United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
United States Coinage Reform Act of 1989 - Requires that one dollar coins be gold colored, be at least 90 percent copper, and be fabricated in the United States from natural deposits located in the United States. Redesigns the obverse side of the dollar coin to symbolize the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to place such coins into circulation within 18 months and to cease production of one dollar notes, except as required from time to time to satisfy the needs of collectors, within 18 months after the first of such coins are placed in circulation. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress on the advisability of phasing out production of the one-cent and 50-cent coins and of rounding cash sales to the nearest five cents. Requires that the seigniorage from the production of such dollar coins be used to offset the reverse seigniorage resulting from the destruction of Susan B. Anthony dollar coins.
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
Tongass Timber Reform Act - Title I: Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act Amendments - Repeals specified provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (the Act) relating to: (1) the authorization of appropriations for the maintenance of the timber supply from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to dependent industry; (2) the identification of Forest lands unsuitable for timber production; and (3) a specified report to certain congressional committees by the Secretary of Agriculture on the timber supply and demand in southeastern Alaska. Amends the Act to include in a specified report to the Congress the impact of timber management on subsistence resources, wildlife, and fisheries habitats in the Forest. Requires the Secretary to terminate, not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, specified timber sale contracts between the United States and the Alaska Pulp Corporation and the Ketchikan Pulp Company, respectively. Title II: Wilderness - Amends the Act to designate the following lands within the Tongass National Forest as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Anan Creek Wilderness; (2) Berners Bay Wilderness; (3) Calder-Holbrook Wilderness; (4) Chichagof Wilderness; (5) Chuck River Wilderness; (6) Kadashan Wilderness; (7) Karta River Wilderness; (8) Kegan Lake Wilderness; (9) Naha River Wilderness; (10) Nutkwa Wilderness; (11) Outside Islands Wilderness; (12) Pleasant Island-Lemesurier Islands Wilderness; (13) Pt. Adolphus-Mud Bay Wilderness; (14) Pt. Houghton-Sandborn Canal Wilderness; (15) Rocky Pass Wilderness; (16) Sarkar Lakes Wilderness; (17) South Etolin Island Wilderness; (18) South Kuiu Wilderness; (19) Sullivan Island Wilderness; (20) Trap Bay Wilderness; (21) West Duncan Canal Wilderness; (22) Yakutat Forelands Wilderness; and (23) Young Lake Wilderness.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Family Planning Reauthorization Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for projects, training, and information and materials related to family planning.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for any person to manufacture, assemble, transfer, or possess any handgun which the Secretary of the Treasury determines to be unsuitable for lawful sporting purposes.
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
Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement Act of 1989 - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to ratify a certain agreement between the Puyallup Tribe and non-Indian settlement parties. States that the Tribe and the United States relinquish claims to certain lands in the State of Washington in accordance with such agreement. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to accept the conveyance of certain lands and to hold such lands in trust for the benefit of the Tribe. Absolves the Tribe from liability for cleanup costs for contamination of such lands, except contamination caused by the Tribe after conveyance of such lands. Requires the Secretary to place a certain amount in an annuity fund for purposes of making individual one-time payments to members of the Tribe. Establishes the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Settlement Trust Fund. Sets forth the purposes for which the Fund may be used. Authorizes appropriations for navigation equipment at Commencement Bay. Directs the Secretary to disburse a certain amount to the Tribe for economic development and assistance to Indian business enterprises. Authorizes appropriations for the Federal share of costs of the Blair Project.
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
Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to approve projects within urbanized areas with populations of 50,000 or more for expanding the capacity of open-to-traffic routes on the Interstate Highway System, including construction of noise barriers, acquisition of right-of-ways for future construction of mass transit facilities, and acquisition of land for construction of parking lots. Sets forth a formula for apportionment of highway funds for such projects. Specifies: (1) the period of availability of funds apportioned to a State for Interstate System capacity expansion; (2) conditions that must be met in order to use lapsed funds for discretionary projects; and (3) the Federal share (80 percent) of any such expansion projects. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Directs the Secretary of the Army to release the reversionary interest of the United States in certain lands in the Port of Benton, Washington, on the condition that the Port of Benton donates the lands to Washington State University for the construction of a branch campus.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Peace Corps Volunteer Education Demonstration Program Act - Authorizes the Director of the Peace Corps to carry out a training and educational benefits demonstration program. Makes eligible for program participation any student at an institution of higher education who: (1) has completed at least two years of satisfactory study and is enrolled in a bachelor-degree program of at least four years; (2) agrees to serve at least three years in the Peace Corps; and (3) is selected in a competitive process. Requires selection procedures to include special consideration for traditionally underserved groups of students and students who will specialize in courses in areas in which the Peace Corps has special need. Requires the Director to carry out a training program under which participants receive appropriate training for their Peace Corps work as part of their course of study. Makes participants eligible for educational benefits to cover attendance costs during their remaining two years of study. Requires repayment of such benefits if the individual fails to complete three years of Peace Corps service. Directs the Secretary of Education to evaluate and report on such program to the President and the Congress by October 31, 1994. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Long-Term Care Insurance Promotion Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat qualified long-term health care insurance contracts as health insurance contracts and their benefits as benefits for personal injuries or sickness for all tax purposes. Applies this provision to policies whose coverage is limited to the necessary diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, and personal care services provided to a chronically ill individual in a qualified health care facility or at home. Allows an income tax deduction for long-term care expenditures. States that benefits provided under certain employer funded long-term health care insurance shall not be treated as deferred compensation plans for purposes of the tax deduction available for employer contributions to benefit plans. Permits a taxpayer a refundable 20 percent income tax credit for long-term care insurance expenditures. Reduces the credit percentage as income increases above $25,000 ($40,000 joint). Permits a maximum credit of between $200 and $2,000, based upon the age of the affected individual and indexed annually to reflect the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index. Allows early distributions from a qualified retirement plan, without penalty, to an individual aged 50 or older who uses the funds to purchase long-term care insurance within 60 days of the distribution. Considers as nontaxable any exchange by an individual aged 50 or older of a life insurance or annuity contract for a long-term care insurance contract.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Authorizes the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to establish a monument on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Excepts such monument from the prohibition on the construction of works commemorating individuals who have died within 25 years. Provides that U.S. funds may not be used to establish the monument.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Fair Garnishment Practices Act of 1989 - Provides for the treatment of Federal pay in the same manner as non-Federal pay with respect to garnishment. Allows the imposition of fees by Government entities to defray administrative costs of garnishment.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Veterans' Health-Care Programs Amendments of 1989 - Title I: Personnel Provisions - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide special pay for nurses (as is currently provided to physicians and dentists) in a specified amount (depending on full- or part-time employment) upon the execution of a written agreement to complete a specified period of service with the Veterans Health Services and Research Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Directs the Secretary, in addition to such special pay, to provide incentive special pay to Department nurses for: (1) tenure of service within the Administration of two years or more but less than five years; (2) tenure of service within the Administration of five years or more: (3) service in intensive care units, critical care units, emergency rooms, operating rooms, or in nursing specialties for which recruitment and retention of qualified nurses is difficult; (4) service in a specific geographic location in which it is especially difficult to recruit and retain qualified nurses; and (5) service in a head nurse position. Directs the Secretary to provide such incentive special pay, under the same criteria, for eligible part-time nurses employed in the Administration. Provides that the agreement required for the payment of special pay may only be entered into if the nurse is a registered nurse and an employee of the Administration whose duty assignments involve direct patient care. Provides specified amounts (per annum) of such special incentive pay for qualified nurses within the Administration. Extends premium pay for nurses for work performed during certain hours or for overtime work to licensed practical or vocational nurses and nurse assistants of the Administration. Excludes Administration employees appointed and paid under general Federal provisions governing appointments in the competitive service from any Federal veterans' benefits provisions limiting employment outside of the Department. Includes nurses who are retired military personnel and who are necessary to meet emergency employment needs in the category of Administration personnel who are exempt from reductions in retirement pay under Federal provisions regarding pay administration in the competitive service. Authorizes the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Chief Medical Director of the Department, to appoint qualified individuals in the competitive civil service to the Administration without regard to Federal provisions regarding examination, certification, and appointment in the competitive service. Requires the Secretary to apply the principles of preference for hiring established under such Federal provisions. Title II: Health Program Amendments - Extends permanently the authority of the Secretary to provide respite care services to eligible veterans. (Currently, such authority expires as of the end of FY 1989.) Extends through FY 1992 the authority for the making of grants to States for the construction of State nursing home facilities. Amends the Veterans' Home Loan Program Improvements and Property Rehabilitation Act of 1987 to convey to employers who employ veterans participating in a compensated work therapy program real property and improvements for not less than 75 percent of the fair market value of such property. Rescinds a Department medical regulation relating to the use of community nursing home facilities. Title III: Health-Care Management - Directs the Secretary, during FY 1990 and 1991, to carry out a pilot program in one medical region of the Administration for an improved management system for amounts payable to the United States from programs administered by the Administration. Requires the Secretary to develop an automated program to carry out billing and collection of fees. Sets forth the requirements of such program and the allocation of amounts received by the Department through such program. Provides that the amounts retained and allocated shall be used for: (1) pay and other personnel benefits to enhance the recruitment and retention of Administration health-care employees; and (2) the supplementing of medical equipment accounts of medical centers at which such accounts are deficient. Authorizes appropriations. Makes military dependents who are eligible for medical care under Federal armed forces provisions eligible for health care under sharing agreements for health-care resources between the Department and the Department of Defense. Requires the Secretary, by October 1, 1989, to compile a list of individuals eligible for medical care under veterans' benefits provisions relating to survivors and dependents of certain veterans. Provides that the Secretary may pay benefits only to persons on such list. Directs the Secretary, no later than October 1, 1989, to establish a procedure for the periodic review of the need for, and the cost-effectiveness of, such medical care. Requires the Inspector General of the Department to report to the Senate and House veterans' committees on the Secretary's compliance with the establishment of such list and the procedures of such review. Directs the Secretary to study alternative methods for providing for the costs of such medical care and to report such study to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits the Department canteen service from contracting for the performance by any individual not employed by the United States of any activity that would otherwise be performed by an individual employed by the United States who is compensated with nonappropriated funds. Declares that the head of such service may not be required to report to any Department official other than the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary.
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 · 7 February 1989
Designates July 27, 1989, as National Korean War Veterans Recognition Day and expresses the gratitude of the Congress and the Nation for the contributions made by the Korean War veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1989
American Heritage Trust Act of 1989 - Title I: American Heritage Trust - Establishes the American Heritage Trust, comprised of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund, to provide funding for the preservation of America's natural, historical, cultural, and outdoor recreational areas. Title II: Land and Water Conservation Fund - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used for the preservation of the Nation's recreational areas. Requires any excess interest to be credited to the Treasury. Sets forth a formula for the allocation of such interest income to the Federal Government and the States. Sets forth specified requirements with respect to the apportionment of such income to local and State governments, Indian tribes, and Alaska Native Village Corporations. Title III: Historic Preservation Fund - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to extend the Historic Preservation Fund through 2015. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of such Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used for the preservation of historic sites. Provides for allocation of a percentage of annual appropriations for State historic preservation trust funds. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the owner of any site that benefits from moneys derived from the American Heritage Trust to install a sign indicating that fact. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, within 18 months after enactment of this Act, to provide for a contest for elementary or secondary school children for the design of a symbol to represent such Trust and for use in such signs.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Designates the alcoholism and chemical dependency wing of the Seattle Veterans Administration Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, as the Joe Hooper Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Center.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Community Revitalization Tax Act of 1989 - Amends Internal Revenue Code income tax accounting rules to treat rehabilitation investment credits and low-income housing credits as credits not derived from passive activities. Revises the limitation on the general business credit to allow a maximum annual credit equal to the first $20,000 of an individual taxpayer's income tax liability plus 80 percent of any excess liability.
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 · 27 January 1989
Merchant Mariner Memorial Act of 1989 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to convey the right, title, and interest of the United States in vessels of a specified minimum displacement tonnage in the National Defense Reserve Fleet to each group, not to exceed three such groups, of nonprofit organizations for use in funding merchant marine memorials, provided the vessels have no usefulness to the Government and are scheduled to be scrapped and the organizations agree to sell the vessels for scrap, divide the proceeds, and use them for the memorial. Requires organizations to have raised a minimum amount from non-Federal sources before enactment of this Act in order to participate in the sale. Limits an organization to one grant under this Act. Terminates this Act two years after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1989
Agricultural Commodity-Based Plastics Development Act of 1989 - Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration to encourage the development and use of degradable agricultural commodity-based plastic through a system of preferential Government procurement. Authorizes FY 1990 through 1992 appropriations to pay the difference in costs between conventional products and degradable plastic products. Directs the Administrator to establish an interagency working group to coordinate activities under this Act. Requires annual reports to the appropriate congressional committees.
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
Flight Attendant Duty Time Act - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish limitations on duty time for flight attendants. Requires the Secretary to issue final regulations by a specified deadline. Prohibits any air carrier from operating an aircraft using a flight attendant who has been on duty in excess of specified hours or who has had less than a specified number of hours of rest if such regulations have not been promulgated by a certain time. Permits modification of the specified hours of duty if the Secretary determines such modification is in the public interest and submits a copy of the modifying regulations to certain congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1989
Civil Rights Amendments Act of 1989 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of affectional or sexual orientation. Provides that this Act shall not be construed to permit a finding of discrimination based on statistical differences or the fashioning of any remedy requiring a quota.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1989
Repeals a provision of the Internal Revenue Code that disallows the income tax deduction of 25 percent of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals after tax year 1989 (thus extending the deduction indefinitely).
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1989
Global Poverty Reduction Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President to develop a plan to ensure that U.S. development assistance contributes measurably toward eradicating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000. Requires that such plan include target dates for reaching specific measurable goals whose attainment would contribute to direct improvements in the living standards of the poorest 40 percent of the population. Specifies that such goals shall include reducing the mortality rate of infants under age five, increasing the female literacy rate, and reducing the percentages of populations below the absolute poverty level by specified amounts by the year 2000. Directs that development activities carried out under this Act shall be consistent with maintaining and restoring the renewable natural resource base. Requires the President to submit the plan to the Congress by July 1, 1990. Requires all U.S. development assistance to be directed at attaining plan goals between October 1, 1990, and December 31, 2000. Requires the President to submit annual reports to the Congress detailing progress toward achieving plan goals. Directs the Comptroller General to review and comment on each report issued. Directs the President to host an international development conference for heads of governments of development assistance donor and recipient countries by October 16, 1989, to conclude an international agreement on eliminating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1989
United States Coast Guard Bicentennial Medal Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design, strike, and sell a medal in commemoration of the bicentennial of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1990. Requires the design of the medal to be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and the Commission of Fine Arts.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1989
National Commemorative Events Advisory Act - Establishes the President's Advisory Commission on National Commemorative Events to: (1) establish criteria for recommending to the President that a proposed commemorative event be approved or disapproved; (2) review proposals for national commemorative events submitted in accordance with procedures published by the Commission; and (3) issue recommendations to the President concerning each proposal reviewed.
![Official portrait of Rep. Miller, John R. [R-WA-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000736_200.jpg)