United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Defense Economic Adjustment Act - Title I: Defense Economic Adjustment Council - Establishes in the Executive Office of the President the Defense Economic Adjustment Council to be co-chaired by the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor. Establishes in the Executive Office an Office of Economic Adjustment, headed by a Director, to provide staff support to the Council. Directs the Council to disseminate information from the Secretary of Defense to Federal, State, and local agencies concerning proposed or pending changes in defense spending which would affect employment in the defense industry. Requires the Council to perform other duties, including: (1) encouraging the preparation of plans for non-defense-related public projects; (2) coordinating and developing information on priority, federally-funded projects and programs pertaining to defense economic adjustment; (3) monitoring job services information banks; and (4) determining criteria for eligibility for assistance under this Act. Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide the pertinent information to the Council a year in advance of any change and to furnish the Council with projected future defense spending levels. Directs the Council to prepare and distribute a Conversion Guidelines Handbook to outline requirements of programs for professional retraining of personnel. Title II: Community Economic Adjustment Planning - Makes eligible for Federal assistance for economic adjustment planning any community which is substantially affected by reduction or elimination of Government defense facilities or curtailment or conclusion of defense contracts. Directs the Council to make available to alternative use committees information on economic development programs of any Federal instrumentality which provides funds that may be used for planning. Requires the Council to report to the Congress at least annually on any such economic development program. Directs the Council to use data from other departments to develop criteria which ensures that assistance is directed to those communities that are most vulnerable economically to reductions in defense expenditures. Requires the Council to publish a semiannual list of eligible communities. Requires excess property resulting from a closing or reduction in a Government-owned facility to be appraised for purposes of resale to the community. Title III: Alternative Use Committees - Requires the establishment of alternative use committees at defense facilities to plan for economic conversion in the event of closure or reduction. Directs such committees to: (1) evaluate the assets of the facilities and the resources and requirements of the local community; (2) develop at least biennially a detailed plan for conversion of the facility to non-defense-related productive activity; and (3) provide retraining and reemployment counseling services. Requires conversion plans to maximize the pool of skills of available personnel and specify in detail the composition of the work force and plant, material, and financing requirements. Penalizes any contractor who fails to submit an alternative use plan or carry out one approved by the Council by making such contractor ineligible for future defense contracts for three years. Title IV: Economic Adjustment Assistance for Workers - Makes displaced workers certified by the local alternative use committees to the Council eligible for benefits for two years under this Act. Includes among such benefits: weekly compensation, vested pension credit, maintenance of health insurance, retraining for civilian work, job search allowance, and reimbursement for relocation expenses. Requires completion of a program of professional retraining before certain employees are eligible for assistance. Directs the Council to enter into agreements with a State or agency in the State administering the unemployment compensation law to disburse benefits under this Act. Requires displaced workers to accept any employment determined by the State agency or Secretary of Labor to be comparable to the former job, or benefits will terminate. Excludes these benefits from other determinations of eligibility for unemployment compensation under any Federal or State law. Title V: Economic Adjustment Fund - Establishes in the Treasury a Workers Economic Adjustment Reserve Trust Fund. Requires defense contractors to pay a specified percentage into the Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit a percentage of the projected savings resulting from a cancellation or cutback in defense spending. Title VI: Use of Certain Research Funds - Requires the Council to define urgent national requirements for nondefense sectors of the economy in any determination of the Secretary of Defense as to how certain research and development funds are to be spent. Title VII: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends Federal law to prohibit any State from imposing an income tax on the pension income of any individual who is not a resident or domiciliary of that State.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Financial Incentives Going to Help Towns Fighting Drugs Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to designate that one dollar of their tax liability be paid to the Local Anti-Drug Program Trust Fund. Establishes such Fund for grants to counties for: (1) law enforcement activities regarding drug-related crimes; (2) education, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs regarding drug abuse; and (3) grants to units of general local government.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Fair Credit Reporting Amendments of 1990 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require that the file of any consumer at a consumer reporting agency (CRA) include specified information on each inquiry about such file. Prohibits a CRA from making a report of inquiries which were not specifically authorized by the consumer. Amends provisions setting forth the permissible purposes of consumer reports to specify that the "legitimate business need" purpose applies only in connection with a transaction specifically authorized by (currently, involving) the consumer. Prohibits a CRA from providing any information in a consumer's file unless the inquirer certifies that the information will not be used to solicit the consumer. Requires disclosures by a CRA to a consumer to be in an understandable form. Requires disclosure, on request, of all information (currently, the nature and substance of all information) in the consumer's file. Specifies the information which must be disclosed to the consumer about inquirers and applies that requirement to non-employment reports made in the last year (currently, the last six months). Requires that reinvestigation of disputed information be conducted within 30 days (currently, a reasonable time). Sets forth: (1) reinvestigation procedures and requires a report to the consumer after completion; and (2) procedures for notifying inaccurate information recipients. Requires coordination of correction efforts with suppliers of information, including reinvestigation by the suppliers. Requires disclosure of certain rights and associated information to a consumer who disputes information. Requires a CRA, upon request, to make certain disclosures to the consumer at least once a year without charge. Replaces provisions specifying requirements imposed on users of consumer reports with provisions requiring report users who take adverse action with regard to a consumer, based in whole or in part on information in the report, to notify the consumer. Specifies the form of the notice. Prohibits any person from furnishing any information to any CRA which the person has reasonable cause to believe is incomplete or inaccurate. Adds references to persons who furnish information to CRAs to provisions imposing civil liability for willful or negligent noncompliance.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Act for Micro-Enterprise - Amends the Social Security Act to exclude from income for purposes of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs business assets received primarily for micro-enterprise business purposes. Extends public assistance benefits (including AFDC, SSI, Medicaid, and Medicare) for persons with income from or resources in a micro-enterprise (any commercial enterprise with five or fewer employees, one or more of whom own the enterprise). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make eligible for unemployment compensation an individual who starts a micro-enterprise. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to make financial assistance available under the Community Development Block Grant and Urban Development Action Grant programs to lending institutions and public and private organizations to provide loans, counseling, and training for micro-enterprises. Amends the Small Business Act to urge that when implementing business loan programs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration consider the needs of micro-enterprises, and the institutions which offer them credit or services. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to treat savings association loans to micro-enterprises as qualified thrift investments. Mandates that each Federal banking agency establish a Micro-Enteprise Technical and Operations Office (Me-Too) to promote micro-enterprises through technical assistance, outreach, and training.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Telephone Consumer Assistance Act - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a system to regulate audiotext services to protect consumers. Prohibits interstate telecommunications carriers from carrying audiotext services that fail to include: (1) specified disclosure messages describing the service, cost, and option to hang up; (2) a requirement that any bypass mechanism allowing frequent callers to avoid listening to the disclosure message be disabled after any significant price change; (3) equipment that stops the assessment of charges upon disconnection, automatically disconnects after one cycle of the program, and automatically disconnects interactive programs if no activity occurs within a specified time period; and (4) arrangements with local exchange carriers to prohibit disconnection of telephone service because of nonpayment of audiotext charges. Requires such carriers to: (1) grant callers the option to avoid audiotext charges caused by unauthorized use or misunderstanding of the charges applied; (2) offer callers the option of blocking access to audiotext services; (3) include a signal alerting callers to the passage of time; (4) establish a toll-free telephone number to answer questions and provide information on callers' rights and obligations with respect to such services and to provide the names and addresses of audiotext providers for which such callers have been customers; (5) include a specified disclosure statement to telephone subscribers; (6) state the charges for audiotext services in a separate section of the bill; (7) notify the appropriate State regulatory commission of the intent to provide audiotext services in the State and make available all audiotext access numbers; and (8) obtain from audiotext providers that solicit charitable contributions proof of the tax-exempt status of the person or organization for which such contributions are solicited. Sets forth requirements concerning advertising for audiotext services. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to study the use by audiotext providers of technologies that permit the identification of callers' telephone numbers to generate, compile, and sell or lease lists of such numbers. Requires the Secretary to report the results of such study to the FCC and the Congress, together with any recommendations to prevent abuses in the use of such technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Congressional Recycling Act of 1991 - Requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate to purchase recycled paper and paper products for use to the greatest extent practicable in the operations of the House and the Senate. Directs the Public Printer to assure that the Government Printing Office uses recycled paper in providing services to the House. Directs the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate to determine the price or range of prices to be considered unreasonable for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Authorizes to be appropriated, in addition to sums already authorized, a certain amount to the National Cancer Institute for breast cancer research other than research which involves treatment or clinical trials.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Recyclable Materials Technology and Markets Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) conduct a study of markets for postconsumer materials (defined as materials that have served their intended end-use by an entity other than an industrial establishment); and (2) establish an Office of Recycling Research and Information in the Department of Commerce. Requires the Director of Recycling Research and Information to: (1) make grants for studies and scientific research relating to recycling of postconsumer materials; and (2) conduct a public outreach program to provide information to secondary school students, State and local governments, and the general public. Requires each manufacturer of a recyclable product to recycle, or provide for the recycling of, increasing minimum percentages of the products manufactured during specified years. Directs the Secretary to designate a product as recyclable if it may feasibly be recycled, as determined by the Secretary. Prohibits manufacturing a product for which the prescribed recycling rate was not met for the preceding year. Provides for civil fines for violating the prohibition. Prohibits manufacturing a nonrecyclable product if a recyclable substitute is readily available. Directs the Secretary to designate a product as nonrecyclable if it is not technically or economically feasible to be recycled. Authorizes the Secretary to require nonrecyclable products to be so labeled. Provides for civil fines for violating the prohibition. Provides for recycling seals of approval for recyclable products and for products containing a certain percentage of recycled postconsumer materials.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Permits certain veterans with service-connected disabilities who are retired members of the uniformed services to receive compensation concurrently with retired pay, without deduction from either.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Desert Shield Burden-Sharing Act of 1991 - Directs the President to determine whether each foreign country that receives trade benefits from the United States is making a commensurate contribution to the multinational military mobilization carried out in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Requires the President to impose an additional duty to dutiable products and a duty to duty-free products of countries that are found not to be contributing to the mobilization. Provides for the termination of such duties. Establishes the Desert Shield Reimbursement Fund to receive duties collected under this Act. Makes the Fund available solely to reimburse appropriations made to support U.S. participation in the mobilization.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Repeals provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that restrict the types of scholarships and fellowship grants that may be excluded from gross income for income tax purposes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for interest on a qualified educational loan incurred to pay the educational expenses of the taxpayer, spouse, or dependent. Eliminates the current requirement that such indebtedness be secured by an interest in real property.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1991 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army Transport Service, during World War II constituted active military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge under such Act to each merchant marine member whose qualified service warrants such a discharge. Defines "qualified service." Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee of a specified amount for any benefit application for such qualified service. Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to add references to components or ingredients of equipment, materials, or commodities in certain cargo preference provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure, and Health Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue water quality criteria for pathogens in coastal recreation waters. Requires States to adopt water quality standards for such waters consistent with such criteria. Directs the Administrator to promulgate standards for States that fail to do so. Requires the Administrator to publish regulations specifying methods to be used by States to monitor coastal recreation waters, during periods of use by the public, for compliance with standards. Directs States to notify local governments and the public of violations of water quality standards for coastal recreation waters. Requires the Administrator to: (1) issue guidance on uniform assessment and monitoring procedures for floatable materials in coastal recreation waters; and (2) specify the conditions under which the presence of floatable material constitutes a threat to public health and safety. Authorizes States to delegate responsibility for monitoring and posting of coastal recreation waters to local governments. Directs the Administrator to conduct an ongoing study and report to the Congress on additional information for developing better indicators for detecting the presence of harmful bacteria and viruses in coastal recreation waters. Requires State coastal zone management agencies to provide technical assistance to local governments to ensure that coastal recreation waters and beaches are as free as possible from floatable materials. Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to authorize grants to eligible coastal States for the reduction of floatable materials in coastal recreation waters. Permits the use of grants for the acquisition of beach and coastal recreation water clean-up equipment. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to States to fulfill requirements under this Act. Limits the total amount of grants to States. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Prohibits entities that employ more than 20 employees in Northern Ireland and Ireland from receiving U.S. funds from the International Fund for Ireland unless they comply with certain fair employment principles known as the MacBride Principles.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Civil Rights Act of 1991 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide for the burdens of proof which must be met by the various parties when an allegation of an unlawful employment practice is based on disparate impact. ( Wards Cove Packing Co. Inc. v. Atonio, 1989, held that, in cases brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove an employer had no business necessity for a practice with discriminatory effects.) Allows a rule barring employment based on illegal discriminatory intent. Declares that, when an employment practice is alleged to have mixed motives, an unlawful employment practice is established when it is shown that a discriminatory basis was a contributing factor, even though other factors also contributed. Bars certain types of relief and limits damages to the injury that is attributable to the unlawful practice. Provides for the finality of litigated or consent judgments or orders resolving an employment discrimination claim, barring actions (challenging an employment practice that implements and is within the scope of a judgment or order) by persons who had certain types of notice and opportunity. Modifies the time limitations within which certain actions must be taken in alleged employment discrimination cases. (In Lorance v. AT&T Technologies, the Supreme Court held that seniority plans cannot be challenged as discriminatory unless complaints are filed soon after the plans are adopted.) Declares the application of a seniority system, if the system was included in a collective bargaining agreement with discriminatory intent, an unlawful employment practice. Allows punitive damages, certain types of compensatory damages, and jury trials only in connection with certain claims of intentional discrimination under the Act or under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Allows any party, if compensatory or punitive damages are sought, to demand a jury trial. Includes expert fees and other litigation expenses in attorney's fees which may be awarded in certain circumstances. Prohibits consent orders or judgments settling a claim, or stipulations of dismissal, unless the parties or their counsel attest that a waiver of all or substantially all attorney's fees was not compelled as a condition of the settlement.( Independent Federation of Flight Attendants v. Zipes held that attorneys' fees can be recovered under Title VII against losing intervenors only if the intervenor's action is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.) Allows the court, in its discretion to promote fairness, in a proceeding in which a judgment or order granting relief under employment discrimination provisions is challenged, to allow the prevailing party in the original action to recover attorney's fees and costs incurred in defending the judgment or order. Extends the time limit for filing against the Government a civil action involving employment discrimination. Requires, except for prejudgment interest on compensatory damages, the same interest payment by the Government as in cases involving non-public parties. Requires all Federal civil rights laws to be interpreted broadly to provide equal opportunity and provide effective remedies. Prohibits, except as expressly provided, interpreting any Federal civil rights law to repeal or amend by implication any other such law. Prohibits using this Act as a basis for limiting civil rights laws not expressly amended by this Act. Amends Federal law to declare that: (1) for purposes of provisions relating to equal rights under the law, the right to make and enforce contracts includes the making, performance, modification, and termination of contracts, and the enjoyment of all benefits, privileges, terms, and conditions of the contract; and (2) the rights protected by the amended provisions are protected against impairment by non-governmental discrimination as well as against impairment under color of State law. (In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled, in Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, that an 1866 law forbidding discrimination in contracts applies only to hiring agreements, not on-the-job bias.) Prohibits construing the amendments made by this Act to: (1) require or encourage an employer to adopt hiring or promotion quotas; or (2) affect court-ordered remedies, affirmative action, or conciliation agreements that are otherwise in accordance with the law. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to apply equal employment opportunities provisions to the Congress, with enforcement as determined by each House of the Congress. Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to modify requirements, including time limitations, regarding filing of a civil action. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to notify the person aggrieved if an age discrimination charge is dismissed by the Commission. Allows a civil suit to be brought within a specified time limit after the dismissal. Encourages the use of alternative means of dispute resolution to resolve disputes arising under the Acts amended by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1991 - Title I: General Requirements for Leave - Establishes certain requirements for family and medical leave for permanent employees. (Excludes from such coverage: (1) employees at worksites at which the employer employs less than 50 persons, if the total number of employees of that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is less than 50; and (2) Federal officers and employees covered under title II of this Act.) Entitles employees to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period because of: (1) the birth of their child; (2) the placement of a child for their adoption or foster care; (3) their care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition; or (4) their own serious health condition which makes them unable to perform the functions of their position. Conditions such leave for the birth or placement of a child as follows: (1) the entitlement ends 12 months after the birth or placement; (2) both parents may not take such leave at the same time; and (3) such leave may not be taken intermittently unless employee and employer agree otherwise. Allows all leave to which an employee is entitled under this title: (1) to be taken on a reduced leave schedule, upon agreement with the employer; and (2) to consist of unpaid leave, except under specified conditions when substitution of certain types of paid leave may be elected or required. Declares that nothing in this Act shall require an employer to provide paid sick or medical leave in any situation in which the employer would not normally provide any such paid leave. Requires employees to: (1) give reasonable notice of the need for leave to which they are entitled under this Act, when foreseeable; and (2) make a reasonable effort to schedule medical treatment or supervision so as not to disrupt unduly the employer's operations, subject to approval of the health care provider. Allows limitation of the dual aggregate leave entitlement to 12 weeks in any 12-month period, in the case of spouses employed by the same employer, if such leave is for the birth or placement of a child or for the care of a sick parent. Sets forth conditions of certification for leave entitlements under this Act, including provisions relating to: (1) sufficient certification; (2) explanation of inability to perform job functions; (3) second opinion; (4) resolution of conflicting opinions; and (5) subsequent recertification. Sets forth employment and benefits protections relating to leave entitlements under this Act, including provisions relating to: (1) restoration to position; (2) denial of such restoration in the case of certain highly compensated employees; (3) maintenance of health benefits; and (4) no bar to agreement concerning alternative employment. Prohibits employers or other persons from interfering with employee rights under this Act or from discriminating against any individual because of participation in proceedings or inquiries under this Act. Provides for administrative enforcement of this title by the Secretary of Labor, as well as enforcement by civil action. Sets forth provisions for investigative authority, injunctive and monetary relief, attorneys' fees, and limitation of actions. Sets forth special rules concerning employees of local educational agencies, including provisions relating to intermittent leave for instructional employees, periods near the completion of an academic term, and reduction of liability. Requires employers to post notice of the pertinent provisions of this title. Requires fines for willful violations of such requirement. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this title. Title II: Family Leave and Temporary Medical Leave for Civil Service Employees - Amends specified Federal law to entitle civil service employees to family and temporary medical leave for specified periods. Allows such employees up to: (1) 18 administrative workweeks in any 24-month period for family leave (i.e., leave because of the birth or placement of a child or care of a sick child or parent), but such leave may not be used at a time more than 12 months after such birth or placement; and (2) 26 administrative workweeks during any 12-month period for temporary medical leave. Provides that such leave will be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave for part of such leave. Provides for protection for job position and health insurance benefits of employees using such leave. Sets forth certification provisions and prohibitions against coercion. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for administration of this title which are consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under title I of this Act. Title III: Commission on Leave - Establishes the Commission on Leave. Requires the Commission to report on its study of family and medical leave (which may include legislative recommendations concerning coverage of small businesses and alternative and equivalent State enforcement of this Act with respect to employees of local educational agencies) to the Congress within two years after the Commission first meets. Terminates the Commission within 30 days after its report to the Congress. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth the effect of this Act on existing laws and existing employment benefits. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting more generous leave policies. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this title within 60 days. Title V: Coverage of Congressional Employees - Applies the rights and protections under title I of this Act to employees of the House of Representatives, except for the exemption concerning highly compensated employees. Requires that the remedies and procedures under the Fair Employment Practices Resolution be applied in administering such coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Drug Testing Quality Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a program for the certification of laboratories for the performance of toxicological urinalysis for drug testing programs. Requires the program, as much as practicable, to conform to specified mandatory guidelines for Federal workplace drug testing programs published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS guidelines). Mandates regulations to ensure the integrity of drug testing programs. Requires the regulations to conform, as much as practicable, to the HHS guidelines. Provides for the inclusion of additional drugs and classes of drugs for which test methods and cutoff levels are provided. Requires taking into consideration any special factors applicable to amateur athletics. Sets forth specimen collection procedures. Prohibits performing urinalysis for drug testing without certification. Provides for criminal penalties, administrative remedies, injunctions, and certain civil actions. Supersedes less stringent statutes, rules, regulations, orders, and laws. Preempts State or local requirements regarding drug testing laboratory certification or the conduct of testing programs. Requires fees for certification and recertification to cover costs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Flight Attendant Duty Time Act - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish limitations on duty time for flight attendants. Requires the Secretary to issue final regulations by a specified deadline. Prohibits any air carrier from operating an aircraft using a flight attendant who has been on duty in excess of specified hours or who has had less than a specified number of hours of rest if such regulations have not been promulgated by a certain time. Permits modification of the specified hours of duty if the Secretary determines such modification is in the public interest and submits a copy of the modifying regulations to certain congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to make it an unfair labor practice for an employer to offer or grant: (1) permanent replacement employee status during a labor dispute; or (2) any employment preference to an individual who worked or indicated a willingness to work during a labor dispute over an employee who exercised specified rights during such dispute and who is working for, or has unconditionally offered to return to work for, the employer.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Veterans' Burial Benefits Act of 1991 - Amends Federal law to extend burial benefits to specified veterans with service-connected disabilities (formerly provided until October 1, 1981). Increases from $150 to $300 the veterans' burial plot allowance for eligible veterans who die in Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from diminishing existing allocations of spectrum (available radio frequencies) to the amateur radio service after January 1, 1991. Requires the FCC to provide replacement spectrum to the service for any frequency reallocation after such date.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act - Makes it unlawful for any licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun to an unlicensed individual unless: (1) after the most recent proposal of such transfer by the individual, the transferor has received a statement of eligibility from the individual, has notified the chief law enforcement officer for such individual's place of residence about the proposed transfer, and either has received a response indicating that such transfer is not prohibited by law or has not received a response indicating otherwise within seven days; (2) the individual has presented to the transferor a statement from the officer, issued in the past ten days, that the individual requires a handgun because of a threat to him or his family; (3) the individual has presented to the transferor a permit to possess a handgun that has been issued in the past five years by the State in which the transfer is to take place under a State law which requires law enforcement verification of the individual's legal qualification to possess a handgun; (4) State law either requires a waiting period of at least seven days or requires that an authorized government official verifies that the information available to such official does not indicate that possession of a handgun by the purchaser would be unlawful; or (5) the transferor has received a report from any system of felon identification established by the Attorney General under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 that the individual's possession or receipt of the handgun would not violate Federal, State, or local law. Requires the statement of eligibility to include a statement that the individual: (1) is not under indictment for and has not been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; (2) is not a fugitive; (3) is not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance; (4) has not been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution; (5) is not an alien who is illegally in the United States; (6) has not been dishonorably discharged from the armed forces; and (7) is not a person who has renounced U.S. citizenship. Requires any transferor who, after a transfer, receives a report from such officer that receipt or possession of the handgun by the individual violates the law, to: (1) furnish information about the transfer and the individual to the chief law enforcement officer of the transferor's place of business and the individual's place of residence; and (2) keep confidential any information received which is not otherwise available to the public, with exceptions. Requires a transferor to retain a copy of the individual's statement. Requires the law enforcement officer to destroy any copy of the individual's sworn statement and any record containing information derived from such statement within 30 days, unless such officer determines that the transaction would violate Federal, State, or local law.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Airline Bankruptcy Passenger Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue an order authorizing a covered air carrier to develop an air transportation plan which protects airline ticket holders in the event it becomes a debtor in bankruptcy proceedings after the ticket purchase date. Provides that if satisfactory plans have not been submitted by a specified deadline, the Secretary must promulgate regulations requiring all covered air carriers to provide air transportation for such ticket holders.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Eliminates the requirement that a Federal employee make retroactive contributions to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund upon electing survivor annuity benefits for a spouse by a post-retirement marriage. Sets forth provisions regarding the administration of this Act by the Office of Personnel Management.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Merchant Marine and Defense Act of 1991 - Title I: General Provisions - Sets forth congressional findings regarding the maritime industries and national defense. Declares that it is the policy of the United States to develop the necessary maritime resources to meet U.S. national defense and economic security requirements. Title II: Operating Differential Subsidy Reform - Amends provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 relating to the operating-differential subsidy (ODS) to: (1) allow the Secretary of Transportation, in determining whether to approve an application or revise a contract, to consider the availability of funding; and (2) prohibit the Secretary, in making such determinations, from making a distinction between persons already receiving such aid and new applicants. Revises the definition of "essential service" to include any operation determined by the Secretary to be necessary for national defense or for competitive and economical operation of U.S.-flag vessels in foreign commerce. Requires, for ODS aid, that a vessel be a militarily useful dry cargo vessel less than 20 years old and U.S.-documented. Directs the Secretary, notwithstanding any other law, to allow any qualified U.S. operator to qualify any militarily useful vessels for an ODS if the operator applies within one year of enactment of this Act, meets the requirements for such aid, and meets other requirements. Defines "qualified operator" to mean a U.S. citizen who owned, during the two years ending on the date of enactment of this Act, oceangoing vessels documented in the United States. Ends the Secretary's authority to determine suitable ocean routes and lines to foreign ports. Ends the ODS eligibility requirement that vessels be operating in an essential service. Directs the Secretary to designate ocean services, routes, and lines to not be essential services for purposes of ODS. Prohibits the Secretary from designating a route after two years after enactment of this Act unless operation on that route under an ODS is essential for national security. Repeals provisions excluding certain vessels from eligibility for an ODS. Reduces the maximum period for ODS contracts from 20 to ten years. Modifies the formula for determining the amount of ODS payments. Eliminates ODS coverage for insurance, maintenance and repair, and subsistence of officers and crews. Shields contracts in effect on the date of enactment of this Act from the changes until specified events occur. Changes the definition of "collective bargaining costs." Requires wage subsidies to be paid semimonthly rather than monthly. Prohibits the Secretary from entering into or making payments on ODS contracts for a dry cargo or dry bulk vessel that is more than 25 years old or a tanker vessel that is more than 20 years old. (Current law prohibits ODS payments for vessels that are more than 25 years old.) Directs the Secretary, in awarding and revising ODS contracts, to ensure that disruptions to parties to existing contracts are minimized. Provides for a reduction of ODS payments for a particular voyage in proportion to the amount of revenue payable under cargo preference provisions, subject to exception. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out ODS provisions so as to provide incentives for improving the efficiency of operation of vessels for which an ODS is paid. Allows the Secretary to authorize a contractor receiving an ODS for operations of a line haul vessel to own or operate certain foreign flag vessels that act as feeder vessels for that line hall vessel. Authorizes the Secretary, notwithstanding specified provisions, to enter into ODS contracts with U.S. citizens for the operation of any militarily useful vessel built in a foreign shipyard if the citizen has a foreign vessel acquisition right issued by the Secretary and if other requirements are met. Directs the Secretary to establish a program for the issuance of a foreign vessel acquisition right with respect to each oceangoing merchant vessel over a specified number of deadweight tons for which construction in the United States is started on or after enactment of this Act. Requires the program to provide for the assignment by the Secretary of such rights to any U.S. citizen. Requires amounts received as revenue under the program to be deposited in the Procure and Charter Shipyard Improvement Fund established under title XIV of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 for use under that title. Declares that these provisions shall not be construed to authorize any vessel built or acquired outside the United States to engage in the coastwise trade. Authorizes the Secretary: (1) notwithstanding specified provisions, to enter into ODS contracts for one year after enactment of this Act with any qualified operator for the operation of any militarily useful vessel built in a foreign shipyard if the vessel meets certain requirements; and (2) on and after the date of enactment of this Act, to enter into ODS contracts for operation of any vessels eligible for such subsidies by reason of these provisions, the contracts to be effective after the vessels are delivered and documented under U.S. laws. Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to modify the definition, for purposes of provisions relating to cargo preference, of the term "privately owned United States-flag commercial vessels" so as to allow certain foreign-built vessels to carry preference cargo, subject to limitation. Authorizes the Secretary, notwithstanding cargo preference limitations, to declare a foreign-built vessel eligible for preference cargo, if the Secretary is authorized to enter into an ODS contract with respect to that vessel and if other conditions are met. Title III: Procure and Charter Program - Part A: Design and Construction of Vessels and Improvement of Shipyards - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) and the Secretary of Defense to establish a program under which amounts in the Procure and Charter Revolving Fund (Fund) must be used to: (1) fund contracts for the design in the United States of militarily useful merchant vessels; (2) fund contracts for the construction of such vessels in privately owned U.S. shipyards; and (3) provide assistance to such shipyards for improvements to equipment, systems, and techniques. Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts for the: (1) design and construction of prototypes of militarily useful merchant vessels; and (2) construction of militarily useful merchant vessels in accordance with such designs and prototypes. Sets forth vessel requirements, contractor eligibility requirements, and contract restrictions. Directs the Secretary to require that, as part of the contract, any person awarded a contract improve facilities and management systems of the person and achieve improvements in productivity and cost reductions through serial construction. Authorizes the Secretary to provide vessel construction contractors under these provisions financial assistance in an amount equal to one-half of the costs of improvements in vessel construction equipment, systems, and techniques to be used in carrying out the contract. Prohibits the assistance unless the Secretary determines that the assistance will result in reduced total costs and increased productivity in carrying out construction under these provisions. Limits the amount of the assistance. Authorizes appropriations from the fund as necessary for constructing an average of 12 vessels in each of the FY 1989 through 2000. Part B: Vessel Charter and Sale - Directs the Secretary to establish a program for the chartering and disposing of vessels constructed under part A of this title. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with any eligible person for the charter by the person of such vessels. Sets forth charter contract terms. Directs the Secretary, as a condition of a contract, to require: (1) a deposit to ensure the faithful performance of all requirements of the contracts, including indemnity against liens on the vessel; and (2) insurance at the expense of the person entering into the contract. Sets forth contracting procedures. Allows the Secretary to terminate a contract: (1) on a presidential proclamation that termination is required for national defense; and (2) during a national emergency declared by the President. Directs the Secretary, in chartering vessels, to avoid conferring any unfair advantage on a charterer. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) and the Secretary of Defense to contract for the charter of any vessel constructed under part A of this title, for use by the Department of the Navy, at rates determined by the Secretary (but not less than the prevailing commercial rate) for not more than two years. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to contract with any private person to subcharter any vessel constructed under part A, unless the operation of the vessel under that contract will adversely affect the commercial operation of a vessel documented under U.S. laws. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to sell or otherwise dispose of (including by transfer to the National Defense Reserve Fleet) a vessel constructed under this title if the vessel is not under contract and no reasonable contract offers have been received, and if other conditions are met. Mandates that the Secretary require as compensation for a vessel sold or disposed of an amount at least as much as the U.S. cost in constructing the vessel, less depreciation. Directs the Secretary, in disposing of vessels, to avoid conferring any unfair advantage on any person who acquires the vessel. Authorizes the Secretary to dispose of a vessel to any person for purposes of scrapping the vessel. Part C: Procure and Charter Revolving Fund - Establishes in the Treasury the Procure and Charter Revolving Fund, to consist of amounts deposited in and transferred to the Fund under these provisions. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) deposit in the Fund all proceeds of charters, sales, and disposals under part B of this title, all duties under specified provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930, all proceeds of issuance of foreign vessel acquisition rights under provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 as amended by this Act, and interest on such amounts; and (2) transfer to the Fund, for each of the FY 1990 through 2000, any difference between the deposited amounts and the amount authorized to be appropriated under part A of this title. Makes amounts in the Fund available to the Secretary for vessel design and construction and shipyard assistance. Terminates the Fund, with the balance reverting to the general fund of the Treasury, upon a finding by the Secretary that amounts in the Fund plus anticipated receipts are insufficient for funding construction contracts. Mandates deposit in the general fund of the Treasury of any amounts received after termination of the Fund. Part D: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit an annual report to the Congress regarding matters under this title; and (2) issue regulations to carry out this title. Title IV: Simplification of Procedure for Long-Term Military Leases - Amends Federal law to exempt noncombatant oceangoing vessels from provisions relating to authorization required for certain long-term leases of vessels and aircraft by military departments. Directs the Secretary of Defense to submit an annual report to specified committees of the Congress describing each case in which the Department of the Navy is seeking, or considering seeking, to enter into a long-term charter of an oceangoing vessel under the provisions amended by this title. Title V: Vessel Prototype Design and Construction Program - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish a program for the design and construction of dry and liquid cargo vessel prototypes and troop carrying vessel prototypes; (2) establish guidelines for such design and construction; and (3) conduct a series of competitions for the selection of designs for vessel prototypes. Sets forth design criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to contract for the production of vessel prototype designs. Directs the Secreary to encourage such cooperation between naval architecture firms and ship building firms as may facilitate the use of modern production techniques. Directs the Secretary to contract for the construction in private U.S. shipyards of one of each vessel prototype design. Sets forth criteria for selection of shipyards. Directs the Secretary to base contract awards, to the maximum extent practicable, on consideration (in addition to other considerations required by law) of maintaining the U.S. ship building mobilization base. Requires prototypes constructed under this title to be chartered or otherwise disposed of under the program established under part B of title III of this Act. Requires information obtained through the design and construction of prototypes to be made available to private shipyards and ship suppliers. Title VI: Federal Ship Mortgage Insurance - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to exclude from the definition of "vessel," as used in provisions relating to Federal ship mortgage insurance: (1) any vessel used primarily for offshsore exploration or exploitation of petroleum; and (2) barges, tugs, towboats, and workboats. Title VII: Tax Incentives for Modernization of U.S. Shipyards - Amends provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 and the Internal Revenue Code regarding tax incentives and relating to merchant marine capital construction funds to define "reconstruction" to include general repairs to a qualified vessel to the extent that their costs exceeds a specified amount. Adds references to shipyards to the same provisions of both Acts. (Current law provides the incentives only for certain vessels and related barges or containers.) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to add qualified vessels and qualified shipyards to the list of exceptions to the termination of the regular percentage, for purposes of determining the amount of the investment tax credit. Restores, for such vessels and shipyards, the depreciation schedule which was in effect on the day before the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Title VIII: Tariff and Trade Reform for Vessel Construction and Operation - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose, when purchased or performed in a foreign country, an ad valorem duty on: (1) modifications and permanent additions to the hull, fittings, or superstructure of a vessel, including inspections required by the classifications societies, insurers, and governmental entities; and (2) vessel drydocking and all services necessary for drydocking. Excludes emergency repairs from imposition of such duty. Relieves the owner or operator of a vessel from liability for the duty if the owner or operator elects to spend, in a shipyard in the United States within five years, for equipment, repair parts or materials, or repairs, a cumulative amount at least equal to the duty. Makes an owner or operator who fails to so spend liable for the duty plus accrued interest. Requires amounts received as a duty to be deposited into the Procure and Charter Revolving Fund established by this Act. Title IX: Expansion of Cargo Reserved for U.S. Vessels - Amends cargo preference provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to require that 100 percent of the agricultural and nonagricultural ocean-borne cargoes generated by the U.S. Government, including cargoes generated as a result of a foreign aid cash transfer program, be transported on privately owned U.S.-flag commercial vessels, subject to exception. (Current law requires that 50 percent of nonagricultural and 25 percent of certain agricultural commodities be transported on U.S.-flag commercial vessels.) States that, in authorizing a vessel which is not U.S.-registered to transport any cargo which is foreign assistance subject to the provisions being amended, the Secretary of Transportation must require that 50 percent of the cargo be transported on U.S.-registered vessels and the remainder on vessels registered in the country receiving the assistance. Title X: Increasing Defense Readiness of United States Merchant Marine - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to direct the Secretary of Transportation, before approving any assistance under such Act for the construction of a vessel intended for use in the coastwise trade, to submit the plans to the Secretary of Defense for review and approval. Directs the Secretary of Defense to either: (1) certify that the plans are suitable for construction of a vessel which is capable of economical and expeditious conversion to use during war or national defense emerency; or (2) request changes in the plans necessary to enable that conversion. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, subject to appropriations, to pay to a person constructing a vessel in the United States after enactment of this Act to be operated in the coastwise trade, before construction begins, the costs of: (1) constructing any national defense features; (2) maintaining the features for 15 years; (3) additional operating expenses because of the features during that period; and (4) lost revenue during that period because of reduced cargo space. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that: (1) rates paid by the Department of Defense for the carriage of ocean-borne cargoes should fully compensate the vessel owner and could be based on established commercial rates; and (2) contracts for such carriage should be awarded, compatible with sound business practice (including cost minimization), so as to enhance the strategic sealift capabilities of the U.S.-flag commercial merchant fleet. Prohibits the Department of Defense, subject to exception and after enactment of this Act, from entering into any contract for carriage of cargoes on a vessel which was: (1) not U.S.-built; or (2) documented in the United States after enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) and the Secretary of Defense to establish a national maritime industries research and development program to carry out commercial water-borne and commercial intermodal transportation and strategic sealift-related research and development. Makes the Secretary responsible for administering the program and lists areas which must be included in the program. Directs the two Secretaries to jointly establish the Maritime Research and Development Advisory Board. Directs the Secretary, as a condition of a research and development project under these provisions, to require that private industry pay a portion of the cost of the project. Limits the Federal share to 66 percent and the non-Federal share to a specified dollar amount for each fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 2001. Title XI: Maritime Labor Reform - Repeals provisions of Federal law relating to merchant mariners' documents. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation, notwithstanding any law, to issue regulations to: (1) allow performance of both deck and engine duties on vessels by qualified personnel; (2) establish the numbers and qualifications of the crew and the watch on vessels; (3) create and keep current licensed and unlicensed personnel ratings; and (4) govern the requirements and standards for documentation of licensed and unlicensed personnel of vessel crews. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress regarding methods for reducing allowable compensation for port and shipyard workers' injuries and disabilities under the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to a level comparable to other industrial occupations. Title XII: Miscellaneous - Directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of the Federal Maritime Commission, and the U.S. Trade Representative to jointly submit an annual report to the Congress regarding unfair foreign trade practices that affect the U.S.-flag merchant marine and maritime industries. Directs the Secretary of Defense to submit an annual report to the Congress regarding specified current and projected maritime defense matters. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to include certain information in an annual report to the Congress required by specified provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to permit the deferral of payments on student loans during professional internships of any duration (by removing a two-year limitation).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Veterans' Compensation Amendments of 1991 - Increases the rates of: (1) veterans' disability compensation; (2) additional compensation for veterans' dependents; (3) the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans; (4) dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children; and (5) supplemental dependency and indemnity compensation for disabled adult children. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Federal Employees' Political Activities Act of 1991 - Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of any election. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority to intimidate, threaten, coerce, command, or influence: (1) any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of any individual to vote as the individual may choose, or of causing any individual to vote, or not to vote, for any candidate or measure in any election; (2) any person to give or withhold any political contribution; or (3) any person to engage, or not to engage, in any form of political activity. Prohibits an employee from using, attempting to use, or permitting the use of any official information, unless such information is available to the general public. Prohibits an employee from: (1) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or to refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; or (3) giving or handing over a political contribution to a superior of the employee. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving, or from being in any manner concerned with soliciting, accepting, or receiving, a political contribution: (1) from another employee (or a member of another employee's immediate family) with respect to whom the employee is a superior; or (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official or an individual receiving salary or compensation from the Treasury. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution from, or giving a political contribution to, any person who: (1) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employing agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by that agency; or (3) has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance of the employee's official duties. Directs the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board to prescribe regulations which exempt employees from such prohibitions. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Authorizes leave without pay or accrued annual leave to an employee who is a candidate, upon request, to allow such employee to engage in activities relating to that candidacy. Declares that such request may be denied if the exigencies of the public business so require. Declares that such employee may be required to take leave without pay or accrued annual leave in order to be a candidate if activities relating to the candidacy interfere with the employee's performance of duties. Applies this Act to postal employees and employees of the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 to increase from $150 to $600 per month the maximum rental amount of premises from which the dependents of a member of the armed forces in military service may not be evicted or distressed, except upon a court action concerning the right of possession to such rented housing. Authorizes the rent maximum to be increased yearly by the same percentage by which retired pay of members and former members of the armed forces is increased for such year. Provides for a stay of such a court action in the case of a member of the reserves called to active duty for a period of more than 30 days. Requires such reserve member to pay as rent an amount equal to the sum of any basic allowance for quarters and variable housing allowance received for such period of active duty. Provides for the repayment of agreed rent that is unpaid during the period of active duty after such period is completed.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement that the amount of monthly benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent be reduced by the amount such individual receives in monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the exclusion from gross income of amounts received under qualified group legal services plans. (Under current law the exclusion expired as of September 30, 1990.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that payment under a life insurance contract to an insured who is terminally ill be treated as a death benefit, making such payment eligible for exclusion from gross income. Provides that any reference to life insurance shall be treated as referring to a qualified terminal illness rider. Provides for the tax treatment of such riders. Describes such a rider as one which provides for payments to an insured upon the insured's becoming terminally ill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in furtherance of the shared responsibility of the executive and legislative branches to oversee and develop energy efficiency and conservation policies, the Congress: (1) urges the President to convene a national energy summit including experts on the environment and energy from both governmental and private sectors; and (2) believes the National Energy Strategy being developed by the Department of Energy should be an important part of the discussion at the energy summit.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Supports the President's actions to defend Saudi Arabia and his diplomatic and economic initiatives to resolve the Persian Gulf crisis. Demands that Iraq immediately withdraw from Kuwait. Finds that the Constitution vests all power to declare war in the Congress. Declares that any offensive action against Iraq must be explicitly approved in advance by the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1990
Combat Merchant Mariners Benefit Act of 1990 - Provides that: (1) service in the U.S. merchant marine during a period of war for a total period equal to at least 12 months shall be considered active duty in determining eligibility for veterans benefits; and (2) such service may be verified by entries in a continuous discharge book, a certificate of discharge to merchant seamen, a certificate of substantially continuous service, or other documentation available from the Secretary of Transportation or the head of any other Federal agency. Limits eligibility to: (1) service on a U.S. vessel on ocean, coastwise, or intercoastal voyages, during a period of war in a combat zone (where such service was rendered to the armed forces in a capacity considered civilian employment or contractual service); (2) any period of forcible detention or internment by an enemy government or hostile force as a result of hostile action against a U.S. vessel while performing such service on the vessel; and (3) any period (up to six months) of service in the War Shipping Administration, the U.S. Maritime Service, or a maritime training program conducted or recognized by the armed forces. Specifies that: (1) the minimum active-duty service requirement of any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs shall apply in determining eligibility for veterans benefits under this Act; (2) the 12-month requirement under this Act shall not apply to an individual who is permanently disabled in the performance of such service while the vessel is subjected to hostile action; and (3) such service may have been rendered before the date of enactment of this Act, but an individual who has performed service before such date shall not be paid veterans benefits that accrue as a result of the enactment of this Act for any period of accrual before such date.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1990
Designates the room numbered H-235 in the House of Representatives wing of the Capitol as the Lindy Claiborne Boggs Congressional Women's Reading Room.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1990
Ocean Dumping Companies Conservatorship Act of 1989 - Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to appoint a conservator to take over the control of an ocean dumping company whenever: (1) the owner of a company engaged in transporting sewage sludge to an ocean dumping site intends to cease operations; and (2) an environmentally acceptable alternative for disposal of the sewage sludge does not exist. Requires the conservator to become vested with the title of the company subject to the conservatorship. Sets forth general duties and powers of the conservator. Authorizes the conservator, subject to certain conditions, to dispose of any company property during the conservatorship. Requires the conservator, at the Administrator's direction, to pay all secured obligations. Provides for compensation to the conservator. Authorizes the Administrator to require purchasers of company property to assume the debts of such company. Requires compensation to be made to the owner of the company by the conservator, with the Administrator's approval. Provides for the proceeds from the disposition of any company property to be paid to the owner. Discontinues the conservatorship when all company property subject to the conservatorship has been disposed or when the Administrator determines the discontinuance to be in the public interest.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1990
Revises the formula for payments made by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to States for nursing home, domiciliary, and hospital care furnished to veterans who are eligible to receive such care in a facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs, but who instead receive such care in a State home.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1990
Family Education Leave Act - Entitles employees to eight hours of paid leave from their jobs, in each school year, for each day in which they are engaged for at least one hour in the activities of a school attended by a dependent, if such leave request is made two weeks in advance. Requires employers to provide such leave to full-time employees who have been in their employ for at least 12 months before such a leave request. Subjects to civil penalties employers who refuse to provide such leave or who discriminate against an employee who requests such leave. Provides that such leave requirements shall take effect with respect to the school year beginning in 1991. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to grant a family leave credit to employers who provide their employees with family leave for attending school activities. Sets such credit at an amount equal to ten percent of the employer's qualified family leave expenses for the taxable year. Requires employers to post notice of such leave requirements. Sets civil penalties for violations of the notice requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1990
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 100 percent tax on income from frozen Iraqi assets. Authorizes the President to modify such tax if the armed forces of Iraq withdraw from Kuwait within the time and in the manner determined by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should declare November 2, 1990, a national day of prayer for: (1) members of American military forces and American citizens stationed or held hostage in the Middle East, and for their families; and (2) American and Iraqi authorities to bring about a just resolution of the Persian Gulf crisis.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1990
Prohibits the proposed sales to Saudi Arabia of armored vehicles (including M1A2 tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles), AH-64 APACHE attack helicopters, PATRIOT guided missile units, and related defense articles and services, that were reported to the Congress pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act on September 27, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1990
Requires Federal employees furloughed as a result of the lapse in appropriations from midnight October 5, 1990, until the enactment of House Joint Resolution 666 to be compensated at their standard rate of compensation for the period during which the lapse in appropriations occurred.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 1990
Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act Amendments of 1990 - Amends the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 (the Act) to provide that an application for a stay of proceedings in a court action involving the military service of an individual shall not constitute an appearance for any purpose. Prohibits an eviction or distress from being made during a period of military service with respect to premises for which the agreed rent does not exceed $1,200 (currently, $150) per month, when such premises are occupied chiefly by the dependents of the person in military service, except upon leave of the court granted upon application or in a proceeding affecting the rights of possession. Extends the power of attorney coverage under the Act to include a power of attorney that by its terms expires after August 2, 1990. Amends the Act to provide professional liability protection for persons ordered to active duty after August 2, 1990, who, prior to such date, were engaged in furnishing health care or other services determined by the Secretary of Defense to be professional services, and who had in effect a professional liability insurance policy that does not continue coverage during the period of active duty. Requires an insurance carrier to suspend and to reinstate coverage of such affected person upon receipt of a written request from such person. Requires such person to request reinstatement within 30 days after release from active duty. Provides a minimum period of required coverage by the carrier following reinstatement, without an increase in the insurance premiums charged. Provides for the stay of a civil or administrative action for damages on the basis of professional liability of a person whose insurance has been suspended under these provisions if: (1) the action is based on an act or omission that occurred before the suspension was effective; and (2) the suspended insurance would, on its face, cover the alleged professional misconduct. States that the period of such stay shall not be included in any statute-of-limitations period. Outlines provisions concerning the death of a person whose professional liability insurance has been suspended and the consequences with respect to the suspended insurance coverage on previous or suspended (stayed) claims. Provides that any person employed and covered under a health insurance policy who goes to active military service or training and upon return is reemployed may not be subject to a waiting period or exclusion of coverage upon such return for a preexisting health or physical condition that occurred before or during the period of service or training. Provides that any person who, by reason of entry into military service, is entitled to the rights and benefits of the Act shall be entitled upon release from such service to reimbursement of any health insurance coverage which: (1) was in effect on the day before such service commenced; and (2) was terminated during the period of such service. Prohibits any health or physical condition occurring before or during the period of such service from being subject to a waiting period or exclusion of coverage upon return from such service. Provides reemployment rights for all reservists (currently, only those serving on active duty for not more than 90 days) upon their return from any active duty other than for training.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hochbrueckner, George J. [D-NY-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000670_200.jpg)