United States · United States Congress · 9 August 1988
Requests the Secretary of Labor to publish specific standards for the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to volunteer fire departments to assure that such departments have specific rules by which to operate that will not restrict their ability to provide fire prevention services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1988
Commends President Vassiliou of Cyprus and Turkish Cypriot leader Denktash for agreeing to meet to resolve the Cyprus issue. Congratulates United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar for arranging the meeting and expresses support for continued U.N. mediation in Cyprus.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1988
Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to the State of Washington Puget Sound Water Quality Authority for use in: (1) implementing and updating the Puget Sound Water Quality Management Plan; (2) implementing a program for ambient monitoring of the water quality of Puget Sound; (3) supporting research which will increase understanding of Puget Sound and human impacts on the Sound; and (4) conducting other activities related to improving the water quality of Puget Sound. Limits Federal funding to no more than 75 percent of the costs of grant activities. Requires the Authority to report to the Administrator by January 31 of each year on the grant activities of the preceding year. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that India should allow Sikhs full access to the Golden Temple and remove all military presence from the shrine. Urges the Government of India to use restraint in resolving the dispute with the Sikh people in the Punjab. Calls for a political solution to restore home rule in the Punjab, with religious freedom and human rights guarantees.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1988
Condemns the Romanian Government's systematic violation of human rights. Protests the planned program of destruction of traditional settlements in violation of human rights, minority cultural rights, and property rights. Urges institutional reforms by the Romanian Government to comply with international agreements, including the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Urges continued presidential and Secretary of State action to bring about reforms. Urges the President not to consider providing any special benefit for Romania until a thorough human rights reform is instituted, including substantial actual improvement in the right of emigration, the rights of national minorities, and freedom of religion.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to include estuaries and estuarine zones within the pollutant discharge permit program. Requires that ocean and estuary pollutant discharge guidelines take into account the need for a proposed discharge.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 - Title I: Congressional Findings and Purposes - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes with respect to small businesses owned and controlled by women. Title II: Demonstration Projects - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide financial assistance to private organizations to conduct demonstration projects giving financial, management, and marketing assistance to small businesses, including start-up businesses, owned and controlled by women. Describes application criteria. Requires the SBA to report to the congressional Small Business Committees on the projects. Terminates authority for this pilot program on October 1, 1991. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Procurement Assistance - Amends the Small Business Act to include small business concerns owned and operated by women as a discrete group for purposes of Government contracts and subcontracts and procurement programs. (Current law governing these programs refers expressly only to small business concerns and small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals as groups targeted for assistance.) Instructs the Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of each Federal agency to designate a Women-in-Business Specialist to be responsible for programs designed to assist concerns owned and controlled by women. Directs Federal agencies, in their procurement activities, to engage in affirmative action to identify and solicit offers from small businesses owned and controlled by either women or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Title IV: Access to Capital - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prohibit the Federal Reserve Board, except under limited circumstances, from exempting from such Act's provisions any class of transactions that are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, or business or commercial loans made available by a financial institution. Limits to five years any exemption authorized under the circumstances specified in this Act, unless a subsequent determination is made that the exemption remains appropriate. Requires lenders to keep records relating to loans and to provide written notice to applicants of their right to receive notice of reasons for a loan denial. Authorizes the SBA to establish a certified loan program for lenders that display knowledge and proficiency with respect to SBA regulations and programs. Directs the SBA to encourage small business loans of $50,000 or less under both this new program and the preferred lenders program in FY 1989 through 1991 by permitting participating lenders to: (1) use their own forms without regard to SBA paperwork; and (2) retain one-half of the loan guarantee fee. Requires SBA reporting to specified congressional committees in connection with the certified loan program. Directs the Federal Reserve Board, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Department of Commerce, and the SBA jointly to study levels of availability of and demand for debt and equity capital by small businesses, as well as innovative financing techniques to meet any unmet demand. Requires reporting to the congressional Small Business Committees. Title V: National Women's Business Council - Establishes the National Women's Business Council to review the status of women-owned businesses nationwide and to develop detailed multiyear plans in connection with both private and public sector actions to assist and promote such businesses. Requires annual reporting to both the President and the Congress. Title VI: Statistical Data and Effect on Other Programs - Directs: (1) the Bureau of Labor Statistics to include in its census reports on women-owned businesses specified information on sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations; (2) the Bureau of the Census to include in its Business Census data the number of corporations that are 51 percent or more owned by women; (3) the SBA's Office of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy to report on the most cost-effective and accurate ways to gather and present the statistics required in these census reports; and (4) Federal agencies to report to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy the number of first-time contract recipients that are small businesses owned and controlled either by women or by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Requires the President's annual Report on Small Business and Competition to include in separate detail information relevant to small businesses owned and controlled either by women or by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
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 to receiving 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 July 1988
Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone Extension Act of 1988 - Title I: Establishment of 12-Mile Territorial Sea and 24-Mile Contiguous Zone - Establishes a 12-mile territorial sea of the United States consisting of the water, the seabed and subsoil, and the airspace above the water. Declares that U.S. sovereignty exists in accordance with international law over such areas. Establishes a 24-mile contiguous zone of the United States (the first 12 miles of which is the territorial sea) consisting of the water, the seabed and subsoil, and the airspace above the water. Declares that the United States has authority to conduct activities in the zone relating to U.S. customs, fiscal immigration, and sanitary laws. Declares that: (1) except for laws enacted after enactment of this Act, nothing in this title affects the application of State laws, or the exercise of authority by a State under Federal law, with respect to the territorial sea or the contiguous zone; and (2) nothing in this title affects any agreement in effect between the United States and a foreign country and the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. Title II: Establishment of National Oceans Policy Commission - Establishes the National Oceans Policy Commission (the Commission), composed of 17 members to be appointed by the President, including at least two marine scientists. Requires the Commission to have eight congressional advisors to advise the Commission in the formulation of findings and recommendations. Requires the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to also advise the Commission. Directs the Commission to propose to the President and the Congress a comprehensive national oceans policy to carry out the purposes set forth in this Act, including promoting the conservation of marine resources and the peaceful use of the oceans. Directs the Commission to develop recommendations on the international and domestic ocean policies, laws, regulations, and activities of the United States that will define and implement the territorial sea and the contiguous zone established by title I and other aspects of the comprehensive policy. Outlines further considerations concerning development of such recommendations, including surveys of Federal ocean-related activities and reviews of marine facilities. Outlines powers of the Commission and other administrative provisions. Directs the Commission, no later than two years after it first meets, to submit simultaneously to the President and to each House of the Congress a final report on the comprehensive oceans policy and the recommendations developed under this Act. Terminates the Commission 30 days after such report is submitted. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Expresses U.S. support for the restoration of full and genuine democracy in Chile. Condemns Chilean violence. Urges the Chilean Government to create a climate of freedom and fair competition before the upcoming plebiscite by guaranteeing termination of states of exception, registration of voters, access to the media, freedom of assembly, access by international visitors to polling places, and the public tabulation of ballots.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Resolves that the Congress should implement policies under which: (1) the Bell operating companies would be permitted to provide information services, conduct research, design and market software, and design, manufacture, and market telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment; and (2) statutory safeguards would ensure that these Bell activities would not harm telephone service customers or competition in the information services or manufacturing industries and would prevent cross subsidies between regulated and unregulated service offerings.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1988
Condemns human rights suppressions and civil liberties violations by the Nicaraguan Government. Declares that the expulsion from Nicaragua of U.S. diplomatic representatives is intolerable. Calls on Nicaragua to implement true democratic reforms in keeping with the Esquipulas II and Sapoa accords and to comply with international standards concerning the treatment of political prisoners. Urges Central American leaders to convene and assess the conditions in Nicaragua. Urges both parties to the Nicaraguan conflict to abide by the ceasefire and resume peace negotiations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1988
Statehood Centennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of 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 restrictions on the procurement of palladium for such coins. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires the Secretary to deposit in the Treasury all surcharges received from the sale of the coins, to be used to reduce the national debt.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1988
Merchant Mariner Memorial Act of 1988 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to convey the right, title, and interest of the United States in vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet to 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 · 6 July 1988
Urges the Government of Singapore to: (1) release all political prisoners; (2) respect the rights of lawyers; (3) investigate mistreatment of political detainees; and (4) respect the rights of Singaporeans to openly criticize Government policies and speak freely with representatives of human rights organizations, foreign diplomats, and the media. Commends the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Singapore for monitoring human rights in Singapore. Calls upon the Secretary of State to: (1) urge the Singaporean Government to release persons imprisoned without trial for the peaceful expression of their beliefs; and (2) communicate to the Government of Singapore that contacts between Singaporean citizens and U.S. Embassy officials are an essential aspect of U.S. foreign policy.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Government of Nicaragua should: (1) fulfill its pledge in the Esquipulas II agreement to grant a general amnesty to all political prisoners; (2) cease inhumane torture and holding prisoners incommunicado; (3) end random arrests for purposes of political intimidation; (4) allow human rights observers in all parts of prison facilities; (5) compensate former political prisoners; and (6) cease human rights violations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1988
Approves, notwithstanding any provision of the Magnuson Fishery and Conservation and Management Act, the governing international fishery agreement entered into between the United States and the Soviet Union, as contained in the presidential message to the Congress on June 22, 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1988
Authorizes the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, Inc., to construct a commemorative statue within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to recognize and honor the women of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam war. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to select a site for the statue within the Memorial. Makes the design proposal subject to the approval of the Secretary, the National Planning Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts. Prohibits the United States and the District of Columbia from paying any expense of constructing the statue. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) it is fitting and appropriate that such a statue be constructed at the site of the Vietnam Memorial; (2) the Secretary and each of the Commissions should give consideration to the sense of Congress that such a statue should be constructed at that site; and (3) after the addition of such statue no further commemorative works should be added to the Memorial. Requires the Secretary and Administrator of General Services to prepare, transmit to the Congress, and update periodically a list and a description of those commemorative works which have been completed and are located in the District of Columbia and its environs. Prohibits any significant modification to any commemorative work located in the District of Columbia and its environs unless specifically authorized by the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1988
International Narcotics Control Act of 1988 - Title I: Latin American Regional Anti-Narcotics Force - Expresses the sense of the Congress concerning the need for a Latin American regional anti-narcotics force. Instructs the President to direct the U.S. representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) to consult with other member nations on the feasibility of establishing a Latin American regional anti-narcotics force and developing a comprehensive regional strategy for dealing with narcotics production and trafficking. Directs the President to call for a meeting of heads of state of member nations, if there is a positive response within OAS, to conclude an agreement for: (1) the establishment of such a force, with appropriate member contributions of personnel, training, equipment, and financial resources; and (2) the development of such a strategy. Requires the President to direct the Secretary of Defense to provide appropriate assistance for the force. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the President to notify specified congressional committees not less than 15 days before obligating funds authorized under this title. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters (Assistant Secretary) should: (1) seek the establishment of a regional anti-narcotics training center in the Caribbean; and (2) contribute funds or other resources and seek contributions from other countries to such a center. Urges the President to seek the establishment of other regional anti-narcotics forces. Title II: Foreign Assistance Programs - Subtitle A: Authorizations and Earmarkings of Assistance - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) to authorize FY 1989 appropriations for narcotics international control assistance to other countries and to international organizations. Sets a minimum expenditure level for the testing and use of safe, effective herbicides for aerial eradication of coca. Makes available a portion of FY 1989 grant military assistance funds to arm, for defensive purposes, extant aircraft used in narcotic control eradication or interdiction efforts. Applies the standard 15 days' notice requirement to specified congressional committees in connection with this reprogramming. Earmarks amounts from funds for international military education and training to be used solely for: (1) education and training involving equipment used in narcotics interdiction and eradication efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean; and (2) the expenses of deploying Department of Defense mobile training teams in a requesting country to conduct training in military-related skills to improve its tactical operations in narcotics interdiction. Limits this assistance to foreign law enforcement agencies or other units organized expressly for narcotics enforcement and to countries that meet criteria set out in this title. Waives provisions that would prohibit the use of grant military assistance funds to procure weapons or ammunition for foreign law enforcement entities when they are organized specifically for narcotics enforcement in countries meeting the criteria of this title. Directs the President to report to the Congress within 15 days before funds are obligated for this type of assistance. Describes required report contents. Provides for human rights reporting with respect to countries authorized to receive assistance. Earmarks an amount to be available solely for assistance for countries in Latin America or the Caribbean. Directs the President to reallocate funds withheld from countries failing to take adequate steps to halt illicit drug production or trafficking for use by countries that have met their illicit drug eradication targets or have otherwise taken significant steps to halt illicit drug production or trafficking. Prescribes conditions to govern transfers among international narcotics control assistance funds and reprogramming of security assistance resulting from these reallocations. Authorizes supplemental FY 1989 appropriations for activities to increase awareness of the effects of illicit narcotic production and trafficking on source and transit countries. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Specific Countries - Urges the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics Matters to pay greater attention, and provide more narcotics control assistance, to those countries that are drug-transit countries (but not major ones) cooperating with U.S. international narcotics control efforts. Earmarks a minimum FY 1989 amount to be available for their assistance. Permits security assistance to Bolivia for FY 1989 only if the President certifies to the Congress that the Government of Bolivia has enacted specified types of legislation to eradicate illicit coca production. Sets nonwaivable conditions that the Government of Bolivia must meet before the President may make the certification necessary to obligate and expend FY 1989 U.S. assistance funds suspended because of major illicit drug activities (certification). Requires that project agreement documents for projects in Bolivia contain a clause calling for suspension of FY 1989 development assistance if the Government of Bolivia fails to keep project areas free of illicit coca cultivation. Deletes a provision of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988 that earmarked funds for narcotics interdiction and control programs for Bolivia. Directs the President, in making FY 1989 determinations with respect to the certification necessary for assistance to Peru, to give foremost consideration to whether the Government of Peru made substantial progress in meeting its coca eradication targets during the previous year. Describes conditions that must be met before FY 1989 funds may be made available for the Agency for International Development's project in the Upper Huallaga Valley of Peru. Limits FY 1989 international narcotics control assistance made available for Mexico. Withholds a portion of these funds until the President reports to the Congress the Mexican Government's compliance with conditions relating to the murder and torture of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents. Directs the President, in making FY 1989 determinations with respect to the certification necessary for assistance to Mexico, to consider the Mexican Government's response to U.S. proposals to establish and implement a joint U.S.-Mexico airborne apprehension capability and air surveillance operations. Encourages the Government of Mexico, upon ratification of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the United States, to furnish banking information pursuant to the treaty that would permit the successful U.S. investigation and prosecution of major narco-terrorists who use Mexican financial institutions to launder their profits. Includes Colombia among the countries authorized to have more than six members of the U.S. armed forces assigned to carry out international security assistance programs. Authorizes supplemental FY 1989 appropriations to be used exclusively for defense articles to the Colombian armed forces to support their anti-narcotics efforts. Earmarks amounts to assist Colombia in providing protection against narco-terrorist attacks on judges, other government officials, and members of the press. Requires congressional notification at least 15 days before funds may be obligated. Directs the President, in making determinations with respect to the certification necessary for assistance to Pakistan, to take into account the extent to which the Government of Pakistan is increasing specified anti-narcotics activities. Directs the President to review and report to the Congress by December 31, 1988, on U.S. narcotics raw material policy, determining what options are available to reduce U.S. reliance on licit opium gum from foreign sources. Directs the President to make a certification for FY 1989 with respect to India only if he determines that the Government of India has taken certain actions to curb illicit opium cultivation and production. Requires the President, if certification is made, to include a detailed report on what steps were taken and an estimate of the amount of licit opium still being diverted to the illicit market. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the U.S. Government should pursue efforts to press the Government of Afghanistan, and work with the Mujahadeen, to reduce heroin production and trafficking in areas under their respective control and to encourage eradication, interdiction, and crop substitution in Afghanistan; and (2) an initiative should be developed which could be put in place as the Mujahadeen and successors to the present Kabul regime begin to exert greater civil authority. Directs the President to: (1) prepare and transmit to the Congress quarterly reports containing determinations with respect to any involvement by the Government of Laos (and other governments in the region) in illicit drug production and trafficking. Describes required report contents, depending on the determinations reached. Prohibits U.S. assistance to Laos and directs the U.S. representative to any multilateral development bank to vote to oppose any loan or other use of funds for the benefit of Laos, if the Government or any senior official of Laos is involved in illicit drug production or trafficking, unless the President certifies to the Congress that overriding vital national interests require the assistance and it would improve the prospects for cooperation with Laos in halting the flow of illegal drugs. Subtitle C: Annual Report and Certification Process - Requires the President's annual report to the Congress pursuant to the FAA to: (1) express in numerical terms the maximum reductions in illicit drug production achievable during the next fiscal year; and (2) describe the U.S. assistance for the preceding fiscal year that was denied to each major illicit drug producing country and each major drug-transit country. Requires certification to include the determination that a government has taken the legal and law enforcement steps necessary to eliminate, to the maximum extent possible, corruption by government officials. Establishes a timetable according to which the Secretary of State must establish numerical standards and other guidelines for determining which countries will be considered as major drug-transit countries for FAA purposes. Requires reports to appropriate congressional committees in connection with these standards and their modifications. Revises the FAA definition of "bilateral narcotics agreement" for purposes of certifications made on or after March 1, 1989. Amends related FAA provisions to permit multilateral agreements as an alternative to bilateral ones. Waives restrictions on FY 1989 U.S. assistance to any major drug-transit country if the President certifies to the Congress that: (1) significant drug-related money laundering is not occurring there with government knowledge or complicity; (2) the country previously was a major illicit drug producing country but has effectively eliminated illicit drug production during each of the preceding two years; and (3) the country is cooperating fully with the United States or has taken adequate steps on its own in satisfying specified anti-narcotics goals. Revises procedures governing congressional review of presidential certifications associated with suspensions of U.S. assistance. Repeals certain amendments to the FAA definition of "United States assistance." Directs the President to report to the Congress annually, rather than biannually, listing each major illicit drug producing country and major drug-transit country. Includes this report in the required midyear report on international narcotics control activities and operations. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Applies the standard reprogramming procedures of the FAA to any transfer by the U.S. Government to a foreign country for narcotics control purposes of any property seized by or otherwise forfeited to the Government in connection with narcotics-related activity. Requires annual reports to the Congress regarding such transfers. Expresses the sense of the Congress that suppression of international narcotics trafficking is among the most important U.S. foreign policy objectives. Directs the President to take all reasonable steps to ensure that assistance under the FAA and the Arms Export Control Act is not provided to or through any individual or entity that the President knows or has reason to believe: (1) has been convicted of a violation of, or a conspiracy to violate, any U.S. or foreign law relating to narcotics, psychotropic drugs, or other controlled substances; or (2) is or has been an illicit trafficker in any such substance. Requires the President to issue regulations, subject to congressional review, specifying steps to be taken in carrying out this provision. Exempts from certain competitive procurement requirements the procurement of property or services for international narcotics control assistance on a case-by-case basis, with the Secretary's approval. Prohibits use of such exemption for procurement including more than 30 percent of funds available each fiscal year for such assistance. Prohibits the use of narcotics control assistance funds to acquire real property for use by foreign military, paramilitary, or law enforcement forces. Authorizes the Export-Import Bank of the United States to guarantee, insure, and extend credit in connection with the sale of defense articles or services if the Secretary determines that the sale is to a democratic government for anti-narcotics purposes. Corrects technical errors in the FAA and in the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Title III: Department of State Activities - Makes the Secretary of State responsible for coordinating all Government assistance to support international efforts to combat illicit narcotics production or trafficking. Requires the Secretary to submit annual reports to the appropriate congressional committees. Describes required report contents. Allows reports to be classified to the extent necessary. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize appropriations, without fiscal year limitation, for use in paying rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of individuals for certain extraterritorial narcotics-related offenses. Directs the Secretary to revoke the passport and other travel documents of any individual convicted of any violation of a Federal or State law involving controlled substances if the offense is a felony (or of the Bank Secrecy Act or the Money Laundering Act if the Secretary determines that the violation is related to illicit production of or trafficking in a controlled substance) and if, in committing the offense, the individual used a passport or other travel document or otherwise crossed an international border. Allows the Secretary to take such action if the offense involved is a misdemeanor. Sets a ten-year (or, in the case of a misdemeanor, a five-year) period of ineligibility for a passport or other travel document from the date of conviction. Makes an exception for an individual's first conviction for a misdemeanor which involves only possession of a controlled substance. Permits exceptions in emergency circumstances or for humanitarian reasons. Empowers the President, by regulation, to prescribe procedures for indicating an individual's drug law violations on passports, other travel documents, and identification papers used during immigration and customs inspections. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for expenses of the Department of State in developing and implementing a machine readable visa system. Directs the Secretary to place greater emphasis on updating extradition treaties and on negotiating mutual legal assistance treaties with major illicit drug producing and drug-transit countries. Requires the Secretary and the Attorney General to jointly develop a model extradition treaty with respect to narcotics-related violations, a model mutual legal assistance treaty, and model comprehensive anti-narcotics legislation. Directs the Secretary to distribute these materials to each U.S. mission abroad and to report to the Congress within six months after enactment of this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that Regional Security Officers and other security personnel at U.S. embassies and other civilian posts abroad should be directed to expand their investigative activities with respect to illicit drug use and trafficking by Government personnel and their dependents. Urges the Secretary to permit the assignment of additional DEA agents to U.S. diplomatic missions in foreign countries where illicit narcotics production or trafficking is, or is likely to become, a significant problem. Title IV: Annual Certification Procedures With Respect To Multilateral Development Financing, Trade, and Aviation - Establishes a certification procedure with respect to multilateral development bank (MDB) financing for major illicit drug producing and major drug-transit countries which is separate from the certification procedure applicable to bilateral assistance under the FAA. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, on March 1 of each year, to instruct the U.S. executive directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Asian Development Bank to vote against any loan or other utilization of funds to or for any major illicit drug producing or major drug-transit country, unless the President has certified to the Congress that: (1) during the previous year the country has cooperated fully with the United States, or has taken adequate steps on its own, in satisfying the goals agreed to in an applicable bilateral narcotics agreement with the United States or a multilateral agreement to prevent the illegal transportation, production, use, or sale of controlled substances and drug-related government corruption and money laundering in that country; or (2) the vital national interests of the United States require MDB financing for such country. Requires that the President include in any latter certification: (1) a full and complete description of the vital national interests placed at risk should MDB financing not be provided to such country; and (2) a statement weighing such risk against the risks posed to vital national interests by the failure of such country to combat narcotics. Lists factors to be considered by the President in determining whether such former certification shall be made, including whether actions of the country's government have resulted in maximum reductions in illicit drug production determined to be achievable under the FAA. Provides for congressional disapproval by joint resolution of the President's certifications. Directs the Secretary of State: (1) to establish numerical standards and other guidelines for use each year in determining which countries will be considered to be major drug-transit countries; (2) by September 1 each year, to notify the appropriate congressional committees of the standards to be used; and (3) by October 1 each year, to notify the appropriate committees of the countries likely to be determined to be major drug-transit countries and the countries likely to be determined to be major illicit drug producing countries. Makes conforming amendments to remove certification for MDB financing from the FAA. Amends provisions of the Trade Act of 1974 regarding tariff treatment of products of, and other sanctions against, uncooperative major drug producing or drug transit countries to: (1) change the congressional review period within which the Congress may enact a joint resolution of disapproval of the President's certification from 30 days to 45 days; and (2) revise the criteria for cooperation to include satisfying the goals in agreement with the United States or a multilateral agreement to combat narcotics. Makes such amendments applicable with respect to any such certification made by the President on or after March 1, 1989. Provides that a country which in the previous year was designated as a major drug producing or a major drug-transit country may not be determined to be cooperating fully under such Act unless it has in place a bilateral agreement or a multilateral agreement to combat narcotics. Provides for a waiver of otherwise applicable sanctions if the President certifies to the Congress that vital national interests require that sanctions not be applied. Directs the Secretary of State to establish numerical standards and other guidelines for determining which countries shall be considered to be major drug-transit countries under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1988
Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of the Pratt River, Washington, as a wild river. Requires revisions to the Alpine Lakes Management Area plan of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to ensure protection of the natural values of the segment, including trout fisheries, wildlife habitat for elk and mountain goat, and old growth forests.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Amends Federal law to authorize Federal employees who are separated from service (for other than gross misconduct) and individuals who cease to meet unmarried dependent child requirements to continue Federal health benefits coverage. Authorizes coverage for former employees up to 18 months and for unmarried dependents up to 36 months at their own cost. Authorizes the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for continued coverage for certain former spouses, legally separated individuals, and members of employee organization plans.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prevent double-counting of income in the conduct of needs analysis for student assistance programs under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Condemns the use of chemical weapons by Iraq and calls upon Iraq to halt the use of such weapons. Commends the President for his prompt condemnation of Iraq's recent chemical weapons attack on civilians. Urges the President to: (1) seek allied cooperation to tighten controls on the export of chemical compounds to countries seeking to develop a chemical weapons capability; (2) make appropriate diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from developing or using chemical weapons; and (3) intensify American efforts at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament and in bilateral discussions with the Soviet Union to achieve an arms control agreement banning the production, use, and transfer of chemical weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1988
Designates August 1, 1988, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania; (3) convey to all signatories of such Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is vital to progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; (4) convey to U.S. allies the importance of unity regarding such Accords; (5) continue his efforts to achieve, before the end of the Vienna meeting, the release of all political prisoners of the Soviet Union, an increase in Soviet emigration, resolution of all family reunification cases, cessation of all radio transmission jamming, and the repeal of laws and practices which undermine human rights; (6) seek the inclusion, in any concluding document agreed to in Vienna, of a mechanism to sustain human rights progress after the Vienna meeting; and (7) convey to signatory states the insistence of the United States for a result at Vienna that will not favor military security at the expense of human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1988
Choices in Child Care Act of 1988 - Title I: Tax Credit for Families with Young Children - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a refundable income tax credit for each dependent under age six who resides in the household. Sets a maximum credit of $400 per qualified dependent child. Reduces the credit for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $20,000. Disallows the credit with respect to a dependent claimed under the dependent care income tax credit. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe tables to be used to determine the credit amount. Provides for advance credit payments by employers to employees who provide certification of eligibility. Requires taxpayers to file information returns to reflect such payments. Revises the dependent care credit to: (1) disqualify children six years old or older from credit determinations (current law permits the credit with respect to dependents up to age 15); and (2) disallow the credit to taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $30,000. Permits businesses a ten percent investment tax credit in connection with certain depreciable property used as part of a child care facility operated by the employer on or near the work site for the care of enrollees, at least 30 percent of whom must be dependents of the employer's employees. Provides for recapture of the credit amount if the facility ceases to be a qualified child care property. Limits to $200,000 the annual qualified investment subject to the credit. Sets reduced self-employment tax rates in connection with income earned from child care services in either a family-based (at the home of the taxpayer) or in-home (at the home of the recipient child) child care facility. Amends the Social Security Act to reflect this provision. Excludes income earned from child care services from wage withholding requirements and from the surtax imposed for failure to pay estimated income tax. Title II: Supplemental Child Care Assistance for Low-Income Working Parents - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to the States to provide certificates to eligible individuals for child care services. Sets out eligibility criteria, including a requirement that a State submit a plan detailing its program for child care services for low-income children under 14 to enable family members to work or to participate in employment training programs. Prescribes the process for review of applications, reimbursement procedures, and reporting requirements in connection with the program. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Block Grants to States for Activities Relating to Dependent Care Services - Amends the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act to increase the FY 1989 amount authorized for grants to States for dependent care services and to authorize FY 1990 through 1993 appropriations. Restructures the block grants program for dependent care services, enumerating a wide range of permissible uses for allotments paid to States under the program. Includes such activities as loans to establish child care services to school-age children before or after school, training programs for child care providers, scholarships to low-income individuals for child care training, activities designed to make liability insurance more available and affordable for care providers, and projects to meet the care needs of special populations. Decreases the permissible Federal share of the cost of projects under the program. Revises reporting requirements in connection with the program to require State reporting. Applies nondiscrimination provisions to the program, but permits the refusal of a fund recipient to provide services to a child on the basis of handicap under limited circumstances when other care is reasonably available. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to specified congressional committees concerning barriers to employer provision of child care services for their employees. Repeals the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985 (a grant program providing scholarships to low-income candidates for the Child Development Associate credential).
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1988
Targeted Relief Disclosure Resolution of 1988 - Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each report accompanying each bill or joint resolution of a public character reported by the Committee on Ways and Means to identify: (1) each provision which is intended to provide special benefits with respect to five or fewer taxpayers, transactions, events, items of property, projects, or issuances of bonds; (2) each beneficiary of such provision; (3) the Member of Congress who sponsored the inclusion of each such beneficiary; and (4) an estimate by the Joint Committee on Taxation of the loss in revenues resulting from such provision with respect to each such beneficiary for the fiscal year for which such loss in revenues first occurs and each of the five fiscal years thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1988
Extends best wishes to President Jose Napoleon Duarte of El Salvador. Expresses support for the Government and people of El Salvador and hope that President Duarte will accomplish his ambition of turning the presidency over to an elected successor.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1988
Urges the Government of Iran to uphold the human rights of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i faith, and to restore fully the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Calls upon the President to: (1) monitor and report on developments affecting the Baha'i minority in Iran and in other countries; (2) cooperate with other governments in continuing to make appeals to Iran concerning the situation of the Baha'is; (3) initiate and support efforts in the United Nations and its agencies on behalf of the Baha'is; and (4) provide, and urge others to provide, for refugee and humanitarian assistance for those Baha'is fleeing their homelands to escape religious repression.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1988
Commends the President for his efforts on behalf of human rights while at the Moscow summit. Urges the Soviet Government to comply with its commitments to respect internationally recognized human rights. Reaffirms the commitment of the American people and the Congress to continue to press the Soviet Union for compliance with international agreements on human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Forest Wildfire Emergency Pay Equity Act of 1988 - Allows Federal forest firefighters to be paid overtime without limitation while serving during forest wildfire emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Homeownership Assistance Act of 1988 - Amends the National Housing Act to create a special mortgage insurance program for first-time homebuyers. Authorizes insurance for up to 97 percent of the home's value. Authorizes the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure a mortgage loan of up to 97 percent of appraised value for the first $50,000 (currently $25,000) of a home's value. Repeals the current dollar cap on FHA insured mortgages in high cost areas. Authorizes FHA to insure adjustable rate mortgages with annual interest rate increases of up to two percent (currently one percent). Repeals the aggregate annual limit on such insured loans. Defines "first-time homebuyer" as an individual who or whose spouse has not owned a principal residence during the 18 months prior to an FHA insured home purchase. Authorizes an FHA demonstration program to insure mortgages for first-time homebuyer downpayments where the purchase is primarily financed or assisted by tax-exempt or other government assistance. Limits the downpayment loan to $7,500. Requires participants to receive financial counseling. Sets a maximum ten year loan maturity period. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to authorize the Government National Mortgage Association to create a secondary market for first-time homebuyer downpayment loans. Authorizes an FHA demonstration program to insure 100 percent of a home's value for a first-time homebuyer provided that the donwnpayment will be paid within three years by an additional monthly payment. Requires participants to receive financial counseling. Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to empower the Internal Revenue Service to confiscate defaulting taxpayers' tax refunds. Requires the Secretary to submit program reports to the Congress within one year of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1988
Social Security Work Incentives Act of 1988 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to reduce monthly disability benefits by 50 percent of a beneficiary's monthly earnings in excess of $85. Limits the total amount by which an individual's OASDI disability benefits may be reduced if such individual is also eligible for benefits provided under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act to individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment. Prohibits deductions from disability-based child insurance benefits for the recovery of prior overpayments resulting from a failure to reduce such benefits on the basis of earnings. Extends to current OASDI disability beneficiaries the rule preventing reductions in the primary insurance amount for prior recipients. Continues an individual's entitlement to disability benefits while such individual is under disabled and working status, meaning that such individual is earning enough to be considered engaged in substantial gainful activity, but would otherwise continue to satisfy eligibility requirements. Sets a four-year limit on the Medicare hospital insurance eligibility (under part A of title XVIII of the Act) of individuals who owe their eligibility to their disabled and working status under the OASDI program. Amends the Medicare program to authorize such individuals to enroll for hospital insurance benefits upon the termination of such four-year limit. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act to cover Medicare cost-sharing amounts for individuals of disabled and working status who are entitled to enroll for Medicare hospital insurance benefits and whose income and resources do not exceed 300 percent of the Federal poverty level and the SSI resource eligibility limit, respectively. Requires States to collect a coinsurance percentage from such individuals pursuant to a sliding scale which increases such percentage from 0 to 100 percent in reasonable increments as incomes move from 150 to 300 percent of the Federal poverty level. Extends to all recipients of disability-based child's insurance benefits the rule permitting continued entitlement to Medicaid benefits of individuals who would remain eligible for SSI benefits but for their receipt of such child's insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1988
Protests Soviet human rights violations, especially its restrictive emigration regulations. Calls upon: (1) the Soviet Union to release all prisoners of conscience; and (2) the President to stress at the upcoming summit meeting in Moscow the inherent link between respect for human rights and the achievement of lasting peace.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1988
Declares that the Congress recognizes the heroic acts of civilian construction workers who participated in the defense of Wake Island during its invasion by Japan between December 8 and December 23, 1941.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1988
Congressional and Judicial Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1988 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require that personnel actions affecting employees or applicants in the legislative and judicial branches of the Government be free from any discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap, or age. Allows Members of Congress to take into consideration an individual's domicile and political affiliation. Establishes within the judicial branch an Employment Review Board. Provides that members of the board be appointed from the retired judges of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals. Authorizes an aggrieved individual to file a written complaint with the Board. Establishes procedures for the Board to investigate, settle, hear, and determine the claims alleged. Provides that if a violation is found an order for relief may compel the defendant to: (1) employ or reinstate such individual on such terms and conditions as may be appropriate, except that the Board may not compel any committee or Member of Congress to employ or reinstate, or modify the terms and conditions of employment of, any individual; (2) pay compensatory damages; and (3) pay fees and allowances of witnesses and reasonable attorneys' fees. Authorizes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review, enjoin, set aside, suspend, modify, or enforce orders of the Board. Requires members of the Board to submit written reports to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics describing complaints during the reporting period involved.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1988
Expresses U.S. policy that Nicaragua should undertake specified reforms, such as reinstating due process and fair trials, ending torture, conducting free elections, allowing an uncensored free press, ensuring the right to strike and to publish for unions, allowing the Catholic Church to reopen its offices, and ending the forced relocation of Indians and Creoles. Urges all countries in Central America to continue to work toward achieving the democratic principles and processes specified in the August 7, 1987, Central American peace accord.
![Official portrait of Rep. Miller, John R. [R-WA-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000736_200.jpg)