United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Eliminates provisions of Federal law which restrict premium pay to the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-10 for Federal employees in a position in which: (1) the hours of duty cannot be controlled administratively; (2) a substantial amount of irregular, unscheduled overtime is required; and (3) the employee is generally responsible for recognizing circumstances which require the employee to remain on duty.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Computer Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to impose penalties upon individuals who knowingly sabotage the proper operation of computer system hardware or software. Permits a party who has been harmed by such violation to seek redress in a civil action.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Defense Economic Adjustment Act - Title I: Defense Economic Adjustment Council - Establishes in the Executive Office of the President the Defense Economic Adjustment Council to be co-chaired by the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor. Establishes in the Executive Office an Office of Economic Adjustment, headed by a Director, to provide staff support to the Council. Directs the Council to disseminate information from the Secretary of Defense to Federal, State, and local agencies concerning proposed or pending changes in defense spending which would affect employment in the defense industry. Requires the Council to perform other duties, including: (1) encouraging the preparation of plans for non-defense-related public projects; (2) coordinating and developing information on priority, federally-funded projects and programs pertaining to defense economic adjustment; (3) monitoring job services information banks; and (4) determining criteria for eligibility for assistance under this Act. Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide the pertinent information to the Council a year in advance of any change and to furnish the Council with projected future defense spending levels. Directs the Council to prepare and distribute a Conversion Guidelines Handbook to outline requirements of programs for professional retraining of personnel. Title II: Community Economic Adjustment Planning - Makes eligible for Federal assistance for economic adjustment planning any community which is substantially affected by reduction or elimination of Government defense facilities or curtailment or conclusion of defense contracts. Directs the Council to make available to alternative use committees information on economic development programs of any Federal instrumentality which provides funds that may be used for planning. Requires the Council to report to the Congress at least annually on any such economic development program. Directs the Council to use data from other departments to develop criteria which ensures that assistance is directed to those communities that are most vulnerable economically to reductions in defense expenditures. Requires the Council to publish a semiannual list of eligible communities. Requires excess property resulting from a closing or reduction in a Government-owned facility to be appraised for purposes of resale to the community. Title III: Alternative Use Committees - Requires the establishment of alternative use committees at defense facilities to plan for economic conversion in the event of closure or reduction. Directs such committees to: (1) evaluate the assets of the facilities and the resources and requirements of the local community; (2) develop at least biennially a detailed plan for conversion of the facility to non-defense-related productive activity; and (3) provide retraining and reemployment counseling services. Requires conversion plans to maximize the pool of skills of available personnel and specify in detail the composition of the work force and plant, material, and financing requirements. Penalizes any contractor who fails to submit an alternative use plan or carry out one approved by the Council by making such contractor ineligible for future defense contracts for three years. Title IV: Economic Adjustment Assistance for Workers - Makes displaced workers certified by the local alternative use committees to the Council eligible for benefits for two years under this Act. Includes among such benefits: weekly compensation, vested pension credit, maintenance of health insurance, retraining for civilian work, job search allowance, and reimbursement for relocation expenses. Requires completion of a program of professional retraining before certain employees are eligible for assistance. Directs the Council to enter into agreements with a State or agency in the State administering the unemployment compensation law to disburse benefits under this Act. Requires displaced workers to accept any employment determined by the State agency or Secretary of Labor to be comparable to the former job, or benefits will terminate. Excludes these benefits from other determinations of eligibility for unemployment compensation under any Federal or State law. Title V: Economic Adjustment Fund - Establishes in the Treasury a Workers Economic Adjustment Reserve Trust Fund. Requires defense contractors to pay a specified percentage into the Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit a percentage of the projected savings resulting from a cancellation or cutback in defense spending. Title VI: Use of Certain Research Funds - Requires the Council to define urgent national requirements for nondefense sectors of the economy in any determination of the Secretary of Defense as to how certain research and development funds are to be spent. Title VII: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Directs the Secretary of Energy to convey to the State of California by quitclaim deed certain lands in a naval petroleum reserve if California agrees to accept: (1) all existing agreements for the operation and development of the mineral resources of such property; and (2) all restrictions applicable to such property for the purposes for which the reserve is maintained. Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to provide that money received from naval petroleum reserves shall be treated the same as money received from other public lands.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Prevention, Identification, and Treatment of Elder Abuse Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an office known as the National Center on Elder Abuse to: (1) compile an annual summary of recently conducted research on elder abuse; (2) develop and maintain an information clearinghouse on all programs for the prevention and treatment of such abuse; (3) compile training materials for personnel engaged in elder abuse prevention; (4) provide technical assistance for the planning and implementation of programs relating to the problems of elder abuse; and (5) investigate the causes and national incidence of elder abuse. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to or enter into contracts with public agencies or nonprofit organizations for demonstration projects designed to prevent and treat elder abuse. Sets forth the terms and conditions for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for the development and implementation of elder abuse prevention and treatment programs. Requires such States to have in effect a State elder abuse law with mandatory reporting provisions. Sets forth other requirements for eligibility. Prohibits the use of assistance for construction of facilities. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria to achieve equitable distribution of assistance among the States. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Federal Employees Long-Term Health Care Act - Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to conduct, during calendar years 1990 through 1992, a demonstration project to determine the feasibility and desirability of establishing, on a permanent basis, the concept of a social health maintenance organization for Federal employees and their families. Limits the contractor for such a project to certain comprehensive medical plans. Specifies the terms and conditions of the project contract, including benefits: (1) without any deductible; and (2) limited to expenses totaling at most $18,000 per calendar year, with the individual being liable for 25 percent of any such expenses. States that the project shall be designed by OPM, participating carriers, and a consultant contracted for by OPM. Requires periodic written evaluations of the project by the consultant, to be submitted to OPM and certain congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that each questionnaire used in a decennial census contain at least one question relating to race or ethnic origin. Requires the question to include: (1) each group identified in the 1980 decennial census; and (2) a means to write in any group not specified. Requires the Secretary, in carrying out any decennial census, to tabulate and make public the general population of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders both by total and by groups. Declares that the amendments made by this Act may not serve as a basis in the 1990 census for modifying questions relating to Hispanic origin or race.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Provides that the Tax Reform Act of 1986 shall be applied and administered as if the three-year basis recovery rule applicable to government employees' annuities had not been repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Federal Employees Health Benefits Reform Act - Increases the amount of the Government's contribution for an employee enrolled in an employee health benefits plan from 60 to 75 percent of the average subscription charge for such plan. Increases the maximum Government contribution for an enrollee from 75 to 100 percent of such subscription charge. Requires payment of a Government differential equal to five percent of the average subscription charge, in addition to the Government's contribution, for any enrollee who is over 65 years of age and not entitled to Medicare benefits. Excludes such differential in determining the amount to be paid by the enrollee. Permits certain persons to elect to continue coverage under a Federal employees' health benefits plan for a specified period. Requires such persons who elect to continue coverage to pay into the Employees Health Benefits Fund an amount equal to the sum of employee and agency contributions paid for the same level of benefits. Allows annuitants whose annuity is less than the amount required to be withheld for enrollment in a health benefits plan to pay the amount of any deficiency required for enrollment. Requires contracts for employee organization plans to require carriers to: (1) enter into an agreement approved by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) with an underwriting subcontractor licensed to issue group health insurance in all States and the District of Columbia; and (2) meet minimum financial standards prescribed by OPM. Requires the service benefit plan and the indemnity benefit plan to provide, in addition to all currently authorized benefits: (1) nervous and mental disorder benefits; (2) alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation benefits; and (3) comprehensive dental benefits. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract with a carrier for any health benefits plan which does not provide 95 percent of the benefits that such plan or the most similar plan provided during the preceding year, unless the carrier and the OPM mutually agree to waive such requirement. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract for a health benefits plan which excludes anyone because of nonactive employee status.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Federal Employees Health Care Freedom-of-Choice Act - Amends provisions relating to Federal employee health benefits to authorize direct payment or reimbursement for services performed by a: (1) chiropractor; (2) marriage family therapist; (3) nurse midwife, nurse practitioner, and any other nurse; and (4) mental health counselor. Declares that this Act does not supersede or preempt any State or local law which relates to licensing or certification of health practitioners.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to conduct, during calendar years 1990 through 1992, a demonstration project to determine the feasibility and desirability of including certain benefits relating to the treatment of drug abuse and alcohol abuse among the types of benefits provided under health insurance plans for Federal employees. Requires OPM to coordinate such project with other related programs and to make a final report to specified congressional committees not later than April 1, 1993. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Organ Transplant Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to indicate on their income tax returns their election to include a cash contribution of at least one dollar, to be used for organ transplant assistance. Establishes in the Treasury the National Organ Transplant Assistance Trust Fund to receive such amounts designated on tax returns. Establishes a program through which Trust Fund monies will be used to finance grants to health care facilities where organ transplants are performed to assist them in providing transplants for individuals unable to afford them. Sets forth general criteria to govern these grants.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Amends the Federal Unemployment Tax Act to institute discretionary denial of unemployment benefits between academic terms to employees serving educational institutions in nonprofessional positions. (Under current law denial is mandatory.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement that the amount of monthly benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent be reduced by the amount such individual receives in monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Northern Ireland Fair Employment Incentive Act of 1989 - Removes Internal Revenue Code limitations on the amount of the foreign tax credit available with respect to taxes imposed on foreign source income generated in connection with a manufacturing facility located in a high unemployment area of Northern Ireland if 40 percent or more of the facility's employees are members of a religious minority in Northern Ireland. Reduces the foreign tax credit for entities that have operations in Northern Ireland and are in violation of a fair employment standard there during the pertinent taxable year. Prescribes these standards to include conditions to assure both avoidance of religious or political discrimination and the practice of equal opportunity and affirmative action programs. Requires affected taxpayers to present annual compliance reports to the Secretary of the Treasury. Penalizes entities that fail to report. Revises the definition of "subpart F income" (types of income generally suited to tax haven activity) to exclude from tax deferral provisions amounts attributable to the Northern Ireland sourced income of entities in violation of the fair employment standards.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an individual income tax deduction for amounts spent to make the taxpayer's principal residence more accessible to and usable by handicapped individuals and elderly individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Child Development and Education Act of 1989 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994, if appropriations under specified provisions of the Head Start Act equal or exceed specified amounts in the relevant fiscal years. Allocates the aggregate amount appropriated for this Act, one-third each to carry out: (1) the expanded program under the Head Start Act, as amended by title I of this Act; (2) the School-Based Child Care and Development program under the new title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by title II of this Act; and (3) the Infant and Toddler Child Care Act, as added by title III of this Act. Title I: Expanded Head Start - Amends the Head Start Act to provide for child care services throughout the year for children who participate or are eligible to participate in Head Start programs. Authorizes Head Start programs to provide child care services. Extends through FY 1994 the authorization of appropriations for Head Start programs. Authorizes Head Start programs to use additional funds under this Act (if the parents are working or attending a job training or educational program) for: (1) full-working-day (at least ten hours) child care services throughout the year to children participating in Head Start programs; and (2) part-day and full-working-day child care services throughout the year to children eligible to participate in Head Start programs. Allows the use of up to 50 percent of such funds to provide Head Start services to children: (1) who are otherwise ineligible under specified provisions; (2) whose family income is greater than the poverty line but less than 150 percent of the lower living standard income level (LLSIL); and (3) whose parents are working or attending a job training or educational program. Requires payment of sliding scale fees for a portion of such services from parents whose income exceeds the LLSIL or whose children receive such services under the expanded eligibility provisions. Title II: School-Based Child Care and Development - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a new title VIII program of grants to States for school-based child care or early childhood development programs. Requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to use such funds to expand or establish a school-based child care or early childhood development programs that meet specified requirements. Mandates provision of such programs: (1) at no cost to families with income not more than 100 percent of the LLSIL; and (2) on an income-based fee schedule to families with income not more than 150 percent of the LLSIL. Requires the early childhood development program to include four-year-olds from such families to the extent such no-cost services are not available under the Head Start Act. Requires the before- and after-school care program to cover such families where: (1) the parent or parents work or are in education or training programs; and (2) the children attend early childhood development programs or regular kindergarten, elementary, or secondary school classes. Requires inclusion of private school children. Sets forth standards for such early childhood development programs, including requirements for adequate and nutritious meals and snacks, and, if practicable, health and social services. Sets forth program requirements for State educational agencies which wish to participate in the program to make specified assurances, including commitment to participate in a State interagency task force on child care. Requires each State to distribute at least 90 percent of grant payments from the Secretary of Education to eligible LEAs. Title III: Infant and Toddler Child Care - Infant and Toddler Child Care Act - Establishes a program of grants to States for infant and toddler child care programs. Makes eligible for such programs children under three whose family income does not exceed 150 percent of the LLSIL and who: (1) reside with one or more parents, each of whom is working, seeking employment, or attending a job training or educational program; or (2) are receiving, or need to receive, protective services and reside with a parent or parents not described in clause (1). Requires an appropriate State agency to act as the lead agency for such program. Requires a State advisory committee on child care and local advisory councils for such program. Requires that providers provide services to a reasonable mix of children, including those from different socioeconomic backgrounds and those with handicapping conditions. Requires States to use at least 75 percent of their allotment to provide child care services to eligible children on a sliding fee scale basis, using specified funding methods and giving priority to children whose families have very low income (and who pay no fee). Requires program funds to be distributed: (1) to a variety of types of child care providers, including center-based, group home, and family providers; and (2) equitably among rural and urban areas. Requires provision of child care services through contracts or grants to eligible providers or through grants to local governments that agree to contract with eligible providers. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make planning grants to States under specified conditions. Makes a State ineligible for assistance under this title five years after the Secretary establishes minimum child care standards, unless the State demonstrates that all child care providers in the State required to be licensed and regulated: (1) are so licensed and regulated; (2) satisfy the minimum standards; and (3) are subject to the enforcement provisions referred to in the State plan. Requires each participating State to establish a State advisory committee on child care. Requires such committees to review State licensing authority and to report to the Governor. Sets forth requirements for State-funded resource and referral programs. Requires participating States to require, within two years, that all employed or self-employed individuals who provide licensed or regulated child care services in the State complete annually at least 15 hours of training in specified areas. Directs States to make grants and contracts with various entities for training and technical assistance for child care providers. Directs States to provide scholarship assistance to: (1) individuals who seek a nationally recognized child development associate credential for child care, and whose income does not exceed the poverty line by more than 50 percent; and (2) caregivers who seek to obtain the required annual training and whose income does not exceed the poverty line. Directs the State lead agency to establish a clearinghouse for training materials. Directs States to use a portion of program funds for various activities to encourage businesses (especially small businesses) to support or provide child care services to a reasonable mix of children of employees and nonemployees. Requires consultation with a business task force and the State economic development agency. Establishes the position of the Administrator of Child Care in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Requires the Administrator to: (1) coordinate all HHS activities relating to child care with similar activities of other Federal agencies; (2) annually collect and publish State child care standards; (3) evaluate activities funded under this title; (4) act as a clearinghouse for materials related to areas of required annual training and to studies of salaries for child care employees; and (5) provide technical assistance to States. Sets forth Federal enforcement provisions. Sets the Federal share of program costs at 80 percent (85 percent if a State makes a required demonstration of compliance throughout a fiscal year). Prohibits States from requiring any private provider of child care to contribute to the State share. Establishes the National Advisory Committee on Child Care Standards. Requires the Committee to: (1) review Federal policies with respect to child care services; (2) submit to the Secretary proposed minimum standards; and (3) develop and make available model requirements for resource and referral agencies. Sets forth guidelines for minimum child care standards. Terminates the Committee 90 days after the Secretary establishes such standards. Makes applicable to this title specified provisions of the Head Start Act relating to nondiscrimination and restrictions on sectarian activities. Provides for preservation of parental rights and responsibilities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Social Security Work Incentives Act of 1989 - Title I: Disabled and Working Status under Title II of the Social Security Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to reduce monthly disability benefits by 50 percent of a beneficiary's monthly earnings in excess of $85. Limits the total amount by which an individual's OASDI disability benefits may be reduced if such individual is also eligible for benefits provided under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act to individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment. Prohibits deductions from disability-based child insurance benefits for the recovery of prior overpayments resulting from a failure to reduce such benefits on the basis of earnings. Extends to current OASDI disability beneficiaries the rule preventing reductions in the primary insurance amount for prior recipients. Continues an individual's entitlement to disability benefits while such individual is under disabled and working status, meaning that such individual is earning enough to be considered engaged in substantial gainful activity, but would otherwise continue to satisfy eligibility requirements. Sets a four-year limit on the Medicare hospital insurance eligibility (under part A of title XVIII of the Act) of individuals who owe their eligibility to their disabled and working status under the OASDI program. Amends the Medicare program to authorize such individuals to enroll for hospital insurance benefits upon the termination of such four-year limit. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act to cover Medicare cost-sharing amounts for individuals of disabled and working status who are entitled to enroll for Medicare hospital insurance benefits and whose income and resources do not exceed 300 percent of the Federal poverty level and the SSI resource eligibility limit, respectively. Requires States to collect a coinsurance percentage from such individuals pursuant to a sliding scale which increases such percentage from 0 to 100 percent in reasonable increments as incomes move from 150 to 300 percent of the Federal poverty level. Extends to all recipients of disability-based child's insurance benefits the rule permitting continued entitlement to Medicaid benefits of individuals who would remain eligible for SSI benefits but for their receipt of such child's insurance benefits. Title II: Amendments Relating to the Disabled and Working Status Program Under Title XVI of the Social Security Act - Amends the SSI program to exclude spousal income in determining a disabled and working individual's eligibility for SSI and Medicaid benefits. Excludes from such an individual's income, for SSI eligibility determinations: (1) earned income necessary for the costs of attendant care services; and (2) if such individual receives a State supplementary payment, impairment-related work expenses. Provides Medicaid coverage to individuals who become ineligible for SSI benefits by reason of a cost of living increase in OASDI benefits. Precludes the attainment of age 65 from serving as a basis for the termination of Medicaid eligibility under the SSI program. Includes State supplementary payments in determining a disabled and working individual's eligibility for SSI and Medicaid benefits. Treats royalties from the publication of an individual's work and scholarships which have not been excluded from income as earned income in determining the SSI and Medicaid eligibility of a disabled and working individual.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Title I: Water Resources Authority of the Geological Survey - Geological Survey Water Resources Organic Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Geological Survey, to undertake research, investigations, appraisals, surveys, and related activities regarding the Nation's water resources. Authorizes the Secretary to cooperate with other government agencies and to perform such activities on a reimbursable basis, as specified. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Title II: Ground Water Research - National Ground Water Research Act of 1989 - Directs the President to coordinate groundwater related activities conducted by Federal agencies. Requires the President to assist States in the conduct of such activities, including disseminating information. Directs the President to establish an Interagency Ground Water Research Committee to coordinate research, development, demonstration, technology transfer, training, and information dissemination activities related to groundwater conducted by the Federal agencies, including establishing priorities. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a report assessing groundwater quality and quantity information systems and data collection and monitoring. Requires the Secretary to submit such report to the Congress with biennial updates. Directs the Secretary to conduct a national groundwater assessment program to assist State and local governments in managing groundwater resources and designing monitoring programs, including recommending protocols to assist such governments in meeting their data collection responsibilities under specified Federal environmental statutes. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish and coordinate a research, development, and demonstration program for the protection and management of groundwater resources, including surveys, the development of cost-effective prevention, detection, and mitigation techniques, and the provision of technical assistance. Sets forth demonstration project selection criteria and procedures, based upon the seriousness of the contaminant addressed and a project's applicability to other locations and circumstances. Requires that such project be monitored and evaluated by the Administrator. Authorizes the Administrator to pay the costs of such evaluation, but limits Federal cost sharing for the project in general. Directs the Administrator to conduct and publish a risk assessment analysis for significant groundwater contaminants according to a standard format and prescribed schedule. Directs the Secretary and the Administrator each to establish a technical assistance program to serve other Federal and governmental agencies, including conducting research, surveys, training, and technology transfer. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a National Groundwater Information Clearinghouse. Directs the Administrator to establish a media-specific research committee for groundwater resources. Directs the Science Advisory Board established by the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1978 to review and report to the Congress on EPA's groundwater research programs. Authorizes the Administrator to establish and maintain research fellowships. Directs the Administrator to make grants for groundwater research institutes which are to be located in areas making significant use of groundwater. Requires that funds be equitably distributed throughout the United States and that one of the institutes be the National Center for Ground Water Research, a consortium between Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Rice Universities. Limits the Federal share to 50 percent of costs and earmarks funds for technology transfer. Requires the Administrator to review and evaluate such institutes and subjects the institute's research to peer review. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of the Army to consider the impact on groundwater when evaluating new water resource projects. Authorizes modifications in existing projects to protect groundwater. Requires the Administrator, in cooperation with New Jersey and relevant local governments, to study and report on: (1) the feasibility of removing volatile groundwater contaminants in the New Jersey coastal plain by induced air phase transport; and (2) the problem of trace metal leaching by corrosive groundwater in such coastal plain. Directs the Administrator, in cooperation with California and relevant local agencies, to study and report on the feasibility of groundwater replenishment with treated wastewater and of the potential of groundwater contamination through exfiltration of sewage from sewer systems of publicly owned treatment works. Directs the Administrator, in cooperation with New York State and relevant local governments, to study and report on the pollution of the Buffalo River by contaminated groundwater in Erie County. Directs the Administrator, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Army, to conduct a research and demonstration program at the Lake Okeechobee ecosystem, Florida, on the relationship between ground and surface water quality and the management and control of aquatic plants. Requires that methods developed be adaptable to other circumstances and be made available to State and local governments. Requires the solicitation of information from other sources, such as scientists and management personnel. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary each to report to the Congress on such program and demonstration project, authorizing other Federal agencies to utilize such report. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the President to report annually to the Congress on groundwater generally and groundwater programs conducted pursuant to this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Title III: Agricultural Production and Water Use - Agricultural Ground Water Management Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to investigate and report to the Congress on the relationship between agricultural practices and water use and quality, including current and projected status and efforts. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary to conduct a joint study of the impact on groundwater and agricultural interests of proposals to dredge from the Hudson River sediments which contain PCBs and dispose of such sediments on land. Directs the Secretary to establish an Agricultural Nitrogen Best Management Practices Task Force to report to the Secretary and the Congress on agricultural best management practices, systems, and technologies for reducing or mitigating any negative effects of agricultural nitrogen on water quality. Authorizes appropriations for three fiscal years. Title IV: Ground Water Radium Contamination - Authorizes the Administrator to assist local governments in demonstrating mitigation of radium contamination in groundwater where such groundwater is used as a source of public drinking water in small communities and the contamination exceeds the level established under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 for such program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue guidelines governing the use and installation of automatic sprinkler systems and smoke detectors in places of public accommodation. Includes within such guidelines the requirements that, in each public accommodation: (1) an automatic smoke detection system be installed in accordance with the appropriate American National Standard for Fire Alarm Systems; and (2) an automatic sprinkler system be installed in accordance with the appropriate American National Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, except in places that are two stories or lower, have no interior corridors, and have immediate exterior egress from rooms to a ground level area. Requires States to submit to the Director lists of public accommodations which meet such guidelines so that the Director can compile, publish, and distribute to Federal agencies a master list of all public accommodations that meet such guidelines. Authorizes the Director to take steps to encourage States to promote the use of automatic sprinkler and smoke detection systems and to disseminate information on the life safety value and use of such systems. Amends Federal law to prohibit Federal employees from receiving reimbursement for staying at non-Federal public accommodations which are not on the Director's master list, unless there is no room available at listed accommodations that are a reasonable distance from the employee's place of official business. Limits the studies and surveys conducted to establish the lodging expenses of Federal employees on official business to public accommodations which meet such guidelines. Requires that directories of lodging accommodations for Federal employees include a description of the access and safety devices which each listed public accommodation provides for handicapped guests.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Federal Employees' Political Activities Act of 1989 - Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of any election. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority to intimidate, threaten, coerce, command, or influence: (1) any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of any individual to vote as the individual may choose, or of causing any individual to vote, or not to vote, for any candidate or measure in any election; (2) any person to give or withhold any political contribution; or (3) any person to engage, or not to engage, in any form of political activity. Prohibits an employee from using, attempting to use, or permitting the use of any official information, unless such information is available to the general public. Prohibits an employee from: (1) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or to refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; or (3) giving or handing over a political contribution to a superior of the employee. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving, or from being in any manner concerned with soliciting, accepting, or receiving, a political contribution: (1) from another employee (or a member of another employee's immediate family) with respect to whom the employee is a superior; or (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official or an individual receiving salary or compensation from the Treasury. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution from, or giving a political contribution to, any person who: (1) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employing agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by that agency; or (3) has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance of the employee's official duties. Directs the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board to prescribe regulations which exempt employees from such prohibitions. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Authorizes leave without pay or accrued annual leave to an employee who is a candidate, upon request, to allow such employee to engage in activities relating to that candidacy. Declares that such request may be denied if the exigencies of the public business so require. Declares that such employee may be required to take leave without pay or accrued annual leave in order to be a candidate if activities relating to the candidacy interfere with the employee's performance of duties. Applies this Act to postal employees and employees of the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Amends the Uniformed Services Survivor Benefits Amendments of 1980 to entitle certain individuals who were widowed before September 21, 1972, and who are not covered by the Military Survivor Benefit Plan to an annuity.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Anti-Terrorism and Arms Export Amendments Act of 1989 - Amends the Arms Export Control Act to prohibit the Government or U.S. persons from exporting or providing munitions items to, or facilitating (through loans, credits, guarantees, or other financial assistance) the acquisition of munitions by, any country, or any individual or group in a country, which, as determined by the Secretary of State, has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. Permits the rescission of a determination of the Secretary only after the President makes specified certifications to the Congress concerning the country involved. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition with respect to transactions determined to be vital to national security after consulting with, and reporting to, the Congress. Exempts from such prohibition transactions subject to reporting requirements of the National Security Act of 1947. Authorizes additional waivers pursuant to authority under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 in exceptional circumstances where time is of the essence and the President consults with and submits a report to the Congress at least 24 hours prior to granting such a waiver. Sets forth criminal and civil penalties for violations of this Act. Requires the Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, in making decisions concerning the issuance of export licenses, to consider whether the export of an article will support international terrorism. Requires the Director's evaluation of an arms sale submitted to the Congress to include an evaluation of whether the sale would support international terrorism. Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require a validated license for the export of goods or technology to a country if the Secretary determines that: (1) such country has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism; and (2) such exports could contribute to the military potential of such country or would enhance the ability of such country to support acts of international terrorism. Removes the $1,000,000 threshold for notification to the Congress of the issuance of an export license. Revises the President's authority to rescind the Secretary's determination. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit the provision of any assistance under such Act, the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, the Peace Corps Act, or the Export-Import Bank Act to any country which the Secretary determines has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. Authorizes the President to: (1) rescind such a determination only after making specified certifications to the Congress concerning the country involved; and (2) waive such prohibition for national security interests or humanitarian reasons only after consulting with, and reporting to, the Congress. Requires the President, in order to rescind a determination by the Secretary that a country supports international terrorism, to certify to the Congress that: (1) there has been a fundamental change in the leadership and policies of the government concerned and such government is not supporting acts of international terrorism and has provided assurances not to do so in the future; or (2) the government concerned has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period and has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future. Amends the Arms Export Control Act to specify that any presidential designation to place a defense item on the munitions list shall be final and conclusive and shall not be subject to judicial review. Directs the President to include in required quarterly reports to the Congress concerning military exports a listing of: (1) all consents granted to third-party transfers of defense articles or defense services exceeding $1,000,000 in value; and (2) munitions items exceeding $250,000 in value transferred by the Department of Defense to other agencies of the U.S. Government, excluding items transferred for use within the United States or for intelligence activities subject to other reporting requirements under the National Security Act of 1947. Revises requirements for reporting the use of foreign assistance funds where it is inadvisable to specify the nature of the use of such funds to require that such a report be transmitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives rather than to the Speaker of the House. Amends the Hostage Act to specify that the President may not use any means otherwise prohibited by law in attempting to cause the release of U.S. citizens imprisoned by foreign governments. (Current law specifies that the President may not use any means amounting to acts of war.) Specifies that the use by any government of armed force in the exercise of individual or collective self-defense in accordance with applicable international agreements and customary international law shall not be considered an act of international terrorism for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Directs the Secretary of the Army to set aside an appropriate area within Arlington National Cemetery for the unmarked burial of cremated remains of persons entitled to burial in such cemetery.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Computer Virus Eradication Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to impose penalties upon any individual who, in interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly: (1) inserts into a computer or a computer program information or commands that may cause loss, expense, or risk to health or welfare for users of the computer, the program, or the processed information; or (2) provides such computer or program to a person who does not know of the insertion or its effects. Provides a civil remedy for injured parties.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Central American Studies and Temporary Relief Act of 1989 - Title I: General Accounting Office Investigation and Report - Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) begin an investigation concerning displaced nationals of El Salvador and Nicaragua; and (2) report to the Speaker of the House and to the President of the Senate within two years of initiating such investigation. Requires determinations to be made, with respect to displaced Salvadorans and Nicaraguans living in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, or Mexico, of: (1) the number and location of such persons; (2) their place of origin in El Salvador or Nicaragua and the period of, and reason for, their displacement; (3) their current living conditions, with particular attention to questions of personal safety and the availability of food and medical assistance; (4) current efforts to provide such necessities; (5) the impact of wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua; and (6) the impact of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 on Nicaragua and El Salvador; and (7) the impact of the 1986 El Salvador earthquake. Requires assessments to be made, in the case of Salvadorans and Nicaraguans returned from the United States to their country, of: (1) their conditions upon return, with particular attention to any human rights violations; and (2) the extent to which these persons have become displaced persons in their country. Requires the investigation, with respect to Salvadorans and Nicaraguans unlawfully in the United States, to: (1) compare the situation in El Salvador and Nicaragua with previous cases of administrative grants of extended voluntary departure under the immigration laws; (2) describe U.S. policies respecting the treatment of other aliens in the United States in similar circumstances; (3) describe the policies of all other countries in which Salvadorans or Nicaraguans have sought refuge as those policies concern the return of such persons to their country; and (4) assess their conditions in the United States. Title II: Congressional Review - Provides for the referral of such report to the appropriate congressional committees in accordance with the rules of each House for committee hearings (within 90 days of continuous session after the referral of such report) and committee reports (within 270 days of continuous session after the referral of such report). Title III: Temporary Stay of Deportation - Prohibits the Attorney General from detaining or deporting specified nationals of Nicaragua or El Salvador until completion of the Comptroller General's report. Sets conditions on such stay of deportation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Enterprise Zone Improvements Act of 1989 - Title I: Housing and Community Development Provisions - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to require each Federal agency that provides special assistance to enterprise zones or that waives or modifies rules within such zones to report to the Congress and to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development identifying its actions. Broadens the scope of funding sources for State and local government actions required in connection with tax relief and regulatory simplification in enterprise zones. Directs Federal agencies to seek to provide special assistance to enterprise zones, including expedited processing, priority funding, program set-asides, and technical assistance. Authorizes all Federal agencies to waive or modify rules within enterprise zones. (Under current law, only the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and, in some cases, the Secretary of Agriculture may do so.) Adds the promotion of affordable housing and law enforcement as objectives justifying waiver or modification of Federal agency rules in an enterprise zone. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Credits for Employers and Employees - Allows employers located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for qualified increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Sets the credit amount at ten percent of the increase in payroll plus a specified percentage of wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers through the first 20 years of the enterprise zone designation. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of wages earned. Phases out both credits in the last four years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle B: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investments made in certain enterprise zone construction property. Limits the credit to ten percent for new property, including rental property. Requires the recapture of credit amounts upon the early disposition of the property. Subtitle C: Nonrecognition of Qualified Enterprise Zone Capital Gain Where Acquisition of Enterprise Zone Business Property - Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property if, within one year after the sale, the taxpayer acquires qualified replacement property (generally defined as property related to an enterprise zone or to a business within a zone). Subtitle D: Deduction for Purchase of Enterprise Stock - Allows a taxpayer to deduct up to $100,000 of the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Treats any gain from the disposition of the stock as ordinary income. Subtitle E: Rules Relating to Private Activity Bonds - Declares that: (1) limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property; and (2) the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to bonds whose proceeds are used to finance facilities in enterprise zones. Subtitle F: Ordinary Loss Deduction for Securities of Enterprise Zone Business Which Become Worthless - Permits an ordinary loss deduction for securities of enterprise zone business that become worthless during the taxable year. Subtitle G: Increase in Research Credit for Research Conducted in Enterprise Zones - Increases from 20 percent to 37 1/2 percent the tax credit for increasing research conducted in enterprise zones. Subtitle H: Sense of the Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Subtitle I: Regulations - Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act not later than six months after enactment. Title III: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the Act) to increase the minimum wage per hour from $3.35 in 1989 to: (1) $3.85 in 1990; (2) $4.25 in 1991; and (3) $4.65 in 1992 and thereafter. Provides for biennial adjustments of the minimum wage beginning in 1994. Directs the Minimum Wage Review Board (established by this Act), during the 90-day period beginning January 1, 1994, to review current economic data on wages, prices, and other economic indicators and determine how the minimum wage rate should be adjusted. Directs the Board, by October 1, 1994, to transmit to the Congress a recommendation of the rate that should be placed in effect on January 1, 1995, including an estimate of the economic effects of doing so. Directs the Board to conduct such reviews and transmit such recommendations biennially. Establishes the Minimum Wage Review Board, composed of five members appointed by the President and certain congressional officers. Increases the small business exemption by revising the definition of an enterprise engaged in commerce for purposes of coverage under the Act ("the enterprise test"). Exempts from such coverage retail or service establishments whose annual gross volume of sales or business is less than $500,000 (currently $362,500), effective in 1989. Requires employers who were covered in 1988, but who are exempt under the new threshold, to continue to pay the $3.35 per hour minimum wage. Increases the tip credit under the Act from 40 percent to 45 percent for 1990 and to 50 percent for 1991 and thereafter. (The tip credit deems the amount paid to a tipped employee, for minimum wage purposes, to be increased by an amount determined by the employer, but not by an amount in excess of the specified percentage of the applicable minimum wage rate.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Anti-Apartheid Act Amendments of 1989 - Title I: Sanctions Against Investment in, and Exports to, South Africa and Other Measures (Except Import Restrictions) to End Apartheid - Part A: Amendments to the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and Other Laws - Amends the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to prohibit any investments in South Africa by U.S. persons. Makes exceptions to such prohibition for: (1) investments in a business enterprise 90 percent owned and controlled by South Africans economically and politically disadvantaged by apartheid; and (2) investments made by certain individuals during any period and to the extent that such investments are considered South African emigrant non-resident assets and subject to transfer or disposition restrictions. Authorizes a person to apply for, and the President to grant for good cause, a waiver of such prohibition for up to 180 days. Requires U.S. controlled South African entities that are subject to the investment prohibition and that employ more than 24 South Africans economically and politically disadvantaged by apartheid to: (1) notify employees and employee organizations not less than 90 days prior to termination of the U.S. investment in such entity; and (2) enter into good faith negotiations with representative trade unions regarding the terms of such termination. Prohibits the exportation or reexportation to South Africa of any goods or technology subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Prohibits any such exportation or reexportation by any person subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Exempts from such prohibition publications, donations of food, clothing, and medical supplies, commercial sales of agricultural commodities and products, and goods and technology for use in the gathering or dissemination of information by news media organizations subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Makes such prohibitions inapplicable to: (1) any goods that are the direct product of technology of U.S. origin under a written agreement entered into on or before April 20, 1988, and that are exported within one year of the enactment of this Act; (2) economic assistance or human rights programs for disadvantaged South Africans, South African blacks or other nonwhite South Africans, or victims of apartheid in South Africa; and (3) contributions to charitable organizations engaged in social welfare, public health, religious, educational, or emergency relief activities in South Africa. Repeals specified provisions of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 that: (1) prohibit certain exports to, imports from, and investments in South Africa; (2) set forth U.S. policy toward the recruitment and training of black South Africans; and (3) prohibit U.S. intercession with any foreign government regarding export activities of certain U.S. nationals in South Africa who are not implementing the Code of Conduct. Revises the definition of "loans" for purposes of such Act to prohibit short-term trade financing, sales on open account, and rescheduling of existing loans. Adds other definitions for purposes of such Act. Prohibits any U.S. agency or entity involved in intelligence activities from engaging in any form of cooperation with the Government of South Africa (specifically including the authorities administering Namibia so long as Namibia is illegally occupied). Prohibits any U.S. agency or entity from engaging in any form of cooperation with the armed forces of South Africa. Prohibits funds made available by the Congress from being obligated or expended for any expense related to any prohibited cooperation. States that the President should not: (1) assign or detail any member of the U.S. armed forces to serve as a defense or military attache in South Africa; or (2) accredit any individual to serve as a defense or military attache at a South African diplomatic mission in the United States. Repeals provisions of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 concerning restrictions on intelligence agency cooperation with South Africa. Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from authorizing any person to engage, directly or indirectly, in the production of special nuclear materials in South Africa. States that South Africa's granting of independence to Namibia is a major policy goal of the United States. Includes such granting of independence as one of several actions South Africa must take to have U.S. sanctions terminated. Revises penalty provisions of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. Establishes within the Department of State a Coordinator of South Africa Sanctions who shall be responsible to the Secretary of State for matters pertaining to the implementation of sanctions against South Africa. Directs the Coordinator to place emphasis on activities related to strategically important trade in oil, coal, computers, specialized machinery and arms, and to financial credits. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Secretary of State in leading and coordinating the activities of other agencies in implementing and enforcing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and in monitoring other nations' economic relations with South Africa. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on actions to monitor and enforce such Act and on economic relations between South Africa and each of its trading partners. Establishes an Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee on South Africa to coordinate and monitor the implementation of such Act. Revises provisions of such Act regarding the Code of Conduct and expanded participation in the South African economy. Requires Federal agencies to make efforts to assist businesses more than 90 percent (currently, 50 percent) owned by black or nonwhite South Africans. Amends the Export Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Bank to insure or participate in the extension of credit to businesses more than 90 percent owned (currently, majority owned) and controlled by black or nonwhite South Africans. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to permit the use of a specified amount of funds authorized for economic development assistance for assistance to disadvantaged South Africans. Specifies that such assistance may include scholarships, the promotion of the participation of disadvantaged South Africans in trade unions and private enterprise, alternative education and community development programs, and training and other assistance (including legal aid) for South African journalists. Lists major trade union federations in South Africa and Namibia as examples of recipients of U.S. assistance to the labor movement. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds for refugee education and assistance for South Africans and Namibians. Prohibits any U.S. person from providing transport to South Africa of a commercial quantity of crude oil or refined petroleum products. Includes in such prohibition transport on a vessel of U.S. registry or on a vessel owned by a U.S. person. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from issuing any mineral lease to any national of the United States which is controlled by any foreign person who purchases, acquires, owns, or holds any investment in South Africa or who exports crude oil or refined petroleum products to South Africa. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibitions under specified conditions. Part B: Policy Statements; Reports; Studies; and Other Miscellaneous Provisions - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) direct the Attorney General to conduct an antitrust investigation of the South African controlled international diamond cartel; (2) direct the Secretary of Commerce and the Commissioner of Customs to study the feasibility of identifying at the port of entry the national origin of diamonds entering the United States; and (3) ensure effective and rigorous enforcement of a prohibition on the importation into the United States of uncut South African diamonds by taking specified measures. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should close two of South Africa's consulates general, eliminate all honorary consuls of South Africa in the United States, and forbid expansion of South Africa's embassy staff; and (2) approval of temporary U.S. visas should be granted on a case-by-case basis after considering South Africa's record of allowing its citizens, including apartheid opponents, to travel to the United States. Requires the President to study and report to the Congress on measures to reduce South Africa's foreign exchange earnings from gold. Directs the Secretary of State to report to the Congress on South Africa's involvement in international terrorism. Title II: Sanctions Against South African Imports Into the United States - Prohibits the importation into the United States of any article from South Africa, except: (1) strategic minerals which the President certifies to the Congress are essential for military or economic purposes and are not available from alternative reliable suppliers or through improved manufacturing processes, conservation, recycling, and economical substitution; and (2) publications. Specifies that such prohibition includes: (1) krugerrands or any gold coin minted in South Africa or offered for sale by the Government of South Africa; (2) uranium hexafluoride that has been manufactured from South African uranium or uranium oxide; and (3) fish or seafood which are products of South Africa. Exempts from such prohibition any imports from business enterprises in South Africa that are wholly-owned by persons economically or politically disadvantaged by apartheid. Requires the President to confer with other industrialized democracies in order to reach cooperative agreements to impose sanctions against South Africa to bring about the dismantling of apartheid. Requires the President to report to the Congress concerning such efforts. Requires (currently, encourages) the President to seek United Nations Security Council adoption of the same sanctions against South Africa as are imposed by the United States. Requires (currently, authorizes) the President to impose penalties against foreign persons taking significant commercial advantage of U.S. sanctions against South Africa or comparable sanctions of other industrialized democracies. Includes as such a penalty the restriction of such a person from contracting with U.S. Government entities. Allows the President to waive such penalties for foreign persons of an industrialized democracy that is a party to a cooperative agreement to impose sanctions against South Africa. Requires the President to revoke such waiver if the industrialized democracy is not adequately enforcing the measures provided for under the agreement. Requires that information concerning the extent to which import restrictions are being enforced by other industrialized democracies be included in the Secretary of State's annual report to the Congress. Sets forth provisions pertaining to committee referral in the House of Representatives of joint resolutions pertaining to import restrictions. Requires the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, to submit periodic reports to the Congress setting forth the average amounts of imports of coal or any strategic and critical material entering the United States from each member and observer country of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the program to reduce U.S. dependence on strategic minerals from South Africa. Requires the President to confer with the governments of the African "frontline" States on measures to prevent the circumvention of the import restrictions on South African products imposed under the authority of this Act. Title III: General Provisions - Makes conforming amendments and sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Universal Voter Registration Act of 1989 - Entitles any eligible individual to register for any Federal election by mail, in person, or at the appropriate polling place on the day of an election. Declares that such individual may register in person at: (1) a designated place for such individual's current address; (2) any Federal, State, county, or municipal agency that serves the public directly; or (3) any private agency that voluntarily agrees to register voters. Provides that if a State maintains a system of voter registration, such State shall allow an individual to register to vote for elections held on the date of Federal elections, in the manner provided by an approved State plan. Requires such plan to include: (1) the voter registration form to be used for mail registration; (2) provisions for distribution of such forms; (3) election day voter registration; (4) voter registration in agencies which serve the public directly and at private agencies that voluntarily agree to register voters; (5) provisions for prompt notification of registration acceptance; (6) provisions to inform registrants about voting places and times; (7) registration confirmation to insure accurate, inclusive, and uniform voter registration lists; (8) provisions with respect to registration challenges; and (9) a description of State efforts to actively increase voter registration. Requires each State to submit to the Federal Election Commission for approval a voter registration form which allows registration in person or by mail. Allows the form to be similar or identical to postcard application forms under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Specifies requirements for such form, including that it provide for postage paid return delivery to the appropriate State or local official. Requires agencies subject to this Act to provide for year-round registration services. Requires State and local election officials to provide for the availability of sufficient quantities of registration forms. Requires the chief election official of any State to establish a program to confirm voter registration. Sets forth requirements for such program, including: (1) notification systems concerning deaths and changes of address; (2) non-removal from a voter registration list unless a voter has died, changed residence to another jurisdiction, been convicted of a criminal offense or institutionalized for mental incapacity, or requested removal; and (3) voter registration lists comprising eligible voters, voters whose registration cannot be confirmed and whose eligibility may be challenged on election day, and individuals who have been removed from such list not more than four years before the date of the election. Sets forth provisions for challenging election votes, including the use of an affidavit ballot for the challenged voter. Declares that voter registration requirements shall not apply to any State which: (1) provides for voter registration procedures which meet or exceed the standards for State plans; (2) does not require voter registration; or (3) adopts the Federal postcard application form. Requires individuals who register to vote on an election day to establish their identity, place of residence, and qualifications at the time of such registration. Requires each polling place to provide a means of processing such registrants separately from other voters. Authorizes the Federal Election Commission to administer this Act and to provide advice and technical assistance to States. Requires the Commission to report to the Congress every two years on: (1) the effectiveness of efforts to establish and maintain voter registration procedures; (2) the administration of voter registration programs; and (3) recommendations on national voter registration standards. Declares any order of the Commission under this Act to be reviewable by the appropriate U.S. court of appeals. Provides that the appellee shall not be liable for costs. Directs the Commission to make grants to the chief election official of any State which has an approved plan for establishing voter registration programs. Requires such grants to be made to enable and encourage States to computerize voter registration lists and to undertake alternative methods of voter registration. Authorizes the Commission to establish an advisory council of State and local election officials to advise States about voter registration systems. Requires the Commission to develop a formula for the allocation of funds to States and to allocate or reallocate such funds. Requires a State to submit a plan for voter registration to the Commission within two years of enactment of this Act. Requires the Commission to publish proposed regulations for an implementation plan, or portion thereof, for any State which fails to submit a plan or for any State plan determined not to meet the requirements under this Act. Establishes Federal enforcement procedures and penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
California Ocean Sanctuary and Fisheries Enhancement Act of 1989 - Designates a specified area of the Outer Continental Shelf extending 200 miles seaward from the seaward boundary of California as the California Ocean Sanctuary, prohibiting oil and gas leasing and exploration and ocean dumping and incineration, as specified.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop and implement a continuing program of information dissemination, research, and technical assistance to public and private entities with respect to correction of wage-setting practices, and reduction or elimination of wage disparities, to the extent that they are based on the sex, race, or national origin of the employee, rather than on the work performed and other appropriate factors.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
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 · 3 January 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the corporate income tax exclusion of contributions to the capital of the taxpayer. Includes as a qualifying contribution any amount of money or property received by a regulated public utility (a utility required to provide electric energy, gas, water, or sewage disposal services) that: (1) is a contribution in aid of construction (as defined by regulations to be promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury); (2) meets certain expenditure requirements; and (3) is not included in the taxpayer's rate base. Excludes amounts paid as customer connection fees.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Federal Bureau of Investigation First Amendment Protection Act of 1989 - Prohibits the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from initiating or conducting any investigation that may involve the collection of information about the exercise by a U.S. person of first amendment rights, except as specified. Requires the Attorney General to issue guidelines for investigations covered by this Act. Sets forth standards to be followed by the FBI in the conduct of an investigation, the disposition of any records obtained, and the periodic review of open investigations. Provides a civil remedy for any person aggrieved by a violation of this Act. Waives the provisions of this Act with respect to background investigations conducted with the consent of the subject regarding: (1) nominees to judicial and executive branch positions requiring the advice and consent of the Senate; (2) employees of the Department of Justice; or (3) the granting or retention of security clearances.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Authorizes the establishment of a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor members of the American press and other news media who have been killed while covering an armed conflict. Requires the memorial to comply with the requirements of Federal law relating to commemorative works on certain Federal lands in the District of Columbia and its environs. Prohibits the United States from paying any expense of establishing the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Prohibits the President from providing military assistance to El Salvador, including issuing letters of offer, extending credits, issuing guarantees, entering into leases of defense articles, or issuing certain licenses under the Arms Export Control Act. Requires the President to order the prompt withdrawal from El Salvador of specified U.S. military personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Title I: Housing and Urban Development - Makes supplemental FY 1989 appropriations for the following Department of Housing and Urban Development programs for the homeless: (1) assisted housing; (2) emergency shelter grants; (3) supportive housing demonstration projects; and (4) supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless. Makes supplemental FY 1989 appropriations for: (1) the Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency food and shelter program; and (2) the Department of Veterans Affairs medical care for homeless veterans program. Title II: Health and Human Services - Makes supplemental FY 1989 appropriations for the following Department of Health and Human Services programs for the homeless: (1) health services; (2) community mental health and mental health services demonstration projects; (3) alcohol and drug abuse treatment; and (4) emergency community services block grants.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families to conduct a comprehensive study and review of the problems of children, youth, and families.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control to conduct continuing oversight and review of the problems of narcotics, drug, and polydrug abuse and control.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Hunger to conduct a continuing comprehensive study of the problems of hunger and malnutrition.