United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1990
Mickey Leland Memorial Domestic Hunger Relief Act - Title I: Reducing Childhood Hunger - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to revise and increase the excess shelter expense deduction for each fiscal year from FY 1991 through FY 1993. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to adjust the basic benefit level upwards by specified increments at the beginning of each fiscal year from FY 1991 through FY 1995 until it reaches 105 percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan. Directs the Secretary by regulation to provide for emergency allotments to eligible households to replace food lost in a disaster. Excludes from the computation of household income any State allowance (provided at least annually) for obtaining school clothes for children in school or child care. Provides for allotment increases to cover State or local sales taxes for participants in demonstration projects. Requires alternative systems for delivery or use of food stamp benefits to meet standards issued by the Secretary and, where household participation is not optional, to involve retail food stores serving minority populations, but only if necessary special equipment is operational at all registers. Provides food stamp coverage for prepared meals for homeless households. Permits State agencies to develop standard estimates of the shelter and related expenses which homeless households may reasonably be expected to incur in order to certify such households based on reported expenses not exceeding such an estimate. Title II: Promoting Self-Sufficiency - Excludes the first $50 a month received as child support from consideration as income in determining the food stamp allotments of households also receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits. Increases from $4,500 to $5,500 from January 1 through September 30, 1991, with annual cost-of-living adjustments to follow, the limit on the fair market value of vehicles that food stamp recipients may own. Directs the Secretary to conduct a sufficient number of demonstration projects to evaluate the effects of excluding from such vehicle calculation the value of: (1) any licensed vehicle used for certain income-producing, transportation, or shelter purposes; and (2) one licensed vehicle used for job-related or job-seeking purposes (including commuting), for pursuing education or training, or for securing food or food stamp benefits. Allows States to use their own agency-designed forms instead of forms approved by the Secretary. Directs State agencies to allow a household to select an adult parent of children in the household as its head where all adult household members agree to do so. Allows four States to give priority in the provision of services to voluntary participants (including both exempt and nonexempt), so long as performance standards are maintained. Authorizes an employment and training program to contain programs designed to increase the self-sufficiency of recipients through self-employment. Excludes from the computation of household financial resources any nonliquid resources necessary to allow the household to carry out an approved plan for self-sufficiency. Increases from $25 to $75 the limit for reimbursements to recipients for costs incurred in employment and training activities. Permits otherwise eligible persons who attend an institution of higher learning to receive food stamp benefits if he or she: (1) attends the institution as part of an employment and training program; or (2) is over 50, registered for employment, and subject to employment or training requirements. Revises the exclusion of educational expenses from the computation of household incomes. Excludes from the computation of household incomes housing assistance payments made to a third party on behalf of a household residing in transitional housing for the homeless. Title III: Simplifying Program Administration - Requires parents and children (regardless of age) who live together to apply for food stamps as a single household. Directs the Secretary to conduct five demonstration projects, in both rural and urban areas, under which households in which each member receives AFDC benefits shall receive monthly food stamp allotments following AFDC rules and procedures, without regard to the eligibility, benefit, and administrative rules of the food stamp program. Requires the Secretary to issue rules under which State agencies must develop standards for identifying (for exclusion as inaccessible resources) those kinds of resources the household is unlikely to sell for any significant return because its interest is so slight or the cost of selling would be so great. Provides that a food stamp office need not consider any resources that the AFDC or supplemental security income benefit programs have already determined to be exempt. Directs State agencies to require only one adult representative of a household to sign all declarations required in the application process on behalf of the household. Makes recipients of State or local general assistance programs categorically eligible for food stamps. Reduces from 30 to ten days the deadline for households convicted of food stamp fraud to decide how to repay their over issuances. Establishes a Commission on the Coordination of Family Support and Food Stamp Policies to report to the President and the Congress on AFDC and food stamp program policies, recommending how to eliminate barriers to participation in both programs. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Hunger in Rural America - Requires State agencies to designate rural project areas where low-income persons face substantial difficulties in getting transportation. Requires issuance of coupons by mail in such areas, except where households experience mail losses exceeding certain levels. Allows States to assist households with the food stamp application process. Directs the Secretary to exclude from financial resources the value of a vehicle a household depends upon to carry heating fuel or water for home use where it has no other access to fuel or water. Title V: Promoting Access for the Elderly and Disabled - Declares that State agencies, with respect to the excess medical deduction for the elderly and the disabled, shall not require further verification of a change in medical expenses if the change has been anticipated for the verification period. Requires annual adjustments to the value of the minimum food stamp benefit. Permits State agencies to establish a procedure allowing households whose regular food stamp benefits do not exceed $20 per month to receive up to $60 worth for intervals of up to three months. Requires that any applicant for or recipient of supplemental security income benefits be informed of the availability of food stamp benefits. Title VI: Program Administration by State Agencies - Prohibits the application of disallowances for erroneous issuances or similar actions to any State for a fiscal year before FY 1991. Directs the Secretary, by specified deadlines, to develop standards for initial approval of automated data processing and information retrieval systems for State agencies, as well as written procedures and standards for initial and continued approval reviews. Sets alternative deadlines for full operation of such systems, the later being September 30, 1993. Provides for waivers of ADC system requirements where their application would not significantly improve the efficiency of a State agency's administration. Title VII: Reauthorization of Programs - Reauthorizes through FY 1995: (1) the food stamp program; (2) the nutrition assistance program for Puerto Rico; (3) the temporary emergency food assistance program under the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983; (4) the soup kitchen and food bank programs under the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988; (5) the commodity distribution and supplemental food programs under the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973; (6) the distribution of surplus commodities to special nutrition projects under the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981; and (7) the nutrition education program under the Food Security Act of 1985. Title VIII - Amends the Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987 to require biennial reports to the Congress on food bank projects. Amends the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to establish a Commodity Supplemental Food Program for the Elderly. Amends the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 to set forth the National Gleaning Clearinghouse Act of 1990. Establishes a National Gleaning Clearinghouse to share information on available, unused food that could be distributed through the emergency feeding network. Title IX: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates of provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide educational and vocational counseling and related services to: (1) individuals eligible for educational assistance under the armed forces educational assistance program; (2) individuals discharged or released from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable within the past year; and (3) individuals serving on active duty and within 180 days from being released or discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Requires the Secretary to make available information concerning the need for general education and for trained personnel in the various crafts, trades, and professions. Requires the Secretary to acquaint all eligible individuals with the availability of counseling services offered under this Act. Provides entitlement to a veterans' rehabilitation program for persons hospitalized for a service-connected disability in a hospital over which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has jurisdiction. Includes the payment of handling fees by the Secretary as part of the scope and services authorized to be provided to a veterans' rehabilitation program. Authorizes the payment of a subsistence allowance to veterans pursuing a vocational rehabilitation program in a Federal, State, or local governmental agency. (Currently, such allowance is offered only to veterans pursuing a program at the Federal level.) Repeals certain reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Amends the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 to permit parties engaged in collective bargaining to bargain over the establishment and administration of trust funds providing financial assistance for employee housing.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Extends eligibility for the disabled veterans' outreach program to: (1) all disabled veterans who are participating in or have completed a program of vocational rehabilitation (currently limited to disabled veterans of the Vietnam era who have such rehabilitation); and (2) members of the armed forces who are within 180 days of discharge or released from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable. Requires disabled veterans' outreach program specialists to provide employment and training information to members of the armed forces about to be released or discharged. Requires local veterans' employment representatives to provide employment and training information and services to such members. Redesignates the Secretary of Labor's Committee on Veterans' Employment as the Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment and Training within the Department of Labor. Requires the Committee to: (1) assess the employment and training needs of veterans; (2) determine the extent to which the programs and activities of the Department are meeting such needs; and (3) carry out appropriate activities and submit certain reports.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Veterans Recruitment Authority Act of 1990 - Revises the policy of the United States with respect to the provision of veterans' recruitment appointment authority (the offering of post-service Federal employment opportunities) to declare a Government obligation to assist veterans in readjusting to civilian life. Waives the current maximum GS-9 level for such appointments. Makes all qualifying veterans eligible for such appointments without regard to the number of years of education completed. Gives a preference to such appointments to veterans entitled to veterans' disability compensation or who were discharged or released from active duty for a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty. Requires veterans receiving such an appointment to receive appropriate training or education by the agency involved, complete the prescribed probationary period, and acquire a competitive civil service status. Extends eligibility for veterans' recruitment appointment authority to veterans who first became members of the armed forces or entered active duty after January 1, 1977, and were discharged or released from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable. Limits appointment authority for such members to five years from such release or discharge or from the enactment of this Act, whichever is later. Waives such limitation for veterans with service-connected disabilities or who served on active duty for which a campaign badge was authorized.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Benjamin Franklin Memorial Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Minting of Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin - Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin Act - Provides for the sale of Benjamin Franklin commemorative coins at a surcharge of which 25 percent shall be paid to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial and the remainder be distributed in specified percentages to the National Fire Center and Museum Account, the National Hero Scholarship Account, the Firefighter Tuition Assistance Account, the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account, the Research and Education Account, and the Burn Research Grant Account of the Firefighter Assistance Trust Fund (Fund). Prohibits the issuance of such coins from resulting in any net cost to the Federal government. Title II: Fire Service Bill of Rights - Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to establish a fire service bill of rights. Establishes the National Fire Center and Museum in the District of Columbia to provide information about the fire service and safety to the public and fire services. Establishes a National Hero Scholarship to fund the higher education of a child, spouse, or dependent parent of a deceased firefighter. Establishes a scholarship providing tuition assistance to firefighters for higher education in fire safety or protection. Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to use amounts in the Research and Education Account of the Fund to fund other specified programs under the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 and the provision of information concerning surplus Federal property and infectious diseases pursuant to this Act. Establishes the Firefighter Assistance Trust Fund. Places the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control within the United States Fire Administration. Directs the Administrator to provide States with funds from the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account of the fund for distribution to local fire services that wish to purchase computer equipment. Directs the Administrator to make a grant from the Burn Research Grant Account of the Fund to one national firefighter's burn foundation dedicated to reducing burn injuries. Requires the Administrator to prepare and make available to fire services, upon request, a manual describing Federal procedures for disposing of surplus property and highlighting how fire services could obtain such property. Directs the Administrator to distribute to such marshals information on the infectious diseases to which firefighters are particularly vulnerable. Permits the Administrator, in certain circumstances, to award to a domestic firm a contract that, under the use of competitive procedures, would be awarded to a foreign firm.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
International Voluntary Family Planning Assistance Act of 1990 - Authorizes appropriations for international population planning assistance. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds for the United Nations Population Fund if: (1) the Fund maintains such funds in a separate account, without commingling; (2) none of the funds are made available for China; and (3) any agreement to obligate such funds expressly states that the full amount granted by the agreement will be refunded to the United States if U.S. funds are used for family planning in China or abortions in any country. Prohibits any funds appropriated under this Act from being used for abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should establish a White House conference regarding solid waste disposal and reduction so that a national solid waste management program can be implemented.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Calls for the retention of sanctions against South Africa under the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act until all conditions for the termination of sanctions are fulfilled and a democratic political process is established.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1990
Title I: General Provisions - Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes. Title II: Establishment of Ocean and Coastal Zone Management Service - Establishes within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration an Ocean and Coastal Zone Management Service to succeed the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. Title III: Coastal Zone Management Act - Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to transfer specified coastal zone management authorities of the Secretary of Commerce to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. Authorizes the Under Secretary to make annual grants to coastal States for the development of coastal zone management programs. Prohibits States from receiving more than two grants. Permits the Under Secretary (currently, the Secretary) to make administrative grants to States which match such grants according to specified ratios. Directs the Secretary to establish maximum and minimum grants to promote equity between States and effective coastal management. Revises program approval requirements. Requires the Under Secretary (currently, the Secretary) to make coastal resource management improvement grants to States. Revises State matching requirements for such grants. Directs State coastal management agencies to submit coastal waters protection programs to the Under Secretary. Requires such programs to implement coastal land use management measures to assist in controlling nonpoint source pollution of coastal waters. Outlines program requirements. Directs the Under Secretary to provide technical assistance to States and local governments for implementing such programs. Requires the Under Secretary to review the inland coastal boundary of each State program and evaluate whether such boundary extends inland to the extent necessary to control land and water uses having a significant impact on State coastal waters. Directs the Under Secretary to recommend modifications to such boundaries, as appropriate. Requires the Secretary to provide grants to States for coastal water protection programs. Subjects the provision of such grants to State matching requirements. Permits the Under Secretary to retain up to 30 percent of grant funds for States that are making exemplary progress in complying with program requirements. Requires the Under Secretary to mediate any disagreements between States with respect to coastal zone management. Authorizes coastal States and the Under Secretary, respectively, to collect specified administrative fees with respect to coastal zone management. Revises provisions concerning the coastal energy impact program. Directs the Under Secretary to recommend a coastal energy impact program to the Congress to include financial and technical assistance to meet the needs of States and local governments resulting from energy activities affecting the coastal zone. Requires the Under Secretary to: (1) implement a program to assist coastal States in fulfilling responsibilities under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; and (2) make grants to States likely to be affected by Outer Continental Shelf energy activities, if such States match such grants according to a specified ratio. Revises loan repayment provisions. Requires the Under Secretary, if any State or local government is unable to meet a loan obligation due to insufficient revenues from energy activities, to recommend to the Congress that legislation be enacted to forgive such loan. Directs the Under Secretary to establish a coastal zone management discretionary fund to be used only for: (1) regional, interstate, and demonstration projects; (2) emergency grants to States to address disasters; (3) awards recognizing excellence in coastal zone management; and (4) program development grants. Requires the Under Secretary to implement a program to require coastal States to make continual improvements in management programs in at least one of the following national interest areas: (1) coastal wetlands protection; (2) natural hazards management; (3) public access to coastal areas; (4) assessments of impacts of coastal growth and development; and (5) procedures to facilitate the siting of energy facilities and accommodate energy-related activities. Directs the Under Secretary to assess, for each State, the priority needs for improvement in each of the national interest areas and to negotiate a National Interest Improvements Program. Provides for the annual review of such programs and waivers to program requirements. Requires the Under Secretary to retain 20 percent of the amounts appropriated for administrative and resource improvement grants to implement such programs. Sets forth grant allocation requirements. Revises provisions concerning performance reviews of State coastal zone management. Permits the Under Secretary to place coastal States on probation for failure to implement coastal management programs. Requires the Under Secretary to withdraw up to 25 percent of coastal management funds allocated to a State for corrective action purposes. Directs the Under Secretary to withdraw approval of any management program of, and any financial assistance to, a State that has failed to implement a coastal waters protection program. Revises recordkeeping and auditing requirements. Directs the Under Secretary to implement an awards program to acknowledge outstanding accomplishment in coastal zone management. Revises provisions concerning the national estuarine research reserve system. Requires research guidelines for the system to include monitoring and education activities. Increases the ceiling on financial assistance to be provided to research reserves. Permits the Under Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with nonprofit organizations to aid activities in such reserves and to solicit donations for such activities. Authorizes appropriations. Permits coastal States, with the Under Secretary's approval, to allocate portions of any grants received under this title to local governments or regional or interstate agencies. Title IV: International Cooperation in Coastal Zone Management - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Under Secretary and the Secretary of State should cooperate to develop a program of technical assistance to developing nations for coastal zone management; and (2) coastal zone management should be a component of negotiations pursuant to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Under Secretary and the Secretary are encouraged to initiate discussions with other nations to include coastal zone management as part of an international convention on global climate change.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1990
National Disaster Preparedness Inventory Act of 1990 - Amends the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to: (1) establish the Committee on Standards to identify resources and establish standards for those resources needed to provide relief and assist in search and rescue operations following a major disaster or emergency; (2) inventory resources identified by the Committee that are available to the Federal Government for such uses in a manner as to facilitate the dispatch of resources on a regional basis; (3) make the inventory available to the Governor of each State for requesting Federal assistance after a major disaster or emergency; (4) prepare a plan to deploy such resources to major disaster or emergency sites following the declaration of such by the President; and (5) request all Governors to identify the public safety officials responsible for coordinating or overseeing State and local responses to disasters and emergencies. Requires such officials to have direct and immediate access to information in the inventory to expedite State and local responses to disasters and emergencies not declared as such by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1990
Sugar Equity and Reform Act of 1990 - Title I: Sugar Price Support Program - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to support the price of each of the 1991 through 1995 crops of domestically grown sugarcane through six-month nonrecourse loans, with the loan rate for raw cane sugar at 95 percent of the rate announced for the preceding crop year. Requires the loan rate for sugar beets to be fair and reasonable in relation to the rate for sugarcane. Title II: Regulation of Sugar Imports - Prescribes policy for the regulation of sugar imports, including quotas and lowest tariff rates. Directs the Secretary to announce a market stabilization price and a threshold price for raw sugar no later than 30 days before the beginning of the October 1, 1991, sugar marketing year. Requires the President to maintain the market price for raw sugar at or near the market stabilization price through imposition of tariff rate import quotas on various sugar products. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to repeal the mandate to operate the sugar program at no cost to the Government by preventing the accumulation of sugar acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation through sugar loan forfeitures. Repeals the requirement that a sugar exporting country verify that it does not import Cuban sugar for reexport to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Antarctic Protection and Conservation Act of 1990 - Makes it unlawful to engage in, finance, or provide assistance to, any Antarctic mineral resource activity. Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to promulgate regulations to minimize and prevent any adverse impact by tourist expeditions to the Antarctic by training and establishing qualifications for tour guides and implementing safety standards for vessel and air transportation in such area. Prohibits the financing or conducting of any tourist activity in Antarctica if such regulations are not promulgated. Applies environmental impact assessment requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to Antarctica activities of Federal agencies or entities receiving Federal assistance. Amends the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act of 1984 to make it unlawful to engage in commercial fishing in Antarctica, except in compliance with a fishery management plan approved under the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. Requires the Secretary of State to enter into negotiations with the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties to conclude an agreement to: (1) permanently ban Antarctic mineral resource activities; and (2) permanently conserve and protect Antarctica's environment and ecosystems. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 - Creates the Federal Salary Council to define local pay areas and occupational group categories that include professional, administrative, technical, clerical, law enforcement, firefighter, and health care positions. Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to: (1) survey the Federal employees in such occupational categories in each local pay area at least once every three years to compare Federal rates of pay to non-Federal rates of pay for the same work; and (2) prepare appropriate alternative pay schedules. Directs the President, based on the resulting BLS report, to establish alternative pay schedules or adjust existing pay schedules where necessary to ensure the competitiveness of the Government in recruiting or retaining well-qualified employees. Requires higher rates under such schedules to be implemented through equal percentage increments over three years. Prohibits an alternative pay schedule from applying with respect to any employee who is employed outside the continental United States or elsewhere where an allowance based on living costs or environmental conditions may be paid. Prohibits employees becoming subject to an alternative pay schedule from being paid less than they would otherwise be paid under a statutory pay system schedule. Prohibits any reduction of a rate of pay under an alternative pay schedule as a result of any adjustment under this Act. Provides that if pay surveys determine that no adjustment in pay rates under an alternative pay schedule is required, such rates shall be adjusted at the same time that any pay adjustment occurs and by the overall average percentage of any adjustment in General Schedule pay rates. Provides annual pay adjustments for employees under each statutory pay system equal to the annual increase in the Employment Cost Index (a quarterly measure of the cost of labor in the private sector). Declares that increases in rates of pay under this Act are not equivalent increases in pay under provisions regarding periodic step-increases. Grants the President authority to provide for special pay rates if the Government's efforts to recruit or retain well-qualified individuals are significantly handicapped by: (1) the remoteness of the area or location involved; (2) undesirable working conditions including exposure to toxic substances; or (3) any other circumstances which the President considers appropriate. Prohibits a minimum special pay rate from exceeding the maximum statutory pay rate for the applicable grade or level. Authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to grant authority to executive department and agency heads to fix the basic pay rate of up to 400 Government-wide positions which such heads determine to be critical positions at an annual rate that does not exceed the rate for level I of the Executive Schedule. Directs agency heads, in determining whether a position is critical, to consider to the extent to which: (1) the position requires scientific, technical, professional, or administrative qualifications; and (2) additional compensation is necessary to recruit or retain exceptionally qualified individuals. Allows such authority to be reexercised when such a position becomes vacant and is refilled if: (1) an agency head determines that the position remains a critical position; and (2) the Director reconfirms his or her original allocation of critical-position pay authority among executive departments and agencies. Eliminates the GS-11 grade requirement for paying new employees above the minimum rate of the appropriate grade. Creates a new pay system for administrative law judges and contract appeals board members consisting of at least three pay rates to be established and thereafter adjusted by the President. Sets the maximum rate at level IV of the Executive Schedule and the minimum rate at a grade GS-16, Step 1. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to determine which of such rates shall be paid to individual administrative law judges or contract appeals board members according to criteria prescribed by the Office.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Civil Rights Act of 1990 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide that: (1) once a complainant has demonstrated that an employment practice results in a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, the respondent has the burden of proving that the practice is justified by business necessity; (2) a complainant need not demonstrate which of a group of practices results in the demonstrated disparate impact; and (3) a respondent need not show business necessity for a specific practice within a group of practices if the respondent shows that that practice does not contribute to the disparate impact. Declares that an unlawful employment practice is established on a demonstration that race, color, religion, sex, or national origin was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though such practice was also motivated by other factors, but bars certain types of relief if the respondent establishes that it would have taken the same action in the absence of any discrimination. Prohibits a challenge to an employment practice that implements a litigated or consent judgment or order resolving a claim of employment discrimination: (1) by a person who had certain types of notice and opportunity; (2) by a person whose interests were adequately represented by another person who challenged the judgment or order; or (3) if reasonable efforts were made to provide notice to interested persons. Increases to two years the time limit within which a charge of an unlawful employment practice must be filed. Removes provisions setting a separate time limit for charges initially filed with a State or local agency. Declares that a seniority system or practice which is part of a collective bargaining agreement is an unlawful employment practice if it was included in the agreement with the intent to discriminate. Allows, except for disparate impact cases, for compensatory damages (but not back pay) and, where there is malice or reckless or callous indifference, for punitive damages. Allows any party, where compensatory or punitive damages are sought, to demand a jury trial. Includes expert fees and other litigation expenses in any attorney's fees awarded. Prohibits a consent order or judgment settling a claim unless the parties and their counsel attest that a waiver of attorneys' fees was not compelled as a condition of the settlement. Allows to the prevailing party in the original action an award of attorney's fees and costs in defending a challenged judgment or order. Increases to 90 days after final action by a Federal agency the time limit for a Federal employee to bring a civil action. Allows to Federal employees the same interest to compensate for delay in payment as in cases involving non-public parties. Requires Federal civil rights laws to be broadly construed to effect their purpose to eliminate discrimination and provide effective remedies. Prohibits, except as expressly provided, any Federal civil rights law from being construed to restrict or limit the rights, procedures, or remedies available under any other Federal civil rights law. Declares that, 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 contractual relationship.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Elementary School Counseling Demonstration Act - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995 for the Secretary of Education to make demonstration grants to local education agencies to establish effective and innovative elementary school counseling programs that can serve as national models. Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of School Counseling, headed by a Director, in the Department of Education.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Authorizes the Secretary of each military department concerned to accept for original enlistment in the Army or Air National Guard certain aliens not already admitted for permanent residence in the United States if the personnel strength of the Guard is less than 90 percent of its authorized strength at the time. Requires such aliens, in addition to taking a military-service oath, to declare an intention to become citizens of the United States. Voids such an enlistment under certain conditions. Limits the number of aliens permitted to be so enlisted to 3,000 during any fiscal year. Authorizes the President to increase such number as appropriate. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Attorney General to adjust to a temporary lawfully-admitted status any alien who: (1) is an enlisted member of the Army or Air National Guard; (2) is otherwise admissible as an immigrant; (3) has not been convicted of any felony or three or more misdemeanors in the United States; (4) has not assisted in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group; and (5) was in the United States as of the enactment of this Act and has resided continuously in the United States since such date. Requires any spouse or child of such alien to satisfy such requirements (except for the enlistment requirement) in order to have his or her status adjusted. Provides for the termination of the temporary lawfully-admitted status of such aliens under specified conditions. Authorizes an alien who completes at least six years of honorable service in the Guard to apply for a certificate of adjustment to permanent resident of the United States. Provides identical adjustment for the spouse and child of such alien if the alien so qualifies. Provides for the waiver of: (1) the six-year service requirement under certain conditions; and (2) numerical limitations and certain grounds for exclusion from permanent-status consideration under the Immigration and Nationality Act for aliens covered under this Act. Provides an expedited naturalization procedure for an alien who is granted lawful permanent residence under this Act and who reenlists in the Army or Air National Guard for an additional term of six years.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Marine Mammal Public Display Reform Act of 1990 - Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to deny a permit for the taking of any marine mammal in the waters of a State for public display if the Governor of such State submits to the Secretary notice of disapproval of the issuance of such permit.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Comprehensive Services Program for Homeless Veterans Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a comprehensive services program to address fully the needs of homeless veterans through housing, medical care, vocational rehabilitation, transportation, and social services provided through this Act and other programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Requires each director of a medical center of the Department to carry out jointly with the veterans' benefits director of the region concerned an assessment concerning the number of homeless veterans in the area and current services provided. Requires joint preparation, for each of FY 1991 through 1994, of a plan for meeting the needs of homeless veterans in the area, to be submitted to the Secretary. Provides funding from the Secretary to the directors for such assessment and plans. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1994. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of outreach service centers in areas where there are significant numbers of homeless veterans. Outlines staffing and services of such centers. Directs the Secretary to provide mobile support teams to assist in the provision of benefits through medically-equipped vans in areas high in homeless veterans and in rural areas lacking adequate access to Department medical facilities. Expands the current veterans' benefits available to homeless veterans to include dental, optometric, and podiatric services. Requires the director of each medical center of the Department to use funds provided by the Secretary for homeless veterans assistance to make monthly assistance available for housing for homeless veterans and their families, under specified conditions. Prohibits such assistance for longer than one year for each homeless veteran. Requires a homeless veteran receiving such assistance to be employed at least 18 hours a week or to be involved in a compensated work therapy program administered by the Department. Requires each director to establish a program for the provision of housing owned or leased by the Department in which veterans with chronic mental illness or veterans recovering from alcohol or drug abuse may reside. Outlines program requirements similar to housing assistance program requirements. Requires each director to establish a revolving fund to make loans for the cost of establishing programs for the provision of housing to mentally ill veterans or veterans recovering from alcohol or drug abuse. Outlines loan conditions and guidelines. Directs the Secretary, for each of FY 1991 through 1994, to carry out evaluations of the programs established under this Act and to make specified congressional reports. Authorizes the Secretary to accept donations of services and equipment in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Calls upon the President to urge Soviet President Gorbachev to publicly condemn the emergence of popular anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union and to protect Soviet Jews from harassment and violence.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1990
National Fire Forces Mobilization Act of 1990 - Amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations to be provided as Federal matching funds to State forestry agencies and rural volunteer fire departments so that they may assist other fire fighting organizations in combatting fires.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1990
Harvest of Peace Resolution - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should establish as a primary foreign and domestic policy objective the achievement of common security by: (1) negotiating agreements with the Soviet Union and urging other nations to reduce military forces and spending with the goal of halving worldwide military spending by the year 2000; (2) reducing military assistance and arms sales to developing nations; (3) encouraging the peaceful settlement of conflicts; (4) providing increased assistance to developing nations to overcome hunger and poverty, reduce debt burdens, promote human rights, ensure sustainable development, and protect the environment; (5) increasing support domestically for programs that address human needs; (6) helping defense industries and their employees convert to productive nondefense work; and (7) reducing the Federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1990
Designates September 21, 1990, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Recognizes the National League of Families POW/MIA flag as the official symbol of the United States' commitment to resolving the fates of Americans still prisoner or missing in action in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1990
Amends the National Labor Relations 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.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1990
Provides for all Federal civilian and military retirees to receive the full cost-of-living adjustment in annuities payable under Federal retirement systems for FY 1991. (Includes benefits payable under the Civil Service Retirement and Disability System, military retirement and survivor benefit programs, the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System, the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and railroad retirement programs.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1990
Urges the President to seek the consent of the Senate to the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations on November 20, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the current inquiries into the activities of the British West Midlands Crime Squad must be extended to cover the period of the Birmingham bombings of November 21, 1974; (2) the British Prime Minister should call upon the British Home Secretary to reopen the case of the Birmingham Six (those convicted for the bombings); (3) the convictions of such individuals should be quashed; and (4) the President should raise with the British Prime Minister concern for the basic human rights violations and miscarriage of justice arising from the continued incarceration of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) it would be inequitable for Civil Service retirees to receive smaller cost-of-living adjustments to their pensions than Social Security retirement beneficiaries; and (2) any budget adopted by the Congress should provide for full cost-of-living adjustments for all individuals receiving a Federal retirement pension or benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1990
National Environmental Strategy Act of 1990 - Establishes the National Environmental Institute Commission to: (1) make recommendations to the President and the Congress for the establishment of a National Environmental Institute, a Bureau of Environmental Information and Statistics, and an organization to examine public environmental policies; and (2) identify areas of research which require long-term efforts to mitigate serious risk to the environment. Requires the Commission to recommend the design of the Institute to accommodate the following functions: (1) developing a National Environmental Research Strategy; (2) evaluating the state of the environment; (3) coordinating Federal, State, and private sector efforts to perform needed research and the performance, or provision of support for, necessary research which has not been performed; and (4) serving as a focus for international solutions to global environmental problems. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Department of Environmental Protection Act - Title I: Establishment of Department of Environmental Protection - Redesignates the Environmental Protection Agency as the Department of Environmental Protection, an executive department to be administered by a Secretary of Environmental Protection. Establishes within the Department: (1) an Office of International Environmental Affairs; (2) an Office of Enforcement; and (3) a Center for Environmental Statistics (Center). Encourages the Secretary to assist the Secretary of State in negotiating and administering international environmental protection agreements and participating in the work of international environmental protection organizations. Encourages the Secretary to continue the Department's role in conducting international environmental research and providing technical assistance to other nations to improve environmental quality. Requires the Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee on Environmental Statistics to advise the Center and the Congress on the collection and dissemination of statistical data. Directs the Secretary to maintain a comprehensive guide to the Department's environmental and public health information services. Requires the Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee on Public Access to provide recommendations on improving public access to departmental information. Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the use of computer telecommunications and other means to provide for access to such information; and (2) permit the reduction or waiver of user fees for such access. Title II: Commission on Environmental Administration - Establishes the Commission on Environmental Administration to analyze and make recommendations on specified reorganization and management issues in the Department. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Calls upon the United Nations to repeal General Assembly Resolution 3379 (equating Zionism with racism). Commends the President for his commitment to this goal and requires progress reports to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Amends Federal law to authorize and request the President to designate May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month annually, beginning in 1990. (Current law designates a seven-day period beginning on May 4, 1979).
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Federal Fire Service Pay Schedule Act of 1989 - Establishes a pay schedule for Federal fire service personnel. Excludes employees of the District of Columbia from such schedule. Provides for periodic and additional step increases, minimum hours of work, the computation of overtime, educational incentive service step increases, retirement, pay comparability, and additional compensation for technicians.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Amends the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 to remove per capita income as a factor to be considered in determining eligibility of educational agencies for asbestos removal assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Colombian Arms Export Control Act - Prohibits, except under specified circumstances, the issuance of export licenses under the Arms Export Control Act for the export of firearms or other munitions to Colombia.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hochbrueckner, George J. [D-NY-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000670_200.jpg)