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![Official portrait of Rep. Leland, Mickey [D-TX-18]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000237_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
No stored named vote for this person. House roll-calls come from Congress.gov; Senate member lists come from senate.gov LIS XML.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Designates November 12 through November 18, 1989, as National Glaucoma Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Department of Energy Minority Economic Impact Revitalization Act - Title I: Minority Economic Impact Revitalization - Requires the Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact of the Department of Energy (the Office) to establish a working capital program providing loans and venture capital to minority and women-owned business enterprises to commercialize technologies developed through the Department, provide start-up capital for enterprises in the energy technology fields, and strengthen businesses dealing with the Department. Prescribes the eligibility criteria for such businesses. Requires the Director to select from among bids submitted to the Office an administrative financial institution (AFI) to administer the loan program component. Requires the AFI to establish a loan committee to oversee loan applications. Requires such committee and the Director to jointly establish a scheme for the participation of additional financial institutions. Authorizes a minority business enterprise (MBE) to request the participation of a specific financial institution with which it conducts business. Outlines loan application procedures. Sets a five-year maximum loan term. Authorizes an MBE to request technical or managerial assistance through the central Energy Related Minority Business Enterprise Center of the Department. Requires the Director to establish venture capital partnerships with venture capital organizations. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to direct the Secretary of the Department of Energy to: (1) provide financial assistance in the form of grants to an MBE to assist its full participation in the Department's research, development, and contract activities; and (2) limit the use of such assistance to providing funds necessary for such MBEs to bid for and obtain contracts. Directs the Secretary to hire a specified number of additional personnel to administer the working capital program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 to the Department for a working capital program and for an economic development program involving the establishment of a central energy-related minority business enterprise development center in the Office. Directs the Office to coordinate and develop: (1) Department of Energy programs involving historically black colleges and universities; and (2) the Minority Financial Institution Deposit Program. Title II: Nuclear Waste Fund - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to request the Secretary of the Treasury to invest excess Nuclear Waste Fund monies in the Minority Bank Deposit Program of the Department of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Radiation and Toxic Substances Research Reorganization Act of 1989 - Transfers to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Health Secretary) the authority of the Secretary of Energy (Energy Secretary) to conduct, under specified provisions of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 and any other law, epidemiological studies of the effects of workplace and public exposure to radiation and toxic substances. Transfers related positions, property, records, obligations, commitments, and unexpended appropriations. Directs the Health Secretary to undertake a comprehensive program of epidemiological research into the health effects of workplace and public exposure to radiation and toxic substances with the aim of identifying the nature and magnitude of the risk to the public and to the workforce of Department of Energy (DOE) facilities resulting from activities of the DOE and its predecessors. Directs the Energy Secretary to submit to the Health Secretary and the Congress: (1) a complete listing of data and records held or maintained by the DOE and of potential use in the conduct and evaluation of epidemiological and related studies; and (2) a complete record of funds expended by that department on research related to the health effects of workplace and public exposure to radiation and toxic substances during each of the five years preceding enactment of this Act. Directs the Energy Secretary to provide to the Health Secretary access to all data and records not transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under other provisions of this Act if the records are deemed by the Health Secretary to be useful to epidemiological research, health risk assessments, and related studies, and if confidentiality requirements are met. Directs the Health Secretary to grant access to the public to data held or developed by HHS, including data obtained from DOE, in accordance with the established practices of HHS. Authorizes the Health Secretary to: (1) undertake such research into radiation releases, dose reconstruction, toxic substances exposures, and health risk assessments, as necessary to carry out the function transferred under specified provisions of this Act; and (2) review research conducted by DOE, after enactment of this Act, relating to such matters. Directs the Health Secretary to conduct a comprehensive review of: (1) existing epidemiological studies relating to health effects of exposure to such radiation and toxic substances as may present a threat to occupational or public health at DOE facilities; and (2) existing and ongoing health risk assessments and studies relating to such radiation releases, dose reconstruction, and toxic substance exposures as may present a threat to occupational or public health at DOE facilities. Establishes the Advisory Panel on Radiation and Toxic Substances Research to advise the Health Secretary in carrying out the function transferred from the Energy Secretary under this Act. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the funding level to be provided each fiscal year to HHS for carrying out the function transferred by this Act should be at least as much as the greatest of the annual amounts reported by the Energy Secretary under provisions of this Act. Directs the Energy Secretary to reimburse HHS for all costs of carrying out the transferred function out of funds appropriated to the Energy Secretary. Allows funds provided to HHS for the purposes of this Act to be used to support: (1) a program of epidemiological research into the health effects of workplace and public exposure to radiation and toxic substances, and for other uses as the Secretary considers appropriate; and (2) activities of State public health agencies that are compatible with the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Designates October 1989 as Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Senior Executives Salary Act of 1989 - Increases by 25 percent annual salary rates for positions in the Executive Schedule beginning on or after January 1, 1990. Authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to allocate critical position pay authority (the authority of an agency head to fix the compensation for any position he determines to be a critical position at the time it is filled at an annual rate that does not exceed the rates for level I of the Executive Schedule) for not more than 200 positions among executive branch departments and agencies. Authorizes any agency head who receives an allocation of critical position pay authority to exercise such authority only for the number of positions for which such authority is received from the Director. Requires such authority to be reexercised when a position becomes vacant and is refilled based upon the agency head's redetermination that the position is a critical position, but only if the Director reconfirms the allocation of such authority for the position at the time of such reexercise. Directs agency heads, in determining whether a position is a critical position, to consider: (1) the extent to which the position requires scientific, technical, expert, or professional qualifications; and (2) the extent to which additional compensation is necessary to attract exceptionally qualified individuals. Provides for the indexing of the annual maximum pay rate for critical positions to allow pay increases for such positions to increase to the same extent as provided under the Executive Schedule. Provides that senior executives, Senior Foreign Service members, and career Executive Schedule employees shall be recertified every three years after demonstrating to their supervising authority that their performance for the previous three-year period has been outstanding. Provides for a reduction in pay or position for employees who fail to make such a demonstration. Grants career employees the right to appeal any adverse actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 20, 1989, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1989
Economic Equity Act of 1989 - Title I: Employment - Subtitle A: Pay Equity Technical Assistance to Public and Private Sector - Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop and implement a continuing program of information dissemination, research, and technical assistance to public and private entities with respect to correction of wage-setting practices, and reduction or elimination of wage disparities, to the extent that they are based on the sex, race, or national origin of the employee, rather than on the work performed and other appropriate factors. Subtitle B: Legislative Pay Equity Commission and Study - Establishes a Commission on Employment Discrimination in the Legislative Branch. Directs the Commission to: (1) employ a nongovernmental consultant to study the compensation paid to Library of Congress personnel and analyze personnel policies of the Library; (2) evaluate the compensation system of the Library for compliance with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and make any recommendations needed to achieve compliance; (3) develop a plan for the application of title VII throughout the legislative branch; and (4) make recommendations to the Congress for improvement of personnel policies and practices in the legislative branch. Directs the Commission to submit a final report to the Congress 18 months after enactment of this Act. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of the final report. Subtitle C: Extension of Benefits to Part-Time and Temporary Workers - Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to bring certain part-time employees within the participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans. Addresses any employee who, within a relevant 12-month period: (1) has customarily completed more than 500 but fewer than 1,000 hours of service; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Provides that completion of such hours of service will be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service (thereby bringing the employee within the ERISA benefit framework). Permits a reduction in the employer-provided premium under a group health plan in the case of a part-time employee only when such employee: (1) has customarily completed fewer than 30 hours of service per week; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Limits such a premium reduction, when permissible, to not less than a ratable portion of the premium ordinarily provided in the case of an employee who completes 30 hours of service per week. Revises the ERISA definition of "employee" to include non-employees who, pursuant to a contract or agreement, provide employee-like services to an employer for at least one year at the rate of 500 or more hours per year. Subtitle D: Federal Council on Women - Federal Council on Women Act - Establishes a Federal Council on Women to: (1) collect and evaluate information with respect to any problems that are particular to women in the United States; (2) review and evaluate Federal policy related to any such problems; (3) coordinate the activities of the Council with similar activities conducted by States, local governments, and concerned organizations; and (4) make recommendations. Directs the Council to report its findings and recommendations to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Maintenance of Sex Equity Set-Asides in Vocational Education Programs - Amends the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act (the Act) to include displaced homemakers in the vocational education program for single parents or homemakers. Makes single pregnant women eligible for such program. Directs the administrator of such program, and of the sex equity program, to: (1) distribute to community-based organizations the State allotment for such programs on a competitive basis; and (2) develop procedures for appropriate data collection from fund recipients for program evaluation. Requires States to: (1) develop an annual plan for use of funds; (2) manage funds distribution; (3) monitor recipients' use of funds; and (4) evaluate program effectiveness. Provides for pre-vocational services to single parents, single pregnant women, homemakers, and displaced homemakers. Allows use of funds for dependent care (currently only child care) as part of such services. Directs the Secretary of Education to conduct biennial oversight visits to the States to determine if funds for programs for single parents, single pregnant women, and for elimination of sex bias and stereotyping in secondary and postsecondary education are being allocated, distributed, and used in accordance with the Act. Provides that assistance under the Act shall not effect an individual's eligibility for assistance under other Federal programs. Directs the General Accounting Office, within 18 months, to conduct a study of State compliance with specified assurances required under the Act. Subtitle F: Women in Business Procurement Assistance - Women's Business Procurement Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends the Small Business Act to add to existing goals for participation of small business concerns in Federal procurement contracts the participation of small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Requires the head of each Federal agency to report to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on the extent that small business concerns owned and controlled by women participate in procurement contracts and subcontracts. Declares it is the policy of the United States that small business concerns owned and controlled by women shall have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts let by any Federal agency. Precludes the award of any contract unless the procurement authority determines that the offeror's plan includes the maximum opportunity for participation of small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Authorizes any Federal agency, when dealing with negotiated contracts, to provide such incentives as it may deem appropriate in order to encourage subcontracting opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Requires the SBA to report annually to certain congressional committees on subcontracting plans found acceptable by any Federal agency which the SBA determines do not contain maximum opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Requires the Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization for each Federal agency to designate an employee of that Director's office to be a Women-in-Business Specialist. Requires each Federal agency having procurement powers to affirmatively solicit offers from small business concerns owned and controlled by women and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Title II: Economic Security - Subtitle A: Earnings Sharing by Married Couples - Social Security Modernization Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that the combined earnings of a married couple which are attributable to the period of their marriage shall be shared equally between them for purposes of determining the eligibility for and amount of OASDI benefits to which each spouse is or may become separately entitled. Credits the survivor of the marriage with 100 percent of the combined total wages for the period of the marriage. Provides that this subtitle shall not apply in specified cases where it would result in a reduction of OASDI benefits. Subtitle B: Treatment of Disabled Widows and Widowers - Social Security Disabled Widow's and Widower's Equity Act of 1989 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the separate definition of disability applicable to widows and widowers. Permits the months of a widow's or widower's entitlement to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits (title XVI of the Social Security Act) on the basis of a disability to be counted towards the 24 months needed to become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) on that basis. Provides full widow's or widower's insurance benefits to disabled widows or widowers without regard to age. Amends the SSI program to preserve the Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) eligibility of disabled widows or widowers who become ineligible for SSI benefits upon the implementation of this Act's amendments making them eligible for, or increasing their, widow's or widower's insurance benefits. Amends the OASDI program to extend the time period during which a surviving spouse or a surviving divorced spouse must have initially become disabled in order to qualify for widow's or widower's insurance benefits before reaching age 60 in cases where such surviving spouse or surviving divorced spouse has quarters of coverage based on his or her own work after the death of the insured individual on whose wages such benefits are based. Subtitle C: Private Pension Reform - Pension Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to extend to all accrued benefits existing in plan year 1989 and thereafter the amendments made with regard to the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI). Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to repeal provisions that permit a certain disparity in simplified employee pension plan contributions with respect to nondiscriminatory coordination with OASDI. Provides for the repeal, effective for plan year 2000 and thereafter, of IRC rules with respect to: (1) the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with OASDI; and (2) pension integration exceptions. Amends the IRC to establish distinct minimum employee coverage requirements applicable in cases when an employer with respect to a plan is treated as operating a single line of business. Requires such a plan to benefit all the employer's employees. Limits the exception to minimum coverage requirements available to employers treated as operating separate lines of business for a year. Amends the IRC and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to eliminate the special vesting requirements governing multiemployer plans. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States, as soon as possible after this Act's enactment, to undertake thorough studies with respect to: (1) possible methods of requiring employee pension plans to provide cost of living and other adjustments to plan benefits; and (2) potential pension portability mechanisms, including ways to preserve and enhance the real value of deferred vested pension benefits. Lists specific items to be addressed in each study. Requires submission of the studies to specified congressional committees within two years of this Act's enactment. Subtitle D: Eligibility of Displaced Homemakers for First-Time Homebuyers Assistance - Displaced Homemakers and Single Parents Homeownership Assistance Act - States that displaced homemakers and single parents shall not be deemed ineligible for Federal assistance for first-time homebuyers on the basis of previous home ownership or residence while married or a homemaker. Subtitle E: Section 8 Housing Assistance for Domestic Violence Victims - Family Housing Options Program Act of 1989 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to reserve at least five percent of section 8 housing assistance for families affected by domestic violence and for homeless families. Requires administration of such program through the local public housing agencies. Permits assistance to be used in shared housing arrangements if the family receiving assistance so consents. States that rent contributions made by a family in such an arrangement shall not be considered income to the participating family for purposes of specified housing assistance eligibility. Includes among State allocation factors the number of transitional and emergency shelters, domestic violence shelters, and the number of families served by such programs. Requires: (1) each State to make an annual program report to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and (2) the Secretary to include a summary of such reports in the annual section 8 report. Title III: Dependent Care - Subtitle A: Quality Child Care Demonstration Projects - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to not more than ten eligible public agencies and private entities, in urban and rural areas, to administer child development models to increase the quality and availability of child care services. Defines "child development model," with respect to child care services, as an entity capable of providing training and on-going assistance to satellites that provide child care services to sick children or exceptional children, and which is either: (1) a child care development center providing services at a single site (or at multiple sites in reasonably close proximity) to infants, toddlers, preschool children, and school-age children; or (2) a high quality child care program capable of recruiting, training, supporting, and monitoring family child care providers. Directs the Secretary to report by April 1, 1992, to the Congress on such program. Subtitle B: Dependent Care Tax Credit Expansion - 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. Subtitle C: Mortgage Financing for Family Day Care Centers - Small Day Care Center Assistance Act - Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to define the term "mortgage" to include a mortgage secured by a one-to-four family residential property that is occupied as a residence and in which child care service is legally provided. Subtitle D: Flexible Work Force Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an employer tax credit (to a maximum of two percent of wages) for one-third of the aggregate wages (to a maximum of $6,000) attributable to services performed by a full-time employee of the taxpayer who is permitted to work at home or during nonbusiness hours solely in order to reduce dependent care needs. Requires that there be at least a 20 percent reduction in the time of dependent care provided outside the employee's home. Terminates these provisions, subject to exception, after December 31, 1993. Subtitle E: Child Care Services in Transitional Housing - Transitional Housing Child Care Services Act - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide child care assistance for transitional housing residents. Subtitle F: Title XX Funding Increase - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to increase the amount authorized for such program in FY 1991 and thereafter. Subtitle G: School-Based Child Care - State Dependent Care Grants Amendments Act of 1989 - Amends the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act to authorize the use of funds for operation of school-age child care services before and after school. Requires that such amounts be earmarked to enable children whose families lack adequate financial resources to participate in before or after school child care programs. Requires State Governors to include specified information in their reports on programs assisted under such Act. Extends until September 30, 1993, the period during which descriptions of intended uses of State allotments must be revised to reflect substantial changes. Title IV: Health - Subtitle A: Breast Cancer Prevention - Older Women's Breast Cancer Prevention Act of 1989 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the cap on coverage of screening mammography. Subtitle B: Maternal and Child Health Funding Increase - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to increase authorized appropriations for such program. Requires States, as a condition of receiving additional funds, to conduct a statewide needs assessment of maternity and infant care, including prenatal care and prevention of low birthweight and infant mortality, and to develop a plan to meet those needs. Changes State reporting requirements to monitor plan implementation results. Subtitle C: Infant Mortality Education and Health Services in Public Housing - Public Housing One-Stop Perinatal Services Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a program to demonstrate the effectiveness of grants to public housing agencies for providing facilities for one-stop perinatal services programs for pregnant women who reside in public housing. Sets forth preferences in selecting the agencies to receive grants. Limits the aggregate amount provided under these provisions for any public housing project to a specified sum. Requires services and facilities provided or assisted with grants under these provisions to comply with all applicable State and local laws, regulations, and ordinances, and all requirements established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for such services and facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Domestic Violence Judiciary Training Grants - Amends the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 to authorize the use of Institute funds to conduct up to five projects to: (1) investigate and carry out research regarding State judicial decisions relating to child custody litigation involving domestic violence; (2) develop training curricula to assist State courts to develop an understanding of, and appropriate responses to, child custody litigation involving domestic violence; and (3) disseminate the results of such investigation and research and the curricula to State courts. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1992. Subtitle E: Sense of Congress on Child Custody - Expresses the sense of the Congress that, for purposes of determining child custody, evidence of spousal abuse should create a statutory presumption that it is detrimental to the child to be placed in the custody of the abusive parent. Subtitle F: Immigration Reform for Domestic Violence Victims - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit certain battered alien spouses to apply for permanent residence without filing a joint petition (and interview) with the citizen spouse. Requires such an alien spouse to demonstrate: (1) that the marriage was entered into with good faith; and (2) evidence of physical abuse or extreme mental cruelty. Subtitle G: Long-Term Care Workers Demonstration Projects - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to require the Commissioner on Aging to give special consideration to funding demonstration projects providing older individuals with the opportunity to serve as volunteers furnishing long-term care services to nursing home residents. Subtitle H: Sense of Congress on Caregivers - Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) recognition and further attention should be given to the professional and personal needs of long-term care aides; (2) expanded access to health and pension benefits should be provided to such aides; (3) long-term care policy makers should recognize that problems of female household heads and minority workers affect most nursing care aides; (4) more data is needed on home health and nursing home aides; (5) expanded recruitment of specified groups should be considered to abate the long-term care aide shortage; and (6) changes should be made in nursing aide positions to ensure integration into management structures and to enhance attraction to careers in long-term care.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1989
Veterans PTSD Treatment and Psychological Readjustment Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of: (1) vet centers currently in existence by 20 additional units by December 31, 1991, and by 20 more units by December 31, 1994; and (2) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment facilities currently in existence by 15 additional units by December 31, 1991, and by 15 more units by December 31, 1994. Requires new vet centers to be established in cities which do not have such centers. Earmarks a specified amount of FY 1990 PTSD funding for contracts with private facilities and therapists for the provision of PTSD treatment. Requires the Secretary, in administering the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program, to encourage the participation of individuals in the program who desire to become psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses specializing in the treatment of PTSD. Directs the Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee on Readjustment of Veterans. Requires the Secretary to consult with, and seek the advice of, the Committee with respect to: (1) the administration of Department benefits for veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans; (2) reports and studies pertaining to veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans; and (3) the needs of all veterans with respect to compensation, health care, readjustment, outreach, and other benefits and programs administered by the Department. Requires the Committee to report annually to the Secretary pertaining to the social, economic, educational, and psychological readjustment of veterans. Requires the Secretary to submit such reports to the Congress, along with comments and recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a pilot program to contract for care and treatment and rehabilitative services in halfway houses, therapeutic communities, psychiatric residential treatment centers, and other community-based treatment facilities for eligible veterans suffering from PTSD. Requires the Chief Medical Director (CMD) to plan, design, and conduct such program. Requires the Secretary to approve the quality and effectiveness of a program operated by a contract facility before allowing veterans to be furnished treatment there under the pilot program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) urge all public and private entities to provide appropriate employment and training opportunities to veterans who have been provided treatment and rehabilitative services under this Act for PTSD and who have been determined to be sufficiently rehabilitated to be employable; and (2) provide all possible assistance to the Secretary of Labor in placing such veterans in such opportunities. Requires the Secretary to provide referral services and advice to veterans discharged or released from active service who are not eligible for PTSD treatment and services. Outlines provisions concerning the transfer of veterans to contract care facilities for treatment of PTSD, requiring such transfer only within 30 days of such member's enlisted tour of duty and only if such person requests such a transfer while on active duty. Limits the period of such care and rehabilitative services to five years after the fiscal year in which the pilot program is initiated. Requires the Secretary to report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on findings and recommendations pertaining to the operation of the pilot program authorized under this Act. Directs the CMD of the Department to conduct a research program relating to the treatment of PTSD.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1989
Designates the second Saturday in August 1989 as Duck Day USA in recognition of the practice of holding duck races as a means of providing support to institutions for learning disabled children.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1989
Veterans Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1989 - Provides that the disease of chloracne in Vietnam veterans shall be considered to have been service-connected if such disease became manifest to a ten percent or more degree of disability within one year after the last date on which the veteran performed such service in Vietnam. Presumes the following diseases to be service-connected for veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service: (1) non-Hodgkins lymphoma; (2) soft-tissue sarcoma; and (3) melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. Provides a presumption of service-connection in the case of a Vietnam veteran suffering from a disease associated with effects of exposure to certain dioxins or other herbicide agents during such service in Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations listing a positive association between any disease and the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent in Vietnam. Requires the Secretary to update such list continually. Requires the Secretary, in prescribing and revising such list, to obtain by contract the determinations and estimates of a contract scientific organization. Requires such organization to: (1) determine which diseases have any degree of association with the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent; and (2) estimate the extent of association between each such disease and each such biological effects. Requires the organization to determine such association specifically with respect to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, each soft-tissue sarcoma, lung cancer, and each other cancer. Outlines contract provisions required in such agreements between the Secretary and the scientific organization, including surveys, evaluations, and periodic determinations. Requires such scientific organization to provide reports to the Secretary and the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees regarding its determinations and evaluations. Requires such organization to determine, in the effect of a positive association, whether there is a reasonable basis for concluding that a Vietnam veteran with the highest level of exposure to that herbicide agent in Vietnam was exposed to such agent under the circumstances necessary for such biological effects. Requires a report from the organization to the Secretary and the veterans' committees when there is no such reasonable basis found. Requires the Secretary to make certain determinations and follow-up reports after receiving such reports from the contract scientific organization, including the issuance of a report to the veterans' committees and the promulgation of positive association regulations, if necessary. Requires benefits to be continued even though a disease is removed from the regulations listing diseases having positive associations. Terminates such contracting authority ten years after the first day of the fiscal year in which a scientific organization transmits its first report to the Secretary. Provides special effective dates. Directs the Secretary to compile and analyze all clinical data that: (1) is obtained by the Department in connection with examinations and treatment of veterans for disabilities related to exposure to certain herbicides or to service in Vietnam; and (2) is likely to be scientifically useful in determining the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and their exposure to such herbicides and other toxic substances. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the veterans' committees concerning such analysis and its results. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Director of the National Institutes of Health Research and Grants Division (NIH) before compiling and analyzing such information. Requires the Director of NIH to review each annual report submitted by the Secretary and transmit to the Secretary an evaluation of the contents of each report. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a system for the collection and storage of voluntarily contributed samples of blood and tissue of veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Outlines provisions concerning the security and authorized uses of such specimens, as well as limitations on the acceptance of such samples. Requires the Secretary to consult with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to the extent that an agreement has been reached with the NAS serving as the contract scientific organization for the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Director of the Medical Follow-up Agency in the event of no agreement with NAS. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide for the conduct of studies of the feasibility of conducting additional scientific research on health hazards resulting from: (1) exposure to dioxin; (2) exposure to other toxic agents in herbicides used in support of U.S. and allied military operations in Vietnam during the Vietnam era; and (3) active military, naval, or air service there. Requires the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the results of such studies. Requires the Secretary to consult with the NAS before undertaking such studies and requires the NAS, to review such studies and report recommendations to the Secretary and the veterans' committees, to the extent provided under any agreement between the Secretary and NAS. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to require the Secretary to annually furnish updated information to veterans listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Agent Orange Registry on health risks resulting from exposure to dioxin or other toxic agents in herbicides as a result of service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the veterans' committees on the research being conducted to develop treatments for psychological absorption of dioxin and other toxic agents used in herbicides by the United States in Vietnam, including research relating to exposure to dioxin and other toxic agents outside Vietnam. Extends through December 31, 2000, the eligibility for hospital and nursing home care for veterans exposed to toxic substances in Vietnam. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to authorize direct consultation between the Ranch Hand Advisory Committee and Department of the Air Force scientists conducting the Ranch Hand Study (a study of the long-term health effects of exposure to phenoxy herbicides and contaminants). Requires the preparation and submission of annual reports and a final report in connection with such study.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1989
Fastener Quality Act - Prohibits the offering for sale or sale in commerce of any fastener (screw, nut, bolt, stud, similar threaded device, or washer) unless it is part of a lot which: (1) conforms to standards and specifications represented by the manufacturer; and (2) has been inspected, tested, and certified according to this Act. Sets forth special rules for small lots. Requires manufacturers to have a fastener lot sample inspected by a laboratory accredited under an approved system (including one owned or affiliated with the manufacturer if it is so accredited). Requires the laboratory, upon determination of conformance with the appropriate standards and specifications, to provide the manufacturer certificates with respect to such lot. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to establish: (1) a program for the accreditation of laboratories engaged in the inspection and testing of fasteners; (2) conditions under which accreditation by private entities using standards issued by consensus standards organizations shall be deemed to satisfy the accreditation requirements of this Act; and (3) conditions, no less stringent than those for private accrediting entities, under which accreditation of foreign laboratories by their governments shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of this Act. Limits accreditation to three years. Requires that laboratory accreditation standards issued by one or more consensus standards organizations selected by the Director be used to accredit laboratories under the accreditation program. Authorizes the Director to hire contractors as necessary to carry out the accreditation program. Requires costs for the establishment and operation of the program to be fully reimbursable through fees or other charges for accreditation services. Directs the Secretary to ensure that private accrediting entities and laboratories accredited by such entities or by foreign governments comply with conditions and requirements in this Act. Requires the Director to periodically transmit recommendations to consensus standards organizations. Prohibits any manufacturer from selling any container of fasteners manufactured in the United States unless delivery to the first purchaser is accompanied by a written notification of testing and certification by an accredited laboratory. Prohibits any person from selling any container of fasteners manufactured outside the United States to any importer or end user unless delivery is accompanied by an original certificate from an accredited laboratory. Allows delivery to an importer or private label distributor without the required certificate if: (1) the manufacturer discloses in writing the appropriate standards and specifications; and (2) the importer or private label distributor assumes responsibility in writing for inspection and testing. Requires that, in a sale of any quantity for resale at wholesale, the container be conspicuously marked with the lot number. Requires persons who make significant alterations to a fastener subsequent to manufacture to have the altered fastener inspected and tested unless delivery is accompanied by a disclosure of the alteration and a warning. Requires subsequent disclosures of the alteration in resales. Prohibits commingling of fasteners from different lots in the same container. Requires fastener manufacturers or private label distributors to comply with requirements of a program for recordation of insignias. Directs the Secretary to establish such a program, including regulations to ensure traceability. Sets forth civil remedies, including declaratory and injunctive relief, and criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for violations of this Act. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) preempt any rights or causes of action that any buyer may have with respect to any seller of fasteners under the law of any State, except insofar as such State law conflicts with this Act; and (2) limit or otherwise affect the authority of any consensus standards organization to establish, modify, or withdraw any standards and specifications under any other law or authority in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1989
Emergency Chinese Immigration Relief Act of 1989 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the adjustment to temporary or permanent resident status, or change to another nonimmigrant status, of certain nonimmigrant (student, exchange visitor) nationals of the People's Republic of China. (Waives the two-year home country residence requirement for "J" visa exchange visitors.) Authorizes such persons to travel abroad and to work in the United States. Establishes a deferred departure period for such persons through June 5, 1993. Authorizes the Attorney General as of June 5, 1990, to terminate such deferred departure if the President certifies to the Congress that conditions in China have changed.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1989
Public Access to Captioned Television Act of 1989 - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to permit participation in the Medicaid and Medicare programs only to hospitals which certify that each patient is provided, upon request, with a room furnished with a television capable of displaying closed-captioning and that notice of this service is given to the patient at the time of admission. Exempts hospitals that do not make televisions available to patients. Institutes comparable requirements for nursing care facilities and intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded, requiring that televisions in common areas of the relevant facility be capable of displaying closed-captioning. Amends the Public Health Service Act and other Federal law to institute the same requirements for Public Health Service facilities and for hospitals, nursing homes, and domiciliary facilities under the direct jurisdiction of the Veterans Administration (effective March 1989, Department of Veterans Affairs). Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education and vocational schools, in order to be eligible for student assistance programs, to certify that televisions capable of displaying closed-captioning are available for use in classrooms and common areas, unless the Secretary of Education determines that waiver or modification is appropriate. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require any local educational agency conducting programs that include television program viewing to certify that the televisions used are capable of displaying closed-captioning, unless the Secretary of Education determines that waiver or modification is appropriate. Directs all Federal entities that use television or video programming to provide public information or educational services to make reasonable efforts to caption the programming and make it available to the general public and to organizations that serve the hearing-impaired. Prohibits Federal funding of conferences, seminars, or similar activities held in a public lodging establishment that does not, upon request, provide guests with rooms furnished with televisions capable of displaying closed-captioning. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to waive this prohibition if the entity sponsoring or funding the event certifies that the waiver would be appropriate. Requires federally funded or federally sponsored public service announcements to be closed-captioned.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1989
Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to submit to the President and the Congress a report identifying, and recommending for reassignment, frequencies that: (1) are assigned to Government stations pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act); (2) are not required for the present or identifiable future needs of the Government; (3) could be made available for use under the Act (other than for Government stations); and (4) are most likely to have the greatest potential for commercial uses. Sets forth criteria for identifying, and recommending for reassignment, such frequencies. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a report which makes a preliminary identification of reassignable frequencies. Directs the Secretary to convene a private sector advisory committee to: (1) review the frequencies identified in the preliminary report; (2) advise the Secretary with respect to the frequencies which should be included in the final report; and (3) prepare and submit to the Secretary and specified congressional committees a report on recommendations for the reform of the process of allocating the electromagnetic spectrum for civilian and Government use. Directs the President, after receiving the final report, to: (1) withdraw the assignment to a Government station of any frequency which such report recommends for reassignment; (2) limit the assignment to a Government station of any frequency which such report recommends be made available for mixed use; (3) assign or reassign other frequencies to Government stations as necessary to adjust to such withdrawal or limitation of assignments; and (4) notify the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and each House of Congress of the actions taken. Authorizes the President to substitute alternative frequencies in the interest of national defense, important governmental needs, or public health or safety. Directs the FCC to submit to the President and the Congress a plan for the distribution of the reassigned frequencies. Prohibits the use of any auction or comparable device to allocate frequencies. Authorizes the President to reclaim reassigned frequencies for reassignment to Government stations. Sets forth procedures for reclaiming frequencies. Authorizes appropriations to cover the costs of reclaiming frequencies.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1989
Designates 1992 as the Year of Clean Water and October 1992 as Clean Water Month.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1989
Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act of 1989 - Provides for the labeling of all tuna products as "DOLPHIN SAFE" if the products are, in their entirety: (1) not caught with specified nets or technologies; and (2) regardless of the country of origin, sold or consumed in the United States. Requires tuna products sold or consumed in the United States and not so labeled to bear the statement: "The tuna in this product has been captured with technologies that are known to kill dolphins." Deems a can, box, or package containing any tuna product mislabeled if it is not labeled as required by these provisions, or if its label contains any false or misleading information pertaining to dolphins, whales, or other cetaceans. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Food and Drug Administration, to conduct inspections to determine if tuna products are being labeled in accordance with provisions of this Act. Authorizes any person to commence a civil action against the Secretary where there is alleged a failure of the Secretary to perform the inspection. Provides for injunction proceedings, jurisdiction, burden of proof, trial by jury, and awarding of costs. Authorizes any U.S. citizen to seek an injunction or restraining order. Provides for criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1989
Establishes the Commission on the Goddess of Democracy Statue to erect a statue on Federal land in the District of Columbia resembling the statue displayed in June 1989 by prodemocracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China. Specifies the duties of the Commission, its membership, and sources of funding. Authorizes the President to offer such statue to the Chinese people to be displayed in China when the President determines that the Chinese Government will respect the democratic principles that led to the display of the original statue.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1989
Department of Defense Acquisition Reorganization Act of 1989 - Establishes in the Department of Defense (DOD) a defense acquisition system that shall be administered by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition (Under Secretary). Requires all DOD functions relating to the acquisition of property and services to be performed using the defense acquisition system. Terminates the separate defense procurement authority currently held by the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Establishes in DOD a Defense Acquisition Corps (DAC), to be headed by the Under Secretary. Requires the Secretary of Defense to make appointments to DAC from the best-qualified civilian applicants. Directs the Secretary to establish a personnel program for civilian personnel within DAC. Outlines personnel rules to be issued by the Secretary in connection with such program. Exempts DAC personnel from certain competitive service and other requirements applicable to other Federal employees. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a merit pay program for such members of the DAC as the Secretary considers appropriate. Provides for assignment of civilian personnel to positions within DAC, requiring the Secretary to review current acquisition-related positions within the military departments and to make initial appointments to DAC from the best-qualified civilian and military personnel currently assigned to acquisition-related functions within DOD. Directs the Secretary to review each major defense acquisition program before such program proceeds into each of the following stages: (1) validations of plans and requirements; (2) initial research and development; (3) full-scale development; and (4) production. Prohibits the Secretary or the Secretary of a military department from obligating or expending funds with respect to a stage of such a program unless the Secretary approves such program at the beginning of such stage. Prohibits the Secretary from delegating any such approval power to the Secretary of a military department. Directs the Secretary to establish and operate a Defense Acquisition University which shall include all acquisition-related defense schools in existence as of the enactment of this Act. Outlines rules to be issued by the Secretary in establishing and operating such University.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1989
Requests: (1) the Soviet Union to release the prison records of Raoul Wallenberg and account for his whereabouts; and (2) the President to pursue such release and accounting through diplomatic actions with the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1989
Postal Service Voter Registration Facilitation Acts of 1989 - Directs the U.S. Postal Service to make space available in post offices for State voter registration authorities to place voter registration forms and materials. Directs the U.S. Postal Service to notify State voter registration authorities of this Act's enactment and mail a copy of the public law to such authorities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1989
Designates October 1989 as Polish American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1989
Authorizes any Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard band to produce recordings for commercial sale. Allows proceeds to be credited to the appropriations of the Departments of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Coast Guard for the expenses of such bands. Directs the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Transportation to prescribe regulations governing the accounting of such proceeds.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1989
Postal Service Voter Registration Facilitation Acts of 1989 - Directs the Postal Service to provide voter registration forms whenever change-of-address forms are provided to postal patrons. Declares that the Postal Service shall not be obligated to provide voter registration forms in any State whose voter registration authority has not provided voter registration forms to the Postal Service. Directs the Postal Service to notify State voter registration authorities of this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1989
Federal Fire Service Pay Schedule Act of 1989 - Establishes a pay schedule for Federal fire service personnel. Excludes employees of the District of Columbia from such schedule. Provides for periodic and additional step increases, minimum hours of work, the computation of overtime, educational incentive service step increases, retirement, pay comparability, and additional compensation for technicians.
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