United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Nuclear Decommissioning Reserve Fund Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) decrease from 34 percent to 15 percent the rate of the tax imposed on the income of any Nuclear Decommissioning Reserve Fund; and (2) remove restrictions on permitted investments of Fund monies.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make a technical correction to provisions governing the exclusion from gross income of certain allowances to Federal civilian officers and employees working in foreign areas to extend it to certain allowances of intelligence officers not already explicitly covered.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Authorizes the Administrator (effective March 1989, Secretary) of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery in the central geographical area of Louisiana. Authorizes the Administrator to acquire such land as necessary for the cemetery.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Designates September 15, 1989, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Recognizes the National League of Families POW/MIA flag as the official symbol of the United States' commitment to resolving the fates of Americans still prisoner or missing in action in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the age (55 or older) and dollar ($125,000) restrictions with respect to the one-time income tax exclusion of gain on the sale of a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Designates April 16, 1989, the 87th 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 scrolls of honor commemorating the 40th anniversary of Schneerson's leadership of the Lubavitch movement. Welcomes the cooperation of the Department of State in extending the good office of the U.S. missions to the Lubavitcher emissaries.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1989
Calls upon the Soviet Union and its allies to withhold further military assistance to the Republic of Nicaragua and to withdraw military advisors and support personnel from that country. Calls upon the Republic of Nicaragua to: (1) reverse significantly the growth of its armed forces; (2) work toward a stabilization of the regional military balance and prevent the introduction of advanced weapon systems; and (3) separate the armed forces from the Sandinista political party.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Lower Income Housing Fair Rent Act of 1988 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to exclude from the definition of income for purposes of rent and assistance payments all income earned by family members except the income of the two highest-earning family members.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Federal Law Enforcement Officers Death Penalty Act of 1989 - 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 at the time of the offense 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. Specifies that: (1) the jury or the court, regardless of its findings with respect to aggravating and mitigating factors, is never required to impose a death sentence; and (2) the jury shall be so instructed. 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 · 1 March 1989
Rural Enterprise Zone Act of 1989 - Title I: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate rural enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits to 100 the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. 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 area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. 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. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: 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 credit amount 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. Subtitle B: 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. Limits the credit to ten percent for new property, including rental property. Requires the recapture of credit amounts upon the early disposition of the property. Subtitle C: 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 enterprise zone property if, within one year after the sale, the taxpayer acquires qualified replacement property (generally defined as property related to an enterprise zone or to a business within a zone). Subtitle D: 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 its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Subtitle E: Rules Relating to Industrial Development Bonds - Declares that: (1) limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property; and (2) the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to bonds whose proceeds are used to finance facilities in enterprise zones. Requires that five percent of the private activity bond volume cap for a State that has one or more enterprise zones be set aside exclusively for use in such zones. Subtitle F: Ordinary Loss Deduction for Securities of Enterprise Zone Business Which Become Worthless - Permits an ordinary loss deduction for securities of enterprise zone business that become worthless during the taxable year. Subtitle G: Increase in Research Credit for Research Conducted in Enterprise Zones - Increases from 20 percent to 30 percent the tax credit for increasing research conducted in enterprise zones. Applies this subtitle retroactively to taxable years 1987 and thereafter. Subtitle H: 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. Subtitle I: Regulations - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act not later than six months after enactment. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Amends Federal law to revise 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. Title IV: 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. Title V: Enterprise Zone Business Incubator Program - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a business incubator program to provide loans and grants to State and local governments to give start-up assistance to small businesses in distressed rural areas.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Urban Homestead Act of 1989 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to make the tenant ownership program authority permanent. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide financial assistance directly to resident management corporations for homeownership technical assistance. Expands resident management corporation authority to replace purchased public housing units.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 1992 the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued. (Under current law, authority for these programs is due to expire as of 1990.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Authorizes any person who receives an unsolicited sexually oriented advertisement through the mails to request the Postal Service to order the sender to disclose the source from which the recipient's name or address was obtained. Authorizes the Postal Service to request the Attorney General to apply to a U.S. district court for an order directing compliance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
RICO Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to include additional predicate offenses within the definition of "racketeering activity," such as prostitution involving minors, computer fraud, and certain activity relating to terrorist acts abroad. Modifies civil remedies provisions of RICO to require U.S. district courts to find proof by a preponderance of the evidence before restraining violations. Authorizes: (1) specified governmental entities whose business or property is injured by conduct in violation of RICO to recover threefold the actual damages to such business or property, plus costs; (2) persons whose business or property is injured by such conduct to recover actual damages, plus costs (and punitive damages of up to twice the actual damages where the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's actions were consciously malicious, or so egregious and deliberate that malice may be implied); (3) such persons to recover threefold the actual damages if any defendant has been convicted of specified Federal or State offenses; and (4) natural persons who suffer serious bodily injury by reason of specified crimes of violence to recover actual damages to such person's business or property, damages sustained by such individual as allowed under State law (excluding pain and suffering), and costs (and, upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that defendant's actions were malicious, up to twice the actual damages). (Current law allows recovery of threefold the damages, plus costs, for persons whose business or property is injured.) Sets forth: (1) statutes of limitation; and (2) procedures for considering affirmative defenses. Permits international service of process. (Current law restricts such service to specified judicial districts within the United States.) Provides for exclusive Federal jurisdiction to hear criminal or civil RICO proceedings. Authorizes recovery beyond actual damages to a person's business or property, where such person would not otherwise be eligible to recover costs under this Act, under specified conditions, including where the judge determines that a limitation of recovery would clearly be unjust.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Gulf of Mexico Marine and Coastal Resources Protection Act - Establishes the Gulf of Mexico Marine and Coastal Resources Commission to develop and report to the Congress on an Action Plan to reduce the loss of Louisiana coastal wetlands, returning such lands to a natural and productive state. Requires such Plan to address coastal wetland loss, including the sediment starvation of such wetlands an and analysis of: (1) the need for river water diversion, increased flow, or navigation locks or channels; (2) the feasibility of repairing such lands; and (3) the role of government programs in developing and implementing such Plan. Limits the Federal share of costs to 75 percent except where the Plan benefits a Federal wildlife refuge or lands, in which case the Federal share shall be 100 percent. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends Federal law to extend the immediate retirement provisions applicable to Federal law enforcement officers to: (1) revenue officers for the Internal Revenue Service; (2) customs inspectors for the U.S. Customs Service; (3) customs canine enforcement officers for the U.S. Customs Service; and (4) inspectors for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Declares that the receipts and disbursements of the Postal Service Fund: (1) shall not be included in the totals of the Federal budget or the congressional budget; (2) shall be exempt from Federal budget limitations on expenditures and net lending; and (3) shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Fair and Equitable Cargo Allocation Act of 1989 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to repeal a provision which requires the Secretary of Transportation to preserve, during calendar years 1986 through 1989, the percentage share, or the metric tonnage of bagged, processed, or fortified commodities, whichever is lower, experienced in 1984, of waterborne cargoes exported from Great Lakes ports under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1989
1991 Mount Rushmore Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Provides that such coins shall be considered legal tender. Requires the Secretary to begin issuing such coins on January 1, 1991. Directs the Secretary to obtain silver for the minting of such coins from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act and to obtain gold pursuant to authority under existing law. Provides that the design of such coins shall be selected by the Secretary after consultation with the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society of Black Hills. Specifies the sales price of such coins as the face value plus costs. Requires that all sales of such coins include a surcharge of $35 per coin for five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for one-dollar coins, and $1 for half-dollar coins. Requires that of the total surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of such coins: (1) 50 percent shall be returned to the Treasury for purposes of reducing the national debt; and (2) 50 percent shall be paid to the Society to assist efforts to improve the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Authorizes the Comptroller General to audit such payments. Requires the Secretary to ensure that the minting and issuance of such coins shall not result in any net costs to the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Postal Reorganization Act Amendments of 1989 - Declares that the receipts and disbursements of the Postal Service Fund: (1) shall not be included in the totals of the Federal budget or the congressional budget; (2) shall be exempt from Federal budget limitations on expenditures and net lending; and (3) shall be exempt from any sequestration order under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Current Level Enhanced Rescission Act of 1989 - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to include in any special message the President sends to the Congress in connection with a proposed rescission of budget authority amendatory language to enable the affected programs to continue to function lawfully at the proposed new budget level. Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President, on the same day the President approves any appropriation bill, to transmit to the Senate and the House of Representatives one or more special messages proposing to rescind amounts of budget authority included in the bill. Limits: (1) the amounts subject to rescission (the proposal may not reduce a program below its previous fiscal year level); and (2) each special message to one item of budget authority. Prescribes procedures to govern the expedited treatment of such messages in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Makes any proposed rescission amount available for obligation unless both Houses of Congress agree to the bill or joint resolution accompanying the related special message within 60 days of its transmission.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Anabolic Steroid Restriction Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide criminal penalties for knowingly: (1) receiving, depositing, or causing to be deposited or delivered by mail any anabolic steroid or controlled substance for use in humans other than the treatment of disease pursuant to the order of a physician, except as otherwise permitted by law; and (2) using any communication facility in committing, causing, or facilitating a violation of such prohibition. Makes any property involved in a violation of this Act subject to forfeiture.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Volunteer Protection Act of 1989 - Prescribes circumstances under which volunteers working for nonprofit organizations or government entities shall be immune from personal financial liability for acts on behalf of the organization or entity. Sets forth exceptions to and conditions on the granting of such immunity that a State may impose. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase by one percent the fiscal year allotment which would otherwise be made to a State to carry out the Social Services Block Grant Program under title XX of the Social Security Act if such State has, within two years, certified to the Secretary that it has enacted a State law which provides such immunity. Provides for the continuation of such increase based on an annual recertification.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1989
Directs the Comptroller General to conduct an annual audit of the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Advisory Council, the Federal Open Market Committee, and all Federal Reserve banks and their branches. Requires the Comptroller General, within six months after the end of each fiscal year, to report to the Congress on the results of such audit.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Extends regards to the people of France on the occasion of the bicentennial of Bastille Day. Urges the people of the United States to observe the bicentennial on July 14, 1989. Finds that France and the United States remain committed to the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the Bill of Rights.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989
National Observance Advisory Act - Establishes the President's Advisory Commission on National Observances to: (1) establish criteria for recommending to the President that a proposed national observance be approved or disapproved; (2) review proposals for national observances submitted in accordance with procedures published by the Commission; and (3) issue recommendations to the President concerning each proposal reviewed.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for interest on any indebtedness incurred to pay the educational expenses of the taxpayer, spouse, or dependent. (Under current law, such a loan must be secured by an interest in real property.)
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989
Protect Medicare 90 Concurrent Resolution - Expresses the sense of the Congress that Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) hospital payments for FY 1990 should not be reduced below levels set by current law for such fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1989
Energy Security Incentive Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat certain geological and geophysical costs and surface casing costs as intangible drilling and development costs that a taxpayer may elect to capitalize or to deduct for income tax purposes. Exempts oil and gas wells from the application of the net income limitation on percentage depletion. Revises the percentage depletion allowance applicable to oil and gas wells, retaining a 15 percent minimum, but increasing the percentage incrementally (to a maximum of 30 percent) as the average annual removal price falls below $20. Permits a percentage depletion income tax deduction for proven oil and gas wells that have been transferred to a new owner. Repeals provisions that tax as ordinary income any gains from dispositions of oil, gas, or geothermal wells. Establishes a marginal production income tax credit for producers who maintain economically unproductive oil wells. Applies the credit to domestic crude that is: (1) from stripper well property; (2) heavy oil; or (3) oil recovered through a tertiary recovery method. Fixes the credit at ten percent of the qualified cost (determined in accordance with a formula set forth in this Act) of each barrel produced by the producer during the tax year. Establishes a crude oil and natural gas exploration and development tax credit. Allows a ten percent credit for qualified investments exceeding $1,000,000, 20 percent for those of $1,000,000 or less. Permits the credit as an offset against both minimum tax liability and regular liability. Repeals provisions that identify intangible drilling costs as a tax preference item for purposes of determining alternative minimum tax liability and corporate preference reductions. Increases from 65 to 100 percent the taxable income limitation on the percentage depletion deduction for oil and gas property. Permits a taxpayer to elect to carry forward to the next succeeding taxable year any portion of excess depletion allowances. Extends the income tax credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source to qualified fuels from wells or facilities in service before January 1, 1996. (The change represents a five-year extension of the credit.) Affirms natural gas found in tight sands formations as a qualified fuel with respect to the credit.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1989
Domestic Energy Security Act of 1989 - Title I: National Energy Security Tax Credits - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to establish a crude oil and natural gas exploration and development tax credit. Allows a 20 percent credit for qualified investments. Establishes a marginal production income tax credit for producers who maintain economically unproductive oil wells. Applies the credit to domestic crude that is: (1) from stripper well property; (2) heavy oil; (3) oil recovered through a tertiary recovery method; or (4) harsh environment oil (produced from Arctic areas or in submerged lands). Fixes the credit at 20 percent of the qualified cost (determined in accordance with a formula set forth in this Act) of each barrel produced by the producer during the taxable year. Title II: Additional Exploration and Production Incentives - Amends the IRC to treat certain geological and geophysical costs and surface casing costs as intangible drilling and development costs that a taxpayer may elect to capitalize or to deduct for income tax purposes. Permits a percentage depletion income tax deduction for proven oil and gas wells that have been transferred to a new owner. Exempts oil and gas wells from application of the net income limitation on percentage depletion. Increases from 65 percent to 100 percent the taxable income limitation on the percentage depletion deduction for oil and gas property. Extends the income tax credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source to qualified fuels from wells or facilities in service before January 1, 1998. (The change represents a seven-year extension of the credit.) Affirms natural gas found in tight sands formations as a qualified fuel with respect to the credit, without exceptions. Title III: Amendments to the Alternative Minimum Tax - Repeals provisions that identify intangible drilling costs as a tax preference item for purposes of determining alternative minimum tax liability and corporate preference reductions. Title IV: Miscellaneous Tax and Administrative Amendments - Declares Revenue Ruling 77-176 (and other rulings that reach similar results) to be inapplicable with respect to the income tax treatment of mineral sharing arrangements. (The Revenue Ruling addresses situations in which a driller receives from a lessee an operating interest in oil and gas property as consideration for drilling a well on the leased tract.) Revises provisions governing the time when economic performance occurs for the purpose of income tax deductions or credits in connection with removal of offshore oil or gas production facilities. Specifies expressly the types of oil and gas exploration and development costs that are exempt from the required application of uniform cost capitalization rules.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the right to life is the paramount and most fundamental right of a person. Defines "person" to include the unborn for the purpose of the right to life guarantee. States that nothing in this article shall prohibit a law allowing medical procedures required to prevent the death of either the pregnant woman or the unborn offspring.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1989
Repeals provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that establish nondiscrimination requirements for coverage and benefits under certain statutory employee benefit plans. (The consequence is the repeal of section 89 of the Internal Revenue Code.)
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1989
Preborn Children's Civil Rights Act of 1989 - Prohibits the use of Federal funds to perform, promote, or do research on any procedure to take the life of a preborn child (except for medical procedures required to prevent the death of either the pregnant woman or her preborn child). Prohibits the Federal Government from entering into any contract for insurance which provides for payment or reimbursement for abortion services. States that no institution receiving Federal financial assistance shall: (1) discriminate against any employee, applicant, or student on the basis of that person's opposition to abortion; or (2) require any employee or student to participate, directly or indirectly, in abortion procedures, counseling, or an insurance program which includes abortion coverage. States that attorney's fees shall not be allowed in any civil action involving a law prohibiting or restricting abortions. Provides for Supreme Court review of lower court decisions which declare State and local anti-abortion statutes unconstitutional.