United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1989
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions governing the income tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to: (1) make the deduction permanent (under current law it will expire after tax year 1989); and (2) phase in an increase in the allowable deduction, reaching 100 percent for taxable years beginning in 1994 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual otherwise taxable amounts derived from the whole or partial surrender, cancellation, or exchange of any life insurance policy if: (1) the individual is age 65 or older on the date of the transaction; and (2) the amounts in question are used to pay premiums for an insurance policy covering at least 12 months of medically necessary nonemergency care for the individual or a spouse meeting the same 65-year age requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1989
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that an increase in estate taxes or the imposition of a capital gains tax at death would, by virtue of negative effects on family farms and family businesses, do more damage to the U.S. economy than the increased revenue would justify.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the targeted jobs income tax credit through 1992 (under current law the credit will expire after December 31, 1989). Amends the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 to authorize appropriations through FY 1992 in connection with the targeted jobs credit. Raises from 23 to 25 years the age limitation with respect to economically disadvantaged youth targeted for credit purposes. Adds as a targeted group under the credit economically disadvantaged individuals who have completed a qualified drug rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1989
States that it is the policy of the United States to: (1) bring about lasting peace, pluralism, and democracy in Nicaragua; and (2) guarantee that the February 1990 elections in Nicaragua are free and fair. Urges: (1) the Government of Nicaragua to undertake specified reforms, such as reinstating due process and fair trials, ending torture, allowing an uncensored free press, ensuring the right to strike and to publish for unions, and ending the forced relocation of Indians and Creoles; (2) such government to permit independent, international, and non-governmental human rights observers to meet and travel freely without harassment; and (3) all countries in Central America to continue to work toward achieving the democratic principles and processes specified in the August 7, 1987, Central American peace accord.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1989
Amends rule IV of the Rules of the House of Representatives to direct the Sergeant-at-Arms to obtain and distribute the customary metal tags provided for under the District of Columbia Traffic Act, 1925 which identify congressional vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1989
Organ Transportation Good Samaritan Act - Limits to gross negligence the liability of persons who without compensation transport by air in interstate commerce human transplant organs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1989
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1989 - Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that: (1) terminated the income tax exclusion of amounts paid under employee educational assistance programs as of tax year 1989; and (2) deny benefits in connection with graduate work.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a Joint Committee on the Budget to replace and assume the current functions and duties of the Budget Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives. Amends the Standing Rules of the Senate and the Rules of the House of Representatives to reflect the establishment of the new Joint Committee. Lists matters within the Committee's jurisdiction. Establishes a two-year budgeting cycle, but continues annual appropriations legislation. Devotes the first session of any Congress to action on a joint resolution on the biennial budget, subject to the following revised deadlines: (1) April 15 for the Joint Budget Committee to report its joint resolution; (2) May 15 for the Congress to complete action on the resolution; and (3) September 30 for the Congress to complete action on annual appropriations bills and on reconciliation legislation. Shifts the budget resolution from a concurrent to a joint resolution form (thereby requiring the President's signature). Revises the resolution to separate committee allocations of budget and credit authority and budget outlays into the following functional totals: (1) defense discretionary; (2) defense entitlement and mandatory; (3) domestic discretionary; (4) domestic entitlement and mandatory; (5) international affairs discretionary; (6) international affairs entitlement and mandatory; (7) offsetting receipts; and (8) net interest. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to issue four-year projections of congressional budget action. (Current projections are on a five-year basis.) Amends Federal law to require the President's budget for a biennium to be set forth in the same accounts as those set forth in the Budget Accounts Listing in the budget submitted for FY 1991. Requires the President to consult with committees having jurisdiction over programs affected by proposed changes before any changes may be made in the budget tables. (Current law requiring consultation with the Budget and Appropriations Committees remains unchanged.) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. Directs the President to transmit during the first 15 days of the second session any budget revisions with respect to the budget transmitted in the first session, whose deadline is changed to the 15th day after the session begins. Makes allocations subsequent to the joint budget resolution only to the Appropriations Committees, for subdivision among their subcommittees by the relevant major functional categories. Requires that if the Congress has not adopted a joint budget resolution by May 15 for the biennium that begins on October 1 of that year, it will be deemed to have adopted the resolution at the baseline level under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) with reductions assumed as necessary to meet maximum deficit target amounts. Appropriates as continuing appropriations amounts effective for the preceding fiscal year if a regular appropriations bill has not become law before the beginning of the fiscal year. Expresses the sense of the Congress that before FY 1994 legislation should be enacted establishing fiscal targets beyond those mandated by the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, with the object of producing a unified budget surplus and eliminating the deficit with respect to budget amounts that do not include the social security trust funds.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) give the highest priority to fully accounting for the Americans still missing in Southeast Asia and to negotiating the return of Americans still held captive; (2) maintain an ongoing dialogue with Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Lao officials so that the prisoners of war issue may be resolved; (3) continue joint field investigations with such officials; and (4) heighten public awareness of the prisoners of war issue through the dissemination of factual data.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1989
Child Care Assistance Act - Title I: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Subtitle A: Young Child Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a new refundable tax credit, the Young Child Tax Credit. Allows families with incomes not exceeding $10,000 the credit of 12 percent of their earned income for one of their children under age five, plus six percent for each of up to two additional children under age five. Sets the maximum credit at $1,000 per year for one qualifying child, $1,500 for two, and $2,000 for three or more. Phases out the credit by reducing it by ten percent of so much of the adjusted gross income (or, if greater, the earned income) as exceeds $10,000. Allows advance payments of the credit. Subtitle B: Incentives for Employer Provided Child Care - Establishes a new business-related tax credit, the Dependent Care Assistance Program Credit. Allows the credit to employers for ten percent of their expenditures for payment or provision of services under a qualified dependent care assistance program for their employees. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) study barriers to employers providing child care services for their employees; and (2) report within 540 days to specified congressional committees on such study, with recommendations on removal of barriers and on incentives for employers to provide such services. Title II: Block Grants to States for Activities Relating to Dependent Care Services - Amends the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act to increase the authorization of appropriations for FY 1990 and to extend it through FY 1992, for grants to States for planning and development of dependent care programs. Revises and expands the authorized uses of allotments of such block grants to States. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report annually to specified congressional committees on State programs carried out with such block grants. Requires States to submit such reports on their use of grants as the Secretary may require. Changes the short title of such Act to the State Dependent Care Block Grants Act. Title III: Child Care Liability Risk Retention Group - Authorizes any State to assist in the establishment and operation of a child care liability risk retention group (i.e. a corporation or other limited liability association whose members are child care providers licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards, and which otherwise satisfies specified criteria for risk retention groups). Sets forth State application requirements. Requires State plans to: (1) identify the lead agency designated and responsible for the administration of funds under this part; (2) provide that all participants in the child care liability risk retention group are child care providers who are licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards; (3) provide for maximum membership of family-based child care providers in the group; (4) provide that the State shall use at least the amount allotted to establish or maintain a liability risk retention group for child care providers; and (5) specify how any such liability risk retention group will continue to be financed after FY 1992, including by contributions by the State or by members of such pool. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review and approve State plans and to monitor State compliance with requirements of this title. Provides for suspension of payments upon a finding of noncompliance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 to carry out this title and to remain available for assistance to States for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to reserve specified portions of such funds for payments to specified U.S. territories and for administrative costs. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to allot the remainder to States on the basis of the number of children under 13 years of age. Permits a portion of such allotments to be used for State administrative costs. Sets forth provisions relating to entitlement, method, and State spending of allotment payments. Title IV: Revolving Loan Fund - Provides assistance for State-established revolving loan funds to enable family-based child care providers to meet accreditation or licensing standards. Requires each applicant State to establish a revolving loan fund, along with specified procedures and guidelines. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990, to remain available for assistance to States for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the Secretary to make allotments to States through a formula based on the number of children under 12 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1989
Missing Service Personnel Act of 1989 - Requires the responsible uniformed service commander, after receiving notice that a person under his command is missing, to conduct an informal investigation to determine such person's whereabouts and, if appropriate, to place such person in a missing status. Requires the commander, if a person has been placed in such status, to notify the officer holding general court-martial authority over such person (or, in the case of a missing civilian, the Secretary concerned), who shall convene a board of initial inquiry within 45 days. Requires such board to: (1) investigate evidence relating to the disappearance of such person; (2) recommend whether to continue such person in a missing status or make a finding that such person has deserted, is absent without leave, or is dead; and (3) report its recommendations and findings. Provides for the convening of a board of further inquiry, if a board of initial inquiry recommends that such person be continued in a missing status, within one year of such recommendation. Requires such board to analyze any information which has become available since the board of initial inquiry issued its report, to determine whether such person should be continued in a missing status or declared dead, and to report its findings. Directs the Secretary concerned, upon the written request of a member of the immediate family of a missing person who, before the date of the enactment of this Act, was determined by the Secretary to be dead, to: (1) convene a board of further inquiry to determine whether such finding of death should be upheld or such person should be placed in a missing status; and (2) report its findings. Requires the Secretary, within three years after a board of further inquiry recommends a missing status for any person, to reconvene such board to review such status. Specifies the composition of such boards. Directs the Secretary to invite each member of the immediate family of the missing person to the meetings of a board of initial inquiry unless attendance would place such member in danger. Requires the Secretary to: (1) invite family members of missing persons to meetings of boards of further inquiry; (2) schedule such meetings at convenient locations and times; (3) provide such family members with reasonable notice of such meetings; and (4) open such meetings to the general public. Authorizes each board to hold meetings, take testimony, receive evidence, and secure directly from any U.S. department or agency any information necessary to carry out its duties. Provides for the appointment of counsel by the officer or Secretary concerned to represent the missing person. Requires that, if a board determines that a missing person is dead, it shall include in its report a detailed description of the location and date of death, whether the body has been recovered, and whether a licensed practitioner of forensic medicine determined that the body recovered is that of the missing person. Prohibits any such board from declaring a missing person dead unless: (1) evidence other than the passage of a period of less than 50 years suggests that such person is dead; (2) no evidence which reasonably suggests that such person is alive is in the possession of the Government; (3) representatives of the Government have made a complete search of the area where such person was last seen (unless the United States is not granted access to such area); and (4) Government representatives have checked the records of the government or entity having control over the area where such person was last seen (unless the Government is not granted access to such records). Provides for judicial review of determinations of death upon the filing of a written petition by any member of the missing person's immediate family. Directs the Secretary of the uniformed service in which a missing person serves to make certain that such person's personnel file contains all information in the possession of Federal departments and agencies pertaining to the disappearance or whereabouts of such person. Requires the Secretary to make certain that, if classified information is withheld, such file contains: (1) a notice that the information exists; and (2) a notice of the date of the most recent review of the classification status of the information. Sets forth penalties for knowingly withholding information pertaining to the disappearance or whereabouts of a missing person from that person's personnel file. Requires the Secretary concerned to make the contents of such file available to a member of the immediate family of such person upon written request.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Educational Excellence Act of 1989 - Title I: Improving Elementary and Secondary Education - Part A: Presidential Merit Schools - Presidential Merit Schools Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish the Presidential Merit Schools Program to recognize and reward public and private elementary and secondary schools that have made substantial progress in: (1) raising student educational achievement, especially in reading, writing, and mathematics; (2) creating a safe and alcohol- and drug-free school environment; and (3) reducing the dropout rate. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993. Authorizes State educational agencies (SEAs) to designate as a Merit School any public or private elementary or secondary school nominated through procedures established by the SEA. Sets forth requirements for selection criteria established by the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) and by SEAs. Provides that each Merit School will be awarded a Presidential Certificate of Merit, as well as funds to further its educational program. Prohibits Federal, State or local reduction of other assistance to a school because it receives such an award. Part B: Magnet Schools of Excellence - Magnet Schools of Excellence Act of 1989 - Amends ESEA to establish the Magnet Schools of Excellence Program of grants to support public elementary or secondary schools that: (1) offer the highest quality instruction in an academic or vocational discipline or create a unique and effective learning environment; (2) are open to students from beyond the immediate school attendance area; and (3) are capable of attracting students from a variety of backgrounds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993. Sets forth criteria for selection of applications. Limits such grants to any one school to no more than two years, and requires satisfactory progress in order to receive the grant for the second year. Prohibits Federal, State, or local reduction of assistance to a school because it receives such an award. Part C: Alternative Certification for Teachers and Principals - Alternative Certification of Teachers and Principals Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends ESEA to establish a program of assistance for Alternative Certification of Teachers and Principals. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990. Repeals this Part as of October 1, 1990. Part D: Presidential Awards for Excellence in Education - Amends ESEA to establish the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Education Program to recognize and reward outstanding elementary and secondary school teachers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993. Makes any full-time public or private elementary or secondary school teacher of academic or vocational subjects eligible for such an award. Makes teachers of religion (other than religion as an academic discipline) ineligible. Allows various individuals, groups, or institutions to nominate teachers for such awards. Requires State panels to select award recipients using criteria approved by the Secretary. Sets the amount of such an award at $5,000, and allows the recipient to use it for any purpose. Part E: Effective Date - Sets the effective date of the amendments made by this title. Title II: National Science Scholars - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish the National Science Scholars Program to recognize student excellence and achievement in the physical, life, and computer sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993. Authorizes the Secretary to award scholarships to outstanding students selected as National Science Scholars by the President. Allows students who satisfy certain requirements to receive such scholarships for the first year of undergraduate study and, if they satisfy additional requirements, additional scholarships to cover the remaining undergraduate years. Directs the Secretary to appoint a panel of experts to recommend academic achievement criteria for use in the nomination of scholars. Sets forth requirements for initial and continuation awards. Sets the scholarship amount at $10,000 for an academic year, but reduces such amount based on cost of attendance and other grant or scholarship assistance, and adjusts for insufficient appropriations. Requires that scholarship recipients, to the extent they are otherwise qualified, be given priority consideration for federally financed summer employment in research and development centers. Title III: Other Programs - Amends the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 to establish a Drug-Free Schools Urban Emergency Grants program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993. Directs the Secretary ot use program funds to award a small number of one-time grants to local educational agencies in urban areas with the most severe drug problems to assist them in developing and implementing comprehensive approaches to eliminating such problems. Amends HEA to authorize appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for special awards to historically Black colleges and universities. Makes institutions that receive such awards ineligible for other specified awards, and makes institutions that do not receive them eligible for those other awards.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Healthy Birth Act of 1989 - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to increase authorized appropriations for such program. Sets aside certain appropriated amounts for comprehensive State infant mortality initiatives and Federal activities in coordination with such initiatives. Prohibits Federal assistance for such a State initiative unless the State provides assurances that it will: (1) establish a toll-free telephone information and referral system for maternal and child health services; (2) provide technical assistance and public awareness activities regarding the maternal and child health handbook to be disseminated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (3) develop and expand maternal and child health home visiting programs; (4) establish a "one-stop shopping," client-centered program under which pregnant women and mothers can apply for a wide range of Government programs in a coordinated manner at a location at which social and health-related services are made available to pregnant women and infants; (5) evaluate the impact of such initiative; and (6) be able to continue such initiative without Federal assistance within five years of the first receipt of such assistance. Directs the Secretary to use a specified portion of set-aside amounts to: (1) provide technical assistance to State initiatives; (2) disseminate a maternal and child health handbook to all pregnant women and new parents; (3) establish a nationwide, toll-free telephone information and referral system for maternal and child health services; (4) develop a model, coordinated application and eligibility determination system for use by States under the Medicaid program (title XIX of the Act) and the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children; (5) improve the integration and coordination of Federal programs serving pregnant women and children; and (6) monitor and evaluate State infant mortality initiatives. Requires the Secretary to give priority to the initiatives of States demonstrating the greatest need and an ability to implement such initiatives, while recognizing the need for an equitable distribution of assistance among the States.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Targeted Relief Disclosure Resolution of 1989 - Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each report accompanying each bill or joint resolution of a public character reported by the Committee on Ways and Means to identify: (1) each provision which is intended to provide special benefits with respect to five or fewer taxpayers, transactions, events, items of property, projects, or issuances of bonds; (2) each beneficiary of such provision; (3) the Member of Congress who sponsored the inclusion of each such beneficiary; and (4) an estimate by the Joint Committee on Taxation of the loss in revenues resulting from such provision with respect to each such beneficiary for the fiscal year for which such loss in revenues first occurs and each of the five fiscal years thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Common Sense Budget Act of 1989 - Amends Federal law to require both the President and the Congress to draft a budget based on estimates of current fiscal year spending, proposing increases or decreases based on this level (rather than on an estimated baseline). Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office to use such a current fiscal year baseline in its report to the congressional budget committees, projecting growth for entitlement and discretionary spending based on current fiscal year spending.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Used Oil Recycling Act of 1989 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from listing or identifying as a hazardous waste any: (1) recycled oil; (2) used oil transferred to a person who certifies that such oil will be rerefined, processed, or reclaimed for a beneficial purpose or stored less than 12 months prior to such transfer; and (3) used oil which has been removed from the engine of a light duty motor vehicle or household appliance by the owner, transferred to a service station dealer, and stored by the dealer for less than 12 months. Requires the Administrator to determine whether to list as a hazardous waste used oil which is a solid waste and does not satisfy the above-listed criteria. Directs the Administrator to establish management standards for the storage, testing, transportation, treatment, exportation and importation, and processing of used oil. Requires such standards to be designed to protect human health and the environment by encouraging and expanding reliance on recycling of used oil. Exempts generators of used oil from recordkeeping or reporting requirements if such generators: (1) enter into an agreement for delivery of such oil to a recycling facility whose owner or operator certifies compliance with such standards or recycles such oil; (2) do not mix the oil with any hazardous wastes; and (3) maintain necessary records relating to the oil. Prohibits mixing used oil with any hazardous waste identified under such Act except where: (1) such mixing involves an identified hazardous waste and the resulting mixture does not exhibit a characteristic identified in such Act; and (2) the used oil mixture is burned to recover useful energy such that protection of human health and the environment is assured. Deems owners or operators of facilities which process used oil for fuel to have permits for recycling activities if in compliance with management standards. Directs the Administrator to conduct inspections of such facilities to determine compliance with such standards. Requires the Administrator to implement educational programs to inform the public about the environmental and safety hazards associated with improper handling of used oil and the benefits of used oil recycling. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations concerning the procurement of used oil fuel by Federal agencies subject to the requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the maximum capital gains rate from: (1) 28 percent to 15 percent for noncorporate taxpayers; and (2) 34 percent to 15 percent for corporate taxpayers. Reduces from 20 percent to 15 percent the tax rate on capital gains under the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Recycling Information Clearinghouse Act of 1989 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a clearinghouse for information about the recycling of municipal solid waste, to be administered by the Office of Solid Waste. Requires that the information collected and disseminated to the public by such clearinghouse include: (1) an annual estimate of the volume and rate of recycling of materials from the municipal solid waste stream; (2) an annual estimate of the balance of trade in recycled materials and products; (3) economic data comparing the costs and benefits of recycling various materials from the municipal solid waste stream; (4) a catalog of State and local laws that encourage or require the recycling of materials from the municipal solid waste stream; (5) a list of all purchases of recycled materials or products by the Federal Government, organized by agency and the type of recycled materials or products purchased; (6) a register announcing all solicitations by Federal agencies for the purchase of recycled materials or products; (7) information about state-of-the-art recycling methods, programs, or technologies; and (8) a register of all potential purchasers of recycled materials. Requires that a toll-free telephone hotline be established and made available to those seeking information from the clearinghouse. Provides that, to the extent feasible, such information should be computerized to facilitate its analysis and retrieval. Makes a State ineligible for solid waste disposal assistance after December 31, 1990, unless the State maintains and publicizes a register of potential purchasers of recycled materials known to the State solid waste planning authorities. Requires such register to be periodically updated and submitted to the clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations for such clearinghouse.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1989
Prohibits the Secretary of the Army from issuing certain permits for the construction of a water supply pipeline and related structures for removing water from Lake Gaston, North Carolina and Virginia, to Virginia Beach, Virginia, until an environmental impact statement is completed.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1989
Title I: Statehood Centennial Coin - Statehood Centennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of one-dollar silver coins and five-dollar palladium coins in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the statehood of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires the Secretary to provide a specified amount of all surcharges to the Documents West exhibition program with the remaining amount of surcharges to be deposited in the Treasury to be used to reduce the national debt. Requires the Secretary to obtain silver for the one-dollar coins only from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act. Requires the Secretary to obtain palladium for the five-dollar coins by purchase of palladium mined and refined in the United States. Grants the Comptroller General the right to examine records and other data of the Idaho Centennial Commission. Title II: Silver Proof Sets - Silver Coin Proof Set Act - Authorizes the Secretary to mint and issue silver coin proof sets. Sets forth certain specified features of such coins and provides for their sale to the public. Requires the Secretary to obtain silver for such coins by purchase from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act and from Treasury stocks on hand.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1989
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit contributions by foreign nationals in connection with any election, initiative, referendum, recall election, primary election, convention, or caucus for any Federal, State, or local office.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1989
Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that limit the deductibility of contributions to individual retirement plans by active participants in employer-maintained retirement plans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Directs the Secretary of Commerce, in tabulating the decennial census for the apportionment of Representatives in Congress, to provide for the inclusion of: (1) members of the uniformed services and civilian employees assigned to posts of duty outside the United States and their dependents residing at or near such posts; and (2) citizens pursuing postsecondary education programs outside the United States. Excludes from the census any alien not lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions to provide the Secretary with census information on their students who are studying outside the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to establish in the Treasury the Textile Machinery Modernization Fund. Appropriates revenues from customs duties imposed on textile machinery and parts imported into the United States to such fund for research projects for the modernization of the U.S. textile machinery industry.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Waste Reduction Act - Makes it the national policy to reduce or prevent pollution at its source whenever feasible. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an office within the EPA which will be independent of the EPA's single-medium program offices and have the authority to review and advise such offices on their activities to promote a multi-media approach to source reduction. Directs the Administrator to develop and implement a strategy to promote source reduction. Identifies several review, coordination, outreach, and organizational actions that the Administrator must take as part of such strategy. Requires the Administrator to: (1) make matching grants to States for programs promoting the use of source reduction techniques by businesses; and (2) establish a Source Reduction Clearinghouse to compile information generated by States receiving grants on management, technical, and operational approaches to source reduction. Requires that such information be made available to the public. Requires filings of annual toxic chemical release forms required under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to include toxic chemical source reduction and recycling reports for toxic chemicals which are the subject of such filings. Includes in such reports information, on a facility-by-facility basis, as to: (1) the amounts and disposition of each toxic chemical; (2) the source reduction practices used with respect to such chemicals; (3) measurements of changes from past to anticipated levels of chemical reduction and recycling; and (4) the techniques used to identify source reduction opportunities. Makes such information available to the public. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress within one year of this Act's enactment and biennially thereafter on the results of actions taken to implement source reduction strategies. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Foreign Aid Impact Assessment Act - Requires the President to submit to the Congress, by December 31, 1989, and December 31 of each third year thereafter, a report analyzing the impact and effectiveness of U.S. economic assistance provided during the preceding three fiscal years. Directs that such report include for each recipient country: (1) an analysis of the impact of such assistance on the country's economic development, including a description of the specific objectives sought and the extent to which they were not achieved and why; (2) a description of the amount and nature of the assistance provided by other donors during that period; (3) a discussion of the commitment of the host government to addressing the country's needs in each development sector; (4) a description of the trends in each sector; (5) statistical and other information necessary to the evaluation; and (6) a comparison of the analysis provided in the report with relevant analyses by international or nongovernmental organizations or donor countries. Requires that each report: (1) be submitted to the Congress as a separate document; and (2) identify those countries in which economic assistance has been most and least successful, explain why the assistance was not more successful, and specify what the United States has done as a result.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Research and Experimental Credit Extension and Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax credit for qualified research expenditures by repealing the provisions that would terminate the credit for expenses incurred or paid after 1989. Revises the method for computing: (1) base period research expenses, adding a factor reflecting the gross national product growth rate; and (2) the tax credit, adding an alternative computation component. Applies the credit to in-house research expenses that the taxpayer pays or incurs for the principal purpose of using the research results in the active conduct of a future trade or business.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Resolution on a Plebiscite in Cuba - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Cuban people should be allowed to express their view on the country's political future by a secret ballot of approval or rejection of Fidel Castro's continued rule; (2) the Government of Cuba should allow opposition and human rights groups to organize publicly, grant opposition groups equal access to the national media, release all political prisoners, and invite a neutral, international commission to oversee the voting and ensure the legitimacy of the results; (3) should the rejection vote prevail, the regime should respect the will of the people and hold prompt national elections through which the Cuban people could freely choose their leaders; and (4) normalized relations between the Governments of the United States and Cuba should be restored if a democratic Cuban Government is elected by all the people.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1989
Eliminates post-1968 service in the National Guard as a prerequisite to civil service retirement credit for former National Guard technicians. Amends the National Guard Technicians Act of 1968 to eliminate post-1968 service as a prerequisite for National Guard technicians for receipt of credit in the determination of length of Federal civil service for purposes of leave, Federal employees' death and disability compensation, group life and health insurance, severance pay, tenure, and status. Sets forth rules for applying provisions of this Act to affected individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Requires Representatives to be apportioned among the States according to their respective numbers, counting the persons in each State who are citizens or lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits Federal fiscal year expenditures from exceeding: (1) Federal revenues for that fiscal year; and (2) 19 percent of the gross national product for the preceding calendar year. Authorizes the Congress to suspend these prohibitions during time of war or whenever three-fifths of the total membership of each House, by rollcall vote, provides for a specific excess of outlays over estimated revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
General Aviation Standards Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (with respect to aviation accident investigations) to apply such Act, with specified exceptions, to any action for damages for harm arising out of a general aviation accident brought against a manufacturer, owner, or operator of a general aviation aircraft, or a person who supports or maintains such aircraft or any other person or governmental entity. Establishes guidelines for uniform standards of liability of general aviation manufacturers for such accidents. States that all actions for harm arising out of a general aviation accident shall be governed by the principles of comparative responsibility. Establishes, with specified exceptions, a limitation of actions period of 12 years from delivery of aircraft or harm-causing part to the purchaser for general aviation civil liability brought against a general aviation manufacturer. Declares admissible as evidence certain income tax and payroll tax liability for purposes of establishing financial harm arising out of a general aviation accident. Permits the award of punitive damages if a claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the direct result of conduct manifesting conscious, flagrant indifference to safety. Establishes a two-year limitation of actions period for actions arising out of such an accident. Confers original jurisdiction upon the Federal district courts, concurrently with State courts, for all civil actions for harm arising out of a general aviation accident. Provides procedures for removal from State to Federal district courts of such actions. Declares that this Act supersedes any State law regarding recovery of damages for harm arising out of a general aviation accident. Declares the intent of the Congress that sanctions be strictly enforced for violations of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including orders to pay to the other party the reasonable costs of legal fees. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to report to the Congress, within one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the results of a study determining whether persons awarded damages for general aviation accidents under this Act are unable to collect such damages, and the amount of any uncollectible damages.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Nuclear Decommissioning Reserve Fund Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) decrease from 34 percent to 15 percent the rate of the tax imposed on the income of any Nuclear Decommissioning Reserve Fund; and (2) remove restrictions on permitted investments of Fund monies.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Designates September 15, 1989, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Recognizes the National League of Families POW/MIA flag as the official symbol of the United States' commitment to resolving the fates of Americans still prisoner or missing in action in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the age (55 or older) and dollar ($125,000) restrictions with respect to the one-time income tax exclusion of gain on the sale of a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Federal Employees Fair Tax Act of 1989 - Repeals provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that eliminated the three-year basis recovery rule in computing the amount of an employee's retirement benefits includable in gross income. Repeals Internal Revenue Code provisions that require the inclusion in income of certain distributions received before an annuity starting date.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Designates April 16, 1989, the 87th birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, as Education Day, U.S.A. Calls on heads of state of the world to join the President of the United States in this tribute by signing scrolls of honor commemorating the 40th anniversary of Schneerson's leadership of the Lubavitch movement. Welcomes the cooperation of the Department of State in extending the good office of the U.S. missions to the Lubavitcher emissaries.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1989
Calls upon the Soviet Union and its allies to withhold further military assistance to the Republic of Nicaragua and to withdraw military advisors and support personnel from that country. Calls upon the Republic of Nicaragua to: (1) reverse significantly the growth of its armed forces; (2) work toward a stabilization of the regional military balance and prevent the introduction of advanced weapon systems; and (3) separate the armed forces from the Sandinista political party.
![Official portrait of Rep. Ballenger, Cass [R-NC-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000104_200.jpg)