United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1990
Racial Justice Act of 1990 - Amends the Federal judicial code to make it unlawful to impose or execute sentences of death under color of State or Federal law in a racially discriminatory pattern. Prohibits a person from being put to death in the execution of a sentence imposed pursuant to any law if that person's death sentence furthers a racially discriminatory pattern. Provides that ordinary methods of statistical proof shall suffice to establish a racially discriminatory pattern. States that it shall not be necessary to show discriminatory motive, intent, or purpose on the part of any individual or institution. Establishes the requirements for a prima facie showing that a racially discriminatory pattern exists. States that a State or Federal entity may rebut a prima facie showing by establishing by clear and convincing evidence that identifiable nonracial factors explain the racial disparities constituting the pattern. Requires any State or Federal entity that provides for the imposition of the death penalty to collect and maintain pertinent data on the charging, disposition, and sentencing patterns for all cases of death-eligible crimes. Provides for the appointment of counsel for all indigent clients (and the furnishing of investigative and other services) for habeas corpus actions arising under this Act. Provides that no State court determination on the merits of a factual issue pertinent to a claim under this Act shall be presumed to be correct unless: (1) the State has collected and maintained the necessary death penalty data; and (2) the determination was made in a court proceeding where the defendant was afforded his rights required under this Act. States that nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to affect the lawfulness of any sentence of death that does not violate this Act. States that the failure to raise such a claim before the enactment of this Act shall not bar future claims.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the administration should: (1) be commended for its quick action in addressing the humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia; and (2) impress upon Ethiopia's opposition groups that the U.S. attitude toward each such group will be greatly influenced by their cooperation in facilitating relief efforts and by steps they take in negotiating a lasting political settlement. Requests the President to urge: (1) the parties to the conflict in northern Ethiopia to agree to a ceasefire, to accept free passage of relief, and to permit the United Nations (U.N.) to assume a prominent role in coordinating international relief efforts; (2) Soviet President Gorbachev to press the Ethiopian Government to agree to such actions; and (3) nations supplying military assistance to the warring parties in Ethiopia to use their influence to facilitate a ceasefire and end external military flows. Urges the President: (1) until the Ethiopian Government takes such actions, to oppose favorable treatment of such Government by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to continue to oppose upgrading of U.S. diplomatic relations with such Government, and to prohibit the importation of Ethiopian coffee; and (2) after the Ethiopian Government takes such actions and has made substantial progress in effecting macroeconomic reform and in negotiating a settlement of Ethiopia's internal wars, to begin the normalization of relations and to support an expanded World Bank and IMF role in Ethiopia.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1990
Reduces to five years (currently six) the service obligation of graduates of the service academies. Reduces to seven years (currently ten) the service obligation of graduates of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1990
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to cover personal care services prescribed by a physician, supervised by a registered nurse, and provided to an individual who is not a member of the caregiver's family and is not an inpatient or resident of a hospital or nursing facility.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1990
Amends the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to define what articles under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States are to be included in the term "steel" for purposes of the prohibition on the importation of South African iron and steel.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1990
Contraception and Infertility Research Centers Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Institute of Child Health and Human Development to make grants and enter into contracts for centers for improving methods of contraception and centers for diagnosing and treating infertility. Requires the Director, subject to appropriations, to provide for three centers with respect to contraception and two centers with respect to infertility. Requires each center to: (1) conduct clinical and other applied research; (2) develop training protocols for and conduct training of physicians, scientists, nurses, and other health and allied health professionals; (3) develop model continuing education programs; and (4) disseminate information to such professionals. Allows a center to use the funds to provide: (1) stipends for health and allied health professionals enrolled in the training programs; and (2) fees to individuals serving as subjects in the clinical trials. Requires each center to use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions, meeting requirements as prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Allows support for a center to be for a period of up to five years, with extensions of one or more periods of up to five years if the center's operations have been reviewed by a peer review group and the group has so recommended. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to establish a program of entering into agreements with health professionals, including graduate students, under which the professionals agree to conduct research with respect to contraception or infertility in consideration of the Government agreeing to repay, for each year of such service, not more than a specified amount of the principal and interest of their educational loans. Applies provisions of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program to this program, except as inconsistent. Authorizes appropriations. Requires amounts appropriated to remain available until the end of the second fiscal year after they are appropriated.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1990
Declares that the Congress should: (1) establish a program of research for the development of methods of contraception and methods of diagnosing and treating infertility; (2) provide adequate long-term resources for the program; (3) ensure that Federal programs with respect to sexually transmitted diseases adequately respond to the role of such diseases in infertility; (4) ensure public education on contraception and infertility; (5) establish as Federal goals the development, by the year 2010, of improved barrier methods to protect against pregnancy and diseases, new methods of contraception for use by men, a vaccine-like drug for women that prevents pregnancy for a significant period of time without other specified effects, and new and improved techniques of diagnosing and treating infertility; (6) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reestablish the Ethical Advisory Board in order to facilitate research with respect to infertility; (7) review the policies and procedures of the Food and Drug Administration with respect to expediting approval of drugs and devices for use by the public, especially with respect to contraception and infertility; and (8) determine to what extent measures can be implemented by public or private entities to resolve liability issues involved with drugs and devices concerned with contraception and infertility.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1990
Access to Education for Economic Security Act of 1990 - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (the Act) to declare that homelessness alone should not be sufficient reason to separate students from the mainstream school environment. Revises the program of grants for State activities for the education of homeless children and youth. Increases grant amounts and extends the authorization of appropriations. Permits preschools to receive exemplary grants for education of the homeless and extends the authorization of appropriations for such grants. Establishes a program of demonstration grants for educational success. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make such grants to State and local educational agencies (LEAs) for support services for homeless children and youths to ensure their successful education in preschools and elementary and secondary schools. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide support and technical assistance to State educational agencies to carry out their responsibilities; and (2) determine whether State laws, regulations, policies, and practices described in their plans adequately address the educational problems of homeless children and youths. Requires that comprehensive homeless assistance plans include: (1) certain information relating to homeless school-aged children and youths; and (2) an assurance that welfare authorities and other agencies responsible for placing homeless families in temporary accommodations will consider the need to minimize disruption of the education of the children or youths.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Foreign Investment Policy Improvements Act - Requires the Secretary of Commerce to issue a report on foreign direct investment in the United States. Requires the General Accounting Office to submit to a specified congressional committee a report analyzing and making recommendations with respect to the Secretary's report. Requires the Bureau of Economic Analysis to use certain business information relating to foreign-owned businesses in the United States (ten percent or more of whose voting securities are owned by foreign persons) when implementing the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. Requires the Bureau, in a specified report, to include information on international investment in property in the United States by foreign persons, with separate tables listing businesses (50 percent or more, and 50 percent or less, of whose voting securities are owned or controlled by foreign persons). Amends such Act to authorize and provide for the collection and use of information on direct investments owned or controlled directly or indirectly by foreign governments. Increases, and makes mandatory, the civil penalties for failure to provide information under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Taxpayers' Right to Know Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the booklets of instructions for individual income tax returns to include pie-shaped graphs showing the relative sizes of the major outlay and income categories.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Save the Children Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants, to local educational agencies in areas where the dropout rate for high school students is 20 percent or more, to pay 90 percent of costs of programs of daily after-school activities for at-risk students in the fourth through eighth grades. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Magnetic Levitation Transportation and Competitiveness Act of 1990 - Amends Federal law to establish a Magnetic Levitation Transportation Administration within the Department of Transportation, with an Administrator appointed by the President. Requires the Administrator to conduct a national competition in which he or she shall award grants to participants for research and development of design for a magnetic levitation transportation system. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Administrator to award one grant for the construction of a magnetic levitation transportation system at least 40 miles long. Requires the Administrator to study the feasibility of and need for adopting a standard for the construction of guidelines for magnetic levitation transportation systems which would allow for future development of an interconnecting network of such systems.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Wetlands No Net Loss Act of 1989 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to designate a nonprofit organization as a Wetlands Preservation Trust if such organization: (1) is established for the purpose of acquiring ownership interests in wetlands, former wetlands, and related property and for restoring, creating, or preserving wetlands; and (2) meets, and submits an application in accordance with, the Secretary's requirements. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create special rules for contributions of land to such Trusts. Applies the 50 percent limitation on charitable contribution deductions to contributions of wetlands to such Trusts. Permits a ten-year carryover for excess contributions. Extends the deadline for the exchange of property held for productive use or investment if such contributions are made as part of such exchanges. Permits the carryover of unused deductions on a taxpayer's last return if such taxpayer dies before the close of the last taxable year for which such deductions could have been allowed. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Office of Wetlands Identification and Preservation, to make grants to States from the Wetlands Preservation Account for the improvement, development, or implementation of State Wetlands Conservation Plans. Outlines requirements of such Plans. Prohibits the Secretary from approving any Plan that does not include all wetlands in the State. Amends the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 to include former wetlands in the national wetlands priority conservation plan. Amends the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to require the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish the Office of Wetlands Identification and Preservation within the Service by consolidating the Service's programs of Federal Aid, Acquisition, National Wetland Inventory, and Enhancement (restoration). Requires the Director, acting through the Office, to: (1) provide National Wetland Inventory maps to all Federal agencies that own or manage wetlands and make such maps available to the public; (2) conduct a Wetlands Restoration Initiative; (3) carry out title III of the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 (State and Federal wetland acquisition); and (4) report to the Congress every five years on trends of the nation's wetland resources, the rate at which they are being lost or gained, and the types and causes of alterations. Authorizes the Director to enter into agreements with private persons to carry out wetlands preservation. Directs heads of Federal agencies that own or manage wetlands to enter into agreements with the Director regarding the completion of mapping of lands not covered by the National Wetland Inventory map. Establishes the Wetlands Preservation Account. Requires at least 60 percent of Account funds to be available for grants to States. Sets forth uses for the remainder of such funds. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit into such Account amounts received in the form of: (1) criminal penalties for certain permit violations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and (2) civil and administrative penalties under such Act. Directs the Secretary to transfer annually to the Account $300,000,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the head of each executive agency to: (1) complete an inventory of all wetlands and associated uplands owned or managed by the agency; and (2) implement a plan for the protection of wetlands and uplands included in the inventory. Requires such agencies to submit such plans to the head of the Office and the Secretary of the Interior. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to issue permits for activities in wetlands or other navigable waters that result in specified changes, or impair the flow, reach, or circulation of surface waters, in such wetlands or waters. Requires permit guidelines to be designed to achieve no overall net loss of wetlands. Applies provisions concerning the denial or restriction of use of specified disposal sites to alterations of wetlands or navigable waters. Authorizes the Secretary to issue general permits within a State for categories of wetlands or other waters if the State has an approved State Wetlands Conservation Plan. Requires the Secretary to monitor the achievement of no overall net loss of wetlands in each general permit and base issuances or renewals of permits on such monitoring. Authorizes the Governors of States desiring to administer their own permit programs for the discharge of dredged or fill material and other alterations of navigable waters to submit State Wetlands Conservation Plans to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Provides for permit processing fees. Provides that permits shall require State water quality certifications. Prohibits the issuance of any permit unless measures are taken to avoid and minimize adverse effects of activities on wetlands and other navigable waters. Requires mitigation measures to be included in permits. Amends the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act to transfer specified authorities of the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Commerce. Revises reporting requirements to require Federal agency reports under such Act to include measures to achieve no net loss of wetlands. Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to study and report to the Congress on: (1) incentives under Federal and State laws for the protection and management of wetlands; (2) potential modifications to existing Federal laws to improve their effectiveness in creating such incentives and to increase the permanence of such protection; and (3) ways in which the Federal Government may encourage State and local governments to create additional incentives for the protection and management of wetlands by private individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Department of Defense Civilian Employee Retirement Incentive Act - Allows certain employees of the Department of Defense serving in entities undergoing a major reorganization, reduction in force, or transfer of functions to elect to have five years added to their age upon separation, their total creditable service, or a combination thereof (not to exceed five years) for purposes of determining retirement eligibility and benefits under the Civil Service and Federal Employees' Retirement Systems.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Universal Health Coverage Act of 1990 - Requires each State to develop and implement by 1995 a State health insurance plan which: (1) requires employers of more than 24 employees to enroll such employees and their dependents in a plan providing specified health benefits; (2) creates mechanisms to reduce the costs of providing health insurance to employees of small companies and self-employed and unemployed individuals; (3) establishes a health benefits plan providing affordable coverage to poor and uninsurable individuals; and (4) requires that the State Medicaid plan (title XIX of the Social Security Act) meet minimum national eligibility and coverage requirements to be developed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires the Secretary to monitor State health insurance plans so as to determine by 1998 whether such plans should be administered by the Federal Government or remain at the State level. Establishes the Universal Health Coverage Trust Fund to finance this Act's initiatives with revenue from: (1) specified increases in excise taxes on tobacco products and cosmetics; (2) creation of a 33 percent tax rate for taxable incomes over specified levels; and (3) repeal of the phaseout of the 15 percent rate and personal exemptions; and (4) a change in the maximum capital gains rate. Directs the Secretary to establish a demonstration program providing additional funds to ten States to finance features of their State health insurance plans designed to provide health care to populations having difficulty in obtaining reasonably priced quality care.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Homeless Outreach Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct an outreach program which assists homeless persons in applying for, receiving, and maintaining Social Security Act benefits. Sets forth the scope of such program, requiring: (1) regular visits by outreach personnel to places frequented by the homeless to inform the homeless of, and actively assist them in, applying for benefits; (2) active measures to prevent the inappropriate suspension of benefits to individuals who are homeless, mentally impaired or otherwise unaware of the significance of appealing negative benefit determinations; (3) the immediate restoration of inappropriately suspended benefits; and (4) a final decision on the benefit application of a homeless person within 30 days of its receipt. Authorizes the Secretary to provide: (1) the assistance that may be necessary to ensure that homeless persons appropriately use Social Security Act benefits; and (2) grants to States, local governments, and nonprofit organizations to conduct outreach programs for the homeless.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act of 1990 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to establish average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles (for model years 1995 through 2000) and automobiles other than passenger automobiles (light trucks) (for model years 1995 and thereafter). Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide for a review by the National Academy of Sciences of the current state of research and development in light truck fuel economy and passenger automobile fuel economy and an assessment of the potential for improving the fuel efficiency and reducing the energy consumption of passenger automobiles and light trucks. Directs the Secretary, using such review, to establish a schedule for increasing average fuel economy standards for passenger and nonpassenger cars for model years 2002 through 2006. Revises criteria with respect to the testing of fuel economy for passenger automobiles. Requires automobile manufacturers to affix to each automobile a label that contains fuel economy values specific to such automobile's particular vehicle configuration where that vehicle configuration is less than the fuel economy standard applicable to the vehicle's manufacturer. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report annually to specified congressional committees on a study of the accuracy of fuel economy testing of passenger automobiles. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 explanatory booklets each year to every dealer and additional numbers if requested. Doubles the civil penalty for repeated violations of the fuel economy standard.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Prohibits retaliatory personnel practices against employees who report, or intend to report, violations of Federal laws and regulations. Sets forth complaint and investigation procedures and remedies for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
National Health Service Corps Revitalization Amendments of 1990 - Title I: Revisions in General Program for National Health Service Corps - Amends the Public Health Service Act provisions relating to the purpose of the National Health Service Corps to require that the Secretary of Health and Human Services use the Corps to provide primary health services in health manpower shortage areas. Removes a limitation on the dollar amount of pay increases which may be granted to a Corps member during the first 36 months of service. Removes provisions directing the Secretary, in assigning Corps members, to: (1) give priority to meeting Indian Health Service and other indian tribe or tribal organization needs; and (2) provide special consideration to homeless populations who do not have access to primary health care services. Applies certain definitions to provisions relating to Corps scholarship and loan programs as well as to provisions relating directly to the Corps. Requires that a complete descriptive list of health manpower shortage areas be published in the Federal Register by specified deadlines. Includes in the definition of "medical facility": (1) health programs or facilities operated by a tribe or tribal organization; and (2) facilities used in connection with provisions relating to health services for homeless individuals. Allows the Secretary to assign members of the Corps to an entity to provide health services in a health manpower shortage area only if there has been (currently, will be) appropriate and efficient use of Corps members assigned to that entity for the area. Removes certain provisions relating to priorities and considerations in assigning Corps personnel, replacing some such provisions with similarly worded provisions. Sets forth the exclusive factors the Secretary may consider in determining the areas with the greatest shortages. Requires annual publication in the Federal Register of a list of areas that are to be given priority in the assignment of Corps members and, for FY 1991, a list of entities authorized to receive assignments of Corps members. Replaces provisions relating to grants and contracts for programs respecting preparation for practice of individuals subject to a service obligation with provisions: (1) concerning consideration of characteristics of Corps members in making assignments; (2) requiring certain types of counseling of Corps members; (3) requiring assistance to Corps members in establishing local professional relationships; (4) directing the Secretary to provide assistance regarding temporary relief from Corps duties in order to pursue continuing education or other interests, including vacations; and (5) directing the Secretary to carry out activities to determine the characteristics of health professionals who are more likely to remain in shortage areas after completion of Corps service, and to determine the appropriate conditions for the assignment of certified nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs of National Health Service Corps - Replaces measures providing for the establishment of the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program with similar provisions directing the Secretary to establish such a Scholarship Program to assure, with respect to primary health services, an adequate supply of health professionals. (Current law makes no reference to primary health services.) Requires that an agreement to work as a provider of primary health services in a shortage area (currently, an agreement to work in a shortage area) be a part of the scholarship contract. Alters the priorities in providing contracts under the Scholarship Program to include an individual with characteristics that increase the probability that the individual will continue to serve in a shortage area after completion of obligated service. Changes the required contents of an annual report mandated by current law regarding the Scholarship Program. Replaces measures providing for the establishment of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program with similar provisions directing the Secretary to establish such a Loan Repayment Program to assure, with respect to the provision of primary health services, an adequate supply of health professionals. (Current law makes no reference to primary health services.) Requires that an agreement to work as a provider of primary health services in a shortage area (currently, an agreement to work in a shortage area) be a part of the loan repayment contract. Changes eligibility procedures for the Loan Repayment Program. Replaces provisions governing priorities in providing loan repayment contracts with provisions directing the Secretary to give priority to an individual who has characteristics that increase the probability that the individual will continue to serve in a shortage area after completion of obligated service. Increases the limit on the amount the Secretary may pay for each year of obligated service. Removes provisions allowing fulfillment of a service obligation in the Indian Health Service or in a program or facility operated by a tribe or a tribal organization. Requires (currently, allows) the Secretary to pay all (currently, part or all) of any increase in Federal income tax liability of an individual which arises as a result of the loan repayments. Changes the required contents of an annual report mandated by current law regarding the Loan Repayment Program. Requires that an annual report concerning the Scholarship Program and the Loan Repayment Program cover the next five years rather than the next three years. Authorizes appropriations, requiring set-asides in certain percentages for new applicants and for applicants in specified fields. Title III: State Offices of Rural Health - Authorizes the Secretary, through the Director of the Office of Rural Health Policy, to make grants to States for improving health care in rural areas through the operation of State offices of rural health. Requires recipient States to agree that such office will be provided with a minimum annual budget. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits making grants under this program after the aggregate amounts appropriated reach a specified level. Title IV: General Provisions - Specifies the effective dates of provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Amends title XVIIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover services performed by a physician assistant regardless of the setting or geographical location in which such services are rendered.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Amends the Colorado River Storage Project Act to express the intent of the Congress that the Glen Canyon Dam be operated in a manner that protects, mitigates damages to, and enhances the natural resources of the Grand Canyon National Park and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) develop emergency interim operating criteria (EIOC) for the Glen Canyon Dam in consultation with the Department of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, and the State of Arizona, and with the full participation of the general public, including environmental organizations, the recreation industry, Indian tribes, and those who contract for the purchase of Federal power produced at Glen Canyon Dam; and (2) implement such EIOC pending adoption of new long-term operating criteria. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to vary the EIOC if necessary to: (1) comply with requirements enumerated later under this Act; (2) respond to hydrologic extremes or power system operating emergencies; or (3) further reduce adverse impacts on resources downstream. Directs the Secretary, within three years after this Act's enactment, to complete the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies and the final Glen Canyon Dam Environmental Impact Statement as required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Outlines certain evaluations and information with respect to the Park, the Area, and the Dam required to be included in the impact statement. Directs the Secretary to adopt new long-term operating criteria for the Dam based on the Studies and the Statement and to submit the Studies, the Statement, and the new criteria to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Ancient Forest Protection Act of 1990 - Establishes the National Ancient Forest Reserve System. Designates certain lands in California, Oregon, and Washington as components of such System. Declares that all Federal lands in such States which qualify as ancient forest or associated forest and are not designated as components of the System shall be managed as if they are. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations with respect to the removal of commercial timber from such lands. Declares it to be U.S. policy to develop and utilize scientific information to study and identify the biological and ecological requirements of ancient forest ecosystems. Directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to study and report to appropriate congressional committees on the biological and physical requirements for the survival of such ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to provide that the definition of "owner or operator" (for purposes of liability) does not include: (1) a designated lending institution which acquires control of a facility pursuant to the terms of a security interest held by the person in such facility or in connection with a lease subject to Federal or State banking authorities; (2) a corporate fiduciary which operates or has legal title to a facility pursuant to the terms of an estate or trust; (3) an individual or institution that serves as an indenture trustee and acquires control of a facility as the result of default on a financing document between the trustee and the issuing entity; and (4) an individual fiduciary who has legal title to a facility for purposes of administering an estate or trust.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Underwater Pipeline Leak Prevention Act of 1990 - Amends the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate regulations that require operators of underwater pipelines to report on: (1) the condition and safety of such pipelines; and (2) the identification of sections of the pipeline facility which are most likely to cause environmental damage to a sensitive aquatic area. Requires the Secretary to develop model laws (including regulations) for the mapping and survey of underwater pipelines and encourage States to adopt them. Requires States as a condition to receiving Federal grants for pipeline safety programs to have such laws in effect and enforce them. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations relating to the safe operation of underwater pipelines and pipeline facilities operating in sensitive aquatic environments. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations requiring all underwater pipelines to accommodate instrumented internal inspection devices (smart pigs). Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations to prevent collisions between ships and pipeline facilities located under water of a depth of 50 feet or less. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to study the effects of hydrostatic testing of pipeline facilities. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations establishing standards for the operation and inspection of pipeline facilities that operate at a stress level of 20 percent or less of the specified minimum yield strength of the line pipe.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Declares it to be an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act to advertise or cause to be advertised through magazines, newspapers, brochures, promotional displays, radio or television broadcasting (including cable broadcasting) any alcoholic beverage unless the advertising includes one of specified warnings. Makes the Federal Trade Commission responsible for establishing and maintaining toll free numbers referred to in some of the warnings. Sets forth requirements for the warnings, including rotating between the warnings.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to disregard reparation payments made by the Federal Republic of Germany in the post-eligibility computation of income for individuals who reside in nursing homes or receive home- or community-based services.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Rural Nursing Incentive Act of 1990 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide direct coverage under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program of nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist services furnished in rural areas. Sets the Medicare payment for such services at 80 percent of the lesser of the actual charge or the prevailing charge that would have been recognized had the services been performed by a physician. Requires that such payments be made on an assignment-related basis.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Allied Health Professionals Promotion Act of 1990 - Amends provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to grants and contracts concerning training of allied health personnel to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allocate 75 percent of the funds authorized to those allied health fields the Secretary determines to have: (1) the most significant shortages of practitioners; and (2) a significant role in the care and rehabilitation of patients who are elderly or disabled. Makes payments of tuition under these provisions to, or on behalf of, a participating student notwithstanding other law, exempt from taxation. Authorizes appropriations. Changes the amount of currently authorized appropriations for traineeships for advanced training of allied health personnel. Establishes the Division of Allied Health Professions within the Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Health Professions in order to consolidate and focus the efforts of the Federal Government in support of allied health education, training, and research. Establishes within the Division the Advisory Council on Allied Health. Directs the Secretary to establish a two-year pilot program to make grants to support innovative allied health research projects. Requires the program to be administered through the Division. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
National Earthquake Insurance and Reinsurance Act of 1990 - Title I: Participation in National Earthquake Insurance Program and Adoption of Hazard Reduction Measures - Requires the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to publish in the Federal Register and local newspapers information tentatively identifying areas subject to earthquake hazards and to notify the chief executive officers of the identification as an earthquake-prone community. Requires such identifications to be continually updated. Requires the Director to make information available with regard to: (1) an earthquake hazard as it affects any community; (2) the national earthquake insurance program, its coverage, and its objectives; and (3) estimated premium rates under the national earthquake insurance program. Requires local officials to disseminate earthquake information and data. Directs identified communities to submit technical data sufficient to establish that the community is not an earthquake-prone community. Requires the hearings and final determinations on the issue of such identification. Requires earthquake-prone communities to fulfill requirements for participation in the national earthquake insurance program. Requires the appointment of an earthquake insurance advisory committee to advise the Director on the Administration of this Act. Authorizes the Director to carry out studies and investigations with respect to establishing earthquake-related comprehensive criteria requiring State and local governments to adopt land use and management ordinances, building codes, and other loss reduction measures in earthquake-prone areas. Requires such criteria to be periodically updated to reflect technical advances designed to reduce losses from earthquakes. Requires the Director to encourage State and local officials to adopt local loss reduction measures that incorporate such comprehensive criteria. Prohibits any State or local community identified as an earthquake-prone area from participating in the national earthquake insurance program (NEIP) unless the Director finds that the appropriate public body has adopted and is enforcing land use and management laws, building codes, and other loss reduction measures that conform with such criteria. Prohibits earthquake insurance coverage to a local body found to be in violation of any regulation intended to regulate or restrict location or construction in earthquake-prone areas. Requires a building, mobile home, or other construction situated on an area identified as earthquake-prone to be covered by earthquake insurance. Requires each Federal instrumentality responsible for the supervision of banks, savings and loans, and other similar institutions to prohibit such institutions from making or renewing any loan for a building, mobile home, or other construction located in an earthquake-prone community unless such building and any personal property securing the loan is covered by an adequate amount of earthquake insurance. Exempts State-owned property from such requirement. Requires all such banks, savings and loans, and other such institutions to: (1) notify a purchaser or lessee of identification of an area as an earthquake-prone area before entering into a purchase agreement; and (2) notify the purchaser or lessee that, in the event of an earthquake disaster, Federal disaster relief assistance may not be available if such community does not participate in the NEIP or such property does not have adequate earthquake insurance coverage. Provides that no Federal officer or agency may approve any financial assistance for acquisition or construction in an earthquake-prone area unless the community involved is participating in the NEIP. Prohibits banks, savings and loans, and other such institutions from approving loans for any building, mobile home, or other construction in an area not so covered. Authorizes a district court appellate procedure for any community determined to be earthquake-prone or denied loans for lack of participation in the NEIP. Requires the Director to report to the President and issue appropriate regulations regarding this Act. Title II: National Earthquake Insurance Program - Authorizes the Director to establish and carry out a NEIP to provide insurance against loss resulting from physical damage to or loss of real or personal property arising from earthquakes. Requires private insurer participation of at least 80 percent of all written premiums for homeowners' multiperil insurance written in the United States under such program. Requires private insurers participating in the NEIP to reimburse the Director for 15 percent of all costs of the program. Outlines provisions, with regard to the NEIP, concerning: (1) insurance priorities; (2) additional types of insurance to be made available; (3) terms and limitations of insurance coverage; and (4) additional insurance limits to be made available at premium rates. Authorizes the Director to carry out studies and investigations to estimate the actuarial premium rates for property eligible for earthquake insurance and the terms and conditions under which such rates will apply. Requires the Director to consult with the advisory committee established under this Act in carrying out such studies and investigations. Outlines considerations for the determination of the actuarial rates. Requires the Director to establish chargeable premium rates which may be less than the actuarial rates in order to encourage States and local communities to pay a reasonable cost for adequate earthquake insurance coverage. Provides rates requirements with respect to new construction and newly eligible construction. Requires the Director, in order to carry out the NEIP, to establish in the Treasury a National Earthquake Insurance Fund. Allows the Director to borrow from the Treasury in cases in which Fund amounts are not sufficient to pay claims. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: National Earthquake Excess Loss Reinsurance Program - Requires the Director, upon establishment of the NEIP, to also establish a national earthquake excess loss reinsurance program (NERP) which shall be available to participating private insurers. Provides that, if the NEIP fails for lack of private insurer participation, NERP reinsurance may not be written or renewed. Provides coverage amounts and covered lines of insurance for the NERP, requiring all participating private insurers to purchase coverage for all covered lines. Requires the Director to establish premium rates for NERP coverage. Provides that the Director shall incur no liability, and shall not honor any claim, for loss on a property not covered under NEIP for a reinsurance claim under this title. Requires the Director, in order to carry out the NERP, to establish in the Treasury a National Earthquake Reinsurance Fund to pay losses and expenses under the program. Authorizes the Director to borrow from the Treasury in cases in which Fund amounts are insufficient to pay claims. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 1990 - Waives the naturalization English language requirement for certain aliens who served with special guerilla units in Laos in support of the United States. Provides for U.S. naturalization based upon such service.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
FY '91 Quality of Life Budget - Sets forth findings regarding fiscal priorities and summaries of budget functions and the concurrent resolution on the budget for FY 1991, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY 1992 and 1993. Expresses congressional disagreement to the Office of Management and Budget economic forecasts. Rejects FY 1991 unemployment level estimates, adopting instead a Humphrey-Hawkins target under the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978. Sets forth: (1) maximum deficit amounts; and (2) recommended budgetary levels of Federal revenues, new budget authority, budget outlays, the public debt, and Federal credit activity, including funding for each major functional category.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1990
Patient Self Determination Act of 1990 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospice programs, and health maintenance organizations to: (1) inform patients of their rights under State law to make decisions concerning their medical care; (2) periodically inquire as to whether a patient executed an advanced directive and document the patient's wishes regarding their medical care; (3) not discriminate against persons who have executed an advance directive; (4) ensure that legally valid advance directives and documented medical care wishes are implemented to the extent permitted by State law; and (5) provide educational programs for staff, patients, and the community on ethical issues concerning patient self-determination and advance directives. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) arrange with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences for a study assessing the implementation of directed health care decisions; and (2) develop and implement a demonstration project in selected States to inform the public of the option to execute advance directives and a patient's right to participate in and direct health care decisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1990
Amends the Clean Air Act to add, as a new title, the Relief for Terminated Workers Act. Requires the Secretary of Labor to establish the following benefits for employees terminated as a result of revisions of the Clean Air Act: (1) readjustment allowances similar to trade readjustment allowances under the Trade Act of 1974; and (2) programs for employment services, job search, and relocation allowances similar to programs under such Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1990
Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Export-Import Bank to expend all amounts appropriated to the interest subsidy payment program for payments to commercial lending institutions and other lenders with respect to loans made by such lenders to support the export of U.S. goods and services. (Currently, the Bank has only discretionary authority to expend such amounts.) Extends such program through 1992. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1990
Mickey Leland African and Caribbean Development Act of 1990 - Title I: African Development - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to furnish project and program assistance for long-term development in sub-Saharan Africa. Provides that the purpose of such assistance is to help the poor majority of sub-Saharan Africans to participate in development through economic growth that is equitable, participatory, environmentally sustainable, and self-reliant. Requires the Agency for International Development (AID) to take into account the local-level perspective of poor sub-Saharan Africans during the planning process for such assistance. Declares that AID should make available funds for private and voluntary organizations which have demonstrated effectiveness in, or a commitment to, the promotion of local activities on behalf of development in sub-Saharan Africa. Provides for the participation and integration of African women in such development activities. Requires such assistance to emphasize projects to address critical sectoral priorities for long-term development. Lists the sectoral priorities as: (1) increased agricultural production and the maintenance and restoration of renewable natural resources; (2) improved health conditions; (3) increased access to voluntary family planning services; (4) improved relevance, equity, and efficiency of education; and (5) the development of income-generating opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed. Imposes minimum levels of assistance for certain critical sectors. Requires the assistance to be concentrated in countries that will make the most effective use of such assistance. Sets forth uses for local currencies generated by assistance. Permits funds made available under this Act to be used to assist sub-Saharan African countries in increasing their capacity to participate in donor coordination mechanisms. Provides that it is U.S. policy that such funds are not used by a country to repay loans, with exceptions. Sets forth transfer authorities and reprogramming notifications with respect to such funds. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the authorization of appropriations should be extended whenever appropriate. Authorizes the AID Administrator to transfer a specified amount of funds to increase AID resources for development activities in sub-Saharan Africa. Deems to be payments made by eligible sub-Saharan countries to the United States for economic assistance: (1) local currency deposited into accounts to be used for development purposes; and (2) payments waived by the President under certain conditions. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the purposes of the African Development Foundation are consistent with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Amends the African Development Foundation Act to authorize appropriations for the African Development Foundation for FY 1991. Expresses the sense of the Congress that special efforts should be taken to reduce trade barriers and promote economic interchange between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. Earmarks funds for Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) projects and for assistance to Namibia. Waives provisions of law which prohibit assistance to countries in default on loan repayments to the United States with respect to such assistance. Urges the President to use diplomatic means to protect the security of SADCC projects and urges the South African Government to respect the territorial integrity of SADCC states and refrain from military aggression across its borders. Title II: Caribbean Regional Development - Sets forth U.S. policy with respect to development and economic assistance for the Caribbean. Requires priority in providing development assistance to be given to supporting indigenous democratic Caribbean institutions that represent and benefit the poor. States that in determining the eligibility of a Caribbean country for development assistance, the per capita income of such country shall be no greater than the per capita income of the Caribbean as a whole. Requires priority in the allocation of assistance to the Caribbean to be given to: (1) food self-sufficiency; (2) rural development; (3) community-based agro-industries; (4) small- and medium-sized farm and manufacturing enterprises; (5) the expansion of tourism; (6) regional integration; (7) the upgrading of technical and managerial skills; (8) support for renewable natural resources; (9) private sector development; (10) democratic development and the administration of justice; and (11) human services and human resources development. Denies assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act to any Caribbean country not enforcing workers' rights. Exempts development or narcotics control assistance from such prohibition. Prohibits AID from providing assistance for the use of any substance in a Caribbean country if such use is prohibited under the country's or U.S. public health laws. Requires AID to ensure the active participation of women in the development process. Directs AID to: (1) take into account the perspectives of the poor in the development process; and (2) monitor socioeconomic conditions in the Caribbean and the effect of U.S. assistance on such conditions. Authorizes appropriations for development and economic support assistance for the Caribbean. Earmarks funds for the Eastern Caribbean and Belize. Title III: Other Provisions - Sets forth a framework to provide for regular and sustained assistance to Haiti when specified conditions are met. Prohibits the provision of any assistance to Haiti unless Haiti has embarked upon a credible transition to democracy by: (1) restoring the 1987 Constitution; (2) appointing an electoral commission to conduct free and fair elections; and (3) providing electoral security. Makes available to Haiti development, economic, anti-terrorism, and Inter-American Foundation assistance for FY 1991 if Haiti meets specified conditions regarding the existence of an elected civilian government and steps toward assuring the observance and judicial enforcement of internationally recognized human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1990
Approves the findings of the General Accounting Office report of March 29, 1990, regarding employer sanctions under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1990
Employee Protection Act of 1990 - Prohibits employers involved in interstate commerce from discriminating against employees or prospective employees on the basis of their refusal to: (1) submit to sterilization or a fertility test; or (2) refrain from procreation. Prohibits such employers from: (1) requiring such procedures; (2) using or inquiring about the result of any fertility test or procreative ability or history; (3) engaging in any employment practice designed to employ only those unable to procreate; (4) excluding any class of employees from employment opportunities or benefits to avoid compliance with this Act; or (5) discriminating against those who exercise their rights under this Act. Requires notice of protection under this Act to be posted conspicuously on employment premises. Grants the Secretary of Labor administrative authority under this Act. Provides for civil enforcement of this Act. Prohibits waiver of rights except in written settlements. Does not prohibit: (1) voluntary job placement or transfer meeting certain conditions; or (2) legitimate scientific or medical research if information is solicited on a voluntary, confidential, and nondiscriminatory basis.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1990
Denies Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) benefits for ten years to any person: (1) convicted of violating a Federal environmental law; or (2) found to have held a beneficial business interest in a business concern required to be listed on a disclosure statement under this Act and convicted of violating a Federal environmental law. Prohibits the EPA Administrator from denying benefits to any person who demonstrates that he has been rehabilitated. Requires the following persons to file disclosure statements with the Administrator: (1) Federal environmental permit applicants; (2) applicants for EPA loans, grants, or other benefits; or (3) persons submitting contract bids or competitive proposals to EPA. Provides for enforcement of this Act through EPA examination of disclosure statements and access to business sites and records. Grants persons declared to be ineligible for EPA benefits the opportunity for a hearing. Provides for public access to disclosure statements and business records, with the exception of confidential information.