United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1988
Capital Gains Restoration Act of 1988 - Repeals provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 relating to the taxation of both individual and corporate capital gains. Provides that the Internal Revenue Code shall be applied and administered as if such provisions had not been enacted. (The capital gains tax rate for corporations would generally be 28 percent.) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the holding period required for long-term capital gain tax treatment of property acquired after June 22, 1984, and before January 1, 1988. Revises the method of calculating the income tax deduction for capital gains of noncorporate taxpayers. Allows a deduction equal to: (1) 25 percent for assets held for between two and five years; and (2) 50 percent for assets held for five years or longer. Decreases the rate of the alternative tax on capital gains realized by corporations from 34 percent to: (1) 27 percent for assets held for between two and five years; and (2) 20 percent for assets held for five years or longer.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the excise tax on diesel and aviation fuels. Prohibits imposition of the tax on the sale of these fuels to any purchaser (or purchaser for resale to a second purchaser) for use on a farm for farming purposes or for any other use not as a fuel in a diesel-powered highway vehicle or train. (Although fuel sold for these purposes is tax-exempt under current law, provisions of the Revenue Act of 1987 require purchasers to pay the tax and subsequently apply for a refund based on nontaxable uses of the fuel.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1988
Dairy Production Termination Enforcement Act of 1988 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to make jointly liable with the producer for program violations any person who: (1) acquires, and uses or makes available for milk production, any milk production capacity idled under a dairy termination program producer contract; and (2) knows that the producer is prohibited from making the facility available to another person. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to notify each facility owner regarding program compliance.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1988
Commends the President, Secretary of State, and Administrator of the Agency for International Development for their response to the drought and food emergency in Ethiopia and other nations of sub-Saharan Africa, and urges them to continue efforts to preclude the onset of famine and to ensure the timely delivery of medical and other emergency relief supplies. Declares that: (1) the Government response to these food emergencies should include initiatives to prevent the dislocation of large numbers of persons across national borders and/or into relief camps; and (2) the plight of the refugees or displaced should be addressed by emphasizing the provision of basic human needs, such as food, water, and shelter.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1988
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Congress should freeze the Federal budget for FY 1989. States that discretionary programs in the Federal budget for FY 1989 should be frozen at FY 1988 levels.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1988
Farmer Fuel Tax Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit imposition of the excise tax on the sale of diesel or aviation fuel to any purchaser (or purchaser for resale to a second purchaser) for use on a farm for farming purposes. (Although fuel sold for these purposes is tax-exempt under current law, provisions of the Revenue Act of 1987 require purchasers to pay the tax and subsequently apply for a refund based on nontaxable uses of the fuel.) Permits wholesale distributors of gasoline who have registered with the Secretary of the Treasury and posted the required bond to pay the gasoline tax (in lieu of the person otherwise liable for the tax.) Prohibits imposition of the gasoline tax on the sale or removal of gasoline by any person (or for resale to a second person) for use on a farm for farming purposes. Requires that the reduced gasoline tax rate (3.4 cents instead of 9.1 cents) be applied with respect to gasoline used to produce gasohol after the time of the relevant removal or sale.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1988
Removes the earmark of a specified amount of funds appropriated to the Department of State by the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988 for the construction of educational facilities for North African Jewish refugees in France.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1987
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that during any decennial census: (1) no member of the armed forces, civilian employee of the Department of Defense, or dependent of such member or employee, is excluded based on such member or employee being assigned to a post outside the United States; and (2) any alien not lawfully admitted for permanent residence is not included.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 1987
Requires the Office of Personnel Management to report, with recommendations, to the Congress on the problem of delays in processing applications for benefits under the Civil Service Retirement System. Directs the Office to examine: (1) current methods and procedures; (2) circumstances where it might be appropriate to provide interim benefits; (3) the feasibility of processing records, forms, and other matters in anticipation of an employee's retirement; and (4) the effectiveness of retirement counselors. Requires the report to contain a plan to allow an individual to go from regular pay to retirement or disability retirement pay without interruption.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 1987
Deplores the Soviet Government's active persecution of religious believers in the Ukraine and its forcible liquidation of the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic Churches. Sends greetings to the Ukrainian people on the Millennium of Christianity in the Ukraine. Urges the President, the Secretary of State, the U.S. delegation to the United Nations, and the U.S. delegation to the Vienna Review Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe to continue to speak out forcefully against violations of religious liberty everywhere and, specifically, in the Ukraine. Calls upon the Soviet Government to release all those imprisoned for their religious beliefs. Discourages U.S. officials from attending the commemoration of the Millennium in the Soviet Union so long as individuals remain imprisoned for their religious beliefs and the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox churches remain outlawed. Urges the U.S. Government to call on the Soviet Government to ban its prohibition of the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic Churches.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1987
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive research grants to: (1) develop a statistical framework to measure the extent to which microbiological and chemical agents in agricultural products pose human health risks; (2) identify such agents; and (3) devise appropriate testing and control procedures. Creates a peer review committee to evaluate grant applications. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees no later than one year after enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter. Authorizes FY 1988 through 1992 appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1987
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in celebration of the millennium of the Christianization of Kievan-Rus', the Soviet Union should: (1) comply with its international obligations and allow Christians to practice their faith without harassment; (2) grant a general amnesty for all Christians who have been imprisoned because of their religious beliefs; (3) allow religious believers to practice their faith freely; (4) permit unlimited publication, distribution, and importation of religious materials; and (5) allow closed churches to reopen, new churches to be built, and theological seminaries to open or expand.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 1987
Pro Competition Cargo Allocation Act of 1987 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to repeal various provisions relating to cargo preference shipping requirements for certain agricultural exports, including provisions relating to preserving the percentage share or metric tonnage of certain commodities of waterborne cargoes exported from Great Lakes ports.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 1987
Middle-Income Family Higher Education Savings Act of 1987 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual an income tax deduction for contributions to a savings account established to pay the educational expenses (tuition, supplies, meals, and lodging) of the taxpayer's child at an institution of higher education or a vocational school. Limits the deduction to $1,000 per year per child. Provides that no account may have more than one beneficiary. Permits a deduction with respect to only one account in cases of multiple accounts for the same beneficiary. Disallows the deduction for contributions made to an account after the beneficiary either attains age 25 or graduates from an eligible educational institution. Permits the exclusion from the gross income of the recipient beneficiary of payments and distributions from an education savings account as long as such amounts: (1) are used for the educational expenses of that individual; or (2) are rolled over into an education savings account established for a sibling of that individual. Exempts the education savings accounts themselves from taxation unless they cease to be proper education savings accounts because either the contributor taxpayer or the beneficiary engages in prohibited transactions or the beneficiary pledges the account as security. Establishes penalties in the form of additional tax when account funds or distributions are improperly used. Requires that the trustee of an education savings account report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's benefactor on the maintenance of the account. Identifies the criteria and requirements applicable to an education savings account. Provides that contributions to an education savings account shall not be subject to gift tax. Establishes: (1) a five percent excise tax on amounts connected with any prohibited transaction with respect to an education savings account; and (2) a penalty for failure to file required reports concerning the education savings account.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1987
Dwight David Eisenhower Commemorative Coin Act of 1987 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of one dollar silver coins in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dwight David Eisenhower. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Terminates the minting of the coins after December 31, 1990. Requires the Secretary to deposit in the Treasury all surcharges received from the sale of the coins, to be used to reduce the national debt.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1987
Amends the Upper Mississippi River Management Act of 1986 to extend authorized appropriations for certain water development resource programs and recreational projects from ten years to 11 years without increasing the total amounts authorized, by authorizing 11th-year appropriations in the amount of the aggregate differences between the amounts authorized and the amounts appropriated for the preceding ten years.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1987
Authorizes the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, Inc., to establish a commemorative statue within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to recognize and honor the women of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam war. Expresses the sense of the Congress that after the addition of such statue, no further commemorative works should be added to the Memorial. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to select a site for the statue within the Memorial. Makes the design proposal subject to the approval of the Secretary and the National Capital Planning Commission. Prohibits the United States and the District of Columbia from paying any expense of establishing the statue.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1987
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to adjust census figures as necessary so that illegal aliens shall not be counted for purposes of the apportionment of Representatives in the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1987
Social Security Flat Rate COLA Act of 1987 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to: (1) base cost-of-living increases solely on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index; and (2) provide for a single annual cost-of-living increase in primary insurance amounts at a uniform flat rate. Provides for further amendments regarding cost-of-living adjustments and: (1) Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSI) under title XVI of the Social Security Act; (2) supplementary medical insurance under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Act; (3) veterans' pension and survivors' benefits; and (4) limitations on benefits and contributions under qualified pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, and other such plans.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1987
Urges the President to call upon Syria to grant the request of West Germany for the extradition of Alois Brunner to stand trial for the mass transport of Jews to death camps during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1987
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President, the Secretary of State, and the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations should be commended for, and should continue, their efforts to place Cuba on the human rights agenda of the United Nations. Commends specified countries for their votes in favor of considering human rights violations in Cuba. Urges specified countries to reconsider their positions with respect to this issue. Urges the United States to: (1) take the votes into account in determining U.S. bilateral and other assistance to all countries which are members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission; and (2) continue to emphasize how other countries vote on fundamental issues, such as human rights, in determining financial support for the United Nations and for the Commission. Urges the Commission to include among the highest priorities of its human rights agenda at its 44th session in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1988, consideration of human rights violations in Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1987
Agricultural Extended Retirement Credit Act of 1987 - Extends creditable service under the Civil Service Retirement System for periods of service in certain Federal-State cooperative programs which had agricultural or related purposes. Establishes a hiring limitation period of three fiscal years after 60 days following enactment of this Act on the replacement of retirees in the United States Department of Agriculture. Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of any budget authority or outlays saved in any fiscal year by reason of reduced pay and personnel resulting from implementation of this Act. Requires that the budget authority and outlays thus saved be credited against pay and other personnel costs required to be sequestered under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Requires the Comptroller General to notify the Congress, in writing, of each instance of noncompliance with the requirement of this Act. Directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to report to the Congress on an evaluation of the extended credit retirement program and the limitation on replacement of retirees provided under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1987
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) Nicaragua should undertake specified reforms, such as reinstating due process and fair trials, ending torture, conducting free elections, allowing an uncensored free press, ensuring the right to strike and to publish for unions, ceasing attacks against civilians, and ending the forced relocation of Indians and Creoles; and (2) all countries in Central America should continue to work toward achieving the democratic principles and processes specified in the August 7, 1987, Central American peace accord.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1987
Rural Crisis Recovery Program Act of 1987 - Amends the Rural Development Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants for educational, retraining, and counseling assistance to farmers and rural families who have been adversely affected by the current rural economic crisis. Includes the following services among such assistance: (1) clinical outreach counseling and crisis management assistance; (2) financial planning; (3) vocational counseling and job search assistance; (4) literacy skills training; and (5) tuition and educational assistance. Encourages the Agricultural Extension Service to work with State, local, and nonprofit organizations to develop a comprehensive grant plan. Terminates grant authority on December 23, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1987
Older Americans Long-Term Care Insurance Act of 1987 - Title I: Tax Provisions Related to Long-Term Care Insurance - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat certain long-term care insurance which the Secretary certifies is providing coverage to each covered person for at least one year for diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitation, maintenance, or personal care services provided in a setting other than the acute care unit of a hospital as noncancellable accident or health insurance when taxing issuers of such insurance (hereafter referred to as qualified long-term care insurance). Requires such policies which are issued after 1989 to be reinsured by the Federal National Long-Term Care Reinsurance Corporation if the Corporation is incorporated when such policy is issued. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit a study on long-term care insurance policies to the Congress by 1989 and report annually to the Congress regarding the certification of qualified long-term care insurance. Provides that for the purpose of determining whether a tax exclusion applies to employer contributions to, or an employee's receipt of benefits from qualified long-term care insurance such contributions and benefits shall be considered to be for personal injury or sickness, and medical care. Excludes from taxation: (1) distributions or payments from individual retirement plans which are used during the year to pay the premiums for qualified long-term care coverage of individuals who are age 59 1/2 or older on the date of distribution or payment; and (2) amounts received, when an individual surrenders, cancels, or exchanges a life insurance contract, and used during such year to pay the premiums for qualified long-term care insurance. Title II: Federal National Long-Term Care Reinsurance Corporation - Federal National Long-Term Care Reinsurance Corporation Act - Authorizes the Secretary to provide for the incorporation of the Federal National Long-Term Care Reinsurance Corporation (Corporation), which shall not be an agency or establishment of the U.S. Government. Requires the Corporation to confine its activities to reinsuring insurance companies for extraordinary loss in the issuance or payment of qualified long-term care insurance benefits. Sets forth organizing and administrative provisions with respect to the Corporation. Exempts the Corporation from State regulation and taxation. Directs the Corporation to report annually to the President and the Congress regarding its activities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1987
Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require that meat and meat food products containing specified amounts of cheese substitutes or imitations are so labeled.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1987
Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from cancelling or suspending a pesticide registration or finding a pesticide misbranded on the basis of noncompliance with the Endangered Species Act for a period ending after January 1989. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary of the Interior to jointly study the economic impact of any change in pesticide regulations which may be proposed in compliance with such Act and report to the chairmen of specified congressional committees on the results. Directs the Administrator and Secretary to jointly inform affected persons of requirements which may be imposed under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1987
Omnibus Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to prepare a statement setting forth in nontechnical terms: (1) the rights and obligations of a taxpayer and of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during a tax audit; (2) the procedures by which a taxpayer may appeal adverse decisions, prosecute refund claims, and file complaints; and (3) the procedures that the IRS may use in enforcing revenue laws. Directs the Secretary to transmit drafts of such statement to specified congressional committees and to distribute the final statement to all taxpayers receiving annual tax filing forms from the IRS. Requires the IRS, upon taxpayer request, to conduct any interview regarding the determination or collection of any tax at a reasonable time and place convenient to the taxpayer and to the IRS, and to permit the taxpayer, at his or her own expense, to record the interview. Authorizes the IRS interviewer to record such interview if the taxpayer has been given prior notice and is provided, upon request and payment of reproduction costs, with a transcript of the recording. Requires the interviewer to explain to the taxpayer the audit process, including the taxpayer's rights with respect to the process. Requires the Secretary to abate any penalty or interest imposed on any deficiency attributable to erroneous advice in writing given to a taxpayer by an IRS officer or employee in response to such taxpayer's specific inquiry. Authorizes the IRS Ombudsman, upon application filed by a taxpayer, to issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order if, in the determination of the Ombudsman: (1) the taxpayer is suffering or is about to suffer from an unusual or irreparable loss as a result of the manner in which the internal revenue laws are being administered by the Secretary; and (2) the Secretary has failed to carry out any of his or her duties or has violated any provision of law. Allows the terms of a Taxpayer Assistance Order to require the Secretary to release property of the taxpayer levied upon or to cease or refrain from certain actions. Requires the Secretary to obey any Taxpayer Assistance Order issued by the Ombudsman. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days of this Act's enactment, to issue regulations with respect to Taxpayer Assistance Orders, including provisions to assure full, fair, and impartial due process for affected taxpayers. Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 and other Federal law to establish within the Department of the Treasury an Office of Inspector General. Transfers to such Office the existing audit and investigation units of the Department. Sets forth criteria with respect to: (1) the authority of the Inspector General to conduct an investigation; and (2) the authority of the Secretary in cases of audits or investigations requiring access to information of a sensitive or confidential nature. Allows the Secretary to prohibit investigations under specified circumstances. Restricts disclosure by the Inspector General of tax returns and return information. Prohibits records of tax enforcement results from being used to evaluate certain IRS personnel or to impose or suggest production quotas. Requires district directors to certify compliance with this mandate on a monthly basis. Requires the Secretary to certify that a rule proposed by the IRS is substantially the only alternative that meets the mandate of the relevant statute in order for the rule to be considered an interpretative rule (and thereby not subject to analyses under the Regulatory Flexibility Act). Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act to require regulatory flexibility analyses to include consideration of both the direct and indirect beneficial and negative effects of a proposed or final rule. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Secretary, with limited exceptions, to send a preliminary letter of deficiency to a taxpayer prior to the mailing of a deficiency notice. Specifies required contents for tax due notices and deficiency notices, including the basis of the deficiency and a breakdown of the total amount into tax, interest, and penalty. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days of this Act's enactment, to issue regulations requiring all IRS personnel to explain and support their position in assessing any penalties or additions to tax. Requires the Comptroller General to study IRS procedures with respect to such assessments and to present findings to specified congressional committees no later than December 31, 1988. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a binding agreement with a taxpayer under which the taxpayer may pay tax liability in installments if the Secretary determines that such an agreement will facilitate collection of the liability. Permits the Secretary, after proper notice and a hearing, to modify or annul the agreement upon the finding that the financial condition of the affected taxpayer has significantly changed. Renders such an agreement nonbinding if the taxpayer fails to pay any installment or any other tax liability when due. Extends from ten to 30 days the period between the required notice to a person who neglects or refuses to pay tax liability and a levy on such person's salary, wages, or other property. Specifies information that must be incorporated in such notice, including possible alternative actions and the appropriate appeals procedures. Adds to the circumstances triggering termination of such a levy: (1) an agreement between the taxpayer and the Secretary for payment of the liability; and (2) the Secretary's determination that the taxpayer's financial condition precludes enforceability of the liability. Revises the list of property exempt from levy to: (1) increase the exempt amount permitted for certain personal effects, the property of a business, and wages; (2) add an exemption for certain deposits in qualified institutions; and (3) provide an express exemption, except under limited circumstances specified in this Act, for the taxpayer's principal residence, a motor vehicle used by the taxpayer as the primary means of transportation to work, and any tangible personal property essential to the operation of the taxpayer's business in cases when a levy would prevent the taxpayer from carrying on such business. Prohibits a levy on any property when levy and sales expenses would exceed either the liability for which the levy is made or the fair market value of the levied property. Permits the Secretary to demand surrender of bank accounts only after 21 days in escrow have passed since service of the notice of levy on the accounts. Sets forth situations in which the Secretary must release a levy. Applies to jeopardy levies the administrative and judicial review procedures currently applicable to jeopardy assessments. Permits a taxpayer to bring a civil action against the United States in the Tax Court for judicial review of jeopardy levies and assessments. (Under current law an action for judicial review of jeopardy assessments may be filed only in district court.) Increases the time during which a taxpayer may petition for such review. Describes the jurisdictional requirements to be applied to such actions. Allows an administrative appeal of tax liens. Grants to the Tax Court exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin premature assessments if the taxpayer has filed a timely petition for review. Provides for review of such injunctive orders by the U.S. Court of Appeals. Grants to the Tax Court jurisdiction to enforce payment by the Secretary of refunds of overpayment and interest to taxpayers. Places on the Secretary the burden of proof of justifying any failure to refund, credit, or offset relevant amounts with respect to a taxpayer. Entitles a prevailing taxpayer to: (1) an interest rate of 120 percent of the overpayment rate with respect to refunds; and (2) reasonable litigation costs. Grants to the Tax Court jurisdiction to: (1) review jeopardy assessment sales of assets; and (2) redetermine interest under certain circumstances when a taxpayer claims an overpayment of the interest. Vests in the Tax Court original jurisdiction over any civil action against the Secretary for the recovery of any tax, additions to tax, and penalties with respect to income, estate, gift, and certain excise taxes. Authorizes an award of reasonable litigation costs to the prevailing party in proceedings by taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. Permits a taxpayer to bring a civil action in district court for actual damages resulting from the failure of any Federal officer or employee to release a tax lien on the taxpayer's property. Permits a civil cause of action in district court for damages resulting from the careless, reckless, or intentional disregard of internal revenue laws by any Federal officer or employee. Denies damage awards in cases of contributory negligence. Authorizes a damage award, to a $10,000 maximum, to the United States in cases of frivolous or groundless claims by a taxpayer. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe criminal penalties for: (1) any investigation or surveillance authorized or conducted by an officer or employee of the United States in connection with Federal tax laws that inquires into the beliefs, associations, or activities of any individual or organization; or (2) the maintenance of any records containing information derived from such an investigation. Establishes in the Internal Revenue Service the Office for Taxpayers Services, under the supervision of an Assistant Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Directs this Assistant Commissioner to: (1) be responsible for telephone, walk-in, and educational services, and for the design and production of tax and information forms; and (2) prepare annually, for presentation to specified congressional committees, a joint report (with the Chief Problem Resolution Officer for the IRS) on the quality of taxpayer services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1987
Department of Veterans Affairs Act - Redesignates the Veterans Administration (VA) as the Department of Veterans Affairs (the Department), an executive department within the executive branch of the Government. Provides that the Department shall be headed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Designates as other principal officers of the Department the Deputy Secretary, the Chief Medical Director, and the Chief Benefits Director. Provides for the temporary continuation of service of the current Administrator, Deputy Administrator, Chief Medical Director, and Chief Benefits Director of Veterans Affairs. Establishes within the Department eight Assistant Secretaries, each of whom shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to perform such functions as the Secretary may prescribe. Directs the Secretary to assign to one such Assistant Secretary all functions regarding the National Cemetery System and the State cemetery grant program. Outlines functions which the Secretary shall assign to the Assistant Secretaries. Provides for the temporary continuation of the performance of such functions by present personnel until such functions are assigned to an individual appointed as Assistant Secretary under this Act. Redesignates the current VA's Department of Medicine and Surgery as the Veterans Health Services Administration of the Department. Redesignates the VA's current Department of Veterans Benefits as the Veterans Benefits Administration of the Department, whose primary function shall be to administer nonmedical programs which provide assistance to veterans, their dependents, and their survivors. Establishes within the Department the Office of the General Counsel. Redesignates the current Office of Inspector General of the VA as the Office of Inspector General of the Department. Provides that any references to departments or positions under the current VA system shall be considered to be references to such departments and positions of the Department as modified under this Act. Provides continuing effect of all legal documents, suits, actions, and property and resources of the current VA. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, after appropriate congressional consultation, to prepare and submit to the Congress proposed legislation containing technical and conforming amendments to reflect the changes made under this Act. Requires such legislation to be submitted no later than six months after the enactment of this Act. Provides that any spending authority of the Department is subject to available amounts as provided in appropriation Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1987
Authorizes the Indian American Forum for Political Education to establish a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi 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 · 8 October 1987
Medicaid Home and Community Quality Services Act of 1987 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require States to provide Medicaid coverage of community and family support services for severely disabled individuals who became disabled before age 22 and are living in a family home, foster family home, or community living facility. Requires that such services be provided in accordance with a written habilitation plan developed by an interdisciplinary team on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of the individual's strengths and the services and support necessary to: (1) enable such individual to attain or retain capabilities for independence or self-care; (2) promote interaction between disabled and nondisabled individuals within the community; and (3) enable disabled individuals who are over age 18 to engage in paid employment. Increases the age at which newly disabled individuals will be eligible for this Act's coverage so that eventually individuals who become disabled between age 22 and 50 will be covered. Lists the services which may comprise community and family support services, requiring that such services include at a minimum: (1) case management services; (2) individual and family support services; (3) specialized vocational services; and (4) protective intervention services. Excludes from such services: (1) room and board, other than room and board provided for less than six consecutive weeks and less than 12 weeks per year; (2) cash payments as a service; (3) aversive behavior intervention, management, or therapies; (4) services provided to a disabled individual living in a hospital, or skilled nursing or intermediate care facility; (5) educational services which the State makes generally available to its residents without cost and without regard to their income; and (6) services for which payment is made under title XVIII (Medicare), or part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) or B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Act. Requires each State to make certain assurances regarding their provision of community and family support services and submit an implementation strategy to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires that such implementation strategies: (1) describe the extent and scope of community and family support services provided to the severely disabled and the extent and scope of services provided to the severely disabled who are institutionalized; (2) set forth the objectives and a five-year strategy for expanding community and family support services for the severely disabled; (3) include certain procedures for transferring severely disabled, institutionalized individuals to family homes, foster family homes, or community living facilities; (4) set forth standards for the provision of community and family support services and a program for licensing and certifying all facilities and programs providing such services; (5) provide for assessments of the provision and affect of community and family support services and the correction of service deficiencies; (6) provide the public with an adequate opportunity to comment on the strategies; (7) set forth methods ensuring that the personnel providing community and family support services receive adequate training and are competent to provide such services; (8) provide that the State has in effect a management information system capable of collecting, storing, and retrieving data on the severely disabled who receive community and family support services; (9) provide an opportunity for an appeal and hearing before a hearing officer to individuals who believe themselves to be inappropriately served or denied an appropriate service, or who are being scheduled for an involuntary transfer from one living arrangement to another; (10) describe the methods to be used in administering community and family support services; and (11) set forth procedures to protect the interests of public employees who will be affected by the transfer of the severely disabled from public institutions. Allows States to provide any new community and family support service for up to three years without meeting the Medicaid requirements that they provide a service on a statewide basis and that the service be comparable in all parts of the State. Requires that intermediate care facility services for the mentally retarded include the ascertainment of the individual needs of each newly admitted individual by an interdisciplinary team within 30 days and the development of a written habilitation plan for each individual. Limits Medicaid payments to States for skilled nursing and intermediate care facility services furnished to individuals under age 65 who became disabled before age 22 to the amount payable for such services in the fiscal year ending after the enactment of this Act, increased if and by the extent to which the percentage increase in the consumer price index exceeds six percent. Makes such limitation inapplicable to facilities which have less than 16 beds or meet the size and location requirements for a community living facility. Requires States to have in effect a system to protect and advocate those rights of the severely disabled who are eligible for medical assistance which relate to the provision of such assistance. Provides Federal Medicaid matching funds for such system. Gives individuals who are adversely affected by a violation of this Act's requirements the right to bring an action to enjoin such violation. Allows States to set payment rates for community and family support services for the severely disabled. Authorizes States to treat severely disabled individuals under age 19 who are not in a medical institution as receiving benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act for Medicaid eligibility purposes if they would be eligible for SSI benefits if institutionalized. Requires States to establish a uniform income standard for the severely disabled regardless of whether or not they are in a medical institution. Authorizes States to provide Medicaid coverage of disabled spouses and children who, except for the resources deemed to them, would be eligible for SSI benefits. Removes certain limitations on the Secretary's approval of reduction and correction plans for deficient intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded. Makes individuals who are severely disabled and receiving or deemed to be receiving SSI benefits eligible for Medicaid as long as such qualifications continue to be satisfied. Directs the Secretary to establish, within the Health Care Financing Administration, a Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services responsible for administering Medicaid programs for the severely disabled. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop standards and a program for training Federal and State personnel who perform surveys of skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities to determine whether such facilities meet Medicaid participation requirements; and (2) periodically conduct studies of the reliability of such surveys and make the changes necessary to improve such reliability. Directs the Secretary to support the development of: (1) instruments to assess outcomes in the provision of this Act's services; and (2) competency-based personnel standards for agencies and organizations providing services to the severely disabled pursuant to this Act. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct an annual assessment of each State's compliance with this Act's requirements; and (2) issue final regulations regarding this Act's amendments prior to the first fiscal year beginning after this Act's enactment. Sets forth reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1987
Domestic Industry Safeguard Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to establish additional reporting requirements for foreign investors. Requires such investors to file statements: (1) specifying whether they intend to sell or close any facility, or terminate or alter any operation, during the two-year period following completion of the acquisition; (2) estimating the number of jobs that are likely to be lost during that two-year period; (3) specifying their aggregate amount of liabilities and equity (before and after such acquisition); and (4) describing the manner in which such assets will be treated and used. Subjects any person who makes false or misleading statements to civil liability. Prohibits such foreign investors from selling, leasing, or disposing of (with certain exceptions) any assets of an issuer during the two years following acquisition. Sets forth additional restrictions with respect to tender offers for securities made or consummated by or for a foreign investor. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a study to: (1) determine the amount of foreign investment in the United States; (2) gather information on corporate takeovers of U.S. companies by foreign investors; and (3) analyze the need for additional Federal regulations to protect local jobs and regional economies from adverse consequences of such foreign investment and takeovers. Directs the Commission to submit the results of such study to the Congress. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study of the loss of revenues occurring as a result of the deductibility of debt services expenses incurred by a foreign acquirer in the course of conducting a hostile takeover of a U.S. company. Directs the Secretary to submit the results of such study to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1987
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Soviet Union's test of ballistic missiles near Hawaii has increased rather than decreased the risk of nuclear war. Condemns the Soviet Union for its actions regarding such test. Declares that the U.S. Government should officially protest such actions. States that the President should report to the Congress concerning the details of such test, the Soviet explanations offered, steps that will be taken to ensure that such a test will not happen in the future, and what effect an SDI system could have against a missile launched in similar proximity to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1987
Deceptive Mailings Prevention Act of 1987 - Declares as nonmailable matter, matter which constitutes a solicitation by a non-governmental entity: (1) for the purchase of products or services which are provided free of charge or at a lower price by the Federal Government, or which are substantially the same as such products or services; (2) for the purchase of products or services and which contains a seal, insignia, trade or brand name, or any other term or symbol which reasonably could be interpreted or construed as implying Federal Government connection, approval, or endorsement; and (3) for the contribution of funds and which contains a seal, insignia, trade or brand name, or any other term which could reasonably be interpreted or construed as implying Federal Government connection, approval, or endorsement. Allows the mailing of such matter if it contains a conspicuous disclaimer that it is not a Government document. Establishes penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1987
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Federal estate and gift taxes should not be changed in order to increase Federal revenues as part of deficit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1987
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to provide that, notwithstanding the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and the subsequent sequestration order issued by the President (under such Act), FY 1987 dairy expenditure reductions shall be implemented through a reduction in the price received by milk producers rather than through a reduction in Commodity Credit Corporation payments for dairy product purchases. States that such reductions shall be no greater than needed to equal the reduction in milk support expenditures required by such order.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1987
Crimes Against Older Americans Information and Coordination Act of 1987 - Directs the Attorney General to modify the uniform crime reporting program in the Federal Bureau of Investigation to include data on the age, sex, ethnicity, living arrangements, and other characteristics of the victim and the perpetrator, including any relationship between them, for crimes against the elderly. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain within the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs a National Reference Center on Crimes Against Older Americans which shall: (1) publish an annual report of research conducted on crimes against the elderly; (2) develop and maintain an information reference service on all private and public initiatives for the prevention and identification of such crimes; (3) study the national incidence of such crimes, comparing rural and urban areas; (4) serve as a liaison with the various Federal agencies that carry out programs for the elderly; and (5) provide technical assistance to individuals and to private and public organizations to reduce and prevent crimes against the elderly.
![Official portrait of Rep. Gunderson, Steve [R-WI-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000524_200.jpg)