United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should not provide any agricultural commodities under the Food for Peace Act of 1966 or any other economic assistance to Vietnam until the Government of Vietnam fully accounts for all members of the U.S. armed forces of the Vietnam era still listed as missing.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1988
Plant-Opening and Jobs Creation Act of 1988 - Title I: General Tax Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the tax rate on capital gains realized by corporations from: (1) 34 percent to 15 percent in the case of the alternative tax; and (2) 20 percent to 15 percent in the case of the minimum tax. Restores the permitted exclusion from the gross income of an employee of up to $5,250 of educational assistance provided under an employer's educational assistance program. (Under current law the exclusion expired as of January 1, 1988.) Eliminates the increase in both employer and employee tax rates under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (social security taxes) scheduled to go into effect in 1990 and thereafter. Reduces the unemployment tax rate from 6.2 percent to 6.0 percent as of 1989. (Under current law the reduction becomes effective in 1991). Title II: Enterprise Zones - Enterprise Zone Development and Employment Act of 1988 - Subtitle A: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Provides for the designation of enterprise zones by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Specifies that States and local governments shall nominate areas for designation. Limits to 100 the total number of areas that may be designated as enterprise zones. Limits the period during which: (1) the Secretary has authority to designate zones; and (2) the designations may remain in effect. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment and poverty requirements. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to residents of the area. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting nominated areas for designation as enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every four years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Subtitle B: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Part I: Credits for Employers and Employees - Allows employers located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for qualified increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Sets the amount of such credit at ten percent of the increase in payroll plus a specified percentage of wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers through the first 20 years of the enterprise zone designation. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of wages earned. Phases out both credits in the last four years of the enterprise zone designation. Part II: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investments made in certain enterprise zone construction property located in enterprise zones. Limits the credit to ten percent for new enterprise zone construction property, including rental property. Requires that the property subject to such credit be located in an enterprise zone, be predominantly used in the zone, and be either constructed, reconstructed, renovated, etc. during the period of zone designation or acquired during that period. Requires the recapture of such credit upon the early disposition of the property. Part III: Nonrecognition of Qualified Enterprise Zone Capital Gain Where Acquisition of Enterprise Zone Business Property - Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of property if, within one year after such sale, the taxpayer acquires qualified replacement property (generally defined as property related to an enterprise zone or to a business within such a zone). Part IV: Deduction for Purchase of Enterprise Stock - Allows a taxpayer to deduct up to $100,000 of the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on the original issue of such stock by a qualified issuer. Requires that the gain from the disposition of the stock be treated as ordinary income. Includes recapture provisions. Part V: Rules Relating to Private Activity Bonds - Provides that limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property. Provides that the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to bonds whose proceeds are used to finance facilities in enterprise zones. Modifies certain small issue volume limitations with respect to enterprise zone facilities. Part VI: Ordinary Loss Deduction for Securities of Enterprise Zone Business Which Become Worthless - Permits an ordinary loss deduction for securities of enterprise zone businesses that become worthless during the taxable year. Part VII: Increase in Research Credit for Research Conducted in Enterprise Zones - Increases from 20 to 37 1/2 percent the tax credit for increasing research conducted in enterprise zones. Part VIII: Sense of the Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Part IX: Regulations - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act not later than six months after the date of enactment. Subtitle C: Regulatory Flexibility - Revises the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety. Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promote the coordination of all enterprise zone programs and to consolidate all periodic reports required under such programs into one summary report. Subtitle D: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. States that, to the maximum extent practicable, foreign-trade zones should be established within enterprise zones. Title III: Trade Provisions - Subtitle A: Expanded Trade Negotiating Authority - Directs the President to begin negotiations with Mexico, the Caribbean Basin countries, and Canada to establish a North American free trade area. Requires any agreement reached through such negotiations to be reciprocal and to provide mutual reductions in trade barriers. Authorizes the President to enter into bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with foreign countries to establish expanded trade areas. Requires any agreement to ensure a mutual and reciprocal reduction of tariff and nontariff trade barriers. Authorizes the President to enter into trade agreements with any developing country for the purpose of establishing expanded trade areas and ultimately promoting a reciprocal reduction in trade barriers. Requires such agreements to provide for a gradual (within five years) reduction or elimination of tariff and nontariff trade barriers by the developing country. Authorizes the President to enter into such an agreement only if specified determinations are made. Requires termination or suspension of the agreement if the developing country fails to carry out its obligations under the agreement. Authorizes the President to enter into any multilateral trade agreement resulting from the Uruguay round of trade negotiations conducted under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Authorizes the President to exclude from any agreements negotiated under this title any article if such exclusion is necessary to achieve an agreement for an expanded trade area. Sets forth the requirements for implementation of trade agreements entered into under this title, including congressional oversight provisions. Subtitle B: Elimination of Unfair Trade Practices and Barriers to Trade - Requires the President, upon the determination that a foreign country consistently engages in unfair trade practices identified in a specified report, to: (1) suspend or terminate any negotiations with such country under Subtitle A if insufficient progress is being made in obtaining an agreement to expand trade; (2) initiate negotiations with any other country whose exports compete with the exports of such country in order to establish an expanded trade area with the other country; or (3) expedite any existing negotiations under Subtitle A with any other country whose exports compete with the exports of such country in order to establish an expanded trade area with the other country. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to conduct an annual study concerning enumerated issues relating to both domestic and foreign trade barriers and their effect on U.S. commerce. Subtitle C: Anti-Protectionism and Trade Promotion - Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to prepare for each bill or joint resolution reported by any congressional committee that may affect international trade an estimate of its costs and effects with respect to U.S. consumers. Requires these estimates to be submitted to the appropriate committees and to be included in their reports. Declares that it shall not be in order for either House of the Congress to consider any bill or joint resolution if the committee report does not contain such estimate. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to submit annually to the USTR, a list, by country, of current loan disbursements and any loan applications that are likely to be brought before loan review committees of multilateral development banks during the calendar year. Requires the USTR to identify the foreign countries on that list that take actions or maintain policies that restrict the sale of U.S. products in their markets or provide an unfair economic advantage for their products over U.S. products. Requires the Secretary and the USTR jointly to develop recommendations of trade liberalization actions for these countries. Directs the Secretary to instruct the U.S. executive director of each multilateral development bank and of the International Monetary Fund to: (1) oppose loans to any country on the list that refuses to accept the trade liberalization recommendations; and (2) oppose any "drawing" of any approved loan by such a country if it has failed to carry out the trade liberalization recommendations developed as a condition of the loan. Subtitle D: Provisions Relating to Intellectual Property, Etc. - Part I: Countries that Deny Adequate and Effective Protection - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the USTR to publish annually: (1) a list identifying foreign countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair market access to U.S. persons who rely upon intellectual property protection; and (2) a list of the identified countries that the USTR determines to be countries that have the most onerous policies or practices in this regard and that are not entering into good faith negotiations or making significant progress to provide intellectual property protection. Provides for deletions and additions to the listing and for publication in the Federal Register of the identified countries. Part II: Protection under Tariff Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to include as unfair methods of competition and unfair import practices, but only in connection with products of already-established U.S. industries, the importation or sale of: (1) articles whose form or manufacturing process infringes a valid U.S. patent or trademark; or (2) a semiconductor chip product that infringes a U.S. registered mask work. Permits persons aggrieved by unfair import trade practices to petition the International Trade Commission to issue an order to exclude the article in question from entry into the United States during investigation. Increases civil monetary penalties for violations of Commission cease-and-desist orders. Provides for injunctions and for a general exclusion of an article from entry in cases when an alleged violator fails to answer a complaint or respond to an investigation. Permits the Commission, subject to notice and hearing requirements, to order the forfeiture of articles that violate proper import trade practices.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1988
Declares that the Congress recognizes the heroic acts of civilian construction workers who participated in the defense of Wake Island during its invasion by Japan between December 8 and December 23, 1941.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1988
Defense Savings Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) close or realign military installations as recommended by the Commission on Base Realignment and Closure in the report transmitted to the Secretary pursuant to the charter establishing such Commission; and (2) initiate all such closures and realignments no later than September 30, 1991, and complete all such closures and realignments no later than September 30, 1995. Outlines certain conditions to such closures or realignments, including timely notice to the Congress of the Secretary's decision to accept and implement all of the closures and realignments recommended by the Commission. Terminates the authority of the Secretary to carry out any closure or realignment as of October 1, 1995. Directs the Commission, no later than December 31, 1988, to transmit its report to the Secretary and to the appropriate congressional committees with a certification that it has identified all the military installations to be closed or realigned by reviewing all military installations inside the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) carry out appropriate action to implement any such closure or realignment; (2) provide appropriate economic adjustment and community planning assistance to communities affected by any such closure or realignment; (3) carry out appropriate activities for the purpose of environmental restoration; (4) sell or exchange any real property under the control of the Department of Defense and located at such an installation; and (5) deposit funds received from any such sale or exchange into the Department of Defense Base Closure Account. Outlines administrative procedures in connection with the sale or transfer of property in connection with a closure or realignment to a Federal, State, or local government entity. Requires the Secretary to include specified information concerning such closures or realignments as part of each annual request to the Congress for authorization of appropriations. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study of actions planned with respect to military installations outside the United States which may affect the recommendations of the Commission and to report the findings and conclusions to the Commission and to the appropriate committees of the Congress no later than September 15, 1988. Requires the Secretary to notify the Congress in writing when a decision is made to carry out a construction project to facilitate a closure or realignment and the amount required for such project is greater than the maximum amount for a minor construction project. Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Defense Base Closure Account and authorizes appropriations to be transferred to such Account. Requires the Secretary, no later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year in which the Secretary carries out activities under this Act, to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the amount and nature of deposits into, and expenditures from, the Account during such fiscal year. Requires another report from the Secretary, no later than 60 days after the termination of the authority of the Secretary to carry out an alignment or closure under this Act, concerning funds used and remaining in such Account.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1988
Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 to restrict to vessels of 100 gross tons or more provisions which prohibit vessels which once acquired, through specified means, the right to engage in the coastwise trade, and which were later sold foreign or placed under foreign registry, from reacquiring the right to engage in the coastwise trade.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1988
Declares that all human beings, from the moment of conception and without regard to age, health, or condition of dependency, are persons entitled to the guarantees contained in the fifth, 13th, and 14th amendments to the Constitution. Prohibits abortion.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1988
Federal Law Enforcement Officers Death Penalty Act of 1988 - Amends the Federal criminal code to subject any person who is found guilty of the first degree murder of a Federal law enforcement officer, or certain other Federal officials or employees, to the penalty of death. Establishes procedures for the imposition of the death penalty in such cases. Provides that no person who was less than 18 years of age may be sentenced to death. Sets forth mitigating and aggravating factors to be considered by the jury in determining whether the death sentence will be imposed. Requires the Government to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea that it intends to seek the death penalty, as well as notice of the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Provides that no presentence report shall be prepared in such cases. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury or the court (upon motion by the defendant) when the defendant is convicted and the Government has filed notice that it intends to seek the death penalty. Allows the Government and the defendant to present any information relevant to a mitigating or aggravating factor without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. Conditions imposition of the death penalty on a unanimous finding by the jury or, if there is no jury, the court, that: (1) the aggravating factors found to exist sufficiently outweigh any mitigating factor found to exist; or (2) in the absence of a mitigating factor, the aggravating factors alone are sufficient to justify a sentence of death. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant in its consideration of the death sentence. Directs the court to impose the death sentence upon a finding that such sentence is justified. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the court of appeals, upon consideration of the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, and any special finding, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrariness; and (2) the information supports the special finding of the existence of an aggravating factor. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Establishes procedures for the implementation of the death sentence.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1988
Imposes a civil penalty upon any person who mails to any individual or group of individuals at their place of residence: (1) any unsolicited sexually oriented advertisement; or (2) any unsolicited obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy, or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance.
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
States that the House of Representatives: (1) expresses its condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of New York City police officer Edward Byrne for his tragic and untimely death; (2) expresses its support of, and appreciation to, all law enforcement personnel in the United States; (3) calls on the Congress to appropriate the maximum amount authorized to fund the Drug Law Enforcement Grant Program; and (4) calls upon the Congress, the President, and the people of the United States to support the bill to rename the State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 1986 in memory of Edward Byrne.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1988
Authorizes appropriations for the Maritime Administration for FY 1989 for: (1) payment of operating-differential subsidy obligations; (2) research and development activities; (3) operations and training activities; and (4) national security support capabilities, including for the National Defense Reserve Fleet and the Ready Reserve Force. Authorizes appropriations for the Federal Maritime Commission for FY 1989. Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to revise Federal provisions relating to the making of student incentive payments to individuals enrolled in State maritime academies. Excludes, until October 1, 1990, certain classes of vessels intended for offshore oil and gas exploration or development or for operation of inland waterways from coverage under Federal ship mortgage insurance provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1988
Designates the United States Post Office and Courthouse at 445 Broadway in Albany, New York, as the James T. Foley United States Post Office and Courthouse.
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
Nuclear Standardization and Safety Reform Act of 1988 - Title I: Establishment of Agency - Establishes the Nuclear Safety Agency as an independent regulatory agency to succeed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Sets forth the Agency's officers and administration (including a Director and Deputy Director to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate). Abolishes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Transfers Commission functions, assets, and staff to the Nuclear Safety Agency. Sets forth transition procedures. Title II: Standardization and Licensing - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to direct the Agency to establish procedures for the preapproval of a limited number of standardized facility designs for production or utilization facilities for a ten-year period. Authorizes the Agency to consider design approval requests for any major subsystem that represents discrete elements of a production or utilization facility. Requires the Agency to specify by regulation the criteria and requirements for any subsystem approval. States that a design approval shall be considered to be a license. Sets forth guidelines for the issuance of a design approval, including ten-year renewal terms. Authorizes the Director to issue a site approval permit for a ten-year period even if an application for a construction permit or operating license has not been filed. Outlines the site approval procedure and the procedures for facility construction permits and operating licenses. Title III: Conforming Amendments - Sets forth conforming amendments. Title IV: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
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
Children's Television Act of 1988 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to exempt from Federal antitrust laws any joint discussion, consideration, review, action, or agreement (unless a boycott results) by or among television networks, television trade associations, and other persons in the television industry for the limited purpose of developing and disseminating voluntary guidelines designed to promote the educational and informational impact of children's television broadcasting and to avoid abusive advertising during such programs. Authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to consider, in the context of television broadcast license renewals, compliance with any voluntary guidelines resulting from such discussions.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Amends the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 to provide that its requirements do not apply to motor vehicles used solely for firefighting, emergency rescue, or medical purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Declares that the President should: (1) posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charles E. Thornton, Lee Shapiro, and Jim Lindelof in honor of their efforts to document the Afghan struggle for freedom; and (2) present the award to those individuals' families on March 21, 1988, the start of the new year in Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1988
Federal Energy Management Improvement Act - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to revise the policies governing Federal energy management. Requires agencies to improve construction designs for Federal buildings so that the energy consumption per gross square foot in use during FY 1995 is at least ten percent less than that of FY 1985. Sets forth implementation steps to meet such goal. Redescribes procedures involved in the establishment and use of life cycle cost methods for Federal buildings. Requires the establishment by each agency of an incentives program using internal resources to encourage energy conservation and efficiency by allowing the retention of a portion of the dollar savings resulting from the agency's energy conservation measures. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish an Interagency Energy Management Task Force to coordinate Federal energy savings and disseminate information on energy efficiency. Requires each agency to report annually to the Secretary regarding its energy conservation activities and related contracts. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding energy conservation progress and contracts relating to Federal buildings. Requires the Secretary, during FY 1989 and 1990, to implement an energy survey to: (1) determine the potential maximum cost effective energy peak demand savings achievable in a limited representative sample of federally-owned or leased buildings; and (2) recommend cost effective energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements in such buildings. Prescribes implementation procedures and a deadline by which the Secretary must report to the Congress and the affected agencies regarding the survey findings and conclusions. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1988
Makes a supplemental appropriation for FY 1988 to the Coast Guard (Department of Transportation) for operations at certain facilities comparable in nature and extent to the operations carried out during FY 1987. Prohibits amounts made available by this Act from being used in connection with any closing of, or reduction in force with respect to, any Coast Guard facility or installation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 regarding contributions by the United States Postal Service to the Employees Health Benefits Fund in FY 1988 and 1989 by removing provisions with respect to limitations, implementation plans, progress reports and compliance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
ATV User Safety and Equity Act - Provides that three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) shall be considered to be banned hazardous products under the Consumer Product Safety Act. Permits the sale of three-wheeled ATVs by other than manufacturers, distributors, or dealers. Requires the manufacturers of three-wheeled ATVs to provide refunds to persons who purchased such vehicles before the effective date of this Act (in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission). States that the failure of a manufacturer to comply with the refund requirements of this Act shall be considered a violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act. Directs the Commission to promulgate a consumer product safety rule which will require: (1) manufacturers to offer free training in the operation of ATVs to all purchasers; (2) manufacturers to offer helmets and other protective equipment with the sale of ATVs; (3) manufacturers to provide notice (warning labels and other appropriate means) of the risk of injury or death presented by ATVs; (4) manufacturers and distributors to establish programs to ensure compliance by dealers with the safety requirements of the rule; and (5) retail dealers to provide purchasers with safety information respecting the operation of such vehicles. Directs the Commission to promulgate a consumer product safety rule to improve the safety of ATVs by prescribing: (1) appropriate performance standards for ATVs; and (2) design characteristics. Sets forth a consumer product safety rule to be placed into effect in the event that the Commission does not promulgate a final rule within the prescribed time period.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Child Care Services Improvement Act of 1988 - Title I: Child Care Block Grant - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a child care services block grant program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for allotments to States to carry out specified child care services activities. Provides for State allotments on the basis of numbers of children under age 12 and numbers of such children living in households with an income not greater than 200 percent of the poverty level. Provides for additional allotments under specified circumstances. Requires States to use allotment payments to make grants to eligible entities for specified projects. Includes among eligible entities: (1) local government units, including school districts; (2) nonprofit organizations; (3) professional or employee associations; (4) consortia of small businesses; (5) higher education institutions; (6) hospitals or health care facilities; (7) family care providers; (8) parents, to use for employment- or education-related child care expenses; or (9) entities that the State considers able and appropriate to carry out a project under this title. Includes among such projects: (1) child care certificate programs or scholarships to enable low income families to obtain adequate child care; (2) community or neighborhood child care centers, including renovation of public buildings for such purpose; (3) after-school child care programs; (4) grants or loans for start-up costs of employer-sponsored child care programs; (5) training programs for child care providers; (6) temporary care of sick children unable to attend child care programs in which they are enrolled; (7) expansion of existing part-day child care programs into full-day child care programs; (8) child care programs for homeless children; (9) linking of child care programs with programs to assist the elderly; or (10) any project consistent with the purposes of this Act. Sets forth limitations on the use of such funds and waivers of such limitations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide technical assistance to States in planning and operating activities under this title. Sets forth provisions for State administration of such funds. Requires States, in order to receive such funds, to certify that they will: (1) coordinate the provision of child care services with other available child care services; (2) agree that such funds will be used to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds; (3) establish an advisory council on child care; (4) adopt standards of accreditation or licensing for family-based and group child care providers, and methods of inspection and certification based on such standards; (5) require unaccredited or unlicensed family or home-based child care providers, in order to redeem child care certificates, to register and then to become fully licensed or accredited within two years; and (6) regularly evaluate the impact of its distribution of funds on the quality and availability of child care. Requires annual State reports to the Secretary on the use of such funds, including specified information on child care in the State. Directs the Secretary of HHS to submit to the Congress an annual summary of such reports, with an analysis of particularly innovative and effective programs and an analysis of efforts to regulate unlicensed child care providers. Sets forth grant application requirements for eligible entities. Requires assessment of proportional income-based fees, parental involvement, and the meeting of State quality standards. Requires grantees to fund between ten and 50 percent of the project cost with non-Federal funds. Requires States to give priority to projects that will continue to carry out the purposes of this Act without Federal funds. Requires the State Governor to establish an advisory council on child care. Directs the Secretary of HHS to conduct, and support by grant or contract: (1) research on the effectiveness of early childhood education and quality child care on child growth and development; and (2) demonstration programs to test the effectiveness of innovative child care arrangements and programs. Title II: Child Care Liability - Part A: Child Care Liability Reform - Applies the provisions of this part, with specified exceptions, to any civil action, in any State or Federal court, against any child care provider who is in compliance with the licensing or accreditation requirements of the State in which the provider is located. Makes this part inapplicable to civil actions for intentional torts. Provides that this part shall preempt and supersede Federal or State law only to the extent such law is inconsistent with this part. Sets forth certain defenses, rules, and rights which are not affected by this part. Makes joint and several liability inapplicable to any action subject to this title. Makes an exception for concerted actions. Provides for reduction of awards for damages in cases of collateral sources of compensation. Sets for the standards and procedures for the award of punitive or exemplary damages in civil actions under this part. Provides that nonprofit corporations or local educational agencies are not liable for damages in any civil action (to which this part applies) brought against a separate child care-providing corporation or business organization of which they are the parent or majority owners. Encourages States to establish expedited and simplified procedures under which nonprofit organizations and local educational agencies may inexpensively and quickly incorporate or otherwise organize such entities as separate child care providers. Part B: Child Care Liability Risk Retention Group - Authorizes any State to assist in the establishment and operation of a child care liability risk retention group (i.e. a corporation or other limited liability association whose members are child care providers licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards, and which otherwise satisfies specified criteria for risk retention groups). Sets forth State application requirements. Requires State plans to: (1) identify the lead agency designated and responsible for the administration of funds under this part; (2) provide that all participants in the child care liability risk retention group are child care providers who are licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards; (3) provide for maximum membership of family-based child care providers in the group; (4) provide that the State shall use at least the amount allotted to establish or maintain a liability risk retention group for child care providers; and (5) specify how any such liability risk retention group will continue to be financed after FY 1991, including by contributions by the State or by members of such pool. Directs the Secretary of HHS to review and approve State plans and to monitor State compliance with requirements of this part. Provides for suspension of payments upon a finding of noncompliance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 to carry out this part and to remain available for assistance to States for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to reserve specified portions of such funds for payments to specified U.S. territories and for administrative costs. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to allot the remainder to States on the basis of the number of children who have not attained the age of 12. Permits a portion of such allotments to be used for State administrative costs. Sets forth provisions relating to entitlement, method, and State spending of allotment payments. Title III: Revolving Loan Fund - Sets forth requirements for State applications for assistance under this title. Requires State plans to set forth procedures and requirements whereby persons desiring to make capital improvements to their principal residence in order to become a licensed or accredited family-based child care facility may obtain a loan from the State revolving loan fund. Requires such fund to be administered by the State and to provide loans to qualified applicants, pursuant to terms and conditions the State establishes. Limits the amount of any such loan to $1,500. Requires the State plan to provide that the State establish a revolving loan fund with certain procedures. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 to carry out this title and to remain available for assistance to States for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary of HHS to reserve specified portions of such funds for payments to specified U.S. territories and for administrative costs. Directs the Secretary of HHS to allot the remainder to States on the basis of number of children who have not attained the age of 12. Permits a portion of such allotments to be used for State administrative costs. Sets forth State application requirements. Title IV: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Child Care Facility Tax Incentive Act of 1988 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish an income tax credit for employers for expenses paid or incurred to acquire, construct, maintain, or operate a qualified child care facility. Requires that such facility be operated by the employer. Requires that at least 30 percent of the facility's enrollees be dependents of employees of such employer. Requires that the facility be located at or near the employer's business premises. Requires that the facility be accredited or licensed under State and local laws. Sets forth special rules for allocation in the case of multiple employers or partnerships and for pass-through in the case of estates and trusts. Limits the amount of such credit. Makes an employer ineligible for such credit if the employer received a child care project grant under the Public Health Service Act during such taxable year. Entitles earnings from the provision of qualified family-based or in-home child care services to a lower rate of self-employment tax. Excludes such earnings from estimated taxes and wage withholding requirements. Requires cafeteria plans to provide a child care option. Provides for an additional double exemption for newborn and newly adopted children where the parent taxpayer (or one of the spouses in the case of a joint return) does not work during the period from the birth or adoption until the child is six months old. Limits such exemption to taxpayers whose adjusted gross income does not exceed 200 percent of the poverty level. Raises the limitation on the amount which may be contributed to individual retirement accounts for homemakers under provisions for income tax deductions. Provides that such deduction may be allowable even if the spouse is an active participant in a pension plan. Title V: Miscellaneous Federal Child Care Provisions - Establishes the President's Award for Responsive Management Policy to honor public and private sector employers who have: (1) successfully implemented in their businesses family-oriented personnel programs and policies responsive to the child care needs of working parents; or (2) made significant contributions to child care projects in their communities. Sets forth procedures for nomination, selection, and annual presentation of such awards. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate all activities of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to child care, and coordinate such activities with similar activities of other Federal agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Expresses disapproval of the refusal of the U.S.S.R. to recognize the sovereignty of the Baltic Republics. Designates June 14, 1988, as Baltic Freedom Day. Authorizes and requests the President to submit the issue of the Baltic Republics to the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Designates March 29, 1988, the birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, as Education Day, U.S.A. Calls on heads of state of the world to join the President of the United States in this tribute by signing an international scroll of honor.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1988
Declares that the prohibition on gifts to supervisors does not apply, during FY 1988, to any program under which unused accrued annual leave of Federal employees may be transferred for use by other Federal employees who need such leave due to a personal emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual taxpayer a refundable income tax credit, in an amount based on adjusted gross income (minimum credit of $150), for each dependent below the age of compulsory school attendance in the State where the taxpayer resides. Sets the maximum credit amount as the total employee tax withheld from the taxpayer's wages during the year under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Disallows application of the nonrefundable dependent care income tax credit with respect to a taxpayer's dependents under age 15, unless the child is physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lent, Norman F. [R-NY-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000243_200.jpg)