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United States · Official source
3,398 records where Rep. Conte, Silvio O. [R-MA-1] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1987
Designates March 25, 1988, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1987
Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to permanently disregard in-kind assistance provided by nonprofit organizations to recipients of benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) or part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act in determining the need or eligibility of such recipients for program benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1987
Designates the period of August 1 through August 8, 1988, as National Harness Horse Week.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1987
Designates March 27, 1988, as National Black American Inventors Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1987
Designates November 1, 1987, as National Volunteer Appreciation Day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1987
Department of Veterans Affairs Act - Redesignates the Veterans Administration (VA) as the Department of Veterans Affairs (the Department), an executive department within the executive branch of the Government. Provides that the Department shall be headed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Designates as other principal officers of the Department the Deputy Secretary, the Chief Medical Director, and the Chief Benefits Director. Provides for the temporary continuation of service of the current Administrator, Deputy Administrator, Chief Medical Director, and Chief Benefits Director of Veterans Affairs. Establishes within the Department eight Assistant Secretaries, each of whom shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to perform such functions as the Secretary may prescribe. Directs the Secretary to assign to one such Assistant Secretary all functions regarding the National Cemetery System and the State cemetery grant program. Outlines functions which the Secretary shall assign to the Assistant Secretaries. Provides for the temporary continuation of the performance of such functions by present personnel until such functions are assigned to an individual appointed as Assistant Secretary under this Act. Redesignates the current VA's Department of Medicine and Surgery as the Veterans Health Services Administration of the Department. Redesignates the VA's current Department of Veterans Benefits as the Veterans Benefits Administration of the Department, whose primary function shall be to administer nonmedical programs which provide assistance to veterans, their dependents, and their survivors. Establishes within the Department the Office of the General Counsel. Redesignates the current Office of Inspector General of the VA as the Office of Inspector General of the Department. Provides that any references to departments or positions under the current VA system shall be considered to be references to such departments and positions of the Department as modified under this Act. Provides continuing effect of all legal documents, suits, actions, and property and resources of the current VA. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, after appropriate congressional consultation, to prepare and submit to the Congress proposed legislation containing technical and conforming amendments to reflect the changes made under this Act. Requires such legislation to be submitted no later than six months after the enactment of this Act. Provides that any spending authority of the Department is subject to available amounts as provided in appropriation Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1987
Designates May 1988 as National Trauma Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1987
Designates the week beginning November 22, 1987, as American Indian Week.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1987
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the interests of the United States and the Soviet Union would be better served if more Members of Congress traveled in the Soviet Union and more Soviet leaders traveled in the United States; (2) Members of Congress who have never traveled in the Soviet Union should travel there; and (3) more Soviet leaders should travel in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1987
Medicare Access Protection Act of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require that agreements with fiscal intermediaries mandate that: (1) notice be made and a reconsideration procedure be made available to the provider and the individual with respect to whom a claim for home health services is made in the event of denial of the claim on the ground that the service is not medically necessary; and (2) the intermediary consult, at least biannually, with service providers, beneficiaries, and the Health Care Financing Administration with respect to problems with any of the activities of the intermediary. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and distribute to each provider a standard form concerning rights of coverage and appeal and practical steps required for initiating appeals. Requires the Secretary to ensure that the standard document is made available to any individual covered: (1) at the time the individual begins to receive home health, post-hospital extended care, or extended care services; and (2) whenever a fiscal intermediary makes an appealable determination regarding such services.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1987
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a 15 percent nonrefundable income tax credit for interest paid or incurred on indebtedness to pay qualified educational expenses (tuition, supplies, reasonable living expenses) of the taxpayer or the taxpayer's spouse or dependent at a qualified educational institution. Excludes indebtedness secured by a qualified residence of the taxpayer. Reduces the credit (but not below zero) by one percent for each $1,000 by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $25,000 ($40,000 for joint returns). Repeals the current income tax deduction for interest on home equity loans used to pay educational expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1987
Designates March 4, 1988, as National Children's Acknowledgement Day.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1987
Corporation for Small Business Investment Charter Act - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to establish timetables to govern the promulgation of regulations by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the qualification of licensees to do business with the Corporation for Small Business Investment and the special-purpose trust established by this Act. Establishes the Corporation for Small Business Investment as a Government-sponsored private corporation. Requires the President to appoint its interim Board of Directors. Sets forth procedures for selection of the permanent Board and describes Board duties. Sets out the Corporation's stock structure. Permits only small business investment companies to hold voting common stock. Requires the Corporation to mandate certain contributions from these companies in order to accumulate capital surplus funds from private sources. Includes depository institutions as eligible contributors entitled to receive stock and dispose of it. Authorizes the Corporation to issue obligations and securities, within prescribed limits. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase such obligations but sets amount and yield restrictions. Makes all obligations issued by the Corporation acceptable as security for any fiduciary, trust, and public funds controlled by the United States. Exempts Corporation issues from the regulatory framework of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Authorizes the Corporation to issue commitments or otherwise deal in small business investment securities after the permanent Board has been duly constituted. Sets forth the procedure for perfecting a security or ownership interest in small business investment securities created by the Corporation. Authorizes the Corporation to guarantee specified securities. Directs the Corporation to establish criteria, including private capital amount requirements, for the qualification of small business investment companies to conduct business with it. Instructs the Corporation to enter into agreements with small business investment companies, which are authorized to provide equity capital and loans to small businesses. Restricts the financing activities of the investment companies, setting time limits, aggregate securities acquisition limits, and use restrictions with respect to loan funds. Prohibits the Corporation from purchasing or guaranteeing securities in excess of ten percent of its assets. Provides for both financial and compliance audits of small business investment companies. Exempts loans made by small business investment companies from State usury law, unless the State expressly enacts overriding legislation. Directs the Corporation to adopt independent criteria in connection with the qualification of a special type of small business investment company to invest solely in disadvantaged small businesses. Establishes a special-purpose trust to benefit special small business investment companies. Provides for its operation in accordance with a trust agreement with the Corporation. Sets forth procedures for appointing the trustees. Requires the trustees to establish separate accounting for all preferred securities, debentures, loss reserves, and other funds acquired and to make an annual accounting of trust operations to the Secretary of the Treasury. Sets forth the powers of the trustees. Provides for SBA conveyance to the Corporation of all right, title, and interest to all securities and outstanding debentures issued by small business investment companies that are not in liquidation. Requires the trust to apply all of the funds held in trust and income to: (1) cover any losses realized on debentures purchased or guaranteed by the Corporation; (2) reduce the interest rate on debentures issued by special small business investment companies or purchase their preferred securities; and (3) pay administrative costs. Authorizes the trustees to purchase preferred securities and the Corporation to purchase or guarantee the payment of principal and interest on debentures issued by special small business investment companies. Sets forth the terms and conditions for these purchases. Authorizes a special small business investment company to request that the Corporation purchase or guarantee its debentures. Provides that such debentures shall be subordinate to any other obligations of such companies. Sets forth restrictions on the interest rate on and total amount of such debentures. Requires that all outstanding preferred securities purchased by the trust from special small business investment companies be redeemed and transferred to the Treasury 50 years after the effective date of this Act. Gives the SBA review authority over the Corporation and requires annual reporting in connection with this review. Mandates an annual independent audit of the Corporation's accounts, with reporting to the Secretary of the Treasury, who must subsequently report to the President and to the House and Senate Small Business Committees. Subjects Corporation books and records to audit by the General Accounting Office and by the Office of the Inspector General of the SBA under specified conditions. Requires annual Corporation reporting to the President, the SBA, and relevant congressional committees. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to sell to the Corporation on September 30, 1988, all the right and interest in small business investment company securities guaranteed by the SBA and held by the Federal Financing Bank, providing such securities are due in FY 1989 or later. Sets a minimum final purchase price of $720,000,000, a specified amount of which must be in preferred stock in the Corporation. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to propose a sale price for the securities that the Corporation is to purchase. Sets forth procedures for determining the purchase price if the Board finds the Secretary's proposal unacceptable. Establishes criteria to govern the preferred stock issued by the Corporation as part of the purchase price. Directs the Corporation to issue to the SBA warrants to purchase nonvoting common stock equivalent to a 28 percent interest in the Corporation. Requires the Corporation to report, within 30 days of the completion of the purchase of the securities, to the House and Senate Committees on Small Business. Prohibits the SBA from: (1) making any payments to the Department of the Treasury on debentures guaranteed under the Small Business Investment Act after they are sold to the Corporation; or (2) selling or encumbering loans or debentures it has made or issued, except as specified in this Act. Requires the General Accounting Office, by January 1, 1993, to prepare a report for the House and Senate Small Business Committees on the Corporation's effectiveness in achieving the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1987
Federal Employees' Political Activities Act of 1987- Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of any election. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority to intimidate, threaten, coerce, command, or influence: (1) any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of any individual to vote as the individual may choose, or of causing any individual to vote, or not to vote, for any candidate or measure in any election; (2) any person to give or withhold any political contribution; or (3) any person to engage, or not to engage, in any form of political activity. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use, or permitting the use of, any official information unless such information is available to the general public. Prohibits an employee from: (1) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; or (3) giving or handing over a political contribution to a superior of the employee. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving, or from being in any manner concerned with soliciting, accepting, or receiving, a political contribution: (1) from another employee (or a member of another employee's immediate family) with respect to whom the employee is a superior; or (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official or an individual receiving salary or compensation from the Treasury. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution from, or giving a political contribution to, any person who: (1) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employing agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by that agency; or (3) has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance of the employees' official duties. Directs the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board to prescribe regulations which exempt employees from such prohibitions. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Describes such a political appointee as one: (1) whose duties and responsibilities continue outside normal duty hours and while away from the normal duty post; (2) who is paid from an appropriation for the Executive Office of the President; (3) whose position is located within the United States; and (4) who determines policies to be pursued by the United States in its relations with foreign powers or in the nationwide administration of Federal laws. Authorizes leave without pay or accrued annual leave to an employee who is a candidate, upon request, to allow such employee to engage in activities relating to that candidacy. Declares that such request may be denied if the exigencies of the public business so require. Declares that such employee may be required to take leave without pay or accrued annual leave in order to be a candidate if activities relating to the candidacy interfere with the employee's performance of duties. Directs the Special Counsel to prescribe rules and regulations to implement this Act. Applies this Act to postal employees and employees of the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1987
Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States to assist in providing to the public information on the diagnosis, prevention, and control of Lyme disease. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 and 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1987
Designates the week of November 8 through November 14, 1987, as National Food Bank Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1987
Crimes Against Older Americans Information and Coordination Act of 1987 - Directs the Attorney General to modify the uniform crime reporting program in the Federal Bureau of Investigation to include data on the age, sex, ethnicity, living arrangements, and other characteristics of the victim and the perpetrator, including any relationship between them, for crimes against the elderly. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain within the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs a National Reference Center on Crimes Against Older Americans which shall: (1) publish an annual report of research conducted on crimes against the elderly; (2) develop and maintain an information reference service on all private and public initiatives for the prevention and identification of such crimes; (3) study the national incidence of such crimes, comparing rural and urban areas; (4) serve as a liaison with the various Federal agencies that carry out programs for the elderly; and (5) provide technical assistance to individuals and to private and public organizations to reduce and prevent crimes against the elderly.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1987
Designates October 1, 1988, as National Quality First Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1987
Declares that the Congress: (1) expresses its solidarity with the citizens of Iran and extends its wish that the people of Iran will soon enjoy an end to the Iran-Iraq war and to internal repression; (2) supports an official U. S. policy of completely halting the shipment of arms to the Government of Iran; (3) urges the President to cooperate with the United Nations to bring about an end to government-sponsored torture in Iranian prisons and to pressure Iran to permit inspection of Iranian prisons by an international delegation; and (4) expresses support for all efforts made through the U.N. Security Council to pressure the Khomeini Government to end the Iran-Iraq war.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1987
Amends the National Trails System Act to include the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, the routes traveled by the Cherokee Nation through Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as a part of the System. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to consider establishing interpretive sites near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Fort Smith, Arkansas.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1987
Amends the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act to include single pregnant women under provisions for the use of funds and the distribution of assistance under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1987
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit the rate of increase of the part B premium to the rate of increase of part B benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1987
Condemns the killing of civilians and other acts of sabotage committed by the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO). Urges the President to continue to recognize the Mozambican Government.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1987
Commends the Tactile Capital project and its goal of making historic buildings and monuments in the District of Columbia and Virginia more accessible to blind and visually impaired tourists.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 1987
Hate Crime Statistics Act - Directs the Attorney General to include within the Uniform Crime Reports for calendar years 1988 through 1992 the incidence of criminal acts that manifest prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 1987
Designates September 27, 1987, as Gold Star Mothers Day.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 1987
Designates October 31, 1987, as National Child Identification and Safety Information Day.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1987
Immigration Act of 1987 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise numerical limitations for immigrant admissions with respect to family reunification immigrants and independent immigrants. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretaries of State, Labor, and Health and Human Services, every five years, beginning two years after this Act becomes effective, to prepare jointly and to submit to the President and to specified congressional committees a report discussing the need to revise these numerical limitations. Lists factors to be considered in preparing the report. Requires the President within 60 days of receiving the report to transmit to the Congress a certification as to whether the numerical limitations should be changed and, if so, what they should be. Deems the numerical limitations certified by the President to be valid for the subsequent five fiscal years unless the Congress acts through a joint resolution to prohibit their effect. Prescribes the expedited parliamentary procedure to be followed in the House of Representatives and in the Senate in considering such a joint resolution. Revises the preference visa allocation system for immigrant admissions with respect to family reunification immigrants to: (1) increase the percentage of visas available to qualified spouses and unmarried minor children of permanent resident aliens; and (2) decrease the percentage available to qualified children and siblings of U.S. citizens. Revises the preference and nonpreference visa allocation system for independent immigrants to set fiscal year numerical limitations on visas available to aliens who are professionals holding doctoral degrees, aliens of exceptional ability, or skilled workers. Establishes a point system applicable to nonpreference aliens under which credit for visa qualification assessment is based on such eligibility criteria as: (1) country of origin (with preference for countries adversely affected by immigration reforms enacted in 1965); (2) work skills and employability; (3) education and literacy; and (4) age. Sets forth the formula for determining the appropriate allocation preference system to be applied to natives of any single foreign state with respect to which the maximum number of visas will be made available. Revises the labor certification procedure used with regard to excludable aliens and reduces the scope of its applicability to certain preference immigrants. Provides for judicial review in U.S. district court of the Secretary of Labor's decisions with respect to exclusions related to labor certification. Permits a waiver of the offer of employment requirement for immigrant admission purposes when the Attorney General deems the waiver to be in the national interest. Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to the Congress, within six months of this Act's enactment, on means for streamlining the labor certification process used in the immigration context. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1987
Urges the leadership of the Government of Chile to take steps to: (1) assure that military rule should end in Chile no later than by 1989, as outlined in the 1980 constitution; (2) ensure that the next democratically-elected leaders of Chile are chosen from civilian candidates; (3) assure voting procedures for the electoral process which are fair and based upon universal and equal suffrage; (4) implement procedures to ensure that the vote will be accurately counted and subject to independent verification; and (5) ensure that prior to any electoral process, freedom of assembly and expression are fully restored and non-violent government opponents are given fair access to every means of communication, including television.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1987
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual any interest received or accrued on U.S. college bonds to the extent such amount is used to pay the qualified tuition expenses (tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment) in connection with the post-secondary education of the taxpayer, spouse, or dependents at a qualified educational organization. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue U.S. college bonds, a form of savings bond, having maturities varying at one-year intervals and bearing the statement that otherwise taxable amounts deriving from redemption of the bonds may be excluded from gross income when used to pay qualifying tuition expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1987
Designates the month of October 1987 as Lupus Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1987
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 with respect to payment limitations for wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice for FY 1988 through 1990. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to attribute to the individual members of an organizational entity engaged in farming all payments made to such entity. Treats such entity as a separate person. Requires attribution to individual members on the basis of their individual interests in the entity. Permits the Secretary not to attribute the entity payments to any member whose interest is less than ten percent when attribution to such member would have little or no effect on the implementation of the limitation. Prohibits any member of an entity from receiving payments in excess of the limitation for a separate person. Provides that a producer who leases land from an individual or entity must be combined as one person with that individual or entity for payment limitation purposes unless the producer makes a substantial contribution of owned land or owned equipment and personal labor or active personal management to the farming operation that includes the leased land.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1987
Tropical Forest Protection Act of 1987 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a review of the appropriate literature to determine which tropical forests and wetlands are likely to be unsuitable for agriculture and could, with assistance from multilateral development banks and public and private donors, be established as reserves for scientific research, tourism, indigenous people, and nonconsumptive uses and to analyze the likelihood that conserving tropical forests and wetlands can be achieved without such assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to consult with other U.S. officials, agencies, and appropriate nongovernmental organizations in conducting such review and analysis. Requires the Secretary to make determinations concerning the maximizing of in-country support for protection and management of tropical forests and wetlands. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress concerning such review, analysis, and determinations. Requires the Secretary to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) to initiate discussions and make proposals to the executive directors and management of the World Bank. Specifies that such proposals shall include: (1) a three-year pilot environmental structural adjustment lending program; and (2) a three year pilot exchange program whereby any country with outstanding debts held by the Bank may establish long-term conservation easements to protect tropical forests and wetlands in exchange for the World Bank suspending or rescheduling such debts. Requires the U.S. Executive Director to prepare annual reports while such three-year pilot programs are in effect and a final report describing the results of the programs. Requires the dissemination of such results to all multilateral development banks and all private lending institutions with outstanding loans to tropical nations in order to provide such banks with information about exchanges of debt for conservation easements as an alternative to forgiveness of any such debt. Requires the Secretary to conduct an analysis of the programs and policies of the International Monetary Fund to assess the potential for adapting the pilot programs of the World Bank to the operation of the Fund. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress concerning such study and analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1987
Designates October 1, 1987, as National Medical Research Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1987
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a partnership, S corporation, or personal service corporation, unless it is part of a tiered structure, to elect to have a taxable year other than the required one, but generally only if the deferral period of the taxable year elected is three months or less. (Current law requires partnerships, S corporations, and personal service corporations, in most cases, to conform their taxable years to the calendar years used by their owners.) Subjects the principals of a partnership or S corporation electing to change taxable years to additional estimated tax requirements to offset any tax deferral resulting from such election. Imposes deduction limitations on a personal service corporation that changes taxable years. Provides that an election with respect to taxable year shall be made by the partnership, S corporation, or personal service corporation and shall be binding on all partners and shareholders. Sets forth the formula for determining the additional tax requirement when a taxpayer: (1) is a partner or shareholder in at least one such entity during any applicable election years of the entity that end within the taxpayer's taxable year; and (2) has an aggregate deferred tax exceeding $200 with respect to the entity. Describes payment procedures. Requires the inclusion of specified information on returns filed by partnerships and S corporations that elect to use a non-required taxable year. Limits the tax deduction permitted to a personal service corporation for amounts paid or incurred with respect to employee-owners when such a corporation: (1) elects to have a taxable year other than the required one; and (2) fails to meet certain minimum distribution requirements regarding non-dividend amounts paid to owners.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1987
Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit States from: (1) imposing a higher tax assessment ratio upon natural gas transmission property than is imposed upon other commercial and industrial property; (2) collecting an ad valorem property tax on natural gas transmission property at a tax rate that exceeds the rate applicable to commercial and industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction; and (3) imposing any other tax that discriminates against a natural gas company subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Grants Federal district courts concurrent jurisdiction (without regard to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties) to enjoin, suspend, restrain, or set aside such discriminatory tax treatment. Permits relief only if the ratio of assessed value to true market value of natural gas transmission property exceeds by at least five percent that of other commercial and industrial property in the taxing jurisdiction. Expresses the sense of the Congress that any savings accrued by reason of the enactment of this Act should be passed on to consumers.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1987
Designates November 15 through November 22, 1987, as National Arts Week.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1987
Urges the administration to continue to reject efforts by Canadian negotiators to: (1) have the U.S. cabotage trades, including the transport of energy resources, opened to Canadian vessels; and (2) eliminate the ad valorem duty on vessel repairs performed in Canadian shipyards.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1987
Designates the week of February 21 to February 27, 1988, as National Visiting Nurse Associations Week.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1987
Ozone Protection and CFC Reduction Act of 1987 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on: (1) any ozone-depleting chemical sold or used by its manufacturer, producer, or importer; and (2) any substance sold or used by its importer if its manufacture or production included the use of any ozone-depleting chemical. Fixes the rate of such tax at an amount equal to a base amount, adjusted annually for inflation, times the ozone-depletion factor for the pertinent chemical, as determined in accordance with this Act. Describes the criteria to be used for determining which substances will be considered as ozone-depleting chemicals for purposes of the excise tax. Lists specific chlorofluorocarbons to be included among such chemicals. Exempts from the tax: (1) certain products containing a de minimis amount of ozone-depleting chemicals; and (2) chemicals diverted or recovered in the United States as part of a recycling process. Imposes a floor stocks tax on ozone-depleting chemicals: (1) on which tax would be due if sold by the manufacturer on the effective date of the tax; and (2) which are held on such date for sale by a dealer. Sets the amount of such inventory tax to equal the excise tax amount.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1987
Directs the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to construct, expand, and renovate facilities at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York, New York, in accordance with the master plan for such project. Limits the total cost of the project (taking into account funding from all sources). Authorizes appropriations to the Board for FY 1989 and subsequent fiscal years in an amount equal to one-half the total cost of the project. Prohibits any such appropriations from being used for any purpose until the Comptroller General determines that an amount equal to one-half of the total cost of the project is available to the Board from non-Federal sources. Provides for transfer of any portion of such funds to the General Services Administration to carry out such project. Provides that the Cooper-Hewitt Museum shall also be known as the National Museum of Design.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1987
Hazardous Waste Reduction Act - Requires filings of the annual toxic chemical release forms required under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to include a toxic chemical waste reduction and recycling report for each listed toxic chemical for the preceding calendar year. Requires such report to include information on a facility-by-facility basis as to the amounts and disposition of each toxic chemical, including levels of waste reduction and recycling achieved and expected. Requires that toxic chemical waste reduction practices be delineated according to set categories, such as equipment, redesign, and substitution of raw materials. Requires the inclusion of a production index for each toxic chemical waste and a list of techniques used to identify waste reduction opportunities. Provides protection for trade secrets. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a central receiving facility at EPA for the storage and retrieval of waste management program information. Requires the Administrator to collect, coordinate, and consolidate data collection requirements under environmental statutes. Requires all such information to be compiled into a data base organized on an industry-by-industry basis according to Standard Industrial Classifications and on a waste stream basis. Directs the Administrator to establish a Waste Reduction and Recycling Clearinghouse Program to include information on approaches to waste reduction and recycling and information from States receiving grants for technical assistance programs. Requires the Clearinghouse to be actively involved in technology transfer and the development of waste reduction technologies. Requires the Administrator to make matching grants to States for innovative waste reduction programs. Requires such programs to make specific and targeted technical assistance available to businesses as well as for funding experts and research and providing training. Directs the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on the waste reduction information gathered pursuant to this Act. Requires such report to include a profile of waste reduction levels on an industry-by-industry basis and identify priorities as to industries, pollutants, and research. Establishes the Office of Waste Reduction within EPA to collect waste reduction plans and information from other EPA offices on an industry-by-industry basis, administer the clearinghouse and State grants programs, and carry out other related responsibilities including improving EPA's ability to evaluate multi-media waste management practices and the potential for waste reduction through information collection and retrieval. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1987
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President and the Secretary of State should express to the Soviets: (1) U.S. opposition to the Soviet Union's treatment of Leonid Brailovsky and all those who have applied to emigrate from the Soviet Union; (2) the U.S. desire that the Soviets allow Leonid Brailovsky and his family to emigrate to the United States; and (3) the U.S. desire that the Soviet Union cease the harassment of Soviet Jews and Christians seeking to emigrate.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1987
Designates 1987 as the Year of the Hawaiian.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1987
Makes a supplemental appropriation for FY 1987 to the Department of Agriculture to reimburse the Commodity Credit Corporation for net realized losses.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1987
Declares that the Congress joins with the President in challenging Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev to open the Brandenburg Gate and tear down the Berlin Wall.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1987
Authorizes the executive branch to expend funds and prepare or evaluate studies designed to transfer out of Federal ownership, management, or control, in whole or in part, the facilities and functions of the Southeastern Power Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1987
National Training Incentives Act of 1987 - Declares that it is the policy and responsibility of the Federal Government to encourage cooperation between employers and employees to promote training programs which will assist employees, should they be displaced from the work force, in training for a trade or occupation for which present and future employment opportunities exist. Title I: Amendments to Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Relating to Employee Training - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish an employee training credit for employers. Adds such employee training credit to those credits which are included in the current year business credit for purposes of determining the general business income tax credit for a taxable year. Makes such employee training credit for any taxable year equal to 25 percent of the excess, if any, of: (1) the qualified training expenses of the taxpayer for such taxable year, over (2) the base period training expenses of such taxpayer. Defines "qualified training expenses" as the aggregate amount of expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year in connection with the training of employees under approved training programs. Defines "base period training expenses" as the average of the qualified training expenses for each year in the base period. Defines "base period" as the five taxable years of the taxpayer immediately preceding the taxable year for which the determination is being made ("the determination year"). Sets forth transitional rules for the first four determination years beginning after December 31, 1984. Sets minimum base period training expenses by providing that, in the case of any determination year of the taxpayer for which the qualified training expenses exceed 200 percent of the base period training expenses, "50 percent of such qualified training expenses" shall be substituted for "the base period training expenses" in the formula to determine the amount of the credit. Defines "approved training program," for purposes of such employee training credit, to include: (1) any apprenticeship program registered or approved by Federal or State agencies; (2) any employer-designed or employer-sponsored training program which meets certain requirements prescribed by the Secretary of Labor (Secretary); (3) any cooperative education; (4) any training program designated by the Secretary which is carried out under the supervision of an institution of higher education; or (5) any other training program approved by the Secretary. Sets forth the special tax rules for the aggregation of qualified training expenses, allocations of such credits, and adjusted to such employee training credit amount for acquisitions and dispositions of a trade or business. Specifies that the employee training credit shall be in addition to any other deduction or credit allowed for the same expenses under the Federal tax law. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from any penalty tax early withdrawal from an individual retirement plan of a displaced worker if such withdrawals are made to pay training expenses, do not exceed the allowable amount, and are made in accordance with the requirements of this Act. Title II: Withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts and Annuities for Job Training for Displaced Workers - Entitles a displaced worker to apply to the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) for certification of such individual's status as a displaced worker. Defines a "displaced worker" as any individual, as of the time of application for a certificate, who has at least 20 quarters of coverage under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, who has received employment counseling within the past year from an agency approved by the Secretary, and who is in one of the following categories: (1) receiving regular State unemployment compensation; (2) exhausted the right to receive such compensation; (3) unemployed, or received notification of termination of employment within six months, due to permanent closure of a plant or facility; or (4) unemployed for six months or more and with limited opportunity for employment in a similar trade or occupation within a reasonable commuting distance. Permits displaced workers to withdraw amounts from their individual retirement account or annuity (IRA) to pay the expense (tuition, fees, books, supplies, or required equipment) of an eligible training program. Limits the amounts of such IRA withdrawal to $5,000 per year (with cost-of-living adjustments), minus aggregate amounts distributed for training expense payments in the four immediately preceding taxable years. Requires withdrawals from an IRA for training expenses to be made only through the use of a voucher issued by the account trustee or insurance company custodian upon presentation to such trustee or custodian by the displaced worker of a displaced worker certificate and an invoice or statement evidencing that such worker has enrolled in an eligible training program. Sets forth requirements for the presentation and redemption of vouchers for payment of job training expenses. Prohibits depository institutions from assessing any penalty against a displaced worker for early withdrawals from an IRA to pay such training expenses. Permits adjustments in the rate of return on certain investments when IRA funds are withdrawn to pay such training expenses. Treats participation by a displaced worker in an eligible training program at a qualified institution as being in training with the approval of the State agency for purposes of State unemployment compensation law. Defines "eligible training program" as a training program offered by an institution of higher education, a postsecondary vocational institution, a proprietary institution of higher education, or any other institution approved by the Secretary which prepares students for gainful employment in a trade or occupation in which present and future employment opportunities exist. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations for: (1) the application of an educational institution for qualification of its training program; and (2) criteria for determining whether such a job training program qualified as an eligible training program under the terms of this Act. Directs the Secretary, for purposes of determining whether certain job training programs qualify as eligible training programs, to consider any determination relating to such programs made by: (1) the Administrator of Veterans Affairs or a State approving agency for veterans' educational programs; (2) a private industry council established under the Job Training Partnership Act or other official or group empowered to make determinations under such Act; (3) the Secretary of Education; (4) any State education agency; or (5) a nationally recognized accrediting agency which the Secretary determines to be reliable in evaluating the quality of job training programs. Sets forth nondiscrimination requirements for institutions offering such job training programs. Requires the Secretary to minimize the amount of paperwork and time necessary to certify any individual as a displaced worker or any training program as an eligible training program. Title III: State Employment Service Responsibilities - Directs the Secretary of Labor to allocate funds to States to reimburse administrative costs of public employment offices which provide certification for displaced workers, labor market and training information, and job search services. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose for FY 1988 and thereafter. Directs the Secretary to submit a report to the Congress on a nationwide computerized job bank and matching program authorized under the Job Training and Partnership Act. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act to direct the private industry councils established under such Act to make information on job training programs available throughout their service delivery areas. Exempts such councils from limitations on expenditures imposed by such Act in providing such information. Excludes from the computation of the amount of the expected family contribution to a student for Pell Grant purposes any unemployment compensation received by such student or any IRA distribution used to pay training expenses of such student, provided such student is certified as a displaced worker under the terms of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1987
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should express to the Soviets: (1) the U.S. opposition to the Soviet Union's treatment of certain individuals and the Soviets' refusal to permit these individuals, their families, and other families to emigrate to Israel; (2) the U.S. desire that the Soviet Union comply with specified human rights agreements by permitting such individuals to emigrate to Israel; and (3) the U.S. desire that the Soviet Union cease harassing Soviet Jews seeking to emigrate and denying human rights to Soviet Jews.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1987
Expresses the opposition of the Congress to mandatory Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) coverage of State and local government employees hired before April 1, 1986.