Year Legislation Significance
1991 Agent Orange Act Approved compensation for veterans suffering from diseases linked to
dioxin used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War; established process
to determine if other ailments were caused by Agent Orange.
1991 Persian Gulf Resolution Authorized the president to use U.S. armed forces to remove Iraq from
Kuwait.
1991 Operation Desert Shield/Desert
Storm Appropriation Act
Approved $42.6 billion to cover the cost of the Persian Gulf War, to be
spent from an account composed of money pledged by foreign
governments; granted $25 million in emergency loans to small
businesses in communities adversely affected by the deployment of
troops to the Persian Gulf.1991 Persian Gulf War Veterans’ Benefits
Act
Increased combat pay and educational benefits for those military
personnel serving in the Persian Gulf War; increased the death gratuity
and life insurance benefits for the families of those killed in that
conflict.1991 Assignment of Women in the Armed
Forces
Repealed the law that barred assignment of women to combat aircraft
in the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps; created a commission
to study the issue of assigning women to other combat roles.1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act
Authorized $119.5 billion for highway programs and $31.5 billion for
mass-transit programs over six years; consolidated several federal
highway programs into the Surface Transportation Program, from
which states could draw money for highway projects.1991 Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation Improvement Act
Augmented the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation borrowing limit
from $5 to $30 billion to cover depositor losses in failed banks;
approved $45 billion to acquire failed banks’ assets for later sale.1992 Freedom Support Act Provided $410 billion in assistance to twelve independent states that
were part of the former Soviet Union beginning in fiscal year 1993.
1992 Cable Television Consumer
Protection and Competition Act
Enacted over President George H. W. Bush’s veto, this law required the
Federal Communications Commission to create customer service
standards for cable operators and ensure fair rates for viewing and
equipment rentals.1992 Defense Waste Disposal Act Transferred targeted public lands near Carlsbad, New Mexico, to the
Department of Energy for storage of nuclear waste at the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant.
1992 Land Remote Sensing Policy Act Management of the Landsat Remote-Sensing Satellite Program was
transferred from the Department of Commerce to the Department of
Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
1992 Housing and Community
Development Act
Approved a $66.5 billion, two-year reauthorization of federal housing
programs; established provisions affecting mortgages and housing for
the elderly and disabled.1992 Energy Policy Act Streamlined the licensing process for building nuclear power plants;
required greater energy efficiency for appliances, buildings, and
plumbing parts; furnished tax incentives for conservation and use of
renewable energy sources.
1992 Child Support Recovery Act Established a federal criminal penalty for avoiding child support
obligations ordered by a court while living in a different state.
984 Legislation: Major U.S. Legislation The Nineties in America