United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1989
Benjamin Franklin Memorial Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Minting of Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin - Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin Act - Provides for the sale of Benjamin Franklin commemorative coins at a surcharge of which 25 percent shall be paid to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial and the remainder be distributed in specified percentages to the National Fire Center and Museum Account, the National Hero Scholarship Account, the Firefighter's Tuition Assistance Account, the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account, the In Search of Excellence Research and Education Account, and the Burn Research Grant Account of the Firefighter Assistance Trust Fund (Fund). Prohibits the issuance of such coins from resulting in any net cost to the Federal government. Title II: Fire Service Bill of Rights - Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to establish a fire service bill of rights. Establishes the National Fire Center and Museum in the District of Columbia to provide information about the fire service and safety to the public and fire services. Funds such museum exclusively through the Fund. Establishes a National Hero Scholarship to fund the higher education of the children or spouse of a deceased firefighter. Establishes a scholarship providing tuition assistance to firefighters for higher education in fire safety or protection. Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to use amounts in the In Search of Excellence Research and Education Account of the Fund to fund other specified programs under the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974. Establishes the Firefighters Assistance Trust Fund. Places the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control within the United States Fire Administration. Directs the Administrator to use funds from the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account of the fund to procure computer equipment for fire services that want such equipment. Directs the Administrator to make a grant from the Burn Research Grant Account of the Fund to one national firefighter's burn foundation dedicated to reducing burn injuries. Requires the Administrator to prepare and make available to State fire marshals, upon request, a manual describing Federal procedures for disposing of surplus property and highlighting how fire services could obtain such property. Directs the Administrator to distribute to such marshals information on the infectious diseases to which firefighters are particularly vulnerable.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1989
NP-5 Program Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 to extend the NP-5 visa program through FY 1995. (Such program provides 15,000 additional visas annually to nationals of countries adversely affected by the 1965 Immigration Act.) Revises such program's visa lottery to award visas on the basis of application chronology. Voids the application of an alien who submits multiple petitions. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the appropriate congressional committees with respect to the lottery's implementation. Provides, with regard to such program, for: (1) definition of "adversely affected foreign state"; (2) waiver of the two-year home country residency requirement for certain temporary residents; (3) carryover of unused visas; and (4) no denial of visa for failure to have U.S. employment. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a country by country study of consular visa denials and report to the appropriate congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1989
Federal Inspection for Seafood Healthfulness Act of 1989 - Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to develop an inspection program for seafood and seafood products to protect the public from adulterated and misbranded products. Prohibits any establishment or vessel from processing seafood (any aquatic plant or animal capable of use as human food) unless registered under the program. Requires all seafood labeling to be approved by the Secretary prior to use. Provides for the inspection of establishments and vessels registered under the program and for condemnation of adulterated or misbranded seafood. Requires the Secretary, with the Secretary of Commerce, to establish a system to sample and test seafood and seafood products to identify geographical areas having significant quantities of products not in compliance with this Act. Imposes standards, inspection requirements, and sampling requirements on imported seafood and seafood products. Requires the Secretary to review, upon request, the seafood inspection program of countries desiring to export products to the United States. Sets U.S. seafood export standards. Directs the Secretary to encourage States to establish seafood inspection programs, providing Federal assistance for such programs. Prescribes prohibited acts relating to seafood processing, sale, and transport, imposing civil and criminal penalties for violations. Exempts carriers from penalties for delivery of adulterated or misbranded seafood and products unless certain knowledge and other requirements are met. Exempts from this Act establishments and vessels processing seafood not intended for use as human food, intended for personal use, for certain restaurant processing, and vessels that do not process seafood by certain methods. Directs the implementation of a national program for seafood safety education. Authorizes appropriations. Requires reports to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1989
Small Business Access Improvement Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for small businesses for the expense of providing public accommodations access to the disabled. Reduces the tax deduction for expenditures to remove architectural and transportation barriers to the handicapped and elderly.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1989
Approves the location of a commemorative work to honor women who served in the armed forces of the United States in Vietnam during the Vietnam era on certain Federal land in the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1989
Designates November 11, 1989, as Washington Centennial Day in recognition of the economic, social, and historic contributions of the State of Washington to the United States over the past century.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1989
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in any case in which there has been either a disallowance of a veterans benefits claim or a partially awarded claim, to provide to the claimant a written statement setting forth notice of procedural rights of the claimant and the rationale for the disallowance. Requires that such statement: (1) be provided at each procedural stage relating to the disposition of a claim; (2) include a summary of the evidence supporting the disallowance or the partial award; (3) be in such forms as the Secretary prescribes by regulation; (4) include a description of each subsequent procedural stage before the Department of Veterans Affairs; (5) include a description of all rights of the claimant expressly provided for in the veterans' benefits code, the claimant's right to a hearing, to reconsideration, to appeal, and to representation, and any specific procedures necessary to obtain the various forms of review available for consideration of the claim; and (6) include such other information as the Secretary determines would be useful and practical to assist the claimant in obtaining full consideration of the claim. Adds parallel requirements with respect to the Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1989
Designates the period of September 16 through October 9, 1989, as Coastweeks '89, recognizing the importance of coastal zones. Designates September 16, 1989, as National Estuaries Day and September 23, 1989, as National Beach Cleanup Day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1989
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require that Medicare coverage denial notices provided to nonparticipating physicians and their patients include an explanation of such denial.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1989
Commends and expresses support for President Barco and the Government and people of Colombia for standing up to the drug traffickers. Urges the administration to continue to make available whatever equipment, training, intelligence, and financial assistance that Colombia needs to overcome the activities of the drug traffickers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) to specify that it prohibits discrimination against older workers in all employee benefits except when age-based reductions in employee benefit plans are justified by significant cost considerations. Declares that, as used in ADEA, the phrase "compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment" encompasses all employee benefits, including those provided under a bona fide employee benefit plan. Requires that the actual amount of payment made or cost incurred on behalf of an older worker be no less than that made or incurred on behalf of a younger worker, for each benefit or benefit package, in order for an employee benefit plan not to violate ADEA. Places on the employer, employment agency, or labor organization the burden of proving, in any civil enforcement proceeding brought under ADEA, that specified actions are lawful. Requires a seniority system or employee benefit plan to comply with ADEA regardless of the date of adoption of such system or plan. Applies this Act to all actions or proceedings under ADEA that were brought after June 23, 1989, or that were pending on such date (which is the date on which the Supreme Court issued the decision in Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio v. Betts).
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President: (1) is to be commended for his actions thus far in combatting terrorism; (2) should aggressively pursue increased cooperation with our allies and with the Soviet Union in preventing and responding to terrorism; and (3) should immediately conduct a comprehensive assessment of U.S. antiterrorism policy by reviewing the 1986 Report of the Vice President's Task Force on Combatting Terrorism. Specifies that such review should include recommendations for changes in laws, policies, and regulations necessary to protect commercial air transport and on policy criteria for determining when, if, and how to use force to preempt, react to, and retaliate in the event of terrorist incidents. Provides that the result of such review should be made available to the Congress and the public in an unclassified form. Urges the President to: (1) take actions in cooperation with the Congress designed to implement recommendations resulting from such review; (2) persist in his efforts to combat terrorism; and (3) announce publicly the determination of the United States to act firmly and decisively in pursuing every available legal means to eliminate terrorism and bring terrorists to justice.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Adult Literacy and Employability Act of 1989 - Title I: Literacy Coordination - Establishes a Joint Presidential-Congressional Task Force on Adult Literacy. Requires the Task Force to report to the Council for Literacy Coordination established by this Act. Terminates the Task Force six months after its last member is appointed. Authorizes appropriations for the Task Force for FY 1990. Establishes the Cabinet Council for Literacy Coordination (the Council). Requires the Council to report annually to the Congress and the President. Authorizes appropriations for the Council for FY 1990 through 1993. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education an Office of Adult Literacy, to be administered by a Director of such Office. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate the administration of literacy programs within the Department; and (2) work with the Cabinet Council for Literacy to coordinate related activities. Establishes the National Center for Adult Literacy as a nonprofit corporation which will not be an agency or establishment of the Federal Government. Divides the Center into a research institute, a technical assistance and training institute, and a policy analysis institute. Requires an annual report to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for the Center for FY 1990 through 1994. Directs the Chairperson of the Council to make grants to States for a network of State or regional adult literacy resource centers. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1990 through 1992 and succeeding fiscal years. Requires each State that receives adult literacy assistance under an applicable Federal program to: (1) establish a State advisory board on literacy; and (2) submit a State literacy coordination plan. Requires the State Governor to report annually to the Council. Title II: Investment in Literacy - Amends the Adult Education Act (AEA) to increase and extend through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for AEA programs. Revises allotment provisions. Requires limitations on the use of funds to: (1) eliminate a cap on high school equivalency certificate programs; and (2) require that a specified amount be used to support adult education and literacy services provided by community-based organizations and nonprofit volunteer agencies. Includes among projects for which State must expand a portion of their AEA allotments: (1) development and expansion of innovative programs; and (2) support for statewide volunteer technical assistance activities. Eliminates certain maintenance of effort requirements. Authorizes the Chairperson of the Council to make matching challenge grants to State for investment in adult literacy instruction staff training and educational technology. Allows States, for purposes of matching such grants, to reserve specified portions of funds for FY 1990 through 1995 under specified Federal laws. Requires that States receiving such grants make available federally-assisted adult literacy program equipment, facilities, or training services, when not in program use or when surplus capacity exists, to other adult literacy programs (without charge or in certain circumstances at cost). Authorizes appropriations for such challenge grants for FY 1990 and succeeding fiscal years. Establishes a Literacy Leader Training Fund. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary), through the Office of Adult Literacy, to make scholarship grants from the Fund to individuals pursuing careers in adult education, instruction, management, research, or innovation, for education or research to expand their expertise. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes for FY 1990 and succeeding fiscal years. Amends the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) to establish a library literacy demonstration program. Directs the Secretary to make grants to State and local public libraries for model innovative programs for delivery of adult literacy services, including development of technology-based centers. Requires that a peer review panel advise on grant criteria and application review, and that an expert in library literacy activities administer such program in the Department of Education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994 for such library literacy demonstration program. Extends through FY 1994 the authorization of appropriations for other LSCA library literacy programs. Title III: Family Literacy - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary to carry out through the Office of Adult Literacy the Secretary's functions under the Even Start program (which integrates early childhood education and adult education for parents). Title IV: Workplace Literacy - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to provide for workplace literacy skills and programs. Revises State education coordination and grant programs to provide financial assistance for any State education, labor, or economic development agency (or consortia) to enhance provision of statewide workplace literacy training and education through cooperative agreements between appropriate agencies and organizations. Requires that at least 75 percent of funds for such activities be used to improve program quality by means such as application of learning technology, model program development, and investment in staff training and services targeted at participants lacking workplace skills. Revises general program requirements for the service delivery system to require private industry councils to give priority to participant placements with businesses and industries that have a workplace literacy program or are willing to develop one with other public and private agencies. Makes individuals lacking workplace literacy skills eligible for adult and youth training program services. Requires, beginning in program year 1990, that at least 40 percent of adult program participants in each service delivery area (SDA) be in need of and be offered basic training through an individual workplace literacy plan. Requires assessment and testing of each potential participant's workplace literacy skills and employment skills. Allows participants who have been placed in employment to continue workplace literacy training until they have achieved their goal or for at least two years, whichever is earlier. Requires SDAs to provide such training for such duration to participants who need and would benefit from it. Allows such training to include workplace literacy training and English-as-a-second-language. Requires such activities to be described in an individualized workplace literacy plan for each participant, including goals based on participant needs. Requires that eligible dislocated workers lacking workplace literacy be offered basic skills training for at least a two-year period from the date of entry into the program. Establishes a Workplace Literacy Demonstration Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to make grants for joint ventures of business, industry, or labor (or consortia) cooperating with State, County, or local governments or private industry councils (or consortia) to provide large-scale model development approaches to improving the basic workplace skills of the workforce. Requires the use of such funds for: (1) basic skills training; (2) specific program offerings; (3) assessments of individual and workplace skill needs; (4) program evaluations; and (5) technology-based learning environments. Sets forth matching requirements for grantees. Requires independent evaluation of such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1995 for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 20, 1989, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1989
Economic Equity Act of 1989 - Title I: Employment - Subtitle A: Pay Equity Technical Assistance to Public and Private Sector - Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop and implement a continuing program of information dissemination, research, and technical assistance to public and private entities with respect to correction of wage-setting practices, and reduction or elimination of wage disparities, to the extent that they are based on the sex, race, or national origin of the employee, rather than on the work performed and other appropriate factors. Subtitle B: Legislative Pay Equity Commission and Study - Establishes a Commission on Employment Discrimination in the Legislative Branch. Directs the Commission to: (1) employ a nongovernmental consultant to study the compensation paid to Library of Congress personnel and analyze personnel policies of the Library; (2) evaluate the compensation system of the Library for compliance with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and make any recommendations needed to achieve compliance; (3) develop a plan for the application of title VII throughout the legislative branch; and (4) make recommendations to the Congress for improvement of personnel policies and practices in the legislative branch. Directs the Commission to submit a final report to the Congress 18 months after enactment of this Act. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of the final report. Subtitle C: Extension of Benefits to Part-Time and Temporary Workers - Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to bring certain part-time employees within the participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans. Addresses any employee who, within a relevant 12-month period: (1) has customarily completed more than 500 but fewer than 1,000 hours of service; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Provides that completion of such hours of service will be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service (thereby bringing the employee within the ERISA benefit framework). Permits a reduction in the employer-provided premium under a group health plan in the case of a part-time employee only when such employee: (1) has customarily completed fewer than 30 hours of service per week; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Limits such a premium reduction, when permissible, to not less than a ratable portion of the premium ordinarily provided in the case of an employee who completes 30 hours of service per week. Revises the ERISA definition of "employee" to include non-employees who, pursuant to a contract or agreement, provide employee-like services to an employer for at least one year at the rate of 500 or more hours per year. Subtitle D: Federal Council on Women - Federal Council on Women Act - Establishes a Federal Council on Women to: (1) collect and evaluate information with respect to any problems that are particular to women in the United States; (2) review and evaluate Federal policy related to any such problems; (3) coordinate the activities of the Council with similar activities conducted by States, local governments, and concerned organizations; and (4) make recommendations. Directs the Council to report its findings and recommendations to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Maintenance of Sex Equity Set-Asides in Vocational Education Programs - Amends the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act (the Act) to include displaced homemakers in the vocational education program for single parents or homemakers. Makes single pregnant women eligible for such program. Directs the administrator of such program, and of the sex equity program, to: (1) distribute to community-based organizations the State allotment for such programs on a competitive basis; and (2) develop procedures for appropriate data collection from fund recipients for program evaluation. Requires States to: (1) develop an annual plan for use of funds; (2) manage funds distribution; (3) monitor recipients' use of funds; and (4) evaluate program effectiveness. Provides for pre-vocational services to single parents, single pregnant women, homemakers, and displaced homemakers. Allows use of funds for dependent care (currently only child care) as part of such services. Directs the Secretary of Education to conduct biennial oversight visits to the States to determine if funds for programs for single parents, single pregnant women, and for elimination of sex bias and stereotyping in secondary and postsecondary education are being allocated, distributed, and used in accordance with the Act. Provides that assistance under the Act shall not effect an individual's eligibility for assistance under other Federal programs. Directs the General Accounting Office, within 18 months, to conduct a study of State compliance with specified assurances required under the Act. Subtitle F: Women in Business Procurement Assistance - Women's Business Procurement Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends the Small Business Act to add to existing goals for participation of small business concerns in Federal procurement contracts the participation of small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Requires the head of each Federal agency to report to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on the extent that small business concerns owned and controlled by women participate in procurement contracts and subcontracts. Declares it is the policy of the United States that small business concerns owned and controlled by women shall have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts let by any Federal agency. Precludes the award of any contract unless the procurement authority determines that the offeror's plan includes the maximum opportunity for participation of small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Authorizes any Federal agency, when dealing with negotiated contracts, to provide such incentives as it may deem appropriate in order to encourage subcontracting opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Requires the SBA to report annually to certain congressional committees on subcontracting plans found acceptable by any Federal agency which the SBA determines do not contain maximum opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Requires the Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization for each Federal agency to designate an employee of that Director's office to be a Women-in-Business Specialist. Requires each Federal agency having procurement powers to affirmatively solicit offers from small business concerns owned and controlled by women and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Title II: Economic Security - Subtitle A: Earnings Sharing by Married Couples - Social Security Modernization Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that the combined earnings of a married couple which are attributable to the period of their marriage shall be shared equally between them for purposes of determining the eligibility for and amount of OASDI benefits to which each spouse is or may become separately entitled. Credits the survivor of the marriage with 100 percent of the combined total wages for the period of the marriage. Provides that this subtitle shall not apply in specified cases where it would result in a reduction of OASDI benefits. Subtitle B: Treatment of Disabled Widows and Widowers - Social Security Disabled Widow's and Widower's Equity Act of 1989 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the separate definition of disability applicable to widows and widowers. Permits the months of a widow's or widower's entitlement to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits (title XVI of the Social Security Act) on the basis of a disability to be counted towards the 24 months needed to become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) on that basis. Provides full widow's or widower's insurance benefits to disabled widows or widowers without regard to age. Amends the SSI program to preserve the Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) eligibility of disabled widows or widowers who become ineligible for SSI benefits upon the implementation of this Act's amendments making them eligible for, or increasing their, widow's or widower's insurance benefits. Amends the OASDI program to extend the time period during which a surviving spouse or a surviving divorced spouse must have initially become disabled in order to qualify for widow's or widower's insurance benefits before reaching age 60 in cases where such surviving spouse or surviving divorced spouse has quarters of coverage based on his or her own work after the death of the insured individual on whose wages such benefits are based. Subtitle C: Private Pension Reform - Pension Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to extend to all accrued benefits existing in plan year 1989 and thereafter the amendments made with regard to the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI). Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to repeal provisions that permit a certain disparity in simplified employee pension plan contributions with respect to nondiscriminatory coordination with OASDI. Provides for the repeal, effective for plan year 2000 and thereafter, of IRC rules with respect to: (1) the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with OASDI; and (2) pension integration exceptions. Amends the IRC to establish distinct minimum employee coverage requirements applicable in cases when an employer with respect to a plan is treated as operating a single line of business. Requires such a plan to benefit all the employer's employees. Limits the exception to minimum coverage requirements available to employers treated as operating separate lines of business for a year. Amends the IRC and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to eliminate the special vesting requirements governing multiemployer plans. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States, as soon as possible after this Act's enactment, to undertake thorough studies with respect to: (1) possible methods of requiring employee pension plans to provide cost of living and other adjustments to plan benefits; and (2) potential pension portability mechanisms, including ways to preserve and enhance the real value of deferred vested pension benefits. Lists specific items to be addressed in each study. Requires submission of the studies to specified congressional committees within two years of this Act's enactment. Subtitle D: Eligibility of Displaced Homemakers for First-Time Homebuyers Assistance - Displaced Homemakers and Single Parents Homeownership Assistance Act - States that displaced homemakers and single parents shall not be deemed ineligible for Federal assistance for first-time homebuyers on the basis of previous home ownership or residence while married or a homemaker. Subtitle E: Section 8 Housing Assistance for Domestic Violence Victims - Family Housing Options Program Act of 1989 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to reserve at least five percent of section 8 housing assistance for families affected by domestic violence and for homeless families. Requires administration of such program through the local public housing agencies. Permits assistance to be used in shared housing arrangements if the family receiving assistance so consents. States that rent contributions made by a family in such an arrangement shall not be considered income to the participating family for purposes of specified housing assistance eligibility. Includes among State allocation factors the number of transitional and emergency shelters, domestic violence shelters, and the number of families served by such programs. Requires: (1) each State to make an annual program report to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and (2) the Secretary to include a summary of such reports in the annual section 8 report. Title III: Dependent Care - Subtitle A: Quality Child Care Demonstration Projects - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to not more than ten eligible public agencies and private entities, in urban and rural areas, to administer child development models to increase the quality and availability of child care services. Defines "child development model," with respect to child care services, as an entity capable of providing training and on-going assistance to satellites that provide child care services to sick children or exceptional children, and which is either: (1) a child care development center providing services at a single site (or at multiple sites in reasonably close proximity) to infants, toddlers, preschool children, and school-age children; or (2) a high quality child care program capable of recruiting, training, supporting, and monitoring family child care providers. Directs the Secretary to report by April 1, 1992, to the Congress on such program. Subtitle B: Dependent Care Tax Credit Expansion - Repeals the Internal Revenue Code's nonrefundable income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses, replacing it with a corresponding refundable 50 percent credit, reduced (but not below 20 percent) as the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000 (adjusted for inflation). Includes within the scope of the new credit up to $1,200 ($2,400 in the case of more than one qualifying individual) of respite care expenses incurred in the care of: (1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is at least 15 years old; or (2) a spouse or other dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Subtitle C: Mortgage Financing for Family Day Care Centers - Small Day Care Center Assistance Act - Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to define the term "mortgage" to include a mortgage secured by a one-to-four family residential property that is occupied as a residence and in which child care service is legally provided. Subtitle D: Flexible Work Force Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an employer tax credit (to a maximum of two percent of wages) for one-third of the aggregate wages (to a maximum of $6,000) attributable to services performed by a full-time employee of the taxpayer who is permitted to work at home or during nonbusiness hours solely in order to reduce dependent care needs. Requires that there be at least a 20 percent reduction in the time of dependent care provided outside the employee's home. Terminates these provisions, subject to exception, after December 31, 1993. Subtitle E: Child Care Services in Transitional Housing - Transitional Housing Child Care Services Act - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide child care assistance for transitional housing residents. Subtitle F: Title XX Funding Increase - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to increase the amount authorized for such program in FY 1991 and thereafter. Subtitle G: School-Based Child Care - State Dependent Care Grants Amendments Act of 1989 - Amends the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act to authorize the use of funds for operation of school-age child care services before and after school. Requires that such amounts be earmarked to enable children whose families lack adequate financial resources to participate in before or after school child care programs. Requires State Governors to include specified information in their reports on programs assisted under such Act. Extends until September 30, 1993, the period during which descriptions of intended uses of State allotments must be revised to reflect substantial changes. Title IV: Health - Subtitle A: Breast Cancer Prevention - Older Women's Breast Cancer Prevention Act of 1989 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the cap on coverage of screening mammography. Subtitle B: Maternal and Child Health Funding Increase - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to increase authorized appropriations for such program. Requires States, as a condition of receiving additional funds, to conduct a statewide needs assessment of maternity and infant care, including prenatal care and prevention of low birthweight and infant mortality, and to develop a plan to meet those needs. Changes State reporting requirements to monitor plan implementation results. Subtitle C: Infant Mortality Education and Health Services in Public Housing - Public Housing One-Stop Perinatal Services Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a program to demonstrate the effectiveness of grants to public housing agencies for providing facilities for one-stop perinatal services programs for pregnant women who reside in public housing. Sets forth preferences in selecting the agencies to receive grants. Limits the aggregate amount provided under these provisions for any public housing project to a specified sum. Requires services and facilities provided or assisted with grants under these provisions to comply with all applicable State and local laws, regulations, and ordinances, and all requirements established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for such services and facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Domestic Violence Judiciary Training Grants - Amends the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 to authorize the use of Institute funds to conduct up to five projects to: (1) investigate and carry out research regarding State judicial decisions relating to child custody litigation involving domestic violence; (2) develop training curricula to assist State courts to develop an understanding of, and appropriate responses to, child custody litigation involving domestic violence; and (3) disseminate the results of such investigation and research and the curricula to State courts. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1992. Subtitle E: Sense of Congress on Child Custody - Expresses the sense of the Congress that, for purposes of determining child custody, evidence of spousal abuse should create a statutory presumption that it is detrimental to the child to be placed in the custody of the abusive parent. Subtitle F: Immigration Reform for Domestic Violence Victims - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit certain battered alien spouses to apply for permanent residence without filing a joint petition (and interview) with the citizen spouse. Requires such an alien spouse to demonstrate: (1) that the marriage was entered into with good faith; and (2) evidence of physical abuse or extreme mental cruelty. Subtitle G: Long-Term Care Workers Demonstration Projects - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to require the Commissioner on Aging to give special consideration to funding demonstration projects providing older individuals with the opportunity to serve as volunteers furnishing long-term care services to nursing home residents. Subtitle H: Sense of Congress on Caregivers - Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) recognition and further attention should be given to the professional and personal needs of long-term care aides; (2) expanded access to health and pension benefits should be provided to such aides; (3) long-term care policy makers should recognize that problems of female household heads and minority workers affect most nursing care aides; (4) more data is needed on home health and nursing home aides; (5) expanded recruitment of specified groups should be considered to abate the long-term care aide shortage; and (6) changes should be made in nursing aide positions to ensure integration into management structures and to enhance attraction to careers in long-term care.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1989
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, to provide a single grant, through a competitive process, to construct a facility for the development, production, and distribution of inbred and mutant mice that are used for biomedical research. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1989
High Risk Occupational Disease Notification and Prevention Act - Establishes a Risk Assessment Board (the Board), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to: (1) review pertinent medical and scientific reports on the incidence of disease associated with exposure to occupational health hazards; (2) identify and designate populations at risk that should receive notification; (3) develop a form and method of notification that will be used by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary); and (4) determine the appropriate type of medical monitoring or beneficial health counseling. Sets forth factors for Board consideration and priorities in designating populations at risk of disease for notification. Directs the Secretary to make every reasonable effort to ensure that each individual within a population at risk of disease is notified of the risk. Requires the Secretary, through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to conduct the required notification, with specified exceptions. Allows an employer to apply to NIOSH for an exemption from such employee notification because that employer's employees are not at risk of disease because of significant mitigating factors. Provides for telephone "hot lines" and other dissemination of information. Authorizes the Secretary to certify a private employer or a State or local government to conduct notification. Provides for judicial review of Board determinations. Requires the Secretary to establish and certify ten occupational and environmental health centers to: (1) provide education, training, and technical assistance to personal physicians and health and social service professionals who serve employees notified that they are at risk under this Act; and (2) provide diagnosis, treatment, and medical monitoring and family services for such employees. Directs the Secretary to make grants to conduct research, training, and education aimed at improving the means of identifying employees exposed to occupational health hazards and improving medical assistance to such employees. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and contracts for training and curriculum development in occupational medicine or health to schools of medicine and of nursing. Provides that such assistance shall be for projects: (1) at schools with occupational medicine or health programs, for faculty continuing education, curricula and training materials for undergraduate medical or nursing training, and clinical training for residents in graduate medical programs; and (2) at schools without such programs, for faculty training. Directs the Secretary, during FY 1991 through 1993, to make such grants and contracts to at least ten schools of medicine or nursing. Requires that the medical monitoring recommended by the Board be provided by the current employer: (1) at no additional cost to the employee (above any existing employee health care contribution), if any part of the exposure occurred in the course of employment by that employer; or (2) at a charge to the employee not exceeding the additional cost to the employer (above any existing employer health care contribution), or at no charge, if no part of such exposure occurred in the course of employment by that employer. Sets forth special rules for medical monitoring by small businesses and of seasonal agricultural workers. Prohibits discharging or discriminating against employees, or applicants for employment, on the basis that they are or have been members of a population at risk. Makes an exception to such prohibition if the position which the applicant seeks requires exposure to the occupational health hazard which is the subject to the notice. Allows an employer with 50 or fewer employees to transfer an employee who is or has been a member of a population at risk to another job if earnings, seniority, and other employment rights and benefits are as comparable as possible to the old job and if the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement are not violated. Grants the option of being transferred to a less hazardous or nonexposed job to any employee member of a population at risk who is determined by a physician to show evidence of developing the disease described in the notice or other symptoms or conditions increasing the likelihood or incidence of such disease. Requires that the employee maintain earnings, seniority, and other employment rights and benefits of the former job. Sets forth procedures for independent reconsideration of the initial medical determination. Sets forth special rules for medical removal. Makes such protection inapplicable to seasonal agricultural workers with less than six months continuous employment with an employer. Exempts from the requirement of medical removal protection any employer who has 50 or fewer employees and who has made or is making a reasonable good faith effort to eliminate the occupational health hazard that is the basis for the medical removal decision. Provides for confidentiality of employee records unless disclosure is authorized by and is necessary to carry out a provision of this Act, or is authorized by the employee. Permits employees aggrieved by violations of provisions involving medical monitoring, medical removal, discrimination, and confidentiality to apply, within six months after the violation occurs, to the Secretary of Labor for a review of the alleged violation. Sets forth provisions for investigations, actions, defenses, determinations, and appeals in such cases. Provides for reinstatement and other relief for employees injured by such violations. Sets forth civil penalties for such violations. Authorizes the Secretary (of HHS) to bring an action in U.S. district court to enjoin an employer from violating this Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor to report annually to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of the hazard communication standard. Directs the Secretary of HHS to report annually to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of notification under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1989
Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act - Establishes within the United States Treasury the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Land Acquisition and Tax Funds into which shall be deposited specified amounts. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to manage the Band Tax Fund and to use such Fund to pay certain claims for which the Band is liable and which have been certified by the Commissioner of Finance in the State of Maine as valid claims. Provides that if there are insufficient funds in the Band Tax Fund to pay all claims in full, the deficiency shall be paid only from income-producing property owned by the Band which is not held in trust by the United States. Directs the Secretary to prescribe procedures governing the filing and payment of such claims. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to expend funds in the Land Acquisition Fund to acquire land or natural resources for the Band. Declares that land or natural resources acquired within the State of Maine with such funds shall be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Band. Extends Federal recognition to the Aroostook Band of Micmacs. Makes the Band eligible to receive financial benefits available to other federally recognized tribes and eligible for special programs and services regardless of the residence of the members of the Band on or near a reservation. Declares that the Band and its lands shall have the same status as other tribes and their lands accorded Federal recognition under the terms of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980. Authorizes the State of Maine and the Band to execute agreements regarding the jurisdiction of Maine over lands owned by, or held in trust for the benefit of, the Band or any member of the Band. Allows the Band to organize for its common welfare and to adopt an appropriate governing document, consistent with the terms of this Act, to be filed with the Secretary. Provides for the classification of the Band as an Indian tribe within the meaning of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 for transfer to the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Land Acquisition Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of the Army should investigate whether James L. Cadigan should be awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in combat during World War II; and (2) if the Secretary recommends making such award, the Congress should consider appropriate legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1989
Veterans PTSD Treatment and Psychological Readjustment Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of: (1) vet centers currently in existence by 20 additional units by December 31, 1991, and by 20 more units by December 31, 1994; and (2) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment facilities currently in existence by 15 additional units by December 31, 1991, and by 15 more units by December 31, 1994. Requires new vet centers to be established in cities which do not have such centers. Earmarks a specified amount of FY 1990 PTSD funding for contracts with private facilities and therapists for the provision of PTSD treatment. Requires the Secretary, in administering the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program, to encourage the participation of individuals in the program who desire to become psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses specializing in the treatment of PTSD. Directs the Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee on Readjustment of Veterans. Requires the Secretary to consult with, and seek the advice of, the Committee with respect to: (1) the administration of Department benefits for veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans; (2) reports and studies pertaining to veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans; and (3) the needs of all veterans with respect to compensation, health care, readjustment, outreach, and other benefits and programs administered by the Department. Requires the Committee to report annually to the Secretary pertaining to the social, economic, educational, and psychological readjustment of veterans. Requires the Secretary to submit such reports to the Congress, along with comments and recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a pilot program to contract for care and treatment and rehabilitative services in halfway houses, therapeutic communities, psychiatric residential treatment centers, and other community-based treatment facilities for eligible veterans suffering from PTSD. Requires the Chief Medical Director (CMD) to plan, design, and conduct such program. Requires the Secretary to approve the quality and effectiveness of a program operated by a contract facility before allowing veterans to be furnished treatment there under the pilot program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) urge all public and private entities to provide appropriate employment and training opportunities to veterans who have been provided treatment and rehabilitative services under this Act for PTSD and who have been determined to be sufficiently rehabilitated to be employable; and (2) provide all possible assistance to the Secretary of Labor in placing such veterans in such opportunities. Requires the Secretary to provide referral services and advice to veterans discharged or released from active service who are not eligible for PTSD treatment and services. Outlines provisions concerning the transfer of veterans to contract care facilities for treatment of PTSD, requiring such transfer only within 30 days of such member's enlisted tour of duty and only if such person requests such a transfer while on active duty. Limits the period of such care and rehabilitative services to five years after the fiscal year in which the pilot program is initiated. Requires the Secretary to report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on findings and recommendations pertaining to the operation of the pilot program authorized under this Act. Directs the CMD of the Department to conduct a research program relating to the treatment of PTSD.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1989
Veterans Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1989 - 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 effects. 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 effect 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 contracting authority 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 herbicides 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 · 19 July 1989
Authorizes the use of the official expenses allowance of each Member of the House of Representatives for production of newsletters containing directories of State, local, and nonprofit private drug counseling, treatment, and information programs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1989
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide a lump sum payment of $100,000 (adjusted to reflect the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index) to public safety officers (law enforcement officers and fire fighters) who become permanently and totally disabled as a result of a catastrophic injury sustained in the line of duty. Prohibits the payment of both a lump sum disability payment and a lump sum death benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1989
Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1989 - Amends the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to remove references to unconsolidated sedimentary materials from the definition of "undeveloped coastal barrier." Establishes the Coastal Barrier Resources System, to consist of those undeveloped coastal barriers on the U.S. coasts identified on specified maps. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to submit such maps to specified congressional committees, each State and county jurisdiction in which a System unit is located, each coastal zone management office, and each appropriate Federal agency. Allows the Secretary to make minor and technical changes to the boundaries of System units within 180 days of filing the maps, as consistent with this Act and necessary to clarify the boundaries. Allows the head of each State coastal zone management agency to submit proposals for such changes. Sets forth exceptions, with regard to existing limitations on expenditures, relating to energy resources, navigation channels, certain publicly owned or operated roads or structures, military activities essential to national security, Coast Guard facilities, and other matters if consistent with the purposes of this Act. Directs the Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees maps identifying the boundaries of those undeveloped coastal barriers along the U.S. Pacific coast appropriate for inclusion in the System. Authorizes appropriations to carry out specified provisions of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1989
Directs the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its immediate area to honor World War II veterans and to commemorate U.S. participation in that conflict. Directs the Commission to plan, design, construct, and oversee the operation of the memorial. Specifies that such design shall provide for accessibility by, and accommodations for, the physically handicapped. Establishes the World War II Memorial Advisory Board to: (1) promote the establishment of the memorial and encourage the donation of private funds for construction maintenance; (2) assist and cooperate with the Commission in the selection of the site and design for the memorial; and (3) transmit annual reports on its activities to the Congress. Authorizes the Commission to solicit private contributions for such memorial. Establishes a fund in the Treasury which shall be made available to the Commission to carry out this Act. Authorizes Federal funding, in addition to such private funds, for site preparation, design, planning, establishment, construction, maintenance, and operation of the memorial. Authorizes assistance from specified Federal departments and agencies, including the Library of Congress. Authorizes Federal property to be transferred to the Commission. Authorizes the Commission to purchase suitable property within the District of Columbia for the establishment of such memorial. Urges the Government to encourage 50th anniversary commemorations of the U.S. role in World War II. Urges the Smithsonian Institution and other Federal museums to develop commemorative exhibitions to be shared with academic institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1989
Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Justice for FY 1990 through 1993 to reimburse State and local police and the York County sheriff's department for certain security services expenses arising out of visits by the President to Kennebunkport, Maine.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1989
Designates October 29, 1989, as Fire Safety at Home Day: Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery. Directs the President to issue a proclamation to urge people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they reset their clocks from daylight savings time.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1989
United Services Organization's 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of five dollar gold coins, one dollar silver coins, and half dollar clad coins to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Services Organization (USO). Requires such coins to be emblematic of USO Services to military service personnel and families. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Terminates the minting of such coins after February 4, 1991. Requires surcharges from the sale of such coins to be deposited in a coinage profit fund and used for USO programs and to reduce the national debt. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress semiannually through December 31, 1992, on activities under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1989
Designates September 1989 as National Minority Health Awareness Month. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) make publicly available information on minority health problems and minority health professionals' careers and contributions; and (2) present public service announcements on health promotion and disease prevention among minority Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1989
Emergency Chinese Adjustment of Status Facilitation Act of 1989 - Waives the two-year home country residence requirement for nationals of the People's Republic of China in the United States on a student (J) visa. Continues the legal status of nonimmigrant nationals of the People's Republic of China in the United States for adjustment or change of status purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1989
Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from denying Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) coverage of daytime habilitation services for persons with mental retardation or related conditions pursuant to a State plan amendment approved before June 2, 1989, until the Secretary promulgates final regulations delineating the types of daytime habilitation services that may be covered and any specific requirements regarding such coverage. Permits States that have such an amendment to transfer coverage of such services to coverage under a Medicaid home and community-based waiver program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1989
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide financial assistance to establish an endowment for the Muskie Archives at Bates College, Lewiston, Maine. Authorizes appropriations.
![Official portrait of Rep. Brennan, Joseph E. [D-ME-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000798_200.jpg)