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United States · Official source
3,074 records where Rep. Hawkins, Augustus F. [D-CA-29] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1989
Designates February 18 through February 24, 1990, as National Visiting Nurse Associations Week.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1989
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to the application of employer sanctions to longshore work.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1989
Plastic Container Identification Act of 1989 - Prescribes labeling requirements for plastic containers in interstate commerce to indicate the type of plastic resin used to produce the container. Imposes criminal penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1989
Automated Telephone Solicitation Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 with respect to automatic telephone dialing devices (telephone terminal equipment with the capacity to store or produce numbers, dial them, and deliver a prerecorded message without manual assistance). Makes it unlawful for any person in interstate or foreign communications to use such device for a telephone solicitation to a telephone customer unless: (1) the recorded message states the name and telephone number of the person initiating the call; (2) the dialer automatically terminates its connection within five seconds after the person called fails to give consent to the recorded message or hangs up his or her telephone; (3) the device does not make calls to any emergency phone numbers; or (4) the device is used only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. States exceptions to such prohibition. States that a $5,000 limitation on certain forfeiture penalties under such Act does not apply to violations of such prohibition. Requires the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to jointly study and report to the Congress on the practicality and constitutionality of a complete ban on the use of automatic dialing devices to deliver telephone solicitations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the targeted jobs income tax credit through 1992 (under current law the credit will expire after December 31, 1989). Amends the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 to authorize appropriations through FY 1992 in connection with the targeted jobs credit. Raises from 23 to 25 years the age limitation with respect to economically disadvantaged youth targeted for credit purposes. Adds as a targeted group under the credit economically disadvantaged individuals who have completed a qualified drug rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1989
Department of Veterans' Affairs Minority Affairs Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate the Assistant Secretary in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), whose functions include equal opportunity functions as the Chief Minority Affairs Officer. Outlines the duties of the Chief Minority Affairs Officer (the Chief), including the following: (1) investigating and examining VA activities affecting minority group members who are veterans or who receive benefits from the VA; (2) assessing the needs of minority veterans within the VA; (3) advising the Secretary regarding the effect on minority veterans of policies, regulations, and programs of the VA and of methods to ensure that minority veterans are afforded an opportunity to participate fully in the activities and benefits of the VA; and (4) carrying out any other additional functions as the Secretary may prescribe. Establishes within the VA five Deputy Officers of Minority Affairs, each of whom shall be appointed by the Secretary. Requires each officer to be responsible for one of the following areas: (1) Asian American affairs; (2) Black American affairs; (3) Hispanic American affairs; (4) Native American affairs; and (5) women's affairs. Requires the Secretary, no less than annually, to report to the Congress a detailed description of any activities and policies of the VA relating to minority group members who are veterans or who receive benefits from the VA and the duties of the Chief and the Deputy Officers of Minority Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1989
Designates October 22 through October 28, 1989, as World Population Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1989
Job Training Partnership Act Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to revise title II provisions for Training Services for the Disadvantaged. Divides in half the maximum amount which is to be allotted under adult and worker programs among specified U.S. territories and possessions (and provides the other half will be so allotted for youth services). Increases the portion of the State allotment for adult and older worker programs which is to be allocated among service delivery areas (SDAs) within the State. Repeals requirements that a specified portion of a State allotment be available for incentive grants for programs exceeding performance standards and serving hard-to-serve individuals. Provides that only adults (individuals 22 years of age or older) who are economically disadvantaged are eligible for participation in adult programs, with exceptions for those with special barriers to employment. Requires that at least 50 percent of adult program participants in an SDA be individuals who have: (1) reading or mathematics skills below the eighth grade level; (2) a history of long-term dependency on public assistance programs; or (3) a substantially limited or unsuccessful work history. Requires each SDA to make special efforts to identify and serve an equitable number of individuals 55 years of age or older. Requires the SDA and the State job training coordinating council to coordinate delivery of such services to older workers with delivery of specified services under the Older Americans Act of 1965. Revises provisions for summer youth employment and training programs. Redefines youth as individuals age 14 through 21. Sets forth new youth services provisions (similar to those in current law) for territorial and State allotments and within-State allocation. Makes economically disadvantaged youth eligible for youth services, with exceptions for those with special barriers to employment. Requires that at least 50 percent of youth services participants in an SDA be out-of-school youth, with priority given to school dropouts. Grants priority among the remaining participants who are in-school youth to those who are: (1) at risk of becoming dropouts; (2) in need of school-to-work transition assistance; (3) parents; or (4) limited in English-language proficiency. Requires the job training plan to provide for referrals of youth between summer employment and youth services programs. Increases the portion of certain funds which an SDA may use for costs of administration and for joint costs of administration and of certain work experience programs, supportive services, and needs-based payments. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to assure that States and SDAs will make efforts to increase both adult and youth services and positive outcomes for hard-to-serve individuals. Adds as an appropriate factor in prescribing performance standards for adult training programs the attainment of basic education or employability enhancement skills necessary for successful entry into the job market. Includes disabled and Vietnam-era veterans among the special populations for which variations in performance standards are to be prescribed. Repeals provisions for review of performance standards by the National Commission for Employment Policy. Requires that performance standards for programs of employment and training assistance for dislocated workers make appropriate allowance for the difference in cost resulting from serving workers receiving certain needs-related payments. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 and succeeding fiscal years for the following JTPA programs of training services for the disadvantaged: (1) adult and older worker programs; (2) summer youth employment and training programs; and (3) youth services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 and succeeding fiscal years for the following federally administered programs: (1) employment and training programs for native Americans and migrant and seasonal farmworkers; (2) veterans' employment programs; (3) national activities; (4) labor market information; (5) National Commission for Employment Policy; and (6) training to fulfill affirmative action obligations. Makes semiannual the reporting requirement for States, administrative entities, and recipients concerning their operations and expenditures under JTPA. Requires such reports to include specified types of information. Directs the Secretary to ensure that all such elements are defined and reported consistently. Directs the Secretary, along with the Secretaries of Education and of Health and Human Services and other appropriate departments, to identify a core set of consistently defined data elements for employment and training programs. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress by January 1, 1991, on such data elements. Repeals a provision which allows commercially available training packages to be purchased without requiring a breakdown of cost components. Prohibits JTPA funds from being used to support a participant in an on-the-job training position beyond the required duration for training for that position, as determined in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, taking specified source material into consideration.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1989
Organ Transportation Good Samaritan Act - Limits to gross negligence the liability of persons who without compensation transport by air in interstate commerce human transplant organs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1989
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1989 - Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that: (1) terminated the income tax exclusion of amounts paid under employee educational assistance programs as of tax year 1989; and (2) deny benefits in connection with graduate work.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow an income tax deduction for business expenses incurred as removal or liability costs resulting from a spill or other discharge of oil being transported by or for the taxpayer from a vessel onto waters subject to the Clean Water Act. Excludes discharges caused by an act of God, an act of war, negligence on the part of the U.S. Government, or an act or omission of a third party. Applies this deduction denial retroactively with respect to amounts incurred in taxable years 1989 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1989
Requires the Committee on House Administration, not later than December 31, 1989, to: (1) take such action as may be necessary to discontinue use of disposable polystyrene foam trays, dishes, and beverage containers in the food service operations of the House of Representatives; and (2) require that disposable trays, dishes, and beverage containers used in such operations be biodegradable.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
Oilspill Bill - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow any income tax deduction for oil or hazardous substances cleanup costs, including related legal expenses, unless: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury receives certification from the relevant authority that the taxpayer has made a good faith effort to comply with specified Federal environmental law; or (2) the discharge was caused by an act of God, an act of war, negligence on the part of the U.S. Government, or an act or omission of a third party. Prohibits any loss resulting from disallowance of such a deduction from being offset by the net operating loss deduction. Transfers the revenue resulting from the disallowance to an account made available for subsequent transfer to: (1) the revolving fund under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for expenses related to removal of discharged oil; or (2) the Hazardous Substance Superfund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) report to specified congressional committees an estimate of the decrease in Federal revenues between January 1, 1970, and December 31, 1988, by reason of the allowance of applicable cleanup costs; and (2) report annually to the same committees the amount expended on environmental cleanup costs and the amount accruing to the new cleanup account.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to require that States take into consideration the geographical distribution of individuals who are 85 years of age and older when designating planning and service areas and distributing funds under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
United States Peace Tax Fund Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Treasury the United States Peace Tax Fund (Fund) to receive payments designated on the tax returns of qualified individuals to be used for nonmilitary purposes. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress on amounts transferred into the Fund. Requires the information to be printed in the Congressional Record. Permits conscientious objectors to designate on their income tax returns that any tax liability be paid into the Fund. Makes this designation procedure available to any individual who has demonstrated himself or herself, by reason of religious training and belief, to be opposed to participation in war in any form. Requires that each publication of general instructions accompanying income tax returns include specified information about the Fund, including the purposes of the Fund and the criteria governing one's eligibility to designate tax payments for it. Requires every taxpayer who makes such a designation for any taxable year to file a questionnaire return for the purpose of determining whether the taxpayer is an eligible individual. Permits the setting aside of criminal or civil penalties imposed upon a taxpayer for nonpayment of tax prior to 1990 if the taxpayer pays the tax due (with interest) and establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury that the nonpayment was due to religious beliefs. Authorizes corresponding procedures in connection with estate and gift tax payments, under conditions prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Directs the Comptroller General to determine the percentage of actual appropriations made by the United States from the Federal budget during the preceding year for military purposes. Requires publication of this information in the Congressional Record. Establishes a United States Peace Tax Fund Board of Trustees to distribute funds for eligible nonmilitary activities and research. Directs the Board to publish regulations to govern applications for funds. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
World War I Veterans' Service Pension Act - Directs the Administrator (effective March 1989, Secretary) of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly pension of $150 to each veteran of World War I who meets specified service requirements. Requires such veteran, if receiving another pension administered by the Veterans Administration (effective March 1989, Department of Veterans Affairs) (VA), to elect which pension he will receive. Provides for the payment of a monthly pension of $100 to surviving spouses of World War I veterans who meet certain marriage requirements. Requires such surviving spouses to choose between pensions if they are currently receiving another pension through the VA.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
Designates October 25, 1989, as National Arab-American Day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
Authorizes the Raoul Wallenberg Tribute Committee to establish a work to honor Raoul Wallenberg on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs. Prohibits the United States from paying any expense of the establishment of the work.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1989
Basic Health Benefits for All Americans Act - Title I: Amendments to Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add provisions which require each employer to enroll each of its employees and their families in a health benefit plan. Makes State and local employers which do not so enroll their employees and their families ineligible to receive grants, contracts, loans, or loan guarantees under such Act. Title II: Amendments to Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to add provisions which require each employer to enroll each of its employees and their families in a health benefit plan. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) regarding supersedure of State laws relating to contracts or policies of insurance issued to or under a health benefit plan under title III of this Act. Title III: Requirements for Health Benefit Plans for Employees and Their Families - Subtitle A: Requirement and Definitions - Applies this title to employers required to enroll employees in health benefit plans under certain provisions of the Public Health Service Act or the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Requires each small and certain large employers to use a regional insurer, subject to certain exceptions and conditions. Requires that enrollment of an employee in a health benefit plan under this title includes enrollment of the employee's family in the plan. Prohibits the employee from waiving personal or family enrollment. Provides exceptions: (1) to avoid duplicate family coverage; and (2) in the case of multiple employers. Prohibits employers from discriminating against any individual because such individual has a spouse or child required under this title to be enrolled in a health benefit plan. Subtitle B: Requirements for Health Benefit Plans - Sets forth general requirements for plans. Permits a health benefit plan to be considered as meeting such requirements provided the actuarial benefits under the plan are not less than would have applied if the plan met the requirements of this subtitle. Sets forth minimum requirements, including a limit on out-of-pocket expenses. Mandates inclusion of certain mental health benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish an advisory board to advise the Secretary on development of actuarial equivalency standards; and (2) publish, at least three months before the effective date of this Act, a table of actuarial equivalency describing as many variations as feasible. Declares a plan using variations not included in the table to be in compliance with this Act if it meets certain requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish streamlined procedures regarding employers with multiple plans. Allows new small businesses to use a tailored health benefit plan, as defined in this title. Specifies benefits which a plan must provide, including inpatient and outpatient hospital care and physician services, tests, prenatal and well-baby care, and inpatient and outpatient care for mental disorders. Prohibits placing limits on the amount, scope, or duration of benefits for hospital care, physician services, or tests, but allows plan limits on prenatal and well-baby care under regulations prescribed by the Secretary. Declares that nothing in this Act: (1) prohibits a health plan from providing benefits through a panel or other form of managed care system or establishing a different level of payments for reimbursement for different health care providers furnishing benefits; or (2) requires a plan to use a provider to provide benefits provided before the effective date of this Act other than the providers being utilized by the plan on that date or make payments to any provider that is excluded from participation in any Federal health care program. Allows an insurer to establish a fee schedule or other basis of payment that is different from actual charges if the schedule meets certain requirements. Specifies requirements regarding the date of initial coverage. Prohibits pre-existing condition provisions. Provides special requirements regarding certain part-time employees. Allows a plan to require an employee to pay for premiums, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance not to exceed certain limits. Provides for adjustments for covered spouses with other coverage and for employed retirees. Requires each employer with an employee whose hourly wage is less than a specified amount to offer each such employee at least one plan that does not require a premium for the employee. Prohibits State laws from preventing employers from using payroll withholding for premiums due by employees. Sets forth special rules for the calculation of premiums for part-time employees. Sets limitations on: (1) deductibles, to be increased for increases in the consumer price index; (2) copayments and coinsurance, subject to exception; and (3) out-of-pocket expenses. Subtitle C: Certification of Regional Insurers - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to designate six to eight health insurance regions and to establish procedures for the periodic certification of insurers for each region. Sets forth certification eligibility requirements. Specifies requirements for application for and consideration of applications for such certification. Directs the Secretary to periodically evaluate the performance of regional insurers and, under certain circumstances, allows the Secretary to terminate the certification of the insurer. Allows the Secretary, if the Secretary determines that there is a failure of competition among regional insurers in the region and that other conditions are met, to restrict certification, based on a competitive bidding or other system, to those qualified insurers which offer plans at lower rates. Sets forth requirements regarding the types of plans each regional insurer must offer. Requires each regional insurer to fix premiums under a community rating system. Prohibits adjustment of such premiums based on age, gender, other factors relating to the projected or actual use of services, or, subject to exception, on geographical location within the region. Permits regional insurers to enter into subcontracts. Directs the Secretary to encourage regional insurers to enter into arrangements with entities representing groups of small businesses for the provision of administrative services. Requires such insurers to reduce the premiums charged by an amount which reflects the value of such services. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to employers, utilizing to the maximum extent feasible entities with experience in providing health insurance services to small businesses. Subtitle D: Regulations and Enforcement - Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules to carry out this title by specified deadlines. Provides for civil penalties for any nongovernmental employer who does not comply with certain provisions of this Act. Makes nongovernmental employers who knowingly fail to comply with certain provisions of this Act liable for damages, including health care costs incurred, to the employee or the employee's family. Allows any individual injured, adversely affected, or aggrieved by violation of certain requirements of this Act to bring an action for injunctive relief. Subtitle E: Small Business Subsidy - Directs the Secretary of Labor to provide for payment to a small employer, whose compliance cost exceeded a specified percentage of the employer's gross revenues, of 75 percent of such excess. Allows adjustments for industries for which the specified percentage is not an appropriate measure of the financial burden of providing the insurance. Title IV: Assuring Provision of Health Benefits to Under-Poverty, Near-Poverty, and Other Individuals - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to state that any plan approved under the title: (1) must offer, starting in 1991, benefits to under-poverty individuals; (2) may offer, starting in 1991, and must offer, starting in 1996, benefits to near-poverty individuals; and (3) may offer, starting in 1996, and must offer, starting in 1999, benefits to all other individuals not covered under a health benefit plan under title III of this Act. Requires the benefits under the State benefits program to be the same as required of health benefit plans under such title plus coverage for items and services relating to early and periodic screening and diagnosis of children under the age of 21. Prohibits the benefits from including any other items or services. Prohibits the imposition of premiums, deductibles, copayments, or cost-sharing on under-poverty individuals. Allows such features, subject to limitations, for near-poverty and other covered individuals. Makes an individual who is enrolled in a health benefit plan under title III of this Act ineligible for benefits under a State benefits program, but requires or permits a State program to pay part or all of the premiums, deductibles, and other cost-sharing imposed by a title III plan on an individual who is under or near poverty. Allows a State to require an under-poverty or near-poverty individual who is eligible for but not required to be enrolled in a health benefit plan to enroll in the plan, but only if the individual's premiums and out-of-pocket expenses will be no greater than if the individual had not been required to enroll. Requires the State to determine the eligibility of an individual within 30 days of application. Provides for enrollment periods and effective dates of coverage. Declares that an individual who is determined in a month to be eligible must remain eligible for not less than six months. Requires reimbursement for physician services furnished on or after January 1, 1991, and other items and services furnished on or after January 1, 1996, to be made at rates that are not less than the rates recognized for payment of such items and services under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for utilization and quality control peer review organizations under Part B (Peer Review) of such title. Requires the use of such clinical practice guidelines as the Secretary may develop in determining whether items and services are medically necessary. Prohibits a State from providing benefits through a plan that restricts the provider from whom an individual may obtain items and services unless the plan meets certain requirements. Requires each State to administer its benefits program, unless the State elects to have the Secretary do so and pays for such services. Specifies provisions of title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act which do not apply to the provisions of this title, including those relating to general comparability, payment rules, cost-sharing rules, general retroactive eligibility, transition rules, the State 209(b) section option, income limits, and lien provisions. Provides for the manner in which other specified provisions of such title shall be applied to the provisions of this title. Requires States that are operating under demonstration projects to meet the requirements of this title in the same manner as if the State had in effect a Medicaid plan. Applies this title only to the 50 States and the District of Columbia. Amends title XIX to declare that, notwithstanding any other Medicaid provision, with respect to benefits described in this title, effective January 1, 1991, the State Medicaid plan may not impose any limitations on the amount, duration, or scope for individuals eligible for Medicaid benefits who are not described in specified provisions of this title. Requires State Medicaid plans to provide for payment for items and services provided under this title on or after specified dates based on rates that are not less than the rates recognized under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Authorizes a State Medicaid plan, at the State's option and notwithstanding any other Medicaid provision, to make medical assistance available with respect to prescribed drugs to individuals eligible to receive benefits under this title, provided other requirements are met. Title V: Effective Date for Titles I through III - Provides for the effective dates of titles I through III of this Act and transition rules for certain circumstances. Declares that no employer will be required under title III of this Act to provide any health benefit in addition to the benefits required to be provided by specified provisions of this Act unless: (1) such additional benefit is for a service which State Medicaid plans (under title XIX of the Social Security Act) are required to cover for certain individuals; and (2) before the enactment of such requirement, the benefits and costs of requiring the provision of such additional health benefit have been analyzed and considered by the Congress, according to certain procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1989
Provides an exemption from the reduction in retirement pay because of reemployment for Federal annuitants and former members of a uniformed service who become reemployed with a temporary position within the Bureau of the Census to assist in carrying out the 1990 decennial census.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1989
Recycling Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require all paper and paper products procured by Federal and State agencies and certain businesses under contract with Federal agencies to be composed of the highest percentage practicable of recovered materials. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prepare guidelines for the implementation of such requirement. Requires each procuring agency that enters into a construction contract to give preference to the contractor that proposes to use the highest percentage of recovered materials in carrying out such contract, provided that such materials are of a reasonable price. Directs the Administrator to prepare guidelines to include minimum content standards for at least five items used in construction contracts that can be produced with recovered materials. Requires the Administrator to issue annual guidelines that specify standards for five additional items that may or may not be used in such contracts. Requires each Federal agency with office facilities of more than 35 office workers to carry out a recovery program of newsprint and corrugated and high-grade paper. Requires such materials to be separated at the source of generation, separately collected, sold for the purpose of recycling or used by the Government. Authorizes funds received from such sales to be retained by the agency that generated the sold item. Prohibits any State or municipality from receiving any form of Federal assistance in connection with facilities for the processing, separation, resource recovery, or reduction of solid waste unless the Administrator certifies that such State or municipality has implemented and met the targets for a program: (1) for the collection, separation, and processing of recyclable materials which provides for graduated increases in the amount of waste stream to be made available to markets for recovered materials; and (2) that requires preferences for the procurement of goods containing recovered materials. Sets forth additional requirements for State solid waste disposal plans, including: (1) the separation, collection, and recycling of tires, lead-acid batteries, and major household appliances; and (2) the separation, collection, and safe disposal of household hazardous wastes. Authorizes the Administrator to provide low-interest loans or loan guarantees for constructing and operating facilities and equipment for the collection, separation, or processing of recyclable materials. Permits the Administrator to provide technical assistance and grants to State and local governments for recycling and waste reduction programs. Authorizes appropriations. Requires all paper and paper products, effective five years after this Act's enactment, to contain the minimum percentage of recovered materials specified by the Administrator under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Extends the date by which the Secretary of Commerce is required to take actions regarding the development of markets for recovered materials. Requires the Secretary, no later than six months after this Act's enactment, to develop a program to promote the selling of recyclable solid waste from the United States in international markets. Requires manufacturers of plastic items or packaging to label such items to indicate the type of plastic used in such materials. Prohibits any plastic, effective one year after the promulgation of regulations regarding this section, from containing, or being manufactured in a process that uses, chlorofluorocarbons. Directs the EPA Inspector General to report annually to the Congress on compliance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1989
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the new (section 89) nondiscrimination requirements for coverage and benefits under certain statutory employee benefit plans to: (1) exclude group health plans from the requirements; and (2) establish a separate framework for determining whether a group health plan discriminates in favor of highly compensated employees. Revises the income tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to: (1) increase from 25 percent to 100 percent the allowable deduction; and (2) make the deduction permanent (under current law it will expire after tax year 1989).
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1989
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 1989 - Title I: Amendments to Acts - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) to revise rulemaking procedures in cases when the Consumer Product Safety Commission finds that there may be an unreasonable risk of injury associated with a product and a consumer product safety rule would reduce the risk. Directs the Commission to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of requiring each manufacturer of a product subject to a consumer product safety rule to help defray rulemaking costs. Permits the Commission to rely only upon existing voluntary consumer product safety standards that have been issued after consideration of the views of interested parties. Amends the CPSA, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), and the Flammable Fabrics Act to require the Commission to develop procedures to monitor compliance with product safety standards. Allows interested parties to petition the Commission to issue a rule or amendment to reduce the risk of injury associated with a product. Prescribes procedures in connection with such petitions, including a cause of action to compel rulemaking. Revises administrative features relating to the Commission to: (1) direct the President, when making appointments to the Commission, to consider individuals with consumer product safety backgrounds; (2) establish the position of Director of Compliance, to be filled by an attorney; (3) set a minimum personnel level; and (4) permit qualified disclosure of certain information. Authorizes any State attorney general and any other official charged with enforcing State consumer product safety laws to bring a civil action for relief in connection with violations of rules or orders issued under the CPSA or the FHSA, to determine whether a consumer product presents a substantial product hazard. Prescribes procedures in connection with these actions, including judicial appeals to compel the Commission to initiate determinations concerning product safety if a petition is ignored. Sets standards to apply when the Commission is determining whether a consumer product presents a substantial product hazard. Prohibits the Commission, in this context, from engaging in cost-benefit analysis with respect to risks presented to the public. Prohibits such analysis also in connection with both Commission and court determinations relating to actions involving imminently hazardous consumer products. Adds civil penalties to the criminal penalties imposed in connection with violations of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. Directs the Commission to establish an agenda and priorities for its actions prior to each fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1991 for the Commission. Title II: Related Provisions - Directs the Commission to: (1) study and report to the Congress on whether a special flammability standard is needed for sleepwear (other than for children); (2) pursue its pending proceedings to establish a safety standard for cigarette lighters; and (3) study and report to the Congress on whether a minimum age requirement should be established for operators of amusement park rides. Revises the CPSA definition of "amusement ride." Includes amusement rides expressly within the framework of such Act, subjecting them to public disclosure and inspection requirements and to notification and remedy provisions applicable to substantial product hazards when serious injury occurs. Directs the Commission to issue rules in this regard by July 1, 1990. Directs the Commission to: (1) report to the Congress on its activities to reduce exposure of individuals to an enumerated list of indoor air pollutants; (2) issue a consumer product safety standard to require cautionary labeling in connection with certain toys intended for use by children at least three years old; (3) submit to the Congress a report including specified information about particular products that pose a major hazard to children; and (4) conduct a survey to determine compliance with voluntary industry manufacturing guidelines designed to reduce the entrapment of children in reclining chairs and report the results to the Congress. Requires the Commission to initiate proceedings to establish a safety standard for reclining chairs if a substantial lack of compliance is found.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1989
Coast Guard License Verification Act - Amends the National Driver Register Act of 1982 to authorize applicants for new and renewed merchant seamen licenses and certificates of registry to serve on or operate a commercial vessel to request the chief State driver licensing official to transmit to the Commandant of the Coast Guard information regarding such applicants' motor vehicle driving records. Prescribes the use of such information by the Commandant. Precludes access to information that was entered more than three years before the date of request unless it relates to revocations or suspensions which are still in effect on the date of request. Directs the Commandant to initiate a rulemaking to require each applicant to make available to the Commandant information regarding the motor vehicle driving record of the applicant.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1989
Minority Business Development Act of 1989 - Redesignates the Minority Business Development Agency in the Department of Commerce as the Minority Business Development Administration, to be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Commerce appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress on the organizational structure within the Administration and its organizational position in the Department of Commerce. Title I: Market Development - Empowers the Administration to: (1) assist disadvantaged businesses in penetrating domestic and foreign markets by making available to them management and technological assistance, a skilled labor pool, and financial and marketing services; and (2) encourage disadvantaged firms to establish joint ventures and projects to increase their share of the market. Allows the Assistant Secretary of the Administration, if certain conditions are met, to approve any agreement between disadvantaged firms or public or private sector organizations providing for a joint program for market development. Exempts from the antitrust laws and the Federal Trade Commission Act any act within the scope of any approved joint program for approved market development. Requires that at least one party to each agreement be a small business concern and that the majority of parties be small businesses if there are more than two parties to an agreement. Authorizes the Administration to provide financial assistance to public and private sector organizations to carry out this Act, unless the assistance is intended primarily to facilitate the use by disadvantaged businesses of federally-administered programs not established under this Act. Requires the Administration to consult with State and local governments for the purpose of leveraging local resources and recommending local administrative and legislative initiatives to promote the position of disadvantaged businesses. Authorizes the Administration to provide financial assistance to States and cities. Requires the Administration to publish in the Federal Register: (1) amounts available for financial assistance and proposed allocations; (2) responses to public comments in connection with the allocation scheme; and (3) changes in allocation methodology. Title II: Capital Formation - Authorizes the Administration to defray all or part of the costs of pilot projects conducted by public or private organizations and designed to assist disadvantaged businesses in obtaining equity capital. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to cooperate with the Administration to promote access to securities markets for disadvantaged businesses. Directs the Administration to study and report to the congressional Small Business Committees on alternatives for providing capital formation assistance to qualified disadvantaged businesses, including the possibility of a revolving fund and a surety bond referral assistance program. Title III: Management Educational Development - Requires the Administration to: (1) encourage universities, business leaders, and other public and private entities to offer scholarships, sponsor seminars, and provide internships for the benefit of disadvantaged individuals; and (2) accelerate curriculum design in support of disadvantaged business development. Title IV: Research and Information - Requires the Administration to submit to the Congress a report describing the resources needed to advance and represent disadvantaged businesses in all levels of the economic system in numbers that would have existed were it not for past discrimination. Authorizes the Administration to: (1) provide financial assistance to public and private organizations to assist the Administration in collecting data on the causes for success and failure of disadvantaged businesses and in conducting research on how economic conditions affect their development; (2) develop and maintain a data bank on disadvantaged businesses; and (3) establish an information clearinghouse for data pertinent to disadvantaged businesses. Title V: Administrative and Miscellaneous Powers of the Administration - Sets forth the administrative powers of the Administration. Requires: (1) recipients of assistance to keep records for audit purposes; (2) the Comptroller General to review and report to the Congress on programs authorized by this Act; and (3) the Assistant Secretary to submit to the Congress an annual report on the Administration's activities. Excludes the Administration from the coordination functions of the Small Business Administration's Associate Administrator for Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1989
Designates the month of April 1989 as National Cancer Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Healthy Birth Act of 1989 - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to increase authorized appropriations for such program. Sets aside certain appropriated amounts for comprehensive State infant mortality initiatives and Federal activities in coordination with such initiatives. Prohibits Federal assistance for such a State initiative unless the State provides assurances that it will: (1) establish a toll-free telephone information and referral system for maternal and child health services; (2) provide technical assistance and public awareness activities regarding the maternal and child health handbook to be disseminated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (3) develop and expand maternal and child health home visiting programs; (4) establish a "one-stop shopping," client-centered program under which pregnant women and mothers can apply for a wide range of Government programs in a coordinated manner at a location at which social and health-related services are made available to pregnant women and infants; (5) evaluate the impact of such initiative; and (6) be able to continue such initiative without Federal assistance within five years of the first receipt of such assistance. Directs the Secretary to use a specified portion of set-aside amounts to: (1) provide technical assistance to State initiatives; (2) disseminate a maternal and child health handbook to all pregnant women and new parents; (3) establish a nationwide, toll-free telephone information and referral system for maternal and child health services; (4) develop a model, coordinated application and eligibility determination system for use by States under the Medicaid program (title XIX of the Act) and the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children; (5) improve the integration and coordination of Federal programs serving pregnant women and children; and (6) monitor and evaluate State infant mortality initiatives. Requires the Secretary to give priority to the initiatives of States demonstrating the greatest need and an ability to implement such initiatives, while recognizing the need for an equitable distribution of assistance among the States.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Consumer Products Safe Testing Act - Prohibits Federal department or agency heads from considering LD50 test results when determining product safety, labeling, or transportation requirements for purposes of Federal regulation. (LD50 is a procedure whereby toxicity is measured in terms of the median dose that will kill 50 percent of the test animals within a specified time.) Requires Federal department and agency heads to: (1) review and evaluate directives that call for the use of an animal toxicity test; and (2) promulgate regulations specifying the use of nonanimal alternatives. Requires that animal toxicity testing regulations be subject to periodic agency review and to public comment in certain cases.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a three percent excise tax on wholesale sales of paper and paper products that do not contain the minimum amount of recycled materials in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines. Increases the tax rate by one percent each year to reach a maximum 12 percent rate for sales during 2000 and thereafter. Directs the EPA Administrator to issue guidelines for products not already designated by relevant guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Designates September 1989 as National Library Card Sign-Up Month.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Designates November 17, 1989, as National Philanthropy Day.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Congratulates the Los Angeles Dodgers on their 1988 World Series victory and wishes them the best of luck in the current season.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Urges the Government of Iran to uphold the human rights of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i faith, and to extend the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Calls upon the President to continue to: (1) emphasize human rights improvements as an important factor in the development of relations between the U.S. and Iranian Governments; (2) cooperate with other governments to initiate and support actions by the United Nations and its agencies to promote the protection of the religious rights of the Baha'is; and (3) provide, and urge others to provide, for refugee and humanitarian assistance for those Baha'is fleeing their homelands to escape religious repression.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) there should be a significant increase in Federal funding for programs authorized under the Education of the Handicapped Act; and (2) appropriations made by the 101st Congress to assist States and localities in providing education to children and youth with handicaps should equal at least 15 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1989
Employee Pension Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to revise fiduciary standards applicable to pension plan assets to account for duties with respect to assets of terminated plans. Establishes fiduciary standards to apply to employer reversions upon plan termination, requiring an employer to establish and maintain a complete replacement plan or a substantial replacement plan in connection with the termination. Prescribes requirements to govern both types of plans. Links the establishment of either of these new plans to the amount of any employer reversion, requiring the new plans to have assets sufficient to pay all liabilities to participants and their beneficiaries. Considers any plan fiduciary or sponsor to be jointly and severally liable for violation of ERISA if requirements regarding complete replacement or substantial replacement plans upon plan termination are not met at any time during the five-year period beginning on the date of final distribution of assets from the terminated plan. Describes fiduciary duties to govern the distribution of plan assets to participants and beneficiaries upon plan termination in cases when the employer does not set up a replacement or substantial replacement plan. Institutes fiduciary duties with respect to distributions of plan assets upon termination in direct trustee-to-trustee transfers to individual retirement plans. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe reporting requirements in connection with these transfers.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Amends the Federal criminal code to require applications for a license to deal in firearms or ammunition to include a statement from certain law enforcement authorities that the applicant is eligible under State law to obtain such a license.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Fair Election Act - Prohibits States from using any device to abridge or deny the right of an individual to be placed on, or to have such individual's political affiliation placed on, a ballot or similar voting materials in a Federal election. Allows States to impose specified prerequisites regarding petitions for placement on ballots. Allows States to waive such requirements for candidates or political affiliates which receive certain amounts of votes in the most recent election for President or the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the third Sunday of August 1989 as National Senior Citizens Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Designates the week beginning September 1, 1989, as World War II Remembrance Week in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of that War.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Designates September 1989 as National Alcohol and Drug Treatment Month.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Designates March 27, 1990, as National Black American Inventors Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the month of April 1989 as Fair Housing Month.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1989
National African-American Heritage Memorial Museum Act - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution the National African-American Heritage Memorial Museum to be operated as a center and location for education, research, events, and collection and display of items and materials relating to the historical, cultural, economic, political, and other aspects of the scope of experiences of African-Americans. Requires the Board of Trustees of the National African-American Heritage Memorial Museum to report to the Congress and the President annually on its activities and operations. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1989
Designates the week of October 23 through October 29, 1989, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1989
Indoor Air Quality Act of 1989 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a national research, development, and demonstration program to assure the quality of indoor air, including coordinating and accelerating efforts related to the causes, detection, and correction of contaminated air. Requires such program to include information collection and dissemination, cooperative research, grants, studies, development of techniques, facility construction, and conferences. Requires that research focus on human health effects and the identification of types and levels of contaminants likely to cause harm, including the development of methodology and techniques for detection and control. Authorizes the Administrator to assist technology demonstration activities based on a technology's potential to cost effectively control sources of contaminants. Limits Federal funding to 75 percent of the costs of such projects. Requires the Administrator to publish: (1) general reports on the findings of such demonstration projects; and (2) bulletins assessing technology and management practices for controlling and measuring indoor air contaminants, which shall be provided to the Indoor Air Quality Information Clearinghouse. Directs the Administrator to develop protocols, within six months of this Act's enactment, for the measurement of radon gas in child care facilities and disseminate information regarding techniques for measuring and mitigating radon in such facilities. Authorizes the Administrator to take certain other actions conducive to the detection and reduction of radon in such facilities. Directs the Administrator to publish and biennially revise a list of contaminants known to occur in indoor air. Provides for additions to such list upon application of a State Governor. Requires the Administrator to publish advisory materials addressing the human health effects of listed contaminants which describe the properties, effects, risks, and concentrations of such contaminants. Directs the Indoor Air Panel of the EPA Science Advisory Board to assist in the listing and advisories. Requires advisories to be updated at least once every five years. Directs the Administrator to develop and publish a national indoor air quality response plan to reduce human exposure to the listed indoor air contaminants and reduce, to the fullest extent practicable, indoor air contaminant concentration levels to levels at which there is no known or anticipated human health effect, with an adequate margin of safety. Requires the response plan to identify the contaminant, the basis for the action, the nature of the response, the responsible Federal authority, the necessary financial resources, and the technological or legislative changes required for further reduction of the contaminant. Requires the Administrator and the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to develop and implement a program to respond to and reduce indoor air contamination in Federal buildings and to demonstrate methods of reducing indoor air contamination in new Federal buildings. Directs the Administrator of the GSA to prepare a specific response plan for Federal buildings which lists buildings and the reduction and response actions to be taken and identifies those buildings for which there is sufficient evidence of indoor air contamination to warrant their assessment under this Act's Building Assessment Demonstration Program. Exempts specified buildings for national security, demolition, or special use purposes. Requires the Administrator of the GSA to provide a method and format for filing comments and complaints concerning indoor air quality in Federal buildings. Requires response plans to be submitted to the Congress on a biennial basis. Directs the Administrator of the GSA to reserve 0.5 percent of any funds appropriated for construction of new Federal buildings for design and construction of measures to reduce indoor air contaminant concentrations within such buildings. Requires that any new EPA building be designed, constructed, maintained, and operated as a model to demonstrate principles and practices for protecting indoor air quality. Authorizes grants to States for the development and implementation of management strategies and indoor air quality assessment and response programs similar to those of the Federal program. Directs the Administrator to establish the Office of Indoor Air Quality within the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation to implement agency responsibilities under this Act. Establishes a Council on Indoor Air Quality to coordinate Federal indoor air quality activities and review and comment on the national indoor air response program and the Federal building response plan. Requires the Council to report to the Congress on a biennial basis. Directs the Administrator to establish a national indoor air quality clearinghouse which shall operate a toll-free hotline on indoor air quality. Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to implement a Building Assessment Demonstration Program to support the development of methods, techniques, and protocols for assessing indoor air contamination in non-residential, non-industrial buildings and to provide contamination reduction assistance and guidance to building owners and occupants. Sets forth building assessment report requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1989
Utah BLM Wilderness Act of 1989 - Title I: Designation of Wilderness - Designates the following lands in Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) the Great Basin Wilderness; (2) the Zion and Mojave Desert Wilderness; (3) the Grand Staircase and Kaiparowits Plateau Wilderness; (4) the Escalante Canyons Wilderness; (5) the Henry Mountains Wilderness; (6) the Dirty Devil River Wilderness; (7) the Cedar Mesa Wilderness; (8) the Canyonlands Wilderness; (9) the San Rafael Swell Wilderness; and (10) the Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin Wilderness. Title II: Administrative Provisions - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer the wilderness areas designated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1989
Africa Famine Recovery and Development Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to add a chapter dealing with Africa Famine Recovery and Development. Authorizes the President to provide project and program assistance for long-term development in sub-Saharan Africa. Requires the purpose of such assistance to be to help the poor majority of men and women in sub-Saharan Africa to participate in a process of long-term development through economic growth that is equitable, participatory, environmentally sustainable, and self-reliant. Provides that such assistance should also encourage private sector development and promote individual initiatives and help to reduce the role of central governments in areas more appropriate for the private sector. Declares that the general authorities and policies of the development assistance provisions of such Act apply to this Act. Requires the agency primarily responsible for administering development assistance programs (responsible agency) to: (1) take into account the local-level perspective of the rural and urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa during the planning and review of annual country planning documents for project assistance under this Act; (2) make available funds for a significant long-term expansion of development efforts by private and voluntary organizations which have demonstrated effectiveness in or commitment to the promotion of local grass-roots activities on behalf of long-term development in sub-Saharan Africa; and (3) consult with other organizations in order to identify relevant private and voluntary organizations. Encourages the responsible agency to review procedures for the development and evaluation of projects to be carried out by private and voluntary organizations and to simplify such procedures wherever appropriate. Requires the close consultation and involvement of local people in projects that have a local focus. Requires the responsible agency to ensure the participation and integration of African women in development projects assisted by this Act. Requires that the views of women as well as men be ascertained and factored into decisions relating to development activities which affect them. Requires the responsible agency to use the program assistance provided by this Act to: (1) meet the need for maintenance and rehabilitation within the critical sectoral priorities for long-term development; and (2) promote reform of national economic policies to support these priorities. Sets forth examples of national economic policy reforms which can be supported by assistance provided by this Act. Requires such reforms to include provisions to protect vulnerable groups, especially poor farmers and the urban poor, from possible negative consequences of such reforms. Requires assistance for such reforms to take account of the need for adjustments should recurrence of drought make it impossible to achieve the goals of the reforms. Designates as the critical sectoral priorities for long-term development: (1) increased agricultural production and the maintenance and restoration of renewable natural resources; (2) improved health conditions; (3) voluntary family planning services; (4) improved relevance and efficiency of education; and (5) development of income generating opportunities for the unemployed and underemployed. Imposes minimum levels of assistance for certain critical sectors. Directs the responsible agency to provide support for strengthening and developing selected African higher education institutions in order to address the problems of food production and distribution. Prohibits the responsible agency from using less than specified amounts for in-country natural resources and environmental training in sub-Saharan Africa. Requires the responsible agency to formulate coherent country development assistance strategies. Sets forth information such strategies must analyze and address. Requires the assistance provided under this Act to be concentrated in countries that will make the most effective use of such assistance. Specifies uses for local currencies generated by assistance provided under this Act and other Acts. Provides that funds made available under this Act may be used to assist the countries in sub-Saharan Africa to increase their capacity to participate in donor coordination mechanisms at the country, regional, and sector levels. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994 for long-term development assistance for sub-Saharan Africa and for funding activities of certain international organizations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the authorization should be extended whenever appropriate. Limits transfers between accounts funded by this Act. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to develop a plan for organizational changes within AID in order to carry out the long-term development assistance program for sub-Saharan Africa with maximum effectiveness. Sets forth changes the Administrator shall consider. Requires the Administrator to consult with specified congressional committees about such changes. Authorizes the Administrator to transfer certain funds in order to increase the AID resources for development assistance activities for sub-Saharan Africa. Requires the Administrator to develop a plan for evaluating AID's progress in achieving the purposes of this Act. Requires the plan to provide for: (1) interim evaluations; (2) the establishment of specific criteria for measuring the performance of U.S. development assistance for the poor majority of men and women in sub-Saharan Africa; (3) the collection and monitoring of base-line data for future measurement of the effectiveness of such assistance; and (4) the measures by which the evaluations will be used to institutionalize learning within AID. Requires the plan to be developed in consultation with specified congressional committees. Expresses the sense of the Congress that there should be independent evaluations of AID's performance in providing development assistance to the poor majority of men and women in sub-Saharan Africa. Requires that assistance from other assistance and development programs be used to provide assistance to the poor majority in sub-Saharan Africa. Authorizes the President to make available such amounts from the funds made available by this Act as the President deems appropriate to support long-term development assistance for activities of international organizations which are consistent with the purpose of providing assistance for the poor majority in sub-Saharan Africa and which are undertaken in coordination with AID. Encourages the President to use the authorities provided in this Act in coordination with activities of the multilateral development banks in sub-Saharan Africa. Urges the President to provide debt rescheduling to a country in sub-Saharan Africa if: (1) that country had an average per capita income in 1984 of less that $550; and (2) at any time between October 1, 1989, and September 30, 1994, an International Monetary Fund standby agreement is in effect with respect to that country, a structural adjustment program of the International Development Association of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is in effect with respect to that country, or the President makes a specified finding regarding economic policy reforms in such country. Provides that the debt rescheduling is the granting of a five-year grace period on all payments to the United States on specified types of loans. Requires the President to notify specified congressional committees of any debt rescheduling granted under this Act. Requires that it be the policy of the United States that the funds made available by this Act are not to be used by a country to repay loans, with exceptions. Requires the annual report by the President to the Congress on foreign assistance programs to include a report on the progress made in carrying out this Act. Provides that reprogramming notification requirements do not apply to funds used to carry out this Act. Makes conforming amendments to various Acts. Declares that, where appropriate, African famine relief activities should serve as the foundation for long-term development activities undertaken pursuant to this Act. Provides for the transfer of certain funds so that they may be used for management support activities associated with long-term development assistance. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the purposes of the African Development Foundation are consistent with the purposes of this Act. Amends the African Development Foundation Act to authorize appropriations for the African Development Foundation for FY 1990 and 1991. Expresses the sense of the Congress that special efforts should be undertaken to reduce trade barriers and promote economic interchange between the United States and developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1989
Requires the cost-of-living adjustments in FY 1990 for persons receiving military retired pay or an annuity under a veterans' survivors' benefits program to take effect. Prohibits any reduction or suspension of such adjustments under any presidential order or any other provision of law, except applicable Federal armed forces provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1989
Designates October 1989 as National Down Syndrome Month.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Acid Deposition Control Act of 1989 - Title I: Stationary Sources - Amends the Clean Air Act to require each Governor to submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for approval a two-phased plan establishing emission limitations and compliance schedules for sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen emissions from fossil fuel fired electric utility steam generating units in the State. Requires reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions by 1994 (phase I) and reductions in oxides of nitrogen and further reductions in sulfur dioxide by 1998 (phase II). Directs each Governor to submit to the Administrator for approval an emissions limitations plan for such units, other than electric utilities' units, requiring both sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen emissions reductions by 1998. Requires the Administrator to conduct and update an annual inventory of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen emissions from stationary sources. Directs the Administrator to identify the total statewide potential reductions in such emissions and to transmit such information to the State. Requires each Governor to submit to the Administrator a plan for establishing emission limitations from stationary sources of industrial process emissions to achieve such State's potential reductions by 1998. Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress by June 30, 1994, on the reductions achieved during phase I, granting the Congress an opportunity to legislate by the start of 1995 against the implementation of phase II. Grants States an opportunity to modify disapproved plans. Establishes emissions standards and Administrator-promulgated plans for States without an approved plan. Requires units in such States to submit a compliance plan and schedule to the Administrator. Directs the Administrator to impose fees on the generation and importation of electric energy if a utility is eligible for Federal subsidies to cover rate increases attributable to emission reduction requirements. Limits such fee to a maximum of 1/2 mill per kilowatt hour and makes it inapplicable to the generation of electric energy within the United States by hydroelectric or nuclear power. Prohibits the application of such fees after December 31, 1997. Prescribes civil penalties for violations in connection with such fees. Establishes the Acid Deposition Control Fund to provide for subsidies to electric utilities to cover rate increases attributable to emission reduction requirements. Prohibits the payments of subsidies to any utility, unless the State's Governor has assured that such rate increases are: (1) equivalent for residential electric utility ratepayers throughout the State; and (2) made level over the period during which such requirements are in effect. Prohibits costs for any technological system of emission reduction from being attributed to such requirements, unless such system meets specified conditions. Authorizes the Administrator to provide financial assistance to the owners or operators of stationary sources to promote the use of innovative technologies to control sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other emissions from fossil fuels covered under the Clean Air Act. Sets forth eligibility and evaluation requirements. Allows State plans to provide for the use of innovative technology if contingent emission limitations are included in such plans. Authorizes the Administrator to impose fees on the generation of electric energy in such States to promote the use of innovative technologies. Prescribes civil penalties for violations in connection with such fees. Directs the Administrator to revise standards for emissions of nitrogen oxides for electric utility steam generating units burning bituminous or subbituminous coal. Requires the Administrator to promulgate standards for such emissions from nonelectric utility units which are new sources over a certain capacity. Title II: Emissions from Mobile Sources - Establishes emission standards for: (1) oxides of nitrogen from passenger cars and trucks manufactured after model year 1990; and (2) hydrocarbons from trucks manufactured after model year 1991. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations setting a maximum percentage for the sulfur content of motor vehicle diesel fuel. Prohibits any manufacturer or processor of diesel fuel from selling or introducing into commerce any fuel not in compliance with such regulations after January 1, 1991. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations to require the use of either hydrocarbon control technology by motor vehicles manufactured after model year 1991, or gasoline vapor recovery of hydrocarbon emissions emanating from the fueling of motor vehicles, or both.