United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Authorizes any person who receives an unsolicited sexually oriented advertisement through the mails to request the Postal Service to order the sender to disclose the source from which the recipient's name or address was obtained. Authorizes the Postal Service to request the Attorney General to apply to a U.S. district court for an order directing compliance.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Authorizes Members of Congress to use the franking privilege to mail copies of any commemorative edition of the Constitution prepared under the auspices of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Family Leave Benefits Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer an income tax deduction of 50 percent of salary or wages and other employee benefit costs incurred with respect to an employee temporarily absent from work on account of the birth or adoption of a child or because of a serious health condition of a child, spouse, or parent. Prescribes criteria to be met by the employer plan that permits the parental or medical leave in question.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Nursing Shortage and Nurse Reimbursement Incentive Act of 1989 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide direct Medicare reimbursement for nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist services, whether or not the practitioner or specialist is under the supervision of, or associated with, another health provider, if such services would otherwise be covered if furnished by a physician or as an incident to a physician's service. Provides payments for nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, and certified nurse midwife services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program on the basis of a fee schedule to be established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to establish a toll-free telephone hotline for nursing payment inquiries under the Medicare program and, to the extent feasible, under the Medicaid program. Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to require peer review of nursing services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract for studies evaluating nursing costs, and gathering and disseminating data on obstacles nurses face in receiving direct reimbursement for their services; and (2) report the results of such studies to the Congress in January of 1992, 1993, and 1994. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act to require direct Medicaid reimbursement for certified nurse midwife, certified registered nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, and clinical nurse specialist services, whether or not such nurse is under the supervision of, or associated with, another health care provider, if such services would otherwise be covered if furnished by a physician or as an incident to a physician's services. Requires that such payments be equal to payments for such services under the Medicare program and not vary on the basis of the type of nurse involved.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Declares that, in celebration of Law Day U.S.A., May 1, 1989, special emphasis should be given by grateful people to all law enforcement personnel for their service in preserving domestic tranquility and guaranteeing rights under law.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that individual school districts should incorporate youth service programs as course electives in secondary school curricula.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1989
Excludes Agent Orange settlement payments from income or resources in determining eligibility for benefits under any Federal or federally assisted program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the States should ratify the proposed amendment to the Constitution which provides that no law varying the compensation for the services of Members of Congress shall take effect until an election of Representatives has intervened.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1989
Urges the President to commence negotiations with the Government of Mexico to conclude a free trade agreement to provide for the mutual elimination or reduction of duties on imports.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Amends the National Trails System Act to designate as components of the National Trails System: (1) the California National Historic Trail, extending from Independence and Saint Joseph, Missouri, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, to various points in California and Oregon; and (2) the Pony Express National Historic Trail, extending from Saint Joseph, Missouri, through Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada to Sacramento, California.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Amends the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to reauthorize the grant program for water resources research and technology institutes on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis for FY 1989 through 1993. Requires that such funds be used only for the reimbursement of direct cost expenditures incurred for the conduct of the water resources research program. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an evaluation of each institute every five years to determine if it qualifies for further support. (Currently the Secretary must make such determination every four years.) Extends the authorization of appropriations for the grant program from FY 1989 through 1993. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993 only for the reimbursement of the direct cost expenses of additional research by institutes which focus on water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only to a single State and which relates to specific program priorities identified jointly by the Secretary and the institutes. Requires such funds when appropriated to be matched on a not less than dollar-for-dollar basis by non-Federal sources. Extends the authorization of appropriations from FY 1989 through 1993 for the matching grant research program concerning any aspect of a water resource-related problem which the Secretary deems to be in the national interest. Authorizes appropriations to extend the technology grant program from FY 1989 through 1993. Requires rules and regulations issued prior to the date of enactment of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to remain in effect until superseded by new rules and regulations promulgated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal judicial code to condition consideration of a habeas corpus claim by a State prisoner on a showing of actual prejudice resulting from the denial of a Federal right, and that: (1) State action precluded assertion of the right; (2) the Federal right asserted was newly recognized; or (3) the factual basis of the claim could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence prior to the procedural default. Establishes a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a habeas corpus writ with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Requires the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of the amount required to be apportioned to any State under the Federal-aid highway program if it is lawful in such State to: (1) possess an open alcoholic beverage container in the passenger area of any motor vehicle on a public highway; or (2) consume any alcoholic beverage in such motor vehicle on a public highway. Exempts from such withholding measures charter buses of ten or more passengers whose drivers are not permitted by State law to possess open alcoholic beverages in the passenger area. Provides for the release of withheld funds to States which comply with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Amends the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations prohibiting any railroad employee from leaving either the scene of a railroad accident or such employee's appropriate place of duty (unless warranted because of injury or other urgent circumstances) if the employee: (1) may have caused or contributed to the accident; or (2) has specified responsibilities regarding the accident's aftermath. Sets forth criminal penalties for knowing or willful violation of regulations issued under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Family Living Wage Act - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions governing the earned income tax credit to: (1) increase from $5,714 to $7,000 the amount of earned income subject to the credit; (2) increase the basic credit from 14 percent to 15 percent; and (3) permit an additional credit (to apply to not more than four children) of five percent for each dependent school age child between age six and age 16 and ten percent for each preschool age child. Reduces the amount of the credit for taxpayers with adjusted gross income over $40,000. Indexes amounts relating to the credit beginning in 1992. Disallows application of the nonrefundable dependent care income tax credit with respect to a taxpayer's dependents under age 13, unless the child is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Permits the credit with respect to handicapped children under age 15 only if the taxpayer elects not to include the child within the framework of the earned income credit. Repeals provisions of the Family Support Act of 1988 that revise the way in which the earned income credit is treated in the context of needs analysis for purposes of State plans for aid and services to needy families with children under title IV of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Condemns the death sentence issued against British author Salman Rushdie by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Calls for its immediate repudiation and the immediate withdrawal of any reward of money and martyrdom for the murder of Mr. Rushdie.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Hate Crime Statistics Act - Directs the Attorney General to include within the Uniform Crime Reports for calendar years 1991 through 1995 the incidence of criminal acts that manifest prejudice based on race, religion, homosexuality or heterosexuality, or ethnicity. States that nothing in this Act creates a right for an individual to bring an action complaining of discrimination based on homosexuality. Requires the Attorney General to publish an annual summary of the data acquired under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Scenic Byways Study Act of 1989 - Declares it to be the policy of the United States to identify, protect, and enhance scenic and historic roads. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) transmit to the Congress a nationwide, long-term plan for promoting, designating, protecting, and enhancing scenic and historic roads, including an analysis of available studies on a national scenic byways program, guidelines for administration of such a program, and forecasts of significant changes in traffic volumes, safety consequences, and environmental and economic impacts; (2) assemble for the Congress available information on economic activity associated with scenic and recreational travel; (3) conduct a study and make recommendations regarding economic impacts of promoting scenic byways as tourist attractions, techniques for incorporating scenic byways into tourism development and marketing programs, and alternative means to inform the public about scenic byways; and (4) conduct case studies of, and report on, States with existing scenic byway programs. Requires the Secretary to consult with the States on studies under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct national and regional conferences to ensure public involvement. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
RICO Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to include additional predicate offenses within the definition of "racketeering activity," such as prostitution involving minors, computer fraud, and certain activity relating to terrorist acts abroad. Modifies civil remedies provisions of RICO to require U.S. district courts to find proof by a preponderance of the evidence before restraining violations. Authorizes: (1) specified governmental entities whose business or property is injured by conduct in violation of RICO to recover threefold the actual damages to such business or property, plus costs; (2) persons whose business or property is injured by such conduct to recover actual damages, plus costs (and punitive damages of up to twice the actual damages where the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's actions were consciously malicious, or so egregious and deliberate that malice may be implied); (3) such persons to recover threefold the actual damages if any defendant has been convicted of specified Federal or State offenses; and (4) natural persons who suffer serious bodily injury by reason of specified crimes of violence to recover actual damages to such person's business or property, damages sustained by such individual as allowed under State law (excluding pain and suffering), and costs (and, upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that defendant's actions were malicious, up to twice the actual damages). (Current law allows recovery of threefold the damages, plus costs, for persons whose business or property is injured.) Sets forth: (1) statutes of limitation; and (2) procedures for considering affirmative defenses. Permits international service of process. (Current law restricts such service to specified judicial districts within the United States.) Provides for exclusive Federal jurisdiction to hear criminal or civil RICO proceedings. Authorizes recovery beyond actual damages to a person's business or property, where such person would not otherwise be eligible to recover costs under this Act, under specified conditions, including where the judge determines that a limitation of recovery would clearly be unjust.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends the Federal judicial code to make funds from the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund available to assist the States in providing drug treatment programs and community- and school-based drug education programs. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to add parallel provisions with respect to the Customs Forfeiture Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends the Land Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to prohibit use in a fiscal year of amounts in the Land and Water Conservation Fund for acquiring land or waters for the National Wildlife Refuge System if wildlife refuge revenue sharing payments have not been made for the preceding fiscal year by the Secretary of the Interior.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
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 1990. (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 · 22 February 1989
Health Care Savings Account Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employees and employers, including self-employed individuals, a 60 percent tax credit for contributions to a health care savings account for the benefit of the employee or self-employed individual. Limits total contributions to an account to the aggregate amount of hospital insurance tax paid with respect to the account beneficiary. Describes conditions that must be met by the account. Excludes from the gross income of the beneficiary any account contributions made by an employer. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization) unless the distributee engages in specified transactions in connection with it. Excludes from gross income any account distributions used to pay the eligible medical expenses of the beneficiary or qualifying spouse. Imposes a ten percent surtax on account distributions used for other than health care purposes or made before the distributee is aged 65 or older. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with: (1) excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account; (2) distributions from an account that reduces a distributee's account level below a specified amount; and (3) failure to effect spousal rollover of an account upon the spouse's death. Imposes penalties for failure to make required reports concerning an account. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to reduce the Medicare benefits of a health care savings account beneficiary by 60 percent of the maximum amount of Medicare-related expenditures that could be reasonably underwritten (by an insurance company) for the average Medicare beneficiary, given certain assumptions. Establishes special rules for individuals who cannot obtain insurance to cover their added deductible at the standard premium rates. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish rules in connection with recalculations of deductibles when a qualifying spouse becomes eligible for Medicare. Establishes catastrophic health care expense protection for certain individuals who qualify for Medicare and have met specified contribution requirements with respect to one or more health care savings accounts. Describes conditions under which a qualifying spouse becomes eligible for this protection.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends Federal law to extend the immediate retirement provisions applicable to Federal law enforcement officers to: (1) revenue officers for the Internal Revenue Service; (2) customs inspectors for the U.S. Customs Service; (3) customs canine enforcement officers for the U.S. Customs Service; and (4) inspectors for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
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.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize the collection from Federal tax refunds of past-due support for disabled and dependent adults whose disability originated in childhood.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1989
1991 Mount Rushmore Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Provides that such coins shall be considered legal tender. Requires the Secretary to begin issuing such coins on January 1, 1991. Directs the Secretary to obtain silver for the minting of such coins from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act and to obtain gold pursuant to authority under existing law. Provides that the design of such coins shall be selected by the Secretary after consultation with the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society of Black Hills. Specifies the sales price of such coins as the face value plus costs. Requires that all sales of such coins include a surcharge of $35 per coin for five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for one-dollar coins, and $1 for half-dollar coins. Requires that of the total surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of such coins: (1) 50 percent shall be returned to the Treasury for purposes of reducing the national debt; and (2) 50 percent shall be paid to the Society to assist efforts to improve the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Authorizes the Comptroller General to audit such payments. Requires the Secretary to ensure that the minting and issuance of such coins shall not result in any net costs to the Government.
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
Title I: National Commission on Natural Resources Disasters - Establishes a National Commission on Natural Resources Disasters to study the effects of natural fire disasters and make recommendations concerning a smooth transition from the loss of natural resources. Directs the Commission to study the effects of such fires on: (1) the economic stability of the affected communities; (2) the availability of sufficient timber supplies to meet future industry needs; (3) fish and wildlife habitats; (4) recreation in the affected areas; (5) the watershed and water quality protection plans in effect within National Forest Systems lands; (6) the ecosystems in the areas; and (7) management plans of the affected National Forest System lands. Requires a report to the Secretary of Agriculture by December 1, 1990. Authorizes the Commission to accept contributions of money and services in carrying out its duties. Authorizes the Secretary, if contributions are insufficient, to transfer to the Commission funds available from the general fund of the Treasury. Terminates the Commission 90 days after submission of its report to the Secretary. Title II: Forest Firefighting Planning and Cooperation - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to report to the Congress on the rehabilitation needs of each national forest resulting from forest fire damage during the previous year. Requires the Secretary to offer training programs annually to certify volunteers for suppressing forest fires on National Forest System lands. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the local fire emergency mobilization plans for fire fighting equipment in each area of the National Forest System which is prone to forest fires.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Postal Reorganization Act Amendments of 1989 - 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 be exempt from any sequestration order under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide for a trails interpretation center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to interpret the history of development and use in the State of Iowa and the adjacent region of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, and the Oregon National Historic Trail. Prohibits the Federal share of the costs for planning, acquisition, and development of such center from exceeding 80 percent of such costs or $10,000,000, whichever is less.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Current Level Enhanced Rescission Act of 1989 - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to include in any special message the President sends to the Congress in connection with a proposed rescission of budget authority amendatory language to enable the affected programs to continue to function lawfully at the proposed new budget level. Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President, on the same day the President approves any appropriation bill, to transmit to the Senate and the House of Representatives one or more special messages proposing to rescind amounts of budget authority included in the bill. Limits: (1) the amounts subject to rescission (the proposal may not reduce a program below its previous fiscal year level); and (2) each special message to one item of budget authority. Prescribes procedures to govern the expedited treatment of such messages in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Makes any proposed rescission amount available for obligation unless both Houses of Congress agree to the bill or joint resolution accompanying the related special message within 60 days of its transmission.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Anabolic Steroid Restriction Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide criminal penalties for knowingly: (1) receiving, depositing, or causing to be deposited or delivered by mail any anabolic steroid or controlled substance for use in humans other than the treatment of disease pursuant to the order of a physician, except as otherwise permitted by law; and (2) using any communication facility in committing, causing, or facilitating a violation of such prohibition. Makes any property involved in a violation of this Act subject to forfeiture.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Amends title IV (National Research Institutes) of the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Center for Nursing Research to acquire, construct, improve, or repair laboratories and other research facilities to increase the capacity of institutions of higher education to conduct nursing research. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants and enter into contracts for such purposes. Requires the Director, from amounts appropriated under this Act, to reserve 15 percent to carry out such purposes through grants to, and contracts with, institutions that received less than an aggregate of a specified amount in Federal financial assistance for research and development in the preceding two fiscal years. Requires matching funds, in cash or in kind, from non-Federal sources. Directs the Secretary to require technical and scientific peer review of applications for grants and contracts. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Truth in Social Security Accounting Act of 1989 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to exclude, beginning with FY 1991, Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund receipts and outlays in Federal deficit determinations for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Peace Corps Volunteer Education Demonstration Program Act - Authorizes the Director of the Peace Corps to carry out a training and educational benefits demonstration program. Makes eligible for program participation any student at an institution of higher education who: (1) has completed at least two years of satisfactory study and is enrolled in a bachelor-degree program of at least four years; (2) agrees to serve at least three years in the Peace Corps; and (3) is selected in a competitive process. Requires selection procedures to include special consideration for traditionally underserved groups of students and students who will specialize in courses in areas in which the Peace Corps has special need. Requires the Director to carry out a training program under which participants receive appropriate training for their Peace Corps work as part of their course of study. Makes participants eligible for educational benefits to cover attendance costs during their remaining two years of study. Requires repayment of such benefits if the individual fails to complete three years of Peace Corps service. Directs the Secretary of Education to evaluate and report on such program to the President and the Congress by October 31, 1994. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Repeals the Internal Revenue Code's nonrefundable income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses, replacing it with a corresponding refundable 50 percent credit, reduced (but not below 20 percent) as the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000 (adjusted for inflation). Includes within the scope of the new credit up to $1,200 ($2,400 in the case of more than one qualifying individual) of respite care expenses incurred in the care of: (1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is at least 15 years old; or (2) a spouse or other dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lagomarsino, Robert J. [R-CA-19]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000020_200.jpg)