United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Repeals provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that restrict the types of scholarships and fellowship grants that may be excluded from gross income for income tax purposes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for interest on a qualified educational loan incurred to pay the educational expenses of the taxpayer, spouse, or dependent. Eliminates the current requirement that such indebtedness be secured by an interest in real property.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Veterans' Compensation Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Compensation Rate Increases - Increases the rates of: (1) veterans' disability compensation; (2) additional compensation for veterans' dependents; (3) the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans; (4) dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children; and (5) supplemental dependency and indemnity compensation for disabled adult children. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death. Title II: Miscellaneous Program Amendments - Authorizes the Secretary to accept gifts, devises, and bequests which enhance the Secretary's ability to provide services and benefits. Allows the payment of parents dependency and indemnity compensation less frequently than monthly if the amount of the annual benefit is less than four percent of the maximum annual rate payable. Prohibits a readjustment in the rating schedule from causing a veteran's compensation amount to be reduced unless an improvement in the veteran's disability is shown to have occurred. Makes the presumptive period (the period after service in a radiation-risk activity during which a disease must become manifest in order to be considered service-connected and, therefore, compensable as disability compensation) for leukemia 40 years (currently, 30). Creates a 40-year presumptive period for members of the reserves who were exposed to atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device during active duty or inactive duty for training and who contract specified diseases or illnesses within such period. States as an exception the disease of leukemia, which is given a 30-year manifestation period in such reserve members. Increases the amount of Veterans' Mortgage Life Insurance available to a veteran owning a home to the lesser of $90,000 or the amount of the loan outstanding on the home. (Currently, the amount is the lesser of $40,000 or such amount.) Increases from one to two years the required time after discharge or release permitted to qualify for National Service Life Insurance (for service-disabled veterans). Title III: Agent Orange - Veterans Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1991 - Provides that the disease of chloracne in Vietnam veterans shall be considered to have been service-connected if such disease became manifest to a ten percent or more degree of disability within one year after the last date on which the veteran performed such service in Vietnam. Presumes the following diseases to be service-connected for veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service: (1) non-Hodgkins lymphoma; (2) soft-tissue sarcoma; and (3) melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. Provides a presumption of service-connection in the case of a Vietnam veteran suffering from a disease associated with effects of exposure to certain dioxins or other herbicide agents during such service in Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations listing a positive association between any disease and the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent in Vietnam. Requires the Secretary to update such list continually. Requires the Secretary, in prescribing and revising such list, to obtain by contract the determinations and estimates of a contract scientific organization. Requires such organization to: (1) determine which diseases have any degree of association with the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent; and (2) estimate the extent of association between each such disease and each such biological effect. Requires the organization to determine such association specifically with respect to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, each soft-tissue sarcoma, lung cancer, and each other cancer. Outlines contract provisions required in such agreements between the Secretary and the scientific organization, including surveys, evaluations, and periodic determinations. Requires such scientific organization to provide reports to the Secretary and the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees regarding its determinations and evaluations. Requires such organization to determine, in the case of a positive association, whether there is a reasonable basis for concluding that a Vietnam veteran with the highest level of exposure to that herbicide agent in Vietnam was exposed to such agent under the circumstances necessary for such biological effects. Requires a report from the organization to the Secretary and the veterans' committees when there is no such reasonable basis found. Requires the Secretary to make certain determinations and follow-up reports after receiving such reports from the contract scientific organization, including the issuance of a report to the veterans' committees and the promulgation of positive association regulations if necessary. Requires benefits to be continued even though a disease is removed from the regulations listing diseases having positive associations. Terminates such provisions ten years after the first day of the fiscal year in which a scientific organization transmits its first report to the Secretary. Provides special effective dates. Directs the Secretary to compile and analyze all clinical data that: (1) is obtained by the Department in connection with examinations and treatment of veterans for disabilities related to exposure to certain herbicides or to service in Vietnam; and (2) is likely to be scientifically useful in determining the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and their exposure to such herbicides and other toxic substances. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the veterans' committees concerning such analysis and its results. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Director of the National Institutes of Health Research and Grants Division (NIH) before compiling and analyzing such information. Requires the Director of NIH to review each annual report submitted by the Secretary and transmit to the Secretary an evaluation of the contents of each report. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a system for the collection and storage of voluntarily contributed samples of blood and tissue of veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Outlines provisions concerning the security and authorized uses of such specimens, as well as limitations on the acceptance of such samples. Requires the Secretary to consult with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to the extent that an agreement has been reached with the NAS serving as the contract scientific organization for the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Director of the Medical Follow-up Agency in the event of no agreement with NAS. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide for the conduct of studies of the feasibility of conducting additional scientific research on health hazards resulting from: (1) exposure to dioxin; (2) exposure to other toxic agents in herbicides used in support of U.S. and allied military operations in Vietnam during the Vietnam era; and (3) active military, naval, or air service there. Requires the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the results of such studies. Requires the Secretary to consult with the NAS before undertaking such studies and requires the NAS to review such studies and report recommendations to the Secretary and the veterans' committees to the extent provided under any agreement between the Secretary and NAS. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to require the Secretary to annually furnish updated information to veterans listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Agent Orange Registry on health risks resulting from exposure to dioxin or other toxic agents in herbicide as a result of service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the veterans' committees on the research being conducted to develop treatments for psychological absorption of dioxin and other toxic agents used in herbicides by the United States in Vietnam, including research relating to exposure to dioxin and other toxic agents outside Vietnam. Extends through December 31, 2000, the eligibility for hospital and nursing home care for veterans exposed to toxic substances in Vietnam. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to authorize direct consultation between the Ranch Hand Advisory Committee and Department of the Air Force scientists conducting the Ranch Hand Study (a study of the long-term health effects of exposure to phenoxy herbicides and contaminants). Requires the preparation and submission of annual reports and a final report in connection with such study.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1991 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army Transport Service, during World War II constituted active military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge under such Act to each merchant marine member whose qualified service warrants such a discharge. Defines "qualified service." Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee of a specified amount for any benefit application for such qualified service. Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to add references to components or ingredients of equipment, materials, or commodities in certain cargo preference provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Drug Testing Quality Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a program for the certification of laboratories for the performance of toxicological urinalysis for drug testing programs. Requires the program, as much as practicable, to conform to specified mandatory guidelines for Federal workplace drug testing programs published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS guidelines). Mandates regulations to ensure the integrity of drug testing programs. Requires the regulations to conform, as much as practicable, to the HHS guidelines. Provides for the inclusion of additional drugs and classes of drugs for which test methods and cutoff levels are provided. Requires taking into consideration any special factors applicable to amateur athletics. Sets forth specimen collection procedures. Prohibits performing urinalysis for drug testing without certification. Provides for criminal penalties, administrative remedies, injunctions, and certain civil actions. Supersedes less stringent statutes, rules, regulations, orders, and laws. Preempts State or local requirements regarding drug testing laboratory certification or the conduct of testing programs. Requires fees for certification and recertification to cover costs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act - Prohibits a State from sponsoring, operating, advertising, authorizing, licensing, or promoting any lottery, sweepstake, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based, directly or indirectly, on any game or games engaged in or conducted or scheduled by any professional or amateur sports organization, or on any performance or performance in such games.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from diminishing existing allocations of spectrum (available radio frequencies) to the amateur radio service after January 1, 1991. Requires the FCC to provide replacement spectrum to the service for any frequency reallocation after such date.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Solid Waste Transportation Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require each State to prepare a plan for the management of solid waste generated in the State. Specifies that such plan shall cover a 20-year period and require the State to: (1) identify the amount of solid waste by waste type that is expected to be generated in the State or accepted from another State for disposal in the next 20 years; (2) establish a process to assure the availability of facilities with adequate capacity to treat or dispose of such waste in a manner protective of human health and the environment; and (3) identify the volumes of waste planned to be reduced through source reduction and recycling. Authorizes such plan to include provisions for disposal outside the State of solid waste generated in the State only if the State determines that it does not have, and cannot develop within a reasonable period of time, the landfill or other capacity to handle the disposal of such waste in the State. Requires, in such case, that the plan provide for the establishment of such enforcement mechanisms as necessary to prevent the out-of-State disposal of waste in amounts in excess of those provided for in the plan. Requires States to submit such plans to the Administrator for approval. Specifies that, upon approval of a State plan, the State: (1) may not dispose waste outside of the State, or treat or dispose solid waste in the State, in a manner other than in accordance with such plan; and (2) shall establish a permit program and issue permits to facilities in compliance with such plan and State law. Prohibits the transportation of solid waste for treatment or disposal, following the establishment of a permit program, at any facility that has not been issued a permit. Authorizes any State that has an approved plan to restrict the acceptance of solid waste originating in other States, including a prohibition on medical waste, if such State justifies such restriction on the basis of lack of capacity to handle the disposal of solid waste generated in such State. Sets forth recordkeeping requirements. Authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency or a State to: (1) require any person who generates, transports, or handles solid waste to furnish information and grant access to all records relating to such waste; and (2) enter at reasonable times any solid waste facility and inspect and obtain samples of any such waste or any container or label for such waste. Sets penalties for States that fail to submit, or fail to have approved, a plan for solid waste disposal.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Ovarian Cancer Research Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the Director of the National Cancer Institute, to conduct or support basic research on certain aspects of ovarian cancer. Prohibits the Secretary from conducting or supporting clinical research on the same matters. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to permit the deferral of payments on student loans during professional internships of any duration (by removing a two-year limitation).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Veterans' Compensation Amendments of 1991 - Increases the rates of: (1) veterans' disability compensation; (2) additional compensation for veterans' dependents; (3) the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans; (4) dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children; and (5) supplemental dependency and indemnity compensation for disabled adult children. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Federal Employees' Political Activities Act of 1991 - Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of any election. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority to intimidate, threaten, coerce, command, or influence: (1) any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of any individual to vote as the individual may choose, or of causing any individual to vote, or not to vote, for any candidate or measure in any election; (2) any person to give or withhold any political contribution; or (3) any person to engage, or not to engage, in any form of political activity. Prohibits an employee from using, attempting to use, or permitting the use of any official information, unless such information is available to the general public. Prohibits an employee from: (1) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or to refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; or (3) giving or handing over a political contribution to a superior of the employee. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving, or from being in any manner concerned with soliciting, accepting, or receiving, a political contribution: (1) from another employee (or a member of another employee's immediate family) with respect to whom the employee is a superior; or (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official or an individual receiving salary or compensation from the Treasury. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution from, or giving a political contribution to, any person who: (1) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employing agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by that agency; or (3) has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance of the employee's official duties. Directs the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board to prescribe regulations which exempt employees from such prohibitions. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Authorizes leave without pay or accrued annual leave to an employee who is a candidate, upon request, to allow such employee to engage in activities relating to that candidacy. Declares that such request may be denied if the exigencies of the public business so require. Declares that such employee may be required to take leave without pay or accrued annual leave in order to be a candidate if activities relating to the candidacy interfere with the employee's performance of duties. Applies this Act to postal employees and employees of the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement that the amount of monthly benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent be reduced by the amount such individual receives in monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that payment under a life insurance contract to an insured who is terminally ill be treated as a death benefit, making such payment eligible for exclusion from gross income. Provides that any reference to life insurance shall be treated as referring to a qualified terminal illness rider. Provides for the tax treatment of such riders. Describes such a rider as one which provides for payments to an insured upon the insured's becoming terminally ill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Family Education Assistance Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual income tax deduction for contributions to a savings account established to pay the educational expenses (tuition, supplies, meals, and lodging) of the taxpayer's child or certain other relatives at an institution of higher education or a vocational school. Limits the deduction to $1,500 annually (adjusted for inflation) for each account. Disallows the deduction for contributions to an account maintained for any individual aged 19 or older. Requires any account balance to be distributed after the beneficiary attains age 30. Permits an exclusion from the gross income of the contributor or the beneficiary of account distributions used to pay educational expenses of the latter. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization), unless a contributor or the beneficiary engages in specified prohibited transactions in connection with it. Imposes a ten percent surtax on distributions not used for educational purposes. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Imposes a penalty for failure to report. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize deductions to deduct for contributions to an education savings account. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Supports the President's actions to defend Saudi Arabia and his diplomatic and economic initiatives to resolve the Persian Gulf crisis. Demands that Iraq immediately withdraw from Kuwait. Finds that the Constitution vests all power to declare war in the Congress. Declares that any offensive action against Iraq must be explicitly approved in advance by the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1990
Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act of 1990 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain within EPA a Chesapeake Bay Liaison Office to support the Chesapeake Executive Council in the following areas: (1) supporting and coordinating Federal, State, and local efforts to improve the water quality and living resources of the Chesapeake Bay; (2) assisting Bay program signatories in implementing specific action plans to carry out responsibilities under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement; (3) collecting and making available information on the Bay's environmental quality and living resources; and (4) coordinating the monitoring and data collection program to assess the impact of environmental changes on the Bay. Requires the Administrator and the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to implement science, research, monitoring, and data collection activities supporting the Chesapeake Bay Program. Sets forth responsibilities of the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with respect to the Chesapeake Bay. Directs the Administrators to ensure that projects for which funds are requested have undergone peer review. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the EPA Administrator to implement the Comprehensive Basinwide Toxics Reduction Strategy to achieve a multijurisdictional approach for reducing toxic inputs to Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Directs the Administrator to: (1) undertake research and monitoring to improve understanding of intermedia transfers and the eventual fate and biological effects of toxics within the Bay watershed; and (2) implement toxics reduction and prevention programs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the EPA Administrator to expedite the development of a Chesapeake Bay watershed land use data base to provide information to plan for and manage growth and development and associated impacts on the Chesapeake Bay system. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the EPA Administrator to establish a demonstration program to address problems associated with urban and suburban runoff. Sets forth program requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the EPA Administrator, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service to implement a living resources program for the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed to meet commitments in the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the EPA Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, Chesapeake Bay Program management strategies, and the Chesapeake Bay restoration program. Authorizes appropriations. Extends the authorizations of appropriations for the Chesapeake Bay Program and related interstate development plan grants through FY 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1990
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to include within the definition of "response action contractor" any surety who provides a bid, performance, or payment bond to a response action contractor and begins activities to meet obligations under such bond. Provides that surety bonds required for direct Federal procurement of response action contracts under the Miller Act shall be issued in accordance with such Act. Provides that, if under any Federal law surety bonds are required for direct Federal procurement of response action contracts: (1) no right of action shall accrue on the performance bond issued on such contract to or for the use of any person other than the obligee named in the bond; and (2) in the event of a default, the surety's liability on a bond shall be only for the cost of completion of the contract work in accordance with the plans less the balance of funds remaining to be paid under the contract, up to the penal sum of the bond.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1990
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover as a prosthetic device corrective eyeglasses provided with intraocular lenses following cataract surgery.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1990
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Multiyear Authorization Act of 1990 - Title I: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorizations - Authorizes appropriations to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for: (1) research and development; (2) space flight, control, and data communications; (3) construction of facilities; (4) research and program management; and (5) the Inspector General. Permits appropriations for the first two numbered categories to be used for certain items of a capital nature (other than land acquisition) required for the performance of research and development contracts, and for grants to nonprofit educational and research organizations to augment their research facilities. Prohibits the use of these funds for the construction of any major facility whose estimated cost exceeds a specified amount, unless the Administrator of NASA notifies specified congressional committees. Authorizes use of funds from one or more of the numbered categories, subject to limitations, for scientific consultations or extraordinary expenses, for facilities construction, repair, or modification, and for unforeseen programmatic facility project needs. Permits reprogramming of funds for facilities construction, subject to conditions outlined in this Act. Authorizes certain fund transfers and makes available specified funds for the construction and modification of laboratories and other installations. Requires the Administrator to notify specified congressional committees of the nature, cost, and need for such construction before expending the funds in question. Prohibits, until 30 days following congressional receipt of the Administrator's full explanation, the use of funds appropriated pursuant to this Act for any program: (1) deleted by the Congress from original requests; (2) in excess of the amount actually authorized for the particular program; or (3) not presented to either of specified congressional committees. Requires NASA to keep those committees fully and currently informed regarding all activities within their jurisdiction. Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to add to the functions of the Administration those of: (1) seeking and encouraging the fullest commercial use of space; and (2) encouraging and providing for Federal Government use of commercially provided space services and hardware. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the activities of the National Space Council, making a limited amount available for official reception and representation expenses. Requires the Council to reimburse other agencies for at least half of the personnel compensation costs of individuals detailed to it. Directs the Administrator to award to a domestic firm a contract that, under the use of competitive procedures, would be awarded to a foreign firm, if certain conditions exist. Directs the Administrator to submit to specified congressional committees certain reports relating to the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor. Declares it to be U.S. policy to use the space shuttle: (1) for purposes that require the presence of man or the unique capabilities of the shuttle; or (2) when other compelling circumstances exist, including those related to national security or foreign policy. States that the policy does not preclude carrying secondary payloads that do not require the presence of man if consistent with the requirements of research, development, demonstration, scientific, commercial, and educational programs authorized by the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to submit to the Congress a plan for implementing the policy. Directs the Administrator to: (1) review proposed manned space flight missions with regard to identifying the human factors knowledge base necessary and developing a schedule of when specified components of information will need to be acquired or developed; (2) develop a strategic plan for life sciences research and technology development, including a crew certification plan and a life sciences implementation plan; and (3) verify the physiological technical feasibility of the life sciences implementation plan. Directs the National Space Council to conduct a study and report to the Congress on International Cooperation in Planetary Exploration with regard to; (1) developing an inventory of technologies and intentions of all national space agencies; (2) seeking ways to enhance the planning and exchange of information; (3) preparing a proposal for efficient use of resources; (4) developing priority goals for needs that could not be achieved by any individual country; (5) exploring the possibilities of international unmanned probes and international manned missions; and (6) devising strategies for cooperation that would prevent unwanted transfer of technology. Establishes within the Department of Commerce an Office of Space Commerce to coordinate space-related issues, programs, and initiatives within the Department. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of NASA to jointly establish a National Aero-Space Plane program to develop a primarily air breathing single-stage-to-orbit and long-range hypersonic cruise research flight vehicle. Prescribes the respective responsibilities of the Secretary and the Administrator. Directs the Secretary and the Administrator to develop and submit to the Congress a management plan that includes goals, tasks, schedules, and resource procurement strategies. Requires the Secretary to be responsible for at least two-thirds, and the Administrator to be responsible for not more than one-third, of the costs of the program. Amends the Commercial Space Launch Act to authorize appropriations to carry out the Act. Amends provisions requiring a license for private space launch operations to declare that a license is not required if an agency assumes responsibility for the launch. Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Transportation and the Administrator to jointly develop regulations establishing criteria for such assumption. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to encourage States, as well as the private sector, to acquire, by lease, sale, or other transaction, excess U.S. launch property. Directs the Administrator to contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for a review of the organizational and institutional preparedness of NASA to undertake major new initiatives in science and human exploration. Requires the contract to include a report: (1) estimating the human resources required to carry out this title; (2) describing the structure of NASA; (3) describing the role and relationship of other Federal agencies, Federal laboratories, and the private sector in carrying out the Nation's space program; and (4) recommending administrative changes. Declares that it is U.S. policy to: (1) conduct space activities in a manner that does not increase orbital space debris; and (2) engage other spacefaring nations to develop an agreement to ensure that such debris is not increased. Authorizes the Administrator to spend excess funds appropriated for orbiter production to maintain the space shuttle orbiter production line and related production lines of orbiter subcontractors. Requires, in any agreement entered into by NASA for an Industrial Application Center, that the center be allowed to retain all client income without any deductions from appropriated funds received or to be received by that center. Requires the Administrator to contract with the National Academy of Public Administration for a cost and benefit analysis of the Shuttle-C program. Requires any automotive stirling engine demonstration program sponsored by NASA to utilize natural gas and, if not natural gas, methanol or ethanol. Title II: Launch Services Purchase - Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990 - Requires NASA to purchase launch services for its primary payloads from commercial providers. Allows exceptions on a case-by-case basis if the Administrator determines that: (1) the payloads requires the unique capabilities of the space shuttle; (2) cost effective commercial services to meet mission requirements are not reasonably available; or (3) the use of commercial services poses an unacceptable risk of loss of a unique scientific opportunity. Requires the determination to be made at Preliminary Design Review and prohibits it from being delegated. Allows launch vehicles to be acquired or owned by NASA, except for historical displays, only as required by such exceptions or for conducting research, development, and testing of launch technology. Requires contracts to provide launch services to NASA to be awarded on the basis of full, fair, and open competition. Requires NASA to limit its requirements for submission of cost or pricing data in support of a bid or proposal. Requires performance specifications, not detailed Government design or construction specifications, to be used. Prohibits acceptance of commercial payloads for launch as primary payloads on the space shuttle unless: (1) the payload requires unique shuttle capabilities; or (2) launching on the shuttle is important for national security or foreign policy purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1990
Process Patent Amendments of 1990 - Amends Federal patent law to provide for the patentability of certain processes which are sought to be patented in the same application as the machine, manufacture, or composition of matter with which they are associated.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1990
Amends the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 to extend for two years provisions for the transfer of tier 2 railroad retirement benefit taxation revenues from the general fund of the Treasury to the Railroad Retirement Account.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1990
Department of Energy Science Education Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to establish a Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education Advisory Board (the Board) to provide guidance and assistance for the establishment of the science, mathematics, and engineering education programs of the Department of Energy (the Department) research and development facilities. Requires the Board to report annually to the Secretary and the Congress. Directs the Secretary to develop, with Board advice, a plan for the science, mathematics, and engineering program of the Department's research and development facilities. Requires the Secretary to review such plan annually and report to the Congress on it with the Department's annual budget request. Directs the Secretary to combine the Nuclear Engineering Research and Education Program and the University Research Reactor Program into one program to be called the Nuclear Engineering Education and Research Reactor Program. Directs the Secretary to establish a national clearinghouse to enable the Department's research and development facilities to share, with each other and the education community nationwide, reports, teaching aids, and support materials for science, mathematics, or engineering education. Requires coordination with any other related Federal clearinghouses or related clearinghouses at such facilities. Directs the Secretary to establish a program of paid administrative leave for employees of the Department or its research and development facilities who volunteer to interact with schools, colleges, universities, teachers, or students for science, mathematics, and engineering education. Directs the Secretary to develop alternatives to full Federal funding of science, mathematics, and engineering education programs of the Department's research and development facilities, including use of resources of colleges, universities, local and national businesses, and local and State education agencies. Directs the Secretary to establish a volunteer talent pool of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers who have retired from the Department or its research and development facilities to serve as "Scientists in Residence" at schools. Directs the Secretary, through such facilities, to identify and match such scientists with such schools and districts. Directs the Secretary to establish a Young Americans' Summer Science Camp Program to provide secondary school students with hands-on science experience, exposure to working scientists, and career counseling. Requires such Camps to: (1) be conducted at participating colleges and universities; (2) consist of at least two sessions of two weeks each in the first year of operation, with at least 50 participants in each session at each location; and (3) obtain all financing, after the first four years of operation, through private or other non-Federal sources. Directs the Secretary, by the end of the second year of operation, to expand the program to provide guidance and assistance to other organizations to create similar camps. Makes this Act inapplicable to: (1) activities of the Department or its contractors that are funded as national defense production activities; and (2) science, mathematics, and engineering programs administered under elements of the Department other than the Office of Energy Research.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1990
Violence Against Women Act of 1990 - Title I: Safe Streets for Women - Safe Streets for Women Act of 1990 - Subtitle A: Federal Penalties for Sex Crimes - Amends Federal law to require the U.S. Sentencing Commission to create or amend guidelines to provide for: (1) up to twice the term of imprisonment or fine for violation, after the first conviction, of Federal laws relating to sexual abuse or similar laws of any State or foreign country; and (2) specified minimum terms of imprisonment for aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and abusive sexual contact. Amends the Federal criminal code to increase the penalties for sexual abuse of a minor or ward and for abusive sexual contact. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to promulgate guidelines or amend existing guidelines to incorporate the increase in maximum penalties for aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, abusive sexual contact, and sexual abuse of a minor or award. Requires that a court order restitution for violations of such Federal sexual abuse laws. Subtitle B: Law Enforcement and Prosecution Grants to Reduce Violent Crime Against Women - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to areas of high intensity crime against women. Requires that the grants be used for personnel, equipment, training, technical assistance, and information systems for the more widespread apprehension, prosecution, and adjudication of persons committing violent crimes against women. Authorizes the Director to make grants to States, for use by States and their subdivisions, for purposes outlined in this Act and to reduce the rate of violent crimes against women. Authorizes the Director, in addition to the grants under this subtitle, to direct any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement, to use its authorities and resources in support of State and local assistance efforts. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Safety for Women in Public Transit and Public Parks - Directs the Secretary of Transportation, from funds authorized under existing provisions, to make capital grants for the prevention of crime and to increase security in existing and future public transportation systems. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans to States and local public bodies to increase the safety of public transportation through lighting, camera surveillance, security phones, or other projects. Sets the Federal share of each project at 90 percent of the net cost. Directs the Secretary to provide grants and loans to study ways to reduce violent crimes against women in public transit through better design or operation of public transit systems. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of the Interior to provide grants for capital improvements and other measures to increase safety in public parks and recreation areas. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to: (1) direct the chief law enforcement official within the National Park Service to compile a list of areas within the national park system with the highest rates of violent crime and make recommendations for capital improvements and other measures needed to reduce the rates of violent crime, including sexual assault; and (2) obligate up to $10,000,000 to the national park system for safety measures such as increasing lighting, providing emergency telephone lines, and increasing security and law enforcement personnel. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize funding for: (1) rape prevention and education programs conducted by rape crisis centers; and (2) rape prevention demonstration projects to develop and evaluate techniques for lowering the overall incidence of rape by 20 percent by the year 2000 and for reducing the trauma and long-term impact of rape. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: National Commission on Violent Crime Against Women - Establishes the National Commission on Violent Crime Against Women to promote a national consensus on violent crime against women and to make recommendations on reducing such crime. Authorizes appropriations. Terminates the Commission after submission of its final report, subject to extension by the President for up to one year. Title II: Safe Homes for Women - Safe Homes for Women Act of 1990 - Subtitle A: Interstate Enforcement - Provides for a Federal term of imprisonment or fine, in addition to any State penalties, for any person who travels or causes another (including the intended victim) to travel in interstate commerce with intent to injure his or her spouse and who violates a law of any State concerning domestic or family violence. Provides for imprisonment and fines for interstate violation of protection orders, including increased penalties for repeated offenses and for offenses involving serious bodily injury. Mandates that a court order restitution to the victim of an offense under this Act. Requires, provided certain conditions are met, that a protection order issued by the court of one State be accorded full faith and credit by the court of another State. Subtitle B: Arrest in Spousal Abuse Cases - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to prohibit a State or locality from receiving a grant under existing provisions if, as a matter of policy or law, it discriminates against family violence victims by prohibiting or discouraging the arrest of persons committing family violence. Declares that proof that a State or locality permits warrantless misdemeanor arrests based on probable cause in domestic violence situations is sufficient, but not necessary, to show such nondiscrimination. Requires certification of compliance. Amends provisions of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 relating to grants for crime victim assistance to require certification that a State does not engage in such discrimination against family violence victims. Makes warrantless misdemeanor arrests sufficient to show compliance. Bars any State, locality, or group of States or localities from receiving funds under such Act without certification that it does not discriminate against victims of family violence by prohibiting or discouraging the arrest of persons committing family violence. Amends the FVPSA to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to eligible States, municipalities, or local government entities, with regard to spousal or family violence, to centralize police enforcement, tracking of cases, prosecution, and judicial responsibility. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to delegate to the Attorney General responsibility for carrying out these provisions and transfer to the Attorney General a limited amount of funds appropriated under existing provisions. Subtitle C: Funding for Shelters - Amends the FVPSA to authorize appropriations to carry out that Act, earmarking at least 60 percent of funds appropriated for State demonstration grants to prevent family violence and provide immediate shelter and related assistance. Subtitle D: Judicial Training - Directs the Attorney General, from funds appropriated under specified provisions of the FVPSA, to provide a certain amount to the State Justice Institute for developing model programs for training judges in the laws of the States on spousal abuse and family violence. Title III: Civil Rights - Declares that all persons within the United States shall have the same rights, privileges, and immunities in every State as are enjoyed by all other persons to be free from crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender (defined as rape, sexual assault, or abusive sexual contact motivated by gender-based animus). Makes any person, including a person who acts under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State, who deprives another of the rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the Constitution and laws as enumerated by this Act liable to the injured party for compensatory and punitive damages.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1990
Black Lung Benefits Restoration Act of 1990 - Title I: Interim Presumption of Eligibility for Black Lung Benefits - Amends the Black Lung Benefits Act (the Act) to provide for a rebuttable presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis with respect to certain coal miners whose claims were filed during a specified period under the Black Lung Benefits Program. Establishes such presumption if a single piece of qualifying evidence is presented. Provides that other relevant medical evidence shall be considered only in connection with rebuttal of the presumption. Title II: Claims Review - Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to review any black lung benefits claim filed under the Act either with the Department of Labor before April 1, 1980, or with the Social Security Administration at any time. Requires such review to follow certain guidelines established before and by the enactment of the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977, and to disregard amendments made after such enactment. Requires immediate payment of claims approved under such review. Requires, in the case of claims rejected under such review, the claimant to be given an opportunity to present additional medical or other evidence. Requires benefits granted under such review to be assessed against the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Title III: Repayment of Benefits - Provides that, when black lung benefits under the Act are paid for at least two years after an initial determination of eligibility, repayment of such benefits will not be required even upon a final determination of ineligibility. Title IV: To Extend the Moratorium on Interest Owed by the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund to the United States Treasury - Extends through FY 1995 the current moratorium on interest owed to the Treasury by the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Title V: Contingency Fee Arrangements - Establishes under the Act a contingency fee arrangement system under which an attorney may be paid up to 25 percent of the black lung benefits paid to the claimant during specified periods of representation by such attorney.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1990
Medicaid Family Care Act of 1990 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide federally reimbursed Medicaid coverage of alcoholism and drug dependency residential treatment services for pregnant women whose family income is below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level and for their Medicaid-eligible children and spouses. Lists the required services included in such coverage as: (1) individual, group, and family counseling and addiction education and treatment provided pursuant to individualized treatment plans; (2) room and board in a structured environment with on-site supervision 24 hours a day; (3) therapeutic child care; (4) parental assistance in obtaining developmental assistance for their preschool children and public education for themselves and their school-age children; (5) easier access to other health, social, and child care services; (6) planning and assistance in reentering society; and (7) continuing specialized training of residential treatment facility staff members in the most recent and effective treatment techniques. Requires that such coverage continue for at least 12 months, except that the coverage of pregnant women must continue for one year following the end of pregnancy. Limits the size of a residential treatment facility to no more than 40 beds unless the State provides assurances that a larger facility can furnish the mandatory services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1990
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the limitations on taxable years which may be elected by a partnership, S corporation, or personal service corporation. Provides that a change of taxable year shall not be treated as a termination of an election to have a taxable year other than the required taxable year unless such change is to a required taxable year. Provides that if such entities terminate such election, then they are not eligible to make another election before five taxable years have passed, without the consent of the Secretary of the Treasury. Sets forth circumstances for making such an election without the consent of the Secretary. Provides that any loss for the short period resulting from a change in election: (1) shall not be allowed as a carryback to any preceding taxable year (and shall not be taken into account by any partner of a partnership, or shareholder of an S corporation); and (2) shall be taken into account by the entity (or partner or shareholder) ratably over the first six taxable years beginning after the short period.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1990
Facilitation in Licensing for International Medical Graduates Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to establish a National Repository of International Medical Graduate Records. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to the Federation of State Medical Boards to develop and administer uniform national medical licensing examinations. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1990
Airline Passengers Defense Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish in the Department of Transportation an Office of Airline Passenger Advocacy. Establishes the Office of Airline Passenger Advocacy Advisory Group. Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit air carriers from cancelling a flight within 72 hours of its scheduled departure time for any reason, except for safety reasons or the absence of any passengers at such departure time. Requires air carriers which cancel such flights for safety-related reasons to report to the Secretary on the cancellation, the reasons for it, and actions taken to resolve the safety-related problem. Requires air carriers to notify their passengers of any delays of 15 minutes or more in the departure or arrival of scheduled flights. Requires an air carrier which cancels a flight in violation of this Act, or alters stopping places of such flight for any reason other than safety, to compensate passengers. Prohibits on-time performance of regularly scheduled flights from being 30 percent or less in any consecutive three-month period. Requires the Secretary to establish in the Office of Airline Passenger Advocacy a toll-free telephone number system for receiving passenger complaints relating to air service. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) ticket information; and (2) lost or damaged baggage claims. Sets forth civil penalties for economic cancellations and consistently delayed flights by air carriers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1990
Title I: Research - Subtitle A: Health Research Act - Women's Health Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health the Office of Women's Health to coordinate all activities and research of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to disease, disorders, or other health conditions that are unique to, more prevalent in, or more serious for women, or for which risk factors or interventions are different for women. Establishes in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the National Center for Women's Health Research and Development. Requires the Center, with respect to women's health research, to: (1) identify research projects conducted or supported by each agency of the NIH and of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA); (2) evaluate such projects and select those that have particular merit; (3) provide amounts to the agencies for the projects; and (4) take other actions. Requires the Director of the Center to: (1) investigate the extent to which women are being included in NIH or ADAMHA research; (2) investigate whether the projects are being carried out in accordance with policies regarding the inclusion of women; (3) coordinate NIH and ADAMHA research with respect to women's health; and (4) take other actions. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to conduct a program for clinical research in obstetrics and gynecology. Requires the Director of the Center to establish the National Women's Health Data Bank and the National Women's Health Clearinghouse. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish: (1) within the Center the National Women's Health Clinical Research Advisory Board; and (2) the Interagency Council on Women's Health Research and Development. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Clinical Trials Fairness Act - Clinical Trials Fairness Act - Amends provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to the national research institutes and provisions relating to the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure, in conducting or supporting clinical research, that women and minority groups are included as research subjects, unless inappropriate. Requires that any project be designed and carried out so as to provide for a valid analysis of whether the research variables affect women or minorities differently than other subjects. Directs the Secretary to establish within the advisory council of each institute and each agency of ADAMHA a Clinical Research Equity Subcommittee to review all clinical research of that agency to determine whether the research is being conducted in accordance with requirements of this Act. Provides for suspension or revocation of the authority for any project the Secretary determines is not being conducted in accordance with those requirements. Defines "minority groups" to mean racial and ethnic minority groups. Requires that the technical and scientific peer review process in the institutes and ADAMHA include an evaluation of the inclusion of women and minority groups as research subjects. Subtitle C: Breast Cancer Research - Authorizes appropriations to the National Cancer Institute for breast cancer research other than research that involves treatment or clinical trials. Subtitle D: Contraceptive and Infertility Research Centers Act of 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 on contraception and two centers on 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. Subtitle E: Contraception and Infertility - 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. Subtitle F: Women and AIDS Research Initiative - Women and AIDS Research Initiative Amendments of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, or both, to establish a program to conduct biomedical and behavioral research on cases of infection with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in women. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct the research directly or through grants. Specifies forms of research to be included. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants for community-based clinical trials on experimental treatments for such infection for women. Allows the Director of the NIH to authorize grantees to expend the grants to provide individuals with such transportation, child care, and other incidental services as may be necessary to enable the individuals to participate as subjects in the trials. Subtitle G: Osteoporosis and Related Disorders Research - Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Research, Education, and Health Services Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMSD) and the Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to expand and intensify research on osteoporosis and related bone disorders. Requires, with respect to osteoporosis and related bone disorders: (1) the NIAMSD Director to increase the number of Specialized Centers of Research; and (2) the NIA Director to increase the number of program project grants devoted to creating centers of excellence. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the Interagency Council on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders and the Advisory Panel on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders. Authorizes appropriations for the Advisory Panel. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make up to three grants to establish model health promotion projects for community-based education on osteoporosis, with each project targeting one of these groups: young and teenage girls, midlife women, and older men and women. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the NIAMSD Director to make grants or enter into contracts to establish a Resource Center on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders to: (1) disseminate information about research results, services, and educational materials to health professionals, patients, and the public; and (2) coordinate regional training for the development of health professional resource networks. Requires grant and contract recipients to establish: (1) a central computerized information system to, among other matters, translate scientific and technical information into information readily understandable by the general public; and (2) a national toll-free telephone information line. Requires the grant or contract recipient to charge fees for providing information, but allows exceptions for individuals and organizations unable to pay. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Services - Subtitle A: Informed Consent for Breast Cancer Treatment - Breast Cancer Treatment Informed Consent Act - Requires any State receiving funds under titles V (Maternal and Child Health Block Grant) or XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act or under the preventive health service provisions of the Public Health Service Act to require any physician or surgeon licensed to practice medicine in such State to inform any breast cancer patient of alternative methods of treatment for breast cancer before such treatment is begun. Requires that the patients be informed by means of: (1) a standardized written summary in layman's language and in a language understood by the patient of alternative methods of treatment; and (2) an explanation of the treatment options described in such written summary together with the risks associated with each procedure relative to each patient's particular medical circumstances. Subtitle B: Reimbursement for Certain Nurse Practitioners Under Medicare and Medicaid - Women's Health Care Coverage Expansion Act of 1990 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare and Medicaid coverage of obstetrical and gynecological services furnished by nurse practitioners. Subtitle C: Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood Act of 1990 - Mickey Leland Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenthood Act of 1990 - Replaces the current title XX (Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Projects) of the Public Health Service Act with a new title on adolescent pregnancy prevention, care, and research grants. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide care services to pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents and prevention services to nonpregnant adolescents. Lists permissible uses for the grants. Requires that grantees charge fees for services only according to a fee schedule approved by the Secretary that bases fees on income. Prohibits a grantee from discriminating on the basis of an individual's inability to pay for services. Sets forth priorities in making the grants. Provides for the amount of a grant. Prohibits the Federal portion of the grant from exceeding 75 percent of annual program costs. Allows non-Federal contributions to be in cash or in kind. Allows the Secretary to waive the 75 percent limitation in accordance with criteria established by regulation. Sets forth descriptions and assurances which must be included in grant applications. Requires grant recipients to spend between three and ten percent to conduct, through an independent entity, an evaluation of the services supported. Directs the Secretary to coordinate Federal policies and programs providing services relating to the prevention of initial and recurrent adolescent pregnancies and providing care for pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents. Requires grant recipients to coordinate activities with other grant recipients in the same locality. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to support: (1) research concerning the societal causes and consequences of pregnancy, childbearing, and child rearing for adolescent females and males; (2) evaluative research to identify services that reduce adolescent pregnancy rates and that improve the outcome of adolescent childbearing; and (3) the dissemination of information from programs and research relating to adolescent pregnancy and parenthood. Allows research and dissemination grants to be made for one year, with renewals for four additional one-year periods. Limits the amount of a grant for direct costs, but allows: (1) additional amounts for indirect costs as the Secretary deems appropriate; and (2) the Secretary to waive the limitation. Sets forth allowed and prohibited uses of the funds. Directs the Secretary to coordinate research and dissemination activities carried out under these provisions with such activities carried out by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Directs the Secretary to establish a system for the review of applications that is substantially similar to the system for scientific peer review of the NIH. Requires the creation of a panel to review applications. Requires grants to be made from among programs the panel has determined to be of scientific merit. Authorizes appropriations for carrying out the title added by this subtitle. Prohibits use of funds for grants under this subtitle for payment for the performance of an abortion. Subtitle D: COBRA Displaced Family Amendments Act of 1990 - COBRA Displaced Family Amendments of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Public Health Service Act to declare that specified provisions relating to the required period of group health plan continuation coverage do not apply to the qualifying events of death, divorce, or legal separation involving a beneficiary who is 50 years old or older. Requires that coverage continue until the 23rd birthday for a beneficiary under 20 years old at the time of such an event involving a covered employee 50 years old or older. Entitles beneficiaries who have applied for, but not received, a determination of disability before the end of an 18 month period after the qualifying event to a continuation period of 29 months. Requires that notice of the option to enroll under a conversion plan be given during the 120-day period ending 60 days before the expiration of the continuation coverage. (Current law requires such notice be given during the 180-day period ending on the expiration date of the continuation coverage.) Allows continuation coverage to end on the date on which the employer or successor employer (currently, the employer) ceases to provide any group health plan to any employee. Subtitle E: Federal Employee Family-Building Act - Federal Employee Family-Building Act of 1989 - Requires any contract for health benefits for Federal employees that provides obstetrical benefits to also provide benefits for family-building procedures. Provides that payment terms or conditions under such contracts shall be no more restrictive for family-building benefits than for obstetrical benefits. Requires such contracts to provide that: (1) benefits shall consist of reimbursement for reasonable and necessary medical expenses and counseling fees directly relating to the adoption of a child; and (2) benefits shall be available in connection with obstetrical care for the biological mother and medical care for the child if, or to the extent that, the pre-adoptive or adoptive parent or parents are legally responsible for the cost of such care. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to authorize the use of sick leave for purposes relating to family-building procedures. Defines "family-building procedure" as a medical procedure to overcome infertility (including procedures to achieve pregnancy and procedures to carry pregnancy to term) and procedures relating to child adoption. Title III: Prevention - Subtitle A: Medicaid Infant Mortality Amendments of 1990 - Medicaid Infant Mortality Amendments of 1990 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to phase-in mandatory State coverage of pregnant women and infants whose family income is below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level. Deducts child and medical care costs from the income eligibility test. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress by July 1, 1991, on State error rates in determining the Medicaid eligibility of pregnant women and infants. Suspends error rate penalties attributable to such eligibility determinations made from July 1, 1989, until one year after the Secretary's report. Authorizes States to provide Medicaid coverage of prenatal home visitation services for high-risk pregnant women and/or postpartum home visitation services for high-risk infants. Excuses women, during and for 60 days after pregnancy, from a requirement to cooperate in: (1) establishing paternity regarding a child born out of wedlock; (2) obtaining support and payments. Subtitle B: Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 1990 - Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, to make grants to States, with regard to breast and cervical cancer, for screening, referrals and follow-up services, public information and education programs, education and training for health professionals, quality monitoring of screening, and evaluations of such activities. Sets forth preferences in making the grants and requires equitable geographical distribution. Requires matching non-Federal funds in a specified ratio. Requires that States agree to: (1) provide all of certain services by a specified date; (2) switch to any improved screening procedures which become available and are recommended for use; and (3) assure the quality of any screening procedures used. Directs the Secretary to establish guidelines for assuring the quality of mammography and cytological screening conducted under these provisions. Requires that low-income women be given priority in the provision of services. Requires that a charge for services, if any: (1) be made according to a public schedule; (2) be adjusted for income of the woman involved; and (3) not be imposed on any woman with incomes below the poverty line. Requires services to be provided throughout a State, including to members of any Indian tribe or tribal organization. Authorizes the Secretary to provide training and technical assistance. Directs the Secretary to provide for annual evaluations of programs carried out under this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Limits the number of grants made to seven in FY 1991. Subtitle C: Mammography Reimbursement Under Medicare - Part 1: Screening Mammography Medicare Coverage Act of 1989 - Screening Mammography Medicare Coverage Act of 1989 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover screening mammographies for women over age 34 under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program. Part 2: The Rose Kushner Medicare Screening Mammography Act of 1990 - Rose Kushner Medicare Screening Mammography Act of 1990 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover screening mammographies for women over age 34 at a frequency which varies on the basis of a woman's age and risk of developing breast cancer. Finances such coverage by increasing the Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) premium. Part 3: Older Women's Breast Cancer Prevention Act of 1990 - Older Women's Breast Cancer Prevention Act of 1990 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover screening mammographies for Medicare-eligible women whose last screening mammographies were performed more than 11 months previously. Determines the payment amount for such service pursuant to a fee schedule. Subtitle D: Coverage of Bone Mass Measurement Under Medicare - Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Act of 1990 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage of bone mass measurements. Subtitle E: Women and AIDS Outreach and Prevention Act - Women and AIDS Outreach and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants regarding prevention of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases in women, including preventive health services, screening, providing treatment (for such diseases other than AIDS), referrals, and follow-up services. Requires that a grantee be an entity that provides health or voluntary family planning services: (1) to a significant number of low-income women; and (2) in an area with a significant number of AIDS cases in women and in newborn infants. Requires that grantees maintain the confidentiality of information on individuals, subject to complying with applicable law. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Infertility Prevention Demonstration Projects of 1990 - Infertility Prevention Demonstration Projects Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants for demonstration projects for the prevention and control of the sexually transmitted disease known as chlamydia, including by providing: (1) to women services relating to counseling, screening, treatment, referrals, follow-up, and outreach; and (2) public information and education and data collection. Requires that grantees be grant recipients under specified provisions that provide preventive gynecological health care. Prohibits charging for the services or information. Authorizes appropriations. Limits the number of grants to ten in fiscal year 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1990
Nonconventional Fuels Credit Extension and Modification Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source to wells or facilities in service before January 1, 1993 (currently, January 1, 1991) and sold before January 1, 2001. Redefines gas produced from a tight formation to include only gas: (1) which is committed or dedicated on April 20, 1977, to interstate commerce; or (2) which is produced from a well drilled after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1990
Condemns political killings and disappearances in Guatemala and the Guatemalan Government's failure to stem human rights abuses. Declares that: (1) Guatemala should not receive military assistance until the government exercises control over the security forces and human rights abuses have ended; and (2) withheld military assistance and economic assistance should be used to support civilian institutions in Guatemala. Calls upon the Guatemalan Government to investigate and bring to justice those implicated in human rights abuses and to appoint a commission to investigate disappearances. Commends President Bush and the Secretary of State for taking specific actions with respect to Guatemala and urges the Bush Administration to continue monitoring human rights in Guatemala. Supports negotiations by the Guatemalan National Reconciliation Commission and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union and calls upon the government and the military to facilitate and strengthen this process.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1990
James Madison-Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue a specified number of one dollar silver coins emblematic of James Madison and the bicentennial of the adoption of the first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution (known as the Bill of Rights). Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires that all sales include a surcharge of $7 each. Requires that all surcharges be paid to the James Madison Fellowship Program established by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Act to encourage teaching and graduate study of the American Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1990
Defense Budgeting and Full-Cost Disclosure Act of 1990 - Requires the total life-cycle cost (costs of development, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance, and support) of a major defense acquisition program to be included in Selected Acquisition Reports required for such programs. Requires the Secretary of Defense to implement such cost criteria in a uniform manner throughout the Department of Defense. Allows a defense funds restoral (a restoration of funds to an appropriation account of the Department) to be carried out only during the first fiscal year following the end of the period of availability for obligation of the funds to be restored. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the feasibility of the periodic submission of reports on anticipated termination costs of major defense acquisition programs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1990
Children's and Communities' Mental Health Systems Improvement Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace a subpart relating to State comprehensive mental health services plans with a subpart relating to comprehensive mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbances. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to make grants to States for comprehensive community mental health services to children with serious emotional disturbances. Prohibits the Secretary from making a grant to a State unless the State is receiving payments under alcohol and drug abuse and mental health services block grant provisions. Requires non-Federal contributions in a specified ratio. Requires State grantees to: (1) establish and operate one or more systems, through grants or contracts, to provide specified types of mental health services to children under 21 years of age; (2) enter into a memorandum of understanding with providers of medical, educational, vocational counseling and vocational rehabilitation, and protection and advocacy services to facilitate the provision of such services without use of grant funds or non-Federal contributions made with respect to the grant; (3) provide case management services; (4) provide services in the language and cultural context that is most appropriate for the child involved; and (5) develop and implement an individualized plan of services for each child admitted to the system. Describes additional services for which a State system may provide. Prohibits the Secretary from making a grant to a State unless the State has a plan, approved by the Secretary, for the development of a State-wide system of care for community-based services for children with serious emotional disturbances. Requires that parents of children with serious emotional disturbances be included as members of the mental health planning council established under existing provisions. Requires that, if a charge is imposed for services under a grant, the charge be made according to a public schedule, adjusted to reflect the income of the family of the child, and not imposed on any child whose family has income and resources at or below the poverty line. Limits grants to States to four years. Allows a State system established under a grant to receive grant funds for two years. Directs the Secretary to provide to a State, on request: (1) technical assistance regarding grant applications; and (2) training and technical assistance on the planning, development, and operation of the systems under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to provide the technical assistance directly or through grants or contracts. Authorizes appropriations, earmarking a specified sum for the technical assistance and training. Limits the number of grants to ten in FY 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1990
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Federal excise taxes upon emissions from fossil fuels or upon the carbon content of fuels should not be imposed.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1990
Title X Pregnancy Counseling Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from making a grant for the provision of family planning methods or services unless the applicant agrees to provide complete information and counseling regarding pregnancy, and for a pregnant woman who requests information on options for an unintended pregnancy, to provide: (1) nondirective counseling on prenatal care and delivery, infant care, foster care and adoption, and termination of pregnancy; and (2) referrals for the services that are appropriate to the decision of the woman.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1990
Designates September 16 through 22, 1990, as National Rehabilitation Week. Urges each State Governor and local government chief executive to issue proclamations calling upon their citizens to observe such week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1990
Title I: National Writing Program - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to enter into a contract with the National Writing Project (a nonprofit educational organization) to support costs of programs of teacher training and classroom research to improve the teaching of writing and the quality of student writing and learning. Directs the Project to establish a National Advisory Board. Title II: Research and Development - Directs the Secretary, through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, to make grants to individuals and higher education institutions for research on the teaching of writing. Title III: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1996.
![Official portrait of Rep. Boucher, Rick [D-VA-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000657_200.jpg)