United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1990
Capital Gains Incentive Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a variable capital gains deduction for a taxpayer other than a corporation based upon capital assets held from one to five years. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1990
Judicial Taxation Prohibition Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to deny to inferior Federal courts jurisdiction to issue any remedy, order, writ, or other judicial decree requiring the Federal Government or any State or local government to impose any new tax or to increase any existing tax or tax rate.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1990
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the Congress and the States shall have power to prohibit the act of physical desecration of the U.S. flag and to set criminal penalties for such act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1990
Mexico-United States Trade Act - Directs the President to initiate negotiations with Mexico to obtain a trade agreement providing for: (1) the reduction and eventual elimination of tariff and nontariff trade barriers; (2) the reduction and elimination of duties imposed by the United States; and (3) the establishment of a free trade area between the two countries. Requires the President to consult with specified congressional committees before entering into such agreement. Conditions the implementation of such an agreement on enactment of legislation according to a specified procedure. Prohibits the extension of any trade benefit to countries that are not a party to an agreement by reason of any benefit given to a country that is a party to such agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1990
Directs the President to report to the Congress on whether the Government of India is preventing human rights organizations from visiting India to monitor human rights conditions. Terminates development assistance to India (except for assistance for specified health projects) if the President reports that the Government of India is implementing such policy. Provides for the resumption of assistance to India if the President reports to the Congress that India is no longer implementing such policy.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1990
Condemns the restrictions of the print and electronic media imposed by the Soviet Union on journalists attempting to cover events in Lithuania. Urges: (1) General Secretary Gorbachev to rescind restrictions on the admission of Western journalists to, and on freedom of the press in, Lithuania; and (2) President Bush to take steps to facilitate the readmission of Western journalists to Lithuania.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1990
Subjects to execution persons who, within the District of Columbia: (1) commit first degree murder; (2) murder a law enforcement officer while such officer is engaged in official duties or because of the status of an individual as an officer; or (3) engage in conduct during the course of a continuing criminal enterprise and thereby knowingly cause an individual's death. Directs the Government to notify the defendant a reasonable amount of time before trial or the court's acceptance of a guilty plea of its intent to seek the death penalty. Requires that, once a guilty verdict is rendered, a separate sentencing hearing be held at which there must be a unanimous finding that, in addition to murder, specified aggravating factors, such as a previous murder conviction, commission of the murder for money, or torture of the victim, exist which outweigh specified mitigating factors and justify execution. Requires that the jury be notified that regardless of its findings it is never required to impose the death sentence and that it may not consider the race, color, religious beliefs, national origin or sex of the defendant or victim in passing sentence. Prohibits the execution of minors, the mentally retarded, or certain mentally disabled individuals. Authorizes a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for a capital crime. Sets forth death sentence appeal rights. Affords indigent defendants charged with a capital crime the benefit of an experienced criminal attorney until the execution of judgment. Prohibits correctional employees from being forced to participate in an execution that is against their moral or religious convictions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1990
Authorizes and requests the President to designate May 26, 1990, to commemorate the bicentennial of "An Act for the government of the territory of the United States, south of the river Ohio" (from which Tennessee was formed).
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
National Health Service Corps Revitalization Amendments of 1990 - Title I: Revisions in General Program for National Health Service Corps - Amends the Public Health Service Act provisions relating to the purpose of the National Health Service Corps to require that the Secretary of Health and Human Services use the Corps to provide primary health services in health manpower shortage areas. Removes a limitation on the dollar amount of pay increases which may be granted to a Corps member during the first 36 months of service. Removes provisions directing the Secretary, in assigning Corps members, to: (1) give priority to meeting Indian Health Service and other indian tribe or tribal organization needs; and (2) provide special consideration to homeless populations who do not have access to primary health care services. Applies certain definitions to provisions relating to Corps scholarship and loan programs as well as to provisions relating directly to the Corps. Requires that a complete descriptive list of health manpower shortage areas be published in the Federal Register by specified deadlines. Includes in the definition of "medical facility": (1) health programs or facilities operated by a tribe or tribal organization; and (2) facilities used in connection with provisions relating to health services for homeless individuals. Allows the Secretary to assign members of the Corps to an entity to provide health services in a health manpower shortage area only if there has been (currently, will be) appropriate and efficient use of Corps members assigned to that entity for the area. Removes certain provisions relating to priorities and considerations in assigning Corps personnel, replacing some such provisions with similarly worded provisions. Sets forth the exclusive factors the Secretary may consider in determining the areas with the greatest shortages. Requires annual publication in the Federal Register of a list of areas that are to be given priority in the assignment of Corps members and, for FY 1991, a list of entities authorized to receive assignments of Corps members. Replaces provisions relating to grants and contracts for programs respecting preparation for practice of individuals subject to a service obligation with provisions: (1) concerning consideration of characteristics of Corps members in making assignments; (2) requiring certain types of counseling of Corps members; (3) requiring assistance to Corps members in establishing local professional relationships; (4) directing the Secretary to provide assistance regarding temporary relief from Corps duties in order to pursue continuing education or other interests, including vacations; and (5) directing the Secretary to carry out activities to determine the characteristics of health professionals who are more likely to remain in shortage areas after completion of Corps service, and to determine the appropriate conditions for the assignment of certified nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs of National Health Service Corps - Replaces measures providing for the establishment of the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program with similar provisions directing the Secretary to establish such a Scholarship Program to assure, with respect to primary health services, an adequate supply of health professionals. (Current law makes no reference to primary health services.) Requires that an agreement to work as a provider of primary health services in a shortage area (currently, an agreement to work in a shortage area) be a part of the scholarship contract. Alters the priorities in providing contracts under the Scholarship Program to include an individual with characteristics that increase the probability that the individual will continue to serve in a shortage area after completion of obligated service. Changes the required contents of an annual report mandated by current law regarding the Scholarship Program. Replaces measures providing for the establishment of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program with similar provisions directing the Secretary to establish such a Loan Repayment Program to assure, with respect to the provision of primary health services, an adequate supply of health professionals. (Current law makes no reference to primary health services.) Requires that an agreement to work as a provider of primary health services in a shortage area (currently, an agreement to work in a shortage area) be a part of the loan repayment contract. Changes eligibility procedures for the Loan Repayment Program. Replaces provisions governing priorities in providing loan repayment contracts with provisions directing the Secretary to give priority to an individual who has characteristics that increase the probability that the individual will continue to serve in a shortage area after completion of obligated service. Increases the limit on the amount the Secretary may pay for each year of obligated service. Removes provisions allowing fulfillment of a service obligation in the Indian Health Service or in a program or facility operated by a tribe or a tribal organization. Requires (currently, allows) the Secretary to pay all (currently, part or all) of any increase in Federal income tax liability of an individual which arises as a result of the loan repayments. Changes the required contents of an annual report mandated by current law regarding the Loan Repayment Program. Requires that an annual report concerning the Scholarship Program and the Loan Repayment Program cover the next five years rather than the next three years. Authorizes appropriations, requiring set-asides in certain percentages for new applicants and for applicants in specified fields. Title III: State Offices of Rural Health - Authorizes the Secretary, through the Director of the Office of Rural Health Policy, to make grants to States for improving health care in rural areas through the operation of State offices of rural health. Requires recipient States to agree that such office will be provided with a minimum annual budget. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits making grants under this program after the aggregate amounts appropriated reach a specified level. Title IV: General Provisions - Specifies the effective dates of provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to provide that the definition of "owner or operator" (for purposes of liability) does not include: (1) a designated lending institution which acquires control of a facility pursuant to the terms of a security interest held by the person in such facility or in connection with a lease subject to Federal or State banking authorities; (2) a corporate fiduciary which operates or has legal title to a facility pursuant to the terms of an estate or trust; (3) an individual or institution that serves as an indenture trustee and acquires control of a facility as the result of default on a financing document between the trustee and the issuing entity; and (4) an individual fiduciary who has legal title to a facility for purposes of administering an estate or trust.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the implementation of sanctions against a hospital for violating Medicare emergency medical condition screening and treatment requirements until a peer review organization makes a finding as to whether such a violation has occurred.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Medicare Physician Regulation Relief Amendments of 1990 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require carriers and peer review organizations to release the medical review screen or the associated screening parameter to a physician before notifying such physician that payment for his or her service has been denied. Permits Medicare reimbursement of a patient's regular physician for services provided to such patient by another physician who occasionally covers for the regular physician. Requires Medicare carriers to provide physicians, upon request and without charge, with carrier-generated information which physicians need to submit a payment claim or respond to a carrier inquiry. Allows a medical society or other professional organization representing physicians to represent a group or class of physicians in Medicare payment determinations, reconsiderations, or appeals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to appoint, based on nominations submitted by national medical organizations representing physicians, a Practicing Physicians Advisory Council with which the Secretary must consult concerning changes in the Medicare program and proposed changes in regulations and carrier operation policies.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1990
World War II 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should recognize the 50th anniversary of World War II by minting and issuing commemorative coins. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue and mint such coins in five dollar, one dollar, and half dollar denominations. Mandates that surcharges received from the sale of such coins be deposited in a coinage profit fund and allocated, upon separate congressional authorization, to the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a World War II memorial. Directs the Secretary to report semiannually to the Congress regarding implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1990
Safe and Competitive Trucking Act of 1990 - Amends Federal law to prohibit States from regulating any of the following: (1) intrastate market entry, rates, contracts, or services of any interstate private or for-hire motor carrier or interstate broker which provides intrastate transportation of property; or (2) the leasing, rental, or other sourcing of commercial drivers and motor vehicles by interstate motor carriers of property operating in intrastate commerce. Prohibits States from requiring interstate private or for-hire motor carriers or interstate brokers of property to prove the lawfulness of interstate transportation activities performed under this Act or regulations issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Prohibits States from requiring such carrier or broker to: (1) file and maintain any certificate or permit issued by the Commission; (2) register motor vehicles operated under a certificate or permit issued by such Commission; (3) display on any vehicle a decal, stamp, cab card, or other identification evidencing the lawfulness of such transportation activity; or (4) pay a fee or tax with respect to such activities. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to study the extent to which commercial motor vehicles and drivers continue to operate without taking corrective action after being placed out of service. Requires the Secretary to implement procedures with respect to the enforcement actions and penalties for any such violations which pose an imminent hazard to safety. Authorizes States to assess a tax or fee on motor carriers operating vehicles registered in another State only if: (1) the tax or fee is apportioned based on miles driven in the State or on some other equitable measure of such carrier's or vehicle's contact with such State; (2) the tax or fee does not discriminate against interstate commerce; (3) the tax or fee is related to the services provided to the carrier or vehicle; and (4) the activity with respect to which the tax or fee is being assessed has a substantial nexus with the State. Authorizes a State to require an interstate motor carrier to register vehicles the carrier intends to operate within the State and collect a registration tax or fee. Authorizes States to require interstate motor carriers to report the fuel used by its vehicles within such State and to pay a related tax or fee. Prohibits any State from requiring registration or fuel use reports or imposing related taxes or fees on or after December 31, 1996, unless it is a member of the International Registration Plan or the International Fuel Tax Agreement. Prohibits a State or local government from assessing a tax or fee on a motor carrier if the carrier's only business activity within the State is: (1) the delivery or pickup of property; (2) the use of streets or roads; (3) the solicitation, sale, or advertising of transportation services by a motor carrier not domiciled in such State; or (4) to transport fully or partially loaded or empty vehicles through the State. Declares that no part of the compensation paid by an interstate motor carrier to an employee who performs his or her duties on a motor vehicle in more than one State shall be subject to the income tax of any State other than the State in which such employee resides and earns more than 50 percent of his or her income from the carrier. Prohibits a State, under specified conditions, from imposing a net worth tax on property used in interstate commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1990
ESOP Promotion and Improvement Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow S corporations (certain small business corporations) to participate in employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Extends the ESOP exception to the ten percent early withdrawal penalty tax to certain ESOP distributions to employees made at any time. (Currently the exception applies only to distributions made before January 1, 1990.) Permits ESOP participants whose compensation does not exceed a certain amount to contribute up to 50 percent of it to the plan. Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to permit payroll deductions for ESOP participants to make certain political contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1990
Repeals the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986 and title II (asbestos hazard emergency response) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to study and report to the Congress on the health hazards of serpentine and amphibole asbestos fibers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1990
Wetlands Conservation Initiative Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for wetlands conservation expenditures, wetlands conservation leases, and charitable contributions of environmentally valuable wetlands.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1990
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the proposed postal rate increase is unwarranted and that the U.S. Postal Service should reduce its deficit by cutting costs rather than by increasing postal rates.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1990
Designates the week of June 24 through June 30, 1990, as National Sheriffs' Week in honor of the 50th anniversary of the National Sheriffs' Association.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
National Drug and Crime Emergency Act - Declares a National Drug and Crime Emergency for a five-year period, during which time it shall be U.S. policy that: (1) every person convicted in a Federal court of a crime of violence against a person or a drug trafficking felony (other than simple possession) shall serve no less than five years' imprisonment without release; (2) prisoners may be housed in tents and other temporary facilities; and (3) the Federal courts may limit the inmate population of a Federal or State prison or jail only when an inmate proves that crowding has resulted in cruel and unusual punishment and no other remedy exists. Title I: Elimination of Crime Without Punishment - Subtitle A: National Drug and Crime Emergency Policies - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the Federal courts, during such emergency, from: (1) holding prison crowding unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment except to the extent that an individual plaintiff inmate proves that the crowding causes the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment; and (2) placing an inmate ceiling on any Federal, State, or local detention facility as an equitable measure for conditions that violate the Eighth Amendment unless crowding itself is inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on individual prisoners. Requires that each Federal court order seeking to remedy an Eighth Amendment violation be reopened at the behest of a defendant for recommended alteration at a minimum of two-year intervals. Applies this title to all outstanding court orders on the date of enactment of this Act. Permits any State or municipality to seek modification of any outstanding Eighth Amendment decree pursuant to this Act. Directs the Attorney General to take steps, consistent with security considerations, to ensure that sufficient facilities exist to house individuals whom the courts have ordered incarcerated, including consideration of tent housing or other shelters placed on available military bases and at other locations. Authorizes the President to direct the National Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct temporary detention facilities. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Defense, the Commission on Alternative Utilization of Military Facilities, and the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to identify suitable military installations and examine the feasibility of using tent housing; and (2) the Director to report to the Congress within 90 days. Amends the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act to require the Secretary to notify the Attorney General and the Governor of each of the U.S. territories and possessions (currently, all departments and instrumentalities within the Department of Defense (DOD)) of the availability of any real property or facility located at a military installation to be closed. Authorizes the transfer of such property to the Attorney General, a State, territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia for use as a correctional institution. Requires the Director to: (1) review current construction standards and methods used in building Federal prisons; (2) examine and recommend cost cutting measures that could be employed in prison construction; and (3) submit the results to the Congress. Authorizes the Attorney General to contract for private construction and operation of Federal prisons. Requires the use of creative and cost-effective private financing alternatives and private prison construction and operation where possible. Specifies that operating costs of privately-operated prisons shall be covered through rent charged to Government units placing inmates in prisons. Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to identify at least 20 parcels of surplus Federal property which the Attorney General has certified are not needed for Federal correctional facilities but which may be suitable for State or local correctional facilities. Makes property determined to be in excess of Federal needs that may be suitable for use as correctional facilities available during such Emergency to the Attorney General, or secondarily, to a State, the District of Columbia, or a local government. Permits State and local governments to use Federal temporary incarceration facilities, when they are not needed to accommodate Federal prisoners, for incarcerating prisoners at a per diem fee payable to the Bureau of Prisons. Requires every person who, during the Emergency, is convicted in Federal court of committing a crime of violence against a person or a drug trafficking crime (other than simple possession), to be sentenced to and serve no less than five years' imprisonment. Prohibits any such person from being released from custody for any reason prior to completion of the sentence unless the sentence imposed is greater than five years and is not a mandatory minimum sentence without release. Subtitle B: Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences Without Release - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish the following penalties for offenses committed during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime. Provides that whoever: (1) possesses a firearm shall be sentenced to imprisonment for ten years without release; (2) discharges a firearm with intent to injure another person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for 20 years without release; or (3) possesses a firearm that is a machinegun or is equipped with a firearm silencer or muffler shall be sentenced to imprisonment for 30 years without release. Sets penalties for second, third, and subsequent convictions. Prohibits the release of any person convicted for any reason during a term of imprisonment imposed under this subtitle. Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to: (1) mandate life imprisonment without release for individuals convicted after two or more felony drug offenses or for a crime of violence; (2) increase the sentences for distributing illegal drugs to persons under age 21 and for employing persons under 18 years of age in drug operations to up to ten years without release for a first offense and up to 20 years without release for a second offense. Prohibits the court from placing such persons on probation or suspending the sentence. Prohibits their release during the term of the sentence. Increases prison sentences for trafficking in marihuana and specified categories of controlled substances. Establishes mandatory sentences, in addition to any other sentence imposed for the underlying possession or distribution, of: (1) one year imprisonment without release in a case involving possession of a controlled substance within a Federal prison or other Federal detention facility; and (2) ten years without release in a case involving the smuggling of a controlled substance within such prison or facility. Prohibits the court from placing such individuals on probation or suspending the sentence. Prohibits such person from being eligible for parole during such term of imprisonment. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) require the deportation of aliens convicted of drug trafficking crimes or crimes of violence; and (2) increase the penalty (currently, 15 years for individuals whose deportation was subsequent to certain felony convictions) to 20 years without release, and to life imprisonment without release for a second violation, without probation, suspension of sentence, or early release, for reentry of a deported alien whose deportation was subsequent to a conviction for a drug trafficking crime or crime of violence. Grants priority for Federal drug law enforcement assistance funds from Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Grant Programs to States having laws providing for mandatory minimum sentences, elimination of early release, and payment of trial costs and mandatory fines by individuals convicted of specified controlled substance violations. Revises the formula for determining the amount distributed from the Drug Control and System Improvement Grant Program. Subtitle C: Mandatory Work Requirements for Prisoners, Withholding Federal Benefits, and Drug Testing of Prisoners - Expresses Federal policy that: (1) prisoners shall work absent medical certification of 100 percent disability, security considerations, or disciplinary action; and (2) States and local governments have the same authority to require all convicted prisoners to work. Provides for the deposit in a separate fund in the Treasury of funds generated from prison labor for prison construction and operating expenses or payment of judgments. Specifies that prisoners shall be paid a share of funds generated by their labor. Repeals provisions establishing penalties for transportation or importation of prison-made goods. Authorizes the Federal Prison Industries to sell such goods to the public. Amends the Walsh-Healy Act to permit convict labor under specified conditions. Requires the Attorney General to submit to the Congress a report making recommendations for legislation to: (1) ensure that businesses and labor do not suffer unfair consequences from such repeal; and (2) encourage greater private sector participation in prison industries. Authorizes the Attorney General to enter into contracts with private businesses for the use of inmate skills that may be of commercial use to such businesses. Sets forth provisions with respect to security requirements involved in the use of convict labor. Provides for the withholding of prisoners' Federal benefits to offset incarceration costs. Directs the Attorney General to establish a program of drug testing of targeted classes of arrestees, prisoners, and persons on release. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to bar Federal funding under the drug control and system improvement grant program for States failing to have an analogous State program. Subtitle D: Judicial Reform to Protect the Innocent and Punish the Guilty - Specifies that: (1) evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure shall not be excluded in any Federal court proceeding on the ground that the search or seizure was in violation of the Fourth Amendment, if the search or seizure was carried out in circumstances justifying an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the Fourth Amendment; and (2) the fact that evidence was obtained pursuant to and within the scope of a warrant constitutes prima facie evidence of the existence of such circumstances. Prohibits the exclusion of evidence in any Federal court proceeding on the ground that it was obtained in violation of a statute, administrative rule or regulation, or rule of procedure unless exclusion is expressly authorized by statute or by Supreme Court rule. Amends the Federal judicial code to condition consideration of a habeas corpus claim by a State prisoner on a showing of actual prejudice resulting from the denial of a Federal right, and that: (1) State action precluded assertion of the right; (2) the Federal right asserted was newly recognized; or (3) the factual basis of the claim could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence prior to the procedural default. Establishes a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a habeas corpus writ with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings. Amends the CSA to require: (1) the court, prior to sentencing on a conviction in a Federal court of a felony under such Act, to compile a list of assets owned by the defendant not subject to forfeiture; and (2) upon request of the Attorney General, the court to direct the defendant to provide proof that any asset owned by the defendant not on such list was legally obtained. Authorizes the Attorney General to seize assets that the defendant does not prove were legally obtained. Requires the proceeds from such assets to be deposited in the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund and to be available for transfer to the building and facilities account of the Federal prison system. Sets forth provisions regarding the term of appointment, authority, and jurisdiction of special masters. Requires the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to publish annually a report on the sentencing patterns of Federal judges. Title II: Achieving a Drug-Free America by 1995 - Requires individuals convicted of a CSA violation of possession of a controlled substance to pay to the Treasury the cost of the trial or, where defendant has insufficient income and property, an appropriate amount as determined by the court. Limits such payment to 25 percent of such person's annual income. Provides for mandatory fines of at least ten percent of income for a first offense and 25 percent for subsequent offenses. Subjects such person's property to forfeiture where there is insufficient income to pay such fines. Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to eliminate the judge's discretion in making individuals convicted of State offenses for the distribution of controlled substances ineligible for unearned Federal benefits, with exceptions for persons who: (1) declare and show by clear and convincing (currently, a reasonable body of) evidence that they are addicts and submit to long-term treatment; or (2) are determined to be rehabilitated. Makes similar changes with respect to individuals convicted of Federal or State drug possession offenses. Authorizes the court to reduce the period of ineligibility for such benefits to three months if the individual: (1) successfully completes a supervised drug rehabilitation program which includes periodic, random drug testing; or (2) completes a period of community service and passes such testing. Grants priority for Federal drug law enforcement assistance funds from BJA Grant Programs to States having laws providing for revocation of drivers' licenses for individuals convicted of specified controlled substances violations. Revises the formula for determining the amount distributed from the Drug Control and System Improvement Grant Program to reduce allocations to States which do not have such laws. Sets forth conditions for reinstatement. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to cause the Federal Aviation Administration to amend its regulations to revoke pilots' licenses for such violations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to make a State's receipt of Federal drug abuse allotments contingent upon the State submitting: (1) Statewide Drug Treatment Plan annually that meets certain specifications; and (2) periodic progress reports. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to bar institutions of higher education from eligibility for Federal assistance unless they certify that they have adopted and implemented an alcohol and drug abuse prevention program for students and employees meeting specified requirements. Amends the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 to bar local educational agencies from eligibility for Federal assistance unless they make a similar certification. Transportation Employee Testing Act - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to: (1) establish a program requiring foreign and domestic air carriers to conduct preemployment, reasonable suspicion, random, and post-accident testing for illegal drug and alcohol use of air carrier personnel responsible for safety-sensitive functions and providing for periodic recurring testing of such employees; and (2) require the suspension or revocation of any certification issued to such person, or disqualification or dismissal, where such illegal drug or alcohol use has been confirmed. Bars air carrier personnel responsible for safety-sensitive functions from serving in such positions without having completed a rehabilitation program. Requires the Administrator to prescribe regulations for such programs which: (1) provide for the identification and opportunity for treatment of employees needing assistance; (2) specify the circumstances under which such employees shall be required to participate; (3) promote individual privacy in the collection of specimen samples; and (4) with respect to laboratories and testing procedures, incorporate Department of Health and Human Services scientific and technical guidelines intended to assure accuracy, confidentiality, and nondiscriminatory methods. Directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Transportation to jointly call upon member countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization to strengthen and enforce existing standards to prohibit illegal drug and alcohol use by crewmembers in international civil aviation. Amends the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act (CMVSA), and the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 to establish programs similar to the Federal Aviation Act program for drug and alcohol testing. Provides for a pilot program, under the CMVSA, for the random testing of commercial motor vehicle operators and requires the Secretary to report on the results to the Congress. Makes funds from the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 available for the CMVSA program. Requires the Secretary to determine appropriate sanctions for mass transportation vehicle operators who are determined to have used alcohol or controlled substances in violation of law or Federal regulation but who are not under the influence of such substances. Amends the Federal judicial code to provide for the payment of awards to persons providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals for the unlawful sale, or possession for sale, of a controlled substance or controlled substance analogue. Title III: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be no further extension of the temporary 0.2 percent surtax component of the Federal unemployment tax.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1990
Emergency Federal Judgeship Act of 1990 - Requires the Judicial Conference of the United States to prepare and submit to the House and Senate Judiciary committees: (1) a report evaluating the impact of drug-related crime on the Federal district courts; and (2) recommendations on how additional U.S. district court judges should be allocated based on criminal drug-related felony filings per judgeship in each district. Directs the President to appoint 20 additional district judges after the allocation of such judges is determined by law enacted after the submission of such report.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1990
Designates October 14, 1990, as Dwight D. Eisenhower Day, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Eisenhower's birth. Requests Members of Congress who are members of the Dwight David Eisenhower Centennial Commission to make arrangements for a joint meeting of the Congress in commemoration of the centennial of the birth of Dwight David Eisenhower.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1990
Supports the right of citizens to conduct peaceful and lawful demonstrations. Condemns the acts of physical violence of demonstrators who, on January 31, 1990, threw blood on the columns and steps of the U.S. Capitol and, on February 17, 1990, threw blood on the entrance gate to the White House. Urges that such demonstrators be prosecuted and charged with a felony.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Permits the reimbursement of a patient's regular physician under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for services provided to such patient by another physician who occasionally covers for the regular physician.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Savings and Economic Growth Act of 1990 - Title I: Capital Gains Provisions - Subtitle A: Reduction in Capital Gains Tax - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the capital gains rate for noncorporate taxpayers through a deduction of: (1) 30 percent for assets held at least three years; (2) 20 percent for assets held at least two years; and (3) ten percent for assets held at least one year. Provides for the treatment of collectibles as short-term gains or losses (making them ineligible for such deduction). Disallows the capital gains deduction in computing the alternative minimum tax. Subtitle B: Depreciation Recapture - Provides for the treatment of gain from the disposition of certain depreciable realty as ordinary income. Title II: Home Ownership and Savings Incentives - Allows an exemption from the ten-percent additional tax on early distributions from qualified retirement plans up to $10,000, if the distribution is used to make a first-home purchase at a cost of no more than 110 percent of the median home price in the geographic area where the residence is located. Allows an individual (other than a dependent) to establish a family savings account for the exclusive benefit of an individual and the individual's beneficiaries. Limits contributions to such accounts to $2,500 for the taxable year, if the individual's adjusted income does not exceed $60,000 ($120,000 in the case of joint returns). Subjects the family savings account to the tax imposed on unrelated business income of tax-exempt organizations. Provides that distributions paid out of such accounts shall not be included in gross income, except for earnings on contributions held less than seven years. Establishes a ten-percent additional tax on earnings on contributions held less than three years.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the right of self-determination should be restored to the people of Lithuania through free and fair elections conducted under the auspices of an international commission; and (2) the withdrawal of all non-Lithuanian military forces and political, administrative, and police personnel from Lithuania prior to the February 24, 1990, scheduled elections will enhance the prospects that the elections will be free and fair.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that any reductions in spending by the Department of Defense because of the easing of tensions with Warsaw Pact countries should not be appropriated for any other purpose so that the Federal budget deficit will be reduced.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1990
Designates September 21, 1990, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Recognizes the National League of Families POW/MIA flag as the official symbol of the United States' commitment to resolving the fates of Americans still prisoner or missing in action in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Amends Federal law to authorize and request the President to designate May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month annually, beginning in 1990. (Current law designates a seven-day period beginning on May 4, 1979).
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Professionals' Liability Reform Act of 1989 - Establishes certain limitations and procedures regarding professional liability actions. Preempts certain State laws. Provides that nothing in this Act shall prohibit any State from developing or implementing alternative procedures for: (1) expediting the adjudication of professional liability claims; (2) resolving professional liability disputes; or (3) compensating for harm caused by professional services. Requires professional liability actions to be brought within three years after the claimant discovered, or should have discovered, the harm. Requires the claimant, in any professional liability action, to establish: (1) that the professional negligently rendered professional services and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the harm; or (2) in a claim for economic injury, that the professional negligently rendered professional services to and for the direct and intended benefit of the claimant, and such services were the proximate cause of the harm. Requires the claimant to establish that, at the time such services were provided, knowledge of the circumstances that caused the harm and a practical means to eliminate such circumstances were reasonably available. States that a professional shall not be liable in a professional liability action in which: (1) the professional's services were rendered to an agency of the Federal or State government; (2) Federal or State contract specifications existed which were material to the claim; and (3) the services rendered conformed to such specifications. Permits future damage awards exceeding $100,000 to be made by periodic payments. Requires that damage awards be offset by any amount received as compensation for the same injury. Establishes a contingency fee schedule for plaintiffs' attorneys. States that the principles of comparative liability shall apply unless persons engaged in concerted action which proximately caused the harm. Permits the awarding of punitive damages only where the conduct of the defendant: (1) manifested a malicious and reckless disregard for safety; and (2) constituted an extreme departure from accepted standards of safety. States that punitive damages may not be awarded in the absence of a compensatory award, or for the negligent provision of professional services. Requires the trier of fact, at the request of the professional, to consider in a separate proceeding whether punitive damages are to be awarded. Limits the claimant's actual recovery of punitive damages to three times the amount of compensatory damages. States that excess punitive damages shall be paid to the State or Federal government. Makes any attorney who files a frivolous claim subject to pecuniary sanctions by the court. Requires each State to encourage professional organizations to form risk management programs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to declare that contributions, gifts, or payments by union members or by officials or employees of national banks or corporations to a separate fund which is used for political purposes must be voluntary and unrelated to monies required as a condition of employment. Declares it to be unlawful to use monies paid to an organization as a condition of employment, or money or anything of value secured by force, job discrimination, or financial reprisal, for any type of election or campaign activity by such organization.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1989
National Forest Hunter Safety and Protection Act of 1989 - Prescribes civil penalties for knowingly interfering with the conduct of a lawful hunt in a national forest or on lands affected with a Federal interest. Authorizes injunctive relief, the recovery of actual and punitive damages, and the awarding of attorney's fees. Grants hunting and sportsman's organizations standing under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the treatment of rental and nonrental real estate activities under the limitations on losses from passive activities.
![Official portrait of Rep. DeLay, Tom [R-TX-22]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000217_200.jpg)