A joint resolution designating the first week of April 1989 as "National Earthquake Awareness Week".
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1988
Designates the first week of April 1989 as National Earthquake Awareness Week.
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United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1988
Designates the first week of April 1989 as National Earthquake Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1988
Designates 1989 as the Year of the Young Reader.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit cooperatives (farmers' cooperatives, cooperative banks, mutual insurance companies, and rural electric and telephone cooperatives) to: (1) elect to treat as ordinary income or loss any gain or loss from the sale or other disposition of any asset used by the organization to facilitate the conduct of business done with or for patrons; and (2) include such gain or loss in net earnings of the organization from business done with or for patrons.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the occupational tax: (1) from $250 to $54 for retail dealers in liquors; and (2) from $250 to $24 for retail dealers in beer.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1988
Designates specified land as the Manassas National Battlefield Addition. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land within the boundaries of the Addition and to administer such lands as part of the Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1988
Legal Services Corporation Authorization Act of 1988 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 for the Legal Services Corporation. Sets forth restrictions on the use of such funds.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1988
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1988 - Provides that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of handicap in: (1) employment practices and training covered by title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (2) the sale or rental of housing covered by title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968; (3) any public accommodation covered by title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (4) transportation services; (5) the actions, practices, and operations of State and local governments; and (6) broadcasts, communications, or telecommunications services. Lists the forms of discrimination which are prohibited by this Act, including: (1) denying any person the opportunity to participate in or benefit from a service, program, job, or other opportunity on the basis of his or her handicap; (2) establishing (or failing to remove) any architectural, transportation, or communication barriers that prevent the access or limit the participation of persons because of their handicap; (3) failing or refusing to make a reasonable accommodation to permit a handicapped individual to have access to a program, activity, job, or opportunity; (4) imposing any unnecessary standard or criteria that screens out or places the handicapped at a disadvantage; and (5) denying services, programs, jobs, or other opportunities to any person because of that person's relationship to, or association with, a handicapped person. Permits the exclusion or denial of equal access to services, programs, jobs, or other opportunities to persons: (1) for reasons unrelated to the existence of their handicap; or (2) based upon the application of standards or criteria that are necessary and substantially related to the ability to perform essential components of the job, program, activity, or opportunity, and such performance can not be accomplished by a reasonable accommodation. States that it shall be an act of discrimination, in regard to housing, to discriminate in the sale or rental of a dwelling (or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of such sale or rental) to any buyer or renter because of the physical or mental impairment of: (1) the buyer or renter; (2) a person residing in, or intending to reside in, such dwelling; or (3) any person associated with the buyer or renter. States that it shall be an act of discrimination to: (1) refuse to permit reasonable modifications, at the expense of the handicapped person, to afford such person enjoyment of the premises; (2) refuse to make reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, or services to afford handicapped individuals equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling; or (3) fail to design and construct multifamily dwellings (after a specified date) which are not accessible to the handicapped. Provides certain limitations on the duties of accommodation and barrier removal. Sets forth guidelines for the establishment of requirements and promulgation of regulations by specified Federal entities with respect to: (1) the accessibility of buildings and transportation systems; (2) the implementation and enforcement of the requirements of this Act; (3) employment practices; (4) the sale and rental of housing; and (5) the removal of communication barriers. Establishes procedures for the administrative enforcement of the provisions of this Act. Establishes a civil right of action for individuals who are subjected to discrimination in violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1988
Designates January 20, 1989, as National Skiing Day.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1988
Designates October 1988 as National Down Syndrome Month.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1988
Satellite Survivability Act - Imposes a moratorium on the testing of antisatellite weapons in space until the President certifies to the Congress that the Soviet Union has conducted such testing. Declares that the President should pursue a proposal by the Soviet Union to dismantle antisatellite weapons and should seek to achieve with the Soviet Union a mutual verifiable treaty which places limits on the testing, deployment, and use of any weapon system capable of damaging or destroying satellites in space. Requires the Secretary of the Air Force to develop an annual survivability plan for each U.S. military satellite system. Specifies that such plans shall be submitted to the Congress with the annual budget requests for satellite programs. Requires the Secretary of Defense to include in the annual report to the Congress on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) an analysis of the antisatellite potential of each SDI technology. Requires such analysis to include an assessment of the antisatellite capability of the Soviet Union if these technologies are tested by the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1988
Immigration Exclusion and Deportation Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make only the following classes of aliens ineligible to receive visas for admission into the United States: (1) any alien with a communicable disease of public health significance; (2) any alien with a record of recent physical or mental disorder that poses a threat to property or safety; (3) any alien with a drug addiction; (4) any alien convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, with specified exceptions; (5) any alien convicted of specified drug violations or involved in drug trafficking; (6) any alien who has engaged in prostitution, or procurement of prostitutes, within ten years of the date of application for U.S. entry; (7) any alien likely to be a security risk; (8) any alien who has engaged in terrorist activity; (9) any alien whose entry would endanger the lives or property of U.S. citizens living abroad; (10) any alien who participated in Nazi persecutions; (11) any alien who is likely to become a public charge, with admission on bond at the discretion of the Attorney General; (12) any alien seeking to enter the United States for the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor, with specified exceptions (teaching, postgraduate research, and science or arts), or in situations of insufficient U.S. workers; (13) any alien who is a graduate of a medical school not accredited by a body approved for such purpose by the Secretary of Education, with certain exceptions; (14) any excluded or deported alien who seeks readmission within one year of the excluding event, unless the Attorney General consents to such readmission; (15) any alien seeking to enter the United States by fraud or the willful misrepresentation of a material fact; (16) any stowaway alien; (17) any alien who aids any other alien in illegal entry; (18) any immigrant not in possession of a valid immigrant visa and passport at the time of admission; (19) any nonimmigrant without a valid passport authorizing the alien to return to the country from which he or she came or without a valid nonimmigrant visa or border crossing card (provides for a Guam visa waiver for pleasure or business entries of up to 15 days); and (20) any alien ineligible for U.S. citizenship, including a person who left or remained outside the United States to avoid U.S. military service in time of war or national emergency. Repeals the ideological grounds for exclusion. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to jointly develop guidelines for the review of exclusion lists and other mechanisms used to screen alien visa applicants. Requires the Attorney General and the Secretary to report jointly to the appropriate committees regarding the development of such guidelines (within one year) and the results of the review of such alien lists (within two years). Makes deportable by the Attorney General only those aliens within one of the following classes: (1) any alien who at the time of entry was within one or more of the classes of aliens excludable by then existing law; (2) any alien entering the United States without inspection or at a time and place other than as designated by the Attorney General; (3) any alien admitted as a nonimmigrant who has failed to maintain such status; (4) any alien admitted as a temporary agricultural worker (H-2A visa) whose status has been terminated (with family hardship exceptions); (5) any alien who within five years of entry knowingly and for gain has aided another alien to illegally enter the United States; (6) any alien admitted as an additional special agricultural worker who fails to show the necessary number of seasonal work days; (7) any alien who gained U.S. entry through marriage fraud; (8) any alien convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years from the date of entry and who is either sentenced or confined for a term of one year or longer; (9) any alien who at any time after entry is convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude; (10) any alien who at any time after entry is convicted of a violation of certain drug laws; (11) any alien who is a narcotic drug addict; (12) any alien who at any time after entry is convicted under weapons-possession laws; (13) any alien who at any time is convicted of violating any of various specified loyalty laws (e.g., sabotage, treason and sedition, selective service, etc.); (14) any alien who fails to comply with alien registration laws or foreign agent registration laws; (15) any alien convicted of fraud or misuse of visas or other entry documents; (16) any alien engaging in activity which endangers the public safety or national security, including terrorist activity; (17) any alien who within five years after entry has become a public economic burden; (18) any alien who has engaged in terrorist activity; or (19) any alien who participated in Nazi persecutions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1988
Declares that U.S. interests in achieving peace in Central America would be served best by a negotiated settlement such as that embodied in the Central American peace accord (Guatemala Accord). Directs the President to terminate the sanctions imposed on Nicaragua in 1985 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to take other steps to restore normal economic and trade relations with Nicaragua.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1988
Designates April 1989 as National Outdoor Power Equipment Safety Month.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1988
Designates July 2, 1988, as National Literacy Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1988
Judicial Discipline and Impeachment Reform Act of 1988 - Title I: Judicial Discipline - Amends the Federal judicial code to modify the procedures for disciplining Federal judges. Allows the Judicial Conference to transmit to the House of Representatives a determination that consideration of impeachment may be warranted where a judge or magistrate has been convicted of a felony and opportunity for appeal has been exhausted. Permits the reimbursement of attorneys' fees and expenses where a complaint against a Federal judge or magistrate has been dismissed. Title II: National Commission on Judicial Impeachment - National Commission on Judicial Impeachment Act - Establishes the National Commission on Judicial Impeachment to: (1) investigate and study the problems and issues involved in the appointment and tenure (including discipline and removal) of article III judges; (2) evaluate the advisability of proposing alternatives to current arrangements with respect to such problems and issues; and (3) prepare and submit to the Congress, the Chief Justice, and the President a report detailing the findings and conclusions of the Commission. Terminates the Commission 30 days after the submission of such report. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1988
Salvadoran Foreign Assistance Reform Resolution - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the U.S. foreign assistance program for El Salvador should be revised to promote a negotiated settlement and a reduction of human suffering; (2) the ratio of assistance should be reversed in FY 1989 so that the amount spent on the war effort is only one-third of the amount spent for reform and development activities; (3) such assistance should not be distributed in a manner which would promote the interests of any particular political party; (4) such assistance should be distributed through church-related and other nongovernmental organizations and international organizations selected by the Agency for International Development; and (5) the President should report quarterly to the Congress on the restructuring of such assistance, the economic results of such restructuring, and any reports of corruption in its distribution.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1988
Omnibus McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1988 - Title I: General Provisions - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (the Act) to require the Comptroller General to make annual audits of Federal emergency management food and shelter and housing assistance programs. Title II: Interagency Council on the Homeless - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1990 for the Interagency Council on the Homeless. Extends such Council through FY 1990. Title III: Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Program - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1990 for the Federal emergency management food and shelter program. Title IV: Housing Assistance - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1990 for the emergency shelter grants program. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to report annually to the Congress regarding the supportive housing demonstration program. Authorizes program appropriations through FY 1990. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1990 for supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless. Increases budget authority for section 8 assistance (low-income housing) for single room occupancy dwellings. Makes religious organizations or organizations with religious affiliations meeting specified conditions eligible to receive housing assistance under this title and community development block grants under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Title V: Identification and Use of Surplus Federal Property - Amends the Act to require the Secretary to identify Federal properties to use to aid the homeless within two months of collecting such information. Title VI: Health Care for the Homeless - Subtitle A: Categorical Grants for Primary Health Services and Substance Abuse Services - Amends the Public Health Service Act to limit Federal matching funds after the first fiscal year to 66-2/3 percent of service costs with regard to grants for health assistance for the homeless. (Current law provides for 75 percent Federal funding.) Authorizes the continued provision for up to 12 months of certain health (including mental health) services to former homeless persons currently living in permanent housing. Includes persons living in transitional housing within the definition of "homeless individual" for purposes of such grants. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through FY 1991. Subtitle B: Block Grant for Community Mental Health Services - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1991 for community mental health services block grants. Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations for Community Demonstration Projects - Amends the Act to authorize additional appropriations through FY 1991 for mental health services for homeless persons with chronic mental illness. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1991 for alcohol and drug abuse treatment for homeless persons. Subtitle D: General Provisions - Sets forth effective dates for specified provisions of this title. Title VII: Education, Training, and Community Services Programs - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1990 for the following programs for the homeless: (1) adult education; (2) education for children and youth; (3) exemplary education programs and related information dissemination; (4) job training, including a specified obligation for veterans' reintegration projects; and (5) the emergency community services homeless grant program. Title VIII: Food Assistance for the Homeless - Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to make excess Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) flour, cheese, and cornmeal available through 1990. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1990 for the temporary emergency food assistance program (TEFAP) including storage and distribution costs. Increases amounts obligated for emergency feeding organizations. Extends the termination date for such programs from September 30, 1988, to September 30, 1990. Title IX: Veterans Programs - Authorizes additional appropriations through FY 1990 for veterans' medical care, including specified amounts for domiciliary care and for chronically mentally ill homeless veterans. Authorizes additional appropriations through FY 1990 (to remain available through FY 1991) for veterans' job training. Title X: Aid to Families With Dependent Children and Related Programs - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reduce Federal matching aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) in a jurisdiction where substantial progress is not being made toward reducing the number of AFDC families living in commercial or similar transient accommodations. Authorizes the Secretary to approve demonstration projects through FY 1990 under which States encourage landlords to make permanent shelter available to families receiving AFDC housing assistance by paying rent for such shelter for the first year at the rate paid for comparable commercial or similar transient accommodations and for the remainder of the lease at the applicable AFDC housing allowance.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1988
National Biological Diversity Conservation and Environmental Research Act - States that the conservation of biological diversity is a national priority. Requires Federal actions to be consistent with such goal. Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require that environmental impact statements on proposed Federal actions include any impacts on biological diversity. Directs the President's Council on Environmental Quality to: (1) establish guidelines for consideration of biological diversity in the preparation of environmental impact statements; and (2) identify those biotic communities, species, and populations that appear to be in decline, in imminent danger of loss of viability, or otherwise of special concern. Establishes a National Center for Biological Diversity and Environmental Research (Center) responsible for: (1) coordinating the collection of data pertaining to the national biota and supplementing and disseminating such information; (2) arranging and conducting surveys and supplementary research of the national biota; and (3) enhancing the application of biological data to the conservation of biological diversity. Requires the Center to report annually to the President and the Congress regarding its activities. Establishes an Interagency Working Committee on Biological Diversity responsible for preparing and implementing a coordinated Federal strategy for conservation of biological diversity. Sets forth the required contents of such strategy which must be completed within two years of this Act's enactment. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes each agency represented on the Interagency Committee to provide grants to public agencies, private individuals, and organizations for projects to maintain or restore biological diversity. Requires that such grants be matched on at least an equal basis by the grantee, except when the grantee is a State. Directs each agency, other than the Council on Environmental Quality, represented on the Interagency Committee to: (1) give high priority to research and personnel training directed towards implementation of the Strategy; and (2) assess the adequacy of its environmental research and training programs. Establishes, on a permanent basis, a National Scientific Advisory Committee on Biological Diversity which shall: (1) advise the Interagency Committee in the preparation of the Strategy; (2) assist in the coordination of interaction between the Interagency Committee and the Center; (3) assist in the evaluation of the impacts of proposed Federal activities on biological diversity; (4) review Federal progress toward implementing the Strategy; and (5) serve as a general reference and advisory resource for the Nation in matters relating to conservation of biological diversity. Authorizes appropriations for the activities of the Center and the grant program for FY 1989 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1988
Provides for a counsel-assisted hearing before an administrative judge for certain "Mariel" Cuban detainees (as defined by this Act). Directs the Attorney General to provide such persons with notice of hearing rights and counsel in cases of financial need. Requires the release of a detainee unless the Attorney General establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that such person: (1) is a threat to the community or to other people; or (2) would violate certain conditions of release. States that a release may only be made into suitable community sponsorship or placement. Authorizes the use of Department of Justice funds for half-way housing for such purposes. Provides for stay and revocation of release. Requires annual review of an incarcerated detainee's files. Prohibits judicial review of release determinations under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1988
Retirement and Survivors' Annuities for Bankruptcy Judges and Magistrates Act of 1988 - Amends Federal law to establish a new retirement system for bankruptcy judges and magistrates with 15 or more years of service, or at least eight years of service, upon attaining age 65. Entitles a bankruptcy judge or magistrate who has served at least five years to disability retirement. Provides for cost-of-living adjustments in such retirement system. Requires each bankruptcy judge or magistrate who elects an annuity under this Act to notify the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Declares that such judge or magistrate shall not be entitled to an annuity under the civil service system. Declares this Act applicable to service on or after October 1, 1979. Provides for making payments which would otherwise be made to a bankruptcy judge or magistrate to another person to the extent provided for under the terms of any court order or court-approved property settlement agreement incident to any court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separation. Provides for deducting amounts from the salary of a bankruptcy judge or magistrate who elects an annuity under this Act. Allows such persons to make deposits for prior service. Declares that a bankruptcy judge or magistrate who retires and thereafter practices law: (1) may not receive the benefit of any cost-of-living adjustment during the period in which such person practices law until reaching age 70; and (2) no annuity shall accrue or be paid for any such period until such person reaches age 70. Provides for the payment of the lump-sum credit of any bankruptcy judge or magistrate who leaves office prior to such person's eligibility to receive an annuity. Establishes the Judicial Officers' Retirement Fund for the payment of annuities, refunds, and other payments under this Act. Authorizes appropriations as necessary for the unfunded liability of the Fund. Establishes transition provisions for incumbent judges and magistrates. Provides survivors' annuities for bankruptcy judges, magistrates, and incumbents. Authorizes the recall of retired bankruptcy judges and magistrates into service.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1988
Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination in the provision of credit on the basis of the applicant's course of study or intended course of study.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1988
Amends the Record Rental Amendment of 1984 to extend from five years to ten years the proscription against the rental, leasing, or lending of phonorecords for profit-making purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1988
Provides that restrictions may be applied to information, counseling, or services provided by family planning entities abroad that receive U.S. assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 only to the extent that the same restrictions apply to domestic family planning entities receiving funds under the Public Health Service Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1988
Global Poverty Reduction Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President to develop a plan to ensure that U.S. development assistance contributes measurably toward eradicating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000. Requires that such plan include target dates for reaching specific measurable goals whose attainment would contribute to direct improvements in the living standards of the poorest 40 percent of the population. Specifies that such goals shall include reducing the mortality rate of infants under age five, increasing the female literacy rate, and reducing the percentages of populations below the absolute poverty level by specified amounts by the year 2000. Directs that primary emphasis of development activities to restore the renewable natural resource base shall be on small-scale, affordable, low-risk local projects featuring close consultation with, and involvement of, local people at all stages of project design and implementation. Requires the President to submit the plan to the Congress by July 1, 1989. Requires all U.S. development assistance to be directed at attaining plan goals between October 1, 1989, and December 31, 2000. Requires the President to submit annual reports to the Congress detailing progress toward achieving plan goals. Directs the Comptroller General to review and comment on each report issued. Directs the President to host an international development conference for heads of governments of development assistance donor and recipient countries by October 16, 1989, to conclude an international agreement on eliminating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1988
Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 - Amends the copyright law to implement the Berne Convention, the Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, signed at Berne on September 9, 1886. Extends copyright protection to architectural works in conformance with such Convention. Extends comparable copyright protection to protectable works of nationals of Berne Union members. Revises provisions concerning the licensing of coin-operated phonorecord players (jukeboxes). Permits copyright owners and operators of jukeboxes to directly negotiate the terms and royalty rates for performing copyrighted works if the Copyright Royalty Tribunal certifies that, over a one-year period after this Act's enactment, such process has resulted in authorizing the use of a not substantially smaller quantity of work. Suspends the ratemaking activities of the Tribunal while such conditions are being met. Permits the use of a notice of copyright on publicly distributed copies of protected works, including phonorecords of sound recordings (current law requires such notice). States that such a notice is a bar to a defense of innocent infringement if the defendant had access to copies with such notice. Requires the continued use of a copyright notice identifying works of the U.S. Government. Eliminates notice provisions for contributions to collective works. Retains deposit requirements. Continues permissive registration. Makes this Act effective the day after the Berne Convention enters into force with respect to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1988
Amends the National Housing Act to exempt the single family home mortgage insurance program administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the guarantee authority of the Government National Mortgage Association from sequestration or reduction under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1988
Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1988 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish the criminal offense of genocide. Sets forth penalties for anyone who commits or attempts to commit any of the acts which constitute genocide (a fine of $1,000,000 and/or imprisonment for up to 20 years, and life imprisonment if group members are killed). Sets forth criminal penalties (a fine of $500,000 and/or imprisonment for up to five years) for directly and publicly inciting an act of genocide. States that nothing in this Act: (1) precludes the application of State or local laws on the same subject; or (2) creates any Federal civil remedy with respect to the prohibited conduct.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1988
State Justice Institute Authorization Act - Amends the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 to authorize appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 to carry out the activities of the State Justice Institute. States that officers and employees of the Institute shall be considered Federal employees for the purpose of certifying vouchers for the disbursement of funds by the Secretary of the Treasury. Allows Institute funds to be used to conduct research on alternative means for using judicial personnel in court decisionmaking activities. Provides that such funds may no longer be used to assist State and local courts in meeting requirements of Federal law applicable to recipients of Federal funds. States that grant recipients who file a timely application for refunding shall no longer receive automatic interim funding. Establishes certain restrictions on the disclosure of information by officers and employees of the Institute, and by recipients of Institute assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1988
Section 457 Clarification Act of 1988 - Amends Internal Revenue Code accounting rules governing the year of inclusion of compensation deferred under qualified plans of State and local governments and of private tax-exempt organizations. Declares the rules to be inapplicable to both nonelective deferred compensation and basic employee benefits, including bona fide vacation plans, sick leave plans, sabbatical leave, and similar benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1988
Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Commercialization and Development Act - Requires the Secretary of Energy to establish specific technical research and development performance goals for Department of Energy programs relating to: (1) photovoltaics; (2) wind; (3) solar thermal; (4) biofuels; (5) solar building and energy systems; (6) ocean energy systems; and (7) geothermal energy. Mandates that such goals be designed to promote significant further commercial applications by 1995. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress with respect to biennial technical performance goal reviews and updates. Requires the Secretary to include in the FY 1990 budget request funding for at least three commercial demonstration projects involving renewable energy technologies. States that 50 percent of such project costs shall be funded by the United States and 50 percent shall be funded by the private sector. Cites circumstances under which the United States may fund up to 66 percent of such project costs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for: (1) specified renewable energy programs; (2) energy conservation research and development programs; and (3) a Federal interagency working group (established under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to make recommendations regarding the coordination of Federal programs affecting commerce in renewable energy products and related services). Requires that each annual submission of the National Energy Policy Plan be accompanied by a three-year strategic plan for energy technology research, including energy efficiency and renewable energy.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1988
Montgomery GI Bill Amendments of 1988 - Directs the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to make payments to veterans who are entitled to veterans' educational assistance but who have become so physically or mentally handicapped that such individuals are unable to utilize such educational assistance. Directs the Administrator to make such payments to a qualifying veteran's survivors in the event of a veteran's death while on active duty or within six years of such individual's discharge, according to a certain order of priority. Deducts the amount of educational assistance received by the veteran before enactment of this Act from the amount to be paid under this Act. Authorizes entitlement to basic educational assistance for veterans who are discharged or released from active duty for a disability that existed before becoming or entering into active duty as a member of the armed forces. (Currently, such entitlement is limited to those discharged or released for either a service-connected disability or for hardship.) Authorizes the same entitlement for members discharged or released from the Selected Reserve. Authorizes the Administrator to approve the pursuit of flight training by an individual entitled to basic educational assistance if such training meets conditions specified in this Act. Specifies the amount of flight assistance to be provided. Directs the Administrator to pay educational assistance for refresher courses in the individual's area of education, deficiency courses, or other preparatory or special educational assistance necessary to enable the individual to pursue an approved program of education. Limits the length of such payments for refresher courses. Allows an individual currently on active duty who originally chose not to receive basic educational assistance to enroll in such program within 60 days after the enactment of this Act. Outlines provisions relating to the implementation of such enrollment, including "catch-up" payments or deductions from pay in order to receive such educational assistance. Requires a certain minimum payment or pay deduction before an individual becomes so qualified. Directs the Secretary of each military department to inform individuals of the opportunity to enroll for such assistance under this Act. Prohibits the payment of any basic educational assistance to members of the Selected Reserve until such members have completed their initial periods of active duty for training required by the military department concerned. (Currently, such members must complete such training plus serve in the reserves for at least 180 days before being eligible.) Authorizes the Administrator to approve the pursuit of flight training by a member of the Selected Reserve who is entitled to basic educational assistance, if such training meets conditions specified in this Act. Specifies the amount of flight assistance to be provided. Provides that educational assistance may only be provided for an approved program of education for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program. (Currently, such assistance may be provided for a program of education at an institution of higher learning and may not be provided for post-graduate study.) Limits the amount of monthly educational assistance to be provided to an individual pursuing a full-time program of apprenticeship or other on-the-job training. Reduces the amount of assistance provided in any month in which such individual fails to complete at least 120 hours of training. Provides a limited educational assistance payment as determined by the Administrator for individuals participating in a less-than-half-time pursuit of a program of education. Provides that an individual serving in the Selected Reserve may not receive credit for such service under both veterans' educational assistance provisions and the All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program, but shall instead elect the program to which such service is to be credited. Revises provisions concerning the time limitation applicable for the use of basic educational assistance by a member of the Selected Reserve who is separated from such service because of a disability incurred on or after the date on which such person became entitled to educational assistance. Directs the Secretary of Defense, at the request of the Administrator, to transmit a notice of entitlement for each such person becoming eligible for educational assistance to the Administrator.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the excise tax on diesel and aviation fuels. Prohibits imposition of the tax on the sale of these fuels by a producer or importer for use by the purchaser in a nontaxable use (defined to include, among other uses, any off-highway business use, use as supplies for vessels or aircraft, State or local governmental use, and use by a nonprofit educational organization). Permits the exemption only if both the seller and purchaser have registered with the Secretary of the Treasury. Requires producers, importers, and purchasers taking part in reduced-tax sales to file with the Secretary information returns containing specified data. Requires producers and importers, in addition, to furnish corresponding statements to their purchasers. Establishes penalties for failure to file required returns.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1988
Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to extend through FY 1993 the authorization of appropriations to the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, and the Marine Mammal Commission to carry out specified functions under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1988
Reproductive Health Equity Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, the Peace Corps Act, the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, and other Federal laws covering armed forces personnel and dependents, certain veterans, Federal employees' health benefits, and Federal penal and correctional institutions to provide that services related to abortion be made available in the same manner as are other pregnancy-related services under federally funded programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1988
Requests the President to issue a proclamation commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, which occurs on June 25, 1988. (The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, formerly known as the Wagner-O'Day Act, provides employment and ancillary support services to blind and handicapped individuals.)
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1988
Postal Reorganization Act of 1988 - Declares that the receipts and disbursements of the Postal Service Fund: (1) shall not be included in the totals of the Federal budget or the congressional budget; (2) shall be exempt from Federal budget limitations on expenditures and net lending; and (3) shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit. Repeals certain limitations on postal borrowing authority. Increases the limitations on postal borrowing authority.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1988
AIDS Health Care Financing Act of 1988 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Public Health Service Act to extend the maximum required period of continuation coverage of group health plans from 18 months to 29 months for an individual determined, under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) or title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act, to have been disabled at the time of termination or reduction in hours. Increases the premium which plans are permitted to require for continuation coverage from 102 percent to 152 percent of the applicable premium for the period for any month after the 18th month of continuation coverage after terminations, reduced hours, or multiple qualifying events. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to permit States to pay expenses of an individual eligible for benefits under its plan for premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, or similar costs for health coverage offered by the individual's employer, including continuation coverage. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for a three-year program of grants to States to assist in paying premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and similar costs for continuation coverage for individuals who were disabled at the time of termination of employment. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Provides that when the Secretary allows a State Medicaid plan to provide for payment for individuals with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or an AIDS-related condition, for home or community-based services such as home health care, personal care services, case management services, outpatient mental health treatment, and outpatient substance abuse treatment, the Federal medical assistance percentage shall not be less than 75 percent. Declares that nothing in title XIX of the Social Security Act shall be construed as preventing a State from establishing differential payment rates for providers to reflect the additional costs of providing services to patients with AIDS or an AIDS-related condition. Directs the Secretary to provide for up to four Regional AIDS Treatment Demonstration Projects for individuals with AIDS and AIDS-related conditions in areas which do not have a disproportionate number of such individuals. Requires the projects to incorporate innovative approaches to the delivery of necessary services, particularly focusing on community-based services. Requires each project to provide for case management services and community-based services. Sets forth considerations in selection of projects. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish up to six Demonstration HIV Monitoring and Treatment Centers for individuals diagnosed as infected with a virus related to the development of AIDS but who have not developed AIDS. Sets forth terms and conditions relating to the imposition of charges for services, the development of model clinical treatment plans, and confidentiality of records. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance to up to four local projects which have established AIDS prevention and treatment services to permit the projects to assist entities in developing and establishing similar local projects in other areas. Allows the assistance to be used for staff, overhead, and the preparation and reproduction of educational materials. Prohibits use of the assistance for AIDS prevention and treatment services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance to local governments which demonstrate a disproportionate share of: (1) residents with AIDS or an AIDS-related condition; or (2) expenditures from local funds for treatment of such syndrome or condition. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1988
Title I: Housing and Urban Development - Makes FY 1988 supplemental appropriations for the following Department of Housing and Urban Development homeless programs authorized by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act: (1) single room occupancy dwelling rehabilitation; (2) emergency shelter grants; (3) supportive housing demonstration program; and (4) supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless. Makes FY 1988 supplemental appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency food and shelter program. Title II: Health and Human Services - Makes FY 1988 supplemental appropriations for the following Department of Health and Human Services homeless programs authorized by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act: (1) health services; (2) community mental health services (alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health); and (3) emergency community services.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) should: (1) investigate the management of Texas Air Corporation and Eastern Air Lines since the acquisition of Eastern by Texas Air to determine (according to prescribed guidelines) the effect of such management upon the public interest; (2) use the investigation findings as a basis for decisions in pending and future cases involving proposed changes in domestic and international operations of Eastern; (3) not authorize the operation of any entity as a subsidiary of Texas Air in performing any air transportation operations until completion of a review to determine whether such performance is consistent with the public interest; (4) not authorize any Texas Air subsidiary to engage in air transportation until the application for such certificate has been reviewed; (5) not authorize Orion Air to provide contract services with Eastern unless Orion establishes conclusively its capability of conducting such operations with the highest degree of safety; (6) not expedite consideration of Orion's request to operate under contract with Eastern by diverting employees of the Department of Transportation or the Federal Aviation Administration from their responsibilities of ensuring the safety of previously authorized operations; and (7) require, as a condition of any approval of Orion's request to operate under contract with Eastern, that purchasers of tickets for such service must be informed at the time of making reservations of the identity of the carrier having operational responsibility for such service.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
American Heritage Trust Act of 1988 - 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 to provide for the preservation of the Nation's recreational areas. 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. Repeals a specified section concerning publicity and signing provisions. 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. 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.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Employer Reversion Moratorium Act of 1988 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit distributions to an employer, before October 1, 1989, of plan assets in connection with any single-employer defined benefit plan termination announced on or after March 9, 1988. Makes plan fiduciaries jointly and severally liable for breach of fiduciary duty unless assets distributed upon plan termination are either distributed to plan participants and beneficiaries or paid into a trust whose terms provide for final disposition in accordance with applicable law in effect on October 1, 1989. Requires the dissolution of such a trust and the distribution of its assets during the month of October 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1988
Patent Licensing Reform Act of 1988 - Amends Federal law to deny patent infringement relief to a patent owner who either misuses or illegally extends a patent, until such misuse or illegal extension terminates and the consequences of such conduct have dissipated. Defines the conduct that constitutes "misuse or illegal extension." Declares that it shall be an affirmative defense in a patent infringement action that a person engaged in fraud or other inequitable conduct in procuring or enforcing the patent. Requires the Commissioner of the Patent and Trademark Office to define by regulation the conduct necessary to avoid liability for fraud.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1988
Designates the week of June 26 through July 2, 1988, as National Safety Belt Use Week. Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) urge the people to wear safety belts and use child safety seats; and (2) encourage State and local governments and concerned organizations and officials to promote greater use of these safety devices.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1988
Emergency Hunger Relief Act of 1988 - Title I: Family Self Sufficiency Improvement - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to increase the minimum food stamp program (program) allotments by one percent for the period January 1, 1989, through September 30, 1989, and by one percent during FY 1990. Amends the definition of "household" to repeal the provision providing separate household status for certain parents of minor children and for such children. Makes permanent categorical program eligibility based on eligibility for specified social security programs. Provides an additional excess shelter deduction. States that: (1) households not required to submit monthly income reports shall have their income calculated on a prospective basis; and (2) households required to submit monthly income reports shall have their income calculated on a retrospective basis, except under specified circumstances. Repeals the requirement of prior approval by the Secretary of Agriculture for less than monthly income reporting of certain household. Prohibits a state agency from requiring periodic reporting of households: (1) made up entirely of migrant or seasonal farm workers; (2) made up entirely of homeless persons; or (3) with no earned income and in which all adult members are elderly or disabled. Requires that households reporting monthly be provided with clear and understandable reporting forms. Adjusts the automobile limitation to reflect Consumer Price Index changes. Provides full program benefits for breaks in certification of 30 days or less. Permits households subject to benefit prorating to receive an aggregate benefit allotment. Extends the scope of program informational activities. Amends the HOmeless Eligibility Clarification Act to make permanent the authority for homeless persons in shelters to receive food stamps. Subtitle B: Related Programs - Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983, as amended by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, to extend the temporary emergency food assistance program (TEFAP) through FY 1990. Increases the amount of TEFAP funds for emergency feeding organizations. Amends the Community Services Block Grant Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1993 for the community food and nutrition program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study (through the National Academy of Sciences) of the kinds of medical problems commonly suffered by program participants and the resulting special diets; and (2) report to the Congress. Title II: Child Nutrition Promotion - Amends the Food Stamps Act of 1977 to exclude foster care and adoption assistance from program income determinations. Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the school breakfast program reimbursement rate by three cents per meal as of July 1, 1989. Amends the National School Lunch Act to permit specified private nonprofit organizations to participate in the summer food program. Provides an additional meal or snack to children who attend day care centers which are open more than eight hours a day. Repeals the provision tying reduced price lunch eligibility to program eligibility. Title III: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Women in Development Act of 1988 - Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to take specific steps to strengthen the Agency's women in development policy, including: (1) incorporating the active participation of local women and local women's organizations in its development activities; (2) instructing Agency staff and contractors to collect sex-disaggregated data and to insure that country strategies, projects, and programs are designed so that the percentage of women receiving assistance in proportion to the higher of their traditional participation in the targeted activities or their proportion of the population; (3) insuring that project and program evaluations include an assessment of the extent to which the project integrates women in the development process and of the project's impact on women; (4) increasing the number and responsibility of women in professional positions within AID; and (5) establishing within AID a task force on women in development. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that a minimum (currently, maximum) of $10,000,000 in funds made available for foreign assistance programs be used for programs to promote the participation and integration of women in the development process in developing countries. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress annually on the implementation of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to be made available for the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Community Revitalization Tax Act of 1988 - Amends Internal Revenue Code income tax accounting rules limiting passive activity losses and credits to eliminate the disallowance of credits in this context. Revises the limitation on the general business credit to allow a maximum annual credit equal to the first $20,000 of an individual taxpayer's income tax liability plus 20 percent of any excess liability. Amends provisions that reduce the investment credit base by nonqualified nonrecourse financing amounts to apply them to certain qualified rehabilitation property as if the property were subject to the at-risk rules associated with the low-income housing credit. Permits a tax-exempt organization to offset the amount of any general business credit against its unrelated business income tax liability. Revises the definition of "qualifying distribution" for purposes of the tax on a private foundation's failure to distribute income. Includes as qualifying any amount of interest foregone on a below-market loan made to a tax-exempt organization to operate a qualified low-income building. Includes as a qualified rehabilitation expenditure for tax credit purposes any expenditure in connection with the rehabilitation of a low-income building leased to a tax-exempt entity. Permits a pooled income fund having substantially all of its assets invested exclusively in qualified low-income buildings to have one or more corporations as income beneficiaries, each with a 20-year life.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Designates the period commencing November 13, 1988, and ending November 19, 1988, as Geography Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Federal Prison Industries Reform Act of 1988 - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated (Corporation) to issue its obligations to the Secretary of the Treasury. Allows the Secretary to: (1) sell such obligations as public debt transactions; and (2) upon the request of the Corporation, invest excess monies from the Prison Industries Fund. Permits Corporation funds to be used to acquire industrial buildings and equipment for corporate operations. Prohibits the use of corporate funds for the construction or acquisition of penal or correctional institutions or camps. Requires the board of directors of the Corporation to include in its annual report to the Congress: (1) a statement of the amount of obligations issued during the fiscal year; and (2) an estimate of the amount of obligations that will be issued in the following fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Affordable Permanent Housing for the Homeless Act of 1988 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to increase FY 1988 budget authority for the following housing programs for the homeless: (1) section 8 (lower income housing assistance) certificates; (2) section 8 moderate rehabilitation, including assistance to handicapped homeless people; (3) public housing grants; and (4) rental rehabilitation. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to submit an annual report to the Congress regarding: (1) activities under this Act; and (2) the housing situation for homeless families with children.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Designates the month of October 1988 as Polish American Heritage Month.