United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1988
Homeownership Assistance Act of 1988 - Amends the National Housing Act to create a special mortgage insurance program for first-time homebuyers. Authorizes insurance for up to 97 percent of the home's value. Defines "first-time homebuyer" as an individual who or whose spouse has not owned a principal residence during the 18 months prior to a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured home purchase. Authorizes FHA to insure a mortgage loan up to 97 percent of appraised value for the first $50,000 (currently $25,000) of a home's value. Authorizes an FHA demonstration program to insure 100 percent of a home's value for a first-time homebuyer provided that the downpayment will be paid within three years by an additional monthly payment. Requires participants to receive financial counseling. Authorizes FHA to insure adjustable rate mortgages with annual interest rate increases of up to two percent (currently one percent). Repeals the aggregate annual limit on such insured loans. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to submit annual program reports to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1988
International Cultural Survival Act of 1988 - Directs the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to ensure that: (1) U.S. foreign policy and foreign assistance promote the rights of indigenous and tribal people throughout the world; and (2) U.S. foreign assistance is not provided for any project or program detrimental to indigenous or tribal peoples' rights or livelihood. Requires the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, to prepare and submit to the Congress a baseline report on indigenous and tribal peoples in developing countries, including a discussion of the effects of U.S. bilateral and multilateral assistance. Requires the Administrator to consult with U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with experience in monitoring and reporting on indigenous and tribal peoples, and with other interested persons, throughout the preparation of such report. Requires AID (in consultation with the Department of State) to use such organizations to monitor and analyze the situtation of indigenous and tribal peoples in developing countries on a regular basis. Requires the Administrator to prepare and submit to the Congress annual reports concerning the monitoring of indigenous and tribal peoples and updating of the required baseline report. Requires that a description of proposed activities to address the problems facing indigenous and tribal peoples be included in such report.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1988
Directs the President to issue a proclamation each year calling on all churches, synagogues, schools, community centers, and other public buildings in the United States to toll their bells for one minute beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Memorial Day in remembrance of the men and women who died defending our Nation and freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1988
Urges the Government of Iran to uphold the human rights of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i faith, and to restore fully the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Calls upon the President to: (1) monitor and report on developments affecting the Baha'i minority in Iran and in other countries; (2) cooperate with other governments in continuing to make appeals to Iran concerning the situation of the Baha'is; (3) initiate and support efforts in the United Nations and its agencies on behalf of the Baha'is; and (4) provide, and urge others to provide, for refugee and humanitarian assistance for those Baha'is fleeing their homelands to escape religious repression.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1988
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that no member of the armed forces, civilian employee of the United States, or dependent of such member or employee is excluded from any decennial census based on such member or employee being assigned to a post outside the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1988
Korean Veterans National Medal Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to design, coin, and sell a medal in honor of the members of the armed forces of the United States who served in the Korean conflict. Requires the Secretary to offer such medals for public sale at a price sufficient to cover their cost.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1988
National Gleaning Clearinghouse Act of 1988 - Establishes in the Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture a National Gleaning Clearinghouse to promote the collection and distribution of gleaned agricultural products and crops to assist persons in need.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Panama Democracy and Economic Recovery Act- Makes certain policy declarations regarding Panama, including: (1) expressing support for a civilian democratic government in Panama; (2) expressing support for a transition to democracy in Panama using multilateral initiatives and other means; (3) pledging increased U.S. drug enforcement cooperation with a Panamanian Government committed to ending drug trafficking; (4) calling for economic assistance to Panama following the departure of General Noriega; and (5) expressing support for the development and strengthening of democratic institutions in Panama following his departure. Provides for specified U.S. assistance to Panama if the President certifies to the Congress that: (1) General Noriega is no longer in power in Panama; (2) Panama has demonstrated substantial progress in instituting a civilian government; (3) the Panama Defense Forces will be subjected to civilian control; (4) major political organizations have reached agreement on conditions for free elections; (5) constitutional guarantees have been restored in Panama; (6) major political organizations have reached agreement on plans for the reorganization of the Panamanian judicial system; (7) Panama has agreed to cooperate fully with the United States in drug enforcement efforts; (8) Panama has pledged to enter into negotiations for a mutual legal assistance treaty; and (9) Panama has pledged to reform its bank secrecy laws and to prevent drug-related money laundering. Includes among such assistance: (1) assistance to Panama for use in reducing its arrearages to international financial institutions; (2) emergency food assistance; (3) assistance for development and for electoral activities; (4) assistance to the Panamanian housing finance system; and (5) assistance for the domestic banking community in Panama through a short-term credit facility if the President determines that illiquidity problems exist within the Panamanian banking community as a result of the political situation. Provides that certain restrictions and prohibitions on U.S. assistance to Panama contained in the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988 shall not apply in FY 1988 if the President makes such certification. Provides that the cooperation with narcotic laws certification required by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall be deemed to have been approved by the Congress if the President submits to the Congress: (1) the certification described by this Act; and (2) a national interest certification with respect to Panama. Provides that the limitations on assistance to countries in default of loans made by the United States shall not apply to Panama if: (1) the President submits the certification described in this Act; and (2) Panama agrees that all such loans payable during FY 1988 will be repaid within an agreed upon time period. States that if the President makes the certification described in this Act: (1) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Export-Import Bank should assist in the reconstruction of the economy of Panama; (2) the President should direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of various multilateral development institutions to seek to provide assistance to Panama; and (3) the President should urge Japan to help provide economic resources to assist Panama in the transition to democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Homeownership Assistance Act of 1988 - Amends the National Housing Act to create a special mortgage insurance program for first-time homebuyers. Authorizes insurance for up to 97 percent of the home's value. Authorizes the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure a mortgage loan of up to 97 percent of appraised value for the first $50,000 (currently $25,000) of a home's value. Repeals the current dollar cap on FHA insured mortgages in high cost areas. Authorizes FHA to insure adjustable rate mortgages with annual interest rate increases of up to two percent (currently one percent). Repeals the aggregate annual limit on such insured loans. Defines "first-time homebuyer" as an individual who or whose spouse has not owned a principal residence during the 18 months prior to an FHA insured home purchase. Authorizes an FHA demonstration program to insure mortgages for first-time homebuyer downpayments where the purchase is primarily financed or assisted by tax-exempt or other government assistance. Limits the downpayment loan to $7,500. Requires participants to receive financial counseling. Sets a maximum ten year loan maturity period. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to authorize the Government National Mortgage Association to create a secondary market for first-time homebuyer downpayment loans. Authorizes an FHA demonstration program to insure 100 percent of a home's value for a first-time homebuyer provided that the donwnpayment will be paid within three years by an additional monthly payment. Requires participants to receive financial counseling. Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to empower the Internal Revenue Service to confiscate defaulting taxpayers' tax refunds. Requires the Secretary to submit program reports to the Congress within one year of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1988
Social Security Work Incentives Act of 1988 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to reduce monthly disability benefits by 50 percent of a beneficiary's monthly earnings in excess of $85. Limits the total amount by which an individual's OASDI disability benefits may be reduced if such individual is also eligible for benefits provided under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act to individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment. Prohibits deductions from disability-based child insurance benefits for the recovery of prior overpayments resulting from a failure to reduce such benefits on the basis of earnings. Extends to current OASDI disability beneficiaries the rule preventing reductions in the primary insurance amount for prior recipients. Continues an individual's entitlement to disability benefits while such individual is under disabled and working status, meaning that such individual is earning enough to be considered engaged in substantial gainful activity, but would otherwise continue to satisfy eligibility requirements. Sets a four-year limit on the Medicare hospital insurance eligibility (under part A of title XVIII of the Act) of individuals who owe their eligibility to their disabled and working status under the OASDI program. Amends the Medicare program to authorize such individuals to enroll for hospital insurance benefits upon the termination of such four-year limit. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act to cover Medicare cost-sharing amounts for individuals of disabled and working status who are entitled to enroll for Medicare hospital insurance benefits and whose income and resources do not exceed 300 percent of the Federal poverty level and the SSI resource eligibility limit, respectively. Requires States to collect a coinsurance percentage from such individuals pursuant to a sliding scale which increases such percentage from 0 to 100 percent in reasonable increments as incomes move from 150 to 300 percent of the Federal poverty level. Extends to all recipients of disability-based child's insurance benefits the rule permitting continued entitlement to Medicaid benefits of individuals who would remain eligible for SSI benefits but for their receipt of such child's insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1988
Water Project Beautification Act - Prohibits the Secretary of the Army from executing a water resources project unless the State or local government enters into an agreement with the Secretary to reconstruct any lands adversely affected by such project to an aesthetically appealing and environmentally compatible condition.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1988
Foreign Aid Insurance Act of 1988 - Requires each executive agency or military department responsible for economic or military assistance to foreign countries to take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that U.S. insurance companies have a fair and open competitive opportunity to provide insurance whenever such insurance is necessary or proper in connection with Government-assisted supplies or activities. Specifies that such actions shall include: (1) including in any contract or solicitation for procurement of such supplies or activities a clause requiring that U.S. insurance companies have a competitive opportunity; (2) certifying to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) that all necessary and practicable actions have been taken to provide U.S. insurance companies with competitive opportunities. Provides that if the USTR determines that any foreign government or country discriminates against U.S. insurance companies in connection with U.S. economic or military assistance, insurance for such activities may be provided only: (1) by U.S. insurance companies; or (2) by insurance companies of foreign countries which have entered into agreements concerning nondiscriminatory treatment of U.S. insurance companies or which have provided assurance of such nondiscriminatory treatment. Provides exceptions to such requirements if: (1) no insurance was reasonably available from a U.S. insurance company; or (2) the USTR certifies to the Congress that negotiations concerning discriminatory treatment of U.S. insurance companies are in progress. Requires the USTR to review the actions of each executive agency and military department required by this Act and to include a report concerning such actions in the USTR's required annual report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the low-income housing credit through 1990. (Under current law the credit is due to expire on December 31, 1989.)
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1988
Nursing Education Partnership Act - Amends title VIII (Nurse Education) of the Public Health Service Act to create a new subpart on nursing scholarships. Defines "eligible individual" in terms of academic performance and enrollment. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants and loans to eligible individuals for certain associate degree or bachelor degree nursing education programs. Prohibits individuals from receiving any other form of Federal student financial assistance under any Federal law while receiving assistance under this subpart. Provides for application and repayment. Directs the Secretary to allocate funds available for grants and loans under the title among institutions in order to provide funds for applications meeting the requirements of this Act. Requires the awards to be: (1) equal to the cost of attendance for those applicants demonstrating the greatest financial need, determined on the basis of expected family contributions; and (2) made in the order of that need. Requires the award to be composed of 25 percent grant and 75 percent loan. Sets forth criteria a higher education institution must meet in order to participate in this program, including establishing and operating a program which lets high school counselors, teachers, and students learn about nursing career opportunities and which targets low income students. Allows entities desiring to employ students who have obtained degrees with assistance under this part to enter into a sponsorship agreement with the Secretary, including: (1) an agreement that the health care provider will repay two-thirds of the loan; and (2) assurances that the provider has established a program to recruit junior or senior high school students to enter nursing careers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 and each of the succeeding fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1988
Condemns the disruption of food production and relief efforts by parties involved in armed conflicts in Ethiopia, Sudan, Mozambique, and Angola. Urges the President and the Secretary of State to: (1) support proposals made by international relief organizations to negotiate agreements to ensure safe transportation and distribution of emergency food assistance; (2) pursue negotiations leading to the cessation of hostilities in such countries, including efforts to include countries providing military assistance to parties involved in the conflicts in the negotiations; and (3) seek the involvement of other countries of Africa and the United Nations as mediators to facilitate peace negotiations. Urges that: (1) all U.S. humanitarian assistance be made available to noncombatants on the basis of need and without regard to political considerations or affiliation; and (2) all countries providing military assistance shift their emphasis from military assistance to diplomatic efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1988
United States-Mexico Border Regional Development Act of 1988 - Provides Federal assistance for economic and human resource development to the State and local governments in the U.S.-Mexico border region of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. Defines such region as the area of the United States within 150 miles of the Mexican border, excluding any standard metropolitan statistical area with a population exceeding 1,000,000. Title I: The United States-Mexico Border Regional Commission - Establishes the United States-Mexico Border Regional Commission (the Commission). Sets forth provisions for Commission membership, voting, and duties. Directs the Commission to: (1) review and approve applications for assistance for development projects in the region; (2) develop comprehensive and coordinated regional development plans and programs and priorities for their implementation; (3) provide for research and assessments of regional development needs and resources; (4) provide for technical assistance, training programs, and development projects to foster regional (and special need area) productivity and growth; (5) provide for construction of necessary facilities; (6) review, study, and recommend appropriate modifications of public and private development plans for the region; (7) provide assistance for the State development planning process in the region and the coordination of such planning with other Federal and State laws; (8) formulate and recommend appropriate interstate compacts and cooperation; (9) work with State and local agencies in developing appropriate model legislation concerning the region; (10) encourage formation, and help pay administrative expenses, of local development districts; (11) encourage private investment in industrial, commercial, and recreational projects in the region; (12) coordinate development projects in the region; and (13) provide a forum for consideration of regional problems and proposed solutions, establishing and using, as part of such forum, citizens and special advisory councils and public conferences. Authorizes the Commission, in carrying out such duties, to designate areas in the region as being in special need of development assistance, specifying the characteristics of each such area that led to such designation. Limits the amount of the Commission's administrative expense payment to a local development district to 75 percent of the district's administrative expenses for a fiscal year. Limits such payment period to three years in the case of a nonprofit agency or instrumentality of a State which is certified as a local development district, or any local development district succeeding such district. Sets forth provisions for public participation and Commission recordkeeping. Authorizes the Commission to make recommendations to the President, the Congress, State Governors, and local governments in the region regarding: (1) expenditure of public funds in fields related to the purposes of this Act, such as natural resources, agriculture, education, training, health and welfare, and housing; and (2) enactment of additional legislation, and issuance of rules, necessary to further the purpose of this Act. Directs the President to provide for liaison between the Commission and other Federal entities. Sets forth provisions for the administrative expenses of the Commission. Requires member States to contribute payments for part of such expenses. Provides for Federal payment of certain salaries. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the President to make grants to the Commission to: (1) undertake or support research and assessment, technical assistance, training, demonstration projects, and construction of necessary facilities; (2) provide funds to member States for up to two years to strengthen the State development planning process for the region and the coordination of such planning with requirements imposed by other Federal and State laws; and (3) pay administrative expenses of local development districts, including expenses for development of economic development plans and programs for the area served and for technical assistance for persons implementing such plans and programs. Sets forth annual reporting requirements for each recipient of Federal assistance under this Act and for the Commission. Title II: Development Programs for the Region - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants for planning, constructing, equipping, and operating demonstration health projects approved by the Commission, including projects for hospitals, regional diagnostic and treatment centers, community health centers, and other health facilities, and for provision of services, including nutrition and child care services, not readily available in the region. Prohibits taking such grants into account in computing any allotment or payment to a State under any other law. Sets forth provisions relating to the amounts, uses, and eligibility for construction and equipment grants, operating grants, and planning grants. Directs the Secretary of the Army to prepare a comprehensive plan for the development and efficient utilization of the water resources of the region for a variety of uses from hydroelectric power to recreation. Authorizes the Secretary to recommend to the Commission demonstration water projects to increase the supply of potable water for people in the region. Directs the Secretary to submit the plan for Commission review. Directs the Commission to submit the plan, with its recommendations, to the President, who shall transmit it with appropriate recommendations, to specified congressional officers. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts necessary to prepare the plan. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make grants and loans from the United States-Mexico Border Region Housing Fund (established by this Act) to nonprofit organizations,limited dividend and cooperative housing corporations, and public entities for assistance for proposed low- and middle-income housing projects. Permits such grants and loans to be used, with specified exceptions, only for: (1) planning approved housing construction and rehabilitation projects in the region for low- and moderate-income families and individuals; and (2) obtaining federally-insured mortgage financing or other financial assistance for them. Sets forth requirements relating to such loans and grants. Prohibits grants to for-profit organizations. Directs the Secretary to include in any such grant a limited amount of funds sufficient for essential site development and necessary off-site improvements, such as sewer and water line extensions. Establishes in the Treasury the United States-Mexico Border Region Housing Fund, consisting of: (1) appropriations to such fund; (2) interest from, and repayment of, such loans; and (3) interest from certain investments. Authorizes the Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, to provide: (1) technical assistance relating to such projects to nonprofit organizations; and (2) funds to member States to make grants and loans to various entities for such projects. Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants for demonstration vocational education projects, approved by the Commission, to construct, equip, and operate new and other school facilities needed to provide vocational education in areas of the region where such facilities are not adequate. Directs the Secretary to make grants to public entities for planning, constructing, equipping, and operating approved demonstration education projects to improve education services and programs in the region. Directs the Commission to give priority to any such projects that include; (1) vocational and technical education; (2) career education; (3) adult education; (4) guidance and counseling; and (5) bilingual education. Sets forth limits for construction and equipment grants, operation grants, and planning grants. Prohibits taking such grants into account in computing allotments or payments to a State under any other law. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to assist projects approved by the Commission to construct sewage treatment works in the region. Prohibits taking such grants into account in computing allotments or payments to a State under any other law. Provides for supplements to certain Federal grants, to enable persons in the region, including local development districts, to receive Federal matching share grants for which they are ineligible solely because they cannot supply the required matching funds or for which insufficient funds are available. Authorizes the President to provide funds to the Commission chairperson to assist: (1) persons in the region to supply required matching funds (which will not be considered Federal funds); and (2) Federal officials to make matching share grants under Federal laws for which insufficient funds are available, for projects in the region. Requires States to maintain their current expenditures for the benefit of areas in the region, with specified exceptions. Provides for the State developing planning process, including submission of State plans by certain Commission members and requirements for plan preparation and components. Sets forth requirements for entities which State Governors or their designees may certify to the Commission as local development districts. Provides for review and approval by the Commission of applications for assistance under this Act. Bars use of funds under this Act to: (1) assist a person to relocate a business establishment from one State to another; (2) finance the cost of creating industrial facilities, commercial facilities, equipment, or working capital; (3) enable subcontractors to undertake work previously performed in another State by other subcontractors or contractors; or (4) finance the cost of facilities for the generation, transmission, or distribution of electric energy. Prohibits funds under this Act from being expended to assist any scientific or technological research or development project unless such expenditure is conditioned upon provisions to ensure that all information, copyrights, uses, processes, patents, and other developments resulting from such project will be made freely available to the general public. Directs the Attorney General to enforce such requirement in the appropriate U.S. district court. Title III: Authorization of Appropriations and Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act not otherwise authorized. Sets aside 50 percent of such funds to carry out provisions for research and development projects, assistance to States, and administrative expenses of local development projects, and for supplements to certain Federal grants. Sets forth applicable labor standards. Requires that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors in any construction, alteration, or repair (including painting and decorating) for which funds are provided under this Act shall be paid wages at the prevailing rate for similar work in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1988
Older Americans Child Care Employment Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Older Americans Community Service Employment Act to require the Secretary of Labor to enter into agreements with public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations for the conduct of no more than 100 experimental projects employing individuals who are age 55 or older in providing day care to children. Requires that such agencies or organizations: (1) receive one-third of their funding from non-Federal sources; (2) charge families a day care fee which is proportional to their financial resources; (3) provide day care in facilities other than private residences; and (4) be subject to the most comprehensive State licensing requirements or regulatory standards applicable to similar day care providers in the State. Prohibits the making of grants pursuant to this Act to more than two agencies or organizations in each State in any fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations for such projects.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1988
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Protection Act of 1988 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to direct the Director of the National Park Service to provide for the constant presence of law enforcement officers at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Allows the Secretary to accept and use any donated funds for such purpose. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1988
Amends the United States Institute of Peace Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for the United States Institute of Peace through FY 1991. Authorizes the Institute to establish the Jeanette Rankin Library Program. Specifies that such program shall include an oral history collection and other projects supportive of scholarship and research in the broad area of international peace and conflict management.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1988
Designates the period of July 25 through July 31, 1988, as National Week of Recognition and Remembrance for Those Who Served in the Korean War. Authorizes and requests the President to urge that the American flag be flown at half staff on July 27, 1988, in honor of those Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1988
Amends the Education Amendments of 1980 to extend through FY 1991 the authorization of appropriations for the Robert A. Taft Institute of Government, in New York, New York.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1988
Debt for Development Act of 1988 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the use of up to $75,000,000 in loan repayments from developing countries in FY 1989 for development activities in those countries.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1988
Congressional and Judicial Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1988 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require that personnel actions affecting employees or applicants in the legislative and judicial branches of the Government be free from any discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap, or age. Allows Members of Congress to take into consideration an individual's domicile and political affiliation. Establishes within the judicial branch an Employment Review Board. Provides that members of the board be appointed from the retired judges of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals. Authorizes an aggrieved individual to file a written complaint with the Board. Establishes procedures for the Board to investigate, settle, hear, and determine the claims alleged. Provides that if a violation is found an order for relief may compel the defendant to: (1) employ or reinstate such individual on such terms and conditions as may be appropriate, except that the Board may not compel any committee or Member of Congress to employ or reinstate, or modify the terms and conditions of employment of, any individual; (2) pay compensatory damages; and (3) pay fees and allowances of witnesses and reasonable attorneys' fees. Authorizes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review, enjoin, set aside, suspend, modify, or enforce orders of the Board. Requires members of the Board to submit written reports to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics describing complaints during the reporting period involved.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1988
Removes the restriction which prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from acquiring in fee by purchase or condemnation more than 600 acres of Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland. Amends the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 to remove additional restrictions which authorized only certain scenic easement acquisitions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1988
Expresses the opposition of the Congress to the use of plastic bullets by British security forces in Northern Ireland. Urges the President to call on the British Government to end the use of plastic bullets in Northern Ireland.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1988
Harriet Taylor Upton National Historic Site Act of 1988 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the former residence and certain personal property of Harriet Taylor Upton, an active member of the movement to extend suffrage to women. Designates such residence as the Harriet Taylor Upton National Historic Site in Warren, Ohio.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1988
Designates specified land as the Manassas National Battlefield Addition. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land within the boundaries of the Addition and to administer such lands as part of the Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1988
Comdemns the Government of Ethiopia for its use of food as a weapon, its forced resettlement program, and its human rights record. Urges: (1) the Government of Ethiopia to allow the international relief campaign to resume; (2) the Tigrean People's Liberation Front and Eritrean People's Liberation Front to cease attacks upon relief vehicles and relief distribution points; and (3) the President and Secretary of State to press the Ethiopian Government for agricultural reforms, to press for a political settlement to the Ethiopian conflict, and to engage in direct discussion with the Soviet Union to achieve that objective. Urges and authorizes the President to impose such economic sanctions upon Ethiopia as he deems appropriate if Ethiopia engages in specified activities, including forced resettlement and the diversion or denial of international relief. Directs that sanctions imposed include those which substantially affect the major exports of Ethiopia. Authorizes the imposition of sanctions which involve the prohibition or curtailment of exports to Ethiopia under, and subject to the requirements of, provisions of the Export Administration Act of 1979 relating to national security requirements. Directs the President to report to the Congress every 60 days on whether the Government of Ethiopia engaged in any of the proscribed activities and on any U.S. response to such conduct.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that certain officers and the crew of the U.S.S. Bonefish should be recognized and commended for their efforts to save their fellow shipmates when an explosion and fire threatened their submarine.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1988
Designates the week beginning September 11, 1988, as Let's Face It Week. (Let's Face It is a mutual support organization for individuals who have facial disfigurements, their families, and professionals who work with them.)
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1988
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1988 - Provides that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of handicap in: (1) employment practices and training covered by title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (2) the sale or rental of housing covered by title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968; (3) any public accommodation covered by title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (4) transportation services; (5) the actions, practices, and operations of State and local governments; and (6) broadcasts, communications, or telecommunications services. Lists the forms of discrimination which are prohibited by this Act, including: (1) denying any person the opportunity to participate in or benefit from a service, program, job, or other opportunity on the basis of his or her handicap; (2) establishing (or failing to remove) any architectural, transportation, or communication barriers that prevent the access or limit the participation of persons because of their handicap; (3) failing or refusing to make a reasonable accommodation to permit a handicapped individual to have access to a program, activity, job, or opportunity; (4) imposing any unnecessary standard or criteria that screens out or places the handicapped at a disadvantage; and (5) denying services, programs, jobs, or other opportunities to any person because of that person's relationship to, or association with, a handicapped person. Permits the exclusion or denial of equal access to services, programs, jobs, or other opportunities to persons: (1) for reasons unrelated to the existence of their handicap; or (2) based upon the application of standards or criteria that are necessary and substantially related to the ability to perform essential components of the job, program, activity, or opportunity, and such performance can not be accomplished by a reasonable accommodation. States that it shall be an act of discrimination, in regard to housing, to discriminate in the sale or rental of a dwelling (or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of such sale or rental) to any buyer or renter because of the physical or mental impairment of: (1) the buyer or renter; (2) a person residing in, or intending to reside in, such dwelling; or (3) any person associated with the buyer or renter. States that it shall be an act of discrimination to: (1) refuse to permit reasonable modifications, at the expense of the handicapped person, to afford such person enjoyment of the premises; (2) refuse to make reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, or services to afford handicapped individuals equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling; or (3) fail to design and construct multifamily dwellings (after a specified date) which are not accessible to the handicapped. Provides certain limitations on the duties of accommodation and barrier removal. Sets forth guidelines for the establishment of requirements and promulgation of regulations by specified Federal entities with respect to: (1) the accessibility of buildings and transportation systems; (2) the implementation and enforcement of the requirements of this Act; (3) employment practices; (4) the sale and rental of housing; and (5) the removal of communication barriers. Establishes procedures for the administrative enforcement of the provisions of this Act. Establishes a civil right of action for individuals who are subjected to discrimination in violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1988
Outer Space Protection Act of 1988 - Reaffirms U.S. policy that activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes to benefit mankind. Prohibits the use of funds by the Department of Defense or any other Government agency for: (1) the development, testing, production, or deployment of any weapon system designed to be based in outer space; (2) the testing of any weapon system to determine its capability to damage or destroy any object in outer space; or (3) the launch of any spacecraft that carries weapons capable of inflicting death or injury on people. Urges and requests the President to enter into bilateral negotiations with the Soviet Union concerning weapons systems in outer space. Specifies the purposes of such negotiations as: (1) prohibiting the development, testing, production, and deployment of all weapons based in outer space and the testing of all weapons against objects in outer space; (2) establishing limitations on technologies that could become weapons; (3) determining methods for monitoring compliance with such limitations and with mutually agreed upon prohibitions on weapons in outer space and the testing of antisatellite weapons; and (4) encouraging the effective utilization of the Standing Consultative Commission (established under the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty) to resolve disagreements and to develop limitations and verification procedures for new technologies. Urges and requests the President, in the event that such negotiations result in an agreement, to initiate discussions in the United Nations toward an international agreement to prohibit the development, testing, production, and deployment of all weapons in outer space and to prohibit the testing of all antisatellite weapons. Requires the Secretary of Defense to manage the long-term basic research on ballistic missile defense technologies so as to provide the United States with expanded options for responding to any future breakout by the Soviet Union from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Specifies that nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the obligation or expenditure of funds for non-weapon military operations in outer space. States that the provisions of this Act relating to bilateral negotiations with the Soviet Union and the prohibition on the use of funds for space weapons shall become inapplicable if: (1) the President certifies to the Congress that the Soviet Union has tested space weapons; or (2) the Soviet Union declares its intention to develop and deploy space weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1988
Directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) to: (1) research and develop methods to accurately determine the number of migratory waterfowl that are harvested illegally each year in the United States; (2) develop a plan to increase its law enforcement presence and better coodinate its efforts with those of appropriate State agencies to halt such illegal harvesting; and (3) recommend whether specified wildlife conservation funds should be withheld from States that are not complying with the Service's regulations on illegal harvesting. Requires the Director of the Service to report on such findings to specified congressional committees within 90 days of enactment of this Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Atkins, Chester G. [D-MA-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/a000226_200.jpg)