United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1988
Montgomery GI Bill Amendments of 1988 - Directs the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to make payments to veterans who are entitled to veterans' educational assistance but who have become so physically or mentally handicapped that such individuals are unable to utilize such educational assistance. Directs the Administrator to make such payments to a qualifying veteran's survivors in the event of a veteran's death while on active duty or within six years of such individual's discharge, according to a certain order of priority. Deducts the amount of educational assistance received by the veteran before enactment of this Act from the amount to be paid under this Act. Authorizes entitlement to basic educational assistance for veterans who are discharged or released from active duty for a disability that existed before becoming or entering into active duty as a member of the armed forces. (Currently, such entitlement is limited to those discharged or released for either a service-connected disability or for hardship.) Authorizes the same entitlement for members discharged or released from the Selected Reserve. Authorizes the Administrator to approve the pursuit of flight training by an individual entitled to basic educational assistance if such training meets conditions specified in this Act. Specifies the amount of flight assistance to be provided. Directs the Administrator to pay educational assistance for refresher courses in the individual's area of education, deficiency courses, or other preparatory or special educational assistance necessary to enable the individual to pursue an approved program of education. Limits the length of such payments for refresher courses. Allows an individual currently on active duty who originally chose not to receive basic educational assistance to enroll in such program within 60 days after the enactment of this Act. Outlines provisions relating to the implementation of such enrollment, including "catch-up" payments or deductions from pay in order to receive such educational assistance. Requires a certain minimum payment or pay deduction before an individual becomes so qualified. Directs the Secretary of each military department to inform individuals of the opportunity to enroll for such assistance under this Act. Prohibits the payment of any basic educational assistance to members of the Selected Reserve until such members have completed their initial periods of active duty for training required by the military department concerned. (Currently, such members must complete such training plus serve in the reserves for at least 180 days before being eligible.) Authorizes the Administrator to approve the pursuit of flight training by a member of the Selected Reserve who is entitled to basic educational assistance, if such training meets conditions specified in this Act. Specifies the amount of flight assistance to be provided. Provides that educational assistance may only be provided for an approved program of education for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program. (Currently, such assistance may be provided for a program of education at an institution of higher learning and may not be provided for post-graduate study.) Limits the amount of monthly educational assistance to be provided to an individual pursuing a full-time program of apprenticeship or other on-the-job training. Reduces the amount of assistance provided in any month in which such individual fails to complete at least 120 hours of training. Provides a limited educational assistance payment as determined by the Administrator for individuals participating in a less-than-half-time pursuit of a program of education. Provides that an individual serving in the Selected Reserve may not receive credit for such service under both veterans' educational assistance provisions and the All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program, but shall instead elect the program to which such service is to be credited. Revises provisions concerning the time limitation applicable for the use of basic educational assistance by a member of the Selected Reserve who is separated from such service because of a disability incurred on or after the date on which such person became entitled to educational assistance. Directs the Secretary of Defense, at the request of the Administrator, to transmit a notice of entitlement for each such person becoming eligible for educational assistance to the Administrator.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1988
Pesticide Monitoring Improvements Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to implement computerized data management systems for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate and revise its programs for monitoring pesticide residues in food products. Requires the FDA to use such system to summarize information on: (1) the types, amounts, and origins of food products tested; (2) the types and amounts of pesticides detected; and (3) the rate of violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and their disposition. Requires the Secretary to make summarized data from such system available to interested agencies and persons on an annual basis. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require specified agricultural commodity importers to file with the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury an import document identifying the pesticide chemical used in the production of the commodity and the names and addresses of the producers. Requires the Secretary, if a sample of a specified agricultural commodity contains a pesticide chemical which is not reported in the import document, to require that subsequent shipments of such commodity from the same producer be accompanied by results of an analysis designed to detect the levels of such chemical and other chemicals used on, or in connection with the production of, such commodity. Makes such requirements inapplicable if the Secretary determines that the pesticide chemical is present in the commodity as a result of long-term environmental persistence and that the residue levels do not pose a risk to public health. Defines "special agricultural commodity" as a fresh fruit or vegetable, the juice or concentrate of a fruit or vegetable, and any other food included by the Secretary by regulation under this Act. Lists criteria by which the Secretary may determine food to be included in such definition. Directs the Secretary to keep current information on the contents and administrators of pesticide registration and monitoring programs of countries which export significant quantities of food to the United States. Requires the Secretary to keep the FDA and such countries informed of information compiled, including violations. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees. Directs the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and report to the appropriate congressional committees on a research plan for pesticide analytical methods.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the excise tax on diesel and aviation fuels. Prohibits imposition of the tax on the sale of these fuels by a producer or importer for use by the purchaser in a nontaxable use (defined to include, among other uses, any off-highway business use, use as supplies for vessels or aircraft, State or local governmental use, and use by a nonprofit educational organization). Permits the exemption only if both the seller and purchaser have registered with the Secretary of the Treasury. Requires producers, importers, and purchasers taking part in reduced-tax sales to file with the Secretary information returns containing specified data. Requires producers and importers, in addition, to furnish corresponding statements to their purchasers. Establishes penalties for failure to file required returns.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1988
Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to extend through FY 1993 the authorization of appropriations to the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, and the Marine Mammal Commission to carry out specified functions under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1988
Amends the Presidential Inaugural Ceremonies Act to define the status of the Inaugural Committee as a nongovernmental committee. Requires the committee to reimburse the appropriate Government agencies for goods or services ordered for an event that is not a public event. Declares that the Secretary of Defense, when providing the services of members of the armed forces for any nonpublic event, may utilize only members who have volunteered for service with the committee.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1988
Requests the President to issue a proclamation commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, which occurs on June 25, 1988. (The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, formerly known as the Wagner-O'Day Act, provides employment and ancillary support services to blind and handicapped individuals.)
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1988
Trademark Law Revision Act of 1988 - Amends the Lanham Act to permit a person who has a bona fide intention to use a trademark in commerce to apply to register the trademark. (Current law provides only for registration of a trademark already in use in commerce.) Requires that such trademark actually be used in commerce before it becomes a registered trademark. States that an application on an intent-to-use basis constitutes constructive use of the mark which must be resolved either through ultimate registration or other disposition before a later application for the same mark may be registered. Permits concurrent registrations by consent regardless of filing dates. Modifies the time period within which proof of a mark's distinctiveness may be offered. Eliminates the separate register for service marks. Eliminates the separate register for collective and certification marks, permitting the use of the former to indicate that their owners perform the connected service or sell the goods associated with such marks. States that when the first use of a mark is made by a related company (a licensee), then that use will inure to the benefit of the applicant or registrant. Halves the terms of registration and renewal to ten years each. Requires the deletion of marks where in the sixth year of registration their registrant does not file the required affidavit of use. Prohibits the assignment of an intent-to-use application prior to registration unless such application is assigned to the applicant's successor in business. States that a security interest in a mark is obtained only by filing in the Patent and Trademark Office and includes both the mark and the goodwill accompanying the mark. Provides for the examination of applications for registration submitted on the basis of intent-to-use. Sets forth procedures for such applications. Modifies conditions under which a mark becomes subject to cancellation because it has become a generic name. Grants the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board the authority to limit or modify the goods or services identified in a registration or application to avoid the likelihood of confusion and to determine trademark ownership rights when they are at variance with the register. Limits when final judgments may be entered in intent-to-use cases to the time such mark is registered. Eliminates the one year use requirement for applying to register a mark on the supplemental register and states that the use of such register does not constitute an admission that the mark has not acquired secondary meaning. Requires a registrant to prove the likelihood of confusion even when the right to use the mark in question is incontestable. Modifies available remedies. States that injunctive relief is not available in intent-to-use cases. Provides for a cause of action to protect trademarks against disparagement and tarnishment and for relief of a registrant claiming dilution of a famous mark registered on the principal register. Requires applicants for registration of marks in the U.S. based on foreign registration to state a bona fide intention to use such mark in commerce. Modifies definitions under such Act to reflect the creation of the intent-to-use system. Excludes use in commercials and promotion from the definition of use in commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1988
Postal Reorganization Act of 1988 - Declares that the receipts and disbursements of the Postal Service Fund: (1) shall not be included in the totals of the Federal budget or the congressional budget; (2) shall be exempt from Federal budget limitations on expenditures and net lending; and (3) shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit. Repeals certain limitations on postal borrowing authority. Increases the limitations on postal borrowing authority.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1988
National Appliance Energy Conservation Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to include fluorescent lamp ballasts within the list of products covered by the Act. Directs the Secretary of Energy to prescribe by July 1, 1989, test procedures for such ballasts manufactured on or after January 1, 1990. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for such ballasts according to specified guidelines. Sets forth energy efficiency standards for such ballasts. Preempts State energy conservation standards for such ballasts unless such standards were prescribed or enacted before the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1988
Nuclear Investigations Improvement Act of 1988 - Amends the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 to establish within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission the Office of Investigations, to be headed by a Director of Investigations who shall be appointed by, and report directly to, the Commission. Confers responsibility upon the Office to investigate violations within the Commission's jurisdiction where information indicates that such violations were either willfully caused or the result of careless disregard for regulatory requirements. Requires the Director to report violations of Federal criminal law to the Commission and to the Justice Department. Requires Commission employees to report to the Office information indicating that violations were either willfully caused or were the result of careless disregard for regulatory requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1988
Inspector General Act Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to establish in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission the Office of Inspector General. Authorizes the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delegate supervision of the Inspector General to another member of the Commission, but to no one else.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
American Heritage Trust Act of 1988 - Title I: American Heritage Trust - Establishes the American Heritage Trust, comprised of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund, to provide funding for the preservation of America's natural, historical, cultural, and outdoor recreational areas. Title II: Land and Water Conservation Fund - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used to provide for the preservation of the Nation's recreational areas. Sets forth a formula for the allocation of such interest income to the Federal Government and the States. Sets forth specified requirements with respect to the apportionment of such income to local and State governments. Repeals a specified section concerning publicity and signing provisions. Title III: Historic Preservation Fund - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to extend the Historic Preservation Fund through 2015. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of such Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used for the preservation of historic sites. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the owner of any site that benefits from moneys derived from the American Heritage Trust to install a sign indicating that fact.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Employer Reversion Moratorium Act of 1988 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit distributions to an employer, before October 1, 1989, of plan assets in connection with any single-employer defined benefit plan termination announced on or after March 9, 1988. Makes plan fiduciaries jointly and severally liable for breach of fiduciary duty unless assets distributed upon plan termination are either distributed to plan participants and beneficiaries or paid into a trust whose terms provide for final disposition in accordance with applicable law in effect on October 1, 1989. Requires the dissolution of such a trust and the distribution of its assets during the month of October 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities Safety Act of 1988 - Establishes the Federal Facilities Nuclear Safety Board (the Board) as an independent body in the executive branch. Empowers the Board to: (1) review and evaluate health and safety standards at each Department of Energy (Department) nuclear facility; (2) investigate events or practices at each facility which may adversely affect public safety; (3) review a facility's design and construction as it pertains to public health and safety; and (4) recommend to the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) the health and safety measures needed to ensure adequate protection of the public. Grants the Board access to Department nuclear facility design and operational data. Authorizes the Board to: (1) establish reporting requirements which shall be binding upon the Secretary; and (2) enter into agreements with the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (and non-Federal experts) to evaluate differences between Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations and Department orders governing nuclear facilities. Requires the Secretary to cooperate fully with the Board and provide it ready access to facilities, personnel, and information requested by the Board to implement its mandate. Sets forth guidelines under which the Board's recommendations and the Secretary's decision to accept or reject them shall be publicized in the Federal Register and reported in writing to the Congress. Requires the Secretary to prepare plans to implement recommendations. Sets forth a review procedure for Board recommendations regarding a severe or imminent threat to public health and safety. Requires implementation of any such recommendations which the Secretary accepts. Requires the Board and the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding their respective activities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate, as of January 1, 1989, the permitted exclusion from the taxable gross income of U.S. citizens and residents working abroad of: (1) foreign earned income; and (2) eligible housing expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1988
Designates the week of June 26 through July 2, 1988, as National Safety Belt Use Week. Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) urge the people to wear safety belts and use child safety seats; and (2) encourage State and local governments and concerned organizations and officials to promote greater use of these safety devices.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1988
Emergency Hunger Relief Act of 1988 - Title I: Family Self Sufficiency Improvement - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to increase the minimum food stamp program (program) allotments by one percent for the period January 1, 1989, through September 30, 1989, and by one percent during FY 1990. Amends the definition of "household" to repeal the provision providing separate household status for certain parents of minor children and for such children. Makes permanent categorical program eligibility based on eligibility for specified social security programs. Provides an additional excess shelter deduction. States that: (1) households not required to submit monthly income reports shall have their income calculated on a prospective basis; and (2) households required to submit monthly income reports shall have their income calculated on a retrospective basis, except under specified circumstances. Repeals the requirement of prior approval by the Secretary of Agriculture for less than monthly income reporting of certain household. Prohibits a state agency from requiring periodic reporting of households: (1) made up entirely of migrant or seasonal farm workers; (2) made up entirely of homeless persons; or (3) with no earned income and in which all adult members are elderly or disabled. Requires that households reporting monthly be provided with clear and understandable reporting forms. Adjusts the automobile limitation to reflect Consumer Price Index changes. Provides full program benefits for breaks in certification of 30 days or less. Permits households subject to benefit prorating to receive an aggregate benefit allotment. Extends the scope of program informational activities. Amends the HOmeless Eligibility Clarification Act to make permanent the authority for homeless persons in shelters to receive food stamps. Subtitle B: Related Programs - Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983, as amended by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, to extend the temporary emergency food assistance program (TEFAP) through FY 1990. Increases the amount of TEFAP funds for emergency feeding organizations. Amends the Community Services Block Grant Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1993 for the community food and nutrition program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study (through the National Academy of Sciences) of the kinds of medical problems commonly suffered by program participants and the resulting special diets; and (2) report to the Congress. Title II: Child Nutrition Promotion - Amends the Food Stamps Act of 1977 to exclude foster care and adoption assistance from program income determinations. Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the school breakfast program reimbursement rate by three cents per meal as of July 1, 1989. Amends the National School Lunch Act to permit specified private nonprofit organizations to participate in the summer food program. Provides an additional meal or snack to children who attend day care centers which are open more than eight hours a day. Repeals the provision tying reduced price lunch eligibility to program eligibility. Title III: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1988
Federal Energy Management Improvement Act - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to revise the policies governing Federal energy management. Requires agencies to improve construction designs for Federal buildings so that the energy consumption per gross square foot in use during FY 1995 is at least ten percent less than that of FY 1985. Sets forth implementation steps to meet such goal. Redescribes procedures involved in the establishment and use of life cycle cost methods for Federal buildings. Requires the establishment by each agency of an incentives program using internal resources to encourage energy conservation and efficiency by allowing the retention of a portion of the dollar savings resulting from the agency's energy conservation measures. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish an Interagency Energy Management Task Force to coordinate Federal energy savings and disseminate information on energy efficiency. Requires each agency to report annually to the Secretary regarding its energy conservation activities and related contracts. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding energy conservation progress and contracts relating to Federal buildings. Requires the Secretary, during FY 1989 and 1990, to implement an energy survey to: (1) determine the potential maximum cost effective energy peak demand savings achievable in a limited representative sample of federally-owned or leased buildings; and (2) recommend cost effective energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements in such buildings. Prescribes implementation procedures and a deadline by which the Secretary must report to the Congress and the affected agencies regarding the survey findings and conclusions. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Women in Development Act of 1988 - Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to take specific steps to strengthen the Agency's women in development policy, including: (1) incorporating the active participation of local women and local women's organizations in its development activities; (2) instructing Agency staff and contractors to collect sex-disaggregated data and to insure that country strategies, projects, and programs are designed so that the percentage of women receiving assistance in proportion to the higher of their traditional participation in the targeted activities or their proportion of the population; (3) insuring that project and program evaluations include an assessment of the extent to which the project integrates women in the development process and of the project's impact on women; (4) increasing the number and responsibility of women in professional positions within AID; and (5) establishing within AID a task force on women in development. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that a minimum (currently, maximum) of $10,000,000 in funds made available for foreign assistance programs be used for programs to promote the participation and integration of women in the development process in developing countries. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress annually on the implementation of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to be made available for the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 1988
Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to direct the Secretary of Transportation to arrange with the National Academy of Sciences to study the efficacy of State motor vehicle safety inspection programs regarding highway accidents and unsafe vehicles. Outlines the parameters of such study and the persons to be consulted. Requires the Academy to report the study results to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Telecommunications Billing Disclosure Act of 1988 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to make it unlawful for any person to charge for a voice communication by telephone: (1) unless it is preceded by a disclosure of billing charges and practices and the fee meets the description offered in the disclosure; or (2) if the potential recipient ends the call within a required warning interval of at least ten seconds. Makes it unlawful, in addition, to knowingly permit one's telephone facility to be used in either of these prohibited billing contexts. Lists criteria to be met by the required disclosure of billing rates and practices. Makes violators liable to aggrieved parties and establishes authorized penalties in connection with resulting suits.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Social Security Eligibility Reconciliation Verification and Independent Status Act of 1988 - Title I: Improvements in Records Maintenance; Protection of Benefit Levels - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the Treasury to jointly establish a Social Security Earnings Reconciliation Task Force through which the Secretaries shall: (1) establish within their respective departments coordinated procedures which work to reconcile discrepancies in earnings credited to employees, self-employed individuals, and beneficiaries under the Internal Revenue Code and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act; (2) educate the public and employers regarding methods by which they may assist in such reconciliation; and (3) actively consult with the Social Security Earnings Reconciliation Commission established by this Act. Requires the Secretaries to submit to the President and the Congress an interim report by July 1, 1989, and a final report by July 1, 1990, regarding the manner and extent to which the Task Force carried out its tasks. Terminates the Task Force 60 days after the submittal of such final report. Authorizes appropriations for the Task Force for FY 1989 and 1990. Establishes the Social Security Earnings Reconciliation Commission which shall: (1) conduct a comprehensive study of the issues pertaining to discrepancies in earnings credited under the OASDI program and Internal Revenue Code; and (2) report its findings and recommendations to the President and to the Congress by July 15, 1990. Terminates the Commission 60 days after the submittal of its final report. Authorizes appropriations for the Commission for FY 1989 and 1990. Prohibits the Congress from considering any legislation which effects a reduction in benefits under the OASDI program or title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act. Considers the enactment of such prohibition to be an exercise of congressional rulemaking powers, subject to change in the same manner and to the same extent as any other rule of the House of Representatives or the Senate. Title II: Establishment of the Social Security Administration - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to establish as an independent executive agency a Social Security Administration, headed by a Social Security Board. Provides that it shall be the duty of the Administration to administer the OASDI and SSI programs. Requires the Board to study and make recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy. Establishes in the Administration: (1) a Commissioner of Social Security; (2) a Deputy Commissioner of Social Security; (3) a General Counsel; (4) an Inspector General; and (5) an Office of the Beneficiary Ombudsman, to be headed by a Beneficiary Ombudsman who shall represent the interests of beneficiaries under the OASDI and SSI programs within the Administration. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a description of the activities of the Beneficiary Ombudsman. Requires the Board to make annual budgetary recommendations relating to the Administration. Requires that appropriations requests by the Administration for staffing and personnel be based upon a comprehensive workforce plan as established by the Board. Provides for the apportionment of administrative costs. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a section reflecting the use of budget authority provided to the Administration. Requires that authority for automated data processing procurement and facilities construction be provided in the form of contract authority covering the total cost of such acquisitions. Makes amounts needed for the liquidation of contract authority so provided available from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to the extent that such amounts are not needed to meet current obligations for benefit payments. Requires the Board and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to implement demonstration projects relating to personnel matters. Directs the Board and the Administrator of General Services to implement such projects relating to delegations from the Administrator. Specifies the authorities which are to be delegated to the Board from the Administrator and the Director. Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees concerning such projects, including an evaluation of the Board's readiness to assume full and permanent authority. Requires the Board to cause a seal of office to be made and judicial notice taken thereof. Provides for the transfer to the Administration of all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to the programs and activities to be carried out by the Administration under this Act. Abolishes the position of Commissioner of Social Security in the Department of Health and Human Services. Directs the Secretary and the Social Security Board to take such measures as are necessary to ensure that this Act's provisions do not result in staffing or service reductions involving the functions transferred. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the President and the Congress by July 1, 1990, on the extent to which such staffing or service cuts have been avoided. Sets forth effective date and transitional rule provisions. Title III: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction - Requires the Secretary and the Board to report to the Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session on their administration under this Act. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs. Directs the Board to appoint, quadrennially, an Advisory Council on the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program and an Advisory Council on Health and Supplementary Medical Insurance to review the relation of the trust funds supporting the OASDI program and the Medicare program and the long-term commitments of those programs. Requires each council to submit a report to the Board for transmittal to the Congress and the Board of Trustees of each Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Repeals a provision of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 which includes employee tips within the wages on which employer social security taxes are based.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Expresses disapproval of the refusal of the U.S.S.R. to recognize the sovereignty of the Baltic Republics. Designates June 14, 1988, as Baltic Freedom Day. Authorizes and requests the President to submit the issue of the Baltic Republics to the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Designates March 29, 1988, the birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, as Education Day, U.S.A. Calls on heads of state of the world to join the President of the United States in this tribute by signing an international scroll of honor.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1988
Children's Television Practices Act of 1988 - Title I: Children's Television Advertising Practices - Requires the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe standards for commercial television broadcast licensees with respect to advertising in programs for children. Requires the standards to: (1) limit the duration of advertising to a specified number of minutes per hour; (2) assure adequate separation between program content and commercial messages; and (3) eliminate the use of program characters to promote products. Directs the FCC to initiate rulemaking proceedings in conjunction with these standards within ten days of this Act's enactment and to promulgate the final standards within 120 days of the enactment date. Title II: Children's Educational Television Programming Practices - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to add provisions in the interest of encouraging television programming to meet the educational and informational needs of children. Requires each television broadcasting station to schedule throughout the week a substantial amount of educational programming directed to specific age groups of children of age 12 and younger. Directs the FCC to designate for a hearing any television broadcast license renewal application with respect to which a petition for denial has been filed based on the applicant's failure to meet children's programming requirements. Places the burden of proof on the applicant in such context. Requires the FCC's annual report to the Congress to: (1) list and explain television station broadcast license renewals made despite failure to meet children's programming requirements; and (2) describe the impact of this title on children's educational and informational television programming.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1988
Grants congressional consent to the Southern States Energy Compact and to certain supplementary agreements entered into pursuant to such Compact. Identifies the following as eligible party States: Arkansas; Alabama; Georgia; Delaware; Florida; Kentucky; Louisiana; Oklahoma; Puerto Rico; Virgin Islands; Maryland; Tennessee; Mississippi; Missouri; North Carolina; South Carolina; Texas; West Virginia; and Virginia. Repeals a specified Act granting the consent of the Congress to the Southern Interstate Nuclear Compact.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1988
Major Fraud Act of 1988 - Amends the Federal criminal code to subject anyone who defrauds or attempts to defraud the Government in any procurement of property or services for $1,000,000 or more to a fine of up to twice the amount which is the object of the fraud, seven years' imprisonment, or both. Sets a seven-year statute of limitations. Provides for payments to individuals (other than Government officers or employees acting in performance of official duties) furnishing information leading to a conviction. Provides a civil right of action for any employee who is the subject of an employment action because of lawful acts done by that employee in furtherance of a prosecution under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1988
Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to terminate the proceeding in the Matter of Policy and Rules Concerning Rates for Dominant Carriers (FCC Docket No. 87-313). Prohibits the FCC from commencing comparable proceedings with respect to the interstate basic telephone service offerings of dominant carriers except in accordance with a notice of proposed rulemaking, issued after 1988, that meets criteria described in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1988
Atomic Energy Law Enforcement Act of 1988 - Specifies that the proposed Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of the United States and the Government of Japan Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy shall not become effective unless: (1) the President resubmits the Agreement to the Congress pursuant to procedures required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 with an exemption from the requirements of the Act concerning nuclear safeguards; and (2) the Congress enacts a joint resolution stating that it favors the Agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1988
Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988 - Title I: Child Pornography - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it illegal to use a computer to transport information in interstate or foreign commerce concerning the visual depiction of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct (child pornography). Establishes criminal penalties for buying, selling, or transferring the custody of a minor: (1) knowing that, as a consequence of the sale or transfer, the minor will be used in child pornography; or (2) with the intent to promote child pornography. States that such sale or transfer must involve: (1) the minor or other actor traveling in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) communications in interstate or foreign commerce; or (3) conduct in a territory or possession of the United States. Requires any person who produces a book, magazine, periodical, film, videotape, or other matter which contains any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct (which is shipped or intended for shipment in interstate or foreign commerce, or contains material shipped in interstate or foreign commerce) to maintain certain records regarding the performers portrayed in such conduct. Directs the Attorney General to issue regulations regarding the maintenance and availability of such records. Includes the sexual exploitation of children as a predicate offense to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. Title II: Obscenity - Makes it a Federal criminal offense to receive or possess, with the intent to distribute, obscene matter which has been transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Makes it a Federal criminal offense to knowingly use a facility or means of commerce to sell or distribute obscene matter in interstate or foreign commerce. Establishes a rebuttable presumption, with respect to Federal criminal offenses involving obscene matter, that obscene matter produced in one State (or outside the United States) which is subsequently located in another State (or in the United States) was transported, shipped, or carried in interstate (or foreign) commerce. Establishes criminal and civil forfeiture procedures with respect to Federal offenses involving obscene material and child pornography. Includes communications by means of cable or subscription television within the prohibition against broadcasting obscene language. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to modify the penalty provisions of such Act with respect to obscene telephone communications. Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criminal penalties for the possession or sale of obscene matter on Federal property. Adds obscenity offenses to the list of crimes for which the Government may obtain wiretaps.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the gasoline excise tax any sale of gasoline to a State or local government (or to a purchaser for resale to such government) for its exclusive use.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bryant, John W. [D-TX-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000997_200.jpg)