United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1990
Denies Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) benefits for ten years to any person: (1) convicted of violating a Federal environmental law; or (2) found to have held a beneficial business interest in a business concern required to be listed on a disclosure statement under this Act and convicted of violating a Federal environmental law. Prohibits the EPA Administrator from denying benefits to any person who demonstrates that he has been rehabilitated. Requires the following persons to file disclosure statements with the Administrator: (1) Federal environmental permit applicants; (2) applicants for EPA loans, grants, or other benefits; or (3) persons submitting contract bids or competitive proposals to EPA. Provides for enforcement of this Act through EPA examination of disclosure statements and access to business sites and records. Grants persons declared to be ineligible for EPA benefits the opportunity for a hearing. Provides for public access to disclosure statements and business records, with the exception of confidential information.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1990
Requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to submit a report (initiating an enforcement investigation under the Trade Act of 1974) which limits, with respect to Japan, the identification of trade barriers and trade distorting practices under the Structural Impediments Initiative of the USTR, and the identification of priority foreign countries under the Trade Act of 1974, if the President has not certified to the Congress by September 1, 1990, that Japan has agreed with the United States to eliminate such unfair trade practices. Requires the USTR to submit a similar report if the President: (1) certifies that an agreement has been entered into; but (2) has not certified within another 18 months that it has been implemented and U.S. exports to Japan have increased.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that foreign language instruction should begin at the elementary school level. Urges State and local educational agencies to initiate programs of foreign language instruction in elementary schools. Supports the statements of: (1) the National Governors' Association calling for such programs; and (2) the Follow-Up Committee to the Wingspread Consultation on Elementary School Foreign Languages, calling for establishment of a Blue Ribbon Commission to address the national agenda for foreign language instruction in elementary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1990
Tax Collection Enhancement Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the collection of delinquent Federal income taxes by a State in the course of the State's collection of delinquent State income taxes. Allows a State to receive 50 percent of the amount of delinquent Federal income taxes it collects.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1990
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the provisions permitting small issues of tax-exempt bonds to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1990
Head Start Quality Assurance Act of 1990 - Amends the Head Start Act to require that a specified average minimum benefit amount per capita be expended annually to provide services to children who participate in Head Start programs. Specifies such minimum benefit amounts for FY 1991 through 1994 and succeeding fiscal years. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish procedures to ensure such annual average minimum expenditure per child.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1990
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize FY 1991 through 1995 appropriations for the targeted export assistance program. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) monitor recipient expenditures; and (2) report to the appropriate congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1990
Commends the United Nations Human Rights Commission for extending the mandate of the Cuba Working Group with regard to the human rights situation in Cuba. Condemns the Government of Cuba for engaging in a consistent pattern of human rights violations and harassment of human rights activists. Calls upon the Cuban Government to: (1) honor its guarantees that individuals who testified before the Cuban Working Group would not be subject to reprisals; (2) release all human rights activists and other political prisoners; and (3) meet universally recognized standards of human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1990
Computer Matching Corrections Act of 1990 - Amends the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 to exempt State and local governments from verification requirements regarding certain information produced by computer matching programs if the information is provided by a Federal source agency. Restores the ten-day period within which the Federal Government and the States must notify recipients of food stamps, Medicaid, supplemental security income and aid to families with dependent children of a reduction or termination of such welfare benefits (currently there is a 30-day period), except in the case of an individual whose records are used in computer matching programs and who receives notice of an adverse action before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1990
Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to declare that the international trade negotiating objectives of the United States include a harmonized patent system for trading nations in international courts. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to define conditions under which a foreign country shall be deemed to deny adequate substantive standards for the protection of intellectual property rights.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1990
Title I: Establishment of Clean Coastal Beaches Council and Guidelines for Clean Beaches - Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure, and Health Act of 1990 - Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to establish a Clean Coastal Beaches Council to: (1) develop environmental quality criteria that establish guidelines for pathogens and floatables in coastal zone recreation waters; (2) develop uniform monitoring and testing protocols related to the environmental quality and safety of such waters; and (3) submit such criteria and protocols to coastal States. Directs the Council to develop and periodically update a study to determine the most effective indicators for assessing environmental quality of such waters. Requires the study to provide technical information and assistance to States. Title II: Coastal Beaches Plan: Amendments to State Coastal Zone Management Programs - Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require States with approved management programs to submit plans to the Under Secretary that: (1) identify coastal zone recreation waters and the means by which the State assures that such waters comply with environmental quality criteria; (2) contain monitoring and testing procedures for such waters; (3) describe processes for closure and reopening of areas pursuant to environmental quality guidelines; and (4) assess penalties against persons whose activities result in beach closures. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1990
Medicare Tax Fairness Act of 1990 - Amends the Social Security Act to extend the Medicare tax to all wages. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce employment taxes after December 31, 1990. Imposes a health insurance enhancement tax on a percentage of an individual's unearned income. Establishes the Health Insurance Enhancement Trust Fund to receive proceeds from the health insurance enhancement tax. States that such trust fund consists of: (1) the Low-Income Health Insurance Assistance Account, providing grants to States for programs assisting low-income individuals to obtain health insurance; and (2) the Catastrophic Health Insurance Reserve Account to carry out Federal catastrophic health insurance programs for elderly individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1990
National Service Act of 1990 - Title I: School-Based and Higher Education Community Service - Part A: School Based Community Service - Schools and Service-Learning Act of 1990 - Subpart I: School-Based Service Learning - Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary, for purposes of this title) to make grants to States for state-wide school-based service learning programs involving local partnerships of local educational agencies (LEAs) and other organizations. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart 2: Youthbuild Projects - Authorizes the Director of the ACTION Agency to make grants for up to 90 percent of the cost of Youthbuild projects. Requires that eligible participants in Youthbuild projects be employed in construction, rehabilitation, or improvement of: (1) residential rental housing for homeless individuals and low-income families; (2) transitional housing for homeless individuals; or (3) facilities for providing health, education, and other social services to low-income families. Requires that participants be provided: (1) service opportunities on such construction or rehabilitation projects which are integrated with appropriate skills training and preapprenticeship or apprenticeship programs; (2) education services; (3) personal and peer supports; (4) leadership development; (5) preparation for an placement in unsubsidized employment; and (6) support services and need-based stipends to enable participation, and support services, for up to six months after completion of training, to assist in retaining employment. Conditions provision of service opportunities upon individual attendance and participation in educational services and activities. Bases participant eligibility, with certain exceptions, on the individual's being: (1) 16 to 24 years of age; (2) economically disadvantaged; and (3) a high school dropout with reading and mathematics skills at or below the eighth grade level. Limits an individual's full-time participation to between six and 18 months. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart 3: Other Federal Volunteer Service Programs - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants and contracts for: (1) rural youth service demonstration projects; (2) model community service and service-learning programs; and (3) model service programs for dropouts and out-of-school youth. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Director of the ACTION Agency to make grants to State Governors for initiatives involving non-school-based voluntary service projects in their States. Sets forth provisions for authorized activities and allotments based on school-age population. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act to authorize appropriations to increase the number of low-income individuals who provide services under the Foster Grandparent Program to children who participate in Head Start programs. Subpart 4: Activities of the Secretary of Education - Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) widely disseminate information about programs under this part; (2) provide for program evaluation, including participant and community opinions; and (3) make such evaluations available to the public, and to congressional committees in the Secretary's annual report. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to or contracts with experienced public and private nonprofit agencies for national or regional clearinghouses for information on volunteer service with respect to subpart 1 programs. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart 5: Volunteer Service Activities of the President - Authorizes the President to make Presidential Awards for School-Based Service recognizing excellence in school-based service programs. Authorizes the President to create an interagency task force to: (1) create and monitor effective measures for coordinating the various parts of this Act; and (2) design a comprehensive Federal service strategy, including specified components. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart 6: General Provisions - Prohibits making grants under this part for any educational program, activity, or service related to sectarian instruction or religious worship, or provided by a school or department of divinity. Applies the General Education Provisions Act to the programs authorized by this part. Part B: Higher Education Community Service - Subpart 1: Innovative Projects for Community Service - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to and contracts with higher education institutions, (and other public agencies and nonprofit organizations working in partnership with such institutions) to: (1) enable them to create or expand their student community service activities; (2) encourage student initiated and designed community service projects; and (3) help integrate community service into academic curricula and crediting. Directs the Secretary to make grants to colleges, universities, and other nonprofit organizations to train teachers (and those planning teaching careers), education personnel, and community leaders in skills for developing, supervising, and organizing community service activities. Limits the Federal share under this subpart to not more than 50 percent of the cost of the community service activities. Authorizes appropriations. Subpart 2: Campus-Based Community Work Learning Jobs - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to provide for additional reservations of certain funds for: (1) campus-based community work learning study jobs; and (2) work-study for community service-learning on behalf of low-income individuals and families. Subpart 3: Guaranteed Student Loans - Amends HEA to provide for up to three-year loan deferments under the guaranteed student loan (GSL) and the federally-insured student loan (FISL) program for: (1) certain full-time volunteer service; (2) full-time employment as a professional in drug counseling, prevention, intervention, treatment, or education by a public or nonprofit private agency; and (3) full-time volunteers providing Indian health services. Subpart 4: Direct Loans to Students in Institutions of Higher Education - Amends HEA to provide for certain rates of partial cancellation of loans and certain deferments of loan repayments under the national direct student loan (NDSL) program for: (1) certain full-time volunteer service; (2) full-time employment as a professional in drug counseling and treatment; and (3) full-time volunteers providing Indian health services. Subpart 5: Publication - Amends HEA to require that specified information on student loan deferments and cancellations for certain full-time voluntary service be included in institutional information for students, exit counseling for borrowers, and Department of Education information on student loans. Subpart 6: Student Literacy Corps - Amends HEA to require Student Literacy Corps programs to give priority to tutoring services to illiterate parents of educationally or economically disadvantaged elementary school students, with special emphasis on single-parent households. Authorizes increased appropriations for the Student Literacy Corps. Subpart 7: Student Tutorial Corps Initiative - Amends HEA to create a Student Tutorial Corps. Authorizes the Secretary to make demonstration grants to higher education institutions for student tutorial programs that: (1) encourage their students to tutor educationally disadvantaged students in schools assisted under chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (2) are conducted at such schools, at the request and with the direction of school personnel; and (3) do not displace any of such personnel. Authorizes appropriations. Part C: Peace Corps Volunteer Education Demonstration Program Act - Authorizes the Director of the Peace Corps (the Director) to carry out a training and educational benefits demonstration program. Makes eligible for such program participation any individual who: (1) has satisfactorily completed at least two years at a higher education institution, is enrolled in a bachelor's degree program of at least four years and will complete it within two years; (2) agrees to serve at least three years as a Peace Corps volunteer; and (3) is selected under a specified competitive process. Requires the Director to provide a Peace Corps training program for the selectees as part of their course of study at their institution. Requires that selectees receive certain educational benefits to cover costs of their last two years of study. Requires repayment if the individual fails to complete the educational program or the service requirement. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to collect such repayments. Requires the Director and the Secretary to evaluate such demonstration program jointly and submit an interim and a final report to the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: To Establish the American Conservation and Youth Service Corps - Part A: American Conservation Corps - Establishes the American Conservation Corps (ACC), to be administered by Federal agencies and through a State grant component. Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to establish the Federal component of the ACC within their agencies to administer programs on Federal lands. Encourages Federal agencies to enter into program agreements with program agencies, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program of grants to States to administer the State component of the ACC involving work on non-Federal public lands and waters. Directs each Governor to designate a State program agency. Requires States carrying out such programs to provide mechanisms for participation by local governments and nonprofit organizations. Authorizes the ACC to carry out conservation, rehabilitation, and improvement projects relating to: (1) wildlife habitat, rangelands, parks, recreational areas; (2) urban revitalization and historical and cultural sites; (3) fish and fisheries; (4) roads and trails; (5) erosion, floods, droughts, and storm damage assistance and control; (6) streams, lakes, waterfront harbors, and ports; (7) wetlands protection and pollution control; (8) insect, disease, rodent, and fire prevention and control; (9) improvement of abandoned railroad beds and rights-of-way; (10) energy conservation, renewable resources, and biomass recovery; (11) reclamation and improvement of strip-mined land; and (12) forestry, nursery, and cultural operations. Limits such projects to those on public lands or Indian lands, except where the administering Secretary determines that a project involving other lands will provide a public benefit. Part B: Youth Service Corps - Requires the Director of the ACTION Agency to appoint an Assistant Director to make grants for youth service projects to eligible public and private nonprofit agencies, and to otherwise administer Youth Service Corps (YSC) programs under this part. Provides for designation of specific activities as eligible service categories if: (1) they are of substantial social benefit in meeting unmet human, social (especially poverty-related), or environmental needs in a community; (2) they will not interfere unreasonably with employment availability and terms of employees of sponsoring organizations; and (3) participants are qualified for such activities. Allows such service categories to include service in: (1) State, local, and regional governmental agencies; (2) nursing homes, hospices, senior centers, hospitals, local libraries, parks, recreational facilities, day care centers, and schools; (3) law enforcement, penal, and probation agencies; (4) private nonprofit social services organizations; (5) rehabilitation or improvement of public facilities or neighborhoods, literacy programs, weatherization and repair of low-income housing, energy conservation (including solar energy), removal of public facility architectural barriers to the handicapped, and conservation, maintenance, or restoration of natural resources on publicly held lands; and (6) any other nonpartisan civic activities and services determined appropriate by the Assistant Director. Prohibits such service categories from including any position in any: (1) business organized for profit; (2) labor union; (3) partisan political organization; (4) religious organization, unless the position does not involve any religious functions; or (5) domestic or personal service organization. Part C: Youth Skills Enhancement - Requires the administering Secretary or the Assistant Director (as the case may be) to provide guidance and assistance to States in securing certification of training skills or academic credit for competencies developed under this title. Directs each program agency to maintain or enhance, through programs and projects under this title, the educational skills of program enrollees. Directs appropriate State and local officials to certify standards and procedures (that meet specified Federal criteria) for awarding academic credit and certifying educational attainment in such programs. Part D: Administrative Provisions - Sets forth requirements for award of grants to eligible entities, including matching requirements and limitations on use of funds. Limits enrollment in the ACC and YSC to individuals who, at the time of enrollment, are: (1) 16 through 25 years old (15 through 21 for summer programs); and (2) U.S. citizens or nationals or lawful permanent resident aliens. Requires the State job training coordinating council to appoint an advisory board for oversight and review of ACC and YSC projects under this title. Authorizes appropriations. Part E: Youth Service Clearinghouses - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the ACTION Agency to provide financial assistance to one or more national or regional clearinghouses on youth corps and youth service. Allows experienced public and private nonprofit agencies to apply for such assistance, and sets forth required clearinghouse functions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1990
Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, for the purpose of developing standards and definitions of plastic degradability to be used in the packaging of consumer goods, to study and report to the Congress on the process by which plastics degrade.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1990
Calls for the United States to: (1) continue to give the highest priority to accounting for Americans still missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia and to securing the return of Americans still held captive; (2) ensure cooperation with Vietnam and Laos to achieve credible answers for the families of such Americans, including primary-next-of-kin access to all records and information resulting from joint investigations, surveys, and excavations; (3) develop a means of accounting for Americans unaccounted for in Cambodia that is consistent with U.S. efforts to obtain a political settlement to the Cambodian situation; and (4) heighten responsible public awareness of Americans unaccounted for in Southeast Asia through the dissemination of factual data.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish the Commission on Base Realignment and Closure to: (1) determine if certain efficiencies can be realized through closure or realignment of domestic and overseas U.S. military installations; and (2) make recommendations for such closures and realignments. Directs the Secretary to initiate and complete all recommended closures and realignments by specified dates. Outlines conditions for such closures and realignments, including congressional reports and the lack of a joint resolution from the Congress disapproving the Commission's recommendations. Terminates the authority to carry out any closure or realignment under this Act on a specified date. Directs the Secretary to carry out any recommended base closure or realignment and to provide economic adjustment assistance, community planning assistance, and environmental restoration with respect to affected areas or communities. Directs the Administrator of General Services to delegate to the Secretary all appropriate authority to dispose of property for purposes of such closures or realignments, after consultation with the Governor of the State and the heads of local governments concerning other uses of the property to be disposed. Requires the Secretary to notify all other departments and other instrumentalities of the availability of such property made excess by such closures or realignments. Outlines the applicability of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to actions of the Commission and the Secretary concerning base closures and realignments under this Act. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the schedule for, cost savings from, and environmental effects of, base closures and realignments. Establishes the Department of Defense Base Closure Account 1990 to receive deposits for, and proceeds from, base closures or realignments to be used for such closures and realignments. Requires certain reports with respect to the use of Account funds. Outlines the legislative process for the consideration of a joint resolution to disapprove the Commission's recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Foreign Tax Equity Act of 1990 - Title I: Treatment of Certain Foreign-Owned Corporations - Applies the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1989 amendments regarding information reporting requirements by certain foreign-owned corporations to taxable years beginning on or before July 10, 1989. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish information reporting requirements for foreign corporations engaged in business within the United States. Extends the statute of limitations for the assessment of any foreign-related deficiency by an additional period of not more than three years. Title II: Tax on Disposition of Stock in Domestic Corporations by 10-Percent Foreign Shareholders - Provides that if any nonresident alien or foreign corporation is a ten-percent shareholder in any domestic corporation, any gain or loss from the disposition of any stock in such domestic corporation shall be taken into account as if the taxpayer were effectively connected with U.S. trade or business. Requires a withholding agent to withhold ten percent of the tax realized on certain stock dispositions by such ten-percent shareholders.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should support the unified status of Jerusalem and continue to recognize that a unified Jerusalem is an integral part of the State of Israel; (2) efforts of the U.S. Government to achieve peace in the Middle East should take into account the close relationship between the United States and Israel, as well as Israel's legitimate security needs; and (3) efforts to advance the peace process must not call into question the status of Jerusalem.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1990
Denies annuity benefits to a Member of Congress convicted of a State or Federal felony. Authorizes the restoration of such annuity: (1) if the individual is pardoned by the Governor in the case of a felony under State law; or (2) in the case of a reversal.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1990
Congratulates: (1) the people of Lithuania on their recent multiparty elections; (2) the new Government on its decision to restore Lithuanian independence; and (3) the new Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania. Urges the Soviet Government to enter into negotiations with the new Lithuanian Government on an equal basis and to refrain from acts of political and economic intimidation against Lithuania. Urges the President to: (1) strengthen and seek ways to demonstrate his commitment to an independent and democratic Lithuania; (2) take steps toward normalizing diplomatic relations with the Lithuanian Government; (3) seek effective political support among our allies as Lithuania attempts to negotiate credits in Western markets; and (4) seek ways to make appropriate technical assistance available to the Lithuanian people.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1990
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover colon cancer preventive screening examinations, an annual physical examination performed by a physician or nurse practitioner, and verbal and written mental health screening examinations if a demonstration project to be conducted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services proves such examinations to be cost-effective or of moderate cost but measurably health enhancing.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1990
Depository Institution Golden Parachute Prohibition Act of 1990 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to authorize the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Board of Directors to prohibit any insured depository institution from making golden parachute payments as defined in the Internal Revenue Code (payments resulting from an agreement during the pendency of a tender offer to increase the compensation of senior management personnel).
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1990
Social Security Earnings Test Amendments of 1990 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age (age 65) may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits. Raises the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries between the ages of 62 and 65 may earn without incurring a benefit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1990
Raises the minimum per annum rates of basic pay for entry level grades GS-3 through GS-10 for Federal law enforcement officers on a sliding scale with larger adjustments at the lower levels. Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to prescribe regulations to: (1) readjust the rates of pay for such entry level grades every three years, based upon comparisons of State and local compensation for comparable work, in order to keep starting salaries of Federal law enforcement officers competitive with those paid to State and local law enforcement officers; and (2) establish a mechanism to adjust the rates of pay of Federal law enforcement officers serving in certain high cost-of-living areas in order to recruit and retain the best-qualified individuals. Sets forth procedures for identifying those regions for which higher pay rates are needed. Terminates a pay rate payable to Federal law enforcement officers that is based on a particular region if such an officer is transferred or reassigned to a place outside of such region. Requires pay rates established under this Act to be based on data compiled by the National Advisory Commission on Law Enforcement. Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics to survey State and local law enforcement salaries every three years to compile the data needed to carry out this Act. Authorizes Federal agency heads, in order to retain highly qualified law enforcement officers who possess special skills or experience or whose continued services are particularly important due to factors associated with the geographic area to which they are assigned, to pay Federal law enforcement officers who are eligible for retirement an allowance of up to $10,000 per year provided the officers agree to complete at least one year of additional service in the agency involved. Makes Federal law enforcement officers who are transferred to an area within the United States having higher than average housing costs eligible for a relocation payment of up to $20,000 provided they agree to remain in Federal law enforcement for a specified period. Authorizes Federal agencies to offer rates of pay higher than the minimum rates for positions of GS-3 (currently, GS-11) or above if necessary to attract well qualified entry-candidates for Federal law enforcement service. Authorizes Federal agencies to pay law enforcement officers who possess and make substantial use of foreign language proficiency while performing their official duties a cash award of up to 25 percent of basic pay. Raises the mandatory age for Federal law enforcement officers to retire under the Civil Service and Federal Employees' Retirement Systems from 55 to 57. Changes the method of computing overtime for Federal law enforcement officers to one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay for work performed in excess of 40 hours per week. Limits the aggregate rate of pay (including premium pay) for Federal law enforcement officers in a calendar year to the pay rate for level V of the Executive Schedule. Prohibits application of other limitations on premium pay for administratively uncontrollable overtime. Excludes members of the U.S. Secret Service, Uniformed Division, Diplomatic Security Service special agents, postal inspectors, and pretrial services and probation officers from receiving premium pay except for night, Sunday, and holiday work.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1990
Antarctic Environmental Protection, Clean-Up, and Liability Act of 1990 - Amends the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to require the Director of the National Science Foundation to: (1) prepare and annually update a waste management plan for wastes produced or disposed of in Antarctica by U.S. citizens; and (2) issue regulations requiring U.S. citizens engaged in activities in Antarctica to comply with specified waste disposal practices. Requires the Director to establish a long-term program for the removal of specified wastes produced or disposed of in Antarctica by U.S. citizens. Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to issue regulations: (1) requiring all vessels engaged in U.S. activities in Antarctica, including tourist expeditions, to be equipped with compaction, storage, and incineration facilities (or stockpiling facilities for vessels not capable of being fitted with waste disposal facilities); and (2) prohibiting U.S. citizens from employing any vessel in Antarctica unless such vessel contains such facilities. Makes it unlawful for any individual in charge of a vessel or any U.S. citizen employing a vessel in Antarctica to: (1) intentionally discharge oil or dispose of plastic in the Antarctic marine environment; (2) dispose of dunnage, lining, or packing materials less than 25 nautical miles from the closest land or ice shelf; (3) dispose of food waste or other garbage less than 12 nautical miles from the closest land or ice shelf; or (4) discharge sewage within 12 nautical miles of the closest land or ice shelf. Prescribes civil penalties for disposal violations or for violations of waste disposal facility requirements. Makes vessels committing disposal violations or violations concerning compliance with specified international shipping conventions liable in rem for such penalties. Requires all vessels supporting U.S. activities in Antarctica to comply with specified international conventions relating to pollution prevention and ship safety. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations requiring all vessels supporting U.S. activities in Antarctica and all U.S. facilities in Antarctica where oil is stored to have contingency plans and the capability and equipment to respond, prevent, and clean up oil spills. Makes such parties liable for the removal of oil and for the restoration of any natural resources, specially-protected areas, or sites of special scientific interest. Prescribes civil penalties if such restoration is not feasible. Requires the President to direct the Secretary of State to initiate actions within the International Maritime Organization to secure designation of the waters south of 60 degrees south latitude as a special area under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973 and the Protocol of 1978 Relating Thereto. Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to develop and implement an environmental monitoring program for Antarctica. Requires regulations promulgated pursuant to the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to include requirements for specially-protected areas. Requires the Director to issue regulations designating as a pollutant any substance which is liable, if introduced into Antarctica, to: (1) create health hazards or harm living resources; or (2) damage amenities or interfere with other legitimate uses of Antarctica. Provides for the issuance of permits to regulate the discharge of such pollutants into the Antarctic environment by U.S. citizens. Applies the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to all Federal activities in Antarctica. Requires the Secretary of State, before submitting the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities to the Senate for ratification, to prepare an environmental impact statement on the Convention and alternative regimes for protecting the Antarctic environment. Sets forth provisions concerning citizen suits. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1990
Consumer Credit Protection Amendments of 1990 - Title I: Fair Credit Reporting Amendments - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to place additional restrictions on the permissible purposes of consumer reports. Adds dwelling rental applications and check cashing privilege applications to the list of permissible uses. Prohibits, subject to exception, a consumer reporting agency (CRA) from furnishing certain reports in connection with any credit or business transaction which is not initiated by the consumer. Prohibits a CRA from reporting Chapter 13 bankruptcy information that is more than seven years old and other bankruptcy information that is more than ten years old. (Current law prohibits reporting any bankruptcy information, including Chapter 13, that is more than ten years old.) Provides for graduated periods of obsolescence for information relating to overdue payments. Repeals exemptions to obsolete information reporting prohibitions relating to credit, life insurance, or employment involving amounts over specified sums. Prohibits a CRA from prohibiting any report user from disclosing the contents of a report to the consumer. Requires a CRA to maintain certain records regarding: (1) accuracy assurance procedures; and (2) the certified purpose for which any information relating to any consumer is requested by any person. Requires any CRA, on request of any person, to disclose specified information about itself. Requires that: (1) certain disclosures by a CRA to a consumer required by current law be in writing; (2) all information in the consumer's file (currently, the nature and substance of all information) be disclosed to the consumer; (3) certain information be disclosed to the consumer regarding identification of any person who had access to any information in the consumer's file; and (4) any disclosure by a CRA to any consumer under specified provisions include a summary of all the consumer's rights and remedies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Requires that such a summary be included in disclosures relating to: (1) investigative consumer reports; and (2) reports focusing on public record information for employment purposes. Requires reinvestigations in case of disputed accuracy to be completed within a reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days. (Current law requires completion within a reasonable time.) Requires CRAs to keep certain records regarding reinvestigation procedures. Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) notice upon a determination that a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant; (2) notice upon completion of a reinvestigation; and (3) reinvestigations which cannot be completed in 30 days. Eliminates the option for a CRA to include in a report a codification or summary of a consumer's statement regarding disputed accuracy rather than the statement itself. Requires that a CRA: (1) notify of a consumer dispute any person designated by the consumer who has received a non-employment report within the last year (currently, within the last six months); and (2) disclose to the consumer the recipients of any such report within the last year (currently, within the last six months). Sets a dollar limit on charges which may be imposed by a CRA for certain disclosures and makes other changes regarding when charges may be made. Requires a CRA which furnishes a consumer report for employment purposes to notify the consumer of the specific source of the information. Revises the duties of users of consumer reports, including requiring the user to provide: (1) the name and address of the three largest CRAs; and (2) the written summary of the consumer's rights and remedies prepared under specified provisions. Makes any person who furnishes information to any CRA (as well as CRAs and users of reports) civilly liable for willful noncompliance and for negligent noncompliance with the Act. Makes all functions and powers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) available to the FTC to enforce compliance. (Current law links enforcement to specified provisions of the FTCA.) Makes persons who furnish information to CRAs subject to certain administrative enforcement provisions, as enforced by bodies other than the FTC. Requires any person who regularly furnishes information to a CRA to give notice of such fact in writing to the consumer before providing information about the consumer to the CRA. Requires any person, when that person, in the course of conducting business, furnishes information about any consumer to a CRA, to follow reasonable procedures to assure the accuracy of the information. Title II: Credit Repair Organizations - Credit Repair Organizations Act - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prohibit any credit repair organization (any person who provides a service for the purpose of improving a consumer's credit record) from: (1) charging or receiving any money prior to the completion of its services (unless it has obtained a $50,000 surety bond); (2) charging or receiving money solely for the referral of a customer to a retailer if the credit which may be extended to the buyer is upon substantially the same terms as those available to the general public; (3) advising any client to make an untrue or misleading statement; or (4) using any untrue or misleading statement. Requires the organization to provide the consumer with a written disclosure statement which includes a description of: (1) the consumer's rights; (2) the services to be provided by the organization; and (3) the total amount the consumer will be charged. Sets forth contract requirements and the rights of the consumer with regard to cancellation of such contract. Subjects any organization which fails to comply with any provision of this Act to Federal civil liability. Provides for the administrative enforcement of this Act by the Federal Trade Commission, as provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that foreign language instruction should begin at the elementary school level. Urges State and local educational agencies to initiate programs of foreign language instruction in elementary schools. Supports the statements of: (1) the National Governors' Association calling for such programs; and (2) the Follow-Up Committee to the Wingspread Consultation on Elementary School Foreign Languages, calling for establishment of a Blue Ribbon Commission to address the national agenda for foreign language instruction in elementary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1990
Designates the week of July 22 to July 29, 1990, as National Week of Recognition and Remembrance for Those Who Served in the Korean War. Authorizes and requests the President to urge that the American flag be flown at half staff on July 27, 1990, in honor of those Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1990
Designates April 6, 1990, the 88th birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, as Education Day, U.S.A. Calls on heads of state of the world to join the President of the United States in this tribute by signing scrolls of honor commemorating the 40th anniversary of Schneerson's leadership of the Lubavitch movement. Welcomes the cooperation of the Department of State in extending the good office of the U.S. missions to the Lubavitcher emissaries.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) an authoritative reaffirmation of the present border between Germany and Poland should be part of the process leading to the reunification of Germany and should not be postponed; (2) Poland should participate with the other powers when its security and borders are debated and decided during the talks on German reunification; (3) the U.S. Government should continue to support the existing borders in such talks; and (4) it is vital for peace and security in Europe that the concerned States give assurances that they abide by the international agreements ratifying existing borders.
![Official portrait of Rep. Dwyer, Bernard J. [D-NJ-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000586_200.jpg)