United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1988
Affordable Housing Act - Title I: Housing Assistance - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide construction and rehabilitation grants and operating assistance in order to expand and maintain the permanent supply of affordable housing for very low-income and other lower income families. Grants priority to homeless families. Sets forth program requirements, including recipient preferences, tenant rights, and assistance use restrictions. Requires an annual program report to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations beginning in FY 1989. Terminates such authorization upon the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of a specified number of housing units. Title II: Revenue Measures - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase to 25 percent the rate of the alternative minimum tax for both corporate and noncorporate taxpayers. (The current corporate rate is 20 percent, 21 percent for noncorporate taxpayers.) Reduces from 80 percent to 50 percent the income tax deduction for business meal and entertainment expenses. Amends provisions relating to the basis for calculating taxes on property a taxpayer acquires from a decedent to: (1) eliminate a special rule with respect to the stock of a domestic international sales corporation (DISC); (2) update the carryover basis rules to refer to property acquired from decedents dying after December 31, 1988 (current law refers to 1979); and (3) permit a tax exclusion of gain when an estate's executor uses certain appreciated carryover basis property to satisfy the right of a person to receive a pecuniary request. Repeals capital gains rules relating to foreign investment company stock acquired from a decedent. Requires estate executors to: (1) file information returns in connection with carryover basis property; and (2) provide written notice to recipients of such property. Prescribes penalties for failure to report. Increases the excise taxes on cigars (from 75 cents to $1.88 per thousand for small cigars), cigarettes (from eight cents to 16 cents per thousand for small cigarettes and from $16.80 to $33.60 per thousand for large cigarettes), cigarette papers and tubes, and smokeless tobacco (from 24 cents to 60 cents per pound for snuff and from eight cents to 20 cents per pound for chewing tobacco).
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Government of Nicaragua should: (1) fulfill its pledge in the Esquipulas II agreement to grant a general amnesty to all political prisoners; (2) cease inhumane torture and holding prisoners incommunicado; (3) end random arrests for purposes of political intimidation; (4) allow human rights observers in all parts of prison facilities; (5) compensate former political prisoners; and (6) cease human rights violations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Palau Compact of Free Association Implementation Act - Authorizes the entry into force of the Compact of Free Association between the United States and Palau (the Compact), subject to specified determinations of approval by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Palau or by referendum. Directs the President to negotiate: (1) an agreement with the Government of Palau to establish an office of public auditor; (2) an agreement regarding responses to an audit by the Comptroller General of the United States or the Secretary of the Interior; (3) agreements for the establishment of an independent office of special prosecutor and for the provision of law enforcement assistance and U.S.-Palau law enforcement cooperation; (5) an agreement providing for the submission by the Palau Government of a national development plan; and (6) agreements for the provision of medical, capital improvement, and further referendum cost assistance. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide assistance for the development and promulgation of regulations regarding expenditures; and (2) negotiate an agreement guaranteeing purchase by the Federal Financing Bank of Palau Government obligations issued to refinance indebtedness related to the Palau electric power generating and distribution system. Provides funds for construction of medical facilities in Palau and debt assistance to Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands for use of medical facilities prior to implementation of the territories' compacts. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct annual audits of assistance provided to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. Extends Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and College Work-Study assistance to students who are or will be citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, or the Marshall Islands. Authorizes the Presidents of the United States and Palau to make agreements regarding compensation for and the transfer of land for defense uses. Directs the United States to provide funds for capital improvements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish field offices in Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands; and (2) provide sums as may be necessary for a further referendum or other costs of Compact implementation. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for continuing availability of unobligated balances of funds provided to Palau. Directs the Secretary to assist the President of Palau in implementing the requirements of the fiscal procedures and law enforcement assistance agreements and to report annually to the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Provides a 180-day transitional rule for granting of U.S. nonimmigrant status. Amends the Act approving the Compact to provide that the authorizations for transition purposes shall decline over the first through third fiscal years after the Compact's effective date (under current law, FY 1987 through 1989).
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1988
Designates the Labor Day Weekend beginning on September 3, 1988, as National Drive for Life Weekend. Calls on people to observe that weekend with a pledge to not drink and drive.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Requires the President to provide the House of Representatives with specified documents (with respect to the assistance for Central America provided for in Public Law 100-276) concerning: (1) interpretations of such Act by the Legal Advisor of the Department of State or the Office of the General Counsel of the Agency for International Development (AID); (2) standards, procedures, and controls for the accountability of funds which have been adopted by AID pursuant to such Act; (3) the procurement outside of the United States, the receipt, and the end-use of any equipment, supplies, or other goods for the Nicaraguan democratic resistance using the funds made available by such Act; (4) funds made available by such Act for the Verification Commission established by the Sapoa Agreement of March 23, 1988; (5) the selection of, and agreements with, organizations to distribute assistance under such Act for children who are victims of the Nicaraguan civil strife; and (6) compliance with the requirements for the distribution to and use of such assistance by children.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1988
Expresses the grave concern of the Congress regarding the apparent discriminatory treatment of Federal Express by the Government of Japan. Urges Japan to honor its obligations under the 1985 Memorandum of Understanding and allow Federal Express to compete in the U.S.-Japan market with maximum flexibility.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1988
Designates August 1, 1988, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania; (3) convey to all signatories of such Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is vital to progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; (4) convey to U.S. allies the importance of unity regarding such Accords; (5) continue his efforts to achieve, before the end of the Vienna meeting, the release of all political prisoners of the Soviet Union, an increase in Soviet emigration, resolution of all family reunification cases, cessation of all radio transmission jamming, and the repeal of laws and practices which undermine human rights; (6) seek the inclusion, in any concluding document agreed to in Vienna, of a mechanism to sustain human rights progress after the Vienna meeting; and (7) convey to signatory states the insistence of the United States for a result at Vienna that will not favor military security at the expense of human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1988
Urges the Government of Iran to uphold the human rights of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i faith, and to restore fully the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Calls upon the President to: (1) monitor and report on developments affecting the Baha'i minority in Iran and in other countries; (2) cooperate with other governments in continuing to make appeals to Iran concerning the situation of the Baha'is; (3) initiate and support efforts in the United Nations and its agencies on behalf of the Baha'is; and (4) provide, and urge others to provide, for refugee and humanitarian assistance for those Baha'is fleeing their homelands to escape religious repression.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1988
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that no member of the armed forces, civilian employee of the United States, or dependent of such member or employee is excluded from any decennial census based on such member or employee being assigned to a post outside the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1988
National Gleaning Clearinghouse Act of 1988 - Establishes in the Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture a National Gleaning Clearinghouse to promote the collection and distribution of gleaned agricultural products and crops to assist persons in need.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Agricultural Commodity Embargo Limitation Act - Provides that the President may not prohibit or restrict the export of U.S. agricultural products to any country unless: (1) a state of war exists between such country and the United States; or (2) the President certifies to the Congress that such country is engaged in military hostilities against the United States, and such certification is in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1988
United States-Mexico Border Regional Development Act of 1988 - Provides Federal assistance for economic and human resource development to the State and local governments in the U.S.-Mexico border region of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. Defines such region as the area of the United States within 150 miles of the Mexican border, excluding any standard metropolitan statistical area with a population exceeding 1,000,000. Title I: The United States-Mexico Border Regional Commission - Establishes the United States-Mexico Border Regional Commission (the Commission). Sets forth provisions for Commission membership, voting, and duties. Directs the Commission to: (1) review and approve applications for assistance for development projects in the region; (2) develop comprehensive and coordinated regional development plans and programs and priorities for their implementation; (3) provide for research and assessments of regional development needs and resources; (4) provide for technical assistance, training programs, and development projects to foster regional (and special need area) productivity and growth; (5) provide for construction of necessary facilities; (6) review, study, and recommend appropriate modifications of public and private development plans for the region; (7) provide assistance for the State development planning process in the region and the coordination of such planning with other Federal and State laws; (8) formulate and recommend appropriate interstate compacts and cooperation; (9) work with State and local agencies in developing appropriate model legislation concerning the region; (10) encourage formation, and help pay administrative expenses, of local development districts; (11) encourage private investment in industrial, commercial, and recreational projects in the region; (12) coordinate development projects in the region; and (13) provide a forum for consideration of regional problems and proposed solutions, establishing and using, as part of such forum, citizens and special advisory councils and public conferences. Authorizes the Commission, in carrying out such duties, to designate areas in the region as being in special need of development assistance, specifying the characteristics of each such area that led to such designation. Limits the amount of the Commission's administrative expense payment to a local development district to 75 percent of the district's administrative expenses for a fiscal year. Limits such payment period to three years in the case of a nonprofit agency or instrumentality of a State which is certified as a local development district, or any local development district succeeding such district. Sets forth provisions for public participation and Commission recordkeeping. Authorizes the Commission to make recommendations to the President, the Congress, State Governors, and local governments in the region regarding: (1) expenditure of public funds in fields related to the purposes of this Act, such as natural resources, agriculture, education, training, health and welfare, and housing; and (2) enactment of additional legislation, and issuance of rules, necessary to further the purpose of this Act. Directs the President to provide for liaison between the Commission and other Federal entities. Sets forth provisions for the administrative expenses of the Commission. Requires member States to contribute payments for part of such expenses. Provides for Federal payment of certain salaries. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the President to make grants to the Commission to: (1) undertake or support research and assessment, technical assistance, training, demonstration projects, and construction of necessary facilities; (2) provide funds to member States for up to two years to strengthen the State development planning process for the region and the coordination of such planning with requirements imposed by other Federal and State laws; and (3) pay administrative expenses of local development districts, including expenses for development of economic development plans and programs for the area served and for technical assistance for persons implementing such plans and programs. Sets forth annual reporting requirements for each recipient of Federal assistance under this Act and for the Commission. Title II: Development Programs for the Region - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants for planning, constructing, equipping, and operating demonstration health projects approved by the Commission, including projects for hospitals, regional diagnostic and treatment centers, community health centers, and other health facilities, and for provision of services, including nutrition and child care services, not readily available in the region. Prohibits taking such grants into account in computing any allotment or payment to a State under any other law. Sets forth provisions relating to the amounts, uses, and eligibility for construction and equipment grants, operating grants, and planning grants. Directs the Secretary of the Army to prepare a comprehensive plan for the development and efficient utilization of the water resources of the region for a variety of uses from hydroelectric power to recreation. Authorizes the Secretary to recommend to the Commission demonstration water projects to increase the supply of potable water for people in the region. Directs the Secretary to submit the plan for Commission review. Directs the Commission to submit the plan, with its recommendations, to the President, who shall transmit it with appropriate recommendations, to specified congressional officers. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts necessary to prepare the plan. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make grants and loans from the United States-Mexico Border Region Housing Fund (established by this Act) to nonprofit organizations,limited dividend and cooperative housing corporations, and public entities for assistance for proposed low- and middle-income housing projects. Permits such grants and loans to be used, with specified exceptions, only for: (1) planning approved housing construction and rehabilitation projects in the region for low- and moderate-income families and individuals; and (2) obtaining federally-insured mortgage financing or other financial assistance for them. Sets forth requirements relating to such loans and grants. Prohibits grants to for-profit organizations. Directs the Secretary to include in any such grant a limited amount of funds sufficient for essential site development and necessary off-site improvements, such as sewer and water line extensions. Establishes in the Treasury the United States-Mexico Border Region Housing Fund, consisting of: (1) appropriations to such fund; (2) interest from, and repayment of, such loans; and (3) interest from certain investments. Authorizes the Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, to provide: (1) technical assistance relating to such projects to nonprofit organizations; and (2) funds to member States to make grants and loans to various entities for such projects. Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants for demonstration vocational education projects, approved by the Commission, to construct, equip, and operate new and other school facilities needed to provide vocational education in areas of the region where such facilities are not adequate. Directs the Secretary to make grants to public entities for planning, constructing, equipping, and operating approved demonstration education projects to improve education services and programs in the region. Directs the Commission to give priority to any such projects that include; (1) vocational and technical education; (2) career education; (3) adult education; (4) guidance and counseling; and (5) bilingual education. Sets forth limits for construction and equipment grants, operation grants, and planning grants. Prohibits taking such grants into account in computing allotments or payments to a State under any other law. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to assist projects approved by the Commission to construct sewage treatment works in the region. Prohibits taking such grants into account in computing allotments or payments to a State under any other law. Provides for supplements to certain Federal grants, to enable persons in the region, including local development districts, to receive Federal matching share grants for which they are ineligible solely because they cannot supply the required matching funds or for which insufficient funds are available. Authorizes the President to provide funds to the Commission chairperson to assist: (1) persons in the region to supply required matching funds (which will not be considered Federal funds); and (2) Federal officials to make matching share grants under Federal laws for which insufficient funds are available, for projects in the region. Requires States to maintain their current expenditures for the benefit of areas in the region, with specified exceptions. Provides for the State developing planning process, including submission of State plans by certain Commission members and requirements for plan preparation and components. Sets forth requirements for entities which State Governors or their designees may certify to the Commission as local development districts. Provides for review and approval by the Commission of applications for assistance under this Act. Bars use of funds under this Act to: (1) assist a person to relocate a business establishment from one State to another; (2) finance the cost of creating industrial facilities, commercial facilities, equipment, or working capital; (3) enable subcontractors to undertake work previously performed in another State by other subcontractors or contractors; or (4) finance the cost of facilities for the generation, transmission, or distribution of electric energy. Prohibits funds under this Act from being expended to assist any scientific or technological research or development project unless such expenditure is conditioned upon provisions to ensure that all information, copyrights, uses, processes, patents, and other developments resulting from such project will be made freely available to the general public. Directs the Attorney General to enforce such requirement in the appropriate U.S. district court. Title III: Authorization of Appropriations and Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act not otherwise authorized. Sets aside 50 percent of such funds to carry out provisions for research and development projects, assistance to States, and administrative expenses of local development projects, and for supplements to certain Federal grants. Sets forth applicable labor standards. Requires that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors in any construction, alteration, or repair (including painting and decorating) for which funds are provided under this Act shall be paid wages at the prevailing rate for similar work in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1988
Designates the period of July 25 through July 31, 1988, 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, 1988, in honor of those Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit cooperatives (farmers' cooperatives, cooperative banks, mutual insurance companies, and rural electric and telephone cooperatives) to: (1) elect to treat as ordinary income or loss any gain or loss from the sale or other disposition of any asset used by the organization to facilitate the conduct of business done with or for patrons; and (2) include such gain or loss in net earnings of the organization from business done with or for patrons.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1988
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reimburse physicians and medical facilities for emergency medical treatment (including any required in the course of labor and childbirth) which: (1) is rendered to an undocumented alien or an alien commuter worker who cannot pay for such service; and (2) is not reimbursable under any other public assistance program or private insurance plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1988
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to determine the payments to be made to hospitals under Medicare's prospective payment system on the basis of a blend of hospital-specific rates and a national rate, depending on the degree to which costs vary within specific diagnosis-related groups. Eliminates the urban or rural classification of an area as a consideration in hospital payment determinations. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) identify relevant labor markets for hospitals; (2) establish a methodology to determine the proportion of hospital costs which are wage-related and compare the hospital wage level in each labor market with the national average hospital wage level; and (3) take into account differences among hospitals in part and full-time employment patterns.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1988
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1988 - Provides that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of handicap in: (1) employment practices and training covered by title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (2) the sale or rental of housing covered by title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968; (3) any public accommodation covered by title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (4) transportation services; (5) the actions, practices, and operations of State and local governments; and (6) broadcasts, communications, or telecommunications services. Lists the forms of discrimination which are prohibited by this Act, including: (1) denying any person the opportunity to participate in or benefit from a service, program, job, or other opportunity on the basis of his or her handicap; (2) establishing (or failing to remove) any architectural, transportation, or communication barriers that prevent the access or limit the participation of persons because of their handicap; (3) failing or refusing to make a reasonable accommodation to permit a handicapped individual to have access to a program, activity, job, or opportunity; (4) imposing any unnecessary standard or criteria that screens out or places the handicapped at a disadvantage; and (5) denying services, programs, jobs, or other opportunities to any person because of that person's relationship to, or association with, a handicapped person. Permits the exclusion or denial of equal access to services, programs, jobs, or other opportunities to persons: (1) for reasons unrelated to the existence of their handicap; or (2) based upon the application of standards or criteria that are necessary and substantially related to the ability to perform essential components of the job, program, activity, or opportunity, and such performance can not be accomplished by a reasonable accommodation. States that it shall be an act of discrimination, in regard to housing, to discriminate in the sale or rental of a dwelling (or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of such sale or rental) to any buyer or renter because of the physical or mental impairment of: (1) the buyer or renter; (2) a person residing in, or intending to reside in, such dwelling; or (3) any person associated with the buyer or renter. States that it shall be an act of discrimination to: (1) refuse to permit reasonable modifications, at the expense of the handicapped person, to afford such person enjoyment of the premises; (2) refuse to make reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, or services to afford handicapped individuals equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling; or (3) fail to design and construct multifamily dwellings (after a specified date) which are not accessible to the handicapped. Provides certain limitations on the duties of accommodation and barrier removal. Sets forth guidelines for the establishment of requirements and promulgation of regulations by specified Federal entities with respect to: (1) the accessibility of buildings and transportation systems; (2) the implementation and enforcement of the requirements of this Act; (3) employment practices; (4) the sale and rental of housing; and (5) the removal of communication barriers. Establishes procedures for the administrative enforcement of the provisions of this Act. Establishes a civil right of action for individuals who are subjected to discrimination in violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1988
Amends the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1988 to repeal the requirement that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) adopt regulations requiring the installation of operating automatic altitude reporting equipment for all aircraft operating in terminal airspace where air traffic control radar service is provided and in all controlled airspace above a minimum altitude to be determined by the FAA. Amends the Airport and Airway Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1987 to repeal the requirement that the FAA Administrator promulgate a final rule requiring the installation of operating transponders with automatic altitude reporting capability for aircraft operating in designated terminal airspace where radar service is provided for separation of aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1988
Designates the building located at 2400 Orange Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, known as the Cleveland Ohio General Mail Facility and Main Office as the John O. Holly Building of the United States Postal Service.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1988
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 21, 1988, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is commended for initiating an unfair trade practice investigation with respect to the petition filed by the American Soybean Association for the enforcement of trade benefits under a trade agreement; (2) the USTR should pursue its investigation of the alleged unfair trade practices contained in such petition; and (3) the President should use his authority to enforce trade agreements under the Trade Act of 1974 to restore the benefits due the U.S. soybean industry as a result of the European Community agreement to provide duty-free treatment for U.S. soybean products.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1988
Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to set priorities for asbestos cleanup in schools, giving first priority to situations which pose the most dangers to human health and the environment. Requires local educational agencies to submit asbestos in schools management plans to State Governors within six months after the Administrator establishes guidelines pertaining to such plans and to implement such plans within 15 months of such guidelines. Amends the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 to authorize appropriations through FY 1993 for loans to local educational agencies for school asbestos inspections and the preparation of management plans.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1988
Lower Mississippi Delta Development Act - Establishes the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Commission to study and make recommendations concerning the economic needs and economic development of the Lower Mississippi Delta, defined to include areas in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Directs the Commission, among other things, to: (1) study the projected ten-year economic needs of the region; (2) review existing Federal, State, local, and private programs for business development and financing; (3) develop inventories of the region's business resources and natural resources; (4) study the role of small business in creating jobs in the region; and (5) make recommendations to the Congress regarding tax policies, business development programs, investment incentives, infrastructure development, and a number of other economic development issues. Requires the Commission, no later than one year after its first meeting, to present its required findings and recommendations to specified congressional leadership and committees, the President, and the Governors of the affected States. Requires termination of the Commission within one year after submission of its report. Authorizes appropriations.