such commodities
to an unreasonable level, and
‘‘(ii) to cause serious disruption of the
world economy.
‘‘(C) Such country affords preferential
treatment to the products of a developed coun-
try, other than the United States, which has, or
is likely to have, a significant adverse effect on
United States commerce.
‘‘(D)(i) Such country—
‘‘(I) has nationalized, expropriated, or
otherwise seized ownership or control of
property, including patents, trademarks, or
copyrights, owned by a United States citi-
zen or by a corporation, partnership, or as-
sociation which is 50 percent or more ben-
eficially owned by United States citizens,
‘‘(II) has taken steps to repudiate or
nullify an existing contract or agreement
with a United States citizen or a corpora-
tion, partnership, or association which is
750
50 percent or more beneficially owned by
United States citizens, the effect of which
is to nationalize, expropriate, or otherwise
seize ownership or control of property, in-
cluding patents, trademarks, or copyrights,
so owned, or
‘‘(III) has imposed or enforced taxes
or other exactions, restrictive maintenance
or operational conditions, or other meas-
ures with respect to property, including
patents, trademarks, or copyrights, so
owned, the effect of which is to nationalize,
expropriate, or otherwise seize ownership
or control of such property,
unless clause (ii) applies.
‘‘(ii) This clause applies if the President
determines that—
‘‘(I) prompt, adequate, and effective
compensation has been or is being made to
the citizen, corporation, partnership, or as-
sociation referred to in clause (i),
‘‘(II) good faith negotiations to pro-
vide prompt, adequate, and effective com-
pensation under the applicable provisions
of international law are in progress, or the
878
‘‘(C) such plan shall not be treated as fail-
ing to meet the requirements of section
401(a)(4), 
401(a)(26), 
401(k)(3), 
401(m),
403(b)(12), 408(k)(3), 408(k)(6), 410(b), or
416 by reason of the making of such contribu-
tion.
For purposes of the preceding sentence, any elective
deferral or employee contribution made under para-
graph (2) shall be treated as required by reason of
the employee’s rights under such chapter.
‘‘(2) REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS WITH RESPECT
TO ELECTIVE DEFERRALS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this
subchapter and subchapter E, if an employee is
entitled to the benefits of chapter 43 of title 38,
United States Code, with respect to any plan
which provides for elective deferrals, the em-
ployer sponsoring the plan shall be treated as
meeting the requirements of such chapter 43
with respect to such elective deferrals only if
such employer—
‘‘(i) permits such employee to make
additional elective deferrals under such
plan (in the amount determined under sub-
paragraph (B) or such lesser amount as is