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United States · Official source
1,688 records where Rep. Miller, John R. [R-WA-1] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Designates the week beginning October 29, 1989, as Gaucher's Disease Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1989
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 1996, the duty on: (1) bicycle handlebar stems made wholly of aluminum alloy and valued over $2.15; and (2) bicycle handlebar stem rotor assemblies. Extends the suspension of duties on certain bicycle parts. Sets a duty on cantilever brakes.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1989
Designates the week of October 23 through October 29, 1989, as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1989
Designates the week of October 8 through 14, 1989, as National Week of Commitment to Helping the Homeless.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1989
Title I: Statehood Centennial Coin - Statehood Centennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of one-dollar silver coins and five-dollar palladium coins in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the statehood of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires the Secretary to provide a specified amount of all surcharges to the Documents West exhibition program with the remaining amount of surcharges to be deposited in the Treasury to be used to reduce the national debt. Requires the Secretary to obtain silver for the one-dollar coins only from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act. Requires the Secretary to obtain palladium for the five-dollar coins by purchase of palladium mined and refined in the United States. Grants the Comptroller General the right to examine records and other data of the Idaho Centennial Commission. Title II: Silver Proof Sets - Silver Coin Proof Set Act - Authorizes the Secretary to mint and issue silver coin proof sets. Sets forth certain specified features of such coins and provides for their sale to the public. Requires the Secretary to obtain silver for such coins by purchase from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act and from Treasury stocks on hand.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1989
Designates the month of November 1989 as National Diabetes Month.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1989
Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that limit the deductibility of contributions to individual retirement plans by active participants in employer-maintained retirement plans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act of 1989 - Title I: Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation - Imposes joint, several, and strict liability for specified removal costs and damages upon the party responsible for a vessel or facility from which oil is either discharged into certain waters, or which poses a substantial threat of such a discharge. Exempts from such liability certain discharges permitted under Federal, State, and local law. Defines conditions under which a mobile offshore drilling unit will be treated as either a tanker or as a facility for purposes of determining responsibility or excess liability. Sets forth defenses to liability under this Act. Sets forth limits to liability under this Act, with specified exceptions. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to establish by regulation a maximum liability limit. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress from time to time regarding liability adjustments. Declares that the responsible party or his guarantor shall be liable to the claimant for interest on the amount paid in satisfaction of a claim for a specified period. Defines circumstances under which liability for injury to natural resources shall be to either: (1) the United States; (2) the affected State; or (3) a foreign government. Sets forth recovery and indemnification procedures. Sets forth the uses of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (the Fund) including: (1) payment of removal costs and administrative expenses; and (2) contributions to the International Fund. Sets forth defenses to liability for such Fund and a specified maximum amount which may be paid from the Fund. Confers rights of subrogation upon the United States for payment of any claim by the Fund. Sets forth a claims procedure for removal costs or damages. Requires the Secretary to designate the source of a discharge and to immediately notify the responsible party or guarantor of such designation. Grants subrogation rights to any person (including the Fund) who pays compensation under this Act to any claimant for costs or damages. Requires the party responsible for certain vessels over 300 gross tons to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility to meet maximum liability limits. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to withhold or revoke the clearance of any vessel which fails to certify such financial responsibility. Sets forth circumstances under which such vessels may be denied entry into U.S. ports or waters or have their oil cargo seized. Imposes a civil penalty for failure to comply with the financial responsibility requirement. Restricts judicial review of any regulation promulgated under this Act to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Grants the district courts original jurisdiction over all actions arising under this Act. Sets forth a limitation period for actions for removal costs, damages, or contribution. Title II: Conforming Amendments - Sets forth conforming amendments to certain related statutes. Title III: Implementation of International Conventions - States that during any period in which the Civil Liability Convention and the Fund Convention are in force with respect to the United States, owner liability for pollution damage arising from a ship-related incident shall be determined according to such Conventions. Grants recognition to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund as a legal person under Federal law, and deems the Director of such Fund to have irrevocably appointed the Secretary of State as the Fund's agent for service of process for legal proceedings involving the Fund within the United States. Exempts such Fund and its assets from all direct taxation in the United States. Provides that certain required contributions with respect to oil received in the United States shall be paid to the International Fund from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. Grants recognition to any final judgment of a court of any country which is a party to either the Civil Liability Convention or the Fund Convention. Sets forth the financial responsibility requirements of shipowners whose vessels are subject to the Civil Liability Convention. Imposes specified sanctions and civil penalties upon persons violating the financial responsibility requirements. Waives all U.S. defenses based upon sovereign immunity with respect to any controversy arising under the Civil Liability Convention or the Fund Convention relating to any ship owned by the United States and used for commercial purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations to implement this Act and all Federal obligations under the specified Oil Pollution Conventions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Designates the week beginning January 7, 1990, as National Journalism Education Week.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Designates the week of April 9, 1989, as Crime Victims Week.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Waste Reduction Act - Makes it the national policy to reduce or prevent pollution at its source whenever feasible. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an office within the EPA which will be independent of the EPA's single-medium program offices and have the authority to review and advise such offices on their activities to promote a multi-media approach to source reduction. Directs the Administrator to develop and implement a strategy to promote source reduction. Identifies several review, coordination, outreach, and organizational actions that the Administrator must take as part of such strategy. Requires the Administrator to: (1) make matching grants to States for programs promoting the use of source reduction techniques by businesses; and (2) establish a Source Reduction Clearinghouse to compile information generated by States receiving grants on management, technical, and operational approaches to source reduction. Requires that such information be made available to the public. Requires filings of annual toxic chemical release forms required under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to include toxic chemical source reduction and recycling reports for toxic chemicals which are the subject of such filings. Includes in such reports information, on a facility-by-facility basis, as to: (1) the amounts and disposition of each toxic chemical; (2) the source reduction practices used with respect to such chemicals; (3) measurements of changes from past to anticipated levels of chemical reduction and recycling; and (4) the techniques used to identify source reduction opportunities. Makes such information available to the public. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress within one year of this Act's enactment and biennially thereafter on the results of actions taken to implement source reduction strategies. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Veterans' Home Loan Mortgage Indemnity Act of 1989 - Establishes a Veterans' Mortgage Indemnity Fund. Provides that the Indemnity Fund shall be available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for all operations with respect to guaranteed or insured Department of Veterans Affairs housing loans for which fees are collected, other than loans for property which has been disposed of by veterans to purchasers who will assume liability for such loan. Provides that the following sums shall be credited to the Indemnity Fund: (1) all fees collected from such housing loans, other than loans for property which has been disposed of by the veteran to a purchaser who will assume liability for such loan; (2) .25 percent of the original amount of all loans for which a fee is collected for the first three fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year in which such fee is collected; (3) all collections of principal and interest and the proceeds from property held or disposed of with respect to such loans; and (4) all income from investments of the Indemnity Fund that are required to be made by the Secretary of the Treasury in obligations of the United States. Increases the fee for a Department housing loan to 1.25 percent of the total loan amount. Provides that the following fees shall be collected: (1) one percent of the total loan amount with respect to housing loans obtained which are in default; and (2) .75 percent of the total loan amount with respect to loans for purchase or construction for which a down payment of at least five percent of the total purchase price or construction costs has been made. Provides for the waiver of such fees for veterans who are receiving compensation and whose disability is rated at least 30 percent. Provides that the provision prohibiting fee collection with respect to all loans closed after September 30, 1989, shall apply after such date only to loans which are in default or loans for property which has been disposed of to another purchaser. Provides that any veteran who pays a fee for such loans, other than loans which are in default or loans for property which has been disposed of, or who is exempt from paying such fee, shall have no liability to the Secretary with respect to such loan for any loss resulting from a default of the veteran. Revises provisions regarding the Loan Guaranty Revolving Fund to: (1) provide that it shall be available to the Secretary for all housing operations except those carried out by the Indemnity Fund; (2) limit the deposit of housing loan fees in such Fund, other than fees for loans for property which has been disposed of, to fees collected before the effective date of this Act; and (3) limit the deposit of principal and interest and the proceeds from property held or disposed of with respect to housing loans to loans guaranteed before the effective date of this Act. Revises a provision authorizing the Secretary to sell notes evidencing loans which are in default to permit such sale only if the amount received at the time of the sale is at least 90 percent of the unpaid balance of such loan. Revises a provision regarding basic entitlement to housing loans to authorize the Secretary, in computing the amount of guaranty entitlement available to a veteran, to exclude the amount of entitlement used for any loan which has been repaid in full. Allows only the presence of fraud (currently, fraud, misrepresentation, material fault, or lack of good faith) as a bar to the waiver of recovery of payments, overpayments, or benefits made by the Department when the Secretary determines that recovery would be against equity and good conscience. Prohibits the Secretary, in waiving indebtedness following the default of a veteran on a housing loan, to base such waiver on the balancing of fault or on whether such veteran may be able to repay the indebtedness.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Research and Experimental Credit Extension and Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax credit for qualified research expenditures by repealing the provisions that would terminate the credit for expenses incurred or paid after 1989. Revises the method for computing: (1) base period research expenses, adding a factor reflecting the gross national product growth rate; and (2) the tax credit, adding an alternative computation component. Applies the credit to in-house research expenses that the taxpayer pays or incurs for the principal purpose of using the research results in the active conduct of a future trade or business.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits a person who has been elected to: (1) the Senate two times from being eligible for election or appointment to the Senate; and (2) the House of Representatives six times from being eligible for election to the House.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for staggered four-year terms for Members of the House of Representatives. Prohibits persons from being elected to the House more than four times or more than three times to four-year terms. Prohibits persons from being elected to the Senate more than twice.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1989
Eliminates post-1968 service in the National Guard as a prerequisite to civil service retirement credit for former National Guard technicians. Amends the National Guard Technicians Act of 1968 to eliminate post-1968 service as a prerequisite for National Guard technicians for receipt of credit in the determination of length of Federal civil service for purposes of leave, Federal employees' death and disability compensation, group life and health insurance, severance pay, tenure, and status. Sets forth rules for applying provisions of this Act to affected individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1989
Designates October 3, 1989, as National Teacher Appreciation Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1989
Designates the month of November in 1989 and 1990 as National Hospice Month.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1989
Expresses disapproval of the refusal of the U.S.S.R. to recognize the sovereignty of the Baltic Republics. Designates June 14, 1989, as Baltic Freedom Day. Authorizes and requests the President to call upon the Soviet Union, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Democratic Republic of Germany to renounce the acquisition or absorption of the Baltic Republics by the Soviet Union as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Designates the decade beginning January 1, 1990, as the Decade of the Brain.
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 · 8 March 1989
Declares that the Congress urges: (1) the President to work with the Congress on a comprehensive oceans and Great Lakes policy; (2) Federal, State, and local governments, industry, organizations, and the public to share their expertise to preserve and responsibly utilize the oceans and the Great Lakes; and (3) the President to dedicate appropriate funding to implement the policy.
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 · 2 March 1989
National Biological Diversity Conservation and Environmental Research Act - States that the conservation of biological diversity is a national priority. Requires Federal actions to be consistent with such goal. Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require that environmental impact statements on proposed Federal actions include any impacts on biological diversity. Requires Federal agencies to conduct annual reviews of their programs for consistency with the conservation of biological diversity pursuant to this Act and to report the results of such reviews to the President, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Congress. Sets forth requirements for programs found to be inconsistent with this Act. Directs the President's Council on Environmental Quality to: (1) establish guidelines for consideration of biological diversity in the preparation of environmental impact statements; and (2) identify those biotic communities, species, and populations that appear to be in decline, in imminent danger of loss of viability, or otherwise of special concern. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to review and comment on the adequacy of each environmental impact statement prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 in assessing biological diversity impacts. Establishes a National Center for Biological Diversity and Conservation Research (Center) responsible for: (1) coordinating the collection of data pertaining to the national biota and supplementing and disseminating such information; (2) arranging and conducting surveys and supplementary research of the national biota; and (3) enhancing the application of biological data to the conservation of biological diversity. Establishes an Interagency Working Committee on Biological Diversity responsible for preparing a coordinated Federal strategy (Strategy) for conservation of biological diversity. Dissolves the Committee two years after this Act's enactment. Sets forth the required contents of such strategy and reporting requirements. Authorizes each agency represented on the Interagency Committee to provide grants to public agencies, private individuals, and organizations for projects to maintain or restore biological diversity. Requires that such grants be matched on at least an equal basis by the grantee, except when the grantee is a State or where the grant is provided for research. Directs each agency represented on the Interagency Committee to: (1) give high priority to research and personnel training directed towards implementation of the Strategy; and (2) assess the adequacy of its environmental research and training programs. Establishes, on a permanent basis, a National Scientific Advisory Committee on Biological Diversity which shall: (1) oversee the implementation of the Strategy; (2) advise the Interagency Committee and Federal agencies in the preparation and implementation of the Strategy; (3) assist in the coordination of interaction between Interagency Committee agencies and the Center; (4) assist in the evaluation of the impacts of proposed Federal activities on biological diversity; (5) assist in the review of Federal programs for consistency with the conservation of biological diversity and the adequacy of such programs in environmental research and training; and (6) serve as a general reference and advisory resource for the Nation in matters relating to conservation of biological diversity. Authorizes appropriations for the activities of the Center and the grant program for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Expansion Act of 1989 - Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (the Act) to repeal the termination date for duty-free treatment of beneficiary countries. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to grant duty-free treatment to articles (not over $600 in value) acquired in a beneficiary country. Increases from $800 to $1200 the personal exemption from customs duties of articles acquired in the U.S. insular possessions and from other countries. Amends the Act to require the United States Trade Representative (USTR), upon request of a beneficiary country, to enter into a bilateral agreement with that country establishing guaranteed access levels for textile products assembled in such country from qualifying fabrics (fabrics formed and cut in the United States and certain fabrics of foreign manufacture which are cut in the United States). Makes such products eligible for duty-free treatment. Provides that textile products that are assembled in a beneficiary country from qualifying fabric and incorporate findings and trimmings of foreign origin are eligible for guaranteed access and duty-free treatment if such findings and trimmings do not exceed 25 percent of the cost of the components of the assembled product. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish an advisory committee to provide to the Secretary descriptions of those fabrics that the committee recommends to be included on the list of fabrics likely to be utilized in the manufacture of textile products in beneficiary countries which: (1) are not formed in the United States; or (2) are formed in the United States but are in critical shortage. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the USTR, when negotiating bilateral textile agreements, should seek to obtain greater fairness, transparency, and stability in the administration by foreign countries of their obligations under such agreements, especially in the allocation of export certifications between U.S. and foreign firms. Sets forth provisions concerning "general duty-free quotas" and "national duty-free quotas" with respect to specified articles imported from beneficiary countries. Provides that duty-free treatment provided under the Act shall not apply to: (1) textile and apparel articles; (2) certain leather articles; (3) canned tuna; (4) petroleum and petroleum products; and (5) watches and watch parts. Requires the President to submit a specified report to the Congress every three years. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States with respect to the allocation of quotas on sugars imported from beneficiary countries. Prohibits the USTR, in allocating any limitation on such imports, from: (1) reducing the percentage allocation made to the Philippines; (2) making an allocation to the Republic of South Africa; and (3) allowing the aggregate of the amounts of the base quota allocations to Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) countries for any quota year beginning after December 31, 1988, to be less than 371,449 metric tons, raw value. Requires any allocation for any quota of imported sugar from specified foreign countries for any year to be reallocated on a pro-rata basis among the CBI countries receiving allocations for that year if such allocation is suspended or terminated due to a threat to U.S. national security or foreign policy. Authorizes the President to enter into trade agreements with foreign governments for the purpose of granting compensation if the United States takes specified action inconsistent with its international obligations (including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the International Trade Commission, when making determinations as to material injury with respect to antidumping and countervailing duty cases, to assess cumulatively the volume and effect of imports from a country designated as a beneficiary country under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act with respect to imports of like products from beneficiary countries. Directs the Commissioner of Customs to implement a pilot preclearance program during FY 1990 and 1991 to assess the extent to which the availability of preclearance operations can assist in the development of tourism in the Caribbean Basin. Prohibits the commencement of such operations unless the Commissioner of Customs and the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization make a specified joint certification. Requires the Commissioner to submit to the Congress a report regarding such program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Price Fixing Prevention Act of 1989 - Provides that in any civil action alleging a contract, combination, or conspiracy to set, change, or maintain prices (other than a maximum price) under the Sherman Antitrust Act: (1) evidence that a person who sells a good or service to the claimant for resale received from a competitor a communication regarding price competition by the claimant and in response terminated the claimant as a buyer (or refused to supply such goods or services) shall be sufficient to raise the inference that such person and such competitor engaged in concerted action to set, change, or maintain prices in violation of such Act (in such case, a termination or refusal to supply is in response to a communication if such communication is a substantial contributing cause of such termination or refusal to supply); (2) the fact that the seller and the purchaser of a good or service entered into an agreement shall be sufficient to constitute a violation of such Act; and (3) an agreement between the seller and the purchaser to terminate another purchaser as a dealer or to refuse to supply such other purchaser because of that purchaser's pricing policies shall constitute a violation of such Act, whether or not a specific price level is agreed upon.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to make the Secretary of Commerce a member of the National Security Council.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
High Definition Television Competitiveness Act of 1989 - Title I: Tax Incentives for Research and Development - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal: (1) the termination date of the tax credit for increasing research activities; and (2) provisions denying the tax deduction for amounts allowed as a research credit. Title II: Authority to Engage in Joint Actions to Promote Development - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the application of antitrust laws to any cooperative high definition television (HDTV) enterprise engaged in a joint research, development, or production venture with respect to which certain notification has been given. Title III: Federal Support for Development Initiatives - Requires the Secretary of Commerce to establish: (1) a program to provide general financial assistance to cooperative HDTV enterprises to promote the discovery, development, and commercialization of HDTV technology; and (2) a separate program to provide financial assistance to support pilot manufacturing projects and experimental community demonstration related to HDTV technology. Requires the Secretary to award such financial assistance competitively. Requires the Secretary to submit to each House of the Congress and the President: (1) quarterly reports on the state of progress of the research, development, and commercialization assisted under this title; and (2) a comprehensive report on the results of the financial assistance provided under this title. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Coordination of Federal Procurement of HDTV Technology - Requires the Secretary to submit to each House of the Congress recommendations for establishing a mechanism to coordinate procurements of HDTV technology by specified Federal agencies. Title V: International Trade - Requires the Secretary to submit a report to the President and the Congress on the implications for international trade of HDTV technology. Title VI: HDTV Broadcast Standard - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize to be appropriated to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) $500,000 for FY 1989 to enable the FCC to prescribe a broadcast standard for HDTV.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Veterans Nurse Pay Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to restructure the current nurse grades of the Department of Veterans Affairs so as to provide four grade levels for nurses. (Current law provides for eight grade levels.) Specifies the relationship the new grade levels have with the current nurse grades and to pay grades under the General Schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Amends Federal law to prohibit any State from imposing an income tax on the pension income of any individual who is not a resident or domiciliary of that State.
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 · 1 March 1989
Designates March 16, 1989, as Freedom of Information Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that: (1) terminated the income tax exclusion of amounts paid under employee educational assistance programs as of tax year 1989; and (2) deny benefits in connection with graduate work. Limits graduate benefits to $1,500 per year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Radio License Renewal and Improvements Act of 1989 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission, with respect to applications for radio license broadcast renewals, to grant a renewal if during the preceding term of the license the licensee: (1) has broadcast material responsive to issues of concern to the residents of its service area; and (2) has not committed violations of such Act or the rules or regulations of the Commission, which taken together would constitute a pattern of abuse. Authorizes the Commission to deny a renewal or grant limited renewal if an applicant has failed to meet such requirements. Prohibits the Commission, in evaluating a licensee's performance in broadcasting material responsive to matters of public concern, from establishing or applying any requirement with respect to the broadcast of any specific subject or quantity of material. Directs the Commission to accept the licensee's judgment if found to be reasonable and made in good faith. Prohibits the Commission, in determining whether to renew a license, from considering whether the public interest, convenience, and necessity might be served by granting a license to a competing applicant. Directs the Commission to conduct an inquiry and prescribe any necessary regulations concerning any additional information that licensees should be required to maintain and make available to the public regarding the licensee's responsibility to broadcast material responsive to matters of public concern. Makes it unlawful for a license applicant and any other person, while a license application is pending, to effectuate an agreement whereby the other person withdraws or withholds the filing of a competing application, an informal objection, or a petition to deny in exchange for the payment of anything of value by, or on behalf of, the applicant. Requires the Commission to establish a procedure for the review of informal complaints received by the Commission during the license term of a radio licensee. Authorizes the Commission to consider such complaints at the time of a license renewal if such complaints constitute a pattern of abuse for purposes of this Act or evidence of the licensee's effort to serve the public interest.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Designates September 3 through September 9, 1989, as National Wilderness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Designates the week beginning on October 1, 1989, and ending October 7, 1989, as Mental Illness Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1989
Fair Physician Reciprocity Standards Act of 1989 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit State physician licensure reciprocity standards from discriminating against foreign medical graduates. Authorizes States to require foreign medical graduates to have more years of accredited graduate medical education than licensed physicians who are not foreign medical graduates, provided such required accredited graduate medical education does not exceed three years.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the States should ratify the proposed amendment to the Constitution which provides that no law varying the compensation for the services of Members of Congress shall take effect until an election of Representatives has intervened.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Price-Anderson Financial Accountability Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to authorize the Attorney General to initiate legal suit to recover indemnification payments made by the Federal Government to a contractor for public liability resulting from the contractor's (or subcontractor's or supplier's) gross negligence or willful misconduct. Precludes the Department of Energy from reimbursing such contractor. Denies such contractor eligibility to receive any Federal contract for a five-year period beginning on the date the recovery is awarded. Requires the Secretary of Energy to: (1) define by rule the term "total contract price"; and (2) renegotiate indemnification agreements upon contractor request during a specified period.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Family Living Wage Act - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions governing the earned income tax credit to: (1) increase from $5,714 to $7,000 the amount of earned income subject to the credit; (2) increase the basic credit from 14 percent to 15 percent; and (3) permit an additional credit (to apply to not more than four children) of five percent for each dependent school age child between age six and age 16 and ten percent for each preschool age child. Reduces the amount of the credit for taxpayers with adjusted gross income over $40,000. Indexes amounts relating to the credit beginning in 1992. Disallows application of the nonrefundable dependent care income tax credit with respect to a taxpayer's dependents under age 13, unless the child is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Permits the credit with respect to handicapped children under age 15 only if the taxpayer elects not to include the child within the framework of the earned income credit. Repeals provisions of the Family Support Act of 1988 that revise the way in which the earned income credit is treated in the context of needs analysis for purposes of State plans for aid and services to needy families with children under title IV of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Designates September 1989 as Partnerships in Education Month.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Global Warming Prevention Act of 1989 - Establishes as national goals: (1) that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere be reduced from 1988 levels by at least 20 percent by the year 2000 through a mix of Federal and State energy policies; and (2) the establishment of an International Global Agreement on the Atmosphere by 1992. Requires the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress within two years regarding whether a higher level of carbon dioxide emissions reduction is desirable after 2000, together with any necessary policy actions and their costs and benefits. Title I: National Least-Cost Energy Plan - Requires the Secretary to prepare for the President, and transmit to the Congress, a new National Least-Cost Energy Plan in lieu of other authorized national energy plans. Directs the Secretary to implement such plan immediately. Outlines a program for public involvement in the formulation of the Plan. Directs the Secretary to establish an intervenor funding mechanism based upon certain State models. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Requires designated Secretaries to prepare reports for inclusion in the Plan with respect to: (1) all government subsidies for energy-related expenditures; (2) waste reduction options and recycling; (3) tree plantings to offset carbon dioxide emissions; and (4) transportation modes to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to repeal the National Energy Policy Plan. Title II: Energy Efficiency - Part A: Energy Efficiency Policy - Directs the Secretary to grant the highest priority to energy efficiency improvements in: (1) energy-consuming devices; (2) federally owned and leased buildings and equipment; (3) federally assisted housing; and (4) the Federal vehicle fleet. Mandates that the President's budget request for FY 1991 through 1994 include recommendations for the increased efficiency of energy-consuming devices. Directs the Secretary to establish an Energy Research Advisory Board Panel on end-use energy technologies. Requires the Panel to report annually to the Energy Research Advisory Board on its assessment of promising energy efficiency research and development opportunities and policies. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress: (1) a long-term research and development plan that accelerates by five years the current Department of Energy multiyear program goals for energy efficiency; and (2) an estimate of the funding increase needed to achieve such accelerated goals. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to provide financial assistance in consultation to ten research centers to achieve multiple improvements in energy-intensive industrial and manufacturing processes. Sets forth an operations timetable for such centers. Authorizes appropriations for such centers for FY 1991 through 1993. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish energy efficiency goals resulting in specified primary energy savings for federally owned or leased buildings, as well as federally assisted housing; and (2) include the use of renewable forms of energy within the energy efficiency options for such buildings. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1990 through 1992. Requires the Secretaries of Energy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to convene a meeting of housing industry members to select a not-for-profit organization to administer a uniform nationwide home energy rating system. Mandates that such organization contract with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Center for Building Sciences by a certain deadline. Authorizes appropriations for such organization for FY 1990 through 1993. Mandates that certain institutions which offer federally assisted home mortgage loans take measures to encourage cost-effective energy efficiency improvements based upon a home energy audit and rating scheme. Directs the Secretary to promulgate energy efficiency standards for incandescent and fluorescent lamps and windows. Requires the Secretary to: (1) implement a research, development, and demonstration program on technologies to reduce chlorofluorocarbon use; (2) expand the Department of Energy's existing technology transfer initiative on least-cost electric utility planning; and (3) implement a least-cost gas utility initiative. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish an evaluation program regarding car-pooling arrangements and high-occupancy vehicle lanes; and (2) report to the Congress on nonmotorized transportation alternatives, as well as a fuel-savings mass transportation assistance program for State and local governments. Requires such Secretary to report to the Congress on the use of Highway Trust Fund moneys for non-motorized transportation alternatives and for carbon-dioxide emissions reductions. Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to: (1) take certain prescribed actions to ensure the adoption of least-cost utility planning principles; and (2) detail for the Congress any amendments to the Federal Power Act which are necessary for the Commission to adopt such planning principles. Requires the Secretary of Energy to report to the Congress on the results of a national power survey emphasizing policies and technologies within the electric utility industry which are designed to diminish global warming. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to repeal the prohibition against the supply or installation by a public utility of a residential energy conservation measure for residential customers. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to prescribe within one year after the date of enactment of this Act rules encouraging the achievement of qualifying efficiency. Mandates that such rules: (1) require that electric utilities offer to purchase qualifying conservation from qualifying cogeneration or small power production facilities; and (2) provide for the verification of conservation achievement. Prescribes rate guidelines for such electric utilities purchases. Establishes Federal standards for least cost supply measures, and requires State regulatory authorities and nonregulated gas and electric utilities to implement such standards. Title III: State Energy Conservation Program - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to mandate that each State energy conservation plan which receives Federal assistance contain a goal to reduce by ten percent or more the total amount of energy consumed in such State in the year 2000 from the projected energy consumption for such year as of October 1, 1990. Adds to Federal assistance eligibility prerequisites for proposed State energy conservation plans, including an emergency planning program for energy supply disruption. Cites optional State energy conservation programs. Repeals the mandate for supplemental State energy conservation plans. Authorizes appropriations for energy conservation programs (including those for schools and hospitals) for FY 1990 through 1992. Establishes a State Energy Advisory Board to: (1) review and advise on the programs under this Act; (2) serve as liaison between the States and the Department of Energy on energy efficiency; and (3) report annually to the Secretary and the Congress on its activities. Authorizes the use of loan programs and performance contracting for the non-Federal share of energy conservation project costs under the grant program. Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to cite conditions under which the Secretary may approve a State application for a waiver of: (1) the requirement that at least 40 percent of Federal weatherization assistance be used for weatherization materials; and (2) the limitations placed upon expenditures per dwelling unit for weatherization measures. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1992 for a weatherization research and technical assistance program which shall include the monitoring of indoor air quality in low-income homes. Title IV: Vehicle Energy Efficiency Improvements - Vehicle Energy Efficiency Performance Standards Act of 1989 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to increase the average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light duty trucks for model year 1992 and thereafter according to prescribed guidelines. Exempts manufacturers of fewer than 10,000 light trucks and emergency vehicles from such prescribed standards. Establishes an incentives schedule for manufacturers of passenger automobiles and light trucks. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to assess a tax against any manufacturer who fails to comply with the prescribed average fuel economy standards. Terminates the current civil penalty after model year 1989. Prescribes a fleet average fuel economy schedule for all Federal passenger automobiles and light trucks for model years 1992 and thereafter. Amends the Information and Cost Savings Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to consult with the Secretary of Energy before establishing testing and calculation procedures for measuring automobile fuel economy. Revises from mandatory to discretionary the Administrator's authority to require fuel economy tests in conjunction with emissions tests conducted under the Clean Air Act. Directs the Administrator to measure a sampling of production passenger automobiles for each model type and year during the first month of manufacture for sale. Directs the Administrator to review procedures periodically for testing fuel economy. Directs the Administrator to update the booklet containing fuel economy data at least twice a year. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 booklets each year to each dealer and additional numbers if requested. Cites conditions under which manufacturers of light vehicles with certain increased fuel economies shall be considered to have offered the Government a specified discounted bid. Directs the Secretary, within two years of enactment of this Act, to submit suggestions to the Congress for additional legislation to carry out its purposes and the purposes of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to report to the Congress on the results of its review of the research and development status of the fuel efficiency and energy consumption reduction of light vehicles, trucks, and passenger vehicles. Directs the Secretary of Energy to make changes in the Department of Energy's transportation research and development program based upon such report. Outlines criteria and procedures for prescribing amended vehicle fuel economy standards. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe a gas guzzler tax schedule applicable to 1989 and later model year automobiles. Sets forth a tax credit schedule for the purchase of certain fuel efficient passenger vehicles. Title V: Solar and Renewable Resources - Requires the Secretary of Energy to report to the Congress regarding a long-term research, development and demonstration program with policy options necessary to achieve a quadrupling of renewable energy production and use by 2015. Requires the Secretary of Energy to work closely with specified Federal departments regarding the Federal Government's biofuels program, and to report to the Congress on the progress being made in the development of solar and renewable resources. Mandates that the President's budget requests for FY 1990 - FY 1993 include the Secretary of Energy's recommendations for civilian research and development budgets necessary to implement such long-term program. Directs the Secretary to establish an Energy Research Advisory Board Panel on Solar and Renewable Resources and Technologies which shall report annually to the Energy Research Advisory Board regarding the status of the solar and renewable resources program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through FY 1994 for such program. Mandates that the President's budget request for FY 1991 include the Secretary's recommendations for proof-of-concept or near-commercialization demonstration projects in specified categories. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish and provide financial assistance to a joint research and development venture to develop advanced district cooling technologies applicable in cities with high cooling loads; and (2) appoint members to an Advisory Committee on Advanced District Cooling Technology to assist in the implementation of such joint venture. Authorizes appropriations for such venture. Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a research program regarding: (1) fuel cell use of methane gas generated from biomass forms; (2) technologies using renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar energy) to produce hydrogen for fuel cell use; and (3) fuel cell technology for electric power production as backup spinning reserve components to renewable power systems in rural and isolated areas. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, private research laboratories. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the fuel cell research program. Directs the Secretary to appoint members to an Advisory Committee on Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Technology Exports to assist in the implementation of such program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to prepare Federal guidelines for use by cities and municipalities, specifying environmental and safety standards for the use of fuel cell technology. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress regarding the export market potential for integrated fuel cells systems with renewable power technologies. Requires such Secretary to report to the Congress on the activities of the Committee on Renewable Energy, Commerce, and Trade to promote exports of renewable energy technology. Requires each participating member of such Committee to report annually to the Congress on the Committee actions regarding renewable energy technology exports. Requires the Committee to establish a joint government-industry plan to promote the U.S. market share in international trade in renewable energy technologies, including the development of administrative guidelines for Federal export loan programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Directs the Committee to coordinate, contract with, and assist financially appropriate parties to build and demonstrate the commercial operation of a biomass gasified steam-injected gas turbine of up to 25 megawatts. Authorizes appropriations and requires a report to the Congress. Title VI: Solar Hydrogen Fuels - Directs the Secretary of Energy to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive five-year program management plan for a research and development program designed to permit the development of a domestic hydrogen fuel production capability within the shortest practicable time. Requires the Secretary to send the Congress annual plan descriptions including any necessary plan modifications. Directs the Secretary to establish such program within the Department of Energy. Gives priority to production techniques that use renewable energy sources as their primary energy sources. Directs the Secretary: (1) to conduct demonstrations to evaluate technical and nontechnical parameters to determine commercial applicability of hydrogen technology; and (2) to prepare a comprehensive large-scale hydrogen technology demonstration plan. Establishes a Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel of the Energy Research Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on the conduct of the hydrogen program. Requires an annual report from the Panel to the Energy Research Advisory Board, which shall subsequently report to the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995. Title VII: Natural Gas and Coal - Part A: Natural Gas - Directs the Secretary of Energy to enter into cooperative agreements with and provide financial assistance to appropriate parties to construct and demonstrate the commercial operation of ten intercooled steam-injected gas turbines for generating electricity. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1994. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the implementation of this program. Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with and to provide financial assistance to municipal governments to demonstrate the feasibility of using natural gas as a fuel for urban area mass transit. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Requires the Secretary to submit a feasibility report to the Congress within nine months after enactment of this Act pertaining to the use of natural gas in diesel-powered vehicles to facilitate compliance with emissions requirements. Part B: Coal - Requires the Secretary, within nine months, to provide the Congress with a comprehensive review of clean coal technologies to be developed in federally-funded projects under the Department of Energy's clean coal technology program. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement research and development technologies for preventing, reducing, recycling, or offsetting carbon-dioxide emissions from combusted coal. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the implementation of such technologies. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Title VIII: Forest and Agriculture Policies - Part A: Forest Policies - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, to report to the President and the Congress on the feasibility of a national forestation initiative. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) enter into contracts with ranch and farmland operators to place specified acreage of highly erodible cropland into the conservation reserve during certain crop years; and (2) report to the Congress regarding the potential for offsetting new carbon dioxide emissions through the use of tree plantations. Part B: Agricultural Policies - Mandates that specified Federal agencies conduct a joint study on critical linkages between agricultural production and global climate change. Directs specified Federal agencies to establish an interagency task force to ensure that all satellite and remote sensing information pertinent to agricultural needs and climate modeling are made available to the Department of Agriculture. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to use the "Low-Input Farming Systems Research and Education Program." Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995. Part C: Integrated Farming Policies - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to consult with the agriculture community and sustainable agriculture advocates for the purpose of developing an integrated farming research, development, and demonstration program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a national farm ethanol program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Part D: Urban Forestry Conservation Program - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement an urban forestry education and accelerated tree planting program for: (1) energy conservation; (2) carbon-dioxide emissions reduction; (3) improved urban air quality; and (4) general environmental benefits. Outlines demonstration projects financed with Federal matching funds. Directs the Secretary to support urban forestry projects at Department of Agriculture stations and at Land Grant Universities. Authorizes appropriations. Part E: Tongass Timber Reform Act - Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to repeal the ongoing appropriations for timber utilization in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska. Repeals the requirement for identifying lands unsuitable for timber production in such Forest. Repeals the reporting requirement on the adequacy of timber supply from Forest lands. Requires the biennial report on such Forest to include the impact of timber management on subsistence resources, wildlife, and fisheries habitats, biological diversity, the old growth rain forest ecosystem, and other specified items. Requires the southeast Alaska commercial fishing industry to be included for cooperation and consultation in a study of the Forest timber supply and demand. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to terminate specified long-term timber sale contracts, and to revise the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan of 1979 in a manner that fully protects long-term environmental and recreational concerns. Requires such Secretary to report to certain congressional committees regarding the status of such Forest Plan revision schedule. Imposes a moratorium on timber sales and harvest until the Forest Plan is completely revised and ready for implementation. Title IX: Development Assistance - Directs the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Administrator of the Agency for International Development and other specified officials, to report to the Congress on the status of forest resources in tropical countries, including a forest and agroforestry plan with goals for each tropical country. Requires: (1) the Administrator to ensure that all activities supported by U.S. bilateral foreign assistance are consistent with such plan; and (2) the Administrator to take into account each country's measure of success in meeting plan goals when allocating development assistance monies. Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury and the President must promote multilateral tropical forestry programs, and report to the Congress regarding the progress made by each of the multilateral development banks, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Program, the United Nations Development Program, and the International Tropical Timber Organization. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate regulations within one year after enactment of this Act requiring wood and products containing imported wood to bear a label disclosing the scientific and common names of such wood and the countries of origin. Directs such Secretary to impose a tropical woods tax upon products containing specified woods. Requires such Secretary to promulgate regulations prohibiting the importation of wood and wood products containing wood from: (1) tropical forest countries that have not achieved the forest plan goals; (2) countries that import wood or products containing wood harvested in tropical countries that have not achieved forest plan goals; and (3) countries that permit transit of wood or products containing wood harvested in tropical countries that have not achieved forest plan goals. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the status of import controls with respect to tropical forest countries that have not achieved the forest plan goals. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to assist developing countries with research and development programs aimed at energy efficiency and energy transmission facilities. Prohibits assistance for large-scale production of energy. Prescribes guidelines under which the President is directed to provide support to aid-receiving countries with emphasis upon least-cost energy planning. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress regarding the bilateral energy program, including the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emission. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to: (1) vigorously promote the adoption by each bank of a least-cost energy planning program containing specified components; and (2) oppose, except in certain instances, financial or technical assistance to any borrowing country if a least-cost energy plan is not in place. Directs the Secretary of State to instruct the Ambassador to the United Nations to: (1) vigorously encourage the United Nations Development Program implementing energy conservation and efficiency programs for recipient countries; and (2) oppose the adoption of country programs for any country for which a least-cost energy planning program giving priority to energy conservation, end use energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources is not in place. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State to report annually to the Congress regarding the progress of the multilateral development banks and the United Nations Development Program in implementing energy conservation measures. Declares that it is the policy of the United States that its economic assistance programs to developing countries should encourage least-cost, sustainable transportation policies and practices based on a diverse mix of motorized and nonmotorized transport modes which minimize fuel needs and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to: (1) implement a study of the Agency's transportation-related programs and of the multilateral development bank policies regarding their transportation-related lending practices to recipient countries; and (2) redirect part of the Agency's resources to provide nonmotorized low-cost vehicles that can be sustained in the long term. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to increase the emphasis on nonmotorized, low-cost and energy efficient alternatives to private motor vehicles. Directs the Peace Corps to encourage the use of nonmotorized transport technologies in the projects it undertakes. Specifies non-motorized transportation policies to be promoted by the U.S. Government in implementing its development assistance programs. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the loan terms on up to one-half of the sovereign debt owed the United States by developing countries as a condition of adopting forest and energy conservation programs. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations implementing such environmental conservation and debt reduction program within one year after the enactment of this Act. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to report biennially to the Congress regarding the status of energy conservation and efficiency for each country receiving Federal development assistance monies. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to report to the Congress regarding the options and strategies for the use of bilateral and multilateral development assistance programs sponsored by the United States to control emissions of certain greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Title X: International Activities - Directs the Secretary of State to convene an international meeting in the United States by the end of 1992 to adopt a global climate protection agreement with measures at least as stringent as those in this Act. Sets forth a percentage reductions schedule for emissions of specified gases. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) initiate negotiations for the adoption of a binding multilateral agreement requiring specified reductions of nitrogen oxide emissions by 1998; (2) request and, if necessary, convene the parties to the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer for possible control measures reassessment; and (3) convene an international meeting to exchange information regarding energy efficiency and solar/renewable energy resources that are environmentally sustainable. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of multilateral development banks to promote lending policies which emphasize specified aspects of energy conservation, renewable energy source, greenhouse gas emissions, and least-cost non-motorized transportation systems. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to take specified measures concerning: (1) biological diversity conservation; (2) renewable energy resources and conservation; and (3) assistance to developing countries in the use of agricultural and industrial chemicals. Declares U.S. policy with respect to domestic and international efforts to deal with the greenhouse effect. Requests the President to take steps to establish a long-term study of the greenhouse effect, beginning with a one-year cooperative international research program started during or before 1991. Names the year of such program the "International Year of the Greenhouse Effect." Directs the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and implement programs with respect to: (1) chlorofluorocarbon replacement; (2) methane control; (3) energy efficiency; and (4) alternative energy sources. Authorizes appropriations. Title XI: World Population Growth -Declares it is the policy of the United States that family planning services should be made available to all persons requesting them. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995 for international population and family planning assistance. Prohibits the use of such funds for: (1) involuntary sterilization or abortion; or (2) the coercion of any person to accept family planning services. Requests the President to initiate an international conference on population, and to seek an international agreement on population growth. Establishes a National Commission on Population, Environment, and Natural Resources to prepare reports and convene conferences. Terminates such Commission three years after the enactment of this Act. Mandates that multilateral development banks adopt guidelines promoting lending strategies which emphasize the maintenance of sustainable world population levels. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Title XII: Recyclable Materials - Directs the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress the results of a study regarding degradable materials and recycling methodologies. Requires the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress the results of a study regarding the national security implications of requiring the use of degradable materials in items procured by the Department of Defense, and of requiring the Department to comply with specified prohibitions against the use of nondegradable materials. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency biennially to submit an updated report to the President and the Congress regarding Federal, State, and local policies and practices in recycling government wastes and procuring recyclable materials. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to report to the Congress the results of a pilot project to develop and demonstrate a viable technology for composting municipal waste and sewage sludge. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to appoint a Director of Recycling Research and Information to: (1) make grants for recycling research and development; (2) establish a national database information clearinghouse for recyclable materials; (3) report annually to the Congress regarding the status of recyclable wastes; and (4) make grants for scientific research on the use of plastic materials as part of a recycling program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1994. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for offenses involving the production, manufacturing, distribution or selling of specified nonrecycled consumer goods which have been proscribed by the Secretary of Commerce under regulations jointly issued with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Requires the Secretary of Commerce periodically to update the list of proscribed nonrecycled consumer goods.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Hate Crime Statistics Act - Directs the Attorney General to include within the Uniform Crime Reports for calendar years 1991 through 1995 the incidence of criminal acts that manifest prejudice based on race, religion, homosexuality or heterosexuality, or ethnicity. States that nothing in this Act creates a right for an individual to bring an action complaining of discrimination based on homosexuality. Requires the Attorney General to publish an annual summary of the data acquired under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
RICO Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to include additional predicate offenses within the definition of "racketeering activity," such as prostitution involving minors, computer fraud, and certain activity relating to terrorist acts abroad. Modifies civil remedies provisions of RICO to require U.S. district courts to find proof by a preponderance of the evidence before restraining violations. Authorizes: (1) specified governmental entities whose business or property is injured by conduct in violation of RICO to recover threefold the actual damages to such business or property, plus costs; (2) persons whose business or property is injured by such conduct to recover actual damages, plus costs (and punitive damages of up to twice the actual damages where the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's actions were consciously malicious, or so egregious and deliberate that malice may be implied); (3) such persons to recover threefold the actual damages if any defendant has been convicted of specified Federal or State offenses; and (4) natural persons who suffer serious bodily injury by reason of specified crimes of violence to recover actual damages to such person's business or property, damages sustained by such individual as allowed under State law (excluding pain and suffering), and costs (and, upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that defendant's actions were malicious, up to twice the actual damages). (Current law allows recovery of threefold the damages, plus costs, for persons whose business or property is injured.) Sets forth: (1) statutes of limitation; and (2) procedures for considering affirmative defenses. Permits international service of process. (Current law restricts such service to specified judicial districts within the United States.) Provides for exclusive Federal jurisdiction to hear criminal or civil RICO proceedings. Authorizes recovery beyond actual damages to a person's business or property, where such person would not otherwise be eligible to recover costs under this Act, under specified conditions, including where the judge determines that a limitation of recovery would clearly be unjust.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to commence an administrative enforcement action under such Act against any Federal entity or employee responsible for the disposal or management of solid waste.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Federal Retirees Fairness Act - Requires Federal agencies to ensure that employee personnel files include information of all Federal employment for retirement purposes within 180 days after an employee begins service with an agency. Requires an agency, if an employee gives at least four months' to one year's notice of intent to retire, to: (1) inform such employee (or, if deceased, the employee's survivors) of any retirement counseling and applicable services; and (2) begin processing disability retirement applications not later than 30 days after the date of the application. Sets forth a schedule for processing applications for retirement deduction refunds and death benefits. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to compile quarterly information on the number of retirement applications submitted by agencies and their timeliness and accuracy. Requires the agency retirement counselor to conduct seminars at least twice a year.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Grants a Federal charter to the National Academies of Practice, the purpose of which is to honor persons of the health care professions.
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.