United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Makes the legal defense of discretionary function provided under specified Federal law inapplicable to any legal or administrative proceeding for damages arising out of U.S. violation of occupational safety or health standards or U.S. negligence at any workplace owned or operated by or under contract with the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that science, mathematics, and technology education should be a national priority (with emphasis on an educated citizenry, curriculum planning, teacher preparation, and service to traditionally underserved students, including those from inner cities and remote areas).
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Fair and Equitable Cargo Allocation Act of 1989 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to repeal a provision which requires the Secretary of Transportation to preserve, during calendar years 1986 through 1989, the percentage share, or the metric tonnage of bagged, processed, or fortified commodities, whichever is lower, experienced in 1984, of waterborne cargoes exported from Great Lakes ports under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual taxpayer an income tax deduction of up to $2,000 per year for cash contributions to a first home savings account established for the exclusive benefit of an individual who has never owned his or her principal residence. Limits total deductions to $20,000. Permits an exclusion from gross income of account payments and distributions used exclusively in connection with the purchase of a principal residence for the eligible beneficiary. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization) unless the beneficiary either engages in prohibited transactions or acquires a principal residence. Imposes a ten percent surtax on distributions used for other than the purposes for which the account was established. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Imposes a penalty for failure to report. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize deductions to deduct for contributions to a first home savings account. Exempts account contributions from the gift tax. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account. Excludes from the gross income of an individual any distributions from an individual retirement account or certain other tax-deferred plans if the distribution is used in connection with the purchase of the first principal residence for the individual. Limits the exclusion to the excess of $20,000 over the individual's aggregate contributions to a first home savings account.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Congressional Scholarships for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Act - Instructs the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish and implement a merit-based competitive program for awarding a four-year Congressional Scholarship for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering to one female and one male from each U.S. congressional district. Requires the Director: (1) annually to notify secondary schools and colleges of the program; and (2) to establish nominating committees for each congressional district. Limits each scholarship to $5,000 per year, to be used solely for tuition, fees, and room and board expenses. Requires the NSF Director to ensure that both students and nominating committees are selected on a nondiscriminatory basis. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Comprehensive Lyme Disease Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants with respect to Lyme disease: (1) through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, for research and treatment; and (2) through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, for public education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Social Security Transitional Benefit Computation Act of 1989 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to alter the formula for computing the primary insurance amount of individuals who attain age 65 in or after 1982 and would otherwise be subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Extends the application of such transitional benefit computation rules to those who become eligible for benefits before 1989. (Currently those who become eligible after 1983 are subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1989
American Heritage Trust Act of 1989 - Title I: American Heritage Trust - Establishes the American Heritage Trust, comprised of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund, to provide funding for the preservation of America's natural, historical, cultural, and outdoor recreational areas. Title II: Land and Water Conservation Fund - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used for the preservation of the Nation's recreational areas. Requires any excess interest to be credited to the Treasury. Sets forth a formula for the allocation of such interest income to the Federal Government and the States. Sets forth specified requirements with respect to the apportionment of such income to local and State governments, Indian tribes, and Alaska Native Village Corporations. Title III: Historic Preservation Fund - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to extend the Historic Preservation Fund through 2015. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of such Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used for the preservation of historic sites. Provides for allocation of a percentage of annual appropriations for State historic preservation trust funds. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the owner of any site that benefits from moneys derived from the American Heritage Trust to install a sign indicating that fact. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, within 18 months after enactment of this Act, to provide for a contest for elementary or secondary school children for the design of a symbol to represent such Trust and for use in such signs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1989
Directs the Comptroller General to conduct an annual audit of the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Advisory Council, the Federal Open Market Committee, and all Federal Reserve banks and their branches. Requires the Comptroller General, within six months after the end of each fiscal year, to report to the Congress on the results of such audit.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Establishes the Medicare Geographical Classification Review Board to decide on a rural hospital's application for classification as an urban hospital for Medicare payment purposes. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to alter the Rural Health Care Transition Grant Program to extend and increase authorized appropriations for such program through FY 1992, and permit the Secretary to waive the hospital grant limit. Expands, from four to ten hospitals, a Medicare demonstration program covering additional costs incurred by teaching hospitals in sending their residents to rural hospitals for training. Requires the Secretary to establish five-year Medicare demonstration programs covering costs incurred by five hospitals in providing clinical training to undergraduate nurses. Extends the regional referral center classification of hospitals so classified as of September 30, 1989, and the payment rates applicable to such hospitals under the Medicare program, through FY 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to include among those eligible for railroad employee retirement benefits: (1) employees who have completed 30 years of service and who have attained age 55; and (2) certain employee relatives who have attained age 55.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Extends regards to the people of France on the occasion of the bicentennial of Bastille Day. Urges the people of the United States to observe the bicentennial on July 14, 1989. Finds that France and the United States remain committed to the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the Bill of Rights.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989
National Observance Advisory Act - Establishes the President's Advisory Commission on National Observances to: (1) establish criteria for recommending to the President that a proposed national observance be approved or disapproved; (2) review proposals for national observances submitted in accordance with procedures published by the Commission; and (3) issue recommendations to the President concerning each proposal reviewed.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1989
Energy Security Tax Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the first sale within the United States of imports of: (1) crude oil; (2) refined petroleum products; and (3) petrochemical feedstocks or petrochemical derivatives. Sets the rate of the tax as the difference between $22 per barrel ($24.50 for petroleum and petrochemical products) and the most recently published average price of a barrel of internationally traded oil, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with a specified formula.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1989
Repeals provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that establish nondiscrimination requirements for coverage and benefits under certain statutory employee benefit plans. (The consequence is the repeal of section 89 of the Internal Revenue Code.)
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude deductions for business expenses, interest on indebtedness, and taxes from calculations to determine the passive loss limitation in connection with rental real estate activity in which a noncorporate taxpayer actively or materially participates.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1989
Repeals a provision of the Internal Revenue Code that disallows the income tax deduction of 25 percent of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals after tax year 1989 (thus extending the deduction indefinitely).
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1989
United States Coast Guard Bicentennial Medal Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design, strike, and sell a medal in commemoration of the bicentennial of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1990. Requires the design of the medal to be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and the Commission of Fine Arts.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1989
Amends Federal law to require the reverse side of the first coin redesigned to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution for a two-year period. Provides that the design on the obverse side of U.S. coins shall contain the likenesses of those displayed on current coins and shall be considered for redesign. Requires any such obverse redesigns to conform to the inscription requirements of current law. Requires U.S. coins to be redesigned, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, over the next six years. Requires the Secretary, in selecting new designs, to consider specified constitutional concepts. Requires the designs to be selected by the Secretary upon consultation with the United States Commission of Fine Arts. Requires that any profits from the sale of uncirculated and proof sets of U.S. coins be deposited in the Treasury and used solely to reduce the national debt.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1989
Directs the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a memorial and museum on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its immediate area to honor World War II veterans and to commemorate U.S. participation in that conflict. Directs the Commission to plan, design, construct, and oversee the operation of the memorial and museum. Specifies that such design shall provide for accessibility by, and accommodations for, the physically handicapped. Establishes the World War II Memorial and Museum Advisory Board to: (1) promote the establishment of the memorial and museum and encourage the donation of private funds for construction maintenance; (2) recommend the site and select the design for the memorial and museum, subject to the approval of the Commission; and (3) transmit annual reports on its activities to the Congress. Authorizes the Commission to solicit private contributions for such memorial and museum. Establishes a fund in the Treasury which shall be made available to the Commission to carry out this Act. Authorizes Federal funding, in addition to such private funds, for site preparation, design, planning, establishment, construction, maintenance, and operation of the memorial and museum. Authorizes assistance from specified Federal departments and agencies, including the Library of Congress. Authorizes Federal property to be transferred to the Commission. Authorizes the Commission to purchase suitable property within the District of Columbia for the establishment of such memorial and museum.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1989
Interstate Compact - Grants congressional consent to the Mississippi River Interstate Pollution Phase-Out Compact and to certain supplementary agreements entered into pursuant to such Compact. Identifies the following as signatory States: Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Designates the Chief of Engineers of the Department of the Army as the U.S. Commissioner to the Mississippi River Interstate Pollution Control Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1989
Air Travel Rights for Blind Individuals Act - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to preclude an air carrier from establishing aircraft seating restrictions based upon a passenger's visual acuity or use of a white cane or dog guide or other such means of assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Coal Pipeline Act of 1989 - Amends the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920 to authorize a person who has secured specified water rights under State law to apply to the Secretary of the Interior for certification that it is in the national interest to construct, operate, or extend a coal pipeline. Conditions such certification upon an applicant's reservation of a specified portion of total pipeline capacity for small, independent producers located in the geographic region served by such pipeline. Makes all Federal and State environmental laws applicable to the issuance or denial of such certification. Proscribes the granting of any right-of-way through lands: (1) designated as wilderness areas; (2) administered as part of the national park system; or (3) which are part of a historic site (unless there is no reasonable alternative and reasonable planning is made to minimize the harm of such site). Prohibits any person or entity (including the United States) from claiming any right or interest in water within any State for a coal pipeline unless such claim takes place under the law of the affected State. Delegates to the States all power regarding water rights for a coal pipeline. States that this Act does not: (1) impair the validity of any State law (or interstate compact) regarding any claim to water rights; (2) alter the rights of any State to its apportioned share of water under past or future allocation or interstate compact; (3) affect any Indian water rights; or (4) preempt or otherwise affect any State or Federal law or interstate compact regarding water quality or disposal. Prohibits any State acting under authority of this Act from restricting the movement through such State of water acquired in another State and within a coal pipeline. Authorizes certain persons who have received a certification from the Secretary that it is in the national interest to operate or extend a coal pipeline to acquire rights-of-way through private lands by the power of eminent domain. States this Act shall not be construed to permit any person (including the United States) to acquire any water rights through the power of eminent domain. Prohibits the acquisition of any right-of-way through the power of eminent domain if such right-of-way is upon land which is part of a historic site unless there is no prudent alternative and reasonable planning is made to minimize harm to such site. Provides for an antitrust review of applications for certification by the Attorney General. Requires each pipeline carrier for which a certification has been issued to provide service on reasonable request. Prohibits such carriers from unreasonably discriminating or refusing to enter into contracts with coal shippers under similar conditions in a contemporaneous period. States that this Act shall not be construed to modify or preempt the ratemaking authority of any State utility regulatory agency. Requires the Secretary to establish uniform Federal standards for coal pipeline safety. Establishes penalties for failure to comply with such safety standards.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Relinquishes all U.S. interests under a conservation easement in specified lands in Wood County, Texas, whenever a water resource project that will affect such land is started on or by January 1, 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
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 1989
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement that the amount of monthly benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent be reduced by the amount such individual receives in monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
First-Time Home Buyer's Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to spread over a ten-year period the taxation of up to $5,000 of individual retirement plan distributions used by a first-time homebuyer within 90 days to purchase, construct, or reconstruct a dwelling that will be used as the taxpayer's principal residence for at least three years.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Social Security Work Incentives Act of 1989 - Title I: Disabled and Working Status under Title II of the Social Security Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to reduce monthly disability benefits by 50 percent of a beneficiary's monthly earnings in excess of $85. Limits the total amount by which an individual's OASDI disability benefits may be reduced if such individual is also eligible for benefits provided under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act to individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment. Prohibits deductions from disability-based child insurance benefits for the recovery of prior overpayments resulting from a failure to reduce such benefits on the basis of earnings. Extends to current OASDI disability beneficiaries the rule preventing reductions in the primary insurance amount for prior recipients. Continues an individual's entitlement to disability benefits while such individual is under disabled and working status, meaning that such individual is earning enough to be considered engaged in substantial gainful activity, but would otherwise continue to satisfy eligibility requirements. Sets a four-year limit on the Medicare hospital insurance eligibility (under part A of title XVIII of the Act) of individuals who owe their eligibility to their disabled and working status under the OASDI program. Amends the Medicare program to authorize such individuals to enroll for hospital insurance benefits upon the termination of such four-year limit. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act to cover Medicare cost-sharing amounts for individuals of disabled and working status who are entitled to enroll for Medicare hospital insurance benefits and whose income and resources do not exceed 300 percent of the Federal poverty level and the SSI resource eligibility limit, respectively. Requires States to collect a coinsurance percentage from such individuals pursuant to a sliding scale which increases such percentage from 0 to 100 percent in reasonable increments as incomes move from 150 to 300 percent of the Federal poverty level. Extends to all recipients of disability-based child's insurance benefits the rule permitting continued entitlement to Medicaid benefits of individuals who would remain eligible for SSI benefits but for their receipt of such child's insurance benefits. Title II: Amendments Relating to the Disabled and Working Status Program Under Title XVI of the Social Security Act - Amends the SSI program to exclude spousal income in determining a disabled and working individual's eligibility for SSI and Medicaid benefits. Excludes from such an individual's income, for SSI eligibility determinations: (1) earned income necessary for the costs of attendant care services; and (2) if such individual receives a State supplementary payment, impairment-related work expenses. Provides Medicaid coverage to individuals who become ineligible for SSI benefits by reason of a cost of living increase in OASDI benefits. Precludes the attainment of age 65 from serving as a basis for the termination of Medicaid eligibility under the SSI program. Includes State supplementary payments in determining a disabled and working individual's eligibility for SSI and Medicaid benefits. Treats royalties from the publication of an individual's work and scholarships which have not been excluded from income as earned income in determining the SSI and Medicaid eligibility of a disabled and working individual.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Federal Employees' Political Activities Act of 1989 - Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of any election. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority to intimidate, threaten, coerce, command, or influence: (1) any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of any individual to vote as the individual may choose, or of causing any individual to vote, or not to vote, for any candidate or measure in any election; (2) any person to give or withhold any political contribution; or (3) any person to engage, or not to engage, in any form of political activity. Prohibits an employee from using, attempting to use, or permitting the use of any official information, unless such information is available to the general public. Prohibits an employee from: (1) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or to refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; or (3) giving or handing over a political contribution to a superior of the employee. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving, or from being in any manner concerned with soliciting, accepting, or receiving, a political contribution: (1) from another employee (or a member of another employee's immediate family) with respect to whom the employee is a superior; or (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official or an individual receiving salary or compensation from the Treasury. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution from, or giving a political contribution to, any person who: (1) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employing agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by that agency; or (3) has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance of the employee's official duties. Directs the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board to prescribe regulations which exempt employees from such prohibitions. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Authorizes leave without pay or accrued annual leave to an employee who is a candidate, upon request, to allow such employee to engage in activities relating to that candidacy. Declares that such request may be denied if the exigencies of the public business so require. Declares that such employee may be required to take leave without pay or accrued annual leave in order to be a candidate if activities relating to the candidacy interfere with the employee's performance of duties. Applies this Act to postal employees and employees of the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Arctic Coastal Plain Leasing Act of 1987 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. States that this Act shall be considered the primary land management authorization for all exploration and production activities on the Coastal Plain. Provides that no land management review shall be required except as specifically authorized by this Act. Mandates that all receipts from sales, rentals, bonuses, and royalties on leases under this Act be deposited into the Treasury. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations to ensure that oil and gas exploration and transportation activities are conducted to achieve the reasonable protection of animal and environmental resources (including subsistence uses of the Coastal Plain). States that the "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, Coastal Plain Resource Assessment," prepared by the Secretary, satisfies all legal requirements for such promulgation and that no further studies or assessments shall be required. Directs the Secretary to provide impact aid and other assistance to communities on the North Slope and elsewhere in Alaska in order to ensure the public services needed to accommodate oil and gas production and transportation activities on the Coastal Plain.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Repeals estate tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to inclusion in the gross estate of the value of certain types of transfers with a retained life estate. Applies the repeal retroactively in connection with property transferred after December 17, 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1988
Truth in Legislating Resolution - Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each report or joint explanatory statement accompanying each bill or joint resolution to contain: (1) an identification of each provision which benefits only ten or fewer beneficiaries; (2) the name of each beneficiary; (3) the name of the Member who sponsored such provision and an identification of each such provision requested by a Federal agency or Federal officer; and (4) an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office or the Joint Committee on Taxation of the costs or loss in revenues resulting from such provision.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1988
Federal Crop Insurance Commission Act of 1988 - States that the purpose of this Act is to: (1) ensure the review of the Federal crop insurance program; and (2) recommend changes necessary to lessen or eliminate the need for additional disaster payment programs in order to reduce Federal costs and provide farmers with equitable and predictable natural disaster protection. Establishes the Commission for the Improvement of the Federal Crop Insurance Program. Sets forth membership and operating provisions. Directs the Commission to: (1) determine why crop insurance program participation is lower than anticipated; (2) identify States and commodities with low participation; and (3) recommend program improvements. Sets forth particular areas to be examined, including: (1) program insurance coverage; (2) use of crop field information; (3)related government subsidies; (4) sales commission rates; (5) claims adjustment services; (6) information collection; (7) compliance efforts; and (8) premium pools. Requires the Commission to submit: (1) an interim report to the appropriate congressional committees by April 1, 1989; (2) a final report to such committees by July 1, 1989; and (3) monthly reports to such committees from the period beginning July 1, 1989, through December 31, 1990. Terminates the Commission as of December 31, 1990, except that the Secretary of Agriculture may extend the Commission's life beyond such date. Directs the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to make specified FY 1989 funds available to the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1988
Egg Research and Consumer Information Act Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Egg Research and Consumer Information Act Amendments of 1988 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to limit fiscal year assessment collection and administrative cost incurred by the Egg Board. Eliminates egg producer assessment refunds subject to a two-year delay of any refund referendum.
![Official portrait of Rep. Huckaby, Thomas J. (Jerry) [D-LA-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000901_200.jpg)